Woah! You probably noticed there was just a bit of Thor: The Dark World flavour there...But I'm actually not going to delve deeper into that.

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Chapter 25 – The True Me

Don't want to let you down
But I am hell bound
Though this is all for you
Don't want to hide the truth

- Imagine Dragons: Demons

...

"Diana!" she heard Loki's voice.
"I'm here!" she answered.
She was sitting in the corner of the library, by the desk where they had studied so long ago. Soon Loki was there. She immediately stood up and walked to him. He took hold of her hands. She could sense he was in a hurry.
"Diana, you need to listen to me very carefully. You need to deliver a message to Dr. Allsop."
There was an intensity in his voice.
"And I am so sorry, I can imagine this will be a lot to take in."
He sounded so serious.
"Remember when I told you I had never lied to you... ?"
Diana bit her lips together, frowning.
"I meant it. What I need you to tell Dr. Allsop is that I will leave tonight but I shall return. I am needed at home for Asgard is attacked and my mother is wounded. This is why my cloak of concealment isn't working. No search party is needed for I will return."
Diana looked at him bewildered.
"The cloak of concealment is a spell held up my mother. Its failure caused you to notice why I don't age...And yes, I am aware this all sounds incredible."
He could see Diana was truly concentrating on his every word, desperately trying to understand.
"I beg you, please wait for me here. You can stay in my room. This shouldn't take more than two days. Then, I will give you all your answers. I promise. A lot of them I have already told you. I have never lied to you. And Dr. Allsop can confirm that. Or I hope she will."
The look on Diana's face...Confusion, hope, desperation, doubt, all mixed, all fighting which would win.
"But in case I do not return, because there's always that possibility," he began.
"No, no, no...I cannot let you go," Diana said shaking her head.
"Because this is madness."
"I will go. There is nothing you can do about it but I do so wish...That you could believe me."
Loki took a deep breath when he realized what he needed to do. It was always difficult for him to do it and he had not done it for years but it was the only way.
"I'm sorry to confuse you more but this is the only way I can think of…convincing you."
"Please don't scream."
Another thought seemed cross his mind.
"And please do not touch me. Without my magic my skin burns."
Diana was scared what was going to happen. Or was it actually worse if nothing happened. She was so scared he was losing his mind...But a part of her anticipated something.

Loki closed his eyes and knit his brow like he was in deep thought and something began to happen. Slowly his skin changed its colour, a blue azure washed over him, replacing the pale tone of his skin. Some patterns rose on his forehead and cheeks. The transformation was soon complete and he opened his eyes. Diana could see they were no longer emerald but dark crimson. Those eyes now looked at her and she could see they were very scared of her reaction. He was clearly holding his breath.

Loki could see Diana tilted her head slightly and her eyes were sweeping every part of his face. And he was breathless when realized what her reaction was.

Awe.

And he could hardly believe what he saw in her eyes.

Childlike wonder.

"Loki..." she said quietly, still looking every part of his face.
On her lips rose a smile.
"I always wanted to believe you."

Her words...Loki felt like somehow collapsing but he held himself together. Slowly the emerald in his eyes returned and his skin returned to its pale and smooth Aesir form.
"Can I touch you now?" she asked warily.
Loki just nodded. And in an instant she lifted her hand to his cheek and he had to close his eyes. That very moment a thought crossed Loki's heart like a lightning of pain for he realized she would soon find out everything.

Everything.

All the death, suffering and pain he had brought into this realm. He was no longer concealed so it was just a matter of time. For some reason it was just taking longer for her to remember.
"Please return," Diana said. Loki was still lost in his thoughts so her embrace startled him. She was struggling to reach him so he lifted her. He held her tightly and inhaled her scent.
"I will," he whispered into her ear. He almost added the words his heart so longed to say. But instead he put her down and broke from their embrace. He looked at her once more.

This is the last time she will look at me this way.
This might be the last time I see her.

He so wanted to kiss her and could sense she expected it but he knew he couldn't hold himself together had he done it.
"I need to go now," he said in a severe tone.
Diana nodded, looking surprisingly calm.
Loki strode back towards the corridor. He felt his heart was very much being broken from another angle, as if it wasn't broken enough before.
"My love," he whispered so silently that only he himself could hear it.

Thor was waiting in the corridor.
"There is just one more thing I need to do in my room," Loki said and passed him hastily.
After one minute he returned, his lips a thin line.
"I'm ready."

...

Loki had now left. Diana took hold of the desk for she felt that she was going to collapse. Everything he had ever told her of Asgard, his family, all those crazy things was apparently true. Diana was fatigued and her mind was spinning. All the revelations made her question her sanity, but still she felt sane. Loki was an alien. Asgard was attacked. His natural skin burnt. Diana was trying to remember all the other things he had told her. That had seemingly been part of his madness. But she was too tired. She was going to talk to Dr. Allsop as soon as possible and she was a bit shocked if all this was something that the doctor had known all along. Were they others who knew? Had her father known? Diana made her way to Loki's room and collapsed on his bed. She decided to rest for just a moment but soon she was already dreaming of wintery forests evergreen.

It was already afternoon when she woke up and then it surfaced. The recognition. It was as if another shroud was lifted from her mind. She remembered now that the whole of New York had still been talking about him when she was there, and she had seen the footage of a madman rampaging the city, fighting Avengers. Her mind was racing.

Loki.
The war criminal.
The murderer.
How could he be…? What was he…? How come she didn't…? Was she losing it?

Shakily she took her phone and searched. She found a video of him in Germany…

"You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

She recognized him and yet not. In that instant she felt sick, ran to the bathroom and threw up. When she eventually got back into the room, she noticed something on the desk. A parchment, with his handwriting.

I am sorry.
I am the fallen one.
I understand if you leave.
But I would wish to explain.

She burst into tears and her feet didn't hold her up anymore. She curled on the floor and cried so hard, hysterically. She felt so cold, alone. And it made her cry even more until she almost passed out. Her eyes lifted to look out of the window. It was one of those grey days that seemed to occur there all the time. Her eyes roamed the room, lifting up memories of him. Moments, discussions, smiles, arguments.

Had it all been a lie?
What was he doing here?
This was madness, so much deeper madness...

Finally, Diana got up and went to the bathroom again, opened the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. She felt dizzy and nauseous and her heart was hammering.

It was there and then that she passed out.