Here is the final chapter for Three Tasks, everyone! *cries*

Music-

human (Christina Perri)        Tomorrow's Song (Olafur Arnalds)        Sleepwalking (Peter Hollens)

Chapter Sixty-Four

The next morning, as Thea is once again sitting on her bed without doing anything else, someone else knocks on her door. Turning around, she sees Natasha and Thor walking inside her room. Atypically, Natasha isn't wearing black leather; she has thrown on soft sweatpants and a loose gray t-shirt with "Guns-n-Roses" decorated on it. Her bright red hair is mussed, tied back in a lazy ponytail, with several strands falling in her face. Thor, too, looks more casual, although the wariness on his face is evident by his tousled, too-long hair and a permanent "11" between his eyes.

"Hey Thea," says Natasha quietly, closing the door behind her and sitting on the swivel chair across from Thea. Thor stands nearby, "We're sorry for coming in here, but we need to talk to you. I'm sure you already know about what."

Thea nods, folding her legs up against her chest and staring at the green blankets on the bed.

"Yeah, well... a decision needs to be made, and I'm sorry for pressing you, Thea, but Thor and I need to know now. If you're not going with them, Max and Kyle are heading out first thing tomorrow. And Thor and Loki are planning on leaving tonight."

Thea licks her lips, then bites down on them. She is fiddling with a fraying thread of her blanket, twisting the strand around her finger. Then, she looks up at Thor slowly.

He smiles at her gently, "Whatever you decide, Thea, will do nothing to lessen my affections for you. I am sure that I speak for Max and Kyle as well as myself."

Natasha nods in agreement.

For about five minutes, Thea doesn't say anything, and remains nearly completely motionless. Neither Thor nor Natasha press her, but wait silently in front of her, Thor occasionally moving Mjolnir from one hand to the other. Only the sounds of the city and the vague noises from distant parts of Stark Tower can be heard.

Finally, Thea looks up again. Looking right into Thor's blue eyes, she says softly, "I want to go with Max and Kyle."

For the briefest of seconds, Thor's eyes close and when he opens him, Thea can see the hurt. But then this shadow passes, and he says with another smile, "Of course, Thea. This is your choice. I admit I expected nothing different. Now excuse me, I need to tell the others about your decision and prepare for my journey back to Asgard." Nodding at Thea and Natasha, Thor turns and walks out of the room.

Natasha watches him leave and then turns back to Thea, "Would you like me to stay, or do you want to be by yourself?"

"By myself." Thea's tone is clipped.

"All right," says Natasha, rising from the swivel chair. Giving it a spin, Natasha walks out of the room.

The door has scarcely shut behind Natasha when Thea's phone buzzes. Thea glances at it, and then a few minutes later, she reaches over to her nightstand and picks it up.

From: Jack

Hiiiiii we just wanted to see how you're doing... from Jack & Pete

So Jack is at Peter's house, or vice versa. Evidently, they are talking about her. Thea tosses the phone back on the nightstand without replying and then collapses back on her bed.

*

As the afternoon wears on, someone else knocks on her door. Without bothering to wait for permission, Tony Stark walks right on in. He finds Thea asleep, her head on her drawing pad and one of her arms hanging off the side of the bed. She is twitching in her sleep, so he knows that it cannot be a peaceful one.

Her eyes open blearily; she had heard him.

"Oh hey, I was actually just about to turn around," says Tony, before proffering her a plate with a sandwich and some sliced apples stacked neatly on top, "Thought you might be hungry, up here all by your lonesome."

"Thanks," Thea says in a thick, not-quite-awake voice, taking the plate from his hands and setting it on the nightstand in front of her.

Tony leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed, and watches her through his alert eyes as she begins to eat one of the apple slices. "You know, if I were you, I wouldn't stick around in this room all day. I mean, I get that it's great and all- I designed it myself- but a girl like you shouldn't be holed up for so long."

Thea doesn't give the slightest impression that she has heard him.

"Besides. Thor and Loki are leaving tonight. And you're heading out in a few more days. Are we all so terrible that you don't want to hang around us?"

Thea doesn't reply, but she does look up at him. Her expression is sullen.

Tony puts his hands up, "Fine, fine. Be like that. Just thought I'd let you know." He leaves the room, whistling. Thea wants to roll her eyes, but doesn't.

*

The sun begins to set, and Thea still hasn't left her room the entire day. She is finally persuaded to come down for dinner by Clint Barton, although it had taken quite a while. She is wearing shorts and a faded red t-shirt that is too small on her, but her appearance has not been her main objective for a while.

As it turns out, not everyone is eating simultaneously, which Thea is relieved for. She is even relieved, as Clint helps her down the final stairs (her broken ankle is still swollen and painful), to see that the only people in the somewhat dimmed kitchen are Natasha, Kyle, and Max. Kyle is still eating, but the rest seem to have finished, and they all look up at her approach.

"Hey, Thea," says Max, hastening over to help her sit down at the barstool, "Hey, how are you doing?"

Thea shrugs, and grabs a bowl of pasta from the center of the table and begins to eat quickly. Max glances up at Kyle, who shrugs, spaghetti hanging from his mouth.

Mouth still full of pasta, Kyle says, pointing his fork at Thea, "Mind if I check out that ankle after you eat? It's being a stubborn bastard, I'll give it that much."

Thea shrugs again, and Natasha hastily steers the conversation over to something else.

*

After dinner, the night falls over the city. Thea finds out someone has come back to Stark Tower. Even though she attempts to dodge him, Jack finds her anyway, trying to escape up the stairs. Part of this reason is that she had spotted Loki on the flight above and had immediately succumbed to the idea of reluctantly turning and walking downstairs to where Jack is standing hopefully. Thea's eyes narrow slightly, because she rather doubts that Loki's sudden appearance is purely coincidental.

"Hey Thea," says Jack. His hands are in his pockets and he is shifting back and forth.

She just stands there.

"Um, so... are you...can I..." Jack seems to be at a loss for words, and Thea's unyielding silence doesn't help. He clears his throat, "I'm sorry, by the way, really, really bloody sorry." He swallows, then says hesitantly, "Will you talk to me?"

Thea just stares at him as if she were a statue, an unseeing statue.

Jack slowly reaches and touches her arm, but she pulls back immediately. He looks stricken, as if she had hit him. His eyes have grown large and red. Finally, desperation wins, and he leans forward and embraces her. Her thin body is cold and stiff and not reciprocating, but Jack holds onto her anyway.

"Hey..." says Jack, still hugging her, and it's evident by his choked voice that he is trying not to let his emotions show. But he is not as good at that as Thea is, "...Thea..."

Thea doesn't say anything, and when Jack reluctantly pulls back, her face is as blank as ever, although tears have filled her eyes. But they don't fall.

"Okay," says Jack, quickly standing straight up and shoving his hands in his pockets, looking down, "Okay...well...I'll guess...I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Okay," Thea whispers.

Jack looks up at her, surprised at her single word, but she has already turned away. Not able to bear her resistance any longer, he turns his back on her and walks slowly up the stairs. He has scarcely turned the corner when he spots the lanky figure in the shadows.

"Thanks for help," says Jack dully, beginning to walk past.

But then someone grabs his arm and pulls him around, so that the light catches Jack's face, which is now plastered in tears. Jack begins to pull away, his face twisted in both emotion and annoyance, but then Loki seizes the boy in a tight hug, clapping him on the back.

"I wouldn't worry Jack," says Loki in a low voice when he lets go of him, "I have a feeling that Thea will sooner talk to you than she will to me."

"You mean someone would actually want to talk to you?" asks Jack, his mischievous smirk beginning to show a little as he abashedly swipes at the last of his tears.

Loki rolls his eyes, "Don't test me. My patience with you does not quite compare to the patience I have with Thea."
"So you're more patient with me then," says Jack.

"Jack, if you don't leave right now..."

"You'll what? Turn me into a popsicle, Frosty? I think that's what I'm going to start calling you, actually."

"Jack!"
"All right, all right, Frosty, don't get your snowflakes in a twi- yikes, okay, bye!" Jack dodges an icy bullet aimed in his direction and then high-tails it up the stairs.

*

 A couple hours after Kyle and Bruce examined Thea's ankle and mutually decide to put it in a small brace, she sits on one of the stairway landings. She hears voices, and before she can pull back- the brace makes it difficult to quickly slide her leg through the stair's rails- Thor, Loki, Tony, and Clint walk in from another room, right below her. They all notice her, but only Clint jogs up the stairs to where she's sitting. The rest walk into the next room, which Thea knows (from experience) leads to the portal room.

"Hey," he says, "Thor and Loki are leaving. You should probably come, you know."

Thea sets her mouth in a firm line.

"C'mon, Thea," urges Clint, "Who knows the next time you'll see them?" He holds his hand out, "C'mon. Let's go."

Thea reluctantly allows him to pull her up. By the time she unsteadily walks into the portal room, several other people- Steve, Sam, and Coulson, whom Thea hadn't seen since she'd gotten back- have also come to say their farewells. Thea suspects everyone else has already done so. She stands silently next to Sam in a line, as Thor begins to say his good-byes to everyone, and Loki follows suit. Thor hugs Thea tightly, kisses her cheek, and then says so that only she can hear him, "Please be brave. Be brave and strong for your sister. Be my fighter again, Thea."

Thea bites her lip, but does not say anything.

When Loki reaches her, he simply looks down at her for a couple moments. Then, he kneels in front of her on one knee and looks up at her. She turns her head, her blonde hair brushing him as she looks steadfastly anywhere but at him. "Nnn!" she whimpers as Loki takes her face in both of his hands and turns it so that she is forced to look at him- he is so tall, even in this position, they are eye-to-eye.

"Thea," says Loki quietly, "Thea, look at me." She turns slightly. Green meets green. Then, Loki says, "Thea, it was all me. If I had not stopped teaching you, this would not have happened. It is my fault that Leah died." She tries to turn away, but his hold tightens on her, "It was all me. It was my fault, darling."

Thea knows what he is doing- or trying to do-, and she grits her teeth, trying to back away from him. Against her will, a tear trickles down her nose.

Loki wipes it away with his thumb, then pulls her forward so that their foreheads are touching. "Thea," Loki whispers, "I am so sorry. I'm so sorry." Her breathing is becoming more labored as she tries to stop her tears, "Shh...shh...Talk to me, kitten. Talk to me."

But she doesn't. She just pulls up aggressively, managing to free herself from his hands. She closes her eyes, her body trembling, trying to wish his existence away.

"Oh Thea..."

She manages to turn around and walk two steps away before he takes her arm and turns her around, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace. Her body is cold and shaking and frail, but Loki holds her close anyway, leaning down to kiss the top of her head softly. But it's fleeting, because she yanks back, as if touched by fire and staggers away, turning her back on him and crossing her arms. He can see that her shoulders are shaking, and her face is in her hands.

When Loki glances back, he sighs: hatred has replaced Thea's regret, and it burns him as she glares at him, rage contorted on her tear-stricken, desolate face. But he turns away. He can't do anything for her now.

Thea is out of the room before the bright blue flash of light has even heightened and beamed.

*

It's the next day, and Thea is sitting in her bed. But this time, she is in Michigan. She's sitting, staring at collection of papers at her feet that Max had brought in and left with her earlier. The sun is beginning to set. The window is open, so she can vaguely hear the whinny of the horses, and the voices of the Calen brothers as they begin to put the animals in the barn for the night.

Reluctantly, Thea reaches forward and touches one of the pieces of paper. It is written in scrawling handwriting, some things crossed out messily and words added in,

Hey kid,

I know things are crappy for you right now. But you're just as strong as you were in December, if not stronger. You've got this fire about you that I can't put my finger on. I want you to think about that fire and never let go. Even when life is trying to drag you down like some sort of storm, you hold onto that fire and never let go. Hypothetically, of course. I don't recommend playing with fire. From, your pal Tony.

The next one is neater, but still evidently written in a rush.

Thea,

Don't ever let what you think you've done get in the way of all of the wonderful things that you actually have done. I know what it feels like to feel guilty, to have this weight on my chest that I can't shake off. But you're different, Thea. You are made of sunshine, and I think I've laughed around you more than I've laughed around anyone for a long time. So all of this guilt you're feeling needs to go. Command it away. Don't let it engulf you like it has engulfed me for nearly my entire life. I know you can do this. Call if you need anything. ~Nat

The next is written in small, yet elegant writing,

Thea,

First I want to say thank you for being such a bright place in all of your lives. Your strength is unparalleled, especially in a place where strength is hard to come by. But don't hide your strength from us, or your soft side that we all know is in there .You're too innocent and too young to stoop this low, and I want you to know that you've got everything you'll ever need in that head of yours, kid. I'll be away in Europe, but don't hesitate to call. I hear that long distance calling isn't so much of a problem now as it was in the 40's. Good luck- Steve

The next is also written in messy handwriting.

Hey Thea,

You have been such an incredible girl. You have a kind heart, and even though you've been through a lot, you've toughed through it. I want you to know that I am very proud of you, Thea. You have such control of yourself, it is unprecedented. I admire you for what you have done with your life, and I know that you are going to continue to wow me every single day. From, Bruce

The next is written in script-like print.

Dearest Thea,                                                                      

I know you feel regret for your actions. But do not let this regret consume you. You are more than it, and you can fight it as you have fought off everything else in your path. I hope that you will find peace in your heart, but until then, my heart and my regret pours out to you. If you ever change your mind about where you wish to stay, you need only ask. Regards, Thor

The next is written in familiar, loopy writing.

Missy,

You have no idea the pain I feel as I watch you pain yourself. I've grown to care about you so much, and every damn time you cry, I want to hold you until you stop. But I know I can't protect you from everything, even though as sure as hell will try to. But you can lean on me, and you can lean on me as much as you want to, because I will always be there for you. Smile for me Thea, because your smile lights up the room. – Kyle

The handwriting in the next one is also familiar, but larger, and neater.

Thea,

You deserve nothing but happiness, but happiness hasn't exactly what you have received, and I regret it. With all my heart, I want you to be happy again. I want you to run through the halls, yell at Kyle, ride the horses back home like the wind, and just be a kid. But I have to accept that this won't happen for the longest time, or at least not until you turn yourself back on. And I'll wait for you to do that, and I'll be with you every step of the way. –Max

Thea puts these aside and looks at the last sheet of paper. She almost doesn't read it, but then, with shaking fingers, she picks it up and begins to scan the page.

Thea,

The first time I laid eyes on you, you were a screaming menace of a thing, and screamed off everything from your path that moved. I've watched you learn how to fight and then pick yourself back up when you fell, when nobody else- including me- would help you. I watched you grow strong. I watched you grow and I watched you suffer. I saw you smile and I saw you cry. You- and Jack- have driven me absolutely crazy with your idiotic schemes, but then that night, when you came to me crying, I would let you in. Thea, the only path in life we have is the path we choose for ourselves. It is not a straight path, but one that rises and falls when we rise and fall. Both of us tend to fall more than we rise. But when you fall, little one, this is when you have the opportunity to rise the highest. Do not doubt that you have more to offer to this world than nearly anyone I can think of. Fate has made me into something that only can destroy, but fate has made you into something that can be destroyed and then remade. I know that you now repel me, but you might as well know that it's not your fault. None of this is, this life that you have been thrust into, is your fault, nor do you deserve it. Do not doubt that your existence is useless. Do not doubt that your heart, although often confused, will lead you down this right path. And do not doubt that I love you, kitten. From, Loki

Thea stares at the paper, and the papers that surround her, and then crumbles them all up and throws them across the room. She begins to cry until she can't stand it any longer, and then she begins to scream. She screams until her lungs run out, until she hears footsteps running up the stairs, and until she sobs and screams into darkness.

Into oblivion.

 --------------

Thank you all so much for all your support :D I appreciate it so much. Please VOTE and COMMENT! You guys have been incredible, and I can't wait to continue writing Thea's story. Stay tuned for Ei Diafol, which should be posted over the next couple weeks. 

Lots and lots of love,

Sierra xxx