Revamped!
[I'm updating this story because the new Avengers: Endgame trailer has left me speechless and I need a little break from school]. [2020: Meanwhile I just finished a French test].
Chapter 121: What Happened in Asgard Part Nine
Asgard - Two Years Ago
Apollo and Sigyn stare at Freya who stands in the middle of them. Freya's eyes shimmer bright green as The Serpent Crown rests on her head. Then, her gaze flickers upwards as if something from above is coming her way. Apollo ducks as a vase hits Freya right in the face, shattering into pieces. Freya stumbles back and Apollo turns around only to see Freya standing there. Apollo turns back to where Freya was with the crown and sees that the Freya there phases away in Sigyn's magic. Sigyn created that illusion to get The Serpent Crown back which is now on the ground between them.
Apollo and Sigyn lock eyes for only a second before both running towards the crown. Sigyn uses her magic to make the crown appear in her hands but when she turns around, Apollo leaps forwards. He throws himself on the ground, grabbing Sigyn's ankle. She falls to the ground and Apollo crawls forwards as fast as he can to grab the crown. When it's in his hand, Sigyn uses her magic with an open palm and keeps him stuck in his current spot.
"Sigyn, stop this!" Apollo yells at her as he tries to wriggle out.
Sigyn hears nothing. She gets back up and brushes the wrinkles on her shirt. She takes a few steps ahead, making a portal for her escape.
"Sigyn, watch out!" Freya screams.
Sigyn turns back around in a panic. With her sudden change in focus, the magic she had on Apollo fades and he immediately jumps back onto his feet. He's too fast for Sigyn. He knocks the crown off her head and through the portal, yanking Sigyn back as the portal closes. Sigyn screams and roars like a ballistic animal. She turns around with a flaming fist of magic to punch Apollo, her eyes glowing with the same intensity. But then, she simmers down and smiles a little which unsettles him.
"Thor will never know about this and as for you, Apollo, you'll kill me and not control me," Sigyn tells him. "I made that portal so I know where the crown is."
Sigyn waves a hand over herself and disappears. Apollo's silent as he turns around to Freya who walks up to him.
"I'm sorry for being by Sigyn's side and not stopping her," Freya says to him.
"I understand," Apollo replies. "I'm glad you were here. Who knows what she would've done if she was on her own…"
-o-
Sigyn appears right in the middle of Loki's cell. She looks ahead and sees her father already looking at her as if he expected her presence. Loki doesn't question anything about why she's suddenly here, dressed for a Midgardian football game, and looks as if a tornado went right through her. It's not that he doesn't care, which is partially the truth, he knows that Sigyn will answer that all on her own.
"Apollo and I fought," Sigyn tells him.
Loki laughs. A part of him knew that was the answer but it was always hilarious to hear.
Sigyn rolls her eyes. "You're supposed to tell me that this wasn't my fault and comfort me."
Loki grimaces. "Don't you know me at all? Because I know you and I know that it was your fault." He looks at the table beside his chair and points at the object on it. "Where did that ugly crown come from?"
Sigyn walks over and takes the crown back before turning to Loki. "Tell me about Hel."
"Find out when you get there."
Sigyn's jaw drops open. "You want me dead?"
"No, Sigyn, never. If I wanted you dead, you would be dead already. I'm offering for you to go there yourself."
"Exactly! That's what I said! I don't understand why everyone is against me when I'm the only one listening to Fate!"
Loki begins to laugh again. "Oh! The irony!"
Sigyn takes a breath with a hint of frustration in it. "Some things have to happen! The only way we can be victorious is if we both die our destined ways. Apollo and I have roles to play at Ragnarök."
"But Apollo won't kill you."
"He has to. He has to make a sacrifice."
"He won't sacrifice you."
Sigyn pauses for a second. "I swear that I've had this conversation with Apollo a thousand times and it always ends the same way."
"You have to fight against it."
Sigyn takes a step closer to her father and lowers her voice to show her seriousness. "Apollo will kill me and never in my heart will I judge him guilty of any evil action. We should only give up if we have a good reason to."
"How about not dying?"
"How about Midgard?"
Loki shrugs, opening his arms widely. "I understand your coping mechanism. Your festering, secrecy, and deception will ruminate inside of you until your heart will die. You're so powerful, Sigyn, and sometimes the strongest women forget how powerful they are."
Sigyn puts The Serpent Crown around her wrist like a bracelet. "I'll take care of this."
"It won't work."
"Why don't you believe in me?"
"Because your plans never work."
Sigyn knows that's true but won't admit to it. "Please. I'm a real woman. I make shit happen. If you let people do things to you, you're the one doing it to them. You're the one in control."
"If you insist. Battles are often lost because people don't know which war they're fighting. Remember what happens to those who disobey their fate…"
Sigyn huffs. "I've had enough. I've kept my mouth shut since nobody could hear me over Apollo's thunder. Ragnarök is just making me fear my cousin even more. I have a mission, a higher purpose, so let me fulfil it. Learning how to use my power was always something I've wanted."
Loki watches her storm out of his cell, phasing right through its walls. He clones himself and makes an appearance in front of Sigyn, startling her.
"Listen to me," Loki says with ease. His sudden care is what freaks her out. "You want to look as if you're made of dewdrops and glitter to sway people but you're ferocious. You're not weak, Sigyn, you're the problem in all this. A problematic embodiment of endless potential and power."
"My mother would support my plan. This is what she's always wanted, wasn't it?"
"And when have you ever needed her approval? Or cared about what she wanted?"
Loki raises an eyebrow, waiting for her answer but as he expected, she says nothing.
"Sigyn," he continues, "I already know about your moronic plan and it won't work. You're not a catalyst for Ragnarök. When you slightly alter the course of the prophecy, you'll fail to change the outcome. The more negative the change, the worse it is for everyone."
"What can be more negative than Midgard and Asgard being taken out of existence?" She asks, leaving her father speechless as she walks right through his clone.
-o-
Apollo paces back and forth in his room, thinking of what happened moments ago. Sigyn wearing The Serpent Crown was one thing but what stood out more to him was her suggestion to go to Hel. Why would the crown tell her that? What could be so important about that realm besides it being the place they'll go after they die in Ragnarök - granted, that they die if he can't think of a way to stop it. She became so adamant on keeping the crown but why would she want such a thing?
They were born in Hel. Wasn't that enough?
"How was Sigyn able to duplicate you without you interfering earlier?" Apollo asks Freya, pausing to look at her.
Freya's preoccupied with dabbing her bottom lip with gauze since it got cut sometime during the earlier fight. She pauses to answer him. "She blocked me out with a wall of her magic. Lucky for you, she blocked my body and not a vase."
Apollo approaches her, stopping right at the vanity. He sits on the tabletop, looking at Freya. Her eyes flicker upwards, meeting his.
"You know, there's something I've always wanted to do to your lips," Apollo tells her.
Freya raises an eyebrow at him. She stands up straight and purses her lips just to taunt him. Apollo realizes what he said and starts blushing wildly.
"That sounded better in my head…" He mutters.
Freya tilts her head. "Did it?"
"No, not at all."
"But I agree."
Apollo's head rises a little and he smiles. It's natural, unlike the fake ones he's worn in front of others to cover his screams and cries. Freya touches the corners of his mouth with her thumbs and holds it in place.
"I haven't seen you genuinely smile in so long," Freya tells him.
Apollo sighs. "Ragnarök expects me to kill Sigyn and die, so, I'm sorry for not being as happy as I used to be. I'm not their champion, Freya, I'm their sacrifice. I'm not okay at all…"
Apollo holds her hands up to his smile tightly, keeping him from breaking down. Freya bites on her lip, holding back her emotions and tasting her blood.
"You're more okay than you think, Apollo," Freya tells him. "Someday, you'll be yourself. But you know what? That doesn't have to be today."
Apollo finds it hard to agree but he forces himself to nod. He already feels like he's lost Sigyn to Ragnarök and his parents to the Realms, but he won't lose the one person who has done everything in her power to make him happy. It's time that he returns the favour by stopping his selfishness.
Freya lowers her hand from his face and rests it on his shoulder. A small smirk appears on her face. "For the record, while it's very charming that you keep trying to protect me, I would like to remind you that I know how to defend myself."
Apollo snorts out a small laugh that sounds like a huff. "I'm grateful that no matter how much dysfunction there is in my life, I could always rely on you. At least I have you to talk to. You were with us the whole time when you didn't have to be. As long as I have you, Freya, I don't feel like I'm going mad."
Freya's heart skips a beat and she hugs him over his shoulders. Apollo holds her by the small of her back. They rock back and forth on the spot as Freya rests her head in the nape where his neck and shoulder meet. It was a nice moment until Jane rushes into the room. They part to stare at her in shock.
"Why the hell is there a broken vase in front of Odin's Treasury?!" Jane yells.
"Mother, don't worry," Apollo says, feeling a little cheerful. "It was my fault and I'll clean it up in a moment."
"You better." Jane makes her way out.
As Apollo follows his mother, he gives Freya one last genuine smile before heading out. Freya returns the smile but once his back faces her, her smile fades.
