Revamped!
[Happy birthday to me and my queen, Hayley Atwell!]
Chapter 98: In a Limbo
Stark Towers - 11:26 AM
"Xavier, wait!"
Xavier storms out of the hospital wing and that's when he realizes that he's at Stark Towers. Angela runs behind him, calling him back as Xavier sees the others. They stand at his presence, surprised to see that he is awake and ask him questions he doesn't hear. Xavier doesn't even stop running because he just goes straight to Apollo and punches him right in the face.
Everyone jumps at him, wondering what that was about. Apollo, still bent over from the punch, holds his jaw. Xavier did no damage to him, but Apollo raises his eyebrows because he's very impressed. He looks up at Xavier, expecting a raged explanation for his actions based on his approach and punch.
"Did you kill Sigyn or not?" Xavier asks.
Apollo is taken aback for a minute and so is everyone else. Apollo laughs a little, thinking that was revenge for attacking him when they reunited but then stops when he sees how serious Xavier is about this.
"I don't know who Sigyn is," Apollo says. "I told you that."
"You do! You know her and I saw her!" Xavier screams at him. "I was probably unconscious here but I was in Hel - that afterlife realm or something like that - with Sigyn. Your cousin whom you forgot for some damn reason!"
Apollo is silent, processing what Xavier just yelled at him. The others all gather together behind them, listening in closely and figuring out what this was about.
"I hope he isn't going crazy…" James mutters.
"I knew Britney was involved," Merida says. "Even before that cryptic note."
"I feel more scared than I should be," Emily whispers.
"Is this a side-effect of something?" Iqadi asks.
"Not that I know of," Daniel replies.
Apollo still shakes his head at Xavier's words and Xavier feels more defeated than ever.
"I was with her!" Xavier yells. "She told me pieces of what happened on Asgard for the past seven years. She said that she broke a promise with you about that death prophecy and then you banned her from coming to Midgard! How could you do that to her, to us?! What the hell happened?!"
Apollo isn't sure how to take this. Everything Xavier said goes on an orbit around his head. Some familiar, others not. Xavier is so persistent in getting the answers that he knows he won't be able to get, but that won't stop him from asking.
"She said she was in a limbo but she was there and has been for months," Xavier says softer this time. "Maybe she was just mentioning the limbo to make me feel at ease, I don't know…"
"Are you done?" Apollo asks carefully.
"I guess," Xavier replies weakly.
"Have you finally uncoiled?"
Xavier looks up at Apollo, remembering a conversation they had when Apollo first came back. Xavier mentioned how he felt coiled about his feelings towards his Britney Braun and now she might be Sigyn and his cousin. No, now he knows that Sigyn is his cousin. That's when he realizes that they're the same person which makes him feel even more guilty for a reason that comes with his lost memories.
"Come on…" Xavier begs. "I need some reassurance to make this all sound normal."
"This is not normal," Apollo responds. "We need less of this and more figuring it out what the hell to do."
Apollo steps out. Xavier stops himself from going after him.
He shakes a little as his anger turns to tears at the mere possibility of Sigyn being dead. The others feel the same but not to the extent, as he does. Angela goes to comfort Xavier, resisting the urge to cry as well but failing, using his shoulder for support. James stands on the spot, frozen as if he was unable to comprehend what could be going on. Iqadi lowers her head and looks at the ground, praying for a miracle. Daniel's removed his glasses and wipes his eyes. Emily dabs at her running mascara and Merida has to bite down on her fist as she holds back from crying.
"Britney could still be alive…" Iqadi mutters. Her optimism isn't all that convincing with her sad tone.
"Then, why are we crying?" Angela questions.
"Because we don't know for sure."
-o-
Apollo didn't go far. He just stepped outside the room and leans against the wall right beside the doorframe. He runs his hands through his hair as he tries to think about what Xavier just said to him as he puts his head in his hands and rests them on his knees.
Xavier said he went to Hel with this Sigyn. Hel is one of the realms dealing with the afterlife. Apollo doesn't remember if he's been there but if he's doubting, then he likely has. Xavier asked him if he killed Sigyn. Based on that question alone, it does seem possible that maybe he did kill Sigyn - his cousin. Then, there was the mention of a broken promise, the prophecy, and the ban from Midgard; all of which he doesn't understand.
However, that raises more questions for him. He has had hallucinations with Sigyn in them, most of which included the Serpent Crown. She always spoke about time running out and accepting it. What was she talking about? What did she mean? Did that time already run out?
Apollo looks up and sees Sigyn sitting against the wall across from him. Her legs are crossed and like always, she has the Serpent Crown on her head. Now that he's getting a good look at her, he does see the similarity between her and Xavier's Britney Braun. This is another one of his hallucinations, he knows that.
"What's going on?" Apollo asks her, his voice shaking.
Sigyn scoffs as if he's pathetic in her eyes. "The prophecy is true. The final battle will change everything. Gods and a monster will fight and the whole world will begin anew. The words of those around you have brought you terror and confusion. I cannot agree with them, nor can I speak against them. I don't know what to say. You waver in hope and fear, unable to see forwards or back."
Apollo feels cold now. He isn't sure whether or not to trust this hallucination of Sigyn but he is leaning towards doing so since she seems true to her word and since she is his cousin. He watches as Sigyn slides forwards to be closer to him. He doesn't budge as the Serpent Crown stares at him, making him shudder.
"I will take care of it," she tells him. "You just have to show up."
Apollo shakes his head, scooting away from her. "What are you talking about?"
"Our fates…"
She vanishes before Apollo could ask more. Apollo sits back and thinks about how much more confused he became. Sigyn could be alive and about to die or maybe she already died and that was just a lost memory.
Maybe he did kill her. Maybe he killed his own cousin.
Maybe he killed her and got sent to Midgard with no memories of it as a charge for murder.
Apollo feels tears form in his eyes and roll down his cheek. Did they have any meaning?
-o-
Location Unknown
Her heels click in the emptiness, echoing throughout. She can't see in the darkness surrounding her so she lights up her hand, a green light displays her face and shows her the way. She may have made the portal but she sure as hell doesn't know where it took her.
"Hello?" Sigyn asks only because the silence was bothering her.
She hears a noise. Sigyn pulls her arm back, still keeping the light of her magic on. She breathes slowly, quietly. Maybe her mind is playing tricks with her. Maybe it's Hela haunting her. Maybe it both.
Sigyn takes another step forwards and feels her back erect at the sudden electricity flow through her veins. She chokes on a cry for help as she falls to the ground, her magic dimming down and the sound of someone else's heels filling in the darkness.
