Helloo! Here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!
Shout Outs!:
CHSHiccstrid
Yeah ;)
I've had fun exploring Hela's other side, it will definitely make writing Ragnarök far more interesting.
Thank you. Separating those two, in my opinion, is worse than separating Hiccup and Astrid.
WeAreNumberOne
Thanks, its been a bit of a challenge to only write what I have because I have so many other ideas and things that could happen but there just isn't enough time to write it all and I do want to get to the MCU eventually, sooner rather than later, but certain things needed to be set up. It's quite a balancing act.
Oh yes, she is driving Loki a bit batty. We'll just have to wait and see.
XD That would be funny.
;)
SmolAvidReader
Hehe, Hela is fun and interesting for me to write, especially with Hiccup around. I'm glad so many people are enjoying the way I've portrayed her.
Yes! Oh Grimmel I feel no sympathy
You and so many others, I find it funny that people hate her so much more than Hela but it makes me so happy as well
You're welcome :) Except when I get cliffhanger happy, but that's understandable frustration
nliochristou
I'm not entirely sure for this fic, I already see it being a pretty long length without their addition but I am planning on writing a What If... version of this story just because there are too many ideas that I've had that I want to be included but time wise its just not possible so I could very easily incorperate it into that story if I don't here.
Journal 2, Entry 14: "Allies, Enemies and Family"
Another century passed in relative peace. Hiccup explored the world with whoever was willing to accompany him, usually a few of his children or theirs with the occasional bout of non-Haddock bloodline thrown in. The world as a whole started exploring more and a few had bumped against the New Archipelago's borders, but Loki's spell held and they ended up sailing away.
Hiccup was delighted to be sharing this exploration with Astrid and their three children. Astrid shot him an amused smile as Ivana and Ruffrunner spun around the high clouds. Nuffink, Dart, Zephyr, and Pouncer raced after their youngest sister and commenced a game of tag.
It was a moonless night as they traveled, opting to fly at night since the land they soared over was mostly open and the sky was almost always clear and blue. The land was too warm for anyone but Astrid's preferences, but it was fascinating—full of history and myth. Hiccup, Nuffink, and Ivana were quick to lose themselves in it while Astrid and Zephyr made sure to keep them in check.
They'd started out in a country called Egypt, having taken a branch Loki discovered while he and Hiccup were exploring the continent to the far west then added it to the growing connection of New Berk. They then flew south, taking in the arid or jungle climates as they went. They were passing over a luscious countryside surrounded by mountains. Sunrise was soon to come, so they began looking for a nice place to spend the day and sleep.
Astrid spotted a tree lined river and the dragons eagerly dove. She slipped out of the saddle just in time for Stormfly to run into the water and splash Toothless, grinning as her dragon familiar sprayed water all over the Night Lights.
Toothless roared in indignation and leapt in, sending a cascade of water over the Nadder.
Stormfly chirped and shook her head and body, eyes closed in bliss.
Astrid laughed as she watched. "You sure do love bath time."
Hiccup chuckled and held her waste. "I think I oughta hop in with them…it's been a few days."
Astrid turned and sniffed the air, her nose soon wrinkling. "Yes you do, phew. Get in there. You smell worse than Gobber."
Hiccup gasped. "I do not! You take that back!"
She giggled and ran away with Hiccup chasing her.
The kids looked up from the cool water they'd been splashing in with their familiars to watch as Hiccup finally caught Astrid then threw her into the river—only for her to keep a firm hold of his arm and drag him in as well with a yelp.
They surface, sputtering and coughing then splashing and circling each other, trying to dunk the other. After a while with the sun shining brightly, they climbed out of the river and laid in a sunny patch between the trees. The warm and dry air quickly evaporated the water clinging to them.
Eventually, everyone but Hiccup had fallen asleep. Toothless cooed and nudged his arm; he chuckled and relaxed against his best friend, closing his eyes and finally slipping into a light sleep.
It couldn't have been long before Toothless growled quietly, draping a wing over his other half and pinning him to the ground with a massive paw.
Hiccup gasped and tried shoving Toothless off, but it was useless. He could feel surprise along the bonds from his kids, undoubtedly their familiars reacting similarly. "Toothless, get off!" He hissed.
Stormfly stood with a squawk and snarl, tail raised with spikes poised. Astrid rolled as soon as Stormfly rumbled in a silent growl and snatched her axe from Stormfly's saddle.
Slowly circling them were a group of dark skinned people. All held spears, shields, or swords—one man even held a weapon that looked like it had come straight from Snotlout's fantasies.
"Toothless, we're gonna need Hiccup," She whispered.
Toothless bared his teeth at the encroaching people and hissed unhappily but slowly stood, allowing Hiccup to roll out from under him. The Night Lights followed his example and stood, allowing their riders to crawl out. Zephyr grabbed her favored Dragon Blade while Nuffink automatically reached for his daggers. Ivana snagged identical poles and interlocked them, thumb lingering over a button that would allow blades to snap out.
"Uh, if we trespassed, we didn't mean to," Hiccup said, keeping a hand on Toothless to prevent him from shooting.
The party halted except for one man who stepped out from the rest. "You have, and have crossed the sacred borders of Wakanda. What is your purpose here? If it is thievery, then not even your beasts of the gods will protect you from punishment."
Hiccup exchanged a mildly confused glance with Astrid before quickly shaking his head, making sure he didn't grab Inferno and held his hands up in a peaceful manner. "We're explorers. We have not come to steal anything."
The leader narrowed his eyes, not seeming to believe Hiccup's words. "Every outsider who comes here comes to steal what has been Wakanda's for time out of mind. No one comes here in peace."
Hiccup's heart sank, he hated running into these kinds of people. It wasn't terribly often, but it happened and it always disheartened him, it reminded him of Mala and the Defenders before with Viggo—gods I miss them. "I promise you, we did not. I honestly don't even know what you have that's worth stealing, especially to us."
"Lies," The man spat and before Hiccup could rebuke him, the leader launched at him.
Toothless roared, signaling the other dragons to war, and chomped down on the spear hurtling towards Hiccup, snapping it in half.
Hiccup ducked under a swing of the leader's blade and popped Inferno off his calf, pushing the button and releasing the flaming blade.
Several of the attackers gasped or shouted, pointing in surprise.
Zephyr, Nuffink, and Ivana shared devious smirks and ignited their weapons. Astrid laughed and twirled her axe, nudging the button for its most recent addition.
They now whispered amongst themselves and Astrid smiled dangerously. "Alright, I can use a good fight."
The leader glared and released a war cry.
Hiccup blocked his attack with Inferno then grabbed his shield from Toothless' saddle, aiming it at a man charging Ivana and firing the bola. "Nothing lethal bud."
Toothless gaped, almost missing his shot from sheer shock. He sent Hiccup a withering glare but complied, stupid Hiccup—they clearly don't want peace!
Hiccup twisted the leader's sword out of hand easily and impaled it into the ground. He growled and flexed his hands, metal glinting on his fingers in the sunlight. Hiccup yelped as the man almost tackled him to the ground, metal coated fingers coming down to slash him like a cat.
Hiccup raised his arm, letting the dragon scale and Gronkle iron infused Asgardian leather armor take the blow—marks barely leaving a trace—before kneeing him in the stomach and throwing him into the river.
He easily sidestepped an attack and locked swords with another. He summoned Loki's dagger and threw it at the one who attacked him a moment before, slicing through his spear's shaft. With a few quick jabs and feints, he disarmed the man.
The leader coughed as he pulled himself out of the water, looking at Hiccup oddly. He stood at full height and didn't look at his quickly failing warriors. "A Challenge! Fight me, win, and we will discuss peace—lose and you will be branded as attempted thieves and banished from Wakanda."
Hiccup glanced at his family. They were fine but Ivana was struggling and Dart sported a nasty gash along her paw. "What if I refuse? We could just leave now—your men are tired and can't fight us off or keep us here."
The leader's face darkened but quickly lifted into regality. "It is our way. We cannot make allies if they cannot stand on equal ground. If they cannot prove themselves worthy of the panther god."
Hiccup frowned, a bit confused but he caught the word allies. Toothless huffed, just knowing his stupid rider was going to accept if it meant peace. Hiccup chuckled and rubbed his snout. "It's not all that different from proving ourselves to the Defenders, bud."
Toothless' earflaps pulled back and hissed in his other half's face.
"Yeah, I know you didn't like that either. I accept." He finally addressed the leader.
The leader pulled his sword from the ground and flashed his claw-like weapons.
Hiccup sighed and regripped Inferno as he faced his opponent. They circled each other, completing three full rotations, before the leader attacked. Hiccup spun away and swiped with Inferno. The leader reached down and blocked it with his claw weapons, not showing any signs of discomfort despite most metals caving under a Gronkle Iron blade, especially with the force he used.
They danced and lashed out at each other for another minute until Hiccup locked the leader's blade between his sword and dagger then drove it deep into the ground. The leader cried out again, forgoing the weapons to brawl.
Hiccup cast away his dagger and grappled with the leader, surprised at how strong he was despite his size—not that his size was a laughing matter. Deciding this fight needed to end, he twisted while keeping ahold of the man's arms and kicked the back of his knee then brought an arm behind him with Loki's dagger once again in hand and pressing against the man's back.
"Do you yield?" Hiccup asked, not even out of breath.
There was a beat before the man nodded, breathing a bit heavily. "I yield. You have proven yourself."
Hiccup sighed and released the man. "Glad. Now that that's out of the way…I'm Hiccup."
The man eyed Hiccup's outstretched hand and tentatively grasped his arm. "I am T'Chokah, king of Wakanda."
Hiccup smiled and held the embrace until T'Chokah let go then proceeded to introduce his family and their familiars. "And we're from Berk. It's quite a ways north. Nine months of snow, three months of hail, and you're very likely to get frostbite on your spleen."
T'Chokah laughed. "I have never seen a beast such as your friends. You must come to the palace and tell us of your people; we shall tell you about ours."
Hiccup beamed and eagerly followed T'Chokah out of the grove, the king just as eager to chat with him about their worlds—and why they were hidden once Hiccup mentioned that to him.
Astrid turned to her kids and laughed. "As much as he hates to admit it, this is his element."
Nuffink chuckled and eyeballed Zephyr. "Better than you, that's for sure, sis."
She sniffed and marched ahead. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Nuffink barked a laugh. "I'm pretty sure that Da Vinci would argue otherwise. You about shredded his notes for his flying machine."
She didn't look back as she remarked. "It would never work, and the design was so stupid. And then that comment he made about my smile!"
Nuffink rolled his eyes and walked beside her. "It wasn't that bad, a bit creative—and he was complimenting you!"
Nuffink and Zephyr continued to argue, prompting their escort party to give them a wider birth. Ivana and Astrid walked behind them and listened with bored amusement.
They joined the royal family for the evening meal. Ivana and T'Chokah's son, T'Runwi instantly hit it off. Hiccup and T'Chokah started chatting about Gronkle Iron and the metal they called Vibranium, surprised that the other had something similar to the other.
Hiccup looked over the dagger T'Chokah handed him and mentally compared it to the many other daggers he'd forged while T'Chokah examined Inferno. "Would you mind making a trade? Some Gronkle Iron for Vibranium? I'd like to take some back and compare them."
T'Chokah frowned and ceased flipping Inferno around. "Yes…However, I would ask for twice as much Gronkle Iron to Vibranium that you take."
Hiccup nodded, not minding—they could create as much Gronkle Iron as they pleased while Wakanda's Vibranium was a limited resource, however plentiful. "I don't have a problem with that…Uh, I think the only extra Gronkle Iron I have on me is Toothless' spare tail rod. We can weigh that and go from there."
T'Chokah handed Inferno back to Hiccup. "I look forward to seeing what my people have to say about your Gronkle Iron."
Hiccup stood, giddy with excitement of finding something new. "Me too!"
They spent several days together before the New Berkians had to leave, but left with a treaty of friendship. Hiccup made a mental note to ask them a little later about creating a branch connection here, but that could wait until their friendship was a bit more ingrained and normal with both people—neither group was very comfortable with outsiders after all.
Hiccup walked beside Loki as Sigyn, attending yet another birthday feast for Thor. It had become tradition between the two to keep up the ruse and it annoyed Thor to no end when he couldn't get an answer if they married or simply courting—irritating him even more when he found not a sign of Sigyn except for those days.
They walked away from the kegs of ale, Sigyn holding a small cup out of decorum but never drank more than that. She still wasn't keen on getting drunk even after all these centuries. Loki led her to a thinner part of the crowd while the magic worked in the kegs—it would take some time for the magic to take effect so as to not put him at immediate fault.
They entered the sparse crowd and Loki released her arm then offered his hand for a dance. Sigyn took it and let Loki lead her out to the dance floor. Jarlberg flew off her shoulder and watched the crowd.
"You're going to make Astrid jealous," Sigyn said softly to not be overheard.
Loki chuckled. "She dances as badly as she sings—I don't believe she would be jealous. Now, if you took up a spar against Lady Sif, then she would be jealous."
Sigyn laughs lightly. That was too true but to be fair, she wasn't much of a dancer either. It wasn't until the third year of attending Thor's birthday and Loki dragging her onto the floor only for her to step on his feet the entire night with him acting as though she didn't, that he demanded she learn dancing. New Berk found the spectacle hilarious, a few of their allies making some excuse to come and watch his humiliation as well—except for Dagur. he stated outright that he enjoyed his brother's humiliation then commented that he always thought Hiccup could be a great dancer.
The dance ended and they walked off the floor, many eyes following them. From the far edges of the crowd, a pair of poisonous greens tracked their stroll out. She gripped her cup, threatening to crush the metal. Every year it was the same. Loki would arrive with the mysterious Sigyn, one of the Warriors Three would try to woo her—usually Fandral—but always fail, she and Loki would be inseparable for the entire night until they disappeared when everyone was becoming a bit too drunk to make staying pleasurable unless you partook as well. And always leaving some 'gift' behind that most found frustrating but Thor found amusing, so no fuss would be made over it.
She departed from the celebration as well and made her way to her room undisturbed. She placed a hand above her scrying bowl and it immediately showed Loki and Sigyn strolling out of the castle and into the woods at the palace's backside. She watched as they stood on a cliff, overlooking the city, then turned and disappeared in a flash. The water rippled and she swore, trying to refocus the water and after a moment it stilled and the image returned.
They were…it took her magic reaching through the scrying bowl to learn the realm, they were on Midgard. That confused her. Why would they be on that realm of all realms? Sigyn couldn't possibly be from there. She'd been coming to these parties for some six-hundred years.
She watched as they laughed and Sigyn spoke and withdrew something from her pocket. She leaned closer to the bowl and saw that it was a bracelet. Now why wouldn't she wear it to the party…unless it is some sort of betrothal gift. That thought made her blood boil.
Sigyn slid it over her wrist—then disappeared.
Amora jerked and refocused her magic in the scrying bowl. Something must have happened…But no. It was fine and in proper working order. Loki still stood there, clearly talking to Sigyn though she could not be seen then waved his hand and they disappeared again. This time she was unable to find them…Like all those years ago. What are you hiding, Loki?
She searched for hours but could find nothing and irritably slapped the water. The image of the rock formation rippled out of existence and she stalked around the dark compartment that was her room.
After several angry laps she ripped her wardrobe open and took out the dark green cloak. She easily navigated the palace halls to the forest behind, made even easier when no one intruded on her path, too wrapped up in Thor's celebration to care about what a mage like her might be up to. She tracked Loki's magic to the familiar cliff. She looked around, eyes narrowed against every tree and bush, searching for whatever it was that carried Loki and Sigyn away.
Something tingled across her magic at the border of the trees. She cautiously approached it, hand outstretched with her magic thrumming. The localized magic trilled and latched onto hers.
She screamed as she was sucked into it and stumbled—unsure of the light that seemed to be the only thing holding her aloft. Aloft…what? She looked around but could see little past the light that was pulsing around her—it beat faster, as if irate that she didn't move. She took a step and the 'ground' remained firm so she took another then another, this one not in the thin line she'd carefully tested.
Her foot slipped and she yelped, quickly rebalancing herself and pulling her foot back with some difficulty. One foot in front of the other…this must be Yggdrasill. Not much later the path sloped down then abruptly ended, leaving her on grassy ground with stars lighting the sky above.
She looked around and was pleased to note that the same rocks that she saw in her bowl surrounded her. She tentatively reached her magic out and felt for another branch of Yggdrasil that Loki undoubtedly used, but it rejected her magic. She could feel the magic bore Loki's signature so didn't dare attempt further entry to—wherever it led. That would be foolhardy and he would end her life this time, no doubt.
She sighed and stared at the invisible wall. Whatever this was, it had to be a part of the reason for Loki's continued trips to Midgard. After weighing her options, she cast several detection spells and a tracker, making sure that they would ignore Loki when he came back through, then carefully covered their signatures to blend in with the large amount of ambient magic created by the branches.
As satisfied as she could be, she returned to Asgard to wait.
*O*
She had to wait seven months. In which time Loki had returned with nothing but a knowing look from Thor and Frigga and then was drug off realm again by Thor and the Warriors Three—something about a draugr outbreak in Vanaheim. Loki seemed oddly perturbed by that and fought Thor in leaving initially. That night she watched carefully and saw him return to Midgard. He only stayed an hour before returning, visually relieved and finally agreed to accompany Thor without further complaint.
She had to wait until he returned and went back to Midgard for her spells to alert her to another's magic. She watched carefully as Loki emerged from the blocked branch followed by a group of three others, one of them being the girl she spotted sneaking into Loki's chambers.
Her heart stopped when the second turned. She knew that face. She dreamt of strangling his neck so many times just for the satisfaction and retribution of the pain and thwarted plans he'd cost her. She could only stare in shock as he turned to Loki, holding up a band—a familiar band—Sigyn's band. But why would he have…he would—that snake! Right under our noses, all this time!
Hiccup, Loki's sordid Chosen, asked Loki something while still holding the band aloft but he got waved off—saying something that was lost on the scrying bowl. She could guess, however, given how often she'd watched—it was to hide the mortal, or not so mortal anymore. She smirked. Loki thought enough time had gone by, that no one would think much of a lookalike to his precious Chosen, that he would merely be a descendent.
She watched them fly away with a smirk then disappeared from her room in a flash.
*O*
Hiccup laughed at Zephyr, Loki clinging to Hiccup's chest to keep from falling off while his shaking chest made gripping his Chosen a difficult task.
Zephyr turned her head away, nose up in a pout and ignoring everyone including Pouncer. Her hair stuck straight and at odd angles, mainly straight back and singed terribly from the playful plasma blast Pouncer had flown through.
Ivana hid a laugh behind her hand and eventually managed to smile sympathetically for her sister, knowing how awful it was to clean and brush out long singed hair. Regardless, Zephyr ignored everyone including her dragon for the next hour until towns started passing under them.
They flew high enough so that they looked like birds to whoever happened to look up. Hiccup looked over Toothless' side at the large town passing below them. "They're really growing."
Loki's nose wrinkled. "Yes…It's a good thing our shields work so well too. They're turning out to be quite the explorative warriors as well."
Hiccup shivered. He didn't mind their nature. That would be hypocritical even if he preferred peace and allies made through peaceful ways over war. No, what made his skin crawl was their stories of dragons and what they did to them, how they viewed them. Again, he couldn't blame them too much, Berk had been the same way after all but…he couldn't shake the image of the terrified nesting dragoness he'd found being hunted on the isle.
He could understand why they had sought to kill all the dragons because they were demons, just as Berk had. Some, he was sure, he could convince that dragons could be friendly and not hunted down; but he'd also seen a few rise up in their power system that would have turned into Drago's. Several already were Warlords in their own right. The risk was too great. There was a reason he and the chiefs of old agreed to hide the Archipelago.
He shook out of his reverie and focused on Ivana as she excitedly prattled on about the physician they were going to see in France. Rumors spreading that he had found a way to help those who lost too much blood, which, for as many advancements as New Berk and the Defenders had made in the art of healing, much of it still relied on magic and blood replenishment was only effective if you had a core to draw on, leaving out most of the population.
They landed on the southern tip of the isle for the night and the dragons eagerly heated up patches of rock and curled up for a well-deserved rest. Toothless grumbled as Hiccup patted his head and started to walk away, not wanting to leave his side but tired.
Hiccup shook his head. "Stay here bud. I got Loki with me. I'll be fine, promise."
Toothless stared hard at Loki before huffing and curling into a ball.
Loki slung an arm around Hiccup and smiled at the familiar, leading his Chosen away into the large town.
Zephyr and Ivana were well ahead, giggling as they altered their clothing to blend in. They entered the town, but most of the life had gone to bed, not surprising since the sun was down, but they still explored—peeking into shop windows and casually listening in on the rare bout of after-dark banter as they passed by taverns.
They walked through the calm town and as they walked deeper into it, Hiccup couldn't help but feel like there was something else there as well. His magic prickled and he looked over at Loki but he was calm, laughing at something Ivana had said. He shook away the feeling and continued walking next to Loki.
The girls pointed to something and Loki left his side to get a better view of what was catching their attention and smiled delightedly, adding something to their conversation. Hiccup tried to listen in, almost desperately, but the feeling wouldn't leave and now it was… calling. It tugged on his magic like a Deathsong's call and, like a dragon, he couldn't resist it.
He glanced at Loki and tried to call out that something wasn't right! But nothing except a soft whisper came out. Reluctantly, he turned down the alleyway then onto a narrow street and followed the call. As his feet walked on their own, he tore apart his mind, searching for what shield had cracked, but none of them had. This siren's call was wrapped around his magic and not his mind, which was worse as he now had no way of fighting back.
Panic fluttered in his chest. Despite his attempts to squash it down, it wouldn't stay away as he tried calling Loki through their bond, but the mysterious magic constricted, silencing his bonds. He prayed that Toothless was not yet asleep, that he would notice his peculiar silence.
He reached out for his magics and while his Æsir responded to his touch, it immediately returned to a dormant state, and his Jötunn thrummed just under his skin. At his frightened prompting, it wrapped around the foreign magic in cold fury but the other magic pulsed with searing anger, keeping the Jötunn from freeing kin magic. The Jötunn throbbed in animalistic fury as it found it was useless in freeing the entranced magic, freezing the ground he tread.
He turned off the thin street between two large buildings and entered some kind of courtyard with a sickly apple tree at its center, half dead from the turning of seasons. He finally stopped below the tree. The dead grass under his feet cracked in the wind as it frosted and froze solid.
He looked around and could see no one, but the ominous feeling along with the foreign magic grew stronger. His Jötunn magic trembled while his Æsir remained paralyzed—the other magic quivering in anticipation. His body arrested, barely daring to breathe. He hadn't felt that magic course so strongly since Niflheim.
Had it been any other time in any other circumstance, he would have disregarded that magic and thrust it back down in enmity. Small as it may be, it still marked and marred him. Maybe it was time to finally stop ignoring it…
He reached out and grasped Niflheim's magic and it sang. His lips curled in minor disgust as he held it and had to steady his breathing. He wanted to close his eyes as the world shifted—as it became duller of color and more contrasting, but it wouldn't help. Any soul within fifty feet stood out like a beacon. Hela's blade that always sat innocently on his thigh thrummed as the familiar magic was activated.
He looked around and saw a few souls moving around in the buildings but they only burned with the brightness of normal Midgardians, like warm candles. This magic binding him was not normal. It burned, more than any Midgardian could, with or without magic that glowed with amber hues. It burned like an Asgardian soul, like a star, very bright and hot.
He continued to look around and finally settled on the dark alley, shadowed by the dwellings and overgrowth. There was a star. Unconsciously, he slowly stretched his fingers to grab Hela's knife that sat against his palm.
A sweet laugh echoed around the courtyard. "You don't think that little knife can harm me, do you, little thief?"
He didn't respond except to grasp its small hilt—and wrap his hand around something thick. He looked down and saw his hand holding a black coil that was flickering in and out of existence. He released it with a yelp as more of it became visible, more of it wounding around his torso and—to his horror—impaled into his chest. Right above my cores…
He called Loki's dagger to hand and swiped at the coil, slicing halfway through it before another snapped out of the darkness and yanked his arm away. He thrashed, hoping to finish snapping the coil but it threaded itself back together.
With a growl, he reached down and popped off a Zipplebomb, letting it roll away. A vaguely familiar woman stepped out of the darkness, grinning victoriously with the black ropes seeping from her fingers. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day, to end your miserable life. I thought I did it once only to have all my carefully laid plans blow up in my face!"
Hiccup pulled back a bit and stared incredulously at her while also watching the other ropes snaking towards him. "Lady, I don't even know who you are. Do you have any idea how many people have tried to kill me? How about this, you let me go and I won't say anything to Loki."
She snarled, the moon reflecting the gleam in her eye. "Loki. You stole him from me! I was his comforter, the one who pushed him to grow, the one who was supposed to guide his path to Asgard's throne! I was-"
The Zipplebomb bumped her foot and continued hissing, though it was becoming higher pitched. She looked down in confusion and Hiccup created a circular ice shield and ducked behind it. The canister clicked and the green gas erupted into yellow-red flames. The woman yelled in pain and the building behind her groaned as the bricks cracked with impact.
The coils still held him tightly but they thrashed as they burned. He reached down with his free hand and grabbed Inferno, flicking the blazing blade out and slicing through both ropes holding him captive. It felt as though air rushed back into his lungs as his Æsir was released and he stumbled back from the shock. Magic washed over him and his guise was discarded for his dragon scale armor, the helmet coming up and snapping over his face.
The woman screamed in fury and launched herself through the smoke, still feeling the Midgardian's magic just through it. She threw a ball of electrified magic at him, which he dodged, then threw his own blast and followed up with Inferno. She twisted and evaded the magic, but missed the blade.
She held her cut and burnt side, crazed eyes honing in on Hiccup. Words were on her lips but her fury beat them out with a feral shriek. She threw daggers at the man along with magic, then called for the black coils again. They came readily to her hands, eager to feed off her hatred and rage.
Hiccup back up and groaned, seeing the only exit out of this pit of death was in the middle, between him and the deranged Asgardian—he knew her. He'd seen her at Thor's birthdays, but Loki always kept them well clear of her. He'd always seen the hatred burning in her eyes. He never thought he'd miss Grimmel as an enemy—but at least now he couldn't kill him, not without ticking off his boss and, he was sure, lover.
He threw a wave of magic at her and bolted for the alley, only for a coil to snap out and block his path. He raised Inferno to cut it down, but another snagged his wrist and yanked him back, gripping his wrist so tight he was forced to drop Inferno. Blindly, he grabbed Hela's knife and slashed. He hit the ground with a grunt and raised a shield, a coil colliding against it immediately then joined by others, winding their way up and crushing it. Hiccup flinched as he heard it crack, then thought of Toothless and the little glade just inside the forest they left them in.
He started to phase out, to teleport, but a coil came up from underneath the shield—through the ground—and arrested his magic again. He cried out in pain as it yanked him out, burning him as it burned with her fury.
He dove into his Jötunn magic and coated Hela's knife with the ice, driving it into the writhing rope. It froze, but only for a second before it pulsed and wrapped tighter around him, pinning the dagger to his side. He elongated the dagger to a sword and sliced the unsuspecting coil. He rolled and tried to scramble away, but three other coils still held him and yanked his arms away.
The woman approached, face red from both burns and hatred. She raised a knife above his pinned form and his heart stopped. He drew on his Jötunn magic again, creating a thick shield around his body. Better to entomb himself in it than risk getting stabbed. He could come out of being frozen alright. The other…not so much.
The tendrils wrapped around him, the others not wrapped around him dug their tips into the ice. He hissed as the coils already attached to him pulsed with heat, fighting against the ice and burning his skin. The ice groaned under the unnatural pressures from both sides. He gasped as the present coils tightened, constricting his Æsir more and reaching out for his Jötunn to entrap it. It jolted at the audacity and turned inwards, attacking the tendril wrapped around the Æsir.
His attention distracted, the ice ceased growing and began fracturing under the pressure of the coils.
The woman laughed, all this time. All her dreams about ending his life for ruining hers…his muffled screams through the ice were the most delightful sounds she'd heard in six hundred years. Just a little more. Break the ice so I can deliver a blow he cannot survive—a knife to the heart ought to do it.
The tendrils thrashed faster as her heart beat increased with anticipation. The ice cracked and a fissure opened up along his chest. A little more pressure should buckle the ice…She could feel his magic thrash within her bind—the Jötunn was particularly nasty—but it would ultimately be useless.
Hiccup felt the ice around him crack and prayed his armor could protect him. He'd never been able to extensively test Gronckle Iron strengthened with Vibranium against Asgardian Steel.
A whistle echoed across the starlit sky and his magic jolted with relief while she scowled at the intrusion. The ice protecting him shattered. The help was too late.
She leapt upon him with glee, knife raised high, but a blue-purple ball exploded against her chest and threw her into the tree. She stood, hair wild like a rabid animal and her eyes weren't any better.
Standing over the shattered tomb of ice was his dragon familiar. She snarled and the beast roared, long and deafening, while another blue-purple blast building in his throat. He was about to fire when an achingly familiar voice commanded him to hold his blast.
"Her blood is mine!" Loki jumped over Toothless, his guise already dropped in favor of his battle attire. His knife was drawn, but his magics coursed around him, barely constrained. "Thor's not around to save you this time, Amora, and this time, I will end you."
She bared her teeth, flicking out her hand with the dagger, the other still keeping Loki's precious Chosen bound. "It didn't have to be this way, Loki! We could have been great, could have had Asgard, but you threw it away!"
He slashed through an attacking tendril then sent a series of explosive blasts, ropes and ice projectiles at her. She raised a shield or moved the ropes to take the beating and guided one to attack and pin Loki. She didn't want him dead—just to suffer until he was begging to forget, to forget his Chosen and all the nonsense he'd created on Midgard.
A coil wound around Loki's feet, seemingly oblivious to the black coil lost in the shadows of the ground. Then, like a viper, it shot up and constricted around his chest—only for him to vanish as illusions are wont to do.
She yelled in frustration and whirled around to where his magic flared. She realized too late that that's what he wanted. Her hand raised to cast another spell and attempt another bind, only to get a face full of dark green, near black, tendrils that came from Loki. They wrapped first around her throat and lifted her off the ground as they penetrated her skin and bound her Æsir.
She gasped and grabbed at the coil tightening around her neck, losing control of her own as Loki cut off her access. He stalked towards her, eyes burning red and face matching the expression of the monsters' that parents would tell their children to hide from—ruthless, cold, and furious. His hand was covered in the tendrils. "Your Fjölkyngi is weak, Amora. In this—I have beaten you."
She glared at him, struggling to take a breath and spit out. "You're still weak. You Chose a mortal, an insignificant Midgardian—You could have been something great. We could have been."
Loki bent and picked something off the ground as he stalked towards her. "No, you're delusional. I am happy with what I have. I do not want Asgard's throne." He smiled but it was twisted. "Too much politics, you see. I have my Chosen, and that's enough."
She glared at him, breath coming in quicker, shorter gasps then stilling—eyeing the object that Loki had picked up.
He twirled it around and gave her a predatory smirk, pushing the knife into her chest. "This is the same knife…it's poetic that the knife you sent to condemn him, should be the one that condemns you. Give Hela my regards, but if you're smart, don't mention trying to murder Hiccup again in front of her…she's taken quite a shine to him."
Her eyes widened in fear and confusion before looking dully at Lok.
He released the hilt of the dagger, now buried up to its cross-guard in her heart. He withdrew his Fjölkyngi and watched disinterested as she fell lifelessly to the ground with a quiet gasp, though it was nothing more than a death rattle. Toothless crooned and Hiccup whimpered, drawing his attention back to the present. The bane of his Chosen's existence now permanently dealt with, he rushed to Hiccup's side.
Hiccup was curled into Toothless and breathing heavily. His magics curled up once again into the Familiar Bond. Loki gathered him in his arms and hushed him, Hiccup clutched his coat tightly and trembled.
"I-I tried to call for he-help but, I couldn't. And I-I had to f-follow…it was-was like Grimmel at the tower all over a-again…but worse."
Loki carefully reached out and felt along for Hiccup's magics, Toothless guiding him to their hiding place. They hesitated for only a moment before latching onto him. He felt them out carefully, checking for any damage or scarring but found little. She was only intent on binding him so he couldn't fight back rather than damaging his magics. Thank the Norns for small blessings.
"Let's go home. You can check out this physician another time."
Hiccup nodded into his chest and didn't resist as Loki picked him up and settled him onto the saddle. "A-are Zephyr and Ivana alright?"
Loki adjusted the tailfin for automatic flight and strapped in behind Hiccup then held him closely. "Yes. After I felt Amora's magic I sent them back to their familiars."
Hiccup sighed in relief but couldn't keep himself from trembling. This is just great, I've gotten my magic over its fear only for it to revalidated.
Loki's grip tightened minutely even after they were no longer climbing, silently reassuring Hiccup. "It's alright, Liten Listig, you're magic will calm and return to normal after a few days, weeks at the most."
Hiccup nodded mutely and leaned against Loki, sighing tiredly.
Two curious roars joined them on their flight back. Hiccup cracked an eye and a ghost of a smile split his lips at the sight of his daughters truly safe though they did look rather worried. That's alright, better worried than in the middle of what I always seem to be caught in…oh gods, Astrid's going to kill me.
Loki swore to the Norns and his ancestors as he crossed Jötunheim's tundra and finally stared up at the massive structure of ice and mountain that was Laufey's palace. He sighed and continued on his journey, keeping to the shadows with illusions and invisibility when there were none to hide in. He crept silently through the castle, unnerved at how quiet it was.
There was some chatter coming from down the hall and, if he listened closely, what sounded like ice bashing together. A training field. He steered clear of those areas as much as possible as he wandered, almost hopelessly lost. A frustrated growl rose up in his throat as the item of his searches continually came up as not with every room he peeked in.
Surely they must have a library somewhere! As primitive as they are, they must record some things—they are advanced in their ice magic. That must be documented somewhere. Then again, I am speaking of the Jötunnar. Norns, even the Vikings recorded some vital information!
Had this been Asgard and he wasn't trying to keep his presence a secret, he would be slamming doors shut as they opened to useless rooms. He opened yet another door, hopes despondently low, to yet another dimly glowing room. However, this one was lined with rows upon rows of shelves.
Hopes rising again, he stepped into the room and carefully closed the door. He walked a little to the side to stay out of the door's immediate view and looked over the shelf. There were no books or scrolls resting on its surface, but faintly glowing crystals instead. Tired vexation built up in his chest again at the disappointment.
He rested his head against a shelf and clenched his teeth, fighting back tears. At a loss of what else to do, he grabbed the nearest crystal and scowled at it, greatly tempted to shatter the thing. As his hand closed around it and it pulsed. He felt it draw minutely on his Jötunn magic then light up. A small beam shot out of the crystal then spread out to about parchment width and solidified, leaving blue runes amongst the white. He nearly cried in relief but couldn't keep the quiet and deranged laugh from escaping.
He checked the crystal over but didn't find what he was looking for in it and replaced it. He took a step back and groaned. The shelves were lined edge to edge with the crystals and none of them held markers of any sort as to what they might contain, nor did the shelves themselves. He felt the desperation creep back into his chest. He didn't have the time to check every shelf and every crystal—Hiccup didn't have that long.
He created several clones, just solid enough to touch the crystals and see what they held, and frantically began his search again. He had to find it.
Hiccup laughed in the bitter and biting wind as if it was a summer's breeze; though, to his blue skin nature, it might as well have been. Just a few months back he'd decided to explore further north and found lands and frozen oceans that looked like a piece of Jötunheim had been forgotten on Midgard—and it was just past the height of summer!
When he returned, Hiccup was eager to show him the land—several of his descendants were enthusiastic about going and the Dýrsvells were churning the waters dangerously with their desperation to see the land as well…He should have realized then that what his Chosen had discovered wasn't natural to that realm. But he'd been so blinded by Hiccup's joy and that of Jör's, he hadn't thought about it.
A mistake. A horrid mistake.
He knew as soon as he set foot on the tundra that the ice was not from Midgard—this was an old battle ground between Jötunheim and Asgard, no doubt but preserved by Midgard's harsh, year round winter the lands this far north were famous for. He thought little of it except that his Jötunn magic felt at peace here…Almost all of Hiccup's descendants came. They all laughed and enjoyed the odd feeling of belonging that they didn't realize they had been missing from half their magics.
It was like a fevered dream, or a normal Asgardian's nightmare, to watch the Dýrsvells play—blowing harmless jets of ice at each other without causing destruction. To watch as the little blue bodies played in the ice and with each other, screaming and laughing in delight as they danced around the ancient blue structures…
The trance had been broken by a little girl's terrified scream. Hiccup was by her side first in a green flash, holding her as she shook and cried into his shoulder—the little boy she'd been playing with clutched his tunic with wide, terrified eyes as he stared at the massive, grey with death yet still blue skinned body that had fallen out of the ice that they had been using for target practice.
Hiccup gave the girl to her father and ushered the boy away with them while he and his Chosen dealt with the… unexpected visitor. He hadn't thought about the oddity of a Jötunn being frozen, hadn't questioned the lack of other battleground markers, hadn't noted the lack of Asgard's magic. He missed it all.
Days later the girl became sick, a little shaky and warm, but she was better after a few days in bed. Her father then fell ill with similar symptoms. He hadn't thought about it or the timing. Their magic was weaker and while they had Jötunn magic, they would only live a slightly longer lifespan than a normal Midgardian and they also got sick easier with Midgard's illnesses. It was just the way of things.
Until two and a half weeks later when Hiccup collapsed in the middle of forging. Erik, Ivana's son and his smithing apprentice, carried him out and up to his hut. Loki trailed behind them, agreeing with Erik's rebukes about working so hard when he didn't feel well.
He still hadn't thought it was something terribly worrisome. Hiccup had not been truly sick since his magic manifested, only out with the rare bout of severe food poisoning. He thought that's what this was until Ivana came and checked on her father.
She had paled upon seeing him and gave him a brief examination before pulling Astrid and himself aside, fighting to keep her nerves still.
"He's sick. Actually sick."
Astrid frowned in confusion, looking back at her husband who now lay in bed and shook—sweat glistening in the rune-light. "With what?"
Ivana bit her lip and looked down and said softly, "I don't know, but it's spreading. At first I just thought it was the yearly sickness but it's been getting worse and-and the only people contracting it are those with Jötunn heritage."
That was when he realized his mistake.
He'd raced back to Asgard and retrieved Frigga, pleading to the Norns that she knew how to cure him—but she had only examined Hiccup then said that Jötunn pathology was beyond her skills since she knew next to nothing about them. She had checked him over and said that at least he had not contracted it then went throughout the village to tend to the others and to check those that appeared healthy.
Several had the disease, whatever it was, and while many were healing after a few days—a week in some cases—there was a disturbing pattern. Those with stronger Jötunn magic and less muddled heritage were recovering slower and had more severe symptoms. Gunnar, Nuffink's youngest at only fifty years, was breathing heavily—he'd already reverted to his Jötunn form and was holding a near human temperature. And what was worse was now Nuffink couldn't even be with his son lest he pick up the disease.
He'd glanced at Hiccup, wondering how long it was that he'd hid his symptoms, not realizing that he wasn't just exhausting himself with his latest invention—his breathing was already ragged and labored, his blue skin near white…
Yet another clone came up empty and he fought back a scream, gripping the lit up crystal that showed more useless information—he couldn't help it when he clenched it so hard that it shattered. He was running out of time!
He looked up a few shelves higher, too high for him now…he stepped back and prepared to shapeshift to a normal Jötunn's height.
A sharp and cold point of ice dug into the back of his neck. He closed his eyes and breathed, cursing himself for losing focus of his surroundings and being so easily snuck up on.
"Last I knew, there were no runts living within the palace," A deep, almost gravelly, voice said.
"Maybe you missed the latest update." Loki replied casually, muscles tensing for a fight.
He heard the Jötunn behind his sniff dismissively. "Impossible. I control those reports. Now, who are you, imposter?"
"I am Loki. I did not come here for a fight, only knowledge," He said calmly.
The Jötunn behind him shifted, the blade of ice nicking his neck. "Knowledge of what, our defenses? What realm are you selling us out to?"
"None." He called forth his knife but still kept it hidden. "My son is sick with something we have never seen. I was hoping the palace libraries would hold information about it."
The Jötunn growled, the blade shifted in preparation to deliver a clean blow. "Lies! You reek of Asgard's magic."
Loki teleported before the blade could cleave more skin and threw the dagger into the Jötunn's thigh and readied a burning ball of magic, his Jötunn thrumming angrily, wanting to be used especially with its kin so close. "Yes, but I have come here with no intentions to steal such information."
The Jötunn attacked with furious blows of the lethal ice.
Loki let him attack the illusion and threw out multiple blasts of magic, catching the Jötunn by surprise and hurling him against the wall—taking extra caution to not hit any of their recording devices.
"You can sense my Æsir, sense also my Jötunn magic—my heritage. I did not come here to tear down your realm and kingdom. My son is sick with a disease from Jötunheim that I know nothing about. I had hoped that your people recorded an occurrence of it, as well as a cure."
The Jötunn watched him intently as he spoke, picking himself easily out of the half crumbled wall. "I sense truth in your words—but answer me this—whose son are you?"
"Frigga's," Loki answered easily but kept his shoulders tense.
The Jötunn's face became cross. "No, whose son were you before you were stolen? Jötunnar do not give up their children, not to Asgardians. They would rather they die."
Loki couldn't help the snarl that rose up in his throat. "Then Laufey thinks of me as something less than a disgraced, runt of a son."
The Jötunn blinked and tilted his head, looking closely at Loki. "By the Great Giant, you do look like her."
Surprise flooded Loki and he couldn't help but to show it. "You knew my mother?"
The Jötunn stood straight but lost some of his hostility. "I should hope so, she was my mother as well."
Loki dropped the dagger he'd recalled from the Jötunn's thigh. He looked away from the Jötunn, an odd feeling in his chest—this here, this was his true brother. "Does she still live?" He finally asked softly, all hostility gone.
The Jötunn shook his head, body relaxed but still warry. "Died, giving birth to the child we all thought died with her."
Loki snorted. "Well, you know my name. What is yours?"
"Býleistr." He answered with a smile, not warm but not hostile either. "You have a son? He must share your skin if you search here for answers."
"He does," Loki forlornly gazed down the aisle upon aisles of shelves. "And I fear he does not have much time."
Býleistr nodded and started walking down away, gesturing for Loki to follow. "Tell me, what are his symptoms?"
Loki gave him a brief description of what Ivana had told him and he didn't miss Býleistr's wince. "Why are you helping me? By all rights you should be throwing me out as… our father did."
Býleistr glowered at the distant wall. "I have held differing opinions from Laufey for many centuries. I do not speak them out often, out of regard for that he is my king. But, handing any of our own to Asgard is too far…I mean no offense to you."
Loki shook his head. "None taken. I hold Odin in no high regard—not for all the lies he fed me."
Býleistr shared his dark look, only imagining the tales. "Here." He reached up to a high shelf that made Loki scowl at its height. He couldn't help but chuckle as he bent over to give his… brother the information crystal. "I'll give you this, but I wish to meet your son—and soon."
Loki took the crystal with a heavy sigh. "Of course."
Býleistr tilted his head, a wry smile pulling at his lips. "You are not keen on him meeting his own kin?"
Loki looked at him hard. "Just don't go about trying to kidnap him and you will be on higher ground than my sister."
Býleistr stood with a nervous laugh. "If Odin adopted you…she is one, feisty lady."
Loki laughed dryly. "You have no idea."
Býleistr grinned and turned away. "I look forward to meeting my nephew, then. Good luck and the Ancients be with you."
Loki stood in silence, clutching the crystal—amazed by the interaction with, with his brother…He'd been to Jötunheim before, yes, but he'd always kept his distance. He shook away all those thoughts and teleported Midgard's branch, heart a little lighter with hope. For both Hiccup and him. Just hang on a little longer, Liten Listig.
We are finally finished! Next chapter we begin the official MCU start of this story. I'm so excited! See you soon.