A/N: Thank you to those who favorited/reviewed! Always puts a smile on my face.

With much love, here's the next chapter. There is some...material in here that might make some squeamish. Just a fair warning.

Loki moaned softly, dragging his body across the stone floor. With much effort, he was able to lean against a cool slab of rock, resting his head against it with a thick swallow. Every beat of his heart sent shivers of agony through his body, and a trail of blood had followed him to his seated position. Sharp gasps escaped his lips at every movement he made and he forced himself to breathe.

By the Norns, he was so very confused.

He knew not where he had fallen, or why. He knew not what creatures he was dealing with, or why they bothered with this at all. Why have any interest in him? Of what purpose did they see him serving?

He had lost track of time completely. When he had fallen through the Void, time itself had seemed to cease, but now, he could have been lying here bleeding for hours or weeks - it was all a blur. The damned collar was still strapped tightly about his throat, not only serving its intended purpose, but halting his body from any magical healing whatsoever. So he remained in a perpetual state of this...uselessness and it grated on his soul, until his body might begin to heal itself through natural progression. His demands for explanation went unheeded. The unceasing silence would have made him feel the harsh descent into madness, were it not for the lingering presence that had made a home in his mind from the first day he landed here.

The whispers came in random doses, often reviving memories he wished he could forget.

Is it madness?

Is it?

IS IT?

"What are you doing?" He asked the question already knowing the answer, and desperation leaked hatefully into his fury-driven heart. "If you destroy the bridge, you'll never see her again!" His voice was piercing, a frantic scream. Yet still it went unheeded. He stood slowly, his chest still aching from the might of Mjolnir's pressure and a blinding rage clouded his senses. Thor had to be stopped. It was all he knew, the all-encompassing driving force that controlled his fingers wrapping possessively about Gungnir, that sent him charging towards his brother with the sole intent to kill.

And even as he leaped in the air he was met with a shattering explosion so intense that it sent him flying, colors sparking madly about him as the Bifrost disintegrated.

And at first, all he knew was the terror that struck him as he fell with no control, without a way to stop himself, and his own petrified howl rang in his ears as he clutched tight to the staff that offered no protection.

Yet before he could succumb to his ever-approaching dark fate, something yanked tight and he looked above to find not only Thor's pleading eyes but Odin as well - holding tight to his firstborn, eyes misted with some mysterious emotion Loki could not decipher. And there was such a horrid hope that bloomed in his chest then, that it threatened to expand and surely kill him because Odin was saying nothing, he was not yelling or judging, just looking down upon him with that broken face and he wanted nothing more than to be pulled up and explain himself.

"I could have done it, father!" he cried out, his silver tongue choosing that moment to fail him, and indeed, his own hope and terror choke him so that he tried to say what he needed to say, but all that came out was, "For you! For all of us!"

There was not a moment's hesitation before the "No, Loki," resounded in the swirling air around him and his hope splintered into painful shards that cut him open from the inside out. And Thor's face is suddenly grinning above him and he realized in that moment what is about to happen and he tried to climb but it is too late and Thor has let go, still smiling as he falls, and the crush of betrayal is suddenly understood and he does not make a sound -

Loki howled and smashed his head against the wall behind him, bringing up his shackled hands to dig his fingers into his hair. This was not right. He felt as if he was caught between two different worlds, one the realm of nightmares and the other reality and he could not distinguish between the two.

What was the truth?

He could hear, as if he were outside of himself, his own wretched moans and the utter disgust that shot through him momentarily blinded him. Was this his fate, then? To continuously fail and suffer as a consequence of his own shortcomings? Would death surely never come to release him, to assuage his brokenness? Would he ever remain this weak, in that some outside presence could fight for his very sanity?

No.

Loki released his head and cast his eyes upward to the cold sky as stars flew by in streaks of brilliant light. Shaking fingers pressed gently against his split lips and he grinned in spite of himself. Was he so foolish? Was he so desperate for death that he would allow himself to be taken advantage of, to simply give up and give in? Was he not the most powerful sorcerer in Asgard, rivaled in skill by only the Allfather? He knew that there was a presence in his mind that longed to take over, that was fighting for him to simply comply. But something deep within would not let the intruder pass into the sanctuaries of his mind. He was somehow protected by himself, by that which had been instilled long ago when he had been abandoned or bullied or left behind.

Though his body was battered and his magic worthless, he still had his mind intact - his precious sanity. They would not take it from him. They could not.

He would fight until they tore his mind from him, but he would never give in.

"A shameful gift you would make for Death, as it were." Loki stiffened and exhaled, eyes darting this way and that. He saw nothing, but that voice had been audible. He swallowed slowly. That voice had been...different. Almost familiar. He looked above, but the walkways above were empty. His cell was most certainly unoccupied, save for himself.

And then he heard the footsteps.

They were slow, steady, sounding deliberately so. Without his permission, his breath hitched in his throat and he waited, heart slamming wildly against his chest.

"Fear not, little godling," the voice cooed with false gentleness. "Fear not." A shadow swept over his frame and upon casting his eyes upward once more, his stomach clenched with dread.

"No," he whispered and suddenly everything, everything about this made sense. By instinct, he scrambled backwards into the wall, slamming hard against it, unable to remove his gaze from the towering figure above him. He shook his head as the being smiled down at him and he stuttered over his words, his mind a jumbled mess of confusion and dawning clarity. "It's not, n-not possible, you...not real, it cannot be, you are not supposed to exist." His grin split into a wide smile and a gleeful chuckle echoed around them.

"Do you doubt what your own eyes behold? Can you surely deny my presence, when I have been with you from the start?" Loki clumsily stood, heaving from the painful effort. The chains were slick with his blood. The Being cocked his head. "Say my name." Loki's mouth clamped shut and a slight tremor worked down his spine.

How is this possible how is this possible how is

"Say my name," he growled again, though the awful smile was still plastered on his face.

"T...Thanos," he spat out and the Eternal threw his head back and howled. Loki exhaled shakily and watched as the behemoth of a creature made his way down, clad in golden armor, his eyes glowing with a fiery blue light. Loki pressed himself against the wall, mind racing and breaths frantic.

By the gods, what abhorrent twist of fate lined his path that he would fall into the arms of the Mad Titan?

"At ease, godling," Thanos soothed, stopping before him. "I come with an offer."

"No," Loki said, grimacing as broken bones shifted and wounds split and bled once more. He forced himself to stand straight. "No."

"Alas, the famed Silvertongue strikes my heart," the Eternal mocked and Loki's eyes narrowed. "You do not want to fight me, son of Odin. Heed my words."

"I am no son of Odin," Loki snarled, spitting upon the ground as the name left his lips. "I am a god. I am a prince, I am Loki."

"You are weak," Thanos stated, his voice eerily calm. "And I can make you strong." His cold eyes roamed over his body and Loki wanted to hide from his scrutinizing gaze. "You are broken. I can make you whole. You are a prince." He leaned in close then, whispering into his ear. "I can make you a king." Loki breathed heavily through his nose, and the overwhelming scream of lies lies lies echoed like gongs in his mind. "All that is required of you," Thanos continued, lips cracking into the same smile as before, "is aligning yourself with me. Declaring loyalty to me, and me alone, forever separating yourself from those who you once called family." It was here Loki stiffened and a fierce coldness swept over his entire being.

The voice. The presence.

It was intensifying, and was very real now - creeping into his mind, casting out all other thoughts in the whisper of ancient tongues. His mind was fighting the battle for control and was losing quickly. "Midgard," Thanos suddenly whispered again, drawing closer, "will be yours."

Long ago, the Mad Titan sought control over the whole of the Universe and swore his allegiance to Death

You can be whole, you can be free -

The realms will fall, the useless insects that inhabit them destroyed

A king, the rightful king, fit to rule and betrayed -

Swear yourself to me, see how your eyes may be opened to the promise of a new light

Galaxies bathed in blood, screams of agony, Asgard burning in glorious flames

BUT DEATH WILL BE PLEASED WITH YOUR SACRIFICE AND YOUR FAMILY WILL KNEEL BEFORE YOU EVEN AS THEIR BLOOD STAINS THE HALLS OF GLORY -

"No," Loki whispered, pulling desperately back, his chains pulling tight at his struggle. He threw himself against the wall, hands yanking and pulling at his hair, body practically convulsing as wave after wave of power threatened to pull him in, trap him, destroy him. "No!" he screamed, trying to turn, to resist, until his own legs failed him and he went crashing backward to the ground, limbs flailing as his head swam with voices and visions and then smashed hard into the stone below and suddenly everything

was

clear.

The sky was so luminous above him, and his breath pushed steam through the cold air. He watched it dissipate as he laid on his back, mouth slightly agape, his body trembling.

His peace and relief lasted but a moment before strong hands grabbed him roughly by the throat (cold like ice but burned like death) and he found himself face to face with the Mad Titan, his eyes shining with glee.

"So your choice has been made. You pathetic, mewling runt of a creature, worthless without your magic crutch." Loki struggled violently, desperate to be out of the grasp of his burning hands, but he clutched ever tighter. "I will make use of you yet, child. I will destroy you, re-form you, make you mine and mine alone. You do not yet know what it is you face, but believe my words true: every moment that passes, every breath you take, will only serve to further worsen your condition the longer you defy me. You think yourself a god, but you are nothing when in my hold. I alone stand above all beings in the universe because I AM GOD." The vicious sound of his laughter filled the air, loud and fierce, stronger than Thor's thunder or the power of the Bifrost. In but the next breath, the snapping of chains filled his ears and Loki longed to cover his ears because the cacophony was deafening. And it was then he found himself being dragged through the dirt by hands so powerful and overwhelming that he could not fight, could not stop it, as his struggles were like nothing more than a child's would be.

He was thrown, skidding across the planet's surface, his flesh scraping and ripping from his body until he finally stopped, heaving and shaking before scaly hands, different hands were upon him and he snarled, swinging his arms and kicking his legs. But there were so many. Far too many, those horrible creatures grabbing him, hurting him, rough fingers wrapping about his ankles and dragging him, chaining him upside-down like a beast. He swung about as a pendulum would, back and forth as they laughed and pushed him, hysterical in their mirth, and he in his anger and panic.

"Disgusting, vile monsters!" his tongue screamed of its own accord, spewing forth words that had so often been spoken out of habit. "How dare you lay hands upon a...a son of Odin! How dare you -" A fist collided with his face, cutting off his words, and then his hands were grabbed and bound to a chain in the dirt so he could no longer move, body upside-down and taut with restraint, his own blood dribbling freely from his nose and down into his eyes.

"You are nothing here, prince," someone snarled and another blow landed to his gut, knocking the air from his lungs. "No station, no rank, no societal standing will save you now." One of the creatures leaned in close and Loki could barely see through the pain-hazed effects of his vision but he was certain the thing smiled. "You think yourself above brokenness," it whispered. "How foolish you truly are." And not another word was said before a blade swung through the air, glowing hot and blazing orange down the length of his body and

he

screamed.

All the while, Thanos stood at a distance, watching and smiling as the thing's cries were drowned out by the sound of his own laughter.