A/N: Here is the final chapter! Thank you to everyone who stuck with this from beginning to end. It truly means the world to me that you care about this story as much as I do. Enjoy!
. . .
Laufé's eyes opened slowly, and he took in his surroundings. He could have sworn that he was just in the woods, searching for Loki, "Loki?" he called out. His throat hurt.
Laufé heard the sound of pots and pans hitting each other, and Loki emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of warm soup, "It's all right, Papa. I'm home. And so are you." Loki told him as he set the bowl down on the small table next to Laufé's bedside.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Laufé said weakly as Loki helped him to sit up straight.
"I missed you so much, Papa." Loki hugged him.
"But the beast. How did you escape?"
Loki smiled sadly, "I didn't escape, Papa. He let me go."
"That horrible beast? He just… let you go?" Laufé was astonished.
Loki nodded, "But he's different, now. He's changed somehow. I don't know how to explain it." He blushed slightly. He was about to ask his father why he was out in the woods at all, but he heard a sound coming from his pack. The flap opened and the Magic Mirror fell out with Chip rolling to a stop on it.
"Hi!" he squeaked.
"Oh, a stowaway." Loki chuckled as he picked up the small cup in both of his hands, setting him down on Laufé's lap.
"Why, hello there, little fella. Didn't think I'd ever see you again."
Chip turned to Loki with a look of question on his face, "Loki, why'd you go away? Don't you like us anymore?"
'What was very forward,' Loki thought to himself, "Oh, Chip. Of course I do. It's just that—"
He was interrupted again by a knocking at the door. Loki walked toward the door, unsure of who could be there. He opened it and saw none other than Monsieur D'Arque standing on his front porch.
"May I… help you?" Loki asked awkwardly. He had no idea why D'Arque was standing outside his home.
"I've come to collect your father." He said as he stepped aside to show the Asylum D'Loons wagon behind him, along with most of the townsfolk.
"My father? Why?"
"Don't worry. We'll take good care of him." He assured coolly.
"My father's not crazy." He stated adamantly.
Larissa emerged from the crowd, "He was raving like a lunatic. We all heard him, didn't we!"
"Yeah!" the bystanders agreed.
"No, I won't let you." Loki moved to close the door, but Laufé had left his bed and was now standing next to Loki.
"Loki? What's going on?"
"Ah, Laufé. Tell us again, old man, just how big was the beast?" Larissa inquired sarcastically.
Laufé struggled for an answer, oblivious to the sarcasm in Larissa's voice, "Well, he was...that is...enormous. I'd say at least eight, no more like ten feet." The crows only laughed at him, yet again.
"Well, you don't get much crazier than that!" Larissa told the crowd.
"It's true, I tell you!"
D'Arque waved his arms and orderlies moved in and pick up Laufé.
"Take him away!" Larissa ordered.
"Let go of me!" Laufé demanded.
"No, you can't do this!" Loki grabbed D'Arque's arm, but he only shook him off and walked away.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor Loki. It's a shame about your father." Gwenevere said with mock sympathy as she walked toward Loki.
"You know he's not crazy, Gwen. Don't you?"
"I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if..."
"If what?"
"If you marry me."
"What?" Loki was taken aback.
"One little word, Loki. That's all it takes." She wore a mischievous grin on her lips.
"Never." He growled.
Gwenevere shrugged and turned away from Loki, trying to hide the expected disappointment in her eyes, "Have it your way."
Being thrown into the wagon, Laufé called out, "Loki?"!
Loki ran into the house and came back out a moment later with the Magic Mirror. He yelled to the crowd, "My father's not crazy, and I can prove it!" the crowd turned to look at him and he spoke to the Mirror, "Show me the beast!"
The Magic Mirror began to glow, then produced the image of the still depressed Beast. He turned it to the crows.
"Is it dangerous?" one woman asked.
"Oh, no. He'd never hurt anyone," he reassured her, "Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle. He's… he's my…," he struggled to find an appropriate word to describe the man who had changed him so much in such a short time, "Friend."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had feelings for this monster." Gwenevere mocked.
Loki glared daggers into Gwenevere, "He's no monster, Gwenevere. You are!"
Gwenevere scoffed, "He's as crazy as the old man." She grabbed the Mirror from his hand. "The beast will make off with your children! He'll come after them in the night." She told the crowd.
"No! He would never do that!" Loki tried to grab the mirror from Gwenevere, who moved it out of the way just in time.
"We're not safe 'til his head is mounted on my wall! I say we kill the beast!"
The mob cheered her and chanted the words "Kill him."
"We're not safe until he's dead!" a man shouted from the crowd.
"He'll come stalking us at night!" another added.
"Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!" a woman said to her neighbor, who clutched her baby tighter in her arms protectively.
"He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free!" A man announced as Gwenevere walked past him, taking a flaming torch out of his hands.
"So it's time to take some action, boys! It's time to follow me!" Gwenevere threw the torch into a haystack, creating an instant bonfire. She stood in front of it, casting her shadow against the wall of Loki's home, warning of the dangers of the "horrible beast."
"Through the mist, through the woods, through the darkness and the shadows, it's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride." She bared her teeth and made her hands look like claws, chasing Larissa, who ran behind a nearby woman.
"Say a prayer, then we're there, at the drawbridge of a castle, and there's something truly terrible inside." She pushed Larissa onto the steps leading to Loki's home, producing the mirror that was still showing the Beast.
"It's a beast! He's got fangs, razor sharp ones. Massive paws, killer claws for the feast," The Magic Mirror showed the face of the Beast to Larissa, which Gwenevere exaggerates about.
She stood up and addressed the crowd, "Hear him roar, see him foam, but we're not coming home 'til he's dead! Good and dead! Kill the beast!"
"No, I won't let you do this!" Loki interjected.
"If you're not with us, you're against us," Gwenevere sneered, "Bring the old man."
"Get your hands off me!" Laufé demanded again.
Gwenevere opened up the doors to basement. She pushed Loki into it, and the orderlies threw Laufé into it, and Gwenevere bolted the door.
"We can't have them running off to warn the creature!" she explained.
"Let us out!" Loki pounded against the doors.
"We'll rid the village of this beast. Who's with me?" Gwenevere shouted to the crowd, which was followed by a chorus of "I am!"'s.
"Light your torch, mount your horse!" some men from the crowd cheered.
"Screw your courage to the sticking place!"
"We're counting on Gwenevere to lead the way! Through a mist, to a wood, where within a haunted castle, something's lurking that you don't see every day!" Larissa added.
Gwenevere mounted her horse and led the mob through the town and out into the forest, where they started to chop down trees in preparation for their assault on the castle.
"It's a beast, one as tall as a mountain!"
"We won't rest 'til he's good and deceased!"
"Sally forth, tally ho, grab your sword, grab your bow!"
"Praise the Lord and here we go!"
"We'll lay siege to his castle and bring back his head!" Gwenevere shouted to the cheering crowd.
. . .
In the basement, Loki was prying at the window with a stick, "I have to warn the beast. This is all my fault. Oh, Papa. What are we going to do?"
"Now, now, Loki. We'll think of something." He comforted his son.
Chip was looking in through the window that Loki had previously been trying to open. He turned around, thinking, and then saw Lauf's contraption with the axe on the end of it.
. . .
"I knew it. I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up!" Cogsworth said with an air of arrogance.
"Maybe it would 'ave been better if she 'ad never come at all." Lumiere huffed.
The Footstool came into the room and over to the window, barking. Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts rushed over to the window, expecting the return of Loki.
"Could it be?"
"Is it she?"
"Sacré bleu, invaders!" Lumiere announced, seeing that the mob wasn't Loki.
"Encroachers!" Cogsworth called them.
"And they have the mirror!" Mrs. Potts said in astonishment.
"Warn the master. If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them," Cogsworth turned from the window, "Who's with me? Ahh!" The door slammed shut as the rest of the Objects leave Cogsworth behind.
. . .
"Take whatever booty you can find, but remember, the Beast is mine!" Gwenevere told the mob as they broke through the tall iron gates of the castle.
. . .
Inside of Thor's lair, Mrs. Potts briefed him.
"Pardon me, master." She said quietly.
"Leave me in peace." He huffed and turned his back toward her.
"But sir, the castle is under attack!" she explained urgently.
"What shall we do, master?"
"It doesn't matter now. Just let them come."
. . .
The Objects were marching down the stairs to battle with the mob. They tried to block off the door, but it was being bashed in by the mob.
"Zis isn't working!" Lumiere said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, Lumiere! We must do somezing!" the Featherduster cried.
"Wait! I know!" Lumiere announced.
. . .
"Kill the beast, kill the beast!" The mob continued to chant.
The mob was the mob had been using a large tree trunk as a battering ram, and was heaving it against the doors to the castle repeatedly. Eventually, the doors gave way, and the mob came crashing through along with the trunk.
They found the grand entrance filled with assorted pieces of furniture, teacups, candlesticks, featherdusters, and clocks. They tiptoed in, and Larissa unknowingly picked up Lumiere.
"Now!" Lumiere shouted.
All at once, every Object sprang into life, attacking their human enemies.
The Dressers and Cabinets threw their contents at the enemies. A Coat rack was in a fist fight with a scrawny looking man, and was winning. A wet Mop threw itself at another man, knocking him down.
Two Dressers cornered an orange haired man and opened up their top drawers, hitting the man in the head. A Cauldron threw itself on top of someone's head, and Pots, Pans, and other kitchen Utensils banged against the Cauldron.
A long red Carpet pulled itself out from under a round man's feet, causing him to fall. It wrapped itself around the man and captured him inside of a large trunk.
Amidst the noise and chaos, Gwenevere slipped away and raced up the large grand staircase.
. . .
Back at Loki's home, Chip had readied the invention to release Loki and Laufé from their makeshift prison.
"Here we go!" Chip called out.
Laufé looked out from the window and saw the advancing axe, "What the devil? Loki, look out!"
The invention crashed into the basement doors, and a red cloud of smoke poofed out of the basement. It began to rain as Loki and Laufé emerged from the wreckage to find Chip swinging on a loose spring.
"You guys gotta try this thing!" Chip giggled.
. . .
Back at the castle, the Objects had managed to defeat the humans.
"And stay out!" Cogsworth shouted after their retreating forms.
Lumiere pulled Cogsworth over and kissed him once on each cheek, against Cogsworth's attempts to escape.
Little did they know, Gwenevere had found her way into the Beast's lair.
. . .
Gwenevere raised her crossbow and took aim. Thor looked up at her, then looked back down in sadness again. He sighed. There was no point in fighting anymore. Loki wasn't coming back, and he had lost all hope.
Gwenevere released the arrow and it struck the Beast in the shoulder. He roared in pain and stood from his place on a pile of torn fabric. Gwenevere rushed at him with all the force she could muster and they few out of the window onto the balcony, landing in a large puddle the rain had made.
Gwenevere laughed maniacally. She cornered the Beast on the edge of the roof. Thor simply sat there in despair.
"Get up! Get up! What's the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?" she picked up a rock the size of her hand and threw it at the Beast. He winced as the rock collided with his flesh.
Angrily, Gwenevere walked into the foreground and broke off a sharp decoration that was protruding from the side of the roof. She was about to smash it on the Beast's head when Loki's voice drifted up from below them.
He was on the bridge and was yelling to Gwenevere, telling her to stop.
"Gwenevere, stop this madness at once!" Loki shouted up.
Thor opened his eyes and searched the ground below him for Loki. He spotted him, and he felt a new resolve stirring inside of him.
Gwenevere ignored him, and swung the stone decoration down at Thor. Just in time, he caught the weapon in his hand. Thor rose up and roared in Gwenevere's face.
Loki, not one to sit around and wait for something to happen, rode Sleipnir into the castle, searching for a way to get to where Thor and Gwenevere were fighting.
Thor pushed Gwenevere around on the rooftop, clawing and scratching at her as she fought back with just as much intensity.
Thor rammed her with one of his massive paws, throwing her about ten feet backward. Taking advantage of the situation, Thor found a hiding place among the gargoyles in the darkness.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Gwenevere got back onto her feet with little effort, and staggered over to the gargoyles, "Come on out and fight!" she smashed the heads of one of the gargoyles with the stone decoration she still held in her hands, "Were you in love with him, beast? Did you honestly think he'd want you when he had someone like me?" she provoked as she demolished the head of another gargoyle.
She was about to break another gargoyle, but Thor emerged from behind her. She turned and swung the stone weapon at Thor.
"It's over, beast! Loki is mine!"
This time, Thor picked up Gwenevere by the neck and held her out over the edge of the roof. Gwenevere pleaded with Thor.
"Put me down. Put me down. Please, don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything!" the stone weapon fell from her hands and onto the wet earth far below her.
Thor saw the pleading in Gwenevere's eyes that he had so often seen in his own. The anger slowly melted off of his face, and a look of compassion replaced it. He pulled Gwenevere back onto the roof.
"Get out." He growled as he shoved Gwenevere to the ground.
Above them, Loki ran out onto the balcony.
"Thor!" he called.
"Loki!" Thor called back with joy.
Thor began to climb the tower until he reached the balcony. Loki reached his hand out to Thor, who took it in his own paw, placing his other paw on Loki's cheek.
"Loki? You came back…" Thor and Loki stared passionately at each other, but the moment was interrupted when Gwenevere snuck up and stabbed Thor in the back.
Thor roared in pain, and Loki looked on, helpless. Gwenevere pulled the knife out and swung back for another shot. Thor started to fall, knocking Gwenevere off her balance. Loki reached forward and pulled Thor back, while Gwenevere fell off, never to be seen again.
Loki helped the injured Thor up onto the balcony, where he lies down on the cool stone. The Objects came rushing to the entrance of the balcony, but stayed out of sight.
"You came back." Thor said weakly as Loki caressed his wet, furry face.
"Of course I came back. I couldn't let them... Oh this is all my fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner." Loki sniffed as he wrapped his arms around Thor.
"Maybe it's better this way." Thor admitted sadly.
"Don't talk like that. You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." Loki said sternly.
Thor smiled slightly, "At least I got to see you one... last... time."
Loki pulled Thor's paw up to his cheek. Thor held it there for a second, then dropped it. His head fell back, and his eyes closed.
Loki dropped the paw and puts his hands to his mouth, "No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me, Thor! I love you!" he cried, "I love you…" he brought his head to Thor's chest, willing him to come back.
The Objects turned to the Rose, and watched as the last petal fell off of it. They all looked down at the floor, and Cogsworth put his arm around Mrs. Potts.
The rain continued to fall. One colored beam of light fell, like a shooting star. Then came another. And another, and another. Loki finally noticed what was happening. He stopped crying for a second, then started to back away. A fog had begun to enshroud Thor. The Objects looked on in extreme anticipation. Thor magically rose up into the air and began to turn.
He was enveloped in a cloud of light, and became wrapped in his cloak. Underneath, Thor's body was shifting and forming. A fore paw came out and the claws turned into fingers. A hind paw emerged and developed into a foot.
A wind blew across his face and the fur melted away to reveal a young prince. He gradually descended and was laid on the floor again. The fog disappeared and Loki reaches out to touch him. He jerks his hand back, however, when the figure begins to move. It stood, then looked at its hands, then turned to face Loki.
It's a human. A human, with the same blue eyes as Thor. It's obviously Thor, transformed. Loki gave him a mysterious look.
"Loki?" he inquired slowly, "It's me."
Loki continued to look at him skeptically. He ran his fingers through the man's hair, resting his hand the side of his face. When he saw his blue eyes, and instantly knew that it was, in fact, Thor.
Loki smiled through his tears, "It is you!"
Thor smiled down at Loki, and brought his hands up to either side of Loki's face, feeling him for the first time with his human hands.
They looked deeply into each other's eyes, and they subconsciously brought their lips closer together, and at long last, Thor pressed his lips to Loki's own.
As they kissed, a fireworks display exploded around them. The gloom surrounding the castle disappeared, revealing a blue sky. The castle transformed, with the gargoyles changing into cherubs.
On the balcony, the Objects hopped out to meet Thor and Loki while they broke from their kiss. One by one, they were transformed back to their original human conditions.
"Lumiere! Cogsworth! Oh, Mrs. Potts!" he wrapped his arms around them as they each transformed, "Look at us!"
Chip came riding in on the Footstool, "Mama! Mama! "
The pair transformed back into a boy and dog, who ran to Mrs. Potts, "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed as she picked up for child for the first time in years.
"It is a miracle!" Cogsworth said to the group.
Thor picked up Loki and swung him around.
. . .
In the lively ballroom, all of the castle's servants and all of the townsfolk were gathered to celebrate. Thor and Loki danced around the room, only stopping to bring their lips together once more.
"Ah, l'amour," Lumiere said to himself as a maid, who is obviously the former Featherduster walks by, brushing him on the chin with her fingertips, "Heh heh!" He started to chase after her, but Cogsworth stopped him.
"Well, Lumiere, old friend. Shall we let bygones be bygones?"
"Of course, mon ami. I told you he would break ze spell!"
"I beg your pardon, old friend, but I believe I told you." He chuckled.
"No you didn't. I told you." Lumiere protested.
"You most certainly did not, you pompous paraffin-headed pea-brain!"
"En garde, you overgrown pocket watch!" Lumiere took off his glove and slapped Cogsworth across the face with it.
Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Laufé are gathered together. Laufé was beginning to cry.
"Are they gonna live happily ever after, mama?" Chip asked his mother innocently.
"Of course, my dear. Of course." She chuckled.
Chip looked happy for a moment, then puzzled, "Do I still have to sleep in the cupboard?"
Laufé laughed and Mrs. Potts hugged her child and joined in on the laughter.
Loki and Thor continued to dance around the room, just below a stained glass window. It had Loki and Thor in the center, surrounded by vines and a rainbow of different colors.
Certain as the sun
rising in the east
Tale as old as time,
song as old as rhyme,
Loki and the Beast.