(Author's Note: Here it is, Chapter 16! Sorry about the cliffhanger on the last chapter, but I felt it was necessary. Enjoy, and please review!)

Chapter 16

Loki looked at Thor in disbelief, making sure he'd said what Loki just heard. After the shock had gone, there was a heavy mixture of anger and fear as Loki used his magic to put on his armor and rise out of bed, equipping himself with his scepter.

"What do you mean you can't find her? You left without her! She was with you!"

"Heimdall and I were determined to save Father, we didn't check to see if anyone had—"

"—I don't want to hear it, Thor!" Loki yelled, raising his scepter at his brother. "I'm going to find her. If I find her dead, her blood will be on your hands. And I will hunt you down and you will beg for me to kill you. You better pray that she is alright."

"…Loki, don't go out there. It's madness; you'll get killed."

"Then so be it. We're fighting a war anyway. I'm just fighting it for a different reason. You stay here. I don't need you bumbling along after me; you've caused trouble enough," Loki hissed. He turned around to leave.

"Loki please," said Thor. "I care for Emmeline as well, but we have to put the whole of Asgard first. We have to have a plan." Loki turned around and looked at Thor with stabbing eyes.

"She is the only thing in this life I truly love. I can't lose her." With that, Loki left.

He stood up straight after he had exited the dwarf house, pain shooting up his back. Many dwarves stared at him as he walked past, recognizing the fallen prince; their former king. Some fled, noticing his glowing scepter and the sharp end of it. Loki paid them no mind as he stalked the village.

The peaceful aura of the dwarf village soon faded when Loki heard screams of terror at the end of the horizon. He walked faster and stopped in his tracks. The war his brother had spoken of had definitely begun. Loki saw Asgardian warriors sparring with Chitauri soldiers; even peasants being slain in the streets. Loki knew then that he needed to make a plan. He last saw Emmeline at the palace, and that was where he needed to go. If he could make it through the madness that surrounded it, he would know what to do from there.


Emmeline woke up with a terrible headache. She blinked her eyes open and once her vision settled, she realized she was chained to the wall. Her hands and feet had cuffs on them, and the room around her was small and empty. She didn't recognize this room as any part of the palace, but soon realized it was a dungeon. The walls were made of stone and they were dripping with moisture. After these realizations, she began to wonder.

How did she get here? Where were her friends and Loki? Did Odin make it? None of these questions could be answered from where she was. Emmeline looked up at her hands that were bound to the stone wall above her head, and after struggling for some time, concluded that she could not slip out of the cuffs around her wrists. She couldn't free her legs either, as if that would have done any good. All she could do was sit there, wondering.

She hoped Loki was all right. She hadn't seen him during the fight she vaguely remembered. Perhaps he went ahead to save Odin. …Or maybe he got hurt. Emmeline tried not to think of that, as there was nothing she could do if that was the case.

The day dragged on, if it was even day—there was no way for Emmeline to tell. She had no idea how long she had been there, but it felt like forever. She got awfully hungry and thirsty, enough to where she called out for someone. Anyone.

"Hello! Is anybody out there?! Please!" It was no use. No one could hear her through the stone walls. Emmeline was alone.

Later that day—or maybe it was evening—Emmeline heard the echo of footsteps down the hall she assumed was there. They came closer and closer and Emmeline felt her stomach turn. She was scared. Whoever was coming down that hallway was either responsible for putting her here or her rescuer, and she didn't think the latter was very likely. She was right. When the steel door opened, the one she recognized as the Chitauri commander stepped through it with an evil grin on his face. Emmeline studied him, trying to read his motive for being there.

"Hello mortal," he hissed. "I suppose you wonder why you are here."

"A bit," Emmeline replied with monotone. He would tell her anyway, which was pathetic. He took pride in whatever he thought was his brilliant plan. It was then that Emmeline realized this was the Other, and that he wouldn't win. He was all show.

"Your lover has grown weak," said the Other. "You have caused this. He will search for you, and when he reaches your location, I will kill you while he watches me. Then he will regret ever failing me; the sniveling scoundrel, and I will be the rightful king."

"Is that all you want?" asked Emmeline. "For Loki to regret his failure? That is a foolish wish; one that will never come true. You may do whatever you want to me, but you will never win this battle. Because, if I may use Midgardian terms, you are a loser." The Other muttered a deep growl toward Emmeline.

"I want to be king!" he roared.

"You can't!" Emmeline hissed back. "It is not in your nature. All you are is second-hand to Thanos; a pathetic follower! You have no kingdom, and none will ever come to you!"

The Other slammed his slimy pale hand against Emmeline's neck, constricting her breath. He squeezed and Emmeline could feel her blood rushing to her head.

"You are nothing but a mere mortal, doomed to die!" He growled through gritted teeth. "I may kill the Asgardian fool before you instead!" Right before Emmeline was sure she was going to pass out, the Other released his grip on her neck.

"Do not forget that you and your lover's lives rest in my hands," he hissed, leaving the dungeon.

As hours went by like cars across the highway, Emmeline grew more and more miserable. She was hungry and thirsty, and her wrists and ankles hurt very badly from the chains holding her. The edge of the rusty metal cuffs cut into her skin and warm blood trickled down her arms and feet. Emmeline knew that the only thing she could do that would take away her misery was to sleep, but not even that would come. Emmeline was too uncomfortable to sleep. Too worried and miserable to even think of slipping into that wonderful state of peace. Her only hope now was that she would grow so tired that she would pass out into sleep.

Just when her eyes started to flutter open and closed, someone coming through the steel door woke Emmeline up. It was a Chitauri soldier. He had a whip in his hand. As soon as Emmeline saw it, a rush of fear ran through every bone in her body. The soldier spoke to her in a distorted grumble:

"The Other believes you need a lesson in keeping your mouth shut!" The creature stood before her and drew back his arm, Emmeline bracing herself for the impact of the weapon. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, and when the sharp lash hit her side, slicing it open, she screamed in pain. It was like no pain Emmeline had known before. The soldier hit Emmeline many more times, and Emmeline didn't know if it would ever be over. Tears streamed down her face that was now coated in blood and ran into her mouth, the salty taste mixing with the metallic blood taste. Emmeline felt as if all her insides were going to fall out of her onto the floor. She almost wished he would just kill her. She would die anyway from the loss of blood, if not by the hand of the Other.

When the soldier left Emmeline to hang on the wall, blood dripping from her body to the stone floor, Emmeline wasn't sure how long the lashing had lasted. It could have been minutes to hours. All Emmeline could think about was Loki, wishing he was here, hoping he was in better shape than she. Although she wished for him, she also hoped he wouldn't come. The Other had vowed to kill him, and she knew they would torture him first. Emmeline hung there, miserable with pain, hunger, and longing. She had accepted her fate and wished it to come sooner.


Loki's anger boiled within him as he exited the dwarf village. He felt like the monster he truly was. Any sentiment or worry he had for Emmeline he channeled into anger. He knew that was the only way he would succeed. He had no room for weakness now. He knew that it was the Other that probably had Emmeline. She was still in the palace, and that vile creature would not let her escape easily. Loki felt his scepter surge with power from the rage burning a hole in his heart.

The next place Loki went through was not as kind as the dwarf village. The Asgardian citizens stared at him with looks of shock and hate as he passed them. He felt like a stranger in a strange land. Some of them threw stones at him, a few striking him in the face, causing him to once more be aware of the deep scratches on the side of his face. Soon more and more people came to throw stones and spit upon him. Loki said nothing, holding back his cries of pain. He would not show weakness.

Loki was forced to slow his pace through the civilians; too many people were gathering to abuse him. They shouted at him, threw stones at him, and spit on him and where he walked.

"You let them in here!" Some of them screamed. Most of them said only one thing. "All this is your fault!" Your fault, your fault, your fault. The words echoed through Loki's head over and over. His anger grew and he blasted the people with his scepter. Some of them gasped, most of them backing away.

"You are a monster," said one man. Loki looked at him coldly. "You care only for yourself! You will never be the true king; only an enemy! A foreign predator, a Jotun!" Loki speeded to the man and dug his fingers into his shoulder.

"You are nothing," he hissed. "I am a king, and you are but a corpse." Loki reared back his scepter, but was stopped by a booming voice Loki knew far too well.

Thor.

"STOP!" he yelled, coming into Loki's sight. "Brother, put the scepter down. These are our people." Loki glared at him, his eyes showing no mercy, his rage taking over; surging through his veins.

"These are your people," Loki said. "They are nothing but a pathetic race of maggots to me." Loki kept his glare at Thor and tightened his jaw as he shoved his scepter through the man. Blood rose out from his mouth as he sputtered and Loki stared at Thor menacingly, as if it was his brother whom he'd stabbed. Thor looked back with sorrow and compassion for the victim. It disgusted Loki and he looked at the man who challenged him and pushed him off of his weapon. The man writhed on the ground, trying desperately to hang on to his last threads of life as Loki watched with hatred in his eyes.

Thor approached Loki slowly as the rest of the people left, many weeping for the loss of their companion.

"Brother, why?" asked Thor. "What do you have to prove? Emmeline would be disgusted with you." Loki looked at his brother with the same unwavering cold expression.

"Emmeline is not here," he said, his voice faltering.

"Who do pledge your loyalty to? Is it not Asgard? The Chitauri?"

"No one. I pledge my loyalty to no one." Loki's glare lingered and a silence swept over the brothers. "…I told you to stay."

"I didn't listen," Thor replied. Loki looked away from him and started again on his way.

"You are a fool," he said. He knew Thor was following him, but knew it best to ignore him. Loki climbed a small hill and when he made it over, he could see the palace, far off in the distance. Past the chaos and the screaming and the blood. Emmeline. Thor soon broke the lovely silence with his low, gruff voice.

"I know my brother is still in there somewhere," he said. "The one that saved Odin. The one that loves Emmeline. You haven't completely disappeared, Loki." Loki did not turn around. He kept his gaze on the palace and spoke softly, more to himself than to his brother.

"I have. I have completely disappeared into an abyss of darkness, brother. But…no matter how dark it is…how black my soul gets, how mad I become…I will love her." She is the light. She is the madness. Loki turned to his brother and his green eyes glittered with a strange mix of malice, hurt, and innocence as he lowered his chin. "She is the only evidence left of me."


All Emmeline could do in the dungeon was hang there, bleeding out, slipping in and out of consciousness. Now a soldier came in every day to torture her. A few hours ago, a soldier came and threw salt at her; the unholy mineral being absorbed into her wounds, burning her flesh like a thousand fires. This was Hell. Emmeline screamed at the sting and convulsed, wishing for water, wishing for the pain to stop, wishing to die. She prayed to die. Her screams made her throat raw and eventually her voice ran out, and she screamed in silence. She hung her head down, blood caked into her hair. She tried to breathe slowly as the sting lingered.

Emmeline knew the dungeon was quiet, but to her it was loud. The rushing sound of blood in her ears and the echo of her screams ran over and over, driving her to madness. She broke out into a cold sweat and tried to stay still so the sting of salt would leave. She felt weak; all her power was drained out of her. She could burn nothing; freeze nothing. She was helpless; left here to suffer until the blessing of death would finally come. She thought of the only thing that could make her happy; now and every other time: Loki. His emerald green eyes blazing into her heart with a look of love he had only ever given her; his raven black hair slicked back over his shoulders; his hands that had caressed her face and so often held hers. She imagined him telling her everything was going to be alright; even though she knew better. But that was what he would say. Loki always believed he could fix everything, confident in his abilities to get what he wanted. She loved that about him. His dark, beautiful soul. He let her in, and pushed her away, but she would never leave. She was addicted to him and all his demons.

Thinking of Loki was only a small comfort however; the pain still raging inside of her. It was all she could truly think about.

Stinging. Burning. Pain.

It clung to her like a parasite, dwelling in her to suck all her nutrients and blood and happiness until she was no more than a hollow shell that used to be a girl. She felt herself fading away into nonexistence, into nothing. She closed her eyes, hoping it was now that she would go, where this pain would no longer exist. She was not so lucky. It stabbed at her, prodding her as if she were a sleeping beast. She whimpered, her inevitable fate sinking into her mind; filling her with sadness and despair.

She'll never see him again.

That thought alone was enough to scare her just as much as the whip and the salt. Loki was all she wanted. And how hurt and angry he would be when he discovered that she was dead. She hated to think of what it would do to him. Perhaps he would sit in despair, like he did for Frigga; or maybe he would let his rage take over, like he did for his own broken soul. Emmeline realized she couldn't die; she had to live for Loki. He would never forgive her if she didn't. She let out a cry of despair, knowing that she would have to endure this torture and suffering, with no hope of death.

As more time passed, Emmeline couldn't think of anything at all. She could think of nothing but the pain. Burning and stinging. Burning, stinging, burning, stinging, burning, stinging… She barely noticed when the Other entered the stony dungeon. She didn't even look up when he approached her.

"I hope you have learned a lesson, woman," he said. "Have you? Answer me." Emmeline sighed, all the bravery drained out of her. She had no more pride.

"Y-Yes," she managed.

"I am your king," he hissed. "Do you understand?"

"…Yes."

"Good; so you will sit here until I see it fit to kill you."

"Yes." Emmeline's voice was hoarse, releasing a surge of pain every time she spoke.

"You are weak. Nothing but a pathetic mortal, so easy to break." The Other stood before her, smirking at her. Emmeline could have cared less. She was only half-paying attention to him. She was only half-existing. She spit no comebacks, no denials, no disrespects. She did not have the energy. She just hurt.

"Ah, you have learned," said the Other, his voice like a demon, stabbing her with an edge of malevolence. A small addition to the immense pain already beating her down.

The steel door busted open again, turning the Other's head toward it, but Emmeline remaining stationary. Nothing could have moved her at this moment. Nothing but the thing that opened that door. Emmeline heard it; the deep, resonant voice that she knew so well. It was lyrical; her salvation. Loki.

"Let her go."