Loki and Sigyn, His Glorious Purpose

Chapter Sixty-Eight

"There's no time to explain, we have to find Hela."

"No time? No, no, you have to tell me what the hell that-that cube is," I argued, pushing away from Loki. Just at that moment, the ship rumbled ferociously and the lights flickered overhead.

"No time," he repeated, "Let's go."

With another defeating rumble and an eruption of screams overhead, I immediately understood this was no time to argue. He took my hand in his and we ran out of the cabin just as a blast came through the side. Hot flames seared my skin as the cabin burst into flames. Quickly, Loki pulled me out dampening the flames on my cloak with a flick of magic.

Hastily, we made it into the hallway as the very foundations of the ship began to quake. In the distance, my ears pricked at the sound of Hela yelling out, "Momma!" At the end of the hallway, she stood entirely alone. My heart broke at the sight of her, tears streamed down her pink cheeks as she cried out for me. Her eyes glowed in the firelight, terrified beyond belief. Without even thinking, I immediately let go of Loki and sprinted to her. Instantly, I swooped her up into my arms as Loki quickly joined me at my side.

"What's going on?" I asked angrily, holding Hela as close as possible as Loki frantically looked for a means to escape. Everything around us was disintegrating around us and people were being shot down left around. I scanned the crowd for my family but came up empty.

"Momma, look," Hela said, her voice shaky with fear as she pointed out towards a nearby window. Following her gesture, I looked out to behold a giant ship completely blocking all views of space and stars. My heart plummeted as I watched bullets shoot out overhead. For some reason, I knew this scene all too well. The tragedy of it all was so familiar yet so distant from me.

"Are there truly no escape pods on this thing?" Loki said angrily as he came back to my side. His eyes darted around before he swiftly grabbed my hand and began pulling me through the hall. 

"Does this have to do with that cube?" I asked, following him as he pulled me through the Ark. Meanwhile, people were running to and fro-screaming as the ship shook ferociously and power faded.

"Yes, dear, but again I can explain everything later," Loki said, prying open a stairwell door with a flick of magic, "For now, we need to find Heimdall and get off of this damn ship."

"Heimdall?" Hela echoed, "He's on the first level, I saw him with uncle Thor."

"Perfect," Loki said softly, shooting a small smile at her as we made our way upstairs.

As we made our ascent, all power instantaneously shut off. Hela screamed, pressing her face into my shoulder as the ship shook with a mighty force and the structure rumbled around us. The only light now came from the Tesseract that still rested in Loki's pocket. He held on tightly to the rail of the stairwell, steadying himself before continuing to lead Hela and I up and up.

Screams only grew louder as we ascended. Loki's hand shook in mine, he was trying to be strong but he was faltering. I knew this was no average act of pirating but whatever was attacking the ark was far more fearsome than anything I could imagine.

Upon reaching the final stairs, Loki turned to Hela and me. His eyes were wide with fear and his breathing was ragged. Whatever force threatened us was more powerful than he could bear. It dawned on me that by the way Loki was overtaken with terror, our chances of survival were slim to none. I squeezed his hand, looking up at him.

"It's okay," I said softly, "It's okay."

He shook his head, furrowing his brows.

"No," he said shakily, "I'm not giving up this easily, it's not happening."