He doesn't know why he bothered with the illusion, really. It was never going to work.

And that's hardly a testament to his brother's intelligence. Even Volstagg would have known it wasn't real, and he's as dumb as they come. No, it has nothing to do with Thor at all. It has to do with him, with the love he has for his mother that's never wavered even in the most trying times. He's said things, of course, that he shouldn't have. He's played it like he didn't care, but it was never true. They all knew it wasn't true.

Oh, how he hopes she knew it wasn't true.

So as his illusion fades away, he does nothing to conceal his pain; nothing to conceal his grief. Thor had known before he'd come what he would find: the shell of the man he once called family.

"Now you see me, brother."

Thor comes around the side of the cell, closing the distance between them the best he can, and Loki has half a mind to move to the other corner and as far from his brother as he can get. He'd wished for a time that Thor would come to see him. That time is long past. Now, he's good for only one thing: information.

"Did she suffer?" Loki asks. The guards didn't tell him. They likely thought it was a mercy, sparing him the gory details, but the uncertainty has been more painful than any imagery could have been.

"I did not come here to share our grief," Thor says. His tone is low, secretive. He glances around as though afraid someone will overhear; as though there's anybody left to overhear. "Instead, I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."

"No."

Thor freezes – literally freezes. It would almost be comical if it were any other situation, though right now, it's hard to find anything enjoyable; even Thor's look of absolute disbelief.

"No?" he repeats, incredulous.

"No."

"I haven't even told you what I'm asking," Thor protests. "A chance at–"

"No."

Thor's hands fall down by his sides, his disbelief fading to exasperation. "Why not?"

Loki just shakes his head. He can't answer that. He's enough of a mess as it is; if he starts sobbing again for his brother to see, he will truly have fallen to a new low.

"I am offering you vengeance," Thor tells him. "A chance to–"

"No."

Thor clenches his jaw and tries again. "Vengeance against the Dark Elves."

"No."

Thor throws his arms out to the side, his exasperation somehow still growing. "They killed Mother! The guards did tell you that, did they not?"

"Yes, they did," Loki says darkly, "and thank you for your concern. That is exactly how I'd hoped to receive the news that my mother was brutally murdered: from a prison guard."

Thor rolls his eyes so dramatically that his head goes with it. "If I apologize, will you help me?"

Loki shakes his head. "I do not want an apology. It will change nothing."

"Then what do you want?"

I want to see her one last time.

I want to say goodbye.

He's grown all too familiar with this stinging sensation that creeps up on him once more, and he closes his eyes before the first tear can fall. He's not going to cry. He's not. Not while Thor is here, at the very least. Once he's alone, then he can cry.

"Well?" Thor asks impatiently.

Loki takes a deep breath, an attempt to regain his composure at least a little bit. "I wish to be alone."

"If I leave you alone, the Nine Realms will fall to ruin," Thor tells him.

"Good."

Thor huffs. "Excuse me?"

"Good," Loki repeats. He forces himself to open his eyes, though his tears blur his vision too much to make out his brother's expression. "I hope the Nine Realms fall to ruin. I hope Asgard is last. I hope you have to watch as everything you love is snatched from you the way it was me, and I hope your death is slow and painful as the Dark Elves make use of you any way they see fit."

Thor recoils at the venom in his voice, but even still, he tries to reason with him. "The Dark Elves have already proven they care not for you," he says. "You think they'll spare you when they plunge Asgard into darkness?"

Loki scoffs. "You think I care whether I live or die?" he demands. "I hope they kill me. I wish they'd killed me when they tore through the rest of this prison. I wouldn't have to live with the knowledge that your failure took from me the only thing I had left in this world or any other."

Thor's expression softens at that, which is the last thing he wanted. Loki lets his head fall back against the wall and closes his eyes again, and this time, a tear does slip out. He hastily wipes it away with the back of his hand as though he could possibly stop Thor from seeing it. He can't.

Thor sighs. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"I am," Thor says. "I should have been the one to tell you. I didn't come to share our grief, but I could have."

"Just go, Thor," Loki says. "I have no interest in vengeance and I have no interest in heroics. Find somebody else."

"I wish I could," Thor says, and he almost sounds... sympathetic. "But nobody else knows the ways in and out of Asgard the way you do."

"Then you would do best to say 'goodbye' to your loved ones now." He never had the chance to, but oh, how he wishes he did.

"Mother wouldn't want this," Thor says.

"Mother doesn't want anything," Loki says coldly. "She's dead. You can't disappoint a dead woman."

Thor sighs. "Brother..."

"Go," he says. "Leave me here to die. That's all I ask."

There's a pause, though Loki knows his brother well enough to know he's not really considering it. If it had just been Loki's life at hand, he would, but the entire Nine Realms is at risk now.

Thor sighs. "Don't be like this, brother."

Loki just shakes his head, defeated. He dug his grave. Now he has to lie in it. At least he knows he won't be the only one dying today. If he's going down, he's taking everyone else with him.

There's another pause, and then Thor's at it again, this time from a different angle. "If you do this, you'll be free."

"I don't care."

Thor ignores that. "We'll be directly disobeying Father's orders," he continues. "I imagine I will not be welcomed home with open arms. I certainly will not come back just to reimprison you."

"I don't care."

"This is the only chance you will ever have to see the light of the sun again," Thor tells him.

"I don't care!" This time, he yells it, loudly enough that his brother flinches. "I do not care! I don't care about your home! I don't care about my freedom! There is nothing you can offer me to win my cooperation because I am already getting what I deserve! I just want—" His voice breaks, but he's so close, he can't stop now. "I just want to die. Please. Just let me die."

He breaks into sobs, and at this point, he doesn't even care. All he wants is to die. Who cares what happens before then? Who cares what happens after? He just wants to die. He just wants this to be over.

He turns his face away from his brother, though it's far too late to hide his tears, and he squeezes his eyes shut. He just wants to die. He just wants to die. Why is that so hard? Why can't he just stay here in solitude until the Dark Elves lay waste to Asgard and all of its inhabitants?

The silence lasts long enough that he almost begins to think his wish will come true. He begins to think that Thor has given up; that he's going to leave to find help elsewhere. It's about time.

But then there's a hand on his neck, a gesture he's shown to his brother dozens of times in the past. Loki wipes his tears with the back of his hand and reluctantly meets his brother's gaze. Thor's kneeling in front of him, holding him like they're still friends, like they're still family. He presses their foreheads together, though it does nothing to quell Loki's sobs.

"I know," he says quietly. "I miss her, too."

"It's my fault," Loki chokes out. "I killed her."

"Loki, you didn't–"

"I told them where to go," he sobs. "I killed her. I killed my own Mother." He buries his head in the crook of his brother's neck, soaking his cloak with tears and spit and snot. "It's all my fault."

Thor sighs and wraps his arms around him. "It's not your fault, brother," he says quietly. "Mother made her choice. She knew she might die, but she wanted to save Asgard. It was her sacrifice to make."

"I don't care," Loki mumbles into his cloak. He heaves another sob, and the world is starting to get a little bit fuzzy. "It's my fault. I sent them to her."

Thor rubs his back gently. "And I sent her away," he says. "It's my fault as much as it is yours, and I understand your guilt, but Mother made her choice. She knew what was coming, and she fought until her last breath. Are you going to let her sacrifice be in vain?"

Loki sniffles and forces himself to take a deep breath – and god, Thor smells gross. Or maybe he's smelling himself. One of them needs a shower. Maybe both of them need a shower.

"Will you help me?" Thor asks. "Will you help me make sure Mother's death wasn't in vain?"

Loki shakes his head minutely. "We're all going to die," he murmurs. "I just want to die."

There's a pause then, and Thor's hand on his back comes to a halt. Finally, he says, "You know, if you die in battle, you'll see her again in Valhalla."

"No, I won't," he mumbles. "Valhalla is for heroes; it's not for Frost Giants with a fruitless obsession with playing king." He's thought about it. Of course he's thought about it; it's all he'd want. He could die and he could see his mother again. But it's not feasible.

"Valhalla is for warriors," Thor says. "If you help me save the Nine Realms and if you die a warrior's death, you'll likely go there."

"No, I won't."

"Isn't it worth a try?" Thor asks. "If there's a chance you could see Mother again, wouldn't you want to take it? Imagine how proud she would be to hear that you helped finish the battle she started."

Loki sniffles. He has to admit, if he's going to die anyway, he would rather end up in Valhalla than anywhere else. If there is a chance he can see his mother again, if there is a chance he can apologize and tell her he loves her...

He reluctantly lifts his head to look at his brother. "You're manipulating me."

"Is it working?"

Loki hesitates, but then he nods. "I'll help you. Just..." He glances down at his blood-soaked feet. "Find me some shoes?" He'd rather not leave a trailer with every step he takes.

Thor chuckles. "I think we can manage that."

Thor stands up and holds a hand down, and Loki takes it, letting his brother pull him to his feet. Thor gives him a small smile, but Loki doesn't return it. He's not doing this for Thor. He's not doing this for Asgard. He's not even doing this for Frigga. He's doing this for himself. He's doing this because he wants to die, and this seems to be the best way to go about it.

He doesn't know it, but Thor's already making a point to keep a careful eye on him. He doesn't know what's going to happen, but he knows one thing for sure: he's not letting his brother die today.