He does that.

And Odette starts sending teleportation spell.

That'll take them a while; Loki's Maedhros pops back to find her.

"How goes?"

"This is a bit too laughably implausible for even the free will thing to do much, so I didn't try to convince him, just pointed out the galaxy has lots of problems the Enemy couldn't conceivably benefit from seeing him at work on and here's a teleport. The teleport will help a lot and as long as if this is real he's saving lives he won't be willing to kill himself. And maybe someday, who knows. Findekáno privately filled me in on some history. It's been four hundred fifty-five years since the rising of the Sun."

"Ugh, I was hoping the free will thing would just - work."

"It's not impossible the Enemy could figure out how to fake it, or implant memories of it having worked while it fails to work if you actually check - and he can scoop out the memories of when you check - I was convinced, but because I was already leaning that way and there was a plausible mechanism for you to have done it. Out of nowhere, no. He'll be okay. 

I am desperately curious how the halls Findekáno got me out, he can't turn people invisible or into birds."

"You didn't ask him?"

"Odette was there, I didn't want to have a - particularly emotional conversation. He mentioned that my counterpart begged Findekáno to kill him. I tried to reassure him that it was good that he hadn't, but I don't know that it was a very persuasive try. Maybe later, privately."

Sigh. "Well, I'm sure if asked he would not have wanted a slower and less jarring leadup to the Enemy being dead."

"Of course not. Thank you for that, again."

"You're welcome."

"I kind of want to go soak up four hundred fifty five years of history - Odette only just arrived - to learn how it would all have gone without you, want to come bother Findekáno with me?"

"Sure."

They go back to the fortress. It's unfamiliar, fifty miles northwest of Mithrim in a pass in the mountains. Very pretty.

Hello. You're our second extra-dimensional visitor, I take it?

That's me. Loki, ever more aptly called Godslayer.

He needed it. 

Loki arrived in our world while you were crossing the Ice. We're curious what would have happened if that hadn't. 

Sure. We crossed the Ice. We fought our way into Beleriand - Arakáno died in that battle - and marched on Angband, couldn't draw him out or break down the walls, retreated to where you all were, Lake Mithrim. Macalaure - withdrew. Left the buildings, pulled his people around the lake. I went over to confront your father, learned that he was dead and you were - presumed dead, they said. I may have said some choice things to Macalaure, they hadn't even tried - 

Anyway, we sat there across the lake glaring at each other - and learning agriculture and meeting locals, it wasn't completely wasted time, but it was not being used to best effect - for five years until I thought I had enough information and the song to pull it off -

- to get in, that is, not out -

- and then I went, and you were hanging from a cliff face, and you asked me to kill you and I drew my bow and then Manwe sent an Eagle.

I interfered with an opportunity for a Vala to be useful! Oh no!

I still have no idea what inspired him to action at that moment. Maybe he just thought the whole thing was desperately sad. Anyway, Eagle flew me up to Maedhros, I cut off his hand and flew him out. He took about a day and a half to be lucid but once he was he surrendered his family's claim on the crown, endorsed my father as king of the Noldor, taught himself to walk well enough he could make it through his part in the coronation, and then moved his brothers across the continent to minimize conflict. 

There were some battles. We won them. The most recent one was close and would have been ugly without the intervention of the first set of extradimensional visitors. 

Nod.

Huh, Maedhros says. So if we hadn't escalated he was happy to bide his time, I'd wondered - ah, he's powerful enough the orcs are practically a distraction, I think you'd eventually have lost... and we could have just fought him with swords until we had a Tesseract...oh, well. Did you and your Maedhros -

Your world seems to have nicer healing spells than ours. We're still close, though, yes.

Right.

If Odette didn't patch him up as far as he'd like I can do it - or just drop my healing spell on anyone who wants to sit through it -