I cannot believe this, but this story is finally coming to its end. I am planning for this to be the penultimate chapter, followed by the finale, and then there will be an Epilogue. I have been working on this for over a year (the ideas surrounding it have been in my head for far longer), and I am a little ambivalent now that it is almost over. I felt like this chapter was one of my better efforts, so enjoy!

Praxidicae

-3-

Maelstrom had nearly nodded off by the time the first salvoes were heard from along the distant plain. He snapped back to his conscious state and then rushed over to the window closest to the sounds of battle, one hand gripping the window sash with such force that he nearly dislodged it from its framing. "What's happening now?" he demanded of Apocalypse, who was still standing apart from the rest of their number . . . and looking elsewhere. The Inhuman had no evidence that their silent watchman had any ulterior knowledge of the situation, but his exceptional intuition for deceit was flashing a constant warning behind his eyelids whenever he happened to glance in the mutant's direction.

"The Avengers are mounting an attack," Apocalypse stated without pretense. The fact that Maelstrom was able to answer this revelation almost immediately was proof that he was growing accustomed to the unsettling manner of the other's speech.

"And what does that mean to us?" he demanded irritably. When the behemoth slowly pivoted his head to meet the Inhuman's gaze, however, he could not help but soften both his demeanor and his tone. "If you know anything," he continued with a deep, calming breath, "I think you should tell us."

The mutant's lips twisted into a cruel, blue-ringed smile, and his eyes began to burn faintly with what may have been smoldering anger. Maelstrom stuck out his chin with a courage that he did not entirely feel and met the glare of those glowing orbs head-on. There were several seconds of strained silence, and then Apocalypse began to make the most inhumane and disconcerting of sounds that he could probably manage.

He began to laugh.

"What I know is beyond anything that you could endure," he chortled, and the rumbling of his merriment jarred painfully against the chests of all those within earshot. "However," the colossus concluded, his mirth subsiding along with the force of his words, "I do indeed have a message that I must convey to all of you."

Maelstrom felt the warmth of the female at his elbow. "Is this missive from our absent teammate, perhaps?" she practically spat at the giant.

"If you are referring to 'Kaal,' then, yes, it most certainly is." The enormous mutant's mood had oddly lightened. "When the proper moment came, I was to tell you the unfortunate truth about why you are really here." His smile should have been reassuring, but it only caused Maelstrom's stomach to clench with misgiving.

"And now is the proper moment?" the Inhuman asked. He had failed at not edging his response with the suspicion that was choking his subconscious.

"Indeed," Apocalypse chuckled again. He studied each of their anxious faces in turn, and then sneered fiendishly as he made his declaration. "Kaal has brought the Avengers here as a favor to the Mad Titan himself, and he is leading them to their doom. As for all of you - well, I'm afraid you are also here under false pretenses. Loki has asked you here not to help him to destroy Thanos but to be fodder for his armies as payment for his own debt."

There was a profound silence in the following moments, while each of the members of the group waited for the mutant to declare this a harmless ruse. Instead, he stood with his bulky arms folded, that infuriating smirk playing upon his colorful lips.

Oddly, Venom was the first to respond, and he did so with a quiet moan that was nearly a whimper. As if this menial sound had unleashed an avalanche of sequential acceptance, each member of the party began to react with varying degrees of rage and disbelief. While Juggernaut was the most demonstrative with his anger, punching a nearby workstation with his oversized fist and sending it completely through the exterior wall, Nebula was the most vocal; she spouted at least seven different adjectival expletives in her native language, which were quickly followed by some vengeful oaths to her culture's deities. Maelstrom, however, remained both mute and still, although he continued to shake his head at irregular intervals.

It couldn't be. It simply could not be.

"Kaaaaal," Venom hissed as he gnashed his numerous teeth, fresh spittle oozing from the corner of his mouth as he growled in indignation. His claws dragged forcefully along the smooth surface of the floor beneath him, cutting jagged scratches into the otherwise unblemished facade.

After the others had concluded their individual rants, they focused on the Inhuman, who continued to stand in strangely uninterrupted thought. He then proceeded to hold a whispered conversation with himself, nodding and gesturing as if he were testing out several different possibilities for recourse. At the end of his personal turmoil, he seemed to realize that the others were carefully studying his behavior, and he looked up blankly at their expectant faces.

"Okay, then," he said with almost no emotion.

Maelstrom drifted indiscriminately toward the sounds of battle, stopping only at the exit to the outpost when a firm arm blocked his path. He looked dazedly looked up into the angry, blue face of the one who hindered him. "Where do you think you're going?" Nebula demanded, her teeth bared in his slackening face.

There was no retribution here: only betrayal. Thanos was not only going to endure, but he was poised to rule the known universe. This outcome was unacceptable.

"Maelstrom?" she demanded when he continued to glare at her with dull eyes. "What do you think you are going to do out there? We are surrounded by our enemies!"

"I know," he said languidly. He applied resolute force to the limb that impeded him, however, and she removed it, albeit bitterly.

The ending may be inevitable, but they will not be rid of me so easily. Neither Loki nor Thanos will triumph without looking upon me one last time.

The Inhuman began to feel a faint crackle of the energy inside himself awakening along with his grief and rage. It rippled beneath the surface of his skin, at bay for the moment, but it was longing to be unleashed, racing along the flesh of his arms and causing every hair on his arms to lift with the sparks of restless power. Nebula watched enthralled as the flickers of luminous energy began to encircle the irises of each of his eyes, the rings lustrous in the half-light. Oh, he was infuriated, alright - it was just taking a moment for him to reach his full potential.

"So, we go after him?" she asked with newborn enthusiasm.

"Not exactly," Maelstrom responded with a wicked sneer.

"Then, what?" inquired the deep voice of the Juggernaut, who had appeared beside them.

"We choose a new side," the Inhuman revealed. His eyes were now pulsing with the power that was surging within him. "My friends," he stated to all of those present, "I believe the Avengers could use our assistance."

***.**.***

Thor and Loki were back-to-back in the center of a seemingly unending wave of enemies, and each time that they were certain that they would be overrun, they received a respite from a blast of Iron Man's aerial defenses. Additionally, they had both heard and felt the roar of the Hulk from somewhere behind them a few moments ago , and they knew it was imperative that they hold out until he could reach their position.

"How long do you think the others can repel them?" Thor shouted over the din of their combat.

"Hopefully long enough that we can reach the compound!" Loki yelled back. He was set upon by three Skrulls at that moment, and while he was roundly beating the first two opponents, the third was thrown backwards about a hundred feet by the force of Mjölnir, which also managed to take out a third of the line that was advancing behind him. Upon its return to its master's hand, the mighty hammer was driven into the ground, its power rippling outwards along the moon's surface and temporarily scattering the dozens more that were advancing upon their position.

From beyond the rows of prone bodies, the pair could see a large, angry smudge of green that was moving rapidly towards them now in leaps and bounds. It was clearing its path of Skrulls, Badoons, and anything else that might be unfortunate enough to be in its way in huge scooping handfuls. As it blazed past them, it let out a thunderous cry that echoed far across the plain.

A few of their adversaries had righted themselves and were levelling their weapons at the Asgardians. Thor instinctively began to confront them with sweeping blows of his hammer, while Loki paused for a beat to follow the line of the Hulk as he continued his destructive journey across the plain. The sorcerer smiled to himself with a sudden realization: the great green beast was heading more or less in the direction of the Titan's headquarters, and he was leaving an unobstructed path in his wake.

The raven-haired sibling made a quick, sweeping gesture with his right hand, and a faint glow of greenish light surrounded the brothers. The advancing opponents tried to push past the wall of illumination, but it held them back like a solid barrier. However, the blonde warrior remained in his battle-ready stance and stared down the line of adversaries with a glare of defiance.

"Brother!" Loki called out, gripping his shoulder in an attempt to bring him around. "We have to go!" When Thor still did not immediately turn to follow him, the dark-haired man hooked a finger into the rear collar of the other man's armor and gave a forceful tug. This motion caused the other to finally glance toward the open route that lead nearly to the compound, and, this time, he was swift to pursue.

Following the trail left by the Hulk allowed them to make far better time as they advanced toward their destination, deflecting the occasional small numbers of enemy troops that happened to fall into their way. When they had crossed half of the overall distance, Loki peered back over one shoulder - and then immediately regretted the move. Behind them, he could see the line of enemies reforming, filling in the open path that the behemoth had created and pursuing the pair of Asgardians at full speed. The view ahead was not much of an improvement as the Hulk was beginning to outpace them, and the way to the compound was gradually closing in on both sides behind him, threatening to close off their pathway to Thanos.

"Thor!" Loki cried out, hoping that his brother would hear him over the bedlam. "We need to move faster!" He was unsure precisely what he was hoping to accomplish by this revelation, as they both were already moving as swiftly as their legs could carry them. He could hear the sound of Mjölnir side-swiping a number of foes as they travelled, and he could also sense that there was at least two creatures running right on his heels at this point. All the while, the width of the cleared ground ahead of them continued to shrink, until it became quite obvious that they would not have time to reach their target before they were consumed by the hordes around them. Options raced fleetingly through his mind: stand and fight, veer off to one side and try to lose the ones directly behind him, throw up an illusion that might baffle them and buy some time . . .

Suddenly, Loki saw the bodies of his close pursuers thrown to either side, and he felt an arm encircle his waist, lifting him upwards as he flailed in shock. He felt his feet leave the ground, and then he was rocketing toward the compound as he struggled with the hard, metallic creature that had abducted him.

"I, uh, wouldn't try so hard to get loose, if I were you," the digitally-enhanced voice of Tony Stark warned him. "It's a long drop straight down, and those guys down there don't like you very much."

He did lessen his attempts to wriggle free after this suggestion, but he could not help but squirm with occasional vexation. He was not comfortable with flying - it was not really within his zone of familiarity. Plus, it was not advantageous that he detested the lack of control involved in having to be carried anywhere at the best of times.

Thor was now flying alongside them, and this was at least some relief to him. They reached the perimeter of the courtyard, and Tony swooped low behind a line of Kodabaks who had been stationed to guard the main complex. He released Loki without fanfare, and the Asgardian rolled forcefully into the wall of a guardhouse, the impact pushing an irritable grunt from him. Stark was now facing down the line of wardens, blasting his repulsors continuously as they fired back with their laser weapons.

"Come, brother!" Thor urged as he righted him, picking him up and standing Loki on his feet as if he were no more than a child's doll. This action furthered his already prominent annoyance, but he knew there was no time for bickering at the moment. "Where is the door?"the blond asked him, as he simultaneously checked him over for obvious damage.

"Just over that ridge," Loki indicated with a nod of his head. He stormed off in the general direction he had indicated merely to stop his brother from fussing over him. No matter. This ordeal would all be over soon enough.

The entrance to the compound was curiously unguarded - or, at least, anyone who did not know what was about to transpire would likely have found it curious. Thor, however, praised their good fortune and rushed headlong into the opening as soon as Loki had opened it with the code. The sorcerer scrambled to overtake him, for it would be a shame if all of this careful planning went amiss simply because his brother was overly eager. Before the door behind them had closed completely, however, they heard the charring sounds of several shots bouncing off of the armor of Tony's suit, and then they heard the billionaire cry out in abject pain. At the very last, Loki almost thought he could hear the a crackling burst of a high-energy blast - like the kind that Maelstrom might unleash if he were repulsing a large number of enemies - but the perfection of that idea was almost too much to hope for . . .

As the pair continued to race through the intake corridor toward the interior doors, a distinct hum and a vague vibration began in the walls around them. The apprehension was plainly readable on Thor's face as they dashed along, but Loki was careful not to allow his sibling to see any expression written upon his own. The sound and motion around them intensified, and suddenly the doors towards which they were running seemed to pull further away, leaving a gap between the corridor and the entrance beyond.

"What is happening?" asked Thor loudly, the distress clear in his words.

"The compound is going on lockdown! They're raising the dome!" Loki replied, suddenly increasing his speed. He managed to reach the distant doorway a few steps ahead of Thor, and then ducked inside hastily with his brother almost on his heels.

A few steps inside, and a violent torrent of sound not unlike a strong blast of wind swept up between the two of them, after which Thor collided with a solid, invisible barrier. Loki halted in his tracks and turned slowly to see the look of absolute panic upon the blond man's face.

The protective dome around the compound had been raised. And each brother was on an opposite side of it.

The Thunderer had raised the hand without the hammer as if he would try to break through the unseen wall. He did not, instead asking his brother with a raised voice, "Is there a way around it? Can it be breached?" Thor's voice was muffled but intelligible.

Loki crept purposefully back toward the enclosure, studying the faintly visible stranding of its surface carefully. He brushed it tentatively with the tips of his fingers, and it glowed faintly at the points where he made contact. He shook his head wistfully. "I am afraid it is impenetrable."

Thor brought Mjölnir down hard against the barricade, but it only caused a violent ripple of sound, and the recoil caused the warrior to fall backwards ungracefully, his cape trailing out behind him with the force of his fall. As he stood and returned to the wall of the dome, he placed an outstretched hand to the smooth face of the barrier, finding absolutely no trace of damage from the blow that he had delivered.

Loki allowed a breathy laugh of disbelief to leave his lips as the truth of their situation settled upon him. Thor had come to the realization of what these circumstances meant, as well, and his eyes were sad - so sorrowful and tinged with grief that Loki felt the need to comfort him, if only he could have reached him at that moment.

"You know what this means?" the elder man said, his voice cracking just a bit at the ending.

"Yes," the younger man nodded, his eyes filling with the faintest hint of tears. "I am trapped in here with Thanos and all of those who serve him."

"I cannot help you now," Thor replied weakly, the tears also beginning to pool in his sightline. "You must go on from here alone, whatever fate awaits you within."

"Yes, I suppose I must." Loki stared apprehensively along the corridor behind him.

"Aye," Thor replied. "You must continue on alone."

"I guess this is goodbye, brother."

A sound like the rush of a strong wind could be heard in the labyrinth of hallways at Loki's back, and the dark-haired man turned toward it. There was a burst of light in the distance that accompanied the unwelcome sound - like a faroff surge of flame. "I cannot linger here," he announced, his eyes still wet and his voice unsteady. "They have closed off the interior to their enemies, and they are flushing out any who might have managed to make it inside." Yet, even as his words professed his urgency to flee, he still hesitated by the outer boundary. Finally, he said, "Farewell, Thor," and began to turn away, his eyes cast down at the floor beneath his feet.

"Wait!" Thor implored him, and the desperation in his voice betrayed his fear. This show of weakness made him pause for a few moments while he considered what his next words should be. "If this is the end . . ." he spoke shakily, and then he stopped to think upon his speech once more before continuing. "Would you - indulge me with one last request? For the sake of all we have shared?" The final word had been choked out with such sorrow that it was nearly a squeak at the last. He sounded so utterly lost that Loki could hardly deny him, particularly after such a pathetic entreaty.

"Perhaps," the sorcerer answered with a pensive smile. "But only if you hurry up about it."

The brothers each laughed apprehensively, their smiles portraying a camaraderie that seemed truly genuine.

Finally, Thor ceased in his levity and met his kinsman's eyes with pained regard. "Loki-" he stammered, struggling with the weight of his petition "Would you . . . perform one last illusion? For me?"

The mage brought his hand to his chin and stroked the flesh there for a long moment, simply considering. "What manner of illusion would you have?" Loki inquired, puzzled. His brother had not requested an image from him since they were on the cusp of adolescence, and it was not at all what he anticipated from him in this instance.

The blond shrugged weakly. "You may choose."

The raven-haired man stood for a protracted instance in further contemplation. He could hear the sounds of the threat behind him moving closer, and yet he was so intrigued by the simplicity of this request that he defied his instinct to flee and stood silently, openly deliberating. After a long moment, Loki lifted his head and walked slowly and purposefully back toward the wall of the dome. As he did so, his visage shifted with flawless congruence from the current face of the Trickster sibling - drawn, gaunt and world-weary - to the soft, untainted countenance that he had worn so guilelessly before Thor's coronation. He was meticulously dressed: his close-fitting attire unblemished, the metallic pieces of his armor buffed to a spotless shine, and his hair smooth and clipped fastidiously close to his neck. This was his brother, Thor lamented, the image of the brother that he had lost years ago and had never recognized it, the man that Thor had been mourning even when he had thought him to be alive.

Was this meant to be a kindness or a cruelty? The answer to this was not readily apparent to the warrior as he studied the details of the illusion that had been rendered to such perfection before his eyes, but the details were so crisp and fine that he felt the need to extend his hand to touch the image lest it reveal itself to be false - which, of course, it was. Even as he did so, he knew that he would only connect with the surface of the dome and not his brother's form, and yet he was mesmerized by the need to confront the guise of the spirit that had been haunting him from the inside out since Loki's plunge from the Bifröst. His unscrupulous brother's eyes were sad then, and almost kind, as he gazed pityingly at the one who reached for him as if to say the farewell that he could not convey before Loki's madness had parted them. The raven-haired man stepped cautiously toward the barrier between them, pressing the crown of his forehead to the facade and extending the tips of his fingers to meet those of his brother. As he did so, Thor let the tiniest plaintive sob escape from his lips, and Loki smiled - a warm and genuine expression the like of which he had not manifested for centuries.

At that moment, Thor caught sight of the beast that was approaching from the corridor at his brother's back, the nozzle of his weapon leveled squarely at Loki. The elder man opened his mouth to cry out a warning, but before he could begin to yell, the entire breadth of the wall before him was flooded with a cloud of radiant fire, the sound of the force that projected it harshly filling his ears. As the blaze engulfed the form of his brother, Thor saw the edges of the illusion ripple and then fade, leaving only flame for a moment and then . . . emptiness. Nothing.

Loki was gone.

The masked creature who wielded the flamethrower loosed another burst of consuming heat at where Thor was standing, but he was thankfully shielded by the protective shell of the dome. After this second attempt, the creature moved on heedlessly, and the Asgardian was left to ponder the meaning of all that had just transpired. Loki had departed, presumably to confront Thanos and complete the mission. However, the sour cramping in Thor's stomach betrayed that this may not be true. Had the illusion been a distraction while his deceitful brother had slipped away for a more nefarious purpose? The blond man realized that he was still leaning against the barrier, but his outstretched hand had closed into a fist.

'Thor?'

The voice of Phil Coulson was suddenly addressing him through the earpiece that had been placed upon him for communication during battle. The Asgardian was suddenly pleased that Rogers had insisted upon him wearing it; the familiarity of a friend's words made him feel far less alone on hostile ground.

'Is Loki still with you?' Phil continued over the sound of what was likely heavy enemy fire.

"I fear that he is not." His voice was steady but strained.

'So, I suppose that I can freely speak what is on my mind at this point,' Coulson stated. More detonations could be heard, and this time they appeared to be much closer to Phil's position. When he spoke again, he sounded a little breathless. 'It has suddenly come to mind that I may have lost sight of a very important detail during this whole scenario.'

"Indeed?"

'Yes. I, um, guess this might be a bad time to mention that Loki is probably still in possession of the Tesseract?' A large explosion was heard from Coulson's side of the conversation, followed by a loud thump and then a muffled grunt of pain from the agent.

"Director Coulson?" Thor replied. "Are you alright?"

'Affirmative,' Phil choked out through what sounded like a lungful of dust. 'It's just that we're getting creamed out here, so if you happen to be planning to do something foolish but heroic in order to save us all, then now would be the time to do it.'

"I fear not," the Asgardian sighed. After a burst of static, the opposite end of the conversation went disturbingly silent. "May the Norns watch over you," Thor whispered as a final prayer before removing the earpiece. He dangled it hopelessly between his fingers as he rehashed Coulson's misgivings about Loki. It was true that Kaal had been in possession of the Tesseract when he had departed the Raft, and that this criminal's identity was later revealed to be that of his wayward sibling. It was also true that there had never been any suitable resolution regarding the whereabouts of the weapon thereafter, save for what came from Loki's own lips; in light of this information, he was inclined to believe that his sibling had played him for a fool once more. Would it not be the ultimate deception for Loki to dupe them all into bringing him to Titan and conveying him to Thanos' doorstep? To make the Avengers complicit by hand-delivering Thanos the ultimate weapon? And then to mock Thor openly by showing him the visage of the brother to whom he had once given his absolute trust? It was a callous act, meant to humiliate and infuriate him. It was heartless, inexcusably wicked . . .

It was precisely what Loki would do.

The Thunder god's doubt progressed quickly from shame to irritation and then seamlessly to full-on rage. He raised Mjölnir and brought it down onto the surface of the dome repeatedly, the deflected energy echoing back painfully through his bicep until he cried out as much in emotional distress as physical agony. There was no sign of any rift in the material of the dome, and yet he continued to pummel the facade a dozen more times before he collapsed at the foot of it, half growling, half sobbing.

"Loki!" he screamed out in both anger and despair.

This supplication was loud enough that the mage could hear it as he rounded the corner of the hall, striding hurriedly toward the Assembly Room. As he moved, he rubbed absently at the corners of his eyes, where a thin layer of moisture had formed despite his efforts to prevent it. He had not anticipated that he would be so affected by their final encounter, and yet Loki found his pace failing as he approached his destination. The sound of that terminal, wounded howl from his brother had actually caused a harsh ache in his chest - the heartbreak in his cry had been palpable. Yet there was no retreating beyond this point. Now was the time for inexorable reserve.

Loki summoned the Tesseract from its celestial hiding place, his hands moving in a spherical motion around the air where the luminous cube appeared. He tightened his clutch on the object as he continued to hasten toward the room, and he could feel the faint pulse of its enormous power threading between his fingers, begging for release. He smiled knowingly and with artful conviction as he straightened his posture and added more confidence to his step. There was no room for error here, he knew, and so he allowed the mask of fearlessness to envelop him from his head downwards, as if slipping into a familiar coat. He marched up to the entrance of the Hall, his eyes blazing with resolution.

Awaiting him at the entrance was the reclining figure of Mephisto, a close-fitting but well-tailored suit showing beneath his sweeping cloak. He was using one elongated claw to stir the flames that he had conjured within his palm, and he was gazing into them with one eyebrow tellingly crooked. For a hopeful moment, the sorcerer thought that he would be allowed to pass without the demon accosting him, but at the last minute, the devil's arm extended to bar his path. Without looking up from his view of the flames, he stated simply, "Well . . . this is interesting." His tongue traced the outline of his visible fangs as he continued to search the fire in his hand.

"Oh?" Loki retorted, his attempt at sounding perfectly casual probably failing.

"Yes, quite interesting indeed."

"Would that I had time to stay and discuss this further, but . . ." The sorcerer tried to force his way past Mephisto's blockade, but the demon merely adjusted his limb until he could grip the other man's forearm, his pointed nails digging just far enough into the flesh to cause discomfort.

"I have seen your intentions, Asgardian. Have you no concern for those to whom you may owe a debt?" the demon seethed accusingly.

Well, he did owe Mephisto some recompense from a matter quite some time ago. Perhaps he had picked an unfortunate moment to collect his remuneration, but the circumstances of the universe were not his to either question or control.

"Before this little . . . gathering gets underway," the demon inquired further with fiendish intention, "Would it behoove me in any way to, perhaps, excuse myself for a period of time? Hmmm?" The pressure of the talons in the flesh of Loki's arm increased, causing the mage to grimace from the sting.

"Five minutes," the Asgardian instructed him staunchly. "Do not look back."

"Most obliged," Mephisto purred, extinguishing the flames in his palm by closing his fist. "I shall not forget this courtesy." He stepped aside and released his hold on the other man's appendage.

With a slight nod of acknowledgment, Loki proceeded to disappear into the chamber beyond.