Taming The Afterlife

Le Miserable Paradise

Loki's P.O.V.

I was as still as a rock, face down on the cloud bed I had in my tiny cloud room. "How's he doing?" Tori voice asked from outside the door. "The same ever since we had to leave Sera behind." Thor's voice responded sadly. "That's not good." A third voice I recognized as Steve commented.

"I learned about the five stages of grief. Denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and then finally acceptance. He went through bargaining denial and anger on that day so we have two and a half down but it seems that he's stuck on isolation and depression at the same time... He isn't going in order so that might be why he can't move on to acceptance." Thor explained. 

"Okay... Well keep us updated." Steve said, before there was a silence outside my door. Suddenly, I felt a ghost hand start to rub my back. "There, there, it's alright." Thor said, patting me on the back. "My wife is stuck in Hell suffering the consequences of my actions when she deserves to be up here, explain to me how that is alright." I hissed, not lifting my head from the mattress.

"Perhaps it isn't alright but it isn't all terrible. You're in heaven! You have your friends up here and you haven't even explored the second floor yet." My brother said in a cheery voice. "I'm not in the mood." I grumbled. 

"Well how about we break some rules? You love breaking rules!! We can sneak out again and explore those other areas, we-we could even steal something if you wanted to." My brother said, hope clear in his voice.

"While I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, I'm just not in the mood for that either." I said, finally raising my head to look at him. His smile turned into a line. "Then what are you in the mood for?" 

"Nothing." I responded dryly, putting my face back into the cloud. My brother sighed before speaking. "You cannot just sit in here forever, you need to get your head out of the clouds!" I just shrugged. "I don't see any reason why I can't stay here and come up with ways to get Sera out that only end in failure."

At this my brother pulled my head up by my ghost hair. "Sera would not want that and you know it! She even told you to move on and you sitting here moping around just means all of her suffering is in vain." I didn't like the taste of his words in my ears. 

"You owe it to her to get out and enjoy after-life!" At this I sat up and let out a sigh. "Perhaps you're right, I will give after-life a try but no promises I'll like it." Thor's ghost face lit up with a giant smile. "Splendid!! I have the whole day planned out, come with me!" He exclaimed, pulling me to my feet. 

I was pulled away from the room area and watched the ghosts fly by as Thor pulled me into what appeared to be a dinner. There was a table with ghost Tori and ghost Steve. "Look who it is!!"

"Loki!" Tori said with her Tori smile. Steve smiled up at me before speaking. "How have you been doing with everything?" As I sat down I glared at him with a smile. "Wonderful! Just peachy! There is not one thing going wrong in my after-life because all of it is going wrong." Thor threw his arm around my shoulder and gave me a bone crushing squeeze. "He's still a little bitter."

"I hadn't noticed." Tori mumbled as her ghost eyes scanned her menu. "But, he is out of his room so this is great!" Thor cheered, ignoring Tori's comment. Just then a cloud formation came over to our table and looked at us expectantly. Tori and Steve placed their orders and then I decided to make mine. 

"Yes, I would like an alcoholic beverage, depression with a hint of hope on ice." I said with a nod. Thor glared at me before placing his own order. 

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After what felt like years, I finally got Thor to leave me alone. He left me in my small cloud room and I could finally drop the depressed act. I stood next to my bed and cracked my ghost neck even though I didn't have any bones. I went to the wall of my room and pulled on the panel I had loosened a long time ago. I removed the panel and floated on the outside of the large cloud box that was called heaven.

I stuck the panel back in place from the outside and my secret daily adventure began. I flew around the cosmic tornado, over the green jungle, casually danced through the electric zone, and slid to a stop in the red desert. Right on time the sand dragon appeared and I used my ghost abilities to create a blue bouncy ball. 

I tossed the ball away from the entrance and the dragon chased it like a dog. I smiled to myself as I stepped inside the black rock formation and watched as my flesh was returned to me. I sat down on the ground and leaned against the inside of the black wall. I let my legs lay flat on the ground and closed my eyes to tap into my magical abilities.

I let out a calm breath as I entered Sera's mind. She was in more physical pain than usual but her spirit was still strong. "Hello, love." I said.

'Took you long enough.' She teased. "I'm so sorry but Thor insisted on taking me to lunch and then showing me around heaven which by the way, you aren't missing much." I told her. 'I know you've told me before but you can remind me what it's like up there?'

"Outside me room? There are restaurants with the best food you will ever put in your mouth, you can actually taste emotions. Uhmmm, everywhere you look there are happy families. There are lots of creative activities you can do and a few bars." I said, trying to remember if I forgot anything. 

'That sounds nice...' She thought sadly. 'I bet you hate it up there.' I nodded my head with wide green eyes. "I really do, for paradise it's truly miserable." Her laugh echoed in my brain before it turned into a painful yelp.

"Are you still in your ice prison?" I asked. 'Yes I am.' At this I focused my mind on where she was and the position she was in. I did my best to use a little healing spell on her. 'Thank you.' She thought. "It's the least I can do."

There was a small silence before I let my emotions spill from my heart. "I just wish I could hold you, kiss you, make you feel safe." My wife was silent before she responded. 'Well I feel safer just by talking to you. It's really helped hell not feel so suckish.'

"What did they do to you today?" I asked, looking away from the lava castle in the distance. 'Loki I'm not answering that.' 

"Sera-"

'No, Loki. If I tell you then you're going to get super mad and come down here and get yourself caught.' I remained silent. 'I don't want you going away from the edge because the heat will make you sick.'

"You know if I really wanted to I could come down there right now and kiss the heck out of you." I said, fiddling with my fingers. 'There's no way you would be able to reach me, you'd get caught.'

"You doubt my abilities?!" I exclaimed, earning a laugh from my wife. "I would disguise myself as one of the prisoners, or better yet, Surtur himself and then go to you cell and we'd have a good time and then you'd force me to return to heaven and no one would know a thing."

'Ah yes, I'm such a horrible wife: forcing you to go to heaven.' A smile rested on my lips as we shared a brief moment of silence. "I'm still working on a way to get you out and I have one but you wouldn't like it."

'I appreciate it but you cannot switch places with me even if you wanted to. It's already been done and I'm sure Surtur knows how much you hate heaven. It just wouldn't work.' I nodded my head and felt tears prick my eyes. "Why'd you do this, you know you didn't have to do this I would have much rather spent my time in hell than sit here and be tortured by all these images of you in pain."

'Can you imagine me in your position though? I'd be in a worse state then you are.' I thought about the idea of Sera in my position. "I am positive you would have tried to save me yourself just like I did." 

'Yes but I wouldn't know how to sneak out of heaven and I don't have any powers to communicate with you. We wouldn't have the little connection we do now.' She was right about that. I sensed a spike of fear in her brain. 'Laufey's back, you should go.'

"I just got here." I said with a frown. 'Please, go, I love you so much.' Sera pleaded. Despite my wishes I got rose off the ground and took a step towards the exit. "I love you." I said before I crossed the magical barrier. My body returned to a ghost and I was to go back to heaven for a long time. 

But I had other plans in mind.