Chapter XXVII

"Nothing else matters "

Tony woke up precisely 9 days later to seven faces in the room. Five of those faces were angry as hell, one was sad and the last one was without a particular expression. However, as Tony adjusted his eyes to the light in the room he realized there was no face he longed to see. Before he managed to open his mouth, a battle of screams erupted in the room.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

"What the hell were you thinking, Tony?!"

"I could kill you myself for pulling such a stupid shit!"

"You are the biggest idiot that walks this ground!"

"It was a dangerous thing to do, friend Tony."

Finally, when the voices tuned out, or perhaps Tony muted them in his mind, he opened his mouth and voiced his thoughts.

"Where is he?" His eyes crossed with Eir and Nebula. None of the women were looking him in the eye. That wasn't a good sign. "Where's Loki?"

"I apologize, Consort Stark," Eir still didn't meet his eyes and her voice was full of sorrow. "I couldn't bring prince Loki back to life. I failed my duty to you and I will face whatever punishment you set out for me."

Tony dismissed the second part of her answer and instead focused on the most important thing.

I couldn't bring prince Loki back to life.

He's still dead.

He's not coming back.

Tony wanted to cry, but his eyes had no more tears left. He wanted to scream but his voice was too quiet. He wanted to rip his own heart out but it felt as if it wasn't in his chest anymore. He was empty, like a shell.

People were talking to him and above him, but Tony kept staring at Eir with emptiness written all over his face.

"I'm truly sorry, Consort Stark, " Eir repeated herself.

"I thought that… what went wrong?" He asked, moving up to sit on the bed. Suddenly all his friends stopped their screams and focused on Tony's movements. Stark paid them no mind. "Eir?"

"I cannot determine what caused my failure, Consort Stark," she moved closer to him, Nebula hot on her heels. She acted as if she's protecting her. But from who? Tony? Or his friends? What had happened here when he was asleep? Did Thor state some horrible punishment for Eir? Oh hell no. Tony won't let them hurt her. "I deeply apologize."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Tony asked hopefully, as he tried to stand from the bed.

As if on a call, the five of his friends began their shouting contest once more. Stark muted them in his head and tried to stand up again, only to be pushed back on the bed by the muscular arms of Rhodey. Stark only glared at him murderously and tried to stand up once more. However, James was a tad stronger than him and he had the support of a very angry Pepper, Bruce, Steve, and Thor. Tony couldn't match them all even on his best days.

"Move once again and I'll handcuff you to the bed with the furry handcuffs you used to keep under your bed," James warned him, pushing him on the mattress. Tony huffed annoyed but stayed in his place. "You're stupid, Tone! What if Eir wouldn't be able to bring you back to life, huh? Did you even think about it?! Did you fucking think about me?! We're family, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I trusted Eir," Tony tried to reason with him. "I knew that I will make it back. I wasn't really dead."

"You were," Bruce joined the heated discussion. "Tony, your heart stopped for over an hour. That means death for a human. I was giving you CPR for the time being. I still don't know how you survived."

"How did you even know…"

"Hmm… the fact that you forget we still have permanent access to the tower astounds me," Bruce replied angrily. "Loki never changed it and neither did you. I came here to talk and check upon you and found you lying in a heap of your blood with Eir chanting something above you. Nebula told me everything."

Tony sent his friend a betraying look.

"I ordered FRIDAY to call the rest of them," he continued, sitting at the edge of the bed. Bruce placed his palm on Tony's knee and patted it. "I know you're hurting and you have a right to. You're mourning for Loki and that's ok. You loved… you love him. It's ok to cry for him. We're here for you. Just let yourself mourn for Loki, Tony."

"He's not dead. Ok, he's dead now, but he won't be soon," Tony stated firmly and pushed Bruce's hand off his knee and stood up again. This time, neither of them tried to stop him. With wobbling legs, he managed to succeed only to falter on his legs and if it wasn't for Thor's quick reflexes, he'd meet the floor with his face. When he regained some control over his body, he pushed himself off Thor and walked towards Eir. "Is there any other way to bring him back?"

Before Eir had a chance to open her mouth, Thor walked closer to him and placed his big hand on Tony's shoulder. Strangely it wasn't as painful as before. Maybe the big guy finally learned how to measure his strength when it comes to mortals?

"My friend, I wish for nothing more but to see my brother alive," his voice was unnaturally light, almost a whisper full of consolation. "Alas, I do not think it is possible to bring him back from Death's grasp. We must say our words of goodbye to him. If there was a way to bring him back I would be the first one to help you with this, but I know none magician that can wield such dark magic. He would have to be powerful and connected to Yggdrasil. There were only five people I knew connected to its magic. Loki, our parents, Heimdall and Alvis, the old teacher of mother and Loki…"

"My liege…" Eir suddenly gasped and raised her head at both of them. A small smile crept onto her face and a spark lit in her green eyes. She came up with something. "I was such a fool! You have only a little access to Yggdrasil's magic, Consort Stark, just like me. But there are creatures that have full access to it. Creatures that can wield its power to their likes. I was such a fool… I apologize for endangering your life, Consort Stark."

"Don't worry about it, Eir," he reassured her. "I've survived worse. Tell me more about this."

"I am not certain if Alvis still lives after the snap, but if he does… he is the one that can bring Prince Loki back to life," well if Tony grabbed her and pressed to his chest from joy, no one could blame him. When he released her from his arms, he ordered FRIDAY to prepare him a suit with the adjustments for space travel.

The screams erupted in the room once more, but Tony didn't give a damn over them. Sure, they were worried about him and his sanity, but they couldn't do anything about it. Tony was too determined to bring Loki back to life, even for the price of his own life.

The preparation for the space travel took two more days only because Bruce wanted to be absolutely sure that Tony's health was perfect. Once assured, the team defeated and agreed to travel. However, this time they decided to join him in his stupid mission. Bruce, James, Eir, Nebula, Thor, and Tony. Well, it was a dream team. James refused to let go of Tony for even a second for two days. He was afraid his friend will pull some stupid stunt once more. Bruce shared his opinion, so they didn't leave the penthouse. Like, what did they think he would do? Kill himself? There was a chance to get Loki back, Tony will do everything to survive.

When the time came, the six of them were standing in the middle of the deck in the tower. They were huddling close to Thor, who thanks to the Stormbreaker could take them to Alfheim. Apparently, this Alvis was some kind of high-class elf.

When they landed on the ground, Tony was astonished by the power of Stormbreaker. He needed to get his hands on it and work it out. Thor will surely let him do it, right? They were practically brothers now. Stark looked around and realized they're standing before an entrance to a dark woods. It reeked of those weird scented sticks that Pepper used to light up in the living room when they were dating. Tony felt sick with the smell.

"It's the scent of a barrier," Eir explained as she moved forward. "This is a sacred place, not everyone can walk in. Only those who possess seidr. King Thor, Consort Stark, and I. The three of you must await our return here. If you try to trespass the woods, you will meet your punishment from the ghosts of the old sacred. King Thor," she turned to him and bowed her head. "If you allow, I will lead us to Alvis's home."

"Very well, Eir. Led us."

And so they stepped into the dark woods. When Tony turned around three steps into the woods, he realized that he cannot see his friends anymore. Everything behind them was dark as night and everything before was light. He matched his walk with Eir and nudged her in her side with a silent question.

"The woods are pure magic," she informed him. "When you step into it, it reads your needs and moves you in the right direction," she moved her hand ahead and pointed at a hermitage in front of them.

The hermitage was an old, wooden house, covered in some green bush. Yeah, just exactly like in Asterix and Obelix, Tony thought. A cloud of white smoke was fleeing from the chimney.

Where the hell he was? Who would live in such…middle of nowhere?

As they made their way to the doors, they suddenly opened and Eir led them inside. The whole room was covered with darkness. Tony still couldn't outline anyone but them here. He didn't like it at all. Suddenly there was a pair of white eyes with small green points in the middle of them. And soon, the whole room lit up, revealing the owner of the house.

The teacher was an old man, with long, white hair with leaves mixed with strands. He wore a long, white robe tied with a grey rope on his waist. He held a wooden cane in his right hand. Oh shit, I met a real-life Gandalf, Tony thought, eyeing the man from head to toe.

"Welcome, Anthony Stark of Earth," shit. The man knew him. And he spoke English? Did all aliens possess the strange allspeak thing? "King Thor of Asgard, Eir, my child. What brings you here?"

"We are in need of your aid, Alvis," Thor addressed him officially. "You are the only being I know that can help us."

"Help you with what?" His white eyes moved towards Tony and stared deeply into his browns. "You're in pain. Your heart… it yearns to beat properly once more. Your soul is disconnected from your body… What aliment occurred this?"

But Tony had no chance to respond, as Alvis placed his palm upon Tony's heart where the medallion with Loki's soul hung and sighed.

"My poor child," his eyes found Tony's once more. "I see your heart now. The threads of your bond are weaker now and his soul cannot find its peace as well. You are lost in your pain and so is he. You must be reconciled before it's too late, child."

"Can you help me bring him back to life, please?" Tony's voice was breaking with sobs. The man understood him like no one else before.

"I cannot, but I know who can," he responded, hand still pressed to Tony's chest.

"You can't?" Eir and Thor asked at the same time.

"Loki is a creature of ice and you will need his blood and flesh to perform the ritual."

"His blood?" Thor dropped to a whisper. "We do not have it. We are not blood-related and…"

"As I said, Loki is a creature of ice, King Thor," he shared a knowing look with Thor and it took the Asgardian a moment before he understood the meaning hidden behind him.

"But I thought that it was destroyed…"

"Not everything seems as it looks like, King Thor."

Thor sighed exasperatedly and turned to Tony and Eir with a blank expression.

"So, what is it, Point Break?"

"We're going to Jotunheimr."