spitfirekunoichi:
Kill…
The word reverberates in her mind, a haunting, devastating echo. It cuts her to the core: living a life without him had never remotely been a thought in her mind.
“So….we will fight. Dagny has been pouring over Asgardian texts trying to find some kind of loophole or…anything, anyone to prove you didn’t do this. Your relationship may have been rocky, but you would never hurt your brother….” Vix hesitates and corrects herself. “Would never have hurt your brother.”
“And Tony and the rest know that….they’re just letting their grief get in the way of their sense.” She’s racking her brain for every possibility, refusing to linger on the one chance that there really is no solution. “Dagny….is not like us. She would never be a part of something so underhanded for her own gain, not at the expense of others, and certainly not a stake so high.”
“I have no say here…but that doesn’t mean I can’t find those who do, whether it’s Dagny’s way….or my own.”
The smile she gives him is just as hollow and defeated as his own, but the intensity of her gaze and the truth of her words are entirely sincere. “Permission.” she scoffs, “Darling, don’t you know there is nothing in this universe that could ever keep me from finding my way to you.”
Loki finds little comfort in Vix’s assurance of the other members of their extended ‘family’s thoughts on his innocence, or in any attempt to prove that it exists. Proof of his innocence would do nothing if they could not provide the true perpetrator of the crime. He relays this information to Vix.
“The Asgardians need someone to punish, to make an example of, or it will seem that anyone can kill their leaders with no recourse.”
Dagny. At the mention of their daughter something tightens in his chest. He’d been trying to keep thoughts of her at bay, lest he wear himself away with grief over the loss of his brother and the separation from his child. He eased his mind with the knowledge that Momochi, for all he hated Loki, would not let any harm come to Vix’s blood. He would offer surrogacy and protection to Dagny as far as was in his power. (Momochi was an asshole, but he was an honorable one).
“How is she?” Thoughts of his own well-being would be shoved aside until he was assured of his daughter’s condition.
The kunoichi runs a hand through her hair, exasperated. “Naturally. I don’t suppose they’ve given you any clues on that front either.” She scowls and throws her arms about as she talks. “Is that not what the Council is doing? With you and Dagny out of the way, who seizes power while simultaneously maintaining control as judge, jury, and executioner in the absence of the royals? Maybe there is something I’m misunderstanding, but it seems too convenient.”
But if a scapegoat is all they needed...it could be someone much less high-profile than either of them. It could be someone from another realm altogether.
At the mention of Dagny, Vix hesitates and shifts from one foot to the other. “She’s...” Vix is torn with how much to convey, but decides that he deserves the truth, if anything to jostle him out of his complacency. “Well..her world has just gone up in smoke. She’s lost her uncle, her home, and potentially her father in one fell swoop. All she does is look for answers. She’ll hardly even speak to me.....” Vix replies.
Dagny had collapsed through the portal, wracked with sobs, slamming her fists futilely against the wall. Vix jumps at the intrusion, registers her daughters’ cries, and bolts to her side, scanning her for injuries. “Dagny? Dagny! Talk to me, what’s happened? “You should have been there!” she shrieks at Vix, smacking her arms away. “No, no, no!” Dagny continues slamming her fists against the wall, sending cracks reverberating out from where her skin meets the wood. “I have to get back, he needs me!” Zabuza lifts her into the air, securing her against his chest and offering soothing words as Dagny continues thrashing and screaming. “Dagny, darling, please, where is your father, what’s happening?” Vix pleads, concern and panic covering her like a second skin, her hands hovering helplessly over the demi-god. When she meets her mother’s eyes, it is with a resentment Vix has never seen before. “Uncle Thor is dead....they think Father has done it and they’re...they’re going to have him executed.” Vix falls to her knees as Dagny is wracked with sobs once more. Zabuza loosens his grip in shock, patting Dagny’s back as she succumbs to her grief. “Why....why weren’t you there...?” she cries softly.
Vix bites her lip and attempts a hopeful smile. “Of course she misses you terribly and is resisting the unimaginable...but our daughter is resilient. She will figure something out. And above all else, she’s safe, darling. Funny enough, Michi is the only one she will talk to. The two have been inseparable, namely so she won’t try to make any daring escapes and well, he certainly has experience dealing with political overthrows.” Her attempt at humor falls flat. “She doesn’t understand it now, but far from here is the best place she can be until we sort this out.”
She gauges his reaction, hoping that this knowledge will at least put part of him at ease. Vix wraps her arms around herself. All of a sudden, she feels foolish for coming. At home, she was helpless to assuage Dagny’s pain, to be a lifeline of any kind; she sensed that Dagny blamed her for what had transpired, despite the fact that Vix was just as helpless here on Asgard. She feels as though her presence here only exacerbated Loki’s malaise and reminded him of the very real danger Dagny (and himself) were in. There isn’t much time left before the guard changes, but she’d be damned if she had come all this way just to say goodbye. As she waits for his response, she troubleshoots the possible scenarios that could transpire, finding that hardly any of them would be to his liking.
