HEY LUNCHIES! My friend AsketronNidavellir8 drew me a few fanarts for this story! If you want to see them, head over to , at my profile .TheOnlyHuman. They're in the Q version of this story, if you're interested. :D

Warning for another nightmare. If you don't like bugs, you might want to skip it. It's the bit in italics. Enjoy the chapter!

After Loki had made sure Sigyn was asleep, and wrapped up his sprained ankle extremely tight, honestly so tight it was cutting off circulation, he hobbled over to Thor's room, where, he, too, was cleaning his wounds. Particularly, the most obvious one, on his face. He carefully placed an eye patch over it, staring morosely at his reflection in the mirror.

"It suits you." The Trickster spoke up. Thor caught sight of his figure in the mirror, then turned to face him.

"Thank you, Brother." He smiled, that ever-optimistic face of his somehow assuring Loki that everything might finally be alright. "If you were here, I might even give you a hug, right now." With that, Thor picked up a small hand-mirror, chucking it at his brother's face.

Loki deftly caught it, without even a glance in its direction. "I'm here."

Thor's smile grew to a grin, and he clumped over to Loki, holding him at arms' length, before wrapping his arms around Loki's shoulders, pressing his brother to his chest. "Oh!" Loki stammered in surprise. "I-I didn't expect you to make good on that." He said, returning the hug, and burying his face in Thor's shoulder.

"Perhaps you're not so bad, after all." Thor smiled, pulling back to look Loki in the eye.

"Perhaps not." Loki admitted, allowing a small smile to appear on his face, as well.

"Don't get your hopes up." A small voice spoke up from Thor's bed. "He might just have a few more surprises."

Loki glanced over to see Vali sitting on Thor's bed, toying with a rubber band. "Va." He smiled.

"Hello, father." Vali beamed. "Are you done saving the world?"

Loki shared a look with Thor. "Yeah, maybe. For a little while."

Vali nodded, as Loki sat on the bed beside him, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe." The Trickster whispered into his son's hair.

"Me, too." Vali grinned. "How's Mama?"

Loki frowned. "I think all the fighting exhausted her, quite a bit." Loki admitted. "She's resting, now, or, at least, she'd better be."

"No telling, with Ziggy." Thor laughed.

Loki raised an eyebrow at Vali. "So, you're not frightened of him, anymore?"

Vali shook his head. "Not really, no. He is pretty big, though…" He trailed off, staring at Thor's muscles in thoughtful silence.

"Yeah, he is." Loki nodded, smirking at Thor.

Vali fiddled with the rubber band. "And, he doesn't call me 'Bustard', anymore, too."

"Bastard." Loki corrected. "A bustard is a type of Midgardian bird."

Vali shrugged. "He doesn't call me bustard, either."

Loki laughed. "Well, that's good. You're certainly not a bustard."

"Certainly not." Thor agreed.

"What did you do to him?" Loki asked his brother.

Thor blinked innocently. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean!"

"What did you do to make him like you?" Loki pressed.

Thor shrunk guiltily. "I… may have fed him… large amounts of candy…"

Loki rolled his eyes. "What is it with you two and bribing my children?" he sighed.

Vali spoke up, again. "Father, do you remember when you lived in Sir Anthony's tower?"

Loki nodded. "That was a long time ago."

Vali nodded, happily bouncing slightly on the bed. "And even longer ago, than that, you used to be dead!"

"Ah, yes." Loki smirked at his brother. "Good times."

"And then, even before that," Vali went on. "You were a prince!"

Loki glanced at Thor. "Well, as the brother of a king, I'm still technically a prince."

Thor sighed, reminded of the weight of the kingdom. "Loki, you'll… you'll still be by my side, won't you?"

"Well, not one hundred percent of the time." Loki admitted. "But, yes, I suppose I can help you lead."

"Thank you." Thor beamed in relief.

"Where we going to live, now?" Vali wondered.

Loki turned to Thor. "Well?"

Thor sighed, leaning forward, and resting his elbows on his knees. "Midgard, I think, if that's alright with you."

"Brother, you said that like a true commoner." Loki told him. "Being a king 101: You are the king, you make the decisions, and you phrase them in a way that leaves no room for questioning your orders. I ask you, again, where will we be living?"

Thor glared in frustration at Loki. "I'm only king when I'm sitting on the throne. When I'm just sitting in my room, I'm just your brother."

"It's good practice." Loki waved a hand. "Now…?"

Thor rolled his eye, but squared his shoulder, looking Loki in the eyes. "Midgard."

"Much better." Loki smiled. "I'll make a functioning adult of you, yet!"

Thor shook his head in exasperation, but didn't object.

"Father?" Vali spoke up in a small voice.

"Yes, Va?" Loki ruffled his son's hair.

The young boy looked down at his hands, still playing with the rubber band. "Lady Eir died." He explained, his voice trembling. "She was killed by a Draugr."

"Oh, Va…" Loki breathed, wrapping Vali in another hug. "I'm so sorry."

"She s-saved my life…" Vali sniffled, his eyes filling with tears. "And then she died."

Vali buried his face in his Father's shoulder. "She d-doesn't even get a f-funeral." He sobbed, as Loki comfortingly rubbed circles on his back.

"It'll be alright, Va." Loki whispered. "It'll be okay."

After a few minutes of sobbing, Vali sat up, again, wiping his tear-stained eyes. He offered a shaky smile, then rested his head on Loki's shoulder.

"It's getting late." Loki noticed. "Vali, you need to be in bed."

"Mm-hm." Vali agreed, and Loki stood up, taking his son's hand, and led him back to his and Sigyn's room.

"Where's my bed?" Vali asked, a yawn almost splitting his head in half.

"You're going to sleep with your Mama and I, tonight." Loki informed him, changing into his sleepwear with a flick of his wrist. Sigyn was already asleep, poor girl, so Loki pulled back the blankets, and tucked Vali in next to her, slipping under the covers, himself. "Goodnight, Vali." Loki told him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"G'night, Father." Vali sighed in contentment, before drifting off to sleep. Loki soon followed suit.

"Aww, look at the poor little runt." One of the Chitauri crooned, a sadistic leer on his face. "He's so terrified!"

"Look at the way he's trembling." Another sneered. "Are you scared, little worthless thing?"

Loki grit his teeth. Answering them would only give them more to use against him. Desperately, he closed his eyes, turning weakly away, before a hideous, gnarled claw-like hand grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at it.

"We asked you a question, Princeling," it spat. "Answer. Are you scared?"

Loki stared at the face above him, shaking from head to foot. Hesitantly, hoping against hope that this was what they wanted, he nodded. The truth.

They exploded in laughter. "Oh, he'll be more frightened, yet." One of them smirked.

"Yes, when he sees what we've prepared for him."

Loki closed his eyes again, slinking away on weak, trembling limbs, as the Chitauri released his chin. There was a large thump, nearby, and Loki's curiosity got the better of him. He opened his eyes, trying find out what in the Nine realms the sound was. They'd placed a barrel beside him.

"We heard you were afraid of the contents of this barrel." One sneered. "So, we just had to try it out."

With that, they inverted the barrel over his head. To his horror, the aforementioned contents poured over Loki's face and body. With a hysterical scream Loki realized what, exactly, they were.

Cockroaches.

Thousands of them, crawling, racing all over his body, their horrid little feet sharp on his raw, abused skin, scrambling through the rags that clothed him, so that no inch of him was safe from the nasty little insects. Again, he screamed, desperately swatting at the roaches, trying get them off, get them off, oh, why couldn't he get them off, but there were too many. All over, in his hair, in his trousers, crawling behind his ears! Oh, it was awful! He screamed until his voice was hoarse, until he was begging, pleading the Chitauri to get them off, to have pity, mercy, just get the horrid things away from him…

They only laughed.

"Loki!" Someone was shaking his shoulders. He could still feel the disgusting legs crawling over his skin, and he swatted wildly.

"Thalionen, wake up!" The voice demanded.

Loki's eyes flew open, and he was met with Sigyn's concerned face over his. "Get them off, please, please, just get them off, I'll do anything!" He sobbed, clinging to her, desperately shaking in fear.

"Get what off?" Sigyn asked in bewilderment.

"The bugs…" Loki moaned, scratching at his skin. "So many bugs…"

"Father, there's no bugs on you." Vali's quiet voice pointed out. Loki glanced down at his bug-less body, somewhat surprised to see the truth. "Oh. So there aren't."

He closed his eyes, willing himself to breathe normally. "I'm sorry." He panted, pulling the blankets over himself, again. "Both of you, I'm sorry to have woken you."

"It's okay, Father." Vali assured, wrapping his arms around Loki's neck. "We get bad dreams, too, sometimes."

Loki cracked a smile at his son's understanding, caring attitude, and tenderly carded his fingers through the boy's inky black hair. "Thanks, Vali."

Vali nodded understandingly, and laid back down on the pillows.

Sigyn gave him a worried glance, but then followed suit. Loki, however, found himself unable to return to slumber. After he'd lain awake for another hour, he slipped out of bed, donned his armor to boost his confidence, and slipped out of the room, wandering through the halls of the ship. Perhaps he wouldn't have, if he knew what would transpire in the next few hours. Perhaps he would've relished the few moments he had with his family, before his life, once again, was turned on its' head.

Eventually, his footsteps led him to a large bay window, overlooking the vast expanse of space. He stayed before that window quietly for a while, until he was joined by a familiar blonde-haired man.

"What are you doing awake?" Thor asked, a soft smile adorning his features.

"I just… needed to clear my head." Loki replied. "Besides, you, also, are awake."

"Fair." Thor nodded. "You think the Midgardians will be upset?"

Loki turned to look at him. "Upset about the fact that we're going to be coexisting with them for a while? I should think so."

"Great, you're so encouraging." Thor sighed.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "You asked my opinion."

"So I did." Thor nodded. "You know, Brother?"

"Hm?" Loki turned back to the stars.

Thor smiled again. "I think we're going to be alright."

Loki smiled at the King of Asgard. "Yeah. I think we are."

There was a moment of peaceful silence, just the two brothers and the stars. For a split second, everything was perfect. Then an enormous spaceship came into view through the window, and their lives shattered.

"Sigyn! Sigyn, you need to wake up, now!"

Someone was roughly shaking Sigyn's shoulder. "Five more minutes." She mumbled.

"No, Sigyn, now." Loki's voice insisted, ripping the blankets off of her. "Get up."

"Okay, I'm up!" Sigyn rubbed her eyes, looking up at her husband, his face white and pinched, his hands shaking. "What's wrong?"

"Where'd Vali go?" He demanded, pulling Sigyn out of bed, and pushing clothes into her arms. "The Master's here, and you need to get out of here, now."

Sigyn quickly changed into her Lady Victory clothes, again. "Melleth, I'm not leaving you."

"Yes, you are!" He barked. "Where's Vali?"

Sigyn shrugged. "I don't know."

Loki took a deep breath, frantically trying to calm himself. "This… is bad…" He turned back to her. "Teleport to New York, and get the children somewhere safe."

Sigyn shook her head stubbornly. "Loki, I'm staying with you."

Just then, the entire ship pitched, as if a giant had suddenly flicked it with his finger. Sigyn toppled to one side, and Loki immediately righted her, holding her steady. They were under fire.

"No, you're not." Loki hissed through clenched teeth. "Now, you have three seconds to teleport to Midgard, or I'll force you to!"

Sigyn crossed her arms. "Loki, I…"

"One."

He was serious. He actually meant business. All these years, Sigyn suddenly realized, all these years running from Thanos, and he'd finally showed up. This was the real deal.

"Two." Loki tapped his foot impatiently.

"But, Loki, I-"

"Three." Abruptly, Loki pulled something out of his magical cache, Sigyn saw a flash of blue, and then she was sitting on her butt on the sidewalk in front of Stark Tower. Disoriented, she scrambled to her feet, and slipped inside.

"Lady Victory!" The clerk at the front desk gasped.

"The same." Sigyn smiled. "I need to speak to Pepper Potts."

She frowned. "I'm sorry, she's at the Avengers compound, upstate."

Sigyn face-palmed. "Did she take my kids?"

The clerk nodded.

"Okay, thanks for your help." Sigyn smiled, turning to leave.

"Hey, wait." The clerk stopped her, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Can I have an autograph? Please? I have all the other Avengers, besides Bruce Banner, Thor's and Loki's."

Sigyn hesitated. "Alright, but quickly; this is Avengers business."

The woman pushed a pen and paper toward her, and she quickly scribbled her name, then bolted out the door. She teleported to the compound, only to find it dark and quiet. "Friday?" She hesitantly called for the AI.

"Yes, ma'am?" The robot quickly answered.

"Where's Pepper?" She asked immediately.

"She's downstairs, in the rec room, with your children." Friday answered promptly.

"Thanks!" Sigyn slipped into the elevator, and waited patiently as it went down to the lowest floor. Pepper was playing "Clue" with Sleipnir and Gandhi, but she looked worried. Fenris was napping nearby, and the TV was on, displaying the news channeling, broadcasting a clip of Iron Man fighting strange aliens she'd never seen, before.

"Hi, Pepper!" She smiled, dragging the young woman's eyes away from the screen.

"Sigyn!" She smiled in relief. "You're back! Good to see you!"

She nodded, sitting down on the floor next to her. "Hey, Sleepy, Gandhi." She smiled. "How you doing?"

"Hi, Mother!" Gandhi grinned. "We're great! Ms. Potts is the best!"

Sigyn nodded. "Glad to hear." She turned to Pepper, again. "What's going on?"

Ms. Potts sighed in exasperation and worry. "More Avengers stuff. Tony and his… friend? He's not technically an Avenger, but you may have heard of Spider-Man?"

"Oh, yeah, quite a bit, actually." Sigyn nodded enthusiastically. "His first sighting was on our house's street, remember."

"Oh, yeah, that's right." Pepper smiled. "Well, he and Tony are working on fighting these new aliens. They say they're children of this Thanos guy, and they're after these weird rocks. I didn't get all that, but I think… they're getting beaten."

Sigyn looked back at the TV screen, depicting Spiderman being beamed up into the ship, along with… Dr. Strange. Wonderful. "You said they're children of Thanos?"

Pepper nodded. "That's what they said. Do you know this Thanos character?"

"He tortured my husband." Sigyn replied shortly, getting back to her feet. "Okay, children, you need to go get your things, we're leaving."

"What?" Sleepy protested. "But we're in the middle of a game!"

Sigyn groaned, dropping her face into her hands. "Alright, finish the game, but then, we really must go."

They continued playing, and Sigyn paced nervously. The newscaster stopped talking about that particular attack, and started yammering his theories. The children finished, and cleaned up the game, then ran to pick up all their toys and things, and pack them up.

"Where will you go?" Pepper queried quietly.

Sigyn shook her head. "I'm not sure. Loki told me to take them somewhere safe, but… I don't know where that'd be. Most likely somewhere with no infinity stones, so Thanos won't think of going there at all. So… perhaps Nidavellir? Loki has connections, there, they'd welcome us. I could go home to Alfheim, of course, but… well… I haven't been there in years. That, and they're crazy far away. Probably Alfheim, now that I think about it."

"That's the planet of elves?" Pepper guessed.

Sigyn nodded. "Well, light elves. Dark elves are different, sort of."

Pepper obviously didn't understand, but she nodded anyway. "You say it's very far away, but can't you teleport?"

Sigyn flipped a hand. "It's very hard to teleport long distances. The longer the distance, the harder it is. I'll be teleporting four people five times the length of your galaxy, the Milky Way. I'll need a lot of energy to do that." She sighed. "Mind if I stay for dinner? I need the energy from the food."

Pepper nod. "Of course, take all the time you need."

Sigyn bit her lip, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. "This is taking too long…"

Pepper laid a reassuring hand on Sigyn's shoulder. "Hey, Sigyn, you're going to be fine. Okay?"

"Yeah." The princess took a deep breath. "I'm going to be fine, I'm going to be fine. Who am I trying to fool?" She groaned. "We're all gonna die."

"Hey, no, we're not going to die." Pepper reassured her.

Sigyn shook her head, her hands trembling. "Nope! I'm dead, you're dead, Loki's dead, Mr. Stan Lee down the street is dead, let's all be dead together." Sigyn was hyperventilating. "We can all have a zombie party, and sing Another One Bites the Dust! This is great!"

Pepper tried to calm Sigyn. "Hey, Sigyn, breathe."

"I AM BREATHING!" Sigyn snapped. "That's the problem, I'm breathing too much. I think I'm having a panic attack!" she squeaked, and Pepper gently guided her to the couch. Rubbing her shoulders, and murmuring soothing words until Sigyn could calm herself.

"Sorry about that." The princess ran her hands through her hair.

"It's okay, I get it." Pepper nodded. "Happens to Tony all the time."

Sigyn took a deep breath again, closing her eyes. "Do you think he survived?" She turned to her friend.

"Who? Loki?" Pepper asked. "I… I really don't know, Sigyn. I don't even know what happened."

"Neither do I, really." Sigyn shrugged. "All I know is that he woke me up, and told me Thanos was here, and that I had to go get the children, and take them somewhere safe. Vali was missing, and something shot the ship, something powerful, and… that's it."

Pepper sighed. "I have no idea. We should probably make dinner, though, if we're going to get you to… Elfheim, was it?"

"Alfheim." Sigyn corrected. "And, you're right."

They spent an hour, together, silently making food in the kitchen as they waited. They had the Television on, and as they were finishing up, there was a breaking news report about a particular attack in Wakanda. There was very little information about it, because of the protective camouflaged shielding around most of the nation. There were rumors of the Bifrost opening somewhere in there, but no news of who'd come through it, or anything. The Titan's spaceship hovered just inside the atmosphere, casting an enormous shadow over much of the African nation.

Once dinner was ready, Sigyn called the children to the table, a sinking feeling in her gut. Something was wrong, she didn't know what, but it was. Horribly, awfully wrong. She froze, in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room.

"Sigyn, are you okay?" Pepper asked in concern.

Sigyn gulped. Something was really, really off. "Sleepy." Her daughter looked up.

Sigyn looked down at her hands, surprised to see them turning to dust. "Loki…" She breathed, and the world went black.

Anyone else noticed how fast Infinity War went by? That's because my headcannon is that the entire movie lasted no longer the actual length of the movie. Thanos collected the stones in literally two hours.

Next chapter is the last! :D

TheOnlyHuman.