Chapter Title: A Fate Decided

Author: Sam

Story: The Neutered Omega: 22 of ?

Series: The Omega Rights: part one

Settings: AU Omegaverse: Asgard

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Thor . . .

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As his mate collapsed to the ground, Thor's heart seized in his chest. He let out a roar of fear and rage, followed by a surge of triumph as Mjolnir slammed into his right palm. Electrical energy pulsed through him. Lifting Mjolnir, intent on destroying the man who had obviously attacked Loki with an intent to kill, Thor felt Mjolnir's answering song of vengeance.

"Thor!" Odin called out, not distracting the trained warrior but alerting him. "Try to capture not kill. He must be tried for his crimes!"

The demand felt unreasonable to Thor, who could still see his mate lying, bleeding and unconscious, in the grass, the Allmother standing protectively in front of Loki as Lady Freyja crouched low over the slender man. Thor shook his head; the only victim was not his mate . . . their unborn infant had been attacked as well.

But after almost a lifetime of fighting under the command of someone else, giving mercy even if he didn't feel it had been earned, Thor let out a frustrated growl and obeyed his father's entreaty. He flung himself across the area, letting Mjolnir pull him into a melee battle rather than using their combined sedir to attack from afar.

A sheet of water pulsed upwards, freezing as it shot to the sky, directly in the path Thor had set. Untrained with his new weapon, unused to flying, Thor could not bank quick enough and had only enough time to curl his shoulders and back, protecting his head. He slammed directly into the thick, jagged ice wall. A slice of icy fire tore down his back and shoulder, and Thor tumbled to the ground with a grunt, panting.

Lifting his face, anger and hatred across his broad features, Thor began to push himself from the ground.

A strong hand on his head brought pause to the former gladiator and he looked up. Baldur stood above him, an intent look on his frowning face. He held Svalinn at the ready, a wave of cold, equal to that of the ice wall, emanating from the brightly glowing shield. "Are you badly injured, brother?" Baldur asked quietly, never taking his eyes off the ice wall that continued to grow, sharpening spikes springing forth with each moment that passed.

"Do not tell me that you created that wall, brother," Thor growled.

"If I had, I would certainly admit to it, Thor. But I did not. Laufey's sedir went wild and uncontrollable when he went mad. But even before he lost control, he was registered as an ice user. To control the other nature sedirs . . . that was beyond him, a gift of Farbauti's not Laufey's." The eldest son of Odin offered a hand up to Thor without looking down at the younger man.

"Then how is it Laufey uses a dead man's sedir?" Thor questioned, his eyes roving the increasing edges of the wall, which seemed to curve outwards . . . away from Laufey and towards the defenders. "He means to close us in, brother."

Baldur nodded, sunlight glinting off the golden strands in his blond hair. "Yes, I fear you are correct. Neither of us is trained well enough to get past this sedir wall, are we?"

Thor growled again, his only acknowledgement of his brother's words. Blood ran slowly down his back in an all too familiar flow from his youth in the arena, and, like then, Thor pushed the injuries from his mind. "I may not be used to sedir or fighting in ice, but I can take him down . . . if I can get to him," Thor finally muttered.

"Then, by all means, let us break through this wall, my princes," stated a determined feminine voice.

The thunder prince glanced over, not immediately recognizing the woman with bald scarred head and intense golden-brown eyes, dressed in a flowing tunic and trousers of deep blue with matching boots. In an instant his mind flashed back to a very beautiful woman in the House of Laufey, and Thor breathed in shock, "Lady Sif?" He glanced at the sword in her hand as it caught the sun, a reflection of strong light tracing down the polished blade.

"Aye, Prince Thor," she answered with a nod, her lips baring her teeth in a near feral growl.

Behind her stepped up several others: Volstagg with his huge double-sided axe, Heimdall and Fandral and Ingolf, armed with swords, and Hogun, with a deadly looking spiked mace. "We are here to fight, my prince," Sif added.

Gripping his war hammer, nodding in agreement, Thor set his eyes back on the thickening ice wall. "Then by all means, my friends, let us fight!" He let out a great roar and lightning cracked through the sky, a rip of thunder rumbling through the few still assembled.

Most of the group launched themselves at the sedir-woven ice barrier, cracking and hacking it in earnest. However, Heimdall and Baldur held their attack and began circling the edges of the curving ice wall. Another figure moving forward drew Thor's eye for a moment: Odin, creeping after Baldur, spear at the ready, eyes intently watching beyond the edge of the barrier. Confident that his brother, armed only with a shield, would be protected by their father, and that his mate was being protected by their mother with a pair of daggers, Thor went back to his task.

As the larger redhead beside him went into a backswing, Thor took a swing with Mjolnir and let out the roar of electricity straight into a crack forming under Volstagg's broad axe. A loud groaning wail issued from the deep ice. Still vibrating from the energy that had torn through his body, the blond warrior lowered Mjolnir and took a deep breath. Hogun slammed his great war mace into the weakened area and a series of cracking shots sounded before a mighty rending. The ice calved, chucks falling to the still green grass below.

Taking advantage of the shattering, cracking barrier, Sif ran hard and flung herself feet first towards the ever widening hole. Her boots slamming on the edges of the opening aided in cracking it wider and she slipped through the opening. Fandral followed her maneuver, enlarging the break ever wider and landing on the other side where Sif had tumbled to a crouch. Thor took the opportunity to throw himself through the hole, Mjolnir held in front of him to expand the ice crack. Behind him, the ice barrier finally tumbled to the ground, scatting dangerously sharp chunks across the once pristine summer garden.

However, Thor discovered Mjolnir had secrets she had only once revealed, for when he came through the shattering ice, the former gladiator did not tumble to the ground; he flew. Pushing the unusual groundless feeling aside and embracing the adrenaline rush which accompanied the surge of power, Thor let out a roar and aimed the warhammer towards his foe.

Below, the tall, blue-skinned, red-eyed madman used what appeared to be a long blade of jagged ice to attack Baldur, who raised Svalinn in defense. Odin stood to the side, watching, waiting, but not interfering with his eldest son and the deranged Omega. Ingolf had circled around behind Laufey, but the former brothel guard lay in a crumpled heap, blood seeping from his head, apparently a victim of that ice weapon. Golden-eyed Heimdall was locked in combat with a pair of palace guards, their eyes bright blue and dazed; the palace messenger appeared to try to avoid permanently damaging the pair of armored men. As the other four warriors ran to join the fray, another woman, solidly built and dressed in celebration finery, ran over wielding a large mallet often used in the kitchen for tenderizing meat.

With a snarl, Laufey swung his ice blade at the golden-haired priest again, the blade skittering off the shield, causing sparks of ice to spray in all directions. "Light seidr using ice magic?" he growled, eyes narrowed in apparent fury, "how dare you even pretend to be a priest with your dishonesty!" Red eyes seemed to flare in his deranged anger and he swung again, twisting his wrist to slice behind the edge of Svalinn.

Thor, in silent commune with Mjolnir, turned his trajectory towards the battle below them, summer blue eyes widening slightly at the sight of a long tear of red welling along Baldur's arm. Thor's eyes narrowed and he let out a roar, channeling his lightning sedir through the conduit of Mjolnir. A fork of pure brilliance, white-blue and sparking hot, cut through the air to strike the blade in the enemy's hand. Letting out a scream, dropping the melting ice shard and shaking his wrist apparently to dispel the electrical jolt of pain, Laufey turned his head up to glare at Thor, who slammed heavily onto the ice-strewn grass hard enough to leave a small crater in the once pristine garden, legs bent to take the impact, head bent and hammer firmly planted.

The large blond slowly lifted his head, a fierce glare in vivid blue eyes, as he focused solely on the man who had birthed, raised, imprisoned, abused, and then tried to kill Thor's beloved mate.

Even with his mysteriously enhanced sedir, their numbers overwhelmed Laufey, driving him back. He snarled, his once beautiful face twisted in his hatred and madness. Lifting his right hand, other hand falling to a hidden object tucked inside his decorative jeweled belt, the slave keeper glared directly at Thor, apparently his biggest threat. Hand beginning to glow an eerie blue, Laufey let a smile twist across his lips.

"You will join your whore in death, slave!"

"Yes," Thor roared, "but it will not be this day!" The mighty blond warrior brought his hammer smashing down into the ground, causing a rippling then a shuddering as an earthquake grew; the cataract tore through the once lush foliage faulting directly towards their foe and knocking him, unbalanced, to his knees.

Concentration broken, enhanced though it had been, the seidr glow petered off and Laufey gasped, red eyes widening in the first signs of uncertainty. Then those malevolent eyes shunted closed as the Lady Sif slammed the flat of her blade down on the kneeling man's unprotected, bald head. Her blow slightly nicked Laufey's skin, but more importantly it sent him tumbling to the ground, unconscious and unable to wreak more havoc that noon.

Heaving for the breath the struggle had knocked from them, Volstagg and Baldur began to bind Laufey, arms pulled behind his back, palms pressed together in an awkward manner. Wrapping his fingers in the cloth of his tunic, the priest searched the prisoner's belt and pulled out a small green and blue sphere. He frowned and presented it to the Lady Freyja, who appeared equally cautious when she wrapped her own hand in her gown and took the relic.

Ingolf ran his hand over the finely crafted belt around his former employer's lean hips, frowning and muttering under his breath, "runes . . . in what language?"

Thor allowed himself a glower at his vanquished foe then stepped quickly to his still bleeding, still unconscious mate's side. The mighty blond sank to his knees beside his lover, carefully taking Loki's limp hand. Thor turned worried, helpless summer storm eyes to his mother across from him. "He will recover? And our child?"

Frigga met his eyes with worry, her sedir glowing softly as she worked, desperation in her every move, to help her adopted son. "I need to bring him to the healing hall, to Lady Eir," she said, lifting a hand to wipe at her face; blood tracing her cheek and across the back of her hand where she'd been hit by shards of ice. "But I dare not move him, Thor." Frigga moved her hand back down to Loki's abdomen, her green sedir energy glowing strong. "I need her here."

Nodding firmly, worry racing through every muscle, Thor stepped back and lifted Mjolnir. Working on newly acquired knowledge, as well as raw instinct, he began to spin Mjolnir in a circle, her strap around his wrist as he controlled the rapid circles. Lifting his hand at the apex of his spin, Thor and Mjolnir thrust into the air, like a reversed bolt of lightning, electricity thrumming around the warrior and his matched weapon.

The sensation, the freedom, barely graced his mind as Thor flew up to one of the over-looking balconies above the garden. He landed on the out-thrust of masonry and strode in, without thought to who occupied the suite. As his feet hit the ground, Thor broke into a run and tore through the rooms, into the hallway, and raced down corridor and stairwell to arrive, shortly, at the healer hall, where the medical staff were busy aiding those injured in the preliminary strike. Three guards, slumped and twitching in sedir twisted slumber, lay on emergency cots side by side.

Focused on aiding his fallen mate, Thor strode through the controlled chaos until he found the woman he sought. "Lady Eir," the large blond glanced at the patient she tended then met her worried eyes. "Loki is injured and Mother says he cannot be moved." The prince offered another worried look for the man seated by the healer's side.

"Can't be moved?" the palace servant asked. "Lady Eir, go to the prince. My wounds are nothing compared to such."

A frown twisted the Omega healer's face but she nodded and collected some supplies. She turned to one of her fellow healers. "I am going to the gardens to aid people." With that the woman turned and strode from the room, followed by Thor on her heels.

"The way is block by torn ground and ice," the warrior warned. "I can fly you there."

The woman nodded and, without warning, wrapped an arm around Thor's waist, holding tightly. "As quick as may be," she instructed.

With a nod, Thor repeated his actions of minutes ago, carrying the older woman into the air and out the wide garden doors, over the torn, hazardous mess the garden had become. He carefully set them down close to where his mate lay, still unconscious, still being tended by the Allmother.

Lady Eir sank immediately to her knees, adding her sedir to Frigga's. The women worked in anxious silence as the blond Alpha hovered close by, watching their every move, every attempt to diagnose and heal the fallen Omega. Beyond their immediate circle the self-designated defenders began clearing a path to the palace, Ingolf and Heimdall dragging a subdued and heavily bound, stripped, Laufey with them. Baldur stepped softly up to his little brother's side and placed a hand on the broader man's shoulder, standing silent vigil with the worried man.

At last, Odin strode over to the small circle around Loki. The Allfather asked, almost gentle sounding, "will he live? Will he wake?"

Lady Eir looked up briefly then back down. "It is not certain, My King. The sedir which did this is twisted by a foul energy."

"Runes," Baldur informed them. "Ingolf saw runes scribed on his clothing."

"Until I can unweave what was woven," Frigga said, still concentrating on keeping her youngest son alive, "we will be unable to awaken him . . . and this sleep drains his energies."

"What can I do?" Thor asked immediately, dropping to a knee beside his mate, reaching to touch Loki's arm while the women worked around him.

"You can produce an heir," Odin intoned, his manner once more withdrawn, strict and forbidding.

"I have," Thor looked up, frowning. "I have a mate and child . . ."

"Neither of which may live through this. The people will be terrified. You will need to produce another heir."

"Father!" Thor's voice was harsh with his anguish and disbelief. He turned to his mother for her support, but her concentration remained wholly on Loki.

Odin reached down and placed a firm grip on Thor's shoulder. "Listen to me, my son. And pay heed. A royal person never has a right to his own life. His life belongs to the people he serves. This attack will send fear throughout the land and our people will wonder if we are at war. They will think that the next attack will come to their own homes. If the heir's mate can be struck down at the bonding, who is safe?"

Preventing Thor from responding, Odin dropped to one knee, his eyes worried yet his manner firm. "You need to sire another child as soon as you may. We can keep word of Loki's injuries to a minimum if we hurry, but word will already have leaked that the prince is injured. If we keep him from the public and produce a healthy child of your blood as your heir, fears will be assuaged."

Thor raised confused, angry, and horrified laced eyes to meet his father's concerned ones. "But you speak as if Loki will not waken . . . will not live."

Odin gave Thor's shoulder a painful shake, squeezing. "You will obey, my son, for your people. If Loki and your child survives, that will be a blessing we will welcome. But the people must not know how serious he is injured, how vulnerable we have become."

"We were lax," Thor slowly said, understanding some of what his father said. "But I do not . . ."

"In order for the people to think we merely keep Loki safe in his quarters, to convince them your chosen queen is not in a life-threatening coma, you must produce an heir. Those who are suspicious will demand to know if the child is truly yours. Thus, the babe will need to pass a paternity test, revealing you as the father. When that occurs, no one will be concerned who is proven as the mother."

Never the quickest student, but not a stupid man, Thor pointed out his father's flaw. "Thus, we must trust a woman to never tell this secret?" He wanted to rail against lying with anyone other than Loki, producing children with any but his mate. But Thor knew Odin would not listen, and no one present seemed inclined to challenge the Allfather's decision.

"No," Odin answered Thor's challenge. "Not a woman. A male Omega."

Thor cringed and shook his head. "We face the same problem, Father, whether this mother be a woman or a man. He will still be . . ."

"Baldur," Odin supplied, surprising a glance from the women as well as the princes. The King of Asgard continued, firmly, "Baldur is a male Omega and can produce your heir for you. You are not bonded, Baldur, are you?" Odin's voice took on a tone that seemed to warn that Baldur better not be bonded.

Surprise laced the priest's eyes and he shook his head. "No, father, I am not bonded. But, Thor is part of a very public bond. He may be unable to knot me or impregnate me." The eldest prince talked in a neutral, soft manner, as if detaching his own emotions from the discussion . . . from the idea that he had basically been ordered by his father to mate with his little brother to beget an heir.

A fierce frown crossed the Allfather's face and he dropped his hand from Thor's shoulder, eyes meeting Baldur's. A moment of silence stretched between the men, wove around the frantically working women. Finally, with a firm nod, Odin declared, "if you cannot get with child by Thor, you will become my heir and get with child by another man."

Shock slapped the brothers and Thor sucked in a harsh breath as Baldur gasped.

Odin nodded. "If Thor cannot produce an heir, he cannot take the throne. You will have to forgo the priesthood and become heir. It is necessary for the throne to have an heir or there will be chaos . . . created by a madman."

Thor turned his summer sky eyes onto his older brother, seeing the misery reflected in those sapphire depths. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, how to protest, when Baldur spoke softly, just as firmly as his father.

"I will do this, Allfather. If Loki is determined to be in a deep coma or dead, I understand his child cannot live, it is too soon. Thus, I will lie with Thor the day after the healers declare Loki cannot be saved." Raising eyes to look at his sire, Baldur added, "however, if in the one mating I cannot bear Thor's child, then I will lie with the mate of my choice to produce an heir and accept my new position in life as future king."

"I will gather worthy men for you to chose from, my son. Men who can rule well." Odin rose to his feet but paused when Baldur shook his head firmly.

"No, father. I will rule. I can sire children as well as bear them. I will choose a queen to bestow an heir upon." Baldur met his father's gaze, equally determined to have his say. "I will give up my priesthood if needed for Asgard, but I will choose the mate to spend my life with."

Odin nodded, accepting his eldest son's decree. "Very well. You will be my heir and choose a queen."

"If," Baldur stressed, eyes narrowing, "Loki is declared unsavable. I will not take my brother's throne or oust his queen if there remains hope for Loki and the babe." Baldur turned at last to the women and dropped to his knees beside his mother. "Now, let me lend my aid to save these lives, Lady Eir. Tell me what I can do."

Slowly, Thor backed away, letting the three sedir weavers work without interference. He felt like railing against his father's decrees, his father's certainty that Loki would die or never awaken. Logically, the former gladiator understood the ruler's concerns for the smooth transition of rulership, but did he have to make such edicts at the side of the injured victim?

Softly, eyes filled with a misery echoed by building grey clouds and the heavy pressure of an incoming storm, Thor silently begged the Norns to save his mate and child.