Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard || The Ship of the Dead

Resisting Loki: A DIY Brought to You by Alex Fierro

      I rushed to her room, throwing open the door. Alex, however, did not look awake. At all. She was thrashing around in her bed, tears streaming down her face. I hurried over, shaking her by the shoulder. "Alex! Alex, wake up!" She sat straight up, gasping and blinking away tears. She looked at me as if I had just saved her life, and she pulled me into a hug. Her heart was racing, and she shook in my embrace.
"It's okay, it's okay.." Slowly, her pulse returned to normal. She pulled away, wiping tears from her face. I stared at her, concern overcoming me. "I s-saw him. Loki."
Sam rushed in, stumbling over to us. "Alex, what in Helheim?!" Alex looked up at her. "It's alright now, Sam. I'm fine, I just.. I had a nightmare, but I'm afraid it's a vision too."

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Percy, Annabeth, Hearth, Blitz, Sam, Will, Nico and I sat in a circle, Alex pacing around us and describing her dream animatedly. "He was in some sort of cave, and he was.. he was summoning something. Something evil." Sam's forehead was creased with worry, and she prompted Alex to continue. "I think.. I think he was summoning a giant." Annabeth flinched at the word 'giant', and Percy shuddered visibly. Will grabbed Nico's hand. "I could be wrong. I-I could be completely wrong, it could've just been a stress-induced nightmare.." Percy shook his head. "Nightmares for demigods aren't like that, dude." Alex winced. "I'm, ah.. I'm female right now." Percy's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--" Alex put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. It's fine, it happens." Percy relaxed, nodding. "Okay. Okay, good." Back to your dream, Hearth signed. What else happened? "Well, that was it. Everything I told you." Hearth slumped, seeming somewhat dissapointed. Like, 'Just Loki summoning a giant? That's all?'
Sam darted forward, grabbing Alex's arm. "We need to talk. Now."
She nodded at me. "You come, too."
In the quiet of Sam's room, Alex spoke up. "So... you want me to teach you to resist Loki?" Sam nodded confidently. "Yes. If things get bad during battle, I want to be able to fight. I don't want to be rendered useless like.. like last time." The guilt in her voice was evident, and Alex had no choice but to agree. "Alright. Let's do it. But.. why is Magnus here?" Sam sighed. "I need a witness. In case you murder me out of frustration." Alex laughed.
"Okay, just clear your mind. I'm going to harness Loki's power to control you, and you're going to try to resist. Just think about repelling him, and try to channel that into physical power." Same nodded, her face serious. Alex stood still for a moment, then raised her hand. "Walk towards me, Samirah." Sam visibly struggled, but after a few minutes of intense concentration, she was pulled towards Alex. After nearly an hour of this, Sam collapsed, exhausted. "Just... just teach me how to shape-shift."