Chapter 13: Flashback (Part Two: Fall of the Mad Megs) Back in the human realm, in Northern Europe, a priest who ran an orphanage, hired a group of bandits and assassins, known as the Mad Megs, to help bring in some money to help the orphanage. The orphanage that the Mad Megs entered was a quaint wooden building with a cross on the roof. Inside, there were many children, with ages ranging from infant-hood to seventeen years of age. It was a rather cozy little place, though it could have used a little touching up in some area. In the main room, a priest stood next to a wooden statue of an angel. The priest was a middle aged man with short brown hair that stuck out of his red priest's hat, green eyes, a brown beard and wore a red robe with a hood, and carried a wooden walking cane with a cross on the top. Doll Grethe entered the orphanage and knelt before the priest. “Father Marcus, we've come as you told. What is this job you have for us?” “Well my ladies, this is a rather dangerous, yet rewarding mission.” Father Marcus started to explain. “I want you all to loot and plunder the ghastly regions of Hell. I heard there was a lot of treasure down there.” “What's in it for us?” Doll asked. “Ah ha ha! This is the best part.” Father Marcus said, laughing. “My orphanage is planning to share the wealth with you fine ladies. I heard the treasure of Hell is very valuable and could not only help my orphanage, but make you rich and famous as well.” A smile forms on Doll's face. “Nice! Where is the gate to hell?” Father Marcus gives Doll a map. As she unrolls the map, she saw what appeared to be Northern Europe and Russia. On the Kola Peninsula of Russia, there was an X marking where the gate to Hell was. Father Marcus points to the X and said, “This X here, is where the gate to Hell is located. I hope you and your band of merry ladies are up to this.” “Sure we are!” Doll exclaimed. “We are not frightened of those pesky demons.” “Very well.” Father Marcus said calmly as Doll Grethe made her way out of the orphanage. “Take care Doll Grethe! And God bless you!” --- After a long journey, the Mag Megs finally reached the gate of Hell located in an isolated region of the Kola peninsula. Doll takes a quick look at her map and then started to give orders to her band of bandits. “Okay ladies, this is the gates of Hell. Be prepared to kill and plunder these foul beasts. Ready?” “Ready fearless leader!” The Mad Megs cheered as they started to brandish their weapons. “Okay, on the count of three, start to attack. One....Two....THREE! NOW LADIES!” Doll shouted as she led the way down to the gates of Hell. “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” The Mad Megs hollered as they followed Doll's lead and ran down to the gate of Hell. Right at the gates, the demon guards woke up and started to charge back at the female bandits. “No! We must stop you hags from reaching our homeland!” A rabbit demon cried out as he brandished his scythe. “If you want to make it to the portal of Helheim, you have to get passed us first!” A crocodile demon screeched as he ordered his fellow guards to wake up. “Guards....ATTACK!” “YAAAAAAAAH!” The demon guards roared out in unison as they started to charge the Mad Megs. The Mad Megs were not ones to roll over and play dead. They made sure to stock up on enchanted artifacts on the way to the gates of Hell. One younger bandit pulls out a bottle of holy water from her sachet and throws it at the crocodile demon. As the bottle shattered in his face, the demon lets out a horrific death cry as the top half of his body was fully disintegrated, leaving only a bloody stump of his lower body and bloodied up clothing behind. The young bandit searches the demon's corpse and takes his sack of coins and his spear. Another more pudgier bandit targeted the rabbit demon. The pudgy bandit pulls out her mace and started to swing it around, aiming for the rabbit demon. The bandit knocked the scythe out of the demon's hands, breaking it in half. The demon was now angrier than before. “Why you cur! I oughta...” Right behind the rabbit demon, a bespectacled bandit pulled out her sword and beheaded the rabbit demon. As the demon was decapitated, the bandit smears his blood on her face and grins. She then puts the demon's head in her sachet as proof that she killed a demon. Doll's target was now a woodpecker demon charging the woman with his club. Doll swings her blade and chops off the demon's hands, making his club drop down with his severed, bloody hands. The demon lets out a hideous screech as he started to shout more commands. “Run away! These thieves are too much for us!” The hand-less demon cried out as he retreated over to a portal. “AIIEEEE!” The demons howled in feared as they ran back to the portal, frightened for their lives. While the surviving demons fled for their lives, they accidentally dropped some of their valuables. But to them, their lives were more important this time around. The Mad Megs started to scoop up their baubles and tossed them into their sachets. A younger towhead bandit of the group looked down at the valuables and smiled. “Imagine all the fine silks and satins we could get if we sell these fine items.” “Ah yes...” A pudgy hooded bandit sighed dreamily. Doll snapped her fingers and commanded, “Come on ladies! We're only scratching the surface. We need to head down to the portal and slay more of those bloody bastards! You all with me?” “Yes ma'am!” The bandits saluted as Doll led them down the portal to Helheim. --- Now the Mad Megs were in Helheim, and all hell was breaking loose, literally. They slayed some demons and devils without mercy nor regret. They slayed and slaughtered, looted and plundered, and created some widows, widowers and orphans along the way. Beneath a slayed female devil, a baby devil started to cry and shriek in fear, pinned helplessly under his murdered mother. Doll and her band of bandits continued to wreak havoc in hell, as a bandit ended up beheading a female devil guarding her valuables. After she was murdered, Doll opened up the chests in her house and stole the devil's money, jewels and gems. After leaving the house, the devil woman's husband came back. “Darling, we gotta get outta here!” The devil shouted nervously. But he notice his wife didn't respond. “Darling? Lolia? Darling?” As he entered his room, he was greeted with a tragic sight. His wife's headless body laid on the floor, while the chests and boxes in their room were emptied out. “NOOOOOOOOO! LOLIAAAAA! AAAAAACK!” --- Over at the Niflheim palace, an insectoid messenger was delivering some grim new to King Bullar and Queen Halja. “Lord, Lady, you are not going to believe this!” “What's happening?” King Bullar asked nervously. “What's the news Zakkar?” Queen Halja asked. “You seem horrified.” “There are a group of female bandits called the 'Mad Megs', and they are raiding Helheim as we speak.” Zakkar replied, feeling sick to his stomach. “Ugh! And I think they are heading to this palace.” “Oh no!” Queen Halja cried out in terror. “What do we do?” King Bullar added. “I'll send the guards and knights out to keep them at bay.” Zakkar said, trying everything he can to stay calm. “You two better be protecting your sons. It would be tragic if your sons died and reincarnated as mere mortals. Hurry! There is no time to lose!” --- Within the palace, Doll Grethe sneaks around as stealth-fully as possible, making sure to avoid as many demon guards as possible. Doll crept as carefully as she could, making her way to one of the seven Prince's bed chamber. The first bedchamber she saw was Prince Amirani's bed chamber. “Ah yes, one of the seven devil princes.” Doll thought to herself as she slowly opens the door to Amirani's room. “We are going to have it made.” Doll crept over to the bed and saw the avian devil prince sleeping soundly in his own bed, unaware of the intruders that were out for the blood of his clan. “Hmmm...how to kill him....how to kill him?” Doll looked around the room and an idea sprung into her head. “Ah yes, I'll suffocate him with a pillow, then I will chop off his head when he stops struggling.” She crawls up on Amirani's bed and snatched a pillow from his bed. “Die you demonic beast!” But just as she was about to press the pillow to Amirani's face, the devil prince's eyes swiftly opened and knew that he was in great danger. To Doll's horror, Amirani rips the pillow in half, sending feathers and stuffing flying everywhere. Then he lunged at Doll and started to strangle her, making the bandit drop her blade. As she tried to grabbed her blade, Amirani takes the blade from her and claims it as his own. “You're not getting away with this.” Amirani screeched as he releases the grip on Doll's throat and grabs her by the wrists of her hands. “Wait until I tell my royal family about you. “No! No! Anything but that!” Doll Grethe protested. “I'll be your slave! I'll give you some treasure! Please, oh please, don't tell your family that I....” “Oh no no no! It's too late for that!” Amirani interrupted as he dragged Doll down the hallways of the Niflheim palace. “I'm going to present you to my royal family.” “NOOOOOOOO!” Doll cried out as Amirani dragged her down the hall in rage. Doll felt helpless, now that she was captured by Amirani and being presented to his family. --- As Queen Halja and King Bullar started to check up on their sons, the couple heard some loud screaming and crying, followed by one of their sons reading this intruder the riot act. “No no! How dare you!” Doll cried out. “Son?” King Bullar pondered as he heard the screaming and yelling in the hallways of Niflheim palace. “Hey everyone! Look who I caught!” Amirani shouted in the halls as he was approaching Halja and Bullar. The royal couple gasped in surprise as their son showed them the prisoner that intruded on their palace. “This bitch tried to smother me with a pillow.” Queen Halja approached her son to get a closer look at Doll Grethe. She eyed the bandit and smiled. “Ah yes, this harlot. She is Doll Grethe, the leader of the Mad Megs that are trying to invade our homeland, looting and plundering every inch of our land.” “Do you have anything to say our wretched lady?” Bullar asked Doll Grethe as he got a closer look at the woman. Doll Grethe paused for a bit, giving the family a nasty glance, and snarled, “You vile pieces of shit! You're not going to get away with this.” Halja, Bullar and Amirani all laughed at Doll Grethe and mocked her. “Hey Doll, let me introduce you to my brothers. I bet they'll also be happy to rip you apart.” Doll just stood there in silence and gave everyone a hateful stare. “Hey brothers!” Amirani announced in excitement. “I caught the leader. Now it's time to give her a taste of her own medicine!” --- Now, the royal family of Niflheim have captured Doll Grethe and locked her up in the palace brig, alongside her surviving crew of thieves. The few surviving Mad Megs were whimpering and crying helplessly, while they were stripped of their weapons and items, and bound tightly in the prison shackles. “Damn it all!” Doll Grethe thought to herself. “I thought that this mission would be a breeze. Damn those devils. They are more cunning than I thought.” As the prison door opened up, Doll's stomach started to knot up like a fist, while her female companions started to wail and whine loudly. The door opened up, the royal family of Niflheim stepped in and were ready to interrogate and torture Doll Grethe right in front of her helpless companions. “Well well Doll...” Queen Halja taunted. “Did you enjoy your last meal?” Doll just stood their in silence and glared hatefully at the devil queen. “Come on, aren't you going to say something?” Bullar asked. “It would only be polite to respond to us.” “Are you going to talk or not?” The cat like Biris shouted impatiently as the royal family was growing weary of Doll's silent treatment she was giving them. “....Why should I, you pieces of shit?” Doll spat back in anger. “....I don't want to waste my time with bloody bastards like you.” “What.....WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” Bullar screeched in rage as the whole family started to circle Doll Grethe, plotting to rip her to shreds. “Oh ho ho! You had enough fun plundering our homeland, as well as killing innocent bystanders in your conquest.” Halja laughed wickedly. “Now it's our turn to have fun with you!” Prince Amirani was the first to have his way with Doll Grethe. He pulls out a small dagger, dips it in a vial of pain increasing elixir, and forces Doll to look at him. He pries her left eye open and plunges the small dagger into her eye, making her bleed profusely out of her socket. Doll's screams started to grow louder as Amirani twisted the dagger around in her eye socket. Finally, the mutilated left eyes was pulled and severed out of the socket, making a stream of blood and pus leak out all over Doll's face. “AAAAAAACK! You Bastards!” Doll cried out loud in agony. “I'm going to kill you all! I'M GOING TO....AAAAAACK! OWWWWW!” “Stop it!” The prisoners screamed in horror. “For the love of God, STOP IT!” “Shut up you bitches!” The mouse like Kursha screeched as he started to throw trash at the prisoners. “Continue on guys!” Queen Halja goes over to a bed of burning hot coals and pulls out a burning hot poker and a small knife. She skewered the coals onto the poker and approached Doll Grethe with a wicked grin on her pale face. “No....no...no...NOOOOOOO!” Doll Grethe screams in terror. “Don't you dare you bloody bitch!” “Oh yes yes yes!” Halja cheered in delight as she pointed the coals and poker at Doll's empty eye socket and giggled. “Biris, I want you to fetch me some needles and sinew thread.” “Yes mother dearest!” Biris said back as he goes over to a cabinet to fetch some needles and sinew thread for his royal mother. While he does that, Amirani pries open Doll's empty eye socket, while Halja prepared to scrape off the hot coals from the iron poker with her knife. At first, some hot ash fell into Doll's eye socket, making her screech and howl in total agony. Then, just as she thought things couldn't get worse than they already were, a huge lump of red hot coal fell into her eye socket, making her bellow in pain. “AAAAAAAAAAACK!!! SHIT....SHIT!” Doll bellowed in misery as Amirani then shuts her eye around the lump of coal. “Oh my God...” The prisoners thought to themselves. “This isn't happening...this is all just a nightmare!” Halja goes over to the needles and sinew Biris handed to her and started to loop the threat into the needle and ties the know firmly, so no thread will fall out. She started to poke the needle into Doll's shut eyelid and pulls the needle and sinew through both lids, ending at the tied knot. Doll cried and wailed helplessly as Halja started to carefully sew Doll's left eyelids shut. Halja sewed and sewed until she reached the end, where she cuts the sinew thread and tied the knot firmly. In between her own screams of agony. Doll heard the tapir like Prince Belthegor chant a mantra to the remaining Mad Meg prisoners that where shackled against the wall. “Now what?” The prisoners groaned as Belthegor was preparing to cast a spell on them. Right there, a glowing pink fog engulfed the Mad Megs that worked for Doll Grethe. Their minds started to become clouded and blank. The spell was so strong, that it overwhelmed their minds and souls. The bewitched bandits looked over at Prince Belthegor and sighed in delight. “Oh master! Master! Ahhh!” The spell Belthegor cast upon the prisoners was the infamous allure spell. The Allure spell is a type of seduction spell that has complete control over the person it was cast upon. Since Belthegor was attracted to the female gender, his spell could only work on the female gender only. And to Belthegor's luck, the Mad Megs were all female, so his spell worked beautifully on them. Kursha freed the prisoners from their shackles and Belthegor started to give the bandits some weapons and torture instruments. “Mother, Father, Brothers, you can all take a break. I got it from here on.” Halja, Bullar and their sons backed off from Doll's shackled body as Prince Belthegor started to give out orders to the charmed thieves. “Ladies, I want you all to rip this Doll Grethe harlot from limb to limb. Give it all you got! Don't show her any mercy!” “Yes our beloved master!” the Mad Megs cheered out as their glowing pink pupils eyed Doll Grethe. They started to approach their defeated leader and brandished the weapons Belthegor gave to them. The thief with an ax started to swing the mighty weapon and with a couple clean chops, Doll Grethe's legs were lopped off at the knees. She screamed in pain as another thief started to ram a meat hook into her former leader's body, breaking bones and muscle tissue with the brutal slashes and stabs. “AAAAAAAAAAAACK! STOP IT! STOP IT!” Doll howled in agony, but the howls were ignored by her brainwashed comrades as they showed their former leader no mercy. The royal family started to laugh and clap as their cruel, shrewish enemy was being teared apart by her former allies. A thief with a cutlass started to chop away at Doll's arms, breaking armor and slicing deeply into her skin. After a while, Doll's arms were badly disfigured and mutilated, as well as her voice becoming more hoarse and dry from all the screaming and wailing. The thieves chopped and torn away at Doll until her arms fell off at the elbow joints, making her limbless body fall down to the ground with one painful thud. Doll's body gave out a few more spasms before she became, cold, pale and lifeless. As Doll's mutilated, blood soaked corpse lied there, the royal family cheered and clapped over their victory. “At last, the one stained with the blood of our clan is dead and defeated!” Bullar cheered out. “This calls for a celebration!” Prince Kursha added in excitement as the family left the torture chamber and planning to celebrate their victory. But before leaving, Belthegor permanently erased the memories off the remaining Mad Megs, as he warps them back to the human realm. --- Doll's soul awakened in a surrounding of pure darkness and space. “Where....where am I? What happened?” “Greetings Doll Grethe.” An elderly male voice called out to her. As Doll looked around, an older man clad in a regal looking tan leather robe and slightly pointed hat appeared. His pale silver hair was tied up in a low pony tail and had a pale, long bushy beard., Like Doll, he was missing a left eye as well. His left eye was covered with a tan leather eye patch. His skin is slightly wrinkled and he spoke with a stern, yet paternal voice. “Who are you?” Doll Grethe asked. “I am King Odinn of Walhalla kingdom. I have come to claim your soul.” Doll's right eye widened in surprise. “Take me to Walhalla? You mean....?” “Yes my lady....” Odinn explained. “You are now a Valkyrie. But you are not just any Valkyrie, but a high ranking Greater Valkyrie.” Doll pursed her lips and scoffed, “You ought to be kidding me. Me? A Greater Valkyrie?” “I'm serious.” Odinn said in a paternal tone of voice. “You are one of my high ranking Valkyries. Since I have heard of your exploits and mission against the Daemon gods of Helheim, it's only fair I recruit you and give you a high ranking status. Come, follow me to Walhalla kingdom. You will have it made there dear Doll.” While Doll Grethe followed Lord Odinn through a tunnel of light leading to Godheim, she wore a wicked grin on her face as she happily thought of her new life as a Valkyrie, as well as thinking of a way to get revenge on the royal family of Niflheim. “Oh yes....I will get my revenge....and my revenge shall be sweet! Ah ha ha ha....!”