Chapter Text
Chapter 1:
It was a strange and humiliating, terrifying feeling. Death. Loki had performed one final act, one last trick gone horribly wrong, and one final sacrifice to buy enough time for everyone to escape. He'd faced off against Thanos and died, not in a glorious battle, not with a bang, but a choked whimper. He'd been snuffed out so quickly, but in those final moments, he held true to his form of defiance.
He wasn't sure where he would end up. He didn't exactly qualify for Valhalla, did he? The only other option was Helheim. Or nothing at all, if his beliefs fell short of truth.
At the moment of death, there was a shift in the air. A strange interference he would have been unaware of, but the others would have noticed. A force that latched onto his soul, demanding his presence elsewhere than from the place he was destined for.
When Loki awoke, he found himself neither in a cold and harsh frozen hellscape nor standing before any glorious gates. He was laid on a bed of golden flowers. Light poured in from an opening in the mountain above. He was deep underground. He let out an uncomfortable, confused groan as he sat up, holding his head.
“Well, this is . . . unexpected.” He hummed softly to himself.
An ache formed in his head and a tightening, sharp pain in his chest. This couldn't be it. He couldn't be dead! He'd spent his whole life outsmarting death. Tricking it. Dodging it. Escaping it. Was this truly the end? What about Thor? What about the other Asgardians? What were they supposed to do without him? How could they possibly defeat Thanos now?
Slowly, solemnly, he rose to his feet, brushing away the stray golden petals that clung to his clothes.
“Hello?” He called out, his voice coming out more uncertain than what he'd been hoping to project.
Where was he?
As he made his way away from the beam of light and into the darkness, he came across a large archway where there was another patch of grass and flowers.
Music, from an unknown source, began to play. It was childish, short, and repetitive in a way that grated on Loki's nerves within mere seconds of hearing it. He got the feeling it was for the purpose of luring whoever heard it into a false sense of security, but for him, it was doing just the opposite.
He found it odd, but barely had a moment to process it before a new flower sprouted up from the ground, this one with a tiny adorable face.
"HOWDY!" the tiny petalled 'thing' greeted sweetly, its body bouncily shifting from side to side in sync with the music. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"
Loki let out an involuntary scoff of surprise, glancing over both shoulders to be sure this wasn't some sort of attention-grabbing trap. "How . . . original." he shook his head at the name, thinking it something a child would choose.
"You're new to the underground, arentcha? Golly, you must be so confused!" Flowey continued on. His words seemed rehearsed, like something he'd said a thousand times before. "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"
Loki felt a supernatural tugging at something within his chest, but other than that, nothing happened. His magic naturally resisted.
The flower's expression twitched slightly. "Uh . . .here we. . .go?" The tugging intensified, but Loki resisted again, further frustrating Flowey to the point of slight panic. "How. . .how are you. . . doing that? I should be able to-. . . what's going on?"
A barely noticeable smirk formed on Loki's lips. "Oh? Are you trying to do something, little flower? How very unfortunate for you that you haven't nearly the amount of power you need."
"You're not supposed to be here. Are you, friend?" Flowey laughed nervously, though there was a perceivable frustration behind his forced smile. "Usually, uh . . it's. . . it's smaller. . . much smaller humans that fall down here."
Loki echoed Flowey's laugh with his own, more confident one. "Oh, I see. That is the problem, then. I'm not a human."
"Oh." Flowey slumped slightly, his smile faltering before being replaced with a more curious expression. "Are you a monster? That can't be right because all the monsters are down here in the underground. One couldn't just fall down here unless the humans above missed one?"
"A monster?" Loki echoed the term, humming in thought. "Debatable, perhaps. Depends on the situation. I have been called a monster before."
“Who are you? What are you?” Flowey asked directly, the music quieting down just a little in reaction to him. Was this an extension of his magic? Loki thought so.
“I am Loki, God of Mischief.” he introduced himself proudly.
The music cut out completely as Flowey stared at him, dumbfounded for only a few moments before laughing more maniacally. “You? You're a god?! Oh, this changes everything! And. . . And a god of mischief? That means . . . That means what exactly?” The cute expression shifted into something more sinister now. “Are you here to destroy everything? Or are you just here to toy with everyone’s feelings before you rip their hearts out?!” He cackled menacingly. “YES! Finally someone else who gets it! Who gets me! I suppose you could break the barrier if you wanted, but we should have some fun first!”
Loki took a step back, his earlier suspicions confirmed. This creature was a trickster, just as he was, though perhaps more unhinged and not nearly as powerful.
"I do not have time for this nonsense." He sighed, his patience having reached its end.
"Hey! I'm not done talking to you! I still need to explai-" Flowey tried to object, but was crushed underfoot as Loki stepped on him, heading through the two large doors he noticed behind the patch of grass. They had runes on them he'd never seen before, piquing his curiosity. Being stepped on didn't kill the little flower, but it did momentarily subdue him. Loki didn't look back and simply let the doors close behind him.
The second he stepped through the doors, he was met with a face full of fur as he bumped into yet another unknown creature.
"Oh! Pardon me, please! I was just-" the voice was, though slightly flustered, warm and maternal sounding. "Are you alright?"
Loki stumbled backwards slightly, trying to regain his bearings as he took in the sight in front of him. It was a woman. A very tall, very fluffy goat monster. Her clothes bore the same runes as what was on the door. He had bumped into her because she'd been rushing towards the doors with a sense of urgency, not expecting him to come through at the same time. Her aura was completely different than Flowey's. It was genuinely powerful, but also intensely kind and protective. He got the feeling she was the same age as him. Or at least mentally so. He cleared his throat, brushing off some of the fur clinging to the front of him from their encounter.
"Yes, I'm fine. Who might you be? Some other innocent-presenting demon set on ruining my day?"
She shook her head, frowning at the accusation. "You are not the first person to be tortured by that heinous flower. I am Toriel. I guard these ruins and come here daily to see if any humans have fallen down."
"Sorry to disappoint. No humans today." Loki shrugged with a gesture of open palms in mock wistfulness.
"You're not-?" Toriel posed the unfinished question, watching him curiously as he sidestepped her, examining the various pillars and switches in the room. "You certainly take the appearance of one." She watched in a mixture of surprise and amusement as he effortlessly picked the right switches to open the door at the end of the hallway without even being prompted to do so. She found herself following him instead of leading him just so they could continue their conversation.
"So, what is this place exactly?" Loki asked. turning the corner as he found yet another room full of colourful switches and pillars. "Is it some sort of purgatory? Or is it an afterlife of punishment? The latter feels more likely, given the flower. Am I to be tortured for my past deeds? I am Loki, by the way, in case you did not overhear my earlier introduction to the possessed weed."
"Everyone here is alive, Loki." Toriel gently corrected, folding her paws neatly in front of her. "Well, except for the ghosts. There are a few of those. It does feel like a purgatory sometimes, though. Some even consider it to be like . . . hell itself." she mumbled the last two words, but he still heard them.
Loki paused just before he was about to press a switch hidden behind a pillar. "So . . . . am I not dead then? I was certain I died." His chest burned now with a different kind of uncertainty. “I remember it clear as day.” He touched on instinct at his throat. He could still feel the phantom sensation of Thanos' grip, tightening and squeezing the life from him.
"Ohh, you poor thing. Perhaps it was a nightmare?" Toriel cooed sympathetically.
“Perhaps this is the nightmare. A conjuring of my mind moments before passing.” Loki swallowed hard, then shook off the feeling. "If I am alive and this is not some awful dream, then I cannot stay here. I need to return, if possible, to wherever my brother is. Help him fight before the universe implodes in on itself. I'll have to be more strategic this time. How do I get out of here?"
Toriel's expression dimmed at that, a bone deep weariness radiating from her. "No one leaves the underground, Loki. Not without certain . . . impossible choices."
"So, there is a way, then? Good. Tell me what it is. I should like to be out of here as soon as possible." Loki didn't even flinch at her slightly ominous warning.
"Would you not prefer to rest for a while first? The fall from the top of Mt. Ebott is no short distance." Toriel tensed as she noticed how casual yet determined he was being.
"How long is 'a while'?" Loki narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “Do you intend to keep me here for your own purposes?”
"I mean you no harm." Toriel put her paws up defensively. "Truly. From what I can sense, I should be more afraid of you than you would ever be of me."
"Observant." Loki gave a single nod of approval.
"That being said..." Toriel's expression hardened slightly, her protective nature flaring up. "I will not coddle you the way I did with the children who fell before. I am first and foremost the guardian and protector of these ruins and all who live in it. You do not need a lecture of morality of the importance of mercy."
"Mercy?" Loki scoffed at the term.
"It is not a request. It is an expectation, in your case." Toriel met his gaze with a slight fire crackling at the tips of her paws. "You will not hurt the monsters who live here. They are harmless. Especially to one with your amount of LV. If you do, I will not hesitate to fight you."
"LV?" Loki raised a brow at that. "What does that stand for?"
"Not love, that is for certain." Toriel rubbed her paws together, extinguishing the flames wanting to form. “It has to do with how many people you've killed. Level Of ViolencE.”
Loki’s eyes widened slightly in fascination. “Are you trying to tell me that my history, the things I have done, equate directly to power in this place?”
Toriel gave a single, grim nod. “You should take a better look at your stats, Loki. Everyone has them.”
“Stats?” Loki looked at her in pure confusion.
Toriel nodded again, then reached a hand out, activating a different power.
Loki felt the familiar magical tug at his chest, but this time his own power didn't resist. It was not a summons out of aggresion. She was merely checking him. A small red heart manifested as a glow in front of him as he let out an involuntary gasp. He didn’t have to ask. He instinctively knew that this . . . was his soul. His initial shock and horror quickly settled into confusion.
“It’s. . . red?” The fact that Toriel had been strong enough to do this to him, but not Flowey, told Loki everything he needed to know about this fluffy goat monster. It was one of two things. Either she was far more powerful, or Loki had let his guard down just enough to allow this to happen. He had a feeling it was the latter. He hummed in wistful disappointment. “You would think my soul would be green. Like my magic.”
Toriel smiled sadly at him, shaking her head. “If your dominant trait was kindness, it would be green.”
“Oh.” Loki let out a slightly self-depreciating chuckle, shaking his head. “Well, that is... not exactly-”
“How is this possible?” Toriel inhaled sharply, waving her hand as numbers manifested into the air between them. Yet another unfamiliar magic Loki hadn’t seen. It wasn’t exactly impressive, but it was the numbers themselves that caught his attention -and hers- in a harrowing way.
LV: 9999999….
HP: 999902
AT: 6000
DF: 300
EXP: 99999……
It was easy enough to guess what it all meant, but Loki let Toriel point out the obvious.
“How. . . how many people have you . . . ?” she swallowed hard, steeling herself as she folded her hands in front of her abdomen, though her fingers twitched every so often in a nervous, clawing gesture, fire just barely crackling at the tips of her claws. “I sensed you had a high LV, but seeing the actual numbers is truly . . .something else.”
“A lot.” Loki answered with a shrug, knowing what her question was despite her not finishing. “Does that frighten you?”
"Should it?" Toriel countered, shaking her head. "Whatever you are, you look like a human. Because of that, you are a target. But the monsters of the Underground are weak compared to you. Defenseless in the face of your strength. The responsible thing, the kind thing, is not to fight them. To show mercy. At ALL times."
Loki laughed bitterly. "I was never shown mercy. It is why I am here, is it not? Because I died! I have no idea what this place is supposed to be. Some twisted version of Helheim? A custom-made torture chamber just for my soul?"
"I don't know what you have been through..." Toriel sighed, shaking her head at him in sympathy. "...and for what it is worth, I am sorry for whatever horrible things you may have been forced to endure before. My own paws are not untainted, but I know the difference between killing to protect and killing for selfish means. There is a line drawn in dust.I need you to be honest with me. Are you planning on hurting anyone? Or are you willing to do better? To try?"
"This is a test, is it?" Loki narrowed his gaze at her, trying to assess how sincere she was being. Who was orchestrating this test? What happened if he failed it? After a few moments, he waved a hand, countering her magic so the stats vanished. "Fine, then. I suppose I have no real reason to purposely hurt anyone here so long as they do not pose a threat to me. But if everyone here is like that demonic flower-"
"They're not." Toriel firmly corrected. "It's a choice, Loki. It is always a choice. You seem to know your way around a puzzle just fine, so I will leave you be. When and if you decide to be a good person, I'll be waiting for you." She turned on her heel, charging ahead of him.
Loki was left alone, feeling thoroughly lectured and annoyed.
What was he supposed to do now?