TA DA!!
Chapter Sixty
~Thea's POV~
"Please tell me you're going to let me fight, and there aren't going to be any negotiations about it." I say, my voice still trembling from my raucous tears. I'm eying the Imeldi, but their gaze is only for the Mantra.
"Unfortunately, Thea, you succeeded in breaking my hold on you, so I don't have a choice but to agree with you." says Loki, picking his scepter up from the ground.
"Okay," says Steve in a low voice as we back up, away from the Imeldi. "This is going to take some effort."
"We have ten minutes until the Mantra is in full force." says Tony, who is busy analyzing every inch of the cave. "And we're going to need every bit of time. We're slightly outnumbered."
"Thea and Jack, I want you both back against the wall." orders Max, pointing behind him. "And stay there."
Jack (who is still slightly confused) and I look at each other, then begin laughing. "You're hilarious, cuz," says Jack, taking a pistol from his belt. "You really are."
Max glares. "Both of you. Back. N-"
"Let them be," says Thor. "We need-"
"Absolutely not. They're not-"
"Guys, we don't have time for this!" exclaims Natasha as an arrow goes hissing past her face. "Just let them fight for goodness' sake!"
Max looks mutinous, but doesn't have time to protest, because Steve is speaking up loudly, over the growling sounds of the Imeldi. "Split up. We have a small space. Those in hand combat- Nat, Clint, Thea, Max, and I are going up at the front. Peter, those columns behind us- use them to your advantage. The rest of you, gun down, beam down, hammer down, what have you, the ones that get away from us. Bruce, I would stay out of it unless it's absolutely necessary." His face is glowing in the light of the Mantra as it shimmers down, ghost-like. "Move!"
"You are going to need this." says Loki, pressing the emerald dagger into my hand. Clutching his scepter, he turns away, joining Thor at the back.
I'm happy that Steve has enough confidence to put me in the front line, but all the sharpened teeth and claws in front of me are making me slightly nervous. Taking a deep breath, I focus all of my energy on fury, directing it at the Imeldi.
There's a relatively larger one that is circling my left shoulder and another creeping around my right. I leap up, flipping, so that I land on top of the left one. He snarls, but with a thrust of Loki's dagger, he falls to the ground, screeching. His companion, a smaller, more newt-like creature, cocks his head and latches its teeth onto my bare, dirt-covered leg. I cry out in pain and try to rid myself of this pest.
Meanwhile, an Imeldi with a long snout and protruding eyes and a rabid expression pounces on me from one of the walls "shelf", tearing at my hair. I screech and flip around, slamming the it into the wall. It scrambles madly, but loses its grip, falling into the water with a splash. I use my dagger to take out the creature at my leg and then throw it into the body of the one that had attacked my hair.
"DUCK!"
I listen to Steve's shout automatically, flinging myself to the ground, landing at the edge of one of the "puddles". I'm just in time, because his shield rips over my head, knocking out an Imeldi that had been stumbling over towards Max.
Standing, I grab the dagger and look around the cave. We might be brilliant fighters, the lot of us, but we are grievously outnumbered, and the Imeldi are quickly advancing towards the Mantra.
"Thea..." Kyle says from a few feet away from me, battling two Imeldi at close hand. "I know this is weird, but I need your help."
"How?" I ask, jumping over the body of a fallen, still-twitching Imeldi.
"I need you to be my left eye. My gun's not doing a damn thing, not with these guys." It's true- the Imeldi are so quick that many times, they can dodge even the speed of a bullet, and their armor is tough.
I jump in front of him, fending off an Imeldi that is sneaking around him, its disgustingly long, snake-like tongue logging at me. I finish it off with a throw of my dagger.
The Imeldi are backing us up, into the shallow water, and it's splashing against my skin, which is a bit refreshing. There are reeds around us, making the way difficult.
"THEA, NO IT'S-"
Kyle's shout is too late. The reeds, as it turns out, are alive, or at least have a mind of their own. They snake around my ankle and before I can react, have yanked me down, splashing, into the water.
It's not deep at all- I can sit up in it- but they're pulling me into deeper and deeper water. They're going to drown me if I don't slice it off with my-
Oh crap. My dagger is on the shore- I must've dropped it in surprise. Kyle is fending off two Imeldi, and his shouts are worthless at the moment. I grapple with the reed, but it's too tight, too slimy around my leg. I scream as I dig my nails into the wet, gravelly ground, trying to stop myself from being pulled, but the sound is lost in the din around me.
Someone grabs my shoulder, yanking me up. Before I can react, Loki has bent down, slicing the serpentine reed in half. The ends twitch like tentacles.
"The dagger..." I gasp. "It's-"
"Use this." says Loki, who is fighting an Imeldi with one hand. He tosses me something large- it's a sword, glittering in the odd blue light.
"I don't know how to use a sword!" I exclaim, my voice higher than usual. "It's too heavy! Too bulky! Too-"
"Of all the useless things..." growls Loki, decapitating the Imeldi beside him (I wince). "Fine then!" He flings his hand out to the side and the emerald dagger appears in it. He hands it to me. "And don't lose it!"
"Of course your majesty," I say sarcastically as the Imeldi circle us like vultures. "Anything you wish."
"That's more like it," Loki grins and with a flourish, blasts two Imeldi at once with his scepter. "Now Thea, darling, it would have benefited you so much if you had learned that much earlier in your life."
"Shut up, Loki!"
Meanwhile, Peter has swung up onto some of the columns in the back of the room. He's perched there, spider-like watching over the fight like a gargoyle on a cathedral. "Heads up! he shouts, flinging some spider silk around one of the three Imeldi I am trying to fight off. It wraps around it like a lasso, sending it toppling to the ground.
"Thanks!" I yell up at him, flinging Loki's dagger into its skull.
A shuddering, humming sound fills the cave. I look up quickly, trying not to get myself impaled, and see that the Mantra is lowering and lowering. We don't have much time.
Tony flies around the pond, beaming down three or four Imeldi that are nearing the Mantra's slow descent. I run over to the pedestal. Gingerly, I reach out and touch the edge, but gasp as it burns me.
Natasha has joined me, evidently because the Imeldi have forced her to. As I eye the approaching creatures, I say, "What are we going to do about it?"
She shakes her head. "Destroy it. But I don't know how-" She breaks off her sentence to elbow and Imeldi in the face, whirling around and shooting it dead.
Tony's voice sounds in my ear; I had almost forgotten we have radios. "Have Thor use his blitzen stuff. That will probably work."
"How about we concentrate on not getting killed first?" I suggest as I lunge onto an Imeldi, sending us both toppling into the shallow water. We struggle for a few seconds before I hook my leg around its neck and use the dagger to slit its throat.
"Good plan. If we can kill all of them first." says Tony.
I hear a shout from behind me and panic, because it's Kyle- I haven't gotten the chance to run back to him. He's being backed up against a wall, and it's too far away for me to reach in time. "THOR!" I scream and when he looks up at me, I point at Kyle, who is trying to fend off four Imeldi at at time.
Mjolnir rockets past me, frizzing my hair and collides into one of the Imeldi, toppling it and sending its neighbor sprawling. This gives Kyle ample time to regain his footing and kill themall.
The pedestal begins to quiver under the weight of the plasmatic Mantra. "What do we do?!" I exclaim to Natasha.
Shrugging, she says, "We need to contain it before they get it." It's fairly obvious who 'they' are.
"Thor, we need to destroy this stuff." says Steve, via radio. "Give it a go."
"We will all need to clear from its path." says Thor, who I spot next to Clint, pummeling various Imeldi effortlessly. He makes it all look so easy. "Mjlonir's power is great, and I fear it will destroy this cavern."
"Okay then," says Steve, who is using his shield, fists, and feet, to knock out various monsters in a beautiful example of prowess. "Clear out, everyone! Now!"
I know it's time.
*
~Nobody's POV~
It takes a while for all of them to begin moving forward, mainly because the Imeldi have backed them up so much. Once they do, Thor raises Mjolnir, summoning the lightning from deep within the ground.
Thea runs forward, but nobody seems to notice that the reeds are again creeping up on her.
"NOW!" thunders Steve.
In a brilliant flash of light, the flash of lightning crackles, thrusting into the column. In a blinding eruption, the Mantra expands, then bursts, forcing everyone to close their eyes.
Nobody hears Thea's scream or the fact that one of the last surviving Imeldi have snuck forward, a dagger in its clawed hand.
Nobody, that is, except Loki.
Just as the cave begins crumbling, he happens to look back; Thea is once again being pulled into the lake. She's holding onto a rock, her face contorted in fear and effort, but she is slipping.
"THEA!" roars Loki as the Imeldi's knife flashes. As if in slow motion, Thea looks up at the blade above her.
Three things happen.
Thea lets go of the rock.
The dagger misses, freeing Thea of the reed instead of killing her.
Thea's head yanks back from the force of the reed and smashes into the rock.
The cave is coming apart, and Loki moves forward quickly. He kneels down next to Thea, who is groaning in pain, her face bloodied.
"Get up, you clumsy child!" he hisses down at her, his eyes filled with worry.
Thea stands, very shakily, and Loki grabs her arm. They run towards the exit of the cave just as the rocks give way completely.
But then Thea's eyes roll into the back of her head and before Loki can stop her, she has fallen. She is buried in the rubble of the stones and water that seal the cave from any unwanted visitors.
Loki's scream is unbearable.
It forces Thor- who is already well past the cave- to turn around. Yelling at the others to move on, he runs back to find Loki collapsed on the ground next the rocks. Thea's hand is just barely visible from beneath the wreckage.
"NO!" yells Thor, his face twisted in anguish. "She was right- I saw her- I thought!" He grabs Loki and slams him against the wall. "You were supposed to protect her! You swore, and you failed, Loki! Why must you always fail me!?"
"I couldn't help it!" shouts Loki, wrestling against his brother's hold. "I couldn't! She died before my eyes!"
Thor sees a single tear threatening the ends of Loki's eye. Frustrated with himself as much as Loki, he lets his brother go, and Loki falls to the ground.
"What's the big fuss all about?"
Thor and Loki whirl around to see Thea standing there, cocking her head and grinning mischievously. She waves her hand subtly behind her, and the remains of her buried hand dissolve into a greenish haze.
"Thea..." whispers Thor, unbelieving.
Loki, however, will have none of that. He stands, stalks up to Thea and shakes her hard. "YOU!"
"What?" Thea bats her eyelashes innocently. "You looked so sad. Did anyone die?"
"I'm. Going.To.Kill.You." says Loki through gritted teeth. "Painfully."
She shrugs. "You can try. Now if you could please let me go, that would be appreciated."
Loki stares down at her bruised face, his face radiating with fury, but there's something else Thea sees in his eyes.
It's proudness.
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