A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to post this chapter! And since you guys waited so long, I'm posting TWO chapters today!

Thanks for bearing with me! Your comments and support go a long way, seriously!

Enjoy!

Lost and Found

"No."

The word brought silence upon the hills. Not even the wind dared to stir as Thor realized what that 'no' meant.

Loki didn't remember. He did not remember what he had done. Not falling into the abyss, not attacking Midgard with the Chitauri, not killing Odin…not dying himself.

None of it.

He didn't even remember who Thor was. How could that be?

What did he know? Thor wondered in the safety of his own thoughts.

"What am I supposed to remember?" Loki asked shifting uncomfortably as the silence drew on unbearably. Thor refocused his gaze onto Loki as his timid question drew him back to the present.

"Nothing," Thor told him, a reassuring smile pulling on his lips. "It is not important. What is important," Thor said enveloping Loki's slender shoulders under his hands and looking straight into his eyes, "is that you were lost, but we have found you now."

Loki wearily smiled back, still unsure of Thor.

"Would you like to go home?" Thor asked, trying to hold Loki's gaze as it wondered away.

"I don't have it…" Loki mumbled, his delicate brows knitting together uncertainly. He was so lost and unsure, wondering around in this place for what seemed like forever. He had no idea where he belonged.

"No, Loki," Thor said. Not this time. He spoke softly for speaking any louder he feared his voice would fail him. "You have always had a home, here." Thor pointed to the center of his chest were his heart thundered every painful beat.

Loki gazed at Thor's chest, his frown wobbling as he fought the tears that leaked from his eyes. Thor pulled the small boy into an embrace and held him close. He'd never let him go again, Thor vowed. He wouldn't take him for granted like he had done in the past. Thor had been given a second chance to make up for his transgressions and he wouldn't fail Loki this time. Never again.

Loki felt warmth flow thought him for the first time since he found himself wondering in these woods. He had been so scared and alone with nothing, no memories, no sense of direction or recognition. Just a name. But he didn't have to be alone anymore. He had a brother, and a home! Loki had been afraid that he belonged nowhere, that he had no one and there wasn't anyone to miss him or look for him. His fear was for not because he was only lost and he'd been found again. Loki was glad that he wasn't lost anymore, but he couldn't help but wonder…

Why can't I remember anything?

Sif cleared her throat from behind Thor's back.

Thor released Loki gently and rose to his feet. Turning he faced Sif and the others.

"Who is this?" Sif wanted to know, her voice overly pleasant as she gazed down at Loki. Thor knew she knew who was standing behind him, shyly clutching onto the hem of his tunic.

"My brother," Thor stated, his voice armed with a warning edge. "Loki."

Sif lifted her hard eyes to Thor's. "You cannot be serious," she hissed.

"Sif," Valstagg spoke suddenly, carefully asserting himself beside her after reading the tense set of Thor's shoulders. "Thor, I think it best if we head back?" he suggested. After a tense stare down and a nervous tug on her sleeve, Sif relented and turned back towards the horses.

Thor watched her go a moment longer before peering down back at Loki.

"Come, Asgard awaits!"

Loki grinned for the first time.

The ride back down to Asgard was tense and silent. No one dared to speak or even glance in Loki and Thor's direction. They had a million questions and were unsure of what they had seen.

Once they reached the courtyard, Thor dismounted and helped his little brother from the saddle and back into solid ground.

Sif and the Warrior's Three dismounted slowly, not sharing in Thor's enthusiasm. As Loki and Thor disappeared into the palace, Fandral turned to Sif.

"I know what you are thinking and-"

"It has to be a trick!" she interrupted. "Loki come back from the dead? A child? How can that be! It has to be some kind of Jotun sorcery! It must be one of Loki's schemes!"

"Sif, I implore you, do not say any of this to Thor. You know how sensitive he is about Loki since…since well you know! And if you were to say anything now, well…I'm not sure what he would do."

Sif made an exasperated noise and shook her head. "You think we should just stand by and let Loki go unchallenged to unravel whatever plot he has planned?"

"Him losing his memory does sound a bit convenient…" Volstagg volunteered quietly.

"See!" Sif exclaimed. "It has to be some sort of plot!"

"Stanger things have happened." Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg all turned their heads to gaze at Hogun who, as usual, was hanging back. "He could be telling the truth."

"I don't agree nor disagree," Fandral said lightly. "I just think we should wait and keep our opinions quiet until we can find the truth of the matter."

Volstagg nodded his agreement. Sif set her jaw and glared at the point where Loki and Thor had gone out of sight behind the palace doors.

Loki excitedly followed Thor up the steps and into the golden glittering hall. His eyes had been bright with wonder ever since he first entered the city. Thor watched him and smiled as Loki turned wide-eyed and astounded while he gazed around him.

"You live here?" he finally asked.

"Yes and you do too," Thor told him. Loki brushed his long tangled hair out of his eyes.

"It's really big," he pointed out. Thor laughed.

"That it is. Come, I'll show you to your room."

Just when Thor was turning, several attendants came into the hall followed by Frigga.

"Oh, Thor you're back!" she said upon seeing her son. "I did not-" Frigga stopped mid-step, nearly tripping over her skirt. Loki made eye contact with her and was frightened by her expression. Slowly he walked closer to Thor and slipped his tiny hand into his.

"Who…who is that," Frigga demanded in a hushed whisper as she lifted her shaking hand to point at the boy half hidden behind Thor. Her eyes brimmed with tears. And they were not happy ones.

"This," Thor began, speaking softly while he drew Loki out of hiding. "Is Loki returned to us, mother."

Frigga stood there, shifting her watering gaze from the boy standing before her to Thor. She, as Thor had, knew that face. She had loved that face once. The face of a boy she had willing let into her heart all those years ago without a second thought. And that boy grew up to be a monster that broke her heart, killed the man she loved, and scared their lives forever. The life of her son and the lives of the Asgardian people. Nothing was ever the same after what he had done.

"How…?" she whispered as angry tears slipped down her flushed cheeks. "How can this be?" Loki was dead and though it pained her to admit it, she'd been glad of it. He couldn't break her heart anymore.

But here he was. A monster disguised as a boy that she had loved so easily in the past.

"Mother, I-" Thor began, but before he could say anything more, Frigga bunched her skirts on her fists and fled the way she had come. Thor remained where he was, stunned. He did not know how he had expected his mother to react upon seeing Loki again this way…

"Who was that?" Loki's small voice said at his side. Thor looked at him and swallowed hard. Frigga was Thor's mother, but she had raised Loki. Thor didn't want to lie to Loki like Odin had lied to them when they were boys. But now Thor felt he was experiencing his father's dilemma.

How could he tell this boy the truth? That Frigga was his mother, but then again she wasn't. How could he say that she was his mother when she had acted that way towards him? How could he tell Loki of his true parentage without revealing what he had done? He was just a boy…

"That was Frigga," Thor told him.

"Our mother?" Loki had not missed that Thor had indeed called her mother. And since they were brothers that made that woman his mother too.

Before Thor could answer Loki said assumingly, "She's angry with me. Is it because I ran away?"

Thor racked his brain for a way to tell Loki the truth without telling him everything…

"No, it isn't because you ran away," Thor explained. "There was a battle that took place here not too long ago and she lost someone…you just remind her of him." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't.

When Loki said nothing, Thor glanced down at him. Loki looked as if he were far away. Maybe he was remembering something. Thor's heart jumped into his throat.

"Let's go," he said quickly and tugged Loki along after him.