AN: Yep! Finally posting the next chapter. It took me quite a while, because I was contemplating whether Loki would survive the snap or not. Finally made a decision, though, and I already have more exciting things outlined for future chapters. Yay!

pLEaSE tell me you guys have seen Captain Marvel? I saw it the day it came out and i flipping lOVED IT! Since we're moving away from the IW timeline, this is going to be turning into an Endgame prediction.

With the hints and photos Marvel gave us on the 26th, I've got a pretty good speculation.

(if i get Endgame right, i think i deserve a gold star. no? ok, i'll just earn a happy feeling. thats fine. not crying inside or anything)

Also, fair warning; I write in Thor's POV in this chapter. I really suck at writing Thor, but I needed to. So, sorry in advance all you Thor-lovers out there. I love Thor, too, I swear, but I just can't write him very well.

Anyways, here's your chapter!

Chapter 7 ~ The Kids Aren't Alright

Loki was expecting some large explosion, a feeling, something to happen after Thanos snapped his fingers, but nothing did. The only change was Thanos' gauntlet left a fried mess, mangled and deformed.

"What did you do?" Thor demanded. Thanos only laughed, and using the Space stone, disappeared from the scene.

And then Loki felt it.

It was like a wave crashed over him, momentarily drowning out all noise. When his hearing returned, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

Sometime within the few moments Loki's senses were drown out, Thor had come to crouch over him.

"-ki? Are you okay?" Thor had his hand placed on Loki's shoulder, looking quite concerned. Loki swatted his hand away.

"I'm fine," he huffed, his voice rasping in his bruised throat. Loki stood, stumbling only once, and looked around. Slowly, he staggered over towards Captain Rogers with Thor in pursuit.

"Thor? Where'd he go?" Rogers panted, looking mildly confused. When Thor didn't respond, Rogers repeated, "Where'd he go?"

Bucky, who was standing behind the dear Captain, lifted his hand in confusion.

"Steve?" He croaked, before falling to the ground as nothing but a mere pile of flakes.

"No, no, no!" Loki whispered, whipping around to watch several other's fade from existence as well. He saw T'Challa's black suit as he crouched in the bushes, and then the lack of it moments later. He saw Wanda look up to the sky moments before she disappeared too.

"Sam?" Loki could hear the faint call of Rhodey from in the trees. Immediately, his heart sank further. Thanos had won. He'd gotten what he'd wanted, and half of all living creatures had been eliminated from the universe.

Loki turned to Thor, who was standing next to him. His eyes—which he'd just noticed, he'd gotten his second eye back—were wide.

And then Loki felt.. strange.

He couldn't quite explain it. It was like he was being tugged away, but to where he wasn't sure. His seidr was going crazy.

His breath caught in his throat and he met Thor's eyes.

"No, Loki," Thor voice, barely a whisper, was all Loki heard besides his labored breathing as he stumbled again.

He could feel himself slipping away.

Gods, just when he thought he'd escaped death.

Everything was spinning. His body was numb. Loki found himself in his brother's arms, who was staring down at him anxiously.

"Just hold on, Loki," Thor croaked.

Loki managed a weak smile.

Oh, Norns, everything was numb, and he was slipping away, he didn't want to die. Not like this. He couldn't see; the world was slowly becoming more distant.

"Kill him for me, will you?" Loki managed. He didn't hear Thor's answer, as the world peeled away into never-ending darkness.

…

"Kill him for me, will you?" Loki gasped out. Thor swallowed hard and offered his fading younger brother his most convincing smile.

"We'll kill him together, brother," he assured. But, to his horror, Loki had already crumbled away in his arms. Thor could already feel the rage bubbling away beneath his skin and could hear the crackled of electricity around his body and the crack of thunder in the distance.

One would think it gets easier, watching his little brother die.

But this time he wouldn't be coming back.

Clenching his teeth, Thor stood. He forced a deep breath, feeling the sparks of electricity retreat back inside his body.

"Thor?" Rogers gasped. Thor looked up from his brother's dust-pile. "What the hell just happened?"

Thor shook his head, looking back at what remained of his baby brother.

"Thanos has wiped out half of the universe," he murmured after a moment. "This is his idea of balance."

The bushes rustled, and at first Thor thought it was another Outrider. He called Stormbreaker to his side, but relaxed when the Rabbit shuffled into the clearing.

"Groot just.. disappeared," the creature murmured. Thor nodded.

"I am sorry, sweet rabbit."

There was silence as the rest of the fallen heroes gathered around. Rogers was still crouched in front of his former friend's pile, Thor was staring down at Loki's pile, while everybody else circled around.

It was the Captain that spoke.

"We lost."

…

Darkness. That's all that it was. Everything was black.

Was this what it was like to truly die?

It felt like he was falling. Falling, and falling, and falling—

Loki gasped and sat bolt upright. His eyes snapped open immediately and he surveyed his surroundings. He was sitting against a rock, just on the edge of a forest of some kind.

But wait, that couldn't be right, could it?

He was dead. Shouldn't he be in Valhalla?

Struggling to steady his breath, he brought his hands up to his line of sight and turned them over to inspect them. He wasn't fading anymore. And he was.. alive?

He didn't feel alive. He felt like someone had just trampled him several times with one of those Midgardian creations known as the car.

Loki groaned and rested back against the rock. The sky had a strange orange hue to it. It didn't look natural.

So he was dead.

This didn't look like Valhalla.

Once he had mustered up the strength, Loki heaved himself to a stand. It took him a few moments to find his footing, but he did, and stared into the vast number of trees before him. The looming branches seemed to be calling him in, urging him forwards.

Ah, what the Helheim?

It couldn't hurt; he needed to know where he was, anyways. Perhaps he'd find his mother in that forest, if he was truly dead.

So, Loki started forwards. He set off into the trees, listening out for any signs of company.

He didn't hear anything except the crunching of leaves beneath his boots. He sighed. He was in for a long walk, and he knew it.

What does a God have to do for a break in this wretched world?

…

The remaining Avengers had trudged back to the city. The general, Okoye, led the way, followed closely by Steve and Rhodey. Natasha trudged on next to Bruce, and Thor took up the rear. Rocket was perched on his shoulder. An uncomfortable silence had wrapped around the group for the whole trip.

When they'd entered the building the General was leading them to, they saw several piles of dust littering the ground. Thor swallowed hard.

"You should have gone for the head."

"Thor?" Rocket prompted. "You alright there, bud? You zoned out for a minute."

"Yes, sweet rabbit," Thor replied quickly, forcing a smile.

"For God's sake—stop calling me 'rabbit.' My name's Rocket."

"Right. My deepest apologies, Rocket."

Rocket nodded his approval and scrambled down from Thor's shoulder. Thor slowly walked over to where Bruce stood, watching from a distance the exchange between Okoye and Steve.

"What're they talking about?" Thor murmured to his friend.

"I don't know. All I heard was 'sorry,' and 'compound,'" Bruce shrugged. "My guess is Steve's apologizing for the loss and we're going back to the Compound. We need to figure out how the rest of the world is taking this; New York is probably in Chaos."

Thor nodded.

"I wouldn't be surprised.

They waited for a couple more moments, before Steve dipped his head to the general and turned back to the group of waiting Avengers.

"Let's go home."

…

Loki had been walking for ages, and all he found was more and more trees. It was just an endless forest, it seemed. He felt like he'd be walking for several days if he kept going. So, he sat with a grunt at the roots of a tree and inspected himself.

All of his wounds from the battle were still there.

Strange…

He'd assumed he wouldn't have to worry about that once he'd died. Apparently not. Unless he wasn't dead.

But he was dead. He'd died in Thor's arms, right?

Right?

Thinking about it made his head ache. This wasn't like the last time he'd thought he'd died, but actually hadn't; when he'd been stabbed by the Dark Elf, he'd woken up in the same spot he'd fallen. But this time, he wasn't even sure if he was on Midgard. He could be anywhere.

Loki rubbed his temples with a small sigh. His life just kept getting harder and harder.

Just then, he thought he heard something. It was small and almost unnoticeable, but not to him. Someone was here.

Without thinking, Loki conjured a pair of daggers and stood, scanning the trees around him for any signs of movement.

The sound came again. A small rustle.

Loki whipped his head towards the sound, tightening his grip on his weapons.

Another rustle; louder this time. Loki clenched his teeth.

"Make your presence known, now!" Loki called, eyes narrowed dangerously. Just then, a young boy peered out from behind a tree. He looked utterly petrified.

Loki's stance loosened, and he put one dagger away. He kept the second one, just in case.

"It's okay," Loki prompted. "You may come out."

The boy did as instructed, slowly approaching the God. As he got closer, Loki noticed the several scrapes and cuts on his face. His brown hair was littered with twigs, and his eyes glimmered with fear.

"W-who are you?" The boy murmured. Loki smiled and crouched down, becoming level with the young child.

"My name's Loki. What's yours?"

"Cooper. Cooper Barton."

…

Once they'd arrived at the Compound, the rest of the day was a blur.

Thor had changed into Midgardian clothes, for the time being, and had spent most of his time alone. Brooding, as Loki would call it.

He'd found a quiet room and sat, staring blankly at the ground.

It finally sank in. Everything that he'd lost. It truly sank in.

He'd lost his father.

His mother.

His brother.

His world.

His people.

His friends.

Oh, Norns, his friends. Thor didn't truly know how many of them survived. He'd seen Heimdall get stabbed through the heart when Thanos first attack. But Valkyrie and Korg were still out there.

Thinking of friends, Thor wondered if Jane had survived the snap. Perhaps her, Darcy, and Dr. Selvik were together. Or maybe a few of them had turned to dust. He really didn't want to think about it.

The world was in chaos, and Thor was sulking in a room by himself. He breathed a laugh, his body shaking with the effort. He could almost hear his brother's chides now.

"Get of your behind, you oaf, and do something about it! The universe won't fix itself!"

The door to the room opened, and Thor looked up. Rocket had climbed up the door, by the look of the claw marks, to turn the door handle. Thor smiled.

"Your little friend-group over there wants to go check on the city. New Pork, I think they said." Rocket shrugged. "These Terrans don't know how to name a city," he mumbled.

"I believe they were referring to New York, my friend," Thor chuckled. He stood, passing his new axe Stormbreaker on his way out. "Let us go, sweet rabbit."

"Not a rabbit."

"Right. My bad."

They met the rest of the remaining Avengers in the lobby.

"I've checked the News," Rhodey reported. "The place is practically in flames."

Steve nodded, turning to the rest of the group. Thor met his gaze steadily.

"Listen up. There's going to be a lot of confused and terrified citizens, looking for friends and family. Our jobs is to make sure their safe, not inform them half of the universe is gone. The time for that will come, but later."

A chorus of agreements rippled around the group.

"Alright. Romanoff, you fly the Quinjet," Steve ordered, turning to the ex-assassin.

"Aye, aye, Captain," she murmured, brushing passed Thor on her way out the door.

"Everyone else, suit up."

And with that, the group dispersed.

…

The boy, Cooper, looked extremely shaken. Loki couldn't help but take pity on him. He'd led Cooper down to a nearby stream, one dagger still in hand in case something else decided to explode from the bushes and cleaned off a cut on the boy's cheek.

"How'd you get this?" He asked as he worked. Cooper frowned.

"I fell," he replied simply. Loki nodded, and didn't push.

"Did you see anybody else besides me?" Norns, he hoped he had. He wasn't good with children, especially with Barton's child.

Loki prayed that the Hawk wasn't here, either. That'd earn him an arrow in the eye for sure.

At first, when the boy had stated his name, Loki had just brushed it off as a coincidence. But the more he looked, the more he could recognize Agent Barton.

"Well, I saw two people.." the boy murmured. Loki let out a breath and smiled. Perhaps he'd be able to figure out what in the Nine Realms was happening with more than just himself.

"What did they look like? Did you see?"

"I didn't. I only heard them. I-I think they saw me. They called out to me, but I got scared and ran away," Cooper admitted.

"Okay. That's okay," Loki assured, straightened up after washing the faint trace of blood off his hands. "Which way did you come from, Cooper? Could you lead me there?"

The boy nodded and stood as well. He didn't seem as scared anymore. Loki could tell he was trying to be brave. He admired the young child's courage.

"This way."

Cooper set off into the trees, and Loki followed.

Perhaps when he saw who Cooper saw, he'd be able to determine where in the Nine Realms they were—if they were even in the Nine Realms. Loki couldn't be sure anymore. The forests reminded him of Alfheim, but Alfheim did not have an orange-tinted sky.

Soon, Cooper halted at a thick line of undergrowth.

"They were in this clearing," Cooper whispered. Loki nodded.

"Remain here," he ordered, summoning his second dagger. He crouched down, tightening his grip on his blades, and burst through the bushes.

He was with several bullets, which he deflected with his seidr. In the heat of the attack, he didn't have time to look at who it was he was fighting. Instinct took over, and soon he had kicked one of the men away and pinned the other to the ground with a blade pressed to his neck.

Loki blinked in surprise when he found that underneath him was none other than Bucky Barnes.

"Okay, okay, we get it. You're better than us. Can you let me up now?" Bucky asked in a huff, but Loki could tell the Sargant was glad to see him.

"How was I supposed to know it was you?" Loki shot back, standing up. "I was met with gunshots."

"That was my fault. Sorry," the other man croaked.

"Damn right it was," Bucky retorted. The second man sat up, and Loki smiled. Sam Wilson.

"Hey, well I'm sorry! I just saw some dude with knives charge out of the bushes! Of course I'd shoot at him!" Sam shot back. "What was I supposed to do, let him stab me?"

Bucky was about to reply when the bushes behind them shook again. Loki nodded at them to lower their weapons.

"You may come out now, Cooper," he called. Sure enough, the boy's head peeked through the undergrowth. Loki beckoned to him, and he scrambled out into the open.

"That was so cool!" He gushed. "How did you block those bullets?"

"Magic," he replied simply, earning an eye-roll from Sam.

"Who's this?" Bucky asked, smiling at the boy.

"Cooper Barton. I have reason to believe he is my Hawk's child," Loki replied, waving his hands to rid of his daggers.

"Hawk?" Sam asked in confusion. "There's another bird?"

Cooper nodded with an enthusiastic smile. "Yeah! My dad works for the Avengers!" He exclaimed proudly.

"I think he means Clint," Bucky informed, turning to Sam.

"Oh, arrow dude! Yeah, I remember him."

"Jesus, you sound like Lang," Bucky muttered, and Sam gave him a shove.

"How about we refrain from killing each other, hm?" Loki offered, eyes narrowed.

"No promises," the two men said in unison, and Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

Now he had two more children to deal with. Joy to the blessed world.

…

When the Quinjet descended into the city, it was in ruins. Cars had crashed due to their drivers turning to dust; Helicopters had crashed into buildings from the same problem, and people were running around the streets screaming.

It reminded Thor of the Chitauri attack, seeing New York like this.

He followed the rest of the team off the Quinjet, Stormbreaker in hand. As the screams reached his ears, he winced.

"We'll split up," Steve decided. Thor admired how the Captain seemed so calm after he'd just watched several friends turn to dust. But maybe he wasn't calm. Thor was never very observant. Perhaps Steve was just pushing past his own problems so he could be strong for others.

Maybe that's what Thor should do, too.

He cleared his throat and made his way towards a crash of some sorts, Rocket on his heels. The scene was a bloody mess—literally. Two vehicles were smashed into each other, dented horrifically. One of them was on fire. One of the passengers had gotten out and sat on the side of the street. Blood trickled down her temple.

In the second car, there was still someone behind the wheel. Thor frowned; the door was blocked.

The Thunderer simply kicked the debris out of the way to allow the door to swing open, while Rocket hung back; he was technically an alien, after all. There was no telling how the people would react.

"H-he just.. vanished," the woman from the first car was mumbling. Thor crouched down in front of her.

"Are you injured?"

The woman shook her head. Thor nodded, and the woman looked up.

"My husband t-turned to dust," she whispered. "What the hell is going on?"

Thor swallowed. Hard.

"I cannot tell you that. Not at the moment. I'm sure the situation will be disclosed to the public soon. Now, however, we just need to make sure everyone else is okay."

The woman nodded. It didn't even seem like she'd registered anything Thor had just said. He offered a small smile, before straightening and moving towards Rocket.

"They all good?" Rocket asked, and Thor frowned. "Well, aside the fact that they probably just watched someone turn to dust like a vampire."

"None of them are seriously injured, no."

Rocket nodded. "Wonderful."

Before they could move on, a voice sounded through the comms unit.

"Uh, guys? I think you all want to come to my location. Now."

Thor looked down at Rocket, who shrugged. The pair made their way to where Rhodey was standing beside a discarded black SUV. Everyone else was crowding around, too. Thor couldn't see what was so special; there were several crashes like this all around the city.

It wasn't until he got closer that he noticed a small device laying at Rhodey's feet.

On the screen was a blue and red logo with a golden star in the middle.

ONE FAVOURITE = one tear for Loki going poof ;;-;;

ONE REVIEW = one loud cheer for Captain FREAKING Marvel!