Forever. I Promise (Sequel to As one. Always)

Chapter 18

A week later...

The plans were set. After days of debating and pooling resources and solutions, a plan was made to end this. I was relieved and afraid all at once.

We were finally moving forward with this whole 'save the universe' thing, but we still had to face the big bad boss. If what my father said was true, we were in over our heads. No one had said it yet, but I knew we all thought the same thing: not all of us were coming back after this.

We were able to recruit a few helpers to our plans too. Volstag and Fandral were all in. "One final battle to end in glory!" Fandral had put in, which raised our morale about one hundred percent. With two more seasoned warriors, we had a better chance of executing the plan. Sif was another matter. She was convinced of the problem we had, and we had even managed to convince her to help, but she did not trust Loki or I one bit.

It's sad to think how we used to be such good friends and now I barely feel comfortable in the same room with her. I had overheard Fandral and Volstag attempting to reason with her, but to no avail. Loki was a criminal with a weak mental capacity, and I had to be guilty of something, since I left Asgard so suddenly. But what can you do? We need help and beggars can't be choosers.

That meant there were only seven of us who knew of this plot. We decided it would be best to keep the guards out of it. Thanos would see an army coming.

Thor even suggested asking a few of his Avenger friends to help, but father would not hear it. "We do not need to involve anyone else. This is our fight."

So now here we were, discussing the final particulars of our plan, in this small study. We had decided to lead Thanos into what Loki called a void. "It's a blank space in time. There is no life there. But voids do not stay open in each realm long. We'll have to be ready when I find an opening, and finish the job before it closes and takes us to another galaxy. It's a slim chance, but the best we have."

"Noelle and Loki will be our priority to protect. Take aim at Thanos, but guard them. Only they can wield the Amaranth against the gauntlet." Everyone nodded. "He may bring help, but I doubt it. He likes doing things on his own."

"So how are we getting Thanos to said void?" I asked, speeding this little meeting along. This was the most important detail we had yet to go over.

"Ah. Yes. That." Was all he replied. "We invite him there."

The silence was almost funny. "What?" Fandral finally asked. "You mean to tell us that this intergalactic menace will simply meet us with an invitation?"

"No. I meant to say we tell him we are surrendering." Before he could even finish the whole room was in uproar. I just waited patiently for him to finish. There had to be a point to this.

"QUIET!" Loki shouted, startling me. He was right next to me, so close our arms were gently brushing. I gave him an annoyed look, which he expertly ignored. "Let him finish."

"Thank you. As I was saying." He glared at everyone. "We tell Thanos we are ready to surrender the Amaranth. That will convince him."

"Not if we are all there to give it to him." Sif pointed out. "And why would we ever surrender anyways?"

"We wouldn't, unless we needed to bargain for something. Which is why I will be perfect bait."

"What do you mean?" Loki asked, giving his mentor a sharp look.

"I mean I will have to be caught by Thanos. Then Noelle will contact him and tell him she will give him the Amaranth in return for my freedom. He will take the bait, and you give him the location of the void. It makes sense to meet there, away from innocent people. You will strike then."