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fadingcoast · 5 years

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Death Of The Lie || Chapter 19: Sabotage

AUTHORS: @fandom-and-feminism & @fadingcoast

Summary: Odin and his daughter Hela are the perfect conquerors of the universe. The nine realms fall one after the other into their clutch. After Odin takes a second wife and has a son with her, he doesn’t need Hela anymore. Hela abandons her father and ends up marrying Laufey, a sworn enemy of the Aesir people. Not long after, she becomes pregnant with Laufey’s child. Odin cannot let that son be born, but against all odds, the boy survives. Odin is forced to bring him back to Asgard to be raised as his own until he could make further use of him. The half-Jotun-half-Aesir boy grows up to look and act a lot like his mother, which disturbs Odin, and makes him treat the boy horribly. Odin’s lies are deep and complex, but one day the boy will find out the truth about everything he is.

PAIRING: None RATING: Teen

MASTERLIST

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Chapter 19: Sabotage

The day had finally come. Nobles gathered in the throne room, a grand feast had been prepared, and the entire castle polished down to every last mural on the ceiling until it gleamed in the light. It was time for Thor to take his place as King. But the Allfather could not shake the uncertainty in his bones.

Odin stood at his balcony and watched as more people were escorted into the castle. His thoughts turned to his elder son yet again.

“Do you think he’s ready?”

Frigga looked at Odin’s reflection in her mirror. He was weary, and tired. There was no time to test Thor’s readiness for the crown, this much they both knew. She shook her head.

“Does it matter? He thinks he is.” The Queen went back to adjusting pieces of jewelry in her hair and offered her husband a smile. “He certainly has his father’s confidence.”

“He’ll need more than that,” Odin said, walking heavily to his armchair. “He is but a boy still.”

“He won’t be alone,” Frigga assured him. “Loki will be at his side to give him counsel.” Odin interrupted with a growl and she gave him a hard look. “Loki is much more capable than you give him credit for. He has proven that much since he came home from Alfheim.”

Whatever Odin was going to say was stopped by the slight shaking of his hand. A reminder that his time was short, his strength fleeting. All fight in him drained and his shoulders slumped. When he spoke it was barely above a whisper.

“If we only had more time.”

“For once, our sons need something we cannot provide.” Frigga walked close to the King and stroked his cheek. “You’ve put it off too long. It’s time.”

With a dejected sigh, Odin had no other choice but to agree. The kingdom would have to do with the King he was giving them. He could only hope that the mantle of King and Allfather would give Thor no choice but to grow up.

Still quite annoyed about being snubbed by Thor so he could make his own grand entrance, Loki was only half paying attention to what was going on in the throne room when the sound of a horn rang out, announcing Odin’s arrival and the beginning of the ceremony. Frigga joined Loki at his side and greeted him with a warm smile tinged with anxiety that prompted him to look out among the crowd for his brother. Thor was nowhere to be seen, of course.

Since Loki was standing just to the right of the throne, Odin’s gaze bore down onto him as though Loki were expected to produce Thor out of thin air. He swallowed thickly and shrugged his shoulders. He and Thor had rehearsed the ceremony just the previous day, with the two of them coming in together, so Odin was clearly less than pleased at this sudden change in plans. Slowly the crowd began to mutter to each other in hushed whispers, the scandal of the prince being late to his own coronation too much to keep silent about.

Volstagg, who stood at the bottom of the throne steps with Fandral, Hogun, and Sif, took the few steps up to where Loki was standing and leaned in, facing away from the crowd. “Where is he?” he snapped.

Loki frowned at Volstagg’s insolent tone. “He said he’d be along.” Sif clearly heard him and rolled her eyes.

“If he doesn’t show up soon, he shouldn’t bother,” Fandral said. “Odin looks like he’s ready to feed him to his ravens.”

Loki was no fool; he knew Fandral had been right in his observation but he knew just as well that Thor would not be punished, regardless of how long he made everyone wait. “I wouldn’t worry,” he assured Thor’s friends with barely concealed contempt. “Father will forgive him. He always does.”

As if on cue, a strong gust of air burst through the front doors to the throne room and Mjolnir came flying through the divide in the crowd, Thor close behind it. He spun around and caught the hammer behind his back and earned himself a deafening round of applause. Loki clenched his jaw to keep from commenting on this garish display - it was no less than he expected from his brother, getting everyone all worked up and worried about him only to make a scene and show off his strength. The day was already about him, but to Thor it must not have been enough.

Even more infuriating was that all anger had faded from Odin’s expression. Thor approached the throne and knelt before it, and even the Queen was not immune to the wink and smile he gave her by way of an apology.

Some King, Loki thought, his mind wandering as soon as Odin silenced the room with the sound of his spear hitting the ground. Do what you want now, charm your way out of it later.

“Gungnir,” Odin’s voice boomed across the throne room, commanding everyone’s attention. It was time for the ceremony to start. “Its aim is true, its power strong. With it I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent…”

If only Gungnir’s wielder was half as innocent as the people it protects, Loki thought. The blood on the hands of each King impregnates its very core.

“…Thor Odinson, my heir. My firstborn.” The sentiment in Odin’s voice made Loki clench his fists.

Firstborn. First trained. First loved. First spoiled. Look at this golden-haired fool, thinking he can rule the nine realms with his muscles and a smile. He wouldn’t last a day.

“...Only one may lift it. Only one is worthy. Who wields this hammer commands the lightning and the storm…”

Worthy. Who even knows what that means anymore? If Thor is worthy of the throne, I’ll eat my helmet.

“I have sacrificed much to achieve peace,” Odin proclaimed, staring down at Thor with a much more serious expression. “So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain the peace. Responsibility. Duty. Honor. These are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier, and to every king.”

That disqualifies this arrogant oaf, Loki mused to himself. Odin’s speech was nearing its end, so he extended his senses to the weapons vault below the throne room so he would know when it was time to act. They’ll thank me when their King ascends in a time when he is mature enough to handle the position. They’ll all thank me.

There was a slight shift in the air, a chill growing in the hall, and Loki felt it even before the crowd itself started to shiver and rub their limbs for warmth. But no one paid any more attention to it. Thor was looking at his father’s proud face with a smile.

Odin began the oaths, his grasp on the spear so tightly that his hand shook. “Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?”

If it were possible, the smile on Thor’s face grew wider. “I swear.

“Do you swear to preserve the peace?"

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?

“I swear!"

“Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you…”

The king stopped his speech, finally noticing the frost floating in the air, making the banners glisten in the light with small drops of frozen dew. Odin cast a wary look at Frigga, and then at Loki, but he looked as confused as everyone else.

No, Odin realized - this wasn’t Loki’s doing. This was more powerful, angrier, yet still familiar…

“Frost giants…” Odin muttered, rising to his feet. A powerful shockwave emanated from the base of his spear as he pounded it on the floor a single time - a command to unleash the Destroyer from his prison and take out the intruders.

The far-off sounds of a struggle echoed in the depths of the palace. Thor, gripping his hammer, raced down the corridor, and he tracked the sound right to the vaults. Loki followed close behind, melting ice and the burnt bodies of two frost giants lying on the floor greeting them when they arrived. The two guards who had been tasked with protecting the vault lay dead at their feet. On the far end stood the Destroyer, with the Casket of Ancient Winters in its massive metal hands. Odin stepped in as the Destroyer set the Casket back on its pedestal and moved to the back wall, which seemed to swallow him as it deactivated.

Loki stared around the room, surveying the destruction, the tension growing palpable. He could practically feel the heat of anger rolling off of Thor in waves, and the air was thick with a strange type of magic that was making him feel uneasy.

Finally Thor broke the silence, his hand squeezing the handle of his hammer until his knuckles turned white. “The Jotuns must pay for what they’ve done!”

Odin remained calm and shook his head. “They have paid with their lives. The Destroyer did its job, and the Casket is safe. All is well.”

“All is well?!” Thor looked at his father in disbelief, then at Loki as if asking for backup. “They broke into the weapons vault! If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics--"

“But they didn’t."

“I want to know why they--” Thor insisted, but Odin promptly cut him off.

“The Casket of Ancient Winters belonged to the Jotuns. They believe it’s their birthright.”

Growing ever angrier by the second, Thor raised his voice, clearly frustrated that Odin didn’t feed into his desire for violence. Loki suspected any minute now his brother would throw the hammer into a wall. He knew better than to get in the middle of an argument between the two of them so he resolved to remain silent.

“And if you hadn’t taken it from them they would have laid waste to all the Nine Realms!”

“I have a truce with Laufey, the Jotun King.” Odin’s resolve to maintain peace was steadfast, and Loki wondered how far Thor would push against it before giving in.

Thor pointed to the Casket with disdain. “He just broke your truce! We must act!"

“And what action would you take?” Odin asked Thor, eyeing him up and down. This was a test; Loki could read that in his one eye.

Thor, however, didn’t take the hint.

“I would march into Jotunheim as you once did, teach them a lesson, break their spirits so they’ll never dare try to cross our borders again!”

It was clear to Loki at this point that Thor had lost the argument. Odin accused Thor of single-mindedness, thinking only as a warrior, while Thor insisted the intrusion was, in fact, an act of war worthy of retaliation, and if the Jotuns got in one time they could get in again. But no matter how much Loki silently projected to Thor to shut up, he wouldn’t.

“As King of Asgard, I would--”

“You are not King!” Odin shouted, his voice loud enough to echo across the vault. “Not yet.”

At a loss for words, Thor turned away and stomped out of the Vault, the doors slamming hard behind him.

Thor’s tantrum continued upstairs, in the banquet hall, after the guests were long gone. Loki had followed him to try to placate him, to no avail. He had tried to avoid provoking his brother even further but Thor decided to upend one of the long tables - covered end to end with an astounding array of food and dinnerware - and shout out his anger with a roar. The noise attracted the Warriors and they ran inside to see what caused the calamity, only to find Thor standing in the middle of the room with food strewn everywhere, panting like a dog. Volstagg immediately began mourning for all the wasted food, shoveling what he could into his arms to eat.

Unimpressed, Sif put her hands on her hips. “Redecorating, are we?” she teased, one eyebrow raised. Thor cast her an indignant glance and strode over to the steps leading up to the balcony, taking a seat with a huff. Loki knew the wheels were turning in his brother’s head, and when Thor got a thirst for vengeance it was hard to put the brakes on his focus. He joined Thor on the steps and sat next to him as quietly as he could, waiting for him to talk. It took only a moment for Thor to cut his eyes at him and sigh angrily.

“It’s unwise to be in my company right now, brother."

Loki half-smiled and folded his hands in his lap. “Who said I was wise?”

Thor deflated, but the fire in his demeanor remained. His fists clenched, nostrils flared, foot tapping against the stairs. “This was to be my day of triumph,” he said quietly, but no less bitter.

Choosing his words carefully, Loki shook his head and tried to insert an air of authority into his voice without provoking Thor even further. “There’s nothing we can do without defying Father,” he said with finality, hoping Thor would take the hint.

Thor sighed, and for a moment he seemed to accept that Loki was right. But Loki watched with horror as he read resignation, defiance, and finally glee in Thor’s expression as he rose to his feet. Rebellion wasn’t in the plan, and quickly Loki tried to stop it before it started.

“No… stop there! I know that look!”

Thor smiled, as though he meant to charm his way into yet another ridiculous plan. “It’s the only way to ensure the safety of our borders.”

“It’s madness!”

Loki’s shouting caught the attention of the Warriors, and Fandral spoke up. “Madness? What sort of madness?”

If Thor’s friends got involved, there would be no convincing him to stay. Desperate to keep the situation contained Loki tried to speak over his brother. “Nothing! Thor was making a jest!”

Thor stepped in front of Loki to silence him. “The safety of our Realm is no jest,” he insisted. “We’re going to Jotunheim.”

This is getting too far out of hand, Loki thought, searching his brain for a new plan. If he’s going, I can’t stop him, but I’ll have to do damage control. As always. Thor looked around the room with a bright smile, and Loki knew exactly what his brother was thinking. A few well spoken phrases, a tiny amount of sucking up, and Thor had his friends in the palm of his hand, as usual. And they call me the silvertongue. Loyalty comes not without a tiny amount of stupidity it seems.

“My friends, trust me now. We must do this,” Thor finished his case. “Come on. You’re not going to let my brother and me take all the glory, are you?”

“What?!” Loki tried to looked startled. He knew this was probably coming - Thor would never take blame for something like this on his own.

“You are coming with me, right?"

In a split second, Loki had to make up his mind. He returned Thor’s smile with as much authenticity as he could. “Yes, of course! I won’t let my brother march into Jotunheim alone. I will be at his side.”

The Warriors Three voiced their agreeing. Sif took a little longer to answer.

“I fear we’ll live to regret this,” she said solemnly.

As Loki had predicted - and warned Thor and the Warriors - Heimdall was not fooled for a moment by anything any of them said, but still Thor convinced him to open the Bifrost for the five of them to travel to Jotunheim. The Gatekeeper let them pass, but not without a warning; if bringing them back to Asgard threatened the safety of the realm, there they would stay, and there they would die.

All Loki could think about as they stepped into the portal to Jotunheim was the guard he had sent, using an illusion of himself while Thor and the Warriors weren’t watching him, to alert Odin of their excursion. His original plan to simply delay the coronation had been derailed to a point where he wasn’t sure how to get it back on track, or if he could. If they weren’t intercepted in time, if Thor discovered who had let the Jotuns in, all would be lost.

The Bifrost burned and melted the ice on its landing spot, baring the black rock of Jotunheim’s foundations. But the snow and the wind covered it back up in mere seconds as the Bifrost vanished and the group were left on their own.

The realm seemed to be a massive platform of ice that reached as far as the eye could see. Deep crevices and canyons showed the thickness of the glaciers and the black rock it covered. Nothing grew here, not even the sturdy shrubs Loki had seen near the tops of some mountains, not even the lichen that usually clung to permafrost. It was as if Jotunheim repelled the very idea of life aside from the Frost Giants, the only creatures able to endure the cold.

Drawing his comfortable leather coat a bit higher up his neck, Loki realized that he was adjusting much faster than his traveling companions to the endless winter this realm was known for. Thor and the Warriors were shivering violently within seconds, particularly Sif, whose skirt did nothing to protect her from the biting cold and wind.

“We shouldn’t be here.” Hogun stated the obvious, his voice shaking from the chill, and Loki rolled his eyes.

“Too late now,” Thor growled, and started to walk. “We have to move or we will freeze. Let’s go.”

The ice spires of a ruined city, the only signs of life, were clear in the horizon, and Thor was already making his way there. Reluctantly the Warriors started behind him, tightening their robes and furs around themselves to keep the biting cold from affecting them. Loki followed close behind Thor, his every instinct screaming at him that something was wrong. He noticed the shadows moving around the icy structures that, upon closer inspection, looked like the remains of what was once a castle. He wanted to think it was the light playing tricks on him, but he knew better: those shadows were soldiers. They were being watched.

A Jotun sentry, impossibly tall and twice as broad as Thor, stepped out from the darkness and approached them. Thor and the Warriors immediately reached for their weapons as they waited for the Frost Giant to speak.

“What is your business here, Asgardians?” The sentry’s voice shook the ice beneath their feet but they stood their ground.

“I would speak only to your King. Not to his foot soldiers,” Thor spat with contempt.

“Then speak,” another voice spoke from high up on a throne of ice. Deep and cold, it seemed to reverberate in the icy structures around them. Loki could swear it even calmed the storm. “I am Laufey, King of this Realm.”

“And I am--”

“We know who you are, Odinson. Why have you brought the stench of your blood into my kingdom?”

“I demand answers.” Thor stated simply, not in the mood to mince words. “How did your people get into Asgard?”

The corner of Laufey’s mouth pulled up in what could be called a smile. “The house of Odin is full of traitors,” he said cryptically. There was a veiled pleasure in the way the words dragged. Loki’s stomach clenched but he allowed no fear to change his expression,

Thor gripped his hammer and brought it closer to his body in warning. “Do not dishonor my father’s name with your lies.”

“Your father is a murderer and a thief,” Laufey spat. “He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket.”

“Not when you’d use it to make war against other Realms."

“And why have you come here? To make peace?” Laufey’s laugh held no joy. It was freezing cold, and sent a shiver through the very bones of the intruders in front of him. “I see you for what you are, Thor Odinson. Nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man.”

“This boy has grown tired of your mockery.” Thor took a step towards Laufey, raising his hammer. Two Jotun sentries stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

Loki moved forward and grabbed Thor’s arm, pulling him back. If Thor attacked unprovoked, it could trigger a war. Silently he prayed to himself that their father would show up before it escalated any further. “Thor, stop and think,” he pleaded. “Look around you. We are outnumbered.”

“Know your place, brother.” Thor bit the words, snatching his arm from Loki’s grasp.

“You should listen to his counsel. You know not what your actions would unleash.” Laufey straightened on his throne, the blue light finally revealing the sharp edges of his face. “But I do. Go now, while I still allow it.

Loki gulped silently and bowed his head slightly. “We will accept your most gracious offer.”

Thor stared at Laufey for half a second that dragged like an eternity before he finally turned to leave. Loki held back his sigh of relief but he knew it wouldn’t be over even when they got home.

“Run back home, little princess,” one of Laufey’s sentinels mocked.

Thor stopped in his tracks, and Loki closed his eyes. “Damn.”

In one quick move, Thor turned around and knocked the offender, sending him across the plaza with one hard swing of his hammer. Everyone froze.

“Silly hammer!” Volstagg joked, his prominent belly jiggling with the forced laugh. “Has a mind of its own!”

But the Jotuns were not having it. Ice formed a frozen armor around their bodies, and extended off the ends of their arms like swords, their sharp edges gleaming in the blue light. Thor stepped forward and swung his hammer at another Jotun, his half smile too evident. “Next!” Thor shouted with glee.

All Hel broke loose. The frost giants attacked them in waves, demanding the Asgardians to be on top of their games. Loki had no time to worry about what everyone else was doing, and quickly summoned as many daggers as he could, throwing them at the giants closing in on him. Trying to not get cornered, he ran to the crumbling edges of the castle and summoned a few of his illusions, confusing the soldiers that were chasing him.

In the distance he could hear the battle cries of Thor and his friends, trying to fend off the attacks.

“Come on! At least make it a challenge for me!” Thor’s mocking tone could be heard in all corners of the ice palace, and Loki wished he would put Mjolnir in his mouth instead.

The battle raged on. Loki knew they had to leave the castle and head on to open ground if they wanted the slight chance for Heimdall to be able to open the Bifrost for them. The Jotnar, on the other hand, were determined not to let them leave the castle grounds. Their ice magic, Loki could see, not only worked on themselves, but on the terrain around them. Large spires and ice walls grew where the exits were, and Loki had to be quick on his feet as the giants tried to freeze him to the floor.

Hogun wasn’t as fast, and was already waist deep in ice when Sif and Vostagg reached him to help him out, not without problems. A Jotun slammed Volstagg to the ground, making the floor shake. The warrior recovered quickly, and tried to fight back as the Jotun grabbed his bare arm. The warrior watched in horror as his skin went blue and black with frostbite. He shouted in pain, and reflexively headbutted the giant, making him stumble and release his arm. But the pain didn’t relent.

“Don’t let them grab hold of you!” Volstagg shouted.

Loki ran past him, throwing him a small cordial of potion which Volstagg downed in one gulp. His arm was still smoking, but the pain dimmed down enough for him to go back to battle.

Across the opening, Fandral was preoccupied fighting a group of Jotun sentries, completely oblivious to the one stalking him from behind. Loki’s warning died in his throat, as the sentry reached down and sent a spray of ice stalagmites that impaled Fandral.

Loki raced towards Fandral, throwing daggers at the Frost Giants as he went. Fandral was nearly unconscious, and more Jotuns were closing in Loki, blocking his path. He tried to summon a mist, but it was doing little more than to obstruct his own view. Daggers flew from his hands, but even his agility wasn’t enough to keep the Jotuns at bay. One got too close, and Loki had to plunge two daggers into its chest. The giant grabbed Loki’s gloved wrist, freezing the leather piece, making it crack and fall away. Loki tried to pull away but the giant tightened his grip on his arm, the cold spreading on his skin. Loki looked at his arm, prepared for the worst. But instead of the blackness of frostbitten flesh, his arm began to turn blue, markings etched on the skin spreading upwards until his forearm and hand looked exactly like the frost giant holding on to him.

“My prince?” The Jotun muttered, as confused and thrown off as Loki himself.

Shaking out of his stupor, Loki summoned a dagger and thrust it in the giant’s neck, only then noticing its black gleam. He focused on his arm then, and watched the deep blue color fading back to his pale skin, the markings disappearing and leaving no trace.

It can’t be-

Loki shook his head. This was not the time. There was a battle around him. He could hear Thor shouting and cackling in the blizzard, drunk with bloodlust. Never mind that his companions weren’t in great shape, or that the Jotnar King decided to join the battle, summoning an enormous beast, cracking the ice with a deafening sound.

“Thor, we must go!” he shouted, hoping Thor could still hear him over the blasting winds.

“Then go!” Thor roared.

In his desperate attempt to stop Laufey’s beast, Thor was not exactly being careful about his power and strength. Each blow and each lightning cracked the ice beneath their feet, as Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three ran to open grounds. Heimdall’s warning resonated in Loki’s mind. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, the Bifrost will remain closed to you. He looked back: there was no way to get far enough from the Jotnar to summon the Bifrost safely.

Loki briefly closed his eyes, and summoned a thick mist, trying to cover their escape. It worked, and the only thing he could see were the cracks of lightning summoned by Thor. The group made it to a small clearing, and waited. The lighting had stopped, and the mist around them seemed to dampen all sound.

“Where is he?” Sif asked.

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Thor landed beside them, staggering. He looked at his companions, as if making a head count, and then faced the mist.

“Loki, we have to see.”

Loki took a deep breath and raised his arms, concentrating to make the mist dissipate. But the sight that greeted them was not what they expected: hundreds of Jotnar were surrounding them.

“Actually, could you bring the mists back, please?” Volstagg said in a little voice.

Loki gave Volstagg a hard look before turning to Thor, realization dawning on his face that he and his friends were as good as dead. That he, the invincible Thor, wasn’t as invincible as he thought. Loki looked up to the sky as if waiting for something.

A bright light opened in the darkness, and Loki let out a small sigh of relief when he saw Odin himself mounted on Sleipnir. The Giants stopped their advance and opened a path for their own king. Laufey slammed his hands on the ground, willing the ice to lift him up so he could look into Odin’s eyes.

The two monarchs facing each other were a terrifying sight, as they were discussing the fate not only of their own worlds, but the Nine Realms as a whole.

“Laufey. End this.”

Laufey sneered at Odin with disdain. “We are beyond diplomacy now, Allfather. He’ll get what he came for -- war and death.”

Without warning, Laufey swung his ice blade at Odin, but the Allfather was already bringing Gungnir to the ground. The explosion knocked Jotuns and Asgardians alike to the ground, and Laufey ordered his soldiers to retreat.

“Now! We’ll finish them together!” Thor shouted with a smile, quickly getting on his feet and swinging his hammer.

“Silence!” Odin barked. He summoned the Bifrost and when they all came back out of the portal in the Observatory he dismissed the Warriors, sending Fandral to the Healers’ wing.

Still incensed, Thor turned his focus from his friend to his father. “Why did you bring us back!?” he demanded. In his shock Loki retreated from the inevitable argument so he wouldn’t get dragged into it. This had already gone more wrong than he could have ever predicted and he didn’t want to make it worse.

Odin rounded on Thor in disbelief. “Do you realize what you’ve done? What you’ve started?”

“I was protecting my home,” Thor insisted. “Whatever the cost, the world must know that the new King of Asgard will not be trifled with!”

“Your pride and vanity nearly cost you your friends; if you can’t protect them, how can you expect to be able to protect a kingdom?” Odin shook his head, disappointment beginning to leak into his voice. “Have you forgotten everything I’ve taught you? There is more to being King than war, boy! What of a King’s patience, his cunning, his wisdom?”

Thor had nothing to say, no biting retort, not a charming word to weasel his way out of another scrape. He could only stand there before his father, searching for the forgiveness he was convinced would come. This time he had gone too far, though, and finally Odin was seeing his eldest son for who he was. There was a charge in the air as Odin lowered his voice and cast his gaze to the gilded floor.

“I was a fool to think you were ready.”

Loki could sense Odin was about to do something rash, but he wasn’t sure what his father would do to Thor to teach him a lesson. Without much time to think, he opened his mouth to speak in Thor’s defense, but he couldn’t come up with anything to say that could possibly help and decided to keep silent. His heart was pounding, the sense of impending and inevitable retaliation making it hard to control the residual cold that was creeping up his arm. He clasped his hands behind his back and took a few more steps away from Odin, just in case.

Odin strode over to Thor with great purpose and began to tear at his metal armor, casting it to the floor as he spoke. “Thor Odinson…” he hesitated before he continued, relieving Thor of his crests, “you have disobeyed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war. You are unworthy of your title, unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed, and unworthy of your weapon and strength.”

Odin then plunged Gungnir into the Bifrost control panel, activating the spire. Loki watched in silent horror as their father ripped Thor’s cloak from his back, and summoned Mjolnir from Thor’s shaking fist.

“In the name of my father… and of his father before… I cast you out!”

Odin thrust Mjolnir towards Thor, the electricity coming from the weapon disintegrating the rest of Thor’s armor and pushing him backward to the swirling lights of the Bifrost.

This is all my fault. It wasn’t supposed to get this far!

Loki’s mouth hung open in disbelief as he stared at the vortex that had swallowed Thor, barely registering when Odin hurled Mjolnir in, sending it and Thor to a place only he knew. Suddenly it felt as though Loki’s chest was caving in, and the world was spiraling around him.

What have I done?

<< Chapter 18 – Chapter 20 >>

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