After Jorg was dressed, Tala took him into the stands, where the royal family was sitting. Jorg jumped up into a seat next to his grandfather, "This is going to be fun! What happens if someone else starts fighting in the tourney, grandpa?"

"Such would be an offence punishable by imprisonment, or death, Jorgmander." Odin explained. He frowned at the boy, "why do you ask? Surely you would not wish to face your uncle in combat, young prince."

Jorg bit his lower lip and shook his head, suddenly very worried for Auntie Gladys.

As the gates to the arena slid open, Loki could see his brother-thankfully carrying a simple longsword rather than Mjolnir-in his full battle dress. Tala was right, Thor was going to make a show out of this, and in doing so, he would wear himself out quickly. They both stepped onto the sand waving their swords above their heads at the audience; smiling broadly, Thor muttered at his brother, "sorry about this, Loki, I really am."

Loki kept his grin and hissed, "you won't be too sorry when you wake up in the healer's tent!" And made a quick, feinting slash at Thor's midsection with his sword, causing the larger man to stagger backwards. The crowd booed and hissed, but Loki didn't care-he was in this to win.

Thor roared with laughter, "good to see you back in the fighting spirit, little brother!" He charged forward, sword held above his head in both hands, and he brought it down on empty sand. Loki stood up from his dodging roll, and took another weak slash at Thor, this time aiming for his legs. His brother jumped back, avoiding the blow, but it still cost him as Loki shoulder checked Thor while running past him.

Loki smiled, the way things were going, and with how much energy Thor was investing in each blow, he would win this fight. In an entirely fair and legitimate fashion, he would win-it was something he was proud that Jorg would see.

Up in the stands, Jorg watched nervously, wishing he could warn Auntie Gladys, wishing he could tell her not to go through with the plan. But, he was also intrigued by the fight-his dad was winning, on his own. The crowd was cheering now with every feint and dodge he made, they roared with laughter as Thor staggered away from blow after blow. He was getting tired, and Loki in his lighter armor was out maneuvering every move his brother made.

GLaDOS pushed her way through the crowd to sit next to Jorg. "Your father is going to win this fight, Jorg, I know it."

Jorg looked up at her and said through a fake smile, "Yeah, and he's going to do it without any tricks. Totally honest. Fair and square."

GLaDOS raised an eyebrow. "But of course. He IS a man of his word, after all."

Jorg continued, "Because if anyone else wanted to fight in the tourney, that would be bad."

They watched as the fight between the two brothers grew more fierce, Thor was becoming infuriated by Loki's dodging, and Loki was getting cocky. Loki dodged a savage kick, and taunted his brother with another flourish of his longsword. Thor cursed and swung savagely-putting all of his waning strength behind the blow-and caught Loki in the gut with the flat of his sword. The god of mischief slammed into the wall of the arena, and slumped to the ground.

The arena was still, everyone waiting for whatever trick Loki had up his sleeve. No one could believe their eyes though. Odin was on his feet, trying to see if Loki still breathed, but from the stands, no one could tell. Thor stood panting in the center of the arena, still on guard, waiting for Loki to get to his feet-but Loki did not stir. Jorg began to sob softly into his hands-he was young, but he knew the effects of battle.

There was a quiet pause, though, as Loki shook his head and planted his sword in the sand to pull himself to his feet, The crowd roared in encouragement, and Loki staggered forward, sword held defiantly before him. Thor lowered his sword, and shook his head.

Loki snarled, and wiped the blood from his face, "I will win this, brother!"

Thor raised his sword, he would not back down from this fight either-if Loki would give it his all, then so would he. As they met again, swords clashing, there was a flash of green from the stands and Minion hit the sand with a roll, drawing the Master sword as she stood in a fluid motion. The brothers broke from their melee, and Loki caught a glimpse of Minion and gasped. Thor, however, roared, "Is this some trick? Some scheme of yours, brother?"

"I swear, on my life, Thor I did not plan this." Loki gasped, as Minion charged at his brother. He knew that the sword she wielded was powerful, and would swing the fight in her favor, regardless of Thor's skill. With a curse under his breath he charged minion, and threw his leg out into her path. Instead of faceplanting like Loki expected, Minion rolled and caught herself. Loki replanned quickly and thrust his sword out, the flat of the blade pressing against her neck, impeding her progress. The crowd was silent, and they could all hear as Loki growled: "What are you doing here? This is my fight!"

"This is OUR fight. You have to win this. For Jorg." Minion shouted, dodging around the impeding sword.

Loki stepped back, the blood running down the side of his face making his snarl even more menacing. "This is MY fight, he is my son, and I will not have you sully my honor in his eyes!"

The stands were still silent as swords rang out in the arena. Loki slashed furiously at Minion, driving her back towards the wall with every blow. He was not trying to harm her, but in his enraged state, he was unsure how long he could hold back.

"You don't understand, I have to prove this to him!" He cursed, again and spun around, to deflect a blow from Thor with his blade.

"Well you damn well don't have to prove it by killing yourself!" hissed Minion. Loki dodged another one of Thor's blows and rolled across the sand, standing up next to the wall. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath

.

"I am not killing myself." He growled at minion, wiping blood and sweat from his face. Thor was also in bad shape, Loki knew, and so he charged his brother again, scoring a thin slash across his brother's cheek and then spun away from his blow. "I know what I am doing!" he shouted, bringing his sword up again in an attempt to block Minion's blow with the Master sword.

The steel in Loki's longsword, whether by chance or tampering, broke with the blow-leaving Loki lying on the sand with the point of the Master sword inches from his face. Fi took that moment to speak up, "There is a 90% chance that a blow from the Master Sword could kill a god, Master."

"We are not here to kill anyone, Fi," Minion said, rolling her eyes. "Though I ought to beat him black and blue for being too prideful to accept my help when he needed it."

Loki reached up with a gloved fingertip, and pushed the sword away from his face. "Good job, Minion." And then laid back on the sand, "looks like Thor won this one. Again"

Thor pointed his sword at Minion, "you cost me an honest fight, Minion, what do you have to say in your defence?"

"I thought I was coming to the aid of a friend. It appears I am sorely mistaken. I was...misguided." Thor shook his head, "did Loki plan to have you fight for him, or not?" Minion shook her head, and Thor continued, "So who put you up to this? Nevermind that, actually." Thor raised his voice to a shout for the crowd, "Loki and I will just have to finish this another time!"

Loki nodded, keeping his eyes closed. "Whatever you say brother, I'm just glad your Midgardian friends weren't here to see this."

"Actually they were, Stark and Banner arrived this morning, right after you left the mead hall." Thor said in a softer voice, sheathing his sword.

"Oh."

Thor helped his brother to his feet, "I'm sure they enjoyed the fight, you really made an effort to show how much you have changed, I especially liked you shouting about 'sullied honor' and 'fighting for your son'. I thought that was brilliant."

"I meant what I said," Loki managed, gritting his teeth against the pain, "I think you broke one of my ribs."

"Here," offered Minion, uncorking a jar. A red fairy flew out and twirled in spirals around Loki before disappearing. "It's the least I can do after screwing everything up."

As though things couldn't get any worse for Loki, Stark and Banner showed up in the arena at that moment, looking pleased as punch.

"Wow, that was a fun fight," Stark laughed, "you know, I never thought it would get much better than just seeing you get your ass kicked, Loki-but you got your ass whooped by an elf girl!"

Loki opened his mouth to protest, or explain Minion's magic sword, or the strange, yet familiar magic that lingered around her-but Stark continued. "I really think that maybe you should stick to something you're good at, like, well...you're good at getting your ass kicked, so keep it up, Loki."

Loki scowled and pulled free from Thor's steadying grasp, "I'm going to go talk to my son, I have to explain some things." He limped out of the arena, still grasping his injured chest.

Fi spoke up, "there is only a 15% chance that fairy magic will work on Jotun physiology, Master. Perhaps we should direct him to a healer."

Stark raised an eyebrow at Fi, "Weird. Thor, I really think that you made a mistake."

Thor crossed his arms across his chest, he was not used to mortals accusing him of mistakes. "How, pray tell, did I make a mistake, Stark?"

"I still don't think it is a good idea letting your brother raise a child. He's pretty much the least stable person I know, and I'm friends with the Hulk! It's a recipe for disaster, and I know that Loki talks about trying to be a good parent, but-let's face it, he's not a nice guy. You're going to end up with a heartbroken nephew when Loki decides he is done being a father."

Minion had heard enough. "I have to go..." she muttered, covering her streaming eyes with one hand as she pushed her way out of the arena.

Loki sat on the edge of his bed, struggling to pull his boot off. His rib burned, even after both the fairy and the healer's magic, and it was difficult to move. He gave up on the boot and lay back on his bed, feeling broken and sad. He had promised Jorg he would win, he had promised his son a fair fight and had broken both of those promises. He closed his eyes and tried to rest, wishing that the fight had just been a bad dream.

There was a quiet knock on his chamber door, he opened his eyes but did not sit up. "Come in."

Jorg pushed open the chamber door, eyes wide and rimmed with dried tears. "Dad, are you alright?"

"I am fine, Jorg. Come here," Loki patted the bed, and Jorg hopped up next to him. "I'm sorry I lost, Jorg, certain events were out of my control."

"I know." Jorg sniffled. "I made Minion strong to help you. I didn't want to see you lose."

Loki sat up, grunting in pain, "Why would you do that, Jorg? You said that you wanted to see a fair fight. You said you wanted me to win! So why would you do something to sabotage the fight?"

Jorg bit his lower lip, he didn't want Auntie Gladys to go to the dungeons for interfering with an arena match, but he also didn't want his father to be mad at him. "I just didn't want to see you lose, because I love you."

Loki stared at his son, the boy was on the brink of tears and if he bit his lip any harder, it would be bleeding. Loki felt angry with the boy, but couldn't blame him. He was trying to use trickery to get what he wanted, and until now, that was all Loki had ever taught him. "I am very upset with you, Jorg. Minion could have been badly hurt in the arena! You have caused a great deal of trouble that your uncle and I are going to have to clean up." Loki thought hard on what to say next, and finally settled on something he knew was simple, yet effective. "Effective immediately, you are grounded. I'm going to keep a spell on you that will prevent you from using your magic, and you are going to help your uncle, your grandfather and myself as penance. I hope you learn something from this Jorg, trickery and deceit have their time and place, and this was not either. Now, help me get my boots off, please." Loki laughed and exaggerated his struggle to reach his boot for Jorg's amusement.

Jorg sniffled and then giggled at his father's antics. "OK, dad, but at the next fight, will you promise to beat uncle Thor?"

Loki smiled, "I promise, but you had better hope that you have worked your debt to me, your uncle, and your grandpa off before the fight, or you won't be going to see it."

That evening, Loki had drug Jorg away from helping Thor clean his armor and into the kitchens. The main cooking fire was out, for the first time in even Loki's memory, and the staff was gone. But, Loki had promised to be a good host, so he was taking it upon himself to see to his guests, and Tala had informed him that she and a few other of the women were in need of drinks and snacks.

"Alright, Jorg, why don't you cut up some cheese and sausages-be careful with the knife-while I prepare the drinks." Loki instructed, lighting the cooking fire with a spell to light the room. Jorg cheerfully opened up the pantry and pulled out a selection of his favorite cheeses and cured meats. Loki tapped a keg labelled "Hefeweizen" and grabbed some lemons and a box of dried blackberries from the pantry. As he mixed the fruit into the beer, he asked Jorg: "So, how is being grounded, young man?"

Jorg stabbed a slice of cheese and ate it off the knife. "It's not bad, dad-I'm just doing the same stuff as I always did."

"But, no magic- also, after you're done here, you are going straight to bed." Loki informed him, and then took a sip of the mixture.

"Wait, What!?" Jorg squeaked in surprise, "but-but it's the first night of the harvest festival, Uncle Thor s-said they would be p-playing games and singing tonight-and I don't get to go?" Jorg looked to be on the brink of tears, by Asgard tradition, this was the first year he would be old enough to join the adults for the harvest games that were held after sundown.

"Indeed, Jorg. This is punishment for what you did this morning. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if you got to do everything you wanted." Loki poured the mixture into tall glasses, and then frosted them with a touch. "Now, thank you for helping with the snacks, go say goodnight to your grand parents and then straight to bed! I will be coming to check in five minutes, and I expect you to be asleep." Loki gave Jorg a gentle push to the door of the kitchen, then added, "Don't forget to brush your teeth, either!"

As Jorg Left, Loki balanced the tray of glasses in one hand, and the tray of neatly sliced meats and cheeses in the other. With careful grace, but a slight limp, he made his way down to Tala's sitting room where the ladies were meeting. He didn't know why, but he was sure that something was wrong, and that he would be emotionally out of his depth in the room. It made him glad that he had another appointment to check on Jorg-it would be a quick escape if things got too tense.

As Loki entered the room, he saw Minion- back to her normal self- sitting on a pile of cushions amid a scattering of used tissues. The rest of the women were sitting in a protective half circle around her, nodding sympathetically at whatever she was saying. Loki noticed that GLaDOS seemed to be missing. That was strange, the AI was usually so protective of her aide it was almost comedic. He decided that this might be worth listening to after all.

"I just feel so... so USED" Minon sobbed as Loki set down the trays on a nearby table. "She told me and Jorg that we were going to HELP Loki and I ended up making him look like an idiot in front of Stark and Banner. Stark doesn't even think he's fit to raise Jorg. Oh, and Jorg! He's being grounded for transforming me when it was all HER idea!" Minion went into a fresh round of bawling as Yuffie shoved the box of tissues toward her and Lucca patted her back.

"Sssshhh, it's okay. You can stay in my room tonight if you want," offered Lucca.

"Well I'm certainly not going back to sleep with that...that heartless machine," sniffled Minion.

"Someone oughta kick her ass!" declared Yuffie, jabbing at the air.

"Indeed." Loki agreed.

Suddenly all eyes were on him. "Did I say that aloud?"

Nods.

"Well, I agree with Lady Yuffie." Loki asserted, crossing his arms across his chest, and then wincing as his hand brushed up against his broken rib. "GLaDOS has abused both my trust and the innocence of my son!"

Tala stood up, slowly, her wings outstretched and her hands out-trying to calm Loki, "Lover, calm down, we know what happened-"

He scowled back at Tala, "She made him lie to me! Jorg has never lied to me, he trusts me with everything, except for his childish secrets. But, today, after the match he told me that it was all his idea!"

"He did?" gasped Yuffie. "That mechanical monster!"

Minion was pondering. "Loki, what's the worst punishment you've ever received?"

Loki was quick to answer. "Exile. Dad always thinks up the worst punishments."

"Then let's tell Odin what she's done." Minion nodded with finality.

Moments later a pajama-clad army of females and one angry god of mischief were demanding an audience with Odin

Odin was sitting in the mead hall, laughing heartily at a story his youngest son, Balder was telling. Thor spotted Loki and his angry mob before Odin, and his jaw dropped. "So, uhh, Loki... Looks like things are looking up for you."

"I-" Loki stammered, suddenly realizing how it must look, especially since Tala's pyjamas were quite revealing. "It's not what you think-"

"Really, Loki? You just hang out with all the girls around here? You know, I always got that vibe from you-its a wonder you actually ever had a son. but, I know some women like the more, ahh, effeminate men." Stark snorted into his ale.

"STFU, Stark," snarled Minion, "Or I'll see whether or not the Master Sword can cut through your armor."

"Thank you, Minion." Loki said, trying to keep his face neutral. "And anyway, I find that being kind to women has its, ahhh, benefits per say. Now, father, there is something that has come to my knowledge that you must know. Of course, you all saw the battle this morning, and I initially was told by my son that it was his doing, but it seems he was coerced into lying to me. Minion, would you please explain everything to his majesty?"

"Your Highness," Minion bowed, "GLaDOS convinced Jorg to use his magic on me to turn me into a warrior capable of using the Master Sword. She claimed that by doing so, I would be able to help Loki win the tournament and reclaim his honor. Instead, I brought shame upon your son and ruined the tournament. GLaDOS also apparently bullied Jorg into taking the blame for all of this, and he lied to Loki, saying that it was his idea to transform me."

Stark stared at Minion for a moment, then turned to Loki "Wait, what? That robot from the convention, she's turning your son against you? That's low." Stark grabbed a mug of ale and walked over to Loki, and offered him the mug. "I had no idea. No hard feelings, eh, Loki?"

"I'm not that cheap, Stark." Loki took the mug and drained the contents, steeling himself. "Father, I know I invited that soulless machine to Asgard, but, I made a mistake in doing so; and I ask you now, for a favor. I want you to exile GLaDOS from the nine realms. Send her somewhere where she cannot use the innocent as her tools any longer. Send her so far away that she cannot come back."

Minion was weeping openly now, wondering how she could have been so foolish as to trust the insane AI, and yet at the same time wishing there was some way that it could all be made better.

Odin simply nodded.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

Minion dragged herself slowly down the hall toward the observatory, not sure what she wanted or expected to see. Poking her head into the central chamber, she saw that it was empty. No lights, no sound. Kind of the way she felt.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders from behind. "Come on," said Lucca. "Let's get some sleep."

Meanwhile GLaDOS found herself similarly sensory deprived. It was one thing to not have security cameras mounted everywhere in Asgard, but it was another entirely to not see anything at all. Where was she? Why was she there? She hadn't even felt herself move.

A cold, male voice echoed around GLaDOS, "Welcome to the Infinite Testing Dungeon you are here due to your crimes against Asgard and the royal family. If you can reach the exit of the dungeon, you will receive a full pardon. If you have any questions, I- the dungeon master- will be here to answer them."

"Is this about the Tournament? No one got hurt- well, physically that is-"

"You betrayed the trust of your companions and rival. You must pay for that."

"Fine!" snapped GLaDOS. She hated being in the wrong. "What do I do?"

"In order to exit the Dungeon you must rescue a valued member of the castle staff."

"Who?"

"You will find out." Suddenly torches sprang to life, lighting the stone and mortar corridor. It seemed to go on forever. "Testing has begun."

Loki sat on the edge of his bed, wincing as Tala unwound his bandages. "I don't know if Jorg should stay grounded, or to pardon the boy. He did not come up with the idea, but he did not argue with it either. He lied to me and he did not tell us GLaDOS' scheme to begin with." Loki ranted. He paused long enough to undo his belt and stripped off his clothes, and pulled on his silk pyjama pants. "I made the same mistake-going along with another's plan because my emotions got the better of me- and that lead to the Tesseract incident."

Tala pulled Loki back onto the bed and rubbed his shoulders. "It was you he wronged with his choice, so it is up to you to decide when he is forgiven. Perhaps, you should tell him why it is such a delicate subject for you- tell him what happened between you and Thanos." Tala hugged him from behind.

"I had hoped to spare him that horror." Loki leaned into Tala and squeezed her hand.

Tala pushed his hair aside and kissed his neck, "if you do not tell him of your mistakes then how can he learn from them?"

"You're right. But, I believe a few more days grounded and without magic will help to reinforce my lesson." He twisted around to face her and pinned Tala down on the bed. "Now, I know I didn't win the tourney, but perhaps you could still give me the prize you promised me..."

The following morning, Loki and Tala- both disheveled and looking they didn't actually sleep a wink- wandered into the mead hall, to find Jorg and Thor serving breakfast to the assembled royal family and guests.

"What are you two doing?" Loki smirked as he took a seat and poured a cup of strong, black tea.

"Uncle Thor wanted me to help him train this morning, but we found out the cook was gone.". Jorg put a scoop of scrambled eggs on a plate in front of his mother and then a considerably larger scoop on Loki's plate. "So, I made eggs and toast and tea like mom taught me to make. And uncle made sausages and bacon and oatmeal. But I think my eggs are better."

Loki snagged a sausage from a tray and nibbled it tentatively. "I agree, the eggs are much better."

Tala elbowed him playfully, "You haven't even tried Jorg's eggs yet!"

"But, that sausage was terrible. You need to learn to cook, brother." Loki looked around. "How is Minion holding up?" He paused and then hung his head dramatically, "I actually feel bad about GLaDOS. I fear we all may have overreacted."

Odin spoke up, "She will be fine, my son, I sent her somewhere where she can be in her element. Somewhere where she can be of service to Asgard. I knew you were all over reacting in your decision. You, my son, were angry and in pain, Minion felt betrayed, and Tala...well, You're a dragon-it is your nature to get over protective and aggressive over your young." Tala snorted. Odin continued, "I sent GLaDOS somewhere where she will be safe, but she also has the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons, especially about the meaning of honor and family."

"So, you only banished her to placate me?" Loki scowled at his eggs, refusing to make eye contact with his father.

Odin smiled, he knew the signs of Loki retreating into his own mind all too well, and wanted to avoid that this holiday season. "No, I banished her because she interfered with an arena battle, abused the trust of my favorite grandson and her own friend, I cannot judge if her intentions were good, but I assume they were. I, however, did not send her somewhere 'from whence she could never return' like you asked."

"Wait, " Jorg squeaked, putting down the bowl of eggs he was carrying, "you banished Auntie Gladys? Ahh! No, you weren't supposed to know that she helped!"

Yuffie poked unenthusiastically at her eggs. "Minion was...kinda upset last night. She told us all what happened with you three yesterday. I think she was mad that you were taking all the blame when it was really Glady's fault. Speaking of Minion, where is she?"

Fi, who hadn't even accepted any food but was at the table due to common courtesy, informed everyone "There is a 90% chance she is still in bed. She and Lucca have not been alone together for some time. There is a 75% chance they will feel the need to engage in-"

"Yeeeeeaaahhh, not at the table, Fi," Yuffie flipped an egg off her fork and into the sword spirit's still open mouth, effectively stopping any further conversation.

"You mean that kissing stuff?" Jorg's face screwed up in disgust. "I thought she only did that with Auntie Gladys. But then she told on her..."

"Listen, kid, Minion was just mad that Gladys got you in trouble," Yuffie explained.

"Okay..." Jorg sniffled. "I just hope she comes to breakfast soon, or her eggs will get cold."

Minion however, was not coming to breakfast any time soon. (Mostly because of the sex scene which has been removed for your reading safety. Please keep your arms and legs inside the fanfic as we proceed to the next chapter!)