Chapter 37

Thanos grinned evilly down at her clearly finding a great deal of enjoyment in the pain he was inflicting on her. His fist had easily ripped through Vitalini's small body staying there to grasp hold of something buried deep within. Vitalini felt his grasp tighten more firmly at whatever it was that he clasped, something that tried to break from the powerful Titan's grasp.

In that instant she knew exactly what it was that Thanos had taken hold of. Vitalini felt the pull of her magic, the power that would have helped to suppress the pain trying in vain to escape Thanos' hold on it. His fist tightened in her chest earning a gasping hiss, a line of blood dripping from the corner of her lips. The pain only intensified as his fist blocked off the power to her magic leaving her unable to reach out to it wrapping it around herself to help ease the pain.

There was nothing she could do. Her body wouldn't more. She couldn't even think. All there was now was pain- pain- and Thanos' cruel malicious laugh sounding from behind her. Vitalini felt certain that she could imagine well enough the cruelty in his eyes looking down on her if she were to turn around.

What she did not expect was for Thanos to burst into a sudden bout of laughter while his fist still pierced her through her chest.

"What is this?" Thanos asked mockingly laughing as if he had suddenly discovered something marvelous. "Another life force- ."

Vitalini stiffened at the words grimacing at the pain that the movement caused. She knew exactly what Thanos spoke of even before he finished his mockery of her and Loki. Her gaze went back to Loki finding him looking much the same as he had when she had first rushed to shield his body only to end up in their current situation. Only now his shocked green eyes looked at her seeing Thanos' words waking him from his shocked state. Looking down at him sadly begging for some kind of forgiveness she saw the array of emotions flash through his expressive eyes. She saw shock, hate, sorrow and anger all mixing together in a volatile combination.

"Small, but it is there none the less. It would seem congratulations were in order princeling."

Silence fell upon them as Vitalini watched Loki's eyes fill with understanding. Their gazes met across the small space that separated them where Vitalini still continued to stand protectively over Loki. In that silent moment she begged him for understanding, pleaded with him for forgiveness.

Less than a day ago there had been so much hope for their future. And now she was left cursing their fate. She had not even had the moment to tell Loki the news of the life growing within her. A child- Loki's child-a spark of life she had been so excited to share with him when the time was right. That spark of life had been their chance to take something for themselves for once in their lives and to be happy together, to build a family to love and cherish above all things.

Now it was all over. None of that mattered now. It was gone, as fleeting as a dream that would never be.

"Oh, did you not know?" Thanos asked mockingly obviously seeing the conflicting emotions crossing Loki's face. "If only you could have protected them- that family you always wanted- the woman you love," he went on each word eliciting great joy in him. Thanos paused dramatically his fist twisting harshly earning an agonized gasp from Vitalini to help in his ridicule. "The unborn child you could love and father as you were not."

The words broke Vitalini more than the pain of being speared through her chest. Each mocking word hung heavily on her heart, feeling the deep loss. Tears flood Vitalini's eyes their sting unfelt as they stained her dirt smudged cheeks. The feeling of uselessness overwhelmed her when her body could do nothing but wallow in pain. They were all in danger wounded and risking their lives, and she couldn't do anything to help. Instead she had lured them all their to witness their own deaths and in doing so she had also proven herself worthless in protecting those who she was meant to protect- not Loki- and not even their child.

Why now? Why couldn't she protect either one?

Anger filled her overwhelming the sorrow that threatened to consume her. It whirled within her taking over, mixing with love, hate and sorrow becoming the fuel that spurred her on for one last push of defiance.

"Monster," she managed to get out, the simple word sending her into a fit of coughs as blood stained her lips.

Thanos' eyes narrowed angrily down at the girl whose life he literally held in his hands but still maintained the audacity to speak to him in such a way. In a spray of glimmering red blood Vitalini felt it be ripped from her body pulling all the strength from her body with it. Finally the shock dissipated and she screamed the horrific sound echoing loudly through the park.

With him ripping that very essence from her something snapped within her rendered useless by Thanos. The numbness that had previously chased away the pain disintegrated completely. It was as if something had been shut off within her, torn from her and she felt it quickly beginning to drain away leaving her in pain. Even now, still panting through the severe pain Vitalini could feel herself fading.

Everything halted. Time came to a sudden stop. The world crashed in around them. Everyone stared in shocked silence, unable to do anything more- unable to believe. Vitalini could do nothing. She knew nothing but the pain. In some faraway place in her mind she heard the agonized yell of Loki, seeming so far away, too far. Once more he was beyond her reach.

No longer held up by the fist protruding from her chest Vitalini's knees gave way beneath her falling backward. Ready to expect the harsh fall she felt her body be caught in a gentle embrace. Loki's scent filled her with its calming smell of books and rainy forests. She knew it was him even before she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Don't leave me," Loki pleaded holding her close against him his free hand at her chest trying in vain to stem the bleeding. "Please, stay with me. Vitalini, I love you." Loki continued to beg his voice growing desperate when her wound only continued to bleed profusely out of any of their control.

Vitalini already knew it was all useless. She felt her eyes beginning to flutter close as she felt her heart beginning to slow. The numbness returned to her and soon she wasn't even aware of the pain any more. All she wanted was sleep, just for a little while. But she continued to fight it back not ready yet to leave Loki. Regret filled her as she looked up at him his face full of such excruciating pain and there truly was nothing she could do to help him now; and it broke her heart.

Vitalini tried opening her mouth to speak, wanting to assure him that everything would be fine, but she couldn't speak the words she knew were a lie. With all the strength she had left she lifted her arm wanting nothing more than to touch him one last time. Even that simple movement was difficult in her state she couldn't even manage to raise her hand enough to reach him. If not for his blooded hand taking hold of hers to help lift it to his face her hand would have fallen back uselessly.

The blood coating their hands left even more bloody marks smeared against his skin but neither cared. For the first time touching him he seemed so warm to her and she reveled in it seeking out that warmth wanting to wrap it around her cold body.

"Sorry you always seem to be rescuing me," she apologized shakily forcing the words from her lips to speak to him managing to grace him with a tremulous smile. She refused to die in his arms without being sure that he understood just how much she loved him. And she needed to tell him herself in her own words.

"Someone has to," he laughed shakily at her attempts to joke despite their dire situation. "Why didn't you tell me?" Loki asked sadly his voice shaky in his attempts to withhold the emotions taking over him.

Vitalini only looked up at him in silence her heart crying out knowing exactly what it was that he was talking about.

"I was so happy about the baby," Vitalini paused taking in a shaky breath to wait out the strike of pain that flew through her body. The words were painful weakening her body even more quickly but she had to speak them.

"You're such a fool," he admonished her trying unsuccessfully to appear angry with her but the task was difficult seeing the pain that wracked through Vitalini. "You shouldn't have done that!" he told her again more gently holding her hand even more tightly against his face wanting to feel her touch as deeply as she had sought to feel him as well.

"What people do in their last moments-it really matters," she replied smiling understandably back at him. "I made the right decision and I will never regret that. I need you to know that I always loved you."

"I never enjoyed the little moments until I met you," Loki whispered gently now only for her to hear his emotions breaking from the tight reign he had tried so desperately keep them under to be strong for Vitalini. His green eyes were clouded with tears that flowed freely down against his pale features mixing with their blood.

The site broke Vitalini's heart all the more. She hadn't seen Loki's emotional shields so broken since they were children. Not just pain. It seemed to light a term. No words, nothing could describe this feeling. Vitalini could not decide whether that feeling was her own body or her emotions. Yet it no longer seemed important.

"I am sorry," she sobbed brokenly her strength breaking beneath all the pain and sorrow that swamped her.

Suddenly it wasn't just the pain on her mind but rather the idea that as her body continued to break down she was one step closer to doing exactly what she had spent a lifetime promising she would never do to him- leaving him alone. Vitalini's apologies fell on deaf ears Loki merely shaking his head at her paying them no mind and refusing to listen. Such an apology meant nothing to him. It was pointless as far as he was concerned as there was nothing for her to apologize for, there never had been.

All his life, even when he had walked away, foolishly letting himself forget there had been no one else but her that had stood by him. Never once had she left him. Never once had she stopped believing that he was a good man, strong and worthy. From the very beginning she had stood beside him refusing to let him stop believing in himself forcing him to see himself as she did. Vitalini had given him so much more than Odin or his family ever had.

What had he ever been able to give her in return? Look where she had ended up- and all because of him.

Loki promised himself that this would not be the end- it couldn't. There was so much he could do for her to repay her for what she had given him. To prove to her that he could be the man she had always believed he could. All he needed was the time. He refused to let her just give up now that he found her. Even as that adamant thought crossed his mind he felt her heart stutter dangerously against his chest where he held her against him.

"Please hold me," Vitalini stuttered her breath shaking with each forced word. Loki's warmth filled her body as if seemed to continuously grow icier as if she were stepping through the snow barefoot. It left her body numb to all the world of pain but Loki. His warmth kept her there, anchoring her to life if only for a second more.

"No, really hold me," she demanded pathetically when his embrace barely tightened.

"I'll hurt you," Loki replied sadly looking down at her fearful of causing her more pain than she was already in.

She laughed soundlessly. "No. Don't... hurt... now."

Loki merely grimaced in reply to Vitalini's admonishment. Even telling him her body no longer felt the pain of her mortal wounds it changed nothing for him. He hurt. As he gathered her into his arms as she requested, the pain in his heart threatened to destroy him.

What more could he do? There was nothing. Never in his life even learning of his true parentage could he remember feeling more lost or more useless. This woman in his arms was Vitalini. She had been his first friend, his lover and his only beloved. He could feel her breathing fail, her skin growing cool, her muscles grow lax. As inevitably as the tide, life was stealing away from her. She observed him, scrutinized him so intently he knew she wanted his face to be her last sight on this earth.

And so he smiled at her, nodded and said, "I have loved you every day I've known you and no matter where you go I will always love you."

Her lips moved in a whispered gasp, "Love...you."

"Thank you for finding me," Vitalini whispered to him her words barely heard above the battle still raging around them. Offering him one last gentle smile he watched and grieved as her ruined lungs took their last shuddering breath. Her heart giving its last beat.

Her hand dropped lifelessly from his face leaving him stare helplessly down at her the tears stinging painfully at his eyes seeing her bloodied and pale. Even now her gentle smile curved her lips making it seem as if she were merely sleeping.

It was the final straw, sensing the life seep out of the one person who had always seemed so alive and full of light. Not once had he ever even gotten the chance to tell her exactly how much she truly meant to him. The wall of control over his emotions crumbled completely within Loki. It shattered into nothing his emotions overwhelming him leaving him bereft with lose and soul shattering sorrow. Sobs racked through him uncaring of any who saw him in such a state.

He should want to weep but instead he roared, "No!"

No he wouldn't allow this to happen. Not to her. Not to Vitalini. Loki hugged Vitalini's lifeless body to him holding it tightly against his chest rocking her back and forth as he buried his tear stained face in her ragged silver blond hair whispering pleadingly to her to come back to him. What they had not expected was for a light to begin emitting across her entire body lighting her pale skin with a golden glow. Loki stared confusedly down at his dead lover in his arms watching as an instant latter the light flared powerfully shooting out like a golden arrow across the distance to where Thanos stood.

The light hit filtering itself through his closed fist leaving whatever it was Thanos held in his hand was glowing brightly with that same powerful light so powerful it filtered through his fingers. Seeing their curious gazes Thanos grinned cruelly his fist opening to reveal a gem sitting casually in the center of his palm. The jewel stopped all watching cold at the sight of it there appearing so simple with its glimmering facets and purple sheen. As easily as if he had not just put his fist through a helpless woman Thanos plucked the jewel from his hand simply placing it in the final unused space within the infinity gauntlet. Joining its siblings within their harness the infinity gems sparkled brightly as if welcoming each other in their reunion before settling once more into their place.

Seeing the gem pulled from Vitalini's broken body Loki understood everything in an instant. It suddenly all made so much sense to him now. As if taking note of the dawning understanding mixed with the overwhelming sorrow cross Loki's face Thanos took his opportunity to rub in the pain all the more.

"The life force of infinity gem has no use of a dead shield," Thanos spoke cruelly running his hand against his armor in a useless show of ridding himself of Vitalini's blood. "Without the life giving power of the gem there is nothing left to keep her alive."

"What are you talking about?" Loki growled angrily holding Vitalini protectively against him the glow now completely faded from her body.

"She should not even be alive," Thanos replied matter of factly clearly finding great enjoyment in causing even more pain. "Vitalini was only ever a ghost of what never was. The gem created her- it gave life where there was none. Don't you understand that she has always been nothing?"

"She will never be nothing- she's everything!" Loki hissed furiously refusing to listen to a single word the Titan said knowing he sought only to wound with his words. Even so Loki could not deny the pieces that were beginning to fit together concerning Vitalini's past and the powers she had displayed.

"My story of destroying the realm of the Light Fae in search of the gem was the truth. On that day it seemingly disappeared from existence. That was not case at all. The reality was that in an act to protect itself from my protection the gem fled to that realm and hid itself by creating a shield," Thanos explained sneering hatefully at Vitalini held in Loki's arms as if every trouble he had had in gaining the power he had sought had always been her fault. "To do that the gem took on the form of the unborn child of the already dead Queen of the Light Fae. With its power it brought life to the un-living child forming her life around it to create a walking, talking, living shield that would contain its power and hide it from those that sought out its power, including myself."

Loki merely glared at the monster his eyes turning kind when he looked down to Vitalini lying so peacefully and still in his arms. His memories fixing the pieces together, each one explaining more and more of what he had previously ignored seeing no connection or need for answers; the pieces came together to create the larger picture that had brought them to that place.

"Does it not explain so much about her?" Thanos questioned maliciously reveling in the anger radiating off Loki. "The strange powers, her having no parents or even memories of her past before she was found as a street urchin, it was all because there was no life- her life was connected infinitely to the gem. With her death the gem's power was retracted from her body back into the gem itself. After all what use does a dead body have for such power to linger in its bones? In the same fashion," Thanos went on to explain his malicious smile always growing at the barely contained anger radiating from the prince kneeling at his feet. "Without the gem that gave her life Vitalini cannot live. She died within her mother's womb when I killed Queen Tatiana and it was the gem that took her form and made it its own, giving it life."

"Why didn't you just take it then?" Loki demanded hatefully his green eyes icy with pure hate as he glared over Vitalini's blond head against his shoulder. "I brought her to Titan she was there where you could have easily taken what you wanted and yet you waited."

The fact that he had unknowingly carried her into such danger weighted heavily on Loki's shoulders. It seemed an ironic twist of fate now having believed so strongly at the time it had been the best choice in order to protect her. In reality he had carried her into the lion's den where from the very beginning she had been the prey. Loki was used to feeling a deep sense of self loathing, especially after learning his true heritage as a frost giant. Even so he had never felt a deeper sense of shame than he did in that moment realizing just how deeply he had dragged Vitalini into danger and ultimately her death. As far as he was concerned it may as well have been his own hand striking that deadly blow. The truth of that now stained his hands red with blood that he felt would never truly wash away

"I had to be sure that it was as I believed," Thanos replied simply with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "Even once I realized the truth I had to bide my time until the gem was ready to be plucked from her."

The descriptions so easily unconcerned with the life he spoke of brought a grimace to Loki's features his mind constantly repeating the image of Thanos' fist striking Vitalini while he helplessly watched on. He was not shocked at the freedom in which Thanos now openly shared information. In truth he even seemed to revel in it, enjoying the power he held over them all. It grated on Loki's nerves, he felt the rage boil hotly beneath the ice of his demeanor turning his insides into a chaotic turmoil of ice and fire. Whether Thanos took notice of that turmoil or not he gave no outward appearance of doing so only simply choosing to continue digging deeper at Loki's emotional wounds.

"In order to completely harness this power I let her live. After years of living dormant within her the gem slept, its power un-awakened and therefore useless to me. I quickly realized that the gem's power had grown connected to Vitalini in its dormancy. To awaken it she herself had to awaken and the best way to do that is emotion- deep, unabiding emotion. You were the key to those powerful emotions."

"You used me," Loki accused his voice shaking with anger understanding dawning.

"It was so easy seeing how you mooned over her- even risking her life to keep her with you. She was no better," Thanos sneered completely disgusted with the emotions he described between Loki and Vitalini. It was impossible for such a dark soul to comprehend such deep unselfish emotions as they displayed.

"And the Chitauri?"

"You were to be a distraction for the Avengers while I went on searching for infinity gems. When I came to reclaim my distraction from that prison on Asgard only to find the gem delivered directly into my hands."

Loki wasn't listening to another word. He understood fully now and Thanos was simply doing his best to incite anger in him now that his defenses were weakened by sorrow. All he cared about was the lifeless woman in his arms. In a moment of anger Loki found himself blaming Vitalini. How could she do this to him? How many times had she promised to remain at his side?

He hadn't wanted this. How many times had he tried to leave her behind only to have her refuse to let him go? He had never wanted to find himself here, to be holding her lifeless body in his arms. It was torture, absolute torture of the cruelest kind. He couldn't feel the gentle beat of her heart. He could have lived with her for an eternity and still have been amazed at how forgiving and loving her heart could be. He was supposed to hold her for eternity, protecting her for a lifetime.

But now as he held her he thought of never seeing her again, feel her skin against his, or see her smile for him alone. She had chosen death, to save him. Anger flared in him mixing with the remorse, the sorrow and the rage. Vitalini had left him. In choosing to give her life for his she had chosen death. Without truly realizing it till that moment Loki realized that Vitalini had become his entire life force. Nothing else in any realm could equal her importance leaving him feeling buried in a hole, cold and alone where he had spent the last several years of his life without hope. She was the light and air. She was all he had ever truly desired in the world, she was his and he was hers. And now he felt the loss of her much deeper than his heart but rather right down into the very pit of his soul.

Lost in the deepest pits of despair all that was left was rage. Squeezing Vitalini's body close one last time inhaling her sweet flowery scent for what would perhaps be the last time Loki gently lay her body on the ground. Stumbling to his feet it was suddenly as if all the pain of his wounds had disappeared replaced by the rage that

"Has the little prince found his second wind?" Thanos chuckled humored by Loki's return to battle despite the odds seeming so against them all.

"Whether I live or die today doesn't matter," Loki spat back undeterred by the mockery. "But you took someone I love from me, so I am going to personally kill as many of you as I can."

"You sound as if you think you can actually hurt me," Thanos replied his voice growing dangerously low losing all laughter as his opponent foolishly dared to threaten him.

"I have not yet begun to hurt you," Loki replied with icy calm, the words a single promise.

"But how much longer do you think you and your friends can actually hold out against me and my forces?" Thanos growled disliking the drive in his opponents to believe that they may still stand a chance when it was so clear already that they had lost.

"It would seem that Thanos is out to get us," Tony observed stepping up to stand beside Loki saving the man from a Titan who had been attempting to sneak up behind the god while he was distracted by Thanos. Like all the others Tony was rather the worse for wear his armor deeply scratched his helmet long since lost in battle revealing the bruises and bloody cuts on his face. Without his helmet Tony's usual arrogant expression was shown to be replaced by a deep hurt warning with anger his rugged cheeks glistening with tear stains. In a new sense of camaraderie he reached out griping Loki's shoulder reassuringly Tony told him without words to stay strong and that they were all there to help him. After all Loki was not the only one who had lost someone that day at the hands of Thanos.

"We shall get him first than," Thor agreed wiping the sweat and blood from his brow as he too went to stand with his teammates. His self assured smile absent as his gaze momentarily slide to Vitalini's still form laying on the ground unshed tears stinging at the warrior's eyes.

Silence was the unspoken agreement amongst the other Avengers as they too stood tall their gazes full of sadness and rage mixing chaotically within them. For the first time they all had something that they could all agree on. This time they all had something to fight for- revenge could be a powerful motivator- just as powerful as love could be.