Chapter 14

September 22

"What happened?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" We had landed on a pebbled bed of grey sand and Loki was furious. "Why did you not activate the sigil? What went wrong?!"

"It disappeared right in front of me," I gasped, "I don't know what went wrong, it just turned to smoke!"

He seemed satisfied enough with this explanation, not that he was in any better mood, only that he at least believed that what I was saying was true.

"It can occur sometimes," Loki said more to himself than anyone else, "the gate has been sealed for anyone entering or leaving. This must have been put into place after the Destroyer's attack. We were pulled back into another realm, but which one I am not currently sure…"

A tinge of fear crept into my chest upon hearing these words. How can Loki not be sure of where we were? Would I ever see my home again? And, how many realms were there? A short glance at our surroundings did nothing to calm my nerves. This realm, or wherever we were, somehow managed to look more desolate and unforgiving than Jotenheim!

It took a while for us to fully regain our bearings, that is to say, the dizzying whirlwind of the slipstream portal made me feel a little sick, but if it had a similar effect on Loki, he was not showing it. Fortunately for me, this world was warmer- much warmer- than Jotenheim ever felt. The lack of biting chill, wind, and jagged peaks made this place seem almost hospitable, but still a far cry from Earth. Tired of all the guesswork, I finally just asked if Loki had any ideas of where we could possibly be.

"A meteor of course," he paused, startled by my expression, "what? I thought you knew that much about our situation."

"A meteor? How could we have... how did we... how are we breathing... Wait, how do you know?"

He laughed, "Something about the rocks maybe, or the soil, or perhaps... I have been here before..."

"You've been here before? When? Where are we?"

"That is none of your concern human," echoed a deep voice from behind the rocks.

Loki froze, a pained expression darkened his face, as if he knew exactly to whom this voice belonged. "Hello old friend," came his hesitant response.

The creature, if that is what one could call it, shifted from his hiding space and came into the clearing where we stood. In short, I had never seen anything resembling the being that now towered before us, but given the sheer number of unique and terrifying things I have encountered since leaving Earth, this statement now carries very little weight. He was large, I have said as much, but not brutish. Quite the opposite, his demeanor was calm and reserved, and his massive, squarish face wore an expression of deep otherworldly intelligence. Loki on the other hand seemed to radiate with intimidation, although he did his best to hide it. If I once thought he was the master of all magical knowledge and power, this new creature was, more appropriately, the king.

"It has been some time, friend," the booming voice was no less intimidating even when we now had a face with which to associate it. He stepped closer and continued, "I would have thought you knew better than to show yourself in these realms after your last mishap."

Loki let out a nervous chuckle, a short laugh so quintessential of the trickster, but the shake in his voice still betrayed fear, "Thanos, my Lord, I come with good tidings... and an even more valuable, ah... gift!" Following this last part, he dragged me forward by the arm.

A shadow of distain crossed our host's face once he finally noticed me, "A weakling Earth creature, Loki? This is your idea of a gift?"

"Not just a weakling Earth creature... well, yes she is useless, but she is a daughter of Odin! Left from one of his promiscuous escapades, the blood of Aesguard is in her veins!"

To say that Thanos's face softened was not quite right; it could not soften, it deepened. I began to have that sinking, hopeless feeling that I was now going to be strung along in some dishonest plot, working for people I barely know, all because of some power I never knew I had. Such is life.

With a satisfied grunt, Thanos gestured for us to move forward, and join him in the rocks. "You will be given your old quarters, runt, I trust you remember where they are"

And with a nod, Loki moved swiftly forward, still trailing me by the arm behind him.

...

"What... hey!" he had dropped me against a wall, "What was that all that about? Also... my last ten questions..."

"Fine, Midguardian, fine. I presume you will be more quiet and cooperative with more information. Come now, make yourself comfortable."

I perched against what was probably the least jagged of all the rocks that were available, but to say that I was 'comfortable' would be pushing things. Trying to look relaxed, I waited eagerly for Loki to begin his story.

With a heavy sigh, he sat on the twisted boulder across from me, "The man with whom we are now in league, the one called Thanos, he is of a race of superbly powered beings known as the Titans..."

"Oh, the primordial Greek gods? What are you doing mixing with those guys?"

Loki simply balked; I meant to show that I knew what he was talking about, but the look on his face suggested that my information was not only wrong, but so badly inaccurate that it would have been better if I knew nothing at all on the subject.

"No, ah..." he hesitated, "I shall never understand where you humans gain your information...well, perhaps this was how the Titans appeared to you. Well then, let me continue," he gave a sharp nod, imploring me not to interrupt on this rare occasion when he is taking the time to educate me.

"Sorry," I added, "Go on."

"Yes, well, the Titans are an ancient race, and a somewhat deviant one," Loki glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was not overheard, "but Thanos in particular is unusually dangerous."

These words had, in some miraculous way, made Loki appear exceedingly small, almost childlike. To hear such a supernaturally powerful and vengeful being as Loki speak of another alien as being 'dangerous' left me in awe of the true gravity of the situation.

"How is Thanos dangerous?"

"It is said, among the ancient legends, that Thanos the Titan had fallen deeply in love with the goddess of Death itself, and sought to slaughter the universe only to appease her..." his voice trailed off into the thin chill of the night air, almost as if Loki was admiring such selfish destruction!

"So, big bad guy wants to destroy the universe? Wow, it seems so typical...what else is new?" I stopped short, "Wait, that's not what you want is it?"

"No, heh," he chuckled, "I simply want to rule it."

"Oh, well, that's much better," I said with a tinge of sarcasm. "Anyway, you were saying, about Thanos..."

"Yes, yes. He is, in my humble but often well-informed opinion, one of the most dangerous creatures in the universe. I was somewhat crass when I fell into alliance with him for the first time. I knew he was powerful, yes, but his full motivations did not become quite clear to me until it was too late. Now I do not make many mistakes, mark my words Midguardian, but if there is one thing I wish I could have done differently...perhaps I could have stopped him. He will undoubtedly continue his plans of death and destruction, and given what has been prophesied for me when the end times come, I am just as reluctant to help him as I expect you are. I want you to understand these things, and heed them well. You are not as useless a human as I often claim, and with our wits intact, we may both make it out of Thanos's hellscape unscathed. Even better if I can prevent him from obtaining a single stone..."

The final sentence was muttered more to himself than anyone else, steeped in regret but also heavy with mystery.

"Stones? What does Thanos want with stones?"

Loki jolted back from his thoughts "I have said too much. The stones are none of your concern...trust me...the less you know the better."

September 25

Trust me he says. Trust Loki? I wouldn't even know how! On top of my own confusion, things with him have been weird these past few days. Our long conversation concerning Thanos did nothing to put my mind at ease. Quite the opposite in fact, I feel as if I am living every moment in terror. To think this hideous monster wants to destroy everything in existence, for what...his girlfriend? Has the universe always been this close to destruction? Maybe I was better off before I knew any of this. Loki wasn't doing much better with the stress. Ever since we landed on this desolate rock, he has been becoming more and more agitated. For the most part, I am left out of the dealings between my original host and our new master, but judging by the tone of there conversations, pieces of which linger across the distance in the evenings, it was not going well. I often asked about the stones, not just out of curiosity, but of genuine belief that the details he omitted could be vital!

"They are none of your concern, wench!" he snapped at me after another one of my probes for information, "If it would benefit anyone involved to have your input then I assure you we would have sought it! The fact that you have been left inescapably in the dark should have made it abundantly clear that the information is as dangerous as Thanos himself!"

That stung. If I'm being completely honest with myself, I would have to say that things were so much better when it was just Loki and I on Jotenheim...when he was not nearly so tormented by the prospect of imminent doom, and I was just beginning to warm up to his good side. Now I'm as trapped with him as I ever was, and everyone is stressed to their breaking point. How many times have I told myself 'I can't take it anymore'? How many times have I thought that I had finally reached the limit of my resolve? Well, Loki has been dishonest in the past, is currently trying to scare me out of asking for questions, and he is helping the destroyer of the universe whether he says he wants to or not! To think, he wanted me to believe he was protecting me from something dangerous. What if they really are working together...and he still wants to wage war on Aesguard? I don't know how I let him drag me through this emotional roller coaster this long, but I was not going to take it anymore...

"I'm not going to help you," I began my ultimatum, "whatever it is you need me to do, whatever you are doing with these mystery stones, I absolutely will not be an accessory to it. I refuse!"

He shifted slightly, but never quite lost composure. It was as if something had happened to make him more like his old self back on Jotenheim...back before Thanos.

"You refuse to have any part in this, Midguardian?" his tone was measured, almost sticky sweet.

"Yes!" I wavered, "and there is nothing you can do to force me! I don't want any part of your stupid war with Thor or taking over the universe with Thanos, and I'm just going to die in it anyway, so I might as well not die helping you two."

He laughed...just laughed and shook his head "Foolish human! We are not going to Aesguard... we are going to Earth!"