I swear, this is taking up too much of my time. 

Ok. 

Love you all, thank you for bullying me into writing another chapter. 

Jk. 

Sorta. 

Music: Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift

Edit: me (when it goes up)

Chapter Fifty-Two

~Nobody's POV~

Archer has never been directly inside the dungeons, so he cannot simply Jaunt there. However, as a child, he has been in the corridors directly above, which he describes blandly as, "Places where prisoners are kept when they wouldn't cooperate."

Thea takes that to mean that these are torture chambers, but she doesn't complain when Archer doesn't elaborate.

Although Thea is relatively frightened to use her dagger, Loki doesn't give her much of a choice. He very bluntly says, "That wasn't even the knife that killed your sister," which causes Thea to pale and Max to smack Loki upside the head. But she sheathes the dagger and the smaller sword in her belt anyway, and also puts on her stiletto sleeve.

Darkness is falling as the six of them, plus Archer, prepare to leave. Jane, her face taught with worry and frustration (the latter aimed mostly at Loki) hugs Thea stiffly and then hurries back into the tent. Bruce Banner shakes hands with Steve and Max, squeezes Thea's shoulders, and follows Jane.

Thea doesn't get a chance to say anything else, because Max takes her hand, and before she knows it, she is spiraling into nothingness and blackness.

When she regains her footing, she looks around. They're in a stone room, with about five stone chairs with chains across them illuminated by the skylights above them. Thea's eyes drop to the floor- which is stone- and spots the dark red stains making a general pattern towards several drains. Her eyes widen, chills run across her arms, and she staggers backwards, running into  Steve.

Hastily, Archer says, "The dungeons are a flight below us. We will have to be quick, as someone may already be alerted to our breaking in."

There's a circular paved staircase leading down from the chambers and spiraling towards the basement level of the intricate palace. Thor insists that Thea stay in the middle, so she walks between him and Max as they make their way down the long stairwell.

About halfway down, Thor practically runs into a Velah with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and piercing black eyes. Before Thor can do anything, the Velah vanishes into black mist.

"Oh, that's not good," says Max as Thor turns to look back at Archer. Thea grabs the person nearest to her's hand- it happens to be Loki.

"Run," says Archer, looking paler than normal, "We have less than no time now."

Their footsteps clatter as they run down the steep, spiraling stairwell. Thea slips on the wet- she doesn't want to know what kind of liquid it is- ground once and nearly falls until Max hauls her up.

Thor bangs open the iron door to the dungeon corridor, which darkens significantly as they walk down it. The walls are grisly and stained with black and red, and Thea tries as hard as possible not to look. It's damp down here too, and water drips from the ceiling, onto her head.

There is one Velah standing guard at another iron gate, which juts up to the ceiling in pikes. Before he can react, Archer spins around the corner, and in a blinding flash, his knife crashes into the Velah's chest. The Velah, a shorter man with a black, narrow face, and piercing, exotic red eyes, sinks to the floor in a heap; black smoke comes up from his remains.

Archer is pale as he reclaims his dagger, "Go," he says hoarsely.

They file through the gate, entering the dismal, dark dungeon. Thor and Steve agree to stay outside and guard, and so Max, Thea, and Loki climb down the final steep steps.

Thea blinks rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the dismal light, which comes only from a single torch beside her. Max takes the torch and swings it through the air, "Hello?"

"Sh!" Thea exclaims.

"It doesn't matter," says Max, walking forward, his foot landing in a puddle, "They already know we're here."

"Hey...hey!"

Thea's heart stops at the voice, and she turns her head towards the left. Then, she gives a short scream and runs to the cell, splashing water. "JACK!" she shrieks, grabbing onto the bars, "Jack! Oh my God, Jack, you're- you're okay!"
But Jack is sobbing, and he grabs Thea's hands from between the bars, "Thea, Thea, Kyle, get Kyle, Kyle!"

"Wha-a-t?" Thea is crying too, and hasn't heard what Jack has said.

"Jack!" exclaims Max, giving the torch to Loki and hurrying forward, "God, Jack, what happened to your neck?!"

He's right. There are two puncture marks the base of Jack's neck, covered in dried blood.

"Just...Kyle!" Jack cries, tears running down his face.

"Kyle?" asks Max sharply, "What about him?"

"He's...he's over there...he's..." Jack points to the right, where an open cell door gapes menacingly.

Max jerks his head in that direction, but Thea beats him to it. She skids to a halt in front of the cell door.

"KYLE!" she screams, running forward and sinking down onto the moist ground. Kyle is lying lopsided on the ground, pale. "Max, Max, come here," she sobs.

Max runs over to Thea. At the sight of his motionless brother, he freezes, then feels Kyle's wrist.

He closes his eyes and breaths out slowly.

"He's alive," he says in a thick voice, reaching forward to touch Kyle's pale white, nearly bloodless, face "Just very weak."

Thea sobs all the harder.

As Max picks up a very emaciated Kyle, Thea hurries back out to Jack's cell. Loki, using his scepter, breaks the iron lock with a loud, echoing clanging sound. Jack, weakened, stumbles, and before Thea can dash forward, Loki catches the boy in his arms and hoists him up in his arms.

"Kyle, where's Kyle?" Jack is frantic, not even paying attention that one of the beings he hates the most is holding him.

"He'll be okay," says Max, walking out behind Thea with the limp Kyle in his arms.

Jack looks like he's going to pass out from relief.

As they hurry out of the dungeons, they nearly run into Steve, Archer, and Thor, who are heading back inside.

"Get back," says Steve, glancing over his shoulder, "Get back now, there are guards coming."

"Hold on to me," orders Archer, and Steve grabs Thea's shoulder before she can even open her mouth.

The last thing she sees in the Velah palace is a blur of black and the shouts and clangs of armed guards running down the stairs.

*

At the camp, Bruce immediately sets to Kyle and Jack. According to him, Jack is lucky, and will be fine, although the boy is still shaken up. Bruce cleans the bite marks on Jack's neck and then commands that he rest. He then heads over to Kyle, who is still morbidly unconscious.

After Bruce leaves, Jack tells his and Kyle's story, with an audience of Thea, Thor, and Archer- Loki and Steve are guarding, and Max, Jane, and Bruce are with Kyle.

"After...all that happened," he says, his voice still scratchy even though he has been drinking water, "Kyle and I managed to escape together. We hid in the forest for a couple days, but a legion of the bloody bastards found us before we could make it over the mountains..." When Jack gets to the part about Leeviah, he says, wincing, "She is a freak show, a real bitch. I'll spare you the details of what happened between her and Kyle."

Thea curls her lip in surprised disgust.

"He did it to protect me," explains Jack, leaning back on the pillow Bruce had provided, "I know he hated to do it." He pauses, "Will he be okay?"

Thor shakes his head, "We can only hope."

Hope is only what happens for the next day, and it decreases as time passes. Kyle doesn't wake up, and Bruce grows more and more worried, "He's lost a lot of blood," he says in an undertone to Thor and Max late that night. "And since he's not waking up...I don't know. Kyle's strong, but I don't know if he's strong enough."

Max takes this news in stride, although he swallows hard. "Do all you can for him," he says, his deep voice wavering.

After a few more words from Dr. Banner, Max checks on Jack and Thea, who are sleeping in one of the small tents. They're curled up next to each other, a blanket wrapped tightly around them to keep out the chilly breeze. Jack's arm is around Thea, and her head is on his chest. Max sighs, although the sight of them two sleeping contentedly makes his heart rise a little bit more.

*

The next day, while Banner re-wraps the bandage on Jack's neck, Thea walks into the tent where Kyle is still lying unconscious. She sits down next to him and touches his face: it's cold. Her lip trembles.

"Ky...Kyle," she whispers, "Please don't die on me. Please don't, please don't..." Tears leak down her freckled face, "I've already lost...lost so many people. Please don't die. Please, please don't die!"

He remains still.

"I promise...I promise I'll do anything you say. You can dunk me in the pool again, for all I care. You can make fun of me, beat me at jiu-jitsu, you can...you can do whatever you want. Kyle, you still have to teach me how to make your...your fajitas. I...I can't cook, and...please, Kyle, we'll go back to...to Michigan, you and me and Max and be happy...be a happy family, okay? Just please...please wake up!"

She leans down and buries her head in his arm, her shoulders shaking with her sobs, "Please, please, please don't die. Please Kyle, I can't lose you! Don't make me...don't let me lose another big...big brother. Please...please. I need you, Ky, I love you."

When she feels a feeble hand on her head, she jerks back, her body tense.

Kyle is looking up at her through sunken, bloodshot green eyes, but there is still light, and more importantly, life, in them.

"Kyle?" Thea's whisper is trembling.

He smiles a tiny, tiny smile, and his voice is rough and feeble and hoarse, "I love you too, Thea." 

''''''

Yay, I get to live now. 

Three Tasks Fact: 

Leeviah's name comes from leviathan. Just FYI :0