Anonymous Review Replies!
LoneGarurumon: Indeed I don't think he can XD And there's a couple more surprises waiting for everyone yet, too :3 glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for the comment!
Megshinkley: Aw thank you! I try my best, it just takes a while^^° But hope you like the new chapter!
Cellis31: Here you go! Frantic battle ahead, hope you like! :)
Missing: Hahah, he does, he just doesn't want anyone to know about it XD Now that I've watched a couple of episodes, I think 13 would be a good fit for an angry Loki as well, though she does remind me a lot of 10, of course :) Hope you do like the new chapter!
Guest: Happy to hear that, please enjoy! :)
Well, here we go! Last time we had left the Doctor and Loki just getting attacked by moving corpses from the woods. Now let's see how they fare...
Chapter 10: Fire and Ice
The Doctor didn't even have time to react before Loki had already pushed him aside, full battle armour and a spear in his hand appearing instantly.
"Doctor! Stay back!" he snapped, thrusting the weapon clean through what remained of the ribcage of the undead creature. It gave another inhuman screech, struggling against it impalement until Loki loosened one hand and immolated its head with a blast of fire. At the destruction of the skull, the rest of it tore apart as Loki wrenched his spear back, bones still half-covered in human frozen flesh and pieces of rotten clothing falling onto the pristine snow.
But there were more coming, and unlike the wolves, they didn't seem to be deterred in the least by the fate of their fallen comrade.
"Protect the maps. I'll deal with the rest of them," Loki only briefly threw a glance at the Doctor and the sleigh before immediately moving toward the largest group of moving corpses that had emerged from the woods.
"Right," the Doctor muttered, turning toward their sled, hearts clenching when he saw some undead already doing the same. The dogs, still trapped in their harness, were alternately mindlessly panicking at what even they had to perceive as deeply, horribly wrong, or else trying to bark and growl wildly at the moving corpses, trying to defend their owners' property. The result was a terrible mess of leather straps and yowling, none of the animals able to get where they wanted – until it was too late.
The first corpse reached the frontmost, loudest-growling husky – Sif – and fell down onto her to bite.
"No!" the Doctor could hear his own hoarse scream strangled in his throat as the husky gave a gut-wrenching howl when the corpse fell upon her, sinking its teeth savagely into her neck, rearing back with torn, bloody flesh and vertebrae in its mouth. The dog collapsed with a yowl just as the Doctor arrived, swinging one of the logs from the fire hard enough to tear the zombie's head from its shoulders. As soon as the skull had been severed, the corpse crumbled, spilling grace- and motionlessly onto the snow.
"Oh – oh, Sif – I'm so sorry," the Doctor muttered as he dropped the log, casting a pained look at the mutilated husky lying on the ground, eyes staring sightlessly at the snow stained red by her blood. With a grimace, the Doctor averted his eyes and instead grabbed a knife from their eating utensils, starting to slash the bonds of the rest of the terrified sleigh dogs - that would at least enable them to fight or run away, instead of becoming hapless victims - all while trying to keep an eye out for other roaming corpses about to approach them.
A quick glance at Loki told him he needn't have worried, though.
(Or else, worried about something entirely different).
Loki was in the midst of an assault of undead, but mowing them down with the spear in a way that made it absolutely clear he wasn't human – even if, the Doctor mused, he was probably rather fighting with the strength of a frost giant rather than an Aesir.
But whether it was one or the other didn't seem to particularly matter. Loki blasted flames, hurled knives and cut down their ranks with spearwork like a deadly dervish, a fierce grin on his face and the magical fire reflecting in his eyes letting him appear like a wildmage, a joy inherent in the destruction of their enemies that the Doctor had seen too often in people's faces - and in mirrors - to feel comfortable with.
And the undead, now that he was able to focus on them properly, certainly looked like they had once been the citizens of this planet; most of their clothes (or what remained of them) had regressed to the medieval peasants-and-warriors-look, pieces of torn leather, furs, and rough, brown fabrics covering damaged and necrotic flesh beneath…but some of them were also still wearing pieces of neon-bright anoraks, tool belts over exposed hip bones, or even snow goggles covering too-small faces that already had their lower jaw missing.
These were the people that had been taken. These were the people that had lost their lives because of someone tampering with this planet.
The Doctor could feel his grip on the knife tighten, a rage rising within him that felt like an oncoming storm as he stared at the savage, cruel, needless carnage before him, and he was about to do something, he didn't know what yet, when suddenly, one of the other huskies leaped and sank their teeth into his suit jacket, whimpering and pulling at it desperately.
"What – no, it's alright – see, none of them is coming to get you-" he started, making an off-hand gesture behind himself, where the terrified huskies' eyes were focused, before glancing over his shoulder himself – and froze.
Namely because he now realized that what the huskies were really staring at wasn't any of the living corpses Loki was dealing with, but rather the body of their dead packmate, which was now once again rising from the snow; blood dripping and eyes glowing the brightest blue.
"Oh," the Doctor managed. "Yeah, that might be a thing to be terrified about."
The undead husky gave out a strange, unnatural growl, bright blue eyes focused on the Doctor, and then leapt forward, jaws wide open for attack. The Doctor managed to twist himself away from its leap, hand going for the screwdriver – it had worked on the wolves before, after all – but before he could reach it, there was a bark from behind him, and then one of the largest huskies pushed past him, growling at his fallen packmate.
"Oh no. Nononono. The last thing we need is more zombie dogs-" the Doctor managed, even if part of him was a bit touched – those huskies, though terrified, were now trying to protect him as their human – but then it was already too late. What had once been Sif charged and the other husky intercepted, tackling her and taking her down in a ball of howls, bites and snaps. The other huskies soon joined their leader, leaping upon their former packmate to bite and tear at what less and less resembled a dog and more and more a flayed corpse, which nevertheless wouldn't stop to try and sink its teeth into them in return. With no doubt as to what would happen if she managed it.
Humans, the Doctor thought with a bit of a toothache, the only species to breed another one to be as loyal to them to be suicidal.
He cast a glance back at Loki as to how he was faring – he'd no doubt need to put the huskies into a magical sleep, too, lest they had been infected with the magical disease too and would turn at any moment – and then all but could feel his hearts seize up, because it was at this point that one of the warrior corpses had managed to sneak up on Loki from behind, leapt and sunk its teeth deep into his neck.
"LOKI!"
Xxx
Loki…was actually enjoying himself.
Now, he probably wouldn't have downright admitted this. But this….he skewered one animated abomination, eviscerated a second and immolated a third and laughed – this was one hell of a way to vent frustration.
And it would show that arrogant fool of a mage who had managed to leave him stuck here on this planet exactly what he thought of him.
"Oh, you shall rue the day you angered me," Loki murmured, using a swing of the spear to separate another corpse's head from its body – and then heard the scream of the Doctor a second too late.
"LOKI!"
Loki only felt the impact of something against his back, and then there was white-cold agony shooting down his neck.
"Ngh!" Loki could feel an involuntary scream torn from his lungs, whirling around to blindly impale whatever had attacked him, but even then he could already feel something viscerally wrong with his body – but also something horribly familiar.
"No," was all Loki could whisper in denial as already a searing cold started to spread from the wound in his neck where the creature had hurt him, blood in his veins turning to liquid ice as the change to his true nature was forced upon him, pale fingers in front of his face turning blue and ridged.
"NO!" Loki repeated, desperate horror washing through him as the world started to subtly change colour, the snow and ice in his vision becoming more differentiated, more beautiful and familiar, a world filtered through now blood-red eyes. Loki was aware of the last of the corpses moving in on him but couldn't bring himself to move for a moment, the feeling of violation of having this change forced upon him too paralyzing. Involuntarily, his eyes flitted over to look at the Doctor, the Time Lord's expression mirroring the exact same horror Loki was feeling, the natural fear and revulsion at his true form –
Next, Loki frowned only a little as suddenly, the Doctor's face lit up like a solstice fire.
"Oh, that is – fantastic!"
"…what?" Loki managed to croak. One of the remaining corpses had been approaching him, but in his extremely confounded state, Loki found his body at least reacting upon reflex, felling the creature. "What?" he managed more loudly.
"Your – you're immune to the contagious magic! Your frost giant heritage is colder than any of this lot! Hah! Bet they didn't expect that!" the Doctor was grinning at him wildly now, looking at Loki, at Loki in his Jotunn form like he was the best thing since warmed mead. "And you look absolutely brilliant!"
That last comment was finally absurd enough to shake Loki out of his trance. "…do I?" he heard himself ask, before abruptly shaking his head, all at once feeling able to move again, the sensation of being made of living ice suddenly not quite as disturbing any more. And then he whirled around again, summoning his magic that came to him just as easily as before, and tore into the last of their enemies, felling them like an oncoming winter storm.
Xxx
"That's...I think you got all of them. That was honestly quite impressive," the Doctor commented, hands in his pockets as he looked around at the carnage. All around them, the snow looked like a hurricane had torn through it, pieces of formerly human bodies, tattered clothing and crude weapons strewn about every which way.
And in the midst of it stood Loki, breathing heavily in full battle armor, skin the deepest Jotunn blue. His red eyes met the Doctor's, looking as if they were searching for...something. Now that the battle was over, Loki looked more lost than ever.
The Doctor started walking toward him. "The maps are safe," he said, gesturing back at the sleigh he had defended. "Though the huskies are...well, Sif turned blue after she was bitten and the others are currently tearing into her, so putting all of them to sleep might be a good-"
"Stop," Loki said, holding up a hand before the Doctor could come closer than two metres toward him. The expression on his face seemed something between desperation and a splitting headache. The Doctor stopped. And cocked his head.
"Everything alright?"
"Everything-?!" Loki started, wildly, but then seemed to try and compose himself, breathing once, deeply, "No, Doctor, everything is obviously not alright." he grated out. "And I would suggest you do not approach any further. A frost giant burns with cold; touching me would see you suffer the same fate as them." Loki gestured to one of the destroyed corpses, frozen flesh splintered under the impact of his spear's blow.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," the Doctor held up his hands calmingly. "Trust me, I never touch dangerous things. Well. Almost never. Well-"
"You - this form, this change doesn't shock you," Loki cut him off, looking at him with an expression hard to gage, somewhere between disbelief, mistrust and...maybe a faint glimmer of hope? The Doctor wondered. He shrugged.
"Nah, not really. Should it? I told you, I've run into you lot before. Even been to Jotunheim, once."
xxx
"You have?" Loki blinked. A part of him was wondering whether the Time Lord was just talking so easily and unconcernedly to keep him calm, but even if he was, Loki felt like he couldn't even muster up the rage and resentment that such condescension should warrant; he was just too...pathetically grateful, because the greater part of his mind just wanted to fall apart, his entire body screaming its wrongness at him, his magic still too scattered to focus on turning himself back into his fake Aesir skin.
"Eyup," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p' again, "I think I needed some ice for a party at that time and the TARDIS turned out to be a bit...overly helpful. Mind you," he said, apparently shifting into thoughtful mode again, "Not that you lot were then helpful at all, but-"
"Really," Loki replied, voice a monotone. He didn't ask when that had been (or wonder what might have happened if the Doctor for some reason had taken him as a whelp before Odin had - not that that would have been possible even, with the Doctor being younger than him by a century anyway, he tried to remind himself).
"Oh yeah," the Doctor nodded. "Believe me. And you know, usually it's my friends who have to deal with me changing my face, so I...get it. Feeling off in a different form." he gave Loki a lop-sided smile. "Sometimes it feels all wrong in a different skin, doesn't it?"
That gave Loki pause. "…your race are shape-shifters as well?"
"Oh yes." the Doctor bared his teeth at him for a moment, also pointing at them unnecessarily. "Those teeth? Felt really weird for the first couple hours. And imagine my disappointment when I was still not ginger, again. Love the side-burns this time around, though." he gave Loki another smile, still looking as relaxed as no-one should be when faced with an abomination, a monster -
But even now, the horror seemed to slowly fading away, the panic somehow unable to remain as acute in the midst of this bizarre conversation. Loki could feel himself frown, a familiar motion on an unfamiliar face. "...you can't control your shape, is that what you're saying?"
"That's about right, yeah," the Doctor nodded. "Not like you can, anyway. Time Lords, we...change when our bodies get damaged beyond repair. Most bodies I've had, eh, there were good sides and bad sides. Quite like this one, actually. Don't know how long it will last, though, the last one...I didn't live long with that one." The Doctor's expression had shifted from jovial toward something more bittersweet at that last sentence, before he slowly breathed out.
"In the end, I suppose...I have to remember it's still me at the core and that's what counts. Always the Doctor."
Loki looked at him for a moment longer. Then he finally closed his eyes and when he reached for his magic this time, it came and was in order, no longer frazzled and spiked by his own turmoil. The familiar change washed over him, skin burning frost turning back into pale Aesir flesh. Loki opened his eyes again, knowing that they had returned to green.
xxx
"Wise words, Doctor." Loki's tone sounded controlled and wry, but the Doctor wondered whether there hadn't been something genuine in it. Next, the Asgardian had already turned and was now striding toward the dogs that had stopped their turned sister, but were now moving a bit strangely, shaking their heads and whining. Loki threw out a hand and they sank to the ground, eyes closing and muscles growing slack.
"There. That should take care of them. If they have been affected, they should sleep like the infant girl."
"Good," the Doctor nodded, looking at their sleeping former companions. Now that everything had gone still again, the fighting over, and snow lightly beginning to fall on the bloodied battlefield, the atmosphere began to shift toward slightly desolate, not even any dog noises in the background anymore to suggest they weren't the only living creatures on this frozen planet.
The Doctor shivered involuntarily, placing his hands under his armpits. He squinted up into the grayish, darkening sky - night seemed like it would fall soon, the days apparently getting shorter the closer they got to the source of the magic. He stalked off toward Loki who was back at the sled, straightening the maps and checking them for damage.
"We should go. Unlikely that nobody noticed this," he said, coming up next to Loki, who nodded.
"Yes. I suggest setting up camp for the last night further on," Loki gestured with his head into the direction they had been travelling. "By my calculations we should reach the source of the spell tomorrow."
"Leave the sleigh here, then?" the Doctor asked, chancing a glance at the sleeping huskies - this way it was both safer for them as well as for the dogs, but it did mean that travelling on by sled would be impossible - he pulled a face. This adventure seemed to be making a habit of stealing his transport.
To his surprise, though, Loki only flashed him a smile and gestured again - to conjure up four new huskies (or at least, the Doctor suspected, convincing, solid illusions of them) and waving again to let the harness of the sleigh attach itself to the dogs.
"Fear not, Doctor. We shall travel in style."
The Doctor raised his eye brows. "Blimey. You are getting your magic back."
"I am," Loki confirmed. "The atmosphere around us is positively drenched with it. I am getting close to returning to my full strength." He gave a smile full of dark promise. "Which means this sorcerer shall regret meddling in my affairs."
The Doctor exhaled slowly. He couldn't say he was exactly pleased about the vengeful tendencies his companion exhibited, but, considering the sheer amount of death and suffering the person responsible for this planet's plight had already caused, he also didn't find much sympathy in himself to attempt to rein those tendencies in again. And if both Loki and him had been human, the Doctor thought, they likely would have already been sharing the peasants' fate -and in front of his mind's eye he could already see images of him and Loki both, grey-skinned, blue- and dead-eyed, clothes torn and ragged, marching through the snowscapes of a dying planet, without aim or purpose or life.
"…yeah, I suspect they will regret it," the Doctor forced himself to say, shaking off those dark thoughts before regarding the husky constructs Loki had conjured somewhat more closely. The magical creatures were standing eerily still and waiting for their master's command. The Doctor cocked his head.
"Loki?"
"Yes?"
"Those huskies have eight legs."
"Yes. Makes them twice as fast, which is why only four of them are necessary. Shall we?" Loki gestured toward the sleigh (and the Doctor had to admit you couldn't argue with that logic).
"Alright," the Doctor nodded, climbing aboard again. "Only..." he let his gaze wander across the destroyed corpses from their battle, and looked at Loki. "We might want to give them a proper burial."
xxx
"Bestow funeral rites upon them?" Loki looked back at him, incredulously. "They are monsters, Doctor, and would have killed us if they could have."
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "But they were people, once."
"And now they're nothing but frozen flesh," Loki pointed out, feeling an irritation and uneasiness rising within himself that he couldn't even quite explain, putting a defensive edge in his voice that he didn't like.
And the Doctor, he realized with rising despair, was looking at him now again with that unbearable mixture of sadness, and worse, pity, and, worst of all, understanding when he softly said, "A being is more than what they're made of, Loki," that Loki wanted to scream.
Instead he took a deep breath, managed at least a "Spare me," that sounded defeated even to his own ears and then weaved a quick working that let the snow and earth shift a little. The ground moved, gently taking the remains of the corpses in for their rest, creating soft mounds to mark their places, and Loki tried not to read too much into why he had done that.
Time Lords. Loki was beginning to see why someone would want to burn that species' planet down.
"Well," he said instead. "I suggest getting on that sleigh now, Doctor, because after this little altercation I suspect this night shall be dark and full of terrors..."
To be continued…
There you go, another chapter to go with the dropping temperature outside :) 13th Doctor is perfect, hope you liked, and if you read, please review! :D