Visitation

by kalimecat

Loki has returned to Asgard and is imprisoned for his crimes. While in prison he has the occasional visitor, will the love of others bring back the fallen prince or is he truly too far gone?

67. Last Battle Part 1

A/N HEEEEEELLLLOOOOO READERS! Omg, it has been so long since I posted. It seems like a million years ago. I truly apologize for how long it has taken me to make an update. I have been soooooo busy lately and have had many changes in my life (mostly positive) still, it left me so little time for writing of this story. Please know that I never forgot about you or this story and I was truly working on it as much as possible hoping to finish it. And I am still determined to finish it because of you all. All your reviews, faves and follows have kept me going and writing for all these years! MWAH! XOXOXOXO This chapter was incredibly hard to write. I think you'll see why as you read it, but please know that I tried my best to make it an epic chapter for you :D. Well, you have waited long enough! As always, happy reads and writes and God Bless! Without further ado...

Chapter 67

Thor's blue eyes stared up at the terrible leviathan that slithered and twined its way out of the portal. He watched as it maneuvered through the darkened sky. The red Aether ash coated its back like a bloody snowfall. He growled and thunder crackled all around. In the murky atmosphere. He'd hoped he'd never see those monsters again, but here they were like a recurring nightmare. He recalled the Chituari that had attacked New York. He'd fought many creatures and monsters before, but he admitted that the Chitauri and their beasts were some of the most revolting. They also didn't die easily. Thor continued to growl as he saw another one of the many finned creatures come quickly sailing through the portal and descending upon the Imperial City.

New York was a pretty city much like the Imperial City. A metropolis that glittered in the sun, a stronghold for industry and culture, and a hub of people, but those beasts had almost decimated it. Thor's eyes quickly shifted to gazing at the horrid slugs and then to looking at the city. He hardly could recognize the Imperial City any longer, it looked like a city that was nothing but ruin. It would surely be nothing but a pile of rubble when the Chitauri were done with it. The Chitauri were like termites they simply destroyed. They seemed to tear through buildings on pure instinct. They didn't think or act with any conscience. They had tried to make fodder for the people of New York, but the humans were easy targets, or so they had thought. Thor continued to look out at the people of Asgard. It didn't seem like there were many left. The city was practically abandoned. His strong, warlike people, still had some fights in them, but not much. They were giving their all to save their world and the Nine Realms, but they were standing on their last leg. They could easily be toppled, easily crushed. This could be that final crushing blow.

Thor quickly shut his eyes. He tried to block out the terrified screams of the citizens of Asgard as they beheld the leviathans.

"WHAT ARE THEY! WHAT ARE THEY?" He heard a few shouts.

"RUN!" several wailed. He saw as many of the remaining Aesir scrambled to take shelter inside the safety of the palace stronghold. But even as they darted and dived for dear life into the mighty golden edifice. It wasn't so golden anymore. It was tarnished and scorched, gilded cinders and panels tumbled off of the sides. Those who had tried to take refuge would be in for a rude awakening as members of the Chituarian army launched off of the sides of the leviathans and onto the outside of the palace. They immediately started shooting off their guns and blasters and tearing through the palace walls, it took a few blasts but they managed to breach it and soon they were pouring in like a swarm.

Thor watched a few more of the aliens start to whiz by on the hover gliders they shot down at the Asgardians who remained on the bridge firing at them with bows and arrows. A few had managed to preserve the heavy artillery of cannons and catapults and were using them against the enemy, but their arsenal was nearly empty. A few of the arrows managed to hit their targets. They got the Chituari warriors right in their faces like a perfect bullseye. The Chituari tumbled off the backs of their flying vehicles and their bodies fell into the Forever Sea. Thor was sure that his friend, Hawkeye would be proud of watching how Asgard's archers were standing as the main line of defense against the invasion. He wished he had Clint by his side now. He wished he had the whole team of the Avengers now. Before it had taken the whole team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to defeat the Chituari and Loki.

Loki. Thor's dirty brow furrowed under his golden eyebrows. As he stared at Loki. The enchanter stood staring up at the army unmoving, his thin lips slightly ajar with disbelief. Other Aesir simply gaped as well. They fell back on their backs and stared up at the skies with horror. They were stunned and frozen. He heard as some started to cry and weep. They fell on their knees and uttered their final prayers as sure this was the end.

It was all déjà vu from NYC. The madness and the anarchy and the chaos. Thor spun around and saw more and more of the Chituari leaping from the backs of their whale-like beasts and taking charge of the city. Most of them aimlessly went running rampant into the city that was abandoned. They fired their weapons and tore through empty buildings of commerce and residence; they fired their weapons and ransacked the structures for no reason at all. There were no people. Perhaps they were searching for people to prey upon, but when they found none, they used their weapons to blow up the buildings and torch the homes purely out of spite. Thor turned around and for a moment a snarl. He looked back at Loki who was standing a little way in the distance. His features pointed upward as he stared with shock and surprise at the creatures that crawled through the wormhole. He had the same expression that he had worn in New York City upon Stark Tower. The look of disbelief and panic. It was at that moment for the first time since he'd seen Loki alive that he'd seen some remnants of his brother. Loki wasn't a person who loved violence or craved war. When he had seen the reckless devastation that the Chituari could inflict he had seemed to hold something close to remorse or at least shock. "Look around you! Look around you!" he declared on top of the tower as the Chituari started to run amuck, "Do you think this madness will end with your rule?"

Loki's eyes were wide, nearly childlike, they housed fear, "it's too late," he muttered and looked away from the chaos for a moment. "It's too late to stop it," he sighed tiredly.

That had caused Thor to entreat him to fight at his side once more. He'd heard it. He'd seen it. Loki had just admitted it, hadn't he? This wasn't really what Loki wanted, was it? Maybe Loki had wanted attention but didn't want this tirade of animals taking over the beautiful world of mortals. "No, we can, together," Thor had uttered hopefully. He smiled at Loki and held him fast. He hated it so much that every time he'd seen Loki since they'd fought on the Bifrost they had been fighting against each other. He wanted his brother who fought by his side again and the two of them could do anything together. Loki offered a smile back in return. Thor was excited at the prospect of them working together again, he didn't notice how slick and snake that smirk had been. He didn't see how Loki's hand possessed a small dagger which he quickly used to draw blood from Thor's side.

"Sentiment," Loki spat at the Crown Prince before he jumped away to aid the Chituari in their conquest.

Thor grabbed his side. He felt the prick from the small blade all over again ramming in between his ribs and drawing blood. As he looked at Loki his heart started to pound. Could this all be Loki's betrayal again? What if Loki had orchestrated this? Surely, he had. Malekith couldn't be so ingenious or insidious. Malekith couldn't possibly know how to use the Tesseract. The leader of the Dark-Elves was obsessed with the Aether and the Aether alone. Loki was the one who knew how to use the Tesseract. Thor's hands balled into tight fists. "Loki!" he started to shout angrily where he stood. He continued to shout Loki's name as he closed his eyes trying to contain his fury, but Loki didn't seem to hear a thing.

He then turned back around and saw that Loki was no longer just standing gaping. He was shooting off powerful green energy blasts from the ground. They looked like big green fireballs, they sailed through the red atmosphere, struck a few of the Chituari soldiers, and knocked them out of their flying vehicles. The vehicles went crashing throughout the city.

Lady Sif came running over to Loki. "Can you get me up there?" she asked, pointing toward the sky. "Teleport me up there!" she demanded.

Loki was breathless but placed his hands on his hips and smirked at her for a second. "I thought you didn't like the way that feels?" he put finger quotes around the last word.

"Shut up, you bastard," Sif taunted and slapped his shoulders. Sif quickly took Loki by the hand and instantly found herself hurling through the sky aimed toward one of the Chituari on the hovercraft. The warrior woman came sailing toward the alien wailing a battle cry. The Chituari soldier turned to her and let out a growl or grunt. It started to turn its body to turn its machine to fire at her, but Lady Sif was too quick. She rammed her double blade through and skewered him completely. With Asgardian strength flung his body off the back of his vehicle. She then took control of the transport. She fearlessly began firing at other members of the Chituari force, catching them off guard.

Thor saw Lady Sif's bold move. It brought a smile to his lips momentarily as he watched her slaughter a few of their enemies with their ships. He then turned his attention back to the thin wizard who had once commanded this wicked troop same as Malekith. Now, he watched Loki's skill as he hurled magic-infused daggers through the sky, their bright green glow contrasted greatly with the red haze all around them. They hit their targets with precision. He reminded himself to trust Loki. As hard as it was to do so. Loki was a member of his team and it had taken a whole team to bring down the Chituari before. Maybe this time they really could stop this... together.

Loki, Sif, and the other warriors of Asgard were doing the best they could to hold off the army from the worlds outside of the branches of Yggdrasil. They were doing the best they could, and they were doing a relatively good job, but he knew that they needed him to do what they couldn't do and that was reach Malekith. He still had to get to his hammer. With that, the crown prince of the realm once more leaped into the air into action. His whole body was a bright blue blaze of lightning hurling through the darkened clouds. His burst electrified several of the Chituari warriors who had been zooming about on their hovercraft raining down fiery darts upon the few remaining Aesir who were left standing outside the palace. Thor watched as the bullets shot down a few Asgardian citizens. But he quickly avenged them. His lightning burned the enemy to a crisp almost instantaneously. But that wasn't the last of them. They kept coming. Just like they had in NYC. They whizzed and whirled through the wormhole like an endless swarm. Thor tried to hit them with lightning blasts. He took out as many as he could, but as his lightning went in every direction it also became a threat to his own subjects. His grand bolts were dispersed without his complete control. Several bolts had hit the palace where the citizens of the Imperial City were. He heard their cries and screams as massive planks bricks and stones fell from the palace after it had been struck by lightning and nearly crushed several people.

Thor narrowed his lightning-infused eyes and tried to focus on Malekith. It was hard to find him in the midst of all of the chaos that was raging around them. The Chituari were starting to run ramped. They were tearing holes through every part of the palace and ransacking all the edifices. Still, from his aerial view, Thor managed to spy on the warlord. He was like a queen bee, the Chituari were his little workers and the portal that he had created with the Tesseract was the hive. His hands were still raised as he lifted the cosmic cube up and allowed its power to flow. "MALEKITH!" Thor roared. The Leader of the Dark-Elves didn't seem to hear him. He would not be ignored. He hurled himself through the blackened atmosphere toward Malekith who stood right outside his ship.

As Thor went charging toward him like a torpedo one of the great leviathans came rapidly swimming through the sky toward him. The Chitauri who rode on the beast's belly fired their weapons at him with dangerous aim. They assaulted him with fire. Thor stretched forth his hand, he summoned wind and lightning, but his lightning only seemed to sting the leviathan. It didn't mortally wound the creature's shell. The creature was not deterred, it was only made angrier from the counterattack. It bared its teeth, growling and screeching until it swallowed him whole.

"NOOOO THOR!" the bloodcurdling scream rang from Jane Foster's throat as she watched the monster swallow the prince who'd stolen her heart. Instinctually she went running toward the jagged edges of the rainbow bridge that still jetted from the base of the palace. With her reactor firmly planted under the crook of her arm she looked as if she was about to leap off of the edge. Heimdal caught and pulled her back from the edge. Jane was kicking and screaming and flailing wildly. "No! No!" she hollered her voice soar.

"Thor," Lord Heimdal gasped as he too was shocked by the sight of the beast swallowing up the prince. He shook his head in dismay.

"We have to do something! We have to do something!" Jane protested.

Heimdal took her as far as he could as she was kicking and screaming so much. He finally plopped her down with Hogun Frandal and Volstagg. They tried to comfort her. Heimdal stood resolutely in that spot. His piercing gold eyes stared intently at the creature who had just gulped down the son of Odin. The aliens who were riding on the leviathan's back started to cheer wildly. They celebrated and threw their helmets in the air. The few remaining Dark-Elves took advantage of the Aesir's surprise and horror and used it to attack them. They fired off their vortex blasters and sucked up several warriors.

"Come on! Move it!" Frandal called as he watched an elder Aesir man who was staring up at the sky, screaming after witnessing the massacre. A Dark Elf managed to soundlessly run up behind the man. He threw one of his grenades and immediately a wormhole was formed. It opened and sucked the older warrior in, he didn't even have a chance to run. "Jane!" the blonde-haired swordsman gripped her by the shoulders, he quickly spun her around so that she could see the Dark-Elves that were carefully approaching. Volstagg moved to get in front of his friends, his girth was enough to provide a shield for both Lady Jane and Frandal, and his battle axe was ready. He didn't need to use it though; Jane had quickly thrown her reactor at the Dark-Elf. It fell flat on the ground, and she thought that she heard the Malekith's soldier let out a chuckle from behind its bloodless mask. Its soulless, black eyes dropped down to stare at whatever she had launched at him. It seemed like such a pathetic weapon. It was nothing next to the might of his vortex blaster, but before he could pull the trigger. Before he could release the power, the reactor showed up. The Dark-Elf disappeared before their eyes in a ripple. The Warriors Three clapped her on the back, but Jane was still in tears.

Lady Sif was screaming in a raging fury as she raced across the black and red skyline on the Chituari hovercraft. A few other Chituari soldiers had caught on to her and they were chasing behind her and firing at her. Sif hardly noticed the way their laser bullets whizzed by her and nearly grazed her. She drove her vehicle furiously. She used her hovercraft and darted and dived recklessly past every attacking enemy. Sif only saw red. She screamed as she shot without thought at Chituari, their purple and green blood sprayed and splattered like a drizzle of rain. Soon she had cleared a path so that no Chitauri soldiers were in her way. She went soaring toward the leviathan that had swallowed Thor. "AHHHHHH! THOR!" she cried as she fired every gun and weapon that the hovercraft had to offer. Lasers and bullets and bombs and blasters were launched toward the leviathan, but the monster just kept sailing along cruising through the sky growling relentlessly and seeming unfazed by all of Lady Sif's best efforts. Seeing how the weapons were not penetrating the beast's shell she immediately leaped out of her vehicle and onto the back of the leviathans. She drove her double-bladed saber into the leviathan's back. Her magnificent weapon didn't even leave a scratch on the monster's exterior. Lady Sif went wild trying to stab the beast. A few of the Chituari who were still riding on the leviathan jumped up on top of their living battleship and began to try and seize Lady Sif. The shieldmaiden managed to take on a whole squadron of bug-eyed aliens. With both ends of her blade, she attacked. She parried and thrusted and lunged. She cut down two at a time and then 3 down at a time. She hacked off the silver limbs of the Chituari warriors, but finally, they overwhelmed her. Soon it seemed as though all of the Chituari warriors who had been riding upon the leviathan's underbelly had leaped up onto the creature's back and were converging on Lady Sif. They fired their guns at her. The agile shield-maiden dipped and dodged and avoided the onslaught of their blasts, but soon even for the general of the Einherjar, their numbers were too great. They had backed her up into practically walking into the leviathan's mouth. Sif was sorely tempted to plummet herself into the jaws of death. What right did she have to escape the same grizzly fate as Asgard's crown prince, the greatest warrior they had, and her best friend, the Mighty Thor? She might as well die. She failed to protect her crown prince and as an Einherjar that meant that she'd broken her sacred oath. She'd failed to protect the man that she loved and as his best friend, she couldn't forgive herself for that. Time was already running out and without Thor, there was no chance that they would survive. Everything in her begged her to surrender to join Thor and all those warriors who had given their lives for Asgard that day, but she knew that she couldn't. That would be a disgrace to Thor. She could hear her friend's jaunty voice bellowing merrily that he had no plans to die today. Sif let out a laugh herself, but the laugh didn't stop the tears from pricking her eyes. "FOR ASGARD!" The shield-maiden raged; she raised her double-bladed saber over her head as she yelled. "For Thor," she whispered and then she rammed her sword into the eye of the leviathan. The creature wailed and it bucked, and it thrust and lurched about wildly in pain. It started to ram itself into the buildings and even into the palace. It bucked and knocked Lady Sif and the Chitauri soldiers off of its back. They went flying into buildings across the city.

Aesir, Chituari, and Dark-Elf soldiers alike ran for cover as the beast knocked about falling from the sky, agonized and blind in one eye. While all ran about, most taking shelter in the palace, Loki stood just outside staring up at the leviathan. The enchanter's heart had stopped as he beheld the terrible beastie gobble up the thunderer. He felt his heart drop to his stomach and then he couldn't find it. He couldn't believe it...He shook his head, forcing himself to look up. His emerald eyes pierced through the veil of thick Aether ash and smoke as he clenched his fists together, "Come on, Thor," he mumbled, his palms sweating as he hoped and prayed that this was not away. But the moments passed and with each moment, he began to think the worst. Thor should meal for his last stand. No, that couldn't be what the Norns had designed for the end of the true son of Odin. To die without even having touched the power of the hammer once again... no it was too cruel. Too twisted. He couldn't believe it. "Come on, Thor," he begged once more.

"Loki, come on, run!" shouted Volstagg, the plump Viking raced by him with a slew of other soldiers on his tail as they ran for cover from the raging leviathan. The creature was still moving wildly and erratically through the city, it even started ramming into other leviathans. The Chitauri momentarily stopped in their pursuit of ransacking Aesir's homes and tearing down the palace to try and control the wild leviathan. One of the Chituari who looked as if he could have been one of their generals, started shouting orders in a screeching dialect that was their language. The Chituari soldiers who were on hovercraft turned their attention to the monster that had swallowed Thor, and they began shooting at It. The animal roared. It flew higher up into the air and its underbelly started to light up.

"What's going on?"

What's happening?

"Where is Prince Thor?" Many of the citizens of Asgard frantically questioned one another and their leaders as they watched the chaos outside.

"Master Heimdal," Lord Drek came up to the Gatekeeper and gripped him by the shoulders. "We should get back to the catacombs, the city is about to blow," the Mathematician figured.

"The Catacombs are blocked off Lord Drek," Lady Leoma reminded him. "The fires have surely destroyed them, we won't be able to get through," she tried to explain.

Lord Drek's eyes were wide. He sputtered as if he was doing calculations in his head. He shook his head and his white beard flapped. His eyes rolled about as he thought and thought. Finally, his eyes bulged, "Well we have to do something! We can't just stay here!" his voice raised an octave. "As sitting ducks!" He wiped his sweaty brow. "We have to get out of here!" he yelled. "At this point, we have a half hour until Convergence and by that time the whole city will be decimated. Ashes!" he blurted out.

"Drek, Drek, you must calm down," Lady Leoma whispered as she rubbed his back.

"Calm down! Calm Down? Lady Leoma this is hopeless. With Thor gone there is no way we are going to be able to defeat Lord Malekith now, we have to evacuate the city."

"Evacuate the city to where?" Loki questioned. His green eyes stayed focused on the way the leviathan was raging. He watched the way its stomach pulsed as the Chituari rained down fire on their own beast of burden. "If we allow Lord Malekith to use the Aether the whole of Asgard will be bathed in darkness along with the rest of the cosmos," the enchanter explained. "We have to keep fighting, up until the end and up until the last second, if we have any hope of stopping Ragnarok," Loki stated as he finally turned toward Lord Drek.

Lord Drek sputtered once more, furiously. "Lunacy! Lunacy!" he declared. He threw down one of his calculators and it shattered on the floor. "There's no chance! There's no chance of survival," he declared. "You're not our king, Loki!" Lord Drek stuck out an accusatory finger toward the man dressed in royal clothes. "You don't get to sentence us to death!" he spat.

"If we don't fight, we are dead and that is the truth, Lord Drek. If we don't fight, we have a 0% chance," Loki rationalized the mathematician. 'If we do fight...well you do the math, you love numbers so," Loki remarked flippantly.

For a moment more Lord Drek played with the numbers in his head. "It doesn't matter. It's an infinitesimal difference!" he shouted.

"Come, come now, Lord Drek, you know the difference that small numbers can make," Loki stated with a rueful smile and a quick wink.

"We must keep fighting," Hogun announced. "We must fight for Thor," the grim warrior stated, and he stood tall.

"Thor died fighting; how can we do any less?" questioned Frandal.

"And Sif," Hogun spoke up once more. His facial expression was even more solemn than normal.

"Sif, Sif, where is Lady Sif," asked Lady Jane as she looked around, finally drying her eyes.

"Last I saw of her she was attacking, that monster," Volstagg declared as he pointed to the Chituari creature that was roaring loudly outside of the palace.

"Sif gave her last for all and so must we all," Lady Leoma

"We'll die defending this land, we'll die fighting!" Heimdal declared. He raised a mighty fist in the air. "It is the Aesir way," the gatekeeper reminded them.

Immediately the Aesir that had gathered around started stomping their feet, clapping their hands, and cheering. Finally, with a mighty huzzah, they all shouted, "For Asgard!" They gathered the few remaining weapons that they had. They found whatever they could. They picked up large broken bits of gold and limestone from off of the broken columns in the throne rooms. They even picked up the swords and blasters of the dead Dark-Elves who were scattered around. Like a mighty wave, the Aesir took to racing back outside to fight their enemy.

"Come on! Come on, Loki," called Volstagg once more. He practically grabbed Loki's emerald cape as he went marching past. But Loki remained rooted where he was staying and staring out at the leviathan that still thrashed about over the Imperial City. The Chituarian army had slowed in their barrage of the creature. Still, the belly of the beast was lit up like a star. The leviathan went ramming into everything, desperate. It let out a bloodcurdling, earsplitting wail. Its agonized cry caused many Aesir to fall over to their knees holding their ears. The sound of the moaning of the animal could be heard from every corner of Asgard. The entire palace shook, and the sound was so loud that it made the mountains quake. All the while the leviathan was lit up like a sparkler. Loki watched with intensity as he saw that the leviathan was starting to swell. It was getting bigger, by the second. Soon the whole body of the creature looked like one big glowing watermelon. Loki squinted. He was certain that he could see a pulse that looked like lightning streaks going through the enormously bloated body.

Loki spun around, "Take cover, it's going to blow!" Loki screamed. But before any of the Aesir could turn around and run back into the palace the leviathan exploded in a magnificent burst of blinding white lightning. The bit of the leviathan spewed everywhere. Its fins flew off of its body like projectiles, they struck the palace, decapitated the statues, and broke off the spires, and the balcony, columns and balconies, came crashing down. The sticky, nasty purple blood of the leviathan splattered about coating the streets and the people. The armor plates that lined the leviathan's body also flew off. The hard plates ended up hitting many of the Chituari in the head and knocking them off of the hovercrafts and off of the buildings that they had been scaling. But despite the mess that the explosion made, Loki couldn't help the smirk that played out across his thin lips as he looked up in the sky and saw the son of Odin, flying high, hovering over the city lightning radiating from him mightily.

The Aesir people shouted and cheered loudly as they watched Thor soar. "THOR! THOR! THOR!" The cheer rose from the crowd louder than thunder.

Prince Thor didn't waste any time. His flashing, bright blue eyes looked up toward the open portal that had formed just above the city. It was one of many. All the words had rapidly come into alignment. They were all gathering over the palace. Still, the one that was most pressing was the one that was outside of the alignment. Chituari kept swarming out of it like bees from a hive. And for the leviathan that Thor had destroyed two more quickly swooped through the wormhole. Thor soared as high as he could shooting mighty lightning blasts at the leviathan. The creatures screeched as they felt the power of lightning and thunder go through their armored bodies. Still, the Chituari warriors were so easily deterred they zipped and zoomed and launched right off the back of their living warships. Even as one of the leviathans collapsed right on top of the industrial district crushing the factories in its wake, the Chituari mounted up in great numbers and bands and continued to shoot down at the Aesir who were now mostly gathered just outside of the palace. The Asgardians fired back at the Chituari. They attempted to launch catapults and shoot blasters at the insect-like enemies. They managed to take out a couple as they quickly filled the catapults with whatever debris they found available. Normally, they would launch plasma bombs from the catapults. The bright purple bombs were highly effective, but with so few enchanters available they had none. The Aesir desperately gripped and grabbed broken shards of the Rainbow Bridge, broken helmets armor, weapons and themselves. Several soldiers sailed through the air, with their swords drawn, their bows ready, and their fists ready. As they went through the air they shouted "FOR PRINCE THOR! FOR ASGARD!" They took out several Chituari, they sliced here and there, hacking off a limb and skewering a body if they needed to. Impressively, one soldier who didn't even have a weapon upon reaching the Chituari, jumped on its back, he began pummeling it with his fist, he then wrapped his hands around its neck and choked it. Still, every triumph that the Aesir seemed to make over their enemies seemed to get the better of them. The numbers of the Chituari were overwhelming. They shot down at the warriors of Asgard who were like fish in a barrel.

"Retreat! Retreat" Prince Thor yelled from above to his people.

"You heard his highness! Move it! Move it!" the pudgy Viking warrior of Asgard reiterated. He clapped and waved the crowd along rushing them to get back into the shelter of the palace. Once more the Aesir dashed and raced toward the stronghold that was quickly crumbling into heaps of gold dust. As they rushed about one person happened to notice a battered body of a female frame lying unconscious on her side. The man quickly scooped her up lest she be trampled by the stampede of fleeing Asgardians. As he gathered his arms, he presented her to the red-haired warrior. Volstagg's blue eyes looked wide and watery as he beheld the still and wounded form of his friend. "Sif," he whispered with a tender sort of disbelief. He raised a timid hand to stroke her cheek and forehead. Lady Sif stirred slightly in the soldier's arms. Her brown eyes slowly blinked open. She looked up into Volstagg's concerned face. For a moment she offered a smile. It was good to see her old friend and know that he was alive and well. Then she noticed her feet dangling slightly above the ground. Sif looked up at another man who she did not know carrying her.

Lady Sif gasped, partially from pain and partially from shock. "Don't fuss!" she declared to both men. With that, she practically leaped from the palace guard's arms to stand on her own two feet. She quickly winced gripped her side and stumbled into Volstagg. "Don't fuss," she said breathlessly once more.

"I'm not fussing, I'm just glad you're alive" Volstagg declared with a bright smile on his face, while shaking his head as his massive arms engulfed her in a large hug. He patted her on the back after breaking off the embrace.

"I'm glad you're alive too," the warrior woman stated.

"Yes, yes, yes, we are all still alive," Frandal came from behind and declared he wrapped his arms tightly around the shoulders of his two friends.

"For now," Hogun blew an exasperated breath out of his mouth. His voice sounded as flat and grim and ever, but on his lips there appeared a smile

Naturally, Lady Sif was happy to see her friends. Even amid all the chaos, she caught a glimpse of Jane Foster rushing with the crowd to take shelter in the throne room once again. She looked to the other side, and she saw the Heimdal. He had picked up some broken bars and was steadily trying to fight off a few remaining Dark-Elves. He clobbered one Dark-Elf warrior on the back of the head before they had the chance to fire off their vortex forming blaster at the crowd of Aesir. "Thor?" the warrior woman immediately demanded. Volstagg merely pointed in the direction of the crown prince. "Thank the Norns," she replied smiling as she saw what seemed like 100 streaks of lightning radiating off of him. "They haven't given up on us yet," she stated as she started to hobble for cover. Volstagg offered to support her, but the Einherjar general would have none of it.

Thor then focused his sights on Malekith. The Dark-Elf general stood where he was before. His hands were still raised while he lifted it high. The bright light of its energy still beamed into the darkness and opened up the portal allowing more and more Chituari to slip into Asgard. "MALEKITH! Thor thundered as he zoomed toward him. He sped toward the general with the speed of lightning. He rapidly fired lightning bolts at Malekith. But Malekith was still protected by the power of the Aether. The energy of the Reality Stone seemed to have formed a whirlwind around Malekith. It was nigh impenetrable. The power of Infinity Stone was great, too great. Even Thor's lightning couldn't crack through the protective red inferno that Malekith was protected by. Thor continued to sail toward Malekith at full speed. He was like a blur, like a flash. He now knew what Loki had talked about, his power alone wasn't enough to stop the Aether, he needed the power of Gungnir as well.

"Yes! Yes!" Malekith chuckled wildly and darkly as he saw more and more of the Chituari force slipping through the portal that he created with the power of the Tesseract. "Behold my power! Behold my power!" Malekith bellowed to no one in particular. He relished his newfound ability. He praised himself inwardly for his genius and perseverance in mastering the Space Stone. Loki had thought that he was so special, so great, so gifted for knowing how to wield the Tesseract, Thanos had also prized the little weasel for his prowess with the Tesseract. For this knowledge, Thanos had kept Loki alive, allowed him to be at his side, and given him a chance to rule. It was the same opportunity that he had given to him when he'd found out that he knew how to control the Aether. And Loki had squandered it like a fool! Loki was a fool! He could have had everything. He could have had the chance to rule over his enemies with an iron fist, but he squandered it for sentiment. He could have become indispensable, now he would be disposed of with the people that he tried to save. It was poetry to Malekith and Thanos would see fit to bestow all that power on him. "Come! Come!" Lord Malekith continued to beckon to the Chituari warriors who were now under his command. And as if they heard him, they kept right on coming through the wormhole and running amuck through the makeshift streets of Asgard.

All the while, as Lord Malekith was reveling in his fiendish cackling and the unfolding of his devious plot, Prince Thor was headed right for him. He was coiled in bright white lightning. He crashed into the funnel cloud of the Aether. Thor's lightning crashed and crackled against the gleaming red vortex. He could hardly break through the Aether's power, but Thor didn't relent, he hovered from above the tornado of red. He fired off bolt and gigantic bolt until finally one broke throw the dark crimson and black swirl opening it up for Prince Thor to make his way toward Malekith. Thor's lightning struck Malekith dead center. The leader of the Dark-Elves fell over and dropped the Cosmic Cube. The Aether exploded from the general's body and struck the Crown Prince of Asgard knocking him back and knocking the Tesseract about. Thor's electric blue eye spied the Infinity Stone that matched it in color. He went to run for it but was immediately hit with another powerful swirling onyx and ruby blast. Thor felt himself being blown about by the mighty gusts of the Aether. He positioned himself midair, holding off against each blow that Malekith unleashed. Prince Thor cocooned himself in his own electric forcefield. White lightning bolts and scarlet Aether shards crisscrossed like dueling blades. They clanked and clashed against one another. Though neither the son of Odin nor the leader of the Dark-Elves seemed to gain an inch over the other.

"Malekith enough!" Thor roared over the thunderous sound of their two forces meeting. Desperately, Thor tried to appeal to any sense of reason that the general might have had. "Your army is all but destroyed! It's over!" Prince Thor yelled. He pointed downward. Amongst the crowd of rushing, screaming, and fighting individuals few were actually the people of Svartalfheim. His whole mission would be futile if this insanity continued. What would be the point of him recreating Svartalfheim if he was the only Dark-Elf left alive?

"NEVER!" Malekith shouted back. He spewed forth another shard of Aether which Thor quickly managed to dodge. Malekith's blackened eyes gazed up into the hazy hellish heavens. He saw how each of the portals that led to the rest of the Nine Realms was perfectly aligned. The only one still entering into the alignment was Jotunheim, but it would be mere minutes until it too would be in position. "You have a wonderful view Asgardian," Lord Malekith mocked. He waved his hands above his head, signaling to the visible realms. "Are you ready to watch the end of your universe?" he taunted. Thor growled ruthlessly. He didn't bother rendering another lightning bolt. Instead, he went ramming right at the elfin general sticking him with charged fists. Each electric fist sizzled and marred Malekith's bloodless skin til it was blackened like charcoal, but still, he was not defeated. The Aether welled up inside Lord Malekith without his control. It whirled about and slurred out of his mouth like vomit. It knocked Prince Thor back and the vile substance swirled everything about him as if it was trying to infect him. Thor violently swatted and used his lightning to push the violent red sludge away. "The Aether cannot be contained! It cannot be stopped!" he shouted as he pushed his way to his feet. "It will have its way and so will I," he declared. But it was just then that Lord Malekith happened to notice that the Tesseract was shutting down. The bright blue energy flicked and seemed to be sucked back within the cube. "No!" Malekith gasped as he watched the beam of light disappear. Thor grinned for a moment as he looked up and saw the portal that the Chituari had been coming through finally close.

Both Prince Thor and Lord Malekith's eyes quickly darted to glance at the Tesseract, the brilliant azure cube sat dormant, but still resplendent with its fine glow as it sat right on the edge of the broken rainbow bridge. The bridge vibrated and rumbled as the battle continued all around. One false move and the Tesseract would become another casualty of war and would be lost in the raging Forever Sea. Quickly, they both took off racing toward the Space Stone. Thor was so focused on trying to reach the cube that he didn't notice the treachery of Malekith, who didn't hesitate to toss a few Aether spikes out at him. The spike struck Prince Thor, hitting him in the arm and scratching his massive bicep. Another shard appeared and slapped him down causing him to crash into Malekith's ship. One of the Dark-Elf warriors came rushing from the vessel, carrying a machete and went to attack Thor. Prince Thor reflexively blocked the attack with ease and sent the soldier sailing in the opposite direction. From his knees, Thor beheld Malekith's ashen, white hand reached for the Tesseract. "NOOOOOO!" the thunderer bellowed.

Malekith's smile was positively devilish as he reached with black talons for the Cosmic Cube, but as his hand went to grab the Infinity Stone, he found that his palms phased right through it. "What?" he gasped with bewilderment. He whipped his head back and forth searching for the cube. He then peered over the edge of the broken Bifrost thinking that the Tesseract had tumbled below.

"I'll be taking that," stated a cool voice. Malekith looked from his knees gaping. His eyes followed a trail from fine leather boots, that we scuffed and caked with blood to the billowing tattered cape that was the truest shade of emerald, he took in the golden armor that was scuffed and tarnished. Finally, he saw the unmistakable curves and gilded horns. He watched as with a wave of his hand Loki caused the Tesseract to vanish into thin air. Growling like a rabid animal Malekith immediately lunged at Loki with his machete. He sliced wildly through the air with a feral assault. He slashed here and he slashed there, but Loki was nimble and agile. Wherever Malekith's machete went Loki went the other way and even when it seemed as though Malekith's weapon was about to land a blow, Loki would quickly raise one of his daggers and block the attack. Malekith snarled as blade matched blade. Malekith brought his large machete down on top of Loki's small dagger, the weight and pressure had Loki on his knees.

"Give it back!" Malekith declared. He was snarling like a rabid animal. He was showing his fangs, practically foaming at the mouth.

"Over my dead body," Loki stated back through gritted teeth. He was sweating and straining to hold up against the Dark-Elf general's weight.

"Oh, with pleasure," Malekith allowed a cruel grin to unfold over his face. "Thanos wanted you alive," he reminded Loki. "He wanted to break you into a million pieces over and over again himself," Malekith hissed. "But I'll finish you right here, right now,"

"Promises, Promises," Loki hummed. His arm shook as he held his blade against the machete. Malekith started breathing heavily. His shoulders heaved. Loki watched as his eyes started to turn red with the Aether flowing through his veins. Loki knew what Lord Malekith was preparing to do. Just as Malekith was releasing a thick, red shard toward Loki, Loki slipped a second dagger into Malekith's side. Malekith howled for just a moment. The dagger protruding from his side, sticking through his armor. He stumbled backward momentarily and gazed down at Loki. Loki's sharp silver knife was immediately coated by the thick red ooze and was dissolved, absorbed completely into the body. Loki gasped, shook his head, and squinted at what he had observed. Convergence was right on them, and the Aether's powers had grown even stronger. The trickster had fallen backward and was clutching his chest as the Aether shard struck him there. Loki's hold on his dagger loosened. He dropped it.

"Oh, it's a promise alright," Malekith stated as he rubbed his ashen palms together. "Any last words, your Highness?" the Dark-Elf general questioned. The Aether swirled around his hands like little funnels. Loki's emerald eyes were wide as he gazed up at the swirling red cloud of energy that was headed for him.

"For Asgard!" Loki spat back at the leader of the few remaining warriors of Svartalfheim. Malekith merely grinned back at Loki. "Fool!" he yelled and then a blast of violent, crimson power flew from his hands. The blast struck Loki. Thor watched with a wide-eyed gaze as the raven-haired enchanter flew from the edge of the broken Bifrost Bridge. Immediately, the thunder-bearer gripped Malekith by his neck. He tossed the general aside as if he was hurling a discus and he sent the leader of the Dark-Elves spiraling back toward his T-shaped ship.

"LOKI! Thor screamed desperately as he looked over the ledge of the bridge. His blue eyes scanned the roiling Forever Sea. Thor's heart pounded in his chest like thunder. "LOKI!" he continued to shout. "No!" Thor's hand groped into the darkness. "Not again," Thor muttered as tears stung his eyes. This is how it had all happened before. Loki hanging off the edge of a bridge and he was not able to save him. But before Loki had fallen into a vortex, a dimension leading to another world, but now all the portals to the worlds were open above them. There was nowhere for Loki to fall but into the raging ocean. What if this time, Loki really was dead? No, no, no, this couldn't be happening... not again... not before.

Just then, Prince Thor heard his name being called softly. "Thor!" came a coughing voice into his ears. The blond-haired prince spun around, he nearly wept when he found a figure clad in green bent over clutching his chest.

"Loki!" Thor gasped ecstatically. He quickly raced back toward where Loki was standing. He rushed to him and immediately hooked his hands over Loki's shoulders, he looked him up and down, but truth be told Thor couldn't even focus on a true scan, he was just so happy to hold and feel Loki at his side right away, not like the last time. "I...I...I thought," The golden-locked heir to the throne started to sputter.

"What? Fell over, was a goner?" Loki questioned with a smirk that he could hardly hold between coughs, "Come, come, Thor, you know I've survived worse," his jade eye gave a wink.

Thor continued to smile fondly at the man that he had shared so much of his life with. He wanted nothing more than to pull Loki into an embrace, still, he felt something holding him back. "Well let's thank the Norns for that," Thor stated. "We need all the warriors we can get," Thor stated. He focused back on the carnage that continued to take place all around them.

Loki nodded, "You are right, we don't have much time...we probably have only 20 minutes til Convergence now," Loki expressed.

"You got the Tesseract?"

"Yes," the mage responded. "It's right." Loki was cut off mid-sentence. He was immediately wounded, and he winced in pain as he attempted to pull the stone out of thin air, but instead, he was doubled over in pain as he clutched his breast.

"You're hurt!" the crown prince of Asgard finally pointed out as he observed the deep puncture wound coming from the center of Loki's chest. Blood was trickling down Loki's golden armor. Thor's hammer-holding hands hastened to help heal the hurt area. Loki immediately swatted Thor's hands away. Thor shouldn't have been surprised despite Loki's proneness to injury and sickness even in their youth he had never been one to care much for coddling, well not from him at least, perhaps from their mother or the palace healers.

"It's a scratch," Loki insisted through labored breaths.

"No, it's not," Thor protested.

"I can heal it!" Loki quickly offered. "I can heal it," Loki reiterated. He took slow, deep breaths. He concentrated heavily and closed his eyes. Loki noted that as the power of the Aether grew, powers to heal and combat its effects lessened. Loki tried to repair his skin. He tried to block the hemorrhaging, but still the blood seemed to flow. It would take more effort to truly mend the wound, but perhaps an illusion would do the trick. There was a momentary twinkle in Loki's gleaming green eyes as the blood slowly stopped its flow from the hole in Loki's armor.

"Come on, we have to get to the other side," Thor began, "The Chituari will overrun the palace and tear it apart,"

"Thor you should stay here, get the hammer, I'll go back for Gungnir, without both relics it'll be impossible to end this,"

Thor shook his head and refuted Loki's words. "You said 20 minutes, right?" Loki nodded. "Well, that's 20 minutes that the Chituari will have to prey upon all of our soldiers," Thor insisted.

"They can handle themselves," Loki protested, but just as the words slipped from his thin lips, his green eyes glanced across the newly formed divide, and he saw the way that the Chituari were firing down at many of the warriors who were standing on the bridge. He watched as the Aesir scattered; they fled desperately in all directions. They dove around, scurrying into every nook and cranny they could. They dove into windows and hid under other bodies as they tried to take shelter from the torrential pelting of Chituari fire. Loki quirked his lips to the side and blew a breath out the side of his mouth. "Fine! Go, be a hero," Loki inclined his head.

Quick as a flash, Prince Thor took off. He rose high into the blazing sky. His lighting crackled and sizzled. He hit the Chituari on their hovercraft. They fell like flies. Loki teleported back over the palace as well. He stood by Heimdal's side and kept ordering the people to take cover and shelter in the palace while overhead Thor zipped and zapped the Chituari and their leviathan who were flying all around the city. Thor took on squadron after squadron. His big blast of lightning sizzled and sliced through even a leviathan or two, but still, there was more to chase down. Thor focused on trying to chase them down for a minute, but then he noticed that many Chituari warriors had dislodged from the backs of the hovercrafts. They leaped down onto the broken bridge, and some leaped onto the beams and spires and panels of the palace. The Chituari were like ravenous wolves. They seemed to just devour their way through the palace. They used their weapons and hacked through solid gold brick, white limestone, and metal like it was nothing but paper.

Most of the Aesir had taken shelter inside the palace. The poor souls were wounded, bruised, busted, and disgusted. They crawled into the palace hobbling, limping, and bleeding. Many bleedings and weeping holding onto one another for dear life. They hunkered down and hid behind the columns that remained. They breathed desperately hoping for a little respite.

"Prince Thor is back now, Pa," A young man said as he propped up a slightly older man up against one of the walls. The man was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. The young man ripped off a piece of his own dirty garment to try and tend his father's wound. He patted and dabbed at him, but it seemed to do little to ease the man's discomfort.

He leaned his head back against the wall breathing heavily. "Thor, son of Odin," the man muttered wistfully as he closed his eyes. "Thank the Norns," the older man mumbled.

"Yes, yes, we're saved!" the younger man exclaimed, but the elation in his voice didn't go all the way to his eyes as he looked down at his father. "This day is going to be won, Father," he assured the other man as he took him by the shoulder. "We're not going to die," he looked into the eyes of his father and smiled desperately.

"Aye, aye, boy," the older man said between coughs. He raised a shaky hand to look up at his son, "You live, and you sing stories of this day, hey boy," the man chortled. "Tell the story of your old Pa," he laughed. "He lived his whole life as a tender gardener. Who in...in...in...the fight of his life... hand to take a hoe...into battle," the gardener expressed he smiled a bit as he held up his hoe. They both laughed gently. "Now...I...I die a warrior's death," he smiled broadly as his eyes went wide.

"No, no, no Pa," the younger man called as he gripped him firmly by the shoulder and shook him. He shook the older man as hard as he could, but still, the man remained unblinking. "Father?' he called to him. The young man's eyes watered and his lips trembled. His voice shook as he tried to whisper the last rights to his father.

Loki was ushering the last few stragglers into the throne room. He watched as many of the Chituari warriors were preoccupied with chasing after Prince Thor. Thor was a welcomed distraction to at least allow the warriors of Asgard to find more weapons and reload what they had. Nonetheless, he walked behind an old woman who was holding a halberd that she had no doubt taken out of the hall of arms. She leaned on it as a cane as she made her way to rest with the others. The enchanter wore a slight grin on his face as he beheld her. In even the mildest looking of the Aesir lay the heart of a warrior. He walked on behind her slowly, he started to feel his own injury again. He placed his hand to his heart trying to concentrate on healing the place where the Aether shard had viciously struck him. Loki knew he needed a healing crystal. Still, Loki couldn't focus too long on his pain as he noted the distraught young man crying over his father. The young warrior was blubbering so hard that he could hardly even render the last rites, though Loki heard his feeble attempt to. The silver-tongued trickster walked up behind the young man and began whispering the words to the old Aesir prayer for him. The last rights were terribly important to the Aesir. As the young warrior heard the words being spoken to him his blubbering started to slow down. He allowed the smoothly articulated hymn to wash over him and his father as he hugged the older man's body tight. "For those who have died a glorious death..." Loki ended.

"Thank you kindly, sir," the youngster uttered.

"I am sorry for your loss," Loki stated.

"He was my father," the youth replied.

"A great loss." Loki breathed, "Though not in vain."

"No not in vain," the young man repeated. He held his father's cold hand and kissed his fingers.

"If you truly don't want your father's death to be in vain, you must get up and keep going," Loki encouraged. He offered the youth a hand to help him up. "Your father shall have a hero's send-off in due time when the day is won," Loki explained. The young man nodded. He wanted to mourn and weep for his father, but there was no time. There was still a battle to fight and win and not much time to fight it. Loki extended his hand to help the young man to his feet. The young man readily took the former dictator's hand as he rose to his feet and looked in the face of the man who was helping him, his mournful expression quickly changed. He was all at once enraged.

"You!" he shouted as he pointed at Loki and slapped his hand away. "You! Monster! Traitor!" the young man spat. "You're the cause of all this!" he continued as he held an accusatory finger to Loki's pointed nose. "You're the reason why he's dead!" he yelled in Loki's face as he pointed down at the lifeless body of the deceased.

"No," Loki muttered softly shaking his head.

"Yes!" the boy shouted back. "I wish you'd never come back from the dead!" the young man declared. "All you did was cause us pain and harm," the young man's eyes welled up with tears. Loki held up his hands defenselessly. "He was a gardener!" he continued to rail. He pointed to the hoe his father had been using to fight in the battle. "He was a peaceful man," the son stated. "He gave flowers for your funeral pyre," the young man stated ruefully. "You didn't deserve them! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THEM!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He then picked up his father's tool and lunged toward Loki with it. Before he could even render a blow, a laser bullet came whizzing by and struck it out of his hands. At that moment the young man heard bloodcurdling screams and gasps and he couldn't imagine that it was all for his father. He turned around only to find that the Chituari soldiers had broken through the windows, walls, and roof of the chamber and had the small remaining battalion of Aesir cornered. The Chituari had closed in on the throne room. They had soldiers pouring in from the sides of the battered down walls through the broken stained glass windows and from the shattered crystal ceiling. Some of the citizens of Asgard tried to resist as the Chituari soldiers gripped them up and handled them roughly. They used their swords and hacked and stabbed at their attackers. They fought hard and defiantly, but for every one Chituari that an Aesir managed to kill in that moment, it seemed as if 5 more crawled in to take its place. The Chituari were ruthless as were their weapons. They sent a few blasts through the crowd of weakened Vikings and slaughtered a dozen.

"Never surrender! Keep fighting boys!" one of the captains of the guard called. His men obeyed his commands. They picked up a rock and hurled it at a Chituari, The Chituari shot down the rock and then shot down three more men.

"Stop! This is madness," Loki shouted over the screaming crowd as he was shoved in by one of the enemy soldiers. "Heimdal, tell the people to put up their hands. Tell them to surrender" Loki stated as he stumbled toward the gatekeeper amid the pushing and shoving throng.

"What are you speaking of Loki?" Lady Sif spat as they brushed against each other and ended up standing back-to-back. "We will never surrender to these... to these...these...animals!" she declared.

"Sif stop, look around we're outnumbered, we can't take them all on..." Loki whispered to her.

"Loki is right, Sif," confirmed the red-headed Viking. Volstagg recalled how Loki had always been the voice of reason in their group. With Thor's bravado ever leading the charge, they had run headlong into many a trap and ambush and had taken on many enemies that were too great for them. Loki was at times the only one of them willing to see that. Maybe that had kept them alive for so long. "We can't fight them all," he stated.

"The more we fight them, the more they'll fight us," Frandal stated.

"They'll kill us all. What do they care?" Hogun chimed in.

"Heimdal," Loki looked toward the gatekeeper as he slowly put up his hands in surrender.

"Asgard!" Heimdal called his baritone voice boomed over the crowd and they watched as he raised his brown hands into the air. Slowly, one by one the warriors of Asgard followed suit. Eventually, even Lady Sif raised her hands.

Outside of the throne room, Prince Thor continued to fight a leviathan. The beast was growling and roaring ferociously at Thor. Thor gathered storm clouds overhead and he gave back a thunderous reply. With that, he gave a mighty thunderclap of his hands. An enormous bolt came from the clap. The bolt went right through the Chituari beast, and its massive skeleton was revealed in the sky. Just before the leviathan collapsed. Its body fell on top of the opera house and crushed it.

Thor felt pride wash over himself for a moment. He was proud of being able to vanquish another leviathan. Then he looked around and all at once he noticed that there were 10 more of the vile creatures. They were slithering and squirming and worming their way through the air. They were looking to move beyond the borders of the Imperial City, Thor watched and saw that they were headed for the mountains and toward the dales. Some of the Chituari were even starting to drive their hovercraft toward the portals opening to the other worlds. Thor's eyes went wide with panic. He stretched forth his arms as large and wide as he could. Lightning bolts formed on every fingertip. He sent forth a streak of lightning from every fingertip in multiple directions, but still, there were so many of them that even with a sky full of lightning some escaped.

Thor was panting and breathless after his exertions. He could no longer sustain flight. Thor felt himself coming downward. He looked around, he needed help. Where were Heimdal, Frandal, Hogun, Sig and Volstagg. Where was Jane? He hadn't been able to take on the Chituari all by himself on Midgard and he wouldn't be able to do it now. Thor's feet finally touched down on the broken Bifrost Bridge. From there he managed to peer into one of the blown-out windows into the throne room. He watched the Chituari rounding his people up like chattel. They encircled the Aesir, shot their blasters into the air, and cracked their iron whips, the same ones that they used on their leviathans. He heard a few anguished cries and screams coming from the crowd of Aesir. Thor looked bewildered for a moment as his eyes filled with a tempest as he watched how the Asgardians seemed to simply submit to this capture. Surely, there were some left who could still fight. Then he beheld, how for every push and shove and raised hand with weapons that an Aesir man or woman tried to give to their enemy one of their own was slain mercilessly. All the while Thor's ire kindled. Strong boisterous winds started to blow about. A grand thunderbolt struck the palace. It blew another large gaping hole into the once gorgeous edifice. The palace where Thor's lightning bolt had struck caused a fire to start on one of the floors of the palace. The massive strike shook the very foundations of the palace. The whole castle was set a rumbling. Prince Thor heard the pained, pitiful wails of his subjects. His bolt had caused another cascade of cave-ins, and he watched as more bits a fragment of the ceiling started to fall. The golden-locked son of Odin noted the Chituari starting to scream back and forth at one another. Their words sounded like no more than the screeching and buzzing of insects to the Asgardians. They didn't hasten at the behest of their enemies. In frustration, they once again began to take their weapons and fire hot laser bullets into the huddle of Asgardian soldiers and civilians alike. This drove the people of Asgard to scatter. They ran desperately hoping to escape from the crumbling gilded citadel. They screamed and cried as they ran, many of them had their hands over their heads to protect themselves from falling bricks and rocks. Finally, once more they were driven from the royal residence and back onto the pavement drawbridge. Thor watched how the Chituari and less than a handful of Dark-Elves drove his subjects. His proud, brave, strong subjects now were driven like frightened bleating sheep. They were helpless and being chased by ravenous wolves. He'd not allow it. The people of Asgard weren't some vagabond sheepfold, they weren't an unruled flock left to fend for themselves in the wilds and wilderness. He was their leader, their shepherd, these were his father's sheep, and they would not be led to the slaughter.

The Aesir came running his way. They were falling and stumbling tripping over themselves and practically trampling one another as they raced to get away from the Chituari. There was no escaping those gremlins though. They were riding them. They chased behind the Aesir on all fours like animals. They came at them from all sides and all angles. They soared over their heads on hovercrafts and shot down at them. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?" the worried shouts echoed among the frantic citizens.

"There's nowhere to go? We're surrounded! It's over!" was the distraught response that they greeted one another with. The Aesir were starting to lose heart. Many were starting to lose energy. They were tired of running back and forth to and fro and finding no solace or refuge, no place was safe for them. They were tired of fighting so futilely as their best efforts hadn't kept Ragnarök from unfolding before their eyes. Even soldiers who had taken the Einherjar creed sank to their knees and started tossing off their helmets and renting themselves of their battered vestments in utter disgrace and defeat. They sank as if they were ready for the wave of defeat to simply overtake them. They seemed to be ready to be swept away into the oblivion that was Ragnarök. It had been prophesied so long ago, that maybe they were simply fighting the inevitable.

Thor could not believe what he was seeing. He shook his blonde-haired head. Never had he watched the Aesir people surrender. Surrender was not in the vocabulary of the Aesir. There had only been a few military surrenders on the record of the people. All of which were perceived as a disgrace in their history book. Upon seeing that Thor shot back up bolting toward the skies that were becoming even more blackened with Aether ash. Still, Prince Thor could not be missed. He displayed himself like a star shining through the darkness night as he was wrapped in brilliant blue lightning for not only the Aesir, but their enemies to see. "LET MY PEOPLE GO!" Thor thundered from above. The wounded warriors, maimed mages, and hurt heroes of Asgard glanced up and so did their prince's glorious display. All at once they started cheering and applauding and trying to rise to their feet once more. With a small gust of a second wind, the soldiers of Asgard once more started beating back against the Chituari. They pressed and fought and tore and shook their foes. They took no thought for their lives as Chituari thought nothing of shooting them down.

"This is madness!" the emerald-eyed enchanter tried to inform the crowd. "Don't fight or we'll all be damned," he tried to inform them.

"What difference does it make?' asked the young man whose father had died and whom the master mage of Asgard had rendered the last rights over. "We're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't," he looked back at Loki with a snarl. "FOR ASGARD!" he cried as he went pushing through the crowd. He raced to get toward the edges of the circle so that he could have a chance at one of the brutes who had caused his father's death. He only had a slingshot left as a weapon, still, he gathered some rubble and loaded it into his sling. He let the sling fly and perhaps it struck a Dark-Elf, but before he could reload one of the laser darts from Chituari blasters was fired into the crowd and hit him. Loki watched wide-eyed as the young man fell to the ground. Loki let out a scream as he saw the youth fall while clutching his chest. The enchanter tried to rush to the aid of the makeshift soldier, but all at once he was lost in the throng of rushing, fighting, fevered people.

The Chituari and Dark-Elves did everything they could to quell the relentless warriors of Asgard. Even when they appeared to be beaten, they rose and sprang up from the dust, wild woolly, and tenacious as ever. One Dark-Elf soldier, seeing that the Aesir were starting to prevail a little tossed one of his vortexes forming grenades into the air. The bomb went off and formed a black hole over the crazed crowd of citizens. The vortex opened up. A hole in the atmosphere that hollered and screeched and sucked in light. It was a bottomless pit that could never be filled but was ever hungry. Aesir started to feel themselves being lifted off the ground. Pitiful shrieks of "No!" and "Help! And "Don't let me go!" rang through the air. The Aesir were prepared. They huddled together and formed lines to catch and hold onto the victims. As one person rose into the air another Asgardian would grab hold of her foot or his hand. They'd desperately try to take hold of the hem of her dress or the buckle of his pants. Anything to keep their comrade from being swooped in and ground up in the black hole. But still, the suction power of the Dark-Elf contraption was strong, and soon even the person who was holding on found themselves being pulled in. Another person would have to catch them to keep both parties from being swept away. This went on and on and so on until there were lines of people whose bodies were being pulled into the air. They looked like the lines of kite strings being blown about.

Thor eventually swooped down and caught the people on the ends, just in time to keep them from being lost inside the swirling vortexes. He placed them down safely on the colorless rainbow bridge. He looked at his numerous enemies who taunted him and the other Aesir by flying all around them. "ENOUGH!" the thunderer thundered as Thor leaped into the air once more. With arms stretched out he was ready to strike.

"Behold Asgardian!" the chilling voice of Malekith emerged. The leader of the Dark-Elves was near his ship, but he had elevated himself with the Aether. He had created a dark cloud to ride upon to match Thor's height. The Dark-Elf general didn't say another would, he pointed his claw toward the horizon. There, Thor not only saw the final realm, Niflheim, come into alignment. It looked gray and ghoulish from the portal, but honestly, Thor couldn't imagine Asgard looked much better at this point.

"No," the firstborn son of Odin gasped. "We're out of time," he declared shaking his head. To make matters worse, as Thor stared up at Nilfhem, the Realm of Shadows he noted how the darkness of the Aether was starting to spread outward. The deep red storm clouds were spreading far and wide beyond the boundaries of the Imperial City. What was worse was not only the nasty ooze flowing into the pastures and fields and mountainsides beyond the city gates, but also Chituari. The aliens under the command of their leader and Malekith were taking to going into the other towns. They loved to ransack and pillage and collect spoils. The Imperial City had already been torn apart, but the other cities and shires were fresh for the plundering. Prince Thor zoomed behind them at lightning speed. He clapped his hands together and hit the Chituari warriors with 1000-gigawatt lightning bolts, but still, as he watched many fall some still squeaked through his thunderstorm and were escaping into, the hills. Thor would have given chase to them had he not heard the terrible roar of one of the dreadful Chituari monsters. He watched as a leviathan went growling past him. The fearful creature swam through the air like a barracuda. It went sailing right for one of the portals. It seemed to be headed right for beautiful Nildavelir. The Dwarves were a strong and proud people, but they would not be prepared for this level of attack. If the Fortress of the Forge was attacked that could be disastrous for the Nine Realms. Thor's crystal blue eyes were electrified. He went after the creature. He grabbed it by the tail and electrocuted it. It sizzled and shook in the air before dropping dead. The Aesir clapped from below at Thor's heroic feat. But even the valiance of the Eagle of Asgard was no match for the sheer numbers of soldiers that Malekith had at his disposal with the Chituari army aiding his nearly nonexistent Svartalfheim army. Chituari soldiers were taking off on their hover vehicles darting toward the 4 corners of Asgard. Leviathans were gleeful growling and gliding through the wide-open portals into unsuspecting realms. And Thor felt powerless to stop them.

"You can't save them all, Prince Thor," Malekith called to him mockingly over the howl of wind and booms of thunder. "You must choose!" he sang tauntingly. He tossed his head back and let out a cackle that matched in time with Thor's own lightning. Prince Thor looked around perplexed for a moment. Even if he did choose, he'd surely lose. If he chased after each and every one of them, he wouldn't catch them all and if he left then these brave soldiers, many of whom were the people who were nearest and dearest to his heart would just forfeit for Malekith. Slowly, the crown prince started to feel himself sinking, maybe not even purposefully. "That's right! That's it! It's over! You lose!" Lord Malekith continued to ruthlessly deride the Crown Prince of Asgard and all the citizens as well. "Your world is about to be extinguished!" he proclaimed as he flung out his arms wide and waves and waves of the Aether flowed and rolled off of him and into the city and farther still. The first few slow tentacle-like waves of Aether began to try to crawl their way into the next unsuspecting realms. Malekith ruthlessly targeted Midgard first.

Prince Thor landed on the bridge near where the captured Asgardians. The Chituari were too busy celebrating and gloating and beholding the spread of darkness. To pay much attention to the Aesir. Thor's friends pressed through the crowd and rushed toward him. Jane flung herself into Thor's arms. She was sobbing. "What can we do? What can we do? There has to be something!" Thor held her tightly but said nothing.

"Thor, what are you doing?' Loki practically scolded. "You have to go after those things!" he pointed out. "They'll tear the Nine Realms apart!" he exclaimed.

Thor shook his blonde-haired head. "I can't get them all Loki, not alone," he explained breathlessly. "We don't have enough troops to fight anymore," he sighed.

"My Prince," Heimdal started. "I have failed you, I am sorry," the gatekeeper declared dropping to his knees.

"No, it is I who have failed you all," he looked into the faces of every one of them. "I'm sorry, Jane," he apologized to the brown-eyed woman of science before him. She didn't let Thor's lips form another sentence. She took his full and perfect mouth with hers and she kissed him passionately because she knew it would be the last time. The pair were lost in tongue-tying and lips locking. But slowly the sounds of the Asgardians' slow and mournful hymn broke through their faces sucking.

The scientist and the prince managed to peel their lips apart and concentrate on the words being sung. The tone of the ancient chant is soft and subtle and all at once strong. "Take me in... my dream recurring...one more longing backward glance..." Prince Thor held Jane's hand and guided her back toward a mob of crying, praying, and singing citizens. There was no beauty in surrender for the Aesir people. It was a sad and sorry shame as far as they were concerned. To watch their prince, concede victory in such a way was obviously a shocking and demoralizing moment. Still, the people couldn't cry out anymore and beg Prince Thor to fight a losing battle. The golden-locked son of Odin hated to admit it, but in the moment surrender felt good. He was exhausted and if death and destruction were their inevitable fate, well somehow it just didn't feel as good to rail against it. It went against his every instinct, an Aesir was supposed to fight to the death, and the Crown Prince of Asgard was even more supposed to embody such beliefs. But all Thor could think about was that he didn't want to spend his very last moments fighting and thinking only about his enemy. Oh, the contrary, he wanted to spend it with the people he loved.

For a moment the Warriors Three and Lady Sif looked stunned and wide-eyed as they watched the mighty Thor walk with his head hung low toward the crowd of broken people. Then, the more they heard the hymn the more they too felt compelled to follow behind their prince. Volstagg, Hogun, Lady Sif, Frandal, Loki, and Heimdal walked back toward the crowd as well mumbled the solemn hymn to themselves. As they walked, they slapped each other on the back and exchanged sorrowful glances and watery smiles. It was Master Heimdal who finally took the words of the song to heart. He did as the old hymn told him and he looked back over his soldier, but there he saw a most welcome sight. Over the broken busted gates of the city, one winged horse came flying.

The figure was small at first, it came from the mountain range but swift as could be the Pegasus' wings carried it toward the smoldering Imperial City. Heimdal's bright golden eyes squinted. One winged mare was flying, but that horse was not alone. He then noted many more Pegasi had taken to the skies. They were soaring in perfect V-formation heading back toward the city. The Valkyrie had returned. Heimdal's eyes which were reddened from the Aether ash started to water. He wished he could say that it was only the Aether ash that was making his eyes water. He focused his gaze on that same direction. The Aether ash that swirled about continued to thicken and form a thick dense hazy fall, that weakened his eyes' keen sight. He couldn't see at first, but he could hear. He heard a sound like an earthquake. He heard a sound like war drums in the distance. He heard the sound of a great army that was ready to storm the city. The gatekeeper's lips were dry and chapped and caked with dried blood, but they managed to curl into a broad smile. It was a wide smile that was beaming and bright enough to blot out the darkness that the Aether had tried to surround the city in. "Prince Thor! Prince Thor!" Heimdal's baritone voice called. "Asgard!" Master Heimdal shouted loud enough for all to hear. Slowly, the choir of Aesir citizens quieted under the sound of the gatekeeper's voice.

"What is it, Master Heimdal?' Thor questioned as he froze in his tracks and turned to face his old friend.

"Behold," Heimdal stated almost breathlessly. Thor looked with bewilderment in his bleary blue eyes as he looked at his old friend. He saw a great grin on the guardian's face. Heimdal had never been one to smile liberally. Though the man had a handsome smile, he did so sparingly. Now, hardly seemed a time that even the giddiest of children could dare to crack and grin let alone a man like Heimdal. "I think the calvary's here," he announced. Thor's expression was still perplexed. He blinked, but before a question could be formed on his lips. He and all of his company heard the unmistakable call of the rams-horn. The mighty instrument's tone rang out. It rang out loudly and proudly. Its tone and sound which was far from melodic was the final shrill note of lead soprano during the climatic crescendo of an opera. It was music to their tone so thick, so strong, distinct that it seemed that even the raucous, insect-like chattering of the Chituari soldiers over their victory over the Aesir softened. Their hovercrafts continued whirling and whizzing by and, but the hum of their vehicles' motors could not drown out the sound of the rams-horn. Lord Malekith stood on the opposite side of the chasm created by the break of the rainbow bridge. He was cackling wildly. He was laughing wildly and declaring to the few remaining people in his language about how his victory and their revenge had finally been obtained. But soon even the Dark-Elf general heard the resounding call of the battle horn. He fell silent. The horn wasn't it. Soon he heard the song of the Aesir. This time it was not sung as a weak and crushed chorus of the conquered. This was a powerful rallying refrain of warriors.

"The Fate's love Asgard; the beautiful and golden, the radiant, the fertile, powerful, the blessed. The pain of Asgard is only for a moment! Take me in... my dream recurring..." The sound rolled in like a wave off of the sea.

The other Aesir citizens who had been in the Imperial City stood up, proud and tall once more. They raised their hands triumphantly. Hollering at the top of their lungs they sang out with their brothers and sisters who were charging in from over the mountains and from behind the gates storming the city. "ONE MORE LONGING BACKWARD GLANCE!"

The Asgardian militia from Kytheria finally made its way to the broken beaten-down gate of the Imperial City. They came on horses, swift and sturdy steeds, many more built for pulling carts than for hauling soldiers, but those horses raced toward the capital, hooves pounding so furiously they shook the foundations of the palace. Others came on foot. They were running full speed and headlong into the fray. Many had swords and bows, lances and sabers and shields, some had maces and axes that were ready for battle. Other bravely marched into the hotspot with hoes and pitchforks, with iron beams and planks of wood or bags slung over their shoulder packed with sand or stones. Overhead the Valkyrie gave great cover. They had lost many of their warriors, but the women carried on. Their magnificent dragon tooth swords were a flash of bright light in the darkness. Leading the stampede came a woman in a gleaming, golden chariot. It was being pulled by a dazzling white horse that was battle-clad with resplendent armor. The chariot was flying colors. All sorts of brilliant flags flew about the chariot. The chariot had flags with the symbols of Asgard proudly displayed and the house of Odin. It also had a flag with a peacock on it. Looking closer at the one leading the charge revealed the feminine grace of the rider. She had a sword boldly pointed out right as her long golden tresses blew rapidly in the wind behind her.

Thor and Loki turned and looked at each other, "Mother?" they questioned.

"FOR ASGARD!" They heard the battle cry of the queen and watched as her force descended upon the Aether-infested city. The citizens of the Imperial City watched the Valkyrie reclaim the skies. They swooped in like deadly birds of prey. The Chituari soldiers who had been swarming about didn't know what hit them. They went to ram at the warriors flying in on horseback. They easily thought that the speeders could overcome the Pegasi, but that is where they were sadly mistaken. Under the commands of the Valkyrie, the horses spread their wings and zoomed out of range of the Chituari guns. The Valkyrie flew circles around the Chituari army. Several Chituari soldiers would try to chase after one Valkyrie. They'd press the gears of their vehicles to go full throttle and ride after the female fighters. They'd think that they had her cornered, but when she was surrounded, a Valkyrie would shout to her Pegasus, "Hurricane winds!" and the Pegasus would flap its wings furiously, creating a protective wind barrier and even the Chituari's hovercraft would start to experience turbulence from the powerful wings. While the Chituari tried to steady their vehicles, Valkyrie would lasso the enemy. They tie them up and their golden lassos cannot be broken. The Valkyrie would then swing their lassos and send the Chituari flying into each other or far into the distance. Another Valkyrie would ride fiercely on the winds and with her dragon's tooth blade she sliced through the Chituari vehicle like it was nothing and caused their hovercrafts to explode with the Chituari still screaming while attached to it.

Brunhilda rallied her troops toward her as they flew overhead. "Target the beasts!" she ordered them. She pointed out the monstrous leviathan that was slithering toward the wormholes. Immediately, warriors followed her commands. They took off after the gigantic mechanical-looking creatures. Several Valkyrie encircled on leviathan. They slung their lassos and tried to hook its fins. But the leviathan was tough and even the lassos could not hold it down. They tried to rope it around its horrible roaring mouth. Their lassos looped around its iron teeth. They yanked and pulled on its mouth this only caused it to become more furious. It roared and thrashed viciously. It whipped its head back and forth and slung its head about tossing the Valkyrie to and fro. It started to gnash and thrash and foam at the mouth. The Valkyrie tried to hold fast, but the leviathan ended up gobbling several up.

They saw as on the horizon coming over the broken walls of the city sailed solar skiffs. The Asgardians cheered as they watched the airships full of firepower take to the skies and shoot down the enemies. 30 or 40 ships came soaring through the red haze. The solar skiffs shot down multiple Chituari warriors at once. They rained down bullets that pelted the Chituari and sent them scampering like vermin trying to take shelter in the same houses and hallowed sanctuaries that they had previously tried to plunder. Other solar skiffs made great efforts to protect the borders. They shot down any Chituari who were trying to escape from the Imperial City. They surrounded the perimeter of the city on all sides. It was as if they had formed an impenetrable wall of laser bullets. The Chituari were trying to get through, but they found themselves zapped down.

The aliens found no refuge in the houses, temples, and schools which they ran into for shelter as they tried to regroup. The militia and foot soldiers who had come from all across Asgard chased them down into the homes. They tenaciously faced down the Chituari. They were armed with mighty canon-like guns with knives and their swords and some with less than that. Desperately, many of the Chituari were grounded and started firing everything they had at the Aesir people who were relentless in fighting against them. The Aesir didn't give up even when a fellow Aesir would fall struck by a blast their companions would continue fighting. They pressed beyond the blasters and would go until they were beating the Chituari down with planks if necessary.

Upon seeing their fellow Asgardians, Prince Thor's weakened band once again rallied. With nothing but their bare hands, they began to fight back against the Chituari and Dark-Elf soldiers who had surrounded them. The Dark-Elves immediately began firing their blasters. Vortexes were formed all over. But the few remaining members of Malekith's army were random with their shots in their panic. This caused them to suck up several of their Chituari allies. The Chituari started to fret as they saw more and more of their own soldiers being pulled into wormholes with shrieks and screams. This caused them to start fighting against one another. With that, the bruised a beaten Aesir who had been fighting to protect the palace and the Nine Realms were able to get the upper hand in driving their enemy back. Volstagg used his girth to belly-wop the Chituari soldiers. Though frightful in appearance they certainly weren't the strongest of creatures he had ever faced. The Chituari warriors fired their weapons. The yellow lasers flew toward the Asgardians, but many quickly managed to take evasive action. Hogun came running right toward the brutes. He expertly waved and whipped his mace; the spiked ball quickly deflected and blocked the blasts until he was right up on the frantic and scrambling creature. The low-ranking Chituari soldier fumbled as he tried to find a pack to reload into his gun. He didn't have the time. Hogun stood facing him with shoulders heaving, but from behind Frandal attacked. The blonde-haired swordsman had to thrust his blade hard, but he managed to get it through the armor. The alien slumped over with its body still attached to the sword. Frandal shook his blade and the body fell to the ground. "Ugh, disgusting," Frandal stated as he noted his weapon covered with sticky purple blood. "I'm sorry my beauty," he cued to his saber. "When the day is won, I will treat you to a most thorough washing," he expressed as he tried to wipe his sword clean on the fallen Chituari.

In the midst of the slurry of warfare that was taking place, Jane broke away from Thor. She quickly scoured the surface of the bridge searching for parts of her reactors. She found little bits and pieces. A gear here, a knob there, a rod and a button and maybe some copper wiring. Jane gathered the materials and as an expert thinker, she did her best to reassemble her reactor the best she could. "Come on! Work! Work! Work!" she said as she put the finishing touches on the makeshift gravitational reactor. As she did so she spied an Aesir youth lying on the ground. She thought that she could make out the faint detection of a rising and falling of his chest. Jane went rushing toward him. As Jane came running toward the young man so came one of the Chituari. He wasn't wielding a gun like the other this one had a staff. He seemed like he was about to stab the youth who was struggling and gasping for breath. The astrophysicist quickly ran to the boy's side. She planted herself right next to him. The gruesome face of the roaring Chituari didn't frighten the mortal as it had the first time when she'd seen it on her television fro the Battle of New York. The Chituari ran full speed toward them, but when it got close enough. Jane cranked up her remote. It caused a gravitation ripple that the Chituari fell into. She then bent down to attend to the youth. "Come on, come on, get up," she said quite urgently as the battle raged on around them "Can you stand?' she asked and bent the boy's shoulders up toward her in a sitting position. She saw the wound. The blaster had shot clear through his stomach. He held onto his side.

"Mother?" the youth questioned blearily. he looked into the visage of a pretty woman with auburn hair.

"I'm Jane, Jane Foster," she explained as she started to wrap the youth's arm around her neck to help hoist him to his feet.

"My...my...my lady," the young man tried to show deference to the woman that Prince Thor was courting.

Jane Foster shook her head. "Never mind that," she practically scolded. Her movements were quick, not tender or easy, but there was no time for tender movements. The fighting was growing more and more intense, and it wasn't safe for an injured party to be out there. Jane looked toward the palace and thought to hurry to take him there. "We've got to get you out of here," he expressed.

The boy winced as he felt Jane try to pull him to his feet. He yelped. "No! No! Leave me," he insisted as he became a dead weight in her arms.

"What? What are you talking about?' demanded the scientist.

"We have no chance of winning." he expressed breathlessly. "My father was just killed, my mother is dead too...I'm an orphan...I'd rather be with them," he stated pitifully as his eyes slowly closed. He allowed his head to roll back and slump against Jane's shoulder.

"Hey! Hey! Listen to me," Jane declared as she patted the youth roughly on the cheek to wake him up. "Look, look around," she pointed out. She held the boy's chin tightly forcing him to peel his brown eyes open. He managed to see the fighting that was going on, but he didn't see the Aesir cowering or being conquered, he saw new and able-bodied warriors fighting with all their might. 'it's not over!" she informed him sternly. "I'm sorry about your family," the woman from Midgard began.

"My father just died...I saw him die here," the youth explained between coughs. "I want to be with him...he wants me with him," he explained.

"No!" Jane shook her head. "No," she tried to state more tenderly despite the situation. "You have to believe me. My father died too, my father died too after a great battle," she expressed. "But I know every good parent wants their child to keep living," Jane explained. "Was your father a good father?" she questioned now that she had the boy moving,

"Yes, he was the best," the young man said wincing. "My mother died when I was young, he raised me mostly alone."

"He gave you the best life he could, he wanted you to have a good life without a mother, he'd want you to have a good life now...without him too," Jane tried to look at the lad and smile. "We've got to get you to the palace," she stated and quickly changed the subject. It wasn't far off, but the young man was heavy for her petite frame, and he hadn't the strength to truly stand on his own. "Come on," she said with a grunt and gritted teeth as she tried to take another painstaking step toward the battered palace. Jane hurried and hustled, but as she made haste, she ended up tripping over the corpse of one of the fallen Chituari soldiers. Its mouth hung open and a nasty odor was present. Jane got a good whiff of the unpleasant scent as she fell right on top of the creature. The young man was sprawled out on the other side. Jane crinkled her nose and pushed herself up as she rushed to grab the lad again. She was aided in her attempt to get up by a strong arm. She turned around to see who was helping her and it was Lady Sif.

"Come on, I need you with me," the warrior woman declared. Sif's face was hardened with shadows and scars and her eyes resolute. As she stared into the distance.

"The boy," Jane insisted shaking her head. "We have to get him to the palace... he's injured," she pointed out.

"I'll take him," a deep voice announced. The intimidatingly large shadow of Asgard's gatekeeper appeared and hovered over the fallen youth. He looked down at the lad. His lips barely managed a smile. "You are Kevor Skottson" he stated to the young man. The youth nodded weakly. "Skott has fallen," the words came out as both question and statement. "He was an honorable man. He will not be forgotten," Heimdal stated as he reached down and scooped the youngster up under his legs. He quickly ran and carried him off to the palace.

"Come with me," Sif ordered. She gripped Lady Jane Foster by the wrist and dragged her in one direction. "We can take out more enemies together, with your reactors," Sif stated sternly. "We can get the ones in the sky," she pointed with her lance. Jane looked up and saw how even with the reinforcements many Chituari were escaping into the portals that were leading to the rest of the Nine Realms.

"We don't have a Pegasus," Jane countered as she gripped tightly to her last reactor.

"We don't need one," Sif turned to her and winked. Just then, out of the shadows crawled one of the alien soldiers. It came lumbering and leaning heavily on its staff as it approached the two women. It let out a visceral hiss and then began running toward them spinning its staff mightily. Sif ran toward her enemy. Her double-bladed saber quickly sliced through the air. They met in the middle, both their weapons meeting and clanking and clashing as they fought. Sif was clearly the better with such a weapon and she knocked the Chituari soldier's staff from its grasp. She then severed its arms off of its body. It was a disgusting light as she watched it writhe limbless on the broken bridge. Sif then went running with Jane on her tail up toward the already turned-on hovercraft. "Hop on!" Lady Sif shouted over her shoulder and Jane immediately did so. "Get on my back," the Einherjar general continued to instruct.

"On your back?" Jane hesitated. 'Sif..."

"This thing goes fast. And you'll need both hands to work the gravitational reactors won't you," she pointed to a scraggly heap of parts that Jane was holding. The young scientist nodded. "Then hop on," Sif declared again as she revved up the engine on the hover vehicle. Jane moved quickly. She leaped onto Sif's back and they were off. "Climb on my shoulders," Sif ordered.

"Your shoulders?" the scientist questioned, but she didn't have time to get an answer. No sooner had Lady Sif given her the instructions than a group of Chituari whiz by to encircle them in the air. Their faces were even more hideous than the images Jane had seen on TV. They were shrieking in her ears. One of them was in more highly decorated armor. His hover vehicle was a little larger than the other's and Jane could only surmise that he must have been their general or captain. Jane didn't know how she managed to do so, but she scurried up onto Lady Sif's shoulders like a squirrel up a tree. Sif spun the vehicle around like a twister and as she spun Jane cranked up the power on her gravitational reactors. It sucked up the Chituari. They vanished and were transported somewhere else. Jane watched as one was transported right into the roaring mouth of a leviathan. The Chituari scrambled and squirmed as it had been lodged between the beast's mighty metal teeth, but it couldn't get out and it ended up being chewed up.

A few Valkyrie flew by on the back of their winged horses, they cheered as they saw another one of the enemies struck down. "Most Excellent!" declared the leader of the Valkyrie Brunhilda as she came flying by. Her swords were held out before her like a lance and on it the bodies of the Chituari warriors hung like meat on a shish kabob and she was ready to collect some more. "Follow me!" she informed the other women. Sif quickly righted the flying vehicle and flew right behind the Valkyrie general. She led them to where a strong squadron of shield maidens was trying to rope in a particularly ornery leviathan. The mammoth-sized worm was swimming and swishing wildly through the vermillion skies trying to escape the team of Valkyrie who pursued it relentlessly. They chased after it and it looked like an old western that Jane could remember vaguely watching with Erik where the cowboys were trying to round up the little doggies. The Valkyrie were riding high and fast upon their Pegasus, their golden lassos swung viciously in the air. They didn't miss their targets. They roped them with the fins rather quickly. They roped up some of the Chituari would were still riding the underbelly of the beast. They yanked them off, but the Chituari were still attached by their chained tethers. The aliens continued screeching as they were being pulled in opposite directions by ropes and leviathans. They frantically tried to call the animals and control them, but the great creatures were in too much distress. Still, it didn't take long for the Chituari soldiers to be put out of their misery because soon Asgardians on solar skiffs soared on the scene. They pelted the leviathan and its subsequent rides with fire from their guns. The leviathan continued its raucous roaring, but they couldn't penetrate its shell, but still, they were able to take out the riders.

"The leviathan is trying to escape through the wormhole," Brunhilda explained. "Hold it, fast ladies," she commanded her troops. The Valkyrie did so. The Pegasi flew backward flapping their magnificent white wings all at the same time and they were practically hauling the monster backward. The leviathan started to panic. It bucked and slithered wildly, pulling viciously against the tug of the Valkyrie ropes. Eventually, it snatched the shield-maidens off of their horses and they dangled in the air from their lassos like puppets. "Can you use your reactor on it," Brunhilda asked.

"Something that big?' Jane questioned. Her brown eyes bugged out of their sockets at the very thought that the leader of the Valkyrie could even suggest such a thing. "It's huge! I mean... it's enormous! My reactor... can't..." she shook her head.

"Come on, Jane," Lady Sif called to her. "You're a brilliant scientist...so I hear," the brunette expressed with a wink. Jane looked down at her and gulped. Then she forced herself to nod. There wasn't any time for hesitation. Everyone was doing their part she could not do any less. She looked down quickly at her reactor. It looked like a bunch of spare parts, but it had proven hardy. She then looked at the remote that she had in her hand. The meter on it could read the gravitational fields and see the points where gravitational pulls were weakest and strongest. She monitored the sensors. "Convergence is nearly at its peak," Jane mumbled to herself. "Physics is going ballistic," she stated. She watched as the scanner on her remote started to light up brightly. The scanner pointed out how right beneath the last of the realms that was falling into the alignment the gravitational pull was incredibly strong. Since it was so strong, it seemed possible that with a little push from her reactor, she might be able to detonate a ripple large enough to swallow the leviathan. Of course, that was purely a conjecture. Theoretical and completely untested, but what else did they have to go on? "Ok, can you get it under the portal Niflheim she expressed as she pointed toward the shadow realm? Brunhilda gave a nod. She raised her hand and signaled to Aesir who had come from Kytheria. They immediately began to maneuver their ships and hit the leviathan from the rear, causing it to move in the direction they wanted. Some of the Valkyrie were so stalwart that as they dangled from the bright golden lassos, they climbed up them, still ready to attack their enemies. Quickly enough they managed to get the beast in position. The angered warworm no longer was simply trying to escape. Like any cornered animal it turned ready to fight. It gnashed its terrible teeth and it attempted to gobble up the flying skiffs and airborne Viking long boats, but the vessels managed to take evasive action and avoid the mighty metal mouth.

"Tell the Valkyrie to let go," Jane told Brunhilda as she Sif flew right next to the general. Brunhilda spoke into a communication device that she had on her wrist. Once more she performed hand signals, but this time it was the Pegasi who quickly followed the commands of the general's hands. Each horse positioned itself under its respective ride. The warrior women let go of their lassos and fell back onto the backs of their trusted winged mares. Sif used the Chituari hovercraft and steered it right toward the leviathan's mouth. Jane screamed. She gripped Lady Sif tightly around the neck. "Not so close! Not so close!" she hollered as she could feel the mighty wind coming from the leviathan's nostrils. She could smell its terrible breath. It was a disgusting mix of rotting carburetor fluid, rusted metal, and refuse. Sif seemed as if she was enjoying playing a game of tag with the creature as it kept getting close enough to devour them. "Sif!" Jane hollered.

"Jane!" she shouted back. "Do it!" she shouted just as the teeth seemed ready to chomp them. "Oh please!" Jane prayed as she closed her eyes. One hand held out the reactor rod the other held her remote. She pressed the button. There was a mighty roar that practically blew Jane and Sif away, but by the time Lady Jane had opened her eyes the leviathan was gone.

Queen Frigga continued to lead the troops on the ground who raced through the city chasing down the Chituari soldiers. They were running rampant like stray dogs throughout the city. They moved like apes, grunting and pounding with their fists and they fired their weapons which tore through buildings made of solid limestone like it was made of papyrus. "They are heading for the banks," Captain of the Guard from the Southern Palace called the Queen Frigga. Queen Frigga sat proudly mounted on her fine white mare. Many of the people from Kytheria were fighting with all they had to do to protect their queen. They circled about her. They guarded her with their life. They would take their pitchforks and jab and stab them at the advancing aliens. At first, the Chituari simply tried to overwhelm the Aesir with their mighty numbers. But there were soon far more Asgardians each fighting with the strength of a Berserker. Even the seemingly boundless numbers of the Chituari were no match for the rage that the Asgardians felt for their ransacked paradise. Simple farmers took a pitchfork or hoe and wielded it with the precision of the most magnificent blade or lance.

About 50 pitchforks were launched at once. They sailed through the air as they struck several Chituari soldiers down. They pinned them to the dirt, stuck them to the walls, knocked their blasters right out of their hands, and skewered them. Many of the monsters remained twitching and trembling caught between the teeth of the pitchforks. The warriors from Kytheria wasted no time. They ran up on their enemies and finished the job.

Many Kytherians were excellent archers. Kytheria was a seaside town and fishing was one of the primary industries. In the typical form of Asgardians, they loved to play sports for their work. They began to practice archery as a part of their fishing. Legend had it that it had started with a family that had moved to Kytheria from the woodland area. They were hunters rather than fishers. They tried to learn the trade of the fishing community but sitting on a boat and waiting for a fish to bite the bait seemed tedious and monotonous to the active family of hunters. Bored to tears and finding no luck in catching fish the old-fashioned way. They turned to what they knew and began to catch fish by shooting them in the sea with bows and arrows. It worked and it caught on. Soon more and more Kytherians wanted to learn the technique. Now, many Kytherian fishermen prided themselves on being able to fish from above. They would fly around the beautiful seaside in the solar skiffs and shoot arrows into the water to catch fish. Now the Kytherians were employing the same technique against the Chituari. Taking to the skies they lit their arrows on fire with the same flames that were burning down their beautiful capital city. They launched their fiery darts at the enemy army. The flaming arrow struck a Chituari soldier in the back and the alien would immediately panic and dive off the back of its hovercraft and into the Forever Sea. The Chituari, who came from a mostly cybernetic world, were terrible swimmers.

The female leader of the Asgard turned her attention toward the bank. It was hard to find the building during all the turmoil and mayhem that was going on. The red haze of the Aether ash was nearly indistinguishable from the blood that was being splayed and spewed about. Smoke, dust, and debris filled the city. So much of the Imperial City was already demolished, the beautiful edifices, the stately structures, and grand bastions were little more than ruins now. It truly made Queen Frigga's crystal blue eyes want to cry. She could only pretend that it was the sting of Aether Ash, still, she knew that tears were useless. There would be a time for mourning. They would all have that great day, but if they started to mourn too soon then it would be never ending for all would be lost. This was not the time for mourning, it was the time to save what little they had left. Soon, the wife of Odin's eyes landed on the Seeds of Yggdrasil Bank. The bank had always been a lovely and unique building. It was shaped like a tree. So many Asgardians had invested and saved and put money into the bank it contained a great deal of wealth. For centuries and centuries, families had laid up treasures. Even the poorest families were supposed to have been able to plant one gold farthing in the bank and watch it grow. So many of her people had lost everything. They'd lost their homes, their businesses, they'd lost friends and family members. A measly piece of gold or silver could never replace what had been lost, but if the day was won, the people would need every cent to rebuild. These were her people, and she would protect what little they had left. "Hiya!" Queen Frigga yelled as she snapped the reins against her horse. She sent the animal racing toward the bank as she held onto the chariot. Soon other foot soldiers from Kytheria followed behind her. They all raced toward the bank. Queen Frigga watched as the Chitauri scaled the walls of the structure. It was already damaged and the fire scorched and practically disintegrated because of the power of the Aether that chewed through walls and rotted them with dark energy. The alien soldiers didn't even need to truly fire their weapons to blast through the roof and doors. They tore through it with their bare hands.

"We'll get after them my lady," the warriors from Kytheria started. Most didn't even have swords, they had bats and bricks, pitchforks and hoes, but they raced into the bank, nonetheless. Queen Frigga nearly called after the means to stop them, but she could see they were eager, and the bank had to be defended. Queen Frigga started to jump down from the back of the golden chariot. The last of the volunteer soldiers halted the wife of Odin. "My queen, please, allow us to handle this," he practically begged her. He was a middle-aged balding man. His shirt was torn revealing his prominent belly from consuming ale. He had a thick salt-and-pepper mustache. It was obvious that he wasn't a man with much military training, beyond the basic training that all children learned. "I'm nothing but a tavern owner, Queen Frigga," he stated as he wiped his bloody hands on the apron draped under his beer belly. "I used to dream of being a warrior of Asgard, to lay down my life for king and country," he stated and raised his hand to his forehead in a salute. "It is my honor to protect you," he said with a clumsy, sweeping bow. He took off before Queen Frigga could say another word. She saw him running into the bank at full speed. A few minutes went by and soon the queen's bright blue eyes beheld, burning, blue blasts burst through the stained-glass window of the bank. Queen Frigga clutched her breast. She then watched as the steel gray body of one of the Chituari came flying from the roof. He screeched and his limbs bucked and kicked about in the air. He finally hit the ground and he was still scrambling. Queen Frigga jumped out of her gilded carriage and drove her sword through the alien's heart putting him out of his misery. Queen Frigga cheered from the ground for the brave militiamen who had so bravely thought. But just as the royal woman was cheering and encouraging the valor of the civilian soldiers. She watched as a piece of the roof blew off. Then after that, she watched as the bodies of 5 Aesir men blew out the hole in the roof. The trajectory of the bodies was far-reaching. They were charcoaled and burned, and they looked like no more than stones than men. Frigga then watched as the same man; the tavern stumbled out of the bank. His big belly was burned, and he clutched it desperately. Queen Frigga ran toward her subject as she saw him fall. "My...my...my...queen..." he coughed as he fell on the ground betwixt the rubble, ruin, and ash. Queen Frigga rushed toward the tavern. She grabbed him by the hands and tried to pull him toward her carriage.

"Do not worry," she said soothing him as she continued to try to move him.

"R-ru-r-run," he urged her.

"No, no," she stated. "We will not run from these creatures," the Queen of Asgard declared with a snarl.

"I...I...I...am...so...so...so...sorry...ma-ma-majesty," he said between coughs. His breaths were getting more and more shallow.

"You have done well," the queen commended him. She stopped her vigorous tugging on his arms. She allowed him to settle in the dirt. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his balding forehead.

"For-for-As-gard," he stated as his eyes fluttered. He tried to focus and look at his queen in her lovely face once more. His lips quirked and twitched, but he couldn't quite form a smile. He died with his eyes looking up at her and they were unable to close. Queen Frigga bowed her head placed two dirty fingers on top of the man's eyes and closed them. She started to render the prayers and last rites for the mighty warrior, but she heard a chattering sound coming from the bank. It sounded like nothing more than the buzzing of a bunch of insects. She turned and saw the Chituari hobbling out of the bank that they had ransacked. They were laden with gold and jewels that they had stolen. Queen Frigga's lips curled into a repulsive snarl as she watched the bug-eyed gremlins array themselves and jewels and carry out sacks of gold that had been amassed by the hardworking people of Asgard. The monsters from a far-off planet spotted the Queen. They pointed and mocked the royal woman. They signaled one another and pointed their weapons at her. They must have expected her to run. Although her clothing was slightly bedraggled, and her armor tarnished and splattered with blood like an inkblot stain, they could tell that she was a woman of means. They were sure that a delicate noblewoman would flee and be easy prey for them. They had another thing coming. Queen Frigga didn't turn and ran away from them; she ran toward them. The Queen of the realm quickly sheathed her daggers, she raised them toward the sky at a dangerous angle. The Chituari fired off their blasters. A series of bright flashes came from their guns, but Frigga dodged through their blasts. She was lightning quick and when she got toward them, she nimbly wielded her daggers. She cut off the hands of the assailants before they could fire.

---

"I've got to get to Mother," Thor declared after a moment of watching with elation seeing his mother riding in with another army full of Aesir warriors.

"Thor, I don't think that you should go to Mother," Loki countered.

"What?" the blonde-haired son of Odin asked angrily.

"Thor look around!" Loki pointed his slender, white finger toward the anarchy that was still ensuring all around them. Even though the warriors from Kytheria had arrived with vengeance and fury in their wings, the Chituari forces kept escaping through the cracks. The leviathans were still attempting to slither through the portals and the Chituari forces were still desperate to escape beyond the borders of the Imperial City. Those monsters would run wild in the dales and shires if they were allowed to get that far. "You've got to stop the Chituari," Loki pointed out.

Prince Thor scoffed. "I've got to protect my mother!" he declared defiantly at the former dictator. Thor's mind reeled. Loki truly was a trickster. He could never completely understand the raven-haired enchanter. Whenever it seemed that he could once again hold out the slightest inkling in his heart that there was still some good left inside of Loki's heart. Loki always ended up showing his true colors. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Loki be so heartless about the woman who had raised him? No matter what, his mother would never have thought of Loki as anything less than her very own son. She had defended him to the end. Thor had felt that way once, trying to believe in the goodness that had once been in the person he called brother. He tried to believe that somewhere buried deep down it still existed, but at every turn, Loki continued to prove the contrary. Still, she believed in him. Now, Loki was just so callously willing to toss her life aside.

Loki's bony fingers wrapped around Thor's wrist, holding him in place. "She's my mother too," Loki immediately protested.

The firstborn son of Odin smacked the silver-tongued mage's hand from around his arm. "Is she?' he demanded of him. "You talk as if mother is of no importance at all! You talk of letting her die!" he shouted back. His voice boomed with anger.

"I talk of no such thing! I would do anything for Mother, and you know it! Mother taught me everything..." Loki began to nearly sputter the thought of anyone harming Frigga was enough to send him into a frenzy. Anyone accusing him of not loving her was a capital offense. Quick as a flash and out of thin air, in a flash of green light Loki produced daggers in his hands.

Thor's lightning-filled eyes flickered as they narrowed in Loki's direction. "She taught you her tricks, but you'd so easily betray her trust!" Thor declared as he pushed Loki backward. Loki stumbled back from Thor's mighty shove.

"Thor, use your head!" Loki argued as he smacked Thor on his forehead. "Mother didn't come here to be rescued, she came here to fight and to rescue Asgard. Time is running out. This is our last chance. Don't you see? You have the most potential to take out as many Chituari as possible. You have to do that and then get to Mjolnir. We have less than 20 minutes until Convergence is at its peak!" As Loki explained, Thor looked up into the darkened sky. The only illumination that came was that of glowing light around the portals and the light reflected from the other realms. Thor bowed his head and closed his eyes in regret. He knew that Loki was right and in his heart, he knew that his mother, the queen of Asgard would be way more concerned about the lives of her people and the lives of all the people of the Nine Realms than her own.

"Fear not, my Prince," Heimdal's deep voice interrupted the two sons of Queen of Frigga in their debate. "I believe Loki is right," he stated. "Your mother can indeed handle herself," he assured the Crown Prince of Asgard. He placed a strong hand on broad shoulders and turned his attention toward the direction where Queen Frigga was viciously defending the Royal Bank of Asgard. "Even though the power of Aether has nearly robbed me of my gifted eyes I can still see that the Queen makes out just fine," Heimdal's tone said nearly mirthful as he expressed these things. He pointed one of his strong brown fingers in the queen's direction. He squinted, but his lips curled into a slight smile. He watched as more Chituari scrambled to descend upon where the wife of Odin valiantly made her stand. She had positioned herself in front of the doorway of the bank. The monsters continued to fire off their weapons at her, but with blade and shield in hand, she was able to reflect their blasts on them and block their attacks. She easily switched from defense to offense. While the Chituari would try to recuperate and recover, not knowing what had truly lit them, the queen of Asgard would drop down to her knees, twisting and twirling and dodging and escaping the grubby, cold clutches of her enemies every time. While skidding and sliding about on her knees she used her daggers and sliced through the clammy waxy flesh of the Chituari soldiers with her daggers. Her moves were swift. She cut up their legs and took off their hands.

Thor watched in awe and amazement as he beheld his mother in action. He knew that his mother was a skilled magician and shield-maiden in her own right. He knew stories of his mother's conquest and he'd had the privilege of seeing her in the arena when he home in the mountain country had once been threatened when he was a lad mother had not hesitated to rush and defend her family there. There had been other times as well when he'd known his mother to be heralded for her bravery. One time Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons had been captured along with many of the other generals and warriors of the Amazons. Somehow an enemy had managed to overcome the fierce fighters. The only ones left among them were the young girls. They did not trust men, as men had been then attackers and pillagers of their sacred island paradise, they called to Asgard for help, but they would not welcome the Einherjar. Frigga came herself along with the Valkyrie to help aid in restoring the Amazons.

Loki's emerald-eyed gaze remained pinned on where Frigga fought. His fingers twitched as he reflexively grabbed his own daggers. His moves were nearly imperceptible, but they mirrored that of the wife of Odin. Thor could not recall fighting alongside his mother although it was told to him that his mother had carried him as an infant onto the battlefield. Odin had been captured and she led the troops with a newborn prince strapped to her chest. Mother had told him that he hadn't even cried as a babe as swords and steel and blood sprayed around him. He always roared with laughter when he heard the tale retold. But he'd been too young to remember. He couldn't remember fighting alongside his mother, but he had many fond memories of fighting alongside Loki. As he watched his mother jab with her knives, as he watched her cut and slice as he beheld her agility he saw so much of Loki. Loki had developed his own style, of course, Loki had indeed much from their mother. He had trusted Loki with his life so many times. He depended on those deadly double daggers, depended on a bond... a bond that maybe was gone. But as he watched his mother and side-eyed the trickster to his left, he recalled their shared history...how they both had learned at the knees and feet of the king and queen of Asgard. He had inherited their traits by default, but Loki had inherited their traits through careful study...perhaps that was a bond they would always share. "You really did learn from the best," Thor finally stated.

Loki's eyes left the queen and he looked at the crown prince of Asgard, "We both did," Loki replied.

"You both learned from the best so that you would have the ability to protect and defend the realms to the utmost if this great and terrible day came," Heimdal cut across the conversation. "Now it has," the gatekeeper added quickly.

"Thor bottleneck the portals and take out as many Chituari as possible. Then you have to go for the hammer. We have to hammer to stop the Aether," Loki urged.

"Alright, alright fine," Thor nodded vigorously. "What will you do?"

"I have to get to Gungnir, I'll meet you back at the throne room before Convergence is at its peak," Loki explained.

"Go!" Heimdal's voice rumbled. "I'll try to rally a few more Aesir warriors to go and help the queen." All three men declared For Asgard before they broke off.

Loki quick and in a flash went racing back toward the wrecked and ruined palace. Thor was about to take off into the blood-red sky, but before he could allow himself to fly, he turned to his friend and confidant. "Do you trust him?" the blonde-haired thunderer asked.

"I do, my prince. Do you?"

"I do," Thor declared, and he gave a mighty leap and soared high into the crimson sky. He leaped onto the back of one of the Chituar hovercrafts. The Chituari soldier who was riding it turned around and pointed its weapon at Thor. Before it could even fire the weapon Thor stuck his fist inside of the barrel. He flexed his fist and lightning shot from his fingertips causing the gun to explode. The gun exploded and Thor flashed a smile that was nearly as bright as his white lightning. The Chituari soldier had no time to respond, so Thor flung him from the vehicle. As the creature's body went sailing through the Aesir battle skiff went whizzing by. The driver was heavy on guns and shot up the Chituari soldier. Thor nearly winced as he saw the blaster-ridden carcass. He then took a large part of the hovercraft and went flying toward one of the leviathans. He then drove the large plank of the hovercraft into the back leviathan. The creature howled. Thor shouted, "Yahoo!" as he held on tight while the beast raged crazily. Finally, Thor sent an electric pulse through the shard that he had lodged in the leviathan's back. It dropped from the sky.

---

Now, Loki quickly tried to make his way through the palace where much fighting was still going on. Still, he had to let Hogun, Frandal and the other warriors handle that battle. He was desperately looking for Gungnir (and Sigyn). He couldn't imagine what had happened to her. He thought for certain that she would have retrieved the scepter by now. His heart was pounding in his chest. It thumped against the tarnished gold breastplate.

Now, Sigyn had long since located the Gungnir, the wondrous relic that could only be wielded by the true ruler of Asgard. It was where Loki had said it would be, in his chamber, carefully hidden and tucked away from the eyes of Malekith or any old body who would think they take the mighty scepter. Sigyn beheld it and it nearly took her breath away. She had seen King Odin hold it many times, but somehow being so close to it and knowing that its power was needed to put a stop to the destructive power of the Aether well it filled her with awe and wonder. In her time of courtship with Loki, she had learned more about the relics that were so precious to the Asgardian people. It seemed to her that Loki was obsessed with relics. But she had to admit that the history of each legendary item was fascinating. She liked the way he explained it to her. He told her much of Mjolnir and Gungnir, the Tesseract Talisman, the Eternal Flame, and more. She recalled learning about how Gungnir harnessed the power of the sun itself. That made sense for what else, but the power of the sun could blot out such extreme darkness.

She dared to step closer to the powerful weapon. It was as if she could feel heat radiating off of it. It was like a warm summer day. For a moment all Lady Sigyn Arndottir could do was bask in the glow that came from the scepter. There had been so much darkness, it felt good to see a bit of light. She admired the fine craftsmanship of the relic. Every inch of the Gungnir was laid in solid blinding gold. Detailed carvings of runes and the roots of Yggdrasil were drawn into it. The dwarves sure did know how to create a magnificent weapon that was as pretty as a work of art. The forgeries of Nidavellir were art studios. Surely, the writing contained the history of the weapons. Sigyn had initially thought that Odin's chief scribe had the honor of inscribing the history of the weapon on the handle, but Loki told her that when an act of victory was accomplished by the weapon the scepter would instantly sketch the victory onto its handle all on its own. Magical.

The color of the golden scepter was dazzling and brilliant and it matched Sigyn's irises. Lady Sigyn supposed she could have continued to stare at Gungnir for a little while longer thinking of all the stories that she heard of since she was a child that involved the king's scepter. So many battles had been won with this weapon. King Bor had defeated the Dark Elves before with Gungnir at his side. Now it would be called to arms once again and Sigyn was sure that it wouldn't fail the people of Asgard this time. Finally, with a deep breath, she allowed herself to clasp the scepter. Instead of being cold to the touch it was warm, but it didn't burn, it was hot like lying on the beach, but despite the extreme heat one was comfortable. The weapon was so elegant and graceful looking, it looked like it would be light as a feather, but despite its ethereal appearance, it was weight and heavy. Sigyn struggled to lift it and nearly toppled over as she gripped it. Gungnir stood taller than her. Still, she had to muster her strength to carry the heavy scepter. She also still had her quiver and bow on her back. Even though it made her gait awkward and clunky, she forged on.

Sigyn moved as quickly as she could to get back to the throne room. She was about to crawl through one of the catacombs hidden in the wall. It was a quicker access point to the palace throne room, but as she was about to press on the secret panels on the bricks, she heard the sound of destruction all around. She should have been used to the sounds of destruction ringing in her ears by now. She heard bombs bursting and glass breaking and iron crashing and bashing. She heard the indistinct chatter and yells it sounded like the dialect of the Dark-Elves and there was also something else mixed in there as well. It just sounded like screeching. It was a mix between grinding gears and an insectoid type of buzzing. It shouldn't have bothered the queen's handmaiden. There was so much commotion about it, what difference did it make? The fighting was fierce all over and she had her mission. But Lady Sigyn couldn't help but notice that she didn't hear any Asgardian voices coming from the section. For a moment her heart dropped. She found the nearest window and she rushed to it.

The window that she practically flung herself out of overlooked the courtyard. She could scarcely make out that it was the courtyard because of the Aether ash that had crept in and coated everything like mystical red snow. She saw it eating away at the vestibules and at the pillars and columns that were supposed to be elegant and strong, she watched as they toppled as if they had been nothing, but the blocks that children played with kicked over for fun. The fountain that was so lovely in the center of the courtyard seemed to bubble forth with blood and the liquid that spewed forth from it was red. Queen Frigga had all sorts of beautiful trees planted in the garden all that stood pretty and proud. They lined the walkways and provided great shade during the dinner parties that the royal family would often provide. She remembered walking through and enjoying the shade immensely. The willow trees were her favorites. She looked to the willows and saw how the Aether ash had burned through and incinerated the long, lithe, lush vines. Now, all that was left were vines that hung on the tree like black whips. For a moment Sigyn thought of evenings spent in the courtyard lit with 1000 lanterns of colors, shapes, and sizes. Now there was no décor, nothing but ruins and ashes. She thought of how the night sky would twinkle with a million stars and their ancestors would smile down on them. The stars were gone, blotted out by the black clouds of the Aether ash and smoke. This courtyard used to be filled with life and laughter, dancing and singing and genteel conversation, but now all she heard was the undistinguished howling of their enemies, mocking them and spewing hate. The courtyard used to be full of beautiful maidens, in the most gorgeous array of gowns. The colors and the patterns were enough to dazzle the eye, it had been like looking in a treasure chest. Some dapper handsome men would strut about in their tunics and their vestments, some would have plumage on their helmets, and they looked proud as peacocks. Some soldiers and guards lined the events, their armor resplendent and polished so that it shined like the sun. As she looked down, she didn't see any of the beauty of the Aesir nobility, all she saw was the horror of beholding their enemies. The amazing thing was that she didn't see many Dark Elves. They were few and far between. She saw a few members of Lord Malekith's hoard, but most of the creatures were rampaging their way through the courtyard. Sigyn gasped as she beheld the other creatures. They were quite scary-looking. Shiny, sleek, silver bodies and features that she could only describe as aliens. There were so many of them. They were overrunning the city, and they were overrunning the courtyard as well. She had to stop them.

Maybe she should have just let them be and gone about on her mission because she had to get Gungnir to Loki, but what she saw made her stay. Perhaps if the Dark-Elves and the Chituari had just been celebrating what seemed like their apparent victory in bringing forth Ragnarök she would have just made haste to bring the scepter to Loki, as that was paramount. Perhaps if she had just seen them destroying property; columns and pavilions and gazebos, she would have kept on running down the steps and into the catacombs and through the palace corridors and toward the drawbridge screaming for Loki or Thor or Heimdal or Sif or whoever for help, but they weren't just destroying property. It looked like property, but it wasn't. Sigyn squinted her amber eyes and stared with horror out the window at the spectacle that was going on.

Queen Frigga had prided herself greatly on Asgard's lovely courtyard. It was truly a marvel in and of itself. It was a rapturous outdoor banquet hall. Nobles from all over Asgard and across the Nine realms as well desired to be invited to one of Queen Frigga's most splendid garden parties. Her mind could recall the opulence of the fabulous occasion. She could see the colors, moving frantically like a blurry rainbow, she could hear the sounds and taste the smells all at once for but a moment and they were wonderfully pleasant, but when she opened her large eyes that wasn't what she saw. Sigyn's brows knit together in anger and confusion at what she beheld. Now, instead of dancing maidens littering the lovely courtyard, there were gnarled, blackened statues. Now many courtyards were lined with regal statues in the garden, but these were not those kinds of statues. No, these were the charred and charcoaled bodies of the young Aesir recruits who had rushed to protect Asgard from the first wave of the Dark-Elves. They'd expected to fight man to man, steel to steel, they hadn't expected the cowardly act of the power of an Infinity Stone being released on them. Instantly, turning them to stone. It wasn't fair, but of course, Malekith didn't fight fair. But then to see this. To see the Dark-Elves and Chitauri just gleefully smashing the remains of the young to bits. "Cowards!" Sigyn spat as she looked out the window. They didn't even have the real decency of real warriors. Had they no honor? They wouldn't even fight viable Aesir soldiers instead they mocked and desecrated the defenseless. Too many had died without even the chance to have their last rights rendered.

Lady Sigyn narrowed her eyes. Her gaze focused as she quickly pulled her bow from her quiver and set her arrows firmly in them. Sigyn set her sights and released her arrow! One golden arrow flew through the fog and smoke. Its precision was undeniable. It struck a Chituari right in the back. The creature didn't even have a chance to scream before its body fell amidst the rubble of broken Aesir bodies. Sigyn, a silent sniper from the safety of the window continued to launch her weapons. They didn't miss and she took out several of the enemy. The fiends were so busy and delighted in the breaking of the grotesque charred statues it took a while before they even noticed the bodies of their own comrades that had dropped.

Finally, it was one of the Dark-Elves who noted his fellow warrior from Svartalfheim had fallen. He went to attend to him and removed his bloodless mask to find the other warrior was dead. His ghastly veneer showed no emotion, but those soulless pits stared right in Sigyn's direction. She gasped and quickly hid behind the tattered curtain of the shattered stained-glass window. The Dark-Elves and the Chituari spoke two different languages. While one of the 3 remaining Dark-Elves tried to express to the aliens what was going on. Another took note of the beautiful regal-looking arrows that stuck out of the back of the fallen. The Chituari were greedy for their beauty and pulled it out of another Chitauri's chest, wiped it clean of the slimy blood and then intended to pocket it. All at once Lady Sigyn became enraged. She could not let such a priceless weapon fall into the hands of the enemy. Sigyn picked up the pace and started rapidly firing more and more and more of her arrows. She fired 2 or 3 at a time. Their deadly aim never failed, and it struck her foes in the back, neck, chest, and forehead. She had the Chituari and Dark-Elves on the run, and they fled. And took cover behind the gnarled and twisted bodies of the young. This made Lady Sigyn's blood curdle. "Come out and fight you cowardly bastards!" the queen's lady-in-waiting shouted furiously down at them. She recklessly continued to launch more and more arrows.

"It is merely a maiden," one of the Dark-Elves started to another. He was cowering underneath the body of a youth who was bent over and had a stocky build. The thick sturdy bodies of the Aesir made excellent forms of cover.

"It cannot merely be one maiden," another debated. "She has taken every one of us out with her arrows," he pointed out. Lady Sigyn continued hurling insults as well as arrows at the enemy. It seemed as though one Chituari grew tired of her mockery. Defiantly, it hobbled out of the shadows of petrified black statues and began to rail its own chatter back at her. It displayed and gesticulated fiercely. But the golden-locked daughter of Admiral Arn was not frightened by its hideous face or its wild gestures. She stood proud and tall in the window for them to see her. While the Chituari lusted after her golden arrows as they were greedy creatures. They were a homeless race until Thanor had adopted them into his horde. They had no treasures of their own, and with their material possession destroyed along with their hive-like home world, they took great pleasure from gathering bits and baubles which they sought to use to rebuild their world. Still, the Dark-Elf warriors admired the gold of Sigyn's hair and her other attractive features. The Dark-Elves loved to collect women as spoils of war. They were a scourge of the men, but with the women, they would often do far worse. The luckiest of maidens would be allowed to become concubines. It was what they did, but some races provided more pleasure in this than others, the Aesir had many beautiful women. They would need women to help rebuild their people. She was a choice woman to take. "You are cowards!" she continued to yell. "You destroy and slaughter those who cannot fight back! You have already ruined them with your Aether!" she pointed to the students and young recruits frozen and paused as if they were trapped in black ice. "And still you do more to dishonor them!" she snarled. "Come fight me!" she challenged and slapped her chest. "Are you scavengers or hunters? Are you warriors or grave robbers?' she continued to taunt. "I promise you I'm a lot more fun," she told them her voice coy and flirtatious as she blew a kiss from out the window.

"Bring her to me!" one of the Dark-Elves shouted in his guttural tongue.

"And I've got a few more tricks up my sleeves," She mumbled as she reached in her back and grabbed another arrow. The Chituari charge at Lady Sigyn gorilla style. They sank their grappling hooks into the base of the tower from which Lady Sigyn looked out and began to climb swift and fast up the tower. But Sigyn shot her arrows down from above the sliced right through the first few Chituari. Some she put an arrow right into their gaping mouths. She then took to shooting her arrows back at the original enemy the Dark-Elves. One of them stepped forward, he seemed unafraid of her pretty golden weapons. Sigyn shook her head as she knew her arrows didn't miss, but he was confident as he pulled out his vortex blaster. He fired it quickly and the black hole formed in midair, it sucked up the Aether ash-coated frozen forms of the Aesir, much to Lady Sigyn's chagrin, and also her golden arrows that were flying toward him. Sigyn gasped. The arrows were priceless. But never to fear she had plenty more. Or so she thought. But when Sigyn reached her hand back over her shoulder to take up another one of her richly appointed weapons, she found her quiver was empty. Sigyn gasped and her eyes looked around wildly. Still, she stood strong. She straightened herself quickly. Her enemies were 100 feet below her. Perhaps they could not see. Sigyn made a motion with her bow as if she was drawing back her arrow and pretended to shoot them at the Dark-Elves and Chituari below.

"She must be getting tired," one of the Dark-Elf soldiers said to another. "Her aim is not so true," he pointed out.

Behind a bloodless mask and soulless black cutouts that made up the eyes, the Dark-Elf's true eye squinted to make out Lady Sigyn's proud form. "Nay, she's out of these fine arrows," he declared. He reached down and grabbed one that had pierced through a Chituari warrior's heart. He pulled it out and blood dripped from it. Still, he allowed the regal peacock's plume which lined the back of the arrow to swipe across his mask. He practically taunted Lady Sigyn Arndottir with antics. He shouted boisterously in the language of his ancestors. Quick as a flash, after he had bellowed his commands the Chituari soldiers took off running. They galloped and ran like apes. They moved swiftly through the courtyard. Their bodies though not exactly elegant were strong. They easily smashed right through the frozen forms of the Aesir victims. Sigyn nearly screeched as she watched the blackened images of her people, some of which she was sure she would have known by name had she had the chance to really see their faces just be smashed to bits and reduced to ash. Lady Sigyn tried not to show her true horror as she watched as the Chituari tore up the tower and raced toward her. They climbed like wild beasts. They shouted and grunted ferociously. They also fired off their guns. Sigyn desperately looked for something to use to defend herself against the attack. She looked to her left and her right and finally found a vase. She rushed to get it and brought it back to the window. She tossed it out the window and it hit one of the aliens square in the head. It knocked him off the tower. The golden-locked handmaiden to Queen Frigga momentarily cheered for herself and her small victory, but there was no time. Soon more and Chituari were rapidly climbing up the tower. Sigyn ran back and forth grabbing everything she could find; vases and mirrors, small figurines and pictures. She plucked them right from the walls. She used them to smash the Chituari right in the head. She struck many, but she couldn't strike all. They were so numerous. Desperately, Sigyn began to try to rip and yank down the curtain. It was big and thick and velvety; it was plush enough to be a carpet. She managed to do so, and she tossed it from the window. A couple of the Chituari managed to get tangled up in it, they screeched like fiends as they tumbled downward. Sigyn then rushed to the other side and tore another curtain down viciously and she tried to repeat what she had done, but the Chituari seemed to have gotten wiser. They fired off their blasters as they chewed right through the thick curtain. The lady-in-waiting looked around once more. Her bright gold eyes were eager to find something else to use, but she saw nothing readily available and was about to turn tail and run when she heard a terrible sound like someone gargling and chortling all at once. She turned back around and looked in the window and found one of the hideous faces of the Chituari snarling back at her.

Sigyn shrieked and reflexively took her hand to whack the ugly creature across the face. The feel of its skin against her palm was just as repulsive as its face. It was cold and clammy like a toad. Sigyn whacked, whacked, whacked until the alien warrior caught her by the wrist. It grunted and gargled some type of insect-like chatter in her direction. It attempted to pull at her. Sigyn resisted. She twisted and shouted as she tried to break free of the cold clutch. Eventually, Sigyn brought her foot up and kicked the Chituari square in the chest. It fell back and took out a few more of its comrades with it. Another one jumped up into the window growling and snarling just as horridly as the last, but this time Sigyn was ready for it. She stood like a battle stepping up to bat. With her bow in her hand, she swiftly used it to uppercut the Chituari. The monster flipped backward out of the window. Lady Sigyn smiled as she watched him tumble away. She pressed her back to the wall and silenced herself as she lay in wait for the next one. Like clockwork it quickly jumped through the window, grunting and fuming and stomping like the one before it. It didn't suspect when Lady Sigyn came from behind and clobbered it on the back of the head with one swift blow from her bow which was made of thick and fine of fine Everwood from the Fairy Gardens in Alfheim and laid over with steel and thin coating of gold. He went down easily. Similarly, Lady Sigyn was able to take out a few more of the invaders.

Soon, the Dark-Elves, seeing what was going on, started using their vortex-forming basters and they shot toward the base of the tower. Sigyn could feel the tower shaking beneath her and once again the queen's lady-in-waiting was starting to get the good idea to split the scene altogether. She started to run. Run toward the wall and then she could open it and flee into the catacombs. Surely, the Chituari wouldn't find her there, but the tower started to rumble something fierce, and it was quaking so badly that Lady Sigyn fell over. Just as she fell over another Chituari leaped through the window. Sigyn let out a petrified scream. Not having anything else to grab she bent over while still screaming, took off her shoe, and threw it at the Chituari warrior. He was unfazed. He ran up to Sigyn like a bull. He seized her legs. She tried to kick, but he was holding them too tightly in one hand. Sigyn's efforts caused her other shoe to be flung from her foot. More and more Chituari started to pour into the one entrance which was the window. Sigyn's heart pounded in her chest. It was beating way too fast. What should she do? What could she do? Soon they were circling about her. Sigyn's hands instinctively went to take hold of Gungnir. She'd seen the way the Chituari had been greedy for her arrows. One attempted to simply yank it from her hands but Lady Sigyn held fast. She watched as a few of the alien soldiers readied their weapons and pointed them toward her. All she could do was hold the priceless relic. "Merciful Yggdrasil!" she cried. "All fathers help me!" she screamed as she gulped. She thought of the things she had learned about the relic Gungnir all her life. How only a true heir could wield its power. But Loki had said that that wasn't true, that there had been a few times it had been wielded by others. She prayed this was one of those times. With that she thought intensely in her mind "FIRE!" and it did.

It all happened so fast. Sigyn's eyes were closed as the powerful word entered her mind. She begged the scepter and prayed to the ancestors to allow Gungnir to work. She felt a rumble coming from the pole of the scepter, it started as a small tremor and then it grew to a mighty force. She felt heat on her palms, strong enough to burn and she was about to let go when all of a sudden it happened. A beam of blinding yellow light, dazzling as the sun, shot forth just as Lady Sigyn opened her own sun-colored eyes. She saw the powerful pulse take out several of the Chitauri soldiers. It blasted them backward. It crushed them against the wall and shot them out of the window. Many of their bodies were just left sizzling on the floor. The radiation from Gungnir seemed to last a long time, it was light a beacon. Finally, Lady Sigyn let go of the scepter and looked down at her defeated foes.

Outside of the tower, in the courtyard the remaining Chituari and Dark-Elf soldiers saw the powerful beam of light they came out the window in full force it took out another spire that was behind them and the debris crushed a few more Chituari in the process. The head soldier among the 3 remaining soldiers from Svartalfheim barks out an order at the captain of the Chituari. The captain likewise shot something back. Although the two did not seem to understand the exact words that the other was saying, the gist was well taken by both. The Dark-Elf was commanding the Chituari captain to send the rest of his troops up the tower to capture the Aesir maiden and the Chituari captain was stalwart in his refusal. "You go up there!" he grunted in his own language.

Whether the Dark-Elf understood his words or not was unnecessary, he surely understood his meaning when he watched as the Chituari shouted to the rest of his kind and they bolted in the opposite direction. They turned tail and ran on all fours like a bunch of dogs with their tails between their legs they yelped all the way.

"Cowards! Wretches!" the Dark-Elf soldier spat at the aliens. "Come on, come on," he spoke to the two other soldiers who were with him. "We'll finish this job," he insisted. His fellow soldiers began to protest. "Stop it, brothers!" He chastised their cowardice. "She doesn't even have the arrows," he went on. He pulled out his blaster and he was about to start firing it at the defenseless frozen forms of the young.

"She's got something far more powerful," one of the others insisted. He pointed upward toward the tower where a woman of great beauty and strength stood holding the scepter. She stood like a sentry.

"It is Gungnir," the last of the Dark-Elf soldiers reckoned. "Don't you recall it? From centuries ago? Bor wielded it against us," he whispered in the pointed ear of the one who was leading them. "You saw what it did," he continued to whisper nervously. "Its power hasn't diminished at all."

"Isn't that one of the relics we are supposed to be on the lookout for?" inquired the other.

"Indeed, aye it tis," the nervous soldier stated. He rubbed his palms together.

"It can defeat us and put an end to Lord Malekith's plans," he reminded the one who was leading them.

"We should tell Lord Malekith,"One insisted. "Come Grogie, come" he stated, and he and the nervous Dark-Elf started to run just as the Chituari had.

Sigyn's gold eyes which were always full of light and laughter and pure energy now glowered down from the tower at the Dark-Elf soldiers. Her gaze was like burning rays of light from the sun. Lady Sigyn felt Gungnir start to rumble again. It was as if the weapon ached to do this justice. Sigyn raised her hand and pointed the weapon outside the window. When they saw the three-pronged scepter pointed at them the Dark-Elf troops high-tailed it out of there. They ran from the courtyard tripping over themselves. Two of them shot their vortex forming blasters at the high wall that once guarded the courtyard. They blasted holes right through the wall so that they could escape like frightened rats. They scurried and scampered as quickly as they could, trying to make it to the craters they had formed. The scepter shook more violently in Lady Sigyn's hands. The urge to fire it became nearly uncontrollable. Still, the handmaiden to Queen Frigga hesitated. Gungnir was so powerful that she knew a blast from it would take out the remaining Dark-Elves, but she was also afraid that it would destroy the courtyard along with the frozen Aesir. Sigyn's breath came out in large, ragged huffs. She didn't know what to do. This was the moment of truth, and she knew that any Aesir worth his weight in grain would be willing to lay down his life if it meant that Ragnarök could be prevented, and the realms could survive a while longer. Sigyn swallowed deeply. Any Aesir would be proud to lay down their life in this way. They would die warriors' deaths and be sung and heralded for centuries. Who was she to deny them such a wondrous fate? Yes, who was she, indeed? But all the while all the blonde-haired women could think about was the fact that she did not want to be the one to sacrifice their lives. Still, the rumble that seemed to come deep from within Gungnir was becoming too strong. The words kept coming to her mind tumbling about like stones "fire...fire...shoot...blast...light...ignite...Ignite...Ignite. IGNITE!" The last time the word came to her mind it came crashing down no more a stone but a boulder. With tears in her eyes, she whispered, "Forgive me," She mashed her cut-up, dried lips together. "FOR ASGARD!" she shouted out the window and she aimed Gungnir toward the Dark-Elves. The pulse went right toward them. She watched in amazement as it streamlined itself and it seemed to be guided with precision toward its targets just like her arrows. It penetrated and zeroed in on the Dark-Elves, but it left the young Asgardians unharmed. It sizzled the two straggling soldiers quickly. The one who had been in charge had nearly reached the hole in the wall that he had created with his blaster. His white hand was desperately reaching out and through the hole when the radiation of Gungnir shot him right in the back. Its power naturally propelled him through the hole, and he struck a pillar on the other side. He slumped against the pillar, and he clutched his breast. His wounds were too great, and he was fading fast. His mask fell from his face and dark blood stained his mouth and washed over his ashen face. Once Lady Sigyn beheld the handiwork of the relic, she immediately ran with Gungnir in tow barefoot, toward the catacombs to find Loki.

With twitching movements, the Dark-elf managed to press the piece in his ear for communication purposes.

"Report Gorfie," a cold as steel voice echoed in his earpiece.

Gorfie's words came out in gurgle as inky blood spewed across his ghostly face. "G-g-g," was all he could produce.

"Speak up!" Malekith demanded.

"G-g-gun...ir" he managed with strength fading quickly.

"Gungnir?" Malekith's pointed ears perked from his location. "You have it?'' the leader of the Dark-Elves nearly sounded delighted. "Oh you have done far better than I could have dreamed," he rubbed his palms together. "You have delighted your liege," he insisted. "Finally, some good news," Lord Malekith whispered more to himself than to the soldier. "This day is one. Fortune favors our cause once more. The Aether has blessed us," he muttered as he closed his eyes and relished the Infinity Stone that coursed through his veins. "Thanos will be pleased and you shall be rewarded handsomely," Malekith promised his soldier in his native tongue.

"N-n-no," Gorfie stammered.

"NO?" Malekith's voice was immediately a snarl in Gorfie's ear. "What do you mean no?" he demanded. Gorefie struggled for breath and therefore did not answer right away. "Gorfie!" Malekith shouted. "ANSWER ME!" he hollered viciously. "Answer you general," he continued to demand.

"N-not...wi-th...m-m-me,"

"Then who has it?" Malekith railed. Gorfie's eyes were starting to close and Lord Malekith's words were getting more and more distant although the communication device was right in his ear. "Who has it, Prince Thor? Loki?" The later name caused a nasty ripple to reverberate in his tone.

"W-w-w-woman..." Gorfie informed his leader with his dying breath.

---

Woman?" Malekith repeated with disgust in his tone.

"Lord Malekith was that Gorfie?" asked one of the elves who was with the general. He was standing with a few other Dark-Elf soldiers guarding Mjolnir. Malekith didn't answer.

"Lord Malekith, Lord Malekith, I can't get in contact with most of the men," another one of the Dark-Elves informed as he fiddled with knobs and illuminated dials.

"My general, the Chituari are suffering heavy casualties," stated the only female warrior among them.

Finally, Malekith's dark eyes shot open. He let out a feral growl and raised his hand in tightly balled fists. The leader of the Dark-Elves immediately unsheathed his machete and began swinging it wildly slamming it into the computer and controls. "Lord Malekith! Stop!" the few remaining soldiers that he had called to him. The computers were beeping loudly as they were going into overdrive and melting down. The Dark-Elf soldiers took it upon themselves to try and grab and restrain their reckless leader.

"Try to settle down, my lord," one soldier whispered in his ear in the language of their people.

"My lord, maybe we shout retreat and regroup," suggested one of the warriors from Svartalfheim. He was staring at a screen. The screen was on the fritz. It was blinking and flashing something fierce since Lord Malekith had attempted to smash it to bits. The soldier tried to regulate the temperamental computer system. "Look, sir, look," the technician tried to point out. "We have less than 20 soldiers left," he could keep tabs on the Dark-Elf soldiers. Their men appeared as flashing red dots across the screen, the Asgardians were represented by blue triangles and their numbers swelled. The Chituari who had the most players on the field were starting to dwindle. The number of white Xs which represented the alien race was pretty much equal to the Asgardians, but with every passing minute, the technician watched a few more of the Xs fade.

Malekith was still huffing and puffing and fuming. He was shaking violently and practically foaming at the mouth. His soldiers did their best to pin his arms down by his sides. "We've gotta regroup sir, there's not enough time," a few of the warriors of Svartalfheim tried to express to him.

"We'll lose everyone," the female Dark-Elf stated.

Lord Malekith let out a mighty rage-filled bellow. It seemed to well up from the depths of his soul. As he bellowed and growled the power of the Aether shot forth from his mouth like fire from a dragon's. The toxic red substance spewed all over the atrium. Its power destroyed most of the remaining equipment. The men who were around Lord Malekith trying to hold him back flew back off of him. They shot back into screens and poles and the floor. The shockwaves were so great that it pushed a few of the men clear through the vessel and buried them in the pipes and wiring. 4 soldiers sizzled on the ground. They were screaming as they writhed in pain as the angry ooze rotted their armor right off and infected their skin. There were 5 more soldiers in the atrium. Rubble and debris from the broken ship had fallen on top of them, it had left them slumped and fallen over practically cowering. Smoke from the engines started to seep into the room and the Aether Ash filled the small quarter.

"I can't breathe!" one of Lord Malekith's men shouted. He immediately started trying to push through to rush out. Malekith shouted at the soldier. He hurled insults and hurled him backward. He pushed the soldiers back into the chamber so that he could guard Mjolnir. The soldier tripped over the hilt of the hammer and one of the jagged broken fixtures that stuck out of the computers impaled him right through his armor. The female soldier quickly went to the side of the fallen warrior. His black blood sputtered everywhere but she tried to pressure on the wound to keep it from bleeding out. "Don't you think of leaving! Don't you think of leaving so a second!" Malekith roared at his people. "Lord Malekith! Please, this is insanity! There isn't enough time," one soldier pathetically begged. He was down on his knees. He pressed his face to the dirt a blood-caked boot of their esteemed general. "We must regroup! We must regroup," he tried to rationalize with the warlord through his gasps and coughs."Just like...just...just like we did before sir," another dared to speak up before the wild-eyed and ravenous leader of the Dark-Elves. He nodded emphatically. He tried to get his leader to see reason. "Just... like you...you did..." he continued to cough fiercely. "All those millennia ago..." he expressed. "You...were...wise...sir," the soldier continued his words were becoming more and more choked out by the Aether Ash. Malekith watched as the soldiers begged him. It filled him all the more with red, hot fury. Oh, he remembered like it was yesterday when he and his people had had to run away and retreat to the might of Asgard. He had done that once. He had allowed them to be vanquished. He had allowed them to be vanquished once with the hope that they would have their revenge. While they had hibernated for nearly 2000 years,, he had thought of nothing else. It was his every dream. It was all that had kept his heart beating for all that time. This was that moment. This was Asgard's day of reckoning. He wouldn't allow that to be taken away from him, not again. Malekith's shoulders heaved, and the Aether swelled and burned within him. So much so that it started to be emitted from him. He was like an octopus that was lost in a cloud of red ink." WE WILL NOT LOSE TO THE ASGARDIANS AGAIN!" he told them. "NEVER!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. His small band nodded like frightened children to their schoolmaster. "TO YOUR FEET!" He ordered them, and they scrambled to hasten to his commands though they scarcely had the capacity to obey. "I have waited too long for this day," Malekith declared as he paced back and forth fuming. "I am too close!" Lord Malekith began to proclaim. He kicked one of his soldiers who was trying to stand and caused the warrior to fall back to the floor. The soldier groaned as his spine collided with the ground once more. Then Malekith reached down and grabbed that same soldier by the throat. He hoisted him to his feet. Lord Malekith was not tall as most Dark-Elves weren't, but he still managed to cause his own soldiers' feet to dangle in the air. "We have waited too long," he breathed, and his voice strained at feigning any tenderness or concern. The red of the Aether bulged out the corners of his eyes as he spoke. His free hand palmed and clawed at the face of his subordinate. He squeezed his cheeks together. "Think of all our people have lost," he reminded his few soldiers although he was only staring at one. "Think of all that Bor took from us!" he reminded them. "HE DESTROYED SVARTALFHIEM!" he shouted and shook his soldier roughly. "Now, that, that snake in the grass, Loki...a fake descendant of Bor for that matter actually has the nerve to think that he can thwart this day of reckoning," Malekith's eyes were wide and wild as he spoke. "Shall we allow it?" Lord Malekith questioned roughly as he squeezed tighter and tighter on the soldier's windpipe. "I said, 'SHALL WE ALLOW IT?'" he raged all the more. The soldier who was having the life choked out of him could not speak, but he did his best to shake his head and respond to his sovereign. The rest of the soldiers nodded their heads just as vigorously and proudly declared no.

With that, Malekith finally released the soldier's neck and hurled him into the other soldiers. "My lord," the female soldier stated, "it is not that we don't want to take vengeance upon our enemies, but there are so few of us now, that...that...how can we?" she questioned boldly.

Once more his troops watched as the face of the general grew bright red with the power of the Aether. "How can we? How can we?" Lord Malekith sneered, and he rumbled like a volcano. "We have the Aether!" he yelled in her face. "And Convergence is on our side," he pointed out to the sniveling band that he was left with.

"But Convergence only lasts for a few more minutes, sir," One of his soldiers reported.

The leader of the Dark-Elves reached out his hand at tapped the warrior on the cheek of the mask that he was wearing. Malekith's bloodless lips stretched into a small semblance of a smile. "You're right, my child," he stated with that same strained tenderness in his voice that made the skin crawl. "Time is running out," he nodded his head softly. "We don't have time for silly questions," he slapped the soldier across the face.

"Please, my liege!" a particularly thin warrior practically squealed toward the general as he upheld his comrade, if we lose the Chituari we just won't have enough power to overcome the Aesir," he tried to make the general see reason.

Malekith tossed his head back and cackled wildly and loudly, "You're saying we need more power?" Malekith questioned and he was shaking as he did so. The soldiers timidly nodded. Another slick and sinister grin trickled across Malekith's ghostly visage. "I couldn't agree more," he declared, and Lord Malekith pulled out one of the Kursed stones. He was quick as a flash as he thrust his hand into one of the open wounds that had cut through the soldiers' armor, and he implanted the stone there. The soldiers began screaming and growling as the transformation started to take place. His fellow warriors watched as his armor became a part of his skin, and his features became grotesque and monstrous. Horns and spikes sprouted from his hunched back and a clawed foot erupted from his boot. "Now do you have enough power?" Malekith asked. He didn't allow his troops to answer, Malekith repeated the process as he thrust another Kursed Stone at one of his men. Malekith had given his troops a new backbone by adding three more Kurseds to their ranks. The freshly formed Kurseds roared as dark energy coursed through their veins filling them with both pain and rage. With a barbaric gleam in his eye, Malekith turned his attention toward the only female member of his once elite squad. She had always been one of the most capable fighters in his army. In the history of Svartalfheim, there were only about 40 females who had ever taken on the esteemed Kursed state. She cringed as she saw Lord Malekith approaching her with the stone burning in his palms. The female Dark-Elf tried to stand firmly and show no fear as Lord Malekith seemed to lumber toward her with the Kursed stone in hand. She tried to tell herself that to become a Kursed was truly a great gift and honor. "You will be a legend, my child," Lord Malekith informed her in the language of Svartalfheim.

"Lord Malekith," one of his newly formed Kursed roared from the ground. "She is our only female," he insisted. "We need her... to rebuild the population of Dark-Elves," the newly formed Kursed who had been the mothership's technician protested. Malekith paused for a moment considering the words. It was only through her that they could possibly achieve a few purebred Dark-Elf offspring. He grunted and tucked the stone back into concealment. He spun around on his heals with his shoulders heaving. In the meantime, the female Dark-Elf and the technician exchanged glances. She let out a sigh of relief and mouthed thank you to her fellow warrior who was now in the form of the Kursed. His slender form, now gnarled and animalistic. He had spared her the same fate and she was grateful.

"You three will stay here," Malekith turned back around and demanded of his soldiers that he had turned into Kurseds. They stood at attention and readily obeyed their commanding officer. They stood, big and tall and strong like gargoyle statues. They surrounded the precious weapon of Prince Thor. "Do not let Prince Thor get through to access his hammer," he warned them. "You only have to hold him off until I unleash the Aether into all the realms," he said and relished the words as he said them. "But then you won't be able to stop him, but it won't matter, it'll be too late," Malekith shouted joyously. "As for the rest of you," Malekith spun on his heels and his dark eyes stared at his small band. "You get out there and you fight!" he scolded them. "Draeveryer piece of ammunition and every weapon that we have out of the arsenal. Destroy the Asgardians! Destroy! Prince Thor! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!" Malekith yelled as he hopped up and down like a belligerent child. "This battle isn't lost yet." Malekith's few men hastened and saluted him. They went quickly to do his bidding. They ran through the T-shaped ship and scooped up every weapon that they could find. They grabbed grenades, and they strapped themself with 5 and 6 blasters on their backs. They loaded themselves with laser swords. They turned on all the big guns that the ship had on it and they made it a point to put the weapons on automatic firing. The Dark-Elf's ship cannons were deadly. They shot forth big plasma bombs and many shot forth large laser spikes. Their weapons immediately began to be launched and blasted from the ship's cannons. They were fired at random and without aim, but still, they quickly caused much damage as they continued to wreck the buildings of Asgard. The spikes and lasers shot forth rapidly and many shot down the solar skiffs that the Asgardian militia had rode into the city on. Spikes came sailing through the air and they struck down many of the Valkyrie upon their winged horses. The Pegasi and their riders fell from the sky in great numbers. They tumbled from the clouds like hailstones.

Lord Malekith and the scarce soldiers of Svatalfheim marched outside of the massive T-shaped mothership. They overlooked the carnage and decimation that was going on. They saw that their weapons which were impartially firing in every direction were also working to take out some of their allies. One of the spikes tore through the atmosphere and sailed right into the mouth of one of the Chituari's great leviathans. The mighty worm continued it tyrannically slithering through the blood-red sky. Then it started to twitch quite viciously. It seemed as though some of the Chituari soldiers noticed its odd movements and they began to try to dislodge themselves from the belly of the beast. A few managed to leap to safety, but most were instantly blown to smithereens when the laser spike went off inside the leviathan's throat. A mess of black blood spewed through the Aether clouds and rained down on the people who were fighting below. It splattered on Lord Malekith, and it smelled like tar and pitch.

Still, Malekith continued to watch as Prince Thor continued to ride high. He soared on lightning bolts without the aid of the hammer. Prince Thor threw out his hands and shot forth lightning bolts that took out several bolts that seemed to be magnetized to seek out the Chituari soldiers on their hovercrafts. Thor would hit them with his lightning bolts, and it would cause the hover vehicles to explode.

The son of Odin watched as the Chituari tried to urge their huge serpents to swiftly slither through the open portals and into the unsuspecting realms. Thor zoomed after the leviathans. He mustered up all the strength that he could and gripped them by the tails. The great creatures heaved and pulled against the Crown Prince of Asgard. The Chituari tried to thwart the young royal by belting him with blasts from their weapons, but Thor could not be deterred. He cocooned himself in lightning, the blasts were repelled and ricocheted right back at the Chituari. They were slaughtered with their own blasts. Unfazed by the attacks, Thor was able to hold on tightly to the tails of the leviathans. He then proceeded to spin the great worms round and round. Thor spun about like a top in mid-air, and he caused a tornado. With that, he hurled the beast far beyond the mountains of Asgard. It roared as it was thrown away.

The leader of the Dark-Elves watched with rage as Thor demonstrated his power. He saw few as his actual troops from Svartalfheim on the ground or anywhere. He couldn't bear the image. With the power of the Aether Malekith conjured likenesses of Dark-Elves to appear on the ground to fight against the Aesir. It was a meager distraction, but it was one of the few tricks he had up his sleeves. Thor didn't seem to pay any heed to his illusions. The firstborn son of Odin and Frigga continued riding high on the winds inspiring courage in the people of Asgard as they saw his billow cape and heard the clap of thunder everywhere he went.

Prince Thor zipped and whizzed by aiding the Asgardians as best he could. At one point he noticed that Volstagg was being overrun by Chituari forces. His friend was holding them at bay with valiant swings of his ax, but the creatures continued to creep closer to the plump soldier. Thor touched the ground for just a minute. He touched the ground long enough to scoop up the aliens and toss them aside. Volstagg was on his back and Thor reached down his hand to help his friend up. "Thor," the red-bearded Viking breathed the prince's name in relief. He wiped his brow, and it was so caked with blood, sweat, and grime that it matched his matted beard. "Thank you, my friend," Volstagg breathed once more as he came to his feet. "Those Chituari almost made a meal of me," he pointed out.

"Well, it would have been a feast for days," Frandal called over his shoulder. He was dancing about as he used his blade to fend off one of the few Dark-Elves left of the field.

Thor shook his head as he heard his friends jauntily kibitz. This was the fight of their lives, but he was glad their banter was the same as always. "You two ready for another bout?" Thor inquired as he inclined his head toward an incoming swarm of Chituari soldiers. With that Prince Thor leaped back in the air.

"Trout? Did you he say trout?" asked Volstagg.

Volstagg and Frandal were now back-to-back as they got ready to face off Thanos' hairless horde. "Volstagg he said, "bout!" Frandal fussed. "How can your mind be on food at a time like this?" the swordsman questioned. As he jumped in the air and somersaulted out of the way of an incoming blast from the Chituari soldiers.

"How can my mind not be on food?' Volstagg countered. He swung his axe like a true lumberjack and the Chituari fell like nothing but timber. "We've been at it for days with scarcely any rations," his voice practically whined. "If this day is won that is exactly what I am going to ask Valka to make for me for my heroes' supper. A nice fresh feast of stuffed, garlic trout," Volstagg declared as he licked his lips.

"The day will be won, my friend, don't lose heart!" Frandal warned him as he took on 3 Chituaur by himself. The savage creatures did their best to arm their weapons, but Frandal's sword was far too fast. It swished and sliced through the air with lightning speed before they knew what hit them, they were dismembered.

Volstagg had just used his battle axe to obliterate one of the Chituari weapons. He cut the weapon in two. His axe sliced through it like it was a hot knife through butter. This enraged the alien. It growled and snarled and fumed. Its arms flailing wildly as if it intended to claw Volstagg's face off. It probably would have been able to do so, had Volstagg not quickly performed one of his signature moves. Thor may have had the power of thunder and lightning, but Volstagg had the power of the belly. He nimbly managed to start bouncing on his tiptoes. Despite his girth, he was incredibly light on his feet. This instantly mesmerized and enchanted his enemies. He'd actually gotten the idea from Loki. It was a distraction technique that all the while hit the potency of his assault. Now while Volstagg rocked and bounced about gaining more and more air as he did so, he finally came in for a landing and belly-whopped his enemies. He landed flat on his stomach with a mighty thud. Beneath him, the Chituari twitched and moaned. Frandal gave a hoot as he saw the move his friend's hand performed. He offered Volstagg a hearty slap on the back. "Haha! Works every time, brother, works every time," The golden-locked fencer roared with laughter. "See with moves like that, how can we lose," the smiling Einherjar swordsman continued.

Volstagg bounced on his belly a few more times making sure that the Chituari were truly good and smooshed beneath his weight. "Maybe we survive, but I can only hope that my Valka and our children are still alive," Volstagg sighed.

"They are alive my friend and you will see them when this day is won," Frandal assured the pudgy, red-haired Viking as he helped him to his feet. The Chituari soldiers who Volstagg had just recently flattened, scrambled, and ran away against his rotund form had been removed from them. All the Chituari who were fighting the pair fled for the hills, but Volstagg and Frandal gave chase shouting "FOR ASGARD!" as they ran.

Prince Thor flew this way and that. He lured the Chituari into traps. They would chase him on their hovercrafts, they'd push their vessels to full speed, causing engine failure. Their vehicles would just give out, they'd start to putter and sputter as they could not keep up with the lightning reflexes through which Prince Thor used to soar the skies. Those that amazingly could keep up, Thor would lead straight into harm's way. He'd cause them to chase him right into a full squadron of Valkyrie who laid weight within the dense Aether clouds. The warrior women would appear and do their worst. The

The shield-maidens flew full force into the onslaught of oncoming traffic of racing Chituari. Whether the Chituari were fleeing or attacking it didn't matter they ran into the edge of the Valkyrie's fabled dragon tooth blades and they met the business end of several golden spears. As Thor flew by the crowd of women cheered. Prince Thor couldn't help the smile that tickled his lips as he heard the Valkyrie chanting his name. He was sure that had to be the most excited the Valkyrie had ever been about a man. Well, at least in a positive way. He had heard them chant the name of a man before, namely his dear friend, Frandal. But it was not a cheer. It was a battle cry as the women used his name as a battle cry during target practice.

One of the women who was proudly exclaiming his name was Lady Sif. He noticed that the shield-maiden was using one of the enemy aircraft against them. The brazen brunette was firing right at the Chituari line. Thor flew right by Sif and noted that Jane was on her back as well. "Jane! Sif!" the thunderer called as he went flying by them. He paused in his tracks and landed on the back of the craft. His heavy body rocked the balance of the hovercraft. The auburn-haired scientist was still sitting upon Lady Sif's strong shoulders and when Thor landed, he caused Lady Jane to fall from Sif's shoulders and right into Thor's muscular arms. She yelped as she felt Thor's powerful embrace. Thor sat her down on her own two feet on the back of the hovercraft. The vehicle started to rock mid-air.

"Hey! What are you two doing back there!" the dark-haired warrior woman asked. Her steely brown-eyed gaze narrowed as she held her enemies in sight and showed straight and true toward the enemy army. The small vessel started to shift to the left and caused Sif to miss her target. "Don't rock the boat just yet," she cried as she did her best to hold the steering in place. "This is on its last leg," she expressed. She looked down at the screens on the vehicle. All-manner of blinkers and buzzers were going on and lights were flashing. She didn't know what this thing ran on, but it certainly seemed like it was about to give out. "I don't have many bullets left!" she declared. "And I can't waste one," she stated sternly there was a rumble in her throat. Once more a team of Chituari were cruising toward her. They were lucky to somehow have made it past the Valkyrie. They were shouting and shrieking and firing away. Sif held her place and then pressed the triggers and took out two of 3 soldiers at a time. She let out an excited yelp as she took them out, but Thor and Jane didn't seem to notice.

The astrophysicist scrutinized the crown prince of Asgard. She inspected him like she was looking at particles in her lab under a microscope. "Oh, my goodness," she finally breathed as she stroked his biceps and then went to allow her hands to trace his face. She was happy to find that it didn't seem like there had been any serious damage done to her beloved.

"Jane I am so glad that you are alright," he stated as he wrapped his arms around her. "I have been so worried about you," the golden-locked son of Odin stated. Thor held her tightly and pressed her against his chest. Jane inhaled his scent, it smelt like a storm, and it smelt like something that was slightly on fire, but it was wonderful. Jane clutched him tightly and inhaled deeply; tears pooled in her eyes.

"Don't be, don't be," she muttered against his chest. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured him. "Sif has been taking good care of me."

"Yeah, right," the female Einherjar declared as she tossed a glance over her shoulder at the lovers. Maybe it was the thrill and the heat of battle. The battle always brought out her most noble qualities. Or maybe it was simply the fact that as she looked at them, she saw their love, their genuine concern, and care for each other. Somehow it kindled her heart. It didn't make her feel jealous, or envious. She felt at peace and even happy to see their bond. Perhaps it was because it was in the midst of war and all that had seemed to swirl around them was anger and hate, cruelty and death, violence and destruction. Seeing two people in love...it was a welcome sight in her brown eyes. She didn't know if they would see this day through to the end. The odds sure didn't seem to be in their favor, but somehow seeing that Thor was happy for a few moments in everything on the verge of being lost made her happy. Prince Thor very well may have lost his brother (it was debatable with everything that had transpired if he'd ever had one) who knew if his father was lost to them, he could lose the Kingdom of Asgard and the Nine Realms, but he had gained love. He still had the love of his life. It wasn't her, but somehow it didn't sting anymore. Maybe it wasn't her. But it was a woman who was strong and independent, a woman who challenged norms and who rushed to help those in need, it was a woman who was brave and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty and wasn't afraid to fight. It was a woman who saw Prince Thor for who he was. She didn't just see him as a crown and power, she didn't see him as a deity, maybe she saw him as the hero, but she saw him as something much more than that...a man. She saw his flaws and she saw his perfection, but she seemed to embrace it all and Sif was happy for them. "Lady Jane is holding her own," the warrior woman commended. "And her reactors are working like a charm," she admitted as she looked back over her shoulder at the couple. They seemed to have just broken off locking lips. Jane was grateful that the blood stains and Aether ash that were smeared all over her cheeks kept the blush from showing on them.

"I knew they would," Thor boasted.

"They are no longer a 'they'" Jane reported. "I only have one left," Jane raised up the roughest looking of the contraptions. "It's on its last leg," she shouted at him over the raging battle.

"Then we better put it to good use," Thor declared. He looked around. The Asgardians had done a decent job of taking care of the Chituari soldiers but there were still too many.

"Thor look at the sky!" Sif called to him from the driver's seat of the hovercraft. She was still shooting down as many of the alien ships as she could. Thor's blue eyes immediately darted upward. All of the portals were perfectly aligned. They have all converged right over the palace's center except for Niflheim, which was just slightly off center, but Prince Thor knew that it was just a manner of minutes before it too fell into its proper place and the worlds converged and Malekith would have the window that he needed to unleash the Aether and spread darkness throughout the Nine Realms. "We've got to end this battle soon," Sif concluded.

"There's not enough time," Jane replied in exhaustion.

"Don't give up," Thor told her as he cupped her cheek tenderly. "Get your reactor ready," he warned her as he pointed at her scientific instrument. "Turn it up, full power," Thor ordered.

"Thor it doesn't have much energy left," Jane tried to explain.

"I need a ripple big enough, for one of those," Thor tossed his blonde hair head back and gestured toward the gigantic mechanical-looking worm that was crawling its way through a blood-red sky toward them.

"Thor! No!" Jane shouted in protest, and she held fast to his arms. "I don't know if I can make one that big. Physics is going ballistic due to the Convergence," the mortal scientist countered.

"There's no time for worries and doubts Jane," Thor said as he glanced down at her. "I believe in your invention, and I have faith in you," He gave her a beautiful lopsided grin.

His handsome expression was enough to make her weak in the knees, but there truly was no time for that. "Belief...faith," Jane sputtered. "I'm a woman of science!" she proclaimed proudly. Although after the things she had seen and beheld she didn't know if she could strictly call herself a woman of science anymore. She didn't know if any human scientist could boast such rationality anymore. They'd all seen the heroics of the Avengers in New York 2 years ago and though some may have believed that there had to be a reasonable scientific explanation for the phenomenon they had witnessed, the longer Jane stayed on Asgard the more she was starting to believe that there were things that couldn't be explained completely by science. While her mind reeled with her statement, she felt Thor's mouth on hers. His lips were coarse and chapped and rough, the metallic taste of blood was on them, and the bitterness of the Aether Ash and all manner of other dirt still lingered, but she wanted more. Her mouth was left wanting and gaping as Thor took off into the darkened heavens.

While Thor soared high, he searched for something, a broken large plank of gold that had fallen from the spires on one of the edifices of the Imperial City. The golden plank was far larger than Thor was. It was the size of one of the solar skiffs that the Aesir had flown in on. Still, Thor managed to pick it up effortlessly. He carried it through the sky as if it was light as a cloud. Prince Thor moved swiftly, he zipped and zoomed about leaving only the crackle of thunder as a faint trail. He flew high above one of the leviathans and then he came down like a bird of prey. He supposed he had finally earned his moniker, Eagle of Asgard, he swooped down and drove the plank into the leviathan's back. He managed to find a soft spot in between the creatures' armored planks. He drove it deep into the leviathan's leathery and metallic scales and the beast wailed furious. It began to thrash about violently in the air. Thor took off once more. The leviathan tossed itself hither and thither, grinding and wailing from the plank of gold sticking out of its back. The soldiers who were riding it leaped off of its sides and tried to aid it. They quickly appeared on top of its back and tried to dislodge the plank. Before they could do much, Prince Thor appeared again. He landed on the leviathan's back as well. A few Chitauri came running toward him. Thor stood his ground. He punched through them and broke the chains that they were tethered to. The Chituari went flying in opposite directions. Meanwhile, Prince Thor used the chains and wrapped them around the leviathan's mouth. He formed it like a bridle and decided to try to drive the leviathan like a horse in the direction he wanted it to go. That direction was the direction of Lady Sif and Jane. Since they were using a Chituari hovercraft for cover the Chituari paid no attention. The creature was languishing and in far too much pain to offer much resistance as Thor pulled back on his face and drove it. Some other members of Thanos' force tried to attack Thor from the back. Thor didn't even turn around to face them. Electric sparks shot off of him in waves and handled the Chituari. Many of the alien soldiers continued to shoot off their blasters at the crown prince, but even their powerful weapons didn't stand a chance against his lightning. Thor continued trying to steer the leviathan like a bull rider. The creature bucked and jolted a wriggled wildly, but somehow Thor's hands managed to will it to where he wanted it to go. He reigned in the savage leviathan and sent it careening straight toward Jane and Sif. In the haze and furious frenzy, Thor could scarcely make out the ripple caused by Jane's reactors. He began to wonder if it had worked. It was too late to turn the big whale around. With a thunderous, "FOR ASGARD!" Thor pulled sharply on the makeshift reins with one hand, and he pressed the golden plank deeper into the leviathan's scales with the other. The leviathan howled in agony, its head swung back and forth quite vigorously, it thrust Thor off of its back, finally and then it flew into the ripple. Thor watched with wide eyes as the massive monster moved into the ripple and became unseen. Where exactly the creature had ended up was of little consequence anymore. It wasn't here.

The prince hooted and swung his fist in the air. Lady Sif let out a triumphant yell, but Jane's auburn eyes looked astonished that they had pulled it off. Then they rolled in the back of her head and Sif rushed to her side and held her up. Thor looked concerned, but Lady Sif shooed him off. "I've got her! Go!" Lady Sif shouted to the son of Odin. Thor nodded and then rushed in flight to the next conquest. "Jane! Jane! Come, come and wake!" Lady Sif ordered as she jostled the woman a bit to rouse.

Auburn eyes immediately flung open; Jane gasped audibly. "DIE! DIE LEVIATHAN!" The scientist woke up screaming. When her eyes finally focused, she found the shield-maiden staring back at her with the most quizzical expression.

"Easy, easy, mortal," Lady Sif soothed. "The leviathan is gone," she gave a wink.

"And so is the reactor," Jane stated as she looked down at her invention of the floor of the hovercraft. It was sparking and charred, the wires frayed from the extreme use.

Sif looked down at it. "It was a powerful weapon," she admitted. "It did its job," she said as continued to stare at it. "And so did you," she looked up and gave Jane a smile. Jane smiled back as she felt Lady Sif's calloused hand squeeze her shoulder. "But we'll have to go on without it," she stated. "The war's not won, but this battle is nearly over. We'll help those we can, but we'll need to assemble some strong fighters to get back to the palace. That's where Malekith will try to make one last stand," the warrior woman explained.

Thor was flying about, he was electrocuting as many as he could, but even the mighty Thor was becoming more and more exhausted from the endless feats. He'd never felt like this before. In the heat of battle with Mjolnir at his side he'd never felt his energy wane. He channeled the power of thunder and lightning through the hammer. When he held it, he was like an appliance that was plugged in. His source of energy and power was unlimited. But now, now the power was coming from him. It felt wonderful, but it was draining and unfocused. He thought of the many times that his brother's magic had aided them in battle, and Loki had performed so tremendous feats. One time in Nornheim, they needed to get across enemy lines. Their ship had cloaking and stealth, but their systems had been compromised and hacked into. They couldn't fly the ship stealth mode through technology, but Loki had been able to use his power to conceal the ship and all inside it. They had to cross over enemy territory that was nearly 100 miles wide. It wasn't a short distance to cover. The trip took nearly 2 hours and Loki was sapped by the end. When they reloaded supplies, Loki needed to rest. Thor encouraged him too. Loki was sweaty and shaky, but naturally, the troops didn't see it as a pitiable state. Some saw it as weakness, others saw it as mere snobbery. They thought that the youngest prince of the realm thought he was too good to help common soldiers load up and repair a ship. "Prince Loki doesn't like to get his hands dirty"

"Guess he better make himself invisible"

"Poor baby, when the real work begins, he needs to go and take a nap" they jeered.

"Come on, what more can you expect? Some are soldiers' others are just court magicians."

Perhaps Thor had taken the jesting of the Einherjar against Loki too mildly. A little ribbing to lighten the mood in war was well taken, even though Thor could see Loki was clearly weakened from his exploit, that didn't mean that he didn't agree, maybe if Loki was so delicate and slight of frame, he wouldn't have been spent. He would no longer keep that attitude. Thor found the broken dome roof of one of Asgard's temples and he went to rest there for just a moment. He caught his breath and stopped producing lightning for a few seconds. Thor looked around. He could see that the battle continued to rage on. Skirmishes in midair, fires down below, and hand-to-hand combat, but he was sure that the Aesir could hold off the Dark-Elves and Chituari for just a few minutes more while he tried to regain his strength. Thor laid down flat on his back on top of the roof. Aether ash rained down on him and caused him to cough viciously. "All fathers give me strength," Thor muttered to himself as his eyes slipped closed. There was no time to rest. He only had a few minutes more. He only had a few minutes more to fight and keep the Dark-Elves at bay until Convergence was over. Once Convergence was at its peak, he would be able to wield Mjolnir once more and they could stop the Aether from exploding into the Nine course that was trusting that Loki had retrieved Gungnir. Mjolnir alone was not enough to put the Aether into stasis. The Aether was a force of Darkness, and it would take two great forces of Light to stop it in its devouring quest. As the golden-locked prince of Asgard thought of Gungnir, he could not help but think of his father. "Father," the whispered to Odin in the oblique shadows of red that engulfed him. "Can you hear me?" he muttered. "I hope you are not dead...father you can't be dead," he moaned. "None is worthy to wield Gungnir, but you," he told him. "But I'll do my best to wield it for you in your stead... to save our people and the Nine Realms as I know you would if you," he confessed.

It felt glorious to lie down, but guilt smothered him. The people of Asgard weren't lying down. They weren't resting they were fighting for their lives. He was their leader. He'd do no less. It was only a few minutes. He could fight on for a few more minutes. Thor pressed himself into a sitting position, he still felt weak and felt as if he was running on fumes. When Loki used his powers to the point of exhaustion most of the time he recovered quickly. Thor wasn't exactly sure how he did so. He could scarcely recall Loki saying something about magic feeding magic, but that made no sense to him. Loki was a master enchanter. He'd studied for centuries. Prince Thor was sure that Loki would have found it laughable and preposterous for him to even think that in an hour he could master techniques that had taken decades of practice. Thor wasn't used to things not coming easy to him.

Still, Prince Thor knew that he couldn't rest a moment longer. He had to get up. He stood to his feet and was ready to take to the sky once more. He had rekindled some of his energy, perhaps it was just desperation or perhaps it was truly the Fates granting his wish, but nonetheless, he stood up not a moment too soon. His blue eyes rolled over the battleground that was once a bustling metropolis and there he spotted his mother, Heimdal, and Hogun fending off the last straggles of the Dark-Elf army and on top of that the bank which they were defending was about to come crashing down on them.

Heimdal ran toward Queen Frigga as she stood defending the bank. He brandished the Bifrost sword. The rugged, jagged blade quickly severed the limbs of the Chituari who were coming at them. He stood back-to-back with the queen as they protected the entrance of the bank. "Your Majesty," he greeted her.

"Heimdal," The Queen sighed in relief upon seeing her trusted friend. She wanted to reach out her arms and embrace him, but Chituari soldiers were charging at her 6. They were moving swiftly down on all fours, grunting and fuming and foaming at the mouth, they tore through the rubble and ruins and bodies in the streets like they were running through a fresh field of daisies. Queen Frigga saw them coming and she flung out several daggers at once. The small silver blades glided through the Aether ash with ease, and they didn't miss their targets. The aim of the daggers was straight and true, and she pierced several through the heart. "Thank the Norns, you are alive my friend," she expressed as she dusted off her hands for a moment.

Still, even more of the enemy began to swarm like bees. This time they came to the flank of Heimdal. Heimdal stood a tall and imposing figure, though even his might seemed dwarfed by the waves of Chituari that were running toward him. The guardian stood unflappable and unflinching in the face of their numbers. Heimdal raised his sword high over his head and brought it down mightily as each alien approached. He stabbed them and hacked them and decapitated a few. He spun around like a furious top and sliced the bellies and the chests of several. This brought the queen and the gatekeeper in only a few seconds. "It is eye who am most gratified to see you alive, my queen," Heimdal stated. He turned to her and bowed down to her on one knee. Heimdal always stood on ceremony. "I wish we could meet under more pleasant circumstances," he expressed.

"Our situation is dire," Queen Frigga's blue eyes looked around. The city was nearly decimated and she saw far too many broken Aesir bodies lying in puddles of blood or buried in Aether Ash, "But we are still fighting and that is what is most important," she reminded the gatekeeper as she put her hands on his shoulder. "You still have the sword of Asgard and you have always used it to protect our people I'm glad you still do now," she reminded him. Despite the blood that trickled from her forehead and chin she smiled.

Heimdal could not bear to stare into the queen's face. He closed his eyes and his lips twisted bitterly. "Oh, your majesty, please do not offer me such a commendation. I have failed Asgard and I have failed you. I am no longer worth wielding this sword," He took the long blade which served as the key to the Bifrost and raised it back up to Queen Frigga. It was no longer looking shiny and pristine, it was dripping with the nasty purply and green life juices of the Chituari.

"You are the only one worthy to wield it," Queen Frigga corrected. "Never has there been a more loyal citizen of Asgard," she stated with boldness. "You will be the one who wields that sword until your dying day," she swore to him. "Let us pray that day isn't today," she said with a huff as she looked around. The Chituari were gathering their force, and they had the assistance of a few more of Malekith's Dark-Elf soldiers. The Dark-Elf soldiers approached slowly and cautiously, but they didn't hesitate in throwing their vortex-forming bombs. Queen Frigga watched as the daggers that she threw were sucked up by the bombs. She watched as a few of her unsuspecting subjects were taken into the screeching black wholes as well. "NOOO!" Queen Frigga yelled as she reached out her hand toward a woman who was older than her. She was a militia soldier from Kytheria, the woman had been doing her best to hold off the enemy with nothing but a pitchfork, but she fell prey to the weaponry of Svartalfheim. She turned just in time to face Queen Frigga. Her face distressed for but a moment as she saw the Queen of Asgard she smiled. The royal woman was running toward her with her hand outstretched. The elderly woman reached her hand out toward Queen Frigga she hoped that the queen would be able to grab her hand a pull her from the abyss. It was too late the old woman soon found her body being swooped away.

"Your Majesty!" cried Hogun. The close friend of her son came speeding toward her. There were a few Chituari on his tail, but Hogun was focused on the queen. It seemed as though he picked up speed once his black eyes fell upon her. His mace swung back and forth knocking Chituari soldier after Chitauri soldier out of his way. He saw one Dark-Elf warrior who had seemed to come up on the queen. The creature's bloodless and expressionless mask was unmistakable against the dark haze of the Aether that swirled about them. He noticed that the soldier was readying his blaster. Hogun quickly grimaced as he furiously ripped the mace that he was wielding from its chain. He hurled it toward the Dark-Elf. He was precise with placing his fingers in the right spots so that the spikes didn't stab his hands clean through. The mace sailed through the air and landed smack dab in the opening of the blaster just as the Dark-Elf warrior was about to pull the trigger.

Queen Frigga looked up at noted Hogun. Heimdal called to her. "Queen Frigga, watch out!" Heimdal came and jumped on Queen Frigga's back knocking the wife of Odin to the ground. His strong physique shielded her as the vortex-forming blaster imploded on itself. There was a flash of great light and a cry from the warrior of Svartalfheim as it was sucked up by its own weapon. Heimdal quickly got both he and the royal woman to their feet. "Come, Your Majesty, I must get you to safety," he stated.

"I'm not taking shelter while there is still a fight to be had for the future of our kingdom," Queen Frigga shook her head.

"I promised Prince Thor, I would guard you, my queen and I have never broken my word to your family," before the Queen of Asgard could offer any word of protest she felt Heimdal's strong arms scooped her up as if she was light as a feather. He took her to hide in the shelter under the doorway of the bank.

Queen Frigga was breathless and practically indignant when she found herself placed upon her feet once more. She looked as if she was in a huff, but as she faced the gatekeeper, her frustrations were immediately deflated. Heimdal had been loyal and honest to a fault to all of them. Somehow, he always kept his word to each and every one of them without violating his word to another, it was truly a gift. "When you see my son, you remind him that I am his mother," she pointed out.

"You may have a chance to remind him yourself if this day is won, my queen," stated Hogun as he came to them.

"You can understand his fear, my lady," Heimdal began again.

"If he were to lose you, Your Majesty, he would have lost all his family," Hogun's raspy voice explained.

"That would not be so," she expressed. "He would still have his brother." Hogun's eyes narrowed. He wasn't so sure, he had been willing to give Loki a chance again to help them save Asgard. It was truly the only logical possibility that they had. I mean Ragnarok was already upon them Loki's aid in this dire moment could make things no worse, he trusted Loki enough to fight for them in the moment, although in the back of his mind, the silent warrior wondered was Loki even worthy of such trust after all he had done. Heimdal trusted him and who was he to question Heimdal? Still, more so, he didn't know if Thor would ever be able to see Loki as a brother again. It was a pity, they had once had a strong brotherhood that Hogun had greatly admired and envied as a child, but he didn't know if they could ever be that again. Somehow this made Hogun's heart drop. His own brother had betrayed him and sold him for silver, Lady Sif and her brother, Leif hardly seemed to get along, maybe real brotherhood was just an illusion.

"I do not know if they can be brothers again, Your Majesty," Hogun spoke up slowly.

The queen's sapphire eyes narrowed, "They will always be brothers."

"Loki has proven himself to be an ally in this moment," Heimdal confessed.

"It is the last moment," Hogun quickly added. Both the guardian and the queen were surprised by the outspokenness of the normally silent warrior of Asgard. Hogun had figured there wasn't much point in holding his tongue much longer as these could be his final moments, he might as well say what he needed to say. "It may be too little too late," his eyes looked downward as he said so.

Queen Frigga placed her hand on the shoulder of the Einherjar general. She nodded. "I know all have suffered. I know this can't atone for every wrong..." she began. "I know it won't make everyone forgive him," she swallowed deeply. "But it's not too little too late for me," she pointed out. "It's not too late to show me...to prove to me..."

"What, my queen?" Hogun questioned, finally looking up at the wife of Odin.

"That I know who my son is after all," Queen Frigga stated with watery eyes.

"It has shown me who he is as well," Heimdal confirmed. The warrior of Asgard grunted, but he didn't have time to ask any more questions because he found that they were soon being pelted by the yellow blaster bullets from one of the Chituari hovercrafts. "Take shelter!" the gatekeeper shouted as he wrapped his arm around Queen Frigga with one arm and the other hand held up the Bifrost sword so that the bullets were ricocheted off of his blade. The sword was able to hold up against the assault of blaster bullets for a time, but soon the saber cracked. It took all within Heimdal to keep from screaming. Seeing the sword crack was like having his arm broken. While they were in there it seemed as if 100 Chituari were trying to ransack the bank. They were running wild and willy-nilly, they gathered and scooped up spoils, festooned their ugly bodies with jewels, they tore down the golden and silver bricks and the tower started to wobble.

"It's about to come down on us!" Queen Frigga pointed out as she pointed up. For a moment all their eyes darted toward the entranceway, but outside of the door was a shower of golden, laser bullets.

"We are trapped," Hogun announced. The two warriors of Asgard stood protectively around the queen as the Chituari seemed to notice them and were ready to attack like a bunch of wolves. But just then they saw a lightning blast strike the outside of the bank. The streak was brilliant and blinding. It took a moment of blinking for their eyes to readjust, but once they did they noticed that about 10 hovercraft had fallen from the sky and they landed in a pile of rubble outside of the entranceway. There was a slight smile on all their faces as they thought of the power that had brought down the Chituari. "Let's go, Your Majesty," Hogun stated as he took Queen Frigga by the hand and tried to lead her away from the looting of the bank.

"The bank," Queen Frigga shook her head. "The savings of the people..." she pointed out.

"That is what is important, milady, the saving of the people," Heimdal reminded her. His hand was steady on her shoulder, "It is but a bank, but more will be saved for the people of Asgard if you live," he told her.

Queen Frigga mashed her lips together, she allowed her blue eyes to close and a tear to fall, it traced a line down her grimy, blood-smudged face. She felt like such a failure as a queen. The Bank of Asgard had been an important achievement for the royal house as it had allowed wealth to trickle down and all people to have the opportunity to pass on something to their posterity. Generations had treasures laid up there and she was watching it go up in smoke. "If we all do," Queen Frigga finally responded after what seemed like an eternity. The trio quickly ran for the exit. All of them were down weapons and the vermin-like soldiers of the Chituari were all around. Most were so lost in basking in the treasures that they didn't pay much attention to the Aesir, but a few more astute ones noticed and shot at them from behind. They shot desperately and took out columns and the building started to sway.

"It's coming down! Move! Move! Move!" Heimdal shouted as he pushed the queen and warrior along. They skidded out the door and tripped over themselves practically toppling on top of each other as they just barely escaped the collapse of the building. They were winded and breathless, they were simply trying to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, the warriors of Asgard attended to the queen, they tried to make sure that the royal woman wasn't too scarred, bumped, or bruised, although it was nearly impossible for her not to be. Still, in all their efforts they didn't notice that one of the oblong-designed spires of the bank was starting to fall off. It was falling, falling, falling and it was headed right toward them. It would have been the end of Asgard's fair queen, loyal gatekeeper and one of their noblest warriors had Prince Thor not swooped in from above and caught the large spire mid-air. The thunderer's muscles bulged as he fought against gravity as if it were nothing and tossed the giant golden spire as if it was no more than a twig that he had come across on a stroll through the woods. Thor then gave a mighty thunderclap. A bold that was just as big as the spire that he just tossed rolled off his body and went straight toward the beautiful bank. It instantly obliterated the bank. Gold dust and jewels splattered everywhere. He was sure that there would be sapphires and rubies scattered toward the Forever Sea and he wouldn't have been surprised if it rained gold dust in the Dales. In the Imperial City, all that was left was a mound of rubble of white limestone and marble columns which crushed the Chituari who had greedily tried to steal the wealth of Asgard.

Queen Frigga shuddered a little as she beheld another one of Asgard's monuments reduced to nothingness and buried in Aether Ash, but still Queen Frigga tried to stand tall with a firm stiff upper lip as she knew that she would rather see a building destroyed that for the Chituari to make off with the treasures of the people.

"Mother," Thor's voice rumbled and so did the ground when he landed near them. Queen Frigga spun around. Heimdal had his strong arm draped around Queen Frigga's delicate frame. Upon hearing the voice of her son, Queen Frigga tore from the firm embrace of the gatekeeper and went running toward the child of her body. He immediately wrapped his mother in a tight hug.

"Thor! Thor! Thor!" his mother muttered as she burrowed her face into his chest. She reached her hands up. They were dirty and red with her own blood and possibly someone else's. Still, she stroked his face lovingly and gently. She saw all his wounds, yet she saw that he was still, standing, and stronger than ever. She stood on her tippy-toes to pepper his face with kisses. "Thank the Norns! Thank the Norns," she whispered so rapidly that she lost her breath.

"Mother, I'm so glad you are alive... I...but you should not have come here. It's too dangerous! But your battalion arriving has certainly turned the tide in this battle," he expressed with a sigh.

"It was myself or the people of Kytheria alone," she pointed out to him. "Thor I feared...I feared," Queen Frigga admitted. "All hope seemed lost...I...Loki seemed so far gone..."

"Perhaps he is," Thor's voice was low and dark as a storm. He turned his head away from his mother's hold.

"No, no, no." the queen of Asgard mumbled. "I saw...I saw...I saw a green light come from the Southern Tower and I knew then that Loki had healed you," she expressed her eyes lit up and so did her smile.

"He also stripped me of the power of the hammer!"

"And look how much stronger you are without it," she beamed at him. "Loki has always been a source of strength for you," she reminded him.

"But not strong enough, Mother," Thor retorted. "Mjolnir is needed to stop the Aether and we only have a few more minutes before this apocalypse is too far along to stop. It already is," Thor mumbled as he closed his eyes and clenched his fist. Lightning sizzled and crackled between his knuckles.

"No, no it's not," Queen Frigga refuted him. "It's not too late. You and Loki can still do this together," she turned his face back toward her so that their matching blue eyes stared at each other. "Your father..." she began but her words choked as she spoke. "Odin...even in the Oversleep... I begged...I begged him not to give up on his son. He used all the strength he could to contact Loki and do not...cannot," she stated firmly. "believe that that was in vain."
"Is father...?" the words were lost on Prince Thor's tongue.

Queen Frigga shook her head. "We must keep our minds on the here and now on stopping Ragnarok and we don't have much time," she reminded him.

"Loki went to retrieve Gungnir. I don't know if he will get it in time," Thor confessed. He scoffed, "I don't know if I can even trust him to bring it."

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about what we don't know," she told Thor as she pointed to his head. "What do you believe?" she questioned as she placed her hand on the center of his breastplate. "Do you believe that you and Loki can save Asgard...as brothers?" she asked.

Thor didn't have time to ponder his mother's question properly. He had to believe that Asgard could still be saved. Even if he wanted to give up hope, he couldn't, his mother, his beloved, his friends, and his people were counting on him. If Asgard fell, then so would all the other realms. The weight of the cosmos seemed to be resting on his shoulders...no pressure, he was merely the son of Odin, after all. Did he believe that Loki's plan would work, well he had no choice, but to believe what that traitor had said. Fact or fib there was no counteroffer or proposal to go by. Did he believe Loki would do what he said...he was hopeful, he was hopeful that even Loki's sin sick soul couldn't see his own mother, the Queen of Asgard fighting in the trenches, covered with blood and dirt and grime, looking nearly like a gladiator slave-woman for all the torments she'd been through and then turn his back on his words. Hopefully, even Lokin wasn't that vile. He did have to lie; he didn't have to keep tricking them over and over again mercilessly. Loki had the chance to win why keep playing little games? As brothers, well that was another question entirely. It had felt good to fight side by side once again, to have those few moments in the heat of battle that had brotherly banter, it had felt good to have Loki's mysticism put to noble purposes for healing and education. He'd felt pride in the trickster in those moments. When Loki taught him how to harness the power of lightning on his own so rapidly, well it had seemed like times before, they'd often taught each other things. Thor could recall teaching Loki how to throw and catch a ball, he thought of when Loki taught him how to make a proper snowball. He'd taught Loki how to use battle staff for the arena during their days of schooling and Loki had helped him on countless school projects for math and science and literature. It almost felt like... they were...Thor wasn't sure if that feeling was real or genuine. Feelings were fickle after all, but despite his reservations, he managed to tell his mother, "I do." His father had told him that the bond of brothers was the strength of Asgard, well if Asgard ever needed strength, it was now.

Frigga beamed back at her eldest, "I do too," she nodded, and her sapphire eyes glistened through the mud that coated her face.

"I as well," Heimdal spoke up and said.

"And I," Hogun confirmed with a nod of his head.

"Well, these Ayes have it," the golden-locked prince joked for a moment.

"You must go and try to retrieve Mjolnir now," Heimdal stated. "The worlds are in Converging." He pointed upward and it was true in 15 minutes they would be at the Peak of Convergence.

"A few of Malekith's soldiers seem to be heading back toward the palace," Queen Frigga pointed out. She saw the meager remnants of the army of Svartalfheim, jogging across a drawbridge trying to breach the palace. "They are trying to clear a path for their general to unleash the Aether, no doubt."

"We will go," Hogun stated. "We will join the others and hold them off."
"Mother you should not go," Thor gripped her tightly. "I don't want anything to happen to you," he announced to her.

"There's no place to hide from this, my son, I cannot take a shelter or a refuge if there is none for the people that I rule over," she decreed

Thor bent down and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Wish me luck," he declared to them. As he leaped into the air and made his way for Malekith's ship.

---

Malekith's pitch-black eyes watched with disgust as he watched his force continue to be decimated on every side. He looked to the left and to the right and he saw his armies fall. He saw few Dark-Elf soldiers even left. He growled, ground his foot, and clenched his fist. It was happening again. Malekith's head started to pound. He swayed it back and forth. They couldn't lose again! He wouldn't let them lose again. He screamed ruthlessly. The dark power that burned within him spewed forth from his mouth. The energy of the Infinity Stone knocked winged horses and their riders out of the sky. It instantly crushed and crunched, the solar skiffs that the Asgardians were using.

"MALEKITH!" Thor thundered as he appeared as a brilliant blue bolt. "ENOUGH!" he called to him, trying to get Lord Malekith to focus on him and stop attacking the warriors of Asgard. "IT'S OVER!" Thor boomed.

"IT IS OVER...FOR YOU ASGARDIAN!" the general shouted back defiantly. With that, Malekith tossed out both his hands from them and burst an explosion of red. Thor tried to counter, he spun around cocooning himself in lightning, but the power of the Aether was exponentially greater now that the Peak was upon them. The Aether blast tore through Prince Thor's lightning. A shard as thick and long as a redwood tree came and struck Prince Thor. It knocked Odin's firstborn clear out of the sky. It shot him down against the Royal Opera House. It was a magnificent building that their family often frequented. It had a splendid dome ceiling that was made of pure opal stones so that it always shined and sparkled in the most radiant of ways. But even its grandeur had been left in ruin and Thor fell clean through the building. Malekith's bloodless lips smirked as he watched the Eagle of Asgard fall. Still, his work was not done. The battle was not won until he had secured, the Tesseract and unleashed the Aether. He would free Thanor, he would have darkness and then he would collect the spoils. So little stood in his way, besides the two weapons, Loki and a woman. Once more Malekith's lips rippled into a sneer as he thought of the woman. That would be easy enough to remedy himself.

Malekith used the power of the Aether to propel himself across the chasm that had been created by the broken Bifrost bridge. In a slurry of a red haze Malekith was able to create a new bridge to replace the old Bifrost Bridge. Where the Bifrost had been bright and luminescent, this bridge that Malekith had created was dark, black, and red, it was twisted and gnarled, like corroded metal. Many of the citizens saw Malekith creating the dark bridge. Heimdal particularly looked on the monument with horror. The Bifrost was as precious to him as his own house. To see something erected in its place was an insult. "NOOOO!" the gatekeeper's voice boomed as he beheld the bridge. Queen Frigga, Hogun and he had managed to hitch a ride toward the palace on one of the solar skiffs brought from Kytheria.

"Your Majesty, should we take you back to the encampment outside of the city?" asked the soldier flying the military ship.

"No," Queen Frigga said sternly, take me to the palace. Actually, can you get a message out to the other ships?" she asked as she came toward where one Kytherian soldier was at the helm. Another warrior who was with him tried to get the communication devices activated.

"It's too much interference, my queen," the soldier expressed in distress. "The Aether is scrambling everything," he reported. He hung his head, not willing to face the royal woman with bad news.

"There must be a way to get a message out," Queen Frigga stated as she slammed her palm against the useless instruments. "Where is the Commander of Communications when I need him," the queen fretted.

"Do you have flags?" asked Hogun as he approached. The two men flying the vessel looked quizzically at the Einherjar.

"As a matter of fact I think we do?" he confessed as he scratched his head. He nodded to his partner, who immediately rushed below decks and retrieved a few standard Asgardian Navy Signal flags.

"These things haven't been used in years," the soldier confessed.

"But luckily, the Commander of Communication made us train with them," the helmsman nodded. "I guess it is like the commander" Good communication is the key to winning any battle," he quoted his commanding officer and his imitation was spot on.

"When this battle is won, the Commander of Communication will certainly be up a promotion," Queen Frigga said with a smile. "Signal for all the ships to go toward the palace," she ordered. The soldier immediately snapped up and started waving the proper flags. Hogun to the port side and the soldier stood to the starboard side. They waved their flags uniformly. Hogun had always liked the use of flags. He liked all forms of communication that didn't require the use of words. The Aether Ash was getting thicker and thicker around them, but somehow, they whizzed by the signal of the white, green, blue and yellow flags that were made known to the other soldiers. It didn't take long before all the solar skiffs that were flying around the smoldering city started flying behind the one that Queen Frigga was on and making their way toward the palace. The Valkyrie and foot soldiers took note as well and made their best efforts to follow suit. All the while, Master Heimdal continued to stare out at the twisted bridge that Malekith was creating with the Aether. He could not bear it. "Master Heimdal," Queen Frigga called trying to get his attention. The guardian seemed as if he was in a trance.

"Your Majesty," Heimdal turned to her and saluted. "Forgive me," he asked as he took to standing on the edge of the flying boat.

"Heimdal, don't!" Queen Frigga yelled, but it was more of a plea than an order.

"It is my sworn duty to protect the Bifrost at all costs," he stated. "I have already failed to do that," he shook his head.

"No, Heimdal, you haven't please," Queen Frigga tried to reason with him.

Asgard's gatekeeper didn't seem to hear her words. "But I'll not let this monstrosity replace it," his thick lips curled in repulsion as he looked down at the black bridge that was nearly done being built. Heimdal raised the cracked Bifrost Sword in the air. Once more he looked at Queen Frigga with all the respect, love and reverence that he had for the female ruler of the realm. "For Asgard!" he hollered as he leaped off the edge. His sword was eager and ready to plunge deep into Malekith. Heimdal skydived gracefully through the smog and fog-death-filled air. He landed sturdily on the offensive dark bridge that had taken the place of the beautiful Bifrost. He stood as a sentry on top of that bridge, and he would not let Lord Malekith pass. Lord Malekith started to march across the bridge. A wry slither of grin was on his face. He took long strides toward Asgard's gatekeeper. Heimdal was an imposing figure. His gilded armor reflected majesty, his bulging brown muscles reflected his immense strength, and even the broken sword he proudly held reflected his might and his intent. Soon Malekith had joined the gap between them. They were face-to-face. "Halt, who goes there?" the gatekeeper asked accordingly.

"The lord of this realm," Malekith proclaimed.

"That you are not," Heimdal refuted. "And you shall not pass," he stated as he pointed the Bifrost blade at Malekith. He took a defensive stance and showed his teeth. Malekith lunged at him quickly. Their 2 swords met and clanked. They dueled for a moment, blades matching each other mightily. Heimdal was the stronger swordsman, by far, but his disadvantage was his bust blade. Malekith exploited his. He brought his machete down on the weak points of the sword. Heimdal tried to hold the bridge, but his brilliant blade broke before the bloody, black machete. It was soon in 2 pieces on top of the dark bridge. Heimdal immediately stooped down to try to grab to two pieces, the Bifrost Sword could not be lost. Cowardly, Malekith ran his machete along Heimdal's back. Heimdal screamed out in agony as the dark saber cut along his spine. He grabbed at his back only to find that his legs had ruthlessly been kicked from under him and he laid face down on the gnarled bridge. The Dark-Elf general scoffed, and he simply stepped over Heimdal's body. Heimdal was still determined. He grabbed Malekith by the heel and pulled him down despite the grave pain that he was in. Malekith was thwarted by the effort. He tripped and fell flat on his face as well. Heimdal's heart was pounding, and blood was spewing from him at high volumes, still with a trembling hand he managed to hold on to the hilt of the sword and he was going to stab Lord Malekith with the broken edge. Malekith quickly kicked Heimdal in the face and knocked the hilt from his hands off the bridge. The leader of the Dark-Elves quickly rose to his feet. Heimdal was on his back, his face contorted in pain, and it took all that was within him to keep screaming in pain, but he'd not give the bloodless elf the satisfaction of knowing his torment. "I'd finish the job, stay here and watch you die, but I've ot a pressing appointment," Lord Malekith stated, and he just looked down at Master Heimdal with a side eye and continued to walk on.

Immediately, Malekith was bombarded by a cascade of laser bullets of all colors, orange, green blue, and red. The solar skiffs from Kytheria were firing on the enemy with all they had. Malekith growled as the Aether exploded from his body. The blast was so powerful that it knocked all the ships out of the sky. All Asgard's ships were down, they flew into each other and into the Valkyrie. They flew into buildings and came crashing down on the city's demolished streets. Malekith didn't even flinch or flicker as he watched the solar skiffs fall down around his hailstones. He shrugged as if flies were buzzing around his ears and continued to take long stomping strides toward the battered palace. The whole castle smoldered. On the outskirts of the palace, there stood a rag volunteer army.

In the forefront of the force of Asgardians were the likes of Frandal, Volstagg, Captain Frell, Lady Leoma, Lord Drek and a few other warriors of renown. Upon seeing the Dark-Elf general the Aesir showed no mercy. They immediately began to attack, showing no quarter. Captain Frell ordered the remaining palace guards to launch everything they still had in their arsenal at one man. They had pushed forth the catapults and the cannons and they rapidly fired away. They didn't have time to go and find the plasma bombs or other heavy artillery, but they loaded the catapults and canons with the broken bricks and beams from the palace. Columns and pieces of glass, marble and wood flew through the air. Malekith was at first stunned to see so many projectiles headed his way. They assaulted the bridge and him, but aside from stunning him with the Aether coursing through his veins, the blows seemed to glance off of him though it was a barrage of debris. At some point the Aether seemed to have a mind of its own, the Reality Stone was restless. As their random projectiles came in the Aether shot forth from, a bursting red glow, that turned blocks of marble as big as he was into black goop and transformed planks of wood into sawdust and rods of iron into rubber. He laughed. It was almost too easy now with Convergence at its peak.

Still, the Aesir did not give up the attack so quickly. Shocked as they were by the power of the Aether to transform matter, they continued. Soon the foot soldiers, some professional and others just brave souls came charging out across the bridge. "He can't take us all!" one person cried as he pushed ahead. Weapons in hand they looked like a sea of spikes washing like a wave across the dark bridge. They hollered and hooted and their feet caused the bridge to rumble and sway. Their swords, spears. bows, and every other hand weapon imaginable were aimed at Malekith. Malekith instantly countered their advance. The Aether blast pushed the Aesir back, it knocked some down, and others it flung off the bridge, but still like a flood they kept coming and kept pushing forward to the leader of the Dark-Elves. Malekith had little back up and every moment he delayed fiddling with the Aesir warriors was a moment less that he had to unleash the Aether and free Thanos. As if reading his thoughts a few Chituari soldiers appeared, the nasty creatures crawled up the sides of the bridge out of nowhere and went for the Aesir, but the Aesir were all filled with the rage of Berserkers.

They fought ruthlessly through the alien force, they cried loudly and spared not. They smashed through them. They cut, hacked, stabbed, tore, punched, hurled, kicked and everything else. The Chituari were overwhelmed by the sheer ruthlessness of the Aesir army. They would let nothing stop them from protecting their kingdom. Gray limbs and insect-like bodies lie at the feet of the warriors as they persevere. Even with their advanced technology, they could not seem to overcome the Aesir. More Chituari kept coming, but the more that came the more the Aesir struck them down. Women would have the blood and guts of a Chituari soldier sprayed in their face. Their blood was green and had a noxious odor, but even as a Chituari soldier would fall by the wayside a woman would simply wipe her face free of their gruesome life juice, take her sword and ram it through their hearts once more just for good measure to make sure that the beasts wouldn't rise again and then spit and keep running toward Malekith.

Malekith did his best to try to aid the Chituari, he stomped on the bridge which was already made of Aether Ash and caused scarlet spikes to protrude from the bridge, some Aesir fell prey to this. They were so busy concentrating on fighting the enemy, they didn't notice the spikes and they became skewered. Volstagg could not stand the sight of this, seeing so many Aesir fall victims enraged the redhead. He soon charged through, and his battle axe swung mightily and it chopped down the spikes. Malekith had tried to put a protective fence of spikes around him, but Volstagg was easily sawing through them.

Soon General Brunhilda and a few Valkyrie were flying overhead. The warrior quickly targeted the Chituari, they looped them up with their lassos and pulled them off the bridge and tossed them into the water. Some of the Chituari tried to jump on the backs of their pegasi, but the horses were well equipped and trained for battle. The mares kicked and bucked about like wild broncos in the air and they sent the Chituari flying ever which way. Brunhilda's sharp eye soon spied a horrific sight. She spied Heimdal hanging off of the edge of the dark bridge. He was holding on for dear life, by the hilt of the Bifrost Sword. "Cousin!" she shouted to the gatekeeper who was her kinsman. "Hurricane winds, girl!" she shouted to her Pegasus. The horse obeyed her command and turned into a blistering nosedive. It dove down with the speed of a missile and allowed Brunhilda to be positioned right under Heimdal, just as his hands could no longer hold on. He collapsed, falling through the air, limp as a ragdoll, crashed into Brunhilda and winced as his back collided with her armor. "Hold on, Heimdal," she said. The general looked down at the gatekeeper with alarm as blood from his back was starting to soak her.

"Held...on...long...as...could," Heimdal sputtered. His gifted, golden eyes were not ever able to open. His rich earthen coloring was fading as he held up a shaky hand that held up the broken edge of the Bifrost sword. "It...it...it...it has...hasn't...failed... ...me, yet" he announced, and she thought she saw a faint glimmer of a grin upon his mouth, but it soon faded as he fell into unconsciousness. Brunhilda wasted no time, she hurried Heimdal away from the intensity of the battle in that area. She saw Lady Leoma, Lord Drek and a few other of the mages of court doing what they could to refortify the palace by putting a forcefield around it. Brunhilda descended upon them and showed them Heimdal.

"I don't have a healing crystal, I don't even have clean water," Lady Leoma expressed. She looked down at the gatekeeper. Lord Drek carried him and laid him on his side so that his back was not further injured.

"You must try something, Lady Leoma," the normally pessimistic mathematician expressed. "What about the technique that Loki showed us?" he offered.

Lady Leoma's eyes grew wide. "I am hardly an expert at that!" she declared, but it didn't matter. Heimdal needed immediate care. "Come! Come," she called to a few other mages. She pulled them from their work in trying to create a forcefield and instructed them on how to help her perform the healing method that she had only just a few moments ago. Malekith's machete had indeed been laced with poison and at least purging the poison could be a start. They slowly started to see the effects of their ministrations. Heimdal's eyes slowly started to flutter back open. His powerful eyesight easily beheld the forcefield that was starting to be created, he tried to speak so that they would know not to worry about and to do what they needed to do to protect Asgard, but he wasn't really sure that anything intelligible was being uttered.

Lady Sif and Jane Foster zoomed into the area. Sif crashed the Chituari hovercraft right outside of the palace where the mages had been trying to build another forcefield. "Oh, my goodness, Heimdal!" Jane shouted as she beheld the wounded warrior.

Sif glanced down at her wounded longtime friend and mentor. She had always strived to be just like him in her resolute devotion to the crown. She had known him for centuries and she had never once known him to even have an ailment. Never had she seen him injured. Sif's eyes glowed red as the Aether itself as she looked beyond the warriors and stared at Malekith. "MALEKITH!" she hollered at the top of her lungs. Immediately, Jane was at the shield-maiden's side.

"I wanna help," she offered. The brunette warrior woman glanced at Jane over her shoulder. She looked at the scientist up and down then shook her head. Sif quickly pulled her shoulder from Jane's clasp and went rushing into battle. With her double blade held out before her, Sif used it to catapult herself over others. She did this several times so that she was face-to-face with Malekith. She went to swing her double blade and decapitate the Dark-Elf general, but Malekith shot an Aether Aether blast that caused the strong Sif's body to over in pain. Sif got up quickly and took her sword and went to strike Malekith, the two engaged in the battle for a time, but then Sif's brown eyes looked around and she saw several warriors were engaged with various versions of Malekith. All the while the real Malekith made his way toward the palace.

Lady Sif tried to call the other Asgardians to signal to them that it was all a trick, but the fighting and shouting had grown too intense, and no one could seem to hear her anymore. She rushed about trying to get to the others, but as she did so she watched as the dark red haze started to grow. It grew like a thick fog in a swamp, soon it was so heavy that Lady Sif couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face, and no one could see who they were fighting.

The master mage, a great mathematician of Odin's court saw what was going on. He pointed it out to the few remaining mages who had been intently working on the force field, for a moment they all stopped in their work and turned to try to attack Malekith. They hit him with blasts of energy, but with the Aether burning so within him the blows just seemed to bounce right off his hide. Eventually, he faded into the haze unseen like the rest. "Find him! Find him!" Lord Drek called desperately to the few who were with him. Lady Leoma took it upon herself to reach out with her hand and shine a bright yellow light into the hellish haze. Her light was bright, and she cast it with all her might, but still, it did little to increase her sight of the leader of the Dark-Elves. It did, however, seem to resonate with some of the Aesir, the soldiers of Asgard used it like a beacon and they started running toward it to get away from the Aether ash which burned their eyes and lungs. "That's it! That's it, Lady Leoma," Drek called excitedly. He started to cough as the haze continued to thicken and gather closer and closer to the palace. "Come on! Come on, the rest of you," he waved his hand as he beckoned them forward, "Shine a light." The Aesir who had been trying to defend the palace with a forcefield did so. Some caused lights to glow in their palm like Lady Leoma, while others used natural means and simply lit torches. A few started to wash out into the ruddy fog to try and grab soldiers and lead them back toward the palace. Somewhere in the haze the real Malekith lurked and saw. He'd have none of that and so he went running toward the throne room. They didn't notice him coming their way, but they would soon feel his effects. Malekith came near the opening that had been blown into the throne room. The majestic chamber barely seemed to be being held up, but a few solid columns. With the might of the Aether Malekith punched the columns, instantly, he blew them out and part of the ceiling started to cave in on the Lord Drek and Lady Leoma and the people who were with them.

"Look out!" Jane Foster shouted as she noticed bits of golden brick starting to shake a crumble. It didn't take long, soon everything was toppling down, and the master mages didn't have a chance to turn around and block the falling ceiling. Jane watched as many seemed to be quickly buried in the avalanche of marble, limestone, gold, and crystal that came tumbling down. Jane didn't have much time. She didn't know what to do, but she grabbed Heimdal's hand and dragged him out of the way just as one bolder seemed like it was about to crash in. He was a mere 3 inches from where it fell. There he lay by her side, but barely on the outskirts of the collapse, still unconscious from his injury moments before at Malekith's hand, but he was no worse for the wear. The scientist wiped her brow, and she would have started to cry had it not been for the fact that she saw Lord Malekith come walking right by. She shivered and froze as she looked up into his bloodless face and his eyes that were blackened like coal from the Aether. His cruel gaze fell upon her and made her blood run cold. She started to shriek, but somehow no sound came from her open mouth.

The general had the nerve to walk past her and smile as he did so. It was unnerving. She looked like no more than a little urchin. She was a mere child, a babe before him, but she had a pleasant quality for the eye to behold. Once cleaned up, he was sure she could have made a particularly charming specimen, but he could smell that she was mortal. The human race had a particular stench. They also proved rather useless for breeding purposes. He shrugged and cast his attention to what lay before him. He looked up at the glorious Convergence that unraveled before him. Why should he waste any more of the precious Aether, she was a mere mortal. She'd die soon enough once darkness consumed the realms once more. With that, he walked on. Jane sat breathless on her haunches as Malekith just passed her by. She saw him disappear into the palace. Before her everyone was buried and behind her, she could see no one in the haze. But Jane had to do something. She couldn't just sit there gaping like a codfish. Amid the debris and rubble that was around her, she started noticing pieces of wiring and metal. Perhaps she could make another reactor. Jane rose and started to gather parts.

A/N: HEEEEELLLOOOO Readers! we meet again here at the end of the chapter. That was a long one and it was a long time coming, but I hope it was worth the wait. You made it through the chapter, give yourself a pat on the back, a round of applause and have a Christmas cookie on me! Hehehe. I know it may seem like this chapter ends abruptly and perhaps it does, but that is because part 2 of this chapter is already written and raring to go as soon as it is edited. So cross your fingers you won't have to wait very long at all! hehehe! That will hopefully be my Christmas gift to you, if you'd like to gift me too, please be sure to leave a review. This story is almost through and if you've been reading the whole time you deserve to let me know what you think! ;)

I want to wish you all the MERRY CHRISTMAS! I love the holidays! Please know that Jesus is the reason for the season. "Born to raise the sons of Earth, born to give us second birth!"

HAPPY HANUKKAH! Pray for peace in Israel.

JOYOUS KWANZAA

And truly HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all

GOD BLESS