XXXV

THOR, JANE, ASTRID AND LOKI MET VOLSTAGG IN THE HALLWAY WHERE THE DARK ELVES, LED BY MALEKITH, SHIP HAD CRASHED INTO THE PALACE. "I will give you as much time as I can." Volstagg announced the group as he looked to the approaching guards.

Thor shook Volstagg's hand in thanks. "Thank you, my friend." The group began to walk back to Malekith's crashed ship, but like with Lady Sif, Volstagg stopped Loki with a large hand to his chest. Astrid looked behind her to watch the interaction.

"If you even think of betraying him..."

"You'll kill me?" Loki guessed with a teasing glint in his eye. With a grunt, Volstagg let him pass and follow after Thor though he stopped short as he approached Astrid who waited. "What did I tell you?" He chuckled, referring to his bet.

"Never doubted you," Astrid laughed.

Loki and Astrid finally board the ship after Thor and Jane to see the prior pressing random buttons on the control board, an unsure expression on his face. "I though you said you knew how to fly this thing." Loki tutted.

"I said, 'how hard could it be?'" Thor admitted. Astrid looked out the window to see Volstagg being swarmed by a few dozen guards.

"We'll, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster."

"Shut up, Loki." Thor hissed.

Astrid sighed. "He has a point, Thor," she bit her nails, picking up a new habit now she does not have her handkerchief. She kept glancing to Volstagg who was being surrounded and devoured by guards. Thor continued to frantically press every button, desperate to find a way to start the ship.

"You must have missed something." Loki sighed in despair.

Thor grunted in annoyance. "No, I didn't. I'm pressing every button on this thing."

"Try pressing it gently." Astrid suggested softly from Thor's left.

"Agreed, don't hit it." Loki nodded from Thor's right.

Thor groaned as he continued hitting the control panel. "I am pressing it gently! It's not working!" Suddenly, he slammed his fist on the buttons, roaring the hunk of machinery to life.

The ship began to levitate and rotate in the air. Thor guided the aircraft around haphazardly, hitting multiple pillars in his wake. "I think you missed a column." Loki joked.

"Shut up!" Thor shouted. Finally, the the ship broke through the palace walls and took off into the sky.

"Look, why don't you let me take out, I'm clearly the better pilot." Loki commented as Thor flew through through Asgard, badly.

Thor scoffed. "Is that right? Well, out of the two of us which one can actually fly?"

Loki chuckled. "Well then if it comes down to that, let Astrid fly."

Loki was met with a wide-eyed glare from the queen. "Don't bring me into your little spat." 

Suddenly from behind, Jane collapsed to the ground. Astrid gasped and immediately moved from the bickering brother to Jane's side. "Oh, dear. Is she dead?" Loki sarcastically spoke.

"I'm okay." Jane weakly croaked as Astrid stroked her back soothingly from where she perched. As they continued to fly above Asgard, the ship is hit and break part of a humongous building. Loki and Astrid share a silent yet gleeful expression before Thor states; 'Not a word."

Loki looked out the behind the ship to see several small Asgardian ships in their wake. "Now they're following us," he stated as they began shoot at their ship. "Now they're firing at us!"

"Thank you for the commentary, Loki!" Thor yelled out in annoyance. "It's not at all distracting!"

Thor continued to awfully fly as he and Loki continued to bicker and bicker and bicker... until Thor pushed Loki overboard. Astrid sighed. "Will you two ever get along?" She asked to Thor as she made her way over to open hatch in the side of the ship.

"Unlikely." Thor answered. Astrid smiled as she stepped out the flying ship, plummeting to the ground after Loki. Though she was lucky to not met the hard ground as she was caught... by four arms.

She looked to her left and to her right to be met with Loki and Fandral who glared at one another. "Oh, this is awkward," she muttered under the breath in a whisper as she realised that both men that caught her, in an attempt to be her saviour. Her only saviour. She shuffled out of their arms with their limited help as they remained to stare at one another. "Thank you."

Astrid moved from the glaring duo to see Thor carrying Jane, falling from the ship above them. They landed on the small hovercraft that Fandral was operating away from the rest of the Asgardian guards.

"You lied to me," Loki stated to Thor, finally removing his glare from Fandral to address his brother. "I'm impressed."

"I'm glad your pleased. Now, so as your promised. Take us to your secret pathway." Thor ordered. Fandral moved aside from the controls to allow Loki to take over, which he did happily. Though, he was not pleased with how close Fandral stood next to Astrid so his blue eyes flickered between his path and the limited space between the two immortals. The approaching guards had caught up to the escapees. "Fandral," Thor called out with a pointed look.

"Right." Fandral nodded as he picked up a rope and stepped onto the edge of the ship. He looked to Astrid and held out his hand to her and she reluctantly gave it to him, unknowing of what he was doing. "Til we met again, Your Majesty." He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. "For Asgard," And like that, he jumped from the ledge and swung onto the Asgardian Guards' ships and started attacking.

Astrid heard Loki scoff so she turned to him with a suspicious look. "Penny for your thoughts, Loki?"

"He thinks you're his. It's pathetic." Loki rolled his eyes with a scowl.

Astrid furrowed her brow in a matching scowl at his words. "I wasn't aware it was down to you who decides whom I belong to." Astrid countered.

Before he could respond, Thor had shouted at him, scared of the approaching cliff wall that they seemed to be heading straight for. Yet, Loki did not alter his course and in fact, sped up. "If it were easy, everyone would do it."

"Are you mad?!" Astrid asked, a hand clutching his shoulder.

"Possibly."

Thor held tight onto Jane as she laid on the floor as Astrid hid behind Loki's broad back. Loki continued forward full speed, steering the hovercraft toward a crack in the cliff wall.

Suddenly, they zapped through the mountain and enter through an invisible portal to a barren land, known as Svartalfheim.

"Ta-da!" Loki grinned smugly that his plan worked.

Astrid huffed from behind him. "Such a smart arse."

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