Loki

Chapter 26

Loki and Thor were just out of sight of the throne room when Loki could maintain his silence no longer.

"Thor," he said, slowing down and looking over at his brother.

"Yes?" Thor asked, matching his pace and looking back.

"Thank you," Loki said sincerely, meeting Thor's eyes. "Thank you, so much, for everything you've done for me tonight. I…I cannot thank you enough."

Thor inclined his head. "It is the least I can do," he said.

"You didn't have to do anything," Loki said; "none of my past grievances were your fault."

"Well, perhaps if I had listened to Father as you did, I would not have been such a large part of the problem," Thor said.

Loki shook his head. "No," he said, "there was no way you could have known to do anything differently. Father encouraged your behavior…and it would be wrong of me to allow you to think you owe me any sort of debt."

Thor sighed and faced forward again. "I am not doing this…to repay a debt," he told Loki slowly. "I am doing this because…" He hesitated. "For the longest time, I sided with Father, knowingly or not, against you," he said at last. "I allowed you to be forced through so much pain…All these years, I've made the wrong choice. The least I can do is make the right choice now."

Loki smiled in spite of himself. "You have changed, brother," he commented; "a great deal."

Thor nodded, his expression saddening a bit further; Loki didn't miss this.

"Fear not," Loki told his brother softly; "you will see her again. Soon. You have my word." He paused to let Thor respond; when he didn't, he looked forward to face the palace gates as they approached them and added, "For now, though…"

The two brothers pushed the palace doors open, revealing the carnage outside. They glanced at each other and nodded. Loki lifted Odin's staff, and Thor raised Mjolnir over his head, and simultaneously, Thor summoned a bolt of lightning while Loki struck the shaft of Odin's staff against the floor; the two Asgardian weapons created a pair of sonorous booms that echoed across the realm.

"ENOUGH!" the two brothers shouted at the tops of their lungs.

The Asgardians stopped fighting, recognizing the the voice of their king and the sounds of Mjolnir and Odin's staff; the Jotuns stopped fighting, recognizing Loki's voice and being less inclined towards battle; and Enchessa stopped fighting, recognizing Loki's voice and noting that everyone else was stopping. The warriors of the two armies turned to Loki and Thor, giving them their full attention.

"The battle is over," Thor told the warriors. "Odin has fallen, and victory goes to Jotunheim."

"Jotuns, you are to return to your realm now," Loki told them; "the path to the gate through the palace has been cleared for you."