A/N: I feel like I should apologize for the delay in this chapter. It was super busy at work when I came back from my holiday and then this weekend began that wonderful thing we call football season. I only live a couple hours from my alma mater so I have season tickets. While the game was fantastic, the heat was atrocious. Still recovering... ugh...

Part Three.

Green eyes fluttered open and the first thing that their owner noticed was that he was face-down against the very uncomfortable ground. Loki groaned, shifted and found himself mostly intact. He ached, but it was nothing that wouldn't wear off in an hour or two.

Blinking rapidly he was finally able to clear his vision enough to see that they had fallen perhaps fifty feet, and there was no way to climb back up in the way they'd come. The young sorcerer sighed, kicking himself mentally for allowing his emotions to rage to the point that they had taken over. Thor could be so infuriating sometimes that… He stopped, eyes flickering to the surrounding space. It was dark, but the bit of light coming through the opening in the forest floor far above them was enough that he finally found the blond prince, half buried under leaves, dirt, and an old dead tree that must have uprooted and crumbled to the ground many years before.

Thor hadn't moved, and as Loki approached him, noting the stillness, he couldn't help but feel panic bubbling. He dropped to his knees next to the elder prince, thin fingers brushing blond hair from his closed eyes and feeling warm breath when he checked. Blood was smeared on the side of his face, mixed in with his hair. He didn't appear to be lying at an awkward angle, per say, if one could be half-buried under a thousand year old dead tree and not be at an awkward angle. "Brother?" he called softly, dusting some of the dirt from him. "Thor?"

The thunderer gave a small moan, blue eyes sliding slowly open. "Loki…?"

"Can you move?"

Thor thought about it for a moment and then gave the smallest shakes of his head. "Heavy," he managed drowsily.

Green eyes blinked in surprise. "Oh," he gasped and moved to lift the log from his brother. He tugged and pulled on it, feeling it nearly slip from his grasp twice before he finally was able to shove it to the side.

Thor grimaced and rolled to his back gingerly. He held his hand up, indicating that he needed a moment as Loki crouched worriedly next to him. Finally, when he felt as though he could, he eased himself up into a sitting position, feeling the ache spread through him. He let out a slow breath and winced. "And you say I have a temper."

"I'm sorry," the trickster said as he reached a hand out as if he meant to take hold of his brother, but stopped just shy, leaving him reaching but not quite making contact. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Not really."

His brother gave him a lopsided smile and reached a hand up to catch his. "It's nothing, brother," he said and there was no hesitation in his voice. To Thor, all was forgiven so easily. Loki wished he had that gift within him.

"Can you stand? We're not going to be able to climb out, but it does seem as if we've landed in some sort of underground. It may show us a way out."

Thor grinned. "Perhaps the snake lives here."

"Do not even jest," Loki grumbled, standing and offering the elder prince a hand. Though Thor took it, he knew that he did not rely too much on the wiry trickster to pull him up.

They stood there for a moment, Thor seeming to gather his wits and take in their surroundings by looking up and all around. The thunderer frowned after a moment. "I was not aware this was here. I thought I knew most of the caverns near the city."

"It's not on any of the maps," his brother agreed, stepping forward. The ground seemed sturdy enough beneath his feet, not ready to give way with the next few steps at least. He glanced back, feeling guilt tug at him as Thor moved gingerly to follow. Now that he was on his feet and moving, Loki could see the way that the elder prince's left foot seemed to drag a bit, not quite making a full step and he dropped to take a look at it.

"It's fine," Thor grumbled, but didn't move as his dark haired brother looked closer at it.

Loki's lips twitched downed as his fingers ghosted over the torn boot and what he was sure was a swelling ankle beneath it. "May I try something that will allow you to move easier?" When Thor nodded he took a deep breath and laid his hands gently against the leather of the boot.

The blond watched, feeling a soothing cool spread and ease the pain. The leather of his boot hardened, almost as a brace, and the support allowed him to put more weight down. He knew his little brother was not inclined towards medical magic, but even these small tricks as he so often called them did more than he could have ever done on his own. "Thank you, Loki," he whispered.

Loki wrinkled his nose. "It's not much, but it should hold you and the cold will keep the swelling down. We can get out and get back to the palace so that we can-"

"No."

The younger prince sighed. "Thor..."

"It feels much better, brother. We will fetch your water for your celebration day." He paused, and reminded himself there were more important things than his own pride. Not much, but his brother was on that short list. "I won't have my thoughtless words ruin your day."

Green eyes widened a fraction and the second prince stood. "Thank you, brother."

Thor smiled, gathering Loki into an embrace. "I often speak rashly with you, but know I never mean in cruely. I am sorry."

Loki wrapped his arms around the elder prince. "I'm sorry too."

The thunderer's smile turned to a grin and he ruffled dark hair. "Good. Now let's get out of here so we can find your spring and your water."

As they continued further in Loki was forced to create a small ball of light so that they could see. The air around them became thick, hot, and wet, and it didn't take long before both princes were soaked in their own sweat. Thor noticed his brother had grown quieter and more focused on each step and the light above them, and when he reached out to take hold of Loki's shoulder and the smaller Asgardian jumped, he could feel the tension from the fact that neither of them knew where they were and the realization seem weigh as heavy as the air around them. "Can you not use your magic to find a way out?" he asked quietly.

Loki shook his head. "I fear that this climate makes it difficult to breathe… and that makes it difficult to cast a spell like that."

Thor nodded, feeling the affects of the thickness as well. "Then all we have is onward." He tried for a smile, giving the younger prince a playful swat on the shoulder. "Though it should be good news. We're probably under your waters. Now we must simply find our way to the top."

The trickster shook his head, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. Always the optimist, he thought. He was still caught up in the amusement when they saw the end of the pathway. Green eyes blinked as it simply stopped, deadending into a solid slab of rock that seemed to tower up and up. Both princes followed it, worry evident.

"There's no way out," Loki whispered.

"There's always a way out," his brother assured him. "You're clever and I'm strong. Certainly we can find a means of escape."

The younger prince bit his lip at Thor's own voluntary voicing of something that would normally send him into a rage. Loki rarely tried to make Thor feel the fool - well, not when he didn't fully deserve it at any rate - but it was a sore subject between them in the fact that Thor often ran with sword or Mjolnir drawn, giving little time for thought as he hit his enemy head-on. Few could question his courage in the acts, but the actions often brought ridicule from his younger brother that was more inclined to study the situation before taking decisive action. The fact that the elder prince was noting the younger's intelligence as a means of escaping meant that he was giving his best effort to apologize for his earlier words, which made the guilt as his own violent actions set deeper within the trickster's chest as he felt he had no way to return the sentiment.

"See?" Thor asked, pointing at the sloped wall to their right. "We can climb here. It looks like there is a ledge up above."

"Your ankle-"

"Won't matter if we're trapped down here forever," the thunderer answered and started for the wall.

Loki scurried after him, having to catch up to the injured prince. If it had been his ankle damaged by the fall, Thor most likely have scooped him up and tossed him over a shoulder at this point, but the difference in their size made no allowances for that. So the trickster simply followed, all the way to the top, and hoped that if Thor should fall that he'd have a spell at hand to help break it.

The blond stopped suddenly at the top, nearly run into by the smaller prince. "Look at that," he breathed out. "No wonder it's so humid down here."

Green eyes widened as they peered over the ledge and down into a nest of sleeping bilgesnipe below.

TBC