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[dothelokimotion]

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[thecoolerloki]

[He smiles.]

My death. I thought we could work backwards from there.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he mutters. ]

Delightful.

I'll initiate the link.

[ telegraphing his movements, he gently places his palm over loki's forehead. ]

[thecoolerloki]

[Loki allows it, and though his other self has seen the moments leading up to his ego death before, this is not that memory. Instead, the boy is in an ancient library, picking a book off the shelf. The Siege of Asgard, reads the cover of the book. He devours its contents quickly, latching onto one passage in particular.

Loki's final stand against the Void is a question to which we have no answer. Why did Loki do it? No-one knows.

"Would you know more?" another voice asks, sensing the new reader.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ the void. a part of loki trembles despite himself. it's been so long since he faced that utter darkness.

this doesn't feel like a memory. it feels like something else. loki keeps the connection tenuous, in case of disaster. which is often always the case when it comes to lokis. ]

Why would I?

[thecoolerloki]

That’s the point of this exercise, is it not?

[It’s the old man who says that, not the child. He seems impatient.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ he frowns at the old man. ]

The point of the exercise is for Loki to regain his ability. Not for me to traipse around his memories.

[thecoolerloki]

And this is the path to the memories I mentioned before, the ones still closed off to me.

[The memories the boy was not permitted to have, that which made Loki who he once was.]

But if you have a better idea of where to start, I'll hear it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he lets out a laborious sigh. ]

All right. Take me there.

[thecoolerloki]

[Loki claps his hands together, pleased they got that over with. He takes the book from the child, and holds it up to his other self.

Why did Loki do it?

And when he lowers the book, they're on a battlefield, surrounded by Avengers and others. A Loki identical to the old man is using Norn stones to assist them in their fight against the Void, until his mischief is noticed and the Void grabs onto him. His eyes turn pitch black as he addresses them both in place of Thor.

"I'm sorry, brother."

And then he explodes into blood and guts and stuff. The old man yawns, unimpressed.]

Nothing useful here.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he didn't know the void could do that. did it have its claws in him still? it's a terrifying thought that loki is going to summarily ignore right now. ]

How much deeper must we go?

[thecoolerloki]

Until I can remember my memories as my own.

[While there's plenty he can do in this world with the trust the boy's earned, he feels incomplete without the rest of himself. If the magpie would show itself, he could've simply devoured it and be done, but this'll have to do.

The scene shifts to another battle, Loki in his full armor and regalia as he takes on the Disir, dismembering the zombie-like women and grinning as their blood splatters his face.]

None of this is the why, only the how...

[dothelokimotion]

[ he's not squeamish about blood or violence but seeing it like this, as an outsider is jarring. ]

The "it" you spoke of. What were you referring to?

[thecoolerloki]

We've already seen it.

[The scenes skip around, like pages of a book being flipped through. Back to Loki dying!]

My noble sacrifice. The dialogue implies it was out of guilt or some loyalty to Asgard, but Loki would only ever sacrifice himself for himself. I died so that I would be reborn, and so I was. But there was more to it. Plans I must've hidden from both the boy and his plaything.

[dothelokimotion]

I've done it.

[ he died for thor. twice. he hadn't been thinking of himself all that much. just the ending it would be. ]

And I'm here to uncover his power, not to resurrect your plans.

[thecoolerloki]

[He doesn't care about this Loki so he doesn't comment on his brave sacrifices. Moving on,]

Yes, yes, obviously I'll shapeshift myself younger as soon as I'm able to. This form is inconvenient, to say the least. My power and my plans are all one and the same, though.

[dothelokimotion]

[ he hates,,, all of this,,, ]

Are they now.

[thecoolerloki]

My plans cannot be enacted so long as I look like this, that would defeat the whole purpose of being reborn and gaining everyone's trust by way of my youthful appearance.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki stops with a frown, crossing his arms. ]

I think I've changed my mind.

[thecoolerloki]

Because of who's asking you for help, yes? The trust you've placed in me could only be stretched so far, I understand.

[And his form shifts to that of the child within these memories, though still stuck as the old man in the real world.]

Better? Let's keep going further.

[dothelokimotion]

[ is this just a change of shape? more? where does the child or the man stop and start? it's enough to make his head spin. he grits his teeth. ]

Fine. Let's proceed.

[thecoolerloki]

[He sighs, as if disappointed somehow.]

How predictable.

[But the pages begin to turn once more, this time landing in Asgard, not yet destroyed. Loki is lounging in his quarters, swirling a goblet of wine in one hand as he speaks with a magical projection of Doom.

"You remain Loki, Loki."

The projection fades and Loki stands up, moving to the balcony where he can see the whole of Asgard, floating above Oklahoma.

"We are as trapped as ever. It needs to be burned clean. All of it."

No sooner does he say that than is Asgard melded with Jotunheim. "They can only be defeated from within," narrates the old man as he's soon replaced by a young and impossibly tiny frost giant. Another battlefield, this one strewn with Jotun corpses. The young Loki grabs Laufey's sword and swings it in anger at Odin,

"I'll kill you!"

And then nothing. The two real Lokis, the observers, are now in a space beyond stories. It is dark and lined with the eerie green smoke of Loki's magic. Loki's voice, at various ages, echoes around them.

"To what end?" "What would give your life meaning?" "Why do you do this?"]

Questions answered with more questions. I am myself, as always.

[dothelokimotion]

Perhaps you ask too many questions to bury all of this.

[ loki gestures to it with a long sweep of his arm. ]

To simply be doesn't need an explanation. Or a reason. Everything has a right to exist. Why not a Loki?

[thecoolerloki]

[The boy shifts back into the old man and grins.]

So you'll support my continued existence?

[dothelokimotion]

I'm not here to end anyone's existence.

[ it may be the right thing to do but . . . quite frankly, he's done with all of that. ]

[thecoolerloki]

Too bad! My existence will end the boy's and his existence will end mine. That's simply how this works.