A/N: Once I had finally mapped out how I wanted the movie timeline to change, this was the chapter that I most looked forward to writing. Take that as you will ;)

Chapter Twenty-Four – Day 184, Part II

Loki stood off to the side of the observatory, for once glad not to be the center of attention. He had never seen his father this enraged before. To be perfectly honest, it was frightening.

The Warriors Three and Sif had taken off as soon as they landed, but Loki stayed behind, watching Odin and Thor yell at each other in fascination. The two had butted heads in the past, but this was beyond compare. He had never intended for things to go this far. Either the guard he had sent to fetch the king had been too slow or Odin himself had dawdled in his rescue mission; it hardly mattered now. Thor's transgressions against Jotunheim were tantamount to a declaration of war. He had tried to speak up for his brother, but Thor had dug this hole almost entirely on his own; he would have to deal with whatever punishment Odin decided was fitting in his unwavering wrath.

It was not long at all before Loki's interest turned to horror as Odin stripped Thor of his power and title, casting him out into the universe as if he were nothing. He stared out at the fading light of the Bifrost in shock. If Odin could do that to his preferred son… Loki shuddered to think of what the king would do to him if he ever found out about his involvement.

He trailed his father in silence as he left the observatory, Heimdall resuming his post without a word. There was simply nothing to be said.

Without warning, a perfect arc of sizzling red energy burst into the sky near the palace, encasing it in a fleeting scarlet bubble of light, the sound of marble cracking following not far behind. Loki looked to his father as screams suddenly filled the air. Had the Jotuns already figured out how to retaliate? The portals were still open, after all. At the king's permissive nod, Loki raced off toward the palace, swinging onto his horse once he reached it at the end of the bridge.

It was easy enough to find the source of the commotion. An Einherjar pointed in the direction without needing to be asked, Loki pushing his horse for as far as it could go. He had to slip off the animal as he neared one of the gardens; the crowd of people was too thick to ride through. Pushing through the bystanders, Loki had to fight to regain his balance as he almost plunged into a sudden pit. What in the world? He looked around in confusion. There was a crater the size of his room several times over, the hole extending across the garden and into part of the palace. This was not something a Jotun could do.

Guards were ushering the curious courtiers away from the pit. Loki glanced around for the captain; he needed to know what had happened. He caught sight of two Einherjar dragging a third by his upper arms, but a closer look revealed that the unconscious one was unmistakably an imposter. Half of his face was extraordinarily pale; the other was burned black. White hair flopped around his face, escaping the braid at the back of his head.

"Who is this man? What happened?" he demanded of the two carrying him.

"We do not know, Prince Loki," the man on the left answered. "We heard the sound of fighting, but when we arrived, the garden had already been destroyed."

"Was anyone else injured?"

"A few people were hurt by the collapse of the walls, but Queen Frigga was outside when it happened. She has been taken to the healers already."

Not waiting for another word, Loki raced off again, pushing aside anyone in his way in his need to get to the healers. He could not lose his mother. He simply could not.

Reaching the healing room, he grabbed the first healer he could find. "Where is the queen?"

The woman regarded him kindly, but he had no patience for it. "Eir is fixing her up." She clasped his shoulder reassuringly. "She'll be fine; there's nothing to worry about."

She disengaged herself from his grip, his adrenaline crashing hard as he pulled away. He had had too many close calls today; he did not think he could take much more.

Physically and emotionally drained, Loki slid down the nearest wall to sit on the floor, too tired to look for an actual chair or the waiting room. The head healer Eir would find him out here when she was ready. After that, his plans for the evening were simple: he would make sure his mother was truly all right, he would check on Jane if only to assure himself that she had recovered from his negligence, and then he would leave the rest of the day's problems for tomorrow. He deserved that much, at least.

His heart had slowed down to a reasonable beat by the time Eir came out. She knelt down in front of him, meeting his eyes as she soothingly spoke. "You can go see her now. She hit her head out there, so we'll keep her here for a few more days, but her physical injuries were minor."

Loki softly thanked her, getting up and letting Eir lead him to his mother's recovery room. She was awake and waiting for him, grousing at Eir's reminder that she was not to get out of bed. Loki approached her side, the annoyance on her face smoothing out into a gentle smile at the sight of him. Dirt marred her skin, and her hair was a tangled mess, but she did appear to be otherwise well.

With an affectionately teasing lilt, she greeted, "So, your father did not skin you and Thor alive, I see."

Loki's heart ached with its burdens. He did not want to be the one to tell her what Odin had actually done. "And you did not get crushed by falling walls," he replied instead, his own lips finding it difficult to smile at all.

Her expression turned serious. "Is Jane all right? There was a man trying to take her away, but I don't know what happened after the red light hit us."

"Jane was with you?" he questioned slowly, icy dread pouring through his veins once more. All of that red light... He glanced up at Eir, still waiting for him at the entrance. "Did you treat the mortal girl tonight?"

The older woman shook her head. "I haven't seen her since the night she arrived."

Loki fought back against the fresh surge of rising panic. Even if she had been the source, it was possible the girl had just been uninjured. She could have slunk off before the guards arrived.

Or she could be… no, he could not bear to even think it. He had had enough of those sorts of thoughts for today. He needed to keep his wits about him.

His mother grabbed his wrist, pulling his attention back to her. "Go look for her. I'll be fine."

He nodded at her command, leaving the healers in a rush. How he wished he could fly like Thor at times.

A quick perusal of her room confirmed that Jane had not returned to its safety. Heart hammering erratically, Loki made his way back outside. The crater site had been mercifully cleared of gawkers, several Einherjar blocking off anyone who tried to get a better look. They let him pass, his dark countenance cutting off anyone who attempted to speak to him.

The hole was enormous, and the light from the stars did little to illuminate its depths. Conjuring a light to his palm, he cast it out over the hole, trying to spot anything unusual. A glint of silver caught his eye as he made his way around the perimeter. Carefully sliding down into the pit, Loki reached out for the gleaming piece of metal. His hand shook as he looked it over, recognizing his own handiwork. It was a piece of delicate scrollwork from Jane's cuffs.

He searched the area, discovering a few more shards of silver. Parts of each of them were burned dark. He clenched them in his fist, finding masochistic relief in the pain they caused as they pierced his skin.

He needed to talk to the intruder.

Loki barged into the dungeons. The intruder had been placed in a cell to await Odin's interrogation, but Loki refused to wait for him. He found the man sitting in a meditative pose, the Einherjar armor having been stripped away to reveal his dark underclothing.

"Who are you?" he demanded darkly.

The pale man opened his eyes slowly, a small but wicked smirk crossing his colorless lips. "I am Malekith. Now run along, little prince, before your father catches you down here."

Loki ignored the mocking; he had far more important things to think about. Like how the last leader of the Dark Elves who should have been dead for millennia already was alive and looking for the Aether. Was every story from his youth a falsehood? "What were you doing with the girl?"

"As I told your mother, I wanted what she had stolen. Your people are too weak to use the Aether for its intended purpose; it belongs to me."

Could this be the being that was searching for all of the Stones? Loki narrowed his eyes, assessing the man further. He certainly had the attitude of someone looking to take over the universe, yet he seemed like more of a fanatic than a mastermind. This could not be the being who had already discovered a Stone.

Oblivious to Loki's ponderings, Malekith continued, "I suppose it doesn't matter now. The Aether is free of its pitiful cage; even you mindless Asgardians should have known better than to try and contain it within a mere mortal. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did."

Loki's heart stuttered in its beat. The last glimmers of his fading hope were flickering out with every word the man said.

"I admit, I should have expected the backlash of power as the Aether freed itself from its prison. But with the suppression you had it under, I had to pull her atoms apart…" he trailed off, lips curling in satisfaction. "Perhaps if I had discovered her sooner, I could have spared her. But as I said, it matters not. The Aether will return to me, and Asgard will pay for its crimes. My people will not take kindly to my capture."

Loki could only growl back, "Then they will simply have to deal with your execution." He turned on his heel, engulfed in the overwhelming need to just get out. Pausing only to send a messenger to alert Odin of the intruder's threat, Loki aimlessly walked as far as his legs would take him. His mind was oddly blank.

He found himself at Thor's door. An odd choice for his subconscious to make – he had not needed to visit Thor's room in years. He wanted to turn away, but his whole body was just tired. Instead, he leaned his forehead against the solid wood of the door, wishing he could turn back time and start this whole awful day over.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted his internal self-flagellation. Knowing it was useless to hope these interlopers would ignore him, Loki braced himself for the unwanted intrusion.

"Loki! We've been looking for you!" Sif's voice called out loudly, making Loki cringe. Of all the people he wanted to see, she was always near the bottom of the list. Today, especially so.

"Why?" he asked simply, his tone harsh, when she said nothing further.

"We were thinking you could ask Odin to bring Thor back," came the explanation from Fandral. Loki finally broke his gaze away from the floor to face the group. Ah, so the fop had survived his impalement. Goodie. "Banishment was a little extreme, even for him."

Loki would have rolled his eyes if he had had the energy. Of course banishment was extreme; what Thor had done was extremely stupid. He may have been the one to put the idea of going to Jotunheim in his brother's head, but Thor's decision to start a war they could not possibly win in one night was entirely his own. Thor's friends were incapable of understanding that, though, so all he could do was coldly reply, "No."

Even Volstagg appeared staggered by his complete refusal. "But Loki, if the frost giants attack again, we will need him here."

"I don't care," he bit out. "Just because he would slaughter every last one of them if given the chance does not mean the king's decision was wrong."

"But he's your brother. You must do something."

"Must I?"

"Loki, please-"

"No!" Loki roared, cutting off Sif's plea. He could not take their useless words any longer. They had reignited the emotions that Malekith's words had snuffed out, fanning the flame of his anguish into an explosion of rage. "Just… I don't care! Jane is gone, and Thor's idiocy meant I wasn't here..." He took a deep breath, fighting back the hot sting of tears in his eyes. His heart once again pounded its painful refrain as it attempted to escape his chest. "He can rot on Midgard for all I care!"

He pushed away from them, eager once more to get away from everyone. They had no right to witness the overwhelming grief that threatened to drown him. He was not coping; he was not ready to cope. How could he, when the best thing in his life in an extraordinarily long time had just been taken away forever, with no warning at all?

With nowhere to go, no escape that would offer even a hint of solace, he simply took any path that was devoid of people. It was late enough that most citizens were warm in their beds, completely unaware of the dire events at the palace. He envied them for their ignorance.

But Jane hated ignorance. The thought caused him to stumble, one hand slamming against a marble pillar in the hallway as he recovered his footing. Shuddering breaths rippled through his body as he tried to push away the memory of her face so close to his, giving him the advice that had set off this entire chain of events. Even so, it was valid advice. He needed to face the truth always, no matter how much it hurt him. And there was one other truth he needed yet tonight.

Altering his course, Loki headed for the weapons vault. In all of the commotion upon his return, he had almost forgotten the strange reaction his skin had had at the touch of a Jotun. Volstagg's skin had been severely damaged by the chill of their flesh, but his own had merely turned blue. There were many possible reasons for why, but with how quickly and brutally his life had been turned upside-down today, he knew he should only expect the worst to be true. The universe was cruel and unfair, especially to him.

He touched the ice casket.

A/N: I believe my thought going into this was, "How do I take Loki's mental breakdown and crank it up to an 11?"

Also, apologies if Malekith was a bit OOC. I adore Christopher Eccleston, but not even he could save that character from blandness, so his dialogue was tough to do.