There's a hate inside of me like some kind of monster.

I tried to save you, but I can't find the answer.

I'm holding on to you; I'll never let go.

I need you with me as I enter the shadows.

~RED, Shadows

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Loki felt as if he had walked for days. No matter how far he traveled, the landscape remained the same: dark, desolate, foggy nothingness. If anything, the fog just got thicker and the land more empty and dark. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of walking, he came to a three-way crossroad. A woman was standing in the middle of the intersection, holding an unlit torch high over her head, her face hidden beneath a black hood. Loki felt like he knew this place and this women, as if they had met before somehow.

"Where am I?" he cried out miserably.

The woman looked up at him through her hood, eyes unseen but watching. "You are at the crossroads: the place between all things."

He was suddenly afraid. "I don't understand!"

The woman let out an audible sigh. "This darkness is your darkness, this fog represents the very fog that clouds your judgement, and the desolation that you see rises from the belief that you. . . ." Her voice trailed off as she saw the helpless look on his face.

"I'm what?"

She lowered her head and bit her lip, causing it to bleed. Loki began wondering if she would ever answer. At last, she spoke, "You think you are alone." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Woman," he hissed, "I am alone."

"I could light a torch for you," the cloaked woman said. "To show you the way out of darkness."

Loki crossed his arms in irritation and straightened his back, standing tall and proud. "I understand now," he began, walking slowly toward her as he spoke. "This is all about Thor, is it not? Odin sent you to discourage me from reaching my goal, thus ensuring the kingdom to my brother." He grabbed her with his icy hands and pulled at her cloak. "As soon as I know your identity, I will have you dead, wit—"

The cloak fell to the ground, empty.

"—witch," Loki snarled.

All alone now, he resumed walking, choosing the path straight ahead of him. As he pressed on, the fog thickened, and it felt as if it had arms that were strangling him, choking him, the denser it grew.

Loki woke up, panting hard. This was a dream he did not care to have again.

Hecate returned to the underworld, donning a new cloak as she passed the hanger by the door. She slunk up the stairs, weightless as a feather, in an effort to keep her absence unknown. At the top of the steps, she turned left, making her way to the door furthest from her. She studied the door for a moment: painted bright red at her request, it was easily the most beautiful door in the underworld, yet it towered over her like a maleficent dragon. The thought made her shudder. She entered and settled in front of her vanity, mulling over what happened at the crossroads. She truly pitied Loki and often wondered, as she did now, if he would ever allow himself to take her torch. Growing sick of her own reflection, she tapped the glass with her index finger and Loki's image replaced her own. The god of mischief was sitting on his bed, probably also reflecting on—what he thought was—his dream.

"Hades is going to have a ball when that one enters the spirit world."

Cate turned, recognizing the voice instantly. "Father, you cannot keep coming here without his permission."

Perses winked at her joyfully. "Who said I didn't have permission?"

"You never have permission."

Perses laughed and smiled, but the mirror drew his attention. "Only you, my darling Cate, could remain optimistic while surrounded by so much death."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

His voice grew serious. "Some people cannot redeem themselves, Cate."

"That is why I am here to help them."

"Yes, yes," he agreed, "and you are good at it, but some people—"

"Some people just need a little help, father."

"—are not willing to let others help them."

Cate balled her hands into fists, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. "The day I accept that answer will be the day I quit my job."

Time passed and Loki's plans failed. Cate watched it all from her vanity mirror.

One day as she was watching the demigod, a voice came from behind her, startling her. "So beautiful on the outside, so deranged on the inside."

"Father, why must you never knock? It is so creepy."

Her old man chuckled. "Not as creepy as you watching that boy all the time."

Cate flushed. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

Perses raised his hands defensively. "All I am trying to say is that you spend an awful lot of time watching this particular mortal when you could be out wedding poor old Phorcys."

"Not this again," she said, exasperated. "Father, I have already told you that I do not wish to wed anyone."

"Fair enough, but Phorcys is much fairer than your mortal, and he is not so crazy."

A motion on the mirror caught her eye. She felt her heart crawl inside her mouth. "Father, look!"

He turned his eyes back to the mirror. The bifrost was broken, and Loki dangled above the abyss, holding on to Thor, who held on to Odin. "Poor child," Perses murmured.

Perses watched silently as Loki fell, but Cate was too attached to the mortal. He could see the quiet resolution flickering in her eyes.

"You will be stripped of your powers and your immortality."

She raised her arm, preparing a spell. "I care not."

Perses held her down, desperation in his eyes. "Stop, Cate! All mortals end up in the Styx regardless of their actions. There is no point."

Cate lifted her finger anyway, determined to send Loki somewhere—anywhere—other than the abyss.

"Not him."

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A/N -

ugh omg what is this this is so gross. i don't even know what to say.

adjklsdfhsaifhsoifshfhio

i guess i'll just give a little back story on some of the greek stuff since it is so obscure. hecate is the greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, necromancy, et cetera. she lives in hades (not always but at least for a while) and haunts the crossroads, which represent all of the 'in between places', places i consider to be between light and darkness, good and bad, and the spirit world. she kindly lights torches for people who have lost their way.

perses is one of the people commonly attributed as being her father. he is the god of destruction, so naturally i had to make him act the opposite.

phorcys is not so important. he is god of the hidden dangers of the deep. hecate is most widely considered a virgin, never married. but on some accounts scylla is the daughter of her and phorcys.

on a side note, loki won't be ooc. he might have been off his guard in this chapter, but that is because it was a dream, and in dreams i think we all don't act quite ourselves. i will also try to stay true to who i think hecate is. she is 'the light in the darkness' and i do think generally tries to help people, but she is often mistaken as evil because of her affiliation with hades. her whole infatuation with loki will be explained later, trust me. i will also try to stay true to other greek myths, but i do think that if the greek gods had existed in our time period (or at all), then they would have advanced alongside us (explaining why the underworld is an enormous house and not a barren wasteland).

also if anyone wants to beta read for me, please let me know—i try my best with grammar in my stories, but it drives me insane not having a beta.