Thor: The King of Everything.
Summary: (A sequel to "The King of Nothing") "One month after Loki's sudden, inexplicable disappearance and the cryptic message he left behind, Thor desperately tries to hold everything- and everyone- together. But now, facing the cruel reality that his brother before him couldn't bear, failed to overcome and ultimately left to him alone to face, a war that Asgard has no chance of winning; too many people who refuse to see that terrifying truth, and even loosing the one last person he fights for, the God of Thunder knows he has got to make a stand before it's too late. His quest for victory- and to finally end all the suffering around him- will lead him into a long since forgotten, forbidden place, and reintroduce him to the cruel world he never realized he knew existed. But, with the help of his friends, and someone else who may or may not really be there at all anymore, Thor might just end up saving not only himself, Jane, his people, and his home from certain doom, but someone else who no one knew needed saving in the first place."
Warning: "This will be a relatively tame fanfic, with the exception of some blood, violence, angst, some language, a character death or two, and other adult situations. So, to be on the safe side, we'll be going with Rated T. I have watched both Thor movies and the Avenger's movie, but this does not mean that I am perfect and/or know absolutely everything there is to know about, and I'm bound to forget or misuse something. So, with that, please forgive me if I screw up, and just enjoy the story."
Disclaimer: "I do not own Thor. Please don't ruin my day by thinking I do."
A/N: "This story is dedicated to Adamzgal."
N._.s._.S
Chapter Twenty-One: To Save a Life II.
"What is heroic, is not making life any harder than it has to be."
- Marty Rubin.
Without a word, Loki Odinsson picked up the broken hilt of the knife from the small table next to Jane Foster's bed, and quietly turned it in his hands over and over again, brows cinching together a little as he stared rather contemplatively down at it, as if slowly piecing something together in his mind.
Every so often, the God of Mischief's dark, tired green eyes would flash up to Jane again, and he would watch her for a few, long moments before looking back down at the broken weapon, which he kept twirling and playing with, seemingly unafraid of the sharp edges he was dealing with as he continued to turn it in his pale, slightly shaking hands.
"She slashed his face," Loki finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence between himself and his brother as he ran his finger over the sapphire embedded in the hilt, "That's why he broke this."
"She slashed Zak'Vael?" Thor repeated, looking up at his brother in faint amusement, "I didn't notice."
"You wouldn't have- you were too busy trying to help her than to look up at your enemy's face," Loki answered, with a small smile that quickly faded as he continued, "But I saw it happen. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the Courtyard in time to stop whatever happened next. For some reason, the portal I used in the Jotunheim lead to the palace, and by the time I even got back, it was too late to save her."
"How did you manage that?" Thor questioned, seriously, "How were you watching us?"
"You really think I'd just leave you to your devices while I knew Ceil Zak'Vael was out there?" Loki countered with another smile, "I cast a spell from the Jotunheim that would allow me to see using the snow that fell in Asgard."
"So you planned everything out from the beginning," Thor said with a shake of his head, "You do think too much."
"Hey, that's not fair," Loki protested, though without much enthusiasm, quietly standing up as he replaced the broken hilt next to its blade on the bedside table as he peered down at Jane's still form, frowning a little as he added, quite pointedly, "I may have had a plan, but that doesn't mean fate will abide by it just because I asked nicely."
As Loki began to run a hand over the little cerulean orb, it pulsed out tiny, long golden threads, and Thor quieted as they wrapped around his brother's and, like last time, began inching (rather creepily) up his arm.
"Why does it do that?" Thor asked, uneasily, as they reached his brother's shoulder and began to lurk quietly around his neck, already draping off his shoulders. At his brother's worried look, Loki just chuckled and gently prodded on the little, wriggling things off his shoulders, causing the things to droop almost sulkily away from him and over his shoulder again.
"These are not dangerous at all, as I told you last time," Loki reminded him, "It helps her. Now that her soul has almost completely returned to her body, the feelers are going to start their return as well, but in order to do that, they need to know that their environment is safe, and by wrapping themselves around the nearest person or object, they can interact with it and ensure their host shall not be harmed."
"What if they did think you were going to harm them?"
"They'd kill me, obviously."
The God of Thunder shot Loki a greatly unappreciative look just as one of the threads wrapped sneakily around his neck again, causing Loki to pull it gently back again while giving his brother a teasing smile.
"Well I happen to think they're absolutely precious," Loki said with the best, most ridiculously shrill voice he could manage he lightly tapped one of the tendrils inching along his shoulder with his fingertip, as if it were a pet, "They're the best little soul-lines ever!"
Thor couldn't help it.
From his study a few rooms over, Sanat Eir could hear booming laughter from his Med Bay. The man's steely grey eyes brightened a little, and he smiled at the sound of it, and, completely unperturbed, simply turned the page of the book he was reading.
N._.s._.S
It was very late when Jane Foster finally woke.
Loki had finally fallen asleep just as the sun loomed over the horizon and the Med Bay slowly darkened, while Thor had stayed wide awake, vigilantly watching as the golden threads and tendrils slowly unraveled themselves from his brother and began to quietly disappear with the soul back into Jane's still body.
Loki did not stir even once during all this.
Sometime before he retired, Eir had come in to check on them, and when he'd found the God of Mischief slumbering quietly in his chair, he told Thor very sternly that if he found them there the next morning, he would hand all three of them over to the mercy of the All-Father, who, the old medic swore, would not take kindly to them.
It was past midnight when the resurgence came.
It came suddenly, without warning. The golden lights from the ends of the tendrils that had been slowly sinking back into Jane vanished, leaving the only light coming from the small lamps Thor had lit when night had fallen.
Then, moments later, Jane shuddered and opened her eyes.
Loki woke just as this happened, and while Thor knew for sure that his brother wasn't completely aware what was happening thanks to the fog of sleep, his brother still watched with a small, pleased smile of his own as Jane slowly sat up.
"Thor?"
That was the first thing she said.
The God of Mischief hurriedly rubbed his eyes to help him focus as Thor enveloped his wife in his arms, grinning as she stared, wide-eyed and confused, at him.
"It worked!" Loki said, although wearily, as he stood up, picking up the broken hilt and blade as he spoke, "Thank the Gods..."
"No, not the Gods," Thor answered, as Jane looked back at Loki in surprise, as if only noticing him standing there right then, "Thank you."
Loki slipped the hilt and blade into his pocket as he answered his brother.
"You're welcome."
N._.s._.S
Yay! Jane's back! XD
A very happy Friday to you guys!
Anyway, next chapter will be out soon.
So tell me what you thought of this one before then!