The Asgardian Prince stood frozen to the spot, unsure as to what to do for the best, while also trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed. He had been playing with Sif on the counter when she had faded to ash, and it had happened so quickly that there had been nothing he could do to stop it. Freya's anguished cries had soon followed, and she was currently on her knees, grieving for all that she had lost. Loki barely took notice of her tears, for the sound of screeching tyres and more screams from outside filled the air, while the television had a multi-coloured screen announcing that programming would return soon. He knew then that his worst fears were confirmed. As much as he had hoped that the Avengers would be able to prevent Thanos from gaining all of the Infinity Stones, it was apparent that they had failed, and now half the Universe was gone.
To make matters worse, this was partially his fault. He had taken the Tesseract from Asgard's Vault, which had led the Mad Titan to the ship. This in turn had resulted in half of his people being slaughtered, and he had failed to protect the rest. He had desperately hoped that Thor would have had the strength to hold out against Thanos, but Loki had quickly realised that he had only one option for his brother to survive, and so he had given over the Tesseract. Of course, he had hoped to kill Thanos before he could leave the ship, but that attempt had failed and now… Now he had to face the consequences, for there was no escaping this.
"Freya…" He said softly as he knelt opposite her, knowing exactly what she was feeling. She was now sat on the floor, hugging her knees tightly to her chest as grief overwhelmed her. The tears would not stop falling, and she would not look at him, which only made him feel more guilt. It had never been his intention to cause the girl any heartache, and yet he was indirectly responsible for the loss of her entire family.
"Freya, I…" he hesitated as he reached out a hand, before placing it on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her. "I am so sorry. There was nothing I could do…"
"I…" she cried, still resting her head on her arms. "They're…" She sniffed, then looked at him. Freya truly looked lost and forlorn, but Loki was not practised in the art of comforting people, and especially not mortals. All he knew was that no one should have to grieve alone. He'd had no option when Frigga had died, and the weight of those emotions had been difficult to deal with, especially alone in a cell like he was. He had not even been allowed to attend his mother's funeral, something that he had never forgiven Odin for.
"They're gone." She murmured after a while, having calmed down a little. Her tears continued to fall, but her body was no longer wracked with sobs, and she finally looked at him. The Trickster gave her a sympathetic smile, and she sighed deeply.
"I… Sorry, I…" She began to apologise, but he just shook his head.
"Yours is a natural reaction." He stated as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "I am truly sorry Freya. To lose one loved one is difficult enough. To lose all…"
"Is a pain I have never felt until today." She whispered. "And one I would not wish even on my worst enemies." Her eyes glanced at the small pile of ash that had once been Sif. "Was it quick?"
"Very."
"At least she didn't suffer." It was of very little comfort, and Loki sighed as the television came back on with breaking news. It appeared that this was a worldwide thing, and the Prince did not hesitate to turn off the device before going to turn the kettle on. Freya just stared blankly into the middle distance, and Loki wondered just what to do for the best. Never had he felt guilt like this before, and yet he knew that there was not much he could do to make this right. He knew that he owed her the truth, for she had done nothing but welcome him into her home, and yet just two days later, she had lost everyone she loved because he had not been able to resist the lure of the Tesseract. Sighing, he made two cups of tea and then handed one to the woman, before sitting next to her. She instinctively shifted so that she rested her head on his shoulder, and he found he did not mind it too much. After all, he too had lost everyone he knew and cared about, and he had no wish to be alone either.
"I promise you Freya that I will do everything I can to fix this." He assured her after a few moments.
"Can it be fixed?" She asked weakly as she cradled her mug.
"I'm not entirely sure." He hesitated, before making his decision. He owed her at least this much. "I had truly hoped that things would not get this far, for I believed that the Avengers would have…"
"The Avengers split up a few years ago." She pointed out, before she sat up and looked at him accusingly. "You knew, didn't you? You knew that this was…"
"Not completely." He defended while she glared at him. "I knew that it was a possibility, but Freya, please, trust me when I say that I wanted no part in this."
"You were involved?" She was horrified as she set her mug down and got to her feet. "My entire family is gone, and now you tell me that you are to blame?!" Her fury was evident, and Loki could not blame her. "Bring them back!" She demanded, her eyes full of hatred.
"I cannot." He told her softly, wishing that he could do exactly as she wished.
"Loki…" She warned.
"Freya, if I could do so then I would! Trust me!"
"I cannot trust anything you say Liesmith!" she snapped, and he tried not to wince at the insult.
"I…" he tried to speak, but the look in her eyes silenced him.
"I will not hear it!" She told him. "I want you gone by the time I come back!"
"Freya, please…" But she had already gone.
Freya woke a few hours later feeling very confused, and she realised she must have cried herself to sleep on her bed. For one brief moment she thought that the day's events had been a nightmare, but one look at her phone quickly dashed all her hopes. Her heart was full of sorrow, and she had no idea what to do. She was completely, totally, and utterly alone. Hugging one of her stuffed toys tightly, she glanced towards her bedroom door as she heard movement in the other room, and she felt nothing but anger and resentment towards her guest. He had lied to her from the very moment he had woken, and now he was to blame for her heartache. Not only that, but he had not left despite her instructions, and she swore under her breath, for she had no wish to be dealing with him. Sighing deeply, she sat and tried to work out what to do, but it was not long before a note was placed underneath her door.
"I know you hate me right now Freya, and I do not blame you for it. I will do whatever it takes to undo all of this, but I ask only one thing of you, which is to read this. It does not excuse my actions, but it may help to explain why I did it." He said through the door. She did not respond, and for one moment she considered tearing the note to shreds, but inevitably, curiosity overwhelmed her. Padding over to the door, she retrieved the piece of paper and began to read.
Loki scrolled through Freya's laptop, desperately trying to find as much information as possible as to what had happened to the Avengers in the last few years, and also hoping to discover if Thor had made it to Earth. He was also trying to figure out a plan of some sort, for he was keenly aware that the surviving Asgardians were still somewhere in the depths of space and would be in need of a home. He was reading an article about the Sokovia Accords when he heard a door open, and Freya was soon stood nearby.
"You had no option." She stated quietly. "It was the Tesseract or Thor."
"I had truly believed that my brother was stronger than…" He sighed as he repressed the memory. "I'm sorry Freya. I should have…"
"To be fair you have also lost everything." She shook her head, before giving a heartfelt sigh. "What have you found?" She asked, having noticed the numerous tabs open on the screen.
"Nothing very much at all." He sighed. "It seems that everyone has been affected in some way."
"There are rumours that spaceships appeared over Wakanda shortly before the…" Freya's voice wobbled, but Loki duly opened another webpage and started looking for more information. The mortal woman just took a deep breath before frowning at the clean counter.
"Her ashes are in the urn on the shelf." Loki explained as various news reports flashed on the screen. "I thought that…"
"Thank you." She said, truly meaning it. After making them both a cup of tea, she curled up in the armchair and picked up her tablet. Although she was uncertain that she would be able to cope looking for more information about what had happened, she knew she could not just sit back and do nothing.
The break through came a few hours later. Freya had been unable to deal with scrolling through the news for very long, and after trying some other calming methods, she had settled for a bath. She had barely settled into the hot water though when there was a tap on the door.
"What is it?" she called, somewhat unwilling to leave the soothing water so soon after getting in.
"Thor is in Wakanda." Loki stated, and Freya frowned as she realised that the voice was not muffled by the door. She tilted her head and swore as she saw the Norse God standing by the towel rack, before reaching for something to throw at him so he would leave her be. She had instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, and was incredibly thankful for the mass of bubbles to protect her modesty. Loki, however, seemed completely unphased at her current state of undress, and so continued to explain what he had found out.
"Okay, so Wakanda is the answer." She said, hoping he would leave. "Now can I please get some privacy?"
"Well, it's not as if I haven't seen you like this before…" He pointed out, referring to the time he had been her pet cat. Freya shot him a warning look before throwing a rubber duck in his direction.
"That was a decade ago! And I thought you had just been a cat! Now shoo!" she reached for something else, but Loki merely rolled his eyes before leaving her to it. Her peace disturbed, Freya soon gave up on the bath and got out of it once she was certain that there no prying eyes. Wrapping a towel tightly around her, she was already trying to work out a way to reach Wakanda and what they would say to Thor.
"I take it we cannot simply use the Bifrost to get there?" She asked as she walked through the living room.
"No."
"And I'm going to guess that the travel network will be down, so we might be a bit stuck…" She trailed off. "Unless we can commandeer a plane or somehow teleport…"
"Now there's an idea…" Loki mused, much to Freya's interest.
"Go on." She prompted as she leaned against a chair.
"When I was last on Midgard, there was a sorcerer who managed to transport Thor and I to Norway from America with a portal of some kind." He explained, not telling her that those portals had also sent him falling for thirty minutes and that he wished no end of revenge for the man responsible.
"I have heard of such things." Freya hesitated as she reached for her phone. "I think they might even have a place in London." She was searching online as she spoke.
"How long would it take to get there?"
"On foot? About two days." Loki frowned at that, for he was not sure that Thor would still be in Wakanda by that point. "Even if I had a car, I doubt the roads are clear enough to drive."
"Then we go now?"
"First light tomorrow." She decided. "It'll give us time to prepare for what lies ahead."
"You're certain there is no quicker way?"
"Unless you can just magic us there, then I'm afraid walking is all we can do."
"Then first light it is." He agreed, hoping that they would find a way to bring everyone back.
