The brothers had walked away from the cells in relative silence, and only once they were a safe distance away did Thor explain just the lengths he had gone to for their freedom. Loki was to be closely monitored during the mission, would be returned to a cell the moment they returned, and if he made one step to betray them, then he would be killed. Of course, Loki had absolutely no intention of causing problems, for he just wanted to see Thanos defeated, and then he wished to see his people safely to their new home, wherever that would be. He had tried to explain this, but was silenced as they reached the group of heroes who looked at him with hatred and distrust. It was to be expected, for the God of Mischief had nearly destroyed their beloved New York, and Banner had witnessed how Loki had brought Surtur to life and brought about Ragnarok.
"Where's the other one?"
"She stays here." Thor stated, which was enough of an answer for them. "Are we all here?"
"We're ready." Within seconds they were travelling via the Bifrost, and then they were at Thanos' home world. There was no sign of the Titan, and the group whispered about their plan, while Loki felt rather on edge. He had personally witnessed the devastation that Thanos wreaked even without the Infinity Stones, and he wondered whether he would get out of this alive.
Freya dreamt of happier times, and for a few blissful hours everything had been forgotten. In sleep she could believe that her family lived, and she revisited her favourite memories of childhood holidays and getting caught up in various shenanigans with her sister. She lost herself in her favourite places, and she forgot all of her grief and stress. But as the sun rose outside, she found herself being dragged back to the real world, and she winced at the aches in her bones. Her bed was no more than a cloak which Loki had managed to create for her, and she sighed deeply as she came to. Freya knew that they had missed their opportunity to help, and she had no doubt that she was to blame. After all, if she had just kept quiet and not told Thor then perhaps…
Well, it was no use dwelling on it. It was done, and she knew she ought to focus on the next steps. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she felt her heart sink further as she saw the empty cell opposite. She knew instinctively that Loki had managed to worm his way onto the mission, and had left her behind. Despite his many promises that he would not do so, he had abandoned her, and Freya knew that she had been taken for a fool. Having lost everything else, and now betrayed by her only surviving friend, Freya felt her heart break once and for all…
The fight had been long and hard, and Loki was exhausted. The remaining Avengers had all taken a beating, and yet they were determined to avenge those they had lost. It was not easy taking down Thanos when he had the Infinity Stones, but Thor had made good use of Stormbreaker so that the gauntlet was quickly separated from the Titan's arm. Loki was somewhat heartened to see Thanos fall shortly after that, while Thor finally got the closure he needed. As the God of Thunder dealt the killing blow, Loki used his magic to retrieve the stones and he smiled as he shapeshifted so that the gauntlet fit him. He could feel the stones in his hand calling to him, and he grinned as he realised just why they were so sought after. Oh, the things he could do with this much power! But he knew that one thing took priority. He had made a promise after all, and he was determined to keep his word. While the others argued over what should be done, Loki took a deep breath and with some effort, he snapped his fingers, thinking of all those who had been lost.
"No!" The others called, for it had been agreed that the Hulk would wear the gauntlet, but it was too late. The God of Mischief grimaced at the agonizing pain that surged down his left side, but he focused purely on undoing Thanos' work. He made sure that the Titan's army was completely destroyed, and then Loki turned his thoughts to Asgard. With grim determination he tried to restore his home world that had been destroyed just a few weeks ago. He could see the golden realm clearly in his mind, and he willed it to be true.
"Loki! Stop this!" Thor yelled, knowing exactly what he was trying to do, but Loki ignored him. Pain continued to spread through him, but all he wanted to do was to save his people. He had hopefully brought back everyone else. Was it that much of a crime to want to bring back his people and his home?
"I can do it…" Loki hissed, knowing that his strength was failing. Though he had held two infinity stones at one point, six was proving to be too much, even for him.
"Asgard is gone brother. You can stop now." Thor said as he took hold of Loki's shoulder.
"I…"
"It will kill you." The God of Thunder pointed out sadly, having already noticed just how much Loki was suffering. There were dark marks and burns down his left side, and his skin was gaining a blue tinge. "I would much rather have you live."
"I…" Loki uttered quietly as he realised that there was nothing more he could do. Try as he might, he could not undo Ragnarok, and so he let the gauntlet slip from his hand. Thor gave him a sympathetic smile as the Trickster staggered forwards.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, before he gave into the nothingness…
Freya had lost all track of time as she paced her cell. Her tears had run out, and she had soon grown bored of moping. She had gone through pretty much every emotion since she had woken, and she had cursed both Loki and the Avengers relentlessly, while simultaneously praying that they would be successful. More than anything she wanted her family back, and yet she dearly hoped that the Trickster was safe, even though he had betrayed her trust. Freya knew that there had always been a risk of him doing exactly that, but she had lived in the hope that he would let her do something to help out. Instead, she was left helpless in a dungeon, hundreds of miles away from home and completely unaware of what was happening.
By the time she was released, she had given in to despair. She sat with her knees tucked to her chest, while she stared blankly at the wall. She had no idea quite what the future held in store for her, and she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to find out. When the cell door opened, she made no move to get up until she heard a familiar voice. She knew she should hate him, for it was partly his fault that she was here, but she was also glad that he was present. Freya remained silent as she was escorted to another room, and she quickly realised that she was not yet free, for a group of people sat waiting with many questions.
It was late by the time they finished, and Freya was drained. She had told them everything that they wanted to know, from how she had first met Loki and just what she knew about him. The interrogation had brought up long buried memories of her time both in Asgard and with SHIELD, and she knew she would be dealing with the fallout for months. The thing that bothered her was that no one had told her how the mission had gone, and her questions had been ignored. The only thing that gave her hope was that Thor was present, and he was uninjured. He gave her no clues though, and she sighed heavily as she was taken from the room. More than anything she wanted a hot bath and a comfy bed, but all that awaited her was a prison cell…
"You can release her to me now." The God of Thunder said as they reached another corridor. Freya did her best not to react, but followed him until they were outside. She savoured the feeling of the cool night air on her skin, and then frowned as she realised they were walking away from the palace, while Thor was carrying her rucksack.
"What… What's happening?" She asked, curious as to what was going to happen. Thor did not answer, and waited for her to catch up before lifting up Stormbreaker. Freya's eyes widened in horror, for she had no idea if he was about to kill her, but there was a bright light and a whooshing sensation, before she hit the ground. Motion sickness quickly overwhelmed her, and she lay in the grass for a moment as she waited for the world to stop spinning. The God of Thunder merely placed the bag next to her before going to walk away.
"Wait! Please! I need to know, did he…?" She called out. Thor hesitated for a moment and gave a heavy sigh, before disappearing from view. Another bright flash of light followed, and he was gone.
Freya's heart sank further, and she looked at the stars above for a few minutes, offering a silent prayer to any deity that cared to listen that everything would be alright. After ten minutes she was certain that Thor was not coming back for her, and so she took in her nearest surroundings to figure out where she was. A sign stated that she was in the park near to her apartment, and so she made her way home. She had no idea just what would happen to her now, nor what she should do. All she did know was that she wanted the comforts of home.
She was greeted by a messy but empty flat about ten minutes later, and she swallowed back tears as the events of the last few days finally hit her. She had been so determined to make things right that she had not really processed what had happened. Dropping her bag, she sank into the armchair, for she did not have the energy to go any further. Freya had seen her entire family turn to dust, before trekking through the resulting devastation in the vain hope of helping to defeat the Titan responsible. Yet she had been thrown in a cell and treated as a traitor, while Loki had broken his promise to her. Thor had not said a word to her when she was released, and she had no idea what the future had in store for her. Was she a free woman? Or would she be constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting to be punished for her actions?
"Meow?" A quiet noise and a gentle nudge against her leg made Freya look down, and her heart lifted as she saw Sif. The cat had her head tilted questioningly, and Freya did not hesitate to hug the creature.
"I thought I'd lost you!" Freya sobbed, while Sif purred reassuringly. The pair sat there for a moment, before Freya realised just what this meant, and so she placed her cat down before rummaging through her bag. Leaving the dumped contents on the floor, she hurriedly put her phone on charge and waited for a few tense moments before it switched itself on. In an instant it was pinging relentlessly with numerous messages and missed calls, and her eyes widened as she saw just many voicemails there were. Drying her eyes, Freya immediately called her mother, and she smiled widely as she heard her voice. It seemed that they had done it!
"Finally! Don't you ever answer your phone?" Her mother chastised.
"I…."
"Honestly, we thought we'd lost you! The news said that we've been gone for a few days and… Well, it's been a few hours since then. Where on earth have you been?"
"I'm sorry mum. My phone died and…" Freya sighed. "I'd been trying to find a way to cope."
"Cope?"
"I didn't…" She tried to explain, while her mother hesitated. "I saw you…"
"Oh Frey…" she heard her father in the background. "You thought you'd lost us, didn't you?"
"Oh…" Her mother uttered, suddenly realising what that meant. "Oh Freya, I… I'm so sorry."
"You're here now, that's all that matters." Freya told them, not bothering to hide the fact she was crying.
"Come home Freya." Her mother instructed.
"There's not much we can do from here love." Her father said softly. "Come home and we can…"
"Can I… Can I come back tomorrow?" Freya asked weakly, feeling much like a lost child. If it wasn't so late in the day, she knew she would be heading for a train straight away, for there was no way she would be able to stay in such an empty flat on her own after the last few days.
"Of course Freya. We'll see you then."
