Valkyrie blinked. "Thor, are you all right?"
"Aye, I just..." Thor sat down as the voice seemed to grow louder.
" Come on, mighty Thunder god. This is no time for lazing around!"
Thor hissed as he was sitting on the bench, he grabbed his head, then he squinted his eyes shut.
Thor could feel a pair of strong hands having grabbed his shoulders, then Thor opened his eyes and right in front of him was a pair of green eyes belonging to a god of Mischief yelling right into his face.
"THOR!"
"ARGH!" Suddenly Thor toppled, wildly launching his hands and only managing to grab the corner of the table, but even that didn't help him as Thor fell down and just took the entire table with him so food and drinks were flying everywhere, then finally Thor landed on his back with a big thud as he groaned. "Urggh."
Thor squinted his eyes, everything was so bright. He glanced up at a white marble wall and then two people bowing over him, looking down.
One man with bright green eyes, and one warrior maiden with pale skin and brown hair.
"Loki?" Thor asked. "Sif..." Then his eyes widened. What in the?!
"Focus, Thor!" Loki demanded as he was squatting down. "Did you have a strange sensation? Like someone was entering your mind?" he asked.
Thor gaped at his younger brother, then he looked around, he was… In Asgard's dining hall! All around people were sitting, pretending like they weren't watching him; slowly Thor sat up, then turned back to Loki who was sternly looking at him. Thor swallowed, and then he dived forward grabbing Loki in a tight hug, pulling the young god into a crushing embrace.
"WOAH!" Loki shouted in pure surprise and now he was caught... Locked in Thor's tight embrace as Thor sniffed. "Erh." He blinked.
"Thor?" Sif asked.
"So-Sorry." Thor tried to gather himself. He didn't want to let go of Loki though. He… He had just been in Norway with Valkyrie and now he was here?! How?!
Loki groaned. "I really wish you would stop doing this."
"I... I'm sorry," Thor sniffed, though he didn't let go of Loki.
"Also, I wish you would stop doing that!" Loki stated.
"Huh?" Thor looked up. "You mean, apologizing?"
"YES!" Loki shouted and, stunned, Thor let go, finally sitting back. He then realized, everyone's eyes were on him. Including Sif's, and she was looking at him with wide, shocked eyes.
Now Thor felt like an idiot, he could feel them. Everyone. He glanced around, though the moment he looked towards them, everyone returned their gazes to their own food and pretended they hadn't seen anything. Then Thor returned to the two whom were with him, looking up at the gaping Sif and the slightly frustrated Loki.
"Are you feeling better?" Sif finally asked.
Slowly, Thor nodded. "Aye… I feel fine." Then he frowned. "For how long was I out?" he asked, then he turned to Loki who's eyes hadn't even moved. "Loki?" he asked.
"Barely even a second," Loki informed.
"Oh." Thor blinked. "Really?" he asked. "Did… Did we just come directly from my chambers?" he asked. "And… You made me take a bath, trim my beard and fix my hair, yes?" he asked.
"Yes, that's what just happened." Loki frowned.
"Ah." Thor looked down.
Then Sif reached down, offering Thor a hand. Thor looked at her, then slowly reached up his hand and grabbed hers, allowing Sif to pull Thor back up on his legs.
Finally he stood up again, then swayed a bit.
"Thor," Sif breathed as she looked at him, her eyes looking across his face before landing somewhere on his hair and she smirked, even let out a snort.
"What?" Thor asked.
"Your hair," Sif chuckled. "There's cake in your hair!"
Thor blinked, then lifted his hand to his hair and found what, true enough, was an entire slice of cake, which he pulled off and looked at.
Another snort sounded on Thor's other side and he turned to Loki whom looked away, pretending like he totally hadn't been laughing at that.
Thor smiled lightly holding the hair cake in his hand. Then a light came over his eyes... And he dropped the cake right on top of Loki's head.
"HEY!" Loki shouted, immediately swiping the cake away from his own hair. Too late though, he had cream in his hair now and Thor laughed.
"That's cheap, Thor!" Loki proclaimed.
"I call it getting even," Thor informed amused.
"I wasn't the one getting cake in your hair, you did it yourself! So it doesn't count!" Loki exclaimed. "Besides, Sif was the one laughing first!"
"Keep me out of it." Sif smirked, amused. Then she glanced at Thor. "Though I thought it was Loki who was supposed to be the god of Mischief."
Thor shrugged. "Maybe he is just rubbing off on me," he commented.
Loki gaped, the horror hitting him.
Thor just smirked, though his smile faltered a moment later. His eyes widened in panic.
"Thor?" Sif asked.
"Excuse me," Thor asked as he stepped forward, grabbed Loki's arm, and then pulled the younger god after him.
"HEY!" Loki shouted.
Thor didn't stop, just continued pulling Loki with him.
"Would you stop! I haven't even gotten to eat yet!" Loki exclaimed.
At that Thor stopped, let go of Loki, picked up a piece of bread from the table next to him, and then just stuffed the bread into Loki's mouth, nearly making the young god choke before he grabbed Loki's arm again and pulled him out.
Loki was coughing and spluttering, trying to deal with the bread stuffed into his mouth and the thunder god just pulling at him, as Thor finally reached an empty study and shovelled Loki inside, then closed the door after him. Loki fell to the ground as he grabbed his throat, coughing. "What… WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" he exclaimed.
"I was back!" Thor shouted.
"What?" Loki asked.
"The other timeline!" Thor exclaimed. "The time and place where everything had gone wrong! I was there!" he informed. "For at least an hour!"
Loki looked up, his eyes wide with shock. "What?" he asked.
"One second I was at the table with you and Sif, then I was back in Norway, and I was there for a while, THEN I am back at the table with you guys and you say less then a second has passed!" Thor exclaimed.
There was quiet as the two, wide-eyed, looked at each other.
"Loki." Thor swallowed. "I think I might be going insane."
"No… No-no-no." Loki shook his head. "It's much worse than that."
"What do you mean?" Thor asked.
"You came here, but never left your original time!" Loki exclaimed. "You are existing in two different timelines simultaneously! This is bad!"
"How bad?" Thor asked.
"It means time itself has become unstable!" Loki exclaimed. "Time and space! Perhaps even reality!" he stated. Loki grabbed his hair. "Thor, did something happen in your original timeline that could affect time, space and reality itself?" he asked.
Thor blinked. "Ti… Time, space and reality?" he asked.
"Yes, Thor!" Loki shouted. "In your mind, there were several major events. Did any of them have to do with..."
"The Infinity Stones have been destroyed," Thor informed.
There was quiet, absolutely quiet as the two looked at each other.
"The Infinity Stones have been… What?" Loki asked.
"Destroyed," Thor repeated.
"WHAT?!" Loki shouted.
"Is that… bad?" Thor asked.
"Bad?! Oh, they are just the building blocks of the universe. Is it bad? OF COURSE IT'S BAD!" Loki shouted.
"But… They have only been destroyed in my original timeline, right? So this one should be fine," Thor tried.
"This timeline is a product of your timeline!" Loki shouted. "This timeline is a product of time in your timeline having become unstable! Maybe even slowly vaporizing as it is desperately trying to repair itself. Same goes for space, reality, power, mind and soul!"
"That does sound bad," Thor had to concede. "What, erhm… What is the worst case scenario here?"
"Oh you know, the timeline you came from could cease existing! Meaning, it will be like it was never there at all! It won't exist in any shape or form! Meaning that this timeline, which is a product of yours won't exist either!"
"Okay, that's really bad," Thor had to admit.
"Who in the name of the All Father thought it was a good idea to destroy the Infinity Stones?!" Loki exclaimed.
"Well…. Erhm… The same guy whom was convinced he could save all the worlds in the universe by killing half the population," Thor commented.
Loki looked up at Thor who looked back at him. "That's really stupid," he stated.
"Aye," Thor agreed. "We do call him the Mad Titan."
"Name fits," Loki muttered.
There was quiet. Thor swallowed. "Erhm… So what do we do?" he asked.
Loki looked up at Thor; the two looked at each other for a few seconds. "I don't know," Loki then finally admitted.
The silence was deafening. Loki saying… I don't know, it was crushing. If Loki didn't know, then who would?!
"What do you mean, you don't know!" Thor exclaimed. "There must be something!"
"Why do I have to have all the answers?!" Loki asked.
"You're the smart one!" Thor exclaimed.
"You're the one existing in two different realities simultaneously!" Loki shot back.
"But I don't know how I managed that!" Thor exclaimed.
"If you don't know, then how in the name of the All Father should I?!" Loki asked.
Then there was silence, both princes were huffing for air as they looked at each other, as if they had just been engaged in combat, then Loki turned around, taking a couple of steps away.
"Loki," Thor pleaded.
"I don't have all the answers, Thor," Loki replied.
Thor swallowed. "This new reality has Infinity Stones, right? Can't we use those to fix the other one?"
Loki snorted as he turned back. "That's a stupid ide..." he halted.
Thor blinked. "Loki?"
"Or maybe... Maybe not." Loki looked up. "The prime timeline has no Infinity Stones, but this one has... Right now they are not the originals, but... "
Thor was quiet, intensely listening to loki.
"I see! That's what's happening!" Loki exclaimed. "Your world has split itself into several different versions, versions where the Infinity Stones still exist, in the hopes of retrieving them again! Desperate to find its own building blocks!"
"What?" Thor asked.
"However… For this world to exist, it also needs Infinity Stones... The bases of creation itself." Loki frowned, then he looked up. "I got it!" he breathed. "We turn this world into the new prime world! Let the other be destroyed and we should be good! This world has Infinity Stones, the other doesn't, so it should be able to gain dominance. The major difference is, of course, you, which just means you have to leave the other world behind and stay here to solidify it."
Thor opened his mouth, then he halted. "Then what would happen to the people living in the original timeline?"
"What do you mean?" Loki asked.
A young woman, just a girl, played in Thor's mind, she had been sweet, she had cut his hair for him… Tony had just gotten a little girl, he loved her more than anything. Valkyrie was no longer trapped on Sakaar, she had found purpose again.
"The others, Loki," Thor asked.
"Who cares! Their fate is shit anyway isn't it?" Loki asked. " You, though, will be able to come here and stay here! With us! Forget it all ever happened. That's good isn't it?" he asked.
"But… It's not right." Thor shook his head.
"Of course it is! They won't even exist, they don't exactly have to suffer or anything," Loki said.
"There has to be another way!" Thor exclaimed.
"There isn't, Thor!" Loki exclaimed. "Now just come with me, we'll go to the library. Then we'll find a way to permanently remove you from the other timeline and make you stay here, which will cement this one as the new prime timeline, and the other can just vanish. Then the two of us can forget any of this ever happened and continue with our own lives. Sounds good, yes?"
Thor shook his head as he stepped backwards. "No Loki, that's not right. Here I am still only a prince, back there… I am king. I am sworn to help them, to protect them."
"They won't even exist, it doesn't matter!" Loki exclaimed.
"YES, IT DOES!" Thor shouted and Loki stumbled back. "Find another way Loki, or forget all about it!"
Loki hissed as he stood up. "This world is unstable, this is the one that is going to disappear first if nothing is done. Then the other will too."
"So be it," Thor stated. "Your way is not right. Find another one or vanish, Loki."
Loki seethed. "You truly are foolish, Thor," He sneered in a dangerous voice.
"Most likely." Thor nodded. "But I will not leave my people behind yet again."
"YOU IDIOT!" Loki roared.
Thor just shook his head as he walked out the door, from there he walked to his chambers and sat down on his bed, groaning as he squinted his eyes, then as he opened his eyes… He was in a small hut, a dark skinned warrior standing in front of him, looking worried.
"Are you sure you are all right, Thor?" Valkyrie urged.
Thor looked up at her. "Okay… Listen. I know this is going to sound insane," he stated. "But I swear! I am not drunk! It's true."
Valkyrie frowned, but nodded.
Then Thor took a deep breath, he met Valkyrie's eyes, and then he spoke. "Apparently, I exist in two different timelines simultaneously."
Valkyrie frowned, her eyebrows knitting together.
"I know, it sounds insane." Thor sighed.
"It sounds like a sentence you would not come up with by yourself," Valkyrie stated.
"Loki explained it to me," Thor informed her. "In the other timeline."
Valkyrie stood still, but she was listening, and Thor sighed yet again, then he started to explain.
