Loki's hand around Gungnir was sweaty as he flung spell after spell, Thor gingerly getting up from where he had hit the wall. Laufey and their mother had long since gone, since Odin was determined to kill them both, the glint of madness bright in his one blue eye.

They had tried to speak to the man, but it had all gone downhill when he had found out that Frigga had told them the truth. His gut had twisted when he had seen the emotions in Odin's eye, and the blossoming of insanity as his carefully constructed world had fell apart around him. It was when he had tried summoning Gungnir and Mjolnir, and the weapons had refused to answer, that what remained of his world had cracked and disappeared.

That was when the fight started.

They were stalling for long enough for Laufey to get Frigga away to safety, and they had been able to hold their own for awhile. That had all changed when Odin had been able to deflect a spell of Loki's, and then knock Thor into the wall with just his fist.

"So you think you can defeat the mighty All-father? Two frost giant runts? Ha! I should have killed you when you were babes, but I did not! And this is how you repay me!"

Loki brought Gungnir up to block the strike, but it still sent him back into the wall, leaving him dazed next to Thor. Odin stood in front of them, terrible in his glory and madness.

"I will not allow this. I will destroy Jotunheim and my brother, and rid us of their menace!"

"It was all your fault!" Thor yelled, and then coughed. Loki winced to see the blood flecking his lips. His blue eyes were on fire with rage and betrayal. "You lied! You and your petty jealously, that couldn't stand to see your brother happy with our mother! You are despicable!"

"I couldn't have said that better myself, brother," he said with a wild smirk, and Thor smiled back, teeth bloody as they both rose to their feet. Thor swung Mjolnir around as Loki settled Gungnir in front of him, both squaring their shoulders and giving Odin cool, arrogant eyes. "We are Loki and Thor Laufeyson. And you, Odin All-father, are hereby stripped of all your titles and responsibilities, and will stand trial for your lies and deceit."

Odin began to laugh, quietly at first, but it developed into a full guffaw, but neither brother exchanged looks or even fidgeted at the uneasiness the sound caused.

"You? You think to put me on trial? I am the King of Asgard!"

"No," Thor said, deadly quiet. "Loki is King, you are nothing any longer. Come quietly, Odin, and we will-"

A blast of raw power slammed into them, knocking them both back into the wall, and for a moment, everything was black.

Loki blinked several times to clear his vision, and groaned as he rolled onto his hands and knees. His helmet had kept him from the worst of it, and it seemed Thor's did as well. His brother was on his knees, holding his head with one hand, the other tight on Mjolnir. Loki looked around, and frowned when he didn't see Odin. Then he grabbed Thor in a panic, eyes wide.

"He went to the Bifrost. He means to destroy Jotunheim. Laufey took mother there!"

Thor's own eyes widened in panic, and it was enough that Loki didn't even say a word about the indignity of being carried as Thor grabbed him, and swung Mjolnir into the air. They slammed out of the palace, breaking several walls in the process, but neither cared. Loki's heart was thumping madly as they flew down the bridge, and then it froze when the Bifrost blazed into life before they were even there. The single beam was a molten gold instead of the shimmering white that it should be, as more and more power was pushed into it. By the time they landed, the machine had its own tornado of clouds swirling around it, trying to drag them into it.

Odin stood in front of it, Heimdall an unconscious figure at his feet, a wide smile on his face that showed all his teeth, arms spread as he faced them. "Behold my false sons! Behold what the true King of Asgard can do!"

"I see a false king!" Loki yelled, trying for anything to distract Odin so Thor could attack. His mind was frantically searching through all the knowledge he possessed for a way to shut down the Bifrost, and he was becoming increasingly panicked when he continuously came up with nothing. "I see a man, not a king, that let his jealously and pride get the better of him! You are nothing but a child!"

That was it. Odin's face screwed up in rage and he came flying towards them. "Thor now!" His brother flew and met Odin in the middle, as Loki ran as fast as he could towards the spitting and sparking Bifrost. He quickly whispered a spell over the gatekeeper, teleporting him to the medical bay in the palace. His hands then swiftly went through motions of spell after spell, keeping one ear on the fight behind him. Thor was keeping Odin away from him, but it wouldn't be too much longer before the ex-king would overpower his brother. He faltered in his latest attempt when the fighting stopped, and a heavy hand fell upon his shoulder. He looked back, eyes wide and fearful. It was only a small relief when he saw his brother.

"I...I can't stop it Thor." He hated how small his voice sounded, but he couldn't do anything.

"Let me brother," Thor said, and pulled him back, tone heavy. "I can stop it."

"Where..." He began, then he saw Odin unconscious, blood streaming from his head. Thor wasn't in much better shape, but he was pushed back. Then Thor struck with Mjolnir, sending cracks through the bridge. Loki swallowed hard, shoving the denial back down his throat. The Bifrost was their lifeline to the other worlds, and while he knew of the back doors, they could only be traveled by one person at a time.

When it finally snapped, Thor was thrown backwards from the force and Loki had to go to one knee, shielding his eyes so they wouldn't be burned out by the flash. Before he could recover, a hand tightly enclosed his throat, and it was only a hasty, instinctual barrier that kept it from being crushed. He found himself face to face with a furious Odin, the one blue eye spitting hatred and mad rage. He struggled futility, lungs unable to take in air as Odin walked them over to the edge of the broken bridge. In sudden clarity, he knew what was about to happen, and his magic lashed out like emerald lightning around him, but it didn't faze Odin in the least.

"Brother, help!" he called out mentally, and through the white dancing in his eyes he could see Thor struggling to get to his feet, blood coating his face as he stared at them fearfully.

"You have been a thorn in my side for too long, Laufey," Odin nearly purred, and Loki screamed as foreign magic poured into his weakened body, making him feel like he was burning from the inside out. "I will be done with you, and me and my armies will finally be rid of your precious wife and frost giants!"

He called to Gungnir in his panic, and felt the spear respond to the summons of its chosen king. Pain blossomed in his middle just as Odin's eye went wide and he looked down. Black was taking over his vision, his lungs screaming for air that wouldn't come. He knew what had happened though; the spear had pierced Odin through the heart, and exited to enter Loki's stomach since he was being held up. He felt the fingers slipping on his throat, but was too close to unconsciousness to be able to save himself. He cast a quick glance over to find Thor on his hands and knees, trying to crawl to him, eyes terrible with fear of what they both knew was coming. With his last breath, he spit in Odin's face, mind filled with sudden clarity.

He could do this one thing for his brother, mother, and Asgard.

"I forsake you, Odin All-father," he gasped, Gungnir humming between them, following his words and will. "You are a stain upon the Aesir and Jotun alike. I sentence you to death, as the chosen King of Asgard!"

Gungnir flared bright white between them, and Odin's fingers let go. Loki weakly tried to grab onto something, anything to keep him from falling into the Void, but he was too weak. His fingers slipped right off the edge of the bridge, and then his body shut down.

He didn't even remember falling.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Loki no!" Thor screamed, throwing himself to the edge of the broken bridge, uncaring how it cut straight through his armor and into his skin. He got a single glimpse of his twin as he entered the wormhole, and then it closed up.

"No...no no no no no NO!" He screamed wordlessly then, beating his fists uselessly against the sharp edges. His heart was a cold lump in his chest, and his body felt frozen by the fear, rage, denial, and a myriad of other emotions that were snapping through him.

He had no clue how long he sat there, staring down at the stars spread out below him, wishing, praying, hoping that Loki would appear and tell him that he was an idiot. He paid no mind to the corpse cooling next to him, the once mighty King now fallen victim to his own vices. His mind was only on his brother, his twin, his other half, and why he wasn't there.

Guilt, and a blinding sense of purpose finally made him get to his feet, absently pulling Gungnir from Odin's body as he turned. The silver spear was free of blood, and Thor smiled bitterly at the weapon. He could feel the power flowing through it, and he could also feel the grief it held now that its chosen king was lost.

"I will get him back," he whispered, looking up into the universe with tears coursing freely down his face. "I will get him back."

With both weapons resting heavily in his palms, he made his way back to the palace, instructing a guard to bring the council to him in the throne room. He then had a messenger check on Heimdall, and to report back to him the status of the gatekeeper.

Still covered in blood, he walked to the throne room, glad that it was night and the nobles weren't around. Once he got there, he shut the doors behind him, effectively keeping everyone else out. Then he turned, and stared at the golden throne. Slowly he walked to it, but could not bring himself to sit upon it. Loki had been chosen as king, and he would not take his brothers right. He would only sit upon that seat if he saw Loki's dead body right before him, if he himself could press fingers to his throat and know that he was no long among them.

His throat closed up and he closed his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath and concentrating like his brother had taught him when they were younger. He finally had himself under control when the herald announced the council, and he straightened his shoulders. He turned just as the doors opened, but couldn't even find a polite smile when the group walked in. Before they could even speak, he tapped Gungnir on the floor, the sound echoing like a bell and calling for silence.

"Council men and women, I bring to you sad tidings. Odin All-father is dead, and my brother had fallen into the Void." He hit Gungnir again when buzzing began, but this time the echo held a growl, speaking of the weapons anger towards their disrespect. "Odin went mad when he learned that our mother had told us the truth of the war with Jotunheim." The lack of surprise and outright dread on a few faces told him what he already had guessed. "It seems that most of you know. Good. Then I will not have to go into detail. He tried to destroy Jotunheim with the Bifrost, and failed. I destroyed the bridge, as it was the only way to save Jotunheim, but Odin threw my brother, and your king, into the Void. I called you here to tell you that I will be acting in his stead until Loki is found. You're dismissed."

"How can you let a monster like him take the throne?" One brave soul called out just as he was turning to leave. Thor froze, an idea that was pure Loki sparking in his head. He turned, a small, condescending smile on his lips as he thought of cold. It was only a moment when blue overtook his skin, eyes lighting with their bloody light.

"A monster like him, you say? Monsters are not born, they are made," he said quietly, remembering a quote he had heard when he was on Midgard. He had a brief thought of staying in his Jotun form, but decided against it. It was with another thought that he reverted. "Once again, you're dismissed."

He ignored the mutterings behind him as he strode from the chambers, but stopped dead in his tracks when he found who was waiting for him behind the private exit. Frigga and Laufey stood, hand in hand, both looking haggard.

Frigga smiled widely and flung herself on Thor, hugging him tightly. "Oh my son, my son..."

"Mother," he whispered, voice cracking as grief overwhelmed him. For the moment he let it, burying his face in her shoulder. The first tears began when he felt Laufey's, no, his father's hand rubbing his back.

"We will find a way my son," Laufey said softly, exchanging a look with Frigga as Thor held her tightly. "Thor, we have many things to discuss."

Thor nodded and took a shaky breath, pulling away from them both and wiping his face. Eyes closed he took another breath, then another, until the exhale came out steady. Then he opened his eyes, and faced his parents. "Aye we do. First things first. Acting upon my brothers wish, you and father are going to get married, again, but this time here."

He couldn't help but laugh loudly at the surprised and shocked looks he received. He remembered the whispered conversation he and Loki had at the dinner table last night - was it just last night? - and his wish to see their mother and father wed by Jotun and Aesir standards.

"Do not give me those looks my parents," he said at length, after he had managed to control his mirth. "It is time Asgard learned of our natures, and we begin reeducating the populace on the truth of Jotunheim. They, you, we, are not the monsters that Odin led them all to believe."

"That will take a lot of time Thor," Laufey said quietly. "It will be very hard to undo centuries of what people believe to be the truth."

Thor just nodded, thinking of Loki. "I know this. That is why I wish to get started on it immediately. I wish things to be started down the right path for when my brother gets home."

"Thor..." his mother said, sad and almost chiding. His jaw clenched, and he whirled to face Laufey.

"Did you feel it when Odin died?"

Laufey blinked, and frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

"It is a simple question father," he said more harshly then he had intended. He didn't take it back though, instead glared with half-lidded eyes, silently demanding an answer.

Laufey hesitated, glaring back, but finally nodded. "I did."

Thor's eyes flared with satisfaction, and he looked at Frigga. "Mother, twins share a special connection. It has been spoken of throughout time. I will know when Loki dies. He is not, and as long as he lives, I will try to find him."

Frigga's eyes were brimming with tears when she hugged him. "I believe you my son." She drew back, and smiled brightly. "If you have faith, then I shall as well."

"Prince Thor," a rough voice called out, and the three of them turned. Thor instantly rushed to Heimdall's side, his mother close behind as he supported the large man.

"Heimdall, you're an idiot," Thor said in amused exasperation, and suddenly understood why his brother had called him that so often. He couldn't count the number of times he had entered Loki's room, banged up and bloody, asking his twin to be healed.

Heimdall just smiled wanly at him, as his mother clicked her tongue, hands beginning to glow with the soft cornflower blue of her magic. As soon as she put hands on him, Heimdall sighed in relief, and leaned more heavily on him. "I am fine, my prince. I wished to report to you personally, instead of sending a messenger."

"What do you have to report?"

"For awhile now, I have been sensing a presence in the Void. A terrible evil, that I am unable to see because of powerful concealing magic's. I went to the bridge before coming to find you, and searched for Loki. I found traces of his fall, but I can no longer sense him, since he is now concealed by these spells as well."

Thor sucked in a harsh breath, as Laufey growled behind him. "So you believe that whoever these powers belong to now has my brother?"

Heimdall nodded, and Frigga clicked her tongue in disapproval. The gatekeeper was looking ashen, and just her fingertips glowed blue as she glanced at Thor for approval.

"Is there anything else?" he asked, and Heimdall shook his head. He nodded to his mother, and she pressed her fingers to his forehead, and Thor caught him as he fell asleep.

"Odin pierced him several times with his own sword," Frigga muttered in disgust, laying a hand on the bandages as they began walking towards Heimdall's rooms.

Thor did not answer, as he thought of what the man had told him. He kept his silence all the way, leaving Frigga with Heimdall as she slipped into a healing trance to erase all the damage that had been done by his false father. Laufey followed him as he aimlessly wandered to the balcony that overlooked the city and broken bridge. It was only the wash of cold against his skin that told him Laufey had reverted back to his natural state. He finally glanced over at his father when a cold hand was placed on his arm, though he didn't feel it.

"I think I know who Heimdall was speaking on," he said softly, and suddenly had Thor's full attention. "He is a being called the Mad Titan, and even I do not dare speak his true name. He is from an ancient race, older then even ours, and he holds great power."

"Powerful enough to shield himself from Heimdall," Thor said to himself, as his thoughts churned. They settled in his stomach into a cold knot, and he turned away from Laufey, leaning against the banister. He put his head in his hand, clenching his fingers tight into his hair as he growled. "Let me guess. Loki is the only one that has enough power to resist him?"

Laufey hesitated, and nodded. "Yes. I am powerful, but Loki outshines me and any other being I have encountered when it comes to sorcery."

"And he is the only one that can repair the Bifrost as well," he said to himself, and had a thought. He looked at his father, frowning. "How did you and mother get back to Asgard?"

"There are back ways to all the realms, my son. We used but one."

Thor nodded in acceptance and let it be, remembering when his brother had told him the same thing. "Tell me about this Mad Titian."

"Very well. Come with me to the library, and I can give you the books as well."

They went, and Thor read for the next three days. He read on the beings called Eternals, Celestials, and everything that had happened to cause the being called Thanos. He read of the Titans obsessions with death, and the wars he had fought in her name, the very galaxies that he had destroyed as offerings. He grew sick as he read accounts of the rare survivors, and as he finished the last one, he had to rush to the washroom, emptying his stomach into the toilet. A lovely invention their scientists had adapted from Midgard.

He sat on his knees, resting his forehead against the cool porcelain, shivers wracking him as he thought of his brother in those hands. He could only hope and pray that his brother was strong enough to withstand whatever Thanos decided to throw at him. He also knew that he had no hope of going against the Mad Titan on his own, or even with an army at his back. The weight of hopelessness dragged at his heart, and he had to swallow back tears.

Finally he got to his feet, steps heavy as he made his way back to his own chambers. He took a long, hot shower, scrubbing himself fiercely as though he could rid himself of the taint from what he had read. Eventually he just found himself with his palms braced against the wall, head between them and water flowing over his neck and shoulders.

He stared blankly down at the tiles, feeling more weary then he could ever remember being. His very soul felt as though it was weighted down, dragging at his body in a mess of grief, guilt, and helplessness. He could do nothing to help his brother, and the more he had read on the Titan, the more he was sure that this was the being that Heimdall had felt. He sunk to his knees, fierce sobs catching in his chest as he pressed a hand over his heart, as though he could physically keep himself from breaking apart.

He couldn't, and soon he curled up in the bottom of the shower, legs tight to his chest, as he cried and screamed into his knees. He ranted and raved at Thanos, Odin, and the worlds in general, the loss of his twin by his side an aching hole in his heart that no one else could fill. He had enough presence of mind to keep himself from pounding his fists through the walls, but only barely.

He heard the door open and looked up, only to have his eyes wide in shock and surprise. A black haired figure was coming towards him, and his heart clenched painfully as his brothers face swam into being behind the foggy glass.

"Loki?" he whispered, and then the door opened. Laufey stood there, and Thor's heart clenched with a fresh onslaught of grief. His father's eyes were moist, and Thor blindly reached out, needing the comfort of someone else. Laufey stepped in, fully clothed and all, and enveloped him in a strong embrace.

"I couldn't save him," he cried, hands clenched so tightly in cloth that he felt Laufey's shirt rip. "I...I couldn't...he fell...he called for me...father...I co-couldn't..." His speech digressed into ramblings then, and Laufey's hold only tightened.

"Shh, my son. We will get him back. We will. If I have to raise the armies of Jotunheim, and you Asgard, we will get him back. I did not just get my sons back to let some mad beast take one from me again."

That got a weak chuckle from Thor, and he was utterly boneless as Laufey pulled him to his feet. He remained completely passive as he was dried and put on the sleeping pants Laufey handed to him. In a daze of numbness he allowed his father to lead him to bed and cover him up. He didn't even feel the cool kiss that was placed on his temple before he was swallowed by the gentle darkness of exhausted sleep.