Chapter 32

After about 30 minutes of draining their blood, it finally reached the first rune. The rune lit up in a faint white color, but Loki furrowed his brows as he stared at them. From the reading he did on this story, the runes should be lighting up in a bright white color, not this faint one.

"Something is wrong." He said as he looked over at his brother and father.

"What do you mean? It looks like it's working." Tony said as he stood on the other end of the circle and crossed his arms.

"No. They should be brighter." Loki argued as he looked back at the runes.

"This is how they looked when you attempted to give your life the first time, brother." Thor pointed out as he looked over at his brother. Realization hit Loki and he closed his eyes as he exhaled hard.

"It is not working because I am not truly a descendant of a God." Loki said through clenched teeth as he opened his eyes.

"Shit." Tony sighed as he uncrossed his arms.

"I am contaminating their blood. The Old Gods will reject this." Loki said as he pulled his arm away from the circle, pulling the tube with it. He yanked the needle from his arm and applied pressure as Bruce took the tube from him. Loki felt completely useless because of this. His heart hurt because he could do nothing but sit and watch others save Alex's life.

"Now now Loki, do not look so disappointed in yourself." Odin said as he looked back at his son.

"He is right, brother. You were the one who was able to read the old writings, giving us the information on this ritual." Thor added. It was hard for Loki not to feel disappointed in himself but his father and brother's words did help him a little. It was one of those rare times when they both praised him.

"Look!" Bruce excitedly said. The group looked over at the circle and realized the runes were bright white like they were supposed to be. Thor and Odin's blood was overtaking Loki's and getting to the other runes.

"It's working." Loki whispered as he dropped his arms and smiled a little.

*Under Them*

The ground began to shake and Aksel was forcing Alex to release her hands. She fought him on it but he was able to control her because she was so exhausted. Her hands relaxed and the earth around Svanhild fell apart, freeing the beast.

"Why?!" Alex yelled out as the beast charged her.

"The Gods." Aksel said through Alex. A red crystal chain shot out of the wall behind her and attached itself to Svanhild's upper right arm. As he reached over with his upper left arm, another crystal chain shot out and attached to his wrist. He let out a fearful roar as the chains tightened and pulled him closer to the wall Alex was against. Exhaustion finally took over and she fell to the ground, rolling a little. She stopped on her back and watched with half closed eyes as more chains shot out and wrapped around Svanhild's limps. She smiled a little, knowing he was going to be trapped forever. Her eyes fully closed as Svanhild's body hit the wall and stopped moving.

*Above The Cage*

The final rune lit up and then they all turned bright red. Thor and Odin pulled the needles from their arms and handed them to Bruce as they stepped back from the circle. They were both feeling a little dizzy from losing so much blood, but they were able to handle it. They were warriors after all.

"Did it work?" Tony asked as he and the others stared at the circle.

"The writings said after the beast was sealed, the runes turned blood red and then went dark." Loki explained as they watched the color fade away and the runes return to their normal color.

"Where is she?" Bucky asked as he looked around the cave.

"She's still trapped underneath." Peter said as he furrowed his brows.

"Why hasn't she come out?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

"She might be too weak to do that. She's been down there for weeks, and before that she was held captive and...God, the kid's been through so much." Tony sighed as he ran his hand over his hair and down to the back of his neck.

"How do we get her???" Bucky asked them as he looked over at Loki and the other Gods.

"No one can enter the cage." Odin replied as he shook his head a little.

"So, she's trapped anyway??" Bucky scoffed as he looked at the others.

"Loki??" He asked the God.

"Shut up." Loki harshly said, his eyes still locked on the circle.

"What are we supposed to do now??" Tony asked as he dropped his hand and shook his head.

"He'll bring her back to me." Loki whispered. He knew Aksel's soul was dammed to watch over Svanhild. He knew his soul was down there with Alex. He knew the warrior would do what was right for the one who briefly, but bravely, took his spot at protector.

"Who?" Thor asked his brother. Just as the word left his lips, a white aura floated up and out of the middle of the circle. Loki rushed over and fell to his knees as the aura stopped on the ground, revealing a body inside of it. Loki felt a wide smile form on his face as the aura slowly disappeared, leaving Alex behind. Her brown eyes opened just slightly and met his bright green ones.

"L-Loki..?" She softly whispered. Loki felt tears forming in his eyes but quickly wiped them away. Alex closed her eyes again and her body went limp as she passed out. Despite it being a sacred spot, Loki crawled into the circle and lifted Alex's head into his lap, gently brushing the loose hairs from her face. He carefully picked her up bridal style and left the circle, joining the others.

"She's okay." He softly announced, his eyes still on her. 

"We much go now." Odin nodded. Bruce packed up the rest of the medical supplies and Loki carried Alex out behind everyone else. Once outside of the cave, Odin called upon Heimdall to take them back to Asgard.

*3 Days Later*

Bucky walked into the infirmary room to see Alex but stopped in the doorway when he spotted them. Loki had pushed another bed close to Alex's bed and that's where he stayed since they returned with her. His hand held hers and he was asleep. She still hasn't woken up yet but the doctors here said it was because she was so mentally exhausted. Loki healed her body just fine, but her mind was something he refused to touch. He said she needed to heal that on her own.

Loki inhaled and rolled from his side to his back, gently releasing Alex's hand. Bucky backed out of the room so Loki didn't spot him and waited a few moments before walking back in.

"Hey." He nodded at Loki. The God waved a little and put his right hand behind his head as he closed his eyes again. This was the first bit of sleep he's gotten since they brought Alex back. He refused to sleep until she woke up, but after a few days his own exhaustion caught up with him and he passed out a few hours ago.

"She showing any signs of waking up soon?" Bucky asked as he sat down in the chair to the right of her bed.

"Her eyes fluttered last night but other than that, no." Loki responded, his eyes still closed. He began to drift to sleep again and a small snore escaped from his lips. Thor and Tony walked into the room and Thor grabbed his brother's ankle, causing the other God to jolt awake.

"Come brother, father wants an audience with you." Thor chuckled. Loki glared at his brother but didn't argue. He rolled out of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair as he looked over at Alex.

"She'll be fine." Thor assured him.

"Yeah, Buck is here." Tony smiled at the other human. Loki rolled his eyes and followed his brother out of the room, leaving the humans alone.

"Tony...?" Bucky said as he gently took Alex's hand in his and rubbed his thumb across it.

"Yeah, Buck?" Tony asked as he crossed his arms.

"I have to break up with her, don't I?" He asked as he looked over at the billionaire. Tony licked his lips and exhaled through his nose as he thought about the question he was asked.

"Why do you think that?" Tony asked him.

"She doesn't love me. She loves him. He loves her. You heard what she said when they were on Tronlet. I never made her as happy as he did." Bucky said as he sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeeahh." Tony nodded, not even bothering to try and comfort he man.

"I want her to be happy, ya know?" Bucky said as he looked over at Tony.

"I know." Tony nodded.

"And I think she'll be happier with him." Bucky added, looked back at Alex. Silence fell over them as they both watched the sleeping girl. Her eyelids began to flutter and then they slowly opened up.

*Alex's POV*

I opened my eyes and tensed when I realized Bucky and Tony were just staring at me. I awkwardly smiled at them and they smiled back.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Tony chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"How're you feeling?" Bucky asked me, taking my hand in his. I thought about his question, mentally examining my body for injuries and pain but found nothing.

"Honestly? I feel perfectly fine." I shrugged a little.

"Good." Tony smiled.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Bucky asked as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the bed.

"Things get a bit blurry after I...um...went to the cage." I awkwardly laughed. My laugh faded away when I realized I hadn't seen Loki yet, but I could vaguely remember him being there when I was taken back to the surface.

"Did Loki survive?" I asked them, furrowing my brows.

"He did." Tony nodded, smiling a little.

"Good." I felt relief wash over me. Silence fell over us and I could tell something was wrong. I raised a brow at the men and asked them what was going on. Tony excused himself and Bucky sighed as he let my hand go and stood up. I sat my inclined bed completely up and moved my legs as he sat down next to me.

"Alex." Bucky sighed again as he took my hand in his.

"Yeah?" I asked him.

"I think we should break up." He bluntly said as he looked up from our hands to my eyes. I will admit, I didn't feel as sad as I should have.

"Why?" I asked him. It did hurt a bit because I really liked Bucky.

"Because I know you'll be so much happier with Loki." He admitted.

"Buck-"

"I knew you loved him. And after we thought he died, I knew you would still have feelings for him...but I had hope I could replace him with, well, me. And I thought I had...until I saw the way you two looked at one another in the kitchen the day he returned. It was clear you still loved him and him you. I don't want to be in the way of your happiness. These past 6 months meant a lot to me, but I don't think I can continue on with this relationship knowing you still love him." Bucky said as he looked down at our hands again.

"I want to be a good person and argue with you and say that I don't love him....but I can't...I'm sorry." I said as I leaned back in the bed and clenched my jaw. I felt horrible because Bucky was such an amazing guy.

"Don't be sorry." Bucky smiled at me as he gently squeezed my hand.

"As long as you stay my friend, I won't be mad." He added as he let my hand go. 

"Deal." I smiled and nodded at him.

"Well, I better go tell Loki you're awake. If he finds out on his own he'll probably kill me." Bucky shrugged as he got up from the bed. He left the room and I smiled a little as I stared down at my hands, thankful that Bucky was so understanding. Loki suddenly appeared in the chair to my right and we smiled at one another at the same time.

"Morning." He said as he leaned forward and put his elbows on my bed.

"Hey." I said as I scooted over in my bed and patted the spot next to me. Loki appeared next to me and we both laid back against the bed and sat in silence.

"I had them remove the device in your neck." Loki suddenly said. I looked over at him and then reached up and touched the small set of stitches on the back of my neck.

"Oh, thanks." I smiled as I dropped my hand.

"Brad will probably have a fit since you removed it without asking." I laughed a little.

"Brad's dead. Loki was posing as him." Loki informed me. I exhaled through my mouth and shook my head a little.

"Shit."

"What else did I miss?" I asked as I looked over and up at Loki.

"Me, obviously." He replied, smirking at me. I laughed and swatted his arm before laying my head on his shoulder. He relaxed into me and I closed my eyes as the events from these past months played in my head.

"How did I get out?" I suddenly asked as I sat up.

"From the cage. How did I get out?" I asked again as I looked over at Loki.

"My brother and father each sacrificed half of their blood to make enough to equal one man. It was an offering to the Old Gods. They accepted it and the chains around Svanhild tightened as Aksel took his place as guardian again." Loki explained. I remembered feeling another person inside of me, someone older than time it felt like.

"Are they okay?" I asked as I raised a brow.

"Perfectly fine." Loki nodded but I could see something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked him, crossing my arms.

"I feel....guilty that I was not able to contribute to the offering." Loki sighed as he looked away from me.

"Why weren't you able to contribute?" I asked, furrowing my brows in curiosity.

"I am not a true descendant of a God. My blood did not please the Old Gods" He harshly said as he crossed his arms. I leaned my head on his tense shoulder and he relaxed into me as he uncrossed his arms.

"Well, your blood pleases me." I joked as I smiled. I could hear him let out a small laugh before kissing the top of my head. He laid his head on mine and I closed my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his arm.

"Lady Alex!" Thor's happy voice boomed out. I opened my eyes and saw Odin and Thor standing at the end of my bed, both had their arms crossed. I sat up and let go of Loki as I stared at them both.

"Glad to see you are awake." Thor added, smiling at me.

"Glad to be awake." I smiled back.

"Thank you for attempting to hold Svanhild in his cage. It means a lot to my people that you would attempt to sacrifice yourself." Odin proudly nodded at me.

"Thank you for saving me." I flashed him a small smile of appreciation.

"Anything for the future queen of Asgard." He winked at me. My brows furrowed and my eyes narrowed as I tilted my head slightly to the left.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked him. He and Thor shared a look before quickly exiting the room, leaving me with a tensed up Loki.

"Ignore him." Loki awkwardly laughed. I raised my brow at that but didn't bother pushing it anymore. I just wanted to lay here and relax after everything I went through. Tony walked into the room again and smiled when he spotted Loki and I together.

"So, ready to go home?" He asked me as he crossed his arms.

"Very. Asgard is nice and all but I miss my bed." I groaned a little as I nodded.

"Our bed." Loki whispered, causing me to blush.

"Gross." Tony scoffed as he turned and walked away. He got to the doorway and then turned around and smiled at me.

"By the waayy. There's a huge party waiting for you at my place." He added before leaving the room.

"What?" I asked Loki as I looked at him.

"Pepper planned a surprise party for you. Obviously Tony can't keep a secret." Loki chuckled as he disappeared from my bed, leaving me alone in the room once again. I laughed a little as I thought about Pepper and Happy and all of the other friends I haven't seen since Loki and I left for our mission months ago. I missed everyone so much and was so excited to see them again.

-----