I was aware that someone was shaking me awake, gently.

I could hear someone far away yelling my name, calling for me.

"Grandmother?" I slurred. My head felt heavy on my shoulders, a dull throb settling on the back of my head.

"Cadence, please don't die on me." I heard someone say.

I opened my eyes slowly, the bright light stinging my pounding head. Thor was holding me, gently trying to shake me awake.

I smiled. "Hey Goldilocks." I muttered.

"Oh, thank Odin you're all right." He exclaimed.

That's when I realized he was in his armor. My eyes opened wider and everything flooded back into my mind.

"Thor is everyone okay? What happened to The Destroyer?" I yelled suddenly energized.

"Hey Cade, slow down. You hit your head really hard." He said, worry in his voice.

"I'm fine. How did you get your powers back?" I pressed him.

"I sacrificed myself for the people. I guess it made me worthy to have the power my father bestowed on me." He explained.

"But what about The Destroyer." I asked him.

"I blew him up." He said grinning.

I smiled wide and laughed. "You always had a flair for the dramatic." I said.

I started to stand up slowly, but sat back down as my head started spinning.

"Hey. Don't try to get up took quick."Thor said, his blue eyes filled with worry.

"I'm fine." I argued attempting to stand up again.

In a swift movement Thor jumped up pulling me into his arms.

"Thor put me down! I can walk you big buffoon." I shouted, pushing my palms against his muscular chest, willing him to let me go.

He wasn't fazed at all. His blue eyes were a stormy grey, a sign that he was angry. I placed my hand gently on the side of his face.

"Thor, I'm fine. Please put me down." I said gently.

He nodded and slowly lowered my feet to the ground. I took a few shaky steps forward, and saw Thor reach out to catch me in my peripheral vision. I gained my footing and turned to look around me.

The brick wall I had hit behind me was cracked down the middle.

Well at least the hard bricks broke my fall.

That's when everything hit me.

Loki chose himself over me. He didn't care if I loved him, he let his jealously take over and blind him. My heart broke inside me. He's just like Damen. He never loved me the same way I loved him, if he did he wouldn't have cast me aside the way he did. He used me, and I fell for it. But maybe it's not too late. Maybe deep down in that frozen heart of his, he loves me. I just have to remind him.

My hair was whipping around in the wind, that was no doubt Thor calling up a storm. I reached up and tied my hair back away from my face, and took a deep breath.

"Cade are you sure you're okay?" Thor asked me quietly.

"Yeah." I huffed out. "I'm just pissed off."

"That makes two of us." Thor growled under his breath.

The warriors three and Sif were nowhere around us.

"Where is everyone?" I said turning to Thor.

"Sif and the Warrior's three all went towards where Heimdall usually opens the Bifrost, but I stayed to make sure you are okay." He responded scanning the horizon.

A large black car pulled up, and a skinny man in sunglasses got out and began to walk towards us.

"Great." Thor breathed.

I placed my hand on Obsidian, showing the man that I was armed and ready for a fight.

He ignored me, only looking at Thor. "You haven't been very honest with me Donald." He said blandly.

Thor chuckled. "No I haven't."

The man turned to me. "I am Phil Coulson. Who are you?" He asked me calmly.

"I am Cadence, Daughter of Kain the Strong." My grip on Obsidian tightened. "Granddaughter of the last of the Valkyrie, Eirin the fierce."

"Okay..." Coulson eyed the sword at my waist warily.

"Easy Cade." Thor whispered.

I shrugged and let go of Obsidian. In responce Obsidian melted and slithered up my arm wrapping around my wrist tightly.

Coulson took in a sharp breath, his eyes widened. "Where did you get that kind of technology?"

I remained silent.

"Son of Coul know this, Cade and I fight for the same cause as you to protect this world. You can count us as your allies. You can keep that trust by returning the equipment you stole from Jane." Thor replied loudly.

"Alright." He replied calmly.

"Now if you will excuse us, we have to be going." I said as sweetly as possible.

Coulson's mouth twitched, but he moved and let us pass.

I grabbed Thor's hand and teleported us to the crash site. Everyone was already there, waiting for us.

Thor looked up to the sky. "Heimdall, open the Bifrost!" He yelled, his voice carrying all around us.

Nothing happened.

Thor lowered his gaze and looked at me. "Cade can you get us back?"

"Thor, you know that I can only make portals in the same realm we are in. I can't travel between realms, it's too great a distance." I replied.

"Heimdall!" I yelled.

Nothing happened.

"Well, I guess we are stuck here." Sif said.

"I think I could get used to it." Frandral said winking at Darcy, who was standing a few feet away with Jane and Eric.

"I refuse to be stuck on Midguard forever." I growled.

Thor turned to Jane. "I must go back to Asgard, but I give you my word as soon as I deal with my brother I will return for you."

She smiled up at him, not comprehending what he was saying. Jane pulled her to him and kissed him aggressively.

Well, this is a little bit awkward. That's an image I can't get out of my mind.

"Thor don't say goodbye. I think we might be stuck here." I called over to him.

That's when the Bifrost opened, finally.

A roar of sound and a burst of color later, we were in Asgard.

Heimdall was currently fighting frost giants.

I'm gone for 10 minutes and everything goes to hell. Honestly.

My axe formed in my hand and I threw it towards the nearest frost giant which was about to stab at Heimdall's exposed back. My axe sunk into the soft tissue of the frost giant's chest. He fell to his knees, turning away from me, and as I called Obsidian back to my hand it ripped through his back.

Heimdall collapsed onto the floor.

"Get him to the healing room!" Thor yelled to Volstagg. "Leave Loki to me."

I ran after Thor. "You're not going to face him without me." I said catching up to him.

He nodded and took off flying, with me following in the air close behind him.

When we landed we ran together to Odin's chamber, to find Loki and Frigga.

"Loki." Thor said angrily.

I followed him into the room, like a shadow. Echo materialized out of the shadows in the far corner of the room, coming to my side.

"Thor!" Frigga exclaimed throwing her arms around him. "I knew you would come back!"

Loki made eye contact with me, but swiftly looked away. The only indication that he knew what he did was wrong.

Thor pushed her aside gently. "Why don't you tell her how you sent the Destroyer to kill my friends and to kill me?" Thor said to Loki, his voice raised.

"It was just enforcing father's last command." Loki said smoothly.

"You have always been a talented liar." Thor spat.

Frigga turned to me. "What happened Cade?"

"The engagement is off." I said coolly not taking my eyes off of Loki, who was staring at Thor, a wild look in his eyes.

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to go destroy Jotunheim." Loki responded. He fired a bolt of energy at Thor from the giant scepter in his hand. Thor slammed into the wall behind him. The wall shattered beneath Thor's weight and he went sailing out the hole.

"Thor!" I yelled and shot forward, flying out the window.

He was falling quickly towards the ground, out cold.

I flew faster, flattening both arms to my sides pushing myself faster towards him. My arms finally wrapped around his body, slowing us to a stop a few feet above the ground. I lowered us to the ground slowly, laying Thor's head in my lap.

"Thor, stay with me!" I whispered. I shook him softly. "Come on Goldilocks, you have to wake up."

He didn't move.

"I'm sorry about this." I murmured raising my hand high above my head. I brought it down in a harsh slap across Thor's face.

He jolted awake. "Cadence, did you just slap me?"

"No." I said through gritted teeth, holding my hurting hand to my chest.

Ow. Stupid hard face.

Thor sat up slowly. "What happened to your hand?"

"I injured it when I ressucitated you." I replied.

"Let me see." Thor reached out and pulled my hand towards him. He pressed his lips to the red mark marring the middle of my palm.

"There all better," He smiled at me and stood up, calling Mjolnir into his hand. He pulled me to my feet.

"We have to stop Loki." I rose off the ground, but Thor caught my foot with his open hand.

"Cade, maybe you should stay here." Thor frowned as he spoke.

"No. I have to be there I have to make sure that he is okay." I argued.

"It's not safe." Thor replied.

"Loki won't hurt me."

"He already has!" Thor's voice echoed through the courtyard.

Oh right.

"I still have some traction. I can stop him in a way you can't Thor. Please let me do this." I pleaded with him.

Our relationship may be over, but Loki is still my friend. You can't spend as much time together as we did and not feel anything. Right?

Thor nodded and rose off the ground.

We flew side by side towards the end of the rainbow bridge.

Loki was inside the building his scepter deep in the pedestal. Energy shot out of the pedestal and froze over, forming the branches of a giant tree. Loki was smiling more than I ever had seen him do in the past few months, something that chilled me to my core.

"Loki, stop this!" I shouted.

He laughed, a cold sharp sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That's when I realized he looked just like Laufey. "You can't stop it. The Bifrost will grow until it rips Jotunheim apart." He said with glee.

Thor rushed forward hammer raised to break apart the pedestal, but Loki met him mid-air with a bolt of energy from the scepter.

I put up a telekinetic shield around Thor, ricocheting the bolt into the wall.

"Loki why are you doing this?" I yelled. I still hadn't drawn Obsidian, but I didn't want to. I wanted to know why, I just wanted answers.

"Why?" He laughed. "Thor took everything away from me. The crown, the glory, and you!" He roared, murder in his eyes.

"What do you mean he took me away?" I responded, confusion clouding my senses.

"You always liked him better. He was the strong one, the handsome one, why be stuck with the weak brother when you could have the king of Asgard!" Loki raised his scepter towards me menacingly. "And when you found out what I really was you ran away to Midgard to save my dear brother. You didn't want to be with a monster." He spat.

"Loki that is outrageous. I love you I always have, but you let your jealously cloud your mind. You see what you want to see, not the whole truth. Thor is my friend, nothing else." I argued.

"Liar!" Loki yelled. He shot a bolt of energy at me, and I rolled to the left out of the way.

"I never thought of you as any monster. I loved you for who and what you were, the only thing that took me away was your jealousy pushing me into a corner." I spat, my anger rising.

"Loki, Cadence is just my friend. She is nothing else to me." Thor said smoothly, trying to calm Loki down.

"Shut up!" Loki shot another beam at Thor, this time catching him in the chest and throwing him backwards.

"I am going to prove to father that I am the better son, and when I am king, I will make sure that you are sent back to Midgard to live forever in exile!" Loki yelled turning to me.

"Don't do this Loki. Don't push me away." I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"You did this to yourself." He spat and turned to Thor.

Loki advanced on him, the scepter raised in his hand. "I never wanted the throne, I just wanted to be your equal. So let me prove myself. Fight me!" He shouted smacking Thor with the scepter sending him flying across the room.

Thor rose to his feet swiftly. "I will not fight you brother."

"I am not your brother!" Loki purred. "I never was."

"Loki this is madness." Thor said, still trying to reason with him.

"Is it madness? Is it?" Loki looked around the room wildly. "What made you so soft brother? Don't tell me it was that woman!"

Thor looked away.

"Oh it was! I might pay a visit to her after I destroy Jotunheim." Loki teased, a cold look on his face.

Thor yelled, and charged Loki, electricity blazing in his eyes.

As they met in mid-air a ripple of energy washed over the room.

Okay I seriously need to stop this fight. I watched Thor tackle Loki to the ground bringing his hammer down, but Loki blocked it with the scepter.

Or maybe I could just watch and hope they work it out.

The Bifrost crackled with power around me.

Or I could figure out how to stop that.

As that thought moved through my mind, Thor tackled Loki propelling them both through the wall of the building.

I ran out onto the rainbow bridge. Loki was hanging onto the bridge by his fingertips and Thor was advancing on him slowly, his hammer raised.

"Thor don't do this. That is your brother!" I shouted.

Thor lowered his hammer and reached down to help Loki up, but he dissolved in Thor's hand.

Mirage.

Loki appeared behind him driving the scepter into Thor's side, pulsing energy into his body sending him over my head towards the Bifrost portal.

"Loki, it doesn't have to be this way. We can still stop this together." I reasoned with him, moving myself so that I was between him and Thor.

I still wanted to hold on, to think that one part of him still loved me, but deep down I knew I was wrong. He was cold, and I was the idiot that fell for it.

"There's no stopping it." Loki smiled at me.

I felt the bridge shake beneath my feet. I turned around to look at Thor. He had his hammer raised and began bringing it down hard on the bridge itself.

Loki's smile vanished quickly and he took a step forward. "What are you doing?"

Thor didn't answer, he only brought the hammer down again.

"If you destroy the bridge you'll never see her again!" Loki shouted, fear in his voice.

Thor still didn't answer.

Loki charged forward, and in that moment Obsidian became a long spear in my hand.

"Don't you dare." I growled.

He laughed. "We both know you can't kill me my love."

"You don't control me Loki." I snarled.

"Are you sure about that Cade?" He replied a smirk on his face.

My favorite smirk. The one that I would have killed for, the one that always made me kiss him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment Thor broke through the bridge, the giant ripple of energy throwing us backward.

I was thrown backwards onto the intact bridge, but Thor and Loki were thrown into the open air.

Odin appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Thor's shoe. Thor and Loki were both holding onto the scepter, hanging in mid-air.

I raced to the end of the bridge ready to pull everyone up.

Loki made eye contact with Odin. "I could have done it father! For you! For all of us!" Loki called sadly.

Odin shook his head. "No Loki."

Loki looked at me, sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry Cade." and then he let go.

"NO!" I screamed throwing myself forward off the bridge, towards Loki.

I wasn't going to let him die.

He was falling too quickly, getting sucked into the black hole that was forming beneath us. I could almost reach him, when I felt a hand grab my leg tightly.

I looked up into Thor's stormy eyes. "Thor let me go! I can save him! Please!" I shouted kicking at Thor's hand. He held on.

Odin pulled us up slowly. When I reached the top, I tried to jump off again, but Thor held me against his chest.

"Loki." I sobbed, screaming out his name. I fought against Thor's grip, but he only held on tighter. "Thor you big idiot, let me go! I can save him!"

He collapsed to the bridge, bringing me down with him, clutching me tightly to his chest.

"No, you can't save him Cade, he's already gone. I can't lose you too." Thor murmured into my ear.

I curled into his chest and sobbed, his arms warm around me. He whispered comforting things in my ear, but I knew he felt it too. I knew he felt the world end.

I was sick of being hugged, sick of having everyone say "I'm sorry for your loss."

Loki was gone, that the only thing I knew. He was gone and he believed that I hated him.

I pulled the covers up over my head, blocking out the noon-day sun. Echo was on the end of my bed, lounging languidly. He seemed to know what had happened, he always did.

I curled into a little ball beneath my sheets and cried for what felt like the hundredth time.

Get yourself together Cade. I chanted to myself, but my eyes ignored the command, continuing to spill tears.

I heard the door open, and felt the bed sag as someone sat down on it.

A hand came down on my back, rubbing softly.

"Cade you have to get out of this room." I heard Thor say softly.

"I don't want to." I mumbled.

He continued to rub my back. "Cade it's been a week."

"So." I mumbled into a pillow.

"I miss him too." Thor said almost inaudible.

I felt him slowly peel back the covers on top of me. The sunlight blinded me for a moment, but then I focused on Thor's face as I sat up.

"You cut your hair." He said shocked.

I nodded, pulling one hand up to my hair that now just barely brushed my shoulders.

Thor reached out and moved a piece of hair out of my face.

"I just didn't want it in my way anymore." I whispered.

"I like it." He replied smiling.

I didn't return the smile.

"Okay, come on!" Thor said rising from the bed swiftly.

"What?"

"Come on, we are getting you out of this cave of a room." He said enthusiastically.

"I don't want to leave." I whined getting back under the covers.

"That may be true, but I'm not going to let you turn into a drag on society." He reasoned. He ripped the covers off of my head once again.

"Thor, didn't you hear me! I don't want to leave!" I yelled.

"I don't care Cadence! You can't just hide in this room forever!"

"Loki is gone Thor!" I shouted, fresh tears spilling down my face. "He's gone and he died believing that he was a monster. Believing that I thought he was a monster." I curled my legs up in front of me, holding on to them tightly.

Thor pressed his lips together in a tight line.

"I was stupid Thor! I thought that when I was with Loki, things were different, but news flash I was wrong. He was just like Damen, he didn't love me and I was the idiot who fell in love!" I sobbed.

Thor was next to me on the bed in a flash.

"Cade don't say that. Loki did love you, he was nothing like that trash you used to be with on earth. He just let his jealously cloud his judgement." Thor said soothingly. He wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder softly.

"I should have seen it coming. He was acting so weird and I knew something was wrong and I just let it go. I should have pressed him, we could have worked this out. Nobody had to die." I whispered, leaning into Thor's chest.

Echo stood up and came up behind me, curling his body around Thor and me. Echo hummed softly, putting his head in my lap as I dropped my knees.

"Loki had his mind made up, he was always stubborn and you know it. You couldn't have changed his mind." Thor murmured into the top of my head.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his chest.

"We just have to keep going, be an example for the rest of Asgard." Thor said.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"What?" He smiled.

"You sounded like a king there." I replied.

"Well I should." He reasoned.

I pulled my arms from around his chest and hit him.

"Don't be a jerk."

He snorted. "My jerkiness actually just made you smile thank you very much."

I laughed loudly.

"Now come on. I want to see if after all this I can beat you in a fight." Thor said rising to his feet.

I jumped off the bed a wide smirk on my face.

"Well your highness. You already know the answer to that."

Thor looked at me expectantly.

"No."