Silver and Scales
Chapter Thirty-Five: Fallen
"Vyperia."
"Hm?"
"It's time."
The darkness eluded Vyperia and Loki in the bedroom, lying on their backs, sprawled on the bedroom. His voice disrupted the heavy silence between them. Though as he said his final word, Vyperia looked at him with minor shock and sat up-right, grasping his meaning.
"That frightens me."
"There is no need to be frightened."
"Loki, I suppose there is no way of persuading you otherwise, but…"
Vyperia gazed down at Loki, whose head was cradled in his hands. His eyes, which had staring up at the ceiling for the last half hour, detoured to meet hers. He recognized that anxious expression on her face.
"It must be done," he muttered. "There was never a chance of turning back."
Vyperia sighed shakily.
"What must I do?"
"Wait with Mother in Odin's chambers. Make certain that the Frost Giants do not harm her; and be careful."
Vyperia passed a weary hand over her face. Loki sat up; he stopped her shaken image with a hand on her cheek. He steadied the panic in her eyes. Vyperia turned her head in his hand and kissed the tips of fingers. He smiled at her.
"I know that you are frightened," said Loki. "Everything will follow as planned. Do you still trust me?"
"Always." Vyperia answered truthfully.
Loki brought her forehead to his lips.
"Then you have nothing to fear," he said against her heated skin.
Vyperia smiled; Loki was relieved to see that empowered look on her face. He released her, and she slid off the bed. Vyperia dressed into her casual robes. Loki followed suit and went to his side of the room where he started to gather each piece of armor onto his being. Even as he did so, Vyperia watched him with pride.
He might have been willing to destroy Jotunheim; but even now, she couldn't deny that the confidence that he was radiating was toxic. They dressed quickly.
The Frost Giants would be awaiting for entry into Asgard to carry out the agreement.
When they were dressed for 'unexpected' company, they met each other at the bedroom door.
"Darling, please be on time," strained Vyperia. "I don't want to have to calm Frigga after she sees Odin being slayed in front of her…"
"Everything will be fine," Loki assured her.
"Give me your word," said Vyperia sternly.
Loki smiled at her, for she portrayed that strict anxiety once more.
"Your word," repeated Vyperia tightly.
Loki cradled her cheek and brought her mouth to his lips with one final kiss. She kissed him back, pulling him close to close the gap between them. After an enduring embrace, Vyperia slowly pulled away. The smile returned to him and he said with a soothing voice,
"My word, pet."
Vyperia, satisfied, nodded and walked out of the room.
Loki watched her retreating back as she disappeared around the corner.
Vyperia's stomach churned unpleasantly as she darted down the corridors to head into Odin's chambers. By the time she reached the doors, she was out of breath. The doors opened and Vyperia entered. Frigga was once more at Odin's bedside, ever loyal and present. Frigga looked up from Odin's pale, bearded face to see Vyperia panting against the doors.
"What's wrong?"
Vyperia chuckled breathlessly and waved that question aside.
"What? Oh," she wheezed and straightened. "It's nothing. I just…" she stepped forward. "I thought that—thought that you would like to know that…we made—we made up. It's all swell between Loki and me…He apologized. Who would guess that, hm?"
Vyperia played off her anxiety as unnerved happiness as she closed the doors behind her. Frigga seemed to be convinced of the façade, split between amusement and puzzlement.
"Oh…" Frigga began, confused, but she lightened, "Well, that is wonderful!"
"Isn't it?" breathed Vyperia, doubling over.
"Dear, you should sit down. I didn't realize that you were so enthusiastic about this…"
Frigga gestured to the seat opposite of her.
Vyperia sat down beside Odin.
"He seems to never move," she observed.
"The Odinsleep is like a catatonic slumber," remarked Frigga. "It's quiet. Restoration is peaceful, I imagine. Worries are cast out into the wind; conflict is absent…"
"Must be nice…" Vyperia muttered, wiping her brow where sweat had begun to gather.
"It must be," remarked Frigga with a smile. "Are you certain that you are all right? I've never seen you so high-strung."
"High-strung, no…" Vyperia shrugged off that high pitch in her voice as it was ludicrous to think that she was stressed. "No, I'm…calm. Collected. I am so relaxed that I could sleep for an eternity…"
Vyperia uttered a small chuckle.
"I know that it looks and sounds like I'm extremely anxious, but…" Vyperia leaned back in her seat. "I assure you, it is all happiness; except it is a little hard to contain this time around. The swelling will die down, I imagine. I'm perfect," she emphasized with a gesture indicating so.
Frigga cocked her head to the side suspiciously.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course," Vyperia remarked as her high-pitched voice came unbound.
Frigga and Vyperia sat quietly by Odin's side for several minutes…
Then Vyperia's stomach dropped when she heard shouts from the guards outside. Frigga looked up from her sleeping husband to gaze at the door. Vyperia's eyes widened fearfully as frost began to climb along the door's structure and the walls. Frigga rose to her feet and instinctively grabbed a sword from within Odin's bed stand. Vyperia slowly climbed out of her seat.
Here we go…
"Frigga," warned Vyperia as the door froze solid.
Then it was broken off its hinges and tossed aside like a rag doll. Vyperia jumped as the large doors clattered loudly upon the marble floor in the otherwise silent room. Two Frost Giants intruded; their blue skin contrasted to the golden yellows that surrounded them. Anyone could see that they were out of place.
"Out of my woman," breathed the deepest of voices.
Laufey.
The second Frost Giant stepped in front of Laufey and raised a large arm. Frigga took the sword bravely into her hands, clenched her teeth, and swung the sword around hard; it sliced gruesomely into the foot soldier's shoulder, drawing blood upon contact. He roared out of pain—he clubbed Frigga barbarically across the face and sent the former queen of Asgard flying across the room, temporarily unconscious.
Vyperia's face reddened in smoldered anger. Despite Loki's orders, Vyperia took up the fallen sword on the floor and stabbed the foot soldier in the heart, sliding easily through its muscled core. The Frost Giant cried out in agony as it slid all the way out of his body, jutting clear out the other side. He fell at her feet. Laufey and Vyperia met each other's menacing stare.
"That," said Laufey aggressively, indicating his dead bodyguard, "was not part of the bargain…"
"I didn't include knocking my mother-in-law unconscious, did I?" retorted Vyperia darkly.
"Step aside, Snake."
Vyperia took a few steps back and sauntered over to the motionless Frigga. She cradled Frigga's head in her hands. Frigga's face was slowly bruising from the foot soldier's assault. Light red freckled her face. Vyperia uttered a low growl, enraged.
She looked toward to where Odin rested.
Laufey stood over the unconscious Odin, relishing the moment. Vyperia saw his hand make a swift motion; and ice blade formed in the middle of his palm. Laufey lowered his marked face to Odin. He towered over the All-Father, readied and grinning with delight.
"It's sad that you can still see and hear what transpires around you, even in this state," Laufey's icy voice crackled. "I hope that it's true, so that you may know that your death came by the hand of Laufey…"
Vyperia saw him slowly raise the ice blade above Odin's body. Vyperia glanced down in her arms to see that Frigga was stirring.
Loki, where—?
Her unfinished prayer was answered as a blast of energy caught Laufey roughly from behind and sent the Jotun king falling to the ground, several feet away from Odin. Vyperia grinned cheerfully as Loki lowered Gungnir from his line of sight; smoke evaporated from it as Laufey gasped in pain.
"And your death came by the son of Odin."
Frigga awoke and looked upon Loki with surprise and glee.
Vyperia helped Frigga to her feet. Loki aimed Gungnir at Laufey. In Laufey's face, Loki saw the instant betrayal and astonishment. In the next second, Loki fired Gungnir a second time; and Laufey burst into a pile of blackened ash. The Jotuns who had accompanied Loki stood at the doorway, shocked. Then they uttered guttural cries as they watched their king die before their eyes. Vyperia and Frigga came forward. Vyperia took up the sword at her feet; Frigga pulled a dagger from out of nowhere (Vyperia stared for a split-second: oh, right, she taught Loki magic…).
The two shocked Frost Giants moved toward Asgard's king. Vyperia leapt up her target's shoulders, grabbled quickly around him and pulled his neck into a tight choke hold. He gasped as she constricted his air flow; he reached for her in his staggering restraint, attempting to give her that terrible frost bite. Vyperia plunged the sword into his shoulder blade—
She uttered a joyful cackle as the sword peeked out from the Frost Giant's chest. He fell to the floor. Loki strode toward her, grinning, and helped her to her feet. However, a third Frost Giant came upon them angrily. Loki stepped in front of Vyperia protectively and aimed Gungnir at the Jotun guard—
He halted in front of Loki with a face of shock and pain.
"What?" Vyperia muttered, confused…
Loki smirked as a sword emerged from the Jotun's waist. The brute fell forward at Loki's feet. Frigga came forward.
"Loki!" she breathed happily, running forward. She embraced her son tightly.
Vyperia gazed down at the bodies that surrounded them. Oh. What a mess.
"You saved his life!" Frigga said ectastically.
Loki returned the embrace, smiling. He held her at arm's length.
"I swear to you, Mother, that they will pay for what they've done today. I will end the Jotun threat." He was beaming. He turned to Odin, who still lay motionless. "…I will make you proud."
Loki savored the moment. Frigga regarded him with pride and respect. Finally.
"LOKI!"
Vyperia's stomach dropped.
"Oh god…" she whispered regrettably.
The doors had burst open and Thor—once depraved of all his grandeur and power—stood before them with a fierce look in his eye. Vyperia glanced worriedly at Loki, who met her eyes with immediate understanding.
This was not meant to happen…
"Thor!" Frigga called her son's name, stunned and delighted to see him. She ran forward, out of Loki's arms, and threw hers around Thor's neck. Thor shortly hugged her, turning to face Vyperia and Loki. Frigga looked at her sons and picked up the rising tension between them. Frigga stepped forward and grabbed Vyperia around the arm, pulling her out of the line of fire.
Loki looked at Mjolnir in his brother's hand.
"Found its way back to you, did it?"
"No thanks to you," Thor remarked.
"What?" Frigga whispered.
"He lies," Vyperia said quickly.
Thor, who had stepped toward Loki to challenge him, momentarily halted to look upon Vyperia with a noted gaze. His eyes slightly upturned to the crown on Vyperia's head then looked at his brother.
"Ah, so you've married one of our friends and turn her against me as well…"
Thor indicated Frigga with his hammer,
"Tell Mother the truth," said Thor, "how you came to Midgard and told me that Father lay dead before your eyes. Tell her how you told me that she never wanted to see me again. Tell her."
Frigga looked to Loki, alarmed and confused.
"What?" she gasped.
Frigga made to step forward, to calm the unbalanced tension between her dear sons; but Vyperia took Frigga's arm and pulled her back.
"You don't want to get involved in this…" Vyperia whispered.
Loki and Thor circled; Odin's casket was the only thing separating them. Loki held Gungnir tight in his hands, though he never betrayed a look of fear.
"They are lies," Vyperia called out in the room.
Loki glanced at her strictly. Stay out of this.
"Why don't you tell her, Loki? How you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends to kill me?"
"It must have been enforcing Father's last command," breathed Loki.
"You're a talented liar, brother. Always have been," Thor said through gritted teeth.
Loki smiled.
"It's good to have you back"—then hardened to deadly seriousness—"Now if you excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim."
Loki suddenly raised Gungnir and fired point-blank at Thor. Frigga cried out in surprise as Thor was sent flying backward and smashed through the chamber walls. Vyperia heard Thor crash through wall after wall; she stepped away from Frigga to peer through the palace corridors. Thor had flown through the other side of the castle.
Loki strode forward.
"Excuse me, Mother," he said quickly, "I have some unfinished business with the Jotuns."
"Loki, no—"
He disregarded his Mother's pleading sentences to take Vyperia by her arm, pulling her forward.
"Stay here," he instructed Vyperia.
"You told me that if it were dangerous, I would come with you," Vyperia reminded him from days ago.
"Yes, I did; but this is something different," he told her briefly. He indicated Frigga with Gungnir, "Keep Mother here where she'll be safe."
"Why wouldn't it be for you?" Vyperia asked quickly.
He didn't answer her. Instead he turned on his heel and walked out of Odin's chambers.
Frigga turned to Vyperia.
"What has happened?" Frigga interrogated her. Her entire face was distraught as she realized that her sons were not simply fighting. They were at war with each other. "Vyperia, answer me!"
"There isn't a lot that I can do now," said Vyperia, gesturing toward the Thor-shaped holes in the walls.
"Oh, Odin, please wake up…" Frigga said worriedly. "Vyperia, you must do something!"
"What can I do?" Vyperia snapped. "I am just as anxious as you are!"
"Stop Loki from destroying Jotunheim. His father would not want this!"
Vyperia studied Frigga's face, alit with genuine concern.
"By all accounts, his father would not want Jotunheim destroyed," said Vyperia, glancing at where Laufey had been lying before being slain.
Frigga sat beside Odin.
"Darling, hear me," she spoke to him with urgency. "Please…you must wake."
Vyperia sighed and closed her eyes.
Voices filled her head, many. Then her heart sank as she heard the cries and screams of the Jotuns who were being pulled and ripped apart. Loki had begun his destruction of Jotunheim. The Bifrost burrowed deep to the Realm's inner core and penetrated it with bursts of light and color, uprooting all that held the Realm together. Lives were being taken.
Then two voices came to her mind…Loki and Thor…
You can't stop it. The Bifrost will build until it rips Jotunheim apart!
Why have you done this?
To do what Father never could, to destroy their kind forever.
You can't kill an entire race…
Vyperia registered Thor's empathetic voice with confusion. Where had he learn such a thing on Earth?
What is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You, who would have killed them all with your bare hands?
I've changed…
So have I…
A pause.
I never wanted the throne! I only wanted to be your equal!
I won't fight you, brother!
I'm not your brother. Not anymore.
Loki, this is madness!
Is it madness? Is it…? And what happened on Earth that has turned you so soft? Don't tell me it was that woman!
Vyperia opened her eyes. Of course, Thor met someone. A mortal love…
Frigga turned to see Vyperia sway on the spot.
"Vyperia, what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, Frigga…I'm so sorry," said Vyperia quietly.
"Where are you going?" asked Frigga as Vyperia began to move.
"I'll do what I can!" she called, running out the door.
Loki was pinned down upon the Rainbow Bridge, Mjolnir pinning its weight upon Loki's chest. He struggled underneath the weight of it. In front of him, Thor's eyes watched with horror as the Bifrost tore through Jotunheim's surface. The Observatory was beginning to collapse on itself. While Loki was struggling beneath Mjolnir, he wore a smug look on his face as Thor trembled on the spot, searching for a solution that did not come to him.
How does one stop a Bifrost that is magically condemned to never cease?
"Look at you!" Loki said mockingly. His hands held the hammer weakly, attempting to pry the damn thing off his chest, but failing. "The Mighty Thor! With all your strength! And what good does it do you now!?"
Thor looked down at the Bridge beneath his feet, powerless to stop it. The vibrations beneath his feet from the force sped from the Bifrost energy to the Observatory.
Thor realized what he must do—and what he must sacrifice.
From the palace grounds, Vyperia ran across the concrete-strewn marble floor, racing to get to Loki and Thor where they were fighting. A plea of anxiety and desperation marked her beautiful face. It was Frigga who gave her the sudden epiphany that Loki could be in harm's way. Thor and Loki could be fighting to death. She didn't want to lose him. Not now. Vyperia was willing to go against Loki's orders—to know that he would probably hate her—but as long as he was alive. Her heels clattered against the floor as she ran outside, flying through the gardens. Then she reached the edge of the Rainbow Bridge.
Vyperia looked out to the distance. Light sparked and frazzled everywhere.
Something was wrong.
Thor extended his hand towards Loki. Mjolnir answered his master's call and flew to his grasp. Loki looked confused as he sat up weakly. His stomach dropped as Thor raised his hammer and slammed it into the Bridge. The blow was massive, and it rumbled the whole Bridge. A crack appeared where the blow struck. Loki rose to his feet.
"What are you doing?"
Vyperia's hair and robes started billow around her as she ran across the Bridge. Flecks of color from where her body points collapsed into the Bridge marked her steps, glimmering beneath her. The wind and force around her picked up as she saw that the Observatory was slowly being torn apart, but Thor was hammering at the Bridge repeatedly.
Vyperia heard Loki's voice call out to Thor with one attempt to stop him,
"IF YOU DESTROY THAT BRIDGE, YOU'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN!"
Loki collected Gungnir in his hands, rising to his feet.
"Loki!" Vyperia called to him.
Loki heard her voice and turned.
"I told you to stay—" he began angrily.
"I know what you said!" Vyperia called over the growing thunder of the Bifrost. "But you don't know the effect that is having on Jotunheim!"
"I know exactly what is happening!" Loki said to her. "Victory."
Loki ran toward Thor, Gungnir tightly wound in his hands, ready to pierce Thor through the back. Thor summoned every bit of strength that he had left, raised Mjolnir one last time, and brought it down into the Bridge with a final, terrible blow—
Vyperia screamed as the Bifrost shattered, the rainbow energy exploded, and it sent Loki and Thor hurling into the air by the force of the blast. A wave of destruction moved forward along the Bridge toward the Observatory, breaking it apart as it slowly fell into the wormhole beneath the Bridge.
Vyperia ran forward as Loki and Thor began to fall pass the Bridge. She felt a body rush past her.
"Vyperia, grab them!"
Odin All-Father pulled Vyperia's arm and brought her to the edge of the Rainbow Bridge. Vyperia, shocked to see him alive and well, looked at him with astonishment for a moment—Odin glanced at her quickly, his expression hard with resentment, disgrace, and obvious disapproval—then they looked to the falling princes. Thor gasped roughly as Odin caught him by his leg. Thor dangled over the edge. He held Gungnir in his hand. On the other side of Gungnir, Loki held on with one hand. He looked up to see Vyperia's face; steady tears ran down her cheeks, distraught with worry and plagued by concern.
"Come on," she cried, tears running down her face. "Climb up…I'll help you."
Vyperia's hold was around Thor's other leg, but she offered her arm, leaning over the Rainbow Bridge desperately.
Loki struggled to hold on; the slightest move made him move away.
"Please, Loki…" Vyperia begged.
Loki looked to Odin.
"I could have done it, Father!" he cried out. "I could have done it!"
Vyperia wearily glanced at Odin, who slowly shook his head.
"For you!" Loki said softly, "For all of us…"
"No, Loki…"
Vyperia turned her eyes to Loki, pleading with him.
Loki searched his father's eyes for some kind of approval or redemption; but all he saw was disappointment and regret.
"Loki, no," said Thor quietly, as Loki's face hardened.
"Darling, listen to me!" Vyperia cried toward him, knowing that look. "It doesn't matter what Odin thinks of you! It doesn't matter!"
Odin glanced at her. Such a calm girl was reduced to one who bargained with death.
"Loki, grab onto me…I'll pull you up!" she called down to him.
Yet as she implored and begged him, Loki's eyes met hers one last time.
Then he let go.
"NO!" Thor screamed as Loki fell back toward the wormhole.
Vyperia's gaze emptied as she watched Loki fade from her.
Steady tears renewed and fell from her eyes, and he was no more than a fallen star…
A/N: To be continued...