A terrible anger rose within Odin as he slammed the end of his staff upon the ground, causing a searing white light to leap towards Loki's chest.

Loki, with great swiftness, brought his hands both to block the blow and actually caught the ball of white light. His hands were shrouded in a red light as they held the magic from Odin's staff between them. "Fascinating" he chuckled, "I can't help but wonder..." he threw the light back at Odin, who while in shock, still managed to block it by moving the staff in the way. Sparks flew as it hit the metal but the King remained untouched.

"How is this possible?" Odin demanded, "How did you manage to get your wretched hands on magic when-"

"When you ripped it from soul?" Loki asked taking a step down the stairs towards Odin, "When you tore away a large chunk of my very existence just so you could... what? Teach me a lesson?"

"You were out of control" Odin barked, "Still are"

Loki just laughed, "And what were you really trying to teach me Odin?" he demanded, "Did it really have anything to do with the people I had killed? With the treason I had committed? Hm?" he inquired, taking a few more steps until he was on the ground level, "Or maybe, just maybe it had to do with her."

Odin's eye hardened, "Do not bring her into this" he ordered.

"Oh but you already did" Loki stated, a nasty tone to his voice, "You dragged her right into the middle of it when you stole the only piece of me that she and I shared."

"You-"

"YOU COULDN'T STAND IT, could you?" Loki refused to let him talk, "You couldn't bear the thought that your pathetic, mistakenly adopted son could share anything with the woman you loved. You would rather see her memory fade and die along with her than have her love of magic live through me."

"Don't you DARE" Odin snapped, the sound of his staff ramming into the floor resounded through the room. It was the well known sound that demanded silence.

"YOU CANNOT SILENCE ME OLD MAN" Loki yelled in return and with that the battle began. Odin launched a full attack upon the man he had once called son and Loki retaliated in like.

Ceres stood back, doing as she was told.

Seeing Odin fight was a privilege in itself, one that Loki had witnessed on very rare occasion growing up. However, on every such occasion he studied with great attention to detail. He knew well that he wouldn't stand a chance against the king under any ordinary circumstance but with the added power of the Red Devil, he was feeling unstoppable.

Odin was surprised but he certainly didn't let it show. Loki had never been one for confrontation but he was actually holding his own! Every spell was met with counter, every blow a block and return, the pair seemed evenly matched. At one point more guards came charging into the room but Odin ordered them to stand down. This was personal and he was not about to give up on something that he had started. He was going to end this once and for all, it was evident in his eyes. Odin would not stop until Loki was dead.

Finally the pair stood several feet apart, each breathing as heavily as the other. Odin rotated his shoulder, it was rather sore but Loki also had a few nasty bruises coming to the surface beneath his clothes.

"It is unlike you, Loki, to come face to face with combat" Odin commented, "Where did you find the courage to face me head on?"

"Funny enough, at the bottom of a bottle" Loki replied, slipping a vial of red liquid into his hand, "and with it I am going to crush you and get my own, true magic back." he drank the entire contents of the concentrated dose. If only a few drops were enough before, then the entire thing would surely be enough to put an end to the All-father.

Ceres' eyes widen and took a few steps forward, wanting to stop him but she stopped and bit her lip.

The empty vial dropped and shattered, glass sprawling out across the floor. At first Loki looked like he would be sick and Odin took the opportunity to send the prince flying into a pillar hard enough to leave a crack behind. Loki dropped down to one knee and Odin placed his staff at Loki's throat, "This ends here" growled the King.

The moment seemed to come to halt for Loki. He could hear every heartbeat in his chest, feel the sudden power flowing through his veins so sudden and strong that it sent his mind reeling. His veins were red and showing through the surface on his skin, crawling up his neck and spreading out from those terrible, glowing red eyes. He could see the magic flowing down Odin's staff, towards the end that pointed dangerously at his throat, ready to take off his head in the blink of an eye-but Loki moved quicker than that somehow.

Wrapping his hand around the end of the staff, Loki's deadly red magic met point blank with Odin's and a massive explosion erupted through the hall. As the dust began to settle, it was clear that only one of the two was now left standing over the other. Six nearby pillar were now only dangling from the ceiling with nothing to them from about halfway down to the floor. Another chunk of stone fell, kicking up more dust as the clouded individual knelt and picked up Odin's staff from the floor.

"LOKI!" Ceres yelled but was forced to over herself in a ball of energy to protect her from the blast. Slowly after the dust settled a bit, she made her way down the stairs. She couldn't tell who had fallen and who had survived.

Loki glared at the form he had once called father and turned away from him, stepping into a clearer area. He nodded to Ceres to assure he that he was fine, the tapped the staff twice on the ground and the little green jewel that had been embedded within it removed itself and hovered in the air before the trickster's eyes. Finally, it was his to claim again.

"LOKI" Boomed a powerful voice that echoed through the hall and left a chill in the air. Thor stood there, hammer in hand, looking stunned. His eyes fell to his father with haste he went to the old man's side. "Loki, what have you done!?"

"Thor" Loki spoke his name dryly as he turned to face the strong blond, "how good of you to join us. They say better late than never, but honestly? I would have preferred the latter." He wasn't about to give Thor the opportunity to stop him, so quickly Loki wrapped his hand around the green gem to take back what was his.

No one expected another explosion, particularly not Loki but the moment his hand touched the stone he suddenly found himself hurled backwards, tumbling along the floor and not coming to a halt until he was a good football field away from the gem that still hovered there, untouched. His hand was giving off smoke and he lay unnaturally still.

Ceres rushed over to Loki, "Loki? Loki." She patted his cheek.

Loki didn't respond, in fact, he didn't have a pulse.

A cough echoed from the other side of the room as Thor aided Odin into a sitting position. The old man was looking much worse for wear, but evidently Loki had not killed him after all. "Is he dead?" questioned the king gruffly. Thor found himself gazing over to where Loki lay, a concern look in his eye despite himself.

Ceres didn't answer. Her hands were trembling. "no...no..." Ceres placed her hands on his chest, pushing her magic into him. "Come on...please..."

Odin coughed again, "Good. Let him die, it's almost too good for him."

Thor frowned, getting back to his feet to walk over to Loki now that he knew his father was alright.

"Get her away from him" Odin ordered his son, and Thor placed a hand on Ceres' shoulder to move her away.

"No!" She pushed Thor back and when she did so, it was clear she had started to cry. "Loki, loki..." She lay across his chest. "You can't... w... WE were going to go traveling again remember? You were going to show me more new worlds. Loki please." Tears fell onto his chest.

Nothing came from him, not a breath and then suddenly Thor seized Ceres by the arm and threw her off of Loki. Kneeling next to his brother, Thor raised his hammer and placed his free hand on Loki's chest as a powerful bolt of lightning came rocketing through Mijomir, down one arm and out the other, straight into adopted prince's heart.

Loki's eyes shot open as he suddenly gasped for breath and Thor stepped away again.

Odin was furious, "What have you done?! I gave you a direct order!"

"You told me to remove Ceres from him" Thor replied, turning his gaze away from his father.

"I told you to let him die!" Odin snapped, "He tried to kill me!"

"That isn't what I saw" Thor stated, "I saw him leave you, beaten but not dead so that he could reclaim what you took from him. I realize what he has done father, but if we don't give him a chance-a proper chance, how can we expect any change?"

"There is no changing by the likes of him" Odin hissed, glaring at Loki who's entire body was shaking from the ordeal.

The prince didn't know what had happened, he had won hadn't he? He was about to take back his magic and then... then... had it rejected him somehow? "w-what... did you do... to my magic?" Loki gasped, trying to sit up.

"I didn't have to do a thing" Odin spat, "You're the one who filled yourself up with a taint in it's place."

"You're ok." Ceres said, smiling. Not apporaching in fear, Thor might throw her again.

Odin found his way to his feet with the help of his staff he summoned to hand. He still wasn't looking too steady. Loki looked ready to get up and face him again but Thor put a stop to that simply by placing his immovable hammer on Loki's chest.

"And what do you intend to do with him now?" Odin demanded, "He has had his second, third, even fourth chance thanks to her" he shot Ceres a look, "What now then?"

Thor hesitated, he didn't really know, he only knew that he couldn't stand by and watch Loki perish. There was a time when Loki had made him angry enough that he thought he would let his brother die but really, when it came down to it, Thor didn't have the heart to let it happen.

Ceres quickly looked down as Odin looked at her. It reminded her too much of her true-father-...him or... someone else. She couldn't remember.

Odin walked over, plucking the green gem out of the air and threw it at Ceres, "You spoke for him, you still seem to care" he spoke with spite, "Take him then. Let you be the one responsible for his actions and see how long before he tries to kill you"

The green gem bounced off her hand and turned into a green light which wrapped around her arm and then into her gem for safe keeping.
"It's your own bitterness that caused this." She arose in a huff, "You set him down this path long before I arrived. You only have your self to blame for this outcome." She said coldly.

"You are correct" Odin stated, "I should have just let him die the moment I found him. Unfortunately, I cannot alter past mistakes. Take the wretch and let me be done with him."

A rage filled up inside of her, she marched straight up to him and a loud slap echoed through the hall. "What kind of man can say that about his own children. Adopted or not. You choose to take him in but you never looked at him as a son. A man who cannot show love to his own family... can show no love to those he rules over." She turned and headed back over to Loki. "We have what you came for. I think it's time we leave."

Had it been anyone else and had Odin not currently been in such a weak state, he might have thrown Ceres in the dungeon himself for that. He set Ceres with a steely eye instead, Odin was no fool, he had taken Loki in with the best of intentions as a child. He had in fact treated him as equal to Thor as the two grew up, "You know not of what you speak" the King's voice was filled with a deadly authority that would make the mightiest of warriors cower, "You have no knowledge of the injuries this man has dealt to me as both a father and a King. You listen to his well spun words and ignore the true facts-but this one thing you cannot ignore. The moment that Loki steps out of line, you will join his fate. Perhaps that will open your eyes to what he really is."

Thor took his hammer off of Loki's chest so that he could get up. His eyes were showing an angry red, "I find it hard to believe that you're just going to let us go" he commented.

"You are ever observant" Odin retorted, "You have five minutes to return through whatever hole you crawled out of to get here. If you make it back to Midgard, I may leave you alone. Otherwise, all of Azgard's army will be hunting you down."

"I could destroy them all right now" the red veins that crawled along Loki's skin pulsed, ready to spill blood.

"I doubt it" Odin replied, "but you could cause many deaths before your own, which is why you still have four and a half minutes."

Ceres turned her head back toward Odin, a deadly look on her face. How dare he talk back. The ground about her feet cracked with dark pink magic. "As much as I would love to prove him wrong... " Ceres said as vines began to wrap around nearby pillars. Ceres temper affecting the plants around her. "We should go."

"Hm, it might be fun though" Loki commented, but he saw the look in Thor's eyes and his cunning mind snapped to the quick realization that it would not be a good idea. "All the same, perhaps another time" he took Ceres' hand and hastened for the exit.

Far too soon they were being pursued by the guards, Loki had to cause several explosions and pull Ceres sharply into a secret little alcove to lose them. From there it was a few secret passages back to Vanaheim until they stood just outside the last portal to Midgard. Loki stopped, "go on ahead" he told Ceres.

Ceres threw a few bubbles which ensnared any guard who touch them, like a venus fly trap. Several guards looked rather confused as they rolled down the hall away from the two.

"What?" She spun around almost surprised by his words, "You can't be serious. I though you had died back there. I won't leave you. Why do you want to stay behind?"

"Because" Loki looked back at the oncoming guards, the red in his eyes was becoming darker, slowly turning black, "I want to send him a message."