CW: very brief mention of suicide in reference to the first Thor movie.
Events in this chapter are synced with events in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.
She didn't go back into the cage.
Apparently Thanos was an easy sell. Her quick compliance with his plans elevated her from prisoner in a cage to ally in a room.
It was plain, very plain, with nothing but a bed, some drawers in a wall, and a small closet with what seemed to be a toilet of some sort. No private baths, no gauzy, breeze blown curtains, no wide open windows warm with morning light; Kagome didn't like to think of herself as spoiled, but this was so starkly different from her home she'd been stolen from that she couldn't appreciate how much more comfortable it would be from that cage. She slid into her small bed, pressed her face into the thin cushion for her head, took a deep breath, and then sobbed at the smell of dust and metal. Even after Loki's scent had completely faded from their bed on Asgard it had still smelled like sun and home and familiarity.
This was none of those things, and the tang of bitterness that built in the back of her throat threatened to gag her.
The door on her new accommodations locked and the lights flickered out, signaling the end of another "day," at least for her, and she huffed in exasperation. No longer in a cage, but she was still a prisoner.
She pulled out her locket, something she did almost every night now, and opened it, watching the image of she and Loki flicker into life in the darkness. She studied his features, remembered every line and angle of his face, the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed or smiled, how they softened when he looked at her. She remembered how it felt to be wrapped in his taller, stronger frame, the exact rhythm of his heart when she laid on his chest, the way his eyes glittered when he was up to tricks and illusions. And then her heart broke for him as the new knowledge of what he'd gone through after his failed suicide attempt.
'So that's why he ended up on earth. There was a stone there, and Thanos wanted it. He... he forced him with some kind of brainwashing scepter.'
She thought of her last meeting with him, sequestered away in that little cell far below Asgard in the dungeons.
'Why didn't he just TELL us that?'
Be she wilted again, she knew why. What he'd done couldn't really be classified as much different than what Thor had done in trying to destroy all of the frost giants- an unexpected, undeserved attack on a fellow Realm member. But while Thor had been banished, it had been conditional. If he could prove himself, he could come back.
But Loki... they'd meant for him to rot in that cell for as long as he lived. And he was a god, so that meant eternity, a staggeringly long time. He'd been given no opportunity for the redemption Thor had been allowed to have, and bitterness burned bright in her heart again before she snapped her locket shut and sank bonelessly into her meager mattress.
She was so tired of the anger and hurt, but it was still so fresh and new and so demanding of her attention.
But today had already been long and tumultuous enough, so she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.
———————-
The first time she'd been forced to 'help' Thanos she hadn't been sure what he expected from her and she was relieved when he'd merely asked her for a 'blessing.' She'd floundered for a second, not knowing what to do before poking his arm with one reiki charged finger,hoping that if it tingled he'd think she'd actually done something.
And then she'd watched in horror as he'd slaughtered half of the people living on the planet they'd landed on.
She barely blinked, eyes wide and mouth agape, taking in the carnage, the devastation, a pile of bodies that had once been living, breathing people. Children cried in the arms of their remaining parent, spouses grieved in the face of new widowhood, friends and family wailed their losses, and Kagome could not believe a second of it.
Wishing away half the universe on a handful of magic stones was one thing, but that Thanos was going to cull half the population by hand in the meantime was a new level of horror, and she ran to the nearest foliage and wretched until her stomach muscles ached.
When she finished heaving she almost started again at the sound of Thanos's voice crooning softly behind her. Her soul recoiled that he would try to comfort her, but she took a shuddering breath, wiped her mouth, and stood, meeting his eyes with defiant determination.
"I understand how it must look to one so pure as you. But it is necessary, and your grief is misplaced. I have saved these people, saved them from themselves. Those that remain will thrive and count this day as the day of their redemption. Come, we must go."
She took one last look at the carnage that had been wrought, tucked it away in the recesses of her mind, branded the evil that had been exacted on these people on her heart, and boarded the ship.
———————-
It never got easier, but thankfully purging of life wasn't all they did. They did a great deal of hunting for the Infinity Stones, scraping and scrounging for hints and rumors of their locations. It was like being on the shard hunt again, but with Naraku's group instead. She could even see some echos of Kagura in Gamora, who served Thanos faithfully enough, but she could tell there was a bit of rebellion bubbling below the surface, like she was looking for any reason to turn her back. She wasn't overtly friendly with Kagome, but she wasn't hostile either, though she'd made it clear she didn't want Kagome's friendship.
Nebula on the other hand...
Nebula was hostile, but she was not giving up on Nebula.
She'd witnessed Thanos' blatant favoritism of Gamora over his android daughter and knew just how deeply those scars were running inside her, and now it made sense how hard she worked to try and prove herself. It was revolting watching her get taken apart and put back together to be "better" and "stronger" every time she failed to live up to her father's colossal expectations, and Kagome's compassion flared and her heart bled.
No, she was definitely not giving up on reaching Nebula. She'd seen what this type of favoritism had done first hand and if she could do anything to soften that blow she would try.
Thanos sent them both on an errand to speak with Ronan, and though she winced at his statement that maybe being supervised would keep Nebula from disappointing him again, she internally cheered at the prospect of seeing something a little different to the interior of the ship.
They didn't go far, just the surface of an asteroid literally right outside the ship's hatch. At first she'd been frightened she wouldn't be able to breath, but apparently her Demi-divinity was good for something and she stood on its surface as easily as Nebula and Ronan did.
Ronan.
She shivered at the sight of him, the way his piercing eyes cut to her and stared through her. She'd had only a handful of interactions with him but each and every one left her skin absolutely crawling. He loved to "compliment" her purity, something he in particular was drawn to, though it usually came in the form of racial purity which made her sneer. She supposed he thought she would be flattered he'd look past their difference in species to see something worthwhile in her, but his darkness was even more vile than Thanos's and she wanted out of his company as soon as possible. She looked out at the universe around them, ignoring the conversation and warnings passed along between the two blue skinned aliens she'd become so familiar with, and tried to count every distant star.
She still couldn't believe the things she was seeing, the far reaches of space no one else on earth right now would be privileged enough to see unless space travel had advanced that far since her birth year.
Ronan left in a huff and Nebula strode back to the ship, leaving Kagome to hurry after her.
"Hey Neb, wait up!"
"My name is Nebula." She replied without stopping, though she did slow down enough for Kagome to catch up quickly.
"Uh... I know, heh. It's a nickname. You know, like friends give each other."
"We are not friends."
"Not yet, but I'll wear you down one of these days!"
Nebula eyed her for a moment before looking away again.
"No, father does not appreciate friendship between his daughters. He fosters only competition to make us stronger."
"Woah woah, daughters? He is not my father!"
Nebula did stop then, tilting her head a little, narrowing her eyes and searching Kagome's face.
"Thanos views you as a daughter much as he views me and Gamora. It is his way when he adopts a lost one into the fold."
"Well, he's shit out of luck if he expects me to call him dad. I'll be your sister, but I am absolutely not his daughter."
Nebula looked genuinely shocked, which was surprising since she seemed determined to appear as blank as possible.
'She's worse than Sesshomaru, honestly.'
"You reject father's admiration?"
"Uh, yeah! Why on Earth would I care how he feels about me? He kidnapped me! I was more than happy to stay in my home, thank you very much."
"But, he would favor you, much like he favors..."
"Gamora? Yeah, I can tell she's his favorite, and that's really shitty, you know that right? Parents aren't supposed to play favorites."
She watched the wheels in Nebula's mind spin, and though she quickly shuttered her expression and continued on, Kagome counted it a small victory that she'd managed to make her think for a minute.
"Father looks over me because I am weak. I merely need to surpass Gamora and he will-"
"No, your father looks over you because he's a dick. That's all."
Recognizing the path back to where Thanos awaited their report, Kagome skipped ahead and left Nebula behind, but she could feel the uncertainty that now laced her aura, how she hesitated to think the things she always thought about herself.
She smirked, and when Thanos asked her point blank if Nebula had embarrassed him again she made sure her voice carried far enough for his neglected daughter to hear when she answered.
"No, she did great. Nebula always does a good job, you should be proud."
The shock and thin wisps of tentative happiness her new "sister's" aura lightened her heart enough to chase away another night of bad dreams.
FUN FACT: I'm wildly in love with Lee Pace, and this is my third Fic featuring one of his characters, even if it is only a tiny cameo appearance this time. Ronan is a creep but I can't help but hold a little softness for him since he's played by one of my faves, heh. My other fics featuring him are a Thranduil/Kagome crossover and a Ned the Piemaker/Kagome crossover if you're interested in giving them a look. Until next time y'all, stay safe and healthy!