A/N: Hello all! I wanted to clear something up before I continued...

What occurred at the end of last chapter was Lonni 'traveling' through space and time against her will and out of her control. While there's no evidence to suggest that full Time Lords can do this (although I'd like to think that not every Time Lord has a TARDIS to drive and yet still does some traveling), I'm labeling it a "genetic mutational power" of some sort as a result of her hybrid status. Lonni does not have a TARDIS; for a chunk of her adult life, she's been passing through time and space without meaning to because her Time Lord father left before she could be properly trained. Her adventures with the Doctor do involve the TARDIS, but he cannot always find her where she's supposed to be. I apologize for any and all confusion regarding that.

Also, I'm currently announcing a temporary hiatus on this fic while I do NaNoWriMo. I may update again between now and December, but it's not a guarantee. Thank you for your understanding.

As always, I'd like to thank my wonderful beta-reader, Alexandra the Dreamer. Hope y'all enjoy!

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"No no no!" The Doctor yelled from the doorway, desperation oozing from his tone. "This is NOT good!" Swinging wildly in a panic, he punched the wooden door in front of him and immediately began hopping around with a sore hand. The door was untouched, as solid as ever.

Loki, frozen on the infirmary floor, hardly flinched at the man behind him. His entire world had come to a screeching halt, hinging on that instant when the love of his life had slipped through his fingers and he had been powerless to stop her. He felt everything in that instant, but overpowering all else was a terrifying sense of loss.

The Doctor turned towards him, thinking rapidly. "Loki, we need to find her. We will find her; I promise you."

"How…?" Loki breathed, staring up for the first time. "You said it yourself, Doctor. She cannot be tracked as she travels; she needs to be in one place long enough. Even if I have Heimdall look for her, she could be anywhere in space and time. I have no idea where to begin, and by the time we found her..."

The Doctor paced frantically, his entire body tense. "I might be able to track her before her energy settles if I had some sort of DNA sample," he said quietly. "She's weak and recovering; she couldn't have gone very far in space or time. Have they changed her bandages recently?"

"If they did, the dirty ones would have been disposed of instantly," Loki said. "The healers here are finicky about cleanliness." Suddenly, it came to him. "Doctor, is DNA anything like essence?"

The Doctor stopped mid pace, and spun around. "What do you have?" he demanded of the Aesir.

Loki held up the necklace with shaky hands, adrenaline re-entering his system.

The Doctor stared, absolutely stunned. "She was rather attached to that," he breathed, holding it up to the light by the string with a pencil to avoid potential contamination. "She just gave it to you?"

"I was entering into a potential war zone as a hostile figure with no guaranteed promise of return," Loki informed him quietly. "She was only returning what I had gifted her to begin with."

"Really?" The Doctor said, raising an eyebrow in interest. "That necklace came from you?"

"I was 10 at the time," Loki said, mildly defensive. "I liked ornate patterns and shiny things. And she said something about always wandering. I thought it was perfect."

The Doctor smiled broadly, gripping Loki's arm tightly. "This is exactly what we need, Loki. Do you need to make any preparations here? Because I can prepare my...ship very quickly, and we'll go find her."

"I need to let my father know what happened to her," Loki said quietly. "So that he does not believe Lonni to be some sort of coward. Once I do that, I will be prepared. My brother might wish to come along and assist us, of course..."

The Doctor considered. "We might need him. Having fire power in case of emergencies isn't a bad thing."

"I'll do what I can," Loki assured him, walking out the door but turning back at the last second. "Doctor..."

"We will find her, Loki," was the quiet response. "No matter what it takes."

###########

The frigid wind whipped her hair around, and she swore quietly, desperate for the warmth of the healing room. Even though she was just starting to feel like a prisoner in a cage there, at least she hadn't been battling the elements. But out here...

Avalon considered her options, observing the icy surroundings she had landed in. In all frankness, they were few and far between. She was clothed in a thin cotton shirt and pants (apparently, Loki had realized the impracticality of putting her in a gown. The thought made her smile for a brief second). Apparently, her bra had been removed for convenient access to her injuries. Her entire chest was bandaged; it provided a fair amount of support for her breasts, given the circumstances.

Another gust of cold wind made her shiver, bringing her out of her pondering state. She would not last more than a day in this storm, if that. She needed warmth, a safe and secure location, and eventually food and water; the faster she found all three, the better. Avalon rapidly scoured the nearby rock wall for a large crevice, the newfound adrenaline speeding up the beating of her twin hearts. The one plus of being exposed to the elements was that her pain was completely gone. However, she was all too well aware that she would soon lose all feeling in her body, leaving her at high risk for hypothermia.

Her desperate search paid off in dividends unexpectedly. There was a rather decently sized cave a few hundred yards in front of her. She just needed to get to it...in one piece. On the wind, the faint sound of a howl erupted. Avalon shivered again, and not just from the cold. Closing her eyes for a moment, she steadied herself and then stepped forward slowly, her bare feet feeling more overstimulated by the second.

Just one foot in front of the other...

#####

"What happened?" The All-Father's question, while innocent on the surface, held a demand underneath that his sons knew all too well.

Loki swallowed. "I'm not entirely sure, Father. One minute Avalon was there in the room, the next...well, she was just gone. But it was not intentional; I saw her face before she vanished. She could not control it."

"So what exactly do you propose to do?" was the next question, and it was one Loki was fully anticipating.

He smiled easily. "Avalon has a...friend here. He claims his ship can locate her, wherever she has traveled to. I intend to go with him and find her."

"Why not just use the Bi-Frost? Surely Heimdall can find her, given that he sees all!" Thor demanded, not willing to let an unknown man do the job of their Gatekeeper.

Loki fought the urge to face palm. Sometimes...

Odin turned towards his eldest, noticing the reaction of Loki and knowing exactly what triggered it. "Thor, Avalon could be anywhere in space and time; that is the normal wandering of the Time Lords. Heimdall is limited to the present, although he can see across all the realms. If she's not in the present time, Heimdall cannot find her."

"That's why it took me so long to find her in the first place," Loki explained quietly. "She and I were never in the same time period for long enough. She kept passing through."

"I suppose that makes some sense," Thor responded, considering the explanation. He turned towards Loki, his eyes searching. "Brother, do you trust this man that claims to be a friend of Avalon?"

"He has not given me a reason to doubt him," Loki informed Thor. "He seems genuinely concerned about his friend's safety, and honestly wants to help find her. I have the same goals in mind."

"And, I suppose, if he did act dastardly," Thor jumped in, "The two of us could take him on in any fight."

Loki nearly rolled his eyes. If that was how his brother was approaching this...

"Thor, I will not risk both of you going on a foolhardy errand with a stranger we know very little about." Odin's voice cut through the banter. His one eye looked straight at Loki. "Loki, you may go to save Avalon Kimmeldottir. But I will not have both my sons in harm's way."

"But Father!" Thor protested. "What if there is danger?"

"Are you suggesting your brother is not capable of protecting himself?" Odin asked, raising his eyebrow.

"But anything could happen on this fool's errand!" Thor demanded.

"Which is why it is stupid to drag both of us along into a mess we cannot predict the outcome of, Brother," Loki told him, trying to reassure Thor. Secretly, on the inside, he was thrilled. Finally, a chance to not have his older brother mess things up for him. He was tired of always playing second fiddle, of never being good enough. The last thing he needed was for the Doctor to somehow think Thor would be 'better' for Lonni. He paused, turning to his Father. "I will ask the Warriors Three to accompany me." Silently, he mentally left Sif off. He had no intention of reigniting that ball of wax. "Does that work to your satisfaction, Father?"

"I am satisfied with that suggestion," Odin broadly stated. "Now go, Loki. May the Norns guide you well in your quest."

"Thank you, Father," Loki said, bowing slightly. "I shall return as fast as I am able." Turning on his heel, he walked out of the throne room, energy coursing through his body.

####################

The Doctor rapidly moved from location to location within the TARDIS, having placed the necklace on a scanner. Twisting wheels and pushing a couple buttons, he set out a rapid search pattern for Avalon's energy signature. If they got lucky...

He didn't want to think about the chances of them failing. Just the possibility of losing his friend, so soon after having to give up Donna, was heart-breaking. He did not like travelling alone, although he had done a fair bit of it in the past few years. He sighed, running a hand rapidly through his hair. One of these days, his hearts were going to break one time too many, after one goodbye too many, and he might never be able to recover.

But now, in this moment, he had a chance to save someone. And he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers. Not again.

Suddenly, the TARDIS whined with a sharp pitched noise. Looking down, the Doctor realized that he had been clutching one of the levers very tightly. Quickly, he let go of it, looking upwards.

"Sorry, old girl," he breathed. "I was just thinking about things. You know how that can get."

He felt the air hum gently with a foreign source, and smiled. Clearly, Loki was using magic to try and find him. Perhaps they could get things started after all...

#########

Loki brushed the air with his fingertips, trying to locate the Doctor's ship. Surely, if it was here I would have found it by now...

The possibility of the Doctor leaving without him crossed his mind, but he did his best to squash it. He would not have...at least, not the man he thought he knew. He saw the questionable glances from the Warriors Three and the silent consideration that his magic skills were not up to their standards, and rapidly closed his eyes, concentrating hard. Surely he's here somewhere...

"Looking for me, were you?" The voice cut through the silence, and Loki smiled without opening his eyes. He could feel the air tense behind him as the gathered Warriors noticed the Doctor for the first time. The Time Lord slid next to Loki, cautiously eying the three other men. "I really hope they're friends of yours," he murmured.

"Friends is not the word I would use," Loki muttered back. "However, they are coming with us...if you'll take them. My father will not let Thor come. Too dangerous, evidently."

"I really shouldn't be all that surprised," the Doctor groused. "Ah well. Might as well carry on and all of that." He turned towards the Warriors and nodded slowly. "Gentlemen, if you would follow me please, we can begin..."

##########

She stumbled for an instant, fighting her loss of balance. The endless wind continued, and Avalon did her best to not panic. Not yet. The cave was still on the horizon, and she was going to make it there. In one piece. Dammit, she was not about to just roll over and...

Suddenly, recognition hit her. She knew this place, this world from somewhere. The crashing feeling of déja-vu crashed over her, and Avalon almost crouched down to avoid the headache. A hiss escaped her lips.

Footsteps in the distance made her look up in anticipation...which rapidly turned into dread. Tall, blue figures crested the horizon and slowly approached her. Even with the weather, Avalon felt her blood freeze colder.

Jotunns. She was truly in over her head...

###########

"This...box is your ship?" Volstagg demanded, staring at it with a look of disdain and disinterest. "Surely, this must be some sort of trickery."

"Perhaps we should leave you here, Volstagg," Fandral said, smiling slightly. "You could hardly fit through one of the doors."

Hogun, saying nothing, simply observed the box with a look of interest. Loki mentally groaned and fought the urge to lay his face in his hands once again.

The Doctor, used to people being confused, gestured at the TARDIS before them. "I'm sure all of your questions will be answered as soon as you climb aboard her." Without a backwards glance, he opened the door and went in. Loki, without hesitation, followed...and stopped directly inside, eyes flickering over every single exposed inch of the surface.

The Doctor turned and smiled at the look on his face. "Impressed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Loki stepped towards the raised area, covered with circles and levers and various other gadgets. He tried his best to comprehend them, but failed miserably. Behind him, he heard Volstagg call out. "By Odin's beard, Doctor! Your ship is..."

"Bigger on the inside," The Doctor spoke in unison with the stunned warrior. "I've never heard that one before." Loki, looking up, saw the sarcasm in the other man's eyes and smiled slightly. At least someone else had no patience for Volstagg.

Volstagg, completely missing the sarcasm, beamed at the Doctor. "This ship of yours is absolutely wonderful, Doctor!" he proclaimed. "Shall we journey onwards?"

"I believe we shall," the Doctor responded, grinning. "You might want to sit down, gentlemen, because this part can get a little bumpy..."

He pressed a couple buttons, and the ground exploded with a bang. The TARDIS reentered the time stream. Thrown to the ground by the sudden movement, the warriors held on desperately to anything. Loki, feeling a rush that was completely uncharacteristic of his normal calmness, stood strongly next to the raised area. A stupid grin lit up his face, and for a second he just closed his eyes and relaxed, enjoying the moment. This was living; for the first time since he had meddled in Thor's coronation, he felt honestly and truly unburdened.

The Doctor looked up from his driving for an instant and saw Loki's face. A thought crossed his mind, of the possibilities and the adventures they could have together...

The screen above him blared, having located something close to Lonni's match. Fervently, the Doctor locked onto it, swinging the TARDIS around mid-air. He couldn't shake the feeling of dread piercing his very soul in the instant. All he could do was pray this would work...