A/N: -calmly adds more plot and Frigga feels-
Quick reminder: Madame Kovarian is Eye Patch Lady from series six.
Dead Men Walking
Thor lied. All of Asgard did not mourn at Loki's absence.
Their mother's sorrow was enough for the entire realm.
Chapter Nine: A Mother's Love
Thor walked tiredly away from the broken Bifrost, his heart heavy with the news he must tell his mother. When he arrived to find her waiting at the edge of the city, he immediately wrapped in his arms, wanting to protect from things a mother should never bear. Her tears wetted his golden locks as she grieved. He neglected to mention that Loki let go.
For months beyond months, Frigga locked herself away from her subjects and her family. She berated herself. If only she had paid more attention. If only she loved him more. If only she was a better mother.
Then the news came. Loki lived. Alive on Midgard. He brought chaos to the mortals, and soon destruction. Her husband still weak, Frigga conjured the dark magic necessary to send her first son to fetch the second.
"You bring him home," she instructed.
The next arrival did not come from her sons, but the Doctor. He wore a new face than the list. He was all smiles and manic energy. When she informed of the news, she saw a flash of a younger, darker Doctor that crashed into their palace so many moons ago.
A funny thing happened. The Doctor begged for forgiveness. In a jumble of words, the Doctor admitted to planting the idea of kingship in Loki's mind.
"I meant well, honest! He is a clever boy and could end battles without bloodshed. Could've brought Asgard into a new era. I'm so sorry, I—"
And when Frigga informed him that the desire still would have been there without the Doctor, his voice still did not quit.
"I rescued him from the fall on the bridge, but I still couldn't save him from drowning. I should have seen the signs. I should—"
Instead Frigga thanked the Doctor for saving her son, ("But I didn't save him!") told him that Loki was on Midgard, and that Thor was fetching him before he caused too much damage. Before the Doctor could possibly speak his fault once more, Odin ordered silence in his court.
Odin spoke of a way to repay his debt. "We cannot let Loki leave us, but his magic allows him to be slippery in our grasp. We need to keep him in Asgard, away from causing mischief in the other realms."
The Doctor knelt, but Frigga saw the spark in his eyes. The same spark oft found in her son's. The Doctor was plotting.
When he completed the room for Loki to stay, the Doctor smiled and left. She had expected him to stay, but she supposed he was always on the move. Within the next hour, Odin had the room refurnished with a few adjustments.
-(/)-
The rainbow bridge was still broken, but beneath her feet. She awaited the reunion, her husband firmly beside her. His jaw still, eyes hard. Time passed in an uncomfortable silence, waiting for the inevitable. A million scenarios plagued Frigga's mind. They vanished when the moment finally came.
Her boys came home.
Her eyes widened. A clutter of emotions bombarded Frigga: shock, horror, and joy to name a few at her sons' return home. Thor did not stand as proudly as he used to, a shadowed mirror to the man who once returned preening with victory in tow after questing. In tow was Loki. Bound in chains. Muzzled. Worn and beaten. They stepped away from the broken edges of the bridge, a reminder of Loki's fall from grace.
Within mere seconds, Frigga captured Loki in a warm, soothing embraced. Loki kept his eyes downward. The chains fell from Thor's grip, clanking. Loki remained frozen; not daring to move, not wanting to. Thor stood awkwardly to the side as Frigga cooed in Loki's ear.
"Everything will be okay."
Both sons wished for nothing more. Odin cleared his throat, a reminder of what to come.
Frigga kissed Loki's forehead.
"It's good to have you back."
-(/)-
There were days that King and Queen did not see eye to eye. If she were in a humorous mood, she would crack that it was due to him having only one good eye. Days similar to this (and, oh, how they existed long before this,) she desired to make him truly blind. This day leaned towards carving her fingers into his full eye socket.
Odin gripped her arm tightly as she attempted to leave their bed chambers. His grip was strong, but it did not hurt. He knew his strength and her tolerance. He knew the look in her eyes, telling him he neared a step too far.
"You mustn't coddle the boy. He must atone for his crimes."
At times, Odin thinks his wife to be too soft. Loki seized the king's crown through trickery, committed genocide among Jotunheim, killed countless mortals, and attempted to rule of Midgard. Did his wife not see this? Did his queen ignore this?
"It has been a week, I will see my son if I please."
The next words that came out of his mouth, Odin immediately regretted.
"Can you not see what he is becoming? He is not your son!"
The slap echoed in their chambers. She swept to the doorway, leaving her husband behind. As Frigga turned a corner of the corridor, Thor bumped into her with somber news.
He informed her that the Doctor was reported deceased on Midgard.
-(/)-
She stepped into his imprisonment.
Loki tried hiding it, but his mother saw through her child's facade.
"The Doctor always leaves."
Loki broke. He cracked further than before, and she could only watch.
I'm so sorry.
-(/)-
Her world smelt of smoke and burnt flesh. Even atop the roof of Asgard's tallest tower, she could not escape the scent that filled her nostrils and lungs. There was no escape from the awful truth. Her son was dead. She sits at the edge, her legs dangling down.
She observed her golden city of which her king ruled. Her living son joined her. Thor sat next to her. They watched the sun dip below the golden landscape, and the silver-white moon rise.
"When Loki was a small thing, we sat up here to watch the moon rise," she recalled softly. "I ponder what he will do the pass his time in Niflheim."
"His daughter remains silent on his whereabouts in Niflheim," Thor said. "I do hope they reconnect."
"Death has brought stranger tidings," she mused.
Frigga pulled her boy close, and put her soft hand atop his large one. As of late, Thor has been sullen and quiet. He hardly spoke of Jane or the warriors of Midgard anymore. It tore at Frigga to see her family being shredded.
"I am sorry, Mother. I tried and—"
She grew tired of apologies.
"Hush, dear. You cannot be and are not blamed."
She could feel the anger rising up in her son. Directed at no one save himself. A reflection of his father in the younger days.
"I should—"
"No, Thor. Do not speak anything flush or commit rash actions. I have been blessed with two sons, and I will not lose them both."
They watched the moon together, and Thor left for Midgard the next day.
-(/)-
Time passed as it had the habit of doing so when one wasn't looking.
The mortal woman in her court spoke in calm voice, power leaking out. She had dark curls for hair and darker lipstick. A grunt man was to her right, wielding a gun. Frigga recalled Thor speaking of such weapons and how they were ineffective against Asgardians. Behind the woman were three robed beings, of which Frigga assumed to be human like the rest.
Madame Kovarian appeared moments ago to seek an audience, claiming to be from the future. Odin was starting to dislike time travelers.
"This is a pivotal point in the timeline," Madame Kovarian said, "of which we have no doubt that your son will return to."
"Go on," instructed Odin from his throne. "What proof do you have that Loki is alive?"
"One of my subordinates has come with recent contact with your son and paid a terrible price."
Frigga stood beside the throne. Her outside nature reflected calm grace, but her insides felt dead and quiet. In the past year, many have claimed to know the true whereabouts of her son. It did not help that Odin was convinced that Loki remained alive.
"You seek retribution?" Odin asked.
It sounded like Loki, yet without proof, Frigga remained cautious and skeptical.
Madame Kovarian grinned, and something coiled in the pit of Frigga's stomach. She should not trust the woman.
"No. I seek the Doctor. My subordinate also came in contact with the Doctor. He is my only interest."
Time froze for her Frigga. The puzzle and its pieces became clear. She assumed that Loki managed to set himself on fire rather than to face the remaining punishment or that one of his many enemies got to him first. The Doctor was reported dead, distracting Frigga from seeing clearly. The Doctor built the cell, so he possessed the means to the destroy it. He had reason to help Loki, so why not?
"You must be mistaken," spoke Odin, "the Doctor is dead."
"We tried," responded Madame Kovarian. "He eluded us and started erasing his existence from all the knowledge in time and space. Tracking him has been exceedingly difficult. Yet with firsthand knowledge that he is with your son that you seek," she trailed off, letting Odin conclude on his own.
"And what is it that you want from me?"
"A joint force," she said simply. "Finding the duo is beneficial to us both. I have access to time travel technology, and you are Loki's family."
That damn grin curled on the mortal's lips. Before Odin could speak, Frigga politely intervened.
"I am afraid that my husband and I need time to discuss this matter privately. Family affairs are irksome and personal business." She smiled sweetly. "Please, allow my servants to show you to some temporary quarters."
When they left, Odin turned to his wife sharply, but she spoke first.
"Do not tell me you cannot feel it. They practically radiate… I do not know, but it is not well!"
"And if they are our only chance to locate Loki? And if the Doctor is responsible for his escape, he needs to be punished as well."
"You speak the truth," Frigga supposed. "We need to see the evidence. Intangible words do Asgard no good."
-(/)-
A frail, cloaked woman entered the court, carried by the grunt man accompanying Madame Kovarian. Her bruised knees hit the throne room floor.
"Remove the hood," instructed Madame Kovarian.
The grunt pulled away the victim's cloak. The reveal sent shock escaping Frigga's throat.
It wasn't the disheveled, scarred flesh. It wasn't the singed patches of hair on her scalp. Frigga had breathed war before, even before her time as Asgard's queen. The victim could not speak, for she had no tongue. The victim could not see, for her sockets were empty.
Frigga remained very still beside her husband. Odin resisted the urge to grip tightly the arms of the throne. What monstrosities has Loki committed now?
"This is Stellana Blackburn, hailing from Asteroid Belt Zeta Two-One-Five, and victim of your son's torment."
"You found her in this state?"
Stellanna nodded feverishly.
"Without words or visuals, how can she confirm the culprit to be Loki?"
For a moment, Madame Kovarian looked ready to slap the king, but a smile quickly replaced the deadly expression. Frigga knew her type, a woman in control of the situation.
"We possess the technology to access the mind's memories." Madame Kovarian snapped her fingers.
The man retrieved a flat tablet from his upper coat pocket. He pressed a button. Out from the tablet, an image smoked into the air, taking form of what Stellana can now only envision in nightmares. It confirmed what Frigga and Odin feared.
Wickedly grinning. Beyond mischief and trickery, the adopted blood of Odinson had changed to a much darker shape. Rage, hatred, and vengeance haphazardly stitch together to form the gleam in his eyes. He brandished a dagger, and cooed at Stellana.
"Awake now, are we? Good, good. This will only hurt a little." A deep chuckle echoed from his lips. "Well, I am known for lying."
Frigga turned her head away from the image, not being able to bare more of it. She saw the Stellana crumpled helplessly into a ball on the floor.
"Cease playing it," Frigga ordered. "We have seen enough."
Madame Kovarian nodded, and the man pressed a button, stopping it.
"What is Loki's connection to the Doctor?" Odin asked.
"On the planet my subordinate was stationed, she witnessed the two together. We can play—"
"It is unnecessary," said Frigga.
Striking an alliance to find them felt wrong. Yet they needed each other, and Frigga desperately wanted her son back in her home.
-(/)-
Madame Kovarian survived the timeline created by River Song failing to kill the Doctor. She remembered it in its entirety. Knowing the Doctor to be a tricky demon, and most likely ready to erase his existence if he survived, she prepared herself. Using technology from the time agency and the Silence, they were able to contain the memories of the Doctor while others forgotten the Time Lord.
The Silence was determined. The fate of the universe, all of the universes, relied on the Doctor dying. Madame Kovarian was to do whatever needed to ensure that they found the Doctor. Even if it meant harming one of their own and tweaking her memories.
-(/)-
Making a visit from Midgard, Thor met with his mother in the garden. She sniffed the rose bushes, breathing in the sweet scent. There were moon-roses. White until touched, then becoming a luminescent blue. They reminded her of her younger son. She smiled at Thor's approach.
Thor marveled at the joy and woe his mother could possess simultaneously.
"Loki is alive."
Thor brightened with joy, becoming the sun of her world. He soon had his mother in a bear tight hug before releasing her.
"This is great!" His voice boomed. "Why so sullen?"
She sighed and shook her head. Another mystery to his mother.
"I am afraid his demons grip him even tighter. They suffocate him," she said softly.
"Then we must save him."
Thor spoke without hesitation, as if it were the simplest and obvious thing. To him, it was. Loki needed saving. That was that. Frigga loved him all the more for it.
"He travels throughout time and space with the Doctor. It will not be easy," she warned.
Thor laughed. "More great news if the Doctor lives. When shall we start searching for them?"
Frigga shook her head, and Thor became curious.
"My sources recommend staying on Midgard to seek the Doctor. He does not stray far from that realm for long. I suggest enlisting the assistance of the warriors there. Find your brother."
Thor became smiles, happy to know his brother escaped death. Frigga did not dare tell him of the true demon Loki had become.
"It will be done. I will not fail this time. I promise you my life."
-(/)-
The threads are woven, tighter and tighter, fraying at the ends.