Part Two: Chapter Twenty-Two.
Sibling Reunion.
"He couldn't have gone far." Thor commented.
"No need to worry. He just came for a better view." I said, smiling since I was the only one who understood what I meant. As expected, I earned three confused glances and sighed. I raised a finger at them, signaling for them to give me a moment. I knew where he was -I could sense him nearby. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on his exact location.
Opening my eyes, I glanced up. I saw nothing, but I knew he was obscured by the tree's leaves and branches. "I just blew your cover. You can come down now."
I heard a thud behind me as he landed. I turned around to come face to face with Loki, his glistening blue eyes piercing through mine. His infamous smirk was plastered onto his face and his proximity to me was vexatious.
"You're coming with us." I told him, even though he already knew.
"And what if I object?" Loki toyed, taking steps back to irk the others.
"I don't recall Astryd giving you an option." Steve snapped coming to my side, staring at him. Loki raised an eyebrow, sensing something that I didn't and laughed.
**
Loki was silent the whole walk back, and as soon as we entered the jet, he plopped himself down onto the same seat he sat on before. Natasha turned to us, eyes scanning us for any injury or anything out of place, and ignited the jet's engine as soon as she saw we are all good to go.
Tony let out a huff, sitting down seats away from Loki and leaned back into his seat, resting his head on top of his arms. Thor's expression was distant, his mind elsewhere at the moment. Steve leaned against the opposite wall and I walked towards him.
"You look like you got mauled by a group of bear cubs." Steve lightly chuckled, his eyes trailing up and down my now tattered dress. I stared at him for a moment and then I laughed.
"Thanks."
"Well, I'm just being honest." Steve shrugged, crossing his arms against his chest smiling down at me. His smile then fell and was replaced with a small frown. He glanced at Loki discreetly, nodding towards him before returning his full attention towards me. "What do you think he wants?"
"Power." I murmured back. Glancing down, I sighed. "I fear that this desire will be the end of him. He may have bad intentions and be a menace, but he's still my brother. I just don't want to lose him..."
Steve tucked back a loose strand of hair and lifted my chin up to look at him. "I can't promise you anything. I'm sorry." He sincerely whispered, wiping a stray tear away.
"I understand." I replied, feeling my heart sink down into my stomach. I didn't expect Steve to promise me Loki's safety. I'm not that naive. What Loki started, we'll bring an end to. It's the right thing to do, but the strong overwhelming feeling of guilt inside me says otherwise. What am I really willing to do, if all falls apart and I am left to battle Loki alone?
Two strong arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in a warm and comforting hug. I buried my head into the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath to prevent myself from crying.
"You're strong. I know you can get through this," Steve assured as I pulled myself away from him.
"Oh, please, don't overestimate me." I laughed half-heartedly.
"I'm not." He stated honestly.
"Astryd," Thor called quietly, gesturing for me to join him. Excusing myself from Steve, I made my way towards Thor. I find it ironic how I can confide more in Steve -who I've only known for weeks- more than in Thor -who is my brother. I may have known and confided in Thor when I was child, but that was then. This is now, and judging by how Loki changed, I couldn't take my chances with Thor.
"We need to talk. The three of us." Thor said, and I nodded. "Privately."
"I'll see what I can do when we get there."
He nodded, appreciatively and then gestured for me to sit next to Loki. I did and he shortly followed sitting on Loki's other side. Loki didn't even bother to acknowledge our presence. "Brother," Thor began.
"I am not your brother." Loki hissed glaring at Thor, and then he turned to me as if to say, "you too."
"We grew up together, we shared secrets, and we were there for each other. Does that not mean a thing to you now?" Thor questioned.
I averted my gazes from them.
"We've all changed." Loki said and I silently agreed with him. Thor is no longer the same little boy who day dreamed about having the throne; his dreams were on their way to coming true. Loki is no longer the same little boy who only wanted to be equal to Thor; he now thirsts for revenge and praise. I'm no longer the same little girl whose ambitions once were to be just like her older brothers; my ambitions are now to be normal and live a simple life (to which I'll probably never get, but I can't help but try).
"Some for the better and some for the worse." I say softly.
Loki scoffed, unpleased with my words. "You two pretend to be impeccable, to be the perfect royal Asgardian siblings, but underneath it all, you two are just like me...broken."
**
When we arrived at the helicarrier, Fury was there to greet us and to make sure that we had gone on with his order along with multiple agents who were heavily armed, eyes fixed onto Loki the whole time as we emerged from the jet. Nodding at Thor, I walked straight up to Director Fury.
"Thor and I request to speak with Loki privately before you take him in."
Fury raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"I promise you that we are not pulling anything on you. We just want to reason with him. Please," I assured him. Fury paused thoughtfully and then nodded. He murmured something to some of the agents standing behind him and they nodded.
"They'll lead you into one of our interrogating rooms." Fury said, motioning for me to follow the four agents. I nodded sending him a thankful smile.
Thor gripped Loki's arm, dragging him along behind me as we entered into the cool, air conditioned inside part of the helicarrier. Two of the four straight faced agents, positioned themselves right behind Thor and Loki protectively as we walked down the halls. I honestly didn't know where we were heading to, but as soon as we reached the door, I noticed that it was familiar to the room Fury had kept me in a year ago.
It seemed to me like an exact replica of it as we entered the room. There was a huge window, taking up most of the wall that reflected our images back at us and I knew that even though we couldn't see anybody, that people could see us. I wondered if Fury was there to keep his eyes on us himself. One of the agents shut the door, giving us the privacy we needed. The only difference from this room to the other one back at the headquarters was that it had a table and four chairs as opposed to a bed.
I sat down at one of the chairs, Thor following in my pursuit. Loki reluctantly joined us, seating himself across from Thor and me.
"What happened to you, Loki?" Thor asked.
"That's a vague question." Loki remarked.
"He means what happened to you after you let go. Where did you go?" I clarified for Thor. It was a question I was interested in hearing answered, too. Perhaps, it led him to the Other.
Loki gulped his body tensing. "I've seen worlds none of you know about and my experiences in them are not to be told nor would I ever want to tell you. It's not as if you two cared."
"That's a lie and you know it!" I snapped.
"We mourned for you, Loki. Astryd and I may not be blood related to you, but we care for you and love you as one of our own. Is that not enough for you?" Thor demanded incredulously.
Loki raised his eyebrows a smug smirk taking over his lips. "To me," he began and leaned in towards both Thor and I. "You two mean nothing."
My stomach dropped and I tried my best to keep my face expressionless, not wanting to convey the effect his words had on me. Enraged and heart broken, Thor stood up and rammed his chair into the table, storming out of the room. I stared after Thor, wondering if I should do the same but didn't.
"He’s always been the sensitive one." Loki chuckled.
"You don't really mean that do you?" I murmured, staring down at my hands too scared to even look at Loki at the moment. If I did, I’d probably fall apart.
"Of course I do.-" I tensed up, my eyes pooling up with tears that stung."-Thor takes after Mother."
I noticed he said "mother" instead of "his mother." There’s still hope. I kept my gaze down at my hands. He didn't answer my question and that only comforted me, because I believe I already know the answer. Loki sighed.
"Why do you keep insisting?" He asked.
I glanced up to look at him, and for a moment, I thought his eyes returned back to their normal green color but they didn't. They were still an icy blue and they stared into me, trying to read me. "You already know."
"How come you didn't tell Thor about me working with Thanos and the Other?" He wondered, not realizing he had given away the name Thanos to me. That must be who the Other works for, the mastermind behind it all.
"I don't know the whole story behind it and I'd prefer it if you'd tell him." I answered honestly. I wanted to tell Thor, but not only would it break what little trust Loki had for me, it wasn't for me to tell. The room fell silent and I glimpsed at Loki to see his eyebrows knitting together thoughtfully.
"You wouldn't come with me if I asked, would you?" He asked quietly after a short period of silence. My eyebrows furrowed. He's not exactly free right now to go anywhere. He knows that. "I'd take care of you, you'd have a safe and sound Erik by your side, and you'd have me."
"What are you asking me?" I whispered cautiously with narrowed eyes.
"You know exactly what I'm asking." He replied sharply, leaning forward so no one would hear just in case we were being eavesdropped on. "This is the only chance I'm giving you."
"Loki, don’t do this to me." I began, trying to find another way. I know what he's asking, but that is a lot from me. I have a job to fulfill here. I have Steve, Agent Coulson, Natasha, and Thor. But I can't let Erik go...
"It's your choice, and once you seal it, I will abide by it." Loki vowed.
A/N: Oooh. I added both a Steve & Astryd scene and a Loki & Astryd scene in this one. What do you think Astryd will say to Loki? Will she accept his offer? (: lol. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I really can't cait to go further into this story and write the scene where they all fight, because after that, things go downhill for Astryd...
I'm working on a video for Steve & Astryd, but am having trouble trying to find songs that fit them, so I'm asking (again lol) if you have any song suggestions, I'd love to hear (well read) them! I'll take them all into consideration.
Also, I have a new story idea that I want to work on. Although, this time my protagonist will be a villain but I'm still debating whether or not to make it a fan-fiction or an original story. I'm still thinking about the whole thing though...
Anyways, please leave your thoughts below! (sorry for any mistakes in this chapter. I'll fix them tomorrow.)