Loki paced around a bit, not straying far from his slumbering companions. Not finding anything new or of interest, other than the red mark with the odd indentation in the center of the area, he sat back down, putting his hands behind his head. "Well, the scenery is exceedingly lacking-" He thought silently as Mobius snored in the background. Loki scowled as his empty tummy growled again. "-but it's not as though I have nothing keeping me awake."
"Keeping us awake, Loki."
Loki looked around, not recognizing the deep, gravelly voice that just spoke. "Who said that? Show yourself!"
"You sounded so lonely: I thought you could do with company."
Loki readied his casket, rising to his feet but standing in place, realizing the strange voice was coming from inside his own head. "Either there's a telepathic monster lurking somewhere in here, or I'm hearing voices." He thought.
"You're a peculiar host, for sure: I follow you out of one fire and get dragged right into another. But I've learned a great deal about you, strolling down the lane of your memories. You've led quite an interesting life, with a long list of… grievances. I think the two of us could form a permanent bond. But first thing's first: we are starving!"
"It can't be the hunger: I've gone without food for longer than this without hallucinating. Maybe the heat is getting to me, combined with mild sleep deprivation and hunger!"
"I hunger for brains, Loki, and we just so happen to have two sleeping targets at our feet."
"Or I fell asleep without realizing, and this is a nightmare! Yes, that must be it: this is a nightmare!"
"Your friend with the mustache is the brains of the group, yes? You're in love with the girl, who's the same as you. Easy enough choice: his brain is more of a meal, so we eat his!"
"And since when did my subconscious hide cannibalistic desires?! That's it, I'm in desperate need of sleep. I'll just wake Sylvie early…"
"It isn't cannibalism if you're not human."
"'Hey, sweetie, could you start your shift now? I know I still had a ways to go, but I'm hearing a creepy, demonic voice in my head, that's telling me to bite off my best friend's head in his sleep and feast on his brains, but maybe if I get some sleep it'll go away…' yeah, there's a lovely conversation, that'll go over with her well!"
"Let me devour his big, juicy, scrumptious brain, Loki! After all, a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a delectable thing to taste!"
Loki sat back down and put his face in his hands. "Aaaaagh, I don't need sleep, I need help! I could wake Mobius instead for a quick therapy session…"
"Alright, I'm done talking!" Loki stared incredulously as his mouth opened wide against his will, but he quickly clamped it shut with his magic. "No telekinesis, cheater!" Loki's hand suddenly grabbed at his mouth, trying to pry it open. "Open our mouth, damnit, we're hungry!"
"I'd like to wake up now!" Loki thought. He unsheathed Lævateinn and gave his possessed arm a quick poke, leaving a small cut. They both grunted in pain. "It looks like I'm not asleep. That's it, I need to wake Syl!" Loki struggled to where his girlfriend was sleeping and tapped her back. "Hey sweetie, could you start your shift please? There's a parasitic demon in my head trying to make me eat Mobius's brain!"
Sylvie stared blankly at him for a couple seconds. "Get some sleep, Lolo."
Loki took her advice, making sure Sylvie was completely awake before nodding off. Inside of his mind, however, the deep voice continued to call to him.
"Lokiii, we will taste that brain! Wake up!"
Loki's eyes blinked open. He glanced over at Mobius, still asleep, while Sylvie stood in a defensive stance, watching him nervously. She drew her sword. Confused, Loki noticed his reflection in the fire, and he saw a black goopy monster with blank green-tinted eyes and white razor sharp fangs for teeth.
"Good morning. I'm in control now. Say goodbye to Mr. Mobius."
"Sylvie, stop him-me-us!" Loki shouted. "Mobius is in danger! Protect him!"
Sylvie stepped between him and Mobius, but a monstrous claw extended and knocked her aside, holding her at bay. The creature opened its mouth wide, moving in on the sleeping human detective.
"At last! Food, glorious food!"
"NO, STOP!"
Loki screamed as he helplessly watched it inch closer to his therapist, trapped deep inside. Monstrous fangs closed around Mobius's head.
"NOOOOOO-!"
They chomped down, and a sea of red flooded his vision.
"NO! No no no, Mobius, no! What have I done?! Oh no, no, no-" Loki, with tears in his eyes, looked around in a panic as his vision returned him to the fiery atmosphere of Muspelheim. "You monster, I'LL KILL YOU! GET OUT HERE! GET OUT-"
"Loki, it's okay, I'm here!"
"Wha?" Loki turned towards Mobius's voice, seeing his friend sitting next to him.
"Whatever you saw, it was just a dream." He reassured him.
"Mobius." Loki sat back down, breathing a sigh of relief. He looked to his other side. "Sylvie." He looked around him again. "Where's our obnoxious guide?"
"Dunno." Sylvie answered. "He hasn't come back yet."
"Should we wait for him?"
"I vote no. If he knows this place as well as he claims, he should be able to find us without a problem."
"Sounds good to me. Now-" Loki studied the surrounding paths. "Wait, the path I marked is gone!" Loki gritted his teeth. "So that's what that two-faced Muspel was doing while we slept!"
Mobius peered down at the symbol in the center. "I remember the way this symbol was facing when we arrived: we came from that path."
"Good, at least we know which path not to take!" Sylvie smiled.
"That symbol must have been put here for the Fire Giants' benefit, some kind of trap, I'd guess. There's an indentation here, though I'm not sure what goes in."
"I think you're correct: it's most likely a trap." Loki surmised. "We'd best be off." They decided on a path together, marking another trail behind them as they went along. Unfortunately for Loki, it didn't take long for that dreaded voice in his head to return.
"Ahhh, that was such a nice dream we had last night. Too bad we had to wake up right at the good part: I could practically taste that braaaaain!"
"I suppose neither of you heard that voice just now?"
Sylvie furrowed her brow. "You mean the one you were hearing last night that told you to eat Mobius's brain?"
Mobius almost tripped. "Say what now?"
"Yes." Loki cleared his throat and imitated in a deep, raspy voice, "He sounds like this, over-enunciating his syllables in a reeeally creepy mmmanner."
"Uh, Loki? I think the heat's getting to you, buddy!" He felt Loki's forehead and jerked his hand back. "Whoa! You're burning up! I think you might be getting heat stroke!"
"I'm not so sure anymore, Mobius. Maybe?"
Sylvie tore off a piece of her cape and conjured some ice inside it. "Here." She placed it on his head, cooling him down a bit.
"Awww, that's sweet. By the way, has anyone ever told you that you have a talent for voices? You could double as an comedic impressionist!"
"That was the 'monster' you had the nightmare about, wasn't it?" Mobius figured, and Loki nodded. "I could pencil you in for a therapy session after we solve this case, if the voice doesn't go away."
"If we last that long; how long is this freaking maze?! If we don't find something to eat soon, I am going to eat your brain, Loki!"
"You will not, monster!" Loki thought silently.
"Then find us some food nowww!"
As the creature barked its order, Loki's stomach gave a long, loud series of grumbles, making him grimace. "Well, whatever you are, if you're going to be living in my head rent-free, so to speak, for the time being, we could at least be civil and work together to escape this place! You obviously know my name; what's yours?"
The creature paused. "Grievance. That is what I'm called."
Loki nodded. "Sounds fitting. You called me a host: am I to assume you're some sort of alien parasite, Grievance?"
"Symbiote, not parasite! I am descended from a species of symbiotic beings, hailing from a planet called Klyntar. We travel far and wide, searching for beings to bond with, so we can become complete. When joined, the two become one being, each fulfilling the other's needs, and for me, that would be braaains."
"Oh yes, I distinctly remember telling myself last morning how I only needed a demonic voice in my head, ordering me around and threatening my friend's life, and all my dreams would come true!"
"Really?"
"No!"
"Hmmm. Anyway, I am a predator: in exchange for feeding me, I will protect you, heal you from harm. Check you arm: do you see the cut?"
"…no. Did I dream that?"
"Not that part: it's healed. I have amazing healing abilities, amplifying even yours! I offer power! Our abilities combined, there will be no stopping us! That is another reason why I believe so strongly in our bond, if you provide me the nourishment I require!"
"Why do you require brains?"
"They are a natural source of phenethylamine, a chemical compound we Symbiotes need to survive. It's in my biologyyy."
"But phenethylamine is also found in other foods, like raw meats, eggs, seeds, nuts…"
"And chocolate!"
"Right, that brown Midgardian substance that's extremely sweet…"
"Chocolate!"
"Yes, chocolate!"
"That's what my last host fed me. Chocolate is my second favorite food, but brains are my number one favorite!"
"Your last host…" Loki repeated, coming to a realization. "You were bonded with that child in the fire on Contraxia, weren't you? You were the 'us' he was referring to when he cried for help!"
"Correct, detective! Contraxia was a cool, snowy paradise, especially compared to this hellhole! I hate heat! It frightens me!"
"And did you switch to me because of my Frost Giant biology as well?"
"Your body temperature is at a very pleasant level. Yes, we have a great deal in common, and so I chose you!"
"And I saved you from the temple fire. You're welcome."
"…I thought you'd never welcome me. No one else has, not truly. I do understand you, Loki, I empathize. You aren't afraid of me as my other hosts have been, but I know what you do fear: you fear watching your friends die. Fear of being left alone: I know the feeling. That is why I chose not to bite off little Mobius's head while we slept, in addition to your mind being too powerful for me to control completely. Nevertheless, I will not wait around for us to starve to death, so I give you until your next slumber to eat something, or I will make a buffet of your organs in your sleep, ideal host or not!"
"Then why don't you make yourself useful and actually help us find a way out of here?!" Loki gritted his teeth, so disturbed by Grievance that he didn't hear his friends' voices calling his name.
"Loki, snap out of it!" Sylvie slapped him lightly across the face.
"What?!"
"I asked if you could teleport through to the other side of the flames!"
Loki shook his head. "That's not how my teleportation works: I have to see my destination before I can warp there. And even if I didn't, I haven't a clue how wide these walls of flames extend!"
"Well, then that's bloody useless, isn't it?!" Sylvie berated.
"As opposed to what, your strategy of knocking down or blasting away any obstacle in your path? This is a puzzle, Sylvie, and puzzles require strategy to be solved!"
"Then stop daydreaming about your imaginary friend and come up with one, so we can get the Hel out of here and kick Fire Demon ass! You're supposed to be the detective mastermind!"
"Alright, you two, just calm down-" Mobius interjected.
"You think I'm losing my mind, don't you?" Loki accused.
"No, we think the heat is making you hallucinate." Sylvie corrected.
"Hallucination is a symptom of an extremely high fever." Mobius pointed out.
"But I'm not hallucinating, a symbiotic alien invaded my body on Contraxia, and he's threatening to eat my brain!" Loki protested.
"And the brain-eating part must have been brought on by hunger."
"Can our 'tech-saavy' Loki at least fix the TemPads!?" Sylvie questioned.
"With what?" Loki inquired.
"Can't you conjure something?!"
"Nothing helpful, no! If you haven't noticed, I'm having trouble thinking while being nagged from both sides!"
"Then maybe you should have stayed at the Sanctum, because you haven't been any more helpful than that fire troll you let screw us over! Would you at least try to come up with an idea!?"
"Ah Sylvie, ever the hothead. You want an idea to get through the flames, how about using your thick head as a retardant?!"
"Oh, you-"
"Well? How-"
"ENOUGH!" Mobius shouted above and stepped between them. "I know you two tend to bicker at times, but not like this! We're all tired, and hungry, and hot, and sick of being stuck here, but going at each other's throats isn't gonna get us out of here! Let's just cool down, maybe cast some ice and have a cool drink of water, and put our heads together to figure this out, okay?" Mobius's stomach gurgled to cap off his speech, earning him sympathetic looks from the mischievous couple.
Loki took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, Sylvie, for what I said. I behaved quite boorishly, didn't I?"
Sylvie shook her head. "You were merely reciprocating in kind." Loki warmly smiled as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, I'm sorry too, and I want you to know that whatever's going on inside you, we're here for you. We won't let these Muspels and their games faze us."
"No, we certainly…" Loki's eyes slowly lit up. "Phase! Sylvie, you clever girl, you've just given me an excellent idea!"
