Chapter 16 – The Astral Plain

Soladat walked down the halls, passing a few agents. She was heading for her quarters, intending to restock on her ammunition. As she neared it, she stopped at the sight of a familiar Prothean.

"Hey, Hikesh." Soladat said, smiling.

Hikesh nodded at her. "Soladat."

"I thought you were helping Banner and Stark find the Tesseract?"

"One person can only take so much Stark." Hikesh remarked. Soladat chuckled, and stared at Hikesh for a few moments. Hikesh frowned, looking confused.

"What?" He asked. Soladat blinked.

"What do you mean what?"

"I mean why are your eyes fixated on mine? It is unsettling."

Soladat blinked and backed away, blushing. "Oh… um, sorry."

"It is alright." Hikesh said, still not understanding why she was stuttering. He gave her one of the few smiles he has made since his awakening. "I wanted to thank you for defending me against the mutant. You didn't have to, yet you did."

"No problem. She was a bitch anyway." Soladat said, smiling. But then she gave a confused frown. "But why do you keep calling her a mutant?"

"Because it is all she and her people really are. Just tank bred mutations." Hikesh said plainly.

"I don't understand." Soladat said, frowning.

"It is a discussion I'd rather save for later." Hikesh stated. "There is a lot at stake right now, and giving away that kind of information would jeopardize everything.

Soladat frowned, but nonetheless shrugged. "If you say so."

Hikesh studied her for a few moments, and then frowned and reached out to touch her face. Soladat blinked and backed away somewhat.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Just relax."

His fingers made contact with her skin, and Soladat's eyes widened as she felt his green aura enveloping her. He was reading her.

"You are scared. Unsure that we will succeed." Hikesh stated. "You feel we are unprepared for the threats coming our way, and are scared of losing everything when the entire world depends on all of us."

Soladat gasped as Hikesh pulled away and the aura dissipated. She breathed heavily, the strain of the experience having been extremely powerful. She looked up at Hikesh.

"Was I that obvious?" She asked, still breathing.

Hikesh smirked. "I have always been able to detect a person's inner turmoils even without the need for my sensory abilities. I could see the distress in your eyes."

"You were looking at my eyes?" Soladat asked.

Hikesh shrugged. "They are a pleasant shade that my people never had. They are an interesting sight."

"Did you just compliment me?" Soladat asked, smirking.

Hikesh frowned. "Should I not have?"

Soladat laughed and shook her head. "We couldn't do any of this without you, Xegh. We're lucky to have you here."

Hikesh gave her a smile. "I am honored. It is strange, though, going to war against an enemy other than the Reapers. Your people don't prepare for high-risk operations the way we did in my cycle."

Soladat raised an eyebrow. "How did Protheans prepare for high-risk operations?"

"With violence, usually." Hikesh responded. "My people were brilliant military tacticians. We had more operational violence discipline than you humans do, but fewer personal restrictions. Our leaders ran us hard, yes. But I knew when to relieve stress."

"Yeah?" Soladat said, smirking. "How?"

Hikesh smiled as he remembered back to his days in the Prothean military. "There was a young soldier. Female. Her name was Elassa. We first met on a planet that we had recently taken back from the Reapers during the first few years of the war. She and I had been on the same squad, and were at each other's throats for a long while, so she suggested we settle it with a duel."

"You fought her?" Soladat asked, and Hikesh nodded. "And how did that go, exactly?"

"Actually, she and I were quite even hand-to-hand. If we were allowed to use our manipulation of dark energy, I would have beaten her, but there were restrictions. It was long and brutal. Neither of us had any intention of going down. In the end, the battle ended in a stalemate, as our squad leader broke up the fight." Hikesh gave a smile. "We ended up having a tiebreaker in her quarters. It was a good way to settle off the stress."

Soladat blinked, and then gave a wicked smile. "So you actually…"

Hikesh looked at her, grinning. Soladat just laughed and slapped his shoulder. "You dog!"

Hikesh suddenly frowned. "Dog?"

But Soladat just laughed at him and shook her head. She walked away from him and leaned against the wall. "So you and Elassa, did you two… do anything afterward?"

Hikesh cocked his head. "Are you asking if she and I pursued any form of romantic relationship afterward?"

"Sure." Soladat shrugged.

Hikesh suddenly looked sad. "We were close, yes. But a few months after our fight, I lost her."

Soladat blinked, and then looked guilty. "Oh… sorry."

Hikesh took a deep breath. "That was millennia ago. I have moved on."

"If you don't mind me asking," Soladat said, "how did she die?"

Hikesh looked away from Soladat. "I killed her."

Soladat blanched. "You… What?"

"I had no choice." Hikesh said quickly. "She was enslaved. Indoctrinated by the Reapers. They controlled her thoughts to get to me and my squad. She attacked me, but in her last few moments she was able to break free and gave me her weapon. It was she who asked me to do it."

Hikesh sighed, and looked down at the floor in mournful silence. Soladat looked at him with doe eyes, feeling a pang of sympathy for the Prothean. Hikesh looked up as she approached him.

"Xegh…" She said quietly, and stroked his cheek. Hikesh closed his eyes, sighing. Soladat looked at him in the eyes for a few moments, before kissing what she assumed was his cheek. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"What do you need?" She urged. He gently took her hands off his face, and looked at her seriously.

"I need you to stay focused." He ordered. "Can you do that?"

Soladat nodded, and Hikesh let her go. Without a word, he left her, and Soladat watched him depart in silence. Neither of them notices the figure watching from the shadows, grinning mischievously.

ooooo

"Are you sure everything is alright, honey?"

"Yeah, mom. I'm sure." Darcy assured her mother over her cellphone. Fortunately, Wi-Fi aboard the helicarrier was ten-times as strong as it was back in New Mexico.

"Sweetheart, what's really going on?" Mrs. Lewis asked. "I called your friend, but she wouldn't tell me anything."

Darcy sighed. "Mom, there's just something really important I have to deal with on my own. It's sort of a… business thing."

"Business?" Mrs. Lewis said in confusion.

"Secret business, mom." Darcy said. "That's all I can really tell you."

"Darcy…"

"I'll be fine, mom." Darcy said sternly. She heard her mother sigh on the other end.

"Alright, alright. You win." Mrs. Lewis resigned. "But you better call me back when all this is over."

"I will. I promise." Darcy said, and hung up. She put her phone back in her pocket and sighed. She walked down from the rectangular conference table and down a few steps towards Agent Coulson, who was standing next to Sif. They both acknowledged her with a nod.

"How you feeling?" Coulson asked.

Darcy shrugged. "Alright I guess."

"None of us have time for guessing." Sif said, frowning. Darcy just frowned back and shook her head.

Sif sighed, and looked out the view port and into the ocean below. "You know, it is no coincidence Loki taking Erik Selvig. Given your role in his outcast, he will use whatever links he can use to break you."

"Yeah. I know." Darcy muttered. She gave a low sigh. "And to think. All this started from just a hammer falling out of the sky. Maybe things would have been better if I'd just stay at Culver and flunked rather than go with Jane to that desert…"

"I don't know about that, Ms. Lewis." Agent Coulson spoke up. He gave the two women a half-smile. "You did some pretty extraordinary things then. You changed things. Forever."

"Things were better as they were." Sif said, frowning. "Back when our worlds were apart. Back when our prince was still alive."

Darcy sighed. It was back to that old static again. "I said I was…"

"Sorry, yes I know. But you know what? He's dead now, and it's not like apologizing for it will bring him back." Sif hissed. "No matter how many times you say it."

"Then just let it go!" Darcy said, frowning, surprising Sif. "If you can accept he won't come back, then accept he's dead. You can't always rely on him."

Sif blinked, surprised at the statement. She soon looked down, eyes heavy. Darcy immediately felt guilty. "Look, I didn't mean it like that…"

"No." Sif said, sighing. "You are right."

Darcy watched as Sif returned her gaze to the ocean. "When I first came to Earth, my rage averted my attention away from this realm's true beauty. And now Loki seeks to ruin it all."

Sif clenched her fists. "We pretend on Asgard to be more advanced than you. Yet all we've done is court mindless destruction and war."

"War hasn't started yet." Sif, Darcy, and Coulson turned to see Fury, who had apparently been listening in on their conversation. "You think you can make Loki tell us what the Tesseract is?"

Sif scoffed. "No. He will never tell me anything."

"Or any of us, really." Darcy said. "If there is anything he's more determined to do, its to get back at me for what I did to him. Nothing will change his mind."

"A lot of guys think that way." Fury said. "Until they've run out of options."

Sif narrowed her eyes at Fury. "What are you asking us to do?"

"I'm asking," Fury said intently, "what are you prepared to do?"

"Loki is a prisoner." Sif argued.

"Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?"

ooooo

Hikesh sat alone in his quarters, meditating. He had only been a wake for little more than a year, and everything had already fallen to chaos. The short peace he had enjoyed after awakening from the Reaper War was already disrupted, and by one of his peoples' ancient genetic constructs no less. If the humans were to fight back against the Reapers, they couldn't do it while being ruled by some power hungry tyrant.

That is why Hikesh had to help stop Loki.

Suddenly, the door slid open, and Hikesh looked up to see Soladat enter the room.

"Soladat?" Hikesh asked. "What do you want?"

Soladat sighed. "I need you."

Hikesh blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Xegh…" Soladat said, and took his face in her hands. She looked at him in the eyes for a moment, and then kissed him. Hikesh's eyes widened in surprise, but slowly, he gave in. So there was one thing the humans were good at…

Hikesh wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her down to him, enjoying the kiss. However, as it deepened, Soladat started to become more aggressive. Hikesh frowned in confusion and pulled away slightly.

"What are you doing?"

Soladat blinked. "What do you mean?"

Hikesh frowned, studying Soladat. He noticed her giving him a strange look. It was emotionless and pale. Nothing like he'd ever seen her in the past. He immediately put his hand up to her face and scanned her. She didn't even flinch.

Seconds later, he pulled his hand away and glared, pushing Soladat off of him.

"I will not allow you to play with my emotions, witch." Hikesh hissed angrily. Normally, anyone would cower at the sound of an angry Prothean, but 'Soladat' just gave a sinister smile. She slowly stood up, and the illusion before Hikesh faded. Standing in Soladat's place was Claire Voyant.

"What do you want, then? An apology?"

Hikesh just glared at her. She smirked. "No? Then how about this?"

Hikesh blinked as Claire suddenly turned into Agent Romanoff. "Is this what you want?"

She then transformed into Carrie White. "What do you want, Xegh?"

Hikesh's face looked angrier then ever when he saw Claire's next transformation. A slim, female Prothean with a purple shell and yellowish skin tone. Elassa.

'Elassa' gave a smirk. "What do you really want?"

"I want you to get out." Hikesh hissed.

Claire turned back to her original form, frowning, and left the room. Xegh angrily punched the wall, and then gave a deep breath as he tried to put his emotions aside.

ooooo

In her quarters, Carrie White tossed and turn. For the past few hours, something was bothering her greatly. Ever since the group came back with that Loki person, something very wrong was happening. Carrie felt like a call, a psychic presence inside the helicarrier. Something only she could seem to hear.

As the call intensified, Carrie groaned and sat up, gripping her head. She needed to find it and stop it.

Stepping out of her room, Carrie walked down the hall and followed the call. After moving through several different corridors, passing by several confused looking agents, Carrie came across the laboratory that Stark and Banner were working in.

Before she could open the door, Captain America suddenly stormed out, looking very livid. Upon seeing Carrie, he softened somewhat and nodded.

"Carrie."

"Hi, Mr. Rogers." Carrie greeted. "What's wrong?"

Steve shook his head. "Nothing."

Carrie watched him leave, and then shook her head. She went into the laboratory. Stark and Banner looked surprised to see her.

"Sorry, kid." Tony said. "Daycare center's somewhere else."

Carrie didn't even seem to hear him. Her eyes were focused on something else. Bruce seemed to notice her expression.

"Carrie?" He said, confused. But she didn't hear him.

She slowly walked towards the table behind the two scientists. Tony frowned. "Uh, hello? Earth to White? You awake?"

But she just moved past them. She stopped in front of Loki's scepter. Tony and Bruce blinked when they saw that the blue gem in the scepter seemed to glow brightly as she approached.

"Uh, kid?" Tony said warily. Carrie slowly reached out to touch the scepter.

"Carrie, don't!" Bruce said, but it was too late.

Carrie touched the staff, and Bruce and Tony covered their eyes as the gem glowed brightly. They heard a thud, and the glowing stopped. Blinking, they looked down with wide eyes to see Carrie lying unconscious. The scepter was no longer glowing.

"Kid?" Tony said, shaking the girl. There was no response. "Seriously, kid wake up!"

"What's wrong with her?" Bruce asked.

ooooo

Carrie opened her eyes, and immediately gasped as she took in her surroundings. She wasn't on the Helicarrier anymore. In fact she wasn't sure she was on Earth anymore.

She was standing on a large rocky platform in a place that looked like a vast emptiness of stars. She looked around to see several other rocky formations floating about. In the distance, there seemed to be a large planetoid that had been blown open.

Suddenly, that psychic feeling she had felt before intensified. It was different this time, however. It felt alive. And whatever it was was right behind her.

Carrie slowly turned her head to face the source of the call. And she nearly screamed when she saw it.

In front of her, seated in a large golden throne was a monster. It looked almost like a man, except he had purple skin and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He was wearing a black and gold outfit with a similarly designed helmet. His face was old and wrinkly and there were a number of straight lines going down from his mouth to the tip of his chin. Carrie shuddered when the creature glared at her, and then spoke with a dark, inhuman voice that almost sounded almost sibilant.

"You are not Loki."

Yeah, I bet you can all guess who that was. Just so you all know, I'm terrible at writing romance so I hope that stuff I've been putting into this has been somewhat satisfying. I want to thank you all for tuning into this fic, and look forward to reading your reviews. Later.