Before anyone could say anything more, the globe began to glow bright. Tyr noticed this and thrust it into Loki's shaking hands. "You need to use this to open the portal to the void."

He shook his head furiously. Loki's magic hadn't been the same since he had died. He had lost considerable power. "You know I can't! I need Noelle present! I need a whole soul to do magic!"

"Can't or won't Loki?" Tyr fought back. "Use this! You know you can find her with this! This is our ticket to defeating Thanos and only you have enough mastery in magic to get us there."

"My magic hasn't been the same since death, you know this!" Loki felt sick. There was so much pressure being thrust at him right now. Tyr was asking something impossible from him.

"Then you have sentenced Noelle and the universe to death!" Tyr shouted at him, shoving him slightly. "Do you love her Loki? Do you truly love Noelle? Are you going to let her die a horrible death because you won't even try to open a void?"

"Quiet you fool!" Loki gripped the globe tighter. "What do you even know about love? I love her! I love Noelle! I'd do anything to save her, anything to help her! I'd die for her!" The others noticed that the globe was now glowing gold.

"Prove it!" Tyr shouted with a grin on his face. His plan was working. They all watched as Loki opened the portal to the void almost effortlessly. He didn't even realise what he had done until Tyr patted him on the shoulder and moved around him to jump into the opened portal. Loki stood there shocked. He had been unable to even duplicate himself for months, so how had been capable to open a portal?

He was still staring at the open portal when Thor put his arm around Loki and gave him a tight side hug. "Maybe all you needed was to stop believing that you couldn't." He smiled at his little brother. "I never told you this, but now's as good a time as any."

"Don't tell me you about to get sentimental on me." Thor chuckled.

"Even though I was getting the throne I still felt that you were the luckier one. You have a woman who loves you almost unconditionally. And you actually have a long future together, depending on the outcome of this, you know, battle."

"Don't you mean had? I had a woman who loved me?"

"No. She still loves you. You know this deep down in your heart." With a smile they both jumped into the portal.

************************************

Noelle's P.O.V

I opened my eyes, feeling like I had just been hit by a bus six or seven times. I tried to remember what had happened to me, gingerly feeling my forehead. There was a bump and when I felt down my face there was a large gash. There were shackles around my wrists.

I looked around me, seeing nothing but purple-blue starry sky. My body ached when I pushed myself up to see, partly from the condition of my body and partly because I was laying on hard rock. The rock seemed to stretch on for miles.

I turned my head to get a better look around when I saw the hulking figure that was Thanos standing a few feet away. He was staring out into the sky and had an odd look on his face. In this moment he didn't look evil. He looked lost, almost sad.

"The universe is a vast place, little Halfling. No matter how much power you acquire, the universe is always that much greater." He didn't look at me as he said this. I stayed silent, wondering who had suddenly replaced Thanos. "I have conquered foe after foe, even beaten death. But no matter how I try, the universe will always be unattainable to me."

"Not if you have to Amaranthe." I spoke up.

Thanos chuckled and it was almost in good humor. "The Amaranthe is the younger child of the universe, created to counter the gauntlet, its eldest child. Possessing the Amaranthe will not give me the infinite power of the universe. It will simply cement my position as most powerful being."

"Why do you need to be the most powerful? Why do everything you have done for it?"

His face hardened. "Because, little Halfling, when you come from less than nothing, power is the only thing you can acquire. Power is attainable to anyone. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best. And power is only attained by those who are willing to lower themselves to pick it up." Just then a hole opened up a few feet away from us. I watched as six figured jumped out and land on the hard rock.

As Loki landed on the rock he looked around frantically before his eyes landed on me. He froze and I could see the anger starting to build in him. That's when I remembered the state I was in. I probably looked terrible. I watched as Tyr and Thanos stared each other down. They had been enemies for centuries, and this was the last battle between them.

"You haven't taken good care of my daughter, Thanos." Tyr remarked as he saw my face.

"I needed to give you some...incentive to hand over my prize." Thanos put his massive palm out, getting straight to the point. "The Amaranthe, if you please."

"Not until you let her go." Loki's voice was surprisingly strong, stronger than it had been these past few weeks. There was something new about him now. Gone was the defeated atmosphere that seemed to surround him, his hunched posture. He stood tall, elegant, and he radiated confidence. It was almost as if he had never lost his soul.

"I don't believe you have authority to set this deal. The Amaranthe, then the girl." I suddenly felt a crushing pressure around my throat. I gasped, clawing at my neck and desperately trying to breathe. There were black spots dancing in my eyes, and my ears had popped. I watched as Thor rushed forward to help me. When the pressure stopped I assumed it was because they had gotten the message.

When I had enough air to function, I noticed Thor and Loki fighting.

What the- I was panicking when I saw Sif draw her weapon. No, this can't end like this. Why is Loki fighting Thor? It was then I noticed Thor wasn't really fighting back, but playing on the defensive side.

"Sif, stop! Loki isn't himself!"

"We don't have time for this!" She yelled, moving to take aim.

"Look at his eyes Sif! Loki is being controlled!" Thor shouted, making me take note of the bright blue eyes replacing the usual green. I watched as Volstagg ran forward and tackled Loki to the ground. Fandral took a defensive position towards Thanos, who had begun to advance towards them.

"We need to get him back!" He shouted. "Tyr, do something!"

Tyr reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something silver. When I squinted, I immediately recognised it: my necklace. The one I had gotten from my father at my first ball. The one I stopped wearing a while ago. I watched as Thor and Volstagg held a resisting Loki down and Tyr yanked the chain over his head.

The effect was almost immediate. Loki stopped fighting, the blue draining from his eyes. He breathed, blinking rapidly. Thanos then laughed.

"I see you have trinket to deflect my control."

"Well I couldn't have you corrupting my daughter too, you see. Now enough tricks, Thanos. We'll do as you say."

Tyr reached into a different coat pocket, this one closer to his chest, and pulled out the glimmering flower shaped jewel. It was shifting colours like the Bifrost and fit into the palm of his hand. Thanos reached out for it as Tyr held it out to him.

Just as Thanos was about to receive it, Tyr's form shimmered and disappeared.

Which was the cue for Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and Thor to attack. The four attacked in sync, trying to go at all angles. I watched as they either got flung or dodged just in time, before springing into action again. As Tyr appeared next to me, I felt him tugging at my shackles. "Can you still concentrate with these on?"

I nodded and he helped me stand. Loki had finally gotten up and joined us. It was our part of the plan now. Soon Thanos would get tired of the constant barrage of attacks and decide to use the gauntlet. Our job was the use the Amaranthe to counter it.

There was just one problem: Tyr couldn't tell us how to do that. Loki and I had to figure it out for ourselves in a short span of time.

Loki placed the Amaranthe in my hands and then covered it with his own. We figured we both had to be in contact with it to use it. "Now what?" He looked to Tyr.

"You will know how to use it when the time comes." He said, smiling sadly, before dashing off to help our friends. The two of us watched as waited, until we heard something coming from behind us. As we turned our heads there were squadrons of different beings heading our way.

"Thanos' followers." Loki said, glancing at me.

"Nothing is ever easy, is it?" I watched him laugh at my tone, before turning serious. They were almost to us, and I couldn't fight with these shackles on. How were we to do this? "We can't run." I stated.

"No, we can't."

"And we can't hide either."

"No, that is not an option dear."

"So what do we do?" I sounded pretty scared. I was pretty scared.

"Have faith." I was about to give Loki the most incredulous look when I noticed how close the hoard was to us. Giving a bit of a scream, I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt tingling in my hands.

The tingling went on for a few seconds, and when I was brave enough to open my eyes I saw that nearly half of the large group had been obliterated. The battle behind us had stilled and I could feel everyone staring at us.

"Faith, huh?" I mused. Loki laughed again and I watched as groups of Thanos' followers began to disperse. Not even the fear of Thanos could will them to stay and face this power. The rest came at us, pulling out weapons of all kinds.

Loki and I began to back up, not wanting to push our luck. Fortuately, Fandral and Sif decided to come and help us. Loki let go of the Amaranthe and put the chain around my neck. "Stay out of the way, keep it safe. Please, for once, just listen to me and stay put." He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

I watched as my friends fought on two fronts. I was helpless. I watched as Sif was surrounded and Fandral was busy fighting his own opponents. Loki was making headway, but they couldn't do this forever. I glanced back to see Volstagg being tossed into a rock. Thor was doing his best to aim for vital spots. Tyr was doing the same.

If we didn't end this soon, we would be too tired to continue. We would fail.

I decided to jump into battle using my magic. It was easier than using my tied up arm. I began to move rocks and have them hurled at opponents. With my extra help, I noticed the group thinning. We were beginning to pull ahead.

And then I heard a gurgling cry. It had come from behind me. I turned to see Thanos using the infinite gauntlet, one of the stone's power impaling my father. I let out a horrified cry as he went limp and Thanos kicked his body aside.

It was as if the world stood still. Thor was in shock, staring down at the body. Thanos turned to me and smiled. "So weak. So utterly weak." I watched as he began to move towards me, shoving Thor out of the way. I backed up, using magic to shove opponents out of the way.

"Your kind are so weak with sentiment. Here you are, struck dumb and powerless because of one man's death." I had to get to Loki. We had to do it now. "Give me the Amaranthe and I will give you a painless death. I will even let your friends live. But not you, oh no. You two children have been enough trouble to me."

I felt cool hands on my arm as Loki pulled me towards him. "We must end this Noelle." He whispered. I nodded dumbly and grasped the gem, Loki covering it with his hands. Thanos was close enough now that we could do it. We could finish him.

I closed my eyes as the tingling sensation began to creep up my fingertips. We will do this. We will end this. We can do it. I believed this, I had to believe it. Like my father believed it. Suddenly I felt the power flow stop.

I opened my eyes to see Loki pushing me away from him as a blue beam of light shot through him. His eyes were wide, his mouth agape. The beam had been so forceful that it lifted him off his feet, before he fell to the ground gasping.

I screamed as I watched Thanos retract the blue beam. Running to Loki, I flung myself to his side and held his face. He was gasping and sputtering. There was no hole, no mark from the beam, but Loki was dying in my arms.

Thanos must have seen my confusion because he began to laugh and explain. "The soul stone. It was the only thing that could finish him off." Loki looked at me, his eyes seeming to empty of emotion. Tears were running freely down my face.

I heard Thor yell and he began to engage Thanos once again, his rage boiling. Sif and Fandral were trying to keep the remaining followers away from us. Loki was barely breathing now, and I watched as he turned grey.

"Tell me what to do Loki." I pleaded, my voice chocking. "Tell me!" I shook him slightly. I was sobbing violently, barely able to speak. "Don't leave me! Not again! You are not leaving me alone here again!" I screamed, leaning in closer to him.

He was so cold now, but I could still feel his heart beating very slowly. Thanos had knocked Thor out and was now coming to finish us off. I leaned in even closer to Loki, pressing my chest to his, trying to shield him from the blow that was going to kill us.

I closed my eyes and cursed, wondering where we had gone wrong. We weren't strong enough. We failed. We failed!

I could see Thanos's shadow over us now and I tensed, ready for the blow that would end everything. I wondered if I would go to Valhalla. I wondered if I would feel pain. I tried to cease my shaking body and lie still, be brave. Even though none of us would survive to tell this story. No one would talk about our bravery.

As I saw the shadow raise its arm, I felt a tingling. I looked down to see the Amaranthe glowing bright between Loki's chest and mine. Loki was still clinging on to life, even though his eyes were milky and his skin dark grey and beginning to crack. His battered half soul was still with me.

As the blow swung down, I closed my eyes and felt as if a damn had burst around me. A wave of pure energy cascaded from Loki and I, coming forth like a river. My ears roared, lights were dancing through my closed eyelids and the sound was deafening.

And then there was silence.

I lay there, too afraid to open my eyes. I was afraid that I would look up and realize I was dead. Had the Amaranthe destroyed Loki and I as well? I didn't know. The other fear was that what I had felt was death from Thanos.

I didn't open my eyes until I felt Loki shift from under me. We have to be dead. Loki couldn't move before.

"Noelle." He spoke to me in his musical voice. It was so lively now. "Darling, open your eyes."

"No, Loki. I can't. I can't look at death right now. Not yet." I whimpered, clinging to him.

I felt him lift my face from its position in the crook of his neck. "But darling, we aren't dead." I opened my eyes wide and found myself staring into bright green ones. There was life behind those eyes, life and a twinkle.

"How?" I watched as Loki glanced down to his chest. The Amaranthe was gone, the chain sitting limp on his chest.

"I can feel it. I can feel its power moving through my veins." He said, puzzled. "It-it disintegrated into my body. It repaired my soul." He glanced at me once more and I could see pure, unbridled joy in his eyes. "I have my soul back." He repeated and I felt my eyes tear up again.

"Oh Loki." I flung forward to him, capturing him in a bear hug and kissing him on the lips. I heard a throat clear, a couple wolf whistles and a booming laugh, but I ignored them. My friends were alive. Loki, my soulmate, was alive. And he was mine, all mine again.

It was over. It was done.

This is the last chapter guys! I'll probably have the epilogue up tomorrow! Cheers!