Somehow, Sigyn managed to remain in the dungeons, seated at the base of Loki's cell for several hours as he worked through several stages of his grief. It helped having her there during it; of that there was no doubt. Not once did any of the guards, or even Thor himself, come to pull her away and put an end to their brief tête-à-tête. It was, surprisingly, Loki who insisted she take her leave sometime close to what they both could assume was sunrise. Of course, it was mostly assumption. In the dungeon, after a while, it was often impossible to determine whether it was night or day, what with being so far below ground with no windows or view to the outside world. The only views prisoners were allotted were that of each other in their respective cells, which was absolutely no view at all.

Loki had spent plenty of time screaming and crying out in rage, tearing apart his cell and, at one point, injuring his foot after stepping on some broken glass from a decanter that his fallen and shattered to the floor during his initial tantrum. He would shortly thereafter fall into a sullen and silent state while Sigyn did her best to comfort him with soothing words. He had seemed grateful for her presence but her words did little to soothe the ache in his heart. He would get himself worked up again and direct his anger at the white walls by punching them or attempting to hit them with a blast of green energy. The latter wound up bouncing off the wall, which caused him to duck out of the way, only for the blast to in turn ricochet off his cell's force field and hit him in the back, knocking him flat on his stomach.

It was after he pulled himself back up to his feet and more or less slithered up against the wall to sit there looking rather mussed and defeated that his finally seemed to calm down for good. It appeared that his unintended and indirect blast to his own back had not only knocked the wind out of him, but also the last vestiges of his grief tantrums. So he sat there and he closed his eyes, letting Sigyn once again attempt to soothe him with her voice as she talked to him. It was a rather one-sided conversation for most of it. The most he could manage to respond to her with was rather laconic. So, too tired to listen to anymore to her condolences and assurances that things could get better or even random musings about how life had been for her in the last couple days, although he deeply appreciated her trying to make him feel better and to just be there for him, he just couldn't have her there with him any longer; at least not for the moment. He needed to be alone with his thoughts and his grief. He needed the temporary silence that only solitude could provide him.

So, Sigyn took her leave with a promise to visit him in some capacity as soon as she could. She didn't bother teleporting out of the dungeons as she could've easily managed. Instead, she opted for a slow walk back up above ground.

The first inklings of daylight had already made their way into the grandiose palace. There was still beautiful splendor within the interior walls despite the corresponding ruin created from the Dark Elves' attack the day before. It was all fixable, of course, but the lives lost, mainly that of Queen Frigga, were not, and a pang of her own grief stung at Sigyn's heart again.

"Ah, Sigyn, my girl."

She was struck dumb initially by the greeting and the kindness behind it. She turned to see Odin approaching, flanked by a few Einherjar at his sides and behind him. With a slight bow of respect with her head, she turned fully to face him. "All-father," she greeted in return.

"Come with me. I'm holding a meeting in the Throne Room and I would like you there."

"Me?" she questioned, dumbfounded, as she watched him begin to walk away. She followed, without missing a beat, of course. "You want me to attend a meeting with you?"

"I do not believe I stuttered."

Sigyn bit her lips together. Touché, old man. "I suppose it's all hands on deck in a time such as this."

"That is one reason."

As they approached the Throne Room, where sat the demolished throne, stood a couple other Einherjar as well as Fandral and Volstagg already in wait for their King. Uncle and niece ascended the steps with the flanking Einherjar following. The others bowed before the All-father and the meeting began. Fandral activated a device that produced a holographic model of the palace and began to point out specifics in regard to damage and safety measures in regard to possible future attacks by the Dark Elves.

"We are still unable to restore the palace shields. Our artillery cannot detect them, even Heimdall cannot see them." Fandral seemed quite dejected as he chose his next words. "My King, we are all but defenseless."

Sigyn tried to focus her attention on what they could do to protect their glittering city and its palace, her home, at the center of it all, but no ideas seemed to come to mind at the moment. It didn't help having Thor stalk into the Throne Room, rather angrily toward his father.

"She's your prisoner now?" Thor questioned.

Odin sighed. Slowly, he looked around at everyone and gestured generally at them all as a whole. "Leave us." As the Einherjar and Volstagg exited, Fandral deactivated the hologram and followed suit. Sigyn began to take her leave as well, but Odin held out a hand toward her side. "No, you can stay."

Sigyn's eyes flitted over to her cousin, who looked briefly back at her, before they both focused their mutual gaze upon the old king as he slowly walked down the steps. Sigyn followed just as slowly, but a few paces behind.

"I do not wish to fight with you," Odin remarked.

"Nor I with you," Thor agreed as his father stepped past him, as both Sigyn and he followed. "But I intend to pursue Malekith."

"We possess the Aether. Malekith will come to us."

"Yes, and he will destroy us."

"You overestimate the power of these creatures."

"No, I value our people's lives," Thor countered, causing Odin to slow his paceI'll take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away from Asgard. When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane it will be exposed and vulnerable, and I will destroy it and him."

Odin turned around, holding Gungnir strongly at his side. "If you fail, you risk this weapon falling into the hands of our enemies." As if to drive the point home, he gave his staff a slight bang upon the stone floor.

Sigyn glanced between father and son, her hands clasped together in front of her stomach. She studied the nuances in each turn of their heads and in each subtle inflection of their speech. It helped to suss out each situation before she made an attempt to contribute any input. With a small sigh, she licked her lips. "The risk is far greater if we do nothing," she offered up as both men turned to look at her. "His ship could be over our heads right now and we'd never even know it."

Thor seemed to give her a look of thanks for apparently siding with him in this discussion. "Exactly what I was thinking," he added.

"If and when he comes, his men will fall by ten thousand Asgardian blades."

"And how many of our men shall fall on theirs?"

"As many as are needed!" Odin bellowed. After a pause, he seemed pained, as if he'd been jabbed in the side by a very long and painful needle. "Ah," he muttered, gripping Gungnir for support as he gathered his physical and mental strength. As he brought his gaze back up and focused upon his son and his niece, he added nearly as loudly as his initial outburst, "We will fight!" He paused again, visibly forcing himself to calm down and he lowered his voice. "Until the last Asgardian breath, the last drop of Asgardian blood."

Thor gave a shake of his head in disapproval. "And how are you different from Malekith?"

Odin chuckled. "The difference, my son, is that I will win." He turned back around and banged Gungnir again. The conversation was clearly over.

As the cousins watched him retreat, they slowly turned toward one another.

"There are pros and cons to both sides of this argument: letting the fight come to us or taking the fight to them," Sigyn commented quietly as Thor listened with sincere appreciation for her two cents. "You know I have never been your father's biggest fan. His reluctance to run headfirst into another fight, your desire to drop everything and continue the fight immediately, paired with both of you being stubborn fools, is coming from the same place. It's grief. I know it all too well, and I know both sides of this argument, so to speak, from personal experience." Thor looked away, trying to focus on anything other than being reminded of his grief, so Sigyn felt reiterating her own past grief could help. "When I lost my son, when I lost Narfi, I reacted with little thought other than my desire for revenge on the one who took him from me. I butchered that boy for taking mine. I murdered his family and set their home on fire. The family was innocent of their son's crime but I was in a dark head space. When my father died, I took it out on those nearest me who were just as innocent as that family. I let my grief get the better of me when I should have taken a step back and simply sat with my grief for a little while. That is what your father is doing. He's sitting with his grief. He's processing it. He's prepared to fight but not ready to fight."

"So, you don't agree with me taking the fight to Malekith and destroying him?"

"Oh, no, I am behind you for that, one hundred percent. I witness that bastard take Frigga the same as you, before any of us had a chance to stop him. I am just saying to see things from your father's perspective and not hold his way of grieving and his desire to not fight just yet against him," Sigyn muttered, placing a hand upon Thor's arm. "Again, I say this as not your father's biggest fan, so that's definitely saying something.

Thor smirked despite his overall sour mood. "Are you saying, then, that you will fight at my side if I go after Malekith?"

"Not if, cousin. When."

"Alright. And how soon do you think 'when' should be?"

Sigyn grinned slyly, slipping her arm through his as they began to walk off together. "Very soon. But first, we'll need a few helping hands and a particular someone to help us see this through, if you catch my meaning."

Side by side at a table in a tavern in town, Thor and Sigyn sat a short time later with pewter tankards filled with ale in their hands. They were waiting there with their backs to the wall so that they could see everyone and anyone coming in and out of the establishment, but mainly they were keeping their eyes peeled for the one person they were there to meet.

In no time at all, Heimdall entered. He made his way over to the table while a barmaid puttered around nearby but far enough away at Sigyn's request when the cousins had first arrived.

"You were not at Odin's war council," Sigyn observed.

Heimdall removed his helmet. "The Bifrost is closed on your father's orders. No one to come, no one to go." he replied, focusing primarily on Thor. Moving a chair, he took a seat kitty-corner to the Asgardian prince, looking less than his usual stalwart self and more defeated like the rest. "We face an enemy that is invisible even to me. Of what use is a guardian such as that?"

"Malekith will return, you know this," Thor commented. Lowering his voice and glancing for a moment over Heimdall's shoulder, he added, "We'll need your help."

Heimdall leaned in slightly. "I cannot overrule my king's wishes. Not even for you."

"We're not asking you to," Sigyn piped up again. "The realms need their All-father strong and unchallenged whether he is or not."

Thor nodded. "But he is blinded, Heimdall — by hatred and by grief."

"As are we all," Asgard's Gatekeeper replied.

"Well, I see clearly enough," Thor pressed on.

"The risks are too great," Heimdall all but whispered.

"Everything that we do from here on is a risk, there is no other way."

Looking between Thor and Sigyn, Heimdall hesitated to respond. He was clearly mulling it all over as he glanced down toward his lap. But, as he lifted his eyes, he finally replied with, "What do you require of me?"

"What we're about to ask of you is treason of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death."

Thos sat at a round table, this time in a different tavern, later that night. At the table with him was Volstagg, Lady Sif and Sigyn; the latter who had been offered the only other seat by Fandral who chose to stand at the table between her and Volstagg while Heimdall stood against the wall behind Thor. At his clandestine request, the prince's three friends agreed to meet with him there; unsure of exactly what they were about to get into but willing to do whatever it was for Thor, even if it meant going against their king.

"Malekith knew the Aether was here, he can sense its power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard," Thor continued. "We must move Jane off world."

"The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in a vault," Sif pointed out.

"There are other paths off Asgard, ways known only to a few," Heimdall offered up.

Sigyn cleared her throat. "One, actually." Suddenly all eyes were on her and they all, at once, knew who she was referring to and with some disdain in their gazes for good measure.

"No," Volstagg muttered adamantly.

"He will betray us," Fandral added, looking between Sigyn and then Thor.

Thor shrugged and gave a faint nod of his head. "He will try."

"He won't betray me," Sigyn insisted, looking up at the man she had been almost betrothed to many centuries ago.

"Well, what then?" Fandral questioned, looking upon Thor. "Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of our Einherjar who will see you coming from miles away."

"I won't be the one who comes for her." Thor looked to his right, at Sif, and then to Sigyn.

Sif caught his meaning and accepted the implied request. "And what of the All-father?" she asked of either Thor or Sigyn, since it seemed this was their plan, jointly.

"It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against the throne," Heimdall spoke. In other words, he had a handle on Odin.

Volstagg leaned in on the table. "Assuming you can get Loki's help, and you can free this mortal, what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace."

"That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving by foot."

Very nearly well into the night they sat with each other, privately speaking and fleshing out the smallest of details of their plan which would go into action by daybreak. Sigyn, who had the ability to teleport, had the added task of giving each person the hint to start by appearing briefly at their side and quite literally tapping them in. She was a little reluctant in going with Sif in the morning to spring Jane Foster from her house arrest instead of going with Thor to retrieve Loki from his cell, but Thor had made a good point earlier in the day that it would be too obvious that something was underfoot if the cousins went down to the dungeons together after verbally sharing in the same sentiment with Odin about going to fight Malekith. So, separate ways it was to be until they were to meet up at the agreed upon rendezvous point.

Unsurprisingly, Sigyn didn't sleep a wink that night after returning to her own chambers. She did teleport into Thor's to discuss matters further with him once she knew he had also turned in for the night. When it got closer to daybreak she faded away, returning to her chambers to get ready for the day ahead of them. She bathed briefly, feeling the need to freshen up and change outfits and brush through her hair, which had become unruly as of late. She wasn't doing this all simply to pass the time, but because she was going to see Loki outside his cell. She was going to be able to touch him and kiss him and she wanted to look nice for the man she loved.

After breakfast was brought to her chambers, the same she knew it was being brought to Thor's at the same time, Sigyn shooed away the servant that had brought the meal and barely attempted to eat anything. She threw a few grapes into her mouth and washed them down with a glass of wine. She paced in her room for a few minutes after and then stepped out onto her balcony, taking in the sight of the surrounding city and the damage sustained now two days after the damage had been done. With renewed vigor that replaced any inklings of anxiety over the treason she was about to commit alongside her husband, cousin and comrades, Sigyn turned on the heels of her feet.

Facing the interior of her chambers, she smirked and stepped further inside. As she walked toward the table where the foot was set out, she disappeared mid-stride and reappeared mere seconds later in Thor's chambers again, this time a few hours later and catching him by surprise.

"Not sure I'll get used to you doing that," he quipped. Like her, Thor had obviously not gone to sleep at all. He, too, seemed as if he'd been pacing. The only difference is that he had put a serious dent into the platter of food that had been brought to him.

Sigyn merely smirked in reply. She was thinking ahead, on where he was to be headed soon. Bypassing small talk, she got to the heart of the matter. "When you approach Loki's cell, do not be fooled by his appearance. If I know him at all, he will be hiding how he looks. He will be pretending his is fine and put together, as if everything is right in the world. He is anything but. His cell is destroyed and he is miserable. Do not add to it. Do not make idle chitchat. Tell him what's going to happen and the part we need him to play. Give him a purpose. Show him he can channel his grief into something else than wallowing alone, away from us who love him."

"And what purpose am I giving him?"

"The same purpose we're giving ourselves," she replied as if he were a little stupid. "Revenge, of course."

Thor nodded. "So…here goes nothing."

Sigyn responded by disappearing from Thor's chambers before he even made his way to the double doors. She found herself reappearing in Fandral's much smaller quarters he was given in the palace, where Volstagg also was, having stayed the night out of convenience for their plan to work. When the two men nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden sight of her there, Sigyn nearly laughed, but kept a straight face.

"I…I did not know you could do that," Fandral commented, brushing a small lock of blonde hair off his forehead.

"Well, now you do," she answered simply. "Time to go, boys."

Saying nothing else, she teleported away; likely startling both men again by how quickly she was gone and that gave her the smile she was wearing when she appeared moments later in Sif's quarters. The other woman was seated on her bed, pulling on her boots.

Like the men, Sif jumped. "I was expecting a knock at my door," she remarked, standing up.

Sigyn shrugged. "Now you have a fun little story to tell your and Thor's future children someday," she teased, knowing it would bring a brief twinge of blush to the other woman's cheeks. And, sure enough it did.

"Shut up with that," Sif admonished. "I need to keep a clear head."

Sigyn chuckled and held out her hand. "Come. We're taking a shortcut."

Sif narrowed her gaze, glancing down at Sigyn's hand and then sighed. "I better not regret this."

"Oh, you will definitely regret this," Sigyn bantered. "I hope you didn't eat too much. You might lose the contents of your stomach in a minute."

Raising an eyebrow, Sif hesitated. After a moment, however, she relented and placed her hand into Sigyn's. As soon as Sigyn's fingers tightened around Sif's, Sif began to feel odd, as if she was being pulled internally from multiple directions all at once. Her stomach did a few flips and flops, she felt briefly lightheaded and then everything around her blurred. But, in a matter of seconds, everything came back into focus only for her to realize she wasn't in her own quarters anymore. Instead, she saw they were now standing directly outside the chambers Jane was being kept in just as one Einherjar stood guard at the door and another was walking inside with a platter of food.

"I'm not hungry," they could hear Jane say.

Without missing a beat, Sigyn grabbed the guard at the door and smacked him hard across the head; hard enough that it knocked him out cold even while wearing a helmet. Sif responded by doing the same. She stepped forward into the chambers and knocked the tray-carrying guard unconscious in much the same way.

"Good. Let's go," Sif remarked, playing off Jane's comment to the Einherjar.

Jane was a bit surprised to see both women there and to break her out of house arrest, no less. They were the last two people she would've thought would do such a thing. The affection Sif had for Thor was obvious, even to Jane, and then there was Sigyn who was the wife of Loki, although also cousin to Thor. It was a complicated situation either way, which made for an awkward duo to be springing her. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, as she grabbed for a shawl to throw around her shoulders and hurried to follow after Sigyn and Sif.

Sigyn made sure they took the long way, knowing they would need to give Thor time to get Loki out of his cell and make his way to the same, agreed upon spot. Otherwise, the easier way would've been for Sigyn to just teleport all three of them. In the process of making their way there, though, Sigyn and Sif both made sure they stayed quiet and remained to the shadows so they would not be caught helping Jane escape.

Eventually, at the end of a very long corridor lined with very tall pillars, Sigyn spotted Thor. With a small smile on her face, she shaved time off her approach and teleported the remaining distance to come stand between her cousin and her husband. The latter she turned to face, and who turned to face her in return. Both threw their arms around each other without hesitation, welcoming each other's tight embrace and the short, but heated kiss that followed.

"I missed those lips," Loki muttered quietly to her as she stepped away from him.

The smile she flashed him alone could've sustained him for a thousand more years if this was the only day of freedom he had with her.

As Sigyn and Jane approached at a more hurried pace, Jane pointed at Loki. "You're—"

"I'm Loki. You may have heard of me," he began, only to be cut off by her slapping him across the face.

"That was for New York."

Loki took a moment to compose himself and grinned. "I like her," he said to Thor.

Sigyn, however, had a slightly different reaction. Leaning in toward Jane, she whispered, "Hope you got that out of your system, otherwise I can teleport you over the edge of this world." Turning away, she gave Thor a pleasant smile that suggested she was definitely not threatening his mortal ladylove and then gave her focus once again to Loki as she took one of his handcuffed hands in hers and gave it a squeeze.

My love, Sigyn spoke telepathically to him.

Oh, how wonderful it is to hear you in my head again, he replied.

The five of them standing there, but Sigyn and Loki seemed rather oblivious to anything around them at the moment. Jane merely looked on with an odd sense of calm despite her situation while Thor and Sif spoke briefly between themselves.

I could so easily teleport us away from the palace. You name the place and I'll take us there. We can leave Asgard and start over somewhere else. Just say the word, Sigyn thought to him.

We'd have to live our lives, forever as fugitives. Thor would never stop looking for us.

Sigyn raised an eyebrow and gave him an impish grin. It'd be worth it, and you know it.

"There they are! Take them!" the voices of the Einherjar echoed from a short distance away.

Loki grinned as well. Had you offered that before today I would've jumped at the chance. But let us get through this first, and then we shall take it from there.

Very well, she sighed.

"I'll hold them off. Take her," Sif said to Thor with an insistent nod of her head.

"Thank you."

As Thor took Jane gently by the arm and began to lead her urgently away, Loki turned to move with Sigyn but was prevented by going any further by Sif's sword suddenly appearing just under his chin. His initial reaction seemed to be that of amusement as he grinned in response.

"Betray him and I'll kill you," she warned.

Sigyn reached her hand out and wrapped her fingers gingerly around the blade as not to cut herself as she began to pull it away. "You can certainly try," Sigyn countered.

"It's nice to see you, too, Sif," Loki chuckled.

His grin continued as Sigyn pushed the blade completely out of the way and then grabbed him by the arm to lead them after Thor and Jane, with Sif merely looking on for only a few seconds before lithely spinning about-face to take on the approaching Einherjar.

Now a quartet, the two pairs made their way through toward the Throne Room where Volstagg stood in front of one of the Dark Elves' crashed ships.

"I will give you as much time as I can," the burly ginger declared.

Thor walked right up to him and both men shook on it. "Thank you, my friend."

As the foursome began to continue on to the ship, Volstagg placed his hand upon Loki's chest and stopped him. "If you even think about betraying him…"

"You'll kill me?" Loki questioned cheekily. "Evidently, there will be a line."

Sigyn stalled and turned to watch the interaction between the two and rolled her eyes slightly. She would've given her own warning to Volstagg as she had with Sif, but Volstagg was more inclined than Sif to let Loki go without any further delay.

Walking up the ramp into the ship felt more like stepping into the cavern behind the waterfall. It was dark and looked more like a cave than a ship. It even had a hole at the top letting in natural light just like the cave. Loki and Sigyn both apparently were thinking the same thing as they looked around and then looked up before catching each other's eye with a knowing smile. Thor meanwhile, was taking in the sight of the control panels in front of him and looked mildly confused about how to turn the ship on and get it mobile.

"I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing," Sigyn commented, coming up on Thor's right alongside Loki.

"I said, 'how hard could it be?'" he corrected, pressing hard upon any and every surface.

"Well, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster," taunted Loki.

"Shut up, Loki."

"You must've missed something."

"No, I didn't. I'm pressing every button on this thing."

"No, don't hit it," Loki advised. "Just press it gently."

"I am pressing it gently. It's not working!" As he bellowed and smacked a handful of buttons altogether as the ship suddenly began to power up. The interior of the ship, which had no windows to see outside, lit up with blue light schematics of everything outside the ship in a sort of mapped out globe all around them. Thor was considerably pleased with himself as he smiled from ear to ear. As the engine roared the ship began to shake as Thor chuckled. In the process of the ship lifting off the ground and turning to face away from the throne, the sides of the ship cut through several stone columns, knocking them down or at least causing half to crumble in the process.

"I think you missed a column," Loki teased.

"Shut up!"

Without any further hesitation, Thor sent the ship blasting forward, crashing through a wall in the process and then soaring through the city; dodging any other buildings and necessary structures as best as he could. He was able to successfully manage turning the ship sideways to pass through the columns holding up a pedestrian bridge that stood very far up above a steep ravine.

"Look, why don't you let me take over. I'm clearly the better pilot," Loki suggested, ever the backseat driver.

"Is that right? Well, out of the two of us which one can actually fly?"

"To be fair, cousin, Mjolnir flies," Sigyn added her input to the bantering. "You're merely its passenger."

Loki looked to his wife, appreciating her commentary, as the ship began to take fire from the ground below while they continued to soar through the city. As Thor navigated through a ravine, Jane fainted and dropped to the floor quite unexpectedly. The married pair grimaced slightly, but it didn't look as if she was physically injured.

"Oh, dear. Is she dead?" Loki inquired dryly, to which Sigyn playfully swatted his arm.

"Jane," Thor called out in concern.

She stirred and held a hand up. "I'm okay," she assured, sleepily.

The ship took a few serious hits and jerked roughly to the side. Sigyn gripped her cousin's muscled arm and quite nearly punctured his skin with her fingernails to drive her point home when she told him, "She's fine. Probably nothing more than motion sickness. Focus on flying."

The ship seemed to spin out of control for a moment, spiraling in circles as he flew forward, though the foursome inside managed to not get tossed around like beans inside a baby's rattle. The ship then struck the roof of a building, toppling the stone spires sticking out of it.

Loki opened his mouth and was about to make a likely smartass remark, but Thor shut it down before he could ever take a breath. "Not a word."

Loki looked over his shoulder at the blue graphics, which indicated two, but possibly three, Asgardian skiffs with gun pods were hot on their trail. "Now they're following us."

"I did offer to teleport us, but you insisted on taking this ship," Sigyn added, folding her arms across her chest. "You didn't think I could take all of us at once. And now we're being followed. This could've happened much easier if you'd just listened to me."

The skiffs began firing, to which Loki moved to Thor's side and was practically in his face as he began to feel a little anxious about them actually being shot down. "And now they're firing at us!" he growled.

"Yeah, thank you for the commentary, you two! It's not at all distracting!" Thor shouted through gritted teeth.

As the ship tilted while heading for a large tunnel through a mountain, one of the wings clipped the head of one of the statues on either side of the tunnel which stood as tall as a human skyscraper. The statues were monuments to that of Thor and Sigyn's grandfather King Bor and their great-grandfather King Búri. As the stone head of of Bor crumbled to the ground below, Loki scoffed.

"Well done. You just decapitated your grandfather," he mocked. As they all continued to soar together in the ship, with Thor truly doing his best to outrun the skiffs and avoid them taking on any damage or causing any more damage, Loki couldn't help but continue to pester with further sarcasm. "You know, this is wonderful. This is a tremendous idea." He began to move back around toward Thor's side, holding his cuffed hands in front of him as he tried to make any sort of gestures as he spoke. "Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in that. Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us."

"Loki…" Sigyn muttered, noticing that a door on the side of the ship had opened and he was very close to it. "Loki."

"It's brilliant, Thor! It's truly brilliant!"

Without warning, Thor reached out and shoved Loki out of the door as Loki's screams faded as he fell.

Sigyn turned to her cousin with a raised eyebrow. "Really? He's cuffed."

"He's Loki. He'll land on his feet like a cat," Thor retorted.

With a heavy sigh, Sigyn walked over to the edge and glanced down. She could see now why Thor had actually done what he'd done. Of course, part of it was simply to shut Loki up, but it was to also continue in their escape which couldn't go forward in the size of aircraft they were currently traveling in. Not bothering to say anything, Sigyn pushed off the edge with the balls of her feet and jumped without reservation. Wind whipped her hair around and caused the skirts of her dress to flap upward wildly until she landed firmly onto an awaiting skiff below being helmed by Fandral.

"Hello," he greeted her with a smile. "Bit of a bumpy ride up there, I take it."

Sigyn threw him a look over her shoulder and then crouched down to Loki who had landed on his back like an overturned turtle just as Thor landed upon the skiff with Jane in his arms. Overhead, the fighter skiffs continued to follow the Dark Elf ship they'd just exiting, the Einherjar clearly thinking Thor and the others were still on board.

"I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki," Fandral continued.

With Sigyn's assistance, Loki was back up onto his feet. "You lied to me," Loki said to his brother, who was gently laying Jane down. "I'm impressed."

"I'm glad you're pleased," Thor replied, gripping Mjolnir tight.

Sigyn shrugged, considerably less impressed than her husband. "I still contend I could've gotten us away in the blink of an eye, with little to no damage to surrounding structures or monuments to our grandfathers."

"You've never taken more than one person with you at a time. You don't know if you can. I couldn't risk something going wrong," Thor insisted.

"You don't know that I can't," she blustered. "And you call what we just did going right?"

"Indeed, I do—"

"Alright, you rascally royals. Argue later," Fandral interrupted.

Thor glanced at his cousin but then shifted his focus to Loki. "Now, do as you promised. Take us to your secret pathway."

Loki beamed and grabbed hold of the navigational lever at his right and slowly pulled it backward. He looked positively ecstatic as the wind blustered through his hair. He kept his eyes trained forward, never faltering as their small skiff buzzed along and grazed the water's surface below them. Despite Thor's plans to use the Dark Elves' ship as a diversion, the Einherjar on another skiff quickly caught on and were soon following after them again, firing blasts of energy at them. Loki, however, was able to easily maneuver and allow them to avoid being struck by any of the blasts; proving that he was, indeed, the better pilot.

As Loki brought the skiff upward a couple tens of feet, Thor looked back at his friend. "Fandral," was all he spoke.

Knowing what was to be required of him, Fandral grabbed onto a rope that was tied to their skiff. "Right." Stepping up to the edge of the skiff, he nodded to Thor. "For Asgard."

Jumping over the edge, Fandral dropped down and swung over to another of the skiffs that had been on their trail. While Loki kept them going forward, Thor and Sigyn watched as Fandral fought the Einherjar with great success and saluted his friends, bidding them well with merely a look. From there on out it was veritable smooth sailing as Loki directed them toward a rather tall and jagged mountain range with their path not faltering in the slightest. They were heading toward the rocky edifice at breakneck speed, or at least as fast as the skiff had the capability of going.

Sigyn had faith that Loki knew what he was doing and stood unbothered by their approach, unlike Thor who was growing more and more anxious the closer they got.

"Loki…" Thor bellowed, nervously.

"If it were easy, everyone would do it," Loki quipped.

Thor realized there was a very small and narrow gap in the mountain, and that his brother was going to somehow get them through it. "Are you mad?" he demanded.

"Possibly," Loki smirked.

Following Sigyn's lead in crouching down and grabbing onto something, Thor leaned over an unconscious Jane to make sure she was safe. The skiff shot forward into the gap, with the sides scraping the interior rock surrounding it and creating plenty of sparks as streams of multicolored light began to zip by around them until that is all that enveloped them. It was bright and blinding but not in a way that hurt the eyes. There was a familiar tug in their chests that was akin to that feeling the Bifrost created when they were brought home to Asgard from anywhere in the Nine Realms.

And then, all at once, reality burst back in before them.

"Ta-da!" Loki proudly announced as the skiff appeared and bounced off the ground of the dark and rather barren-looking world that was the Dark Elves' home world of Svartalfheim, or more simply, the Dark World.

After regaining better control of the skiff after their rather rocky arrival, Loki set a much smoother course. Thor took a moment to cater once again to a sleeping Jane by covering her with a blanket and commiserate over how the Aether was starting to take more of a toll on her. Sigyn had sat down beside Loki, her hand subconsciously rubbing circles upon the small of his back while he crouched down; the two of them both looking over at Thor and Jane.

"What I could do with the power that flows through those veins," Loki commented.

"It would consume you," Thor replied as they began to sail over the expansive wreckage of Dark Elf ships that had been destroyed thousands of years ago by his grandfather Bor and the Asgardian soldiers that had fought alongside him.

"She's holding up alright," Loki whispered. "For now."

Thor glared a little at his brother. "She's strong in ways you'd never even know."

"Say goodbye."

"Not this day."

"This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing," Loki pressed on as he stood up. "It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you've prized will be snatched from you."

"And will that satisfy you?" Thor questioned angrily, looking up.

"Of course not," Sigyn interjected, rather seriously. "We do not wish it on you, but it is inevitable, Thor. You will lose her eventually. What you need is someone like us, who will last as long as we can. Courting humans in any capacity is just an endless dance of disappointment. Any happiness you have with them is over almost as soon as it begins. I should know. I let myself care and love enough of them over the centuries and I always watched them die while I went on without them. Over and over."

Loki cast a look downward at his wife, never truly realizing she the deep loss she had suffered during her great many years on Earth had extended to so many humans. Were his hands not cuffed and needed to steer the skiff he would've taken a moment to touch her, to express some semblance of condolence to her. They had time, though; something Thor likely didn't have much of with Jane.

"I will not surrender," Thor muttered. "I will not let her go."

Loki smirked, looking back at his brother. "The son of Odin."

"No," Thor thundered, feeling contentious. "Not just of Odin! You think you alone were loved of mother? You had her tricks, but I had her trust!"

"Trust," Loki scoffed; his temper beginning to boil up to the surface. "Was that her last expression? Trust? When you let her die!"

"What help were you in your cell?" Thor questioned, getting in his brother's face.

"Who put me there?" Loki shouted back.

"You know damn well!" Thor gave Loki a shove. He then pushed Loki down against the rear of the skiff; pulling his arm back and balling up his fist. "You know damn well who!"

Acting quickly, Sigyn jumped up to cause interference by grabbing Thor by the shoulder. It took extra force on her part because of how strong he was, but she was able to pull him away from Loki and step between them. "Okay. Enough of the pissing match, boys. This is not the time, nor the place." Sigyn glared at each of them. "Frigga wouldn't want you to fight."

Loki almost smirked as he watched Thor reluctantly back away. "Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked."

With that, both brothers smiled and the argument was over. For the moment, anyway.

Thor just looked sadly at his little brother. "I wish I could trust you."

Straightening up his posture, Loki's face went dark as Thor began to turn away. "Trust my rage," he whispered.

As they continued to pass through what was feeling more like a ship graveyard, the three royal Asgardians happened to look over at Jane when they realized she was starting to wake. When she sat up, and her eyes were opened, it didn't seem like she was much of herself anymore. For one, her brown eyes had turned an icy shade of blue and the white parts were now completely black.

"Jane," Thor muttered, as she turned and looked at the barren land before them.

As if on cue, one of the Dark Elves' ships began to descend from the abundant cloud cover overhead.

"Malekith," Jane whispered.

Loki slowed the skiff down, and powered it off as it came to a complete stop near a cliff's edge. Thor climbed out first and then helped Jane down while Loki and Sigyn managed separately and with more grace in their footfalls than Thor could ever attempt. Discreetly in a hunched manner, the foursome neared closer to the cliff's edge to take in the sight of the ship that had made it's berth upon the ground below in the rather not too far distance. They could make out the shapes of Dark Elves exiting their ship. Beyond the dark clouds, the world's only light source was from that of a black hole, adding to the Svartalfheim's perpetual gloom and doom atmosphere.

Keep a safe distance if you can, Loki pleaded with Sigyn as he touched one of his cuffed hands to hers. No matter what happens. Do me that favor, will you?

Sigyn looked up at him with worry written on her face. Do not say such things to me with little warning. Do not do anything needlessly stupid. Do not be reckless.

Loki shrugged. "And yet you still love me in spite of it," her verbalized with an impish grin, which confused Thor.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Loki insisted, catching Sigyn's eye.

"Alright. Are you ready?" Thor asked of Jane, who nodded in response.

"I am," came Loki's two cents.

The brothers stood up then, looking down at the ashen valley below as all four of them took note of Malekith and his men noticing their presence from above.

"You know, this plan of yours is going to get us killed," Loki continued.

"Yeah, possibly," Thor agreed.

Looking at his big brother, Loki held out his hands, to which Thor hesitated in removing the bindings from. "You still don't trust me, brother?"

Thor smirked. "Would you?"

As Thor took the cuffs off, Loki rubbed his wrists and let out a contented sigh. "No, I wouldn't."

Without warning, Loki conjured one of his knives from within his jacket and stabbed Thor in the stomach. Jane called for him in fear as he tumbled down the blackened cliffside. Loki jumped down after him as Jane continued to cry out for him. Sigyn knew of this part of the plan, but Jane did not because they couldn't risk Malekith somehow seeing into the Aether in Jane and managing to find out the ruse that was planned for him. Because of this, Sigyn had to act shocked.

"Loki, what are you doing?" she called out as she hurried down the cliffside with Jane.

"You really think I cared about Frigga? About any of you?" Loki sneered and he stepped up to Thor who was trying to get up, only to kick Thor in the face and send him rolling a few times. "All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet, and for my wife and I to rule."

As Thor held his right hand out, but before Mjolnir could reach him in time, Loki sliced Thor's hand clean off at the wrist. Mjolnir shot past and slammed heavily to the ground without Thor to catch it. Thor meanwhile, rolled onto his back and gripped his arm as he writhed in pain. As he moaned, with blood seeping from his nostrils, Jane made her way to his side. Her position there lasted only a brief moment as Loki grabbed her up; wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her against him as an offering of sorts.

"Malekith!" Loki shouted. "I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift." With little fanfare, he tossed Jane roughly to the ground between him and the Dark Elves' warmongering leader. "I ask only one thing in return: a good seat from which my wife and I can watch Asgard burn."

Malekith's righthand man, the monstrous-looking beast that had been the one to fatally wound Frigga, spoke Elven to his leader, who listened intently to whatever was being said. Despite being omnilingual, the language of the Dark Elves had been a dead language to Asgardians up until a few days ago, so it was near impossible for Loki, Sigyn or Thor to translate. The general mood that seemed to be conveyed between the Malekith and his first in command seemed favorable for Loki, though.

Loki glanced slightly toward Sigyn, and gestured for her to come forward to stand at his side and show they were a package deal; a united front. It's alright, my love. He could tell she was feeling hesitant despite knowing these details of the plan that was at play.

Coming to stand at his left, Sigyn brought a hand up to his upper arm and stared back at the Dark Elves who were now also inspecting her.

"My wife, Sigyn. My queen," he introduced. "She has been my loyal companion these last thousand years."

Sigyn gave a brief bow of her head toward Malekith, a gesture that made her sick to her stomach. She took comfort in knowing that Loki felt the same way about this ruse; of pretending he didn't care one iota for their Asgardian family and that claiming Jotunheim as his true home, given his abandonment by his birth father. She watched how Malekith stepped around Jane and began to inspect her before moving on to Thor.

"Look at me," Malekith demanded, turning Thor onto his back with a kick of his foot. With the raise of his right hand, he lifted Jane up. As she hovered there, several feet off the ground, her arms splayed out at her sides as Malekith began to pull the Aether out of her.

Sigyn was rather entranced by it, watching how this shifting red cloud escaped from seemingly every orifice of the human's body and transferred itself into Malekith with considerable ease. As the last tendrils of this ancient force left her, Jane dropped backward onto the ground, free of the Aether and fully herself again, but understandably weakened.

"Loki, now!" Thor shouted.

With zero hesitation, Loki pushed Sigyn behind him with his left arm while simultaneously reaching his right hand out. Using his magic, he revealed Thor's hand own right hand was still very much intact and the loss of the hand had been nothing more than a holographic projection. Thor reached that very hand out, calling forth Mjolnir, as his full armor appeared around his arms and body.

Sigyn teleported to Jane's side in a matter of seconds and covered her while Thor began conjuring lightning with his hammer and using the lightning to attack the Aether. Loki, not knowing what would happen if Thor was successful, jumped over to both women to shield them in case the possible destruction was catastrophic.

The Aether exploded into a dark cloud. As dust fell and cleared around them, Thor stood tall with Mjolnir in hand while Loki and Sigyn looked up, along with Jane, to spy thousands or red, glass-like shards rising up from the ground and hovering. Slowly, the pieces began to move toward one another like magnets to metal, only to reform as the Aether and continue its absorption into Malekith, who welcomed the power with literal open arms. When it was full contained within him, he simply looked to his first in command and then walked away back toward the ship.

On an unspoken command, the Dark Elf soldiers marched forward with their weapons at the ready and Thor wasted no time in taking the fight to him; swinging Mjolnir and knocking the nearest Elf out of his way and a second Elf just as easily half a second later.

Malekith's first in command, who was Sigyn was referring to as Beast in her head, was looking after him and Malekith, but prepared to fight. She averted her eyes to the soldiers coming toward her and Loki and turned to Jane. Grabbing the human woman by the hand, she teleported them both a safe distance away near the base of that cliffside.

"Stay," Sigyn uttered as if Jane was a pet dog. Teleporting back to where she'd been moments earlier, she was unprepared for what was headed in her direction.

Loki, however, had spotted it; a grenade of sorts. Her life meaning more to him than his own, he shoved her down and out of the way as the grenade went off, creating a black hole that began to suck him upward into the air.

Sigyn cried out to him and he tried to reach for her. For a moment his life began to flash before his eyes while also watching the complete and wretched fear seep into Sigyn's eyes. Fortunately, Thor was there in an instant, using Mjolnir to fly forward and knock his brother out of the black hole's way as the black hole withered into nothingness. The brothers gathered themselves and stood up, with Sigyn quickly joining them; conjuring a ball of green energy in her right hand as her weapon of choice all the while the three of them watched Malekith retreating since he had what he'd come for.

Thor began to swing Mjolnir again and flew forward to take his fight to Malekith, however the Aether inside the Dark Elf protected him and Thor got tossed back onto the ground as if hitting an invisible wall. "Beast" stalked forward then to retaliate; both Thor and Beast turning to good ol' fashioned fisticuffs. Beast, though, was a mite stronger and hit Thor so hard the blonde Asgardian went flying at least a couple hundred feet. The ship began to lift up off the ground with Malekith successfully escaping and a cloaking shield activated as it disappeared into the greyish yellow clouds. Beast remained with several soldiers, ready to fight the Asgardians to the death, and preferably the Asgardians' deaths.

A few circled Loki, who was sizing each one up to determine which he'd take on first when Sigyn blasted one from behind with her magic and then teleported behind another and snapped its neck with great ease. Garnering a proud grin from Loki, he took to initiating his side of the fight by blocking a hit and stabbing his knife forward. Thor, meanwhile, was caught up in continuing his own fight with Beast only to be punched do hard in the chest he went flying backward again, this time toward the rocky base of the cliffside. Beast then punched a rock structure and, as it began to topple, lifted it up and threw it at Thor. Thor summoned Mjolnir but, as it approached, Beast struck it with his fist and sent the hammer soaring into another section of the rocky cliffside.

Loki fighting was like a skilled dance. He was so quick and precise and viciously lethal that, had she the time, Sigyn would stopped her own fighting to admire how extra enthralling he was to her in that moment. The last of the soldiers defeated by the wedded couple's own two hands, Loki paused to look ahead at Thor getting badly pummeled by Beast. With a sidelong glance to Sigyn, he offered a small smile and touched his hand to hers.

"It's alright, my love," he whispered, reiterating his earlier telepathic words to her.

Not knowing what he was getting at, she watched as he bent down and picked up one of the fallen soldiers' swords before stalking off toward his brother and Beast. She walked forward at a considerably slower pace than Loki; only once looking back over her shoulder for some reason to make sure Jane had stayed put, but saw that Jane was slowly making her way over since there was now only one adversary left for the three Asgardians to contend with. Just as Sigyn looked forward, she witnessed Loki stab Beast through the back with the sword and felt a short-lived moment of victory for this particular fight coming to an end.

She was not expecting Beast to turn so abruptly, grab Loki by and force him against his body, pushing the blade straight through Loki's chest.

"No!" Sigyn screamed, echoing Thor.

This was not supposed to happen. This was not supposed to happen. This was not supposed to happen.

Sigyn was so shell-shocked that she couldn't move or react for what felt like eons. She just stood there at a loss for words and feeling as if a rug was being pulled out from under her feet.

As Beast tossed a mortally wounded Loki off of him, Loki groaned in pain. He looked up at Beast as he slowly approached and somehow managed to get the last word in. "See you in Hel, monster."

Confused at first, Beast quickly realized a black hole grenade strapped to his side had been activated by Loki, either before or after he, himself, was run through by Beast. After a few seconds of increased beeping from the grenade and not enough time to detach and toss it away, Beast was absorbed into the black hole that was created, which seemed to pull him apart as well as fold him into himself until he more or less ceased to exist.

Thor got to his feet then and at his brother's side in the same amount of time it took Sigyn to snap out of it and teleport there. Both dropped down around Loki, watching as he began to turn white and a darker ashen color began to spread along his skin. Tears stung at the cousins' eyes, with Thor lifting Loki's head up and Sigyn taking Loki's hands in hers.

"No. No, no, no," Sigyn cried in an anguished and panicked voice.

"Oh, you fool, you didn't listen," Thor muttered in some sort of futile attempt to will away the inevitable.

"I know…" Loki whispered as death was creeping up on him. "I'm a fool, I'm a fool."

"No, you're not," Sigyn insisted; a sob stuck in her throat while her tears burned at her eyes. "You're strong, and you must fight this. You cannot leave me. Not now. Not after everything."

"Stay with us, okay?" Thor insisted, as he watched Sigyn place a hand upon her husband's face.

"I'm sorry," Loki whimpered, shifting his gaze from Thor to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Shh…it's okay. It's alright. I'll tell father what you did here today."

Loki's body stopped shaking and a sense of calm began to wash over him. He looked slowly between his brother and his wife, and tried his best to grip Sigyn's hand as tightly as he could muster while he still could. When his gaze finally settled back upon Sigyn, he muttered, "I didn't do it for him."

Loki's head tipped backward and his eyelids gently fell shut as he released his final breath. The dark, ashen coloring spread over his face in an odd, blotchy design that seemed to solidify his demise.

And, like that, Loki was gone.

Thor reacted first by skipping over the first stage of grief and moving on to the second, which was anger, by shouting out from the pain in his heart. "No!"

Sigyn was too stunned, lost somewhere in the first stage of denial. It just didn't feel like it was real. Her heart was breaking into a million little pieces and she was confused at why, despite this sudden loss and her warranted grief, she didn't feel as empty as she thought she would feel. She had always imagined that when she eventually lost Loki, that when he died, she would feel this instant untethering of his soul from hers; that she would feel like half a person. After all, they had bonded themselves together for all time, with the 'red string of fate' during their private marriage ceremony so long ago. They were supposed to be as one. She tried to telepathically listen in on any last remnants of his thoughts that might still be in his mind, but all she heard was static. It wasn't exactly the complete and utter silence she would've imagined there to be, but it was still an empty void of nothingness.

Sigyn hadn't even realized Jane had reached them by then. She was too lost in her own world. She was brought out of it, however, when Thor reached his hands out and touched them down upon hers. Only then did she also realize he was already standing and trying to pull her away from Loki's body as a funneling dust cloud began to approach.

"We must go, cousin. We cannot stay here," he spoke quietly to her.

"No." Sigyn shook her head as she slowly rose to her feet with his help. "I can't leave him here."

"There's nothing more we can do for him, Sig. He's gone. If you stay here, with this dust storm fast approaching, you might die, too, and I cannot lose you as well."

"That's not up to you," she retorted, shaking him off. "Where Loki goes, I go. If that means death, then so be it."

"No, I won't let you stay here alone with my brother's—your husband's corpse. Loki's gone and he's not truly here anymore. He's with our mother now. This is just his body. This is who he was, not who he is. His fight is over. But we have another fight yet ahead of us and I need you at my side more than ever."

"No."

"Sigyn, yes."

"Heimdall sees all," she countered, her gaze solely upon Loki and unwavering at that. "He'll have seen this surely. He'll alert someone and send Einherjar here to retrieve Loki and me, and whether or not they'll need one box or two to bring us both home in is not your choice, but mine."

"Sigyn…" Thor pleaded, gripping his hand in hers.

"Thor. I am Sigyn, Goddess of Constancy. I am Loki's wife and I will stay by his side no matter what." She turned and looked her cousin dead in the eye. "I will be his, forever and for always, beyond this life and the next, and until time itself ceases to be," she reiterated her and Loki's marriage vows, which Thor would never have been privy to knowing. "I have no fight left in me anymore, dear cousin. I will be of no use to you now. I'm sorry." Slowly, she sank back down onto the ground. Sensing Thor wasn't budging, she added, "Go now. Get Jane out of here while you still can."

"If this is your wish," he remarked, dejectedly.

"It is," she assured. "No go. Leave me with my husband. Let me mourn in private."

With hesitation seizing any and all of his motor functions for a few moments, Thor eventually relented and released a heavy sigh from his lips. He agreed that he needed to get Jane away and keep her safe, and he also didn't have the time to stand there and argue with his cousin. If this was the course of action she wanted to take, to stay behind like some sort of widow who threw herself onto her husband's funeral pyre, he had to right to take that choice away from her. This was her life to lead, not his. And it was possibly also her death.

He couldn't stay.

And so he left.

As Thor used his cape, draping it over Jane as they walked away toward the cliff, the dust storm came nearer. He turned back once to see Sigyn knelt down beside Loki and leaning forward to cover his body with hers. As Thor and Jane ascended the cliff and reached its summit, he looked back a second time to where they'd left Sigyn and no longer saw her.

The storm had enveloped her and Loki in a curtain of ash and dust.