Asgardian Twilight

The Arena Debut of Sparkle Boy and the Lying Sack of Shit

"You know, if you hadn't stepped in I probably would have already gotten to Thor," Dean muttered as he stared at Loki from across the small, shadowy corridor. Though he was irritated by this turn of events, he was at least back in his uniform.

"Forgive me for trying to help you," Loki sighed as he kept his eyes on the closed doors that would lead to the arena.

Dean laughed suddenly.

"What?" Loki asked.

"I never thought you and I would be forced to fight side-by-side again."

Loki shrugged his shoulders and began twirling the daggers he'd selected from the armory. "Our survival will depend on us working together."

"I'm sure you're right. If there's one thing you can be counted on to be correct about it's self-preservation, right?"

Loki smiled at him and sheathed the daggers. "Say what you need to say, Dean. Get it out of your system so we can focus on the horrors that wait for us."

"Your brother loves you, you know that? And he had so much faith in you. You betrayed his trust so many times. But it goes deeper than that- you hurt him. You hurt the man I love in a way no battle could. What you did wounded his spirit."

Loki watched in silence as the flicker of Dean's anger grew.

"You even had me fooled. On Svartalfheim. I thought you really cared after all. I thought you were good in the end. But here you are, causing more problems."

"It is kind of what I do, Dean," Loki reasoned. "A snake bites, a bird flies."

"You impersonated Odin while you left him to rot on earth!" Dean fired back. "You deceived an entire world of people and that's the best you can say? That it's on-brand for you?"

Loki held up a hand. "I know this, Dean. Thor and I have already covered this ground. Before Odin died and Mjolnir was destroyed."

Dean scowled. "Wait. Odin is dead? How?"

"It doesn't matter how. What matters is his death allowed Hela to return. Hela being his firstborn."

"But I thought Thor was..."

Loki smiled. "As did I. But apparently Odin had a child before Thor. One with an even bigger appetite for conquest than even me. And now that she's back, her sights are on Asgard and every other realm."

"Is that why you and Thor are here?"

"Yes. We were thrown here by her when we were trying to return to Asgard."

Dean absorbed this and wished more than ever that he was with Thor. He lost his father and discovered a sister he never knew, one who wanted to destroy his home. "And Mjolnir was destroyed?"

"Yes. She shattered it before our eyes."

Dean shut his eyes and slowly shook his head. Mjolnir. He knew how much the weapon meant to Thor. He opened his eyes and looked over at Loki. "I hate to state the obvious here, but, as usual, this is all  your fault."

"Listen, my actions were wrong. I know this now. I cannot undo them. And fighting about it won't fix what we're facing."

"No," Dean agreed. "But it feels good."

"Well, save that for when and if we survive this. That will feel much better."

Suddenly they could hear the Grandmaster addressing the packed arena just beyond the gate that confined him.

"Vying for a victory after their defeat at the hands of the Incredible Hulk- The frightful foursome: Nessius, Galencia, Hatra, and Dragona!"

The crowd rumbled excitedly and Dean could feel the entire arena shaking with their thrill. The gate that kept Dean and Loki confined slowly began to raise and the sounds of the tumultuous crowd grew louder as the large arena came into view.