The Stronghold 2: Immortals

If I Could Turn Back Time

Harry blinked in confusion. "That isn't possible," he said eventually.

"Trust me, it is," Loki said firmly.

"No it isn't," Shaade said immediately. "Loki, this could have serious consequences-"

"For someone who claims to have no emotions you care all too much," Loki interrupted. Shaade scowled at him.

"Well you doing this is going to affect me too, so-"

"Actually it won't," Loki butted in again. "It only impacts upon the being casting the charm and the desired ones involved in it."

"Brilliant, now I can go back to not caring," Shaade grinned.

"Can it bring people back from the dead?" Harry asked.

"Only if the caster has a strong connection with the persons involved," Loki replied. "I'm sorry, I can't bring back Angel or Cleo. Sophie I could but Amalia I couldn't. Where did you say Emmi was?"

"Coming this way," Harry said, nodding to a person behind the demigod. Loki turned around to see an exhausted Emmi with tear tracks on her face, her blonde hair dirty and her outfit ripped.

"The hotel was destroyed," she said. "Becca's still floating, Amalia got blown up and Georgina is gone."

"Delta..." Harry said in a hoarse whisper. "No..." 

"Gone where?" Loki quizzed.

"I have no idea. Sorry, Loki, I was a little pre-occupied with getting out alive." She looked so downcast that Loki felt truly sorry for her and displayed a rare-seen form of human affection - the Asgardian gave the human a hug.

"Aw, sweet," Shaade said and Loki kicked him violently. The demon yelped and flew off, glaring over his shoulder at the demigod. 

"Pain hurts!" he called. Then his brows furrowed into an even deeper frown. "Wait..." By the time he formulated a coherent sentence Shaade had flown away. 

"What are we going to do?" Emmi asked. 

"You two are standing there," Loki ordered, pointing to a building that wasn't quite demolished down the road. "Stay where you are and don't move under any circumstances. If I collapse or have a fit then don't move. If I go still and look dead don't move. Only if I start screaming in pain can you move and that's to get away. Understood?" The pair nodded and Loki shooed them away, only resuming his train of thought when they were specks in the distance.

There was no known way to turn back time while staying in the present. It was only really a rumour, told to children and explained to teenagers. If it did work and exist then all of the subjects' minds must be filled with memories of the past and present but that was only one way to do it. Each person you asked came up with a different answer and Loki was trusting the basic guidelines of the story were correct. Stand very still and open yourself to the elements while staying connected to the subjects. It was uncertain whether or not anyone would survive but it was worth a shot. 

Standing with his legs apart and his hands down by his sides Loki tilted back his head to gaze up at the sky. Memories swirled above him, bright colours in the air, becoming a moving picture on the clouds. There was Rebecca, fighting tooth and nail for the last cup of coffee. Georgina, laughing at her own jokes. Sophie, singing constantly. Emmi with Pokemon sat on her head. All of the new people he'd met and liked: Delta, Max, Tobi, Harry, Brian. 

Above his head all the memories merged until individual faces shone from the heavens. They weren't memories any more, they showed the people's current condition. Harry was tired and frightened and Emmi looked the same. Sophie had cuts all over her and her blue eyes stared upwards, unseeing. Rebecca's eyes were closed and her face was lit up from the inside, veins and muscles visible through papery skin. Delta had half of her face mauled off and the same went for Brian. Max and Tobi were curled up together, blood coating their faces and dripping down into glassy eyes that would never sparkle with mischievous light again. 

Loki kept his concentration even though his heart was burning. There was no image for Georgina and he needed to find her. Somehow, somewhere... the magic had to find her!

Suddenly a flickering face appeared amongst the clouds. Skinless with golden eyes shining out from a mass of muscle and bone Loki felt his throat constrict as he realised the extent of what had happened. She was like an animal that was half slaughtered, the skin decorating someone's living room floor. At least she was still alive but seemed to be in a lot of pain.

To Loki's surprise he sensed someone stood in front of him. Someone who was there but wasn't. Forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the clouds Loki glanced ahead and saw a small Albino man, about the same height and age as Pepper, waving to him. The demigod frowned and the Albino drew closer.

"I'm Salt," he said in a voice very similar to Shaade's. "Demon of hell. Any chance of me getting back, too? I'm not a dick like Pepper, I promise. He really was a dick. Please? It's too hot down here for me and with Pepper being all dicky I don't really want to go back via him." His red eyes looked beseeching and Loki sighed, adding another face to the clouds. That face split into a beaming grin but the colours merged and blurred as the world spun. Loki was unable to move, frozen in a split second of time while the world raced around him. So long as he focused on the faces he would be fine. Glance away for one more second and they'd all cease to exist.

Finally the blurring stopped and Loki heaved a sigh of relief. The smell of freshly-cut grass and cooking meat filled his nostrils as he pitched forwards, falling flat on his face as he passed out.