"That's the plan, we're gonna hit him with a brick?"
You know, maybe the raccoon is more of an idiot than I thought.
"It's a mold," King Eitri explains, "A king's weapon. Meant to be the greatest in Asgard,"
Only one of you can rule, but both of you were born to be Kings.
"In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost," he finishes, still staring in awe at the mold.
"Did it have a name?" Thor asks.
"Stormbreaker,"
"That's a bit much," The raccoon comments as I snort with laughter.
"So how do we make it?" Thor questions stupidly.
With magical bilge snipe of course.
King Eitri gives my brother a melancholy look, "You'll have to restart the forge. Awaken the heart of a dying star,"
"Rabbit, fire up the pod,"
Excuse me?
•••
"I don't think you get the scientifics here," the raccoon reasons, "These rings are gigantic. You wanna get them moving you're gonna need something a lot bigger to yank 'em loose,"
Thor grunts, jumping down onto the rings while I'm perched in the seat next to the raccoon, far away from the dwarf as possible. "Leave that to me,"
"Leave it to you?" The raccoon snorts, "Buddy, you're in space. All you got is a rope and a AGH-" The raccoon yelps as Thor begins hurling us around.
My face is hurled against the window, screaming as everything in the pod shifts.
Thor, you dumb bloke. Also, why does this remind me of the time with the bilgesnipe?
Thor grunts as he finally lets go, "Fire the engines!" He yells, prompting the raccoon to give a shout of excitement as he pulls it full force.
Behind me, I'm hazily aware of Thor trying to catch the rings, but everything feels fuzzy thanks to Thor's madhouse of a roller coaster moments ago.
The pod strains against the force, cracking the ice that collected on the rings.
"More power, rabbit," Thor strains.
What do you think we're doing up here?
But somehow, miraculously, the rings began to move. The star lighting up gloriously in a rainbow of blue and gold.
"That's Niðavellir!" Thor exclaims, jumping into view on the glass. His face smushed up against the pod, a child-like expression of glee written on his face. The star erupts, a shine of golden light casting into the forge.
That's when I realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea for a Jötun to go to a giant supernova. It's hot, brain-meltingly hot.
The magma pours onto my back, racing over my arms and legs like a forbidden waterfall.
The heat. It's too much. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
"Heimdall!" I beg, "Odin! Frigga! Anyone please!"
Anyone to give me the sweet relief of death.
I cry to the stars, begging to be with my people once more.
I cry to the stars and they laugh at me.
Suddenly the burning hot beam of the star has stopped. I nearly moan in relief, leaning my blue skin against the mini-fridge.
I vaguely hear the dwarf curse into the raccoon's ear speaker "Damn it, what's damn it?" The rodent retorts unhelpfully.
"The mechanism is crippled," King Eitri says gruffly.
"What?" Thor asks, still panting from trying to move the rings.
"With the iris closed, I can't beat the metal,"
Thor sighs, "How long will it take to heat it?"
No. Nonononono. This is a terrible idea, Brother. You're going to die you fool!
The dwarf still doesn't understand, "A few minutes, maybe more. Why?"
"I'm going to hold it open,"
Definitely should've gone to Valhalla.
"That's suicide,"
I agree! Even more so than when I was tossed off the rainbow bridge!
"So is facing Thanos without that axe,"
You don't need the axe that badly Thor.
Before I can actually try to stop him, (As if I could anyway.) he jumps down from the rings, right towards the iris.
He's standing right in the center of the star, his hands clenched into fists, "Allfathers give me strength,"
The Allfathers are a bit dead brother.
"You understand, boy? You're about to take the full force of a star,"
Thor is going to perish in the most stupid way imaginable and I am going to laugh in his face.
"It'll kill you," King Eitri warns.
Thor grunts and exhales, "Only if I die,"
"Yes... that's what, killing you means,"
Honestly, at this point, I would've rather taken Sakaar than here.
Without another word, Thor grasps the handles, yanking and pulling on them with all his might.
The light blasts open, and I feel the sweltering heat again, stifling and choking me in my own skin. My vision gets blurry, fading in and out in a fiery red color.
Pathetic, you're not even the one holding open the star.
I can barely make out the muffled grunts and shouts of the dwarf and tree below me.
You've been through worse Jötun scum, man up.
Squeezing my crimson eyes open, I'm clinging onto the mini fridge for support, it's cool touch the only thing keeping me grounded. I watch as Thor's body gets tired, more and more burnt and exhausted.
I know I said the sun would shine on us again but this isn't quite what I had in mind.
Thor slowly fades into unconsciousness, his mangled body tumbling through the void of light.
Lifeless.
No. Nononononono.
You can't die yet.
What more could I lose?
"Thor, say something, come on," The raccoon gasps frantically, smacking him across the face as if that would wake him up, "Thor, you okay?"
Eitri tosses the mold to the ground, punching furiously in an attempt to break free the weapon.
"I think he's dying,"
Is this what it felt like brother? All the times that I 'died'? The hole in your heart that consumes you?
"He needs the axe," Eitri grunts.
The Destroyer sends out a killing blow to Thor. He lies unconscious. It's all my fault.
Mjolnir, reviving him. Lightning crackles at his fingertips.
The world fades away as I lie over Thor's dying body, desperately trying to use seiðr that slips out of my grasp, leaving a painful ache in my abdomen.
"Where's the handle? Tree, help me find the handle!"
Nonononono, Thor you're not allowed to die.
I pull and tug at the seiðr, but nothing. Even though my healing abilities were low to none, I still should've been able to help him.
"Loki?"
I spin around, watching as Thor flashes behind me for half a second, the same blurry glow to him as I.
That means-
No.
Before I realize what I'm doing, I have Thor's arm in my hand, dragging him towards his dying body. I forget how touch feels, I yearn for it. Miss it. I choke back a sob as I throw him back into his body as the axe is finished, crackling with lightning.
"Now is not your time brother. Farewell," I whisper, wiping the burning tears off my face.
Thor gasps, the axe flies into his hand. He looks around tiredly, searching for me.
But I am not here.
A ghost.
The dampness in his eyes vanishes as he steels on his hero's face, raising his axe towards the sky as the Bifrost swallows us whole.