'Move, damnit!' I screamed inside my head as I watched the door open. Frigga had created an illusion of me that moved to the back of the room when Malekith walked in.

"Stand down, creature," Frigga commanded, "and you may still survive this."

'Frigga, no! Please!' I shouted in my mind. 'If you can hear me, please, stop!'

"I have survived worse, woman." Malekith's distorted voice replied.

"Who are you?" Frigga asked.

"I am Malekith. And, I would have what is mine." He said and looked past Frigga to the illusion of me. In that moment, Frigga struck. Her blade jutted forward and they started to fight.

'No!' I pleaded. 'Teleport! Teleport, please!' I tried to use my abilities, but was unable because of the spell Frigga put me under. I could only watch in horror as the Kursed came up behind her and held her by her throat.

I tried everything. I tried teleporting their weapons with no luck. I then tried teleporting little things to draw attention to me.

'I just need a few seconds! Only a few extra seconds for Thor to get here!'

"You have taken something, child." Malekith said as he approached the illusion of me. "Give it back." He reached his hand out to grab me, but as soon as he touched the illusion, it disappeared. He whirled back to Frigga.

"Witch!" He yelled. Frigga smugly smiled at him as he advanced on her. "Where is the Aether?" He asked.

'Turn around... just, turn around!'

"I'll never tell you." Frigga responded.

'Teleport! You stupid, useless, power! Please!' I cried.

"I believe you." Malekith said calmly and signaled to his Kursed monster. I squeezed my eyes shut.

'Teleport!'

I only opened my eyes when I heard Thor's scream. As soon as I opened my eyes, a flash of blue lightning temporarily blinded me. When I got my vision back, it took a minute to realize that I was no longer standing in the corner of the room. I was in the middle of the room, on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.

"Sammee!" Another voice yelled. It was muffled and sounded very far away. I turned my head to see Frigga rushing toward me from the other end of the room.

'That's weird, how'd she get over there?' I wondered as she fell to her knees at my side.

"Sammee, look at me!" She demanded as she placed her hands over my chest.

"Mother!" I heard Thor cry as he came over to us. "How did-"

"I don't know! I don't know, Thor!" Frigga responded. She sounded distressed... wonder why...

"She can't die, you can't let her die!" Thor panicked.

"I am trying my best!" Frigga raised her voice at her son.

"They will never forgive us if she dies... He will never forgive us!" Thor said urgently.

"Do you think I don't know that, Thor?" Frigga finally yelled.

"Wh- what are you...?" The sound of my own voice surprised me. I sounded weak and my voice cracked with every word. I finally lifted my head a bit to look at what Frigga was doing. Her hands were covered in blood and I immediately searched her for a wound, but found none. My eyes returned to what she was doing to see that her hands were glowing with the use of her magic. I looked passed her hands, to my chest, to see it covered in blood.

"Oh, look at that," I said between short, raspy, pants of breath, "I've been impaled." I laughed weakly and then immediately regretted it. I looked over to Thor's terrified expression. "You'll get it in a year, or two." I told him, trying to explain my reference.

"Why must it always be you?" He asked as a tear fell down his cheek. I wanted to reach up and comfort him, but was unable to move my arms.

"We need to get her to Eir. There is only so much I can do." Frigga said. I looked back at her to see Odin now standing by her side. He had a hand placed on her shoulder as a form of comfort. A few seconds later, guards came in carrying a stretcher. They placed the stretcher next to me and Frigga counted down for the transfer.

Once I was on the stretcher, Frigga straddled my legs, without putting pressure on me, while continuing to work on healing my wound. The guards lifted us up and started carrying us to the infirmary. I must have passed out for a bit because, when I blinked, I was suddenly looking up at a soul forge molecular scan of myself. Multiple healers were working on me, trying to keep me alive.

"You are lucky." Eir said when she noticed I was awake. "Stupid, but lucky." She repeated. "And, we are all eternally grateful for it." She added with a slight smile. I weakly smiled back at her. "The blade missed your heart. It did, however, pierce your diaphragm and left lung." Eir continued. "It also nicked a couple of your ribs, and cracked your sternum. There were several bone fragments we had to remove from your body. Your heart stopped twice, but we were able to get you back fairly quickly each time. Seems you just refuse to die today." She told me. I stayed quiet as I took all the information in.

"Frigga?" I asked, my voice hoarse and throat raw.

"She is with the Alfather, planning to protect Asgard from the enemy." Eir responded. I looked to the side to see all of my possessions off on a table. It was then that I realized I was naked, with nothing but a sheet to cover me. They even removed my necklace. "You are healing much faster than expected. It must be the extra energy coursing through your veins." Eir commented. "It shouldn't be long until we can let you rest."

I nodded at her. "Thank you." I said in a voice barely audible.

"Father, you can't just keep her prisoner here!" I heard Thor's voice from the hallway.

"I can and I will. Malekith wants the Aether, he will come for it and when he does, he will be met with ten thousand Asgardian blades." Odin responded.

"But, at what cost to our people?" Thor asked desperately.

"However much it costs to rid ourselves of him!" Odin yelled.

Odin walked into the healers room, followed by about ten guards.

"When she is healed enough," Odin started, "she is to be put in a guarded room and watched until Malekith is dead!" Odin demanded. The healers bowed their heads with a few 'yes, your Majesty's' thrown in there. Odin then turned on his heel and left without a word to me.

A few hours later, I was healed enough for the healers to let me rest. The healers wrapped my chest and gave me a dress. The guards then brought me to my makeshift prison/room. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

I was walking down the long corridors of the palace trying to catch up with Thor, who was walking at an incredibly fast pace. I tried to call for him, but he wasn't acknowledging me at all. I also tried to teleport with no luck.

Thor turned down the hallway to the dungeons and told the guards on duty to let him in. I hid around the corner, so that the guards didn't spot me. One of the guards bowed his head and opened the door, letting Thor walk in. When the door closed, I started to think of ways to get into the dungeons without teleporting. The only plan I had was a very stupid one. My plan was to simply walk up to them and act like I belonged...

I took a deep breath and walked around the corner. Neither guard looked at me as I walked up to them, which I found rather rude.

"Could you let me in, please? Thor is expecting me." I told one of the guards. He didn't respond. "Uhh... hello?" I asked. When he didn't respond for a second time, I waved my hand in front of his face. "Hello?" I asked again, drawling out the 'o'. I froze when I saw my hand glowing a faint purple. I looked down at myself to see that my entire body was glowing purple.

"What in the sixth sense bullshit is this?" I mumbled. I looked back to the guards with a furrowed brow, and casually stepped around them. I looked to the doors in front of me and reached for the door handle. I stumbled forward when I expected my hand to hit the handle, but instead it went straight through. I blinked in shock before waving my arm through the door. I looked behind me to see if anyone had noticed me yet. When no one looked alarmed, I raised my eyebrows with a smug grin and walked through the closed door.

"Do not stand there and lie to me!" I heard Loki yell. "I felt her heart stop! I felt her die!" There was a loud crash as I walked down the steps and I jumped. Who was he talking about? Did he think that Frigga died? "You promised me." Loki's voice was softer, but full of pain. "You promised you'd keep her safe and you couldn't even do that right."

"You're right." Thor answered him as I neared Loki's cell. "I couldn't keep her safe, but I promise you now," Thor pleaded with him, "she is alive, brother."

"I hope this doesn't come as too much of a shock when I say that I don't believe you." Loki told him, sounding defeated. "Just go away, Thor."

"I can bring her to you." Thor sounded desperate. Loki didn't answer him, he just stayed quiet. "I will bring her to you." Thor stated and then quickly tuned, walking straight through me, and walked out of the dungeons. I finally peaked into Loki's cell to find it destroyed. Loki was sitting against the back wall with his head down. He had his knees bent and his arms were resting over his knees. He was a mess, just as his cell was.

"Loki, what have you done?" I sighed. Loki's head shot up and he looked straight at me. His eyes widened and he scrambled to the edge of the cell.

"Sammee?" He asked in a broken voice.

"What's wrong, my prince? What happened?" I asked and stepped closer to the cell.

"How-?" He questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

"Answer me, my prince." I said gently. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I must admit," Loki started, "my mind definitely knows how to torture me." I blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean, Loki?" I asked. Loki didn't speak for several long seconds.

"I'm sorry." He finally told me.

"For what?" I asked. "For talking to a prisoner? Telling him what stairway to take?" I questioned. Loki's face fell, like that hadn't even occurred to him. He quickly looked down.

"I am so sorry, Kitten." He repeated while shaking his head slightly.

"I kinda figured you'd still want to get even with Odin." I told him. "Send the beast his way. I can't say that I'm not disappointed that you didn't heed my warning, but," I stopped talking until he looked at me. "I forgive you." I said gently.

"You shouldn't!" Loki protested. "You should hate me."

"I could never hate you, Loki."

"But, you should!" Loki yelled. "I need you to hate me." He said softer. "You do not understand. Please, just tell me it is as I wish. I cannot handle it otherwise."

I looked at him sadly and slowly shook my head.

"I can't do that, my prince."

I furrowed my brows at the muffled voice I was hearing. It sounded a lot like Thor.

"So, you really are here just to torment me? A constant reminder of how I failed?"

I heard Thor's voice again. I looked up curiously before looking back at Loki.

"Is that really all you see when you look at me? Your failings?" I asked. Loki just watched me with a longing expression, not saying a word.

"I... I have to go." I said softly and turned away from him. "We'll continue this conversation later." I said over my shoulder. Without looking at him again, I left.

I wandered toward Thor's voice until I got back to the room I was being held prisoner in. The guards that were standing outside my room were all knocked unconscious. I stepped into the room to see more unconscious guards. I didn't, however, see Thor. I looked down the corridor to see Thor and his warriors running quickly through the hall. I turned to glance at the room once more before running toward the getaway group. I couldn't catch up to them. It was like every step I took, they took two. I finally was able catch up some when they stopped outside of the dungeons.

I heard Thor say. It still sounded muffled, but got clearer the closer I got to the group.

Thor passed someone to Volstagg, then went off into the dungeons. I walked closer to the group and saw that the 'someone' Volstagg was holding, was me. I looked to just be asleep in his arms. Seeing my body while my subconscious was up and moving around was a bit freaky. I didn't know how to get back into my body, but if all the sci-fi movies were correct, then I had an idea.

I walked over to my sleeping form in Volstaggs arms and touched my skin.

I felt almost an electric shock go through my body and I gasped awake.

'Thank you, sci-fi!'

My eyes snapped open as I gasped in a breath of air. I clung to Volstagg as my body came back to reality.

"What- what's happening?" I asked.

"It's ok, Sammee. You are safe." Volstagg assured.

"Ok," I nodded while concealing a yawn. I rested my head back down on Volstagg's chest. "Where are we going?" I asked, my voice still hoarse.

"The Dark World." Volstagg replied. My eyes snapped back open as I remembered everything. The Aether, Frigga, Malekith, it was all coming back to me.

"No! No, we can't!" I told him and struggled to get out of his arms. "It's not going to work." I told him.

"Do not worry, Sammee." Volstagg said while tightening his grip on me, keeping me in his arms.

"Sammee, you need to be quiet. We are committing treason. We cannot get caught, so early!" Lady Sif told me sternly.

"Volstagg, Sif, you don't understand! Where's Thor? He'll understand." I asked and turned to look down the long, dark hallway to the dungeons.

I teleported down the hall, and promptly landed on my ass with a thud. I scrambled to my feet and teleported to the corner right before the doors. As soon as I felt my feet leave the ground, and fully come back, I took a step forward to turn the corner. When I did, I ran smack into Loki, who was being escorted by Thor.

"Sammee." Loki said softly. I looked at him for a moment before remembering what he said to me only minuets ago. I forced my eyes to look at Thor and ignore Loki.

"Thor, listen, what you're planning... Stop! It won't work. It will only make things worse." I explained quickly and as best I could.

"Tis' a sound plan, Sammee. It will work." Thor protested.

"Thor, No!" I told him sternly. "You are not strong enough to destroy it!" I stared at him unblinking as I tried to get my point across. "I'm sorry," I said sadly, "but I've seen it. Your plan does not work." Thor shifted on his feet and looked down, sighing in the process.

"How are we to get the Aether out of your body then? Malekith is the only one I know of who can." Thor asked.

"I don't know, we'll figure it out, but Malekith is not the answer."

"No!" Loki finally spoke up. "We are not putting your life in more danger by keeping the Aether housed inside you."

"And, giving it to Malekith is putting me less in danger?" I questioned him sternly with furrowed brows.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take to keep you alive! The Aether feeds off of your life source, it is already slowly taking your life. We can not just leave it!" He raised his voice with the last sentence. Loki and I watched each other for a few seconds before I turned to Thor.

"Can you give us a second, please?" I asked him and put a hand to his arm.

"Be quick, we do not have the time." Thor told me before leaving. I turned back to Loki to see him staring daggers at where Thor had gone.

"Loki?" I said to draw his attention back to me. His eyes moved to mine and his glare softened for a second. He looked down to glance over my neck. He then stopped his eyes there and his expression became guarded once again.

"We are not leaving the Aether within your body, you are mortal. It will kill you." He told me in a finalized tone.

"And, we won't," I agreed, "but giving it to Malekith is not an option." I said calmly. "There is always another way." I continued. Loki's eyes snapped back to mine and he took a step toward me.

"And, what if we cannot find it in time?" He asked flatly.

"That won't happen." I told him. "We'll always figure it out."

"You're right, it won't happen." He said. "Because I refuse to let it." He then stepped toward me and placed two fingers on my forehead. A wave of calmness and exhaustion passed through me as my vision went dark.

When I reopened my eyes, I saw Loki scoop my body up before it could hit the ground. I looked down to my hands and saw the purple glow surrounding them. This time, however, I could see completely through my hands, like a mist.

"Son of a bitch! Loki!" I yelled, but he only walked off, holding my unconscious form. "Loki!" I tried again, but he didn't acknowledge that he heard me, or if he could even hear me at all. I jogged to catch up to him and placed my hand on my physical bodies forehead.

...Nothing happened...

I tried again, but got the same result. I couldn't get back to my physical body. That thought panicked me a little, but I calmed again when a new idea came. Loki used magic to put me to sleep, he might have to be the one to wake me up again. I huffed in frustration. There was also the problem of Loki not being able to see me, if this wasn't one of his tricks that is. I looked back down at my hands. It could have something to do with the fact that he forced me into unconsciousness, or that I could clearly see through my body.

"Loki!" Thor's voice boomed as we neared the group. "What have you done?" Thor moved away from the warriors and toward us.

"Relax, Thor. She is fine, just asleep." Loki said in almost a snarl. "We do not have another plan to get the Aether out of her veins and I refuse to let her die because of her inability to see reason." He told Thor. "Even if she did not choose me." Loki added softly. I furrowed my brow in confusion at what he said. It must have been too soft for the others to catch his last words because they didn't react.

"She will not be pleased with you when she wakes up." Thor mentioned.

"Damn right I won't!" I agreed.

"I do not care if she's pleased," Loki started, "I care if she is alive."

Thor was about to answer him, but before he could guards rounded the corner toward the small group.

"I'll hold them off," Lady Sif told the warriors. "Take her."

Thor nodded his thanks to her and turned to walk off. When Thor and Volstagg got a few feet away, Sif turned her blade to Loki and held it to his throat.

"Betray him and I will kill you."

Loki immediately tightened his hold on me. He laughed like the threat meant nothing as he turned to her.