I think the last chapter made a new record for number of reviews even with those that couldn't review it since I posted chapter 16 twice. I'm still amazed about how much you all like this tale! Thanks for your enthusiasm. I did want to comment on a few things. I did look up Loki's powers. The movies gave use more of a glimpse into his intelligence and deviousness more than anything. However, I discovered that not only is he a master at all forms of magic, but he is immune to magic, which means Willow cannot hurt him (that's my interpretation anyway). Thor and Buffy's brute force can. In the movie when he is talking to the alien on another planet, it wasn't really clear how he was doing that. My research revealed that his mind powers were so vast he could communicate through physic means from one planet to another. This is why he makes such a formidable enemy to Thor. This is one of the reasons why he believes he is strong enough to be the ruler of the Nine Realms. The Asgards live for generations. Their arrogance may be off-putting to some, but it is well-deserved. As for Dawn/Atali, this chapter should answer most of your questions.

Chapter 17: Unbreakable Bonds

*******Where We Left Off*******

Buffy gaped at her sister. She stepped toward her. "Dawn, is that you?" she asked. Her sister looked taller. The shape of her face was different, her hair longer and lighter. As Buffy got closer, she saw that her sister's eyes were the same, but they looked older.

Dawn smiled at her sister and shook her head slightly. "Actually, I'm Atali," she informed them.

"What?" Buffy asked, upset. Had she lost her sister?

"I mean I'm Atali, too," Dawn clarified. "I'm still me, but I remember now. Buffy, I remember everything. It's incredible!" She smiled at her sister. She felt so strong. As an Asgard, she was. Never would her sister be forced to die for her.

Buffy started to hug her when Thor jumped in front of her. Buffy took a step back. For the first time in a long time, she was unsure of her place.

"My sister has returned!" Thor said happily. He moved forward to embrace her. This time Dawn returned his hug. She looked at him with new eyes.

"My brother has grown up," she said, giving him a fond, familiar look. "So handsome."

Thor grinned. "You remember?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling. "Yes. I remember all the trouble you and Loki used to get in. All the stories I had to make up to keep Father from finding out," she said. She looked at the man a few steps away from Thor. Smiling at Loki, she beckoned him with her hand.

Loki was having trouble believing his sister was alive and in front of him. She, like Frigga, had never looked at Loki with anything but love and acceptance. Her disappearance had been the beginning of his resentment toward his family. With her, he had never felt less than Thor. She had treated them the same. Without Atali to bridge the gap between him and Thor, his jealousy had room to grow.

"Loki? Is that you?" she asked, stepping toward him when he made no move to come to her.

He stood waiting, hating the feeling of vulnerability she brought out in him. Atali moved until she was standing in front of him. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Yet there was something new in her eyes. A touch of humanity that didn't use to be there. Before he could speak, she moved to embrace him.

Xander stood next to Buffy feeling awkward and out of place. They watched Dawn who wasn't Dawn embrace the Asgards. "Why is she hugging Loki? Doesn't she remember how many humans he killed in New York City? He's a monster!" Xander said in outrage. He didn't know what had happened to the woman he loved. Was she gone? Had he lost her?

Willow began to stir. They moved to her side to check on her.

"Loki is under sentence for behavior unbefitting an Asgard," Odin explained.

Dawn turned to the All-Father. She looked at him with new eyes. He had aged much. However, the kindness and love in his eyes when he gazed at her was still there, still so familiar. She flashed him a smile and moved to hug him and her mother. Memories of Frigga and memories of Joyce Summer warred inside of her mind making her wince.

Odin noticed. "Are you well, daughter?"

"I'm fine. I just have two sets of memories in my head. It's giving me a headache," she admitted.

"In a few days, you will be fine," Odin assured her. "The memories you have of your human life are not real anyway. You were not born human. You were fashioned that way."

Dawn/Atali frowned. "Maybe so. However, Joyce loved me like a daughter. Her death was as devastating to me as if she was my natural mother. It matters not that the memories were fake. She wasn't. Nor is Buffy," she said.

"It's natural to care for them," Frigga said. "They love you. You've always been so easy to love."

"I'm not sure my sister would agree with that," Dawn said with a chuckle.

Odin frowned. "She is not your sister. She is just an implanted memory," Odin said.

She glanced over at Buffy, who was huddled with Willow and Xander. Angel, Spike, and Illyria were there with them, taking a protective stance. She gestured toward them. "Those are not just humans I bided my time with. They love me. You cannot fathom the depths of love humans are capable of. Asgards have so much power, so much strength. We protect many. However, our near invulnerability never gives us the opportunity to really learn about sacrifice." The look she had on her face as she gazed at her sister was the same look she'd always worn when she looked at her brothers. "Buffy Summers is the most self-less human on earth. She has sacrificed so much and fought so hard to protect earth. My brother's attempts have been non-existence in comparison. When Glory used my blood to open a hell dimension, the only way to stop the earth from being swallowed up was if I jumped through the door to close it. My blood opened it. Only my blood could close it. Yet Buffy refused to let me. She knew our blood was the same. She jumped in my place. She died so I could live. Don't ever say she isn't my sister!" She turned and walked over to Buffy.

Buffy gave her an uncertain look when she returned to her side. "Are you okay?" Buffy asked.

"I'm okay. It's a lot to deal with. I have all these memories suddenly in my head," Dawn admitted.

"So what do we call you? Are you still Dawn?" Xander asked bluntly. He didn't know what this new change in her meant. The human Dawn loved him. He didn't know this Atali. Xander doubted she'd be very impressed with his carpentry skills.

"I'm still Dawn. I'm just more," Dawn assured them. She reached out and took his hand and then Buffy's. "No amount of new memories or physical changes can wipe away the past nine years. I love you both more than anything. That's never going to change."

They both looked relieved at her words and moved to hug her. Willow piped up. "What about me?" Willow asked.

Dawn smiled at Willow and held out her hand, so she could join the group hug.

While they were reconnecting, Thor looked at Loki. "Our sister has returned to us. How do you think she will feel about your desire to rule earth and put the people she loves in chains?" he asked.

"I do not know. Why don't you ask her?" Loki said sourly.

"Loki, regardless of your birth, we love you," Frigga said. "Just as we love Atali. Can you not give up this unnatural hatred for your family?"

"Atali is an Asgard, Mother. I am a Frost Giant, however, abandoned. It changes nothing," Loki said in resignation. Although it brought him some measure of joy to see his long lost sister, Loki doubted she'd be any different from Thor in the end. She'd proclaim her way superior to his and condemn him for his efforts to claim a kingdom to rule. He'd been denied two different birthrights. The injustice of it chaffed. Always.

Odin nodded to the Warriors Three, who stepped forward. "Return Loki to his room," Odin ordered.

When Loki glared at him, Odin said, "Because you are my son, I withheld the sentence of death for the lives you took on earth. Mistake me not. You will not be allowed to be free until you let go of your hatred and be content as a prince of Asgard."

Loki knew better than to waste his energy arguing with the All-Father. Instead, he used his favorite weapon when dealing with him. Sarcasm. "Your kindness, as always, overwhelms me."

Volstagg grabbed his arm and led him out of the room. Spike noticed. "Looks like Loki is going back into his cage," he said.

Dawn looked up. "Where are you taking him?" she asked Odin.

"Back to his cell," Odin replied. "You are aware of the destruction he caused on Earth?"

"Yes," Dawn said, nodding. "But surely, you can fashion some kind of device that will allow him out, that will contain his powers?"

"Loki is too dangerous to allow to roam free in Asgard," Thor said, frowning. "There's no telling the trouble he could cause."

"I didn't say he had to roam free. I have been gone for centuries. Surely, I deserve to spend time with both of my brothers?" Dawn asked pointedly. "I know Loki has been lost. Maybe I can help him."

"I have tried and failed to reach him. He has nothing but hatred in his heart," Thor said.

"He hates our mother? Surely not," Dawn said.

Thor frowned. "Well, no. But he hates me and Father," Thor said.

"He is jealous. You kept secrets from him. Secrets of his origins. I know how I felt when I found out I was the Key and not Buffy's real sister," Dawn said, reaching out and taking Buffy's hand. She didn't want Buffy to feel like they weren't still family. "It took me time to come to terms with it. I acted out and did a lot of stupid things to get Buffy's attention. To feel important. It took her dying for me before I really got that our bond was unbreakable."

Buffy smiled warmly at Dawn. She wasn't sure what this meant—having Dawn be more than the human she used to be. However, she was glad Dawn still felt like they were sisters. But she wasn't quite sure about Loki, though.

"Dawn, Loki almost destroyed New York City. We were there, remember?" Buffy reminded her.

Natasha spoke for the first time. "In my experience egomaniacs like Loki never give up their delusions of grandeur," she said.

"You have no idea who my brother is," Dawn said firmly. "One mistake should not damn him for eternity."

"It wasn't just a mistake, Dawn," Xander said, incredulous. "He tried to destroy our entire planet and enslave humanity. That's not just something you come back from. He deserves more than a time out."

Dawn got the stubborn, mulish look they were more than a little familiar with. "You don't know him like I do," she defended.

Buffy decided it wasn't the time to start arguing with her sister. Nor was Loki the topic she'd want to fight about. Not now anyway. She just shrugged.

Frigga looked at Odin, waiting for his judgment. "I will think on it," Odin conceded. "We must have a feast of celebration. All of Asgard must hear that our daughter has returned!"

The soldiers in the throne room let out a cheer. "I will arrange quarters for all your guests," Frigga said to Dawn.

Odin gestured to Willow. "Come here, my child," he ordered.

Willow gave Buffy a nervous look. Dawn smiled at her in reassurance. "Don't worry. His bark is worse than his bite," she said to Willow.

Willow walked forward until she was at the foot of the throne. She gazed up expectantly at the All-Father.

"You are extraordinarily powerful. I had no idea humans were capable of such as you," Odin said.

Thor spoke up. "I have tried to tell you, Father, that humans are not all weak." He pointed to his Avenger friends. "Steve, Clint, and Natasha are unequal. They are perfectly human. All were instrumental in stopping Loki's plans for earth. They are fearless." He smiled in approval at his friends, who looked uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

Odin nodded thoughtfully. However, his gaze returned to Willow. "Are there other humans on Earth with the gift of magic such as you?" Odin inquired.

"Well, I know other witches who can do quite a bit," Willow said.

Buffy stepped forward. "No one is more powerful than Willow. She's not just gifted in magic; she's brilliant. Her mind refuses to accept the normal human limitations," Buffy said.

"Loki is adept at all forms of magic. Frigga taught him much. However, he is not human," Odin said.

"Why could I not stop him?" Willow had to ask.

"He is immune to magic. He draws it into himself. When you attack him with magic, you only empower him," Odin explained.

"Good to know," Buffy said. She knew Loki was going to be a problem. She could tell by looking at him. He had not look either contrite or subdued. He was simply biding time until his next opportunity to cause trouble. He desired power. Buffy glanced at her sister. Dawn was stubborn. If she desired to defend Loki, Buffy wasn't sure she could support her sister. Buffy just hoped the All-Father would keep him locked up, so Buffy wouldn't be forced to make a choice.

******Chapter End******

I decided to end it here, so you could get an update and time to think about the various developments. There are so many ways I can go with this story. Feel free to let me know what you would like to see! Thanks for reading and reviewing.