Chapter 2

Things Aren't Always as They Appear

Everything was pitch black. I couldn't see anything, not even the hand in front of my face, if in fact my hand was where I thought I placed it. A cool breeze blew in from somewhere in the darkness, but from where, I couldn't tell. A door opened, enveloping me, and whoever else was unfortunate enough to be locked up with me, in the blinding light.

"All of you are coming with me," said a shadow that had stepped into the doorway. We picked ourselves up off of the ground and walked towards the light. My eyes had finally adjusted to the light when we had stepped into the corridor and I looked at the other two people who were with me. One was a tall man in all black with black hair and the palest skin I had ever seen. The other was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me only, as far as I know, I still have green eyes. She looked over at me and glared. We were lead down the corridor and into another room where, once again, there was minimal light. We were told to stay right there while the short woman, who had led us there, disappeared behind a large door.

She came back and smirked, pointing at me and saying 'come' as if I was some dog who obeyed their masters every command. I didn't budge from my spot though. The woman with the dark brown hair and glasses glared at me and commanded me again to 'come'. Only this time I moved, but it was against my own will; it was as though someone else was controlling my body. I walked through the door, with the woman following me, into a candle lit room. There was a throne in the middle of the room. In the throne was a woman; there was no way to describe her except deathly beautiful and commanding in appearance.

"Good, we finally have you. Now we will get the power we need. Laera take her back to the cell. We'll keep her there until we need her: the woman on the throne said, dismissing us. I was led back out of the throne room and past where the two other people were supposed to be; instead there was only the one blonde woman, the man was nowhere to be seen. I was led back to that same little room that I was in earlier; pitch black and all.

"You will be staying here from now on. Bread and water will be brought to you every morning and you will be expected to eat it. It not then have fun starving to death." With that the lady with the glasses, Laera, left slamming the door in the process.

'I want out of here! Where am I? I just want to go home! Loki, where are you? I need you!' I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't know where I was, I was being ordered around like I was some slave willing to do their master's bidding, I was locked in a hellhole of a cell deep underground in the dark. I was scared. I admit it, I was terrified and I felt so alone. Obviously I was in a castle somewhere. But where was a whole other question. 'Loki, help me. You have to find me. Please!'

I walked up to the wall with my hands in front of me. I had to find a way out of here. I groped along the wall trying to feel a way out. I went around the entire room but there was no way out. The whole room was sealed off; it felt like it was carved out of the ground not built. Even the door was impossible to get out of from in here, considering that I couldn't even find the door, it was a seamless one. I huffed loudly and banged on the walls, screaming. I wanted out. I would probably end up going crazy in here. It was so dark and I needed the light. I thrived in light; in the darkness I felt like I was being swallowed whole, as though my very soul was being sucked right out of me. I sank sown to me knees, tears coursing down my cheeks. It was hopeless. There's no way out of here. I lay down on the ground and cried myself to sleep wondering 'Where are you, Loki?'

Loki's POV

After I had lost Nysa to Odin's henchmen, well henchwomen is more like it, I set out after her. They had said something about having to give her to Freya. If they were to give her to Freya then I should find her hideout. 'Where could Freya have her hiding place? It could be anywhere!' I continued walking east like we had planned just two days ago. I was sure that I would find something out there. It was our mission in the first place, to head east, it was her idea actually. I smiled ruefully at the thought. Things wouldn't be the same without her, but I had to continue looking for Chaos too. We promised each other…

flashback

"Hey, Loki?"

"Hn. What?"

"Promise me that… that if anything happens to me that you'll keep looking for Chaos and that you'll never forget me. Okay? Promise?" Nysa looked at Loki with a sad sort of hope in her eyes.

"Nysa," he whispered so quietly that even he didn't think he said it. "I…I promise."

"Thanks Loki!" she exclaimed wrapping her arms around his torso as he stiffened in surprise. "I'll never forget you either! Never ever!" Surprised by her own actions, she backed away from the embrace blushing. "S-sorry. I-I didn―"

"It's alright." He said with a hint of a smile on his face, but Nysa couldn't see it since he still had his mask on.

end flashback

'I have to keep searching for Chaos, but I will look for you on my way, Nysa. I won't give up on you and I'll never forget you.' It seems that over the course of three months that, maybe, my mission has changed. At first it was all about Chaos, but now I feel obligated to her, to protect her from anything and everything. Taulin had said that she was important, but I didn't know what she was supposed to be important for. I supposed that if I kept her around for long enough that I would eventually find out. I now know… she was to be important to me. She was to return my humanity to me, but that's different now since she was taken away from me. I have a feeling, though, that if I continue to head east that we will meet up again. Somehow, somewhere, I know that we will…eventually.

Normal POV

Loki continued eastward in his search for Chaos and Nysa. In another part of Midgard, Chaos was searching for Loki, as well. The only clue given to him was that he was to find the man that was 'human but not'.

flashback

"Before your journey comes to an end…you must confront those two again," said the queen of the gods, Frigg, referring to Sara Irine, a blonde Valkyrie who worked for Freya, and Skurai the cursed assassin, with long black hair and skin as pale as the moon.

"Impossible! How could that be? Nidhogg incinerated them!" yelled a furious Fenris Fenrir, a companion of Chaos'.

flash flashback

'The dragon! It's―' thought Sara Irine.

"Oh, dear… Oh, dear…I suppose we'll have to help, Huginn…" Said Muninn, watching as Nidhogg, the eternal dragon of death, shot a tremendous blast at the Valkyrie.

"It would be most inconvenient for us if those two should die now," Huginn stated.

"We still have need of you, Sara Irine… Skurai," Muninn said a strange ball of light emitting from her hand.

'I'm dooms! A giant? But how? Why?' Sara Irine though as a giant appeared in front of the blast the dragon shot out.

This is not the time for questions. Hurry up and teleport, Valkyrie. a voice said in her mind.

"A Beholder!" a tall man wearing all black with black hair, Skurai, said noticing the two women.

You still hesitate? Very well! I shall send you to a place… of my own choosing. Muninn said in Sara Irine's head, transporting her to a different place.

'That voice in my head! That figure―' those were her last thoughts before she was transported and the giant disintegrated instead of her.

End of flashback in flashback

"1,000 years ago, when you all lay dying, I made a deal to save you from hell. I offered the life, the soul, of a goddess to the dragon Nidhogg. My spirit is tied to him even now, but in return, he spared you. I come to you now, to warn you, to guide you… Balder… No, Chaos…You are needed to protect this world…It has been your destiny from the beginning," said the Lady Frigg.

"My…destiny? Me? Protect the world? People I knew just died before my eyes and I couldn't do anything! Me and my sword…Nuri…Seri…Lord Irine…Peony…and Matthew…They were close enough to touch…but…but I… I want nothing more to do with all this! Find someone else!" Chaos declared.

"There is no one but you, Chaos," Fenris said.

"No! I won't be forced into this! You want a protector…but I can't protect anything! I bring only death! Just look at Fayon! They're all dead because I couldn't protect them!"

"1,000 years…your outer appearance has changed…and you can't recall the past…but your spirit… that same defiant spirit, has remain true to itself…to you. You are indeed my son…Balder. You are right. It is too soon for any of you to take on this quest. First you need to find the one who is both human…and not. He will be necessary if you have any hope of success…or even survival," Lady Frigg whispered.

"Can you tell us how to find him?" Chaos asked.

"West…go west, Chaos. Into the very lair of those who hunt you. There you will find the answers you seek." With that the Lady Frigg disappeared.

end flashback

'West…Go west, Chaos. That's what she said. And that's where we're headed. But who is this man who is both human and not? How will I know who he is?' the small company hiked through the woods on the outskirts of Fayon. Three women and one man: Fenris Fenrir, a female warlock; Iris Irine, a cleric; Lidia, a thief; and Chaos, a rune knight. An odd group to be working together I'm sure, but they all had one common goal: to save Midgard.

Back at Freya's hideout, after three months of being locked in a dark cell Freya had finally found a purpose for Nysa.

"Laera, bring the girl here," Freya commanded to one of her Valkyries.

"Yes, Mistress Freya," Laera said, backing out the door and heading to the dungeon. She arrived at the last cell in the corridor and unlocked the cell door. "Come one, girl." She yanked on Nysa's arm and pulled her out of the cell and briskly walked back to the throne room. She entered the room and tossed Nysa on the ground in front of Freya.

"Here she is, Mistress," she said and backed into the shadows surrounding the room.

"Ah, yes. And what is your name, girl?" Freya asked her.

"Nysa," she said picking herself up off of the ground.

"Alright, Nysa. You're going to be working for me from now on. Laera, take her to the tower and begin her… training. From there, send her on her mission."

"Yes, Mistress," Laera said, stepping out from the shadows and dragging Nysa to the tower.

"What are you going to do to me up there?" Nysa asked, curious as to what would happen to her.

"Oh, nothing, really; just a little brainwashing and making you into one of us, that's all. Oh! Then we will send you out and you will hunt down a person for us," Laera said coolly.

"No! I won't let this happen. Let me go!" Nysa screamed at Laera, trying to wrench her arm out of Laera's strong grasp. However, her strength did not surpass the Valkyries and, alas, she could not get away. Laera drug her though long halls and through several different rooms and up steps, until finally they reached the tower. It actually wasn't a tower in itself, but rather it was just a room that was up a couple flights of steps. In it was a plain chair sitting in the middle of the room. The chair had straps on it, obviously to tie a person into it. Nysa kept trying to escape Laera's grasp, but it still wouldn't work. With great struggle, she finally got Nysa secured into the chair and walked over to a wall. There was a lever on that side, one you wouldn't notice until you were directly in front of it, or if you knew it was there in the first place.

"Goodbye, Nysa. See you when you wake up," she said smirking evilly. That said, she pulled down on the lever and a bright light emitted from the ceiling encompassing Nysa in its luminescence. Screams echoed off the stone walls as the light steadily grew brighter. One final scream reverberated around the hideout when the light reached its brightest and slowly shut off.