The air got colder at every step he took down the stone steps leading down to the dungeon. This was the last resort, and he was extremely reluctant to do it, to ask help from the one he had fought with only a year ago on Midgard.

But Thor Odinson still held hope for his little brother. He knew, or maybe just desperately hoped, that his sweet brother, his loyal best friend, was still inside the crazed mad man he'd become. He knew that most of Asgard except himself and his mother, thought that the idea was insane, that they believed that Loki was now lost and the evil being he had become deserved to be tortured or even executed for his crimes. He shook his head to try and forget the things that the crowd had yelled on the day of Loki's trial.

"Execute him!"

"He doesn't belong here!"

"Banish him!"

"He's a monster!"

Monster

Monster

MONSTER

He'd stood before the All-father, with his usual proud posture, his expected smirk, and an air of arrogance around him, obviously not paying attention to what his father was saying. But, as the All-father turned to the jury to decide what his adopted son's fate would be, Loki finally looked up at Thor.

He was expecting a cruel smirk from Loki, obviously mocking him, and not caring about what was going on, and that's what he got, but he saw fear, hurt and a strange sense of innocence in his piercing green eyes. Truth be told, Thor felt like he was looking down at Loki as a child, as if he'd just caused Loki to get hurt by his recklessness, which was true in some ways. They stared at each other for only a second, before Loki dropped his gaze and went back to smirking mischievously at Odin as he returned to the throne once more.

"The punishment has been decided," Odin's loud voice echoed loudly through the large hall. "Loki Odinson-" Thor clearly saw how Loki rolled his eyes ever so slightly.

"-For your grave crimes against Asgard, Midgard and Jotunheim, you are here by sentenced to life imprisonment in the dungeons of Asgard, where your magical abilities will be stripped from you, and-" Odin glanced over to where his wife and eldest son stood, "-you will not be allowed any visitors."

The smile slipped off Loki's smug face in an instant, and he clenched his fists tightly behind his back, but kept a straight face and stared into his father's eye determinately.

"Very well, father," he spat the last word harshly, "Lock me up, keep me away, maybe someday you'll find use of me, like you always planned."

"Loki, my son-" said Odin calmly, taking a step towards where Loki stood, surrounded by guards.

"I am not your son!" Loki tried to yell, but his voice was croaky and painful after having the muzzle on for so long, restricting his speech, so he hissed it instead.

Odin sighed, Loki could tell that he was disappointed in his stolen child, but he did not care, he did not care if his false father was angry with him, or enraged, or did not love him anymore. This was not the same man he had tried to please all his life, finally he saw that. Odin would never have done this to Thor. Shouted at him? Yes. Banished him? Yes. But decide his fate in trial with a jury? Keep him away from his family forever? Take away the one thing that made him great, the one thing that made him stand out? No, Odin might have been harsh with Thor in the past, but he would never do any of those things to his favourite child, the Mighty Thor, the Future Ruler of the Nine realms.

"Take him to the dungeons," he instructed the guards, with a wave of his hand, turning away from Loki with a weary look on his face.

Loki was willing to let himself be walked, or rather shoved, all the way to the dungeon. He knew that resisting was pointless, he knew that the shackles he wore restricted his magic, and he knew that he was weaker than the guards without it. He was led to the dungeons underneath Asgard, ones reserved for the evilest criminals in Asgard, which he supposed he was.

Thor hadn't known what to expect when he finally reached Loki's cell. He'd had to walk past many other cells full of prisoners to get to his brother's one, and most of them jeered and spat insults at him, obviously not overly fond of Asgard's Royal family and their laws.

"Hey, look who it is!"

"The oh-so-mighty prince!"

"You think you're so great?"

"The runt doesn't seem to think so!"

"Although he cries for you in his nightmares, such a beautiful sound!"

He gritted his teeth and kept walking, resisting the sudden urge to smash them in the face with Mjolnir for insulting the younger prince...No, no! Focus on the mission! Keep walking, keep walking, ignore them, ignore them...

Is this what Loki had to deal with when they were young?

Taunts and jeers, he never understood why they affected his little brother so much.

Now, he realises, it is because he didn't know how much it hurts, because he'd never been insulted or criticised as Loki had.

He held his breath and strode bravely (as it seemed on the outside), into Loki's prison. It was bare except for a small bed where Loki lied curled up, and asleep on top of it. He smiled slightly at the sight of Loki, the supposed-evil super villain having a peaceful nap. But he had a task to do, so he shook his brother's shoulder lightly, instantly waking him from his slumber.

"Well, that was impolite," he smirked sarcastically, rubbing his eyes, "Didn't ou-your parents ever teach you manners?"

"Loki, you are still fami-"

"Save your breath for someone who actually wants to hear your droning voice."

"Dark Elves have invaded Asgard," said Thor, getting to the subject quickly, despite the urge to smile at his brother's teasing, definitely a chance, then...

"I've heard, the guards aren't short of interesting gossip," he said, loud enough for the guards to hear, "So, is it true? Have you brought that...woman, to our realm?"

There was no point lying, he would see right through it.

"Yes, Jane is here, but if you so much as touch her, I will-"

"Empty threats Thor, but you are amusingly possessive of this Migardian, why have you brought her into the middle of a war?"

"The elves were looking for her, I needed to protect her!" Thor said angrily, but with a hint of fear in his aggressive voice, what if he'd been wrong? What if he'd just been paranoid, and had now put her in more danger than she would have been if he hadn't interfered? He tried to banish the thoughts from his head, but found that he couldn't, damn that Trickster and his way with words!

"You know, if she were to be killed-"

"ENOUGH!" Thor's bellowing voice echoed around the cell, even making himself wince a little. "I have come here, to-"

"You must be truly desperate, to come to me for help." Loki smiled smugly at the Golden Prince, knowing that he was in control of the discussion.

"You should know that when you betray me, I will kill you." Even Thor was surprised at the words that came out of his mouth, but kept a straight face, hoping that Loki would understand the direness of the situation.

Loki chuckled, "More empty threats, brother? You know, a future king should not have the habit of making promises he cannot keep."

"Loki," He sighed sternly, "Will you help us or not?"

Loki snickered darkly, "When do we start?"

Well, writing when I'm supposed to do something important, like homework seems to be my greatest talent, ugh, procrastinating at it's finest.

Anyway, I guess I need to to the whole, I don't own Thor or Loki :( or any marvel characters, so you know, it's now legal and you can read it, yay!