A/N: So I basically just rewrote the entire first half of this chapter. Most of the chapters in this story, up until the battle with the Destroyer, will also receive extensive renovations. Just the first halves, though. Maybe someday I'll rewrite and restructure this whole thing, but it is not this day! (I hope you all caught that reference.) Anyway, if you've already read this story, I mostly just changed Aryka's relationship with Coulson to fit the rest of her backstory. So nothing huge and major and plot-changing. The main events are still the same. So you can choose to re-read it or not.
"You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin shouted at Thor, with more emotion that I'd felt from him in ages.
"And you are an old man and a fool!" Thor growled back through gritted teeth.
Suddenly, Odin grew subdued. I could still feel his pain, his frustration, his disappointment, but they were muted. "Yes. I was a fool. To think you were ready."
"Father-" Loki stepped forward, and my heart leapt. It had been many, many years since I had seen him.
But Odin cut him off. "Hey!" For a brief moment, his demeanor grew furious again as he silenced his adopted son. Then he turned to Thor again, whose chest was still heaving with emotion.
"Thor Odinson, you have betrayed the express command of your king. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you've opened these peaceful realms and innocent lives to the horror and desolation of war!" He drove his staff into the center, lightning arcing up. "You are unworthy of these realms!" He tore the left shoulder of Thor's cape off. "You're unworthy of your title!" He tore the rest of it off and stepped away from his son. "You're unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed. I now take from you your power!" He held out his hand, and Mjolnir—my brother—flew from Thor's grip into Odin's.
"In the name of my father," The metal scales on Thor's right arm splintered and flew off. "and his father before," The scales on his left arm followed suit. "I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!" Odin pointed Mjolnir at Thor, and, as though he had received a physical blow, Thor was knocked back into the glowing light of the Bifrost, the remainder of his armor flying off.
Odin held the hammer to his lips and whispered, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." He threw it into the Bifrost after Thor.
My phone ringing woke me up. I'd been dreaming again. Odin hadn't been emotional enough in a long time to trigger our connection. He just…banished Thor. What did he do to deserve that?
Groggily, I reached over and picked up my phone. It was Phil. So I answered it.
"Can't a girl get a full night of sleep around here?" I asked, not really caring that I wouldn't have gotten one anyway.
"We've got an 0-8-4 in New Mexico." He replied.
"Why do you need me for an 0-8-4?" My tired brain hadn't quite made the connection yet.
"It fell from the sky." He said. "I think you'll want to take a look."
That woke me up. It has to be Mjolnir. A bubble of hope rose in my chest.
"Unless you'd rather stay here and sleep." He offered casually.
I raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn't see me. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed."
"Wheels up in five." He said, and I hung up. He was already in New Mexico, chasing down a Dr. Foster who had been looking into astronomical anomalies. And now I would be joining him.
I got dressed quickly in a pant-suit. I wasn't too worried about being involved in combat. Probably the only people we'd have to fight for it would be the local news stations. I grabbed my bag of equipment—weapons and such—just in case. Will Thor be there, too? I couldn't help wondering about that the whole way there. At least it kept me from wondering about Mjolnir. If I'd be able to talk to him. If he'd be able to talk to me. If he even existed anymore.
The three boys sit together in the small room, tossing a little ball back and forth. They're young, the two oldest only about six years old in appearance. The younger one is only four. One of the boys throws the ball at the youngest. The little boy almost manages to catch it, but his fingers fumble it at the last second and it falls out of his hands. The ball catches his chin on the way down, and he, young as he is, bursts into tears. He cries himself blue in the face. Literally.
"Thor?" one of the older boys says, very worried. "Go find Aryka and bring her here."
Thor nods and heads off, the door closing gently behind him. He sprints down the hall, counting the doors until he reaches Aryka's chambers. He doesn't even knock, just shoves the door open.
Aryka is lying on her bed engrossed in a book. She looks up at Thor, startled by his sudden entrance. Seeing the worried expression on his face, she bolts upright and goes to him.
"What's wrong, Thor?" she asks.
Breathless, he replies, "Loki, he started crying and then he turned blue, so Mjolnir told me to come and get you and Father."
Aryka's eyes widen as she realizes what has happened.
"Let's go." She says. "We have to hurry!"
Thor leads her back down the hall to her brother's room. They burst in to see a frightening scene. Mjolnir, now the blue one, has Loki by the throat and is choking him. Aryka immediately tells Thor to get out and grabs her brother. He's stronger than her, but she manages to make him let go of Loki.
She picks Loki up off of the floor and tells him to go find his father. He runs off, frightened. She slams the door behind him and turns back to her brother. He lunges at her and pins her against the wall. Seeing the absolute hatred in his eyes, she know that the creature she faces is no longer the boy she grew up with.
An ice dagger forms in his clenched fist, and he holds it up next to her face. She cries out in fear and turns her head away. She's sobbing before she even realizes it.
"Mjolnir!" she whispers. "Please don't! Remember me? I'm your sister."
For a moment, she sees a flicker of recognition in the red depths of his eyes, but then it is gone and he touches the dagger to her throat. She twists and struggles to escape, but he holds her firmly. Just when she is sure she is going to die at her brother's hands, the door bursts open, bringing Odin in, closely followed by Thor and Loki, who hang back in the doorway.
Odin immediately tears Mjolnir off of Aryka and calls for the guards to come restrain him. They arrive in moments, their gold capes swirling around as they bind the boy and carry him, fighting every step of the way, out of the room.
Thor quickly heads to Aryka and hugs her tightly as she sobs. She's trembling hard, in shock after what her brother just tried to do to her. Odin commands them to return to their chambers and remain there. Obediently, Thor helps Aryka to her feet and leads her out the door. He half carries her to her room and gently lays her on the bed. She immediately curls up into a little ball and wraps her arms around herself as if she's trying to hold her body together.
Without a second thought, Thor lays next to her and wraps his arms around her, offering what comfort he can. By the time she finally sinks into an exhausted sleep, the pillow is soaked with tears. Her breath falls into a steady rhythm that is soon echoed by Thor's. They sleep, undisturbed, for many hours, but always, the fear lurks at the edges of consciousness.
When Aryka finally wakes, it is morning again. She sits up slowly, yawning and stretching. She glances out her window and smiles at the sunshine pouring through the glass. Everything seems right until she notices Thor still asleep next to her on the bed and everything comes rushing back. Suddenly, she feels as if she's suffocating. Her brother disappearing into the Jotunn. Her near death at his hands. Him being dragged away screaming by the guards.
She jumps to her feet. There is no point in moping around. She has to find out what happened. She pads to the door and tries the doorknob. Locked. Of course. She pounds on the wood and yells, "Is anyone out there?!"
A guard who Odin must have stationed outside replies, "Lady Aryka? Are you awake?"
"Yes." She says. "And I want answers!"
The guard shakes his head and sighs. Such a headstrong child. "Odin has commanded me not to tell you anything." Not that I know anything, he adds in his head.
"Then let me out of here!" she yells, pounding on the door.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that either." He replies. He hears her groan with frustration and move away from the door.
She walks to the bed, where Thor still lies asleep. Wondering how Thor managed to sleep through all her yelling at the guard, she shakes him hard and shouts in his ear. He startles awake and looks up at her.
"What . . . ?" his voice, still thick from sleep, trails off as he remembers the events of the previous day. The realization hits him hard, and he frowns.
"The guard won't let me out of here." She whispers so as to keep the guard from hearing.
He nods, understanding dawning in his eyes. Silently, they creep off the bed and across the floor to the secret panel in the wall. Aryka slides it open, revealing a passageway that leads to Thor's chambers. They crawl inside, Thor sliding the panel shut behind him. In a few moments, they reach the wall of Thor's room and Aryka pushes it open. They stand up straight once inside, and Aryka shakes her head at the state of the floor. For a prince, Thor's very messy. Dirty clothes lie strewn across the floor, and his bed remains unmade. Aryka, very neat herself, resists the urge to tidy it up.
They head to the door and ease it open. The hallway is empty of any guard except the one outside of Aryka's room, and he is luckily facing the other way. So they slip off their boots, leaving them in Thor's room, and creep out onto the stone floor. They check that the guard isn't watching one last time, then let the door ease shut and turn and sprint down the hall in their stockings. Aryka nearly loses her balance at the end of the corridor, but manages to make the corner. They stand against the wall, trying to keep their breathing quiet.
Aryka points down the hall to the throne room, and Thor nods his understanding. They set off again, more cautious this time. They hear Odin's voice echoing out of the open door. As they get closer, the sounds begin to form themselves into coherent words.
". . . happened?" he is saying.
An unknown woman replies, "The boy woke up only a few minutes ago. He attacked and killed two of our healers."