Chapter 13
The Devil's Pit
Sitting within the bullhead on the request of his father, Loki had a frown of confusion and inner conflict as he thought of the images within his mind, the most one on his mind being the memory of him as a human as a toddler, and the woman in his mind being his mother.
Inhaling slightly with his eyes closed Loki felt Nora grab his hand seeing she was sitting beside him.
Looking to her eyes of genuine worry he smiled slightly as an image flashed through his vision of him caressing her right cheek before he blinked to clear his thoughts, rubbing his eyes to help quicken relieve the ache of his mind before the Bullhead shook from turbulence.
"Where the hell did this come from?" the pilot questioned as storm clouds began to gather as they approached the volcano look alike.
Making Loki stand up to look at the storm clouds to notice one detail…
They weren't clouds.
"Huh, talk about volcanic ash, this stuff is mimicking the effects of a storm," Odin said as he leaned into the cockpit before a stray lightning bolt neared the Bullhead, making everyone buckle up as the circuits sparked, with Loki being hit by the stray lightning.
Making Nora grab him and pull him away from the source of lightning as power returned to the Bullhead, allowing the pilot to swerve upward to avoid crashing, leaving Loki to Nora's care as she used her semblance to drain the excess lightning from his body.
"Is everyone alright!?" looking to the Pilot with a relieved look Yang gave him the thumbs up as they lowered to the ground to see…
"White Fang, what the hell?" looking to the ground below to see no one the pilot set out the landing gear before touching down, allowing the three teams to rush out to hiding spots with the Bullhead quickly taking off to keep them undetected.
"Why are the White fang all the way out here, their's nothing out here?" Blake questioned as yang and Loki looked for any White Fang.
"Doesn't look like anyone's her?e" Yang said with Loki narrowing his eyes in thought before he stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth, making everyone stare at him in alarm.
"OI, DICK MUNCHERS, ANYONE HOME!" Loki yelled with his eyes scanning the surrounding portable buildings from Atlas for any movement, making everyone ready their weapons for a good minute until Loki came back, startling Jaune who flinched.
"Coast is clear" Loki said before leaving once more, walking to what looked like a mine entrance with carts holding freshly mined dust.
"Hey Weiss… you may want to see this!" Loki said as he held a dust shard with a fire effect, turning to the Schnee who stared in awe as the carts were filled to the brim, with Yang, and Yennefer walking to a parked cargo truck.
"I guess this explains why the heists stopped in Vale" Ruby said as she held a green dust shard before they heard Yennefer scream with Yang turning to the leopard Faunus who stood before an open door.
"Yennefer!" Odin yelled as he rushed to his sister, turning to the door he paled and brought his sister into an embrace.
Moving to check what got the poor girl startled Loki took one look and immediately went to stop Ruby from looking herself, getting a thankful look from Yang as she stared at a dead WF member with half his head missing due to a bullet wound.
"Seems someone got here before us" Weiss questioned as she closed the door with a shiver up her spine, allowing them to move to the mine entrance to see… more corpses, but some dangling from the roof and walls with tendrils of Flesh.
"Well, Shit!" Jaune said as he slumped his shoulders at the sight of death in the halls.
Turning to Yang who held Ruby close at the sight of bloodshed Loki spoke.
"Will she be alright?" Loki questioned with Yang looking down to a shaken Ruby.
"No, I don't think so" Yang said with Loki looking up in thought before he spoke.
"You two stay up here and keep watch"
"Alright, that team of Huntsmen sent here to keep watch over us will be here soon" Yang said with a nod, making Loki sigh as he turned to the trail of corpses he frowned as he gained an inkling of recognition to the tendrils.
"Shall we go?" Lie Ren questioned as he held stormflower at the ready.
"Yeah, let's go" Loki said with a nod as what remained of the teams followed him into the mine.
Walking in the mine shaft with a tense feeling of being watched, Loki held up a torch to light the way, followed by everyone else to cover more ground, with the teams noticing some corpses looking half burnt to the bone along side the torn bodies.
"This looks like the work of two people" Gabrielle said as she held her shotgun-sword up to point to an abandoned revolver, its ammo used up with the metal looking like the design of Loki's own hand-cannon.
Making him frown at the thought they moved onward before they came to a large cavern with a hole leading downward, with an elevator hooked up and still running.
"Hopefully the power doesn't cut out on us" Pyrrah said as they made their way to the elevator, with Loki looking over the edge of the walkway to stare down to spiral before his mind flashed to the falling pit before he was shook out of his thoughts by Lie Ren who gently pulled him away from the pit.
"Are you alright Loki?" Lie questioned with Loki nodding as he rubbed his eyes as he followed them to the elevator, with Odin checking the controls with his eyes focusing in surprise.
"This thing was refuelled just an hour ago" Odin said with everyone looking amongst each other before Jaune turned to Pyrrah and Lie.
"Go and give yang and ruby some back up in case"
"We'll do the same" Yennefer said as she and Gabrielle followed after the two, leaving Loki, Odin, Blake, Weiss, Nora and Jaune at the elevator before Loki took a cautious step onto the machine, hopping once to test the strength he nodded to the others who carefully got on.
With Jaune looking at the controls.
"Huh, just like the ones at home" the Arc muttered as he pressed in a dial of buttons before the elevator began to descend.
"So, who wants to bet we'll encounter whoever killed the White Fang up there?" Odin questioned, trying to lighten up the mood with the others giving him a look.
"Okay I won't talk" Odin said meekly with the six sharing a soft chuckle.
Allowing the four to stand in the elevator before Nora spoke.
"Now what?" sitting in silence in thought Loki held up a fist.
"Rock, paper, scissors anyone?"
Crouched down beside a mining terminal, John Marston pressed in digits for a screen of recent shipments to Vale along with planned heists, standing up away from the terminal John turned to see Alex Mercer crouched down with a gem of ash in hand, looking to it with a calculating look John stood beside him.
"Is she sure this'll work, it won't back fire at all" John questioned as he looked to the right of the room where a stone wall was broken down, showing another cave system reaching further down.
"Yes, I have complete faith in Hoshi and her plans, the kid will have some aspects of our abilities once he finds this, along with most of his memories before he came to remnant" Alex said as he let the gem hover in the middle of a circle of runes made by ash.
Turning to the small cave entrance the two approached it to look down, seeing crystal walk ways leading down.
"This reminds me of that cave scene from that Pokemon movie Loki had us watch one time" John said with Alex looking up in thought.
"Pokemon White?" Alex questioned with John clicking his fingers.
"That's the one, now come on, we still got things to leave the kid, Geromino!" John said before jumping downward, leaving Alex in the caver entrance before he rolled his shoulders before jumping after his current companion.
"hey what do you think Starrk and Sasori are doing right now!?"
"Knowing them plus Lillynette, scouting other realms for that anomaly," Alex said as he landed on an archway before dropping further down.
Leaning on the elevator wall, Loki let out a yawn as they continued descending downward, with Nora leaning against Loki with Jaune looking to his scroll with a game playing and Odin simply stood with his arms crossed.
Before the elevator dinged upon arriving at a floor, making them get up and step out to see more WF corpses lying about, with Loki walking forward cautiously with his hand-cannon's aimed, turning back he saw Jaune walked by him with Odin holding his spear at the ready while Nora had her hammer ready to swing, Blake her Gambol Shroud and Weiss her rapier.
"I'm starting to think whoever did this is long gone now" Jaune said with a hint of hope in his voice as he saw half a body burnt to the bone while the other half laid with a puddle of blood around it.
"I'm starting to hope that too Jaune" Odin said as he held up a glowstick for the two present humans, illuminating more corpses in the hallway that led to a set of stairs.
"All in favour to just running through this part?" Jaune questioned with a sick voice.
"let's go" Loki said before Odin rushed forward, followed by Jaune and Nora while Loki stood back in confusion.
"Oh yeah give me a warning why don't cha?" Loki said as Weiss rolled her eyes before she rushed forward as well with Blake following, with Loki following close behind as they ran through the hallway to a stairway.
"I feel like I'm in a horror movie the more I think of this" Odin said with Blake smiling at his choice of words.
"This does have the making of a possible movie" Blake said in agreement as they stood at a door which led into a break room, which led to another part of the mine.
"How big is this fucking place?" Loki questioned in frustration as he looked out a window.
"There's got to be a terminal somewhere to look at" Weiss said as she began to look around, walking by an opening to a cavern she looked back at sensing the air shift, looking she blinked at the sight of an open cavern with a Gem hovering before it.
"Loki?"
Looking up from a box of supplies Loki saw Weiss turning to him from her spot with her right hand pointing to the opening.
Making Loki walk to her side to see the Gem hovering there before he approached and picked it up, feeling an odd sensation of being complete as he held it he frowned as Blake called to Weiss from a terminal, walking to Blake to see what she found Loki looked to the Gem in a trance.
"Whoa" Odin said as he walked to the cavern entrance, looking down to the crystal-like spiral downward, looking up he saw it reaching upward to a small opening.
"Can dust survive close to a volcano?" Odin questioned upon coming to a realisation, making Weiss approach and look up to see the cavern reaching up.
Looking down she frowned at the crystal walkways going downward.
"This is an odd formation for a Volcanic tube" Weiss said before she carefully climbed down, followed by the others but Loki, who stood staring at the gem in his hand, subconsciously calling to from his hand he snapped out of it as the gem gave off the same affect.
Blinking he quickly followed the others.
"Careful coming down, it' hard to get a footing or grip" Jaune said as he dropped onto a crystal walkway, making him blink at the sight of two foot indents beside him.
"It also seems we're going the same way as our two unknowns" Blake said as she carefully walked down the walkway due to being in low-heeled boots.
Helping Weiss walk down herself due to being in combat heels, Nora simply walked by them with no worry for her balance, making the males chuckle at the sight of Nora's happy personality.
Leaning over the edge to see down Loki frowned as his ears picked up two voices rising up the cavern.
"You hear that?" Blake questioned suddenly with everyone stopping, looking around in thought Jaune squinted at a wall before bringing up his scroll for its torch function, making him pale at the sight of human figures clinging to the walls.
"Uh, we may want to be very quiet now?" Jaune said as the figures moved in a trance like state.
"Let's get out of here, now" Loki said as he lifted Weiss, Blake and Nora in his arms and dropped to a walkway below, followed by Odin and Jaune who ran after them safely dropping down every so often.
Making the figures made of ash turn to the noise, looking on in silence before turning back to their supposed slumber as the Huntresses and Huntsmen in training reached the floor.
"Okay, now I feel like we walked into a horror movie" Loki said as he landed on the ground of the shaft, lowering the three girls he saw Weiss and Blake blushing while Nora hopped off his back, allowing him to catch a falling Jaune, with Odin hovering down to them.
"Those were like that thing that we encountered in Forever Fall, but they looked like blank slates" Odin said as they saw another cave opening, proving this wasn't a volcanic tube.
"I know" Loki said as he walked through the opening, seeing an open area, which had an alter like area in the centre, making Loki blink as he saw no coffin, just a one alter surrounded by several others.
"This looks important" a voice said with the teens moving to hiding positions, keeping an eye out they saw Alex and John walking to the alters, with Alex bringing out a gem similar to the one Loki had, making everyone turn to him in surprise before looking back to the mysterious duo.
"So, remind me what these do again?" John questioned as he watched Alex place the gem on the middle pedestal in silence, not noticing a ripple come from the pedestal.
"These are to help keep stabilise Loki's powers as the grow faster, if they were left untamed… well, anything he thought would come to reality" Alex said as he stepped away from the alter before the two looked up at hearing a distant growl.
Making Odin and Loki pale in recognition to the growl, making the gem Loki held glow as he walked to the two, making the others whisper for him to come back, walking to the alter unnoticed by John and Alex he aimed one of his hand-cannons to them.
"Who are you two?" Loki questioned with the two turning to him with looks of surprise.
"John, what day is it?" Alex questioned with the cowboy looking to a wrist watch.
"we're on the day Loki wakes his memories and powers" John said with Loki aiming his weapon at John.
"I won't repeat myself, now answer my question, Who are you two, and why are you leaving these gems behind!?" Loki questioned with Alex relaxing.
"We're from the future… not this worlds future" Alex said with Loki frowning as Alex gestured to the gem.
"You've noticed how these have a small trace of your powers right?" looking to Mercer Loki gave a small nod of a yes, making Alex smile in accomplishment.
"You, in the future come to us for help… in keeping the multiverse stable, I'd tell you more but, the gems will do that for us"
Walking forward with a tip of his hat John spoke.
"You came to us in a time where a world was on the brink of destruction because you couldn't do it alone, you and the one who gave you this power gave us power in exchange for help" John said before his head erupted into a flaming skull of blue flames, making Loki and those watching stare in awe.
"You brought me back from the dead, Alex a new look of humanity… and others, hehe, I'll let you figure that out in the future kid" John said as he stepped back from Loki who lowered his weapon.
"Who are you two?" Loki questioned with Alex shrugging his shoulders, making his bodies, mass ripple into a full armor.
"Alex Mercer"
"John Marston"
Staring at the two in awe and shock Loki went to speak until a portion of the cavern crumbled downward as a being let out a roar of entry, making Alex and John ready for a fight.
"Great, this things here" Alex groaned with Loki giving him a confused look as the others approached to help fight.
"What is it?" Nora questioned with John looking to her in recognition before shaking it off.
"This is what Loki would become if left alone over time" Alex said as his right arm rippled into a blade, making Jaune and Odin whistle as a smoke cloud approached, making Odin get ready for a fight until he noticed how much taller and bigger this version of the being was.
"This will be Loki if he's ever pushed to his breaking point" John said as he stared at the all too familiar form of rage and bone that glared at them.