There was a lot of screaming. She wasn't exactly sure where the voices were coming from, they sounded so far away and almost muted - but that may have been due to the painful throbbing she was feeling in her head. Nora tried to will herself up off the ground, but her body seemed to be rejecting any commands her brain was trying to send it. What had happened? She couldn't really remember much. She was pretty sure she was still in one of the many mines that covered the slave planet, but as to which one, she couldn't say. There had been shooting, and fighting, and Marek must have started it all - like he said he would. It was just so much sooner than she had thought - she has assumed she had more time. Before she had a chance to try and lift her body off the ground, it was done for her. Nora opened her eyes, still in a daze, to see her mother lifting her off the ground.

"Oh God Nora," Her mother said, her voice coming out broken, "I thought you had died! I thought I lost both of you!" Nora's mother ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, bringing it away from her face to get a better look at the damage. Nora's brows creased at the comment and she pulled away slowly from her mother's grip. She started to feel dizzy now, shaking her head slightly in an attempt to register what was going on.

"No," Nora said, a weak smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, "No, no - Marek was right behind me. He was just helping someone off the ground a minute ago." Nora swung around to look out the entrance of the mine - her eyes darting, trying to spot her brother. Her mother gripped her now to turn her back, both her hands gripping the sides of Nora's face.

"Sweetie I need you to focus," she said, her voice becoming very serious, "We need to get out of here. This isn't a rebellion - this is an attack. At first we thought the new ships were here to attack the people that enslaved us, but we were wrong. They're killing everyone Nora." She trailed off for a moment before shutting her eyes and regaining composure.

"Your father is waiting, he managed to hide one of the small transport ships in all the confusion."Nora wished she could have the strength her mother did, her ability to buckle down and do exactly what needed to be done. But she was not her mother, and she was not strong. Nora felt the string of tears start to run down her face. Her mother tried to hush her, attempting to pull her into her breast for comfort, but it was too late. Nora pushed away and braced herself on the side of the mine wall, a gag escaping her lips as her body physically tried to purge itself of the mix of pain and anger that filled her. That the act of puking could somehow dull the pain of lose, and make it all go away. Her mother rubbed her back slowly, telling her to just let it out, and it was going to be ok.

"I know it hurts baby, I know - but you need to get up. You need to move. I'm not sure how long your father can keep the ship hidden away."

Nora nodded wearily, her face still tipped down as if she was ready to wrench again. She stood up straight now, her body shaking fiercely as she tried to steady herself. How was she going to fly a ship if she couldn't even walk? Marek could have done it. He was the one with the plan - the brave one. Nora felt her mother grip her hand and pull her towards the entrance of the mine. As they were about to step out into the light, her mother stopped suddenly, letting go of Nora's hand and ran back down into the darkness of the cave. It didn't take long for Nora to figure out what she was doing, and was happy that her mother remembered what she would have regretted forgetting.

"You almost left this," She said, handing Nora her pickaxe, "I need you to keep this with you. I want you to remember us when you're gone."

Nora took the axe carefully in her hands, letting her fingers slide over the intercut cravings of vines and leaves her and her mother had made. Her mother had told her that by doing this, she would never forgot her home. Her real home. Not the hollowed out moon they resided on now. Nora's eyes moved from the pickaxe to her mother, and she whispered out a thank you before placing the tool in the leather strap she had on her back.

"Now come on," Her mother said, "We need to get over to the west entrance. Your father is waiting for us there. "

Nora and her mother ducked into one of the side caves at the far west end of the dig site, getting down on their hands and knees to fit into the tiny path way. For her mother, this was a simple task. She was smaller than most, standing in at a respectable 4'9, but this allowed her to get into places most couldn't. Nora stuck as close as she could to her mother as they maneuvered their way through the tunnels, finally reaching a large opening where the ship was waiting.

"Faye!" Her father shouted, running towards them, his right hand noticeably injured, "Nora!"

Faye ran at him, a worried look on her face as she forced him to let go of his hurt arm. She cussed under her breath and turned her gaze up to him, placing her soft dark hand on his bearded face.

"Bram, what happened? You said you weren't going to leave the mines."

"They followed us into the mines Faye, they killed almost everyone. I had no other choice but to fight back - I barely made it out. Where's Marek?"

Her mother pinched her lips together in a tight line and looked away. Nora could feel the bile building up in her stomach again, but she forced it back down. She couldn't do this again - not in front of her father. He had enough to worry about. Bram's eyes went wide for a moment as he realized what happened, and turned away from them, running his short stubby fingers through his misshapen hair.

"They'll find us here," He said finally.

"I know, that's why we have to hurry. She needs to use the ship now. I won't lose her Bram. I won't let them take another child from us."

Bram nodded at her solemnly, agreeing completely. He turned his gaze to Nora and motioned her to follow him over to the ship. As she did, she now took the time to notice the ceiling of the cave, or lack thereof. The stars above her head shown bright and she staggered slightly at the thought of being up among them soon.

Her father opened the door of the small ship and helped her up inside it, locking the straps around her tightly. Her father had been a mechanic on their home planet, so figuring out the basics of a one person transport ship was not a problem. Bram started to explain the array of buttons and levers, but noticed all too soon that his daughter had been staring vacantly at him.

"You can do this Nora," Her father said, clasping her hand in his own and gripping it tightly, "You will be safe, and you will be free." and with that, Bram pressed his forehead against Nora's and shut his eyes, whispering an 'I love you' softly before pushing himself away. Nora let go of his hand and gripped the controls in front of her - fearing she would at some point forget everything her father had just told her. She hit the button to the left of her that shut the cabin hatch, and gave her parents a final, fleeting look before it covered her completely. There was no hesitating now, she had to do this - she had to leave. Nora flipped the switches at the top of the dashboard and her heart fluttered with excitement as the ship started to warm up. Then, in one slow movement, she pulled back on the bar in front of her and the ship started to rise, leaving behind clouds of dust as it made its way out of the cave.

If only getting off the planet was as easy as ascending out of the cave. The moment her ship surfaced into the open night sky, she saw the full extent of the battle. She recognized her people, the slaves, as well as the race that had enslaved them. She could not, however, even begin to guess what new creatures had come to slaughter them all. Some of them rode on ships while others seemed to emerge from inside giant flying worms. Nora pushed quickly on the accelerator, blasting herself off in whatever direction she was currently pointing in. The enemy's ships were on her tail in no time, and she found herself barely dodging the array of bullets they fired at her as she made her way farther into space. It wasn't long before the back side of her ship was hit, then the left wing. Nora glanced back at her assailants and wondered momentarily how they were able to fly on such odd ships without a cockpit - completely standing out in open space.

Her body shook when another shot hit the same left wing and warning singles started to go off inside the small ship. This was it - one more shot to the wing and she'd be dead in the water. She would have been right, too, if the giant glowing tear in space hadn't appeared in front of her. It had started off as just a ripple, something Nora could hardly see. Then, all at once, in a blinding show of light, a hole opened up in front of her. Deciding that flying into some insane gap in space was a better option than being captured and tortured to death, she used the rest of the ships power to accelerate herself through the tear. Her ship sat momentarily on the other side of the hole and she noticed that her attacks had refused to follow her through. Then the portal shut.

Nora let out the breath she had been holding in and collapsed back into her seat. She wasn't exactly sure where she had ended up, but she was alone and relatively safe. She started to chuckle lightly at first, her body releasing itself of all it's pent up energy, and before long it turned into outright laughter. She cupped her face in her small shaking hands and laughed into the silence, the tug of tears pushing at the side of her eyes. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't alone, and it didn't take long for the Asgard ships to surround her.

Asgard was beautiful, and she probably would have stood in awe if she wasn't feeling so dirty and drained. That, and the shackles around her hands left a lot to be desired. She had wanted to take her pickaxe with her, but one of the guards stripped it from her back and took it away. Nora was led down a few short flights of stairs before coming to a hallway that was open to the outside. She squinted for a moment, the bright sun hurting her eyes slightly, but they focused enough for her to see the kingdom in full. It was breathtaking, to say the least, and the tall trees and waterfalls instantly reminded her of home - of her real home.

Her view was momentarily obstructed by one of the largest men she had ever seen. She cranked her neck upward to see a pair of blue eyes staring down at her, his face framed with long golden hair. He gave her a polite smile before nodding at the guards and continuing on his way, seeming to have a lot on his mind. The guards' turned her back towards the hallway and down one last flight of stairs before Nora found herself in the dungeons of Asgard.

"That was a rather long and tedious way of telling me how you got here," Loki said, his back resting on one of the cell walls, "And it all seemed absolutely preposterous. A planet I've never heard of? A giant portal through space?" He turned his head from her and grunted in obvious disbelief of her story. "You also never explained to me who your people are."

Nora, who had been sitting cross legged in front of the clear energy wall now stood, a little irritated with the response he'd given her.

"Well I'm a Myrkviðr," She said as if were obvious, "and I'm originally from a planet called Kolmarden, though I haven't been there in a very, very long time."

Loki regarded her for a moment, almost as if he were deciding whether or not he believed anything she was telling him. It had all sounded so frantic to him - rushed. Why were her people enslaved? By who? More importantly, why had the attacking race seemed so familiar to him by her description? Worst of all, if she was telling him the truth, it meant someone was using the same power as the bifrost to get across space. The girl's story had ended up raising more questions than it answered, which irritated him greatly.

He, like Nora, lifted himself off the ground and fixed his garments as he did. Loki turned from her now, unsatisfied with Nora's answers, and walked towards the stack of books at the back of his cell. Perhaps he could request that his mother bring him some more, one's that may help him figure out why this girl story was causing a sensation of dread to build in him.

Nora watched him carefully as he plucked a book off the top of one of the piles, his long pale fingers griping it lightly as he brought it over with him to the table. With a small thud, Loki placed the book down and flipped it open, his back again turned towards the young girl.

She waited for a moment, fully expecting him to turn back around and start up a conversation. When he didn't, she spoke up.

"So, who are you? I mean, you don't look like an average prisoner," Nora thought to him, "You kind of owe me an answer, after my more than long explanation about myself." No sooner did the words leave her mouth that she saw him physically tighten, and she knew immediately she'd said something she shouldn't have. Loki turned his head to her quickly, pushing his chair back and advancing towards the wall of the cell, getting as close to it as he could.

"I owe you?" He hissed out, his fists clenched at his sides, "I owe you nothing you disgusting creature. You should be honored by the fact I even decided to speak to you."

All at once Nora felt a searing pain shoot through her head and she fell to her knees in agony. She let out a small cry while digging the tips of her fingers into her skull, trying whatever she could to quell the unfathomable ache that was emanating through her brain. Loki was smiling, she could see that much, his grin stretching from ear to ear in pure delight. In delight of her pain. Then, as suddenly as the pain had started, it stopped. She turned her head weakly to see the same tall blond man she had before, now standing outside of her cell.

"My father wishes to see you," He said soothingly, recognizing the obvious pain she was in, "he wants to speak with you on how you arrived in Asgard." He then turned his attention to Loki, who had been glaring at the back of his head.

"He would actually like to see both of you, brother."

"Me?" Loki jeered, "Now why would the All-Father want to see his disgraced son?"

"Because I asked him too Loki, I could use your help - and I don't think you're in much of a position to say no."

Well, that was long. Thanks for sticking with me on this one folks! I know this may be more OC then many people were hoping for, but I felt I needed to give her a background before proceeding with the story. I promise there will be much more Loki, and Thor, in the up coming chapters (with a special emphasis on more Loki.)

I will repeat that this story is rated M for a reason, and later chapters will get a bit smutty (and when I mean 'a bit' I mean a lot.) So stay tuned for all of that fun. Also, if anyone is interested, I have a reference sheet for my character Nora. As I mentioned on my profile, I consider myself and artist first and a writer second - so I drew this before I even started chapter one. (reference sheet is also rated M as she is in a bra in one picture - . )

I love reviews and critiques and happily gobble them up, thanks in advance!

* I made some edits. I let another person read through the chapter and they really helped me sort some things out :)