Chapter 24: Traitor:
Mikan blew out a breath and watched it hang in the cold air as a cool breeze lazed about, brushing playfully over her flushed cheeks. The young woman shivered slightly and dug her hands deeper into the pockets of the blue sweatshirt she wore beneath her cape. She had been wandering for nearly several hours and was now walking within the deep depths of the Asgardian forest where the temperature had considerably dropped in contrast to the warmer weather of the Golden City.
The cold was more than welcome. It kept her mind awake, turned her attention on elsewhere than the dark marks covering her body and helped her forget about the excruciating pain each one of them enforced upon her.
Mikan had followed Heimdall's instructions to a tee, and, though she had at times questioned whether she would make it to the Stronghold without getting lost, she breathed a sigh of relief when she finally recognized the sight of towering, rapidly flowing waterfalls spanning all across the mountain. Too tired to thoroughly enjoy the breathtaking majesty of the landscape, Mikan scanned the view looking for the one particular waterfall behind which Heimdall had indicated the doors of the fortress would be. When she spotted it, Mikan punched a low triumphant fist in the air. 'Bingo! That's the one!' As she headed toward the bottom of the mountain, a glimmer of hope wormed its way up at the possibility of making it to the fortress before nightfall. Mikan's features brightened at the idea and she forced her aching legs to move at a faster pace. 'Come on! You can do it! You're nearly there!' She kept saying like a mantra, in a desperate attempt to cheer herself up and, ultimately, Mikan reached the bottom of the mountain.
The doors of the Hidden Stronghold were situated about approximately six hundred feet above her head. A muffled groan escaped her lips as she was struck by the realization that she would eventually have to climb said distance of steep slopes separating her from the Stronghold. In her current state, the idea seemed outrageously unfeasible, almost ridiculously so. 'One single misstep and I am dead. I am too tired, there's no way I can pull this off without using Magic or at least my Alices.' Mikan reasoned. She concluded that using a portal would be the safer option. 'I'll make it brief. My Doppelganger hasn't been destroyed yet. This means that they are most likely still buying it. After all, they probably won't even notice it. Right?'
A nauseous feeling built up in Mikan's stomach as she swiftly traced her right hand in a circular pattern while she focused on the image of two enormous doors of stone on which featured a large engravement of the world tree, Yggdrasil. Vision turned into reality when she passed through the portal which she conjured back immediately. Caressing the carvings on the cold stone, Mikan attempted to push the doors open. Her lips parted in surprise when they opened with the slightest shove. Indecisive, she stood under the doorway for a fraction of a second before entering the Stronghold whose heavy doors enclosed themselves loudly behind her.
Venturing further in the main hall of the hidden fortress, Mikan pressed her lips together and frowned slightly at the sight of the already blazing torches that were adorning the tall columns carved in the mountain. 'This place reeks of Magic. Both ancient and new. Someone must have been here recent-'
Snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of heels clicking against the marbled floor closing in on her, Mikan froze on the spot. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in fear and astonishment as a too familiar figure came into better focus.
'Oh no! Dear God, what have I walked into?!'
Turning on her heels, Mikan sprinted franticly toward the doors. She made it halfway to the exit before being thrown off her feet as she was sturdily hit by a strong forcefield. Mikan hissed in pain as her body slammed against the hard ground. Gasping for air, Mikan blanched when her traitorous legs refused to support her weight.
Mikan was trapped. She never stood a chance.
Staring at the approaching figure Mikan whispered in defeat: "What do you intend to do of me?"
Stephen was thankful for the chair he was sitting on, for he wasn't sure his shaking legs could support his weight. Damn, he couldn't even calm the tremor seizing his injured hands right now! Niflheim. Shivers ran down through his spine, unable to stomach the idea of pronouncing the word and Mikan's name within the same sentence. Ever since the incidents of New-York he had kept his knowledge on the Norse Mythology in check and Niflheim, he was pretty sure, was the realm of the dead. And, Mikan was pretty much alive, he was even more certain of that. 'Even though she may no longer be in few hours…' Shaking these dark thoughts away, Stephen sighed for the umpteenth time. 'She even attempted to kill herself once.' Those had been the Ancient One's own words. 'Did it somehow result in the semblance of a success?'
Loki stared at the Ancient One, eyebrows raised with some disbelief. He had half a mindset on strangling the woman, no matter how much it might hinder his plans in the near future. 'Forget it. Killing her will bring you no good. Mikan will probably have your head for it if you do anyway. Or, at least, she will try.' That, he decided, would certainly give him something entertaining to watch. 'Only if she gets out of Asgard alive… I must take care of this before any harm is done to Mikan. I am not done with her yet.' Resuming his attention back to the Pensieve, Loki pursed his lips in a thin line at the surprising memory it enclosed. This dusty, shakily lighted, desert-like environment he had seen within its depths, this landscape, he had only seen it on illustrations adorned by ancient books covering the history of the Nine Realms. 'Norns! How did Mikan end up there?'
"What is the meaning of this Sorceress?" Loki finally voiced his questions out loud, "Did you bring Mikan back from the Realm of the Dead?" he added somehow hesitantly.
"As I already I told you, I had no clue of what this Pensieve contained before I perused it. So, no. I didn't. I never had to. She never went there physically anyway. As far as I am aware at last. She never went there willingly and I highly doubt that she'd even realized what was happening to her at the time. All I know is that all of this was made possible thanks to the fragments of the Soul Stone in her possession."
Loki's brows knitted in a pensive frown. He had heard of several legends about the Stone's pocket Dimension but none had mentioned its capacity to make people travel to other realms. 'It wasn't any Realm, now, was it? The Stone is said to wield as much power over the livings' souls as the dead's. This could make sense, but it still leaves the problem of how Mikan could have found her way there. No matter how powerful the effects of the spells placed on her may have been, it is very unlikely that it is what caused Mikan's mind to drift so deep within the Stone's command...'
"Mikan couldn't have possibly found her way there on her own. She must have been guided in and out of it. So, I assume this is where Allice comes into play." Loki concluded, awaiting for the Sorceress's confirmation.
"It's more complicated than that." the Ancient One replied. Loki flicked his gaze up for a moment, obviously on the verge of losing any reigns on his patience, and Stephen shut his eyes close in frustration. "But there is some truth to what you said." the Ancient One added in quickly. "There are only two beings who possesses the proper knowledge to accomplish such thing: Frigga and Allice. And, though Frigga had no particular motive to guide Mikan to Niflheim, Allice did."
The Ancient One looked at Loki wearily before adding cautiously: "Thanos's and Allice's fear of Odin is the only thing preventing them from leaping into action. And, to this day, the only being capable of undermining and precipitating his downfall for them is Lady Death herself. Yet, both have opted for very different ways to gain her approbation. In Allice's case it was by attempting to free Hela, Goddess of Death and Lady Death's daughter, from her imprisonment in Nilfheim imposed by her own father, Odin."
Stephen held his breath at Loki's blatant surprise. 'So, he didn't know? Things are going to get ugly.' he winced internally. Indeed, Loki's eyes had widened considerably, his green orbs locking onto the Ancient One's, scanning her up and down for a moment, lips parting and closing twice without saying a word as the reality of hers sank in. 'Another lie it is then. At this point I shouldn't even be surprised anymore… So, this is what the Sorceress must have meant by him not wanting to trigger Death more than he already has. Firstborn… This means that he had her before Thor. But, why would he hide her from Asgard entire history? What crime must she have committed to be punished so cruelly? Did she breathe in more air than Odin wanted her to? But more importantly… How comes that this pathetic Midgardian knows so much about this?'
His hands curled into tight fists; Loki schooled his features into an impassive, cool expression. Before giving Stephen any time to process what was happening, Loki materialized himself next to the Ancient One, closed the distance between them, curled his fingers around her neck and teleported them to Allice's Mansion, leaving a flabbergasted Stephen alone in the Mirror Dimension.
"Do not worry Lady Sakura. I bear no intent to harm you."
"You make it a little hard for me to believe after you've stolen my life force away and you've bound me with chains that suppress my Alices." Mikan snickered weakly. Cocking her head to the side to take a better look at her captor, she observed her warily. When she failed to spot the slightest hint of malevolent intent turned toward her, her tense shoulders relaxed a bit. "Why did you bring me here?" Mikan inquired softly.
"For the same reason my son took interest in you, Little One. I was intrigued by your special bound with Allice." Frigga replied with an apologetic smile. 'And because my dear husband will probably make sure to have you beheaded if he was to discover half as much as Heimdall and I know about you, my dear.' she added to herself.
Mikan tensed immediately. 'And round and around in circle we go. Why does it always have to be like this?' She sighed inwardly. 'But more importantly, how much does she know?' Even though Frigga had sparred her the humiliation of placing her once again under the Truth Serum, she was too weakened to keep the Asgardian ruler from weaving her ways through her mental barriers again. 'Lying to her will be of no use.' Mikan realized defeated. 'However, this doesn't prevent me from not elaborating more than needed.'
"How is my connection with him in relevant anyway? Any Alice owner has it." Mikan stated, her voice cautiously toneless. 'Please take the bait!'
"There is no need to play pretend with me, Little One. I am aware of the three fragments of the Soul Stone in your possession. And, if your compeers are faintly imbued with Allice's Magic, every single cell of your body screams of it."
Mikan pressed her lips in a thin line and raised a contemplative eyebrow. 'She hasn't mentioned the books yet. Does this mean that she doesn't know about them? Is the Soul Stone what it is all about?'
"True." Mikan confirmed to the Asgardian queen with a slow nod of her head, "I was born with two of them and the other I acquired it when I destroyed the Infinity Gauntlet."
"Are you looking for the four other fragments?"
Mikan's lips parted slightly in surprise. She gaped and stared at Frigga incredulously. She had had some doubts concerning the real number of fragments being higher than five pieces, however she hadn't paid that much attention to it.
"No." Mikan assured firmly. "I was only aware of the one in Thanos' possession and the one hidden within Thor's Hammer. Yet you didn't see me go for it when I already had multiple opportunities to do so. Frigga, I am not on a conquest to acquire all the Stones. All I wanted was to secure the one Thanos was looking for out of his reach. And see how well this turned out in the end. He destroyed an entire Realm for everybody to watch." Mikan sighed and rested her head on the comforting cold marble of the column she had been tied to.
Frigga slipped to her knees, placing a warm, comforting hand on the untrusting young woman's face. Frigga smiled indulgently at Mikan and studied her features silently. Her hazel eyes though wary exhibited no fear. The lines on her face were singularly smooth and expressed a natural tenderness from which Frigga knew her son's heart could benefit. The Midgardian traits were quite appealing, even by Asgardian standards and, from the information she had carefully gathered, though her smartness wasn't her first asset, the young woman was far from being a dimwit too. If anything, she was powerful and resourceful enough to destroy the Infinity Gauntlet and escape from Odin's attention without him even noticing it. 'I can see my son falling for her.'
"Lady Sakura, what do you have to gain from my son's allegiance?"
"I've already told you." sighed Mikan, "All I want is to help secure the Stones out of Thanos' reach. Loki offered to help me do that."
"Why?" Frigga asked softly. "Why would he put his own life in jeopardy, taking the risk of crossing paths with Thanos again, just to help you? He was already free, yet he decided to take you with him anyway. To me it sounds like you had more to offer than he had to give."
"You said it yourself, I am in the possession of three out of seven fragments of the Soul Stone. This might as well have played in the balance." she remarked, keeping her voice even. "You know your son better than I do, Frigga. Loki is a smart man. He saw in me a potential ally and took me with him so he could personally investigate my connection with Allice. He wanted to make sure on whether I could help him study his legacy." Mikan admitted reluctantly.
Frigga stared at Mikan silently for a moment before cupping her right cheek gently.
"You have no idea. Don't you dear child?" Frigga realized sadly.
Mikan blinked and stared back at Loki's mother, unsettled by her sudden change of tone and attitude. 'What is she talking about?'
"Lady Sakura. Mikan... Allice has made of you a terrible weapon. Both capable of restoring him back to greatness and triggering the happening of Ragnarok."
A sharp pain smacked into the Ancient One's back as Loki pinned her forcefully against the wall with the power of just one hand. So hard she saw bright spots at the corner of her vision. A dagger was pressed menacingly against her lower abdomen and Loki's grip had tightened around her neck, although not enough to cut entirely off her flow of oxygen. He had no intent of killing her, at least not today.
Loki had teleported them inside his chambers, just like the Time Stone had shown her. However, it had failed to indicate that she would be reduced to such a defenseless state. 'It wasn't supposed to happen this way…' By now, she should have known that the Stone wasn't a faithful prophet. 'Then maybe… No. This doesn't change the fact that she needs to go. I am so sorry, Mikan.'
The amount of complex charms and spells protecting Loki's room was insanely impressive, almost to the extent of paranoia. 'He made sure no one but him could use Magic in this place. Clever. In a few years, with the proper knowledge, he will be able to defeat Allice.' The Ancient One noted, impressed with Loki's ability to control the distribution of the magical energy within the room, which left her magicless.
"Who are you, Sorceress?" Loki demanded, his voice was hard and betrayed a raging anger he was done keeping in check. "One of Allice's zealots, perhaps? His ally? Asgard's? Tell me!"
The Ancient One's face remained carefully blank as she forced in a steady breath before answering: "No, Loki. All I know about Allice and your sister, Nicolas Flamel taught me."
"I do not care for that, woman. I can see through your ruse. What are you plotting? Why are you wasting my time when your dear pupil's life is hanging in the balance?" Loki hissed out as he heightened the dagger's position, now aiming for her heart.
The Ancient One licked her lips very softly. Her mouth opened and closed several times but no words escaped from it, as if incapable of speaking all of a sudden. Her jaw locked slightly as a new air of resignation crossed her face. The Sorceress lowered her gaze and eyed the dagger for a split second before leaping into action. Loki had barely the time to grip the hilt of the sharp blade to deflect its direction as she attempted to dig it into her heart, transpiercing her gut instead. Grabbing the edge of the dagger's hilt, the Ancient One winced in pain when Loki pulled it cruelly out of her, letting it clatter loudly against the floor. Blood gushed immediately out of the wound and her hand, now pressed against it, did little to stop its flow.
Loki's jaw clenched as his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth for a moment, words not latching together fast enough to explain his fury.
"So, you would rather die than tell me."
The Ancient One flinched under the pain when he slammed her body once again against the wall as if to shake some reason back into her. However, comprehension didn't dawn on her face but on his. Loki's evergreen eyes widened; his breath caught in his throat as the realization finally sank in in his mind. He felt the remaining colors on his face drain and his blood turn cold in his veins.
"You never had the intention to let Mikan walk out of Asgard alive, didn't you?" he accused her, outraged.
The Sorceress' guilty expression was enough a confirmation. Loki hardly resisted the urge to wash it off of her face.
Loki raised his free hand and slammed its palm against the Ancient One's forehead. Jaw clenched, lips pressed in a thin line, her consciousness slippering away as rapidly as the blood pouring out of her gaping wound, she knew her mental barriers weren't capable of keeping any longer the master Sorcerer from getting what he was looking for. 'Pulling out a resistance will be of no use anymore. I have to cooperate or he might find out more than he needs to know.' The Ancient One realized defeatedly. She starred at Loki before admitting, resignedly:
"I had no other choice, Loki. Not after what I saw in Mikan's memories. Allice has made of her Ragnarok's catalyst. He wants to use her as a portal to free Hela to thereby overthrow Odin and kill him. You have to realize that he represents a much bigger threat than Thanos: he holds in him the power of clouding the Time Stone's predictions and keeping himself hidden from it and I fear he will act on his plans soon." The Sorceress's lips trembled and tears leaked from her bloodshot eyes as she confessed: "I care for Mikan greatly, Loki, but I am no delusional. I will not choose her over the entire Universe. Her death is the only gamechanger capable of granting us a chance of defeating Thanos and Allice." The Ancient One drew in a shaky breath, putting all her lasting efforts into keeping herself from sinking into a state of unconsciousness.
"I couldn't possibly let you know, Loki." The Ancient One added inaudibly. "Out of all the outcomes where you were informed, you either had already tricked her into eating one of Idunn's Golden Apples or you took the decision to save her life anyway. Even when you were aware that the whole Universe's fate was at stake. Even when you knew that Mikan herself would be against it. And, this, every single time. You'll always prioritize your own needs over hers and everyone else's around you. You are such a selfish being, Loki. Mikan deserves better than this, better than you and you certainly do not deserve her."
Loki flinched unwittingly under the insult and resisted the urge to punch the Sorceress in the face. Norns, he wanted to. He wanted to lose himself to that rage that had settled over him. His grip tightened over her neck. He watched her throat flex as she swallowed and imagined how the muscles of her throat would jump and tense as he squeezed the life out of her. He didn't act on it. Instead, his face twitched into an ugly expression. "You are one to speak, Sorceress. Aren't you the one who left her to die alone? The one who betrayed her trust?" He smiled, but it was cold and without mirth. "Do I really have to remind you that you are the one who sent her to me? What kind of monster does that make you, then?"
"I know." the Ancient One whispered, unable to hold his gaze. "I wouldn't have if I knew what I know now."
"And then what? You would have taken care of her by yourself? Is that supposed to make it any better?" Loki sneered as he threw her an incredulous look. "I will not ask you this question twice, woman. Where in Asgard is Mikan currently located?"
"Inside the Hidden Stronghold. I didn't lie to you when I said that she'll find out about her real connection with Allice there. Frigga will reveal it to her, Loki." her voice was fading, barely above a rasp. "She has drained Mikan out of all her remaining magical energy to keep her under control. She will soon, if she already hasn't, try to guide her within the Stone. Frigga's spell will bounce over the magical wards Allice drew to safeguard its passageway. It will unleash a dark, poisonous spell meant to 'momentarily shut Mikan down' in case such thing happens. But because of the aftermath of her already weakened state, she is going to die out of it."
"No, Sorceress. Not this time. I will not allow this to happen." he promised.
'So, Mikan is in the Hidden Stronghold.' Loki thought with a furrowed brow as he tried to quiet down that awful feeling of apprehension that had overwhelmed him. 'I can do with that. I know a passageway that serves right into it.'
Shoving the Ancient One out of his grasp, his teeth set with disgust as he looked down at her. He had half a mindset on finishing her off, but going against his better judgment he decided on bringing her back to Kamar Taj instead. His gaze settled on the Eye of Agamotto. It was with a small self-satisfied smirk that he snatched it off the Sorceress' neck. 'I hope you won't mind if I keep this to myself.' Not that he cared if she did anyway.
A.N: Thank you for reading this chapter! Constructive criticism is always welcome, please leave a review!