AN: I think this is the quickest I've been able to write the next chapter; I hope you like it; it does leave off a cliffhanger.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 72 Asgard No more
Loki watched his last opponent fall, then looked to Thor next to him, he looked back at Loki, then the bothers turned from each other and looked aound; it was over; the battle ended as quickly as it started, leaving them all wondering what the hell just happened; one minute, they were joking around, laughing, teasing one another then next thing Loki knew they were battling former Asgardians who hadn't been seen in the realm for years; only a few of their warriors were killed, the rest lying among them were what was left of their attackers, the ones who hadn't fleed once they started losing; Loki looked for the rest of his family, a few feet away, Kurt stood next to Remy and Rogue; he looked upset or perhaps tired, but other than that, he didn't look hurt, Remy had blood on his forehead, but Loki couldn't tell if it was his or someone else's, Rogue was holding his hand, saying something Loki couldn't hear, but other than her hair being tangled and her dress ripped in a couple of places, she looked fine, which was a relief, Loki didn't like the thought of his family being hurt, or worse, he finally felt like he belonged, and damn it, he was growing tired of having to fight everywhere he goes; maybe it's time they thought of finding a lovely planet and making a home, at least for a bit anyway, give traveling a rest.
"You alright, sugar?" Rogue asked as the three of them walked up to them.
"Of course; what about you guys?" Loki asked; he pushed Remy's hair back, saw the blood was coming from a cut, and healed it before reaching out and pulling Rogue into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Are you alright? Kurt, what about you?"
"I'm fine," Kurt said; Rogue agreed as Loki let her go.
"I'm okay too, brother." Thor teased; Loki snorted.
"Of course you are; nothing can kill you," Loki replied, "No matter how hard one might try."
"I am glad you do not do that anymore," Thor replied. Loki smiled a little as Lady Sif and The Warriors Three walked up.
"You guys alright?" Sif demanded; they all nodded, and Thor looked around again, causing them to do the same. Loki saw Odin giving orders to guards to have the bodies removed, Korg and Meik among those helping; healers were showing up to tend to the injured; Loki spotted the Vision helping someone to their feet; he had helped in the battle and fought well for a robot; Korg was not far from him, Loki saw some unhurt people leaving, most likely going to find their wives and children, Frigga and Mystique had taken them into the secret passways, along with Fenrir when the attack happened, so Loki knew they were safe, his eyes landed on Tempest, she was over at the side of the room, horns, and paws covered in blood as she was feasting on the side of a fallen warrior, Loki looked away almost gagging, that was something he could have gone without seeing.
"Tell my wife and children I love them," Volstagg said, causing Loki to look towards him as he showed Thor a big slice in his wrist, "Someone's sword got me, fought many battles, killed many enemies, and this is what will due me in."
"Oh, you are not going to die; go over to one of the healers. They'll fix you up." Fandral told him; Loki rolled his eyes, then they landed on Kurt, who gave him a look and nodded to Volstagg; Loki shook his head, and Kurt nodded, causing Loki to sign, then reach out to grab Volstagg's arm and hold his other hand over it.
"What are you doing?" Hogun demanded as magic flowed from Loki's hand and healed Volstagg's wound.
"Umm, thanks," Volstagg said; Loki ignored him and turned to Thor.
"Do you know where our wives are?" Loki demanded, "I have not seen mine since she left the hall."
"Enid had left right before the attack," Thor answered, "I have not seen her since then."
"I think we should go find them," Loki replied, watching as Odin left the room with three guards, all looking to be in a hurry, before turning back to Thor.
"We should." Thor agreed, "Make sure they are safe and unharmed."
"No need," Sif said, pointing towards the entrance; Loki looked to see Saphira and Enid walking in, looking as if they were holding each other up; Saphira had a large bruise on the side of her face, and her dress had blood splatters on it, in her hand was her sword, which too had blood, Enid didn't look any better, she may not show signs of fighting, but she had spots on her red dress that was likely blood, along with blood in her hair and a little on her face.
"Saphira," Loki called, rushing to her.
"Loki," Saphira said, pulling from Enid and grabbing Loki's arms. "Please tell me Fenny is okay."
"Our son is fine, love; my parents took him and the other children through the passways to escape the attack," Loki explains. "They are all likely in mother's chambers now."
"And you, are you okay?" Saphira demanded.
"Of course, darling," Loki said; he gently leaned her head to the side to look over her face before putting his hand over her cheek to heal the bruise. "What happened? You're bruised and covered in blood?"
"It's not her blood," Enid said, "Or mine," she added for Thor's benefit.
"So, you two fought in a battle," Thor asked.
"I killed my father," Saphira whispered. Loki gave her a shocked look as she put her arms around Loki and buried her face in his chest. Loki put his arms around her and held her close.
"I'm sorry, but you did what?" Fandral demanded, making Loki scowl; his wife spoke clear; she was understandable and almost in shock over it; she shouldn't have to repeat herself. It wasn't his business anyway.
"Kurty," Saphira said, turning to him, "Please, I had no choice; he threatened to kill Fenny; he went after Enid; I couldn't let him hurt Enid; please don't be upset; with me or think badly."
"Saphira, I understand, " Kurt said, looking a bit surprised that Saphira thought so much of what he thought of her. "I don't think bad of you."
"Are you able to explain what happened to me, darling?" Loki asked.
"I was on my way back here when he came out of nowhere and knocked me down; we fought; he tried to kill me; Enid stopped him, then he went after my sister; I picked up my sword and cut his head off; it was disgusting." Saphira pulled back and showed him her sword, "That's his blood."
"I'll take that, love," Loki said, gently taking the sword from her hand.
"Throw it away; I don't want it anymore," Saphira told him; Loki made the sword disappear, then pulled Saphira back to him; he looked at Enid.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Loki asked; Enid shook her head, and Loki sent magic at Enid anyway, and the blood on her disappeared.
"Thank you," Enid replied as Loki turned to Saphira and did the same.
"So, the attack was Bard's doing," Thor asked, "Why, though? Was it a distraction? So he could get to Saphira, how would he know she was by herself or even here, or was it luck that he came upon her. "
"Thor, honey, I believe it might be both," Enid said, "That leaves the question of what the distraction was for, and was he able or whoever was in charge of doing what it was, succeed in doing it, we have to find out."
Thor opened his mouth to say something when some guards came running into the room; they looked at Thor, "Your Majesty, " they bowed respectfully, "Odin is down by the world tree; he said to fetch you, all of you, something is wrong with it."
At their words, Saphira pulled away from Loki and took off running out of the room; Loki ran after her, the others following; when they caught up with Saphira, she was pushing her way through a small crowd, making her way up to Odin, then paused with a gasp, and they all looked on in shock; the tree was black and looked dead, with parts falling off it; Loki looked around; everywhere around it was the same way; the garden the tree stood in was no more, the grass, other trees, plants, flowers all dead, and it was spreading, going everywhere, destroying everything in its path.
"Sweetheart," Loki said, putting his hands on her arm.
"Someone poisoned it," Saphira said, pointing to a bucket on the ground next to the tree.
"Who would do such a thing?" Enid demanded as Loki flicked magic at Saphira's feet, making shoes appear on them; he wasn't risking that stuff touching her skin.
"Hakon, " Saphira said, "I saw him before Bard attacked me; he wasn't there during our fight."
"And he did not show up during the battle," Loki said, "That must have been the reason for the distraction." Saphira pulled away from Loki and bent down, held her hand over it, and winched.
"It's dead; I can't help it; whatever Hakon poured in the tree has killed it, and it's spreading," Saphira said as Loki helped her to her feet; the ground shook as a large branch fell to the ground.
"I can feel it too," Odin spoke up. "The tree, it's the heart of Asgard; by poisoning the tree, they poisoned Asgard. "
"Do you mean the planet will die?" Hogun demanded.
"Not just Asgard," Saphira said; they all looked at her, "There's a reason it's known as the world tree. Our part of Yggdrasill is nothing but a giant branch; all the nine realms have one; they are all a part of one big tree sitting on a plot of land floating in space; that's the actual world tree; once Asgard is dead, it'll spread to the next realm, then the next until there is nothing left."
"Hogwash," Volstagg said.
"No, she's right." Odin agreed, "That's how Yggdrasill works. That's how the nine realms are connected. Those other eight are the ones I choose to protect; I do not know how fast or how slow, but it'll spread and take out Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, down to the very last realm connected; to the tree of life."
"Midgard," Fandral said.
"Niflheim." Enid corrected. "Don't forget it's down in the roots."
"Nidavellir, Jontunheim, and Helheim are all after Midgard too." Saphira said, "Midgard is in the middle, the reason it is called Midgard."
"There has to be something we can do," Kurt said. Loki watched Saphira and Odin look at each other; he was sure they were thinking the same thing.
"When working in a garden and finding a plant with a dead part on it, you don't rip up and toss out the whole plant," Saphira said.
"You cut off the dead part to save the plant," Remy said, catching on.
"You are not suggesting what I think you are?" Loki demanded.
"Asgard will have to be, as Saphira put it, cut off to save the rest of the realms," Odin said, just as the ground shook and a large crack formed.
"You mean destroyed?" Sif demanded, "You can't just.."
"How? " Hogun demanded, "Is it even possible?"
"I will have to use the Odinforce," Odin replied; he turned to Thor, "There is not much time, son; you must get everyone on the spaceships and off the planet, now."
"What about you?" Thor demanded, "If you stay, you will die."
"It must be this way," Odin replied, "I'm the only one who can do it. If I do not, we are all dead. Along with everyone in the nine realms."
"There must be another way," Thor said.
"There is not." Odin said, "And we do not have the time to think of something, even if they were."
"Let me do it," Thor said. "I'm the protector of the nine realms now; this is my place."
"Thor," Enid cried, looking at him with fear on her face.
"I am sorry, my belove, but I am king, and..." Thor tried.
"No, " Saphira cut him off, "You are not doing that to my sister; she will need you, and you will be there for her."
"You do not have the power anyway," Odin said, "A few lightning strikes will not destroy the planet."
"But to kill yourself, father, I can not allow that," Thor said.
"I do not need your permission to save the realms," Odin replied.
"I am King," Thor argued.
"I am still your father, King or not." Odin snapped; Thor looked as if Odin had slapped him.
"But father." Thor tried; Odin reached out and put his hand on Thor's shoulder.
"You will do fine without me." Odin said, "You can be a great King; you have a great wife; you'll still have your mother and your brother, you will mourn, but you will be fine; you will rebuild Asgard; I have lived long enough, now go my son, save our people." He turned to Loki and put his hand on his shoulder. "Help your brother, continue being the good person you are on the road to being; you are my son, no matter how much you deny it. I love you both."
"What about mother?" Thor demanded.
"My father had arranged my marriage to Frigga; we had no say in it," Odin said, "Though we began to care for each other, we never actually fell in love; she will mourn also, but in the end, she'll be fine." He looked at Loki, "Give them my blessing." Loki looked at him in complete shock.
"But father..." Whatever Thor was going to argue next was cut off by the ground shaking again; the crack opened more, and the tree leaned over about to fall in.
"Go, you do not have much time; you still have to get everyone off the planet," Odin shouted, "If you do not make it, I'll have to destroy it with you on it."
"Here," Enid said, handing Odin her phone, "I'll message this from Thor's phone and tell you when we are off Asgard. "
"Hurry, or I'll have to do it anyway," Odin told her to take it.
"I understand, " Enid said; she grabbed Thor's arm. "We have to think of the people." Thor gave Odin one last look, stopped himself from crying, then turned from him and to the Asgardians standing around watching.
"Alright, people," Thor yelled, "You heard the man. We have to leave; either alert others or get your damn ass on a ship. Volstagg, find your wife and children and get them on a ship; everyone split up, fit as many onboard a vessel as you can, then leave, worry for only those on your craft.
Loki watched, slightly shocked, as Thor started taking charge and throwing out orders to everyone, sounding like a king; even Remy and Rogue listened to him.
"Where will we go?" Sif demanded.
"Alfheim." Enid said, "Seek refuge in Alfheim; use my name; my grandmother is Queen there."
"Everyone, you've been told what to do; now go," Thor demanded. "Move your asses."
Thankfully due to most people still being in the palace, it didn't take long as it would have to get everyone on a ship; Thor and Loki's bunch took care of the ones in the palace, and Sif and the others handled those not at the palace going through the village, alerting people and getting them to go to the ship; some listened and went right away, some took some conviction, and then there were the ones who wanted to take the time to pack everything they owned. They had to force them to go. A few joined in helping to alert people; it was a good thing Asgard wasn't a big planet, it had under ten thousand inhabitants, so there weren't as many as there could have been; the first people Loki made sure got on a ship, was Frigga, Fenrir, and Mystique, they still had some children that their parents hadn't picked up. It didn't take much to get Frigga willing to get on a craft and take Fenrir and the other children to safety; Mystique went with her to keep her and Fenrir safe. After that, they all made a note to tell everyone not to worry about family or friends, get on a craft and go to the royal family weren't leaving until they made sure everyone was off the planet; they could reunite with loved ones when they made it to Alfheim.
Saphira convinced Rogue and Remy to get on the spaceship that was full of elderly or injured people, along with the healers; they agreed to watch over them and keep them safe; she hugged them and told them goodbye before they left, which the others found strange and out of character for her but pushed it aside to bring up later; Fandral was in charge of another ship, Hogun another, and Sif another; they all set curse and took off, the first craft to make it to Alfheim was to ask for refuge using Enid's name and if allowed to stay, tell them of the other ships that were on their way. Korg and Meik had shown up and started helping before they left. When all Asgardian ships were gone, the only ones left to leave were Saphira, Loki, Thor, Enid, Vision, Tempest, Heimdal, and Kurt; they got on Mystique's spaceship and flew away; the moment they were far enough away from Asgard, Enid sent the message to Odin, and after a few minutes they watched as the planet went up in flames, then exploded.
Some hours later, Loki found himself in a bit of a daze, sitting in the control room, behind the captain's chair; Saphira sat next to him, her arms wrapped around his with her head on Loki's shoulder; she was so quiet Loki would think she was asleep if it wasn't for her eyes being open, he could understand why his wife would be in this mood, with what she had to do; Bard was a bastard, but he was still her father; having to kill your father in self-defense had to affect someone badly, then to watch your home planet destroyed before your very eyes, plus Saphira and Loki were temporarily separated from their son after all that, so Loki sat there and allowed his wife to hold on to him; he even slipped his fingers in hers, so they were holding hands, to comfort her more, he doubted anything he could say would help. Enid sat next to Saphira; she was staring off into space, looking tired and shocked; Thor was in the captain's seat; he and Heimdall were flying the ship; Tempest sat on the floor next to his feet, thankfully; the blood was gone from her now; Kurt sat on the other side of Enid, texting Rogue and Mystique, making sure they were alright; Vision sat next to Enid, talking to Heimdall.
"Mother said Fenrir is now asleep," Kurt said, "Cried himself to sleep wanting Saphira."
"Aww, poor Fen Fen," Saphira said, and Loki gripped her hand as she started to cry. She was taking the separation from Fenrir hard when putting him on the ship with Frigga; she held onto him, hugged him, crying, told him mommy loved him more than anything, to be good for daddy, and that Bucky on Midgard should have his birthday gift from her if Loki didn't know any better he would swear she didn't expect to see him again.
"This feels like a dream," Enid said, "Or nightmare, doesn't seem real; how can Asgard be gone?"
"I know what you mean," Loki said, "It is like one big nightmare I can not get myself to wake from."
"It's Fen Fen's birthday," Saphira said, "He's three now."
"Some birthday," Kurt mumbled.
"We'll give him a party at some point, sister," Enid said, "Give us something to look forward to."
"Thank you," Loki told her when Saphira didn't answer.
"The worse is over; we can all start to heal now." Vision said. He barely got that sentence out when they heard a large crash coming from the hall. They all paused, then another sound.
"No, not this soon," Saphira said, jumping up and running out of the room.
"Darling, wait," Loki called, running after her; Enid followed him, then Kurt, the others followed; when Loki caught up with Saphira, she had paused in the hallway, so did Loki because standing there in front of them stood Thanos, a gold gauntlet on his hand, and his black order or so-called children stood behind him, the noise had been them breaking the glass that lined the wall.
"Loki, nice to see you again," Thanos said; his eyes moved from Loki to Saphira, causing Loki to grab her arm and shove Saphira behind him. "Ah, so you must be the misses." He laughed, "Most men are the same no matter the planet; all it takes is a pretty girl batting their eyelashes at them, and they are ready to destroy the world for them."
Thor rushed forward and tossed Mjolnir at him; Thanos just knocked it aside and sent the hammer crashing through the wall into the movie room. Thor made a growl-like noise and charged at Thanos, who tossed him into one of the glass panels.
"Thor!" Enid cried; she went to step towards him, but Saphira stopped her and held her back; she now had something in her hand. Loki couldn't tell what, then Tempest let out a roar before jumping at Thanos, who knocked her aside with his gauntlet; she fell to the floor and didn't move but was breathing; Loki gave Kurt a meaningful look; he gave Loki a slight nod.
"I'm here for the Infinity Stones," Thanos said, "You can willingly give them to me or fight to keep them, but either way, I will leave this ship with them."
"You get nothing," Thor said, jumping up and charging at Thanos again; he swung at Thor, who ducked and came back with a hit that knocked him backward, then another hit that knocked him back; Cull Obsidian tried to step in, that's when Heimdall pulled out the Bifrost sword and rushed forward to help, and when Ebony Maw got involved, Loki stepped in and sent him flying back with a blast of magic and ran on to fight the others; it was Loki vs. Proxima Midnight, and Corvus Glaive, and doing a good job fighting, Enid was crying out, wanting to help. Still, Saphira was holding her back; Loki didn't understand why she wasn't trying to help but was thankful; he didn't want his wife or sister hurt.
Thanos suddenly yelled out and tossed Heimdail across the hall; he slammed into the glass and fell to the ground; Loki saw a large piece of glass sticking out of his chest; Vision had stepped in to help once Thor got beat down, but Thanos tossed him down, then stalked towards Vision, after the stone in his head.
"Let the black magic flow through me one more time," Heimdail said; the Bifrost shot out from his sword and hit Vision, taking him off the ship and to someplace unknown, leaving a hole in the side of the vessel; Thanos turned back to Heimdall and walked toward him and stepped on the large piece of glass; he let out a gasp, then grew still.
"You'll pay for that!" Thor cried out. He tried to charge him again, but the Cull Obsidian stopped him. Loki took a deep breath, then turned to Kurt.
"Get them out of here," Loki demanded.
"What? No," Saphira, or who Loki thought was Saphira, cried out as Kurt grabbed both their arms; before Kurt disappeared, Enid jerked her arm away, and Kurt only made it out of the ship with Saphira; or Loki thought it was his wife, but as Kurt teleported away, there was a red flash that went over her, and suddenly Saphira was standing there and not Enid.
"No," Loki whispered; he had arranged with Kurt for years that if Thanos showed up, he would teleport Saphira away, then Fenrir had been added to that when Saphira became pregnant, but since Fenrir wasn't here; Loki told Kurt to take Enid instead, and now he's gone, and Saphira was still here.
"The reality stone," Thanos said; he started walking towards Saphira, who had the necklace that housed the reality stone, "I'll take that."
"Stay away from her!" Loki cried, running forward and jumping on Thanos's back, wrapping his arms around his neck, trying to choke him. Thanos only laughed as he grabbed Loki and tossed him to the floor. Thanos then stepped his foot on Loki's head.
"Get off him." Saphira cried, taking a step towards them, but before she got there, Thor tackled Thanos from the side and started punching him.
"Do not touch my brother," Thor demanded; Loki sat up, staring at him in shock until Thanos tossed Thor into the glass panels and onto Saphira's plants. Thor jumped right back up, ready to continue fighting.
"I have had enough of these games," Thanos said; he snapped the fingers of the hand the gauntlet wasn't on, and the black order stood in front of Thanos with their weapons pointed at them, Ebony Maw the only one without one, stood in front of them. Loki stood in front Stood by him, Tempest was back up and next to Thor, hissing at the black order, her jaws raised, teeth showing.
"You can fight us and lose." Ebony Maw said, "Or you can hand over the infinity stones in your possessions."
Loki and Thor looked at each other and nodded; Thor held out his hand, calling Mjolnir to it; as Loki's specter appeared in his hand, they were going to do their best to fight and win, even if deep down, they knew they were most likely to lose, Thor looked at Loki, who looked back at him, and then nodded once more, the brothers communicating silently, they may fail, but would make sure to put up a good fight and hopefully take out as many as they could first. Thor turned to Ebony Maw and smiled.
"We choose to fight," Thor said, then Loki and Thor charged at Thanos's children.
AN I hope it was good and made sense, and I know I used them getting tossed into the glass a lot, but the wall is lined with those glass panels that black Saphira's plants.