Chapter 2

The Beginning of the End

The jump back to Asgard took longer than Thor remembered. Perhaps it was his desire to stay on Midgard, perhaps it was his reluctance to witness what was surely to follow upon their return.

Whatever it was, it snapped him back to Asgard with a rush of finality, his feet landing firmly on the bridge before Heimdall. Thor took a deep breath of Asgardian air, relishing its purity. He turned to his brother for the first time, and all of his pity, empathy, guilt, and love for him crashed down like his own hammer.

Loki stood, his hand still clasped around the Cube, his eyes closed and his stance suggesting... fear? No, Loki did not express fear. Even if he felt it. Thor had never known him to outwardly express many things. Perhaps it was simply apprehension, as he should.

"Come," Thor said, and he felt his voice fall from his lips much harsher than he had intended.

Loki dropped the Cube, letting it fall into Thor's grasp and down to his thigh, but did not move. He opened his eyes, but continued to stare down at the bridge. The jaw trap looked monstrous on him now, but perhaps it was deserving.

"A carriage awaits you, Odinson," Heimdall interjected, his gaze cast at Thor but his body aimed at Loki. Heimdall's hands rested on the hilt of his great sword, as they usually did, but they seemed poised, balanced; prepared to strike.

Thor turned to see the giant barred black carriage, one he had only ever seen sitting in the hold, waiting idle behind four large white horses. The carriage driver nodded solemnly at him and beckoned their approach.

Thor turned again to Loki and repeated himself.

"Come."

It seemed gentler this time.

Loki, as if prodded by some force, seemed to nearly fall forward, forcing every step. Thor thoroughly resisted the urge to aid him; to wrap his arm about his shoulder as he had when they were boys. He had to remind himself of the atrocities Loki had committed on Midgard—to remind himself that it could have been Jane. It made it slightly easier to lead him to the high black bars of the jailer's carriage and follow him inside.

He sat opposite Loki, who sat as still as Odin's great statues, his eyes cast out of the bars and into the sea. Thor sighed, setting the Cube onto the seat beside his leg. Loki finally moved then, his eyes flitting to the Cube for a barely recognizable moment.

Thor narrowed his eyes, pondering Loki's intentions. Did he really still harbor plans to steal it? Did he really think, after all that had happened, he could still succeed? Thor watched him as his eyes returned to the sea, thinking on Loki's motivations. Did he really hate the mortals that much? Was it hatred toward Thor, and the mortals happened to fall victim? It was all piling up, and Thor still couldn't form words.

The ride back into Asgard City took long. The horses proceeded at a brisk trot instead of a rousing gallop, as Thor usually did, and it gave him time to think. There were so many things he wanted to say to Loki. So much anger he wished to expose, so much rage. And yet, he felt so much conflicting emotion. Some part of him felt relief that his brother had returned home. Some part of him was breathing a heavy, final sigh.

Loki, on the other hand, simply sat. His breaths were shallow and morbid behind the jaw trap, and his eyes bore so much pain and anguish. His face was still scarred and cut from his skirmish with Hulk, and his shoulders hunched over in defeated misery. Thor thought long on things to say, but never decided. His words of anger were too harsh, his words of comfort abandoned too much anger.

When the carriage entered the city, the atmosphere was suffocating. People stood on balconies, out on the streets, even stepped out of shops to watch the jailer's progression. The city's streets were usually drowning in bustling movement and loud, boisterous conversation, but not then. It was a frozen, silent wasteland in which every person tried to get a glimpse of Loki's traitorous form. Upon seeing the first of them, he looked away and into the cabin, but still avoided Thor altogether.

Thor felt an overwhelming urge to scream at him, "Look at them! Look at what you've created! Look at your own kinsmen! Look at what a disgrace you are to us!"

But the words were too harsh, and Thor knew he would hear them eventually. He would hear them, but at least it would not come from his brother.

The carriage jolted to a stop in the square before the Council building. No Asgardian civilians would be waiting here. Only guards.

Thor climbed from the carriage first, stepping into the light and tossing his cloak back over his shoulders. He made sure to keep the Cube close, his fist firmly clenched on its end.

An impressive hoard of Asgard warriors waited to escort them into the Council building. Sif, Fandral, Vostagg, and Hogun among them. Thor nodded to them, but it was no time for happy reunions. They seemed to sense this as well, and merely waited, hands on their weapons, for Loki to step from the carriage.

Confusion and nostalgia washed over Thor as he beheld another escort, a young woman by the name of Sigyn. She was no warrior, nor was she a guardian. Thor paused on her as he recalled the Trials of Praff, the Games of the Horfin Ceremony. A group of nine, including Sif and the warriors, Loki, Thor, and Sigyn, had been sent on a hunt, in which game and the contestants were targets. The contestants were to hunt the largest game, but also take out all other competitors for the title of Praff. Sigyn had been a talented markswoman with a bow and arrow, but had ultimately been led into a trap by Loki's tricks.

She hadn't gone on to become a warrior or guardian as some had suspected, but instead lead the life of a noble woman, gaining the title in Midgard of "Goddess of Fidelity." Thor pondered her presence for only a moment, but cast off his suspicions as he turned back to the carriage.

He turned to find Loki still seated, his hands fallen between his legs with the weight of the manacles Stark had created. Thor stepped closer, and found that Loki's whole form was shaking.

Thor's resolve cracked. His pity overwhelmed his anger.

"Come, Loki," Thor said, using Loki's name for the first time since Midgard. "The Council will not meet today. Your fate is not to be decided immediately."

Thor had never witnessed a proceeding of this caliber before, but he knew that, by tradition, the Council would gather alone first, then face the accused.

Loki did not seem reassured. In fact, he didn't even react to Thor's statement. Thor sighed, reaching into the cabin and grasping the long chain connecting Loki's wrists. He did not begin to pull him from the carriage, but raised them to let him know that he would.

Loki slumped from the carriage like poured wine cascading over the edges. Thor continued to hold the chains. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that Loki might collapse at any moment, and he wanted to have a hold of him, even if it was by a long strand of chains.

The guards fell into place around them, the whole procession making its way into the wide open doors of the gold council building. Just as Thor had expected, each of the twelve seats lining the high wall of the circular building was empty, with the exception of one.

Odin sat somberly with his scepter, his one eye falling immensely on Loki. Loki didn't dare look up at him.

The procession led him to the center of the empty circle, stopping when Loki was directly centered atop the golden star inlaid into the bricks of the floor. Only then did Odin's statuesque form rise, and he did so slowly.

"Loki..." Odin began, and Thor was forced to look sideways at his brother as Loki shuddered. "Odinson."

Thor silently thanked his father for the traditional name. Calling him Laufeyson would only be a slap in the face. Although he deserved such a slap.

"Your crimes against Midgard and its allied brother Thor are grievous, and Asgard will not look past them," Odin began in a monotone. Thor continued to watch Loki, who was trying very hard not to react. His eyes were intensely studying the golden tiles at his feet, and his fingers groped at the chains on his wrists.

"To-morrow," Odin began after a breathy pause. "The Council of Elders, along with myself, will meet here to decide your fate. Escort of Nobles, you will see to it that he is taken to the hold for the night and imprisoned. That is all."

The address was cold and distanced, and Thor could see that Loki was distressed. If Odin would not address him as his son, then his punishment would also be assigned accordingly. With little mercy.