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"I wanted you too see what real courage is,
instead of getting the idea that courage
is a man with a gun in his hand.
It's when you know you're licked before you begin,
but you begin anyway and see it through
no matter what."
~Atticus Finch
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Freya sat at one of the long tables in the Great Hall. The soft music filled in her ears as the Asgardians danced in harmony, while the lights of the lanterns casted long, dark shadows. She raised her cup of mead to her lips carefully, the idea of having a severe hangover the next morning did not appeal to her.
"May I have this dance, my lady?" The familiar voice of Fandral asked behind her, Freya set down her cup turning to look at him with a fond smile "Of course you may." She took the hand he had extended to her and followed him onto the dance floor.
Their palms met in the middle as they slowly spun in a circle, switching hands a few times. Freya stepped back as Fandral stepped forward, in sync. His hands wrapped around her waist, slowly picking her up from the floor and lifting her before setting her down. He bowed as she curtsied, before they spun their own ways.
Freya joined hands in the same manner with a woman after the partner switch. The woman smiled at Freya "Princess." They switched hands "What is your name?" Freya asked as they spun in a circle "Lagertha, Ivar's Norn bastard." The woman introduced herself. Ivar was a councilman on her father's council, a man who was loved dearly "Call me Freya, there is no need for such formalities."
"I am Groot," Groot muttered irritated "Tinkle in the cup. We're not looking. What's there to see? What's a twig? Everybody's seen a twig," Rocket responded annoyed as Nanna smirked a little "We won't even look if it makes you feel better." Nanna pointed between herself and Freya "I am Groot," Groot still responded irritated "Tree, pour what's in the cup out in space, and go in the cup again." Thor looked out of the window.
"The three of you speak Groot?" Rocket asked, unsure how they could "Yes, they taught it on Asgard. It was an elective," Thor responded "The three of you did that? How many Groot speakers are there?" Rocket asked "They took it to spend more time together. I can understand and speak all languages." Freya pointed at Nanna and Thor "How does that even work? You got some crazy extra brain? 'Cause I've already destroyed one too many of those in my lifetime." Rocket looked the woman up and down before she tapped her head "Telepath." Rocket's eyes narrowed for a brief second "Show off," He muttered under his breath.
"I am Groot?" Groot asked, bored "You'll know when we're there. Nivadellir's forge harnesses the power of a blazing neutron star. It's the birth place of my hammer. It's truly awesome," Thor responded, getting sadder towards the end as Nanna crept closer to Freya "I am starting to think he loves that hammer more than me. I once caught him sleeping with it in his bed," Nanna whispered as Freya glanced at her friend, offering a weak smile.
"That's hilarious!" Ethan burst out laughing at Nanna's statement "Can I build a religion around you?" Nanna laughed at the young man and smirked "Of course."
"So, dead brother, huh? Yeah, that can be annoying." Rocket walked closer to the Asgardians and started pressing some buttons, to make it seem as if he wasn't there to make them feel better "Well, he's been dead before, but this time I think it really might be true..." Thor trailed off sadly "And you said your other sister and your dad?" Rocket asked "Both dead." Thor shook his head solemnly "Still got a mom, though?" Rocket asked hopeful "Killed by a dark elf."
"A best friend?" Rocket asked, feeling bad for them. It was quiet for a moment as they contemplated their fallen best friends. Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, Fandral, Heimdall, Lagertha, Loki "Many have died," Freya answered sadly, not looking up from her right hand that picked at her left one.
Rocket looked at them for a moment "Are you sure you're up to this particular murder mission?" He was slightly unsure on how to act. Thor sniffed a bit before he smiled widely, a smile that convinced no one "Absolutely. Rage, vengeance, anger, loss, regret... they're all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind. So I'm good to go."
"Yeah, but this Thanos we're talking about... he's the toughest there is," Rocket tried "Well, he's never fought me," Thor argued "Yeah, he has!" "He's never fought me twice. And I'm getting a new hammer, don't forget." Thor tried to sound positive "Better be some hammer," Rocket mumbled incoherently "Does he think a rematch will end well?" Ethan whispered, leaning into Rocket.
There were another few seconds of silence before Thor spoke again "You know, I'm 1500 years old. I've killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one would have rather killed me, but none succeeded. I'm only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is the latest in a long line of bastards and he will be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so."
"And what if you're wrong?" Rocket asked the question that burned all of their lips "If I'm wrong then...what more could I lose?" Thor looked up at Nanna and Freya, his only family that remained. He wiped his tears away as Nanna walked towards him, wrapping an arm around him in a comforting manner before she rested her forehead against his "You needn't fear losing me."
A chill ran down Freya's back. I don't think this is normal.
The odd thing was that the voice that had shot through Freya's head, was Nanna's, but Nanna's thoughts weren't what Freya has just heard.
A second chill ran through Freya's body. I am Groot. Or dad. Again, those hadn't been Groot's thoughts at the moment.
Quill?
Something's happening...
Up, general. Up.This is no place to die.
Guys, we got a Vision situation here.
Aw man.
Steve? Freya?
Tony, there was no other way.
Take care of her.
I'm sorry.
"I could lose a lot. Me personally. I could lose a lot," Rocket whispered under his breath, only Ethan understanding his words. Freya smiled as she wiped her own tears away before setting a comforting hand on Rocket and Ethan's shoulders. Rocket looked up to meet her gaze, usually he hated being petted, apart from the one time that Drax did it. But there was something warm and comforting to Freya's touch.
Rocket enjoyed the small display of affection before he took an eyeball from som cupboard "Okay. If fate does want you to kill that crapsack, you're gonna need more than one stupid eyeball." He gave the eye to Thor who frowned at it "What's this?"
"What's it look like? Some jerk lost a bet with me on on Contraxia," Rocket responded in his usual tone "He gave you his eye?" Thor asked as the two Asgardian women looked at the raccoon oddly "He gave me 100 credits. I snuck in later that night and stole his eye." Rocket smirked a little "Oh, you're going to love her fiancé." Nanna commented as she pointed her thumb at Freya "What?" Both Freya and Rocket asked at the same time "He has a metal arm." A smirk appeared on Rocket's face for a second as Freya raised an eyebrow at Nanna.
"Oh yeah, Rocket and Louisa will love him," Ethan agreed and Freya blinked at him "Should I be worried?" She frowned, looking at the brunet "Nah," He lied.
"Thank you, sweet rabbit." Thor proceeded to put the eyeball in his socket. Nanna leaned over as she looked at the eye "From now on I sleep on the left side of the bed." Nanna pressed a kiss to Thor's cheek "Hmm. Huh? Oh. I would've washed that. The only way I could sneak it off Contraxia was up my..." Rocket trailed pff as Nanna immediately pulled back from thor, wiping her lips "Hey, we're here!" Rocket pointed up ahead, where the heart of the dying star should be surrounded by the beautiful rings of Nidavellir.
The thing was, it was all dark. It looked dead, the rings hadn't stopped moving since before Nanna's birth, perhaps even a generation before them.
"I don't think this thing works. Everything seems dark." Thor slapped the side of his head a few times, making the brown eye shift a little as Nanna stared at it with slightly disgust. Of course Nanna still loved Thor, she barley remembered a time from when she hadn't loved the stupid boy with the cockiness that was beyond measurable.
"It ain't the eye."
"Something's wrong. The star's gone out. And the rings are frozen." Thor frowned as the group looked at Nidavellir. It was cold as they flew towards the main ring. They landed and got out, looking around.
"I hope these Dwarves are better at forging than they are cleaning. Maybe they realized they live in a junk pile in the middle of space," Rocket commented as they walked around the seemingly abandoned ring "This forge hasn't gone dark in centuries." Thor thought out loud "This forge has been on since before I was born." Nanna sounded almost sad as she wiped some dust from an axe "The Dwarves vowed to never leave, something's wrong," Ethan gulped.
"You said Thanos had a gauntlet, right?" Rocket suddenly asked unsure "Yes. Why?" The three Asgardians and Ethan looked over to the raccoon who pointed up at a gauntlet that looked the exact same as Thanos' "Look anything like that?"
"I am Groot," Groot muttered uneasily "Go back to the pod." Thor urged as Nanna unsheathed her Dragonfang while Freya grabbed an axe that was laying near her. Suddenly a massive figure stormed towards them, and flung Thor away with one swing of his arm, and kicked Rocket, Nanna and Groot against a wall of equipment "RUN!" Ethan exclaimed, bolting away at top speed. Freya looked up at the dwarf and dropped the axe to the floor "It's alright Eitri."
"Eitri, wait! Stop!" The dwarf looked down at Freya, before he turned his gaze to Thor "Freya? Thor?"
"What happened here?" Thor pushed himself up "You were supposed to protect us. Asgard was supposed to protect us!" Eitri shouted "Asgard is destroyed. Eitri, the glove. What did you do?"
Eitri walked across the room, looking utterly broken, like his voice "300 Dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they'd be safe. I made what he wanted. A device capable of harnessing the power of the stones. Then he killed everyone anyway. All except me. 'Your life is yours,' he said. 'But your hands are mine alone.'" He held up his hands, that had been encased in molten metal.
Freya walked towards Eitri "May I?" The Dwarf nodded solemnly as Freya gently took one of his hand in her hands. Her fingers gently brushed over the line where the flesh met the metal. The fair skin was severely scarred and angrily burned. Nidhogg could melt the metal off, it would hurt, but they wouldn't be encased in metal anymore "When this is over Eitri, I will help you."
"Eitri, this isn't about your hands. Every weapon you've ever designed... every ax, hammer, sword... it's all inside your head. Now I know it feels like all hope is lost. Trust me, I know. But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos." Thor looked Eitri in the eye, hoping his pep talk would work.
It did.
"I don't think you get the scientifics here. These rings are gigantic. You wanna get them moving, you're gonna need something a lot more powerful to yank 'em loose." Rocket commented "Leave that to her."
Freya stood on one of the rings, Rocket and Thor were flying in the pod close to her, while Nanna, Ethan, Nidhogg and Groot waited with Eitri at the main ring.
Freya closed her eyes, she focused on her breathing. In and out. In and out.
"Look, I'm all for female power—" Rocket stopped talking as Freya moved. She smacked her fist on the metal of the ring, before pulling her hand back and stretching it out, her other hand pushed down. For a moment Freya didn't move and stayed in that position, before she clapped her two hands together twice and pulled them apart, the rings moving with her.
"Well done, girl." Eitri commented as the star sprung back to life. Freya flew towards the pod landing and holding onto the window "That's Nivadellir!" Thor exclaimed as he pointed at the blazing star. Rocket gazed amazed at the blazing core. The iris on the cladding around the star opened, firing pure stellar heat through the ring portals and into the forge. Until the damaged mechanism failed and crumbled loose before it slammed shut. The iris closed and the beam of light faded.
"Damn it," Eitri cursed over the comms ""Damn it"? What's "damn it"?" Rocket asked, fearing the worst "The mechanism is crippled." The Dwarf's words destroying the hope for a new weapon "What?"
"With the iris closed I can't heat the metal," Eitri explained "Are you certain Nidhogg cannot do it?" Freya asked, just to be sure "No."
"A dragon can't melt this metal??? What the hell is it?!?" Ethan reamed, only to be ignored.
"How long will it take to heat?" Thor asked out of the blue "A few minutes, maybe more. Why?" Eitri asked, confused "I'm gonna hold it open."
"That's suicide," Eitri argued, rightfully, it would kill Thor "So is facing Thanos without that ax." Thor exited the pod and climbed onto the roof.
"No Thor. Listen to me. You are not doing that." For the first time that Freya could remember, Nanna sounded scared. Truly scared "I have to do this. I'll be alright." Thor looked over at Freya, she didn't like the idea, but it had to happen. Freya nodded solemnly, reaching out with her left hand and teleporting to the iris.
"Allfathers, give me strength," Thor whispered as he prepared to pull open the iris, Freya floating close by "You understand, boy? You're about to take the full force of a star. It'll kill you." Eitri tried one last time, Nanna had already stopped talking "Only if I die," Thor joked a little "Yes. That's what... 'killing you' means," Eitri answered boggled "He does it a lot." Nanna, who had joined in again, waved off her husband's comment "I don't think you guys are okay," Ethan said.
Thor grasped the two levers and pulled them down and towards himself, as he slowly opened the iris. The stream of stellar energy blasted past him and into the forge once more.
"Hold it! Hold it, Thor!" Eitri shouted as he got to work. The fear for her brother's life made her feel a pit in her stomach, that got deeper with every scream that erupted from Thor's lips.
Thor passed out and Freya quickly caught him as she and the pod went back into the forge. Nanna rushed towards Thor, as well as Rocket and Freya. Groot finally looked up from his game, loosing his high score.
"Thor! Say something. Come on. Thor, you okay?" Rocket slapped Thor's face "Wake up," Nanna pleaded, shaking his body "Please, I cannot loose you too," Freya sobbed.
Eitri clumsily and urgently pulled the mold, that still glowed red-hot, onto the floor, breaking it loose from its frame. Then started punching the mold itself with his metal fists to free the ax.
"I think he's dying!" Rocket shouted as he looked up at Eitri "He needs the ax! Where's the handle? Tree, help me find the handle!"
"I don't think a hammer knows first aid!" Ethan screamed.
Groot looked over at Thor sadly before he scowled with determination. He stood up and extends his fingers towards Stormbreaker, growing them at extraordinary speed. As he twined them around the two parts, he cried out at the burning pain but did not hesitate, slamming them together and locked them permanently into one structure.
He raised it above his head, and with a mighty cry, chopped his extended arm with his other hand Thor's fingers twitched and crackled with lightning, the new weapon levitated in a crackle of lightning. Freya quickly pushed Rocket and Ethan back as Nanna scrambled back too.
Thor opened his eyes as he sat up. Nanna and Freya lunging forward and wrapping him up in a tight hug, which he returned weakly "You idiot." Freya quickly pulled back as Nanna shoved Thor before she kissed him.
"Gross! Absolutely gross!" Rocket muttered as he looked away, wiping away the small tear that escaped his eye. Freya smiled at him fondly before she looked over at Groot and nodded grateful. Ethan meanwhile clutched his heart as he tried to regulate his breathing.
"Freya."
The woman looked back at Eitri, who motioned her to come to him. As she approached the Dwarf, he elbowed a drawer, trying to open it, before Freya stepped in to help him. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.
"They were specifically made for your mother. They're yours now." Eitri looked down at Freya as she carefully took the detailed daggers from the drawer and unsheathed one.
Without doubt, it was one of the most beautiful blades Freya had ever seen. The blade itself was decorated with many lines that crossed each other in complicated knots, here and there, there were even some dragons. Freya turned the dagger in her hand a little, perfectly balanced.
As she did, she noticed an inscription on the hilt.
Nidhogg
Jormungandr
Each dagger represented one of the dragons that the women of Vili's family could, and should ride.
"Let's go."
A/N:
I think the next chapter might already be the end of Infinity War!!!
The dagger thing with Freya was an idea of mine since the beginning. Before I even saw Endgame. I really wanted Freya to have Frigga's daggers, since I always believed that Frigga thought Loki and Freya fighting (I tried to hint that in their fighting patterns, not sure if it worked.) It's going to be interesting to write Endgame that's for sure.
Hope you enjoyed and leave a comment and make sure to vote.
Sad Post
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