Stolen Stars:
Chapter Nineteen
I'm waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
I'm breathing in the chemicals
I'm breaking in, shaping up, checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
(Radioactive – Imagine Dragons)
0o0o0o0o0o0
Hel's cottage that sat on a suspended rock in the middle of space was not exactly what Rose was expecting when she set out to find the ruler of this particular realm. This came both as a relief and an anxiety when Rose considered who exactly she was dealing with.
Rose followed Queen Hel into the cottage, which was dimly lit by wax candles. The place was clean, and sparsely decorated. If Rose hadn't looked closely, she would have missed the particular oddities that signified that this was a place of power, the helm from which Hel dictated the fates of souls. A huge bookshelf that stood against the wall opposite the kitchen was filled not with old tomes, but with clear glass jars labeled with unfamiliar runes. Mists swirled inside, and Rose swore she saw a tiny ghost hand press against the side.
Before she could continue her inspection of Hel's home, she was ushered into the kitchen. The dark woman gestured to the squat wooden table and chairs that stood in the center.
"Um, I don't mean any disrespect," Rose started hesitantly, "but I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"Sweetheart, you are not going a step further if you do not have something to drink. Time does not have sway over my domain anyway. Sit."
The blonde obeyed, and a glass of water was immediately placed in front of her. Rose eyed the glass and then the hostess cautiously, but took a drink. Nothing out of the ordinary, no strange feeling, and Rose was suddenly aware of her own thirst. She quickly drained the rest.
"See, the problem with the living being thrown into my realm," Hel said, sitting across from Rose at the table, "is that you soon wither away into actual death. It is a headache to sort out if you lot aren't able to get out on your own."
"If I am living, why was I being held here?"
"You are not quite living. Your soul has been separated from your living body. That was the work of Jorgmandr, the Snake. Its purpose is to gain the power of the Bad Wolf and the throne of Asgard through Loki's body…and yours. Its influence is already significant; there is little It cannot accomplish at this point," Hel explained. "I had no say in your captivity. Or Loki's."
"How is my body still alive if I'm down here?"
"Never you mind," the goddess waved the question away. "You seek Loki the Trickster, yes?"
"You know where he is?" Rose said, placing her glass down onto the table.
Hel fell silent, evaluating the woman before her.
"How much do you know of what you are, Rose Tyler?" the Queen asked in a quiet, curious tone. Rose furrowed her brow at the change in subject.
"I'm not…do you mean the Bad Wolf?" Hel nodded once. "I mean, I know I am stronger than the average human. I can regenerate. Pretty sure I can do it again."
"You have exactly six regenerations left inside you. That's enough for at least three millennia if your years are not cut short by plague or bullet."
"What are you getting at?" Rose asked.
Hel leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands as she gazed at Rose. Rose felt like she was being dissected; a thoroughly unpleasant sensation. From the angle of candlelight, Rose was able to watch the strange grey mist that slid under the goddess's skin.
"I want to make you a deal, Rose Tyler," Hel said. "I will send you to where Loki is being held."
"Held? Like I was held?" Rose asked. "Why can't you just bring him here like you did for me?"
"It's not exactly that simple. The Snake still holds sway over Loki's soul as well as his body. You must go to him, not the other way around."
"And what about getting back to Asgard?"
"Truth is, I can't ensure your return," Hel admitted. "That is completely up to those already in Asgard. Ragnarok is happening; I must keep the gates of my realm sealed shut from the onslaught. There may not be a world of the living to return to if things go a certain way."
Rose fell silent as the Queen's words sunk in. The Snake, whatever it was, had possessed Loki and was going to use his body to take over Asgard. Their only hope now was Odin, Thor, and the rest of the Asgardians stopping this Ragnarok and finding Loki and her in Hel. If they even found out what happened to them.
In any case, Rose was not going to leave or spend the rest of eternity in Hel without Loki. If his tortures were anything close to hers, there was no way she was going to abandon him. She had to find him and break him out.
"What do you want in return?" Rose asked Hel. The goddess smiled.
"I will make it possible for you to enter Loki's world, and you can move along anywhere in my realm if you manage to release him. If the Asgardians are successful in stopping Ragnarok and reaching into Hel to free you, I will allow safe passage in and out. All of this I promise you," Hel stated, "if you surrender unto me the rest of your regenerations."
"What?" Rose stood from the table abruptly. Her hand clutched the cloth of her shirt over her chest, as if afraid that the goddess was going to steal the regeneration energy straight from her heart.
"That is my offer, Rose Tyler," Hel said calmly. "You can either take it, or I will leave you to walk in the Forest of the Dead once more."
"I will be left with this life only?"
"A mortal life," Hel observed. "Your second one, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, you'll still keep some of those little Bad Wolf quirks, but you will not be able to survive death any longer. You should thank me. Not many Midgard-born flaunt such longevity."
Rose was tense, stubbornly fighting the urge to run. No, these were her lives, she had so many things to do. She was going to see the stars again now that she finally reached her home universe. And now her time would run out?
But Loki was waiting. Suffering most likely, and the more she stood there contemplating the possibility of a human life or no life at all, the more he was suffering.
"Fine," Rose breathed. "My remaining regenerations for access to Loki and free passage out of here if a rescue party comes."
Hel slowly took to her feet and walked over to Rose. Rose could see the stars dance in the goddess's eyes as the woman held out an ebony hand.
"Deal?"
Rose inhaled deeply, and grasped the Queen's hand.
"Deal."
0o0o0o0o0o0
"The new dawn, sisters."
"A clean slate."
"No more playing fortune tellers and standing on the fringe of the World Tree."
"Asgard will understand the full might of Nornheim."
"We will not be denied any longer. So many years of the All-Father cutting off interference and involvement in the affairs of men and gods alike. No more."
"Seidh bears our message of Ragnarok to the Nine."
"The brothers fight, and each will fell the other."
"It is written." "It is written."
As the younger two of the Great Ones managed the strings of Fate's Well, the Eldest stepped away into Time. She watched silently upon the realm of the Aesir, and she knew.
She knew the doubt that grew like a weed in Seidh's breast, and the Eldest, too, knew the mind of Jorgmandr.
She knew what was to come from the Snake's awakening. Power unlike anything seen since before Time, since the Creators spun mass and energy and light into existence. Destruction that even Nornheim might fall under.
There would be Chaos, this all the Norn knew and prepared for. Even Seidh—the young Norn who so courageously and piously upheld the duties assigned to her—understood the grand event that was unfolding before them.
The Eldest watched as Seidh forced back tears, and the Eldest watched as the young Norn thought upon the loss of simple expressions of affection and love by these lesser gods. Affection and love so tenuously built only to be destroyed by forces more permanent and absolute. The Eldest watched as Seidh felt regret.
The Eldest knew this, because sometimes even Fate could be blinded by sentiment.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Rose was suddenly in a world made of ice and snow. She shivered, bringing her leather jacket tighter across her chest. The wind howled and tugged at her hair as she approached her destination.
Before her stood a huge tower sculpted from the glacier that flanked it. The threshold soared above her, opening like the maw of a great ice beast.
A cry echoed from inside.
Rose spared no thought at what may await her inside the temple, only ran towards the shouts of her friend.
The echoes confused her at first, and Rose reached a dead end more than once. As soon as Loki's voice grew louder and clearer, Rose knew she was getting close.
A huge hall opened up into a round unfurnished room that was likely the main temple area. Rose did not have time to inspect, however, because she halted in shock at the image before her.
"Loki!" she gasped. Her voice was overwhelmed by the agonized scream from the tethered body on top of the ice altar. A huge black mass was curled and hovering over the trembling Loki, and tendrils of poison brushed against his face.
Rage flooded Rose's veins, not unlike how she was snapped out of her stupor in her own mental prison. Warmth and light filled her chest, giving her courage as she faced down the part of the Snake that had her god captive.
"Oi!" she snapped at the Snake, raising her gun—the only weapon that stayed with her during her time in Hel. A strange thing to keep, but Rose didn't think too much on it.
The serpent jerked away from Loki, hissing in surprise as It surveyed the presence of the woman in the temple.
"Ah, the Defender. How did you manage to escape?" It asked, Its nonchalance false as It slithered towards Rose.
"Guess you aren't as strong as you think."
"No matter," the Snake said, Its chuckle like dry leaves. "Time to put the dog in the kennel."
Rose fired a shot at the monster's head. It found its mark, and the Snake howled in anger and pain. She did not have time to recover from the recoil before It lashed out. The huge Serpent managed to cross over to Rose within a heartbeat, and suddenly Rose found herself flying through the air and crashing into hard, cold rock.
Luckily nothing broke from the fall, but she barely blinked before the Snake was on her again. Rose rolled to one side and fired her gun at Its neck, missing.
A scaled tail covered in black muck lashed at her hand, disarming her. Rose scrambled back against the wall as mottled fangs nearly grazed her shoulder. The fight to survive cleared her head, and there it was. That tiny flame of warmth that preceded all of those sessions with Loki. This might not be the poison, but maybe it was enough to destroy it along with the Snake once and for all.
"Surrender, Rose Tyler," It growled as It pinned Rose to the wall. "Loki is mine, and you are dead."
Rose yelled as she pushed against the Snake's weight and concentrated on that tiny spark. With a rush of triumph, she felt it multiply tenfold.
"I've got one thing to say to you," Rose growled, her fists clenched. "BYE."
With a snap, the room was flooded with light. An unholy screech echoed through the hall as the bit of the Snake tied to Loki's soul perished.
When the short connection with her Bad Wolf self dwindled, Rose collapsed in relief. For a moment she forgot she was not alone. Another strangled cry came from the man on the slab, and Rose lunged to her feet.
"Loki!"
The world melted, and suddenly she was tripping over twisted metal on the top of the roof of a skyscraper. If the skyline was anything to go by, she was in New York City. The first one, not the New New etc. York. She would have thought she had been transported to Earth if not for the complete silence.
No sirens, sounds of fighting, nothing. Smoke wafted from upturned cars and mangled buildings.
And Loki was nowhere to be seen.
"Hello?" Rose called, turning to look for another living face.
And then he appeared, right below her on the terrace of the building she found herself on. Loki looked up and caught her gaze with a cold expression.
He was dressed like he had been all those years ago when she found him stranded from his fall off of the Bifrost. All green and black leather and metal. Except for the helmet. That was new.
Like a ghost, he vanished.
"Fight me."
Rose shrieked in surprise, spinning to see Loki standing only a few yards behind her.
"What?"
"Isn't that what you were trained for, Midgardian?" Loki mocked, brandishing the spear. "Destroy the threat? Save the Earth?"
"Loki, listen to me, this isn't real," Rose started, taking a step towards him, her hands raised pleadingly.
"Oh, it is very real, Miss Tyler," Loki hissed. "I mean to rule your world, and you are in my way."
He swung the spear at her, and Rose hardly had time to dodge it.
"Oi, watch it!" she cried. He didn't heed her, and the spear came around again. The trickster was right on her, and Rose had to catch the pole in her hands to keep it from colliding with her head. Rose's left hand was clenched around the pole immediately beside Loki's right hand. With a jolt, she could feel the poison that was still clinging to Loki's already frazzled mind.
"C'mon, Loki. It's me, Rose," she protested. She grunted under the strain of his weapon, but she held her ground. "Don't tell me we're gonna go through this all over again!"
"Why not?" Loki's grin was manic and desperate, his face only inches from hers. It pained Rose to see it. "Maybe we'll both get it right this time."
"What are you talkin' about?" Rose exclaimed.
"War," Loki snarled.
Without warning, he shoved Rose backwards. She backpedaled, attempted to keep upright. Rose yanked the spear towards her shoulder with a sharp cry, forcing Loki off-balance. Moving with the momentum, the woman elbowed him in the chest and wrenched the spear out of his grasp. Loki wheezed and doubled over in surprise, but Rose was caught unawares as something sliced at her calf.
A shining, now blood-smeared dagger was clenched in Loki's hand, and Rose panicked. Hating to hurt him, but knowing that he wouldn't listen to her otherwise, Rose chucked the spear over the ledge. She took advantage of Loki's confusion at her abandonment of the weapon and summoned all her willpower to tackle Loki to the ground, taking care to avoid his answering thrust with the dagger.
Straddling Loki's waist, Rose grabbed his wrist and twisted, making the dagger drop from his hand. The scuffle was messy and pain from her injured calf interfered with her concentration. She allowed the blow that glanced off of her cheek as she stripped the vembrace that held his knives from his armor. They wrestled at each other for a moment as Rose ripped off every dagger she could find and tossed them off the rooftop after the spear. He tried to take a swing at Rose, but she caught that arm as well and a well-placed elbow to his kidney robbed Loki of his fight for a crucial moment.
Now in control of all limbs, Rose wrenched Loki's arms above his head, locked his legs together with her own, and forced him flat against the ground with her weight. Apparently the strength of the Bad Wolf wasn't taken from her along with her regenerations, because she managed to hold him down despite his brutal writhing.
"Loki, you're in Hel. This is all in your head. Come back to me, please," Rose begged, panting.
"No, I need to finish this!" Loki shouted, struggling violently underneath her. "I need…I need…"
Rose saw awareness and confusion flicker across his face and his scuffle subsided slightly.
"Please, Guns," Rose whispered, tasting the blood of her split lip. Her head dipped lower in exhaustion, her hair falling from her loose braid and brushing his jaw. "Please."
Loki shuddered, his pupils blown wide.
"Rose."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Thor was strained; Seidh could see as much through the ash of debris that covered the battleground.
The god of thunder had the strength of his father, but his youth suited him to this particular enemy better than Odin. Even so, there was sweat on his brow and blood staining his armor. The Snake did not tire; It darted like Its namesake, and the power shifted underneath Loki's skin as if it wanted to burst forth from its casing.
Seidh flinched when Thor cried out in anger and pain once more. Another slice opened upon his leg, but the warrior pushed on.
"Have you had enough, princeling?" the Snake crooned. "I tire of this game. Stand aside and accept your fate. Even the Norns knew this was to come."
"Then they know I will not yield to a vile thing such as you!" Thor exclaimed. "Release my brother."
"I shan't."
With a roar, the prince released a shock of lightning towards the Snake. It was knocked back a foot or so, but emerged unscathed.
"Do you not see Odinson?" Jorgmandr crowed. "The more you fight the weaker this body becomes. And I will shed it like the phoenix reborn, more powerful than ever. No realm, no corner of the universe will be safe from me."
The Snake looked up, and Seidh swore It saw her. She shivered when It grinned.
"Not even Nornheim."
Seidh inhaled sharply. No, they were promised. They knew the Snake would not enter their realm. It couldn't.
She turned her sight to the Great Ones, but not one of the three took heed of the Snake's words. She turned back to see the battle resume, and panic flushed through her veins.
Seidh was taught from infancy that you cannot change a fixed point in Time. It will create a rip, a tear in the fabric of Fate. The weaving of the Great Ones was absolute and to interfere could mean catastrophe.
But isn't catastrophe upon us now? she thought. The apocalypse, the turning of the tides. The deaths of the valiant and the torture of the redeemed…what would it be for? To prove Nornheim has knowledge?
A tear, a rip, a Void.
Seidh gasped.
That was it.
Seidh wrapped herself in the energy of the Norn and appeared between the fighting brothers in the Great Hall of Asgard. Thor froze, but the Snake growled at her.
"What are you doing here, witch?"
She said nothing, only fixed her will on the Snake and clenching her fist, rendering It immobile.
"What—" It spat, then hesitated. She felt It probe her mind, and before she was able to shove the Snake out, It saw her purpose. "No! This was not written!"
"This is the might of Nornheim, World-Eater. Asgard will not fall to you, nor any of the Nine."
With a potent sweep of her arm, Seidh pushed the blond prince back as far as was prudent with her will and then turned her attention to the Snake in Loki's body.
"This universe is mine, it is owed to me!" Jorgmandr shrieked in rage.
"It has spun on without you for millennia," Seidh stated, her resolve absolute. "I think it can spin on for a few more."
In the corner of her mind, she heard the cries of protest from Nornheim and the Great Ones, but she ignored them. She turned instead to the creation of a rip, the change that occurred in clash with the fixed point.
The kind of rift that allowed Rose Tyler to come through from the other side.
Seidh whispered words of power, the runes that pulled the medallion out of the armor in Loki's breastplate; the medallion that was placed in the temple in Nornheim for the prince to find all those years ago.
The Snake grappled after it, but the piece slipped from Its grasp and into Seidh waiting hand.
"No!"
Seidh held the coin aloft, her chants growing louder. The coin began to glow green and black, and Loki's body fell to one knee.
"You cannot—!"
The body collapsed onto the marble of the hall, empty of the soul of Jorgmandr but still breathing.
The rift rippled, and Seidh examined the hole between worlds. Yes, it would be a good keeping place for now.
"Nornheim allowed your release, Jorgmandr. And so I demand your permanent banishment. By action, by blood, it is written."
She tossed the medallion into the black, just before the rift closed like a curtain.
"What…is It gone?"
Seidh took a shaking breath before facing Thor, who looked dazed and exhausted as he knelt on the ground by his brother, ensuring that Loki's body was still alive.
"Yes. The Snake is trapped beyond our worlds. The Realms are safe from Its influence for now."
Thor dropped Mjolnir and rushed to the shimmering gold casing that was his father and the Bad Wolf. They had not moved from the throne podium.
"Can you fix this?" he demanded, his hand reaching out to the gold but not daring to touch it. "Are they alive?"
"The Bad Wolf sustains both your father and Rose," Seidh explained. "There is little time, Asgardian. You must ride into Hel and rescue the souls of Loki and Rose Tyler. Only Rose can sever the link between Fenris and the All-Father."
"How?" Thor asked, exasperated. "Even if the Bifrost was intact, such a feat is impossible."
"Not so," the Norn contested. "The greatest steed ever known has the ability to ride through Hel's Gates."
Thor's eyes widened in realization.
"Sleipnir."
Seidh nodded.
"Quickly, Thor. Your father's life depends on it."