A/N: Sorry for the lateness! Revision+exams+homework=headaches+no time to write. So, here's the next chapter. Updates will continue to be infrequent and erratic for at least another two weeks while I have my last few exams, so just bear with me.

Oh, wow, Chapter 30 and still not even close to being finished. Oh well. Enjoy!

Thor smiled down at his brother beside him. Loki was finally asleep. He had protested when Thor had said that he was not leaving him alone, but the God of Thunder would not be deterred. It was near midnight, and Thor himself was tired, so he had settled beside his brother on the bed and shut his eyes. He fell asleep sitting up, with one arm protectively wrapped around his little brother's shoulders.

Thor looked around him. He was standing in a vast expanse of nothingness; grey surrounded him to the point where Thor could honestly not say where the ground touched the horizon.

"Uncle."

Thor spun around at the voice, hand flexing as he instinctively called upon Mjolnir. But the hammer did not come to him. However, as he saw the person standing there- the only other being he could see in this empty space- he relaxed, albeit only slightly. It was disturbing that the hammer did not answer his call.

"Hela?" He frowned.

He had not seen his niece in over nine hundred years. She was only a child then, hardened by the circumstances of her harsh upbringing, but the woman before him was a beautiful queen of ice; ethereal and untouchable. Her ivory skin, as always, had a very slight, almost unnoticeable, blue tint to it- (Angrboda was a Jotun, as is Loki. It is a wonder Hela does not look completely like the Jotuns.)- and her amber eyes gleamed bright. Her inky black hair, so much like Loki's, was in wild, untamed curls that fell down her back. In the greyness, her dark clothing was like a shadow in the strange landscape.

Her dark coloured lips curved upwards in a small smile. "It's been a while."

"Too long," Thor said. He would have liked to have visited her and Loki's other children, but it was forbidden by the Royal Council, as well as by Odin. (Yet another thing my father has never answered for. Keeping his youngest son away from his own children. How have I been so blind?)

One side of her mouth lifted higher, and she raised her eyebrows. "I'm not here to catch up. I'm here about my father."

Thor stood a little straighter, listening intently. Hela had obviously come here- (Where even is here?)- to discuss something serious about Loki. "I'm listening."

Hela appraised him for a moment, face completely serious, before she shifted on her feet and crossed her arms. "I need you to save him."

"From what?" Thor frowned.

Her eyes fell to the ground. "From Odin, from Thanos, from SHIELD, from himself... Do you have any idea how many times he's visited me over the past few centuries? Both accidental and on purpose?"

No. He did not. Thor knew of many times when Loki had been near death, and three times of when he had been well and truly lost to him, but other than that... He shook his head.

"He's tried visiting me at least once every decade- more, if he can."

Thor's stomach twisted. Loki had killed himself how many times? How had he not known? How had no one known?

Hela met his eyes again. They seemed to burn like fire in the strange light. "Do you have any idea what dying and being resurrected does to a soul if repeated?"

Lost for words, Thor could only shake his head again.

"It frays like a tapestry that has been pulled and torn too many times." She gestured around her. "This, all around you, is not a dream world, as you may think. I have only managed to bring you here with great difficulty."

"Hela," Thor began, taking a look at the bleak surroundings. "Where are we?"

"A new plane of existence. One that was not created until I resurrected Loki the last time."

Closing his eyes and hoping that he was wrong, he said, "Loki's soul..."

"Is in an irreparable condition. Thor, if he dies again... I don't know if I can bring him back again."

"What can I do? If he has visited you so many times without my knowledge already, how will I be able to stop him this one last time?" Thor asked helplessly, hating that he felt so powerless. That was one thing he had not felt since... Actually, he had felt it quite often lately. He felt it whenever he looked at his quiet brother; an aching sadness and yearning to help Loki, but knowing that there was ultimately nothing he could do.

Hela had an uncommon expression of pleading on her face. But that only made Thor more adamant that he wanted to help Loki- he would do anything. Because this was his family, and they had lost so much already. She took a step forward. "Give him a reason not to rush into this recklessly. He thinks he has nothing to lose... but this, around you, is what awaits him in the afterlife. Not his family- not even Helheim. This for an eternity."

"Why could you not have gone to Loki about this? Shown him this place?" Thor asked, frowning. How in the Nine Realms was Loki going to believe this?

Hela looked away. "I can't get a good enough hold on his soul to bring him here."

Fists clenching, Thor took a breath and released it slowly. "I will do everything I can to save him, Hela."

Then the world began to dim at the edges, and Thor felt himself grow heavier. What was happening? Was he leaving? He looked to his niece for explanation.

All Hela said was, "I know you will. Save my father. Please."

Loki, after silently slipping away from the still-sleeping Thor, made his way to Stark's lab without even realising it. The loud music did nothing for his headache, but he did not have it in him to argue for silence. He knocked on the glass door, and after a few seconds it beeped and slid open. Loki barely suppressed a wince as the full volume of the music hit him.

He had managed to get a few hours rest, but even then the darkness behind his eyelids replayed terrible memories. It was barely dawn, and so Loki was surprised that Stark was even awake. But he thanked the Norns when Stark looked up from his workbench and turned the volume down slightly.

"Hey, Reindeer Games, how's it going? Didn't see you after we got back from Mr. Crazy's spaceship," he said, turning back to what he had been working on.

Loki raised his eyebrows when he recognised the design of the machinery on the metal table. "You're creating more armour."

"Yep."

"I thought you were retired?"

"Got boring."

Loki stared at the mortal, green eyes hard. Stark met his gaze evenly, and Loki was reminded of the last time he was on his own with Stark.

(Please tell me you're going to appeal to my better nature.)

(Actually, I'm going to threaten you.)

(You should have left your armour on for that.)

"I'll tell you if you tell me something. Truth, not a lie," Stark said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Bargaining with the deceiver? Careful, Stark, you're sounding desperate for my company."

"No, not a bargain. An exchange. Trade of information. Secret-sharing besties."

Loki chose not to comment on Stark's odd wording. "Very well. What would you like to know?"

"About 'magic'. Everything. Come on, it's a fair trade, right?"

(Oh, for Norns' sakes...)

Loki truly had no problem with showing Stark magic, nor did he mind going into an in-depth lecture about the finer details of the art. But, despite the fact that his magic was stronger than ever, Loki was exhausted, and magic took a certain amount of concentration to wield that Loki was not sure he could muster any time soon.

"I'm not that desperate to know why you're so eager to get yourself killed," he settled for saying.

"If I wanted to get myself killed, I wouldn't be building the suit. But you're not even a little curious?"

"How does the saying go? 'Curiosity killed the cat', yes?"

"And satisfaction brought it back."

(Satisfaction is not in my nature.)

(Surrender is not in mine.)

And suddenly, Loki was reminded so very much of himself and Thor that he could not think of anything else. The smirk fell from his lips, all humour at the situation evaporated, and Loki just looked at Stark blankly.

Oh, shit. What did he do? Tony honestly had no idea what he'd said to make Loki go all silent and emotionless-robot on him, but it was obviously his fault. Why was Loki just... just looking at him like that? So blankly, with guarded emerald eyes that held just the flicker of an unnamable emotion in their depths. Tony didn't want to get into any dangerous topics. But he feared he'd done just that.

Tony wasn't an idiot. Even without Jarvis giving him updates on the God of Mischief, he knew that Loki wasn't exactly in tip-top condition. He heard Thor speaking with Sigyn and his warrior buddies in hushed, concerned tones enough to understand that what Loki was doing wasn't good. And the previous night, when Loki and Thor had just disappeared? Tony had asked Jarvis to check up on what was going on- (Hey, I'm entitled to be a little worried that Point Break had just gone and wandered off with someone who tried- however unwillingly- to kill him before, aren't I?)- but the AI had just responded that the brothers were having a private conversation, and that it'd be best if Tony didn't intrude. So he'd left it at that.

But seeing Loki in his workshop, looking as pale as death and just as emaciated, Tony couldn't help but feel worried for the guy. Tony wasn't the most sympathetic person in the world, but he knew damn well what it was like to not sleep. What it was like to be plagued by memories of pain and torture.

So, just before he'd started making plans for a new suit- (He'd spoken it over with Pepper. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt. He needed to do something- anything- to make sure that no one else got hurt. No one. Not ever. Pepper had reluctantly given him her blessing to make another suit. He would protect his friends with his life)- he'd made himself a promise. He'd make an effort with Loki.

Because, underneath all that bitterness and anguish, Tony could tell that there was a brilliant man with a razor sharp wit and mind that was struggling with the all darkness that had befallen him.

Crap, he hadn't meant to stare back at Loki for so long. Why was the guy still staring at him anyway? It was like he'd gone into full meltdown mode. Tony wasn't even sure he'd blinked.

Forcing himself to remain nonchalant, he said, "Earth to Loki? Anyone home?"

Loki blinked, as though he hadn't even realised what he'd been doing, and then rolled his eyes. "I assure you, Stark, there is someone 'home', as you say."

(Here goes nothing...) Tony huffed a sigh, returning to the pieces of his new suit. "Cut it with the 'Stark' crap, okay? Might as well be on a first name basis of we're stopping the end of the universe together or whatever." He would so not look up to see Loki's reaction.

The god was silent for a moment, and Tony still refused to look away from his suit, but then he said, "Very well then, Anthony."

And weirdly enough, as much as he hated being called by his full name, Tony felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He grinned, and, unable to help himself, he said, "You're okay, Loki. An annoying bastard, but you're okay."

When Thor woke, he found the place next to him, where Loki had fallen asleep, empty. He scanned the room, eyes pausing briefly on the words scrawled over every available surface. His mind raced through his interaction with Hela. Had it been real, or had it been nothing more than a dream? He sat up and looked out of the window. The sun was rising, though much of the city was still cast into shadow by the tall towers.

"Jarvis?" Thor asked, now used to the disembodied voice.

"Yes, sir?"

"Where is my brother?"

"He is with Mr Stark in the Research and Development Department, two floors down."

"Thank you."

"Of course, sir."

Thor thought about going to his brother- he wanted to tell him about what Hela had said to him, about Loki's fragile soul- but he decided against it. He needed time to think about what he was going to do. After all, if Loki had truly killed himself so many times in the past, who was to say he would not try it again? Hela was right about one thing: Loki thought he had nothing to lose. His obsession over defeating Thanos was proof of that; he had next to no regard for his own health or wellbeing.

No, Thor would not go to Loki about it immediately. That was not the right way to go about it. First, he needed to speak with Sigyn.