A/N: Hey, so here's the second part of this chapter! Bit of a cliffy at the end, sorry about that . . . sorta. *Evil smile* Please read, review, and enjoy! :)

Chapter 11 - Part 2: Aryaliana

My father could have very well been a statue of himself with how little he had been moving for the past minute. I honestly feared for his health. "Daddy, are you okay?" He didn't answer- his expression was blank, but his eyes displayed his anguish.

I gingerly touched his arm. "Daddy?" His muscles were as hard as stone, and just as tense. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you . . . showed you."

He finally turned to face me. "No, love, I needed to know this. The truth always comes out. I believe I must return to Asgard for a brief time. I need to confront your mother."

A part of me soared inside; about time! But he looked so miserable about it that the intense bout of happiness was short-lived. "Daddy, you don't have to-"

He stroked my hair and I leaned against his chest. "Yes, I do. I trust you will be safe here if I leave you with Cap, perhaps. Will you be okay?"

"Yes, Daddy, I'll be fine." He kissed the crown of my head and we walked out of the room together. I almost forgot why I had gone there in the first place when I remembered that I was rather sleepy. Well, I got no sleep at all.

We walked out together, his hand resting comfortably on my right shoulder. He seemed so distant. I knew he was feeling dread toward confronting the woman who called herself my mother, but I didn't want it to affect our relationship.

Guilt filled me when I looked into his eyes. He loved Jane and he loved me but I was making him choose between the two of us. "Dad, you truly don't have to confront her. You don't need to do that for me. You love her, you love being married to her. I don't want to-"

Before I could finish, Mr. Stark strutted around the corner of the corridor and nearly ran into my father. Upon observing Daddy's solemn expression, he teased, "And who will the big bad god be confronting?"

Ignoring his jabs, my father questioned, "Do you know where Captain went?"

"Sorry, big guy, Captain Buzzkill left for home with his kids a while ago. Can I help you two with anything?" Mr. Stark asked and I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not with his last statement. I had a slight suspicion that he was.

I stepped in before my dad could say something he would regret toward the man who could possibly save me from myself (Tony just seemed like the kind of person to hold petty grudges). "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me look into my gift."

"Charlotte is resting so I don't see why that would be a problem. Well, unless Mr. Overprotective doesn't want me to," Tony taunted. My gods, he was such a man child.

I looked to my father with pleading eyes. He knew how much I wanted to control whatever was happening to me. He knew how much I needed this.

"Ari, I know you want help but you need to rest. I will find another way to get you to Captain," he shot me down, essentially crushing my dreams. Thanks, Daddy, how helpful of you, I thought bitterly.

"She can stay with me! I mean, I clearly have plenty of room. That way Charlotte has someone she sorta knows and I can help her. It's a win-win," Tony said with a giddy smile. I vaguely wondered how he'd look if someone just rewarded him with a cookie or the like for his remarks. He'd probably be the happiest little boy in all the realms. . . . I inwardly smirked as I imagined it.

The way Tony looked at me was more like I was a fascinating specimen in a science experiment rather than an, well, Asgardian princess. It was odd and frankly a little disconcerting, but if it got me what I needed, I vowed to suck it up and deal with it.

"Tony, I mean no disrespect. Yes, never mind actually, I do mean disrespect. I don't trust you near my daughter. Ever since she came to this planet she has been put in imminent danger and last thing I need is you adding to that." Thor smirked after he finished. He looked proud to insult the man who constantly cracked jokes about every other human he crossed paths with. It must have been savory.

"Daddy, please. I would like to spend time with Charlotte. And I know how you think. You don't want me to stay with Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff because you believe Leo is a bad influence on me, so why would you want me to stay with Cap, wouldn't Joey and Evie be bad influences as well?" That one was a long shot but I desperately hoped that Daddy already knew them from past experiences and agreed.

Doubt shadowed across his features. "I suppose so, yes . . . but young Charlotte isn't a good influence either-"

Tony's lighthearted, cheerful attitude froze over after he said that- and rightfully so, to be honest. That was rude and a little uncalled for- well, not uncalled for, but still mean. "Hey, godly ass, too far. That girl's been through a hell of a lot and that's only of what we currently know of. It probably goes far deeper than that so I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw my daughter under the bus."

I could have squealed out of happiness. A moment of a paternal maturity! It was a miracle! And luckily, not only did that knock Daddy down a few pegs, but it actually showed him that maybe Tony wasn't the worst option to watch his child. "I apologize for that. I suppose if you promise to keep Ari away from Fury and keep her safe, then you could watch her for a very short while."

Tony's eyebrows crinkled together. "I get Fury's just a real downer to be around but . . . ?"

"Just keep my daughter away from him, you understand me?"

He blinked in surprise but then nodded. "Uh . . . yeah, sure, that's fine. It's not like I go out of my way to spend time with the guy."

Daddy nodded firmly and leaned down to kiss me on my head to signify his goodbye. "I must go, child. Are you certain you will be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, like I told you," I replied, working to keep the irritation out of my voice. Might I add that I failed dismally?

He shot me a warning look and then patted Stark on the shoulder once. "Take care of her or you will live to regret it." And with that, he was gone.

Tony rocked onto his heels awkwardly. "Well, he's downright pleasant." I smiled sheepishly. My daddy was obnoxiously overprotective but I wouldn't apologize for his behavior because I knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to change.

"Wait, where's Charlotte?" It just struck me that she was absent. Did Tony just leave her, wherever she was?

He waved it off. "Oh relax, she's sleeping. I'll go check on her. Wanna come?" I followed him loyally as he hurried back to where he left her sleeping.

She looked so small, curled up in a little ball with her light blonde hair splayed all over the place. She looked so young. And . . . awfully feverish.

I picked up my pace and as she came closer into view, I noticed with concern that her face was paler and sweatier than before, and she was shivering. This was how she looked before she collapsed. She was crashing.

"Tony," I cried, beckoning for him to hurry up. "Tony, she doesn't look good!" I kneeled down by her head, hovering my hand over her forehead. Her eyes were rolling around beneath their lids and her face contorting. She was having a nightmare. . . .

Tony skidded to a stop next to her and lay the back of his hand against her forehead, wincing slightly. "Crap, crap, crap, she's burning up! This is so . . . strange, she wasn't like this five minutes ago!"

I was having an internal war with myself. Maybe it would be helpful if I could wake her up from her dream, but what if it only made it worse? As she lurched backwards with a shout of pain, I, without thinking, grabbed her by her wrist and was violently sucked into her dream.

Everything was blurry; silvery, metal walls surrounded me, suffocated me. I glanced down only to see a whole different set of clothes: a black tank top and military cargo pants. I was in Charlotte's consciousness.

Suddenly, an implement rained down onto my back, leaving a streak of fiery agony. I screamed as I felt warm blood trickle down the back of my shirt and before I could recover, another lash came, then another.

Get me out, get me out, get me out! I begged silently as the excruciating pain only continued. Make it stop!

Something that deeply surprised me is that while Charlotte occasionally yelped and shouted, her eyes were utterly dry. She wasn't crying.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I forced all my concentration into ripping myself out of the dream, and my body went tumbling backwards. Charlotte was still trapped in the nightmare, and I dabbed at my cheeks to find them stained wet with tears. Tony was staring at the two of us in panic, not sure of what just took place.

"Charlotte, wake up, wake up!" I pleaded with her, Tony echoing me just as fiercely. Something in her figure changed, tensed, like she was beginning to fight back. Maybe she was, in what I assumed was a memory- a recent one, at that, with how fresh it felt.

I tentatively touched her shoulder and, before I could defend myself, Charlotte came hurtling at me like a wild animal. Before I knew what was happening, she had me pinned to the ground with her forearm barred against my throat. I couldn't breathe!

Her eyes were firmly shut- she was still in the dream. I frantically struggled beneath her, black spots dancing before my eyes, as Tony wrapped his arm around her waist and yanked her off me. Sitting up, I welcomed the air that my lungs could now take in. What was THAT? I thought, rubbing my abused throat.

Tony shook her by her shoulders, ordering, "Charlotte, you have to wake up!" Her eyelids snapped open, and for a split second, there was a terrifying, rabid look of sheer fury and hatred before her eyes cleared up.

Tony still had a vice grip on her to make sure she didn't attack me again. I only felt pity for the poor girl. The agony I suffered inside of her dream was now completely gone, but she had to still be feeling the effects because it actually happened to her. I was beginning to understand how horrible her mother really was. "Charlotte? Charlotte, you're okay now. You're awake. That's not happening anymore."

"What happened?" Tony hissed as she tried to break away from him. Her face was deathly white and her breath was coming in uneven, ragged gasps. It wasn't just the nightmare that had been ailing her before. No, she was crashing.

Worry evident in his features, Tony pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket and rapidly tapped something in. He pressed it against his ear as Charlotte freed herself from his grasp, collapsing onto the hard metal ground. "Bruce? Bruce, I need you. We're down the hall from your office. Straight, take a right, then a left. Something's wrong with Charlotte, you need to hurry. What's wrong? Her fever spiked, her heart's racing-"

Charlotte stiffened up once more and an ominous feeling washed over me. "Tony, what's wrong?" I demanded of him. She hadn't looked this bad, even before!
He ignored me and kept firing off explanations into the phone. "Bruce, take the medical kit and hurry up, something's happening-"

Right then, Charlotte's limbs jerked to the side, then back again, then back again. Her body wriggled, her neck whipped around, she flailed. . . . "Oh gods, what's wrong with her? What's happening?" I shrieked, reaching forward to hold her down. Tony, stricken, held up a hand to keep me away from her.

"Bruce, hurry your ass up NOW! Charlotte . . . she's seizing. Bruce, she's having a seizure!"