Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, or anything else that finds its way into these pages. No disrespect intended, only homage, no profit made, only entertainment intended. If you're a fan, read it, if you don't like it, stop reading. Simple as pie.

Rating: M for Mature. Please respect the rating.

Spoilers: Possible throughout the comics and the entire MCU.

Chapter Three: Rick Rolled

"Together forever and never to part,

Together forever, we two.

And don't you know I would move heaven and earth

To be together forever with you?"

- "Together Forever," by Rick Astley

"Ahhh! The Dawn Shard! The legendary armament of King Raithwall!" It was the archaeologist, who entered the burial chamber while they were still standing staring at each other. She clapped her hands together and ogled the sarcophagus. "It's untouched! What a discovery!"

She looked up and saw them. She frowned. "What's got you all looking so thunderstruck?" she said.

"We found another weapon, Lady Peabody," Fang said, turning to her and gesturing at the hammer in Loki's hands. "It was behind a slab inside the wall."

The archaeologist's features sharpened with concern. "And you removed it? You've disturbed all the archaeological evidence!"

"We have bigger issues, My Lady," Loki said. "The hammer seems to wish not to be parted from me."

"What are you saying?" she said, frowing again. Her brows drew together so tightly they seemed to become one.

Loki made one more effort to put the hammer down. Again, it immediately flew back into his hand.

"Fascinating!" the archaeologist said, her brown eyes glinting with the light of discovery. "Would it respond so to anyone, I wonder, or is there a special connection between you? Try handing it off to someone else!"

Loki handed the hammer to Gladiolus, the largest and strongest of the group. Gladio struggled and strained, but was finally forced to release the hammer, which flew straight back to Loki's hand. "Nope, it wants you, Your Highness," he said.

"Fascinating, fascinating! I wonder if it's a matter of who touches it first, or is there some form of sympathetic resonance going on, here? What do these runes say? 'Vandr Brodir?' Hmm… evil brother of what? Or whom? And why was this here, of all places? I've found nothing in any text relating to the Dynast-King that speak of a weapon called Evil Brother."

She began to pace, chewing her knuckles between words. "That man called you 'Your Highness.' You, then, are Prince Loki, yes? I wonder if the weapon responds to your heritage. If it won't be parted from you there's no good way to test that – unless, perhaps, it can be wielded by anyone of Royal Blood."

"So I have to pawn it off on my brother? That works, he likes hammers," Loki said.

"Speaking of Royal Resonance," the archaeologist said, practically dancing on her toes, "it is said that the Dawn Shard will show proof of Royal Lineage, but no one knows exactly how that would work. Could you… touch the stone? After someone else has done so, just so we have a baseline."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not descended from the Dynast-King," Loki said. "His line died out two million years ago."

"I don't require a history lesson, young man!" she said. "You were chosen by the Crystal at your Presentation, were you not? You have the best chance of getting a reaction from Deifacted Nethicite of anyone alive."

"I already have a hammer stuck in one hand. Now you want me to risk getting a rock stuck in the other?"

"I have studied the ancient writings on the Dawn Shard extensively, and nothing suggests that it sticks to the person who touches it," the archaeologist said. "Just for the sake of historical discovery, please, do this for me."

Loki shrugged, though he didn't look happy about it. "Someone else has to touch it first, yes? Who's going to do that?"

"I shall risk it," Ignis said, and picked up the stone. There was no evident reaction. Ignis passed the stone to Loki. The stone glowed brightly in his hand as soon as he touched it.

"Fascinating!" the archaeologist said. "The Dawn Shard reacts! This is tremendous! Divinity returns to the Royal Bloodline after millions of years!"

"Easy on that," Loki said. "No one has touched the Dawn Shard since Raithwall was laid to rest. For all you know, it reacts to anyone who calls themselves Royalty. Or perhaps Royalty has nothing whatsoever to do with it, and it reacts instead to a certain individual resonance, like a sympathetic power."

"A fair point. More testing is needed. Hmm."

She snatched the stone from his hand and examined it carefully. "I will send this to the University of Asgard for testing. They should be able to find out whether it reacts to resonant powers without having it handled by millions of people."

"Excellent," Loki said, sounding bored. "Do you have any suggestions for ridding myself of this bloody hammer, or not?"

"I shall have to do some research," she said. "It must be mentioned somewhere, though finding it after such a long time is the hard part. A lot of the records from those days are lost or in very poor condition. I'll be back at the University myself in a few days. You'll be able to reach me there."

"So I'll be stuck with one hand full for a minimum of a few days. Splendid."

Loki headed for the door with a purposeful stride and the others scrambled to follow. He led them outside, and began to swing the hammer in a tight circle by the end of the handle. It was rather awkward as the handle was long, but he managed.

"What are you doing, Your Highness?" Ignis asked.

"An experiment," Loki said. "If it works, I'll meet you in the Crown City."

He threw the hammer but did not let go, and it pulled him into the air behind it, just as Mjolnir drew his brother along in its wake. "Has anybody else noticed that Loki has gotten really… risky… lately?" Prompto said. "Or is that just my imagination?"

"It's almost like he wants to get hurt," Gladio said, with a shake of his head. "He's become as foolhardy as Prince Thor."

"Ever since he came back from Elysium," Ignis said. "Whatever he feels about the things that went on during the time he was away, it certainly has changed his behavior considerably."

"Do you guys believe what Odin said about the things he did there?" Prompto said, still looking at the sky where Loki disappeared. "The Loki I know would never do things like that. Not willingly."

"We may have to accept that His Highness is no longer the Prince we know," Gladio said.

"We'd better get moving," Fang said, and shouldered her spear. "It's a long trip back."