POV Thor
"My father was a great warrior and king. He served as the king for longer than most can remember and always put Asgard and its people first. He gave his life for us. He will never be forgotten. But our enemies still remain. The Mad Titan started this war, plunged the Nine Realms into chaos, and I will put him down and restore the peace. For Odin! For Asgard!" I shout.
"FOR ASGARD!!!" scream the crowd.
"To battle!" I shout, and we charge into the Bifrost and towards Jotunheim.
The war would end today with Jotunheim, the last holdout of enemies, meeting their fate for the previous invasion.
Timeskip
"You shouldn't have done that," my mother says to me as she cleans one of my wounds.
"Ouch," I react as she applies an ointment.
"Oh, suck it up. It's your fault for underestimating King Laufey. Your father fought him and lost his eye in the battle; even if Laufey was boosted by the Casket of Eternal Winters, it doesn't change that he is strong. Laufey and his wife were no pushovers, and you should have asked for help," my mother scolds me.
"Yes, mother," I say quietly.
"Thor, you're the King now. You cannot risk your life at this time. No matter how much you may want revenge," my mother warns.
"I have to get stronger. I am no match for Thanos. But I must avenge father," I explain with more confidence.
"Sigh. You're almost as stubborn as your father. Do you think I don't want to kill Thanos myself? Of course I do. He wiped my entire race. Vanaheim has been turned into a lifeless wasteland. But I have responsibilities to Asgard as you do. A leader must be willing to cast aside their feelings and wants to ensure those they lead can live," my mother says sadly.
"I'm sorry, mother. I... I shouldn't be so inconsiderate of your feelings. But if you didn't want me to fight, why didn't you say something?" I ask.
"The Jotun threat had to be dealt with. We were at war, and you're a new king and need something to solidify your rule and pacify the people. But I thought you would be smarter about it and not fight Laufey and his wife by yourself. If you had died, Asgard may have collapsed," my mother says angrily.
"But Loki..." I defend.
"Loki is just as likely to flee Asgard to avoid the throne as he is to take up the reins. And if you had been killed by Laufey, then despite my words, the people wouldn't accept Loki if they knew his race. The opinion of Frost Giants is at an all-time low. A revolt may happen if such news got out, at least without the support of you and me," my mother says sternly.
I keep my head low and take the scolding as I know there was no winning in this situation. Thankfully, she wouldn't ground me. Or at least I hope she wouldn't.
'Wait, didn't she ground my father that one time?'
That thought didn't help me in the slightest, as I don't fully know what that fight was about, but I do know my father was banned from the bedroom for a year. It was really sad seeing my father sleep in the library. Though Loki seemed to find it funny as he played a couple of pranks on Father and got me to take the blame.
"Thor Odinson!" my mother says angrily.
I look up with a pale face as I realise I had been spacing out.
Gulp
Before she can send her wrath down upon me, I am saved by the bell, as the Earthlings say. Though I suppose in this case I was saved by a visitor.
"My King, I bring dire news!" Heimdall says as he rushes into the room.
"What is it?" I say to get out of the dangerous situation.
"I have spotted the Shi'ar Fleet entering the Milky Way, led by Malekith," Heimdall says with a worried tone.
I don't fully get it, but my mother does.
"Oh no... Are you sure?" my mother says worriedly.
"I am," Heimdall responds.
"Can you explain what I am missing?" I ask.
"Malekith is the leader of a faction of the Dark Elves, one that our grandfather fought and banished from the Nine Realms. We learned about him during our history lessons," Loki says as he enters the room as well.
"Glad to see one of my children listened to my lectures," my mother complains.
"Why would the Shi'ar be with him then?" I ask.
"Invasion, obviously. The Shi'ar have always been our enemy, as we have prevented them from large-scale movements within the southern half of the Milky Way. Our father was the ultimate deterrent. But with his death, that deterrent is gone, which means they are coming to finish what Thanos started," Loki explained with a pessimistic tone.
"How many are with Malekith?" my mother asks.
"I believe it is an entire Imperial Fleet," Heimdall responds.
Even I understood the gravity of such an enemy force.
"Asgard... We can't beat that," my mother says with a pale face.
Everyone is silent as that settles in. I myself was uncertain about what to do. But I was king, and it was clear I was the one who had to decide what to do. Run away or fight to the death. Abandon Asgard and all the effort it took to build it, or fight to the death the warrior way. Either way, we lost.
"Brother," Loki speaks up, and I look at him.
I notice a strange smell in the air and realise that my bandages had been burnt away and the wounds had healed. But I didn't have time to think about that.
"We will fight," I say firmly.
"But we can't win," my mother warns.
"Yes, by ourselves we would lose. But we aren't alone. We have friends, allies, others who will help us if we ask for help," I say firmly.
My mother smiles at me.
"Spoken like a true king. Very well, I shall head to the Dwarves to ask for help. I suggest you go to Earth to call for aid. Loki will run things here while we prepare," my mother explains.
Loki grimaces but nods nonetheless.
"Just be quick about it. The less time I have to deal with it, the better," Loki says with a very reluctant look.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I shall be quick, brother, I promise," I say with a boisterous laugh.
POV Shift Rio
"The Shi'ar are doing what?" I say with shock.
"They're invading the Milky Way; we believe the likely target is Asgard. I know this may be a great ask, and I know that even with your help we may not win, but I want to defend my home," Thor explains firmly.
"No, no, I get that. I just find it baffling that they would move this quickly. But yes, I shall send aid. Asgard and Gaia are friends. And friends will always be there for each other," I respond firmly.
"Thank you, I shall never forget this help," Thor says with a wide smile.
"Can you tell me the route they will use?" I ask after some thought.
"Uh, I don't know the exact route they are taking, but I believe Loki should know," Thor replies.
"Okay, then I shall return to Asgard with you. Oh, and before I forget, can I kill Amora and Lorelei?" I ask while showing a video of the current prisoners.
"Huh? Oh, yes... Well, I sort of forgot to warn you about them. In the chaos of the invasion, the prison was emptied, and many nearly escaped. We killed most of the prisoners and recaptured a couple, but Amora and her sister managed to escape," Thor says with a slight bow in apology.
"It was no issue. They barely managed to ensnare a few men before a team tracked them down and beat the crap out of them. I will say that Amora may be a bit... Broken. Lucy didn't take kindly to her attempting to control me with magic and perhaps... Chopped off her limbs. I did reattach them in case you wanted them back, but I strongly prefer to kill them as mind controllers like them are scum that deserve no less than death," I explain.
Thor pauses for a moment and thinks to really consider what he should do.
"You may kill them. They killed a few Asgardians or at least were involved in their deaths when they escaped. The fact is they are destabilising factors and have committed some crimes in the past, but they are too dangerous to release. As King of Asgard, I hereby authorise you to execute them as you please. I only request that they be killed in a manner that isn't overly cruel," Thor says with a fairly Kingly aura about him.
"Very well. Their deaths will be relatively painless, as I don't have any use for them and don't want to have to waste resources on them," I answer.
I send the orders down to begin the execution. Little did I know that Lucy had intercepted that command and convinced everyone else to let her deal with them, but I was busy heading to Asgard to plan the ambush if possible.