AN: This chapter is shorter than the last and I originally planned to make it longer, but it has been a long time since I've uploaded so I'll go ahead and upload this. Characters from Guardians of the Galaxy are here, yay! Btw, this is all before the events of GOTG. Really sorry for taking so long, school has seemed busier than usual. But the next chapter is when things get really... interesting. I'll try to have that uploaded soon. Thanks to all who have stuck with this story and I hope you enjoy :). Gamora and Nebula are based on the Gamora and Nebula in GOTG movie, I haven't read any comics that include them.

I don't own anything really, but the plotline.

"Are you coming?" Leaning against her bedroom's doorjamb, Lara questioned Loki.

"I will, but first I have some unfinished business. It shan't take me long." He replied hoarsely.

Lara made an educated guess and spoke, "Jory's body can-…"

"Her funeral may wait until after the war. I have placed a few spells on her… body to slow the decaying process." Loki interrupted. "There is something else I wish to check on. I will be back once I'm finished."

She tilted her head in question, but said nothing. Lara pushed herself off the wooden doorframe. "All right, don't get into too much trouble." She joked and shut the door.

Loki chuckled darkly. "Don't I always?"

xOxOx

Enclosing the black leather jacket tighter around her form against the biting cold, Amanda stepped out into the darkness. She admired the large building silently, recalling her slight jealousy from the past. Her family had grown up poor back in the States. She had worked hard and long for the position she acquired when she met Lara. They had been friends at the time, but even then Amanda couldn't help the minor envy she held for Lara. She knew deep down Lara worked hard for everything she had accomplished… but her parents loaded with money didn't hurt either.

What am I doing here? Saving the world? Heh, I'm sure that'll go over great. Amanda kicked at the dirt, unaware of the tall man behind her.

She gasped as Loki grabbed her neck, his arm completely encircling it. "Don't move." He hissed. "I just want to have a little talk."

"Then why don't you let go?" Amanda spat.

"I just want you to understand something. If you have any intentions to harm Lara, forget them. I would make you earnestly regret them if you so choose to enact them."

Amanda reached up to clutch her necklace, but Loki perceived her action and quickly blocked her hands. "You don't know anything." She emphasized each word.

Loki released and shoved her away from him. "You may be surprised."

The young gothic woman grasped her powerful artifact, contemplating whether to use her dark magic against him or not. Red and black smoke emanated from the teardrop-shaped stone until she relaxed, curious as what Loki had to say.

Sensing her ease, Loki continued. "Lara told me what happened between you two."

"I'm sure her side of the story was fully accurate." Amanda crossed her arms. "So what? You still don't know anything about me."

The god of mischief laughed softly. "No, but I have a few assumptions… Allow me to explain my tale first, and you may realize how much we have in common."

The platinum blonde doubted it, but remained silent.

"I loved Thor dearly when we were younger. He truly was my brother. But that love was not enough to halt the jealousy and envy spreading inside me." Loki paced back and forth slowly. "Sounding familiar yet?"

Amanda shrugged and Loki proceeded, "Finally our life was disrupted. He was to become king and I would remain a… 'black sheep of the family'. And so I sought to stop these events. I thought I could be a better ruler than he. Before I knew it, I was hanging from the edge of the Bifrost; my brother desperately trying to save me. But I did not allow him to." He paused, knowing the mortal woman was still in denial. "Why do you hate Lara? She told me she did everything she could to save you."

"No! No she didn't! She didn't even try… to get me out."

"You told her to save herself!"

"Oh, what?! Lara can suddenly read lips underwater?" Amanda snapped viciously.

"Was it not your intent? Do not blame Lara for your moment of weakness."

"What do you mean?"

Loki suddenly looked emotionless, as if he had gone numb. Amanda could read a little bit of sadness in his green eyes. "You no longer wanted to live."

"What! T-that's crazy!" She exclaimed, trying to hide her surprise. "You couldn't possibly know or guess that!"

"I know it because it was the same way I felt when I let go on the Bifrost. And now that we are both over our suicidal tendencies, we are ashamed. Ashamed that we so desperately wanted everything to end. So we blame it on others. We claim they left us behind, or that they let go. Anything so we didn't have to reveal how broken we truly are." They were standing face to face now, both breathing heavily. Loki seemed upset to share so much, but only stepped away from Amanda. She would have never guessed she had anything in common with a god. I would be like the Norse god of evil, she thought sardonically.

"You are… scarily perceptive." Amanda finally choked out.

Loki laughed humorlessly. "It's a new thing I'm trying out. So far… I hate it."

There was silence between them for a few minutes, both at a loss of what to say. Amanda cleared her throat, "You really care about her, don't you?"

"More so than any other Midgardian." Loki replied, not wanting to be too open.

"How did you…" She began.

"I studied you." The god answered. "And speaking to Lara about you helped. It wasn't too hard to make connections and guesses. Now, if you fully understand my warning," Loki motioned to the manor. "I'd like to return to Lara."

"Um, yeah. I read you loud and clear." Amanda mumbled, wanting only to be alone for a while.

Loki stared at her for a few heartbeats and then turned to leave.

"Hey, Loki?" Amanda called and he stopped in his tracks. "Maybe… don't say anything about this to Lara? And if you do, I'm just gonna talk to Thor."

"Touché." He smirked and left the mortal to her own devices.

xOxOx

Lounging in front of her expensive laptop, Lara typed up an email to forward to her colleagues and professors who helped her in the past. Her message requested information on any known stone daises, important Norse sites, and 'portals' between realms. She pressed sent, knowing most of the replies would be insignificant, and, shutting her eyes, leaned back from the white screen. Behind her she listened to the quiet sound of the mahogany door sliding close. She, tilting her head towards Loki, questioned with her brown eyes. "Where were you?"

He devilishly smirked. "Causing mischief."

Lara narrowed her eyes to signal she didn't find that humorous and he chuckled at her response.

"Apologies, darling. Force of habit." Loki reclined next to her on the colorless couch. "I was just taking a stroll outside."

She raised an eyebrow and hummed with doubt. "It had nothing to do with…" She trailed off gently.

Loki caught her meaning and his voice thickened. "No, I-uh…"

"I was wondering if… well, I was going to offer you, her, a place in my crypt. Below the manor." Lara suggested, gauging his reaction.

"Truly?" Shocked, he had paused with his response, but did not seem put off by the idea. "You're willing to bury my daughter among your family?"

"Well, who knows?" Her hands took hold of one of Loki's pale ones and gently rubbed small circles on the back. "Perhaps one day we will be family." Gazing into his eyes, Lara suddenly couldn't read his emotions. "I mean, I understand if you decline. Norsemen never really practiced burial funerals so it's-…" Using his other hand, Loki gripped her chin and captured her lips with his.

"Actually, I think Jory would appreciate that. Thank you." He touched his forehead with hers gently for a moment and, leaning away, cleared his throat. Gesturing to the computer, Loki asked, "So what's the plan?"

Lara, blushing slightly from the encounter, blew loudly at a strand of hair swinging in her face. "Still working on that. I've researched information on these stone daises before and normally come up empty. I fear it will be the same this time around as well." She removed herself from the couch and began pacing. "Hel mentioned it'd be close to home, but there's no way she can use the portal in Helheim that's covered with Eitr, right?"

Crossing his legs, Loki tapped his mouth thoughtfully. "It is possible, but a slow and dangerous process to remove Eitr. Besides," He shrugged, "She said 'close' to home. Or Jory thought so. Hel must know of another portal nearby."

"The Jotunns you brought to Asgard during Thor's coronation," Lara started after pausing, "Did you use a stone dais?"

He shook his head. "Same magic, different setup. These stone daises do not generate the magic themselves. They, uh… how can I explain this?" Loki inclined forward, legs uncrossed now and elbows on his knees. "These portals weren't really… 'created', so to speak. They are pockets or cracks where magic flows more readily because the connection between two realms is weak in that specific location. Technically, I could teleport from one realm to another without a portal, but it would exhaust and possibly kill me. And therein lies the importance of these 'gaps'."

"And the stone daises?"

"Most likely ancient civilizations noticed the powerful energy in those areas and decided to build tombs or temples there, thinking it had something to do with their religion. As for the dais and the large stones surrounding it… I'm unsure how mortals were able to construct something like that. The dais allows you to plot a course from one realm to another and even chose which other portal you'd like to travel to. It harnesses the magic seeping from the crack."

"That would be a pretty incredible feat for humankind." Lara commented. "Couldn't you use magic to find other portals on Midgard?"

"Yes, but it would be difficult. Someone like Heimdall could do it easily, but I don't foresee any help coming from him. I believe it may be our best option to search through any possible-portal-candidate ruins and destroy any we find. Are there any locations near the Helheim temple that may contain a portal?"

"The closest is Jan Mayen Island." Lara pulled up a map on her laptop to show Loki. "I found Valhalla there. It was not nearly as lively as described in Norse tales."

Loki chuckled, but studied the map. "It could work."

"Or Hel might have been metaphorical instead of literal." Lara scrolled to the Mediterranean Sea. "At the bottom of this sea, I found a tomb dedicated to Niflheim where Hel is also known to reside."

"So we split up. One group at Niflheim and another at Valhalla."

"Or we could be wrong."

xOxOx

"And there aren't any other options?" Fury glared with crossed arms.

Lara and Loki glanced at each other before the former spoke. "Not that we can think of."

"I don't like this." Steve stated. "Splitting up is never a good idea."

Tony shrugged. "The plan seems sound to me. That factor is only dangerous in horror movies." Noticing Thor and Steve's confusion, Stark rolled his eyes. "No one around here gets a good joke. After this is over, you two are sitting down and watching movies."

"No, we understood it. Just wasn't that funny." Black Widow mumbled the last part, but Tony still heard the words.

"Hypothetically," Clint started before Tony could, "If we did separate, what would the teams be?"

"Lara, Ariynn, and I would travel to Niflheim." Loki listed off. "And Thor, Steve, and Amanda will go to Valhalla."

Fury narrowed his eye. "I think we've forgotten who's in charge around here."

"Yeah! What about the rest of us?" Tony asked, miffed that he wasn't being included.

"We need a back-up team in case something goes wrong." Lara responded, ignoring Fury. "It'd be ignorant to play all our pieces on one move."

"What about Valhalla? We won't know our way around there." Amanda pointed out.

Filing her shiny nails, D.G. sat with her feet up on the coffee table. Without looking up, she volunteered. "I've been there before. If there's any magic or portals, we'll find it."

Fury hopped up quickly. "Let's all slow down here and think about this. There's way too many what-if's and bad endings to this plan! We are Earth's only chance. Possibly all the Nine Realms."

Lara stood as well. "Then what do you recommend, Director? Trust me, if there was a safer or more guaranteed idea, we'd take it, but there isn't. And too much rides on the possibility we don't stop Hel in time before she brings her entire army. We won't stand a chance and-…"

Vigorous beeping from the tech room interrupted Lara's speech and JARVIS explained, "Sir, the item you've been searching for has been spotted." Loki and Tony raced to the computer screen and the latter sat down.

"Where is it landing?" Loki asked quickly.

JARVIS zoomed in on the satellite map at Canada and mapped the trajectory pattern of the spaceship. "According to my readings, the object should land here, sir."

"Can you give me a clearer picture?"

The map increased and one could make out snow-covered trees and large boulders. "This is the best I can provide."

"Don't worry, JARVIS. That's exactly what I need." Loki straightened up and took a step away from the desk.

"What is it that you need?" Lara raised a curved eyebrow.

"As I've said before, I need to be able to picture where I'm going to teleport. Sorry, dove. I've got to go and have a chat." Lara rushed forward to stop him, but her outstretched hands met nothing but air.

xOxOx

Enjoying the temperature similar to Jotunheim, Loki opened his eyes to the freezing tundra. It was currently snowing, but in the distance, Loki could hear the humming of a spacecraft. He jogged to a clearing between the tall evergreens to catch a glimpse of the twilight sky. Why let the ship crash? He pondered or perhaps they really did suffer trouble and this was by mistake. He highly doubted it.

Loki was uncomfortable about meeting with them. For different reasons each. He never cared for Nebula and she in turn pretty much hated everyone else. Nebula had been responsible for many of the torture sessions back then, even relishing in them. And then there was Gamora, beautiful and dangerous and righteous, unbeknownst to Thanos. She had revealed her true feelings of Thanos after another painful torment session. They became… companions afterwards. And then more.

He eased himself on to the snowy ground, his back against a wide, rough tree. He silently waited for the crash landing of the two alien pilots and smirked when the ground reverberated. He straightened and dusted the snow off himself, his skin tinting blue from the coldness of the contact. Loki frowned as he noticed his light blue hands and focused more on staying within his Asgardian form. Tromping through the snow to the crash site, Loki followed the tendrils of smoke.

Halting near the edge of blackened area slowly being covered by new snowflakes, Loki studied the ship, wondering if they required help. He took another step forward and suddenly felt a pressure from above drop onto his back, shoving him face first into the white slush. A sharp dagger pressed against the back of his neck and Loki grinned.

"I'd know your blade anywhere, Gamora." Loki slowly voiced her name. He felt her remove the blade and she rolled him over, straddling his chest, replacing the dagger on his throat. Loki examined her, deciding little of her appearance had changed. Her maroon and pink hair floated above him in waves and he noticed she did not completely escape unscathed from the wreck. Burn marks marred her green skin and tips of her hair smoked along with patches of leather clothing.

Gamora's dark eyes flashed at him. "What are you doing here, you imbecile?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, smirking at the title. "You know, out of all the pet names we used to call each other, I have to say, that one ranks pretty low on my list. I don't know about you-…"

"Stop it." She commanded, but he can see her biting her plump lip to keep from smiling in the dim light. "I'll call you something worse if you do not answer my question."

"Mmm, now we're talking. I came here to speak with you. Not that I'm unhappy about our current position, but may I stand?"

Acquiescing to his request, Gamora waited for him to rise and then continued. "You claim you're not an imbecile, but here you are in front of me. Thanos' 'precious' assassin. You need to leave before Nebula realizes you're here."

"I'm not going anywhere until we talk." Loki moved closer to her, their chests brushing. "What the bloody Helheim are you doing here, Gamora? I know it's not by choice, but… Couldn't Thanos have sent Nebula by herself?"

"Thanos is not willing to take the chance of losing Terra again. He wants us to be over-prepared." Gamora explained. "When have I ever had a choice about anything?"

"This job is different for you though. Thanos usually just sends you off to assassinate one man or a few. Men who most likely deserve it. But this fight will require you to stand by while billions of innocent lives are destroyed. Men, women and children. I know Thanos will barely bat an eyelash and neither will Nebula. Even I will admit it would not normally bother me. But I know you, you and all your righteousness," Loki smiled gently as he touched the tip of her hair, blowing in the wind. "Will hold the guilt heavily, whether it's your fault or not."

Gamora gazed somberly down at the white snow. "Sometimes you have to choose your battles. There's nothing I can do to help unless-…"

"Unless you decide to leave Thanos once and for all."

"And if I do that, I lose my best chance of finding a way to defeat him." Gamora snapped. "Why do you care? Only a few months ago, you were perfectly fine with taking over Terra and killing its inhabitants."

"Yes, because my agreeing with his plan had nothing to do with his threats to electrocute me with volts that put my brother's hammer to shame." Loki condescendingly replied. They stared at each silently for a moment, reminiscing about past hopes and romances. "You could come with me. Once this is over, you could return to Thanos and tell him you were captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and were forced to help."

"He would never fall for that." Gamora rolled her eyes.

"Well, if my group manages to defeat Hel and her companions, it's not so farfetched that we could hold you hostage."

The green alien sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know, Loki."

"Gamora, pl-…" Loki was cut off as a force from behind slapped him roughly in the back of the head and he was shoved face first into the snow, again. Above him, he heard a mechanic voice cackle and felt someone's boot press on the middle of his back.

"Nebula, wait!" Gamora grabbed Nebula's double-bladed weapon and halted her from stabbing Loki. "He's here as an ally."

The blue woman backed off with a sadistic smirk. "It doesn't really matter what he comes as. Thanos wants him dead, and I'm happy to oblige our father."

Loki stood, swiping the freezing snow from his face that was beginning to react to the cold. He turned around to glare at Nebula. "Just couldn't die in that crash, could you? You have to 'grace' me with your presence again."

"I can say the same about you." Nebula hissed. "Have you come to surrender yourself?" Her black eyes flicked to Gamora. "Or were you hoping to screw around with her again?"

Gamora seemed prepared to destroy Nebula right then and there, but Loki only grinned. "Well, I wouldn't say no." Now, Gamora lividly stared at him. "Why? Were you hoping to watch? Or perhaps… join? I mean, I'm not sure how Gamora would feel about it, but-…"

Nebula shrieked with frustration and hurled her vicious weapon like a spear at Loki. The sword flew through his chest as if he wasn't there and the Loki double evaporated. Loki chuckled behind Nebula. "Come now, give me a challenge!" She whipped around quickly to attack the Trickster, but Gamora placed herself in between them.

"Enough!" Gamora commanded. "Thanos chose me to lead this mission and I will decide what will be done with Loki." She paused until Nebula visibly, albeit reluctantly, backed down. "He has tricked the Terrans and is pretending to help them. Loki comes offering information, hoping to please our Father."

The blue female scoffed. "It will take more than that to impress Thanos. The only thing you can do that will make him happy is die a slow, horrible death. I promised him that I'd grant that to you, Loki."

"You'll have to wait and do that someday when you're in charge. Check the wreckage. See if anything can be salvaged from it. I will speak with him alone." Gamora, challenging Nebula to resist, glared until the cybernetic alien stomped away, cursing and hissing. Flipping her hair, Gamora turned around to gaze at Loki, his face remaining impassive, his eyes alight with fear. "You must leave now." Barely after she got the last word out, Loki leaned forward and kissed her.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone with that monstrosity." Smirking, Loki gestured with a flick of his eyes towards Nebula.

Gamora smiled gently. "I can handle her, Loki. But I cannot protect you from Thanos' wrath. You need to leave… and you can't come back." She bowed her head, hiding her swirling emotions. She had never been close to any other of Thanos' acolytes and never considered any of them friends. Loki was a welcomed partner in the lonely, dark realm and she would miss him.

Loki pressed his lips softly to her forehead and whispered against it, "You were the only thing that kept me partially sane during my time there. And I will never forget it. But perhaps this is for the best." He pulled back to look in her eyes. "I surprisingly feel that I must be honest. While a part of me will always care and remember you and what you've done for me, there is another… woman. I believe I could be very happy with her."

"Then I will by no means stand in your way." She touched his arm to assure him. "I will not forget you either. Thank you. And be careful."

"I wish you luck with Thanos. Perhaps we will meet again to help each other defeat him once and for all." Loki turned, but paused midway. "Also, go easy on me if we meet on the battlefield?" She laughed, giving no answer but that. "Goodbye, Gamora." In his mind, Loki let out a huge breath, slightly worried Gamora would have decided to slay him where he stood when he mentioned Lara. He stepped a few paces and then teleported back to Lara's mansion, having no idea how hectic things had become there.

Hey, look, I actually managed a slight cliffhanger! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter in a review, please! I apologize for any grammar/spelling or OOC mistakes. Thank you for reading!