Young God | L. Laufeyson

Epilogue

Loki's mind is about to drift off, his eyes are already peacefully closed. His last thought contains Aurora's excitement about their next trip, a surprise that he's supposedly to be very fond of, according to her. Before he's fully falling asleep, Loki suddenly feels a pair of soft lips placed on his cheeks and his eyes slowly open, meeting Aurora's in the darkness.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up." She apologizes sheepishly and he smiles slightly.

"It's fine, love." He mumbles still half asleep and pulls her closer to him, her back against his chest and his consciousness slowly but safely drives back into his dreams.

And this is when he loses himself.

Waking up, Loki's suddenly not in the bedroom with Aurora in his arms anymore but instead on an empty and deserted planet. A planet that he had been once. A planet that he tried to forget. Titan.

The planet hasn't changed since Loki's last visit, the destruction still marking the place. The dry heat gets under Loki's skin, his Jotün heritage being a clear disadvantage for now. It's way too warm to his liking and the dust that the wind carries grazes his face. This is not a nightmare. It's real, too real to be only a dream. And this can only mean one thing– He is back. Thanos is back. And he has found Loki.

His chest tightens and he suppresses the arising fear, pushing his traumatic past aside. Days and nights of torture until he was broken and ready to play the puppet for the Mad Titan, this much he remembers. He hadn't known an end or mercy, let alone salvation– until he met Aurora. His light that he needs to protect with everything he has. Loki has to be strong for her.

"God of Mischief." The deep voice behind him catches his attention and Loki does his best to hide the shiver running down his body. He's not allowed to show weakness or else, Thanos will win.

"Almighty Thanos." Loki turns around and greets his worst enemy with a steady voice while he masks his fear with an illusion. His only weapon in this mind game is confidence. "It's been a while."

Thanos hasn't changed much throughout the years, still tall and mighty. The superior creature. The darkness overshadows half of his face which only strengthens his dire appearance. "You almost tricked me into believing your death if it weren't for Nebula's memories that I've received."

Nebula? Where is she? Loki mentally questions but doesn't dare to even slightly change his facial expression, he doesn't even allow himself to mirror confusion. "And what is your desire that you had to revive our connection?"

"Don't act coy, Laufeyson." Thanos' voice grows threatening and impatient, a dangerous combination that should be avoided, especially when he is in control. "You know what I need. And you promised it to me a long time ago. Pay your debts."

"Unfortunately, I am not in possession of the Tesseract. I suggest you to pay Odin a visit and retrieve it yourself."

"My command was not a suggestion. It is your duty to retrieve the Tesseract. Otherwise you have to pay with your life." As Thanos notices that this leaves Loki unimpressed, he decides to make the game more interesting. Both know that death is not the worst, especially after the long hours of torture. "But as I see, this does not frighten you. What about a certain red head? Ego's daughter, I assume. It would be a shame to waste her unique genes just for your pride."

Now Loki clenches his jaw, the tension rising. Thanos has found his weak spot. "I don't care about her. She's just a toy, nothing more."

"A toy, you say?" Thanos almost smirks in amusement, knowing that this is nothing more than a lie. "Broken toys are of no use, don't you think so?"

"What do you mean?" Loki narrows his eyes in rage, his hands balled to fists. Suddenly, the God of Mischief feels a burning heat in his veins, the deadly ardor biting its way through his skin and Loki screams in pain. Every single nerve is on fire and his mind is close to oblivion, the torture is unbearable. His muscles are all of sudden sore, as if the physical movement outside of his mind is setting his soul on fire. Thanos is controlling his body. "What are you doing?!"

"What I'm doing? Nothing apart from breaking your precious toy. I'm only playing, you are the chessman." Within a hand move, Thanos allows him to show what is happening. Loki's facade collapses when he sees how Thanos uses his body to harm Aurora, choking her until her face is close to lose color.

"Stop this madness! STOP IT!" Loki screams but he feels helpless, weak. He's not capable of leaving this place, captured in this mad game. Yet, Thanos doesn't give in unless he gets what he wants.

"Retrieve me the Tesseract." Aurora's tying to fight against him but doesn't succeed because she doesn't want to hurt him, even when he's harming her.

"All right, I'll do it, just stop hurting her!!"

Loki's words satisfy the titan and all of sudden, he snaps back into his body, waking up from the manipulation and living nightmare. Instead of Titan, Loki is back in his room with Aurora who is captured by his hand. He immediately lets go of her and shock is mirrored on his face, still processing what just happened while Aurora sinks to the ground. She coughs and tries to regulate her breath, a hint of fear is written on her face but she's trying to hide it.

He has harmed her. All he ever wanted was to see her safe and happy because that's what she deserves. Pain is the last thing that he wanted to cause. And now her life is in danger because of him, because of all the flaws and mistakes he had done in the past. Loki needs to protect her, even if it means that he won't see her again. Even if it means a life without him.
Even if it means goodbye.

Thanos' voice still lingers in his head, the last words of the Mad Titan branding into his mind.

Remember the deal, Laufeyson. The Tesseract for her life.

To be continued...

Aurora Reyes will return in Infinity War