A/N: I decided to update because I'm really sad so at least wanted to help cheer you guys up. Hope this is good enough.

Lies, Disorders and Not So Brotherly Love

Chapter 24

It was only about an hour after Loki had fallen asleep that Thor followed, he had forgotten how long it had been since he had last slept himself, he was up all the night before as watch. At least this time he wasn't the one on duty – Sif had decided to take first watch and then Volstagg afterwards (considering it was both their campsite and they could see how tired Thor actually was) which left with Thor getting a full night's sleep, something which he was most grateful for. They then parted ways in the morning, going in separate directions to once again finish off their quest to which both champions were so adamant on winning.

The forest as usual was a boring sight and Loki couldn't even believe the fact that he was actually getting tired of the colour green.
"Did you sleep well Loki?" Thor asked, they were both in their usual walking positions, Thor leading at front and Loki trailing a few paces behind looking as bored as ever. It was day three now, the Trickster was getting irritated by his own lack of hygiene which he couldn't do much about. It seemed idiotic that they couldn't even bring a change of clothes – the younger prince was sure as Hel that he was most certainly going to throw these away once they got back, they weren't even worth the wash and repair.
"Enough to charge half of my magic at least," Loki replied impassively, it was hard to get into a deep and nourishing sleep when he was on hard, cold ground with blades of grass tangling into his hair and tickling his neck. Not to mention the possible danger which kept him alert and the fact that he was sleeping around others that he really wasn't so comfortable in the presence of. Loki liked his own privacy and solitude immensely, Thor was the exception he could deal with most of the time as well as his mother, everyone else just unsettled him. The fact that he had managed to get to half of his full capacity was a miracle but he supposed that it was his own natural defences kicking in as well as basic survival instincts.
"How many daggers do you have left?" The Thunderer inquired. He was lucky to have Mjolnir, a weapon that couldn't break or was possible to lose which was wonderful for both his love for smashing things (which never went well when he bashed objects with a sword – he has gotten through hundreds of swords in his youth) and the fact that he was generally forgetful and had a habit of misplacing items (e.g. His mother's birthday present, seven times, his own damn horse more than he cared to admit and even his helmet which seemed to occur on special occasions when he needed it the most...or maybe that one was Loki).
"Two," the Trickster noted having originally come out with seven he wasn't so proud of that fact. He had lost two with the wolves, one with the serpent, another he had definitely dropped somewhere in the ruins probably around the arrows and the other he had no idea, it had just disappeared. That only meant that throwing his weapons was now out of the question unless truly necessary otherwise he would have to rely solely on magic which also had a limited supply. Sometimes Loki wished he had a more permanent weapon but he was never very good with a sword, or a hammer, or an axe or really anything, the only reason why he could wield daggers efficiently was because Frigga had taught him profusely.
"I see...how are your wounds doing?" Thor glanced behind him only to watch Loki scowl.
"What is this? An interrogation? At least if you are going to talk to me say something interesting," he complained, letting his eyes wander to the glistening blue sky above them just so he didn't have to look at his brothers annoying face. He had mixed opinions about the colour blue, it was both the hated colour of his skin but was also the much loved colour of Thor's eyes. Loki didn't notice the pause in Thor's steps. The blonde's eyes widened as he stated out in front of him, "I think I see it!" He shouted with excitement.
"See what? Your intelligence?" The Trickster added with dripping sarcasm even though he caught on immediately as to what Thor was actually referring to. Loki caught up with his brother and stood next to him looking into the wide clearing to which in the centre sat a large pile of rocks with a glowing red orb placed on top sitting upright.
"I said we would win!" Thor cheered as he stepped out into the luscious light green grass that was almost sparkling a yellow in the intensity of sunlight. Loki followed behind but with caution in his step, this had to be too easy, with all the traps they had already suffered he just couldn't convince himself that there wasn't one here. His narrowed eyes searched the ground around him for any kind of indication of something being wrong, maybe a break in the grass or a strange bump in the ground.
"The Red Eye! It really does look so dazzling up close!" The God of Thunder continued to beam getting closer to the gem, he really wanted to finish this and then boast to Sif. He didn't want to wait any longer and risk one of the other teams catching up.
"The Red Eye...Red Eye...why would it be called..." Loki's attention snapped towards Thor as he was hit with a sudden realization. He noticed the semi-circle shape about a metre in front of the gemstone that had the grass lit with a faint red tinge as if the front of the gem was emanating a weak ruby light.
"Thor don't get any closer!" Loki yelled rushing forwards to try and stop Thor. His instructions were futile as Thor took a step into the semi-circle ready to reach out and grab the item but within that instant a big black circle formed inside the crimson stone and flickered to life. Thor retracted his hand with furrowed eyebrows as he watched the black spot shift around in the glass like object before it locked onto him and expanded to which the stones around began to rumble sending a heavy quake through the ground. Loki grabbed hold of Thor's shoulder with a growl and yanked him backwards until Thor faced him.
"You idiotic brute! You were supposed to approach it from behind!" Loki barked in sheer annoyance forming his hands into fists at his sides. He began to ponder the fact that maybe he was suicidal after all considering he seemed to care so much about the stupid blonde despite how reckless he was. He was almost certain that he would get himself killed saving this oaf one day.
"What? You didn't tell me!" Thor argued with an incredulous expression having not picked up on what his brother had.
"I was about to!" The Trickster hissed before his emerald irises caught sight of what was behind them. He stepped back as his gaze trailed upwards to the towering being that stood over twice the height of Thor. His chest constricted and his heart leapt in his chest extinguishing any other possible word from direct thought. The blonde soon followed as he too moved backwards to see the humanoid figure that was built up of singular rocks held together by some unseen force that allowed the being to continuously reassemble itself because of the small gaps. The glowing red gem sat in its head taking form of its eye. The rocks scraped together creating a sound that reminded them both of a rockslide as the being moved, straightening out its posture.
"Røde Øyne Rock Troll," Loki muttered under his breath, he had never seen one before in person, this was both quite spectacular and frightening at the same time.

Thor grinned as the adrenaline pumped through his veins, he raised Mjolnir into the air, "you're big, fought bigger," he announced with the pride that only a fearless champion mixed with an arrogant and reckless fool could muster up. The troll pummelled its fist downwards in aim to crush Thor beneath him. It moved deadly fast for a creature of its size and construction. The God of Thunder swung his hammer upwards with his almighty strength, the shockwave that contact made crumbled the trolls fist back into detached rocks that scattered themselves across the ground. Despite its recoil, the troll did not hesitate in its next strike – which took Thor off guard. It swiped its remaining arm at Aesir level catapulting the Thunderer as easily as swatting a fly into the surrounding trees. As Mjolnir flew from his hand and bounced across the grass, Thor hit the trunk of a large tree striking a huge crack in its base which immediately began to topple it over. The God of Thunder struggled against the floor trying to pull himself from the blow as the tree creaked loudly above him. Loki's eyes switched between the Thor and the troll as he had to make a split second decision between ensuring either his own safety or Thor's. He forced out a quick spell, a carefully aimed shockwave that hit the tumbling tree to knock it in the direction away from Thor. The bark of the tree splintered and it fell backwards knocking over a set of other trees behind it in a domino effect. Loki didn't have time to regret his decision as the trolls arm smacked straight into his chest and flung him across the opposite side of the clearing which gave him more distance before his back collided with a trunk of his own. The attack left Loki on the floor with the world blurring around him and a burning pain in his torso that forced a cold metallic liquid up his throat. The Trickster pulled himself off the floor with shaking arms and spat out the blood that was in his mouth, thankfully he hadn't broken anything. It was a perk being either Aesir or Jotun and having heightened resilience to being physically smacked around. Nevertheless the Trickster was not as well built as his brother and knew that he really had to keep his distance to avoid actually being killed. He shook away the dizziness to observe the enemy in front – he had to use his brain.

The God of Thunder picked himself up off the floor his gaze darting towards his brother to check if he was alright. After seeing him trying to regain standing position, which was a relief, he returned to face his opponent. Thor could only watch in disbelief as the rocks on the ground that used to be his second hand rolled across the grass as if the troll was a magnet and then began to reattach itself to once again form the same limb as before. The Thunderer rushed forwards holding out his hand as Mjolnir shot into it and swung again knocking the arm before it fully reformed which once more broke it into pieces. The troll lifted its foot into the air, Thor had to roll out of the way before it came crashing down beside him leaving a crater in the ground. The rocks again began to reform.

Loki scanned his mind, he knew he had come across the Troll in the book he had read right before he fell asleep. He closed his eyes picturing the page in his mind.

Røde Øyne Rock Troll
Properties:
-Between 12-15 feet tall
-Uses a red gemstone for an eye to lure victims to it.
-Is blind without its eye.
-Disguises itself as a pile of rocks when it is not attacking.
-Held together by a magic force that resides in its core.

"That's it," Loki uttered to himself. As the pain of the blow subsided Loki ran across the expanse of grass to meet up with Thor who was wildly smashing his hammer into the troll making it crumble momentarily before beginning to rebuild itself. It didn't matter how badly it broke it always pulled itself back together and each time it did it faster.
"Thor listen to me, no matter how many times you break this thing it will reconstruct itself," Loki explained with a loud but calm voice to get Thor's attention. The Thunderer glanced at him, he was breathing heavily from the physical exhaustion of having to constantly swing Mjolnir to keep incapacitating the troll. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, strands of his golden hair had stuck to his face along with dirt and fresh blood and his cerulean eyes were fierce with the rage of battle.
"Then what do we do!?" Thor boomed trying not to aim his anger at his brother because he knew he didn't deserve it but his attempts right now were futile and Thor hated an enemy that just wouldn't go down.
"The troll is held together by a magical core, it's bright blue about the size of an apple, it's imbedded in its chest. You should be able to find it from its rear as during a strike the two large stones that make up his back split and make the small core visible. If you can strike it with Mjolnir it will be enough to shatter it which will leave the troll incapable of holding itself together," Loki explicated not taking his eyes off of the troll as it began to pull itself back together. He was on edge and alert ready to move as soon as the being was close enough to its full shape, he really didn't fancy getting smacked around again.
"So it will crumble into rocks?" Thor simplified just to clarify already holding Mjolnir in an offensive position. Loki nodded. The God of Thunder blinked before detecting something else. He stilled briefly as he turned his attention to look at Loki directly who was already building up energy in his hands.
"But if it needs to attack then–?"
"Yes, I will be the distraction, now move!" The Trickster ordered. Thor was wholly reluctant and gave Loki a very apprehensive expression that told him how much he hated this idea, he should have been the one facing the troll directly not him.
"No I won't let you, this thing could kill you!" The blonde grimaced giving Loki's shoulders a shake as if to knock some sense into him. Loki scowled and pulled himself out of his brother's grip.
"Do not argue with me Thor! You think I like this plan!? Because I don't, but I cannot wield Mjolnir like you can and that is our best shot at defeating this thing!" Loki gave Thor the coldest and most demanding look he could which wasn't hard. Thor backed down but before he did what he was told he took Loki's jaw into his fingers and kissed him hard on the lips. He pulled away after a second knowing they couldn't spare the time, "please, don't die," he uttered before darting off around the rock troll until he was faced with its back to which as Loki said had a large split between the two rocks, at this point however the gap was tightly closed.

Loki inhaled deeply as he tilted his head upwards to see the towering pile of rocks that could crush him with ease. The troll locked its eye on Loki, it was a being with a very narrow attention that could focus on only one target at a time which meant Thor was safe behind it as long as Loki kept it entertained. The Trickster knew this was a going to take a lot of energy to protect himself and no matter how strong he kept his facade on the outside he was vastly intimated by the beings size. The troll lifted its arm into the air and thrust it down, Loki reacted immediately by raising his own arm which was now protected by a glowing green energy shield. The troll's fist bounced off the green glow which sparked but the tremor of its strength jolted the Trickster to the point he could feel his bones clatter, it was almost agonising but did no serious damage. He had to imbed his feet into the ground to keep stance, it actually took every ounce of his own courage to fight against the survival instinct to simply run because it hurt so much. Thor had seen the crack opening but hadn't managed to spot the blue core before it closed which only made him curse impatiently. The troll prepared another strike bringing its fist down heavily upon the shield once more. Loki winced, feeling as though an earthquake had emanated from inside his body. Despite the shield holding its shattering energy shot like an electric pulse through his own nerves setting them on fire. He was forcing the shield to stay in place because he knew that it was not made to protect from something this big, especially as he didn't have the strength to cast it fully in the first place. Thor once again had missed the location, his brother wasn't kidding when he said it was the size of an apple especially with the troll's size and having only a temporary view of the gap made it almost impossible to spot for someone who didn't know where to look.

The Thunderer could hear every blow as the onslaught began, the crumble of stone, the clash of magic being bashed and then the sound of Loki trying to hide a noise of pain. Generally he achieved his goal of remaining impassive but the occasional strike that was particularly excruciating had him slipping up and letting out either a hiss or a sharp yell. The fists came one after the other which gave Thor more time to peer into the break between the two rocks, he would sometimes get a glimpse of the blue glowing core but it would only be brief and not enough to keep its location and fire Mjolnir. The God of Thunder was bouncing on his feet unable to keep still as his frustration grew, his teeth were barred and grinding, his grip on his hammer was so brutal his knuckles looked like they would break through his skin. This fight wasn't fun. Never before he had been in a battle to which he hated.
"Thor! Hurry up!" Loki urged in desperation losing balance in his knees now holding two arms above himself his eyes settling on the shield as it began to fracture like glass. He didn't know how many more blows he could take before the green veil protecting him would shatter. He wouldn't have the energy to run. If it broke...he would die for sure. The troll swung both its fists down in its own frustration spreading the cracks on his shield with double impact. That was when Thor saw it properly, the motion of both arms completely left the gap wide with a perfect view of its core hovering right in its centre chest. Thor prepared Mjolnir aiming it in the exact spot his eyes had locked on to but before he could throw, the gap closed up again. Thor growled as viciously as a lion protecting its territory.

He waited for the next opening. The troll brought its arms down. The split opened up. Loki's shield began to shatter. Thor threw Mjolnir between the gap. The core shattered and just like that the rock troll fell backwards and scattered into rocks. Loki's green energy shield fractured into glass like pieces and plummeted to the ground as they dissolved into the air. The red eye gem rolled across the grass bumping into Thor's foot but he paid it no attention as he darted forwards to catch Loki as he fell unconscious.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this…I would really appreciate a comment if you can spare the time…they really cheer me up especially when I feel like crying D: sorry to be such an emo here.