A/N: Oh, my gods this was hard to write. HOLY—

Took forever to get to this point. Apparently, I had ideas for every scene except the beginning. XD

But alas, the long-anticipated sequel to "Give me Strength to Fight" has finally begun! And as with the first one, it's heavily focused on Loki and Thor's perspectives.

When Loki enters the room, it's dark. This doesn't bother him, of course, nor does it surprise him, so he enters all the same, flicking the light as on he does so.

"Thor," Loki says, directing his words at the very Thor-like lump on the bed. There's no response from the thunderer.

"They're calling a meeting. Seems there's been, a what would you call it? A break in the case," Loki continues. He stands in the doorway, arms crossed, watching. "Come on, brother. You can't stay in here forever. When's the last time you even went outside?"

Thor rolls over on the bed, turning his back to Loki and still not giving a response. The trickster rolls his eyes and moves a hand to the light switch again, rapidly flicking it on and off in an attempt to annoy the sulking god in bed.

"Come on, Thor! I'm not the only one who needs your attention at the moment!" Loki growls, continuing his ministrations with the lights.

"Loki," the annoyed voice finally snaps. Loki stops the seizure inducing performance and lets his hand rest down by his side.

"They think they have found Thanos' whereabouts, brother," the younger god says, his voice softer this time.

Finally, with a sigh, Thor pushes himself up on his elbows. He throws the layer of blankets off and gets to his feet, snagging a sweatshirt that's laying on the nightstand nearby. Pulling it over his head, he walks towards the door.

Loki steps to the side to let Thor go first, unable to stop the little smirk that tugs at his lips as his older brother gives him an irritated glance.

"You think you're funny," Thor says lowly as he takes the lead down the hallway.

"Well, I had to get your attention, of course."

The briefing went well enough. Loki isn't sure how much he trusts the one they call "Danvers," but she seems headstrong and arrogant—a lot like Thor, he thinks. Maybe more like younger Thor, but still.

Loki is anxious about confronting Thanos. The past two times they've fought, the Mad Titan had almost killed him. He can tell the other Avengers are just as nervous as he is, but most don't show it.

"Okay, who here hasn't been to space?" Rocket's voice comes from the front of the ship. Several of the team raise their hands, looking confused.

"Why?" Rhodes asks.

"You better not throw up on my ship! Approaching jump in three, two, one . . ."

The Benatar shoots through the wormhole. The heroes who have not been to space until this exact moment hang on for dear life.

As Danvers flies down to the surface of the planet, Loki turns his head to look at Thor. The thunder god is staring at nothing, his eyes facing straight ahead and devoid of light.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Loki asks quietly, gaining his brother's attention. Thor just shakes his head. Before he can say anything else, Danvers approaches the Benatar from below.

"No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him," she explains, her face grave.

"And that's enough," Nebula says.

"Alright, we have our game plan—don't stray from it," Rogers orders with a glance around the ship. There are nods in response, and everyone begins unstrapping themselves from their seats and making last minute preparations for battle.

Loki summons his armor, his cape falling over his shoulders and horns fading into existence. He glances over again at Thor, who is clutching onto Stormbreaker as if it's his last lifeline.

"We will be victorious, Thor," the trickster assures. Thor turns to meet his gaze.

"We'd better be," Thor says, and then, in a softer tone, "or I will not be returning home." His mismatched eyes cast downwards, and Loki frowns. He doesn't know what to say to that.

The trip back to Earth is dead silent. No one is smiling, talking, or even panicking. They're all in shock; Loki is stunned by what has just occurred. He never thought he'd see Thanos dead, but here they are. He did in fact just see Thor slice the Mad Titan's head clean off.

"Where are they?!"

"Answer the question!"

"The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!"

A strange feeling makes Loki furrow his eyebrows. He shifts slightly, uncomfortable in his seat before looking over at Thor, and—

He's crying.

Not sobbing or weeping, just silent. A tear runs down the curve of Thor's left cheek, and something inside Loki hurts, but he refrains from saying anything. He doesn't want to draw attention to this, to Thor's sadness, doesn't want anyone else to see it or mention it.

There's a magical whir as Thor raises his axe and swings, and Thanos' head is severed from his body in the blink of an eye. The assembled heroes freeze, shocked. No one says a word in the pregnant pause that follows.

Loki is distinctly aware his mouth has fallen open at the sight of his torturer dead on the dirty floor in this dirty hut on this frankly unremarkable planet. He feels like he should be celebrating, laughing, trash talking this monster's death gleefully, spitting on the corpse, even—but he can't seem to bring himself to even move from where he's frozen in place.

"What . . . what did you do?"

Loki looks to his brother's face for what seems the hundredth time today, and what he sees there makes his mouth finally shut.

"I went for the head."

Loki turns his gaze back on the empty ahead, looking deep into space. He is distinctly aware of Thor's grief beside him and hopes no one will notice. A glamor to shield the thunderer's tears might be unappreciated, though he's tempted.

A sick feeling spreads inside of Loki at the final realization of defeat.