Chapter 2 – The Procedure

The people who had their magic removed with the procedure said it was like having stitches removed from ones person, uncomfortable, something you felt in your gut however none life threatening. The people were granted, even if they were punished with removal, to have a family member, partner or a friend present to oversee and overrule should something wrong were to happen. If it was punishment there was also a high ranking official to oversee the procedure as well.

Odin had said that he would oversee the procedure as the official, no one questioned it as he was also the highest ranking sorcerer in Asgard after Aegir who said he was not going to part of it. He had once again let his concerns be voiced, saying that some people were not meant to be removed from their magic and that Loki was one such person but he was once again overruled.

This morning when Odin had looked over the recording of the procedure being explained to Loki, he was asked whom from his family he would like with him, he had told the healers that he had no family.

"I have no family," he had said staring straight ahead. The healer despite being taken back had recovered after a moment and had then asked about friends and had received a negative response. It was clear that the healer was at a loss of what to do when Loki had turned towards her and made eye contact.

"I have no one that will stand with me so I suggest that you do whatever you do when the accused has no one."

Normal procedure said that in these cases they, the court, assign a mind healer to the accused and then give the healer a few days to familiar themselves with the convicted and then proceed. Odin knew that if this came out the whole court would be in an uproar saying that Loki was trying to gain more time, he was planning something. Odin, however, had seen the dead look in his youngest son eyes when he had made the pronouncement; he truly believed that there had been no one, none in his family that would stand with him. He felt that if he had asked and then was refused, that would be even worse. Better to reject then be rejected.

Odin knew that was the furthest thing from the truth, Frigga had been working herself into a frenzy in the privacy of their chambers for the last three nights steadying herself should Loki ask. Both of them being magical knew what it meant to lose your magic. Odin had always joked that he would rather give up his only eye rather than his magic. They didn't want to think what their son was feeling, who had breathed and lived magic. She wanted to be strong and supporting should their son call on her. Odin had thought that Loki would have asked for her or at least Thor to stand with him, that is why he had made himself the official so he could be there as well.

Now he overruled Loki's request and put himself in place as the family member and assigned Sir Forseti as the official overseer. Sir Forseti was the head of the council, he was just and honorable. He was older then Odin himself and Odin knew he liked Loki. He was one of Loki's mentors, they both would have said no to war. "Negotiate first, then battle," was Sir Forseti's favorite saying. He was a fierce fighter against Asgard going to war and Loki was one of his students in that department. Odin had imagined that once Thor was king Loki would have taken Forseti's role as the peace keeper. Never in his life did Odin imagine that it would have been his younger gentler son that would start not just one war but two.

Odin presented himself at the healers three hours prior the procedure as demanded. Loki ignored him and stared straight ahead as a healer explained to them what Loki should be feeling and what to expect. The last half hour Loki and Odin were left in the room by themselves, as given, to talk but Loki seemed to be ignoring his adopted father and he flinched when Odin made a move towards him so Odin kept his silence and distance.

He just watched his son committing everything about him to memory because he even as king would not be allowed to see his son for the next hundred years as he worked in the mines. This would be last chance be would be able to see his son but for the life of him he could not find the right words to express himself. If he was honest with himself he did not want to. He was disappointed in Loki, he was so smart, the smartest person Odin had ever known, how could someone so smart make so many wrong choices. He felt if he opened his mount to speak he would be telling Loki all the things he had gotten wrong and his son at the moment did not need a parent belittling him for making terrible decisions. No matter how much he deserved to hear them.

Loki kept his silence as he was moved to a private room where the procedure would be taking place. He was made to sit on a high bed and a several IV lines were attached. Even as advance as they were in all areas no one had yet discovered a way to get substances into the blood stream in any other way. Many of them would be unnecessary however sometimes the person would lose consciousness and would remain that way for a few days. They would then have to keep the person hydrated.

The sights the needles went in were healed immediately and they looked like they became part of the body, Loki would not be uncomfortable during the procedure at any stage, which was the way of an advance civilization. Magic filled the air as his vitals went up magically around them to monitor. A high ranking healer declared Loki healthy for the procedure to proceed.

A relaxant was pushed through one of the IV lines and Odin watched as Loki tracked the purple colored potion going into his body with his eyes. He was then given a green colored potion in a large see through glass to drink. This was the potion that would loosen the magical core so it could be extracted. The glass was rather large and a lot to drink and would take Loki sometime to drink it all however he was told to take his time.

Without even raising his head Loki lifted the glass to his lips and started to drink. He had gotten perhaps two sips down his throat when he paused. A frown came upon his face as he looked down into the glass, he swallowed hard and took another sip. This time they could all see that the potion would not go down, he lowered the glass and they could see his shoulders and whole body tense as he tried to swallow. Odin thought that the whole potion would come back up as Loki lost all the color to his already pale face but with a stubborn determination raised the glass to take another sip. This time he swallowed easier than before but a full body shudder went through him. The healers looked at the readings and one noted that Loki's heart rate was rising.

"I know it is an unsettling experience my prince," said one of the healers, and Odin wanted to thank her for showing Loki the respect he did not deserve, "just take your time and continue when you can," she continued, and they watched as another healer pushed another relaxant into Loki's blood stream, this time it was Odin who tracked the pinkish substance travel up the line into his son body. Loki's heart rate slowly dropped down to almost normal and an unnatural flush came to his face. The healer who had spoken to Loki gently gave the bottom of the potion glass a tap silently telling Loki to continue.

This time Loki took a deep breath, closed his eyes, brought the glass to his lips and started drinking slowly but determinedly. When he was halfway through he stopped and brought the glass down. He tilted his head like he was listening to something only he could hear, they could all see on the readings that his heart rate was once again slowly raising. The hand that was holding the glass started to shake a little. Very little, unnoticeable but Odin was watching very carefully. Loki then opened his eyes and for the first time raised his eyes to look at Odin.

The only thing Odin saw in them was pain beyond imagination, how could one's body be that calm and they be in that much pain. Suddenly Odin, in his mind eye, saw the purple and pinkish potion and knew there was something wrong. He saw the healers moving forward to respond to his sons vitals that had began to rise at an alarming rate. His pupils dilated to almost leaving no green in them. Odin watched Loki swallow what was in his mouth with difficulty and with enormous effort his eyes focused on him.

"Fadir?" he said in a tiny lost voice, calling Odin by a title no Asgardian child did after learning to talk properly. Odin started to move forward towards his son even knowing he would not be fast enough. He never broke eye contact as Loki continued in a frightened whisper,

"I think there is something wrong," was the only thing Loki said before the glass in his hand was released from lax fingers to crash onto the floor but no one was paying it any attention as Loki's eyes rolled up into his head and he fell back onto to the bed and every single alarm in the room started going off.

Loki then arched off the bed as in great pain even as healers moved into restrain and help him. Odin made it to the bed side just in time to see Loki open his mouth and scream out his anguish off pain that was probably heard throughout the place.

Just then Asgard began to shake.