Updated: September 4th, 2019

"Oh, you know the journey must've been extraordinary if Loki of Asgard is stumbling in his steps"," Fandral snickered, causing Loki to send him cold glare.

"Don't look at me and shut it".

"Where's the All-Father? Did you not find him"? Volstagg inquired innocently. Thor clenched his jaw, eyes set downwards. Loki unknowingly started his old habit of twiddling his fingers.

"Hello? I'm sorry princes, but Odin? Maybe you weren't looking hard enough, Midgard can be a big scary place if you're a mortal. He could be any penniless bum asleep on the road," Skurge, out of nowhere, said rather bluntly.

"And what exactly are you doing here? Do you not realize that you could be taken prisoner on account of such inappropriate behavior"? Thor says , the tension rose enormously.

Loki was the only one who wasn't shocked at Thor's cold exterior towards the bald tattooed idiot.

"I'm just the janitor your majesty...," Skurge murmured embarrassed.

"How about you get yourself a different job"?

"Thor stop it, you might as well crucify poor ol' Skurge. Now please enlighten us on our current unhappy situation," Fandral says, pulling Thor in for a side hug. Thinking that that was going to cheer up the God of Thunder. Didn't exactly work. Instead, all Fandral received was his own glare, which was rather intimidating to say the least.

"We'll talk about it soon, but I'll tell you someone we did find. And you're not going to like who it is," Loki warns, in an exhausted tone.

Volstagg laughed booming. "And who would that be? I'd think it'd be you Silvertongue, but alas, you're standing right here among us".

"We found Hela, The Goddess of Death. Odin's apparent true eldest, and the one who's destined to bring forth Ragnarok," Thor spat the words out as if they were poison.

Everything stilled. Simply stunned silence.

"Right. And we have no idea when our sister will decide to visit us and demolish Asgard. So we have to plan fast. As in, right now," Loki says, his words sounding more like stern commands than suggestions.

"But shouldn't we at least find the All-Father first..."? Fandral asks a bit dramatic. Loki turned around swiftly to face him.

"Odin's passed on. He joined our ancestors in Valhalla back on Midgard, Norway to be specific".

Another session of dead silence.

It was broken by Hogun riding right into the Observatory with his steed. Thor clumsily wiped his eyes, feeling done with everything that happened to him in the past 24 hours.

"My friends, I bring good and dire news," Hogun says grimly as he shot Loki a pointed look.

"What news my friend"? Thor asked sluggishly. Fandral and Volstagg were still unmoving, and Skurge was just staring off into the distance.

"Luckily, Heimdall has come out of hiding, he's residing at the palace now. No thanks to a certain someone. And I regret to inform, that the spell cast in the dungeons has worn off. The beast is beginning to awaken".

"What? Wait...what beast"?

Loki paled considerably. "Oh no".

Thor twirled around so fast that it could've been comedic. Key word, could've.

"Loki, what did you do"? Loki was both impressed and apprehensive at his brother's tone.

"Nothing brother, I just welcomed an old comrade of yours with open arms when he decided to crash land into our home".

Ohhh, Jotunheim.

She'd never, ever, believe she'd willingly return here. If any average being were to tell her that back in Hel, she would've laughed like a maniac before stabbing them in the throat.

And look at her now.

Place was still a frozen wasteland without any true purpose. How shocking was that? Hela brushed her jet-black hair back, ignoring the real reason she was doing it was to hide her distress. One couldn't exactly blame her for it. She remembered how the Jotuns treated her so brutally, then Laufey taking advantage of her, and punishing her out of disgust for daring to carry a 'bastard child'.

Then finally giving birth to her babe.

So yes, being back was hard.

Despite it all, she held her head high as she walked straight for their castle. The snow blowing harshly against her numb face. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to their kingdom. It looked as if someone attempted to rip it apart. But if someone had indeed tried to tear this realm to pieces, then she loved whoever it was and wished them well. Although it was probably for the best. She came with a purpose, not just for a pop-up visit. And you couldn't exactly return to a realm that didn't exist anymore could you?

Some Jotuns she encountered were imbeciles and tried to attack her. She killed them instantly. And others were wiser and allowed her to pass. Their clan was smaller than she remembered, it was a shame she couldn't be present for the massacre. Picturing Laufey being struck to the ground brought a smile to her face. The simpleton deserved more than just licking the torturous flames of her world.

'Breaking' into the palace was simple, access to the prisons were even simpler. This place really was worthless if the Jotuns themselves didn't care to have soldiers at their stations.

Opening the doors to her old cell, she walked in with the intention to leave as soon as she found it. The memories rushed back. Both nauseating and joyous. Loki was the only light in her life, holding him for the first time, rocking him back and forth, true happiness bloomed in her heart. Of course, those moments hadn't lasted long enough. Abandoning him had made her heart bleed.

Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Hela crouched down on the filthy icy floor, and started searching for the old relic she'd left behind centuries ago.

There it was. Glimmering in the lonely corner, she spotted it. The pendant. Her diamond Pendant of Everlasting Reflections. Hela received it when she was a little girl. It had been a gift from Frigga. The necklace was embedded with unique magic, it recorded practically everything important that occurred in your lifetime. So that when you opened it's lock, you'd relive the experience once more. Fascinating really, she could see her being the princess of Asgard again, standing faithfully by Odin, slaughtering thousands, but only if she wished.

In truth, it was an honest accident with leaving it behind. She remembered removing the necklace the night before she escaped, so she could nurse her baby. The boy announced he was hungry, very hungry. So she listened to his pleas, gingerly took off the pendant, and fed him. Then her and Loki unintentionally fell asleep. The next day was history, she hadn't noticed until she was back in Hel. Plenty of cursing was involved.

Rubbing the beautiful object with her thumb, she smiled. This would work out perfectly.

Her son was unquestionably going to refuse believing that he was of her flesh and blood. So, instead of trying to prove it with words. She was going to prove it through visions. Actions speak louder than words, correct?

Okay, I'm just gonna say it. In the beginning of this chapter, on the part where Volstagg was being nosy about Odin, and Loki was being adorable with repeating the same old habit that Frigga had with the fingers, I literally just wrote 'Twiddling', and here's what went through my brain,

'Twiddling, fiddling, widdling, jiddling, kiddling, Chicken Little, littering, sizzling, middling, muddling, huddles, Hiddles, Hiddleston. Tom Hiddleston.

...

Is this normal human behavior guys...? Be honest. (btw, im pretty sure I made some of those words up so don't even try to look 'em up)

And I know that a lot of y'all really want to find out Loki's reaction to discovering the truth...and I'm building up to that. Trust me (don't trust me) I got this ;)

Natasha: Thank the NORNS that u liked what I did with it! That was driving me a little insane haha ;) awww, I'm really happy that u like a charming Hela/Thor and Loki bonding, there shall be more to come! Eventually! :)

Show's over for now my amazing wonderful readers! Stay Calm and Think of Loki! :D