A/N: Loooooond chapter here! Hope you find it okay... I'm not really sure what to think of it. But Loki gets revenge in his own way, so that's good I suppose. Anyway, enjoy!

Thor stared at his brother like he was a stranger. For so long he had been searching, trying to bring out what Loki wanted so desperately to hide, and Thor feared that he had found it. Loki's rage was unparalleled by any other force in the Nine Realms, and- for the first time in Thor's life- he feared for his father.

Odin was on his knees, only holding himself up with Gungnir, looking up at Loki with his one, all-knowing, blue eye. An eye that held more emotion at this moment that Thor could bare to look at.

Loki was breathing heavily, and for a second, it looked like his entire body flickered, but Thor assumed it was just a side effect of the magical exertion. He was not glaring at Odin, like Thor had expected, but just staring, his brow furrowed. Loki walked forward slowly.

And Thor quickly walked towards him.

He had done it. After all these years of trying to prove himself to Odin, to prove that he was strong, that he was powerful, he had perhaps accomplished the greatest feat of all. He had brought Odin Allfather, King of Asgard, to his knees.

A solid arm stopped him as he walked forwards, and Loki glared at its owner. "Get out of my way," he seethed.

Thor shook his head. "You are not yourself, Loki."

Loki laughed, a harsh sound that he thought reflected his ever-growing madness quite nicely, thank you very much. "Oh, Thor, I'm more myself than I have been in a long time."

"I will not let you kill him, brother," Thor said softly, his eyes practically begging Loki to understand.

He understood. He understood more than most what Thor wanted. His brother wanted their family together again. He had seen that very same look in his own eyes when he looked in the mirror during the night.

(Our 'family' will never be together again. Not now. Not ever.) But his wicked grin faded into a small, barely-there smirk, and he said quietly- (truthfully), "I'm not going to kill him."

Thor searched Loki's face for a moment, and Loki knew he was not convinced.

"Thor, release him," said Odin, his voice hoarse.

And Thor did release him. (Oh, so you'll listen to him then, will you? The man who tricked the Trickster?) He stood in Loki's line of sight, several feet behind Odin. Sigyn moved to stand by his side, her face grave.

Moving his gaze back to Odin, Loki advanced forward.

Steve noticed when the waves of energy stopped- it was hard to not notice. There was nothing but an eerie quiet left in the field. He stopped his retreat and turned back to watch the scene. His eyes widened when he saw the Thor's father on the ground, kneeling before Loki.

And, if anything, it was that that set him off running back towards the aliens.

Loki stopped right in front of Odin, smiling down at the old man. "Well, this is a change, isn't it? How does the world look from down there, Allfather?"

"Loki, I am sorry for everything," Odin said earnestly, but Loki did not want to hear it. Not now. Not until the old man knew what he was apologising for.

"No. You're not sorry yet," Loki said softly, deceptively pleasant smile still on his face.

He reached out and grasped Gungnir, ripping it from Odin's grasp and throwing it to the side. It landed on the ground with a heavy thud that sent a slight ripple of magic over him.

Before Odin could collapse on the floor completely, Loki got to his own knees and held onto the king's shoulder with an iron grip. The smile dropped off his face, leaving Loki looking serene, but if one were to look past the surface, they would see a festering, murderous rage.

Quietly, he said, "I do not want your apology. Not until you know what it is you have done. I am going to show you everything; you are going to feel every pain I have felt that you were the cause of, and only then will I listen to you."

Odin said nothing; he continued to watch Loki silently with that solemn eye of his.

So Loki brought his other hand up, placing it against the side of the king's head, and let the memories flow from his mind, and into Odin's.

Sigyn caught Thor's wrist when he started towards his brother and father. She knew what Loki was doing, and she knew that it was something he needed to do. Thor looked back at her and frowned.

"Sigyn, I can't just let Loki-"

"Yes, you can. And you must, Thor. Odin will be fine," she assured him.

Thor reluctantly went back to her side. "What is Loki doing?"

"A memory transferal," she said gravely. "He is letting Odin feel all the pain that he has ever caused him."

Thor would have said something, but Sigyn cut him off by walking forward, gazing at the approaching man. Steve was coming back, the others, with the exception of Dr. Banner, not far behind him. It seemed they had got the wrong idea when Loki stopped his magical attack.

Though she honestly had no desire to fight against Steve and his allies, she moved in his direction to meet him. If it came to a fight, then he would do all she could to keep these mortals away from Loki. For all their sakes.

Odin had never experienced anything like it; the hopelessness, the fear, the pain that coursed through him was overwhelming, and he felt himself start to fall forward, unable to support himself. The Odinsleep had been too short to sustain such a magical exertion so soon after waking. He had always known that Chaos was a dangerous thing, even more so in the hands of one so fickle as Loki, but he had never experienced it like that: at it's full potential.

Images flashed before his eyes; images of needles and threads, of snake venom, Nari and Vali, of Hela, Jormungand and Fenrir, of Sleipnir, of blue hands and reflections, of cruel purple fists and a face that Odin only vaguely recognised, for it was gone too quickly to distinguish. The emotions- Norns, the emotions.

Rage- helplessness- jealously- hopelessness- loss- yearning- hate- hate- hate. Then the sensations; burning- freezing- cutting- gnawing- aching- stinging- falling- falling- falling for so long...

And then it all stopped. It was so sudden that Odin was left with a ringing in his ears, only dimly aware of the world around him. There were people... people shouting... What was he leaning on? A... shoulder? Yes, that was it. Someone was holding him up; someone thin and angular, but strong nonetheless. Who, though?

"...And now you know," the person said hoarsely, softly, a weariness that Odin never thought he would hear from so familiar a voice.

"Loki..." He did not know what to say. What could he say after all of that?

Loki pushed Odin upright once more, and the king had to steady himself on his son's own shoulders. Green stared into his single eye, and Odin was struck with how tired Loki was. Loki, his youngest boy. Loki, whom he had wronged so much and now there were no words that could possibly make up for his past actions.

Loki smiled grimly, just a small curve of the lips that could be easily mistaken for a grimace. "And now, if you still deem it adequate enough, you may apologise. But I cannot promise you forgiveness. Not after everything."

Sigyn met Steve and his teammates halfway, her elven speed allowing her to match their pace easily. Steve tried to get past her, but Sigyn pulled him back with a surge of magic, like a rope that had wrapped around him. He was bound in place, and there was the clicks of a gun and an arrow being knocked into place. Sigyn turned calmly, still keeping Steve in place, and looked at the two assassins.

Oh, she knew who they were. The 'Avengers' were famous all over the Realms, having been the reason that many leaders of the different Worlds were debating whether or not to start trading with Midgard again, like in the Old Days. Midgard was deemed 'worthy' of their attention once more, it seemed.

"Let him go," the redhead demanded, pointing her gun at Sigyn's head.

"I can't let you get to them. Loki's magic will lash out and kill you if you interrupt him now," she said sternly.

"He's about to kill his dad!" The archer protested. Sigyn recognised him as the one whom Loki had enslaved.

"No, he isn't," she said calmly. "You need to leave. All of you."

"We're not going anywhere without him in our custody. He's violating the treaty between Earth and Asgard by being here," the redhead- (Natasha Romanov. Loki threatened her with the life of the archer- Barton? Clinton Barton?)- said evenly.

"He isn't here on purpose. This was entirely accidental."

"That may be true, but he's still here; the world's already in an uproar about everything that happened in London with that alien ship. Loki needs to be taken in so we can work some things out," Romanov continued. She was good at this.

But Sigyn had been doing it for longer. One needed their wits about them when they were intimate with the God of Lies.

Thor watched Loki and his father, only just able to hear what they were saying. He hated not being able to do anything, having to stand and watch as two people who meant the worlds to him suffered. But he knew that, in some sick, twisted way, this had to be done. Loki would not even consider forgiving Odin until he knew. Thor only wished that Loki would give him that same privilege, for how else would he be able to help his little brother?

"And now, if you still deem it adequate enough, you may apologise. But I cannot promise you forgiveness. Not after everything," Loki said quietly, though Thor thought he saw a dangerous gleam behind those viridian, carefully guarded eyes.

Odin stared at Loki for a long while, studying him with an intense scrutiny that would even have made Thor squirm. But Loki did not move an inch. Eventually, Odin slowly shook his head. "Merely an apology is not enough- it will never be enough. You despise me more than words can ever convey; more than words can ever heal. I will say it now, and I want you to know that this comes only from my heart- for never again will I allow my pride to get in the way of my family: Loki, my son, I am sorry for everything," Odin said quietly, and Thor suddenly felt as though he was intruding.

And so he turned away from his brother and his father, making his way to where Sigyn was holding off his allies.

Loki stared at Odin, considering his words. He was right; there was nothing that could ever erase the damage that had been done. An apology would never be enough, no matter how true it was. And Loki could see that it was true, even if that voice in the back of his mind hissed at him not to believe Odin, for he was a deceiver who had lied to Loki his entire life.

He did not speak for a long, long time, merely searching for any trace of a lie in that single, all-knowing eye, because there had to be something. But there was nothing. Just an honesty and a weariness that Loki found he could relate to. And he hated it. He pushed away from Odin, leaving him to support himself, and stood, turning away from the old man. He did not want this... this prolonged uncertainty anymore. He was tired of this game.

But how would he escape now? He was surrounded by both enemies and allies, neither of which he particularly cared to go with. He could not return to Alfheim, for Odin, Thor and Sigyn would know. He certainly could not go to Asgard or Vanaheim. Where then? Where, in the Nine Realms, would Loki go and finally have peace?

Nowhere.

There was nowhere he could go.

(Thanos will find me.)

(Thanos will come.)

(He will come and bring armies and death and pain- pain- pain-)

(I can't keep myself from breaking anymore-)

(I'm shattering-)

(I can't do this anymore-)

(I'm so, so tired...)

(I want out.)

He stared around him, searching wildly for a way out. He always, always found a way out of everything, but now, when he truly needed an escape, there was nowhere to go.

Go with the humans.

Go with Odin.

Go with Thor.

Go with Sigyn.

Wait for him.

What other options were there? (Think, you fool, think. You were always famed for your intelligence, and now that you're in a particularly difficult situation, you're about to give in?) He needed to go somewhere that no one would find him. Somewhere that no one could go.

His eyes widened as it hit him, and a wry grin spread over his features.