II.
TWENTY-ONE
ouroboros
It was quiet in the control room for three whole minutes. Every second that passed was just as agonizing as the last. While Agent Romanoff remained seated, guiding our allies to the various access points, I could not keep from pacing. The only thing that ceased my frantic movement was the grand spectacle of the Avengers. Together with several scores of SHIELD agents, they flooded the complex. They were a river, surging down every hall.
Though we heard nothing, it was not difficult to soak up the mayhem of SHIELD battling our foes in the halls. I spotted Tony Stark jetting down one corridor, bowling over half a dozen enemy soldiers. Captain Rogers fought with ease, defending a group of SHIELD agents from Tesseract-powered weapons before dispatching the enemy.
A soft hiss made me blink, and I looked over my shoulder at the reinforced steel door. Within moments, an explosion shook the room. It sounded distant, but I knew full well it was not far afield. I turned back to the screens and centred on the monitor in the middle of the bottom row. "There," I murmured, tapping at the moving image. "How many attempts do you think it will require?"
Enemy soldiers were at our door. At the forefront, one soldier was attaching explosives to the steel bulwark, now caved in by their initial effort. The sight made Agent Romanoff frown. "At least two more," she replied, rising to take one of the dead soldiers' weapons. "I guess we should consider ourselves lucky." She glanced at the air duct on high, and I recognized our fortune in the fact that they did not know how we'd entered the room.
I decided to mimic her and take up the other weapon. The firearm felt awkward and foreign in my hands, but I stood at the ready nonetheless. Sidling backwards, I knelt behind one of the swivelling chairs. Romanoff did the same, taking shelter behind the next closest chair.
When the second detonation sounded, my pulse resonated in my ears, drowning it out. The slight rattle of the firearm in my hands betrayed my anxious quaking. I glanced at Agent Romanoff. If she was nervous, she did not show it. She stared at the door with unblinking eyes, her gun perched on the seat of the chair she used as meagre cover.
I dared to look back at the screens and saw that they were setting the explosives much faster now. Taking in a deep breath, I mustered all the magic I could and prepared to cast a barrier the moment the door came down.
My heart leapt into my throat when the door cracked and blew open. I dove to the right to avoid a large chunk of metal that would've hit me square in the head. Smoke and soot unfurled from the doorway, and one of the soldiers came climbing through. I struggled to right myself and cast my spell while Agent Romanoff was in the midst of taking aim. In the end, neither of us had to act.
A familiar slab of stone barrelled through the fog, ramming down the single soldier. The hammer turned in midair and soared back into the corridor. Letting out a sigh of relief, I rose to my feet.
Out of the fumes, Thor appeared, Mjolnir braced at his side, red cape fluttering at his back. He paused to inspect the soldier he'd struck down—the soldier who was no longer moving. Upon lifting his gaze, he nodded at Agent Romanoff before smiling at me. "I have brought you a gift." He slipped my sword belt off his shoulder and held it out to me.
I could not help but smile in return as I secured the belt around my waist and patted Silvertongue's scabbard affectionately. "You always enjoyed a dramatic entrance," I quipped, eyeing the several soldiers he tore down inside and outside of the control room. His timing had been impeccable.
"We better get a move on." Agent Romanoff knelt to take the smaller handheld firearm from the dead soldier's belt. "We're not letting Schmidt get away from us this time." She took the lead, dashing past the charred remains of the door. Thor and I exchanged a final look before trailing after her.
Sounds of war echoed in the halls, and the sight of bodies laid in our path became seared in my mind. We were met with the occasional squadron of Schmidt's soldiers. Any enemy who dared to face us was felled by Agent Romanoff's swift strikes, the throw of Thor's hammer, or a well-placed magic barrier from me. Regardless of our combined strength, it was no simple feat, blocking the blasts from their weapons. Every attack strained my magic, and my energy drained faster than when I obstructed the humans' regular firearms.
We tore through a multitude of hallways, rounding corners left and right, descending stairs, picking up a tail of SHIELD agents along the way. They acted as our rearguard, the occasional pair breaking off to hold a corridor and a bend.
The three of us came to an intersection, all but sprinting forward. At the last second, Agent Romanoff glanced to the left. Whatever she spotted caused her to skid to a halt and turn back. That's when Captain Rogers came around the corner, half a dozen SHIELD agents flanking him.
"Cap, nice to see you could make it," she said, tucking her firearm into her belt. "Thought you might wanna be there when we get Schmidt to bend the knee."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," the captain replied. He surveyed her briefly before doing the same to me. "Glad you're okay."
I nodded in response, my breath too sparse and my chest too tight for words.
"Then we best act with haste," Thor prompted.
"I know the way," Romanoff told Rogers, taking off once more. "Got a good look at the schematics."
The obstacles in our way became fewer thereafter. The scarce number of soldiers we did encounter was easily dealt with, especially with the addition of Captain Rogers to our company. Against his shield, their gunfire seemed no more than a moth burning up in a flame.
At the turn of one final corner, we caught a glimpse of our quarry at last. Two soldiers preceded him, dashing through a closing door. Johann Schmidt managed to cast us a sneer prior to following in their footsteps. Before we could even brandish our weapons at him, he passed from sight, the massive door shutting in his wake.
We reacted seconds too late, hurrying towards the colossus of a door. The rectangle of metal was larger than any door I'd ever seen on Midgard, but it compared not to the grand entrances of Asgard. One thing was for certain though: it was more durable than doors previously encountered.
Thor made an attempt to pry the doors open with his bare hands, but it was already secured. Growling, he reared Mjolnir back and bashed the door once, twice, thrice. He managed to dispense deep indentations in the metal, but it never gave way.
"I can't get through," Romanoff said, poking at the keypad with various instruments. "We need Stark."
Captain Rogers complied, swiftly making his summons with a few short words.
A resounding crash made us all jerk backwards, and the four of us raised whatever weapons we had in hand. There was a massive hole in the wall behind us, dust and debris crumbling from its uneven edges. In the heart of it all stood a familiar metal man, his hand raised, mask unsmiling. "Sorry to scare you, figured this was faster," Tony Stark said, climbing over several shattered pieces of stone. "I don't do well with small spaces."
Romanoff tapped the enormous door with her knuckles. "Do you mind?"
"Sure thing." Iron Man raised his fist, and a device slid out from the wrist of his suit. It fired a thin red beam, one that cut through the metal as though it were butter. It stopped and a little cartridge popped out before he lifted his opposite hand and did the same thing, following the incision he'd already made. Once the second cartridge hit the floor, we all exchanged looks.
"I will go first," Thor said, lifting Mjolnir at his side.
Captain Rogers nodded and braced his impenetrable shield in front of him. "I'll follow."
With a mighty swing, Thor struck the metal, and the cut square went flying inwards, disappearing beyond our sight. He stooped and hastened through, scarcely fitting the crudely made entrance. Rogers went second. In his wake, I slipped through and stared, aghast at the chamber we'd forced our way into.
It was a cavern, its size perhaps half that of the hangar bay through which Agent Romanoff and I had entered. Stalactites hung far above, as did massive lights that illuminated the cave in an almost blinding light. I registered the metal platform on the lefthand side, but my attention was wholly drawn to the smaller cove dug into the chamber's wall to our right.
All at once, I felt ill and relieved the very instant I saw Loki. He was on his knees, head hanging, arms raised with his wrists chained to either side of the cove. Never before had I seen him in such a state: blood trickling from his hands, bruises and cuts marring his bare chest, skin paler than ever, his black hair limp, body drooping.
In a terrible rush, it occurred to me that he might have been dead.
Thoughtless, I made to bolt towards him, my heartbeat thrashing in my ears. But Thor brought me to an abrupt halt, thick hands clutching at my arms. "Eirlys, no. Look." Though I was incredulous for a split second, my incredulity vanished when I beheld that which compelled him to stop me.
Tucked within the cove, right above Loki, I discerned the gleam of teeth. The shine of black scales. Eyes like smouldering sapphires. It was a jorgandr, somehow lengthier and more immense than any I'd ever seen—even greater than the one we'd happened upon in Nidavellir. Here and now, the serpent was curled in the rock formations, its huge maw suspended over Loki so that its toxins could drip onto his flesh. Jorgandr venom, I realized. Not to kill him, but to administer unfathomable torment.
"I see you are acquainted with the Titan's most favoured pet." The platform to our left was a mere two yards off the ground, but Johann Schmidt stood tall, looking down on us.
"You or the snake?" Rogers asked.
The twisted amusement on Schmidt's face faded. "Captain America," he said, descending several of the steps at the fore of the platform. "We have yet to finish what we began since we were so rudely interrupted aboard the train." Behind him, five or so soldiers joined his ranks, lining the edge of the platform. None of us stirred, as we were all uncertain how they would react to even the barest movement.
Schmidt kept on, his regard never leaving the captain, "Was I not correct about our future? I claimed our world would be united under one flag."
"Hate to break it to you." Steve shrugged. "But I don't think anyone but you is flying the HYDRA flag."
"You misunderstand, Captain. It will no longer be HYDRA that unites this world." Schmidt drew a firearm from his belt, and everyone posed in a defensive stance. "No. It will be the ruination of all. And I will be there to guide only the supreme into a glorious future."
The Red Skull shifted on his heel, only to hesitate. After a moment, his gaze fell upon me. "I very much longed to take Loki with us to further our endeavours," he said. "Now, it seems, he is more trouble than it's worth."
Pure, blind impulse drove me forward when he took aim with his firearm. I stepped directly in the path between him and Loki, casting as strong a barrier as I could summon. His blast exploded in a spray of sparks, yet my magic seemed to hold. At Schmidt's order, his soldiers did the same, firing blast after blast. My body shook, both from the expense of magic and the strength of the assault.
Abruptly, the pain relented. I lifted my head to see Captain Rogers before me, shielding us both.
Soon they turned their attention to the remainder of our companions. Everyone quick to scatter: Thor and Iron Man took flight as high as the cavern would allow, while Romanoff made a mad dash towards the stairs that would lead up the platform. Rogers gave me a nod prior to joining Romanoff, his shield at the fore. I could hear Schmidt shouting what sounded like nonsense to my ears. But the jorgandr seemed to respond.
A horrible screech reverberated in the cavern, and I bit back a scream of terror. The great and mighty serpent uncoiled itself from the stalactites above Loki's unmoving form and went shooting across the cave. A throb welled in my chest until I couldn't breathe. Knowing I had to move, I grit my teeth and let my barrier fall.
Schmidt and his soldiers were firing their weapons every which way. Captain Rogers managed to defend himself and Agent Romanoff as they barged up the stairs. Unlike them, I had to stumble backwards to avoid a blast. The moment I staggered back, I turned and came face to face with the jorgandr. Norns help me. My energy had been spent, but my sword remained my ever steadfast friend.
Upon my draw, I swiped at the snake's eyes, at best forcing it to rear back. Its monstrous jaw opened wide, ready to devour me whole, before Thor crashed into the side of its head. Hands steady before me, I attempted to gather my strength to cast a shield over Thor—he might have been the God of Thunder, but he was not immune to a jorgandr bite. In spite of my efforts, my energy seemed slow to recover, and I could not protect him from the jorgandr's next attack.
The snake flailed its head, teeth bared, and knocked Thor hard enough to send him flying into the cavern wall. I made to run to his aid, but a blast striking the ground in my path caused me to halt. Leaping backwards, I looked atop the platform to see one of Schmidt's soldiers firing upon me.
"Take him down," Tony Stark called to me from above. "I'll help Thor with our pest problem."
I assented and started for the stairs, daring to cast a look towards Thor as I went. He was battling the jorgandr once more, this time assisted by Tony Stark.
Darting forwards, I evaded and blocked further attacks. As I went, I observed everything atop the platform in a single sweep. Captain Rogers was locked in a furious conflict with Schmidt, both of them unleashing an inhuman might. Two soldiers were trying to shoot the captain at every opportunity, but the struggle between him and Schmidt was too much of a scramble for them to succeed. Three more soldiers were caught in a dance with Agent Romanoff—she was dodging and laying blows faster than they could keep up with. She diverted from the fight long enough to kick the legs out from under the foe who had been attempting to strike me.
I climbed the steps two at a time, stopping to spear the downed soldier through the exposed skin of his neck. Insides roiling, I forced myself to ignore the blood and turned away to help Agent Romanoff. With what little energy I'd recovered, I snaked a ring of magic around one soldier's throat and wrenched him back until my sword was protruding from his chest. Once I threw the body aside, I watched as Romanoff ran and leapt, her legs wrapping around the neck of another soldier. The momentum flung him down, and she kicked him over the edge.
The last of the soldiers opened fire. Agent Romanoff had the foresight to duck a blast, while I used a coil of magic to avert his aim. From her crouched position, she shot a wire, which sprang forth to attach itself to his chest. A current went charging through him, his body convulsing until he was prone on the platform.
We rose simultaneously in the interest of giving assistance to Captain Rogers. The two soldiers who had been eager to gun him down were dead. Killed by a pair of deftly placed projectiles—courtesy of Tony Stark, I mused. Though I wanted to join the fray, Rogers and Schmidt were moving so fast, I feared I would provide more harm than good. Fists were flying, both mortals crashing into tables and machines, the clang of the captain's shield ringing in the air.
"Oh God." I turned to see Agent Romanoff standing over a rectangular metal container, its lid standing upright. There were a number of buttons, tiny displays, and a vibrant red timekeeper inside. It was counting down, seconds blinking. Twenty-five minutes remaining. "This is... a launch sequence," she said.
"A launch sequence? What—" My sentence went unfinished. In the moments we had taken to survey the downward counting device, I hadn't spared a thought for the jorgandr. Of course, the behemoth saw fit to change that.
Its tail came crashing upon us, knocking the launch device to the ground and indenting the metal table. The serpent moved faster than either of us could react and swept us both off the platform. Romanoff was struck by the extremity of the tail, which sent her tumbling down the stairs. I only managed to catch a glimpse of her fall, for I was flung far off the platform. I went headlong through the air and crashed to the ground, Silvertongue slipping from my grasp. It landed several feet away, just out of my reach.
With a groan, I blinked away the strange coloured spots prancing across my eyes. Ahead of me, I saw Loki, still chained and slumped over. He hadn't moved since the cavern erupted in conflict. Despair struck me. Norns, don't let him be dead. The prayer fell from my mind when a roar rattled my brain. I looked up in time to see a set of gruesome fangs descending upon me.
I braced my hands over my head, mustering my magic to cast a barrier. Even as I did so, I knew my might was no match for the jorgandr. My death seemed imminent until the monstrous creature jerked back, shrieking with unbridled rage. I watched, wide-eyed, as Thor wrestled with the snake, grappling it by the throat. Letting my shield fall, I looked upward to see Tony Stark offering me a hand. Upon accepting his assistance, I stood, and he handed me my sword.
"Any bright ideas?" Tony asked, facing the scene of Thor wrangling the snake. "How do you kill a thing like that?"
My breath faltered when the answer materialized in my mind. "We drop a mountain atop it."
He turned towards me, and I could picture the incredulity on his face. "Uh... you wanna drop the mountain on top of it? I don't think that's going to work out for... anyone."
"It needn't be the entire mountain." I pointed towards the stalactites above, like spears hanging from the ceiling. "Part of it will suffice, will it not?"
"Got it. Bring that thing over here and we'll see if we can get it to dance." He went jetting upwards, hovering in midair, before he began fidgeting with the stalactites.
I turned to regard the jorgandr. Thor was struggling to hold it down. The serpent's head was swivelling back and forth, trying to snag onto the red cape at Thor's back. Clenching onto Silvertongue, I steadied my opposite hand before me and cried, "Thor! Let go!"
Even with all the commotion, I caught a glimpse of his bemusement when he glanced my way. But then he looked upwards to where Iron Man had positioned himself. The instant understanding dawned, he let the snake go. And I held my breath. Thor soared high, and the jorgandr snapped after him until he was too far above to be worth the effort. The serpent revolved around to seek an easier target: me.
It was upon me in seconds. I generated a barrier, dome-shaped and larger than the breadth of the serpent's jaws. Nevertheless, the creature wasn't one to give up easily so long as its prey was within reach. Mouth opened wide, it thrashed against my shield so heavily that I could feel the vibrations rattling my teeth. I tilted my head back to see Stark blasting at one stalactite and failing. He grabbed the next one and attempted to pry it off the ceiling. Thor climbed through the rock formations to lend aid.
A laugh escaped my lips when it finally came loose and fell onto the jorgandr.
The monster screamed, crashing down on me once more, blood seeping from a cracked scale. It was more frenzied now, biting and scraping its teeth against my barricade. I couldn't look away from the terrifying maw above. Venom began dripping from its fangs, falling to land on my barrier. My heart jumped when I realized the venom was burning through my magic. But the realization came too late. I jerked backwards to avoid its descent, only to have it splash on my arm.
I cried aloud, feeling like a fire had kindled beneath my flesh, unable to be extinguished. My skin sizzled, blistering red, and my stomach churned so violently at the sight that I near emptied the contents of my stomach. I stumbled back, the agony spreading from the small spot on my forearm. A feeling of faintness crept upon me. I lost my concentration, and soon my barrier flickered, faded, vanished.
The jorgandr took the opportunity to strike at me, eager to consume. This time, Thor was not fast enough to come to my defence. My vision swam before me—even so, I was still able to thrust Silvertongue upwards as the jorgandr came. I felt more than saw the keen end of my blade slice through the soft inside of the snake's mouth. I drove it further, as far as it could go. The sword and my strength could not pierce through the top of its head, for the black scales were tougher than any armour, but it could sink into the precious organ inside the skull.
I made sure to back away, all but tripping over my own feet as I retreated. Flailing in a fit of madness, the mighty serpent roared, Silvertongue remaining trapped in its palate. Blood sprayed from the wound I dealt.
Intent to kill reaching its peak, the snake charged at me one last time. Before it could come within yards of me, a blast erupted above and pieces of the mountain showered the jorgandr. Stalactites bashed the scales, the weight and momentum enough to draw blood.
A flash of red caught my eye. It was Thor, I recognized belatedly, as he soared around the rocky downpour to scoop me up. We dove beneath the stairs that led up to the platform and waited for the torrent to end. Teeth clenched, I clutched my left arm to my chest. The skin was partially healed over, for the venom burned at a rate slower than my body could mend. I closed my eyes, unable to look at the wound for long. The pain had faded somewhat, yet it still felt as though there was broken glass churning under my mottled skin.
When the cascade stopped, and we were sure the mountain wasn't about to collapse on top of us, Thor and I crawled from under the stairs. He examined me first, bracing both his hands on my shoulders. "You are hurt," he said. I had never heard him so disconsolate before. "Jorgandr venom..."
"It will not kill me, it has not touched my blood," I told him.
His hands loosened on my shoulders, and we both turned to scour the scene. The jorgandr was dead, without a doubt. Stalactites pierced its head and the anterior segment of its body. Blood dribbled, spreading across the ground as Iron Man landed before us. He, however, paid no heed to the colossal corpse. Instead, he had his attention directed to the summit of the platform. Without a word, he went flying up. Thor and I followed, climbing the short stairway.
We found Captain Rogers standing across from Schmidt, firearm aimed at the latter's chest. Neither moved, both were spent. The Red Skull had surrendered. The captain spared a brief glance our way, but refused to take his eyes off his nemesis for long. "It's over, Schmidt," Rogers said, gesturing with the barrel of his gun. "You're gonna tell me how to shut this launch off."
Schmidt smiled that horrible lipless smile of his. "My time may be over, Captain, but that does not mean I will not succeed." Before anyone could deter him, Johann Schmidt went for the weapon laying several yards away.
The BANG rang out in the cavern.
Schmidt slumped to the floor, red pooling around him.
All that followed was silence.
Captain Rogers had shot him straight through the heart.
The Red Skull did not move again, and neither did any of us, so stunned we were. His life had ended so abruptly, it was almost difficult to believe that he was really dead. But, with a cautious approach, Rogers knelt beside him and confirmed his demise. He seemed rather relieved. After all, they had been locked in a seventy-year-long battle.
"Guys..." Romanoff said softly. "We've got seventeen minutes left on the clock."
After a moment's pause, Tony Stark approached the device. "Oh look, he graduated to guided missile launch sequences. No luck shutting it off?"
"Needs a numerical code, a key, and voice recognition," she replied, casting Schmidt a look. "Which I'm guessing all belonged to him."
Rogers lowered his gun and turned to face them. "Where are the missiles launching from? Maybe we can stop them."
"Seven. They're all launching from silos in this mountain." She tapped at the screen, which revealed all the information we needed. Save for how to disarm the explosives. "Those missiles are gonna blow no matter what. It's just a matter of where."
"Then let us bury them," Thor suggested. Everyone glanced his way, brows furrowed. "Bury them in the mountain."
Captain Rogers peered at the machines lining the platform and nodded. "Thor's right, we have to bring the mountain down. The bombs might go off, but at least we're in a relatively isolated location." He pulled a small ring of keys from Schmidt's pocket. "Schmidt always had a thing for self-destruct sequences."
"What? A self-destruct sequence with no quick getaway?" Stark said.
"I can only assume that's what that was for." Romanoff gestured to the mangled doors at the other end of the platform—an elevator, if I remembered correctly. "Though it looks inoperable now."
Tony sounded chagrinned. "Sorry 'bout that. I shot a little wide."
After pressing a few buttons, Romanoff met my gaze and nodded in Loki's direction. "Eirlys, go get him. We've got everything under control here. I'll make the call." She took an earpiece from the captain and began signalling to all SHIELD personnel to vacate the premises.
I was at the edge of the platform by the time she uttered her words of warning. Enveloping myself in a barrier, I levitated down, veering to the right of the dead monstrosity. As I went, I heard Thor calling after me, "Eirlys—"
"Help me with Loki." I didn't look back as I spoke. My gaze was focussed on Loki, his posture not having changed at all since our arrival. The fear that he was dead overwhelmed me to the point that I managed to forget the pain lancing through my arm. Please be alive.
Thor flew ahead, landing just yards before me. Our feet conveyed us with haste. The moment we reached Loki, I dropped to my knees in front of him. The flesh on my forearm stung when I outstretched my hands, clasping his face between my palms. His skin was so icy against my bare fingertips that I had to fight the urge to jerk away. I lifted his head gently, my heart twisting when I saw how ashen he was. For a moment, I truly thought he was dead.
But then he groaned, the sound feeble and painful. I had never been so glad to hear such a sound. "Loki, please, open your eyes," I murmured. He made no reaction, and I wondered if he was better off unconscious. "Oh... Norns, what have they done to you?"
I beheld all the blood along his fingers, his brow, his upper body. His chest and midsection sported a multitude of deep cuts and stitched skin, some red and inflamed with infection—though none of it compared to the burns on his back. Repeated exposure to jorgandr venom had ravaged his skin, most of it red and mottled and so unsightly that I couldn't stand to look at it any longer. The drops of venom must have been well-timed and well-placed; they'd sought to exact as much pain upon him as possible without the risk of killing him.
I looked up when Thor began tugging at Loki's chains. They were bolted to the cavern wall, strong and driven deep enough to keep a Frost Giant. With a growl, Thor ceased pulling on the chains, instead bringing up Mjolnir. It took a single blow to knock the bolt from the rock. The chain hit the ground with a clang, and Loki would've collapsed in a heap if I hadn't caught him by the shoulders.
Thor was swift, smashing his hammer upon both sets of chains, shortening their lengths to several links. He knelt beside me, his eyes meeting mine. There was a gravity in his countenance I'd never seen before. "Has he awakened?" Thor asked, clasping one of Loki's shoulders to ease his weight off of me.
"No. Perhaps it would be better if he..." I trailed off at the sound of Loki's muttering.
"No..." He stirred, struggling to lift his arms in some delirious effort to push us away. "Stop. Please..." The blood drained from my face as soon as I realized he was pleading. His words became incoherent, for the most part. But amongst his repeated murmurs, I could make out every 'please' he said. The uncharacteristic entreaty was enough to make my heart twist into knots.
"Brother, we are not going to hurt you." Thor brought Loki closer to support him on his shoulder. "You will be safe now."
Thor's reassurances seemed to end the frantic mumbling. Despite his silence, Loki looked all the more ill at ease, his brow cinched, muscles tense. I reached out to touch the side of his face and leaned close. "Loki, don't be afraid," I whispered. "You're going to be all right."
That was when Loki responded. "Eirlys...?"
I gave him a shaky smile, even if he hadn't opened his eyes. "Yes, it's me. We are going to take you from this place. You don't have to suffer at their hands anymore."
"Eirlys," he said again. "Eirlys, I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."
The tears burgeoning in my eyes surprised me. "I'm... I'm all right. It's all right."
He relaxed in Thor's hold then, as though he were relinquishing his well-being to us. I exchanged one last look with Thor before he eased Loki closer and slung him over his shoulders. He stood with little effort, one hand clutching onto Loki, the other carrying Mjolnir. "We best hurry," he said.
We started across the cavern just as Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers descended the steps from the platform. Tony Stark waited in between, observing the dead jorgandr. He faced me upon our approach and proffered my sword, hilt towards me. I had assumed the blade was lost, its metal corroded by the venom dripping from the serpent's fangs. Much to my relief, Silvertongue remained undamaged. It seemed the metal was far more resilient than I'd expected. I nodded to Tony in thanks before sheathing my sword.
"Ten minutes," he said, "and this place is gonna blow sky high."
"Everyone's on their way out," Romanoff remarked. "We've got Agent Barton waiting on us."
Without need of prompting, we slipped through the hole in the door, leaving behind the slain Red Skull and jorgandr.
The corridors were quiet when we started off at a run. There were bodies strewn in our path, Schmidt's soldiers and SHIELD personnel alike.
Upon reaching a long hallway, Tony Stark went soaring to the opposite end. He stopped sixty yards or more ahead of us. I could see him turning to look left and right before facing the wall in front of him once more. "I know a shortcut," he called over his shoulder. Then he proceeded to blast an enormous cavity in the stone wall. He bent his head as he stepped through, and I heard several subsequent detonations.
No one said much of anything else while we raced through the mountain complex. In the distance, footsteps resounded—as did shouts and the occasional gunfire. Fear maintained a firm grip on my heart; I didn't know how far we had to go, and I hadn't kept count of how much time remained. I could only pray that Schmidt's soldiers didn't make an attempt to impede us.
I glanced back at Thor after every few yards. He stayed resolute, hastening behind me, Loki barely jostling on his shoulders. I was somewhat grateful to see Loki unconscious and oblivious to his pain. My arm throbbed still, stinging at each movement, and I was subjected to a spell of dizziness whenever I dared glimpse it. No matter how gruesome and painful, it was minor compared to the countless toxic burns on his back. I didn't want to imagine how agonizing it must've been.
Some ways ahead, there was one last explosion by the hand of Iron Man. The cold rush of air filled the corridor. We'd made it at last.
Crawling over the rubble and ducking through the final aperture proved difficult with the angry gale shoving us back. Tony Stark had led us to the hangar bay; the massive doors at the far end had been opened wide. From our vantage, I could discern the vague outlines of several SHIELD aircrafts taking off in the frenetic blizzard, all of them speeding and vanishing into the flurry. I turned back to offer aid to Thor only to realize he didn't need it. He carried Loki like he scarcely weighed anything—from the thinness of his face and torso, I was beginning to wonder if that might have been true.
We hurried over to one of the last quinjets, its ramp already lowered. Tony Stark stood at the bottom, ushering us upwards. "We've got three minutes. This is one fireworks show you don't want to see."
Behind Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers, I climbed the ramp in several long strides. Stopping, I gripped an overhead bar and watched Thor ascend. He was halfway up the ramp when Romanoff shouted, "Clint! We're clear to go!"
The quinjet rose from the landing pad, and the ramp clamped shut, forcing Thor and Tony Stark to slide down the last few feet. I looked over my shoulder to peer through the helm and out the window. A snowstorm overtook our view—not that there would've been much to observe otherwise. The aircraft gained speed, and near everyone in the cabin jerked backwards.
I shared a look with Thor before gesturing to the floor. "Lay him on his side." Whirling about on my heel, I went searching for the 'emergency aid kit' I recalled catching a glimpse of earlier. I tugged it from the wall and knelt in front of Loki. The first thing I pulled out was a blanket, which I tucked beneath his head.
Barton's voice sounded throughout the cabin. "All hands brace for turbulence!"
At my side, Thor gripped the bars above. On the floor still, I clasped Loki's shoulder with one hand and grabbed a bar on the wall with the other. It was several long seconds before the quinjet shook violently. It ended just as quickly as it came.
"Was that it?" Tony asked, his faceplate sliding upwards. "I thought it would be way big—"
Another great tremor shook the quinjet, this one strong enough to make even Thor stumble a step. I had to clench my fist harder around the bar and hunker over Loki to keep him from toppling onto his back.
Once the quaking stopped, Romanoff gave Tony a dry look. "Spoke too soon."
She strode past him and Captain Rogers—who was lowering himself gingerly into a seat—and came to crouch beside me. Her eyes flickered over Loki's frail form. "How is he?" Despite our very recent ordeal, she seemed rather composed.
"He must've lost quite a bit of blood these past few days," I said, my voice quavering. It was difficult not to envision the horrors Schmidt and Thanos might've inflicted upon him. "He's... uh, some of his injuries have not healed as quickly as they should have. It appears there is some infection as well..."
Neither of us spoke for a long moment, and all I heard was the muted conversation between Rogers and Stark. As Agent Romanoff looked over Loki, I became keenly aware of Thor standing over us. Since the moment of turbulence, he hadn't moved, his arms crossed. He was staring solemnly at what remained of his brother.
"And what about you?" Romanoff glanced at the wound on my arm.
I tried not to follow her gaze—the sight of the burn made my stomach roil, and not looking at it made it easier to ignore the pain. "I will be well. There are some supplies I left on the Helicarrier that will help."
She nodded and touched a hand to her earpiece. "How are we doing with fuel, Clint?"
When Agent Barton replied, his voice chimed loud enough for us all to hear, "We've got half a tank left. Give or take."
"Enough to get us back to the Helicarrier?"
He chuckled. "What? No drive-through?"
Agent Romanoff smiled a little, meeting my gaze. "Not today. Let's just get the hell out of here."
Author's Note: At last, Loki has finally returned to the story! I promise he won't he absent again. At least, you know, not physically.
Here's some mythology trivia for the curious: the ouroboros is a symbol of a snake devouring its own tail. It shows up in various mythologies and is often seen as a cyclical symbol of death and rebirth, much like the phoenix.
I know I've said this a million times, but I'll keep saying it: a big thanks to all my readers and my beta, Hr'awkryn. You've all been so wonderful.
To my guest reviewer: Thank you so much! I'm honoured that my fic was your first Thor fanfic. As for your questions — if all goes as planned, there should be seven chapters left in Between Two Points. I also have plans for a final instalment that will cover some of the events in Thor: The Dark World. As for whether or not there will be more Loki/Eirlys soon, I think it's safe for me to say yes without spoiling it for anyone.
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