Hi all!!!! :)
This might be more of a filler chapter, but I enjoyed writing it all the same!
Hope you like it!!!!
Chapter Fifty-Two
~Thea's POV~
Since the plane ride is almost twenty hours (I'm not even kidding), we decide to leave around eight that night. To pass the time, we plan, and after we plan, we actually have some fun ("It's Christmas, after all," says Steve).
Tony had brought some fireworks with him (why, I don't know) that Jack and I beg for him to light up, but he refuses, because he doesn't want anyone to know where we are. Instead, he sets fire to what appears to be a very tall stick and lets the flame sprout to nearly twenty feet until Steve draws the limit and extinguishes it.
Our next form of "entertainment" is half-entertainment, half-preparation for what's to come: we have mock fights, usually accompanied by bets of who will win and who will lose. We form a semi-circle around a clearing that overlooks the river, and I sit down between Jack and Peter.
Steve and Max go first, and it's fairly obvious who was going to win in the first place. Although Max is a brilliant fighter, he's no match for Captain America, and under two minutes, Max is staggering away, mostly unhurt except for his pride.
Clint challenges Natasha next, and this is what I call a fight. Even though we don't have money on us, Jack and I make "air bets"; I think Natasha will pull out as the winner, and Jack thinks Clint will.
For the first five minutes, it could've easily gone either way. Both of them are moving so fast, flipping around and whirling with their daggers and fists that they are blurs moving up and down the embankment of the mountain.
Finally though, Natasha flips around, in a beautiful execution of a backflip and kicks Clint full in the chest. He refuses surrender until Natasha actually knocks him out.
Jack pretends to hand me money, looking sullen as Clint, moaning, gets up.
Kyle stands up next and wiggles his eyebrows at me. "Is this a challenge?" I ask sweetly.
"Oh yes, indeed it is, princess." says Kyle with a smirk as he pulls me to my feet.
Kyle has a knife, the same one he was sharpening last night, but I am weaponless. Putting on my best angelic face, I walk up to Loki. Before I can even open my mouth, he tosses me his emerald dagger. "Don't you disappoint me, kitten." he says lazily, leaning back on the pole of a tent.
Kyle and I face each other, him looking at me as if I'm an adorable kid. But he doesn't know that my powers are fully formed yet. As I twirl my dagger in my hand, I eye him, waiting for him to make the first move.
He does, a foreword jab at my left , which turns out to be a fake, as he actually strikes me on my right shoulder. Cursing my idiocy, I ignore the catcalls of those around me, and flip around, trying to kick Kyle in the chest. He catches my foot, and I nearly fall; that's when I feel myself go into what Jack calls my "ninja mode".
After that, it's fairly quick. I grab Kyle's arm and bend his wrist back. He grunts in pain, and his knife clatters to the ground. He is now forced to fend me and my dagger off as I lunge towards. Spinning around quickly, I force him back, back, back until he's standing with his hands in the air and my dagger at his throat.
I hear cheers, particularly from Jack, Thor, and Natasha, all, I expect, had bet that I would win. The others look precisely like Jack did when he lost the bet between Nat and Clint.
Kyle glares at me, but I can tell that he's proud, regardless. Natasha looks even more proud, and even Clint does; they did, of course, train me extensively.
Jack challenges Peter next. I was originally certain that, although I love Jack dearly, Peter would win, just because Jack is slightly scrawnier and younger than Peter. As it turns out, I'm surprised. Even with Peter trying to throw his spider silk at Jack, Jack dodges it with a knife that he borrowed from Kyle. In the end, it's Jack who stands over the older boy, triumphant. I'm fairly certain that in a larger environment, with more places to swing and attack, Peter would win, but for now, Jack is triumphant.
Tony and Steve go next. Now this is what I call interesting; without his suit, Tony is forced to rely on his fists and his wits. They don't go far, because Steve knocks him aside after a few minutes.
"I will have you know," says Tony as Steve offers him an arm up, "That I am simply saving my strength for tomorrow, and you all would be wise to do the same."
"Hey, Stark, this was all your idea!" I yell from my position between Jack and Peter.
Tony glares at me.
Thor and Loki go next. Jack, Peter, and I argue extensively over who will win this one, and to be frank, I have absolutely no idea. Thor isn't going to be using his lightning, because it could not only alert certain individuals to our location, but potentially set fire to the trees around us. Considering that, this draws the odds in even tighter. Eventually, I give up and let Jack and Peter work it out- Peter says Loki will win, and Jack claims that Thor will (I suspect Jack says this partially because he hates Loki so much).
The fight is brilliant, and long, and I feel my eyes darting back and forth between the two of them, each equally matched with the other.
In the end, though, Loki pulls out as the winner. Again though, if Thor had his lightning available, I'm not sure who the real victor would be.
Nat and Maria go next (Natasha wins), followed by Kyle and Max (Kyle wins), Loki and Tony (Loki wins), Jack and Clint (Clint wins), and Steve and Thor (Steve wins).
And then I stand up, tired of watching, and approach Loki. "It's on." I smirk. As Loki considers me shrewdly, I hear the typical shrill whistles, plus a loud whoop from Jack.
Finally, Loki stands up, taking his knife from his belt. "Who do you suppose is going to win?" he asks me quietly.
"I'm not even going to answer that." I say.
"Because you know you're going to lose?" asks Loki with a smirk.
"Because you know that you're going to lose." I reply, twirling the dagger in my hand.
The usual ten-to-fifteen second time span it usually takes for everyone to place bets is lengthened. Eventually, Nat, Jack, Tony, Max, Peter, and Bruce (who has declined all fights, for good reason) think I'm going to win. Everyone else is on Loki's side.
Loki and I circle each other, and I raise my eyebrows at him, trying to decide if I should make the first move or not. Turns out, I don't need to, because he lunges forward in the space of lightning, nearly felling the dagger from my hand and sending me reeling.
Before he can reach me to pin me to the ground, I have sprung up, and I practically feel my eyes burning. I leap up, kicking at his chest, and he falls backwards. Like me though, he doesn't give his opponent the chance to pin him; he rolls away from me and faces me with his own dagger.
I spring at him like a cat, but he merely catches me. But I hook my leg around his arm, slamming him down and I land neatly on my feet. In an instant, he's on his feet, swinging his knife around so that I have to duck to avoid getting my head cut off. I retaliate with a short swing of my dagger, causing him to lunge forward.
He catches me, and I growl as he yanks one of my arms (the dagger-less one) behind my back painfully. "Giving up yet?" he whispers to me.
"Don't think so negatively," I snarl, kicking up and knocking him backwards, causing him to lose his grip on my arm.
Now standing, we move so quickly, trying to get the best of each other, that our daggers flash in the sunlight. I'm thinking so fast, so hard, to anticipate his next move that I'm surprised that my brain can function.
I hear Jack yelling at me; I'm not sure what's he's saying though, and this momentary distraction causes the hilt of Loki's knife to bang into my cheek. I feel and taste my blood.
He's surprised that this happened; I can tell from his widened eyes, but the taste of my own blood running down onto my lips angers me, and I snarl, trying to knock him back.
Loki grabs my arm again, trying to yank it back again, but I jerk my head back, and he grunts as it hits his chest. When he reels back, I take this opportunity to slam my elbow into his face.
The fight has grown so furious, that Loki and I are both beginning to tire slightly. It seems like it will never end, until I see Loki's step falter slightly over the uneven terrain. I kick out, not at his chest like I normally would, but at his ankle.
He loses his balance and with a slice and a clang, my dagger has knocked his from his hand. I whirl around and around and around, the dagger flashing as I back Loki up. Finally, with a leap, I kick his chest hard, probably knocking the wind out of him as he falls to the ground.
Cheers erupt around me, and Peter wolf-whistles. I walk over to Loki, who is sitting up, kneel down, and hand him back his knife. "Did I hurt you too much?" I taunt.
He snorts, standing. "Not at all. You, on the other hand, are bleeding."
"Yes." I smile happily up at him. "But I won."
*
After a very delicious dinner, compliments of Kyle, Peter, and Tony Stark, I walk onto the small plane to get some sleep. Last night's sleepless-ness has made me very tired; the mock fights today have made me even more so (I had fought once more, against Nat- I had barely, barely lost).
Since the plane is going to be moving, we're not allowed in the storage compartment, but there are two beds on this plane still. Peter says he wants to do some work, and lets Jack have the extra bed (I suspect he's just being nice). Since there are two people in the cockpit at any given time on each plane, there are enough sleeping places for everyone.
"Merry Christmas guys," I say sleepily to Jack and Peter as I settle down on the pillow and pull the thick blanket around me, trying not to think of my parents and of Bryce, who are no doubt celebrating Christmas from above.
*
This time around, I ask Tony if I can at least radio into the larger plane, halfway because this one is perpetually boring- as in, no secret meetings-, and halfway because I want to make sure there's nothing I'm missing (re: there are no secrets being kept from me).
Unfortunately, Stark says no. Actually, what he says is, "Nope, I think you're good exactly where you are," which is not only rude, but also not a good sign.
Upon hearing about this predicament and feeling slightly put-off that he wasn't invited onto that big plane either, Peter solves the problem. He very stealthily inserts a video camera onto the plane, hijacks both the plane's systems, and pulls it up on his laptop. I'm beginning to fall in love with that computer.
"There we go," he says, looking very proud of himself as he plugs in the earbuds, so that Kyle and Maria can't hear us. "Only two of us can listen in at the same time, but it's good."
"It's brilliant." says Jack truthfully.
Peter and I take the earbuds first, after Jack loses to me in rock, paper, scissors, and Peter proclaimed himself king of the computer.
While Jack sulks, I turn up the volume. The camera gives us a view of the main corridor in the plane, and I easily spot Thor, Tony, Steve, and Natasha in the forefront; I'm pretty sure Loki's sitting in the corner, but I can't be sure.
Unfortunately, I'm disappointed. Not only do they not talk about any secret plans, but they also don't talk much about anything. After nearly an hour of taking turns with Jack (and after Peter tries fixing my phone with a fair amount of success), we give up. Peter keeps his earbud in, just in case, but absolutely nothing happens.
Jack and I question Peter extensively about the cave. Basically, what we get is that it is a steep drop, there are two sets of doors (one of which will not open except for my blood), and lots of snakes. I shiver at the thought of the snakes, but nonetheless hear him out. He even draws us a diagram of his experience in the caves. Of course, he can't tell us what lies beyond the door.
I'm not sure I even want to know.
At about three in the afternoon, Kyle appears from the cockpit (Peter surreptitiously closes the window of the hacked video camera) to tell us that we'll be there in a couple hours.
As we land, Peter, Jack, and I watch as the green of (surprise) another rainforest comes into view. We change back into better-equipped clothing and await for the plane to completely land. We're on a plain; what appears to be an old rice field or something.
Before they let Jack and me off the plane, Bruce comes on from the other plane and, with Kyle, proceed to give us about five vaccines.
"Stop complaining," says Kyle as I groan, comparing myself to a human pincushion. "At least you won't die of malaria."
"I'm pretty sure malaria's not my biggest concern at the moment." I say. "I'm thinking like a twenty-foot snake and a bunch of aliens."
My cheek earns me a smack on the head.
I jump onto the ground and follow everyone else down a path, towards the cave. For some reason, we're avoiding the village (Peter explains later that it's because the village people are somewhat being controlled by the Imeldi), and bring a large supply of water, not to mention sunscreen and insect repellant (according to Tony, everyone learned the hard way last time).
It takes us three hours to reach the site of the cave and by that point, it's already pitch black, except for our flashlights. Tony and Thor go first, sliding into the darkness. I gulp at the dark hole gaping menacingly. I don't like the dark.
Someone takes my hand, and I realize that it's Kyle. "You don't have to pretend that you're not scared." he whispers so that nobody can hear him.
"Um." I say, because Kyle is either really snarky and annoying or kind and gentle like now. "Well."
"I would say that you don't have to go, but you sort of do." says Kyle.
I technically don't, because Loki has that vial of my blood. I glance back, and by the light of the flashlights, I can see that Loki is looking at me, waiting. It occurs to me that perhaps he took that blood from the healers in case I wanted to back out. How strangely kind of Loki.
"I'm good." I say. "Honestly, I'm good."
"All right then," says Kyle, squeezing my hand and pulling me forward, "Just stick with me, kid."
I want to let go of Kyle's hand because I feel like a child, but at the same time, it's the only thing that's keeping me from not shaking. Together, we enter the darkness of the low-ceiling cave.
Inside, it's not that terrible, because there's a clear path in front of us. We follow the shadows of Jack and Peter, who are in front of us, down the misty, humid, and wet (it must have rained recently) cave. To calm myself, I try to imagine we're in a line for one of those rides at Disney World that I visited when I was ten.
We pass through more blackness, the flashlights dancing around. In front of me, I hear Jack yelp, and realize that there's a small brown snake slithering down the side of the cave. It doesn't appear to care that we're here, because it keeps on going it's snaky way.
My flashlight shines over the tombs of the dead, horizontal and rotting just as Peter described them. There are a few snakes hanging out of the gaps between the coffins, and I shiver.
There's a small archway, which we go through next. I hear grunts and the sound of rock being moved aside. Kyle, Peter, Jack, and I have caught up to Thor and Tony (who is wearing his Iron Man suit now), who are moving aside a pile of rubbish.
Underneath one rock is Kafrandi, and the sight is so sudden, I jump about ten feet. He's squashed horribly, his forked tongue hanging out and his eyes rolled in two different directions. "Is...is he dead?" I whisper.
"I wouldn't bet on it." says Tony, his voice slightly muffled from the suit. "He's as slippery as a serpent. Oh wait..."
I ignore Tony's joke, mostly because Loki has stepped forward from behind me. He's holding a vial of something, and it's not my blood. "What is that?" I ask.
"Vervain." says Loki in a low voice, pouring the liquid over Kafrandi's body. I wince as it makes a hissing sound. "It should hold him at least for a little bit."
Around us, I see the sight of a few more Imeldi bodies, plus three human ones, each as grotesque and flattened as Kafrandi. I bit my lip so hard, it nearly begins to bleed.
"Okay, Thea." says Tony. "C'mon up."
"Wait," says Loki, holding up the vial of blood. "Use this."
But nothing happens when they pour the red stuff on what looks like a sacrificial table. "Oh great." says Tony. "We're at a dead end."
"Not quite." says Loki. "If I'm not mistaken, it requires the memory of flesh, not just blood. Thea." He jerks his head at me, beckoning me forward.
Thor takes my hand and I close my eyes as I feel the sharp prick and sting of the needle on the palm of my hand. I hear the drops of blood trickle onto the bowl, and I open one of my eyes.
A great creaking sound echoes through the cavern as the door squeaks open, away from the wall, sending dust everywhere; I begin to cough.
While I wrap my hand in the gauze that Peter hands me, I notice that everyone has reached this point at the cave; we barely have any room to maneuver.
As the dust clears, Tony, Thor, and Loki head in first. I join them next, ahead of Kyle and Peter. It smells musty and dirty in here; nobody's been here for quite a while.
"Ohhhh boy." says Tony, stopping a few feet in front of me. "This is gonna be interesting."
As the dust clears, my eyes widen.
It's a labyrinth in front of me. There are four paths that move forwards, two of them curving sharply. There are three more in between that rise up, like the overpasses on interstates.
"Looks like we're gonna be splitting up." says Tony.
Uh oh, spaghetti-o!
Please VOTE
What did you think?
Please COMMENT.
FYI, I might be doing a double update today, it all depends...
LOVE YOU ALL
~sierra~