Sorry that it's taken me a while to update this. Inspiration has been all over the place recently. In any case, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The Truth About Lies Chapter 22

Thor stood in his bedroom and paced restlessly as the sun went down.

"Thor," Loki called out as he sat down on the couch and followed his brother's movements with his eyes and head, "walking a hole in the floor isn't very productive, you know."

Thor stopped moving and turned to Loki. He glanced at the door and explained his actions. "I'm worried."

"That much is obvious. Why? I don't know. Thor, your mother is a goddess. She can take care of herself, and supposedly, she deals with this Uranus character every night, so she'll be fine in the morning."

Thor shook his head and gritted his teeth as he let out a low growl of sorts. He started pacing again and said, "I know Gaea can handle herself, but I don't want anyone hurting her. She's my…" He paused again and turned to face Loki. His eyes widened and continued almost as if he were in awe, "…she's my mother."

Loki smirked a little at his expression and commented, "I know you haven't just figured that out, Thor. You've known for a while now. Why the shock?"

Thor walked over to the couch and sat beside him. He turned his eyes to the floor and mumbled, "I miss Mother. I didn't spend as much time with her as I liked. I was always too busy with quests and protecting Asgard. I was fulfilling the role that Father wanted me to as Asgard's future king." He met Loki's gaze. "Gaea will never replace Mother, but she is my mother, too. I have a chance with her that I can't have with Frigga…and I have a feeling if I let things play out without my interference this Uranus could take it away."

Loki raised an eyebrow and said, "So, what are you saying?"

Thor stood up abruptly and announced, "I'm tired of waiting! I want to see this Uranus. Oceanus doesn't want to tell me the whole story, so I'll find out for myself!"

He starts to march for the door, but Loki calls out, "Uh, brother, remember what Oceanus said earlier. Gaea doesn't want Uranus to know that you're here, yet. Undoubtedly, he's not going to take your presence lightly."

"And, he shouldn't," Thor replied menacingly. He stretched his arm out and Mjolnir flew to him.

Loki immediately sighed and started dusting himself off even though nothing was there. "All right. All right. Let's go see Uranus, but can we do it my way?" When Thor arched an eyebrow, he whispered, "They'll never see us."

=)=)=)

Thor and Loki walked down the hall hurriedly, trying to find where Gaea might be. Thor walked a little ahead of his brother and said, "They might be in her study or perhaps her bedroom. I think I remember where her study is. As for her bedroom, I have no idea."

Loki suddenly rushed to his side and snapped softly, "Could you be any louder? Stomping down the hall and talking aloud is really the way to sneak up on people! Really, brother!"

Thor suddenly put his hand over Loki's mouth and replied almost in amusement, "Yeah, well, you're not doing much better. And, are we invisible? I see you."

When Thor removed his hand, he responded, "Yes, we are. I had a feeling with you if I didn't allow us to see each other, you'd walk all over me with your incredibly large…"

"Shhh!" Thor said as he saw Oceanus creep out of his bedroom slowly and then turn left. He smiled at Loki and said, "We might not be the only ones who want to spy. Come on!"

Thor now walked as carefully as he could several feet behind Oceanus and followed him to what they knew was Gaea's study. The door wasn't cracked open, but you could still hear voices from within:

"Gaea, this is not negotiable! You know the prophecy and I will not stand for it! It will not happen! Do you understand me?" The man's voice was deep, almost a growl as he spoke, and he sounded angry. His voice fairly shook the room and the hallway. Thor was shocked.

Gaea also sounded angry, but Thor had heard her like this before talking to his own father, so he wasn't surprised at the level of hostility that was evident. "They are your children, Uranus! I am tired of them hurting! I'm tired of hurting! I've lost too many because of this! I even lost the opportunity to raise a son because of this!"

A loud groan was heard and Uranus practically hissed, "We're not going to talk about Thor again, are we?" A crash of some sort was heard and just as Thor was about to rush forward to help, Oceanus did it for him—he smashed the door open and ran inside. Thor and Loki followed to see a table broken in half, lying on the floor. Gaea was unharmed but looked annoyed. As for Uranus, he was big—taller than Oceanus with long brown wavy hair that went about to his shoulders and his scowl made him look more fierce. He was wearing an off white tunic that stopped at his knees and golden belts, wrist guards, etc.

"Ah, Oceanus!" Uranus said unsurprised. "There you are, finally." He started making his way towards his son.

Gaea ran in front of Uranus and blocked his advancement. "You promised you'd leave him alone!"

Uranus smirked and said, "Yes, well, you know how long promises are kept around here." He looked Gaea up and down as if he were mocking her.

Thor tightened his grip on Mjolnir as he held it up. If he came close to Oceanus, he would use it.

"Brother, let's just stay calm for right now," Loki whispered in his ear.

Uranus' eyes left Gaea and looked back at Oceanus. He assessed him carefully and commented, "You've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you. I'd be proud if I didn't hate you and your siblings so much."

Thor winced as these words left Uranus' mouth. He couldn't even fathom Odin saying something like that to him regardless of the hard time they were having right now. He looked at Oceanus, expecting to see the Titan with a hurt expression, but instead his brother stood there unwaveringly. He was shocked when Oceanus' reply was a sarcastic, "Gee, Dad, thanks. It means a lot." He winked at Gaea, who turned briefly to look at him, and then continued, "By the way, the feeling is mutual!"

Uranus actually snarled and tried to step closer, but Gaea put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. She snapped, "I will fight you if you continue! Don't make any mistakes!"

Uranus lifted an eyebrow and smiled a little. "His time is coming, Gaea. You're only delaying it," he replied, but he waved his hand lazily at Oceanus and said, "You can leave, Little One. I'll let you live for now. I won't send you to Tartarus in front of your mother."

"Such generosity," quipped Oceanus, but Uranus held his palm up and suddenly the Titan was flying back out of the room. Thor and Loki had to spring out of the way as he zoomed by and the door suddenly shut and locked. When they both landed on the ground, Thor noticed Gaea widen her eyes for a moment and then squint as she searched the room. When her eyes reached Thor and Loki's location, she smiled a little and shook her head once ever so slightly.

Slowly, so they wouldn't make a sound, Thor and Loki got up and stepped closer to Gaea. Her eyes clearly followed them now before she stepped in front of them and turned to Uranus. "Thank you for not attacking my son, and I beseech you not to do it in the future. Have you ever stopped to consider, Uranus, that your actions are what brings about the events of the prophecy? Did you?"

Uranus merely smiled for a moment and then replied, "I know your tricks, wife. I know them well. I've been with you longer than any other companion you've ever had. You want me to stop attacking them, so they'll gather more confidence and actually attack me unexpectedly. It's not going to happen." He walked away towards the door and announced, "I'm going to our bedroom."

When the door slammed shut, Loki dropped the illusion and Gaea immediately turned to Thor. "What are you doing here, my son? You could have gotten yourself hurt or killed! Uranus can look through magic, too, if he had decided to. This was not a wise decision!"

Loki sighed and replied, "Relax. He didn't see us, so everything's fine."

Thor didn't enter the conversation. He merely stared at the door and then asked, "Why do you put up with him? Oceanus told me he's hurting you and sending your children to Tartarus! Surely, you have the power to stop him."

Gaea looked down for a moment and said, "You would think so, but I'm not the one destined to stop him. I may be a goddess, as you say, but some things are handled by fate. If I could change it, believe me, Uranus wouldn't have hurt any of my children." She raised her hand to his face. "And, I would have kept you, but destiny finds a way and when you try to alter it, things get worse instead of better."

Thor gripped his hammer and asked, "What is this prophecy? It seems that he knows it, too, and he's trying to prevent it from happening."

"He is," Gaea said, shaking his head. "He knows better than that, though. Things would go so much smoother and not be as painful if he'd just accept things, but I suppose his stubbornness is what drew me to him in the first place…much like your father."

Thor wrinkled his face and Gaea immediately laughed. Thor imagined he must look like a little kid wrinkling his face in disgust when a parent tells his or her son about past…loves. He wiped all expression from his face and asked again, "The prophecy, Gaea? What is it?"

She shook her head and replied, "It's best if you don't know. I don't want you to be tempted to change things. I want things to happen naturally for you, so that you will have the easiest path possible."

Thor shook his head and said, "I know you want to protect me, but I want to help, Gaea. My brothers and sisters are coming up with a plan to defeat Uranus and something tells me he is a lot tougher to beat than he looks right now." Gaea lifted her brow and nodded in confirmation. "I want to be part of this. I won't take 'no' for an answer."

Gaea stared at Thor and then Loki. It seemed like she was deep in thought, but then she suddenly raised her hands and there was a bright flash. When Thor could see again, he could see they were in a field outside. She smiled and said, "Earlier I told you that you have the power of a god running through your veins. I think if you're going to help, it's time you learned what that means…at least, a little for right now." She winked and then smiled at Loki once before walking away.

Thor made to follow her, but she put a hand up as she turned around again to face him. "Put Mjolnir down, Thor. You don't need it."

=)=)=)

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