A/N: Out of curiosity, did any of you have an issue with Heimdall being played by Idris Elba? This chapter was difficult to write. I hope you like it, and please, forgive any spelling errors. Just finished reading the Bartimaeus Trilogy though! So happy!

disclaimer: I don't own Thor.

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Turning the Tides

His walls dropped the moment he left Sif and Loki. He wanted to kick something, destroy a planet, kill a race...anything to take his mind off of his brother's broken form. He was filled with frustration and fury, and any person in his way darted to the nearest wall, in order to stay out of the king's wrath. His Father was to be paraded with questions, questions that needed to be answered.

The instant the guards had caught sight of him, they'd moved away from his parents door, evidently, his tension had been thick. The two had quickly bowed their heads as he passed and pushed open the large doors.

He stopped suddenly, and let the doors close behind him.

His parents were in a heated argument, surprisingly, about Loki and his condition. Both seemed to be unaware of his presence, and he decided that it was best to keep it that way. It would be interesting to hear what his father had to say. It took a lot to contain himself, but he wanted to hear so desperately what they had to say, more preferably, his father.

"For the greater good, ha! You've sacrificed much for "the greater good," and I don't intend for Loki to be one of them! We drove him into insanity! How can we fix it with even more insanity! I see the way he looks at me, ME, his own mother, in fear and shame! Is that what you want of a son?" Frigg had cried in fear and agony.

"My son will be my son as soon as he finished his punishment for his crimes, and I don't care how gruesome they may be! He can be torn limb from limb and put back together, burned, whipped, raped, I care not about what it may be, I_we need him broken! It is the only way!" Odin had retorted.

Thor felt his insides twist, and his throat dry. All of a sudden, things were starting to make just a bit more sense to him.

With the best sense he could contain, he began to speak.

"Father, I thought that Loki had already been punished for what he had done. At least, that's what I've been told. And exactly," Thor could hardly contain his anger, "and exactly what has been done to him?"

All of a sudden, the room turned cold and silent, neither Frigg nor Odin moving. Thor looked from his mother to his father, the silence and anticipation killing him. His anger welled up, and in a loud and booming voice, he demanded answers.

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO MY BROTHER!" by now, he was breathing hard, barely able to contain his breath. The image of fear in Loki's eyes flooded his mind, it blinded him and made him enraged like a bull, and yet, his parents continued to stare.

Then, Odin finally spoke.

"As king," he began calmly, "you must know_" "I must know what?" Thor cut in harshly, "that it is okay to break the soul of one who has already been tortured?" Odin stared, eyes cold and calculating.

With this, he sighed, "Loki is a complicated subject," Odin chose his words carefully, "that must be dealt with. You may not fully understand now, but later, you will."

"No, what I see now is my younger brother cowering away from me when I try to help him! That's teaching him no lesson, that's not dealing with him at all!" Thor was fuming now, not getting any answers he wanted, suddenly, his attention turned to his mother, who was standing their and saying nothing.

"Mother, surely," his voice dropped to a pleading tone, "you've been with Loki since I've been gone, you have seen how he suffers. You must see something wrong with his treatment. You must!"

Frigg closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "And I do, Thor, I do." She turned towards Odin, and shouted at him, eyes open and inflamed with furry, "And how can you not! He's your son!"

"NOT ANYMORE, NOT YET!" Odin shouted, his voice ringing through the room, "I will deal with him as I please!"

"AND WHAT DID TORTURING DO TO HIM?" Thor exclaimed, walking towards his father, "HE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR SON, HE WILL ALWAYS BE MY BROTHER. WHY MAKE HIM FEAR US!"

"That boy needs to be put in his place," Odin said sharply, leveling with his son, "it is necessary to break him in order to remind him exactly what he is!"

"And exactly what is he?" Frigg asked, she, herself now walking towards the two, "just another prisoner to let die, another frost giant to be killed?"

Odin turned away from the two, enraged, and marched towards the door leaving son and mother behind.

"Where is Loki!" he turned around quickly, and asked sharply. Thor's eyes widened, there was no way he'd allow his father to get his hands on his brother.

"I shall not tell," Thor replied coldly, voice stern and eyes focused.

Odin started and stood still, than roughly turned away and pushed open the doors, "Than I shall find out myself_GUARDS!" The two men he had allowed Thor to pass quickly came into view, "Get as many as you can to search the castle for Loki. Once he is found, bring him to the dungeon under all cost, do you understand?"

Just as the guards made to nod, Thor stopped them. "You'll do no such thing, " he said, quickly walking, "you will return to your post."

Without warning, Odin struck Thor, causing him to fly back into an approaching Frigg, and with this, the guards were off, still, under Odin's command.

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If Loki had been unraveled by the fact that Sif had been staring at him during his meal, he did a great job at hiding it. Only once did he look at her, but that was moments after his brother had left. Sif had to encourage the frightened god to actually take a bite of his food, and convince her that it hadn't been poisoned. In fact, she'd taken a bit out of a piece of toast just to prove her point.

Reluctantly, he took a bite, and after deciding he wouldn't drop down dead, he began to eat.

Sif took this time to see what had become of him since he'd been brought back to Asgard. As she looked, she became angered. Not at Loki, but at his condition. He was thin and paler than normal, his eyes were large and red rimmed, and he moved with fear. He wouldn't even eat without being reassured that he wasn't going to die.

Odin had said that his punishments had been lessened due to the fact that he was the prince of Asgard and confused, but he didn't say he'd bring him down to his knees.

As he ate, a thin hand rested on the bench next to Sif's lap. He most likely hadn't even noticed, but Sif did. Slowly, she reached for his hand, yearning to touch it and to bring some warmth into this cold time of his life. She felt that there had been so much she didn't know, but so much she needed to know. She felt that, if he allowed her, she could help. So slowly, her hand hovered above his, and the warmth of her's made contact with the coldness of his.

A thousand images flooded her mind at once.

Screams, pleads, pain, agony, all of it belonging to Loki. She saw Odin bring him down to his knees and reduce him to nothing, she saw him being tortured and defiled, while Odin stood, nodding in approval and doing nothing. She saw Loki at Odin's feet, begging him for freedom in the form of death, and she saw Odin turn away from his son and leave him to his tortures.

She smelled blood and other bodily fluids; she could taste it as well. She felt the pain he went through, physical and mental. She wanted to scream.

She could feel the despair and fear of being alone, she could hear the lies Loki was being fed, and she could see where the madness stemmed from.

And just as quickly as it began, it stopped suddenly. As she came back into her world, she was sweating and trying her best to catch her breath, her eyes watery and vision foggy. She wanted to throw up, she felt like passing out. As her vision cleared, she could see Loki, just feet away from her, his hand withdrawn from hers, his eyes wide and confused. She wanted to help.

"Loki," she said, her voice still faint from the previous visions, and then, the door's to the Hall opened.

I hope you enjoyed this. July 11, I'm going to Spain for vacation. I've never been out of the United States before (well, if you count Canada), but, I've never flown overseas! I'm so scared! Anyway, have any of you read the Bartimaeus Trilogy before? If so, I'm writing a fanfic for that! Also, if you like Harry Potter, I'm writing a fanfic for that as well, and for Hellsing! So, enjoy!