There was only one word Thor could come up with to describe the void…
It was terrifying.
It was dark and cold, and there was nothing…. Sometimes he swore he could hear echoing sounds of massive creatures, but they were too far away to see or… it was simply too dark to see them. Sometimes it felt like a big monster was right next to Thor breathing on his neck, but when he turned to check there was nothing….
Here there were no blinking stars to give optimism to the downtrodden, any rush of wind felt like a warning rather than something nice.
Thor could only imagine what it would feel like to fall in this place… Just falling, with nothing to break your fall and no way to change direction. Nothing.
And alone too… All alone in this place. It was a terrifying thought.
All Thor could do now was hug Loki tight. Loki hadn't said much… It was clear this place was getting to him as well.
It was proof enough that he wasn't complaining over Thor's over protective embrace but rather leaned further into it and held tight onto his body.
Thor had lost all sense of time, if they had been flying like this for hours or days, he was honestly clueless.
Then suddenly Loki whispered. "Thor..."
"Aye," Thor replied softly.
"Above us… There's something above us," Loki informed.
Thor nodded as he led them up, and then nearly rammed into what could only be described as a giant floating stone.
Or perhaps, the corner of a piece of land?
Thor could only try to follow the item until he reached an edge and could fly upwards again.
Then finally… finally they landed and had solid ground under their feet.
It took a while before Thor dared to let go of Loki… The fact that Loki hadn't stepped away himself told enough.
It was…. dark. They couldn't see a thing, neither of them.
But the growling sounds made it clear, they were not alone. There were creatures around them, but it was too dark to see.
And if they turned on a light… It would give away their location.
"Stay here a bit," Loki whispered and then, he turned into a massive owl… For once Thor didn't like that all of Loki's animal forms were always black!
It was dark enough, but the black color of Loki's feathers made him outright impossible to see!
Thor could only hopelessly stand as he heard the sounds of big heavy wings beating and disappearing among all the growling.
Thor was petrified, he was alone… Alone in the dark. He could not see, and didn't know how many enemies were around him.
Thor was ready to cry in relief as the sounds of wings returned and a person landed in front of him. "There seems to be some sort of building ahead," Loki whispered. "There are so many creatures though… They are everywhere."
"Is there a way past them?" Thor asked.
"No, we have to walk through," Loki informed. "Just follow my lead and… I know it's not your specialty but..."
"Trust me, I'll be as quiet as I can," Thor whispered back and Loki nodded, now getting smaller and was finally…. A black cat…. Black… Why were all of Loki's animal forms black?!
Thor tried to follow the sound of Loki's paws but… he was a cat! They weren't exactly known for making sounds!
Thor started to fumble, he started to panic, he nearly screeched calling for Loki. Then suddenly a pair of hands grabbed him, only barely did Thor manage not to scream.
"Why aren't you following?!" Loki hissed.
"I can't see you or hear you!" Thor whispered back. "What am I supposed to do?!"
"We need to do something, cats and owls have night vision but aesir do not!" Loki replied.
Thor silenced… He had an idea, but there was no way that Loki was going to like it.
"Any suggestions?" Loki asked.
"Well..." Thor hesitated. "Aesir don't have night vision but… The Jotnar do."
There was silence, stunned silence.
"They... live most of their life underground, and unlike us do not require heat so they don't bother with fires. They are creatures of darkness, erhm..." Thor hesitated.
A cold voice replied. "No."
"Loki, it's not like I can even see you anyway," Thor reasoned.
Loki's growl was low, he made a very good impression of the creatures all around them.
Thor swallowed. "Lo-Loki?"
There was quiet, then… Thor felt a hand in his own, the hand was odd though. Normally hands were warm, this one was… cold. Thor let go of a breath.
"Just… shut up and follow me," Loki whispered as he dragged Thor in the right direction.
Thor didn't say a word, he just followed Loki as quietly as he could. Careful with every step so he wouldn't trip.
It wasn't easy… Loki had quickly become impatient and Thor was really scared of falling down, yelling and then ruining everything.
They walked… For so long. But Thor did not dare even ask how far they were or how long until the building Loki had seen.
It felt like an eternity, but finally they stopped. Thor was quiet.
"We're here," Loki whispered.
Thor tried reaching out a hand and then felt what felt like a cold stone wall of some kind. "Any doors?" Thor whispered.
"You honestly want us to walk through the front door?" Loki hissed back.
"Oh." Thor realized his own stupidity.
"At least I can transport us the inches it takes to get through a wall." Loki sighed, his hand tightening around Thor's and then, they moved spaces.
Thor had to blink, everything had been black for so long, but suddenly there was a dim light… It wasn't much, but it was something. Then Thor turned to Loki and saw his blue face with ruby red eyes. Thor halted, his eyes on Loki's face. There were ridges, all across his face in an outright elegant design, ending on a round thing on Loki's forehead which almost looked like a circlet or a crown. The bright eyes shimmered in contrast with the blue skin color, paying compliments to the symbols and all complimented by his long black hair framing his elegant slim face like usual.
Thor halted, his eyes on Loki… He had been told, but he had never actually seen and couldn't help but look, he even glanced at Loki's hands and saw the nails... Black and tough as steel. More like claws than nails, Thor didn't even realize he was starring, nor that his mouth was slightly open.
Loki sneered. "You asked me to do it!" he pointed out.
"Forgive me," Thor asked, his eyes snapping back to Loki's face. The face with all the odd ridges that Thor had yet to familiarize himself with. "I have never seen it before."
"Well I hope you appreciated the look, it's not going to happen again," Loki stated as he changed back, his skin becoming its normal pale and smooth! His eyes back to their flashing green. It was almost disappointing to see the ridges go away, they were nice.
Thor tilted his head. "You didn't look that different," he commented.
Loki's eyes narrowed.
"It actually kind of suited you," Thor continued.
"Thor… Do yourself a favor and shut it," Loki asked.
"I'm sorry." Thor looked down.
Loki huffed as he turned, then he squinted his eyes, looking annoyed.
"Loki?" Thor asked.
"It was… way easier to see before," Loki finally admitted in a very reluctant voice. Just then, a moan sounded making both Thor and Loki stand straight, startled. They looked at each other and the moan sounded again.
Then they realized… at the other wall was a door, a big heavy door with just a tiny little window covered with iron bars.
Loki hesitated slightly then he walked to the door and looked inside. He froze… His already pale skin seemed to go ghostly white then he stepped backwards, now looking slightly green. He grabbed his mouth.
"What was..." Thor asked.
"Don't look in there," Loki advised, bending over.
Thor was quiet… What, what was in there? His rational self told him to listen to Loki.
Loki was not easily impressed! It was Asgard tradition to go on a hunt, and it was a basic skill to be able to skin and cut your own prey. Both Thor and Loki had done it many times, it was part of proving they were men.
Of course Loki had never seen war, at least not this younger Loki… Thor hated himself, his curiosity won and while Loki was bending over Thor turned to the small window and peered inside.
The second he had, he dearly wished he had listened to Loki's advice.
Inside was what vaguely looked like some sort of alien, except he was cut open. His chest and stomach were cut open all the way through and all of the guts had been taken out, laying across the floor but were still connected to him, pulsing.
Thor could see the alien's heart beating, fully exposed, the guts laying across the floor as big worms, a sickening black magic floating around the poor soul, keeping him alive, and then his eyes…. The man turned to Thor, shortly meeting his eyes.
The alien's black eyes were pleading, pleading for Thor to end his suffering… End the pain.
And Thor tore his eyes away, then felt the sickness within himself overwhelming him.
Loki gave him a look, the look said enough. You are an idiot, I warned you!
Yes… Yes you did. Then something else suddenly hit Thor… This was Thanos's prison! And… Loki had… Loki had been Thanos's prisoner!
Much screaming had been involved according to Nebula, so chances were… Suddenly the sickness felt ten times as bad. Thor couldn't help it.
"Thor?" Loki asked.
Thor shook his head, but his eyes were swimming, the image wouldn't go away. The same scenario, but it was Loki instead of the alien, laying there, cut open like a pig, but kept alive through magic… Thor felt it coming, there was no stopping it.
"No! Don't you dare!" Loki demanded.
It was too late, Thor ran to the corner and the contents of his stomach were released in a sickening splurge.
"Seriously?" Loki asked.
"I... I'm sorry," Thor gasped and another rush of nasty yellow substance came out of his mouth.
Loki sighed. Then he halted as he looked up. "Norns."
Thor's head raised as well, and he heard it, running footsteps.
"You idiot, you couldn't keep it down?! They heard you!" Loki hissed as he grabbed Thor's arm and pulled Thor up to his feet. "Don't know about you, but after seeing what these guys do to their prisoners I have no desire to be caught."
Thor could only nod as the world was still swimming around him.
"Come on!" Loki pulled Thor with him and once again they were on the run.
