A/N: I had this chapter all ready to go until I realized I had expanded the chapters (in another saved file), so I had to go back and add the rest of it, lol. Get ready for a super long author's note(s) at the end of this! Apparently I'm in the mood to be long-winded today. ;D

Blood Raven

- Chapter 6 -

"Blood Raven!" screamed Jophien. She couldn't do this but she knew she had to, knew it was her duty, more than anyone else's. "Fight me and stop this! Stop this running and hiding as you've always done!"

A laugh echoed all around, deep and sinister. "My army will destroy you..."

Has she lost too much of herself? the Amazon wondered. A glance at her companion ensured that he wouldn't need her help, he was clearly tired but holding his own well enough alongside his two summoned minions.

"Is that all you can say?" yelled Jophien. "After all this time, all that you've been through- that's all that's left of your mind? Destruction and mayhem?"

An arrow whizzed passed her head as she rolled and ducked behind a tree, her own arrow at the ready. She quickly stepped out and let one loose, its tip finding its target but barely slowing the former Rogue down. Still, with each strike, she was slowing down. They were, perhaps, whittling away at her defenses.

"You speak as if you know me, Amazon..." Her voice was low, sinister, and, to Jophien's slight horror, she had lost sight of her.

Stepping out of her cover carefully with arrow drawn, she made her way out, glad that most of the undead were distracted by Samiel. Sharp eyes darting about, she breathed steadily, waiting for a flash of red and white to show itself.

A surprised cry reached her ears as she whipped around, ready to let her arrow fly.

No...

She had found Blood Raven, but the Rogue in turn had found her companion, who had doubtless been too occupied with the hordes of undead to sense his enemy coming up behind him.

She held him around the neck with one large red-covered hand, her claws digging into his skin. One glance at the undead hordes told her Samiel still had control of his minions, but they wouldn't last without his help.

"Stop this!" screamed Jophien, although it was pointless; she knew the demon would never heed her words, she was no longer...no longer... "Let him go!" She approached as she nocked her arrow again.

A terrible laugh filled the air. "Why?" cooed her sinister voice. "I'll take his life then make him mine. Wouldn't you like that, Necromancer?" she tilted his head slightly up so he could see her.

Samiel's eyes met Blood Raven's, his eyes wide but steady. His sudden calm sent a shiver up Jophien's spine. "But," he said quietly, almost too quietly for her to hear, "I was already yours. Don't you remember?"

Staring at him, Blood Raven first frowned, then her blackened eyes widened as she gritted her teeth. She let go of him as if he'd burned her. "No..."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The way back up to the surface might have been easier- given the lack of opposition since Thor had dispatched most of the undead -but was so much harder as he had to carry the half-conscious, bleeding and burned form of his little brother. Thor held him tightly and worried at what might have happened, aside from the obvious, of course. Could it be any worse than what he had seen? He desperately hoped not.

The stone door to the surface had been broken on the way in, thus, the crown prince burst through what was left of it, his concern growing for his companions. Wait- damn! Why did he come out here? And with an injured Loki? Yet there wasn't truly a safe place to set him down, was there? He hadn't managed to take out all the creatures beneath the mausoleum.

Whatever he might have decided, however, was interrupted at the sight of the terrible Blood Raven clutching at her head as if in pain.

"Be silent!" she screeched. Her undead minions stumbled about and fell, as disoriented as their master.

"Don't you remember me?" asked Samiel to the pale demon, hands out as if to calm the creature.

Blood Raven growled and screamed at him, baring her sharp teeth. "These thoughts are not mine- be silent! I'll rip you to pieces, eat your flesh, stretch every part of you across these- across these grounds..."

Jophien ran up to Samiel. "Who are you!" she shouted. Then, to Thor's surprise, her arrow then pointed at the pale-haired man. "How can you know her? I know her- knew her. She was...she was..."

"Your sister," finished the Necromancer, almost too quietly to hear.

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "How can you know that?" She pulled the string on her bow taut, ready to release it into her companion's head. "How can you know that?!" she repeated.

Samiel stared straight at her. "Because you killed me."

Her eyes went wide as a flicker of recognition flitted across her face, although it dissipated almost immediately, replaced by a scowl. She looked ready to respond, but instead her arrow flew- not at Samiel, but at Blood Raven. The demon released its head and grunted loudly as arrow after arrow filled her body. She fell against the metal of the fence as next there were javelins flying at her, the Amazon stabbing her repeatedly, anger and desperation filling the space.

"She's not my sister!" Jophien screamed, "She's not my sister! You died at Tristram!" Blood Raven tried to get up but couldn't find a way past the angry blows of the Amazon. "You were so great there! You fought for our family- our people! How can you betray us? How can you give into this- this...corruption?!"

And suddenly there was only a body, limp and unmoving, dead. Jophien continued to assault it, however, and Samiel just stood there as if paralyzed. Thor wondered if he imagined a tear trickling down his pallid face.

Disturbed by the sight before him, Thor gently set down Loki- away from the bulk of the disoriented undead -and quickly grabbed the Amazon's arms to stop her. "Stop, stop," Thor gently whispered in her ear, holding her back. And to his relief she didn't attempt to fight him. "She's dead, my friend, she's dead..."

The Amazon breathed harshly through clenched teeth, hands fisted and still angry, yet also, almost relieved. "No," she said quietly as she stepped away from the body, "she died a long time ago."

.

The Rogue Encampment was still at least a day away and Loki was too injured to move very far, until he healed a little more, at least. The Necromancer and the Amazon cleared out the area nearest their camp as Thor looked after Loki, determined not to leave him for a second.

Their camp was small but warm, although Thor had to move Loki away from the fire when he nearly panicked at the sight of it the last time he awoke- delirious and mumbling desperately about 'I don't want to go' and 'Where are you?' The thunder god soothed him back to sleep and kept something between the fire and Loki's line-of-sight the whole night.

His two companions were more or less whole, but only physically. All the good cheer of their trek to the Burial Grounds was gone, a somber tension replacing it. Until finally, after the second hour of watching them avoid each other, Thor had had enough of their silent brooding.

"What was that all about?" he asked them, both still standing, his voice brooking no argument as to whether they would answer. His cradling his little brother in his arms didn't seem to diminish the demand in his voice as they both looked to him.

Jophien stared for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts, then turned to Samiel. Her voice was hard but not unkind. "Who are you?"

He avoided her gaze, eyes dark and away from the crackling fire. "You still don't remember me."

"Should I? Back there, you said I killed you. What did you mean by that?"

Again, silence. Then he murmured, "That is the end of the tale. Shouldn't I start at the beginning?"

Not waiting, Jophien slowly, almost purposefully, sat down on a log.

Her white-haired companion glanced at her, but turned his back to them as he regarded the darkness. "Have you ever killed a Necromancer, Lady Ireul?"

The Amazon's eyes went wide. "How do you know that name? And...why ask me that again?"

"Your sister told me the name when I first met her. Isn't that the name of your fallen house?" He completely ignored the second question.

"Then you have traveled; I was wrong."

He snorted a little. "No, you weren't. Your lands were my first stop, I...Well, I never traveled very far from there." He lowered his head. "But...you didn't answer my question."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I already answered you before, why make me repeat myself?"

Samiel nodded. "That was me," he stated blankly, eyes still away.

He said it so casually, Thor blinked, wondering if his senses had deceived him. Does he mean..?

"W-what?" whispered the Amazon.

The white-haired head looked up, as if to the stars, although the sky was blank and dark, veiled. "Do you know what it's like, to be barely sixteen years old, so fascinated by the Amazons that you would go out of your way to attempt courting one, then to find that what you are- not just an uninvited male, but something they consider dangerous -has caused such an uproar that the elder sister of the one you love kills you when you attempt to sneak in to meet with her?"

This was...not what Thor was expecting.

Jophien stood up, eyes wide as she approached Samiel. "That...that was you?" He nodded. She shook her head fiercely, as if in denial. "But- no, that Necromancer was there to harm us. I was sent by the Captain herself, she said..." Her shoulders slumped. "She said a dark sorcerer had been sneaking into our village to harm my younger sister, that Hana was not even aware...of him..." She ran her hands across her face then covered her eyes with one. "That was you."

"That was me," he repeated, still staring off into nothing. "I was in love with your sister." Thor could almost hear a fond smile cross his lips. "Love. How foolish of us. At that age and we thought we knew love. How pathetic."

"I-I don't know what to say, I..." she shook her head. "But...how were- how are you alive? You were dead. I buried you deep, your heart had stopped."

They bury their dead. I suppose it was a good thing for him that he was not burnt on a pyre.

Samiel nodded. "Needless to say it took me...quite some time to get over the shock of waking to... Well." He moved his head so at least his profile could be seen, although he still didn't look at them. "I knew I couldn't be killed- that was what made me reckless, at times."

"What do you mean?" interjected Thor for the first time.

The young man finally turned around, but stared at the fire. "A spell. A very powerful one. It's a long story but suffice it to say I've since had it removed it. One nightmare involving waking up and clawing my way out of the earth is more than I need in a lifetime." He bowed his head and avoided their intense gazes.

A heavy silence lingered between them for a long time, no one daring to move, or even to breathe too loudly. The night was suddenly so much colder.

"I'm sorry," said Jophien, abruptly. Samiel looked to her, his eyes glassy. "I'm...so sorry. I didn't even- I never even thought about how young you were. I only thought about my sister, her...safety..." she trailed off.

He nodded. "Did she ever...wonder about me?"

"I don't know. Although, now that I think on it, she was quiet and depressed for months after...it happened. I thought she was simply getting over what the sorcerer-" she glanced at him, "what...I thought he had done to her. After some time she seemed to let it go. I was glad for her. She trained so hard after that; the battle circle was practically her home for years afterward." She looked away. "I realized later she was only running away from something, now I know what." She finished the last part in a low murmur.

A low groan drifted up from Thor's lap as Loki shifted. Heavy lids fluttered and cracked lips moved without words.

"Brother?" said Thor in nearly a whisper.

The other two moved closer, with Jophien taking a knee next to the gods. "Is he alright? His hand- I'm so sorry we didn't get to him sooner."

Thor shook his head. "He will heal."

"But-"

"Even from this, yes," he said quickly. "I fear more for his mind than his body."

The Necromancer moved closer. "What's that on his arm?"

Thor tensed for a moment, then realized, why keep it a secret? "It is what will get us back."

"Back home?" asked Jophien.

"No," responded Thor, quietly. "We cannot return home with it, but it will take us to a place that might return us home some day. I...we hope." In fact, Thor wasn't certain how much more time they had, if the way back might close on them. The last two times they had returned within a day. This time, though... Might they have missed their window? Was it even possible?

"Is it a teleportation artifact?" Samiel asked, an eyebrow perked.

Thor looked up to him, curious. "What do you know of them?"

He shrugged. "Not much, except that they are sometimes used to travel great distances. There is one in the Rogue Encampment, although rarely used as no one remembers the sequence of spells to activate it. Even Akara seems to have forgotten. It's Horadrim magic, if I remember correctly."

Jophien nodded in agreement.

"I know nothing of this 'Horadrim', but can you tell me anything else?" Thor looked between the two, the Amazon seemed at a loss.

"I'm not certain," said Samiel. "How is this artifact powered? With runed spells, perhaps, or your brother's mana?"

The thunderer thought on it a moment, suddenly feeling an urgency to leave. Would it matter now? Could they even get home? "I don't know." He couldn't get a good look at the device around his brother's forearm as it was covered in bandaging. Still, he did remember some sort of writing on it. And yet...it also drained Loki's magic reserves. "Perhaps...both?" he answered.

"Both," repeated Samiel as he hunched down next to him.

Another groan passed through Loki's lips as the trickster began to move, or attempt to move, at least.

"Brother?" said Thor, gently maneuvering him so he might wake up, but without further injuring him. "Can you wake? I need your mind now, your... I know nothing of these things." He felt like a terrible brother, trying to wake his severely injured sibling to answer some questions. Still, he didn't know why, but he just knew they should leave soon. "Loki?" he shook him lightly.

Another groan, louder this time, but raspy and so pathetic that Thor wanted to hit himself. A single green eye cracked open, then slowly, the other. "Thor?" said Loki with a painful sounding voice. He blinked slowly, trying to open his eyes wider. A final blink and his eyes were suddenly so wide. "Thor?"

"Yes, brother, I'm here."

Loki's entire body seized up suddenly as he grabbed frantically at Thor's chest. "Wh-where are we- I don't want to go. Thor, we have to get out of here!" His ruined voice spilled out quickly as he barely had time to take a breath. Glancing behind him, he flinched and buried himself against Thor's chest. "Who are they- wh-who are you?" he asked with one eye trained on the two strangers in his midst.

"Shh, it's alright, brother," soothed Thor. "They are friends. They aided in your rescue; they won't harm you."

"Hello," greeted the Amazon.

A flick of the hand was all the Necromancer gave.

But when the two stood up to give the brothers some room, Loki panicked at the sight of the fire, struggling in Thor's arms. "Thor! Brother-!" he hissed as Thor quickly arranged himself to block the view of the fire.

"It's alright, everything is alright. It is only a small campfire, there is no danger. All is well."

Loki's breath came in quick gasps but subsided with the fire out of sight and his brother's whispered reassurances, murmured close and comfortingly in his ear.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Somewhere, lingering at the edges of his mind, Loki felt a tickling, a strange sense of urgency. He knew they needed to go somewhere soon- they both did.

"We have to leave here..."

"I know, brother," said Thor.

Loki realized he had spoken aloud. "But...where are we supposed to go?" he whispered, eyeing one of the two strangers that now sat on a log nearby. Jophien, she had said. And the other, the pale man, was Samiel.

"Back to the House, remember?" said Thor, breaking through his thoughts.

The House! Loki frantically brought up his right arm, only to find the device blocked by strips of cloth. He started to tear at it, to get to it, the Tag, but he was quickly stopped by Thor.

"Loki, what are you doing? Your arm needs time to heal."

"But we have to leave! Why can't we leave?" His mind was filled with too many disparate images, he couldn't line them up correctly. Raging fire and a large House, almost a palace, and dank dark walls, and white marble ones, and a woman of red and white, and searing, burning pain-

"...Brother!" Thor was holding him tighter, eyes intense. "Please, I need you now, can you answer me?"

He needs me, needs me...He needs me? It seemed strange for some reason. Loki blinked at him. "Wh-what did you ask me?"

Thor sighed and let Loki go, setting him back down onto his lap. "Can we return now, using the device?"

Loki shook his head. "No...no, we- I can't. My magic is fully taxed trying to heal me, I'm- I can't, brother. What are we to do?"

"I don't know," Thor looked about worriedly.

"You sense it, too, then?"

Thor's eyes met his. "I..."

"This...sense of urgency, that we must leave soon?"

Thor nodded. "What happens if we pass that point?"

Loki didn't have an answer so he said nothing, staring with wide eyes.

"I don't mean to intrude," a man's voice interrupted the brothers' thoughts. Thor looked at him as the dark-clad man approached and crouched next to the them. "But," he continued, "if your body is too occupied with healing to use your magic for anything else, might you use another's mana- eh, magic," he corrected himself, "to power this device of yours?"

Loki shook his head. "Another cannot power the device from the outside; I must power it." He wasn't sure how he knew that, he just did.

Samiel's eyebrow perked. "And...do you have the ability to absorb another person's power..?"

"Yes," Loki blurted out, eyes going wide. "Do you- do you know someone-?"

"Me." He gave a small smile. "I practice sorcery as well. However, I'm uncertain if there's any difference between our forms of magic, it may prove...disastrous."

Loki shifted his gaze, thinking. "Or it may do nothing," he pointed out.

Samiel nodded. "Or that."

"Pessimist," called a woman's voice from behind Thor as Samiel rolled his eyes. Jophien walked up to them, her demeanor indicating she had something to say. Still, she hesitated. "Samiel," she began, "have you ever heard of a scroll used to open portals to a specified location?"

The man frowned a moment but answered, "Yes. Why?"

"I...believe I have one."

The two princes stared at the other two, confused. Teleport? Loki thought, To where?

"Why are you asking me this," asked Samiel.

The Amazon shrugged. "I don't know, perhaps because we might need help from the Rogues if you intend to go through with this plan, or perhaps because it's best not to try something like this out in this wilderness."

Thor still held tightly to Loki, as if afraid he might be whisked away suddenly. "I don't understand," spoke Thor. "You mean to teleport us to the encampment with a scroll?" The other two nodded, yet somewhat uncertainly. He looked to Loki. "Do you know anything of this?" he asked.

Loki wasn't certain what to say. Teleportation was a common magical means of travel, but he had never heard of it contained within a scroll. Needless to say, he was intrigued.

Samiel scrutinized Jophien. "Where did you obtain this very rare parchment?"

"Does it matter?" she returned.

"Perhaps it does, but," he sighed, "it's not really the time for stories... Can you read it, Amazon?" She shook her head and handed the rolled up piece of- seemingly very old -vellum. The Necromancer studied it as he carefully unwrapped it, although he appeared to be in as much a hurry as the princes. After several minutes of study, he nodded. "It's an ancient text but not unknown to me. I should be able to open the portal... I hope," he added.

Thor and Jophien looked slightly wary at his words, but Loki spoke. "May I," he cleared his scratchy throat, "see it?"

"Loki," Thor admonished, "he can read it, why do you wish to see it? We have no time."

"Just one look, brother, what can it hurt?"

Thor sighed somewhat loudly as he kept his eyes on the parchment.

Curiosity. Loki had ever been so curious about things, especially concerning the arcane arts; he couldn't help it. This was something new, and he had to see it before they left.

The Necromancer shrugged and leaned down, showing the scroll to the younger prince. It was fascinating, needless to say, and as old as it appeared- or so Loki assumed by the faded writing and weathered look of the parchment. He understood the words but couldn't decipher their meaning.

"Satisfied?" asked Samiel with an amused and understanding expression.

The Necromancer backed away as Loki nodded. "What do the words mean?" the second prince asked. "They appear nonsensical to me."

The man's eyebrows shot up as he looked to Jophien, then back at Thor and Loki. "You understand this language? But...how?"

"That," Thor interjected before Loki could answer, "is an explanation for another day. My apologies, Samiel, but we must return soon. Can you cast the spell, or...whatever it is the scroll does?"

Samiel nodded and stepped away from them.

Loki was a bit annoyed at being interrupted by his elder brother but understood the urgency. I hope this works.

A/N 1: Sooo, when I first started writing this story my thought was: "Hey, this'll be easy, I'll just throw in some random characters from the game to tag along with Thor and Loki and woo!- adventure!" Yeah. Didn't quite work out that way. Sorta went crazy with backstories and personalities, heh. Hope they're not distracting or anything. (The characters from the game don't have backgrounds because (I assume) the player is the character.)

A/N 2: As those of you who read my other fic Pray for Rain already know, I'm going on hiatus with all of my longer stories. I'll finish this episode, of course, but whether I'll be posting the next episode soon is kind of up in the air. I'm almost done with the next one, but I haven't worked on it lately so I'm not sure. If I happen to finish it I'll post it anyway (because why not?), but I'm not saying it definitively.

Sorta A/N 3: Random comment about the story compared to the game, here. I'm making TP scrolls rare because I found it strange that people would so easily teleport all over the place (same with potions). Works well in a game, not so much in a story.
Oh also, notice how Samiel called Jophien "Lady Ireul"? I made the Amazons a bit more concerned with titles and such, at least compared to the Rogues. If you'll remember, Kashya mentions to Thor that the Rogues don't keep titles like that. I'm only mentioning this because the Amazons and Rogues are kind of similar but still very different.

A/N 4 (because I'm on a roll now! but hurries to say it): ...I may have unintentionally given Loki pyrophobia. Oops. But hey, he's a frost giant, it's probably best he have that anyway! *scurries away, satisfied with excuse*