So, here's another, because why not? I had parts of the conversation with Hela in chapter 41/42 written out long before I got to this part of the story (it's probably been waiting on my laptop to be used since summer), so the set-up was still a bit different. I imagined Hela to know more and I also thought the Avengers would face her together before deciding on the whole Hela-is-actually-dead-and-she-can't-come-to-reclaim-them-in-the-flesh-so-they-would-have-to-go-to-Niflheim-where-mortals-cannot-go kind of narrative. Anyway, this is the original.

"But I thought—" Thor stammered, thinking back to how she had called the stone a very powerful piece of jewelry and then watched it with a curiosity that had created the impression she had never seen it before. Had she truly deceived him so easily?

"You'd better not try to think, Thor," Hela interrupted him. "It is clearly something you are not very good at. Let me ask you some questions instead. Where do you think this stone is suddenly coming from? Who do you think kept it safe all those years? Who do you think spread the rumor that there are only six of them? How do you think Odin managed to conquer the Nine Realms? Where do you think the Odinforce came from? Or the Bifrost? Or Heimdall's ability to see ten trillion souls, huh, Mighty Thor, Protector of the Realms?"

"Odin had all the Infinity Stones in his possession at one point," said Loki so casually as if this was common knowledge among Asgardians. "The Bifrost is a culmination of their powers. Time, space, reality, power, soul. Heimdall had the power of the Soul Stone inside of him just as I had the magic of the Reality Stone inside of me. Gungnir had the force of the Power Stone inside of it and the list probably goes on."

"See? This one is smart," Hela noted. "You could have learned a lot from him."

"But … the seventh stone …"

"Oh, my dear dull-witted brother," Hela interrupted him, "please, let me lend you a machete for your intellectual thicket. This stone here is the life insurance of our universe. It is the one stone who controls the fate of all the others."

"Like the One Ring or what?" Tony mused.

"What ring?" asked Hela. "Andvari's ring? It's nowhere near that powerful."

"The Ring of Power," Rogers provided. "It's a, well, a fantasy story."

"About what?"

"About rings of power given out to all the races of the world," Steve explained. "Elves, dwarfs, men. But there was an evil master who betrayed them all by forging a master ring that enslaved all the others."

"That sounds like a cheap copy of Asgardian lore but I suppose this is all you mortals are capable of," Hela commented dryly. "Anyway, Odin kept it sealed in a dimension he created for the sole purpose of the stone's protection deep beneath the vaults of Asgard."

"Beneath the Odinsword," Loki guessed.

Hela rubbed her hands. "At least one of you is following."

"Dude, did this guy put his name on everything?" Rocket noted dryly.

"He was quite a narcissistic old prick that way," Valkyrie provided.

"So when we destroyed Asgard, the sword was destroyed, too," Thor mumbled. Finally, it was all beginning to make sense. "The blade was removed from the scabbard and caused the end of Asgard." Well, not all of it was making sense. "But the sword belonged to Surtur! Why didn't he claim it back?"

"That was a beautiful myth, wasn't it? Odin and his brothers bring back Surtur's blade and guard it in the Realm Eternal and so long as nobody moves the sword, the power balance of the universe remains intact. But move it as much as half an inch and the power balance of the universe begins to shift, creating cracks in the fabric of reality, and Surtur will come and reclaim his blade, which heralds the beginning of Ragnarok." She chuckled. "His allies will steal the sun and moon from the sky and devour them whole. Everything will turn dark. All lies, my dear princelings. All lies."

"Not entirely, it seems," Loki observed. "He used a lie to tell the truth."

Hela's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What truth?" asked Thor.

"Ragnarok," Loki sighed.

"What is Ragnarok, again?" asked Tony.

"The twilight of the Gods, a prophesied apocalyptic event in which Asgard is destroyed and all beings in the Nine Realms perish, so that the circle of life in the Nine Realms can begin anew," Valkyrie elaborated. "And Asgard is already destroyed. Most of the Gods are dead."

"And half the universe is gone already," Tony added in a broken, toneless whisper. His eyes were open wide as he tried to process the kind of information that posed a threat to the sanity of any mortal mind. "But that …"

"But what does that have to with the seventh stone or the Odinsword?" Thor asked.

"Upon destroying Asgard, we freed the Seventh Stone, brother," Loki said on a sigh. "I should guess that the blade was held in place by some kind of spell that was linked to Odin's and, by extension, Asgard's life-force. Even if someone had tried to move it, they wouldn't have been able to. But Odin's death and Asgard's destruction broke the spell."

"Tsk." Hela inspected him curiously. "You really are a sly bastard. If you hadn't laid waste to Asgard and weren't so incredibly bothersome, I might even be inclined to like you." She nodded appreciatively. "How did you do that, hm? How did you shield all that knowledge that you possess about the Infinity Stones from me?"

"That is going to remain my secret," Loki replied.

"But how is the seventh stone going to cause Ragnarok?" Thor repeated.

"Growing up with such a nitwit must have been so incredibly frustrating," Hela said to Loki.

"Be glad that you weren't around for the early days," Loki returned. "No offense, brother."

Hela chuckled. "The only power of this stone—well, except for containing its own very entertaining death dimension, of course—is to reunite all the other Infinity Stones, cause the rebirth of Nemesis and thereby erase all existence in a universe that has been created only through her demise," she concluded. Her humor died as she glared at Loki. "Which means that you can't have it; unless you wish to bring what you started to a close and fulfill the prophecy in its entirety."

Loki frowned. "Why me?"

"Because all of this, it is your doing, isn't it? If you had not tried to bind your spirit to the Space Stone upon your death, the seventh stone would not have sucked you in, Thor would not have rescued you, nobody would have known of the stone's existence and everyone would have been safe."

"And the Tangler is going to bring forth the Twilight of the Gods," whispered Valkyrie.

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Will you stop quoting that accursed prophecy?"

"Despite all his shortcomings, Odin was wise enough to keep the stone hidden to ensure the continued existence of this universe," Hela went on as if the exchange between Valkyrie and Loki had not taken place. "Even though he apparently went soft when he decided to take in the spawn of a giant and raise him as his own despite his knowledge of both the giants' natural inclination towards deceit and the prophecy you hate so much."

"Maybe that is precisely why he did it," Valkyrie speculated. "To make sure that Loki would not grow up to fulfil his destiny, which means that Odin helped the prophecy along by trying to prevent it."

"Yeah, prophecies are nasty that way." Hela chuckled. "Be that as it may, I think you will all agree that you can't have this stone, so I'd suggest we all go back to how things were." A fifty-inch jagged blade shot out of the palm of her skin, gleaming in the sunlight like the fangs of a hungry dragon. She examined the blade with a feral glint of anticipation in her icy eyes before she held it out to Thor. "Now, are you going to fulfill your end of the bargain or do I have to claim my prize?"

Thor's stomach dropped but Loki did not even flinch. "How can you be certain it is not you who is being deceived by false talk?"

Hela's forehead twisted into an annoyed frown. "Nice try. You belong to me and neither your wits not your false tongue can protect you from the oath your brother so foolishly swore to me. You know as well as I do that an oath uttered by a God is binding."

The Avengers stirred nervously.

"Either Thor kills you here and now," she continued, focusing him with her intense stare, "or I will claim Thor and one of them." Her eyes landed on Tony and she smiled a ferocious smile. "You do seem like someone whose agony I would love to feast on."

Tony gulped but said nothing and Thor felt both his body and mind going into momentary paralysis. How could he possibly make that decision? How could he ever decide between his friends and his brother? Loki needs me, Valkyrie. He doesn't have anyone else. He's always needed me but I've never been there and the worst thing is that none of us would be here right now if I had. From now on, I'm going to put my family first and if that means that I am going to lose everyone else in the long run, even you, well, I'm willing to risk that. Was he, really? All be damned, of course he wasn't!

"Come on, Hela," Loki mocked, seemingly unperturbed by her threat while every fiber in Thor's body strained with uneasiness. The others watched in silence. "You and I both know that Odin was better at deception than any giant, including me, could ever hope to be."

Hela's face was unreadable. "You are stalling."

"Of course I am stalling," Loki snapped. "My life is at stake after all. But my point is—and you will certainly agree with me once you heard me out—is this: You can only assume that the rebirth of Nemesis will erase the existence of our universe."

Hela's composure slipped ever so slightly. "What makes you think that you are smarter than the Allfather himself?"

Loki smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with malicious humor. "Let us face the truth here. There is only one thing we all know for certain and that is that Odin was a ruthless liar and a masterful deceiver. The best in all the Realms, I dare say. He lied to all of us. He lied to you, to Frigga, to Thor, to me, to his counsel; he was never straightforward about matters of this sort. He would have told you anything to stabilize his position as the Allfather."

Hela sniffed. "You're one to talk, Laufeyson."

Loki took a step towards her, his lips curled into a mischievous grin. "What if the rebirth of Nemesis does not lead to our universe's destruction? Or even better: What if the entire prophecy of Ragnarok was a fiction conceived by Odin himself to keep everyone in check, including you? What if Nemesis has never existed and there were seven stones from the very beginning?"

Hela hissed. "The prophecy foretold—"

"The prophecy foretold a series of events that Odin himself set in motion," Loki reminded her and Thor felt his mouth gape open in surprise. "What better way is there to keep your subjects in line than the threat of certain death? And he found the perfect way to cause just enough disturbance to make them believe it might truly happen, did he not? He took in the abandoned child of his archenemy and raised it as his own while going out of his way to make sure that said child never felt as if it truly belonged. Making sure to fill it with dark thoughts of envy and rage, making sure it would grow into someone that caused just enough turmoil to start whispers among the Asgardians that 'The Tangler' might be real. And if The Tangler was real, so must be the prophecy."

Hela surveyed him suspiciously, her icy blue eyes in narrow slits. "You're bluffing, Laufey-scum. Asgard has fallen. Ragnarok is upon us. The prophecy is real. Whether you like or not."

"Is it really?" Loki asked. "Then how can it be that none of the Gods died the way they were prophesied to die? How can it be that Surtur's fires did not devour all the Nine Realms? How can it be that the three of us are still here? The four of us, if you include the Valkyrie?"

Hela's face twisted into a deep frown.

"How can it be," Loki finished with a condescending sneer, "that the prophecy you cling to so desperately failed to mention either Nemesis or this stone in your hand if it plays such a crucial role in the destruction of the universe?"

Hela said nothing.

"I tell you why," Loki said. "Because prophecies are just lies told by those in power in order to control the destiny of others. Because prophecies are specific enough not to be discarded and vague enough to associate all sorts of events with it. You knew of The Tangler and Valkyrie did, too, long before I was even born. And let us dwell on that name for a second, yes? What kind of name is that? The Tangler?" Loki gave a silvery laugh. "This could have been anyone. A giant, a sorceress, a seer, a Norn—who knows? Odin did not know at the time but it did not matter. He later found someone he could mold into a Tangler alongside his worthy hero son."

Thor felt like he'd received his own hammer throw into the gut.

"I should guess he did not know about the stones yet either when the prophecy was first delivered but he fixed that too, by telling you the lie of Nemesis's existence while keeping the stone secret from the rest of the worlds, so that nobody would come for it." Loki chuckled again. He was in his element now, enjoying himself in a way that Thor had not witnessed in what felt like an eternity. "After all, who searches for something that doesn't exist, right? But most importantly, he made sure that you, greedy and war-hungry as you were, would never dare to seek out its power or speak of its existence to anyone, lest Ragnarok consumes you with the rest of Asgard. He knew his little girl was eating the lies right out the palm of his hands."

"You shut up," Hela warned but Thor could see that she was not only enraged but also intrigued.

"But then he banished you, of course, which made you not only furious but also a little suspicious of whatever he told you before he so recklessly discarded you, am I right? And then, even when he knew you were going to come back, he did not bother to tell us about the stone because he knew how it was going to end. He knew that Thor would be powerless against you but he also knew that Thor was going to destroy Asgard and save its people before he let you rule it."

Thor laughed incredulously. "He was the one who suggested to me that we should evacuate our people and destroy Asgard when he appeared to me in a vision."

"See?" Loki giggled. "He knew that after he banished her, Hela would go right after the one thing that he'd told her not to touch."

"That's enough!" Hela growled, swinging her blade into Loki's direction. "I'm going to rip you apart, you little turd of Jotun dung!"

Loki repelled her blow with the scepter, that malicious smile still playing upon his lips. "He knew you well enough to be sure that you would greedily take the stone; assured that you have finally prevailed over him. Assured that, now that he is dead and you are in possession of it, you would think yourself the most powerful being in the universe."

Hela stood frozen, aghast.

Loki straightened his posture and smiled a venomously sweet smile. A sparkle of orange was illuminating his red eyes. "The mighty Hela, Goddess of Death, finally holding the key to prevent Ragnarok in her own hands, controlling the fate of the entire universe. I must say, that is quite an omnipotence phantasy you are nurturing there." He giggled. "The only problem is, Ragnarok is just a prophecy and you are nothing more than Odin's fool."

"This can't be," hissed Hela but she was clearly under the spell of Loki's Mind Stone enhanced silver tongue.

"Oh, it is. Believe me when I say, we have all been there. Well, I certainly have," Loki assured her in a voice dripping with feigned empathy. "Odin was a master deceiver. He had everyone enchanted. It truly is not your fault. But it is never too late to free yourself of his influence," Loki continued, the glint in his eyes having her visibly mesmerized. "To forsake the path he laid out for you."

Hela's face articulated a thousand question marks. Thor held his breath in suspense when he finally realized where his brother was going.

"But I guess that is not what you want, is it?" Loki sneered. "To finally be free of him?"

"Why would you say that?" Hela spat.

"Because you are still holding on to the one last thing that he used to control your actions,'" Loki pointed out. "That stone right there," he emphasized as he gestured towards it with a sardonic smile, "is basically a token of your subjugation."

Hela growled like a hellhound. Loki took a step towards her. "Don't you want to be rid of it? Don't you want to be rid of your shame?"

She growled again but Loki had her trapped as if she was an insect caught in a spider web. "Let go," he whispered, almost seductively. "Let go of your past shame. Let go of his hold over you."

Much to Thor's surprise and, seemingly, against her own will, Hela eventually did drop the stone, almost as if she was acting on instinct. Loki reacted with lightning speed and lunged at her, creating a distraction. Thor understood and sprang forward. While Hela was defending herself against Loki's sudden attack, Thor picked up the stone and held it between his thumb and index finger. "Well, that was very foolish of you, sister."

"You miserable worms!" Hela howled. "You are going to die!" She conjured another weapon and lunged forward. "I am going to kill all of you right where you stand!"