From Hela to Sakaar

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"There he is..."

Nothing but pure valley. The three had teleported to a lush land in Norway, a cliffside with the ocean gently crashing against the base of it. Ana could smell the salty water, and closed her eyes, feeling serene in that moment. Thor was beside her, face contorted into worry when he found his father facing the cliff's edge. Loki had landed on the grassy ground behind them, a grunt escaping his lips from the impact.

Thor gazed at Ana, extending his hand for her to take. She gave him a curious smile, and held his hand. He was nervous, afraid if the spell Loki had placed upon him had done some damage to his memory. She was with him for support if need be.

"He would want to meet you." He said in a hushed tone, leading her to Odin.

Ana froze up, mindlessly strengthening her hold on his hand. "Wait... but..." She dug her heels into the ground, but that didn't stop Thor from pulling her along. She didn't want to get in the way of their encounter, and also, he was the King of Asgard, it was an overwhelming experience. Thor didn't say anything and approached his father, Loki trailing behind him silently.

"Father?" Thor called. Ana looked Odin over, and frowned at the tiresome look on his face. He was dressed in plain clothes and had an eyepatch over his right eye. Even with the human persuasion, Odin still held an aura of a King. A melancholy, exhausted King.

"Look at this place. It's beautiful." Odin softly said, lost in the ocean's view. Ana barely heard him from the wind that started to pick up around them. It sent a chill down her spine, and she looped her free hand around her torso, containing her shivers.

"Father, it's us." Thor tried again. Loki stopped on the other side of Odin, head down.

"My sons." Odin declared. Loki looked up at Odin, surprised to hear him call him his son. Ana noted that. "I've been waiting for you."

"I know. We've come to take you home." Thor told him.

"Home, yes." Odin trailed off, looking at the clouds. "Your mother, she calls me. Do you hear it?"

Thor shot Loki a look, who shook his head in defence. "Loki, lift your magic." He demanded. They couldn't hear anything other than the waves below, which told them he was likely being deceived.

Odin turned to Loki, who stiffened, awaiting a cruel lecture. But Odin only smiled. "Took me quite a while to break free from your spell. Frigga would have been proud."

Loki was moved by his words, the gesture completely unexpected. He looked over to see Thor staring at him, anger building. Odin placed a hand on Thor's shoulder, calming him. "Come and sit with me. I don't have much time." He insisted, out of breath. Ana noticed him falter and jumped in front of him, gripping his arms, and lowered him down gently onto the boulder. She shot him a small smile, trying to disguise the worry in her eyes.

"Thank you, my dear." Odin greeted Ana. He patted her hand, like a grandfather would do to their grandchild. This gesture was foreign to her, but she appreciated it all the same. The brothers watched like hawks, deciding their father's actions were out of place. He was weary, and that alone scared them both.

"Father, this is Ana." Thor introduced, placing a large hand on her shoulder when she stepped back. She peered up at Thor as he introduced her. He had always talked about his home with the Avengers, reciting tales and battles, and sharing fond stories of his family and friends. She could only imagine he did the same on Asgard, and informed Odin and Frigga of his journeys with the Avengers. She suspected Odin had some idea as to who fought beside his son, meaning he would put a face to all that Thor had said about her. "She is a good friend of mine. She possesses strength like none I've seen, except of course, her father..."

"Marcus. I can see it." Odin added quickly, putting the two together. His eye bore into hers and she cleared her throat, glancing to Loki when he leaned forward. Odin saw the familiar coloured irises, and hummed. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard much about you from Thor, and Heimdall."

"You knew my father." Ana stated, kneeling on the grass. Odin only smiled, as if he had thousands of stories to divulge. And as much as she wanted to ask what the look meant, she stayed quiet.

"I'm deeply sorry he isn't here." Odin exhaled heavily. Ana looked down. "A great warrior and a true ally. I suppose you follow in his footsteps?"

Ana went to reply, wanting to keep it brisk and straight forward, but Thor took it upon himself to make her look good in front of Odin. He clamped his hand on Odin's shoulder, smiling. "Ana is equally as great as Marcus once was. We've fought together many times, and I am willing to lay down my life for her."

"And I, you." Ana smiled, genuinely honoured by Thor's words.

Odin smiled at the sky, to an unknown entity that he assumed was watching over them. Over her. "To think... you could've been raised on Asgard beside my sons." He chuckled, placing each hand on Loki's and Thor's shoulder, fondly smiling. Ana and Loki caught each other's gaze, and she could tell he was at a loss for words. Something was definitely wrong.

"I know that we failed you, but we can make this right." Thor spoke, staring at his father.

"I failed you." Odin corrected, "It is upon us... Ragnarök."

"No, I've stopped Ragnarök. I put an end to Surtur." Thor protested.

"No. It has already begun. She's coming. My life was all that held her back, but my time has come. I cannot keep her away any longer." Odin continued, causing many confused looks to be passed around.

"Father, who are you talking about?" Thor questioned.

"The Goddess of Death. Hela. My first born." He faced Thor in particular. "Your sister."

Ana's eyes widened as she mouthed a wtf.

Thor couldn't bring up the words to depict how he felt, only because he didn't know what he had just heard. His father must have been confused. Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing either. "What?" Thor whispered.

"Her violent appetites grew beyond my control. I couldn't stop her, so I imprisoned her. Locked her away. She draws her strength from Asgard... and once she gets there, her powers will be limitless." Odin said. Ana felt as if he was giving Thor and Loki one of his oldest secrets, so that he could move on without anything that would keep them in the dark. His last words. A final warning.

"Whatever she is, we can stop her together. We can face her together." Thor responded, looking to Loki and Ana with determination.

Odin shook his head. "No we won't. I'm on a different path now. This you must face alone. I love you my sons." Odin lifted his hand and pointed at the sun that emerged from the clouds. The rays streamed through, washing over the valley and ocean. "Look at that. Remember this place. Home..."

Ana got to her feet abruptly once a warm glow embraced Odin, alarm on her face. Thor and Loki turn to their father who began dissolving into a bright swarm of light. Stardust. She tried to say something, but nothing escaped her lips. There was nothing she could do. She wasn't sure what was happening in that moment, but it was clear for all of them that Odin had passed. The stardust floated into the sky, vanishing as soon as it touched the clouds. Thor stood, tears in his eyes as he witnessed his father pass on. After a few seconds, he faced Loki, eyes burning with fury.

Ana looked up at the sky when is started to darken with a new, harsher wind accompanied with a storm. She realised it wasn't natural, and set her eyes on Thor. He felt a mix of emotions, causing a literal storm to manifest itself.

Loki stepped back slowly, "Brother."

Electricity crackled in Thor's hands, and Ana glimpsed at Loki, before stepping closer to Thor. "This was your doing." Thor told Loki, voice dangerously low.

"Thor, please..." Ana pleaded. "This isn't the time, nor place."

Before she could get another word out, a black portal appeared behind them, slowly getting bigger and bigger. This had to be the Goddess of Death, Hela. Odin had told them seconds earlier that his life kept her at bay. But now he was gone, and the power over her imprisonment was broken. Thor slammed his umbrella down, transforming into his Asgardian armour with Mjolnir. Loki changed into his armour as well while Ana merely called to her Sword of Light. It appeared, and she frowned at it when it didn't possess it's usual shimmer.

A woman wearing a dark green one-piece garment stepped out of the bubbly, dim portal. Her eyes were dark from the black smudges around them, and she was deathly pale, as if she had spent time in a hellish dimension. She didn't seem sympathetic to Odin's passing, and instead wore a full blown smirk on her face as she observed the three in front of her.

"So he's gone? That's a shame. I would've liked to have seen that." She said, her voice deep and hoarse.

Thor spoke next. "You must be Hela. I'm Thor, son of Odin."

"Really, you don't look like him." She replied.

"Perhaps we can reach an arrangement." Loki suggested.

"You sound like him." Hela lifted her index finger and pointed at him, nodding.

Hela tilted her head at Ana when all she had done was stay alert and silent, sword held tightly in one hand. Hela could feel the familiarity roll off her in waves, and lifted her chin. "Curious..." She murmured.

Loki shifted nervously and Thor's grip tightened on Mjolnir. Ana's sword was altering. The brilliant silver shine it always possessed began darkening, turning pitch black from the top all the way down to the hilt. She looked down at it, troubled. She winced when the hilt of it chilled her palm, and she switched hands. Once the Sword of Light now became the Sword of Night. And it was resisting Ana's touch, like it found her unfamiliar. As if she wasn't it's rightful wielder anymore. Before she could stop it, the sword charged out of her hand and landed into Hela's open one.

Ana's heart stopped as her breath caught up in her throat.

"Thank you kindly." Hela smirked.

"That doesn't belong to you!" Ana stepped forward, hand curling into a fist. It was the only thing she had of her father's, and she wasn't about to lose it to her. Thor reached for her elbow and pulled her back, halting any further attempt to attack.

"This was mine long before it found you, girl." Hela informed her, a slight hiss in her tone. "A man had taken it from me before I was exiled, and tainted it with his almighty power. Pathetic. You won't be getting this back. Now, kneel." She commanded.

Loki tilted his head, "Beg your pardon?"

Hela showed off the dark glow the Sword of Night displayed in her hold. "Kneel... before your Queen."

"I don't think so." Thor hurled Mjolnir at Hela. But the desired outcome didn't play. The mighty hammer came to a stop against Hela's hand. Thor's outstretched hand trembled, trying to call Mjolnir back to him. The hammer shook violently in Hela's grip, but ultimately she kept possession of it, smiling wildly at Thor's dumfounded expression.

"It's not possible." Thor uttered.

"Darling, you have no idea what's possible." Hela countered, before giving all focus on Mjolnir. She shattered Thor's hammer. The blast of Mjolnir's destruction sent a wave of lightning through Thor, Loki and Ana who braced themselves against the impact. Thor stood in shock. He looked up to see Hela running her hands back over her head to create a terrifying battle headdress. Loki's reaction was more panic.

"Bring us back!" He exclaimed, looking up at the dark skies.

"No!" Thor and Ana bellowed in protest. That was exactly what she wanted.

Hela charged at Thor, Loki and Ana as the Bifrost enveloped all of them. The rainbow bridge took the four off the ground and hurled them with unimaginable speed on a path to Asgard. Hela was like a speeding train. The possibility of being caught up in her grip was sending Ana's mind into overdrive. She was right beside Loki, and she knew he felt the same way as they all powered through the Bifrost. Loki looked down at Hela and threw a dagger at her. She caught it and raced towards him, sending the weapon right back at him. It pierced his shoudler. Loki was hit. His hands reached out to try and hold onto something so he wouldn't crash through the rainbow bridge.

Ana narrowed her eyes when she felt something against her wrist.

Loki's fingers clutched her wrist, and she was yanked along with him. Thor heard her sharp cry, and widened his eyes when he witnessed both Ana and Loki break through the crystallised barrier, shouting after them.

The rest of the fall was a flurry of darkness. Ana was dragged along with Loki as they zoomed towards a wormhole, the force of its pull taking them down. She couldn't breathe from the speed she travelled. Her chest felt tight, and her skin was cold. She decided to close her eyes, hoping it will all be over soon. That she would end up safely on Earth.

But Earth was far, far away.

Above a large landfill, two figures fell from a wormhole. Loki hit the surface first, landing on a windshield of an old spaceship. Dazed, he lifted his head, and tried to make sense of his surroundings. He frowned when he heard a woman's scream getting louder with every passing second. He glanced upwards and immediately rolled to the side, arms over his face. Ana's body crashed through the glass, sending them both inside the spacecraft. It was tilted, half of the ship having been torn off. They rolled down onto the dirt, colliding into a small hill of space junk.

The air was knocked out of her and she let out a choked groan, having heard the crack of her ribs. It was a long drop. Loki had a wound in his shoulder from the dagger Hela threw at him, but he didn't seem to notice it. If he did, he didn't show any signs of discomfort.

Ana squinted at him, rolling onto her back, arms hugging her sore torso. "This is just fantastic. Ever heard of keeping your hands to yourself? Now we're both lost." She glared at Loki, who had his foot stuck in a puddle of mud.

His breathing was uneven as he tried shaking off the mud from his leg. The dirt went everywhere and Ana clenched her jaw when a spot of it landed on her cheek. She wiped it off as he sent her a shrug. "At least we're lost together."

"Shut your damn cake hole." Ana snapped, kneeling. Loki was right in front of her, sitting cross legged. "I can't believe I got stuck with you. Now who knows where Thor is? Or if he's even alive? Hela looked pretty keen on killing all of us. She even took my father's sword! God, this is all your fault!" She raised her voice, anger getting the best of her. "If you hadn't summoned the Bifrost, Hela wouldn't have been on a one way ticket to Asgard. Didn't you listen to her? Asgard is the source of her power! We could have finished her then and there, while she was weak and fresh outta hell."

Loki pressed a hand to his bleeding shoulder, finally feeling the pain, seething in her direction. He didn't have the patience to sit through her lectures. "And the universe is yours! You have the strength of thousands of warriors at your fingertips. So stop complaining and let's figure out a way to get out of this place! Or so help me... I'll forget who your father was and really express my feelings. Physically."

Ana blinked. "Okay, that so didn't sound the way you meant for it to."

Loki took a moment to reassess his words, and rolled his eyes. "Even then I wouldn't argue."

"What?" Ana gasped, horrified.

"What?" Loki mirrored. He then smirked to himself, enjoying how uncomfortable he made her.

"Oh my god, I have to get out of here." Ana groaned, climbing to her feet. She straightened her back, hearing it crack. She breathed out, relaxing the tension in her muscles. It was when she stood could she get a better look at their surroundings. All she saw was landfill. And the wormhole they just dropped in from. It was huge, and it kept expelling objects it managed to drag towards it. She wanted to wait under it, for Thor. At least then would she have a friend in an unfamiliar place. Loki was going to be difficult to tolerate.

"What is this place?" Ana whispered, mostly to herself.

"Sakaar." Loki stood, and pointed behind her. She turned, finding a city in the distance. Ana stalked forward, trying to keep her balance on the uneven terrain. Her boots kept on sinking into piles of junk, and she sighed, annoyed. She lifted her head when she heard Loki softly say,

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? What's uh-oh, Loki?" She asked, continuing forward. When she didn't get a reply, she turned around to find out what he was looking at, and stiffened. Ana was staring down a barrel of a massive rifle. The end was pointed right in-between her eyes, and she gulped when it was locked and loaded. On the other end of the weapon was a woman. She was shorter than Ana, dark hair up in a complicated hairdo, and smooth mocha skin with white paint on her face. She wore a metallic blue suit, and carried multiple knives on her belt.

This was Scrapper-142, otherwise known as Brunnhilde.

"Well, well, well... you're a pretty little thing." The woman noted with her British accent, picking out a small, silver disk about the size of a quarter from her pocket.

"Oh, thank you." Ana nervously laughed. "Do you mind?" She pointed at the gun aimed at her, hoping she would lower it.

"Oh this? This won't hurt you." Brunnhilde placed the obedience disk under Ana's ear. It whirred and attached itself deep into her skin. Ana winced when it latched itself on, and lifted her hands to remove it. "But this will." She brought up a detonator, and grinned, before pressing a button.

Ana was on the ground, shuddering from the shocks the disk delivered to her. Loki was in the same position, head next to hers while their bodies trembled.

Loki hyperventilated next to Ana. "Do... something!"

Ana shot him a glare, turning her face so her cheek was on the ground. Their eyes flashed at each other, and she gritted her teeth. She wished she could punch him silly. "I... can't... feel... my... brain!"

She tried to focus on her breathing, and found that the pain wasn't as harsh. Ana began to rise to a sitting position. She had overcome the disk. She let out a short chuckle, eyeing Brunnhilde. The woman was watching intently, an unimpressed look on her face. She casually pulled out three more disks, and stepped forward.

"You got me there, blue-"