Helloo! Hope you enjoy this chapter, a bit more action in this one.

Shout Outs!:

WeAreNumberOne

ch.32:
No, not on my part.
I had to have a little something with them in there, seems like something thet would do.
We shall have to see. Some may show here and others might not come around 'til Thor 2.
Well, if Odin did die at this time of the story, he probably wouldn't try to fight her all that much-especially without Thor she could easily over power him and he would probably just try and make her take over as bloodless and smooth as possible. Oncew she learns about the Tesseract? Probably berate him some then storm down to Midgard and snatch it back much to Fury's chagrin.
ch.31:
Glad I did it justice.
Future chapter, probably after the Avengers.
Yeah, I didn't really want to use the Vibranium one, Tony would also prefer something of his own making. Well, it's certainly not like they can fix that gaping hile.
Mostly just causing SHIELD and Fury a headache but WS could get interesting.

CHSHiccstrid

It's fine, FF got all weird on my too. Thanks :)

omega13a

Thanks, glad I wasn't alone in my confusion. I thought that a long time ago but decisions like this is not helping to disprove those theories.
Some day possibly.

Journal 2, Entry 33: "Thor Pt2"

Loki Bifrosted to Jötunheim, finally having a moment away from the constant needs of the Realm. No wonder Odin had so many grey hairs. He felt as though a few were ready to grow on his head and he was still a good couple thousand years too young for that!

He landed not far outside of Laufey's castle and cloaked himself as he walked across the ice, what was about to be said need not be heard by Heimdall nor anyone else. The trek was silent and the land seemed dead as he entered the palace without interference. However, like last time, he could feel distant eyes watching him.

He stood before the throne that Laufey sat smugly upon, enjoying his towering height over the small prince. As soon as they locked eyes Laufey commanded with a growl, "Kill him."

Loki sighed, staring at his true father incredulously. "After all I've done for you?"

Laufey's eyebrows pinched before he was leaning forward on his throne in interest. "So you're the one who showed us the way into Asgard."

"That was just a bit of fun, really." He forced a smile onto his face. "To ruin my brother's big day. And to protect the Realm from his litotic rule for a while longer."

"I will hear you." Laufey admitted, one arm draped across a raised knee as he casually listened.

Loki slowly started walking the width of the throne as he described his plan to give Laufey his long sought after vengeance. Laufey was understandably skeptical and his forehead pinched, about to call Loki out when he played his trump card—the Casket of Ancient Winters. Predictably, that had Laufey's full attention and he shot to his feet and quickly accepted the deal.

Loki had to quickly bite his cheek to prevent even a hint of a smile from creeping through. Helblindi was right, that would goad Laufey into careless actions more than any other form of vengeance against Odin.

He left after Laufey agreed and carefully traversed the paths around Jötunheim until he came to a secluded cave the brothers had met in a few times when they could not go far from Laufey's castle.

Both were there now, Helblindi's arms crossed with a triumphant smile while Býleistr glared at his brother. Býleistr nodded a greeting to their youngest brother. "You are truly a wordsmith to goad our father so easily."

Loki beamed and mock bowed before becoming serious again. "We must move quickly as Laufey will not wait long and even Asgard grows warry of me—namely Thor's friends, and I do not trust them to not do something stupid and rash. They are his friends, after all."

The brothers hummed and nodded, Helblindi dropping his arms as he spoke. "Agreed. Most of those loyal to me have already left the city discreetly enough and we can… encourage father into calling a war council for once we have the Casket. He will recall most of his forces back into the city."

Loki nodded before peering up at them, stomping down the small annoyance that they were so much taller than he was. "Just make sure you get out as well. I would hate to lose my contacts with a peaceful Jötunheim."

Býleistr snorted. "Once father is gone, the war council will hardly keep track of us as they plan their invasions."

Loki nodded and all bade farewell and good luck to the others before Loki made his way back to the site Heimdall had bridged him down. He let his cloaking fall as he reached the site and called up to the gatekeeper, not looking forward to the lecture he was no doubt about to receive. Or at least as much of a lecture that Heimdall could give the King of Asgard.

He sighed and resisted the urge to rub his eyes. He was going to have to forbid Heimdall from opening the bridge, hopefully that would irk him enough to commit enough of an act of treason he could unwittingly play his part. The light of the Bifrost slammed down around him and pulled him up. He prayed Heimdall would forgive the trickery, but it was paramount that he had as little help as possible in building the new and better relationship with Jötunheim as possible.

He stepped across the golden floor of the observatory, a tiny smirk pulling at his lips from the thought. Odin had wanted him to bring peace to Asgard and Jötunheim, so peace he was going to bring.

Loki stood on the veranda of the throne room when the Bifrost lit and opened. He scowled with annoyance but he supposed now was just as good a time as any. He marched through the castle unhindered to Odin's treasure room, Gungnir in hand, and opened the gate of the Destroyer.

It stepped out and looked around before honing in on the king's spear, stilling upon seeing it.

"Stall my brother's return but do not harm the Midgardians." Loki commanded.

The Destroyer's head shifted and the metal making up its body slid with a sound that mimicked growling. It started out of the treasure room and Loki turned back around to stare at the Casket. He snagged the artifact and teleported to the entrance of the Rainbow Bridge. He walked across at a brisk pace until he neared Heimdall, who stood watch with his sword in hand.

Heimdall looked hard at Loki once he was within speaking distance, hands subtly tensing around the hilt. "Tell me, Loki. How did you get the Jötunns into Asgard? Do connections like the ones you have long taken to Midgard exist for every Realm?"

Loki set Gungnir firmly on the bridge so that its clang hid his huff. "Do you think the Bifrost is the only way from this Realm to any other? There are many secret paths all over this world and others that you, with all your gifts, are blind to."

Heimdall glared at Loki now. He has long since known of the one but Loki always hid it from him and it was deeply unsettling to know that there were more, many more.

Loki ignored the look and hardened his voice, truly irked that Heimdall had so little faith in him. Just like the rest. "But I have need of them no longer. Now that I am king, for your treason, I say that you are relieved of your duties as gatekeeper."

Heimdall's lips turned downwards. "Then I need no longer obey you."

He lifted his sword to strike and Loki pulled the Casket out with a flick of his wrists, unleashing its power on the gatekeeper. As the Jötunn magic streamed out of the artifact, it leaked up his hands and arms, reverting his form. It froze Heimdall with the tip of his blade not an inch from Loki's neck.

He cast the Casket away again and gave Heimdall a once over. He was still very much alive but would remain frozen for long enough. It was honestly better this way. Now he wouldn't have to worry about Heimdall coming out of the woodworks and foiling the plan by attacking the assassination party…and the Jötunns coming through would truly believe his story. Laufey would believe it.

He waited at the dais with Gungnir beside the pedestal normally meant for Heimdall's blade. The Destroyer thumped along the bridge until it ducked to enter the observatory and stared straight ahead, waiting. He plunged Gungnir into the pedestal and activated the Bifrost. He thought of the same place Thor landed and sent the Destroyer through.

He hummed and pulled the king's spear out then slammed it down again, the delegation of Laufey appearing. Loki smiled, pleased Laufey reacted so quickly to his message. "Welcome to Asgard."

Laufey smiled and they set out, leaving behind two of the company to stand guard at the Bifrost.

He felt a twinge, suddenly, and a magic linking Gungnir to the throne brought forth a misty image of Thor. He was speaking and his words were like whispers in the back of his mind, strained by his lack of connection from the throne. He led Laufey and his compatriots through the city unseen as he half listened to Thor's words—asking forgiveness for whatever wrong he'd committed against his brother.

Loki snuffed quietly, clenching Gungnir. Thor committed so many aggrievances against him but funny enough, this had nothing at all to do with those…however it made sense why he would think that and he was touched by the apology. But for now Thor must stay on Midgard and now with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif there…matters became headache inducingly complicated.

His pace quickened, not that his Jötunn companions noticed all that much, his time was running out. With his recent bout of clarity, Thor would no doubt receive back his powers and title soon. And, while he had no way back to Asgard currently, he held little uncertainty that Heimdall would break free of the ice soon enough. He hadn't built the cocoon to kill him, after was merely to immobilize him.

As they neared the palace, Loki broke off from the group—he and Laufey barely acknowledged one another with a nod. Laufey and the remaining giants with him disappeared into a lesser used gate while he circled around and entered through his mother's gardens.

The path Laufey took wound around before depositing them at a useful hallway to begin making their way to Odin's chambers which left Loki plenty of time to take the more direct route, then lay in wait.

Their arrival was unmistakable. The corridor dropped several degrees and frost crept around the door before it banged open. One of the Jötunnar grunted after sounds of a scuffle before Frigga grunted.

Loki snarled and marched around the corner he'd taken refuge behind. He entered the room and cast a hurried glance at his mother, relieved to find her alright, just stunned—Laufey would have paid dearly if he harmed her.

Speaking of the Jötunn king, he knelt over Odin, speaking softly with a vicious smile. "I hope it's true, so that you may know your death came at the hand of Laufey."

He formed a cruel dagger of ice and Loki raised Gungnir, blasting him in the back with the power of the king's spear before firmly resting it on the ground again. He glared at the being who abandoned him, turning his chin up. "And your death came at the son of Odin."

Laufey raised his head, struggling to breathe as he scowled hatefully at the trickster.

Loki smirked, eyes glimmering with a light that he should have known better, and raised the spear again. "And only Commander of a Dýrsvell." He hissed purely out of spite, just so the dying king knew just what he threw out.

Laufey's eyes widened in shock and that was the only emotion he had time to unconsciously process before a golden blast of Gungnir collided with him again and disintegrated his body.

Loki nearly snorted in disgust but his mother's relieved breaths drew his attention away. She ran up to him and hugged him in a way she rarely did anymore. "You saved him."

He returned the embrace for a long moment before breaking away and looked down into her eyes. "I swear to you, mother, that they will pay for what they have done today."

"Loki!" A familiar and entirely unwelcome voice broke apart their moment.

Thor stood in the doorway, cape still billowing around his heels from his sudden halt, but Frigga ran delightedly to her eldest son's arms. Thor greeted her but his scathing eyes never left Loki. "Why don't you tell her how you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends—to kill me?"

Loki gripped Gungnir with both hands and took a step back, circling as Thor advanced. His eye twitched as Thor, yet again, was beginning to ruin a perfectly good plan but smothered it with a cool façade. "I was merely enforcing father's last command—after all, did you not come back to your powers because of me? However, I will admit that you came a bit too quickly. Clearly the Destroyer was not the distraction I was hoping it to be."

Thor's face pinched for a moment in confusion before he resettled in his anger. "You are a talented liar, always have been."

Loki minutely tilted his head to the side, a hand over his heart, before looking back at Thor. "It's good to have you back, Thor, but if you'll excuse me—I have a Realm to reform."

He raised Gungnir and shot at Thor. It was a very weak blast, just enough to throw him through the wall into the next chamber, but it gave him the moment needed to teleport to the Bifrost.

He inserted Gungnir and again aimed it for Jötunheim but left it in until the Bifrost locked on permanently and slid the spear back out. The Bifrost still hummed and he iced over the pedestal, the energy cocooned within it. Now he could watch Jötunheim until the time was right then blast the ice and energy shaft, thus disrupting the connection.

His heart hammered with rarely felt nerves. This was the most crucial part of the plan, the part where the most could go wrong. Those nerves were only heightened by the fact that Helblindi and Býleistr were now placing their complete and utter trust in the fact that he would not fail in this step.

All up until now, he could fail and nothing disastrous would happen—bar Odin actually dying, dealing with Hela was not on his top thousand things to do in the next century. Not to mention Hiccup's devastation if the Realm was destroyed, that loss of life would hit him hard not to mention the trips they took,beauty only visible to Jötunn kind. It would also utterly ruin any chances he had at securing Odin's favor.

He watched the destruction carefully even as Mjolnir whirled closer, then Thor's heavy feet land just outside the Bifrost. He turned away for a moment to greet Thor, who understandably looked livid.

His anger quickly fell into horror and disbelief upon seeing the frozen tendrils of energy. Without a second thought, Thor ran forward, Mjolnir raised.

Loki swung Gungnir around and blasted him back, taking care to greatly restrain the spear's power. He glanced back at the gateway, catching glimpses of the castle falling finally as the power of the Bifrost never ceased to relent.

Thor stood back up, gripping Mjolnir tightly as he asked, voice rising in confusion and emotional pain. "Why have you done this?"

Loki sighed as he turned back around to hold Thor off. The Bifrost would need another few minutes to destroy the city around the palace as well, effectively eliminating all those who supported Laufey. "To prove to father that I am a worthy son. When he wakes, I will have saved his life, I will have eliminated all threats of war from Jötunheim, and that I am no less of a rightful son than you are!"

"You can't kill an entire race." Thor tried to reason with his brother, his lesson from banishment still so fresh in his mind.

"You did." Loki said simply before a wide, deranged smile split his lips. "What is this new found love for the Frost Giants? You, who would have killed them all with your bare hands. Clearly your own brother being one never gave you second thought that not all of them were monsters."

"I have changed."

Loki stepped down from the dais and slowly approached Thor who sternly glared at his brother. "Maybe I have too."

Thor eyed Loki then the iced behind him, thick at the pedestal and twisting up like a dead tree in winter. "Brother, stop this—whatever this is."

Loki caught Thor's twitch as he prepared to hurl Mjolnir at the ice and lashed out with Gungnir, slicing his cheek. "It cannot be stopped, not now—not until it accomplishes what I intended it to do."

Thor growled but dropped his shoulders after glancing at the ice before looking back at Loki sadly. "Was this all a plan? Have me banished so you could take the throne?"

Fury flooded Loki's veins, after all this—that was his first conclusion? He swung the spear and smacked Thor across the observatory. "I never wanted the throne! Not for a millennia. I only wanted to be your equal—in your eyes and father's."

Loki walked around the frozen tendrils, glancing again at Jötunheim, still not done. He rounded it to Thor already on his feet and shouting, "I will not fight you, brother!"

Loki chuckled, resting the spear once again. "Don't want to fight? Well that's truly a first for you, brother—always the one to disregard anything I wanted to do for a good spar."

Thor huffed but his tongue felt dry, knowing it was true. He looked over at the locked Bifrost before turning entreatingly to Loki. "This is madness, Loki."

Loki hummed and nodded his head. "Is it madness? You've been to Midgard a little now, maybe you heard this expression, There's a method to my madness?"

Thor's brows pinched and he tilted his head but then shook it. "Brother, please, a purpose to your madness or not—it is not worth the loss of lives."

Loki snorted, rearing back a bit, wide eyes staring at Thor. "What happened on Midgard that turned you so soft?" Loki asked with a smile that Thor couldn't place if it was mischievous or malicious.

Thor's brows dipped and Loki's raised in triumph of figuring him out.

"Funny, how it is the weakest of the Realms that catches both brothers." A tear burned in his eye at the memory of Hiccup when he was still mortal. Emotions roiled in him again as he remembered Thor's part of that travesty. "Well, maybe, when we're finished here—I'll go pay her a visit myself."

Thor tensed and grit his teeth. "Loki, that was long ago-"

"You barely know her and you are already picking a fight for her, whereas he was my son and you couldn't look away—just that once!" He shouted, his sight tinging with red—both with his anger and the vicinity to Jötunheim's magic.

He lashed out again and Thor charged, both brimming with rage at the other. They met in midair then crashed to the ground and rolled, Thor landing on top. Loki shoved him off and swung Gungnir around his head before bringing it down with the momentum he built up.

Thor rolled and kicked Loki in the knee, getting to his feet quickly to bring Mjolnir down on his delusional brother. Loki blocked the strike with the spear and sparks flew from the contact point of the weapons. Several more blows and strikes were exchanged with sparks flying, Loki eventually jammed the spear into the ground and swung around it to slam into Thor's chest with his feet—throwing him to the ground just for him to quickly get to his feet, grab Loki and throw him to the ground.

Loki looked up at the Bifrost and into Jötunheim as he stood. The city was utterly destroyed—it was time to shut it off. He turned, Gungnir raised to blast the casing he'd created but Thor stood in his way, Mjolnir swinging.

He sighed and braced for the impact, intending to use Thor's momentum to send him flying away long enough for him to disrupt the energy flow. However, Thor wrapped an arm around his waist and hurled them both out of the observatory.

Loki wanted to scream in frustration as he rolled along the Rainbow Bridge, now worriedly eyeing the Bifrost. He cast a duplicate of himself that rolled over the edge, just barely hanging on, while he wrapped invisibility around his true self.

Thor, bless and curse his soft heart, went to help the illusioned Loki before the real him could make it past to the Bifrost. Thor scowled as the illusion disappeared and spun around, searching for the real Loki.

Loki dropped the invisibility and stabbed his brother. It was no worse than a usual stab from one of his daggers but it would distract him for a second which allowed him to cast several more illusions, leaving him free to run back to the Bifrost. In the moment he had to run, he had time to reflect, he supposed it would ultimately be easier if he just told Thor the plan, let him disrupt the connection but then the entire reason for the plan would be rendered moot. Thor would most likely take the glory and even if he didn't and his time on Midgard had done something, Odin would praise Thor over him for it regardless.

He hadn't taken more than a dozen strides when Thor shouted, "Enough!"

A wave hit him in the back as Thor slammed Mjolnir into the bridge to dissipate his illusions and threw to the ground. He fell with a surprised cry then laid there for a moment, willing the ringing in his ears to cease from the hit his head took on the Bridge.

He rolled over and his stomach knotted. The entire observatory was aglow and the Bifrost thrumming louder as more energy poured into it and onto Jötunheim. No, no—I have to shut it off now!

He started getting to his feet when an immeasurably heavy weight settled on his chest. He looked over to see Thor standing by him with a disappointed glare, Mjolnir on his chest, before walking away. He reached up and grunted as tried to shove the hammer off but it didn't budge.

Loki laid his head down and looked backwards to the best of his ability. His heart hammered faster as Thor cautiously neared the entrance but began skidding from the pull of the overpowering Bifrost. How has it all gone so wrong?

He looked around for anything to help and spied Gungnir just a few feet away. He stretched out for it but it was just out of reach of his fingertips. He gathered his magic and summoned the spear to him—this time, it readily leapt into his hand.

He laid back again, trying to see into the blinding entryway of the Bifrost for the place to aim Gungnir. His eyes narrowed, not against the light but at the fact that he was going to have to shoot blind—even his magic was useless in aiming due to the sheer amount of it radiating from the observatory. He had the spear aimed for what he believed was the center—if he could just hit and destroy the pedestal—when it was ripped out of his grasp by Mjolnir racing off.

Loki sat up and snatched Gungnir once again before getting to his feet, the spear tucked under his arm to steady it so he could try shooting the pedestal again. He tried walking sideways to get a clear shot around Thor who once again stood in his way but his feet started sliding along the Bridge from the Bifrost sucking everything in.

His eyes widened in shock as Thor swung Mjolnir up then bashed it against the Rainbow Bridge, a loud and large crack forming on its surface. Thor slammed Mjolnir down again and the crack spider webbed.

"If you destroy the Bridge you'll never see her again!" He shouted, actually caring despite the baleful look Thor cast over his shoulder—fear slithering into him from the repercussions of the Bridge breaking now. "The pedestal, aim at the pedestal." That at least was fixable without the Tesseract.

Thor looked up after another swing to glare unbelievingly at his brother.

Loki grunted and raised Gungnir, firing its powerful blast into the Bifrost.

Thor whirled around with a scowl but an explosion and the power pulling them in wavered. He glanced at the pedestal once before looking down at the nearly shattered Rainbow Bridge and wordlessly swung his hammer again.

Loki's eyes widened and once again shot at the pedestal—he had to cut off the power draw before Thor finished severing the Bridge or else-

The world exploded around the brothers.

Loki somehow managed to keep hold of Gungnir as he was thrown, once again, in the air. He couldn't see where he was falling from or to, couldn't see past the blinding rainbow to anything he might be able to spear and stop his descent.

All at once, he stopped falling with a jerk and looked up to the scared and determined face of his brother who held the shaft of Gungnir—with Odin holding his foot and keeping both of them from tumbling over the edge and being lost to the abyss surrounding Asgard. He wanted to smile at Thor, that despite everything Thor still caught him and by the pained expression he was worried for him—but Odin stood behind him and that uncertainty rose. This had all been for him, after all.

"I did it, Father—I rid Asgard and all the Realms of Laufey and his treacherous followers. I did it. For you, for all of us." He hated how pained his heart felt, staring pleadingly up at Odin, begging for him to accept him.

Odin tightened his grip on Thor as his head twitched to the side in the tiniest shake. "No, Loki."

Odin and Loki stared at each other for a moment as Loki felt a knife sever the small strands of hope he'd had left. He felt cold as he looked up at the All-Father, his hand slipping an inch on the shaft.

"Loki, no!" Thor cried, reaching down with his free hand.

Loki glanced at him sorrowfully then let go. He drifted off, listening to Thor crying out for him, but ignored it. He let himself be pulled closer to the wreckage of the Bifrost and gathered his magic. This exact outcome was not something he'd explicitly planned for but the contingency still held.

Now an appropriate distance, he let his magic wash over him to teleport him to Midgard's branch where he would happily disappear from Asgard forever. A magic latched onto him before he could complete the teleport and yanked him down, towards the Bifrost and the space it was disappearing into.

His breath hitched as he felt it wrap around his magic, hot and cold at the same time and infinitely malevolent. He started panicking—if he fell much farther he would be too far away to teleport and the pull, both magic and physical, from Bifrost grew almost painful.

He scrambled to identify the magic, to force it to release its hold but it slithered along his magic and penetrated his mind—forcing him into unconsciousness. His last frightened thought was an apology to Hiccup and a prayer to the Norns that it could be heard in their bond.

Pierce paced in front of the antique computer, agitation evident in his face.

Zola whirred as he processed the information, his electronic face scrunching in irritation as he 'digested' the new information collected from their SHIELD plants. Finally, he spoke, glaring at the one man in the room. "You mean to tell me that an independent scientist not only has made more progress on these Anomalies than we have, but she was also never on our radar?"

Pierce huffed, hand finally lowering from his chin. "Yes! I don't know how, but yes!"

Zola's lips thinned at the current head of Hydra's temper but let his tone slide as he was equally vexed. "Clearly we are suffering more than we realized from Hakon's last attack."

Pierce frowned and stopped pacing. "Or we still have moles among us."

Zola's face was still but his computers spun before he said, "It is a very likely possibility. They clearly are masters of infiltration if their last attack has proven anything."

Pierced grunted and stood at his full and poised height. "How do you propose we proceed?"

"Keep her under watch. She's being kept under SHIELD's supervision now, correct?" Zola asked.

Pierce nodded. "She does not report to them, per say, but they can get access to all her work."

Zola's codified face shifted into what appeared to be a nod. "Then that will work for now until we are prepared to finally strike. I find her information interesting, though. While she has come across an Anomaly, much of her information is recent and deals with a moving Anomaly."

Pierce frowned, looking at Zola's screen. He'd read the report and some of Foster's work but he wasn't a scientist and much of it went over his head. "It's portable? Then why use stationary ones?"

Zola was silent for several seconds as he looked over the new information again to present an argument. "Inconclusive. It may not be the most reliable or…"

"Or?" Piece parroted, not entirely sure he was going to like Zola's other suggestion.

Zola's eyes pinched before bringing up a few clips of Thor, most of him tearing through SHIELD at the crater. "This new Anomaly and this 'Thor' could be unrelated to Hyse's people—or removed from them. All through Hydra's history, they have been masters of infiltration and remaining anonymous but this Thor is anything but that."

Pierce nodded. He had to agree that the man possibly related to Hyse's people was far outside the norm for them. "I will issue an observe but do not engage order, then. Should he be seen again."

Zola's computers hummed and he nodded before winking out. "At this moment in time, that would be the most logical course of action."

Hiccup walked out of the forge, wiping his sooty hands on his pants and tunic. Several villagers greeted him as he walked by, heading for the branch site. Folke had commed and requested to report to him personally. He hadn't liked how formal he sounded, how worried. Matters weren't helped when the day before he felt his bond with Loki silenced. It wasn't dead or severed, but it was frozen and he couldn't reach out to his patron no matter what he tried or how hard.

His uneasiness was felt along all the other bonds he had. The whole of the New Archipelago felt it too, felt it in the wards surrounding and protecting them. There was a restlessness about them. The dragons had become tense, the rates of fighting and scuffling dragons had risen and flocks of them had returned to New Berk where their Alpha and god resided or retreated into the Hidden World. Jörmungandr was the most restless of the dragons, he swam—pacing the waters of the New Archipelago all day before settling around New Berk. It took Hiccup or a dozen of his descendants in Jötunnar form being with him at nearly all times to keep him calm.

It didn't sit well with Hiccup nor convince him that something hadn't gone terribly, terribly wrong with the plan.

Toothless met him at the site, rarely away from his side since Loki's magic seemed to drop out of existence. He whined and nuzzled his rider's hand and side, wrapping the Familiar bond around him more.

Hiccup smiled but it was tight, grateful for his best friend's comfort. They jumped to Berserker Island to meet with the Changewing Commander and silently entered the room where Phil stood waiting on the other side of the screen.

"Phil, it's good to see you again but I don't think this is going to be a joyous call." Hiccup said politely.

Phil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "No, it's not. Thor's gone. From what I got from Foster he was here on punishment—something about starting a war with Jötunheim."

Hiccup winced. It wasn't supposed to go that far but he could see why it did.

The Commander narrowed his eyes as he addressed Phil. "Are we at risk?"

Phil shook his head. "He had some slips, but anyone not in the know thinks him delusional or…eccentric—bringing ideas from his home world and thinking we have similar creatures here."

Hiccup's lip twitched, the first hint of a smile in a very long day and a half. "So everyone believes he's an alien with no connection to us?"

Phil snorted. "After that light show of him leaving Midgard, yeah. Yeah, they definitely believe he's extra-terrestrial."

The Commander nodded. Considering the circumstances, it really was the best option. "Good."

Hiccup frowned, looking back at Phil. "That's great and all but—what happened? Your call wasn't sounding like your report was going to be a good one."

Phil sucked in a breath before relaying the most notable portions of Thor's stay. Hiccup and the Commander were a bit startled that someone was so close to Yggdrasil's Branches and figuring out what they were, but they could easily handle that. What shook them was the incident with the Destroyer, Phil said one of Thor's friends called it.

Hiccup was relieved that no one was hurt. Well, no Midgardian but he suspected that was on Loki's orders. It was worrying that it had come at all. Something must have gone very wrong if Loki was that desperate to keep Thor occupied while he finished the plan. Add to that the bonds and all of Loki's magic freezing or feeling…off not an hour later.

Hiccup thanked Phil and the call ended. He left Berserker Island and the day continued on as normal—checking the wards, dealing with dragons and constantly trying to reach out to Loki only to be met with a wall of metaphorical ice.

*O*

It wasn't until two days later that further news came about the plan and Loki's odd disappearance.

He was down dealing with Jör, the Dýrsvell taking comfort in his presence and loudly voicing his dislike of Loki's frozen bond with him. Hiccup laid on his crown, half asleep and occasionally sending out small waves of comfort through their weaker bond—the bond he had with most dragons for a millennia.

Dart landed on Jör's back, not that the gargantuan dragon noticed it, so Nuffink could run up to his father. "Dad! Helblindi and Býleistr are here."

Hiccup shot up and gave Jör a quick pat before jumping on Dart behind his son.

Jör huffed loudly below them but sunk under the waves to go hunt.

They landed in the village square where the Jötunn brothers stood waiting with arms crossed, matching their expressions.

Hiccup slipped off and let his form shift, something he and Loki had begun to naturally do in the presence of the Jötunns. "You guys are okay! After everything…what happened?"

Helblindi looked at Hiccup sternly, searching him for something, but finally let his face soften. "Something went wrong with the last leg of the plan. Loki isn't here, by chance?"

Hiccup shook his head and glanced at Býleistr who looked equally ticked off and worried. "No. What went wrong? Loki, he promised that he planned for every outcome…"

Býleistr looked up and glowered again. "He nearly destroyed all of Jötunheim instead of just Laufey's palace and his city."

Hiccup paled then thought of Phil and his report about the Destroyer. "Folke said there was an incident with the Destroyer here on Midgard. I think Thor messed something up. Though, knowing Loki, he probably didn't try to talk and reason with him either."

Both brothers cringed at the mention of the Asgardian protector but Helblindi spoke, "Most likely. Hiccup, have you heard?"

Hiccup's eyebrows pinched and looked at his uncle warily. "Heard what?"

Helblindi sighed and gripped Hiccup's shoulder. "Word has spread, though I know not how-"

"Seers probably." Býleistr chipped in, annoyance tinging his tone.

Helblindi glared at his brother before looking back at Hiccup. "Thor destroyed the Bifrost to stop Jötunheim's destruction so, like you said, there was undoubtedly some miscommunication or lack of any at all between Thor and Loki. Loki fell into the abyss with the Bifrost before it disappeared with its last remnants of power. We were hoping he had gone through with the contingency plan if Odin still hadn't accepted him."

Býleistr grunted and shook his head. "I told him Odin was a lost cause. He's lucky Thor is mourning his loss."

Hiccup's chest constricted and he desperately grasped for the frozen bond, the only comfort he could take in its silence was that it wasn't broken. He wasn't dead.

Býleistr frowned and looked at the ground with some shame. "I do not know why he wouldn't have gone through with that part of the plan out of any of it."

Hiccup took a breath, thinking back to just before the bond went silent—the terror Loki felt then sadness. There was something else but he just couldn't quite grasp it. He took a step back and Nuffink grabbed his father's arm. Hiccup barely registered it before he was nodding to his uncles. "Th-thank you for telling me this. Y-you're welcome to-to stay but I need, I need some air."

He turned and black wings snapped out from what was once a trench coat. He soared up and away until another black dot joined him and they became one in the air before disappearing.

Nuffink sighed and looked up at Helblindi and Býleistr but they shook their heads, Býleistr saying, "We must get back. We have a kingdom to establish and rebuild."

Nuffink nodded and watched them walk away back to the branch. Dart whined and brushed up against him. He sighed and hugged her head before looking up where his father disappeared from then pat her head. "I don't know, girl, I don't know."

Well, that's a wrap for this segment. I know a lot of the last Thor chapter and this one doesn't have that many changes overall, a lot of the changes are his thought processes but I thought those were important to. One interlude chapter and then on to Avengers!