MALEKITH TURNS, giving Kurse a subtle nod, before heading back to their ship. Half of the Dark Elves trail after him, with Kurse following behind, while the rest are left to deal with Thor, Jane, Loki, and Anna. The first few rush forward to swiftly meet the end of Thor's hammer, and Loki scrambles to his feet while pulling Anna along with him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispers, clutching both of her shoulders as he studies her face. His green eyes land on the blossoming bruise on her cheek. "Please, stay here. Stay with Jane and keep her safe."

Kurse glances over his shoulders at the brothers and pulls a small device off his belt, activating it so it begins to beep loudly and glow a fiery orange, and tosses it toward them. Loki turns to leave Anna, caressing her jaw one last time, only to spot the device flying through the air in their direction. His eyes grow wide, and he whirls around to shove Anna into Jane.

Both women topple to the ground while he attempts to dive after them, but the object explodes to create a brief gravitational singularity - glowing blue and black in the sky - that pulls Loki up by his legs and toward the black hole.

Pushing herself off Jane, Anna looks to the sky and sees Loki being drawn closer and closer to the singularity.

"Loki!" She cries in a panic, emerald eyes meeting her blue ones with a mixture of fear and remorse.

Her chest tightens, and for a moment it feels as if time has slowed to a deathly crawl as she watches him be pulled further away. She can no longer breathe, the weight of his inevitable demise crushing her while she is helpless to stop it, and tears spring to her eyes. Even their last separation, when she woke up alone in a medical bay in the Avengers Tower, was nothing compared to this. His apparent betrayal, her anger with him for keeping her in the dark about Thor's plan, all of it slips away. It's as if a knife is being dragged slowly through her heart, every inch of her skin on fire, while she cries out in silent agony.

A red blur flashes into her vision from a distance, and she gasps as Loki is knocked out of range of the singularity and into the ground. Thor lands on the ground behind him with a decided thud, giving his brother a single glance before he swings Mjölnir and flies toward Malekith's retreating form.

"Loki," Anna breathes, her voice cracking with emotion, as she uses her palm to brush the tears from her face whilst scrambling to her feet.

He turns at the sound of her voice, and she launches herself into his arms. Pressing her lips against his, her hands tangle in his long black hair while he pulls her flush against his body. Overwhelmed with emotion, their kisses are hasty and passionate - neither one of them daring to let go for a brief moment while they drink the other in. Finally, Loki pulls back and takes a moment to rest his forehead against Anna's. His chest rises and falls heavily, and he finds himself fighting the urge to whisk her away from this place regardless of Thor and Malekith and everything else. Despite his better judgement, he exhales and presses another kiss to her lips - this one gentle - before smoothing his hand over her hair.

"Be safe, my love," he says, whispering a string of foreign words that she can't understand into her hair.

Reluctantly, he releases her with the knowledge that the wards he just placed over her should keep her safe. While his magic is not at it's full strength, the spell drains him slightly, but he's willing to risk it. For her. Anything for her.

Malekith's ship rises in the sky, the cloaking mechanism shimmering the massive machine into invisibility, while a few of the Dark Elves begin to stalk their way toward Loki, Anna, and Jane. Thor is dealing with Kurse, so Loki steps in front of Anna brandishing his knife while he exhales.

Four to one. Some might say the odds are against him, but his eyes narrow at the challenge.

The first elf attacks, reaching for his shoulder, and Loki snaps into action immediately. He deflects the blow whilst dragging his knife up and into his attacker's neck. 

Another rushes toward him, blade outstretched, and he parries the blow. Metal against metal, he uses his other hand to jab his opponent swiftly in the ribs before slicing him down with his knife.

Twirling gracefully to the third attacker, Loki pulls him forward and lands his blade in the elf's back. He pulls it back, adjusting his stance, before delivering a quick succession of punches and stabs to the creature's midsection. 

As the Dark Elf falls, the fourth charges Loki with a sort of bayonet. He sidesteps it easily, wrapping his left arm around the weapon and dislodging it from his opponent's grip, while using his right arm to sink his dagger home underneath the creature's chin. He removes the knife, tossing the weapon to the side, as he spins his attacker around - wrapping his left arm around it's neck - and dragging the knife across its throat in one final blow.

Two additional elves take advantage of Loki's distraction to make their way toward Anna and Jane, both armed with curved blades, while they stalk toward the women. Waiting for the first to attack, Anna reacts instantly to the creature's movement. It's stronger than she expected, so she adapts her counterstrike into a duck and roll.

The second creature swings wildly at her head, so she ducks and spins - kicking her leg out and knocking the elf off balance - allowing her to deliver a quick combination of powerful kicks before dragging the knife Loki gave her across her opponent's neck.

A hand grabs her hair, pulling her back, and she reaches over her head to latch onto the elf's forearm in order to sink low for a moment before propelling herself into the air. She executes the aerial in an instant, surprising the creature and landing on its shoulders. Breaking the grip on her hair easily, she uses the knife Loki gave her to sink it into the creature's neck with a satisfying thud.

By the time she finishes with the second elf, Loki has moved on from the four who attacked him. He's clearly oblivious to the carnage he's left behind in a matter of mere minutes, and she watches as his green eyes land on Thor as he battles against Kurse. 

His hand clenches tightly, imaging the moment when he is able to rid the creature of its throat, and he strides purposefully toward his brother. Rage glitters in his eyes as he crosses the battlefield to deliver his revenge against the monster that killed Frigga.

Now Playing: "Stricken" by Disturbed.

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

Remember how Anna's a badass? Yeah.

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