Chapter 5 - Father and Son

Loki was back in the magnificent golden halls of Asgard standing in the throne room. In front of him was the last person he wanted to see. Odin sat sprawled out of the giant throne of kings.

"Loki, my son," Odin said quietly although the words pierced right through Loki's heart. He never wanted to hear his name leave Odin's mouth again. When he had left Asgard, he had hoped that he would never have to deal with his 'father' again.

"Odin," Loki replied shortly and avoiding looking Odin directly in the eye.

"Don't be so formal with me," his father replied. "I hope you know that this is not a dream. It took me longer than I wanted to get through to you."

Loki rolled his eyes and tried to brush it all off casually. "You shouldn't have been able to find me at all. Tell me, what type of black magic did you use to pierce my shield? How far did you go to get back to me?"

"The expenses I paid are of no real importance," Odin replied casually, which set Loki on the edge. He wasn't prepared to be treated this nicely. He expected a lot of yelling and big words. "I see that in a short amount of time you have made company with Thor's companions."

"Ah, yes. They are quite pleasant." Loki turned and paced back and forth a bit.

"Loki, I want you to listen to me. It's really important to me, because this may very well be the last time we talk for centuries." Odin straightened himself out and thumped his staff on the ground.

"I figured that you wouldn't want to speak to me after you send your people after me," Loki said with a sigh. "You do realize that unless you send them now, I will be gone again as soon as I awake?"

Odin sighed heavily and placed his head in the palm of his hand. "I am not sending anyone after you. I am letting you go free."

"You're what?" Loki stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his father. "What trick is this? I'm supposed to be the Trickster God, not you."

"I'm letting you go free under two conditions," Odin told Loki. "One is that you must become happy in life and forget that Asgard ever existed for at least two centuries. Try not to even think about your past here. The second is that I want you to stay around New York City. More storms will be coming for that city and I fear that you're the only one that will be able to deflect them/"

"You expect me to just forget thousands of years of my life and move on? Then, you expect me to join with the very people that I tried to kill?" Loki laughed callously. "I guess we are alike in ways. I will stay close to the mortals and guard the planet with my life if that's what it takes to get my freedom back. I can't guarantee that I won't cause trouble along the way. I don't have the titles I do for no reason."

Odin smirked at Loki with a glint of pride in his eyes. "So, you accept the terms?" Loki nodded. "Alright, I shall send you back to Earth, but first, your mother wanted me to tell you something."

Loki immediately perked up at the mention of his mother. She was the one person he truly loved from the bottom of his heart. If she asked anything of him, Loki would do it without fail. "What did she say?" Loki asked with unrestrained emotion.

"Frigga told me to warn you of green," Odin told him. "I do not know what it means. You shall have to figure that out yourself."

Loki, of course, knew exactly what it meant. 'Amora,' Loki thinks to himself. 'Of course the Enchantress would have to come and mess up my territory. Wait, "my territory"? What am I thinking?' Loki bit his tongue and looked up at his father. "Do I get my magic back?"

Odin smiled at Loki. "That is a difficult question. If you prove that you can handle aiding Earth, then you can have them back."

"How do I prove myself?" Loki asked.

"You'll know when the time comes," Odin replied. "Farewell my son."

A/N: Long time no see! Yeah, I know. It's a disappointing chapter after such a long absence, but there's a silver lining. I shall try to make the next chapter much longer and hopefully it will be out within two weeks. Let's cross our fingers.

Anyways, what do you guys think Loki is actually up to? Could he really accept the terms of protecting Earth? What will become of his plans for revenge? More answers next time! :)