Title: A Lane to the Land of the Dead chapter 13/14
Pairing/Characters: Teamfic. No Pairings. Loki, Thor, Avengers, Original Male Character. Brief non graphic mention of OMC/OMC
Tags: Gore, violence, strong language, angst, self harm, torture.
Summary: 5th part of the Teamwork series, but this is written like a standalone fic, so if you haven't read the others you will still be able to understand it.

Loki has been an Avenger for two years, but as a new threat pushes him away from the team, they begin wonder just how much they can trust him.

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CHAPTER 13

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The Einherjar were waiting on the Bifrost, and as they slaughtered the Jotuns who had been brought back to Asgard Loki rocked on his knees, clutching the body of his son to his chest.

When the Jotuns were dead Frigga arrived and calmly crouched next to Loki, placing her arm across his shoulder and pulling his head into the crook of her neck as she murmured comforting words.

Thor stood as the bodies of the fallen Jotuns were carried away, wanting to say something, anything, to help his brother, but he could think of nothing.

~0~

That was three days ago now, and as they watched the burning boat that held William's body drift further out to sea Thor looked at Loki and realised he had to yet to see his brother cry.

Loki had spent the time since they arrived back in Asgard with his mother, and Thor had barely seen him. He had come across them once in the palace gardens and had lingered behind a wall, watching as Frigga sat on the lush grass with Loki's head on her lap, running her hand over his hair as she talked. He had turned and left them, not wanting to intrude when he still had nothing to say.

Thor stood by Odin and watched as Loki stood with his mother, silently observing the smoke of the blazing ship tower into the sky, and couldn't help but notice the way his fists were balled at his sides, shaking slightly from some unknown and unshared emotion.

Thor moved forward until he was standing beside his brother, and said, "We will put this right."

"We will?" Loki asked, not taking his eyes off the boat. "And how exactly will we do that?"

"We will seek out Thanos and we will kill him before William is even born so he can never take him."

Loki breathed sharply down his nose, and said, "Still courting war after all this time, brother?"

"If war will save him from this fate then yes, I will court it."

Loki let out a soft laugh and said, "And to think I thought you had changed."

"If we cannot defeat Thanos then we can at least petition Hela to release him?"

Loki turned sharply. "You think I have not tried that already?"

"What did she say?"

"She said he wasn't with her," Loki said quietly.

"He has passed into the afterlife already?"

"No, she said he was never there because he hasn't been born yet," Loki replied. "Even after he is born he will never be there because he is not there now. I have lost him for eternity."

"But surely there is som-"

"It is over, Thor," Loki snapped, shaking his head. "I killed him, and the last of my hope."

"There is still hope, you cannot give up."

"What hope is there that one day I will hold a child in my arms who will truly be mine?" Loki asked, finally turning to face his brother.

"William will be yours," Thor promised.

"Yes, he will. I will birth him and hold him, and love him, all the while knowing that one day I will kill him," Loki said with a small laugh that sounded on the verge of hysteria.

Thor went to speak again, but was interrupted when Frigga gently placed a hand on Loki's shoulder, and said, "I think you should rest now, my child."

"Yes, mother," Loki said, and he turned to walk away.

"But Lo-"

"Thor," Frigga said sharply. "Your brother needs to rest now. This can wait."

Thor drew his lips together tightly, and nodded.

As Loki and Frigga made their way back towards the palace Thor stood by Odin once again and sighed loudly.

"Give him time," Odin said. "He will speak with you when he is ready."

Thor growled in frustration. "I should be out there now, hunting Thanos down and making him pay for this."

"Not everything can be fixed with acts of aggression, Thor. A good king knows that not everything can be fixed. It would be wise for you to remember this."

"Then it is just as well that I am not king," Thor said, then he turned on his heels and marched away.

~0~

~0~

Thor decided to give Loki the time he needed, but after days of waiting his impatience began to grow. He missed his brother, he wanted to speak with him, and he realised that he could wait no longer.

Thor stood outside the doors of Loki's room, raised his hand to knock, and then paused. He still had no idea what he was going to say. Should he offer words of comfort or should he offer his services in a plan against Thanos? Was it too soon to begin such plans or should he allow Loki to suggest their course of action?

The door suddenly opened and Frigga stood before him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, as she came out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her. "Loki has requested no visitors at this time."

"I wanted to know how he was."

Frigga sighed and said, "Will you walk with me?"

"Of course, mother," Thor said, as he took her arm and led her down the golden corridor. "Where are we going?"

"To the kitchens."

"The kitchens? Could you not send a maid?"

"Loki needs time alone to compose his thoughts occasionally, and he has not eaten since he arrived back in Asgard. I want the cook to make him some soup, and I want to make sure it is exactly how he likes it."

"He has not eaten?" Thor asked.

"Neither food nor drink have passed his lips since he came back, and he has barely spoken since the funeral."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"He needs time to grieve," Frigga said. "Losing a child is the most painful thing a parent will ever go through, but to end that child's life yourself … I can't even begin to imagine. To bring a child up knowing that that he will die by your hand… It is almost unbearable to think about it."

Thor nodded solemnly and said, "I understand why Loki grieves so."

"There are many who think that Loki is cold and has a heart made of ice, but that is not true. Loki likes his secrets and keeps his heart hidden away lest it makes him look weak."

"I will fix this," Thor said suddenly. "I will kill Thanos and none of this will happen."

Frigga shook her head. "The past cannot be changed. William will be born and he will die by Loki's hand."

"But… I can change it… If I can kill Thanos it-"

"Thor," Frigga said gently as she raised a hand to his cheek. "It has already happened. No matter what you do, it cannot be undone."

"Then I will prevent Stark's death or stop Loki from eating his heart," Thor suggested.

"Stark will die one day and in truth we do not know how he will meet his end. William may have been lying about it being in battle, and you cannot prevent the unknown," Frigga said. "And your brother is impetuous, Thor. He has always done as he pleases. You may even be able to persuade him to agree not to eat the heart, but in the end he will do it, no matter what he says."

"It truly cannot be prevented?" Thor asked.

"Even if could, should we?" Frigga said. "Is it better that William is never born, or better that Loki has that time with him before he is taken? It is not for us to decide. Loki must be allowed to choose for himself."

"And Loki will choose for William to be born," Thor stated.

"He will, but Loki has always been his own worst enemy," Frigga said sadly.

"Do you think he would talk to me?" Thor asked. "I miss him so."

"When he is ready I am certain that you will be the first person he asks for," Frigga said, as she smiled and patted his arm tenderly.

~0~

For the next ten days Thor threw himself into palace business and helped Odin with his day-to-day tasks. In his free time he trained hard, sparring with guards until he was soaked with sweat and streaked with dirt, but none of it curbed the nagging thoughts that ran through his head.

On the eleventh day Heimdall sent for him and Thor was almost relieved when he was told that the Avengers had requested that he pass a message on to Thor that they were worried and would like to know what had happened.

Thor sent word to his mother that he was returning to Midgard and enquired if Loki would like to accompany him, knowing the answer in his heart before he even dispatched the messenger.

As he stood in the observatory, preparing to leave, but postponing it as long as possible just in case, Thor was surprised when Loki appeared beside him.

"Brother, it is good to see you," Thor said with a smile of relief. "Have you decided to come to Midgard?"

Loki shook his head and looked down at his feet. "No, but I thought I should wish you farewell, and ask that you tell everyone that I am well."

Thor scrutinized Loki for a moment, taking in the dark smudges under his red eyes, and his uncombed hair. Quietly he asked, "Are you well, brother?"

Loki smiled sadly, his eyes unnaturally bright, and shook his head, then let out a soft laugh. "No, but they need not know that."

Thor grabbed Loki's arms, and pleaded, "Come back with me. Come back to Midgard. The change will do you good, and I am sure-"

Loki struggled out of his hold. "No, Thor! I will not return there."

"I'm sure Stark and the others have missed-"

"And that's exactly why I can't go back, Thor," Loki hissed. "You want me to return there, and one day I will, I have no choice because I must return to watch Stark DIE! Forgive me if I want put that moment off for a while."

"William might have been lying about how Stark died," Thor said. "You have no idea which of his word were truth."

"Regardless of how he dies, one day he will, and I will be there to witness it," Loki shrieked. He turned and allowed his head to fall forward as he closed his eyes, then spoke again, quietly. "I have never found it very easy to make friends, Thor, you know that. I know the others merely tolerate my presence, but I think Stark actually enjoys my company, and I his. I can't go back and watch him die, not yet."

"We have always known the lives of the Mortals are fleeting. It is just the way of things."

"I can take no more hurt," Loki said than he raised a shaking hand and curled it into a fist in front of his face, "And I feel so… unspeakably angry that I need to do something before I can even think of setting foot on Midgard. Allow me this time, brother. I am not ready yet."

Thor nodded slowly. "I will pass on your good wishes."

"Thank you," Loki replied, and Thor watched as he turned and walked away.

~0~

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After the battle in Central Park, when Thor and Loki had vanished up into the sky along with the giant thing that had pinned him to the ground, Tony had been content to potter around the tower, tinkering with his suit and other long forgotten tech projects that he had never got round to finishing. As days turned into weeks and they heard nothing from Asgard, Tony had begun to fret, and spent several nights getting spectacularly wasted on any alcohol he could lay his hands on.

He sat cross-legged on the floor of his workshop, dressed in a T Shirt and his boxers, and passed the empty bottle of Jack Daniels between his hands. Perhaps something had happened and that was why they hadn't come back. William might have woken up and slaughtered half Asgard, or the Frost Giants might have over run the realm.

It was the not knowing that was killing him, and as he slumped back onto the floor, letting the bottle fall out of his hand and roll under the bench, he thought about something Thor had told him in the past.

Heimdall, the big guy who stood on the end of the Bifrost, could see everything. It was worth a try.

"Helloooo," Tony called.

"Yes, sir?" JARVIS replied, making Tony jump.

"Not you," Tony slurred. "I was talking to the big guy in the sky."

"Very well, sir, carry on."

"Hey, Heimdall, I dunno if you can see me or anything, but I'd really like to know what's going on with Thor and Loki, and everything. Can you give me a sign that they're still alive? Anything? Anything at all?"

Tony waited, feeling his eyes drift closed, and mumbled, "Ah well, it was worth a shot."

~0~

Tony wasn't sure how long he had been asleep on the floor of his workshop when he was woken by a large hand gently shake his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, saw Thor knelt next to him, said, "Thanks, Heimdall," and passed out again.

~0~

~0~

After assuring everyone that all was well, and that Loki just needed some time, life returned to as normal as it could with one of their number missing.

They ate occasional meals together, sparred in the training rooms, and Steve dragged Thor out for a ride on his motorbike.

During the second week they fought a small skirmish with a handful of Doom bots and defeated them easily, and while Thor was glad to be back in action his heart was not in the battle.

A week later Thor announced that he was leaving and no one was really surprised.

~0~

"Heimdall," Thor said, as he landed in the observatory. "How fares my brother? Have you news?"

"Prince Loki is no longer in Asgard," the watcher replied impassively as he gazed into the distance.

"What? Did he leave? Was he taken?" Thor asked quickly, fighting the urge to grab Heimdall by the shoulders and shake him.

"Loki left of his own volition."

"Why did no one send for me?"

"Loki left orders that he was not to be followed, and that your journey to Midgard should not be disturbed."

"Heimdall," Thor asked. "Do you see him? Is he well?"

"Once again the prince has hidden himself from my sight, and he has not done that in many years, but I can see the corpses he leaves in his wake."

"Loki kills?"

"He does. He has left a river of blood behind him."

"He has attacked Thanos? You must send me after him at once. I cannot allow him to face the titan alone," Thor said, desperately.

"No, he has not. Thanos resides far from these realms. I see the people sing the praises of the god who saves them from those who would harm them."

"Do you know where Loki is?" Thor asked. "I must speak with him at once."

"I cannot see him, nor can I cannot predict where he will go next. I cannot send you to him."

Thor closed his eyes, and said, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Final chapter will be up in the next few minutes.