Chapter 13: The Dawn of Ragnarok
The army of Asgard was a fine sight. Ranks upon ranks of armored soldiers filled the city's streets, facing the ocean. Their armor glinted in the noonday sun, as did their double-tipped spears and shields.
The city was empty of people; Asgard's citizens had spent all day evacuating the city via the Bifrost. Odin was taking no chances; if this was indeed Ragnarok, he wanted to do everything possible to keep his people safe. So they had used the Bifrost Bridge to travel to a remote planet, far from the reaches of Loki and his marauding army. Any able-bodied men willing to fight had stayed behind, in one final stand to protect Asgard.
Donnie stood on the palace steps, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight as he searched the front lines of the army for his brother. Leo was out there, somewhere, with Thor, Heimdall, and the rest of Asgard's forces. He wished he could be out there, but his talents would be better put to use here, in the king's war room. Besides, if this was really Ragnarok, he'd get his shot to fight at some point today.
Odin appeared at his side almost out of thin air. "The Einherjar are looking fit for battle today, are they not, Donatello?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Donnie said. I just hope it's enough to stop Loki.
"Come," Odin said, leading him away from the doorway. "We have a battle strategy to plan."
Leo resisted the urge to tug at the collar of his ornate protective armor. His chestplate had a high neck guard which rose almost to his cheeks, and it was chafing his shell. To him the armor was unnecessarily bulky; the chestplate, shoulder guards, gauntlets, boots, and other armor plating made it hard to walk. He preferred fighting without armor, allowing his ninja training the most freedom possible.
The armor's fabric cape tickled the back of his shell as he adjusted his helmet for the tenth time. It was an almost-perfect fit, just a little bit too small for his enlarged mutant turtle head. His katana were strapped in a side holster on his right side, and his right hand rested on them as he stared out at the ocean, standing on the shoreline. Thor stood next to him, and Heimdall on the other side. The tension in the air was so thick he could have cut it with a katana.
Now he could clearly see a figure in the distance, approaching them from the sea. It was a dragon, with flaming eyes, a scaled body, and sweeping armored tail. Smoke spurted from its nostrils as it kept itself suspended in the air, and now Leo could see a figure sitting on its back. It was Loki, holding the reins to the beast in one hand and a golden sceptre in the other. He wore grey Asgardian armor and a green cape, and a golden helmet with backward-curving horns was on his head. A greyish-black fur was draped around his shoulders.
"Odin's beard," Thor said softly. "Is that-"
"Aye," Heimdall said. "The skin of the Fenris wolf. Loki has killed him."
Their conversation was interrupted by Loki's voice, which boomed across the vast space between them so that the entire land of Asgard could hear. "Odin, your son has returned!" he shouted. "I bring Ragnarok, the destruction of Asgard!"
He spun his hands, and a blue translucent casket appeared in them. Loki's eyes turned red and his skin a frosty blue as he opened the casket, aiming it at the city in front of him. The casket released a large vortex of icy wind, which swept across the land, leaving frost on the surface of the Asgardians' armor and a chill in their bones. The wind reached as far as the palace, and Donnie shivered in his ice-glazed shell. When the wind died, he saw that the great ocean before them had been frozen, covered in a thick layer of ice.
"The Cask of Ancient Winters," Odin said grimly. "What other tricks is my son hiding up his sleeve?"
"I don't think we can break that ice," Donnie said. "Ice freezes at 32 degrees Farenheit, and that wind was definitely colder than that. Looks high density, very strong, blueish color. Probably almost a foot thick."
Now Loki whirled his sceptre, and the fire dragon reared and let out an ear-splitting roar. Creatures began appearing behind the dragon, of all shapes and sizes. Flaming skeletons; Leo guessed they were fire demons. Rock trolls. Frost giants. Massive white-skinned beasts with red eyes and bulky bodies. A floating ship hovered behind Loki, bearing dark elves as well as the Enchantress, Surtur, and Kurse. Down on the beach, Leo's mouth felt like a cotton ball. Fearful murmurs swept through the ranks of Asgardian armies behind him.
A tall and extremely muscular figure with dark red war paint and a horned mask stepped out in front of Loki's front line of warriors. He raised both fists in the air and let out a roar.
"Who is that?" Leo asked.
"Kurse," Heimdall said. "A berserker Dark Elf who thinks of nothing but the slaughter of the Asgardian people."
At Kurse's yell, the army started charging forward across the ice towards Asgard. Kurse led the charge while Loki and the remainder of his army stayed in reserve.
Thor raised Mjolnir and extended his arm, pointing it at the incoming army. That was the signal. Leo looked up as a whooshing sound filled his ears, to see dozens of Asgardian hovercraft skiffs armed with rapid-firing rotary plasma cannons and missiles in the skies above them. The skiffs flew towards Loki's army, showering the enemies with laserfire and missiles in an aerial attack to thin the enemy's ranks.
Kurse glanced up as the skiffs attacked, realizing their purpose. He turned back and shouted at his Dark Elves, "Bring them down!" while gesturing at the sky. The Dark Elves primed their blasters and opened fire at the skiffs, even as the skiffs' missiles took down many of their troops. Several skiffs were shot down by the Dark Elf sharpshooters. Then a handful of Dark Elf Harrow ships, blade-shaped craft that flew vertically, zoomed into the air over the battlefield to try and stop the skiffs. As the air filled with dogfights between Asgardian and Dark Elf pilots, Loki's army continued its advance.
Thor turned to Heimdall. "Are you with me?" he asked.
"Till the death," Heimdall answered.
Thor looked down at Leo. "Are you?"
Leo nodded.
Thor turned to face the army before whirling his hammer in a circle rapidly. "For Asgard!" he shouted, as he took off in flight.
Yelling, Leo drew his katana and charged down the beach and onto the ice, followed by Heimdall, the Warriors Three, and the rest of Asgard's army. They rushed to meet the enemy on the middle of the ice, who continued their charge towards them. Adrenaline rushed through Leo's system, heightening his senses, slowing the world down for him. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he locked eyes with a fire demon directly in front of him.
As both sides collided in a mass of bodies, Leo leaped onto the fire demon, running him through with one katana and slicing off his head with the other. The demon's body collapsed as a frost giant appeared behind it, wielding an icy sword. Leo locked blades with the giant, and they dueled briefly before a swordstroke from Heimdall cut the creature down.
Glancing around, Leo could see that the Asgardian front line had cut down multiple foes with their spears when the armies had collided. Thor was somewhere deep behind enemy lines, going at it with Mjolnir. The Warriors Three were nowhere in sight.
Loki sat comfortably on his fire dragon, watching as his first wave of troops thinned the ranks of Asgard. Amora appeared beside him, seated on his lap. "Darling, I think it's time to send the second wave," she whispered in his ear, then disappeared again. She had an important job; stationed on the Naglfar, she was using the magical art of battle meditation to coordinate Loki's army, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as a single entity with the ability to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively.
Loki reared back on the dragon, which roared again then swept down towards the battle followed by the second half of his army. Thor, having just finished slaying a great Jotunheim beast, looked up to see the remainder of the enemy army advancing. His forces would be crushed it they stayed out in the open.
"Fall back!" he shouted, reducing a rock troll to pebbles with a blow from Mjolnir. "Draw them to the forest!"
From the palace steps, Donnie heard the sound of Heimdall's horn, and watched as the Asgardian army withdrew towards the city. "That's the signal!" he said.
Inside the palace, the royal strategizers were already packing up their stuff to leave. They had established a fall-back point in the wilderness beyond the city, and stationed Asgardian archers there. Now Loki's army would be drawn into the forest, where hopefully they would be on more equal ground.
As the last of the king's advisors left the room, Donnie noticed Odin grabbing his powerful mystical spear Gungnir and heading towards the palace's main doors. "Your Highness, aren't you coming?" he asked hesitantly.
Odin stopped, then turned and placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder. The old king was smiling sadly as he said, "No, Donatello. You must now walk this path alone. The prophecies foretell that I will fight Surtur during Ragnarok, and I will die."
"Die?" Donnie asked, as if he couldn't believe it. "No, no! You can't die! Asgard needs you!"
"My time has come," Odin said simply. "You must continue your journey without me. I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. Now I must sacrifice myself to maintain that peace." He looked Donnie in the eyes as he said, "Responsibility, duty, and honor are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier and to every king. I see these virtues in you, Donatello, which is why I leave you in command of the remaining Asgardian forces. I trust that you will fulfill your purpose in all of this, and that when it is all said and done, the sun will shine on a free world once again." He patted Donnie's shoulder affectionately before disappearing down a side passageway.
Donnie felt very small and alone, standing in the empty throne room clutching his precious bo staff. He stood there for a few more moments before from behind him he heard running footsteps. Whirling, he leveled his staff, before realizing it was Lady Sif. "Warrior of Earth! Why do you tally?" she shouted.
"I, uh…" Donnie stammered.
"Did you not hear Heimdall's horn? That is the signal! Come!" Sif ran to Donnie and grabbed his arm, then spun her sword, weaving it in a series of patterns. Her blade became a shimmering circle of light, and then the magic in the sword teleported them both out of the palace and into the Asgardian forests, at the foot of an ancient stone stronghold. The stronghold lay secluded in the middle of a great forest, with trees on one side and a deep gorge on the other. A river ran through the gorge, fed by a waterfall miles away.
Donnie could see archers stationed in front of the stronghold, in its windows and on its roof, as well as in the trees nearby. In front of him, the Asgardian army was in full retreat, making a mad dash through the forest towards them. The army of Loki's allies was not far behind.
Guess I'm in charge now, Donnie thought, remembering Odin's words. Aiming his bo staff at the oncoming army, he shouted, "Fire!"
The archers responded, releasing a volley of arrows. As Leo ran towards the stronghold, following the rest of the army, he saw the black cloud of arrows fly over his head, thudding into the bodies of fire demons, frost giants, and dark elves alike.
Loki had jumped off the dragon and now walked on foot slowly and deliberately towards the stronghold, following the rest of his forces. He saw no need to rush as they did; Ragnarok would come to pass, and he enjoyed savoring his victory. As Thor flew in the skies over the battlefield, Loki looked up and spotted his brother. Grinning evilly, he produced the Chitauri scepter from beneath his cape, aimed it up at his brother and fired. He'd grown up with Thor, and knew all of his brother's weaknesses. In particular, he knew that Thor had a blind spot when flying. It was a tiny area, almost impossible to strike, but he knew that if he twisted his body and aimed just-there-
A bolt of energy flew from the scepter's tip and streaked through the air, smashing into Thor's stomach. With a cry of pain, the Asgardian god plummeted from the sky, crashing hard on the ground and rolling for several dozen feet until his fall was stopped by a tree trunk.
The Warriors Three were bringing up the rear of the retreat, approaching the stronghold, when Hogun spotted Donatello at the base of the stronghold. The purple turtle had an expression of fear and worry on his face as he stared at something behind Hogun. Confused, Hogun turned to see Thor lying stunned on the ground with the enemy closing in. Seeing that their friend was extremely vulnerable, Hogun grabbed Fandral.
"Fandral!" he shouted. "Thor lies helpless!"
Fandral turned and realized the danger to Thor, then drew his broadsword. "Fear not, Thor! My steel shall strike for thee!" He charged towards the oncoming wave of enemy forces, shouting a battle cry. Hogun and his mace Hridgandr were right behind Fandral. "And my mace!"
Volstagg looked around briefly, then drew his axe. "Valorous Volstagg shall guard the rear!" he yelled, dashing after his compatriots.
The Warriors Three charged towards the ranks of Loki's army to buy Thor some time to recover and retreat with the rest of the army. They ran into certain death, for they were far outnumbered. But they had heart, furiously fighting against all of Loki's attacking forces.
Volstagg the Voluminous was the first among them to fall. He fought with the bravery of a thousand men, using his battle axe to cut down the enemies that rushed him. But Loki's forces used their vast numbers to overpower the Asgardian warrior, and he was finally overwhelmed by a group of fire demons.
Fandral and Hogun continued on in the direction of Loki, striking down any enemy in their way. Kurse appeared in front of them, snarling as he charged the two warriors. Hogun did not stop running, instead sliding underneath Kurse's fists and swinging his mace. The blow connected with Kurse's legs, and he landed flat on his stomach, his face in the dirt. Now Fandral struck, laughing as he plunged his sword into Kurse's back.
"That was for Volstagg," he whispered.
The blow was so forceful that Fandral's sword came out Kurse's chest and sank a foot into the earth. Kurse gave a groan and the light faded from his eyes as he went limp, dead.
Fandral yanked his sword from Kurse's corpse and he and Hogun continued on towards Loki. They rushed the Asgardian god of mischief with a wild yell. Loki, with a faintly amused smirk on his face, ducked under Hogun's mace swing, parried Fandral's strike with his scepter, then spun his hands and produced the Cask of Ancient Winters from thin air. "Nothing personal," he sighed, as he opened the cask and released a concentrated stream of wintery essence that froze the two remaining members of the Warriors Three solid.
All too easy, Loki thought as he put away the cask before smashing the frozen Fandral and Hogun into chunks of ice with his sceptre.
Thor's hammer was a nonstop whirl of silver, humming with the Odinforce imbued inside it. It smashed through rock troll, dark elf, fire demon, and frost giant alike, discriminating against none. But even Thor knew when to cut his losses. As he looked around, he could see the brave soldiers of Asgard falling everywhere, overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
The battle was the worst Thor had ever been through. It was far worse than New York, or London, had been. Their enemies kept coming and coming, endlessly. No matter how many he destroyed, there were always more. At one point, he found himself back-to-back with Leonardo. They seemed to be making progress.
"Leonardo! There are too many of them!" he shouted over the roar of battle. "Go! Get out of here! Get your brother, and get him home through the Bifrost!"
He could see the confliction in the blue turtle's eyes. Leonardo's bravery, determination, and willpower made him a great leader, and the mutant was an expert fighter. But Thor knew this battle was lost. Ragnarok could not be reversed; Asgard was doomed to destruction. They had been foolish to think they could prevent it. And now if Leonardo and Donatello stayed, they would both be doomed along with it.
"Go!" he repeated, throwing his hammer at the blue turtle's chest. Leo grunted in surprise as the hammer's force carried him through the forest, knocking down a couple of frost giants for good measure, before sliding to a stop near the stronghold. Extending his hand, Thor called his hammer back to him, and as it flew to his hand he caught it and smashed a rock troll's face in.
Leo, meanwhile, was still climbing to his feet, the wind a little knocked out of him after taking a ride on Mjolnir. Donnie approached and helped his brother to his feet.
"You heard him! Let's go!" the purple turtle shouted.
As Leo let Donnie help him up, he caught sight of Thor, pinned down by a trio of Frost Giants with icy blades. As they fought, Leo noticed Loki come out from behind a tree towards Thor, zeroing in on the god of thunder with the Cask of Ancient Winters in hand. Thor didn't see his brother coming.
Shrugging off Donnie's hands, Leo charged with a wild yell towards Loki. A dark elf warrior started chasing after the blue turtle but then gave up and kept going for the stronghold. As Leo ran, he took both katana from their holsters and connected them at their hilt, forming them into a blade staff. He hurtled his weapon with deadly force and velocity, and it sung as it whistled through the air and collided with Loki's hands. This caused him to lose his grip on the Cask, which bounced a couple times before falling off the edge of the ravine into the river far below.
By now Leo had reached Loki, and as his blade staff came back to him he caught it and leaped, aiming a blow at Loki's head. But Loki was too fast, and moved aside. "You unspeakable clod!" the Asgardian screamed at him. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Leo disconnected his two katana and charged Loki again, swinging his blades with deadly accuracy. But Loki was just too fast, sidestepping his attacks and then using his scepter to counter one of them. As Leo swung again, Loki ducked inside his guard and plunged the tip of his sceptre into Leo's armpit, where his shell connected with his arm.
Leo screamed and dropped instantly to his knees, grabbing at his wound. He slumped over on his side, watching in stunned shock as he pulled his bloody fingers away from his wound. Loki stood over him, eyes glittering with anticipation as he raised his staff for the kill.
Then suddenly Heimdall was there, shoving Leo out of the way. Adrenaline coursed through Leo's veins, slowing down the scene playing out before him. He saw as Loki's facial expression shifted from gloating to slight puzzlement, and watched helplessly as the tip of his sceptre lit up with blue energy and fired a bolt of sizzling blue light straight at Heimdall. Leo didn't see anything after that; Heimdall's shove sent him over the edge of the ravine. He fell for what seemed like ages before the icy water of the river below broke him out of shock.
He gasped for air, struggling madly to stay afloat. But swimming with one arm was no easy task, especially in frigid temperature water, and he slipped beneath the surface as the current carried him forward downriver.
A flash of blue light caught Thor's eye, and he turned from his duel with a dark elf warrior. Loki stood in front of Heimdall, who had fallen to his knees before the god of mischief, a hole burned through his chest from Loki's sceptre. He gave a slight sigh before crumpling to the ground dead.
"Heimdall!" Thor shouted. "No!" The sound echoed strangely, almost as if some other voice had joined his in crying out the same desperate denial. He slammed the dark elf he was fighting with Mjolnir so hard the creature's skull shattered. Then Thor leaped forward to face his brother in combat.
Loki had put the sceptre away and picked up Leonardo's dropped katanas. The blade's edges flicked out at Thor's face. He covered swiftly with Mjolnir as the katana clanged harmlessly off it. Metal clashed on metal as the Asgardian brothers battled through the forest, right through the center of the maelstrom of warring soldiers. Oblivious to the fighting around them they sought to destroy each other, hacking, stabbing, lunging, and swinging in mortal combat.
Iron smashed upon steel as Thor called up reserves from his vast strength to defeat his opponent. Twice Loki had hurled handfuls of soil at his eyes, but each time the hammer rose swiftly and deflected them. The god of thunder slammed away stoically. He was beginning to feel his hands numbed by the jarring blows of the hefty war hammer against the katana blade. Loki too felt the vibrations each time the swords clanged upon Thor's weapon. With Asgardians fighting valiantly against Loki's forces all around, Thor and Loki fought, blinded by sweat, panting and blowing, neither asking nor giving quarter as they slashed and struck at each other.
One of the katanas drove cruelly into Thor's unguarded hand. Thor cried out and instinctively threw Mjolnir upwards at his brother. It struck Loki squarely under the chin, and he reeled away clutching at his throat.
"Even if Asgard falls, Loki, as long as one person is left to oppose you, you will never win," Thor said.
"Ragnarok has already begun," Loki sneered. "You cannot stop it. I am Asgard's doom, and so are you. All will suffer, all will burn." A malicious grin appeared on his face as he lashed out with a katana and tripped Thor. As the god of thunder lay upon the ground, Loki laughed and stabbed downwards with the katanas. Thor rolled to one side; the points sank deep into the earth. He struggled to his feet, striking out and scoring Loki heavily down the side.
Everyone froze as a loud roar filled the air. Surtur appeared suddenly, erupting from the frozen ocean and thawing the thick ice covering it. Even from this distance, they could still see his gigantic form as he towered over the world. "A thousand Asgardians died cursing Surtur," the fire demon roared. "Now Odin Borson too has screamed my name!"
He hurled something from his right hand, and to Thor's shock Gungnir thudded into the ground at his feet. That could only mean one thing: Odin the Allfather was dead.
Thor dropped to his knees in disbelief, his father's prized weapon lying before him. He scarcely noticed Asgard's army being quickly routed by Loki's forces. Like Thor, with the death of their king they had lost the will to fight.
Loki turned his attention back to Thor. Grabbing Gungnir, he raised the spear, aiming at Thor's heart. Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, Donnie vaulted over Thor with a wild yell, kicking the surprised Loki in the chest. Loki flew a foot backwards and hit the ground. Struggling to rise, he was stopped when Donnie landed next to him and aimed his bo staff at the Asgardian's face, ejecting the blade from its tip so that it was an inch from his nose.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," he growled.
Loki looked at Donnie, then at Thor, before chuckling softly. "You pathetic fool," he said softly. "The fall of Asgard is already upon us." Then, with Odin's spear in hand, he used the power of the Tessaract and vanished into thin air.
"Witness the might of Surtur first hand!" Surtur roared. As he spoke, he drew his famed Twilight Sword and swept the flaming blade through the deserted city before him. He layed waste to Asgard, ripping Odin's palace apart, burning the streets, and smashing all of the city's buildings apart in his fury.
While he did this, Loki (having teleported safely away) stood at the helm of Naglfar, surveying the scene before him. He'd never imagined the destruction of his home, the place and people that had caused him so much pain, would be so-beautiful.
He didn't know where Thor was, and frankly, he didn't care. Their father's death had crushed his brother's spirit, and there would be no further resistance from the God of Thunder. A smile flittered over Loki's lips as he considered the thought that Thor was watching the destruction of Asgard as well.
"Our scouts report that the Asgardians have been crushed," the Enchantress informed him. "Three thousand of their five thousand lay dead, and the rest have been scattered into the wilderness."
"And our forces?" Loki asked.
"A mere thousand have perished," the Enchantress sniffed.
"One of which was Kurse," Loki said. "The Dark Elves will answer to me now. I trust a little mind control spell on your behalf will ensure it."
The Enchantress smiled seductively. "Consider it done," she whispered in his ear before drifting off, followed by two rock troll bodyguards.
Once Surtur's wrath had subsided, the remaining forces under Loki's command gathered at the foot of the Bifrost Bridge. Loki stood on the bridge and spoke to them.
"Asgard is dead," he said. "The Asgardians have been crushed. As promised, I leave Surtur and those of Muspelheim to rule what remains of this broken, desolate world. Once we leave through the Bifrost, it is up to you to disable it so that none may follow us."
Surtur stepped forward. "Muspelheim thanks you for your generosity," he growled. "We will do as you wish, and begin hunting down the remainders of Asgard's forces at once."
Loki's gaze swept over the rest of the crowd. "The rest of you are still under my command. We have one more realm to conquer. As we stand here victorious, Midgard lies in disarray. Its people have abandoned their traditional ways, disregarded the bonds of kinship, and sank into a wayward, listless nihilism." Raising Gungnir above his head, he shouted, "It is time we reminded them of their place!"
The army roared its approval. Surtur and the fiery forces of Muspelheim turned and headed for the ruins of Odin's palace, while Loki and the rest of his forces marched down the Bifrost Bridge towards Heimdall's Observatory.