Author's Notes: Woop woop again! Please feel free to leave a review~ I always enjoy seeing what people think. :)

Disclaimer: First chapter.

Don't tear me down for all I need
Make my heart a better place
Give me something I can believe
Don't tear it down, what's left of me

Chapter 13- Separated

Loki hit the ground face first with a hard thud. Dust swirled in the air around her as she coughed. She slowly pushed herself off the ground and glanced around warily. She definitely wasn't in the citadel anymore.

Dry, red colored dirt surrounded her as far as the eye could see. Large crevices opened into the earth making it look gouged and scarred. She was close to the edge of a high plateaued area that overlooked much of the chasms below. Was she even in Asgard?

Loki rose to her feet and dusted dirt from her clothes. Where am I? The question antagonized her more as she spotted a gnarled tree clinging to the edge of a drop off. Her heart momentarily jumped into her throat. It was black.

Was this a dream? Maybe she was still in the citadel after all and mentally trapped in this place. It certainly reminded her of the nightmares she had been having off and on the past few weeks. She couldn't be in the real place…

Nothing else was growing in the immediate area. Loki walked over to the tree and cautiously looked over the edge. She could make out black smudges of dead vegetation here and there, but it was sparse.

"Heimdall?" she called out. If anything, the gate keeper was either looking for her or watching her at that moment. If he was still searching then using his name might help the effort, "Heimdall! I'm here."

No reply came as her voice echoed around her. Loki didn't expect one. The whole speaking thing only worked one way. She wiped her brow as the sun beat down on her position. She needed to find some shade and collect her thoughts. It would probably take a considerable amount of time for the others to reach her even if Heimdall knew her location.

Loki searched out a slope that wasn't terribly steep and slid down the loose dirt with ease. She was lucky enough to be wearing clothes made for rougher wear. This sort of stuff would have been dreadful in a dress. Loki slid down to a wide ledge; a large jagged rock jutted out over the side creating enough space underneath for a small overhang. She nimbly scaled the jagged rocks and slipped below the giant rock and into the cool shade. Finding a flatter surface, Loki sat and observed the terrain once more.

It was all red… like blood. She noticed an eerie haze lingering in the deeper crevices of rock. This wasn't… it couldn't be…

The Bloodmist Canyons?

There was no doubt that if this fact was true, Sanguine really was the voice she had been hearing. He had done something to get a bewitched ring onto Frigga's finger, but it hadn't been meant for her. It had been meant for Loki… and she had fallen into the trap with disturbing ease.

What was the point of bringing her here? Was it to separate the family to make everyone more vulnerable? If the man had wanted that, wouldn't it have just been easier to force a war or attack when Odin wasn't present?

Like the dragon had done…

Loki cringed at the thought. Was Asgard really so easy to infiltrate and divide?

Rocks scuffling to her left brought Loki's senses immediately to the forte of alertness. She did not see anything in the direction she was looking, but that didn't mean nothing was there.

Loki got up from her spot and took a couple steps toward the cliff in front of her. She glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun was starting to sink behind some of the jagged rocks in the distance. Assuming she was in the Bloodmist Canyons, just how far was she from any sort of civilization? She could have been hundreds of miles out in the middle of nowhere.

The canyons hadn't come up on any maps that Loki remembered seeing in the library. Maybe she was in nowhere. It chilled her to think that she was utterly alone.

Again.

Loki shook the disheartening thought away. No. She was going to find her way to somewhere, to any place out of here. She had a feeling that Thor would be looking for her.

Rocks crunched to her right. Loki took a step away from the edge as the hair on her neck rose. Something was watching her from the shadows that were growing by the minute.

Loki's finger suddenly felt warm. She looked down at her ring finger and found the ring on it. When had she put it on?

She raised it to eye level and the red gem glittered faintly. Loki raised an eyebrow and studied the ring for a long moment. When she moved her hand to the left it glowed a little more and dulled when she moved it to the right.

Was it a beacon telling her which direction to go? If so… why? Where would it lead her?

A feeling hit Loki as she followed the ring's glow and she walked along the edge of the drop off. She felt like the worst of this situation was around the bend in the rocks. …But did she really have a choice in the matter? Loki didn't feel like staying here once night fell. She would certainly find out what was stalking her then.

It would give her something to do while waiting for a rescue.

…If she was rescued.

It had been a long flight, but finally Thor could see the darkened red soil below him. He arced down toward the jagged terrain and landed on a high plateau. Everything was red and desolate, just as Odin had described. Heimdall had been more than vague about Loki's exact location.

Thor did not want to wait for his friends to arrive. The Warriors Three and Sif were riding out on horses to meet him here. Heimdall warned that it would be foolish to come to the canyons alone when he did not know what was in them. There could have been any sort of wild creature strong enough to rip an Asgardian apart or traps laid out by the enemy.

Nonetheless, Thor had flown out to scout the area and left the group behind for the time being. Maybe he could locate Loki before the others caught up and they could all return home without any problems. It was wishful thinking, but one could hope right?

Thor swung Mjolnir around by its strap and rose into the air again. Surely spotting a moving person would be easy in this environment. Everything was red or blackish; surely Loki was making herself obvious to spot from the sky. What had she been wearing? A purple tunic with dark pants if he remembered right… that couldn't be easy to miss.

The thunder god also had the early afternoon sun at his back to help. Thor imagined spending a night out in this place was not pleasant, much less so alone. He found himself hoping again that Loki was safe and nothing had happened to her.

He briefly remembered the conversations leading to the group's departure to find and rescue Loki.

"Thor!"

Thor was shaken from the light doze he had fallen into while keeping vigil in the healing room. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as Hogun and Fandral surrounded him. Their expressions were grim.

"What is it?" he asked. Had something happened while he was asleep?

"Heimdall has found Loki," Hogun stated.

"Is that not good news?" Thor was confused by their expressions. It should have been glad tidings to hear! They could go and retrieve Loki from her current place and stop this madness from continuing.

"She is in the Bloodmist Canyons," Fandral informed him.

Thor's blood ran cold. Was that not where this Sanguine had fought their father in olden times? Why would Loki be sent there?

"Please find her…" Frigga's voice was weak as she looked up from the bed she occupied.

Thor squeezed her hand lightly in response and vowed, "I promise, mother. I will find Loki."

He had every intention of fulfilling that promise to her and, more importantly, to himself. He had made so many promises to Loki in the past month that everything was going to work out and be better. Now was the time to act upon the words he had spoken. He was going to find her and protect her from the harm the enemy intended to inflict.

Thor kissed Frigga's forehead, "I will return to you shortly."

"Godspeed, my son," Frigga responded. She let her hand drop back to the blankets as Thor turned toward the other person in the room.

Odin had a distant look in his eye as he sat and stared at nothing in particular.

"Father?" Thor knew he wanted to say something.

The All-Father slowly looked at him, "I have told you the way… please be vigilant and always be on guard. I know not what foul things lie within that cursed earth… and please…" Odin became mildly distressed, "Bring Loki home."

Thor knew his father was more distraught than he was showing, but the All-Father was the king. Nobility was rarely given time to express emotions. Thor did not want to see this affect his family any further and it strengthened his resolve once more to find and bring Loki back.

"I have seen her," Heimdall stated firmly.

"Where? What direction does she move?" Thor was desperate for any sort of information, "Is she hurt?"

"Loki is coping well… and heads north. There are ruins to the north that I see," Heimdall responded. Something about the way he hesitated afterward snagged Thor's attention.

"Something is wrong?" he questioned.

The Warriors Three glanced over from their preparations. Anything Thor needed to be aware of, they certainly needed to know too. None of them knew what could be out there stalking the ridges.

"Something in the shadows follows her… a large beast," Heimdall's eyes flickered back and forth concisely, "It keeps itself hidden from my sight…"

"That cannot be good," Fandral commented as he buckled a traveling cloak across his shoulders.

"No," Hogun agreed, "And this means it may have magic."

"Makes everything messier," Volstagg added.

Thor watched the warriors as they gathered their full fighting gear. He was happy and proud that his friends were standing behind him on this venture. Thor knew none of them had a special fondness for Loki, but they were setting aside their feelings to help.

It made the whole situation look much less bleak…

Thor spotted the ruins that Heimdall had spoken of. He landed among the tall, crumbling walls of what appeared to be some sort of decrepit temple. Thor lifted his hammer as a small, furry creature darted into the rocks.

That was the only sign of life in this miserable place Thor had seen. He walked around what was left of a corner of the ruins.

It all looked untouched and wild. Small, black vines streaked across the cracked stones, cloaking them in a massive cover of tiny leaves. Thor had no idea what the plant was or why it was black. Upon closer inspection, Thor realized the foliage was shriveled and dead. It was like the very land had sucked the life out of it.

"Loki?" Thor called out.

He waited for an answer despite not having high hopes for one. Maybe Loki hadn't made it here yet? Or there was a possibility that she had arrived but already moved on. Thor couldn't see any reason to stay in one place for too long. There were no viable resources to use for sustenance anywhere in the valleys or on the ridges. It was like one giant, crevice-strewn desert of red soil.

Or a vast graveyard of death…

Thor searched the ruins for a long while until he concluded that Loki had indeed not been there yet. There were no footprints or signs that the area had been disturbed recently. That meant he should travel south. The potential of meeting up with Loki as she went north—assuming she was still heading this way—would be greater.

Thor took one last look around before letting Mjolnir drop and dangle from its tie. He swung the hammer around and once again was flying, but this time, Thor had every hope in his next landing that it would put him face to face with the missing goddess of mischief.

A howl rose from the rocks behind Loki as she ran. Her breath came in short gasps as she pushed her tired body onward. She had glimpsed the creature that had been following her through the night, and it was large. The black and red speckled fur had deceitfully hidden a powerful, lithe body and the sight of the lethal claws had sent Loki into high alert.

She knew she couldn't fend off such a creature without resorting to magic. And with how things were going, magic was the last of her options at this time. She could hardly use it effectively without draining much of her strength, and seeing as there was absolutely nothing around to help her recover, much less provide sustenance, she was stuck.

The only thing she had that would have been of any use was the ebony dagger Thor had given her. It was stowed away in her knee-high boots where she typically kept it while in the citadel. But the blade would be useless against such a large creature unless Loki had a perfect shot at striking the neck or heart.

A shudder ran through her body as she remembered the nightmarish sight. The beast wasn't anything like the one that terrorized her dreams, but it replaced the lingering fear with a much more potent frenzy.

Loki had found a spot and had been trying to get some sleep in the coolness of the night when she had noticed a peculiar rock formation in the distance. It was tall, with the very top splitting into two almost perfectly symmetrical jagged tips to either side.

She had found it strange to be spooked by such an odd formation and had laughed at herself. That was until it shifted ever so slightly and she had met large golden eyes set in a large muzzle flecked with feathers. It was some sort of bearowl from the moorlands. It was a very intelligent animal and very dangerous.

The idea of being a meal did not sit well with her, so here Loki was, trying to put as much distance between her and the beast as possible.

The moment she had moved it had moved. When she stopped, it would stop for a brief pause. This was a waiting game. It was probably going to wait until she tired herself out to attack. Loki had no plans to let it win, but seeing as she had no sanctuary to hide in and no way to escape, it was the end result she was running headlong into right now.

Loki tumbled along another rocky trail as she jumped a small crevice and landed haphazardly on the uneven ground. She immediately got to her feet as the beast slammed into the rock face further down the tiny trail.

It was getting closer. Slowly closing in as it bided its time. Loki's legs carried her up the sloping ridge and out onto another flat plateau. She glanced back and waited. Loki heard rocks shifting along the hidden ridge; the bearowl was lurking just out of her sight.

It was waiting again.

Loki backed up and put distance between them, but she didn't leave the flat area. The more open the terrain, the harder it was for the creature to get close without her noticing.

She crouched down and glanced at the ring on her finger. It was getting brighter and brighter as she moved. Loki was surprised with how accurate she had been able to stay on the course of the ring's trail with something chasing her relentlessly.

A low boom caught her attention in the distance. Loki looked over quickly and saw an area full of ruins in the distance. It was the first sign of civilization she had seen out in these wastelands, but that wasn't what caught her attention so abruptly.

Something had shot into the sky from the decrepit place. Loki rose and approached the edge of the plateau. A fleeting sliver of hope suddenly filled her. Thor? Was he out here looking for her already? Was it possible? Heimdall had succeeded in locating her and now Thor was here to get her out of this wretched place!

"Thor!" she shouted across the wide open space. He probably couldn't hear her, but Loki's hopes soared as the tiny figure's path curved from its upward ascent in her direction.

"Thor! Thor!" she waved her hands in an attempt to make herself more visible. It was the first time ever that Thor was the person she was glad to see the most. She knew she would be safe and taken home. She would laugh and forget about the horrible place she had been dropped into without consent. She wouldn't have to see the cruel, haunting eyes of the bearowl stalking after her when—

A harsh screech split the air causing Loki to freeze. She had momentarily forgotten her predicament. Just as she was turning back around, a heavy weight slammed into Loki's back. The sheer force sent her toppling over the edge with a cry.

Claws that should have ripped her to pieces were lifted away from her body as both woman and beast struck a sharp ledge below. She threw an arm out to grab a hold but Loki's nails dragged across the crumbling surface. She couldn't stop her momentum as she rolled head over heels right over the edge.

The air was knocked from her lungs as she struck the rock face and continued falling. The shrieks of the beast at least told her it wasn't faring any better in its descent. The slope was too steep for either of them to stop.

Loki felt every nerve screaming as she bashed and crashed her way to the bottom. In her whirling view, she was nearly at the bottom when she saw a sinister rocky outcrop loom into her path. She couldn't get out of the way.

She felt the side of her head crash into the red rock. Her vision exploded with stars before going completely out. The last thing she remembered was her body uselessly hitting the flat terrain at the bottom and then complete darkness took her.