Tut tut tut, Loki. What have you done...

Get ready to put on your angst hats, guys and gals, because we're about to enter into the Jungle and learn what My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark with a Cherry Bomb and Walk this Way Under Pressure with a Breath of Life! :D

Loki: Let me guess, those are all the songs you listened to while writing this?

Yes.

Loki: I also guess you had some sweets before this as well?

Yup! Cookies! *holds up M&M cookie* you want one?

Loki: BLEH! No! Get that monstrosity away from my f-!

*shoves into mouth*

Loki: Alright, that is a decent cookie.

...you readers have a dirty mind, don'tcha? ;) WOWZA! This sugar is making me go bonkers! Either that or the lack of sleep and overdose of stress. I went through blood, sweat and tears for this chapter. Literally. I came back from a run and I got a paper cut and I cried at the pain. See? Blood, sweat and tears.

Loki: You poor thing..heh.

On with the magic!


It was the hottest day that beginning of August, and all of the six girls were jealous of Loki for being naturally 'cool'. Since Loki was born a frost giant, he can change his body temperature to any degree he wants and survive the heat or the intense cold in the winters. He had to admit, summers were sweltering here in Midgard than in Asgard. In Asgard, the heat is usually at a minimum, only causing just a bit of sweat on the brow. Here? Global warming was an issue, and it was making summers unbearably warm. Good thing he knew how to control his own temperature.

Xion expressed fear that forest fires would start somewhere, but Angel and Drago were very good to reassure her that it will not happen. Still, the heat rays that were visible on the ground and on the tops of cards concerned them. It was so hot Fanty's AC broke, and she was quite whiny about it. She found a Chinese hand fan in her room, a souvenir from when Drago went to Chinatown in New York City to visit museums and lectures on life. The fan was helping a bit, but she couldn't help but wish her entire apartment was coated with ice. Jack Frost would be really convenient right now.

"I wish Jack Frost was here," moaned Xion against a dark purple pillow, "I miss him."

"I miss him, too. He was cool. Pun intended." Angel said, earning a few chuckles from everyone else.

The six girls were milling around Fanty's apartment, either eating the last of the fruit flavored popsicles or fanning themselves with folded magazines, printed paper, or standing in front of the fan with their mouths open, letting one long note of their voice get cut up by the blades of the fan.

"A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h-h-h" Fanty's voice echoed from the fan.

"You're such a kid." Mystic laughed, and Fanty grinned at the statement.

"T-h-a-a-a-a-n-k y-o-o-o-u-u-u-u!" Fanty's voice chopped, causing everyone to smile at her humor.

"Fanty, do you miss Pitch?" Star asked, biting into her lemon popsicle.

Fanty was silent for a while, causing everyone to look at her. She stared at the fan for a minute longer before standing up straight, wiping sweat from her upper lip. "Yeah...I miss him a lot. I wish he was here."

"Just imagine how it would go if he and Loki socialized." Drago tried making Fanty smile, and succeeded.

"They'd discuss tactics for taking over the world. Either that or argue who has the worst backstory and monologue for hours." Fanty said, fluttering the red, black and gold Chinese fan in front of her face.

"Speaking of Loki," Drago looked around, "where is he?"

Fanty waved away the worry lazily, knowing where he was and what he was doing. "I convinced him to get us some tubs of ice cream. Most of them are the classics."

"Chocolate?" Xion sat up excitedly, looking hungry at the idea of a delicious sugar cone with two scoops of her chosen flavor.

"Strawberry, too?" Star beamed, and Mystic perked up at that word as well.

Fanty nodded at both of them, and the girls cheered. Fanty even made sure she had some sprinkles, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate syrup and cherries around the kitchen to make the perfect sundaes.

But after two hours of talking and such, Loki didn't return. The six girls were starting to get worried. Where was he? Did he run off? God only knew where he was…

"I'm gonna go look for him. You guys stay here, okay?" Fanty got up, heading towards the door.

"You sure you don't want one of us tagging along? It'd be a bit easier." Mystic offered, leaning over the side of the couch to look at her, her long purple hair falling to the side.

Fanty nodded, "I'm sure. It'll only be a minute or so. He's not that hard to find."

"You're good like that." Star grinned, returning to the book in her hands.

So Fanty left the apartment and turned left, heading down closer to the center of town. Cars whizzed by on the street, and a lot of people were heading in her direction, speedily walking by to get to their cooled-off homes faster. Fanty put her hands in her pockets as she strolled down the sidewalk, peeking into every shop, alley and cranny on her side of the street. So far, no sign of Loki. It was harder than she thought, trying to find the tall Asgardian.

It wasn't until five police cars whizzed by with their sirens blaring that Fanty was starting to get worried. What if someone was hurt? Did Loki do something bad again?

Her fears got the best of her, and she ended up sprinting down the street, heading down to the heart of Burgess town. The sirens continued to scream on, the bright lights flashing in the blazing sunlight. Fanty skidded to a halt, causing her sneakers to gather black marks on the sides. Her heart was a-pitter pattering in her chest, and it felt like it was climbing into her throat. The five police cars were blocking off the road, swarming around a man clad in Asgardian leather and armor.

Loki.

Fanty felt her heart break when Loki noticed her presence, and gave her an apologetic look. Fanty has never truly been angry before, but now? She was furious. She sprinted over to Loki, but a police officer cut her off.

"Stop! You can't pass, miss. This man is under arrest."

"He didn't do anything!" Fanty shoved him in the chest, but he barely moved.

"This is the maniac that caused many deaths and nearly destroyed cities! You get back before I have to use force." the police officer threatened.

That struck a nerve. Fanty was so offended by the officer's threat, she punched him, causing him to fly back and nearly topple over three other cops. Fanty ran out into the circle, and the cops pulled out their guns and pointed them at Loki, who had his hands up.

"What did you do!?" Fanty demanded him, shaking his shoulders.

"I did not commit any crimes at all," Loki said calmly, "I swear, I only was coming back from the market."

Fanty looked around him, noticing there were no bags at all with ice cream in them. Her heart tore apart even more at his lie. "You lied to me…" her heartbroken eyes ate away at Loki. It made him feel worse. He was telling the truth!

"Fanty, I swear-!" he started, but Fanty shut him up.

"Zip it, you liar. Just take care of this." Fanty glared at the cop that aimed his gun at Loki.

It wasn't until the other five girls heard sirens and shouting and a popping noise that gave them a dreadful feeling in their guts. Thinking of the worst, they sprinted out of the apartment and ran against the wave of people that were running away.

"What is going on?!" Mystic shouted over the loud noise.

"Something tells me Loki's involved." Star shouted, accidentally bumping into Drago as they ran.

Xion was the first one to scream at the sight when they reached the center of town, the sight of broken police cars and fire and smoke, as well as police officers who were moaning against the ground in pain.

A shadow loomed from the smoke, slowly walking out of it.

"Behold, I am the cure!" Fanty's voice came.

Out of the smoke she came, breathing heavily and covered in dust, bruises and cuts. Blood was dripping down her eyebrow and down her cheekbone, and she had a nasty gash on her side.

"Okay, maybe not the cure," Fanty sighed, dropping a hollow pipe, "more like the topical ointment that reduces itching and swelling. HI GUYS!"

Drago fainted, and Mystic frantically caught her and tried waving air in her face and begging her to wake up as Angel and Star sprinted over to see if she was alright. Fanty tried smiling through the pain, but they could see how much she hurt.

"Are you okay?!" Xion asked, scared out of her shorts.

"Good thing I wore a red shirt so no one could see me bleed." Fanty tried making another joke, but gasped at the nasty cut on her side, clearly the red shirt was getting darker with blood.

"Did Loki do this!?" Star asked, grabbing Fanty's cheeks and checking her line of sight to see if she had a coma.

Fanty looked away, nodding. She wouldn't lie, but he did.

Loki came running out, pursued by five cops. One almost successfully grabbed at him, but he quickly dove behind Drago and Mystic, who were kneeling on the ground and trying to calm themselves down. Time seemed to slow down. Fanty saw the angry faces on the five girls and the cops, both of them furious at Loki and wanting him to be punished.

But...something held Fanty back. Yeah, she wanted Loki to get what he deserved, but some feeling she couldn't place made her act quickly...and alright, maybe a bit rashly.

"Wait, stop!" Fanty threw herself between the cops and Loki, her arms spread wide like eagle wings.

The cops puffed angrily like enraged bulls, glaring at her for getting in their way.

"I'll make a deal with you!" Fanty held up her hands, praying to God above that they would listen to her.

It was silent for a while, only the sounds of rushing water putting out the car fires filling the empty silence.

"Well?" one of the cops barked, thinking she was wasting his time.

"Loki and I will leave town. We'll leave this place to a location where there's no one around he could hurt, and he could be under house arrest. I will supervise."

"What makes you think you're capable of controlling a maniac like him?" the taller cop pointed a rude thumb at Loki, who folded his arms and glared at him.

"Believe me, I can do it. I've done it for a while now, and this is my first mistake."

"Yeah, and your last," another cop with blond hair growled, "we accept this deal. You can't come back until he's either dead or gone."

Fanty was silent for a while, before holding out her hand for a confirmation shake. "Deal."

"FANTY, NO!" Mystic yelled, lunging for her. She grabbed Fanty's shoulders and shook her to get some sense into her mind, "You can't leave Burgess! What about us?! What if Pitch comes back!?"

"I volunteer going with them." Angel said strongly, and everyone looked at her, shocked.

After a while, Drago nodded. "Me, too. I'm not letting my friends be ripped apart by a lunatic. I'm sticking around."

One by one, each girl stepped forward, volunteering to stay with Fanty as well as help supervise Loki. They all glared at the man before returning to their deal.

"Take your belongings and leave town. You've got until sundown." the head officer said, and he turned on his heel and left them.

"What about our jobs?" Drago asked, worried at the idea of losing her dream job.

"You can continue working in the community, as long as he doesn't come with you." the blond police officer glared at Loki, who quite conspicuously used his middle finger to wipe under his eye.

The deal was made. Before the sun set, they were lucky to find a large chalet out in the forest, just four in a half miles from Burgess. They were very close to the mountainside, great for hiking and taking pictures of nature. But such hobbies weren't on their mind, they were more focused on their disappointment, worries and anger at Loki for making them lose their home in order to keep him sheltered and protected.

"I swear to Heimdall above, I did nothing!" Loki protested, hoping at least one of them would hear him out.

"Really? Then how did Fanty get so scraped up?" Drago barked at him angrily, dipping the washcloth into the stained water, "these aren't just boo-boos you can fix. Fanty's wounds are going to take time."

"That I can account for! At least she isn't dead." Loki wasn't very good at reasoning anymore, judging by the horrified look Drago was giving him.

"Screw you, Loki." Xion muttered as she brought over the bandage wrappings for Fanty's side.

"I made a mistake, alright? I'm sorry. I made the mistake of going into the market in my natural robes."

"You're such an idiot!" Star yelled, slamming her hand on the table, causing the water bowl to shake, "We would expect you to be clever and smart, but now we know how much of an idiot you can be!"

"Shut up." Loki hissed at her, not tolerating her jeering.

"No, you shut up! We just lost everything!" Angel cried, "And now we're stuck here in this prison until you leave!"

"Then I'll leave you for good, now!" Loki barked, and Drago growled at him to shut up.

"You can't! You remember what your punishment is. You'll just be brought back here to torture us more."

"I can't believe you would just throw away everything like that!"

"For all we did for you…"

"You ungrateful, son of a-!"

Fanty couldn't take it anymore. The yelling, the name calling, the insults were too much to bear. The trust they've built was shattered to pieces, or at least shattering at the moment. Seeing and hearing her friends yell at each other made her sick. She wanted to throw up. If only she could throw up all the regret and self-hate that was stirring inside her…

So she got up and ran. She jumped up so suddenly everyone gasped and stepped back. Fanty sprinted towards the door, swiped it open and ran out into the dark forest, not caring that it was cold and she was straining herself too much.

"Fanty, wait-!" Xion started after her, but Loki held her back, "Let me go!"

"No...she needs to breathe." Loki released her and turned away from them, ashamed that what started to be fine and a renewed life morphed into misery once more.

Fanty ran until her lungs were searing in pain, like hot and wet fire. Once her legs started to feel like jelly and her heart was pulsing so fast it made her head spin, she stumbled to a stop. She tripped over roots, causing her to fall to her knees and hands, gasping in air that she wasn't permitting herself to breathe before. Her throat burned at the fresh air, causing it to feel dry and itchy. She needed water...she needed a hug.

She cried, hating herself for such a punishment from a being she didn't even know and believing that things could get better. She sobbed until her eyes burned and her side started acting up, so she hissed and sat up straight, stiff as a board, against the trunk of a tree. So she waited. She waited for someone to come and get her or when her heart would calm down and she could breathe peacefully once more.

Once the pounding in her head disappeared, she could finally hear the peepers hidden in the darkness, as well as the rare call of the owl, hooting along with the soft wind. Crickets chirped, as well as a strange noise that sounded like the flutter and call of bats.

But then there was another noise. It sounded like footsteps. Fanty closed her eyes, not ready to be found. If it was Loki, she didn't want to hear his apologies anymore. She knew he was sorry, and she knew he meant it, but she just wasn't ready to really forgive him yet. If it was one of the girls, she didn't want to hear how they punished Loki, or their questions on if she's alright and if she wants anything. She just wanted it to be quiet for once.

"Out and about, I see?" a dark voice chuckled.

Fanty immediately got angry, thinking it was a stranger lurking in the shadows of the forest for a victim, and opened her eyes. But instead of a lurker, she was met with the sight of Pitch Black himself, smiling down at her. He looked overjoyed at seeing her, and he held out an elegant grey hand to help her up.

"Fancy meeting you here, Fanty."

"Pitch!" Fanty cheered, immediately grabbing his hand and jumping up.

Surprising him suddenly, she hugged him tight, thankful that he was right in front of her and well. He made a sort of surprised grunt, and his eyes widened when Fanty kissed his cheeks in greeting and said happily, "You're here! You're really here! I thought you were gone!"

"Ah, um, well, I'm not," Pitch grinned as he ruffled her hair, "but that was quite the greeting, thank you."

"What are you doing here?" Fanty asked, her hand instinctively going to touch her injured side.

"Well, I looked for you at the apartment but it was completely dark. Joyce said that you all were gone. So I went looking for you. I heard that…." his sentence trailed off as he noticed her side.

Her entire waist, from her hips to her chest, were wrapped in bandages, tight and secure. She had more bandages on her arms and some cuts on her face, as well as a bad bruise on her temple.

"Good God, what happened to you?" Pitch instantly became worried, but got the hint Fanty didn't want to hear that question from her whiny groan.

"I got in a fight with some cops when I was trying to protect Loki."

"You mean that spoiled brat of a prince that the Guardians were talking about?" Pitch furrowed his non-existent brows, "I thought he was rid of before."

"He was banished by the All Father. Odin said I was in charge of 'shaping him up'." she put those specific words around bent fingers.

Pitch sucked air through his teeth, understanding her dilemma and pain. "I take it it didn't end well."

"No. He was doing fine until now, because he forgot to change back into mortal clothes. The cops recognized him and immediately charged at him and I got caught in the crossfire," Fanty flourished a hand at her bandaged side, "proof of gunfire," she gently touched her cheeks, bruised to a dark purple, "proof of physical hand to hand combat. You get the picture."

"I would like a word with this lunatic. He makes me sound like a civilized human being." Pitch happily said, looking around the forest. The fellow really did make Pitch look benevolent! About time some change was brought.

"Gee, thanks for your sympathy." Fanty rolled her eyes, a smirk gracing her lips.

"Alls well, right? You're alive, and that's what matters," Pitch awkwardly hugged her, still not used to being so friendly, "that and your nightmares continue to thrive."

"Aww, for a second I thought you were being heartfelt!" Fanty laughed, pulling away from him and teasingly punched his arm.

"Seems unlikely a foul being like him could even muster up such words." Loki's hateful voice came from between the two oak trees.

Fanty looked at Loki, mildly surprised at the rudeness he shot at the Boogeyman. Even Pitch looked surprised at the sudden appearance of the god himself. Loki folded his arms over his chest, keeping his eye locked on Pitch.

"And you are?" Loki pressed, a flat tone in his velvety voice.

"What's it to you?" Pitch spat at him, "I think more importantly I know who you are. And I know your devastating backstory as well."

Loki growled, and Fanty thought for a second she saw a flash of red coat his eyes for a millisecond. What was that? Maybe it was just her, the strain against her wounds acting up again. Can people hallucinate when injured?

"I bet you have a lot to monologue about, my friend," Pitch grinned, gently moving Fanty behind him so he wouldn't accidentally touch her injuries, "after all, you are a banished soul like myself. We could become good comrades."

"I wouldn't know whether you were joking or not. But at the moment, I'm thinking it's not possible. My skills could highly surpass your own by tenfold. But that's not the point here, is it?" Loki smirked, and Fanty saw a faint smile twitch at the corner of Pitch's mouth. She knew he liked a challenge, and something about Loki's personality and alignment with the bad side like himself made him interested in the man.

"Loki, why are you out here?" Fanty asked, bending her head to the side from behind Pitch, almost a bit too comically.

"Checking on you. But now I feel like this freak of darkness has everything under control." Loki gestured to Pitch, who looked completely offended.

"Lok-" Fanty started.

"Jotun scum." Pitch hissed.

That instantly touched a nerve. Fanty saw before her very eyes a new creature that melted away Loki's pale skin and emerald eyes, a being in the form of Loki but with hellish red eyes and icy blue skin, with markings all over his face and body. The new Loki screamed angrily as he shot a blast of light green magic at Pitch's head, searing hot and ready to kill.

Pitch immediately reacted. He shoved Fanty to the ground, making her collide into the nearest tree away from the fight. Pitch conjured up a shield of nightmare sand, causing the green magic to explode off the shield, pebble up and spark back into nothing with the sudden exposure to the air and enchanted sand. Loki sent another blast of magic, but in the shape of daggers as thin as a needle, and Pitch easily deflected them with a wave of his hand with a bored expression.

"You know what, Loki? I'm starting to think I misjudged you." Pitch said over Loki's loud cursing and sizzling heat of magic, "you're a lot weaker than I expected."

"Stop encouraging him, you idiot!" Fanty yelled over Loki's angry roar, throwing a stick at Pitch's back. It didn't get very far, for it landed right in front of her feet, wedged in the thick ground. Great. Some help I am. Fanty grumbled, folding her arms, this sucks. I'm the stupid damsel in distress again. I hate this. Immensely.

But with Pitch's skilled tactics, maybe even a bit more than Loki's, he saw a point of opportunity when Loki jumped into the air and twisted, preparing to kick him in the throat. Time seemed to slow down. Pitch easily wrapped his hand around Loki's boot, and with strong concentration, blasted nightmare sand into his chest, sending him right smack dab into a tree, nearly splintering it.

Loki groaned as he got up, staggering a bit. And with a few moments to recollect what happened, he started chuckling.

"You're not bad for an old man!" Loki sneered at him, green magic curling around his fingertips like smoke.

"I'm forever trapped at the age of thirty, you shut up!" Pitch glared at him, forming his famous scythe.

Loki conjured a green sword and clenched it tight, feeling the magic throb in his arm. He and Pitch screamed a warrior-like call in unison, and then charged. Just as they jumped into the air to attack, a crossfire happened. Another source of power knocked them down, accidentally making them bonk foreheads and crumple to the ground, groaning in pain.

Fanty panted, clutching her handmade bandage-stick-n'-rock slingshot tightly in her arms. Once the sounds of war calmed back into the night sounds, Fanty grinned. She put her hand on her hip as she admired her handiwork. The two men looked as if they were just taking a snooze!

"Time for a time out." Fanty said, putting on the extra bandages around her waist.