Hewo :) 

I love how I say I'm not posting anything for a while and then less than 72 hours later, that's precisely what I do. 

Hope you like the chapter. 

:(

Music: Everybody Wants to Rule the World- Lorde     Into Eternity- Thor; Dark World

Edit: me

Dedicated to a very special fan :) Check her stuff out! :) 

Chapter Forty-Seven

"I love Asgard," says Leah dreamily, "I want to always live there."

"What about me?" Thea  pouts, pretending to be hurt, "I live on earth, with Kyle."

Leah glances at Kyle, who wiggles his eyebrows at her, "You can come, but Kyle can't."

"Oh really?" asks Kyle, reaching forward to tickle her. She squeals and hides behind Thea's shoulders again, "And why not?"

"Because you're bossy!" she says gaily.

Jack laughs, "Kyle, Leah's smarter than I thought. She really understands you more than I thought she would."

Kyle rolls his eyes.

"But Thea, I want you to come to Asgard," says Leah. "I miss y-"

She's cut off as something drops from the tree in front of them, and Thea holds back a scream as Videl, crouching, stands up, his amber eyes scanning them as they all freeze.

"...Take...Leah..." she whispers hoarsely, and Kyle slowly takes her sister from her arms, hoisting her up away from Thea.

"Well, well, well," says Videl, looking around the group, which has not moved. He stops at Thea, so takes several, calming breaths. He smiles a slow, awful smile, "Archer, I see you've made some friends."

Archer walks forward so that he is standing in front of Thea. "What do you want Videl?"

Videl rolls his eyes, "You know what I want. It's in your hands."

Sure enough, the crimson Pearl wavers in Archer's hands.

"But you don't wish to give it to me, do you little brother?" Videl's lazy eyes look around, "I know you."

"If I give this to you, you will become a tyrant. Just like father." Archer's voice is bated.

"Father still lives!" snarls Videl, "And will you abandon him?"

Archer takes a deep breath, "He is no longer my father."

Videl curls his lip, "So what will you do, pretty boy? Take the Pearl, seek refuge on Earth, and hope that I will not find you? Look at what happened to your little pet!"

"You know why I cannot give it to you," hisses Archer, "You should have always known."

"I did not because I hoped that my brother was still in there, ready to take his place beside me!" Videl looks terrible.

"I am no longer the weak one, Videl," says Archer, more calm now, "And you will not get this, as long as I can help it."

Videl smirks, "As long as you can help it? Is that so?" He glares around at the rest of them, then stalks up to Thea, "What about this pretty girl? What if I threaten to kill her?"

Thea stumbles back, trying to get away from him, but Videl grabs her arm tightly. She wails and Videl pulls her face upwards, exposing her neck, which is still bandaged, "Ah, I see you are still hurting from where I've marked you last." He yanks her hair back, producing another wail from her and pulling her neck up even more.

Nobody dares to move, lest of all Thea, who is crying silently. But Max's lip is curled, and Kyle's eyes are wide with fear. Loki stands calmly, but his eyes do not leave Thea's petrified ones.

"You need her blood, remember?" Archer says this almost urgently, "Only she has the trace of the Imeldi in her veins."

Videl rolls his eyes, but loosens his hold on Thea. Leaning down, he whispers in her ear, "Never fear: when I am through with you, I shall kill you. Very...slowly..."

Thea closes her eyes, her shoulders shaking.

He pushes her roughly forward, and Max seizes Thea's arm and pulls her close to him.

In the meanwhile, Videl shifts so that his amber eyes rest on Leah, "Well, well, well, we've brought the whole family with us- well, all the family that is left," He chuckles at his joke, "Frightened I would try to kidnap her, were you?"

From Kyle's arms, Leah whimpers and buries her head in his shoulders as Videl walks up to her. Kyle's voice is steady, but the tone is dangerous, "Step back if you know what's good for you, Videl."

Videl chuckles again and then looks around at them, "This is a predicament. I want the pearl- and make no mistake about it, I shall get it- but you do not wish to give it up. This is indeed a problem..."

"You're outnumbered thirteen to one," says Tony, "We're not very scared right now."

"Is that so?" asks Videl. He smiles, his fangs showing, "Then why has nobody attempted to kill me? Treating me like an animal, are you, afraid to wound it and anger it even further?" He smirks, "Well you should know that by preventing me from getting what I want, you anger me the most."

"Who's to say that if we give you the Pearl, you won't endanger hundreds of people when your clan of Velah gain power once again?" asks Steve.

"Nobody," says Videl with a nasty smile.

"Then sorry son, you're not getting that Pearl," says Steve, crossing his arms.

"Am I not now?" asks Videl softly, "This is your last chance to give me what I desire before things begin to happen that you do not want to happen."

"Like what?" asks Kyle, "You might be supernaturally strong, but there are more of us."

"Hm," says Videl, pretending to do a headcount around the path, "There are much more of you than me, is there not?" He puts a finger to his lips in mock consideration, "This could potentially be problematic."

There's a flash of movement, and then Kyle, Max, and Leah have fallen to the ground, and Videl's arm is tightly around Thea's waist. She kicks, trying to fight him off, but to no avail.

"Stay back!" exclaims Archer, his eyes widened with fright, "Please...stay back."

It is only due to his words that everyone else stands back and is hopeless to watch Thea crying in Videl's arms. His dagger flashes and a short slice is made in her arm, the blood beginning to trickle.

He leans down to whisper something in her ear that nobody can catch, and then turns her so that her eyes are locked on his shimmering amber ones.

When he lets go of her, she does not run from his side.

"Last...chance..." hisses Videl as Thea unsheathes the silver dagger from her belt.

"Or what?" asks Natasha, eyeing Thea's dagger with slight apprehension.

Videl smiles, "Must I answer that question?"

"You haven't really told us what you're going to do if-"

His smile widens, "Sorry. Time's up."

In a blur of motion, Thea leaps forward, and a scream echoes through the forest, and a small figure crumbles to the ground.

Leah.

"NO!" roars Thor, running forward, seizing Leah's trembling hand in his own. He looks up at Videl in furious anguish, "What have you done?!"

"Oh, nothing of consequence," says Videl, then turns, smirking at Thea as her eyes widen and fall on her sister, who is breathing hoarsely.

"NO!" Thea screams, running forward, but Loki catches her.

Chaos erupts.

Several others shout and scream, but nobody knows who.

Videl circles the confusion, looking for his next victim, while easily battering off various knives and daggers that are thrown at him.

When Jack, his face contorted in rage tries to dagger Videl's heart- admittedly the first person to think of this- Videl turns the tables and sinks his teeth in Jack's neck. Kyle kicks Videl off of him, but Jack stumbles back nonetheless.

"LEAH!" Thea shrieks, flailing wildly against Loki as he pulls her back, "LEAH!"

Thor is cradling Leah in his arms, and the small girl is quaking, her face growing pale. "Th...Thor," she whimpers, and Thor wipes the single tear from her eye, "P...pl...please..."

"I'm right here, Leah," says Thor, his voice choked as he holds her- Jane rushes up to them, tears running down her face, "I'll always... be right here."

"LEAH!" She can't break free from Loki.

"Her...she... it...okay...Daddy..."

Then, Leah shudders and one more tiny breath sighs out of her open lips.

As her eyes flutter closed, the last grain of sand drops in the hourglass around Thor's neck.

Videl snaps his fangs towards his brother, who drops the Pearl.

It lands in Videl's hands. Laughing, he disintegrates into black smoke and vanishes.

Thor closes his eyes, tears trickling, and leans his head against Leah's tiny, cold body.    

"NO! NO NO, LEAH, PLEASE!"

Thor looks up to see Thea blindly trying to shake off Loki, but he seizes her tighter. "Loki, take her away!"

Loki looks down to see the limp form of Leah lying in Thor's embrace and his jaws tighten with concealed emotion.
"Loki, GET HER AWAY!"

Loki looks helpless, and then Archer appears. He grabs Loki's shoulders and spins on the spot- he, Loki, and Thea vanish, leaving the screams behind them.

The three appear in a clearing surrounded by a wall of rock, with a small pond and a tiny shack. Loki is panting, and Thea has dissolved into sobs.

"My brother will wreak havoc until her finds her and her blood," says Archer, his eyes pained, "Hide her here until it is safe." Archer glances down at Thea, who has crumbled to the ground, crying. He looks up at Loki, and silently, something is agreed upon.

Then, Archer stoops and pulls Thea up. "STOP IT!" she screams, trying to pull away, "STOP IT, STOP IT, LET GO!"

Ignoring her, Archer turns Thea around so that she is facing him, "Look at me, Thea."

"NO!!"

Loki stands by, not saying a word.

Archer lifts her chin so that she has no choice but to look into his crimson eyes. She wails, and Archer looks into her eyes, concentrating as they begin to shimmer.

Thea's sobs become quieter and quieter as she gazes into Archer's eyes, and then finally, stands silently.

Archer takes a deep breath and then, turning to Loki, seizes his hand. Loki closes his eyes as the power on Thea's mind shifts to him.

"What does she not remember?" ask Loki quietly.

Archer closes his eyes, then opens them, "I took away every single ounce of pain."

Loki nods, not looking at the still-immobile figure of Thea.

Archer nods, "I will go find your brother. When you need me to take you away from here, tell him. I will come quickly."

With a flash of black mist, Archer disappears.

Loki turns to Thea, then looks her in the eyes, concentrating- she sways and falls, although he catches her. Lifting her up, he carries her into the house and then lies her down on the cot next to the stove. Taking the sketchbook-slash-communication journal, he lays it in front of her.

He waves a hand over her. She wakes up and immediately begins to draw complacently in it, just like she would do on an ordinary day.

Loki grimaces.

"I'm going hunting," Loki tells her as she lounge on the shack's bed, "Stay here, or so help me..."

"Okay," she says blandly, tracing designs on her journal with a darkened pencil.

*

As Thea's eyes pop open, she stumbles back against the wall, across from Loki, who looks at her with eyes full of sorrow.

Then, she begins to scream. 

*******************************

Hope you liked it, even though, you know....

I admit, I basically sobbed while writing this chapter. 

Sometimes, I hate myself. 

Anyway. 

To attempt to make you feel better, I finished two videos on my channel. One is a Three Tasks snippet thing I made to Lorde's Everybody Wants to Rule the World. The second is a cute video I made for Loki & Thea, but it doesn't relate as much to this chapter as it does to the next one. 

I would say have a nice day, but whenever I write sad chapters and say this, you lot get rather offended, so I won't ;) 

LOVE YOUUUUUU

~Sierra~ :)