“Well, well, well…” Persephone gazed with her deep, black eyes sarcastically at Loki, “Well if it isn’t the twosome. I’ve heard of the Effluence. How is it going, Odin?” Odin grunted and said nothing. The Aesir of Knowledge knew better than letting himself snap with much pleasure to the Queen of Hel. Persephone laughed mockingly with a raised eyebrow and a devilish smile, “No news, I’d take that for!” Cerberus roared mightily as if laughing along with his mistress but somewhere between the howls was a whimper as a result from the injured eye. Nataku kept her guard up, curiosity crossing the back of her head as she watched the Queen of Hel move towards her pet Cerberus and pat him on one of its large heads. The three-headed dog gnarled and roared, puffing smoke from its nostrils as his mistress muttered to him in a sing-song voice. Persephone then landed on the marble floor much to Odin’s displeasure.
“As I was saying, Nataku, you have been missed.” Persephone walked casually towards the battle Aesir and looked around the halls of Valhalla, nodding at the havoc in satisfaction while saying, “The Lady Queen Mother has a very affluent taste for such interior designing for these halls, I see.” Then she turned to Nataku saying, “Aren’t you a beauty? How have you been since Silent Melody… Battle Aesir Nataku?”
Nataku’s eyes narrowed and an invisible force resembling much of her resentment drew out of her in with great deal of intensity, crushing some chunks of debris and leaving some of them hovering in mid-air. Odin was a bit startled but forced himself to relax. Perhaps Nataku felt embarrassed over the rather scornful stressing of her title and name, taking the sarcasm as nothing else but an insult that she, the Battle Aesir, was hit by Silent Melody and knocked unconscious. But Persephone showed no trace of reaction except for just standing there, combing her hair with her fingers from being totally disheveled by the force that swept the hall just now.
“Do you wish to do battle with me?” Nataku’s eyes were seriously narrowing its gaze towards Persephone. The pressure built up heavily. It was not a question but was, in fact, a threat. Should Persephone choose to reply the wrong way, it seemed Nataku would make sure that the consequences would be dire.
“Is that supposed to scare me?”
That was a wrong answer. Nataku’s right eyebrow twitched and a chunk of debris broke up as if crushed by an invisible hand. The negative pressure remained like a mid-long plague that Odin just wished to end as he pulled the collar of his jacket. Honestly, he had heard the rumors about Nataku’s nature to easily manifest her anger, whether or not intentionally, but this was the first time he was able to feel it himself.
“Clam it up, Persephone! Enough with your mockery!” Loki was shouting now, taking steps towards the spot beside Nataku. Odin gasped, surprised at how ticked off his brother had suddenly become, which was very unlikely of him.
“Master Loki, please, stay where you are!” Nataku’s voice reverted from will-kill-you serious to held-in-reserve composed. The pressure she had inflicted upon the room had diminished with the sudden change in her tone and the hovering masses fell from their air-borne state. Odin wanted to release a sigh, feeling as if a hand suddenly released his neck from a grasp he had just felt.
“I have come for the Effluence as you know it!” Persephone was getting serious.
“The Effluence?” Nataku blinked, sending Loki a half-curious look but found him busily glaring at Persephone to even mind her. Was there something she did not know about the Effluence?
“Oh, don’t play innocent with me, Nataku.”
“Nataku doesn’t have it, Persephone.” Odin spoke finally and Nataku thought Loki grunted, “We don’t know who does.”
Persephone gave a suspicious look of inspection at Nataku who replied with a cold killing stare. The Queen of Hel frowned in disappointment, probably because she did not know what to throw at the Battle Aesir. Loki was clenching his fists and Nataku read his anger very well but of why, she barely knew. Doesn’t have it? Have what?
“Did you think I would fall for such feeble childish reason?” Persephone glared. The sky darkened but no one moved. The wisps at the ends of her dress began moving a bit more violently and Nataku wondered if she should watch out for them. Odin reverted into a more serious stature and Nataku felt a change in his energy flow. The situation was becoming grave, indeed.
“The Effluence will obliterate everything, you know it well.” Odin said flatly and Nataku did not know what to make out of his tone.
“The Effluence can be controlled!” Persephone shouted.
“And who to be in control of it? YOU!” Odin shot back.
“Well, tell me who you have in mind! The Jade Emperor, or the Queen Mother!” she raged, “Or, let me guess…! YOU perhaps!”
“No one should be in control of it!”
“So you want it to take its course and annihilate the nine worlds, is that it!”
“No one said anything about watching annihilation!” Odin’s anger was building and Nataku felt a little uncomfortable with the exchange. It was also not helping that all the freely-flowing pressure from their emotions and mindless control of energies in relation to it was contributing to the now easy cave-in of Valhalla.
“Don’t play Mr. Know-It-All on me!”
“What did you say!”
“You know where this all began!”
“THE EFFLUENCE IS STILL SUBDUED!” There was a burst of energy from Loki, probably as much as what came out of Nataku just moments ago except that this one was more violent that it crushed most of the debris, startling Cerberus so that it shifted to lunge and attack that Persephone had to command him to calm down. The wave gave suggested violent behavior rather than just an angry one, suggesting that if his conditions weren’t met, someone or something will have to suffer for it. The darkening of the sky increased and lightning struck sharply across it.
“What is the matter with you!” Loki said, red and shaking in apparent anger that Nataku could not trace the roots of. He was staring sharply and irately at Persephone as if smoldering her in pure resentment. What was he so angry about? Nataku did not know this side of Loki since the only side of him she was exposed to was the one she had sparred with, the one she had seen talking to the Divine Couple earlier, the one telling her that they are somewhat equal. After all, she barely knew him and yet, it seemed as though this display was enough to show her a big part of him.
“Master Loki…” Was all Nataku could say. And that was it. Loki’s face softened, his fingers loosening, his eyes relaxing as his shoulders dropped, sending his gaze away from Persephone to his brother and then to Nataku. It was for how long it took him to look at Nataku was all the time he needed to turn his head away from her, uttering a small curse under his breath.
“What’s the matter, Loki? Something we should know about?” Persephone let out a small giggle before bursting out into crisp mocking laughter. Loki’s head turned violently towards her, his eyes in rage. The strain that had slowly been diminishing from the Aesir of Darkness had returned probably stronger this time. The sky’s darkening intensified and lightning struck consecutively as if to parallel Loki’s shouts that lingered within him. Thunder followed hard. Cerberus growled and Persephone, for whatever reason, stopped laughing and looked flatly at Loki. Nataku felt the pressure building in the hall and that was when Odin spoke, “Enough.”
Persephone veered her head, an eyebrow raised and said, “You…”
“I have no wish to be rude but, please…” Nataku was groping for words as quickly as she could, “… This is enough.”
“Who do you think you are after getting blasted by Silent Melody, Nataku?” Persephone put a hand on her waist, eyeing the battle Aesir from head to toe. Lightning struck three times in a row. Loki cursed again. Harder this time.
This was not good.
“Stop making Master Loki angry!” Nataku said the first thing her mind told her to before her anger got the better of her. And she regretted half of it. She sounded like a little girl defending an imaginary friend. For the second time around, she felt so disrespectful and foolish that she turned red. Odin blinked at her and so did Persephone.
Loki released a small gasp, loosening his fists and gently dropping his shoulders. The sky’s darkness lessened as Loki veered his head towards everyone else. Nataku gasped as well, turning her gaze towards anything else but the other Aesirs in the hall, reminding her self to apologize to Loki after this incident was over. At least maybe that could make up for her making a fool out of herself.
“Oh, tut! What a beautiful display of loyalty and concern!” Persephone put her hands on her waist and bent towards Nataku, “I’m so scared! After being hit by Silent Melody…” Loki veered his head, looking icily at Persephone as if to tell her “One more word and see what happens to you…” Persephone fidgeted from her pose and straightened, looking disappointedly at Loki. Nataku bit her lip and exchanged baffled looks with Odin.
“I… I…” Nataku stammered, fumbling for sensible things to say.
There were moments of silence before Persephone spoke. “Hut-tut!” She said in a sing-songvoice, girlishly whipping to leave with her fingers waving, “There is no sense talking to you. I am in no rush.” And she hovered on her billowing smoke to the head of Cerberus, “Come, my precious, let us take leave. I have to see what ending this dream would have.” Cerberus roared idiotically in response.
“I doubt its pleasantry.” Persephone added as the great beast traced it steps away.
Loki watched the leaving Queen of Hel. In spite of him being the Aesir of Darkness, in which he complements his brother, the Aesir of Light, he still found Persephone a very annoying woman. As most stories in Midgard said, darkness always came in good relationship with Hel and the people seldom prayed to Loki, except when asking favors not to imbue darkness upon them. He wondered why people thought such the darkness never meant to harm anyone. It was just that the darkness was not easily understood because it was different and difference was something not many would like to deal with. He was in the middle of this thought when he felt someone walking towards him. He swiftly turned and was surprised to find Nataku, vision suspended on him… Those blue eyes…
“I…” she stuttered, “About… About…”
“Yes?”
“About… what I said…” she continued, her eyes now darting from one place to another, “… A while ago… Master, I…”
“You were fabulous.”
“Excuse me? I was what?” Nataku’s face lifted, her blue eyes filled with surprise and the shamed look on her face diminished. She blinked at him as if asking him to continue. But he did not. He just smiled and poked her forehead with his finger before digging his hands into his pockets and laughing. Nataku gasped and a hand flew towards her forehead and she blushed. Loki stopped laughing and walked away, missing the small smile that came up Nataku’s lips.