WHOO I DID IT!! DOUBLE UPDATE, CAN I HAVE AN AAAAAMEN?

Even though this chapter does give me the feels. You're going to love it and hate it all at the same time.

Chapter Fifty-Two

~Nobody's POV~

"No!" whispers Thea, running forward. Tripping on her skirts, she falls on the ground in front of Loki, and lifts up his face with her small, trembling hands. His eyes are closed, but Thea gasps in horror as she sees his cracked, bleeding skin, all of the slices and bruises, and the long, ragged gash that runs down almost the entire left side of his face, "No, no, no, no!" 

She touches his cheek, and as she feels his cold and pale skin, she feels her eyes begin to burn, "N-no! Loki, wake up! WAKE UP, you can't be dead, you can't be!" His head falls limply to his chest as she shakes his shoulders vigorously, tears now running down her cheeks in floods. "LOKI, no, no, open your eyes, are you listening to me?! OPEN THEM, OPEN THEM right now!" 

And then, he stirs. 

Thea gasps as he raises his head agonizingly slowly, as if the very movement pains him. His hair is still messed around his face, but now, Thea can see his green eyes blinking at her, full of pain, but full of something else. Fear. 

"T-Thea," he whispers, his voice raspy and grated. He licks his lips, ridding them of the dryness, "Thea, you–"

"Loki," she sobs, throwing her arms around his chest, not caring if she gets blood on her dress, "Loki, I thought you were dead, I thought you were gone! I–"

"Please, get away from here," he says, frantically, frantic for understanding and for obedience, "Listen to me, this is a trap, you need to leave, please, please go, my darling." 

"No," she shakes her head against him rapidly, "No, no, I won't! I'm not leaving you!" 

"Yes!" he exclaims desperately, "Yes, please, go, go, you can't stay here!" 

"I'm not leaving you! Look at what she did to you!" 

"And I would do it again, I would do it all over again if it meant saving your life," says Loki softly, pulling at the chains only halfheartedly, knowing that they will not give, "So please, for me, for me, you need to leave this place!"

"No." 

"Thea," he says, setting his jaw, "I'm not asking. Leave this instant, or–"

"No," she sobs, sitting back on her heels and looking up at him, "No, I won't. You can't tell me to leave. That's my choice." 

"Thea!" he pleads, his eyes wide, "Thea, I am begging you, get out of here!" 

"I won't!" 

"Oh, Thea," he groans, knowing that he cannot sway her, and then looks at her as if his heart is breaking and say softly, "Thea, look at you. You have stars in your pretty green eyes. How have I been so lucky, to have a daughter like you? You are absolutely gorgeous." 

Her lip trembles, and she wants to say a thousand things, but the only thing she can muster is, "I l-look like you." 

His mouth twists up in a small smile, the first real smile in a long time, "Did you just call me gorgeous, darling?" 

She laughs, and then chokes, and begins crying again. She reaches up and begins to yank on the manacles holding Loki's wrists against the wall. "These-" she pulls, "Have-" she pulls again, "To-" She grits her teeth, digging her bare feet into the ground, "Come-" She squeezes her eyes shut, "OFF!" 

"Thea, stop," says Loki as she continues to yank, reddening her hands, "They will not come off, I have tried so hard already." 

"They have to!" She exclaims, refusing to stop pulling, "They have to, you have to get out of here!" 

"Thea," he says, looking up at her, trying to hide his grimace of pain, "I cannot leave. But you can. And you must."

"NO!" 

"Thea! This is a trap, Neidra wants you dead, don't you see you need to leave?!" 

"I'm not leaving, Loki!" she says shrilly. "So stop trying to make me!" 

He stares at her with both surprise and grief. Meanwhile, Wairua hoots loudly, flapping his wings raucously. 

"Be quiet, Wairua!" 

Loki jerks his head over to the white owl. "Wairua, get my daughter away from this place!"

Wairua begins to fly forward, but Thea whirls around. "NO!" 

With a twist of her hand, she sends a stream of fire at the bird. Wairua hoots shrilly, barely dodging the flames. As it is, he falls to the ground in a heap. 

"THEA!" Loki looks at her desperately as Wairua flies up clumsily, vanishing in a swirl of mist, "No, what did you just do, Thea!?"

She sits down in front of him again, biting her lip, "I'm not leaving you, Loki."

"You've changed so much," he says, sadness in his voice as he gazes at his daughter through bloodshot eyes, seeing the strength that is flickering in her green eyes, strength instead of the childish fear that he used to see, "But you must—"

He breaks off as movement comes from the direction of the door. Loki moans as in the next second, Neidra walks into the lit room accompanied by a manservant, carrying a sword that glistens in the flames of the torches. Thea throws herself against Loki, as if trying to shield him. She feels him sigh, setting his chin on the top of her head. 

As Neidra surveys the two desperate beings against the wall, Loki glares at her. But when he feels Thea begin to shake, Loki murmurs to her softly, kissing the top of her head. Thea relaxes ever so slightly, but Loki does not. 

When her eyes fall on Thea, Neidra's lips quirk up in a twisted smile. As the servant stands against the far wall, Neidra walks to the center of the room, in front of Thea and Loki. 

Her silver eyes focus on Loki, and she says triumphantly, "So she did come." 

"Neidra," he says roughly, as Thea closes her eyes, her face pressed against his alabaster chest, "Let Thea go, and I vow to you that you may use me for whatever you want, short of bringing harm to her." 

"No, I don't think so," says Neidra smoothly, walking forward. After handing the sword to the servant, she kneels beside Thea, who raises her head and glares at Neidra with burning hatred in her eyes. 

Neidra turns to Thea, and reaches forward, pinching Thea's cheek. Loki hisses at the sorceress, but Thea remains completely still.

"Thea, your father loves you very much,"'says Neidra, standing back up and looking down at the two of them, "Every mark on his body is a testimony to that, every scratch, every burn. But this is what I must draw your attention to," she points to the gaping wound on Loki's chest, dried blood clotting it.

"No, Neidra," glares Loki, "Don't say another—"

Neidra bends and slaps him, but in doing so, she also strikes Thea across the side of her head. Loki lunges at Neidra, but the chains yank his arms back painfully. 

"You be quiet," snarls Neidra, and smiles fakely, "I'm speaking to your daughter." 

Loki curls his lip, but says nothing else. 

Neidra turns back to Thea, "Your father so desperately wished to save your life that he ran a sword through his own chest." Seeing Thea's shocked expression, Neidra carries on, "But you see, this is a magic sword. It can only kill the one I order it to."

Thea whirls on Loki, "Why? Why did you do that?!" 

He holds her gaze steadily, "Because I value your life more than my own." 

Neidra snorts, "A pity it is all for nothing." Reaching forward, she grabs Thea's arm. Thea squeals and digs her feet in the ground and tries to resist. But she is unwilling to pull on Loki and hurt him, so Neidra easily drags her up. Loki shouts, and again tries to pull away from the wall, but again he fails. 

"What's this?" Neidra asks as she looks down at the struggling Thea. "All dressed up, are you? You were trying to find a cure to immortality, well unfortunate news, there is no such thing."

Thea stops struggling and looks up at Neidra. Then, she kicks the sorceress in the shins as hard as she can. 

"Oh dear," Neidra scolds lightly, scarcely wincing, "No more of this, what did we learn last time about disobedience?"

From her waist, she unravels the sparking silver whip. Thea stands her full height and doesn't move, watching Neidra's every move. 

Neidra is faster. With a snap, the whip wraps around Thea's arm and jerks her to the ground. Thea cries out as she strikes the flood, and feels blood dripping from her head. 

"THEA!" yells Loki. She can hear the clanging of the chains as he tries to reach for her. 

Thea stands up shakily and glares at Neidra, ignoring the excruciating pain in her arm. "What do you want?" 

"So glad you brought that up," says Neidra. She walks over to Loki, who is in anguish, breathing hard and still yanking at the chains. She pulls out a sharp dagger and holds it up to Loki's throat. "You see this, little firebird? Do you see this blade? Now picture it slicing your father's throat. Can you not see the blood dripping, hear his last dying breaths as he bleeds out?" 

Thea bites her lip, staring not at Neidra, but at Loki. 

"So you can see death for your father,"'says Neidra. She smiles, and moves the blade, then traces it down his shoulder. 

"No!" Thea gasps as Loki groans despite himself and the blood runs down him, "No, stop it, stop it, what do you want me to do?" 

"It's not what I want you to do," says Neidra, nodding to the servant. The man walks forward and hands the sword to Thea, who holds it up in her trembling hands. 

"NO!" shouts Loki, "THEA!"

Neidra ignores him, never taking her eyes from Thea, "It's what you want you to do. I am giving you a choice, Thea. Sink that blade into your heart, or witness the death of your father."

"Thea!" Loki flings himself away from the wall, only to be jerked back, "Thea, NO, don't do this, don't you dare!"

She looks at him, tears streaming down her face, and when she does, she realizes that he is crying too, his tears staining his pale face like bitter acid. 

She raises the sword, pointing it at the place where her heart is thumping madly. 

Loki is beside himself. 

"THEA!" He shrieks, yanking on the chains frantically, not even caring that Neidra's blade cuts into him again, pouring more blood, "THEA, NO!" 

She turns to him again, so that their green eyes meet. She is crying still, her face twisted and distorted as she looks at the wicked blade inches from her chest. "L-Loki," she whispers. 

"DON'T!" He howls, his hair whipping around him, his body twisting and jerking as though he were being burned alive, straining at the chains like a wild, rabid animal, "DON'T YOU DO THIS, THEA!" 

"I..." She swallows, "I'm not s-sorry."

"THEA!" His face is wet, his eyes sunken with horror, "THEA, NO!"

"I l-love you, D-Daddy," she whispers. 

Loki screeches as she pulls the sword back, squeezing her eyes shut, and begins to plummet the sword towards her heart. 

But then, a white shape rockets through the air, and Wairua knocks the sword from Thea's hands with his talons, so that the blade falls to the ground. 

Thea spins around, but isn't in time to dodge Videl as the Velah seizes her, throwing her to the floor. 

"NO, VIDEL, STOP IT!" She shrieks, fighting him, clawing at him, biting at him, cursing at him. 

But Videl, his eyes ablaze with fury, holds her to the ground just as Angelique runs through the doorway too. 

For a split second, Videl looks up at Loki, and Loki looks back at Videl. Videl's face twists in frustration as he holds down the screaming Thea, but Loki's is awash in relief. Loki, taking a deep, staggering breath, nods to Videl once, curtly, but with a plea. Videl does not respond, merely turns away. 

Then Thea, her cheeks dirty, her forehead still bleeding, tears still streaming manages to look up from where Videl had forced her head to the dusty ground. She and Loki look at each other for the shortest of seconds. Thea, horrified and screaming, tries to reach him, but Videl pulls her back, finally picking her up as she kicks and howls, still beating at him. 

"LOKI!" she shrieks, pulling against Videl's arms as hard as she can, jerking her body to try and get out of her trap, "Videl, she'll KILL HIM, I have to help him, you have to let me GO!" 

Videl, though, pays not the slightest bit of attention to her words. He just jerks her away from Loki and shouts for Angelique, who runs towards him, her hands outstretched. 

Thea looks over Videl's arms, and doesn't see Neidra as she gestures to the manservant, shouting, doesn't see the anger in Videl's hold on her, doesn't see Angelique's hand as it grips her own, doesn't see Wairua landing on Videl's shoulder, doesn't see Caomh streaking into the cell, too late.

She only sees Loki's eyes looking back at her, half-relieved that his daughter has just been snatched from death's hands, but half-furiously frightened for what she has almost just done. 

"No," she whimpers, and then watches as Loki, his green eyes soft and sick all at the terrible same time, his hair still messy, his body still body, mouths five words to her from across the chaotic room. Thea clutches Videl as the black mist begins to swirl around her, separating her from her father once again. But this time, she had wanted to stay with him. 

And then, as Thea is thrown into darkness, Loki vanishes from in front of her, but his words to her do not. 

I love you too, kitten.

OMG I FINALLY GOT TO WRITE A SCENE WITH NORMAL-LOKI AND THEA. I WAS HAVING AUTHOR WITHDRAWAL.

*Okay, so I cheated slightly, because I am editing Blue Moon for potential publication and have been working on some Loki and Thea scenes, and also wrote a scene from Maelstrom and part of the prologue from Revenge (which, by the way, is going to bring the feels to the most maximum, like ever).* BUT STILL.

Oh and yeah....Loki's alive. Sorry about the panic. ehehehehehe.

Shout out to RoseTyler because she caught the part how when Loki dies, Thea's golden necklace is supposed to break, and it didn't.

Love you all! GEEZ, only about 15 chapters left of Kidnapped!

I have the SAT tomorrow morning. This makes me very, very sad. :(

Please VOTE and COMMENT! What's your favorite Thea and Loki scene so far? :)

Love, Sierra xx