So here we are! The new and improved version of Haunt Me. Please drop a review if you have the time to let me know how it compares to the original, or if you're a first time reader, let me know what you think!
Song that inspired this chapter: Courrier- Between
Chapter 1: Battered, Bruised, Broken
Falling, crashing, slipping. I couldn't tell if I soared past the stars or if they had the audacity to soar past me. I choked on my own screams as I mustered as much strength as I could to scream particular words. My legs kicked and flailed beneath me uselessly as I came to the realisation that I could die. Before I could think of anything more than blunt curses to the reason I was in the situation, a stunning flash of brilliant blue alerted me that I was being directed onto a path; a path directed by none other than Heimdall.
"No!" I screamed, desperate not to land where I could now tell that I was destined to.
"There's no place for me on Midgard! They'll tear me apart! Take... me… home!" I screamed again, hands outstretching and disturbing the colourful path, making the strange, mystical powder it produced sparkle into the dark atmosphere.
"There is little I can do for you, Sigyn. I am taking you to Midgard so I can at least save you from death. Your destiny lies there, as does an old friend." I heard the familiar voice boom in my ears, causing me to gasp and suffer due to the velocity of the falling. Disbelief racked my brain; this could, of course, only have happened to me. Of all the Asgardian "treasures" that lurked within the palace's magnificent walls, fate had chosen me to be pushed off of the bridge by my own father.
"It's not fair." You managed to croak, before you finally saw Midgard becoming imminently closer. I marvelled slightly at how beautiful it was, with the vast oceans and expanse of fresh land. However, I had heard enough storied to know that the populations weren't quite as beautiful as the land they resided within.
With a fierce pressure on my chest, I closed my eyes and slipped into unconsciousness, the force of the ground meeting my body. After what felt like a dark eternity that danced before my eyes, I groaned and managed to open my eyes to slits, trying to take in my surroundings. A part of me didn't want to, for I knew that I would be on Midgard, a place no Asgardian really wants to be stuck in. I gasped and opened my eyes fully when I noticed that I was not alone; for I was being observed suspiciously by a young woman, who crouched by me. She had short, bright red hair; a sight that was most uncommon to me. A man who looked to be of the same age stood further back, seeming more angry than wondrous at my landing. To your amazement, they didn't seem too surprised by my sudden and unexpected appearance, but tiredness washed over me and I soon found my observation to be too meaningless to pursue. I held my head as I sat up slowly, focusing not on the Midgardians but instead on the large and dirty expanse of sandy land ahead. I also took a quick peek at the sky, and felt a pang of sadness as I saw that I was well and truly abandoned, at least for the time being.
"Pray, do tell me; where am I?" I asked, turning my attention to the woman who seemed to be more approachable. The woman in question looked concerned, shiftily glancing to her male peer to the side of her. He simply shook his head, scratching his head
"Well, New Mexico. But my guess would be that you don't know what that is. So I'm gonna go with Earth." She answered, a small smirk playing on her pale lips. I paused, as I had already known what the realm was, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Now I had to.
"Who are you?" The woman asked, raising an eyebrow as I shakily got to my feet, the land briefly spinning before it calmed again.
"I am Sigyn, of Asgard." I introduced, smoothing my hair and lightly curtseying. The man groaned, putting his head in his hands.
"Not another one!" He sounded exasperated, and I shot him a filthy look when he'd finished rubbing his eyes and continued to watch me.
"I am well aware that I am not the only one of my kind to arrive here on Midgard, human." I spat, brushing down my dress impatiently. He raised an eyebrow, and finally allowed a smile on his lips. It seemed that my fiery retort had earned his respect.
"What the hell is Midgard?" He asked, incredulous.
"You're standing on it." I told him, looking warily to the large contraptions behind them both. They were metallic and weirdly shaped, with four wheels on them each. I had seen them before when studying Midgard in books, but I hadn't researched into them properly.
"It's Earth, you moron." The woman whispered to her companion, whose eyes then shone with recognition, his mouth forming a round "o".
"Anyway… my name is Natasha, and this is Clint. We're representatives of SHIELD." Natasha explained. I furrowed my eyebrows; what is SHIELD? I thought. She seemed to recognise my confusion, for she stood up from her crouched position and straightened her back, cricking her neck. Clint fiddled with a strange object by his side.
"SHIELD is a place where we explore and… manage people such as yourself. By manage, we mean care for. You're a possible threat to Earth, and we have to ensure the public's safety is top priority, above all else." I bit back my hurt; the fact that I was to be treated as a threat made me feel physically ill.
"I assure you, I am no threat to your realm. I didn't even come here willingly." I insisted, trying to conceal the small tingling of fear I felt in my heart. I'd heard rumours; tales of woe of what Midgardians did behind closed doors and in concealed chambers.
"We're aware of that, and as long as you're intentions are innocent, ours are too. We just need to ask you a few questions."
"Besides, where else are you gonna go? You have no place to sleep." Clint interjected, to which Natasha nodded approvingly. I sighed as two other Midgardians revealed themselves, climbing out of the weird contraptions I'd noticed previously. One of them held a silver smaller contraption, resembling the handcuffs I had seen back at the Palace.
"Do you really plan on restraining me using those handcuffs, Natasha?" I asked, my voice colder than before. She straightened up, sensing my change in tone and instantly shooting Clint a wary glance.
"It's a precaution; nothing more. Fury's orders." I furrowed my eyebrows once more; since when did emotion have the capability of ordering people around? Clint strode to Natasha, whispering something in her ear. Even my hearing capabilities I had acquired as an amateur spy in the Palace could not register what he had to say. I narrowed my eyes and took a step back as the two Midgardians clicked the handcuffs on. My instinct was to spit at them, use my combat skills and sprint away, but I knew that resistance would simply not do. Co-operation was the only alternative at that point. The Midgardians both then directed me closer to one of the huge metal contraptions I had previously wondered about. I then began to resist, shaking my head and pulling away.
"Use force and we will have no option but to comply to rules and injure you into submission." One of my "guards" stated gruffly. I became limp, once again allowing them to drag me in. They opened one of the doors and shoved me in, before Clint pulled a strap over me and clicked me in.
"What is this thing?" I spat, staring around at it in detest. Natasha looked surprised as she turned a key in the hole and I felt the whole object purr beneath me, creating a pleasing roar. I couldn't deny how smooth it felt beneath me, like the magic I used and harnessed all too well.
"It's a car… I don't suppose you have them back where you live either, huh? Well, it's how we get to places. Mostly." She explained, gripping a peculiar wheel in front of her which somehow managed to steer where the "car" went. At first I felt sick at the peculiar motion, like I was floating on the road ahead. It also made me feel sleepy, and before I could control myself, I found myself closing my eyes and resting my head against the window of the car.
It felt like it had only been a few minutes, and suddenly the machine stopped moving and the world stopped moving also. I groggily opened my eyes, the familiar ache of the too-tight handcuffs on my wrists making me glare purposefully at the building before us. I was removed from the car and more "guards" joined us, and I found myself being escorted into the building.
It was alive with people all in the same uniform with the same seeming intentions, running around with purpose and direction. One guard swiped a box near the glass door and it slid open, and then we were in. We passed by blurs of unusual sights and sounds, from magical cubes that had changing images with each click of a small sphere, too larger cubes that seemed to do the same thing. There was one room we passed by, that had four guards stood outside of it. The sign on the door read, "High threat within, do not enter". A formidable feeling chilled me, as if I somehow knew of what was behind it, yet I didn't. Finally, we stopped at a small, whitewashed room. Within it was a tall figure dressed in all black leather, with a strange assumable weapon attached to his belt. He had a patch over one eye, which gave me another pang of sadness as it reminded you of the Allfather. Clint and Natasha entered behind, and they both nodded to me and then to the stranger before me. He furrowed his eyebrows, staring at me intently.
"What do we have here?" He asked, his gruff voice making me flinch. He chuckled at that, before nodding to the guards as they unshackled me. I rubbed my sore wrists, casting him a grateful glance.
"This is Sigyn; she landed to Earth in a similar fashion to you-know-who." Clint explained, and immediately your interest spiked. Who was you-know-who? Fury noticed, smirking as he turned his attention to the pair behind you.
"She doesn't know about him yet?" He asked. They shook their heads, and I felt frustration sear through my brain as they refused to quell my thirst for knowledge, the thirst for my curiousity to be waned.
"Well, miss Sigyn, you're not alone, I can tell you that. I am Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. I have a horde of questions that require your response, but my estimate is that you're tired. We have a ward, sectioned off from the rest of the building. It's unmonitored, but is guarded. Would you agree to staying there, at least for tonight? Natasha will come and wake you in the morning, but we won't force you to get up. You can leave of your own free will, alert the guard and you'll be escorted to my office, right here." He explained. I struggled to take in all that he said in such a quick manner, but I gathered the gist of it. A yawn escaped me, and I nodded gratefully. I would have slept anywhere for I was so exhausted.
"I should very much like that, thank you. But first, I must ask; who is this other that you speak of? My curiousity does eat away at me." I asked, as politely as I could. He considered it a moment, even looking to Natasha and Clint for their silent opinions. Hope began to fill me, as I wondered the possibilities of the other one who had landed themselves here, literally. There was one possibility that I could think of, and it made my heart flutter, but I chose to ignore it for fear of disappointment.
"We can take you there to meet him yourself now, if you want." He offered, to which I nodded eagerly. The guards surrounded you once again as Fury led the way out of the office, returning to the mysterious door with the warning sign you had observed previously.
"I will warn you, he enjoys messing with your head. Plus, he can be pretty cool. We have monitors on him at all times, and if you feel uncomfortable at any point simply shout for assistance. We'll be right out here. And no funny business; just because you're not shackled doesn't mean we trust you all of a sudden. You can thank the prisoner you're about to visit for the lack of trust." Fury said dismissively. I nodded uneasily as the doors slid open, and stepped inside. I was in a small corridor, lit up in an eerie red light which bathed my skin. Then, another door opened to reveal a huge room with a glass room within it; a glass cage, I felt. Nothing could prepare me for who I saw next, as the door hiding me from him closed shut behind me. I completely ignored the two guards on either side of the door, stopping dead still near the cage.
The figure was familiar yet a total stranger at the same time, and it made my heart break to see it that way, knowing what was so different with a taste of horror. He snapped his attention to me when he heard the door close, and so my heart stopped.
"Loki." I breathed, my "stopped" heart suddenly pounding in my chest with such ferocity I thought it would explode out of it. The dark circles under his eyes made him look aged and weary, and the scars and bruises that covered his face made my heart shatter repeatedly.
"S-Sigyn?" He asked incredulously, mouth wide as his eyes were. I stepped hastily to the glass, and he did the same.
"Oh Loki… what have you done?" I asked sadly, pressing a hand to the glass. I had heard of his crimes against humanity, but it was so strange to see the consequences of his actions. Part of me knew he deserved it, but the part of me that had spent my entire childhood through to adulthood with that same criminal made me want to weep for the outcome.
"What in Odin's name are you doing here?" He asked, avoiding your soft sighs.
"My father finally gave up on me and pushed me off of the bridge whilst I was distracted." I said bitterly, biting my lip and looking at the ground. He stared at my hand, before gingerly placing his hand on the same place of the glass on his side. Even through the glass, I felt the connection, two separate forces of magic entwining.
"I so sorely missed you, dearest friend. Do you remember all the times we used to spend those little dances your mother held together, dancing and pretending like we wanted to be there?" I asked, a small smile cracking over my lips. His cut lip managed to stretch into a smile, even though it barely touched his emerald eyes.
"How could I ever forget? They're one of the only memories I hold of Asgard that no longer sours the taste in my mouth." He said. "What do you mean by saying that your father gave up on you?" He asked, cocking his head. I bit my lip, all of a sudden shy to tell him.
"Well, I was… I was defending your honour." I admitted, brushing a hand through my hair self-consciously. He raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Well, I must say I am flattered." He said, with a smile. I curtseyed, before tiredly yawning again.
"You look weary, old friend."
"Do not call me old, unless you want to first-handily witness the darker magic I have been practising." I threatened, curling my fingers along the glass before stepping back, a grin on my face. He rolled his eyes, and I felt natural again, like I was home once more.
"I advise you get sleep, and answer Fury's relentless inquisitions tomorrow. Then perhaps he might allow you to visit me with more frequency. Things do get rather boring when you stare at blank walls all day everyday." He said, and you nodded as you turned to walk away.
"I bid you a fond goodnight, Loki." I said. That goodnight contained so much more than just an innocent goodbye. It held a promise, it held an apology, and it held a confession. As I stalked out of the room and then out back to meet Fury and Natasha, all I could think of was how utterly defeated Loki looked, despite the fierce expression he held. I was then hastily escorted to the private room, greatly comforted that it was only a short walk from where Loki stayed.
"For security reasons, guards are situated outside of the door, and you are not to leave the premises without being accompanied by those guards."
"I'm a prisoner." I stated; it wasn't a question. Fury shrugged, offering no comfort to me whatsoever. Then, he swiped a card along a box next to the glass door, and it slid shut. I wished I knew how to teleport using your magic, but there was only so much an adept like me could do. I laid down on the admittedly comfortable bed that had already been prepared for an arrival, and pulled the covers around me. I did not trust the system in place at the building, so I slept in my dress. I clicked my fingers and the lights turned out, and I grinned as I closed my eyes. I still had my edge. Images of Loki's battered, bruised and broken face danced behind my eyes, his whispers from old and newer memories echoing in my ears, serenading me to sleep.
Hope to see you soon for Chapter 2! Let me know what you thought.