A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry I haven't updated, My posting has caught up with my writing, so it might be a while between updates now, sorry! Thank you for everyone who has commented, it really means a lot!
Chapter Fourteen
Winter awoke to a knock at her door. Too tired to get up, she yelled a groggy "Come in" as she forced herself into a sitting position. The door opened and Natalie came in, walking over to sit on the bed, "Were you sleeping?" Winter shrugged, not wanting to lie to her. She may not remember Natalie, but that didn't mean she liked keeping secrets. Natalie nodded slowly, "Loki is visiting you in your sleep again?" Winter's mouth fell open without her consent, "Again? What do you mean again?" Natalie smiled lightly, "The day before you got hurt, you called Loki into your dreams or something. I think you said you guys were connected? I don't know, it was all very weird, Megan understood it a bit better." Her face lit up, "I'll go get her! Maybe she can help!" She shot up from the bed, leaving Winter alone with a mess of thoughts. Meeting with Loki subconsciously was not a new thing, and she had trusted these girls enough before to tell them about it. She decided that she was going to tell them about Loki's promise to get her memories back, how he wasn't as bad as everyone claimed he was. Natalie and Megan both came into her room, and Natalie looked to Winter, waiting for her to tell Megan what had happened. "I, uh…. I've been meeting up with Loki in my sleep. Apparently this has happened before and I told you?" Recognition crossed Megan's face, and she sat down on the bed, Natalie following, "Yes, this did happen once before, though I don't think I really knew what was going on. How often has this been happening?" Winter sighed, not meeting either girl's eyes, "Every time I fall asleep I end up in his cell with him. I can tell he's not on Earth, he called it Asgard." Both girls stared at her, eyes wide. Natalie turned to Megan, "Do you know why this keeps happening?" Megan thought for a moment, "Well, we already knew you shared a connection with him. At one point you both were even speaking to each other telepathically. Now even though you lost your memories, that connection probably wasn't broken. It's probable that your mind is seeking to remember, to repair the damage, and since your connection with Loki seems to be the only thing that survived…." She trailed off, and Winter didn't know what to say. It made sense, but she was still keeping secrets. "He knows how to get my memories back." Both girls stared at her, seemingly offended by her statement. Natalie practically yelled, "You can't be serious! And you believe him? He put you into a coma, how do you think you can trust him? Oh! And he also tried to take over the Earth, but you know, it's easy to forget that one." Megan glared at her, shutting her up, "What do you mean, Winter?" Winter took a breath, looking at Natalie nervously, "Uh, he used his magic to assess my damage. It's too great for my memories to come back naturally. So in your words, the damage is permanent. But he has a way to get them back." Natalie looked about ready to explode, but Megan spoke first, "I don't know what he has that we don't. If the damage is as bad as he says it is, I highly doubt he would have the technology available to fix it." Winter shrugged, "I don't know if he does either, but I do know that I can't live with a four year gap in my life! I don't care if you guys approve or not. I'm getting his help." At this both Megan and Natalie stood up, backing away from the bed. Natalie reached for the gun in the holster at her hip, "Winter don't do this, if you decide to side with him, you will officially be against us, I will have to take you in." Winter felt a steady stream of rage work it's way through her body. These girls were supposed to be her friends! This only made her decision even more final. She felt a strange feeling of dizziness, but she quickly pushed it aside. Smirking at both girls, she got up off the bed slowly, "You can't stop me. If you fire the gun, I'll catch the bullet. If you try to catch me, I'll teleport away. There is nothing you can do, but let me go." Her voice sounded hard, angry, and she fed on the emotion and the strength it gave her. She began walking towards the door, but Megan stepped in front of her, "Winter, wait-" She was cut off as Winter backhanded her, hard, across the face. She fell to the side, hitting the side of her bed before falling to the ground, holding her face in shock. Winter felt a pang of guilt, but quickly pushed it aside as Natalie came at her. She raised the gun, aiming to use the butt of it against Winter's shoulder. Winter shot her arm out, punching her in the stomach. Natalie doubled over, spinning as she did so, bringing her leg up and around to kick Winter in the side. This threw her against the wall, and as Natalie prepared to kick her again, she held her hand out. Natalie's face turned from concentration to confusion, and quickly to anger, "You can't do that!" Winter smiled, winking, "Yes, I can." She stood up, not releasing the telekinetic hold she had on both girls, even though Megan didn't look like she was getting up anytime soon. As she turned around to leave, Natalie made one last attempt, "You can't go to him! He will kill you!" Winter turned back around, "No, he won't. You don't know anything about him. I don't even think you really know anything about me either." She turned around, reached out for both girl's minds. As gently as she could, she stole their consciousness, leaving them in a heap on the floor. They would only sleep for about 5 minutes, so Winter had to hurry. She left the room, wandering the halls and looking for an exit. She needed to find some place quiet, and pretty soon this place would be full of people looking for her. Not exactly ideal conditions to prepare for space travel. This whole thing was insane, but she knew she had to try. Finally, she turned a corner, seeing a huge door with a key pad next to it. She groaned, having no way to acquire the password. Just then three men turned the corner, rifles in hand. Upon seeing her they stopped, one of them asked, "What are you doing here ma'am, you don't have access-" Winter cut him off, holding his mouth shut with her telekinesis. The other two men looked at him, confused. When they saw how confused he was, staring accusingly at Winter, they both turned and raised their guns. "I don't know what you're doing to him, but you need to stop. Let's end this nicely, okay?" One of the guards said, but instead of obeying him, she met his eyes, finding a connection. He looked confused, and before he could catch on she said "What's the password to get out of here?" His eyes lost focus, "8962451" His voice was monotone, and the other man whipped his head, "Matt! What the fu-" Winter shut his mouth as well, tired of this game. "Thank you!" She said sweetly, gripping all three men's bodies in place as she turned around to enter the code. The door lifted open painfully slow, and Winter ducked under it before it was completely open. She began to run, an idea forming in her mind. As she pulled up coordinates, she let her control on the men go, her form slipping as she teleported away.
She reappeared in a warehouse, which was dark, even though it was the middle of the day. This was the last place she remembered being before she woke up. It was just as deserted as it had been when she left, perfect. Settling against a wall, she took a deep breath, revelling in the silence. She closed her eyes, going deep into her own mind. She focused on Loki's words, trying to bring up a mental image of Asgard. She had no idea what it was supposed to look like, but suddenly a faint image began to paint itself. She was sure she was making it up, but she clung onto it anyways. It was like she was being fed these images, this information, but that was impossible. Putting logic aside, she continued to build the location in her mind. It was faint, a lot weaker than what she normally used, but it was all she had. She suddenly felt discouraged, groaning as she lost her hold on the location. Frustrated, she reached out with her mind, crushing a wooden crate. She was angry with herself for being so weak, for thinking she could do this. Before she could break anything else, she felt an odd calm flow through her. She didn't know what it was, but she no longer felt the urge to tear this building to the ground. Try again. The voice reminded her of Loki's, but Winter ignored it, and focused on obeying the command. Tentatively, she attempted to rebuild the image, and slowly, she did. More and more details began to knit themselves into place, and before long the location was stronger than it had been last time. She clung to it, desperate not to let it slip away this time. Pushing any fear aside, she let her body do the rest, slipping away from the dark empty warehouse.
When she reappeared, she was overcome with such nausea that she fell to her knees and vomited on the ground. After the feeling passed, she finally realized that she had no idea where she was. The ground below her seemed to be made of magic itself, glowing in beautiful colors that shifted without care. Raising her head a bit, as not to overwhelm herself, she noticed that it was a bridge, not ground. She was right in the middle, both sides hanging high over churning water. Risking a glance up, she gasped. The picture she had formed in her head had been vague, but magnificent all the same. She had thought there was no way such a place had existed. She had been wrong. Looking upon it her breath was taken away by the magnificence of it all. Everything was huge, everything was gorgeous. Everything was alien. Once reminded that this wasn't a dream, that she had teleported through space to get here, it all became too much. Still on her knees, she looked up into the sky, which was full of stars, before blacking out and falling the rest of the way to the ground.
Her eyes opened as a rumble filled her ears, the swirling colors of the bridge vibrantly dancing beneath her. She must have only been out for a moment or so. Too tired to push herself up, she awaited whatever would happen. The rumble became louder, deafening, before it felt as if it was right on top of her. All at once it became silent, save for the sound of a horse whinny. "Winter?" A familiar voice said, but she couldn't place how she knew it. She tried to speak, but her voice refused to work, so she instead groaned. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders, rolling her over to lay on her back. Looking up, she was met with a man's shocked face, "Winter, what are you doing here?" She didn't think he would like her explanation, so she settled on acting clueless, "Where?" Her voice sounded so weak, and he frowned. He wasn't going to get anything useful out of her here, so he scooped her up and walked her back over to his horse. There were a handful of men with him, most still on their horses, the others remounting theirs. They all stared at her curiously, but looked away when she met their gaze. She was so tired, and she quickly fell asleep in the man's arms.
When she woke again she was lying in a bed, in a foreign room. Nothing looked familiar, and Winter was reminded that she wasn't on Earth. She also remembered being taken by a man, and pulled the blankets around her tighter. She quickly closed her eyes and focused on Loki. Unlike on Earth, she could feel his presence here. Or she thought she could. Pulling on that feeling, it became more tangible, and she was met with a location. She didn't try to think about where it had come from, she only focused on making it stronger. Finally, after a minute or two, she let her form slip away, and when she reformed she was met with solid ground, not a bed. Opening her eyes, she felt two hands grab her shoulders, effortlessly bringing her to her feet. Spinning her around, she was face to face with Loki. His eyes were wide, desperate, "Hurry! Get us out of the cell!" Her mind was sluggish, and it took her a moment to remember the plan. With a shaky nod she closed her eyes. This was easy compared to the last two trips. A moment later they were both out of the cell, and Loki reached out to her, his hands glowing faintly green. A shiver ran through her body, and Loki smiled, "There. Now Heimdal can't see us." He looked so proud, it made Winter smiled shyly. She had done it. It was short lived as there was a shout down the hall, and a wave of soldiers rushed around the corner. Without thinking, Winter reached out for Loki's hand, making them both invisible. They began to run in the opposite direction, before Loki pulled her into a small alcove to wait for the guards to pass. Once sure they were alone, Winter dropped his hand, letting both their forms return. "What now?" She asked, and his eyes were calculating. He was quiet a moment, before slowly speaking, "You are going to take us both back to Earth." Her jaw dropped, "What? I couldn't even get myself here without vomiting and passing out!" He stayed calm, "I will amplify your powers for you, it will be easy." He reached out to take both of her hands, his beginning to glow green again. She felt calm, as she had in the warehouse. She closed her eyes, pulling up the Earth in her mind. It was sharp, sharper than it had ever been, even while on the planet itself. She smiled, not knowing what Loki had done, but being giddy about it all the same. "Where are we going?" She murmured quietly, and he responded, just as quietly, "Let's start with someplace secluded enough that we can gather ourselves before making our next move." She hummed in approval, before pulling a location up, ensuring that it was as pure as it was going to get, and pulling her form and Loki's away from this prison.