Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Believe me, I tried. They just kinda laughed and said the characters didn't deserve such harsh treatment.
-A minute before, Holding Cell-
Harry appeared in the room of the holding cell, when he saw Loki begin to apparate behind an armed Phil even though a copy of him remained in full sight.
With a yell and the fastest apparation he had ever performed in his life, Harry reached Phil's side. Yanking his friend to the floor, the scepter missed its target. Harry did not have time to feel relieved when an enraged Loki brought the scepter down with a powerful slash. Harry knew there would be no time to escape if he wanted Phil to survive. The blade cut Grim from right shoulder to left hip, slicing his body open like warm butter, through bone, skin, and organs alike. Blood immediately started pouring out.
Distantly, Harry could feel his body fall against the wall next to him and Phil yell while firing the strange weapon at the demigod, sending him through the opposite wall.
Instantly, Phil was by his side, hands pressed against the huge gaping wound causing Harry to yelp in pain. It would have been a scream but he could not seem to catch his breath.
"Grim? Harry? Can you hear me? Why aren't you healing?" Phil asked, brows drawn in concern as he tried to staunch some of the bleeding.
"Death," Harry called hoarsely. Instantly, the shadows merged by his side revealing the figure that both frightened and comforted.
"Master. You are severely wounded. The weapon used on you has magic that is affecting yours. You will only heal if I take your soul for a time," Death said, stroking a soothing bony hand through Harry's tangled and blood clotted hair.
"Very... well. Phil... You must... leave me. Don't let... Loki... escape..." Harry gasped. His body was beginning to fail him. His vision had growing and wavering black spots. His body felt on fire but he could not truly feel the pain anymore. There was a ringing and buzzing in his ears. Perhaps his brain alerting him that he was losing too much blood, too fast, to function properly.
"Thor went after him. I'm staying right here," Phil said watching his old friend slip further away. Phil hated watching this man die. It never got easier. Harry's green eyes were glazing over. Face pale to the point of grey. No matter that Phil has known this man for twenty years and counting, it was still watching a kid die.
Harry nodded weakly at Death before closing his eyes. Phil watched as Death reached into Harry's chest and pulled something bright and flickering out of Harry's lifeless body before the ball of light disappeared into its cloak.
"Please care for my Master's form. It will begin healing now," Death stated in its usual monotone before disappearing, taking Harry's soul with it.
When Phil looked down, he could indeed see the large wound begin to heal. Blood stopped seeping out but he could tell that it was going to take a while for the gash to fully heal.
Sensing something behind him, Phil spun around to find Fury standing over them, watching. Phil never heard him. But then again, he rarely did.
"He's healing pretty slow," Fury commented as he kneeled down and put a hand on Phil's shoulder.
"Death said there was magical interference. It had to take Harry's soul out to let his body fight back," Phil stated calmly, turning his gaze back to Harry's corpse.
"Never gets any easier does it?" Fury sighed, glancing over the youthful features of a man old enough to be his father, who knew his father back in a war that was supposed to end all wars.
"No, it doesn't."
Fury glanced over at Phil, studying his old friend's features. "I let the cat out of the bag about him. The others now know what he might be capable of."
Phil gave a small smile, knowing this was as close as Fury was ever going to get to admitting that he messed up. Phil glanced at his friend, "He would have told them eventually. They have already begun to accept him as one of them."
Fury pondered that statement before suggesting a strange plan. "Maybe we should use that."
Phil quirked an eyebrow at Fury. "You have a plan. It might backfire spectacularly" this earned him a hard one eyed glare that he ignored, "but it might also bring them together. Cement them into a single team."
"Yep. Help me with his body." Fury said, leaning down to drape one of Harry's arms around his shoulders. Phil reached down and did the same with the opposite arm. Together they lifted him up, his toes barely dragging on the ground due to his short height.
"You know, he'll be pissed," Phil said nodding down at Harry, indicating a known factor about their friend. He hated waking up from dying in front of people.
"Yep," Fury said with a tight grin of his own. Harry was going to kick his sorry ass when he woke up.
See! I told you there would be another chapter. Still working on Chapter 11 but it will be posted soon. My godson is due to be born any day now and I just finished semester finals so I still have some tweaking to do. But the next chapter should be up within the next week or so.