Thor's boots kick up ash as he walks along the black waste lands, stepping over bones and skulls. He winces as his boot comes in contact with another hidden bone, and it cracks under his weight.
Thor and Loki walk side by side in the palace. Loki is talking with him about some form of politics that he really should be paying attention as the future king of Asgard, but all Thor can do is admire his lover's face. As he studies it, he sees the face he has known all his life, but at the same time the face of a stranger. Loki had changed so much when he found out he was a frost giant.
Thor knows it is a week journey to her keep. She has set the land against him, as she dies for anyone who comes to claim what she has laid her claims upon. He knows this week will be quite literally his living hell.
Thor does not know exactly when he felt a shift in their relationship. He and Loki had always been close, which was a well known fact. They had played together in their youth all the time. So if the brothers were a little too close on occasion, no one really suspected a thing, they were young after all.
Hel's Challenge was well known throughout the realms. It was a four day challenge held open to any who wished to participate. The contestants would have to walk The Black Scorch, home to many of the foulest monsters in all the Nine Realms. If one managed to get through the four days and make it to the other side alive, they could choose one soul to return to the land of the living with them. No one had ever made it. Thor knows this as he continues his walk through the barren wastes of Helhiem.
Thor had just slipped past the vault on his way to his favorite mead stash, located in an unused room, when he heard the voices. One he recognized instantly was Loki's, the other Odin's. Loki's voice was angry and cold, Odin's desperate? No that was not a word ever associated with the Allfather.
"So l am no more than a stolen relic locked up here till you have use of me?!" Loki's words were muffled through the stone, but the hurt and anger was there all the same. "Why do you twist my words?" That was Odin.
"You could have told me what l was from the beginning, why didn't you?!" Loki's voice had taken on a more panicked tone.
"You are my son." Was Odin's simple reply.
"Oh it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all those years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you couldn't have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" Loki's voice was full of rage, biting. Odin was silent for a long time. Suddenly the doors fly open, and Loki strides out. He stops when he sees Thor, whose heart breaks at the look on his beloved little brother's face.
"Brother-" he starts to say, but suddenly Loki is in his face screaming "I'm not your brother! I never was!" Then disappears, leaving Thor standing in the hall.
Thor stumbles and falls on his knee. He groans with the gnawing hunger pains in his stomach, and his lips split, dripping blood down his chin. Suddenly Loki is at his side, encouraging him to get on his feet. He holds out a hand, and Thor reaches to take it. He is confused when his hand falls through Loki's. Then he remembers. He remembers that day, the day Loki, his little brother, companion, and lover is died in his arms.
Thor remembers their first kiss. It was hours after the incident in the vault. Thor finds Loki sitting on the edge of the Bifrost, feet dangling over the edge. Thor sits next to him. Loki turns as if he is going to say something, but Thor pulls him until their lips meet. He is gentle, and makes it quick. He pulls back to study his brother's reaction, and finds wide green eyes staring at him in shock. Thor feels his face heat, and starts to get up, but suddenly Loki's lips are crashing with his. He pulls back at Thor and whispers
"I didn't know you felt the same." Thor doesn't even bother with a response and pulls Loki to him and they kiss passionately.
Thor stumbles along, and falls more than once. Loki has yet to reappear, but the rational part in Thor's mind knows he never was there in the first place. Thor looses track of time. Seconds turn into minutes, which turn into hours. The thing about Helhiem is that it is always dusk like, caught between the light and dark. So it is impossible to tell day from night. He feels a since of relief when he sees the black walls of Hel's fortress slowly come to focus.
Thor loves they way Loki is when he lets his walls fall. He is open and honest, and happy. They are sitting in the garden, and Loki is sleeping with his head in Thor's lap. Thor runs is fingers through his lover's inky black hair. Loki stirs, but goes not awaken yet. It is the first time in weeks he had been able to sleep without nightmares, and Thor wants him to get as much rest as he possible could. He leans down and presses a kiss to Loki's forehead, and is startled when he feels a hand in his own hair. He pulls back and finds himself ensnared in the intense open gaze of his lover. Thor bends down, and their lips meet with passion, and they share a deep long kiss. This is the last kiss they share before that fateful day.
Thor stands before Hel herself.
"You understand the rules then Odinson?" She purrs. Thor tired but determined nods.
"I accept the terms of your challenge, Lady Hel." A green light surrounds Thor and he finds himself on the outside of the Black Scorch.
Thor heard the crashes from the prison level. Loki. That was his only thought. Loki had been in the throne room protecting their mother and Jane Foster, a human friend of theirs, who had accidently stumbled upon the Ather. Jane was a scientist for SHEILD, who had required their help after their brother, Balder Thor's identical twin, had tried to kill Thor when he was banished to earth, and knocked Loki out and thrown him in the dungeons after Odin had fallen into the Odin sleep. Thor ran for the throne room. When he arrived, he saw a crumpled form at the foot of the throne. "Loki!" Thor fell to his knees beside him. There was a gash on his head that bleed, but he opened his eyes when Thor lightly touched his cheek. "Mother." Was his one word. They heard a cry of rage and grief in the adjoining room. With Loki leaned on him for support, the two limped toward the sound. Odin sat, holding their mother, Frigga, in his arms. She was limp. One look in Odin's grief stricken eye told them enough. Frigga was dead.
The Werecat leaps at Thor, who swings his hammer at it. The hammer makes contact, and the Werecat is thrown backwards, over the side of the ravine. Thor sinks to the ground, dizzy from blood loss. His eyes fall closed, and he loses consciousness.
Loki had become silent and vacant since their mother's death. He ate only when Thor encouraged him, and slept only when Thor made him. But most of the time he just followed Thor around. It was exactly the same when Balder had fallen into the void, and he had been believed dead. The weeks following had been much of the same behavior. The only thing that had snapped him out of it was when they had found out Balder still lived, but was trying to take over midgard. Balder was currently in the prisons below the castle. They stood in the throne room looking at a diagram, while Fandral explained what they knew about the attackers.
"Dark Elves." Loki suddenly says. All eyes turn to him. He still stares vacantly, but he seems a little more alert.
"Loki, the dark elves are dead." Odin says at last.
"I saw Malekith. I tried to stop him, but he got a blow on me first. Then mother." Loki looks Thor straight in the eye. Thor understands exactly what his lover is thinking at the moment.
"Father, we must take Jane to Svartalfheim-"
"No Thor. That is an order." Odin states then leaves the room. Thor meets his lover's green eyes, and knows exactly what his brother was thinking.
When Thor regains consciousness, he finds Loki sitting next to him. Thor sits up. "Loki?" The face that turns toward him is not his brother. The eyes are all white. His face is smeared with blood and dirt. The creature smiles, and reviles fangs.
"Hello Thor." The voice is Loki's but at the same time not. It is cold, detached, emotionless, and flat.
"Brother, what happened to you?" Thor whispers, tears start to leak from his eyes.
"Why brother," Loki sneers, "don't you remember? You killed me." Thor, who has managed to make it to his knees, sits down hard.
"No brother-" he begins.
"You don't remember how l begged you to stop? How you kept hitting me with that hammer of yours? How you laughed as you hit me? How you claimed you would never be seen with me? How you hated me?" Loki smiles.
"No!" Thor shouts. "You can't be real; my Loki would never say that! I would never kill you..." Thor sobs. Loki just laughs. Suddenly it a clicks into place. HIS Loki would never say those things. This was the Black Scorch talking to him now. The Scorch, not Loki. The Scorch was a cursed forest with desert parts. Understanding this, Thor stands. Loki remains sitting, but tilts his head up to look at him. His eyes are no longer the emerald shade of green that Thor loves, or the ruby red of his Jotun form, but black. Solid black, all the white gone from his eyes. The Scorch inside his lover hisses at him, and lunges. Thor swings Mjolnir at it, and it connects with the side of Loki's – no not Loki- face. The thing explodes in black ash and blood, covering Thor.
Thor, Hiemdall, and Fandral sit in a secluded room waiting for Volstagg to bring Sif and Loki to the room once their meeting with the Allfather was over. They did not have to wait long, the door opens and Loki storms in, Sif and Volstagg following.
"Brother?" Thor asks hesitantly, knowing how vicious his lover can get when he is angry. Loki glances at him. "He is keeping her locked up. He knows we are up to something. If we are going to do this, we must be careful not to get caught and act now. He told me and Sif that if we planned anything we would be held on trial for treason, publicly." This had Thor angry.
"Father has clearly lost all reasonable thought." Thor replied, "We must do this now if we are going to do it at all."
"Now is a good time, he is going down to the prison level to look at the damage, and speak to…Balder." Loki says. The room falls silent at the mention of the fallen prince. Balder had betrayed them all in his quest for power. He had been angry Thor had been chosen over him. He hadn't understood, considering they were the same age. He had plotted for the Frost Giants to enter the Vault on Thor's coordination, and had in turn sent the whole thing into madness. It was there Loki had learned of his origins, and Thor banished shortly after their first kiss. Balder had attacked Loki in the garden, breaking his shoulder in the process, and giving him a concussion which had left him unconscious for a week after.
The group then made their plans, in a hurry to leave the tension behind.
Thor continues his journey through the forest. The map Hel had given him a map to navigate the Black Scorch. The map now leads him through the Swamp. The few who have lived through the swamp were not exactly sane, so one could never be sure if they told the truth or if the stories were product of their maddened state. Thor figured he was about to find out anyway.
Sif and Loki followed the guards assigned to take Jane Foster to her room. Once they entered, Sif and Loki made their move. Within seconds all four guards were laying on the floor, out cold. "Let's go." Loki said. They meet Thor in the corridor just outside the throne room. Loki had come up with the idea to hijack the ship the dark elves had crash-landed in the throne room. Thor was confident they both could figure out how to fly the ship, though Balder was the one who always knew how to operate things like that. Loki had been against breaking him out to do so, considering last time he had wounded him and almost killed Thor. Odin had his guards watching them to make sure they were not planning anything. They came running down the hall, and Sif stepped out to do her job, allow Thor, Loki, and Jane to make it into the throne room. The three slipped away as they hear Sif's spear clash with the sword of the first guard. As they ran into the throne room Volstagg nodded to them as they ran to the ship, perused by another group of guards. No sooner had Thor figured out how to activate the ship ("no don't hit it press it gently" "I am pressing it gently, it's not working!") The guards had managed to restrain Volstagg. They then took off.
"I think you missed a column."
"Shut up!"
"They are following us." An explosion rocks the ship. "Now they are firing at us!"
"Yes thank you for the commentary brother, it is not at all distracting!" Thor runs another column over and looks at Loki, and hisses "not a word." He maneuvers the ship into the tunnel. When they emerge he doesn't turn in time and takes the head of Bor off the statue.
"Congratulations, you just decapitated Grandfather." Loki says, hiding a laugh. Thor has to crack a smile at that. "Oops?" he tries, and that makes his lover explode in laughter. "Father is going to kill us!" he manages, and continues to laugh even harder, leaving Thor no choice but to join in. Soon they were at the point where they would need to jump. They make it on the ship Fandral had prepared. The guards were close behind, and Fandral jumps aboard their ship like planned. Soon Loki is steering them toward the rock.
"Um Loki…" Thor asks, not sure if his lover was on the wrong course or just didn't see the boulder.
"If it were easy, everyone would do it." Loki replied. Before Thor could respond, they were flying through the slit.
"Tada!" Loki cries as they fly through the portal and enter Svartalfheim.
Thor had been in the Swamp days, no hours? Minutes? Seconds? It was hard to tell. Thor. He heard his name whispered from somewhere out to his left. He turned quickly, but like all the times before, the only thing he saw were shadows dancing just outside his line of sight. He could understand why people lost their minds in the Swamp. It was full of whispers and shadows that one could never be sure if they were really there or if it was their imagination. Thor. This time the whisper was to his right. He turned and again saw nothing. Thor shook himself and continued on the path. Don't leave the path. A voice that sounded like Loki whispered somewhere to his left. Yesss, stay on the path. Something else mocked. No there was nothing. Nothing at all, Thor kept telling himself in a mantra that sounded half mad. Nothing, yesss, we are nothing. Nothing whispered again. Thor forced himself to continue on. We are waiting out here. Come off the path and seeeeeeeeee. Nothing hissed. Thor shut his eyes for a moment then continued on. Nothing wants to seeeeeeeeee, comeeeeee. Thor continued doing his best to ignore Nothing. Nothing kept whispering, but Thor became tunnel versioned. He would get to the end and get his Loki back.
Thor and Loki crouched on the top of the rock, with Jane Foster, who Thor had to support by this point. Thor and Loki stood, making sure Malekith and his companions could see them. Thor made eye contact with Loki, and Loki shoved him down the hill, and leapt after him. Once at the bottom, Thor tries to summon Mjolnir, but Loki pulls his dagger out and cuts his hand off. Meanwhile Jane had ran after the brothers, and was yelling at Loki to stop. Loki grabs her and faces Malekith.
"Malekith! I am Loki of Jotunhiem! And I bring you a gift." He throws Jane at the dark elf's feet. "All I ask for in return is a good seat from which to watch Asgard burn." Malekith says nothing. Jane rises in the air with a gesture from the dark elf. The Ather then flows out from her and into him. As soon as he drops Jane, Thor yells "Loki now!" And a green glow surrounds Thor's cut limb and the illusion shatters. Mjolnir flies to the Thunder God's hand and he attacks Malekith with everything he has.
Thor is not sure when he wandered off the path. One moment his boots were clicking on the stone, the next moment they were sinking in mud. He turns and looks around, but everything looks the same. This way. Nothing whispers. Thor looks in the direction of the voice, but again sees nothing. Thor can't decide if following Nothing is a good idea, or if he should go the opposite direction. Follow usssss. Nothing whines. Thor feels his grip on reality start to fade. He is no longer sure if Nothing is real, because how can something exist when there was nothing? The thought just confuses him more. How did that make sense? He was hearing Nothing talk to him. But how could one hear nothing? Nothing meant there was an absence or something, so how was Nothing talking to him? Thor sees a rock emerge out of the fog he is pretty sure he passed before. He is tired, and frustrated. He just wants to leave this cursed Swamp. Thorrrr come play! That sounded like Loki, from when they were little. He had just been thinking about Loki. Nothing was echoing his thoughts. Echo! Memories, past, desires! Nothing agreed. Thor suddenly understood. Nothing was just an echo, reflecting off of his memories and things people had said in the swamp before. Nothing was just an echo trying to scare people, and draw them off the path to get lost in the mist and wander forever. Thor pears through the mist, and sees that same rock. Nothing had been leading him in a circle. Thor looks to his left, and sees the outline of the path. He starts toward it, and this time Nothing says nothing.
Thor looks up at Kurse and knows he cannot possible beat him. The thunder god had finally met his match, met a foe he could not smite with his hammer, nor strength. Kurse must have seen the look in Thor's face because he smiles. He lifts his fist to smash Thor again, but pauses. That was wrong. He had his opening, why wasn't he taking it? That is when Thor notices the sword sticking through his chest. Kurse turns, and Thor sees his little brother and Lover standing behind him. Loki isn't looking at him, but at Kurse, who should be dead with a wound like he just got. Instead he is standing on his feet, looking like there was not a sword sticking out of his chest. In a flash, he reaches out and grabs Loki by the shoulders, lifts him off his feet and pulls him to his chest, and the sword goes right through Loki's chest. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Thor screams. Kurse smiles, and pulls Loki off the sword, and throws him to the ground. He then reaches for the sword in his chest, but stops. Something was not right; he looks at the grenade on his belt, and sees the safety pin gone. He looks to the trickster, who spits "See you in hell monster." Then the grenade explodes, consuming him into the black hole. Thor is at Loki's side a second later, pulling him onto his lap.
"No! Oh you fool you didn't listen to me!" Thor cries.
"Yes, I was a fool." Loki whispers. "I'm sorry. Sorry for mother. Sorry for Balder. I'm sorry l didn't listen."
"That is not your fault. Hey, stay with me. Loki!" Thor is panicked, blood is pouring out of the wound, and Loki is pale, more than normal.
"I love you Thor, so much. I'm sorry. It was an honor to be a part of your kingdom, and be your lover. I love you…" Loki trails off as his eyes fall shut for the last time. Thor makes no move to hide his tears. He screams at the sky as Loki's eyes fall closed. Rain begins to poor, and thunder and lightning fight for dominance of the sky.
As Thor emerges from the Swamp, he sees the desert. The Desert is the last challenge before meeting Hel. It was a four day journey. There were no monsters, only Thor and the desert. He had to survive with no food or water for four more days. He could do this; he had to do this for Loki. Before day one was up, Thor was already having vivid hallucinations. He sees Loki and him at age 5 run in front of him, chasing each other and laughing, a few times. Day two Loki walks on his left and Frigga on his right. Take care of each other. She says, and then vanishes. Loki is silent the whole time, no matter how hard Thor tries to engage him in conversation. But that is okay, he is the silent support Thor needs to make the last stretch of the desert. On day four, a shape materializes in front of him.
"Thor." Lady Hel says.
"Hel." Thor nods back.
"I assume I know who you want to return to the land of the living with you." She snaps her fingers, and Loki materializes next to her. "Now leave my realm." With that she disappears. Loki looks at Thor, who runs and scoops him up. Loki gasps as Thor pulls him off his feet into a crushing hug. Thor then sweeps Loki fully into his arms Bridal style, and they kiss, long and hard. Sharing all the emotions words could not possibly say into one gesture. When Thor pulls back, Loki sees the tears of joy in his eyes. "Let's go home Brother." Loki whispers lovingly and the two of them are pulled through the realms to Asgard.