Brothers (Thor and Loki)

Mercy

A.N this is an alternative ending to Thor. Where loki is pulled up from the Biofrost but needs to be punished..... (I'm warning you it is quite sad)

Fights were not unusual in Asgard. They were a warrior people, and a drinking people, and so it followed that the two would mix together and create a little havoc now and then. Thor was used to seeing blood and teeth strewn about the street after a particularly raucous celebration.

But this did not look to be the normal drunken tussle. There were far too many people involved, half of them women. Women never participated in brawls. Well, women who were not Sif at any rate. He rode toward the crowd, unsure whether he should break it up or join in.

But he had no chance to do either. His presence was noticed as he approached and the people quickly dispersed on their own. He still had no idea what the crowd had been doing until he caught sight of one figure heading in a different direction than the others. It slipped away into the shadows, the dark cloak and hood making it look like a shadow itself. But it was tall, obviously a man, and the cloak did not reach all the way to the ground, leaving part of the feet exposed. Thor caught sight of a flash of blue on the copper colored streets of Asgard.

"Loki!"

He knew he could be heard, but the figure did not pause, and if anything moved away more quickly even with what Thor now saw was a slight limp. Thor jumped from his horse and followed, but his younger brother, adopted, but still brother in shared experience, had always been quick and far more nimble than Thor. The shadow fled and became lost with its kin. How Loki was able to disappear so fast and so well without his magic to aid him Thor had no idea. He searched the small alleys that Loki had led him to, but there was no sign of his errant brother.

Sif stood by his horse when he returned to it. She raised an eyebrow at his downcast expression.

"Troubled?"

"I was chasing Loki."

Sif remained wisely silent on that. She had been quick to judge the trickster when he had assumed the throne. And in the end she and the Warriors Three had been correct in their judgement - Loki was a liar and unfit to be King - but while most saw Loki's punishment as justice, to Thor it was merely a cruel revenge. It was obvious that he too suffered from Loki's fate and his inability to aid his little brother. Sif was unable to find words of comfort in such a situation. She handed him the reigns she had caught and together they walked on foot back towards the palace.

It had been months since the Bifrost was destroyed. Months since Thor had last seen Jane. Months since his father's disowning of Loki, the son that was not really his in the first place. Thor felt that he had lost too much in too short of a time. His grief had been oppressive, even at the feast at which he was once again proclaimed Odin's heir and the future king of Asgard. This time the ceremony had gone perfectly.

Loki was not invited. He had already been cast out during a previous ceremony held especially for that purpose. For once all attention had been his. Most, if not all, of Asgard had stood in the hall to hear Odin's proclamation. The Bifrost was destroyed. Laufy, King of Jotuns, was slain. A murderer and betrayer was soon to be punished.

Thor had stood to the right with his mother. She wore muted colors and stood like stone beside him. Across the stairs, to Odin's left stood Loki, chained and surrounded by guards. His shoulders slumped and his eyes remained fixed on the floor in shame as Odin described in a monotone the events leading to the destruction of the Bifrost. Only Frigga knew how hard this would be for him. During his straightforward speech it became obvious to the people of Asgard that Loki was the one to blame for Asgard's current troubles. And at the end of the story Odin had revealed the secret of Loki's heritage. He brought out the casket and put Loki's hand upon it. Loki flinched as blue swarmed up his arm and disappeared under his clothing, only to reappear at his neck and make its way slowly up his face.