Revamped!

[First week of school done and I already want to die. Great].


Chapter 71: What Have You Done?

When Apollo wakes up again, he finds himself lying in the same hospital bed as before. His head aches at the base of his skull like someone had been drilling there. He turns his head to one side - away from the ache - and sees that she's sitting in the chair next to his bed; her arms crossed against her chest, one leg crossed over the other, back straight against the chair, and piercing green eyes locked on him.

Apollo tries to say her name, but he isn't sure what to say. He only knows her as the sorceress from his memories, the one who brought him here. The one he's been looking for.

"I'm waiting…" She says to him as if she's on a schedule. She plays with the many rings on her fingers before meeting his eyes which causes a sudden chill to run down his spine. "My life will end soon."

"No…" Apollo mutters, that response feeling automatic for unknown reasons. Then her name comes to him. "Sigyn, I don't want that."

He doesn't know why he's saying those words because he doesn't know what she's talking about or who she is. However, saying those words as a response feels right.

"We don't have a choice," Sigyn says to him. "We tried and tried for years but there's nothing more we can do. I thought my part of the prophecy was as bad as it got but it got worse as time passed. I couldn't stop your nightmares or your visions because they will only make you powerful when you truly need them. You don't have to remember everything, only who your target it."

Apollo has no idea what she's talking about but he feels inclined to believe her despite wanting to shiver back. "Am I safe here?"

"You're with people who only have pure intentions for you. It's up to you whether you want to stay with them."

"How can I trust you if I don't know you?"

"I swear it on my death." Her eyes narrow and a laugh begins simmering from her. "Besides, dear Apollo, they gave my crown back to me."

Sigyn holds out her hands and The Serpent Crown appears in her magic. Apollo feels his body go cold as Sigyn gently traces the snakes' scales with her fingertips. Everything felt right up until that crown appeared. Sigyn closes her eyes as she puts the crown on her head. Apollo doesn't know what's going on and it scares him. He doesn't remember everything he should but he knows that something is wrong, terribly wrong with seeing this.

The crown on Sigyn's head glows and when Sigyn opens her eyes, they're solid white and her laugh is now echoing. Apollo wants to scream but nobody will hear him over her laugh.

-o-

SHIELD Recovery Room - 11:11 AM

It's the pain in Apollo's head mixed with that frightening laugh from his dream that wakes him up. It stabs him down from the crown of his skull, shooting down to the deep interior of his brain. Even the follicles of his hair hurt as he runs a sore hand through it. His skin burns and the nerves behind his eyes are bulging.

It all hurts too much. He can't take it anymore. He wants to go home.

He's Asgardian and still has his powers but why is he in so much pain? He blames Sigyn since she caused all this but keeps it to himself.

The world is still blurry, dark around the edges, lighter in the centre. Apollo tries to see, waiting for something to focus on. He tries to move but his body feels heavy and sluggish. His mind wants to go back into the darkness it emerged from.

He finally sees a blurry face covered in short blonde hair sitting in the chair next to him with her head kept down. He isn't sure if it's Xavier or Sigyn because she almost looks like both of them.

"How do you feel?" She asks him. It doesn't sound like either of them.

Apollo looks at her as she waits for an answer he'll never get. The woman's face is sweet and comforting which puts him at ease.

"I'm Angela," she introduces.

"Angela…" Apollo mutters back. He then sees a cheerleader with the brightest smile and the peppiest attitude. Her positivity outshines any negativity as she beams out towards all her friends.

"Yeah," Angela says, nodding. "Xavier's twin."

"And a cheerleader."

Angela smiles a little. "Once upon a time."

Apollo nods. For the first time in a while, he feels truly relaxed. Angela quickly fixes her hair as she stands up to check his pulse and vitals to make sure everything's alright which it is. She still looks shaken by his presence but she still wears a smile across her face. He believes that's only for his benefit.

"How are Emily and Daniel?" Apollo asks, remembering what happened earlier.

"Fine," Angela replies. "I think they're taking a nap or something. We're rotating shifts on keeping you company."

"Or making sure I don't attack anyone."

Angela raises an eyebrow at him, not commenting on that statement because it's true. "Do you want tea?"

"I don't like tea," Apollo replies.

"Well, what do you like?"

"Not tea."

Angela scoffs with a small smile. She goes into a cooler by her chair and searches through it for something that isn't tea for Apollo. The only option is water or ice chips. She picks the water.

"May I ask you something?" Apollo asks Angela as he forces himself to sit up in the hospital bed.

"Anything," Angela replies.

"Why did you give Sigyn back The Serpent Crown?"

Angela drops the water bottle at the unexpected question. She picks it up slowly, trying to think of something to say but nothing comes to her. Now, Angela is the one unable to answer. She straightens her shoulders as she sits down on the chair across from him and puts the water bottle on the side table. Angela rests her elbows on the side of Apollo's bed and scoots her chair closer. Her hands are pressed together and she points them at Apollo.

"Apollo," Angela states, "we didn't give Sigyn the crown. After we retrieved it, your father came to get it."

"How did you know it was truly him?"

The thing is, she doesn't. Angela hopes that Apollo doesn't notice her hesitation at his point. They never assumed it wouldn't be Thor but now that he's asking, was it really Sigyn? Thor, assuming it was the real Thor, said that Apollo and Sigyn left Asgard and have been gone for a while. Was Sigyn on a quest for the crown that they got first? But it wouldn't make sense for her to do an elaborate scheme like this, would it?

"Why would Sigyn do such a thing?" Angela asks him. "Why didn't she just get the crown herself instead of having SHIELD make us dive to the bottom of the ocean? Why bother come disguised as Thor when she could just show up as herself? Why didn't she just steal the crown from us when we hid it from SHIELD? Do you even remember who Sigyn is?"

Apollo shrugs. "She's just a sorceress playing with my mind. I don't trust her plan or what she's doing."

Angela just goes along with Apollo's statements despite her strong want to oppose each of them. Back then, Angela would trust Sigyn with her life and she knows that Apollo would do the same. Now, everything seems extremely different.

"Where is Sigyn?" Angela asks.

"I don't know," Apollo replies.

"Where were you before you came to Midgard?"

"I don't know."

"What would she have planned?"

"I don't know."

"How could you not trust it if you don't know it or her?"

"I don't -!" Apollo cuts himself off when he feels his rage building up. He's already taken on too many people trying to help him.

Angela pauses, watching him calm down from an Apollo she doesn't know to one she doesn't recognize. She hesitates on whether to tell him that Sigyn appeared in their dreams to tell them to get him or the truth of how they know her. She decides to keep it to herself since she and Apollo aren't on the same page about The Serpent Crown and its whereabouts. Then again, she isn't one to argue with her amnesiac friend. Who knows, maybe Sigyn's plan was for them to get Apollo.

"You have some memories, right?" Angela asks him.

Apollo nods. "A few. They come when they want."

"None of us have seen or heard from you in seven years and now you're here with memories of us only because they came to you."

"And so?"

"What have you done to end up like this?"

Apollo shudders, unsure.


[Do you think Sigyn has a plan? If so, a good one or a bad one?]