A/N Here is chapter two revised. I'm really enjoying getting back into this story, and there's a good chance the revisions will be done by the end of the week. Please enjoy, and drop a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own it ;)

Thor woke to the sight of his younger brother hunched over him, eyes closed and face drawn in concentration. He instantly felt the tingle of magic, as well as the raw itching of the newly healed wound in his stomach. But he also felt a dull fire burning through his veins, the magic slowly leeching it from his body.

"Loki," he spoke, voice weak and shaking. "What are you doing.?"

Loki raised his head and met thor's eyes, his mouth stretching into a gruesome attempt at a smile. His face was greyed and exhausted, and his eyes flashed with pain. When he spoke, his voice was strained and short.

"I am saving you, you fool."

Thor scanned his body, looking for some sign of the injury that was causing Loki so much pain, and could find nothing. The strange leeching feeling continued, and Loki hunched farther down, letting out a pained gasp as the pain coursing through Thor's veins continued to diminish. It clicked, and Thor struggled to sit, to stop his little brother from killing himself to save Thor's sorry hide.

"Loki," he began. "No-"

But Loki's face only hardened into a look of extreme concentration, and he pressed his hands more firmly to Thor's stomach. There was a sudden surge of magic, and Thor felt Loki rip the last of the fire from his veins, before he collapsed forward across Thor, shaking and gasping for air. Thor, health and strength returned, quickly rolled his brother's body off to lie in the sand, hoping that he might breathe easier.

"Loki," he growled. "What did you do?"

Loki made a feeble sound that may have been meant as a laugh, but soon turned to a horrifying gurgling cough, as his own lungs betrayed him. When he could breath again, he spoke.

"You were poisoned, you oaf. I did the only thing I could." His eyes began to gloss over, and Thor felt panic clawing at his heart.

"No Loki." Thor felt tears beginning to threaten, blurring the edges of his vision. "I have just lost mother. I cannot - I will not - lose you too."

Loki smiled, weak and unfocused. His body twitched, as if trying to move but to weak or heavy to do so.

"Do not worry, brother. I will be fine." He paused, the silence dragging heavily against Thor's ears. Loki opened his mouth, tried to speak. "I need… I need only…" He trailed off, his eyes lost their focus, and his lids fluttered shut.

"Loki," Thor demanded, shaking him, desperate for some response. "LOKI!"

He felt Jane approaching, hesitantly setting a hand on his shoulder.

'Is he… is he dead?" Her voice was filled with grief, and Thor was strangely touched. She had no obligation to feel anything but rage and hurt towards his brother, and so the compassion in her voice was unexpected, and warmed his breaking heart.

Thor glanced towards Loki's chest, which rose and fell fitfully with shallow breaths. The panic gripping his heart loosened a touch, though it still lingered spitefully. He breathed deeply.

"No, he is alive. But only just." Looking up, he saw the fast approaching storm, and moved to gather Loki into his arms. "Quickly Jane, we must find shelter."

Thor stood and gathered Loki to his chest, distressed at how easy the task was. Loki's time in prison and left his usually slim frame teetering on the edge of gauntness, and it pained Thor to see how light and fragile his brother appeared in his arms.

Jane nodded, and struggled to her feet, following Thor as he made his way to the nearby rock face, struggling against the increasingly powerful winds. They reached the rocks, and after several minutes of travelling along the cliffside found an entrance, and slipped into the protection of a cave. Wordlessly, they followed the cave deeper and deeper, as far as they could from the howling winds and swirling sands outside, until they came to what seemed to be its end. Thor carefully set Loki upon a shallow ledge, and Jane seated herself on an adjacent boulder. There was a long silence.

"He's going to unleash it." It was Jane who broke the silence, sounding shocked and scared and hopeless. "Not just on Asgard or on a star. Malekith is going to destroy everything."

Thor looked at her, taking in the way her frame drooped with weariness and defeat. She was beautiful, even then, dirty and torn in the dimness of the cave. He could see her strength was failing, but still she stood strong, despite her mortality, despite the unimaginable strength of their enemies, and in that moment Thor fell in love with her all over again.

"How?" He asked quietly. When there is no response, he questions again, with more force. "Jane, how?"

"I saw him on earth. Why would he go to earth?"

"The convergence." Thor stated it with dreadful finality. There was no other reason that Malekith would go to earth other than to be in the optimal place to take advantage of the convergence to spread his darkness over all the nine realms.

"Oh, god." Jane's shoulders slumped lower. "None of this would happen if i hadn't found the Aether.

Thor shook his head, took a step towards her. "Then Malekith would have only posessed it that much sooner."

Jane looked up as he approached, and there was something desperate in her eyes. "I only found it because I was looking for you."

Thor's heart broke a little, because what had he ever done to deserve this woman?

"Jane…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Now we're trapped here, and your brother - "

She was interrupted by music, loud, jarring, and alien to Thor's ears. They shared a glance, confusion passing between them.

"It's not me." Thor stated, bewildered.

Still holding eye contact, Jane reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone, a look of disbelief crossing her face. She quickly answered the call.

"Hello?"

A second later, she jumped to her feet, walking quickly towards the back of the cave as she held the phone aloft, a look of awe on her face.

"Richard? Where are you?"

Thor watched a moment as she continues to talk to Richard, whoever that is, pacing the back of the cave and gesticulating in excitement. He quickly lost the flow of the conversation, and turned back to Loki, taking in his appearance with a growing sense of dread. He was pale to the point of greyness, and the rising of his chest with each breath was so slow and so shallow that Thor was not certain he really breathed at all. Something constricted in his throat, and he felt the hotness of tears pricking at his eyes. Everything was falling apart.

But then Jane was grabbing at his hands. "Come on, get Loki." She tilted her head towards him, hone still held to her ears. Thor hastened to do as directed, scooping up his brother and following Jane as she headed to the back of the cave, stooping to pick something up as she goes. Thor had only a brief moment to wonder what she was doing, before they had stepped through a tear between worlds and into the abandoned warehouse where this had all began, only a few days before.

They exited the warehouse, hastening their steps as they saw Jane's car, parked exactly where she had left it, though rather worse for wear. The windows had all been smashed, and Jane took care to clear the backseat of any glass shards before Thor set his brother down. They climbed into the front seat, and with a grumble the car started.

As the car skidded backwards out of its parking spot, Thor could not help but ask. "Who is Richard?"

Jane shot him a glare. "Really?"

The moment of levity lasted for only a brief few minutes, and the rest of the ride to the apartment where Jane had been staying was tense with worry. It seemed an eon before Jane pulled the car to the side of the road and climbed out, offering a simple "We're here."

Thor exited the car as well, and extracted Loki from the back seat. Jane shot him a tight smile, and led the way to the front door.

Then they entered, there was an excited cry of "Jane!" and then silence fell as Thor entered behind her, and they took in the sight of the god of lies huddled in his arms. Thor stopped, unsure of how to proceed, and Jane seemed equally at a loss. Everyone in the room knew who Loki was, he had hurt them all, some more severely than others, and Thor did not know how he could apologize, or attempt to make things right between them. Especially now that Loki was hurting, and all Thor wanted was a place for him to rest and recover, if he would even be able to.

Eventually it was Erik who broke the silence, voice quiet and measured, but trembling ever so slightly.

"What is he doing here?"

Thor swallowed and stepped forward. "I am sorry, friend Erik, I know that my brother has hurt you, and I would not bring him here if I had any other choice, but he is hurt, and he needs a place to heal."

Darcy eyed Loki distrustfully. "How'd he get hurt?"

Thor met her gaze steadily, a challenge in his eyes. "I was poisoned. Loki drew that poison into himself in order to save my life."

There was more silence, and the Erik spoke once more. "There's a guest bedroom down the hall. You can put him there." His tone was gruff and wary, but there was also a level of acceptance in his eyes.

Thor bowed his head. "Thank you."

As soon as he had left the room, Darcy, Erik, and Ian swarmed Jane, pestering her with a deluge of questions.

"Where have you been?"

"What happened?"

"Why is Loki with you?"

"Who were you fighting?"

"Guys - GUYS!" Jane's voice rang out over theirs, and they quickly fell quiet. She took a deep breath. "Can I get a minute to change, and calm down? I promise we'll tell you everything, but I just need a few minutes to myself first. It's been.. It's been a really long day."

Her friends looked suitably chastened, and reluctantly stepped back.

"Of course, Jane," reassured Erik, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It's just been a shock is all."

"I get it, trust me." Jane returned his half hug with one of her own, and then made towards the door to her room. After a few steps, she paused.

"Erik, where are your pants?"

Half an hour later, Jane had taken a shower and changed her clothes, Loki had been settled in, and the group re-congregated in the living room.

It was Ian who spoke first, tentatively questioning. "Isn't that the guy who attacked New York?"

Thor nodded. "Yes. He is my brother, Loki. He was… greatly wronged, two years ago, and he has not been himself since. I fear that I played a rather large part in driving him to where he is now…"

The others' interests were piqued, and Thor continued his story. Their questions drove him further down the tale of his and Loki's story, and before he knew it he was recounting all that had transpired during the two years after that fateful trip to Jotunheim, culminating in the fight just before he and Jane had arrived with Loki at the apartment. As he spoke, Thor realised that he had never told anyone the full tale, and it was a tremendous relief to lift its weight from his chest. His audience was captivated, even Jane, who knew more of the tale than most. Their talk lasted late into the night, and when Thor's story was done, they all headed to bed, but it was a time before any of them slept. Their heads were to full to rest easy