Chapter 5
"Do you realize what you've done?!" screamed Odin to Loki. Loki stood in front of his throne in chains. This did not go at all how Loki thought it would. He thought they would save Asgard first and then he would go to prison. But no, he was going to prison now, and he was not allowed to aid in the salvation of his planet.
"Yes, and that's why I'm trying to fix it!" Loki yelled back.
"Don't play dumb with me!" said Odin. "You are sentenced to the rest of your life in prison, and you are never allowed back to Earth again!"
"Emmeline," mumbled Loki to himself. "Father please, I can help, I—"
"—We've had enough of your 'help'. You will betray Asgard as easily as you do everyone else. I tried to teach you Loki. But you don't listen." Loki looked back at Frigga, who was standing in the corner of the throne room. She had tears in her eyes.
"Odin—" she started to say, but Odin held his hand up.
"I can no longer trust you Loki," he said. "I should have left you in Jotunheim."
"Odin!" scolded Frigga, trying to get to her son. The guards blocked her.
"I wish you would have!" screamed Loki, tears in his eyes. Odin sat watching him as the guards took him away to his cell.
The Asgardian prison looked like an asylum. Every cell had a big window in which you could see the entire room. The cells were nice; they had furniture and carpet as if they were living rooms in a house, much nicer than Earth prison, but it was still prison. The guards took off Loki's chains and locked him in his cell, where he was supposed to spend the rest of his life.
Loki sat down on the bed. He felt helpless for the first time.
Days passed and Loki spent his time thinking about Emmeline and reading the books Frigga was sending him. Loki did love his mother. She was the only one who supported him and loved him throughout everything. He missed her. He missed Emmeline. Prison was very lonely.
Loki wondered about Thor. How was he to fight the war by himself? Did he even know where Loki was? He hadn't come to visit. He had probably planned this to happen. He said he would help Loki just to get him into Asgard so Odin could throw him in prison. Loki felt like a fool for trusting his brother.
On the fourth day Loki had been in prison he was sitting on his bed, bored out of his mind, when he heard the bolted door open. Loki sat up and looked toward the door to see his mother come through. She shut it behind her and smiled at Loki. He kept his blank expression.
"Hello mother," said Loki. "Why have you come? Is it to say goodbye?"
"Loki, please," said Frigga. "I simply came to talk to you."
"I'm listening," Loki said.
"Have you been reading the books I sent you?"
"A bit, but I cannot read books for eternity," Loki replied. Frigga sighed.
"Loki, you know your father—"
"—He's not my father!"
"He just wants you to be safe."
"Oh mother, are you really so blind? He assumes I have betrayed Asgard."
"But are you above it? How do you expect him to trust you after what happened at Thor's coronation? After I made you king in his place?"
"I don't."
"Loki, I know you didn't mean for this to happen, but you cannot expect to receive trust from Odin when you have repeatedly proven yourself as a traitor."
"I don't expect trust!" yelled Loki, widening his eyes at Frigga.
"Then what do you expect? You—"
"—You don't know what it's like," said Loki. "To be hated; to have been lied to your entire life. You don't know what it's like to believe that somebody cared about you only to find out you were abandoned and only taken to end a war. I don't expect anything of Odin anymore." Frigga gave Loki a sad look.
"Oh Loki, you must know that he loves you—"
"—HE DOES NOT LOVE ME!" Loki screamed at the top of his lungs. He looked at Frigga as he sighed and his angry expression turned to sorrow. Frigga looked back at him lovingly and put her hands on Loki's face. Loki looked at the floor.
"You are my son, Loki. I love you. I just want your life to be good. But for that, you have to realize and accept what you have done, and forgive those who have hurt you. I just want you to be happy."
"I know mother," said Loki softly. "But that is a lost cause." He looked back up at Frigga and she hugged him.
"Be good," she told him. "And think about what I have said." Frigga smiled at Loki and left the room, leaving him to think.
The war had started. The Chitauri invaded Asgard with their strongest forces, and Thor's mission was to gather his warriors. His front men were the Warriors Three, who were also his friends, Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun. Lady Sif, also a warrior, volunteered to accompany Thor into battle.
Thor heard that Loki had been imprisoned. Thor hadn't planned it, but it was no surprise to him. In fact, he suspected that Odin would throw Loki in prison after finding out what he had done, but not before the war. Thor decided to plead with his father to let Loki help them.
"You know the ways of your brother, Thor," said Odin. "He will betray you."
"But father, he—" Odin raised his hand.
"I know what I'm doing," he said.
"He really didn't mean for this war to come about," said Thor. "He cares about the people of Asgard." Odin said nothing, but just looked at his son, as if to finalize his decision. Thor knew he would get nowhere.
Knowing Loki, he would believe that Thor had intended to imprison him immediately all along. That was why Thor postponed his visit to his brother. He didn't know how he was going to explain to Loki why he let this happen. Thor also had to tell Emmeline. Loki wasn't going to get out of the Asgardian prison, and Emmeline needed to know that he wasn't coming back. But Thor decided that he would tell her that after the war was over.
Sif and the Warriors Three stood in front of Thor, waiting for a command.
"We need the palace surrounded," said Thor. "Then we will lead the army into battle."
"Yes sir," said Sif, and all four of them left. Thor turned around and Odin stood with a silver helmet. He held it out to Thor.
"You will be a wise leader," said Odin. Thor walked up to him and took the helmet.
"Thank you father," he said. "Are you sure Loki cannot fight?"
"He is in his place. Go; win for Asgard. Win for Loki." Thor smiled at his father.
"I will," he said. Thor put the helmet on and went to meet his army.
Sif and the Warriors Three met Thor on the battlefield quickly.
"They're coming in hundreds," said Sif. Thor looked around him. Chitauri were everywhere. Their machines and ships were coming fast, and people were being slain quickly.
"Let us not waste time," said Thor, swinging Mjolnir at a Chitauri soldier. The fight was bloody. Thor slew one Chitauri after another, blood splattering his face. He could see Sif and Fandral covering his back, and Volstagg was left forward. Hogun was on a Chitauri whale, trying to beat it out of the sky. The rest of Thor's army were fighting with Chitauri soldiers on the battleground. As Thor wiped out Chitauri soldiers, he occasionally looked back at the palace to make sure none were invading it.
In a flash, a Chitauri soldier jumped on Thor's back and brought a knife to his neck, but Thor flipped the soldier onto the ground. The soldier hit Thor with his blaster, causing his mouth to swell. Thor tasted blood, disgusted at the metallic flavor. He spit at the soldier and pounded him with Mjolnir. The soldier's blood spewed out of him, making a squishing sound. The sound of war was all around Thor; the clanging of swords, the splashing of blood, the yelling of soldiers. The battlefield smelled of sweat and iron. Thor saw even more Chitauri coming. He wouldn't be able to hold them off from the palace.
As soon as another soldier came at Thor, he swung Mjolnir at him and called to Sif.
"Can you hold it?" he yelled. "I have to fight from the palace!" Sif stabbed a soldier and elbowed another in the face.
"Yes, but hurry!" she yelled, still taking down Chitauri. Thor ran to the palace doors, knocking down any Chitauri he saw with his hammer. Swinging Mjolnir at the Chitauri was doing no good; there were many. Thor tried, but he couldn't keep several Chitauri from entering the palace. As he was swinging at them he called out to his parents:
"Father! Mother! Run!" Suddenly Odin came out the palace doors and started battling the Chitauri soldiers with Thor.
"There's too many," said Odin. "End it!"
"Are you sure? It will ruin the land—"
"End it!" yelled Odin. Thor ran as fast as he could to the thick of the fight, in the middle of the battlefield. Chitauri were jumping on his back and weighing him down; he could feel the bruises as they pounded on him. He aimed Mjolnir up to the sky and summoned lightning. He used all his power to strike the ground with Mjolnir, and the ground shook. All the Chitauri in sight fell to the ground dead; electrocuted.
The few remaining soldiers retreated with the whales in the sky, and Thor stood in the battlefield, feeling the pain of the scratches on his face, aware of the blood dripping from his head. Sore and breathing heavily, he made his way back to the palace doors to Odin.
"They have retreated," he said, out of breath.
"The war isn't over," said Odin. "They will be back."
"I know."
Thor and Odin turned around to enter the palace. A guard approached them quickly, in a panic.
"Your majesty, the queen…please help." Thor and Odin followed the guard into the sitting room, where Thor dropped to his knees at the sight of his mother on the floor, bleeding out. Odin stopped in his tracks.
Thor didn't try to fight the tears streaming down his face. He looked at the guard.
"Is she dead?" he asked, even though he already knew.
"I'm sorry your majesty. The Chitauri came…I tried to stop it." Odin walked slowly over to Frigga, lying on the ground, and kneeled down to her. He gently brushed her golden hair out of her face and touched her cheek.
"Frigga," he said. Thor got up.
"No," he said. "NO!"
Frigga's funeral was short and respectful. Odin sent her down the river, where Thor knew there was a waterfall at the end. Loki did not attend. He wasn't allowed since he was in prison. Thor deeply regretted it. He knew Loki loved Frigga. To Loki, Frigga was his real mother. But Thor couldn't bring himself to tell Loki, so he sent a guard.
The palace was silent, stricken with grief. Everyone was mourning the loss of their queen. Thor and Odin were too, but they knew they had to prepare for the war still to come. Thor was sitting in Frigga's room, wondering how this would all work out, and he heard Loki scream loudly, full of sorrow, all the way from the prison. Thor knew it was time to visit his brother.
The next day, Thor went to the Asgardian prison to visit Loki. He was shocked at what he saw. Loki's cell had been ravaged; everything was broken or shattered, and Loki was sitting against the wall in the back of the room. He looked sick. He looked like a version of his brother Thor had never seen before. Loki was wearing a green corduroy shirt and black sweat pants, and his hair, usually slicked back, was let down in his face and it was wavy and messy. There were dark purple circles around his eyes and bloody scratches and gashes all over Loki's arms and legs.
"Look who decided to show up," said Loki, not moving from his position. "What brings you here, brother? Have you come to mock me? Or to apologize?"
"No Loki," I came here to say that I did not put you here. I pleaded with father, but he won't change his mind." Loki managed a weak smile that was barely there.
"I know," he said. "Tell me…did she suffer? Was she in great pain or did she go peacefully?"
"Loki please—"
"—I deserve to know, Thor!" Loki walked on his knees to the window Thor was looking through.
"Tell me all about how you didn't do anything to save her!"
"I couldn't have done anything, I was fighting the Chitauri! What about you, you didn't save her either!"
"Because I'm stuck in here! Who brought me here? If it wasn't for you, Frigga wouldn't be dead!" Loki turned away from Thor, and Thor knew it was because he didn't want his brother to see his tears.
"Loki…once we win a victory over the Chitauri, we can avenge our mother and bring her honor. Frigga will not have died in vain."
"I hope we lose! A victory will mean nothing now," Loki replied. "There is no one left to protect." This offended Thor.
"How could you say that brother? What about the people of Asgard?"
"I never cared about them, you fool." Thor glared at his brother.
"I should have never trusted you," he said. "I should have killed you when I had the chance." At this point, Loki was leaning against the corner, and turned to Thor, flashing him another weak smile.
"You would like to, wouldn't you brother?" he said.
"Loki, we need this victory to avenge our mother. To save father and the people of Asgard; to save you and me.
"No! Don't you see? Everything we love we will eventually destroy! And e-e-everything we think we know will turn out to be a lie! You want truth, there is no truth! There are only lies and destruction. Everything dies, Thor, and when we are the only ones left, so will we. Nobody is innocent, not even you. Nothing ever ends but at the same time everything does. So go ahead and kill me, brother. You will be showing me mercy."
"I will not kill you Loki, you are my brother. I am grieving over mother too, but she wouldn't want you to feel this way." Loki turned away, looking sad and angry.
"It doesn't matter what she would want anymore." Loki said, looking away so his brother wouldn't see the tears running down his face. "Who killed her?"
"Loki—"
"—WHO KILLED HER, THOR? I won't rest until I have set stone after stone on their backs and all their blood runs into the river! They will pay for what they have done!" Loki banged his fist on the glass and sat back down, stricken with grief and pain.
"The Chitauri invaded the palace," Thor replied.
"Oh how I wish I could fight this war." Thor realized Loki was blaming himself for Frigga's death. He acted like he was blaming Thor, but he could see it in his face that Loki thought it was his fault.
"We will all miss her, Loki."
"That is no consolation to me. You do not understand Thor. She was one of two people in this world that didn't think themselves above me; that didn't hate me."
"I don't hate you Loki."
"You don't have to lie to me brother. You are above that. ...Is Emmeline alright?"
"I believe so," Thor replied.
"Keep her safe. I mean it, Thor. Of all the people in this world I will kill anyone, but I will not see a scratch on that woman. …Does she know where I am?"
"No."
"Don't tell her."
