this is an entry for laura's ( mxrvelous- ) writing contest! you should all definitely check it out & enter! i want to compete against the best!

*** THIS MAY CONTAIN SOME INFINITY WAR SPOLIERS! IT IS AN ALTERNATIVE SCENE THAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS THE EVENTS OF RAGNOROK!***

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"get help!"

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THIS WASN'T THE evening that Loki had planned. After the miraculous defeat of the demoness, Hela, the tired god planned on months of hopeful relaxation on Midgard with his family. He could have pictured it. The trickster and his brother taking in the sun on some exotic beach, maybe enjoying the company of some even more exotic women, definitely downing many exotic drinks. Hell, he was in such good spirits, Loki would have even let Korg and Meek tag along.

Yet, as soon as their trip began, it ended. As Loki watched his newly crowned brother assume his throne (not a drip of jealousy in his veins, might he add), he was unaware of the massive threat that loomed. Loki should have felt threatened - after all, he had just stolen and hidden the tesseract. Unfortunately, the tesseract was the cause of the night's sorrow.

"Loki!" Thor called jollily, smiling brightly back at his brother. The dark-haired man smiled back and raised a brow at his younger relative. As Thor eagerly waved him over, Loki couldn't help but chuckle. His brother could be such a child at times. Loki stood behind his brother, wrapping his fingers around the back of Thor's make-shift throne.

"Yes, brother?"

Thor shifted slightly in his seat, looking around to see that most of the other Asgardians had settled into their own conversations. Some slept, and some wept, but none paid much attention to the leader. "Father would be proud of you," Thor confided in him, smiling as a look of pride flashed in Loki's eyes. "Today, you were much more than the God of Mischief...You were an Odinson."

"I have always been an Odinson," Loki replied quietly, clasping his hand on his brother's shoulder and offering a small smile.

Thor was beaming, his heart sailing wildly, when the great shadow loomed. At first, Thor just assumed Korg had stood in front of the sun, but when he saw the pallor creep onto Loki's face, he sensed the danger.

That's when the attack began.

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The short skirmish was over in mere minutes. The ship that the Asgardians were traveling on was not meant for battle, and Thanos's battleship easily tore through the hull. Now, with most of the Asgardian people slain where they stood minutes ago, despair was heavy in the air.

Loki and Thor were sprawled on the floor of the ship, crumpled like rag-dolls. They had been tossed about, kicked, punched, and handled like mortals. Loki could hear the screams of his people as Thanos and his lackeys put them out of their misery.

"Even in death, you may rejoice! You have been saved by the merciful Thanos! You are one of his children now!"

Loki couldn't bear to hear it anymore. He saw Thor stirring, and with a groan, retrieved one of his twin blades from his hip holster. "Thor," he groaned, pressing himself up onto one elbow. Thor squinted at him with his one good eye. He could hear Thanos drawing closer. "If my plan doesn't work, I want you to kill me," Loki whispered harshly as he pushed the blade into Thor's palm. Bewildered and taken aback, Thor immediately dropped the blade, as if it had burned him.

"Brother, whatever you intend to do, do not do it."

Loki pressed the knife back into Thor's palm. He gave his brother a lopsided grin. "I wouldn't be so doubtful, brother. I have fooled you many times before."

Loki turned and noticed that none of Thanos's men were looking their way. He sat up to his knees and closed his eyes. A green aura surrounded Loki, and in a flash, the illusion was created. Thor watched with wide-eyed fear as the real Loki slinked off behind a jagged strip of metal that provided cover.

"Get help! Please! My brother is dying, get help!" The Loki illusion cried out, bending over his brother's form. Thor, who could easily spot Loki's tricks by now, almost laughed. He finally got his way.

At the yelling, Thanos and his minions quickly turned and made their way to the royal pair. Just the sight of the massive, purple alien was enough to send a shiver down Thor's spine. He was such an imposing figure. Suddenly, Thor found himself wishing Hela was still alive; pitting those two against each other would have surely given Thor enough time to grab his brother and make a break for Midgard.

"Where is the tesseract?" One of the minions squealed. He was short, and he looked as if his face were one giant squid. Thor thought he was rather ugly, and he had seen some appalling creatures in his time.

"We don't have the tesseract," Thor groaned, holding his injured side. "It was back on Asgard when it imploded."

The illusion Loki winced at his brother's words and slowly stood, raising his hands to show he had no weapons. He turned to face Thanos, and after pealing back one side of his green overcoat, revealed the brilliant blue of the tesseract. Thor groaned audibly. He hoped this was part of his brother's ploy and not the truth.

"I am Loki, prince of Asgard," the illusion began, slowly beginning to step away from Thor. Thanos followed him eagerly, inching towards Loki like an apex predator. "I am the son of Odin, the God of Mischief, and I am burdened with glorious purpose..."

Thor watched in icy horror as he realized his brother's plan. He was expertly guiding Thanos away from Thor and positioning him in a way that put his back to the metal that the real Loki hid behind. If he knew his brother, and he did, he knew Loki planned on jumping out and slitting Thanos' throat from behind.

"No, Loki," Thor whispered, brow furrowed.

"I offer myself to you, mighty Thanos," Loki proclaimed, holding out the fake tesseract. The illusion had finally stopped in the correct positioning, and Thor became very aware of the dagger still pressed in his palm. He didn't doubt that Loki had the other in his. He saw the edge of Loki's cloak flutter out as he prepared to pounce

"...I swear my undying allegiance!"

Loki pounced.

"Loki, no!" Thor bellowed.

At the sound of Thor's voice, Thanos turned his head, throwing off Loki's mark. Instead of hitting him in the neck, the dagger burrowed into Thanos' shoulder. The titan let out a howl of pain, spinning and capturing the real Loki by the neck. He lifted him high in the air, leaving Loki kicking and clawing for air. The illusion Loki faded into nothing.

Thor watched in horror. He felt frozen.

"No more tricks for you, Laufeyson," Thanos growled, narrowing his pointed gaze.

"Oh-o-Odinson," Loki corrected him in a rasp. His face was turning red, his eyes bulging.

Frustrated, Thanos slammed Loki into the ground, lifting his limp body up into the air and bringing him down another time for good measure. Thor heard the snap of one of his ribs on the second crash, and Loki let out a ragged cry. He gasped for air and clutched his side, curling in on himself.

Thor, finally finding his feet, sprang into action. He leapt at Thanos with the intentions of taking him off his feet, but the mad titan swatted him out of the air like a bug. He landed next to his brother in a dazed heap.

"Thor-," Loki rasped, stopping to cough and suck massive, ratty breaths into his punctured lung. "You have to," he looked down to the knife that had fallen from Thor's hand. "I know where it is."

Thor, overcome with despair, knew what Loki meant. Loki knew where the real tesseract was, and Thanos knew he knew. Thanos wouldn't let Loki die without spilling the truth, and his death would be painful and slow afterwards. Loki wanted a safe death, one where he knew the truth would die with him. Loki wanted to die by a familiar hand, and by all the times Thor threatened to kill him, Loki knew this to be the safest.

"There's another way, brother," Thor whispered back, but Loki was shaking his head rapidly. When he pressed the knife into Thor's hand, the God of Thunder dropped it once more. "There is another way!" He urged, unwilling to accept the defeat.

Thanos, having finally pulled out the blade and discarded it distastefully, picked Loki up by the cape, dangling him high in the air. "Where is the tesseract?" He hissed, his breath hot in the man's face.

Loki - the smug bastard - dared to shoot Thanos that lazy, wolfish grin. "Oh, bite me, you big, purple asshole."

The next slam was not a forgiving one. There was another loud crack, but instead of it being another rib, it was the sickening crunch of Loki's spine. The trickster let out a gasp as the hot pain shot up his back, then faded into nothing.

"No!" Thor screamed, throwing himself over the top of Loki's body to protect him. He wouldn't allow his brother - a hero - to absorb any more punishment. He would rather take it instead.

Loki knew that Thor could never do it. He didn't have it in him. After all the threats, and after all the times Loki had tried to kill him, he still couldn't. Loki admired that about him. Thor was a good man.

The mischievous one spotted his dagger a few inches away from where Thor had discarded it. With a violently shaking, unsteady hand, Loki reached out and grasped the dagger, Thor unknowing of it all.

"Brother," Loki rasped, stealing his brother's attention. "It has been an honor fighting by your side. I hope to see you in Valhalla in the very distant future."

Thor, racked with panic, prayed his brother wouldn't give up. "Don't speak like that, Loki. I'll get you to Stark, he'll fix you, you damned fool." He barked the order, like a general to his soldier, but he saw the resignation in Loki's eyes.

"The sun will shine upon us again, brother."

Loki slid the knife into his own heart easily, like it was its original sheath. He was dead in an instant, no more pain or worry. And the secret of the tesseract died with him.

Thor reared back his massive body, immediately bringing Loki's limp body to his chest. He howled a deep, sorrowful groan of misery that even Thanos stopped in his tracks. One of his rough hands buried itself in Loki's hair as he hugged the corpse of his older brother, unbelieving of the fact he was really gone. Instinctually, he pressed his forehead to Loki's, silent as a mouse with salty tears gliding down his face.

Unbeknownst to the dead Loki, a large part of Thor also went with him to Valhalla that day.

The God would never be the same again.