AN: Few announcements this this time.
As usual, I want to thank anyone who left a review, just MistahKilJoy this time, but it's always appreciated.
Also, as this story wraps up, I'm making an outline for a companion story, to Follow Loki as he navigates this world. It would cover the time up to his encounter with Weiss and entry into this story.
I'd like some feedback on that idea, if anyone else would be interested in reading it. What I have planned is a more streamline story than this one and would be considerably shorter.
So, this story is going to reach its climax soon, without giving up to much information, we are only going to have one more change of location.
Okay, that's it's for notes and questions, please let me know what you think of a companion story following Loki.
Also, I passed the 200,000 word mark with this chapter, so that's a thing I'm sort of happy with.
And of course, leave a review.
Tricks or Truth
"I just don't know where I am in this whole ordeal." Jaune said muttering.
Loki for his part, hadn't thought this was how'd it would go. Jaune Arc was using him more like a therapist. He heard about his family, his friends, and his life at school.
"Jaune please." He said, and Jaune went quiet. "I understand you have some things you want to get off your chest, but maybe we stick to the topic of what just happened, hmmm?" He said raising his eye brows.
Jaune looked back at the sleeping Weiss and just nodded. "I used to like her, like a lot." He started. "But she kept shooting me down, and sort of gave up." He sighed. "Then we meet again, I get together with Ruby and now this." He gestured to her.
"Yes, that's all quite inconvenient." Loki said with only putting moderate amount of sympathy. It wouldn't matter at this point; the boy was under his spell and pretty well buzzed from the whiskey. This was one of the most pliable states a person could be in for it to work. He was upset, a little drunk, and generally confused.
"Is this some kind of test?" Jaune asked after some time of silence.
"How do you mean?" Loki asked a bit confused.
"Like, well you know, the gods or something trying to test me."
"I don't know." Loki said.
"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you one of them?" Jaune said with an irritated tone.
Loki shook his head "That's offensive you know." He then looked at the ground as if ashamed of Jaune, but was really hiding his smirk.
"Huh?" Jaune looked confused and continued "How is that offensive?"
"It's stereotyping." Loki said looking up with a straight face "Why not sacrifice a virgin or goat to me while you're at it?" He tones coming off as agitated, but inside he was thoroughly amused with this new line of distraction.
To his credit Jaune looked embarrassed and he said "Sorry, I didn't mean…" he trailed off before something seemed to shake him into a slightly clearer state of mind and he stood up and walked away from Loki.
That wasn't sitting well with the god of mischief. The change hadn't been severely dramatic, but to him it was noticeable. Something had crossed the boy mind to agitate him enough for him to break the conversation.
"Is everything alright?" Loki said with concern in his voice he didn't really feel.
"You know I've read a bit about." Jaune replied as he went to kitchen to get a glass of water. "We have this book, you get mentioned in it."
That, Loki wasn't prepared for. What book could be on this world that could detail him in any capacity?
"Really now, what does it say?"
"You're a trickster, can't be trusted, and I pretty much get the impression that trusting you in any way is a bad idea." Jaune said, and his voice made it clear he was sobering up.
"Yes, I'm sure it did, but I'm sure you could have deduced as much." He said now getting irritated "What else did you read?"
Jaune took another drink of water and looked uncomfortable "You weren't always like that." He said, "You used to be respectable, if crafty, and true friend of your brothers."
Loki scowled at this. That was true, and he hated anyone knowing it. But this human body made him more susceptible to what he called "human desires", and by that he didn't mean carnal desires. He meant the need for companionship in way of friends, or loved ones. He'd had those feelings long ago, before his long-standing feud with his brother, but he'd buried deep.
But being in a human body made them feel like those old feelings were clawing their way out of the grave. He knew it was human nature to desire companionship, that loneliness was torture to a human. They were hard wired to be around other's, and he'd been fighting those feelings for close to three years.
But what he didn't like was the reminder of the fact these new feelings weren't new to this human form, but they were much stronger.
"Maybe I used to be more…friendly, but that was a long time ago." He muttered out "But that was eons ago."
"So why not try and start over." Jaune said, fiddling with the now empty glass in his hand.
Loki snorted at this idea. He wasn't going to ever be able to start over, even if his brother wasn't here. He'd seen that in the time he'd spent here. He had tried to lay low, relatively speaking, but it was in his nature to seize power, to try and climb to the top.
"Sorry that's just not in my nature." He smiled as he said this, but with no trace of joy in it.
"Yeah, because doing what you've been doing, that's really worked out for you the pasted billion years, or however old you are." Jaune said as he walked over and gagged him again.
He hated it whenever someone pointed out his failures. But what they never seemed to understand was he only needed to win once, then it was all over.
He watched Jaune was he went to a closet and pulled something out. It looked like a jumble of belts and some extension cords.
He didn't know what he was doing at first, but then he started to tie even more lines around him with the belts and cords.
"I'm tired." Jaune said to the unasked question "And I don't want you slipping out if I doze off."
Soon Loki had a near cocoon of belts, cords and cables securing him to the chair. He was thoroughly uncomfortable was had to go to the bathroom.
As soon as Jaune finished, he walked back to the closet and can back out with duct tape. As he started peeling of the tape, Loki just groaned at what he knew was coming.
The hospital was the same one Thor had stayed in when he'd been poisoned, and it didn't exactly hold sweet memories for Yang. But her mother was here, and despite all the hate she felt for her, she also couldn't douse the longing she felt as well.
Her mother had managed to get a really nasty infection and was in Critical care. The doctors had told her that surgery would be needed and a huge course of anti-biotics.
She would be heading into surgery soon, and Yang had elected to stay and wait. Thor offered to stay with her, but she knew he wanted to make sure his brother hadn't slipped away.
"Go on." She said, "Go check on your brother, I'll be fine here for a little bit."
Thor didn't look sure, but in truth she didn't want Weiss alone with that trickster for too long. He'd manipulated her already, and she thought sooner or later, they might come to blows.
She thought Weiss could take him, Loki's brief scuffle with Thor did not leave her with the impression he was a very powerful fighter on his own. Still, he was literally a trickster god, meaning he was bound to be crafty.
All her friends had left her at the hospital, all promising to come back after checking in with and reliving Weiss and Jaune of their post.
But now, she was alone with her thoughts. And she wondered what she'd ask her mother when she woke up. This was a stupid thought, because she'd known for a long time what she'd ask. "Why?"
She didn't even know if she wanted that answered, but she thought she might need it. She had told Thor that she wasn't interest in finding her anymore, but that hadn't been true. She hadn't lied, but she'd fooled herself in that regard.
She was here and now was her chance, and she intended to seize it.
The Camp was deserted, that was obvious to Qrow. But there was a fair bit to salvage in terms of gear. The Wendo didn't steal weapons, the White Fang might have, but they hadn't been able to carry it all off.
The Council had ordered any useable materials to be brought back for the city, and he didn't begrudge it. They were short on anything for defense, and it made sense to get where they could.
But he was more interested in searching the one standing tent. Raven had said her group hadn't taken the relic, and while he didn't think she was lying, it would foolish to take her word on the matter and not look.
He looked in every chest, drawer, under everything that wasn't nailed down and then some. He knew his sister would want the relic somewhere she could get it easily enough that if she had to flee, she could take it with her, and after a long search, he concluded she was telling the truth. And if she wasn't, then it was hidden well enough for now that he could afford to wait until she fessed up.
He left the tent and headed to his Bullhead as the non-hunters, loaded up some crates. The hunters were standing perimeter watch for Grimm as the last of it was loaded up.
As the last of what could be salvaged was loaded up, the Bullhead took off back to Mistral. His sister wasn't going to be in any condition to talk until at least tomorrow. For now, he had an uninvited guest on his temporary residence, and he had questions.
Weiss felt herself slowly waking from her sleep and her head was throbbing. It took her a moment to member why she was in such a predicament. She'd drank about a pint of whiskey the night before and now she was sick as a dog.
She sat up, but had to lay back down almost instantly as her head started to spin.
"You don't look so good." A voice, one she didn't ever want to hear again called out to her.
She saw Loki tied to a chair, and in a much more extensive fashion than she remembered. Duct tape, cords, cables and belts bound him now.
She rubbed her temples and looked around the room and saw Jaune asleep in the chair. "Jaune didn't gag you?"
Loki made a sort of jerking motion that she took to be an attempt at a shrug "He tried, but he didn't knot it properly, and I can do amazing things with my tongue." She blushed a bit at that comment, and Loki looked confused for a moment, but then sighed in an exasperated way. "That wasn't a sex joke, I was referring to my skill in persuasion."
Weiss felt a little embarrassed that her mind had gone where it had, too much time with people like Yang she supposed.
Silence came over them for a few minutes before he spoke again "I hate to ask this, but I need to use the rest room."
"I'm not letting you out." She said in a cold tone.
"Please?" He said almost pleading "I've been holding it for hours, and I'd rather not wet myself."
Weiss considered it, and while she was sick to her stomach from the decisions of the previous night, she was certain he was telling the truth. It would of have been hours since he'd managed to actually use the bathroom.
But she didn't want to let him out, in part because she doubted she could replicate the current restraints he had on. The tape wouldn't be useful anymore, and the knots on weren't going to be easy to undo. If any speed was to be had in getting him out he'd have to be cut loss.
She absolutely did not trust him to not run as soon as the chance presented itself. And, if she was being honest, the idea of him in discomfort felt good to her, pay back for what he'd done.
But as soon as those thought came into her mind, she hated that she had them. She never wanted to become a malicious person like her father and brother.
But she didn't want to let him out either. As she thought on what to do, there was a knock at the door.
The person didn't wait for an answer and soon Thor came traipsing in, axe in hand. Behind him came the rest of her friends.
"Good, you're here, can someone please let me use the bathroom." Loki asked in as polite a tone he could.
"What happened to you?" Ruby ask, pointing at his new restraints.
"That one wanted to make sure I couldn't get away if he nodded off." Loki said gesturing towards Jaune with his head.
Everyone looked at Jaune, who was slowly waking from his sleep in the chair.
"Jaune, you know you're supposed to stay awake to watch prisoners, right?" Blake said in a deadpan voice.
Jaune rubbed his face "I'm sorry, I was just tired." He said standing up.
Blake looked ready to say something but Loki spoke again "Bathroom?"
Thor walked over to his brother and pulled out a knife and started cutting the tape that encased the more typical bindings. It took some time to get the tape off and even longer to undo the knots with the residue still on them, but eventually he was free and Thor was escorting them to the bathroom.
After a few minutes Thor was escorting Loki back and sat him down in the chair.
"Hold on." Blake said as Thor got ready to tie him up again. "I got something from the Bullhead that will work better." With that she produced a set of restraints used in prisoner transports. She tossed them to Thor, who proceeded to restrain his brother and secure him to the chair.
"This is much more comfortable." Loki said sarcastically.
"Well, I'm happy you're comfortable." Thor said harshly. "But right now, we have some questions."
"There is no need for that." Loki said in a calm tone "I'm ready to talk."
Loki smiled as he said this, and Thor just looked at him with the utmost distrust. "Why?"
"I'm caught, and I'd rather be able to get something out of this." He said in measured tones.
"Okay brother, talk."
The sky was red and the land looked dead in this Kingdom. Arthur wasn't bothered much by what the place looked like, but the ruler had him on edge at all times, even if he hid it well.
Salem was not forgiving of failure, and the while he didn't consider her overtly cruel in punishment, the level of news he had to report could be hazardous to his health. But he had some good news, and that may be enough to get him past the bad news.
He walked into the palace, carrying his new machine, and the relic. He'd communicated the situation to Salem, but the in-person reaction could be worlds apart from the long-distance kind.
The halls were empty and silent. Soon he found himself outside the chamber they had meetings in. Pushing the door open he strode in and saw Salem sitting at the far end.
"Dr. Watts, I hope your promises ring true." She said coolly.
"Yes, my Queen." He said producing a box and placed it inform of the table in front of her.
She opened it and pulled the relic, smiling. "Well done Doctor, but what about the other piece of news you had?"
Dr. Watts placed the suitcase on the table and opened it. "This machine can open the vaults, we won't need the Maiden to get the remaining relics."
"Good, but tell me what happened to the relic from Beacon, you told me you thought it was destroyed."
"Yes, my Queen, the book you gave me." He produced the book as he spoke "It isn't in here anymore."
Salem took the book and opened it and started flipping pages. "You said Hazel had it before it disappeared."
"Yes, my Queen."
"The events on the bridge, the man who appeared to throw back the attack, he is most interesting." She said more to herself than to Doctor Watts. "We're moving up the time table Doctor, make another of these machines, we're going after the other two relics."
"Yes, my Queen." Arthur said, bowing out of the room.
As he left Salem wondered about the man on the bridge, and where the power of the relic had gone. It wouldn't have just disappeared, it had to go somewhere, and that man was the starting point of the investigation.
Qrow was feeling defeated as he arrived back at the house he was renting. No relic, no lead and now he had to deal with the unlawful detaining of one his nieces boyfriends brother. He believed them when they said he was Thor's brother, they wouldn't do something this reckless unless they were certain.
Still, he was technically a civilian, and they'd abducted him. This could get messy if it was handled properly.
As he walked over the threshold to his home, he was meet with the sight of almost all of his niece's friends sitting in the living room listening as a man restrained in a chair he assumed to be Loki spoke.
"You've all been busy." Qrow said as he walked into the house and everyone looked at him.
"He's been talking." Thor said, not happy "But he isn't giving it away all at once." Thor's tone of voice was irritated, but also seemed resigned that this was how his brother worked.
"That was when I realized what my semblance was and started to really make my way in this world." Loki said as if he was giving useful information.
Nora let out a loud groan "He's just leading us on!" She bellowed "Thor, make him talk." This time is coming off as more of a whine.
"I could never make him talk." Thor muttered.
"Well…just break something." She said nonchalantly.
"We aren't going to torture him Nora." Ren said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Wouldn't do any good." Thor said, watching Loki smile "There's nothing we can do to him that would be as bad as what he's experienced."
Qrow stepped forward and spoke "What does he know?"
"He says he knows about Salem, where she is, and what her plans are." Jaune responded.
"What make you so sure he isn't lying?" Qrow asked "Isn't that his whole deal? He's the god of lies."
The looks on everyone's face told him they were aware of this and were leery of him.
"I can prove it." Loki said. "Just take me to my apartment."
"Why? What's there?" Qrow asked.
"Your missing relic, and something else of interest."
The room got quiet for a moment and Loki just kept smiling.
Yang waited for the doctors to come to tell her what the news was and felt incredibly ragged. This was the worst part to her, of anything potentially unpleasant.
She'd been here for a few hours already and she was not a person who could sit still for long.
"Miss Xiao Long?" a voice came from her left and Yang looked up to see a Doctor, still in the surgery gear. "Your mother is out, she's resting now, if you want to sit with her until she wakes up, I can show you to her."
No, she really didn't want to sit with the woman unless she was answering questions, but if she was there when she woke up, she could get right to the issue. "Okay, lets go." She said standing up.
The walked down the hall into one of the ICU rooms where Raven lay, as still as a corpse. Yang felt her heart stop for a second. She looked almost dead, her skin looked so pale it was almost translucent. But the beeping of the machine's told her that wasn't the case.
"You can sit down if you want." The doctor said gesturing at one of the chairs "A nurse will be in shortly." With that the doctor left Yang alone with his unconscious mother.
It was almost surreal to see her like this. She hadn't seen her in person since a time she probably couldn't even properly remember. She didn't count the time on the train, given the mask and her own concussion.
In her mind, over the years of searching and periods of obsessing, this woman had taken on an almost mythical status. Now her she was, looking like a cadaver, and vulnerable.
It scared her, it made her angry and in some perverse way, satisfied her. That made her feel sick, but her resentment of the woman was bubbling up inside her, and all the hurt feelings and emotions she'd associated with her for so long came to front of her mind.
"You know I've hated you for a long time." Yang said to her still sleeping mother. "You abandoned me and dad." She took a deep breath "Then when you ever give me so much come near me, you leave before we can so much as talk."
"I wanted to make you strong." The voice made Yang almost jump out of her skin before she realized it was coming from her mother.
"How's that now?" Yang asked.
"I wanted to you struggle and fight for something you wanted, that's how I grew up." Raven said, opening her eyes and looking at Yang.
"Look were that's gotten you." Yang said through clenched teeth. "I'm only here for answers, your own brother doesn't want anything to do with you."
"But I was strong."
"You were alone."
"I'm not going to apologize for it Yang." Raven said.
That hurt her to the core, it cut much deeper than she ever would have expected. "Then I don't know why I'm here." She said and turned to leave. She walked slower than she normally would have, hoping he mother would call to her, try and talk to her. But it was silence.
She walked out of the room and leaned against the wall. Her eyes were burning and she rubbed at them to try and get rid of her tears.
She didn't know what she'd expected, some big explanation, a revelation? No, just a neglectful woman who's own weird sense of "upbringing" had left her without a mother.
This was not at all what she wanted to happen. But it was over, as anti-climactic it was.
She felt completely empty inside as she left the hospital, because despite what she had suspected, she hadn't ever been ready for his mother's indifference, she didn't think anyone ever could.
Raven watched her daughter leave the room with little more than annoyance at how she'd been raised. She should have brought her back to the clan to raise her with a proper sense of the world. But she didn't care for children, never had.
At most she felt an atavistic sense of familial fondness for Yang, she'd saved her once and that had been all she'd ever done for the girl. Tai and Qrow's sentient had made Yang soft, that was probably why she had lost her arm.
Still, watching her daughter leave her alone with nothing but the sound the hospital equipment, made her feel lonely. The sound of the machines somehow seemed so much more suffocating and isolating than the sounds of nature she'd been surrounded by since the camp had been attacked.
None of her underlings were here, most of them were dead, and those who weren't would have scattered.
Her brother had made sure she'd gotten here, but she felt that wasn't really out of sibling love.
Yang's word "You were alone" echoed in her mind. She hadn't thought she was, but now as she lay here, abandoned by her blood relatives, and whatever remained of her clan, she thought she may have been right.
Just knowing a person didn't mean you were really connected with them, and as she pondered this, she thought she had no real friends. Underlings and minions, she certainly had. She had their respect, but it had been a long time since someone had known her on an intimate level, not since her time at school she was tempted to think.
She closed her eyes and listened to beeping of the machines, and for the first time in a long time, she wondered if she'd made the correct choices in life.
"You know if your lying, you going to be in a world of trouble." Qrow said as he, Thor and Blake escorted him back to his apartment. They had discussed it and while everyone wanted to go, Qrow immediately knew that having that many people would draw unwanted attention. For this same reason, Loki was unbound and allowed to walk free, but at the center of the group. He wasn't a fantastic warrior by the accounts of the group and while tricky, didn't have the means to escape.
"Why would I lie?" Loki said in an innocent tone that sounded anything but.
The truth was it was to his advantage to tell the truth in this situation, but Thor had made it very clear that Loki by his very nature would cause minor problems just to spite someone.
The Apartment was still a mess for the fight and the apprehension, but as they entered, Loki raised a hand to stop them.
Blake spoke first "What is it?"
"Someone else has been here." He said as he looked around the room.
"How can you tell?" Qrow asked stepping forward, looking around the apartment.
"I'm sure you can smell it." Loki said turning to look at Blake.
Blake looked offended at first, but then she did pick something up. It was faint, but it smelled like a cologne, one that none of her friends wore. But she had no idea how Loki had picked it up.
"He's right." She said, sniffing at the air to try and get a clearer scent. "How did you know? Can you smell it?"
"No." Loki said as he walked into the room "But I was certain you could."
"Then how did you know someone was here?" Thor asked, following his brother to make sure he didn't get to far away.
"Someone's been going through my things." Loki said as he approached his desk and picked up an open lockbox. "It's gone."
Qrow knew what he meant, but asked anyway "You mean the relic." It was a statement more than a question.
Loki nodded and dumped the rest of the contents on the desk, sifted through them and pocketed some persona affects.
"What about the other thing you mentioned." Blake aske "The machine that opened the vault."
"Gone." Loki muttered, now very aware of the fact he was out of cards to play. He could try and trick them, but Thor would diffuse any attempt he made.
"So, you lied." Thor said not sounding the least be surprised.
"No!" Loki didn't quite shout, but still louder than necessary "You and your gang thugs abducted me and left this place open to any who wanted to come in." He pointed an accusing finger at Thor. He started rifling through papers on the desk and found a piece of paper and threw it at Thor.
It landed on the floor in front of him and bent over and picked it up. It was a photo-realistic drawing of a man.
"Who is this?" Thor asked waving the paper at his brother.
"I'm willing to bet everything I own it's the man who stole the relic and machine." Loki said.
Qrow snatched the paper from Thor while he was talking to Loki. "How did you get this?" Qrow asked Loki.
"The relic made it, that's the man who killed the Headmaster of Haven, and given his death so shortly after I stole the relic, I'm betting he was the one behind the machine."
"So what the relic is some kind of…oracle?" Thor asked.
Loki shrugged, "In a manner of speaking, it answered every question I asked it."
"But how can you be sure this is the man who stole relic?" Blake asked.
"He is." Qrow muttered "I recognize him as one of Salem's goons." He crumpled the paper and threw it to the floor.
Silence crept over the room, and none of them spoke for a long time.
Eventually Blake broke the silence "So what do we do now?"
"I have to warn the other Headmasters of this." Qrow said to no one in particular "If that machine can open the vaults, then the Maiden's won't be needed to get the relics." He started towards the door.
"Hold on! Qrow, we need a plan, there's no way you can get to both academies in time." Blake ran after him to stop him.
"No, I can't, you kids are going to have to go to Atlas, warn Ironwood about this."
Qrow was out of the door and gone before they could ask him more.
Yang made her way as quickly as she could, her stomach felt like someone had scoped her insides out. Part of her had known everything her mother had said was coming, but she had held out hope there was more. No such luck.
Qrow's home came into view as she turned the corner, and she didn't bother to knock. She just went in and barely noticed everyone hanging around room.
She made her way right to the bathroom and closed the door. She started to strip down and climb in the shower. As the water poured over her she heard a knocking at the door "Yang…are you okay?"
It was Ruby, of course it was. "I just need a minute Ruby." She called out from the shower. Aside from time to defrag her mind, the shower was necessary, she hadn't had a shower sense the whole fiasco with Thor's brother.
But she felt the need to wash, not just the grim, but her feeling off. She wanted to put her mother behind her. Her real mother died years ago, the woman who actually raised her. But she still had her father, uncle, sister and her friends. She still had a lot. She knew she was better off focusing on what she still had rather than what she lost.
She shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. She dried her hair and realized she had no clean cloths. She looked at the cloths she'd just taken off, and while she didn't like the idea of putting on day old cloths, she also realized she didn't have any choice in the matter, this was Qrow's apartment and she didn't have any cloths here and Qrow wouldn't have anything she could wear. Well, that was strictly true, but he wasn't exactly tidy in his house keeping.
She figured she could go through a few hours of wearing the same cloths she'd just changed into, even if it meant having to take another shower later.
She got dressed and left the bathroom, to find Rudy waiting outside for her.
"Hey." Ruby said.
"Hey." Yang said in response.
"I'm guessing…it didn't go well?" Ruby said.
Yang just shrugged "I mean, no it didn't. But I don't know what I was expecting. She didn't want to see me all this time, but…" she trailed off and felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. She knuckled them away the tears.
Before she knew what was happening, she felt arms around her. Ruby had rushed in to hug her.
She squeezed her little sister back, and pulled her head to her chest. They didn't speak, they didn't need to.
The silence between them was broken by the sound of the front door flying open. They broke apart and made their way to the front room, but Qrow pushed past them to get to his bed room.
"Qrow!" Yang heard Weiss yelling after him "What's wrong? Did Loki escape."
"No!" Qrow called back. "But I have to go." He said packing a bag.
"What!" Ruby shouted as she ran into their Uncle's room "Where?"
"I'm going to Shade Academy." He threw his bag over his shoulder. "Thor and Blake will fill you in on what you need to do, but I have to go." He hugged Ruby quickly and moved to Yang and embraced her for a second before saying "Look after your sister."
Before Yang could respond, Qrow was out the front door and gone.
Everyone was flabbergasted by the Qrow's sudden appearance and departure. But they were also scared, something had rattled him pretty badly. Yang was tempted to think of the period of time while they were here in Mistral he'd gone off the deep end and started drinking much more than usual.
She pulled out her scroll and called her Uncle. Only to hear it buzz on the night stand by his bed.
"Shit." She muttered. She'd of run after him if she thought that would make a difference, but her uncle could cover huge distances when he wanted to.
She went to her second plan, and dialed Thor. It rang for a few second before Thor picked up.
"Hello?"
"Thor, what happened with Loki? Qrow just showed up and just left, saying he had to go to Shade academy."
"We'll explain as best we can when we get there, it'll be better if everyone hears it at once." Thor's voice stayed calm, and in turn Yang felt herself calming down as well. That was something she come to learn about herself, if her temper was flaring or she was getting worked up, just talking to someone who was more grounded at the time went a long way to calming her down.
"Alright…how long do you guys think you'll be?"
"Fifteen minutes." Thor said over the scroll.
"Alright, see you then."
"You don't have to push me." Loki muttered as Thor kept moving him along with repeated shoves into his back.
"Then move faster." His brother said pushing him again.
"We're here anyway." Blake said from behind the two brothers.
Both looked to see they had been so busy bickering, that Thor has shoved Loki past their destination.
Thor grabbed Loki collar and dragged him back to the home Qrow had rented and up to the door. He didn't knock, he just opened the door and shoved Loki in.
Loki kept his footing and adjusted him shirt as he stood up right. The room was full of hostile people, all of whom were trained warriors of some superhuman level. He wasn't as much of a pushover as he let them think he was, but Thor alone would demolish him, he'd always been the warrior, he needed to play it cool and try and figure out something else now that his bargaining chips were gone.
The blonde girl, Yang came into the room and went right to his brother. From him understanding, his brother was intimate with he girl, which seemed to be her preference, mortal girls.
"Thor, what's going on?" she said "Qrow bugged out and left us here saying you and Blake." She gestured to Blake as she said her name "Would explain."
Thor signed and started with the explanation "Long story short, the relic is gone, along with some sort of…device to unlock the security blocking them." Thor shrugged as he finished, undoubtedly knowing how weak the explanation was, but not having more to go on. "Your Uncle thinks that the relics are no long safe, and he's going to Shade academy, he wants us to go to Atlas."
"All of us?" Ruby jumped into the conversation.
"I'd assume so." Blake answered. "I'm guessing he thinks he'll move quicker on his own." She added as an afterthought.
"Well, I'm certainly ready for a change of scenery." Loki said smiling "I look forward to a colder climate, reminds me of home."
"You aren't coming with us!" Ruby shouted at Loki.
"Oh, so you're going to leave me here?" he said raising an eyebrow "I'm fine either way."
"Your going to a jail!" Ruby shouted back.
"For what charge? Existing while Jotun?" He said while sounding genuinely confused.
"For all the crimes, you've committed!" Ruby shouted not getting really excited.
"You mean while I've been here?" He gestured at the ground for emphasis "Because there aren't any of those. Unless of course you mean from before, good luck convincing the authorities of that." Loki cleared his throat and did an incredibly cruel, but eerily accurate impression of Ruby's voice. "Here he is officers, God of mischief, he's been turning people into frogs for years!" He finished the impression and looked at her in a bored fashion. "I'm sure that will work very well."
"Uh..uh…" Ruby started realizing along with the rest of her friends that he was completely right. They had no proof of wrong doing while he was here, and trying to tell the truth would make them sound either insane or like trouble makers. "I suddenly have more appreciation for Thor not telling us the truth." She muttered.
"If anything." Loki continued "You will get in trouble with the authorities for kidnapping a civilian."
Loki was thoroughly amused as he watched the various expression on all their faces. All except Thor, who had always had a devil may care attitude when it came to the rules anyway.
"So…I'm coming, right?" Loki said smiling in a way of person who knew they had all the cards.
"I don't want him near me." Weiss said as she sat in her apartment with Jaune and Ruby. She was till embarrassed and severely hurt from the deception Loki had pulled on her, and added to the fact she was heading back to the same kingdom she just escaped.
"I know, but we can't leave him here." Jaune said "Or…well Thor won't leave him unattended, and from what I've read in the book, I get it."
"Look on the Brightside." Ruby said, "You'll get to see you sister again."
Weiss sighed at the silver lining, but she supposed that was what she'd have to do. She was also acutely aware of her own desires to reconcile with her family she had experience during her own near-death experiences in battle.
But she knew this was growing beyond her ability to properly control. Gods and monsters beyond her imagination, she had never been so uncertain of her place in the world as now.
She did her best to push these thoughts to the back of her mind. The journey back home should take precedent. They had two options, but airship or standard sea ship. The airship was the faster more efficient of the two, it was superior in every way.
Except price. With Atlas closing off it's borders, airship passage was becoming exponentially expensive. The standard ship was still pricey, but given the need to import certain things still made both needed to the kingdom. But the airships were subject to far more intensive security measures than the sea bound ships.
They probably couldn't afford an airship, not for all of them. Not for nine people, even if she emptied the money she'd saved.
A trip by the sea was likely their only option. A much cheaper, but much slower trip. She didn't know if she could stand being that close to Loki for the week or two the trip would take.
But there was no helping it, they couldn't afford an airship, and she was going to be forced to be near the man she hated the most for at least week.
All Loki could think was this room was far below his standard of living. His brother had let him retrieve a few items form him apartment, but he was still robbed of many of the comforts he wished he had. But still he had money and few items of his own invention to help him along the way.
But this ship was not at all in line with what he considered fitting for someone like himself. It was designed to ship cargo, not people, and while it had modified to do so, it wasn't pleasant.
It was dank and dark, the only respite they received was on deck. He could get fresh air there and escape the squalor of the sleeping quarters.
On the deck of the ship Loki breathed deep the cold salt air. This felt right, this felt like home. Not his home from infancy, the cold world of his birth where it was cold enough to kill a mortal man in a moment. No, Asgard was like the north country of Midgard, cool year-round, a snow could occur even in summer.
They were getting closer to the North most Kingdom of Atlas. Maybe after all this was said and done, he could work his way into a power base in this Kingdom. They were the most powerful of the four, and wealthiest.
Maybe this for the best, Mistral was getting tiered anyway. As he walked the deck, he wondered how his brother would fix this mess. He'd long since given up on wondering if his brother could achieve something, but more how. In the eons they had been alive, he just seemed to achieve his goal, no matter how impossible it might have seemed.
Even in mortal form, which had happened to him before, but he had some advantages he didn't normally have, some super human abilities.
He turned a corner and headed towards the bow of the ship. As he did, he noticed a familiar head of white hair leaning over the railing staring off into the ocean.
He walked quietly up to Weiss, his footsteps a quiet as a cat.
"Thinking of home?" He said once he was close, hoping to make her jump. No such amusement, she just looked at him for a moment and looked back out to sea.
"Leave me alone Loki." She muttered.
He didn't listen, a terrible habit of his really, he never listened. Instead he walked to the railing and leaned on it mimicking her.
"You know it wasn't all lies." He said, just looking out to the sea.
"Forgive me if I don't believe you." She muttered, still not looking at him.
Loki again cursed the frailty of mortals, and the affect it was having on his mentality. Her comment stung him a bit, when he was normally imperious to such things. This was the working of his father, to make him feel like a mortal man.
"Well, tell me what you think my semblance is." He said.
"Tricking people, Thor said you can make people believe your lies." She said.
She wasn't completely wrong, but they had only picked up on part of it, and that was to his advantage.
"So, by that logic, I could only make you believe deceptions." He said.
"I suppose."
"So, what about the truth or real things? You think I was lying constantly?"
She didn't answer right away, and he took that as a good sign. His semblance was far less affective on the suspicious, but the confused were more accessible.
But he didn't use it. He told himself he didn't need it, his own charm would carry him, and it was more trouble than it was worth right now, given she knew about it.
Instead he stood there, next to her in silence for a few minutes.
"I understand." He finally said.
"What?" She finally turned to him, but he still stared out into the ocean.
"Why you don't want to go back." He said.
"What are you talking about?" her voice was getting agitated.
"You family is in Atlas and you don't want to face them." He turned his head to look at her now, and Weiss thought for a moment she saw empathy in those eyes, but it gone the next moment.
"I'm certain I-"she started, but he cut her off.
"You told me enough, and your famous enough that the research was easy." He turned from her to look back out to the ocean. "Your father…I know something of father's who think of their children as tools."
Odin, his father, adopted or not, whom he loved and hated at the same time. He was to be used to achieve his own goals, just like Weiss's father had done with her, her sister and brother. Granted Odin's goals had been for more magnanimous the Weiss's father, but still to this day, the truth stung.
Weiss didn't answer for a long time, and eventually he even forgot she was there as he stared out to the ocean.
"What happened to you?" she finally asked.
Loki just glanced at her before responding "You've read the book, you know."
"I'd like to hear it from you." Her voice was much gentler than he had expected it to be.
"I'm assuming you know the general idea." He said with a sigh. "Frost giant runt abandoned, taken in by the King of Asgard, raised as a prince." He said before really getting into the more personal parts. "But I didn't know for years, and when I found out, I also found out Odin took me to try and use me to become a bridge between the two races, make me a sort of…puppet king." He hated the story, but it was so well known to most at this point that he didn't much bother to hide it.
Weiss didn't say anything for a while, but just turned to look at the ocean. "My father has always tried to control me."
"And do you have a brother who your father favors unconditionally?" Loki said with a laugh.
She didn't answer right away, but eventually whispered "Yes." But then she added "I have a sister though, she'd do anything for me." Loki laughed at this and even shook his head. "What's so funny about that!" She shouted.
"Me and Thor used to be like that, as close as any two people could be but…well you've read the book."
"You did that!" she almost yelled "It's your own fault you two grew apart."
Loki just shrugged "Maybe part of it, but my father certainly didn't help, with the praise he showered on my brother while ignoring me. The people loved him, he was the hero of the kingdom. I was laughed at and scorned because I choose to fight with my mind rather than my body." He looked at her, and the expression in his eyes made her step back, sorrow was showing in those startling blue eyes. "A person can only be treated as some vermin for so long before he becomes one." He turned away to stare into the ocean.
Weiss wanted to believe his show of emotion was genuine. But she knew she shouldn't, the time she'd known him before his true identity being reveled was less than three days, and she was certain she was under the thrall of his semblance at the time, which would explain her emotional infatuation with him.
But she thought she saw some glints of real emotion in his face. She did now a bit of his past, from the book, and he seemed to be following that line, but with his own personal point of view.
But she recognized the feeling she was having. These were feelings of wanting to believe, rather than truly believing. It's a sensation she associated with her family, of wanting to feel one thing because it was preferable to the truth.
She hated Loki, but at the same time she empathized with him. As much as she wanted to put that off on his semblance, if he was to be believed, which she knew he shouldn't, he'd had a rough time of it. The book backed it up. Unwanted son of one King and the tool of another, not likely to make a happy man.
She felt like she should say something, because she sort of felt like she'd seen a similar treatment from her father. But there was no way to vocalize it without it being condescending. A 'I know how you feel', was one of the worst things a person could say to someone dealing with some sort of issue.
Instead she said, "Can we start over?"
Loki glanced at her and spoke "I don't want to repeat myself."
"No…I mean…" she sighed and then extended a hand "I'm Weiss Schnee."
It took him a moment to respond. But a smile a graced his lips and he gripped her hand and shook it. "I'm Loki Odinson."
The use of the Norse naming conventions for his last name was not lost on her. 'Odinson' was his way of showing he thought of Odin as his father, despite everything.
But as he shook her hand, he pulled gently on her arm and leaned in and kissed her hand. She wanted to pull away, but instead she just let him release it and her hand fell to her side. Her face flushed as he smiled at her and that's when it struck her.
His near constant smile, she knew now why it seemed so familiar to her. Thor did the same thing back as Beacon. He smiled all the time and at first, she'd found it irritating, but now, she'd never admit it, but she loved it. The constant cheerfulness when happiness had been a stranger to her for so many years.
He smiled, and Thor smiled, but with Loki she wondered if it was real.
"As touching as I find this scene, if it isn't too much trouble Weiss, I would like a word with my brother." A voice that startled her said.
She turned to see Thor standing behind her and Loki. Despite his size he was so quiet in his movements, it almost wasn't fair. Then she remembered he was a literal god and knew that it wasn't.
"Of course." She said before turning to Loki and saying "Loki", with a nod, all the acknowledgment she gave him before leaving the two brothers.
As Weiss left, Thor walked to the railing and leaned on it and looked into the ocean. Loki mimicked his posture and leaned on the rail and looked out as well.
It was some time before Thor spoke "What happened between us Loki?"
"We're grew apart Thor." Loki muttered.
"I thought we'd be fighting side by side till Ragnarok, now…at least once a year we are at odds, trying to kill each other." Thor's voice had traces of sadness in as he spoke.
"Thor, we are to different." Loki said "I was treated as an outsider my whole life, it can only happen for so long before I start to act like it."
Thor snickered at this "Maybe, then, but now? We both stand here in human bodies. We are equal in most regards."
This time Loki snickered "Maybe in body, but not mind." He breathed deep before continuing "We still have the minds of gods, and all our experiences, it doesn't wash away so easily."
"In some ways…yes, but the human body…it has desires we don't' have." Thor said, still not looking at his brother.
"If you are talking about carnal desires-"Loki started before Thor cut him off.
"No, I mean the desires of humans for companionship, I've felt this before, if you recall my previous experiences, but you…I don't think you've ever had to truly deal with it."
"What are you getting at brother." Loki said, tired of Thor's attempts at being vague.
"Humans have a much stronger desire for personal relationships than a god does, and while we are human, we have the same desires." Now he turned to look Loki in the face "I care for Weiss as a friend, and you hurt her, but I think…she may have glimmer of genuine affection for you."
"Human sentiment" Loki muttered.
"Your sentiment I think." Thor said "You can't escape the human emotions that come with this body."
Loki shook his head "I am still myself." He said.
"Yes, but being human…it changes things. You feel thing differently, see things differently, the human perspective changes things in you."
Loki sighed before he responded, "I know your right." He muttered "My time in this mortal form, I feel things differently, and I don't like it, I want my old body back."
"Loki, that is the lesson, to learn while we are here." Thor said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"How would you know?"
"I've been in this situation a few times, if you recall." Thor said smiling.
Loki was sure he was right, but would never tell him that. "So, here we are, mortal." He muttered "What is father's plan? I don't remember how I got here, do you?"
"No, and I think that's part of the test." Thor said.
Loki sighed, believing his brother was telling him the truth as he understood it, but there was more he'd like to know. "I want a look at that book you have, I think it might have some answers."
"You know." Thor started "I've thought that you might be able to decifer things in that book that none of us could, ever since we found it."
"I didn't think you thought so highly of my abilities."
"Loki, I thought the world of you when we were younger." Thor said "You always knew the answer to questions I couldn't even understand. I was jealous that you could just think of answers as easily as I breathed."
Loki looked a Thor confused for a moment before responding. "What are you talking about?"
"Loki, you and me did everything together, and you knew all the tricks and answers, all I could so was smash my way through the obstacles."
Loki laughed "I was jealous of your strength you know, I wish I was a warrior like you."
"I suppose we always desire what we don't have." Thor said, turning away to look at the ocean.
The two brothers stood in silence for some time before one of them spoke again.
"So are you going to tell me how you ended up looking like father minus two limbs?" Loki asked.
Thor chuckled before responding "I got worked up and ignored an opponent that was stronger than I thought. I didn't know his skill set and I paid for it. But I did a fair bit of it to myself."
"Care to explain?"
"My equipment failed and literally blew up in my face." Thor gestured at his eye. "That's how I lost this and thing." He patted his mechanical arm.
"And the leg?"
"He took it, I rushed in and got carless, he took it."
"Well, I hope you paid him back." Loki said as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Oh, I did, took his arm." Thor said, "Then I don't know what happened, but I doubt I'll see him again."
"Hmmm." Loki murmured. "Seems like he took more."
"I took the rest of it Loki." Thor said, "My leg was him, but the rest was my doing."
The silence came over them again.
"Don't hurt her Loki, any more than you already have."
"What are you on about?"
"Weiss, you hurt her, and I feel like if I don't say something, you'll do it again."
"Why would I?"
"I've told you, the nature of a human body will make you want companionship, and she is interested in you. I don't know how much is genuine or how much was from your manipulation, but it's there. I'm not sure if it's better or worse that you might feel some of the same feelings, but…just don't hurt her."
"What about you?" Loki said trying to turn the conversation "You and the that girl Yang?" He said, "You can't stay with her, you'll out live her, she'll be gone in the blink of an eye."
"If we were still gods, I might agree with you." Thor said, "Probably not, but maybe." He said turning to look at his brother again "But I've thought about this for some time, and I think this time I am supposed to learn what it truly means to be human." He looked Loki over for a moment and said, "You too probably, and that means experiencing a mortal death."
Loki's eyes went wide at this "You mean, we are meant to live and die as mortals?"
"I suspect it yes." Thor said staring out at the ocean again "And I intend to live with no regrets."
"Then what?" Loki asked.
"Then." Thor smiled as he spoke "We'll know what awaits humans after death." He clapped his brother on the shoulder and turned to walk away. Leaving an irritated Loki to think of his fate on this world.
Weiss sat on the edge of her bed, livid with herself. She was falling for that stupid charm again. So, what if he was handsome, well spoken, and had excellent manners. He was literally a trickster god, that was the last person she ever wanted to know her intimately.
Never mind the fact that he lied to her about his name and…well she didn't know what else, but she was sure there was more.
But what really had her mad was she wanted to believe him. The logical part of her mind was telling her she was being stupid. But her more emotional side was yearning to believe him. She didn't know what caused her to want to believe him, although she had her suspicions.
She knew she'd felt lonely for a long time in her life, and the only time she really didn't feel that was at Beacon. The loss of that had made her…more willing to try and form relationships.
And there he was, ready to offer it, after all her friends and classmates had hooked up with each other, and were spending time with their boyfriends or girlfriends, and she didn't want to intrude on that. But she wanted it for herself, someone for herself.
Loki seemed to be that, then it all came crashing down when Thor came over to out him.
She just didn't seem destined to form intimate interpersonal relationships beyond friendship. Part of her was jealous of Ruby, drawing the attention boy who had pinned after her constantly back at school. She didn't want to think she'd considered Jaune the "back up" if she never got a date, but she thought she might felt that way on an unconscious level, and it made her sick.
Jaune was genuinely nice and sweet young man, despite being such a huge dork. He and Ruby deserved each other, and she didn't mean that in a hostile way. She was too cold to offer either of them that a relationship they deserved…
Her mind trailed off at that thought, that she had grouped Ruby and Jaune together in that thought. She pushed it out of her mind and went back Loki.
As she examined her feelings, she knew what she wanted did not align with the reality of the situation. She wanted him to be the gentleman she'd meet, the cultured young man with the flair of culture.
She supposed he was still that, but he was a liar, she could never trust him. He'd lied about his name and… she didn't know what else.
That was bothering her, she knew he'd lied about his name, but as far as she could tell from the facts, he hadn't lied about anything else. He hadn't told the whole story, but then again Thor hadn't either.
She shook her head, realizing she was trying to rationalize the events to fit what she wanted. She just had to remember all his lies…from the book.
That bothered her as well, most of what she knew about him was from a second or third hand source. That stupid book on the Vikings. Loki was only mentioned a handful of times in it, and she didn't know how accurate it was.
As she thought of what she personally knew and compared it to what she'd been told and personally had seen, she felt an emotion swell in her chest. One that she found disgusting in this situation.
That feeling was hope.
AN: Okay, please review.