A/N: This chapter involves spoilers for the plot of Thor 2

Natasha felt oddly at ease whilst wandering a crowded New York street. She had seized her day off from work as an opportunity to go clothes shopping in the city. It felt odd for her to be spending a day off in the city buying clothes, though. Usually, she spent her time relaxing in her apartment with a book, or spending some time at the gym. Buying new clothes wasn't something she did very often, either. Funny, she thought to herself, she couldn't even recall what exactly she had bought. While her mind wandered, the people around her began bolting past her, desperately running for cover. Natasha snapped out of her daze the second a large shadow loomed overhead. She looked towards the sky and glared up at the silver chariot that hovered several feet above her head. The Black Widow instinctively pulled her gun out from one of the shopping bags in her hand. Suddenly, Natasha remembered that she wasn't here to shop-this was a mission. A mission to stop Thanos... But she and Loki were the only ones who knew of him… so how was this her mission? You're dreaming, Romanoff, the Black Widow told herself, dropping her bags to the ground. Dreaming… That made much more sense to her. Even if she was dreaming, that didn't stop the chariot from lowering itself to the ground. A thick smoke filled the air, making it hard for Natasha to see.

"Where is he?" a deep voice demanded.

The spy didn't recognise the voice at all, but she had a feeling that she knew exactly who the voice was looking for. A beam of blue light burst through the smoke and nearly blinded Natasha. "Shit!" she hissed as the bolt of light came towards her chest. She threw herself to the ground and rolled into a defensive crouch.

"A nice save," a familiar voice commented from behind her. "I expect only the best from you, though."

Standing up, Natasha turned and smiled. The smoke had cleared, allowing for her to see Loki nearby. He stood tall and proud, dressed in his usual Asgardian garments of black leather. "Glad you finally came. Things are getting fun here."

Loki looked from side to side, only seeing the deserted city streets. "If this is fun, then I fail to see the amusement."

Natasha turned around, expecting to find Thanos and his chariot, but there was nothing. Not even a single trace of smoke. "He was just here…"

"You scared him off, it would seem," Loki chuckled. "You tend to have that effect on even the mightiest of men."

"I obviously haven't scared you off," she playfully remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"Do you wish for me to leave you, Ms. Romanoff?" He could tell she was only playing around because of the smile on her face. Just by a simple look into her eyes, he could tell that she was happy to see him.

Natasha took a step closer to the god. There was something about him that stood out to her even more so than usual.

"Hmm?" he hummed.

Her gaze softened as she eyed him carefully. His smile was much wider than usual and there was a certain light within his emerald eyes. "You seem happier this time," she stated. His smile was intoxicating and she felt much more content as she watched him.

Loki nodded and lowered his eyes. "I paid a visit to my Mother's dreams," he began softly.

"Oh? So she'll tell Odin about Thanos, right?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "Yes, she will, but…" He let out a breathy chuckle. "She was dreaming about me… I saw myself as a child. We were in her garden together." The way he spoke made him sound like a little boy on Christmas.

"That sounds nice." Natasha smiled warmly.

"I find it reassuring to know that… that she cares." A certain sadness crept into his voice.

"She loves you," Natasha reminded him, taking his cold hand in hers.

Loki stared down at their hands with a calm smile. "She told me she did. And I said the same to her."

"Good for you," she replied, pursing her lips. Love, especially between parent and child, was foreign to the Black Widow. Since she couldn't remember what a mother's love felt like, she was trying to live vicariously through him, in a sense. Seeing Loki this happy made her happy, too. Oddly enough, his happiness felt like hers. The god was her equal, in a way, after all. Watching their fingers intertwine caused foreign feelings to stir about in her chest. Loki was more than her equal, though. He was like a missing piece within her puzzling life.

"Natasha?" He noticed the distant look in her eyes and grew concerned. "Are you well?"

"Yeah," she nodded, snapping out of her daze. "Just thinking…" Her fingers slipped away from his touch.

"Oh?" He arched a brow in curiosity. "What about?"

"Love." The word escaped her lips without a second thought. She didn't even realize what she had said until the god repeated her.

"'Love?'" Loki parroted.

"Nothing," she defended in a dead-pan voice. Natasha recalled a dream that involved her nearly stripping in front of him. Thinking of that dream only made her feel like an idiot. Why would she think of that dream now? It only made her chest ache in discomfort. Natasha needed to shove aside any undisclosed feelings for the time being. Emotions, especially ones that she couldn't place, were a hindrance. She could feel Loki's eyes on her and could sense the sly grin across his lips. "You and Frigga," Natasha began. "This whole mother-son love thing-it's new to me," she shrugged.

"Forgive me," he breathed. "I forgot about your lack of parentage."

Natasha forced herself to laugh. "When you say it like that, you make it sound like I was born out of thin air or something. I had parents. I just don't remember them."

"I'm sorry." Regardless of the way she played it off with a laugh, he could tell that deep down, she was hurting. He would know-he often resorted to the same thing. Hiding his emotions made him feel safer. Even as a child growing up, Loki could never tell Thor that he envied him-Thor was his Brother… but not anymore…"Natasha, I-" Before he could finish, the sound of his Mother's voice yelling his name was weakening the link to his magic. "Mother?" he rasped.

"Loki?" She eyed him curiously. The god disappeared for a split second. "What's happening?" she demanded, grabbing him by the shoulders. An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. The next thing she knew, Loki was gone for good.

"Mother?" The first thing Loki saw upon snapping out of Natasha's dream were the light blue eyes of his Mother.

"You need to escape, Loki!" the goddess urged her son.

He shook his head. Before he did anything, he wanted answers. "What's happening?"

Frigga thrust a bundle larger than her head into Loki's chest. "Take this with you!"

"What is-"

"I told Odin of your visions. Heimdall warned us that an army of dark elves have slipped past him-we're being invaded!"

Loki's green eyes narrowed. Thanos' army… "Then I will help fight!" he growled.

"No!" Frigga snapped at him. "You are to leave and take the gauntlet with you!"

"This is…" Loki stared down at the heavy object swaddled in dark fabric that he held in his hands. "Odin trusts me with this?" he asked in surprise. As long as the five gems were with it, the Infinity Gauntlet's power was unlimited-it could make the user far stronger than anyone could imagine.

"He has scattered each of the gems belonging to it throughout the realms." Frigga saw just how disappointed this made her son. "He made a wise decision in doing so. Such power would corrupt even the best man, Loki." She reached out to brush a wavy strand of hair out of his face. "He wants for you to take it and be free, Loki," she told him with a smile. "Take yourself somewhere safe. Your Father will send his ravens when the elves have made their leave."

Loki shook his head. "You said this was an invasion. You expect me to leave when you are in danger?!"

"Your Father and Thor are dealing with the dark elves. Once they realize that what they seek isn't here, they will leave."

"Not without war," Loki snarled. His hands gripped the bundled up gauntlet and pulled it close to his chest.

"Loki, please." The goddess sighed. "We are all fighting to defend ourselves. Please find safety."

The trickster's expression changed from anger to horror in a matter of seconds upon hearing his Mother's words. Fighting to defend themselves? Loki felt the weight of his burden weighing down on him. This was all his fault. He brought this upon Asgard-upon his Mother! A woman who did nothing wrong! So why did she need to be dragged into his problem? "I would be a coward if I were to flee." Thanos' words had gotten to him. "I can't…This is my fault, after all."

"Loki, please!" Frigga begged. "Don't blame yourself for this. Odin should have seen this coming the day he took what belonged to this 'Thanos.'" Her son stared down at the bundle with a sigh. "Go. Leave us to defend our realm."

"Please don't fight." His brows furrowed in worry. "Mother, you mustn't!"

She flashed her son a knowing smile. "Do you doubt your Mother?" She reached into the sleeve of her silk, jade dress and drew a silver blade the size of her forearm. "You forget that it was I who taught you to wield a blade such as this," she reminded him.

"I've put you in danger." Loki's tone grew heavy. If Odin's queen was forced to be on defense, then this was truly dangerous. "I need to stay here."

"They're coming, Loki! You must go. Now!" She didn't mean to yell, but Loki was forcing her to resort to anger.

"And prove to your husband just how much of a coward I am?!" he snarled. "If he wants me gone, then he can cast me out himself! That would make everyone happy, wouldn't it?!" he seethed. Tears clouded his eyes as Loki's bottled-up emotions began to overflow. "I should have died the very moment I fell into the abyss. But no! I was cursed to live-and now look what has become of me! I'm a prisoner, Mother! My life has only brought misfortune to-"

Frigga struck him across the cheek with her hand. "Don't ever talk that way! Not to me, Loki Odinson!" Seeing her son in such pain was overwhelming. "I love you, Loki. That is exactly why I want you to leave! You'll be safe!"

"I choose to fight!" the god shouted. Like his Mother, he was skilled in the use of a blade-one of his many skills. Not to mention he had his magic.

"You will leave now before they find you!" Frigga yelled back just as loudly. The confusion in his teary eyes left her with no choice but to tell him the truth. "They're coming for you, Loki," she finally admitted. "The gauntlet, too, but they demand for you, as well! Your Father, as well as myself want you to flee now until this mess clears up!"

The tears began to fall from his eyes upon hearing the truth. "Odin wants me to be safe?" That notion made him feel more confused than anything.

There was a loud banging, followed by a crack as the dungeon door fell to the ground. Three dark elves barged into the dim room. Each was clad in the same black and gold set of armor. Aside from their heights and the different facial expression worn on the golden masks that hid their face, they looked the same.

Loki had never seen a dark elf in person, but he had heard many a tale as a young boy that left him too scared to sleep at night. The masks were the elves' most frightening feature, in Loki's opinion. Instead of eyes, they had hollow sockets of darkness. One with a frown etched into its mask approached Loki, wielding a double-bladed knife of gold.

"You are free to use the extent of your magic!" Frigga shouted. "Hurry, Loki!" The golden-haired goddess drove her blade through an elf's neck.

Before he left his Mother to fend for herself, he summoned a blade into one hand while the other hugged the gauntlet close to his chest. "Go to Hel where you belong!" Loki hissed, jabbing the blade in between a crevice in the elf's armor.

The elf, however, didn't go down so easily. It raised its knife high above its head. Before the elf could swing down, Loki rendered its body frozen in an ice casing.

"Loki!" Frigga cried.

The trickster felt a presence behind him. An elf equipped with a scythe was readying itself to lop off Loki's head with the steel blade. The god's dagger caught that of the scythe before any damage could be done to himself. "Mother, leave!" he growled between clenched teeth. "I vow to flee the very second you do!" Loki knew that he would have no other choice but to vanish-not now, though. Behind him, he could hear the cracking of ice. The elves were certainly stronger than anticipated. Then again, Thanos would only want the best warriors to fight for him.

As much as Frigga believed in her son's words, she knew that he wouldn't have time to work up a spell. Desperate to buy her beloved son some time, the goddess charged towards the nearly-thawed elf and brought her blade to its neck.

Loki cursed under his breath as he saw his Mother go in for an attack. She was making a reckless mistake, even though she was saving his skin. He made a mental note to thank her once all was said and done. The god of mischief put his namesake to good use by turning his opponent's weapon into a serpent that gladly sank its pointed fangs into the elf's neck. "Your downfall was choosing me as your opponent," Loki coldly remarked as the elf collapsed, letting out a choked wail as it did so. The snake was turned back into a scythe that rested beside the elf's now motionless body. "Now then…" He turned on his heel to find that Frigga had the dark elf in a head-lock.

The sharp edge of her blade pierced the through creature's neck and it let out a tortured screech. In one swift motion, Frigga sliced through a layer of protective armor as well as the elf's windpipe. She shoved it aside as blood sprayed from the wound. "Now, Loki," she tersely stated. "You must go. Await your Father's ravens before returning here."

He lowered his eyes. "Yes, Mother…" His eyes met with her crystal blue orbs. "Until then-" Loki was cut short as a masked face wearing an eerie grin teleported behind Frigga. "Mo-!" He hadn't a chance to finish crying out to her. In the blink of an eye, the dark elf had grabbed the goddess by the wrist and plunged her own dagger straight through her heart. Loki's eyes grew wide in terror as he saw the light disappear from within his Mother's eyes. Frigga's body fell to the hard ground. The next thing Loki knew, he was staring into two dark abysses, accompanied by a hauntingly menacing smile. The god's body refused to move an inch as Loki felt his world come crashing down. He wanted to scream, to cry-anything to let out the anger and sadness bubbling up inside him. Instead, Loki just felt numb. Before he could even blink, the elf had snaked a gloved hand around Loki's neck. "Kill me," Loki's voice was a pathetic whimper. Just as the elf began to squeeze the trickster's windpipe, a bolt of lightning lit up the room and electrocuted the dark elf. "Thor?" Blinded by the intensity of the lightning strike, Loki couldn't see his brother's face. It wasn't until he heard the voice that forced his knees to give in. Thor wasn't the one to save his life…

"Loki, you are to leave right now!" Odin jabbed his golden spear into the ground.

Odin. Never in a million centuries did Loki expect for the All-Father to save his life. Loki didn't want to live. Losing his Mother destroyed him. If anyone had to die, it should have been him. "Mother…" Loki helplessly reached out to touch his Mother's cheek. He quickly pulled his hand away as he felt her skin growing cold. She had always been so warm… His hand lowered to grasp the dagger's handle. He felt sick as he pulled the blade out from her blood-soaked chest. "Save her." Loki stared up at Odin, his body trembling.

"Loki…" Odin's eyes fell upon the limp form of his wife's corpse. "I'm sorry…"

"No!" Loki protested, glaring up at Odin. "You can save her!"

The All-Father shook his head. "Death has already taken her…"

"Then bring her back!" he demanded. Loki outstretched his arm which held Thanos' gauntlet. "This…"

"No, Loki," Odin declared, shaking his head. He took the object away from his son's grasp.

Loki's knuckles turned white from the force in which he gripped the dagger. "She wasn't meant to die! I should be the one dead!" His voice cracked as a choked sob escaped him. "This is my fault!" He threw his arms around Frigga's body. Loki didn't care how pathetic he looked-he was willing to give anything to bring his beloved Mother back. As he hugged her body closer, he felt her blood seeping into the scratchy material of his already dirty prison shirt.

"If anyone is to be at fault, it is I." Odin eyed the wrapped up gauntlet in his hand. "This is something I should have destroyed long ago. Such power should not be allowed to exist."

"Please!" Loki shouted in desperation.

"You must go now, Loki." The All-Father pointed his spear down at the groveling god. "

"Save her, Father!" There was another flash of light, followed by darkness. Odin didn't even try saving his wife. Instead, the All-Father had used his magic to cast Loki out into darkness. Loki gripped his Mother's dagger close to his heart. His clothes were covered in her blood, as were his hands. Feeling lost and alone, he let out a pained cry, along with the tears that accompanied his despair.

"Loki?"

At the sound of his name, he turned his head to the right and was able to make out the fiery red hair of Natasha Romanoff in the darkness.

"I'm crying out, I'm breaking down,
I am fearing it all,
Stuck inside these walls,
Tell me there is hope for me
Is anybody out there listening?"

I'm In Here ~Sia

A/N: Ever since it was revealed that someone was gonna die in Thor 2, I knew it was gonna be her. My heart hurts just thinking about it. Too many feels.