Author's Note: OMG Has anyone seen Seether's new music video for their new song 'Same Damn Life'? Dear God that song is so good. Love Seether so much. The video is HALARIOUS. It's set in a nursing home. OMG new favorite song now.

Along from their song Country Song that is. That music video is halarious too. AWOLNATION's 'Kill Your Heroes' will always be my #1 though. Sort of have a crush on their lead singer Aaron Bruno. Blond with blue eyes and handsome. *sigh* ;).

Hey. Anyone know what's up with the new FFN docs? No more spellcheck. Or is it just my computer? It's kinda old. Don't like this. Must find a site with spellcheck. Grrr.

ENJOY!

Thor slid his leg out from under the rock encasing it. The Other was pacing furiously now, no longer paying attention to him. He himself had to admit that Loki and Thanos had been gone for quite a while now. He was starting to worry and had to take action now while things were in his favor. He had no idea where Odin was. He hd not seen him since the beginning of the fight, so he expected no help from the Allfather.

He held out his hand and summoned Mjolnir. Tony watched him. He was almost free of he pillar now, his arm still trapped under it. Once that was done he gave a small nod, ready to fight again along with the god. Thor took a deep breath and prepared to summon lightning to his weapon. Then he froze.

Thanos entered the room, followed closely by Loki who was clutching a bleeding hand to his chest. Then he looked at the glowing blue light in Thanos' hands and his heart dropped. Thor gripped Mjolnir tighter. He locked eyes with his brother.

"I would not do that if I were you Thor." Loki said quietly. Thor shook with rage.

"How dare you Loki! How dare you betray your people, we who are your family." Loki barely glanced in his direction. "Thor please. You must listen to me...trust me for once...please." he said. Thor forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Something in Loki's tone unsettled him.

The Other smiled as he took the Tessaract into his hands. "Oh how I have waited for this moment." he sighed with visible pleasure. He paused, frowning at the voice behind him.

"Stop! Release the Tessaract. By ancient law it is the property of Asgard." Odin called out. Tony rolled his eyes. "I mean come on, Father Time. Can you seriously have worse timing? Where the hell have you been?" the inventor demanded. Odin ignored him. The Other smiled.

"Your warrior is correct Allfather. You are too late. I have what I need now and I cannot be stopped. I can fight my way out of here if need be, but I can assure you that if I must do so then I shall kill every soldier that raises a weapon against me. I will kill their children and their wives. And then I shall return and bring the full force of my army down upon this palace once again. Would you like that Odin, Allfather of the gods?" he spat smugly.

Odin glared at him, gripping Gungnir so tightly his knuckles turned white. It was painfully clear that he had lost this battle and could do nothing about it.

The Other smiled, turning to Loki. "And now then. A deal is a deal." He waved his hand at a portion of the wall and it turned transparent before becoming a purple mirror like glass. Thor decided that now would be a good time to speak up.

"What deal does he speak of?" the god demanded. "Brother, what have you done?" he asked a bit gentler. The Other smiled. "Now, now. Do not be angry with him. It was his choice. Honestly I would have done the same thing." He leaned close to Loki's ear. "I sincerely hope that you do not take my actions personally. For they were necessary you see." Loki nodded numbly as the Other withdrew his soldiers. The Chitauri hissed and spat at the Asgardians as they passed.

"Seize him!" Odin commanded once they were gone. The god gasped, struggling against the guards that had grabbed him.

"Wait! Listen to me, please! I-" Odin scowled. "Gag him." he ordered. "And find someone to close this dammed portal." Loki struggled even harder after that, his head jerking away from the metal gag being forced over his mouth. He turned his head, eyes pleading with Thor to help him.

"Father perhaps we should see where this portal leads first." Thor suggested. The king shook his head. "It could be a trap. Or an escape route he was planning to use." Odin inclined his head toward Loki. The god shook his head, screaming against his restraints. "But father-" Odin swung his staff at him.

"Quiet boy. I have had enough of this nonsense. I have more important matters to attend to; such as the reconstruction of my kingdom. Now I wish for you to escort the prisoner down to the dungeons and have him chained. Later on your friends will be returned to Midgard where they will remain. Permanantly."

Thor looked at his brother with great saddness as Odin left them. Tears streamed down Loki's face as his eyes begged in the way his mouth could not.

"The word of the Allfather is final. Take him to the dungeons."

Tony gave a yell of pain as his shoulder was popped back into place. That gold pillar had done more damage than he'd thought. He was grateful for his suit, or else his arm would have been completely crushed.

"Fuck!" he groaned at a particuarly sharp tug. The healer ignored him and continued on to clean the cuts along his body harshly, from the metal being crushed into his skin and pierced it.

"You know you could at least try to act as if you care." he growled. He sighed as she jabbed his arm with a needle and proceeded to stitch his skin up, ignoring his plea. She gave a disgusted grunt. "You Midgardians should keep your trouble to yourself." she spat. He rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe you should learn to keep a hold on your own magical shit. The Tessaract came to us. Remember that?" He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her tense frame and tight lipped expression. He growled when she stuck him particularly hard on purpose.

"Ok, that's it! I'm good. I don't need you to use me as a freaking cadavar anymore. Probably caused more damage than there was to begin with." She glared at him as she packed her things angrily. She left, mumbling obscenities and slammed the door behind her.

Tony slowly made his way over to the mirror and inspected his back. The healer had clearly hated him with every bone in her body.

The stitches crooked and were skipped over in some places. He yelled in outrage as he turned and punched the glass with his fist. Then he cursed again as he realized it must be made of some kind of trasparent reflective metal. And he's most likely broken is hand from the way pain was radiating up his arm. "Another injury for Asgardians to fuck up." he mumbled in a pained voice. He turned as the door opened and a tall woman entered, a criclet upon her head. Oh shit.

"Uh, your majesty...I...I seriously wasn't expecting you. Sorry if I'm a bit underdressed." he stammered. She smiled.

"I heard you were in need of a healer." she said, stepping forward. He stared down at his hand which was already beginning to swell. "I guess that's one way to put it. That was quick." he mumbled. "Yes well I talked to Lial on her way out. Se claimed you acted poorly toward her." She motioned for him to sit down on the bed, then inspected his injuries. She hissed at what she saw.

"Oh gods this is just terrible. That woman shall hve to be punished for this." She tsked. Tony swallowed. "Well nothing too harsh. I mean she seemed nice enough." he said. "Why would you think we would dicipline her too harshly?" she asked. "We give just punishments to crimes as they are due." Tony bowed his head when she told him to do so.

"Thor told me about what Odin wanted to do to Loki after he attacked Manhattan. He was literally knocking on Death's Door from two different angles, and the guy still wanted to lock him up beneath the earth." Frigga took a deep breath.

"Odin was furious. He had recently banished Thor and had awoken from the Odinsleep. It was all quite stressful for him." she said.

"If you are worried I will personally oversee hr punishment. Odin will be quite busy now because of what has happened." She ran a damp cloth soaked in antiseptic fluid over his newly stitched back and arm. The she wrapped his injuries up in bandages. She conjured a bowl of ice and water and placed it on his lap.

"Leave your hand in this for a few minutes. The herbs will help with the swelling and heal any possible internal injuries." She smiled as he did what he was told.

"What?" he asked. He didn't like the way she was looking at him. "I can see why Loki likes you." she said, packing her supplies away neatly. Tony smiled. "Why do you think so?" he asked. "You are like him in some ways." He rolled his eyes. "Of course. Narcistic bastard." he grumbled. His body jerked in surprise as she took his face between her hands. He stifled his groan of pain as his stitches pulled from the sudden movement.

"He sees you as the better part of himself he believes he has lost and will never recover. I want you to help him Anthony Stark. Help my son to realize that he is perfect and loved. That every horrible thing that happens is not his to take the blame for." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"This Is the only thing I ask of you Anthony." She stood and vanished the case.

"Be good to him. He deserves more than he believes he does."

Tony made his way down the stairs to the dungeons at a pitifully slow pace. He leaned against the bannister, panting like a dog from the exertion. He slid down to sit on the stair beneath him and tried to catch his breath. Thor found him like that half an hour later, beginning to struggle his way back into a standing position.

"Friend Stark, may I assist you back to your chambers?" he asked, holding out his arm. Tony shook his head. "I..." Pant. "I need...need to see...Loki." he said, wheezing. Thor frowned. "Are you sure? You seem very much in pain. Perhaps it would be better if you rest first. I would advise you against making any hasty decisions. You are still recovering after all." the god suggested. Tony groaned.

"It's not the injuries. I think I was bruised a lot more that I thought." Tony lied. Thor eyed him skeptically, the man having used the last fifteen minutes to try and stand, ending up no better than where he'd started.

"Would you like me to carry you?" the god offered. "Seriously? You'd be ok with carrying me up and down these stairs?" he said, incredelous. "Of course. I had to do it for Loki many times during our youth. No one really knows this, but he could not handle much mead when he was young. So...do not tell him I said do." Tony's eyes widened.

"Loki actually let you carry him? I literally can't see that." he said. Thor sighed. "Back then, things were...simpler." he admitted. Tony grinned. "Very well my noble friend. Carry away." he said, holding his arms out at his sides.

Thor grunted as he lifted him. "I was wrong. You are heavier than I thought you would be." Tony glared at him, sniffing distainfully. "You callin' me fat Pikachu?" he demanded. Thor chuckled. "Of course not. I am sure it is all muscle." he said. Tony snorted.

"Damn right it is."

Loki glared at the guards as they approached him. Two held weapons and another held a long chain and a large lock. The last carried a weapon also, but it was undrawn. Each wore thick leather gloves that went up to their elbows.

He had no means of defence, as Odin had ordered that he be made to wear magic-restricting shackles, so he would have to endure the torment they had planned for him. Loki didn't see the point really since he was utterly powerless. But, he guessed Odin didn't want to take any chances. Smart man.

"Undress him." the man holding the chain said. Loki squeezed his eyes shut. "Wait." he choked out. He heard the chains rattle. "Must we have reason to cut out your tongue too, bastard?" the man asked. Loki's body jerked as he felt multilpe pairs of hands grab at his clothes.

And suddenly he was back under Thanos, begging for him to stop. He drew his limbs against his body and tried to curl himself into a ball, only to be forcefully stretched out onto his stomach.

"Please...don't." he sobbed. He didn't know what they were trying to do, but he didn't want any part of it anyway. They were careful not to touch his skin, as they knew what would happen if they did. When he was naked, they relesed him for moment and he tried to crawl away over in the corner, memories of Thanos flashing before his eyes.

"Grab him. Here, you put the chain on him Theron." Loki whimpered as thickly gloved hands grabbed him and pulled him away from the wall.

He screamed as the chain was wrapped around his leg, causing his vision to go white, agony coarsing through his body. He tried to jerk away, but, the hands on him were too strong. He kicked out at whoever had a hold on him, but, failed to free himself.

The pain increased as the chain was wrapped higher around his legs, reaching his thighs. The men were begining to have trouble holding him now, his writhing becoming even more erratic.

After the last of the chain was wrapped around his chest and locked to keep it from unraveling, the men surveyed his suffering for a moment, smiling amongst themselves.

"That should keep you entertained for a while." the first guard said. As Loki's screams continued to echo throughout the cell, they seemd to increase in volume. "Gag him." one of the men said. Loki could no longer distinguish between voices, the pain distorting his senses. "We want him to endure his punishment, not have someone come to his rescue the moment we leave."

A guard came over and put his knee into Loki's chest to keep him still as he forced a metal gag over his mouth. After the gag was put in place, they left Loki to writhe in agony from the cursed chains wrapped around his body.

The first guard turned to Theron. He held out the key. "Take this to the blacksmith. It is no longer needed."

"You know I could get used to this." Tony said. Thor snorted. "Please do not say that. I fear I shall become the target of such affections later on." Tony grinned. Thor growled as the man wriggled comfortably in his embrace.

"Yep. Definitely taking one of you big and strong Asgardan men home with me." Thor smiled. "I recommend Volstagg. Despite his size and appetite, he is quite a nimble fighter." Thor suggested. "I will take him into careful consideration then." Tony promised.

When they arrived at the last set of stairs leading down into the dungeons, Thor paused at the top. He set Tony down and surveyed the situation. The doors were heavily guarded, which was quite unusual.

"What is the meaning this? Why are there so many guards here? My brother is no threat. He is in a cell, stripped of his powers."

"We have been given explicit orders not to allow anyone entry to the dungeons." one guard said. Thor straightened to his full height, which was quite impressive. Tony was a bit jealous but would never admit it. Damn these impossibly handsome gods and their tallness.

"As prince of this realm and future king of Asgrd, I demand that you open these doors and allow my friend and myself to pass so that we may visit my brother. Now will you allow m to pass?" The guards said nothing, staring straight ahead. Thor's jaw clenched. "Answer me!" he thundered.

"I do not believe that it would be in the best interest of the prisoner to interfere with his...therapy."

Tony pushed himself away from the wall and made his way down the stairs where Thor had left him. "What kind of therapy?" the inventor asked. The guards glanced at each other. "We are not at liberty to say." the one closest to Thor said.

"Must I involve the Allfather with this matter?" he asked. "The king is already involved. It was by his order that we are here." Thor stiffened.

"What is being done to my brother?!" Thor demanded. When they didn't answer, he summoned Mjolnir. "Move or you all shall die by the power of the Mighty Thor!" he threatened. Tony whistled, having gotten down to the forth step now.

"We wouldn't want that now would we? I think you should just let the man thrugh." he said. The guard's eyes widened and they shuffled off to the side. Thor forced the heavy gold doors open and went through. He didn't even wait for Tony.

The god ran down the rows of cells, barely stopping to glance in them as he passed. None held his brother.

Near the end,Tony watched him freeze and his face contort with pure white hot rage. Thor brought his hammer down onto the golden glowing forcefield. It barely rippled under the impact. Tony quckened his pace. Something had to be very wong for Thor to get so worked up so quickly. He came to stand by Thor's side, staring into the cell with shock. He didn't even care that the gpd had left him back there.

Loki lay on the floor of the cell, writhingin agony thesmoking chains around his body caused him. Thick black fluid leaked from is mouth around the gag that had been put in place. Even more was spurting out of his nose.

Tony looked around at the patrolling guards, ignoring them. A few even dared to glare in their direction.

Tony turned back to Thor who had calmed down enough to find the button that turned the forcefield off. Thor sank to his knees beside his brother. Tony followed him in as he removed the gag and began work on the chain lock.

"What is that?" Tony asked, pointing at the chains. "Thor wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "These chains are forbidden. They have been for centuries.

"They were only used as torture devices for enemy mages during wars. Their only possible use. Many died." Tony took out a small pick and nail file. "What are you doing?" Thor asked. "Picking the lock. Unless you have the key, I don't think these are coming off." Tony cursed when the file broke. "Looks like we're gonna need the key for this one." the inventor obseved.

"I shall get it." Tony gave him a worried look when the god began yelling at the guards, demanding the key. When he was told that a guard had been seen taking a key to the blacksmith's and had it melted down, Thor almost lost it.

"Someone shall bring the Allfather to me. Immediately!" he said. Tony groaned. He really didn't like Odin that much, and now even less. He positioned Loki's head so that the black goo coming out of him wouldn't obstruct his breathing any more than it already was.

When Odin finally did arrive almost an hour later, Thor was in an even worse mood than before. After a lot of yelling and threats, mostly madeby Thor, Odin finally admitted that it had been him that gave the order to punish Loki for his treason. But he had not expected it to go this far.

"Oh really father? What did you expect?" Thor demanded. "I expected him to be whipped." Odin growled out.

When he discovered the key had been melted down, he was furious. Of course there was another, but he had given it to Frigga as a wedding present, as a sign that he would keep his promise that the chains would never be used again. Now he had to tell his queen that the promise had been broken. And that apparently she'd been lied to. Odin steeled himself for whatwas to come.

While Thor waited for his parents, he paced while Tony worked to keep Loki as comfortable as possible, even though the god wasn't even aware of his efforts. He let out a long sigh of relief when Odin returned, led by an upset but elegant looking queen. She passed the key to Tony instead.

"Here. I cannot touch those chains. I am a sorceress. They would harm me." she told him. The man nodded an rushed to undo he lock. After, he setit down d unwound the length of chain from Loki's skin. His stomach churned as he saw the damage it had done.

Underneath, the skin had been chafed raw and burned. He almost began to panic when Loki's wounds begn to bleed heavily. The god sobbed incoherently as each limb was freed, the movements painful.

"Odin, you promised me you would protect him. And now after all this has happened, you have lied to me on top of that. You told me that all of the other keys had been destroyed. Along with those chains." Odin shook his head.

"Frigga, I admit that I should have done more, but I cannot change what has been done. However, Loki attacked us with his allies and that in itself is unforgivable. He shall be healed and then remain imprisoned until I see fit to release him. If ever." Frigga glared at him.

"How dare you see that as the best option. Has he not suffered enough? What more can you do without killing him.? I will not stand here while you-" she broke off as Loki began to speak in his unconcious state and Tony told them to be quiet.

"I...I must...the children..." Tony leaned closer. "What is he saying?" the queen asked. "He said something about children..." he murmered, trying to hear what else the god was saying.

"He promised...they need me." Loki said, Tony barely catching it. Loki fell quiet after that. "Something about a promise." Tony relayed.

"Perhaps the Other had something to do with the disappearance of those Vanir children. Perhaps that's where the portal leads." She said. Thor frowned. Frigga went to her husband. "It should be investigated Odin. Perhaps you can spare a few men to go through the portal." Odin shook his head.

"All the men I have are being put to work removing the rubble from the cities and gathering up the dead civilians. With the number I have now, even sending two men would jeopardize the entire process."

"Then perhaps we can go." Thor said. Tony looked at him. "Uh...excuse me? Where exactly is this 'we'." the inventor demanded. Thor sighed. "If Loki made a deal with Thanos for his services in exchange for the children, then I find it in the best interest to do what he cannot and reunite them with their families. If I must, I will go through that portal alone." Tony swallowed.

"Well when you put it like that...I guess there's no other option."

Bruce looked around at where the portal had spit them out. "Well this is just depressing." he commented. He calmly removed Steve's hand from his ass. "Not now." he whispered. The captain looked absolutely heartbroken.

Tony pulled his faceplate up. "You're telling me. Now let's hurry up and find those kiddies before something eats Steve. He looks absolutely delicious." The soldier blushed. Tony winked at him. Bruce sighed and moved in front of Steve to cover up his goods.

"Friends, I must warn you. Aflheim is home to many dangers. This is the realm of Light and Dark elves. If my guess is correct, we are currently in an uncultivated part of the realm. So we should not encounter any of it's natives." Thor handed each of them a palm-sized stone that he had been carrying in the pouch at his hip.

"These will allow us to keep track of one another." Tony turned his over in his hand. "Hey JARVIS, what's this thing made of." There was no response. His communications functions were probably still screwed up from the battle. He'd tried to fix it earlier, but he didn't have enough equipment to fix it properly.

It was decided that Tony would go with Bruce and Steve with Thor. Steve was a bit unhappy about being seperated from his boo, but it was agreed upon that distractions were not an option at the moment.

And so they set off with strict words from Thor to stay on task.

Frigga didn't allow anyone to lay a hand on Loki, ensuring sure that anyone with a grudge against him couldn't harm him in his weakened state. There were two guards at the end of every corridor. Odin had protested at first, but what a queen wants a queen gets.

The room was kept cold for Loki's comfort and Frigga had to wear her warmest furs to endure the cold while she sat in the room.

She held her breath as she gently cleaned his wounds. She tried not to look at the older ones; the scars. It was painfully obvious they were the result of his tortuous time with his allies. When she finished, she tightened her furs around her body and ordered that a kettle of tea be brought to her. As she sipped it, she couldn't help by stare at her youngest son.

With all of these horrible things happening to him so fast, she actually couldn't believe how he withstood it. She continued to watch him sleep.

She prayed that Tony was good to her son. Loki was a complicated being and there was no telling what would happen if he snapped completely.

She feared that his attack on Midgard wouldn't even compare slightly to the damage dealt by his complete destruction.

After hours of searchimg, Tony had gotten completely restless. He activated his repulsors and flew up into the trees to take a look around. He came back to tell Bruce he was going ahead.

The scientist nodded. "Just don't go too far." he advised. Tony sighed. "OK mom. Don't get your apron in a twist." he teased. "I'll circle back in an hour, so don't go off course. " Bruce nodded and waved him on.

Tony checked the stone periodically, making sure didn't go too far off in a certain direction. Halfway through the hour, he decided to stop and get a breath of fresh air, simultaneously giving his suit a rest. He hadn't removed his faceplate in hours.

As soon as he took a deep breath, he almost gaged. There was a horrible rotting stench wafting through the air. It was quite a ways off, but he didn't think about that at the moment.

He closed his eyes, the smell bringing back memories of Afghanistan. He'd witnessed many people die there. He decided to double back. Even if his suspicions were wrong, he didn't want to face whatever that was by himself.

He quickly flew back to Bruce's side, who let out a surprised laugh. "Well you're back early." he commented. Tony lifted his faceplate. Underneath he was pale as chalk.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Tony shook his head. "I-I don't know. There's this...smell." he told him. Bruce froze. "Tony are you telling me that-."

"I don't know! I just couldn't look. Ever since Afghanistan..." He shook his head. "I couldn't look. I was hoping that if I'm right I could go back for Thor and Steve while you stayed." Bruce nodded. "OK. But-." Tony cut him off. Obviously he wasn't in the mood to talk about the matter more than necessary. "It's this way." he said, leading.

When they got to where Tony had left his stone as a reference point, they paused, neither knowing how to continue. Then the wind picked up and the small wafted their way. Bruce grimaced, struggling to remain calm.

"Oh god I hope that's an animal." Tony gasped, trying to breathe through his mouth. Bruce looked at him. "Are you ready?" he asked. Tony shook his head. "No."

When they entered the clearing they had to turn away.

There were hundreds of small bodies, decayed and lying on the ground, with quite a few hanging by their necks. All had missing limbs and were mutilated.

Tony threw up.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I know, I know. The ending isn't very Christmasy but...yeah. This extra long chapter is my gift to you. ENJOY THE HOLIDAY!