Hi, all! As always thank you for your continued support of this story via reviews, follows, and favorites! I love you all muchly, it means the world :) Originally, my plan was to cram a bit more into this chapter, but it just ended up being longer than I expected. But we're actually into plot now, so yay!

My tentative plan is to update this, at the latest, every other week. That way I'll be able to update Intervention as well (though that one should be coming to an end relatively soon, so I'll be able to update this more often).

Allons-y!!

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Time froze.

Loki's heart pounded mercilessly in his chest, yet his lungs found no air.

His eyes took in everything and nothing all at once. He saw nothing but the grotesque ship looming over him. The edges of his vision blurred.

Every survival instinct he had wordlessly screamed for him to run, to escape, pulsing in his eardrums like a cannon. But he was frozen. The only link he had to reality was a name.

A name that haunted his waking and his sleeping.

A name that always crouched in the back of his mind, waiting to strike at any and every opportunity.

A name that tortured him, even without being attached to a physical being.

A name...

Thanos.

Loki stiffened, eyes still wide and transfixed. All in a moment, every memory from the Void came flooding back to him. Even looking at the outside of the ship, Loki could pinpoint every place he had been whipped, broken, shamed, tortured...

He remembered everything. He could almost feel the Titan's eyes boring into his mind as he stared. But a realization suddenly hit him at full speed, causing his stomach to turn and his head to spin.

Everything he and Thor did to save Asgard was for naught if the Mad Titan got hold of the ship.

He would kill at least half of the entire ship.

He would most likely hurt Thor, putting him through the same merciless pain he put Loki through.

He would take Loki again and-

The Tesseract.

Something akin to an odd mixture of hope and horror washed over Loki. While the Space Stone was certainly a possible bargaining chip, it was a terribly costly one at best. Loki knew the Titan's plan, his life goal, and taking him even a fraction of a step closer to completion could be eventual suicide.

Every thought swam through the prince's mind at breakneck speed, tainted by panic. He barely noticed Thor stand up behind him and slowly walk towards the window. The king muttered some sort of question about the ship, but Loki wasn't listening hard enough to distinguish the words. He vaguely heard metallic, running footsteps sound frantically behind the closed doors of his chambers. Hesitant voices echoed off the walls, muffled by his closed door.

Each voice was a reminder of someone he and Thor had saved.

Each pair of steps auctioned off into twos, who may live and who may die.

With each sound of life, the stakes rose higher and higher.

Finally, Loki found his voice.

"Thor... Thor, we have to- we have to evacuate the ship."

Thor turned around, his brow furrowed.

"What? Why, we don't even know who-"

"Thor, you big oaf, do you really think I would say that if I didn't know who it was?!"

Loki's face twisted in a mixture of panic and rage as he jumped down from his seat. Thor's mouth opened slightly.

"Loki... who is in that ship...?"

Before the prince could answer, Bruce and Brunnhilde plowed through the closed door of Loki's quarters. The brothers whipped around to face the pair. Brunnhilde came through first, followed by Bruce, who was panting rather loudly. Oddly enough, he was the first to speak.

"Thor... there's this... this big-" his eyes widened upon seeing the ship through the window, "-oh, you've seen it already."

The Valkyrie was quick to interject as she stepped forward, eyes wide with intensity, "Thor, I've seen that ship before, we don't stand a chance if we don't get everyone out now."

Thor continued to frown, his eyes piercing. But after just a few seconds of processing, he strode forward, scooping Loki up as he passed by. The little prince didn't struggle against it, choosing instead to wrap his arm around Thor's neck.

"Has the ship hailed us yet?"

Brunnhilde followed quickly behind, the doctor trailing a few steps after in an attempt to catch his breath.

"No, not yet, but it's only a matter of time."

Thor nodded in response to Brunnhilde. Once in the hall, he scanned the expanse before him, quickly finding what he was looking for. Each metallic hall had some sort of shipwide intercoms scattered randomly throughout. Thus far they hadn't needed to use it, but the present seemed the perfect opportunity.

He found one, but just before Thor pressed the only button on the small box, he hesitated. What was he going to say? The Asgardians had just escaped one terror only to fall into the hands of yet another...

"Who is in the ship?"

The question went unanswered for an eternal minute before Loki's quiet voice responded.

"... Thanos."

That was all Thor needed to know. Every bedtime story about the Mad Titan flooded back to the king's mind- his love for Death, his goal to eliminate half the universe, the Infinity Stones...

He pressed the button.

"People of Asgard... this is your King. Doubtless, you have all seen the ship in front of us. We know the being inside to be hostile. To save as many as possible, we are going to evacuate the ship. All who wish to stay and fight may do so... children board the pods first."

As he spoke the words, Thor could envision parents clinging to their children as they stared at the giant, menacing ship. A sense of dread flooded his mind with guilt coming soon behind. Although he knew there wasn't much he could have done differently, somehow he still felt responsible for their coming across Thanos.

Meanwhile, Loki started at his brother's last sentence.

"Thor... I'm not leaving you..."

Without missing a beat, Thor moved to transfer Loki to Brunnhilde. Realizing what was happening, the prince fought as the Valkyrie awkwardly wrestled him into her arms.

"No- NO! You don't understand- NO- he'll kill you! Thor, STOP-"

"No, YOU stop! Loki, I will not lose you for the THIRD time, do you understand me? I was supposed to protect you and I failed TWICE, I will not do so again!" He looked up at Brunnhilde, "Make sure he gets in one of those pods. Then make sure everyone else gets in, and you follow, do you understand? You will be leader for the time being."

The Valkyrie nodded, the only thing betraying her unreadable mask was her slightly shaking voice.

"Yes, your majesty."

Thor nodded.

"Thank you. Bruce, you stay with me."

As he walked away with Bruce trailing behind, Loki continued to fight as he and Brunnhilde raced in the other direction. Her arms were like iron, partly due to his weakened state. Tears welled up in his eyes with frustration and fear.

"Let me- let me go! You have to let me go, the oaf is going to get himself killed or... or..."

Taken.

Loki couldn't bring himself to say it.

Brunnhilde's grip did not loosen as she continued her way towards the pods.

"I'm not going to disobey my king, not even for you, lackey."

Loki gritted his teeth in frustration. But suddenly, he had an idea. The pods were in the lower level of the ship, so they would have to take an elevator. Perhaps if he could get himself free just as the doors were about to close...

Slowly, a plan formulated in his mind. He just hoped that he would have enough energy to complete it and get back to Thor.

Sure enough, Brunnhilde stopped at the first elevator they came across. She pressed the lowest of the two buttons aggressively, punching it over and over again in her efforts for speed. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Don't hit it, just press it gently. And you only need to press it once."

The Valkyrie gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on Loki, earning a strangled yelp as she held him around his stomach.

"Shut up, lackey."

Loki rolled his eyes again, continuing to struggle but preparing himself for his plan.

"You and Thor would be perfect for each other...", he mumbled under his breath.

Behind the pair, a small crowd of panicked Asgardians had gathered. Most of them were parents with children, each adult wearing a similar grim expression to each other. The children looked more dazed than anything. Most likely, they didn't understand the full gravity of the situation.

As Loki continued to gaze at the crowd of children growing behind them, his heart sank lower and lower. Norns, let them escape, make him let them go... He shook his head.

Suddenly, the door opened. Brunnhilde bolted through the opening, ushering the crowd to follow after. Loki inhaled. This was his chance.

Conjuring a dagger, he deftly poked the end into her forearm. She yelped, momentarily freeing him in order to shake the knife out of her arm. Loki knew he had very little time before she was after him so he quickly mapped a way through the crowd. He ducked under the legs of the adults as he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Thankfully, no one tried to stop him, though he could see Brunnhilde trying to wade through the incoming wave of people. Her profanities died away as Loki ran, his reflection mirroring his frantic movements. He was careful to lift the hem of his shirt so he wouldn't trip on it.

The prince's leanings toward self preservation shrieked at him like wolves in pursuit. Terror beat in his skull but he forced it to motivate him onwards. Empty lungs whined in pain as Loki continued to run, his fear stealing what precious breath he once had. All he could do was run.

He had to get to Thor.

He couldn't let his brother endure what he himself had once endured.

Groans eked their way out of his throat as he pressed on, blessedly stopping when he came across the bridge. Ignoring his pained chest and his weak legs, he quickly dove through the maze of legs in search of his brother. Loki could hear Thor from somewhere ahead of him.

"...Do we have enough weapons for everyone? Enough armor? Bruce- ah, Norns- Bruce, where are you-"

With that, Loki suddenly stopped. He should probably be careful to stay out of Thor's sight for the time being. Otherwise, he would probably be sent back to the pods with a more "able" chaperone. So, rather than running to his brother, as he wanted to do, he hid in the crowd. It was uncomfortable. Most everyone was rushing from one spot to another to get weapons or armor, so Loki was constantly getting jostled and stepped on.

But a crackle over the intercom stopped everyone dead. Loki closed his eyes as a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Greetings, Asgard. I am Ebony Maw, child to Thanos, the savior of your universe. Shortly, my father, brothers, and sisters will board your ship. Evacuate who you will- we will not shoot them down." There was a slight murmur from the crowd at this, but was quickly silenced. "There is a certain object of great value to Lord Thanos aboard your ship. He can feel its presence and the presence of the... one who carries it."

Loki's blood froze in his veins. Could the Titan truly feel his mind, even after all this time?

Ebony Maw continued, "You have five minutes to evacuate whoever you want. Make peace with whatever forces you will, for Lord Thanos has come. Count yourself honored to be among those freed at his hand."

With that, the audio went silent.

Not a voice spoke.

Every eye turned to Thor, who stood looking at the ground, face dazed and chest heaving.

Slowly, almost mechanically, Loki stumbled out of the crowd to face his brother. The second Thor saw him, the king's face fell. Anger sent sparks winding down his fingertips. Loki just continued to walk up the stairs, each step exhausting his reserves even more.

As he came to the top of the stagelike area, he turned to face his people. Not for the first time, Loki ignored his brother fuming next to him. Instead, he took a deep breath and spoke.

"People of Asgard... you have heard the voice of Ebony Maw. Soon, you will meet the others of the Black Order. I will... I will not lie-" here, he turned his face towards Thor, "it will not be pleasant. In my own experience, they bring Death wherever they go... But if we die, we die with the highest honor. Tonight, we feast in the halls of Valhalla with those that have gone before us. We will see the Allfather and... and the Allmother smile on us again. We..."

Loki couldn't continue. Seeing his brother's distress, Thor placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his people, he set his face.

"Tonight... we fight for Asgard. Ready yourselves."

The room again burst into flurry of movement. With his people otherwise occupied, Thor bent down to his brother's eye level. His eyes weren't quite as furious as before, however there was a subdued anger mixed with sadness that brightened his already piercing eyes.

"Are you ever going to listen to me?"

Loki chuckled softly, looking down at his shirt, "Probably not... do you expect anything less?"

The edges of Thor's mouth curved up slightly as he shook his head. "Of course not..."

Loki sighed.

"So... do you have a plan?"

Thor cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... fight?"

Loki rolled his eyes, his mouth slightly agape. Thor couldn't help but laugh at his brother's action. It was something he had seen Loki do in his older form many times. Back then it drove him slightly crazy, but now it was just endearing. Loki scrunched his face in response.

"And see? This is why you need me, brother." Loki paused, craning his neck to search the room. "Where might our good doctor be?"

Thor raised his eyebrows, pointing a finger lazily towards the other side of the room, near a few haphazard boxes. Bruce was standing over an array of weapons laid out on the floor. With his typical 'slightly lost' expression, he handed out weapons to the Asgardians that came up to him.

"Oh, Banner? He's right over there near one of the weapon stations. Do you need him for your plan?"

The trickster prince smiled grimly.

"Yes... it's the only thing that might work and it will provide me no lack of satisfaction if it does."

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Reviews:

Dalek9: Oooh we shall see, we shall see! That is an extremely genius observation/idea though... *writes idea into vault* *throws favorite cookies*

Ammy of Asgard: He issss :( But don't worry, this story won't end like... ahem... Infinity Wars did... And aw yay, thank you, I'm so glad this story makes you smile!!!

Hackeline83: *hugs* *gives cookies*

Wolfy76398: Another! *throws down chapter*

Dragonaws: Thank you so much!! :D 3

Paden: Aw, bless! Thanks so much, so glad to hear you're enjoying this story! As thanks, I update a mere 10 hours after your review, haha!

Thank you all for your reviews! Love you all!