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A roar of screaming outraged people rose to his ears. He smiled from behind the metal muzzle bitterly; he had come home, as a defeated criminal. Out of the corners of his deep emerald eyes he saw hateful glares, screaming mouths; he heard scornful sneers, appalled gasps, and saddened sighs.

The prisoners long black hair was unkempt and strewn about his pale face as the bulky figure of his captor trudged along behind him, one arm on his shoulder pushing him forward while the other grasped a shimmering metal hammer.

"Welcome home, brother." The one with the hammer said with dismal effort in his deep voice. The prisoner sighed quietly so that his captor did not hear. 'I am not your brother' he thought bitterly as he stared ahead at the howling citizens, walking forward in that regal room of thrones towards his judge; the ruler who would establish and declare the punishment for the lowly prisoner: that resplendent being that this prisoner had once known as a father.

The captor nudged the convict forward once more, seeing him wavering in his footsteps, until they reached the four golden thrones at the end of that kingly hall. The Allfather gazed down at the prisoner, causing him to wince slightly. It was not from hate or scorn or even sympathy in that gaze; it was the mere exposition that it was filled with disappointment. It tore at the captive's heart, bringing up emotions that had long since been tossed away. Yet as suddenly as those feelings of craved wishes for redemption had come, so then were they once again torn out of heart and mind as the captive was determined to harden his very being towards the Allfather; after all, it was he who raised him as a boy wrapped in lies.

"Thor." the Allfather acknowledged the captor with a friendly nod.

"Loki…" a sweeter voice whispered from behind Odin. The captive grimaced slightly and looked down, hoping that neither Thor nor Odin had seen.

"Heimdall has informed me of every occurrence on Midgard in the past fortnight," Odin started in a weary tone. Every Asgardian hushed their voices as their King began to speak, all turning a watchful ear to every word that was uttered from Odin's lips. Thor pulled the muzzle off of Loki's mouth and threw it on the tiled floor with a loud 'clang!'.

"For all your murderous intent," Odin's voice began to get louder and his tone thickened and became deepened.

"All your vices against the Midgardians," Loki glanced at Frigga, the wife of Odin, wishing to see how she reacted to his actions and the accusations made against them. Their eyes met, and for a slight moment, he saw disappointment and horror in those gentle eyes. It pained Loki to see her like that and he could not hold her gaze for more than a few seconds before he turned his eyes down to the gold-lined floor once again. He could not explain why yet he did not wish to ever disappoint her; in her eyes, he only sought her pride in him, some hint of love; he craved her approval, yet he was inclined to go without it, for at least awhile longer. He looked up again and a sour grin widened on his face.

"For your transgressions…" Odin's voice wavered slightly; Loki could tell he was at a loss for what to do. 'Such a tired old King, and so weak.' Loki thought to himself, almost triumphantly.

"To the dungeon with you, until further punishment has been arranged." Odin had spoken. Thor bowed jerkily and led Loki away towards the dungeon. Loki turned his head and spread another wide grin across his face as he was led away, watching Odin and Frigga's faces fall in utter disappointment in their son.

"You fool!" roared Thor, pounding a clenched fist against the harder-than-iron bars that stood between him and Loki.

"Why must you pain us so?! What have we ever done to you to make you lash out at us?"

Loki did not utter a word and instead stared at Thor with a stone cold expression.

"What could I have possibly done to have caused this?" Thor said mostly to himself than to Loki.

Loki moved his lips as if to speak but found no words utter.

After a few moments, Thor left the dungeon, glancing back at him with pity.

Silence.

Loki grabbed one of the prison bars and rested his head against it. A single tear managed to slip down his cheek before he angrily wiped it away so that the guard at the door would not see it. He leaned away from the bars and stood in the middle of his cell, running a hand through his slick black hair slowly. He stared at the guard at the door, who in turn watched him warily, and, with a grin and a few indiscernible words, vanished.