He had finally given up. Given up running, given up trying to live up to Thor and to prove to his "father" he was worth something; but most of all given up trying to survive.

Loki kept his eyes down, only looking at the ground beneath him. He didn't have the courage to look up at the team of mortals that had beaten him. And he surely didn't have the courage to face Thor. He imagined he was furious at him by now. But why did he care anymore? Thor wasn't really his brother, and he probably didn't want him as his brother anymore.

Loki realized the group had stopped walking, and took one small look up. His eyes were full of sorrow, and defeat. He looked up at his Thor, he couldn't read Thor's emotions. There was a mix of sorrow, hate, and anguish. Thor then, with the help of the Tesseract, return Loki and himself to Asgard. They were finally going home.

He didn't dare look from the floor, just the same as before. He heard the scoffs and remarks people made as the two walked though the exquisite gold and blue halls of Asgard. He noticed Thor walking slower than he usually would. Loki did not know if it was punishment for him to see how many people made remarks about him, or if his brother was truly puzzled.

The two came to a sudden halt and Loki saw the large doors leading to the Throne Room. That's when Loki finally remembered how much he hated them, all of them. Painful memories of years of abuse, both physical and mental, and severe favoritism to Thor. He let off a low snarl, but no sound escaped his bound lips. He closed his eyes once again and laughed to himself, while following Thor into the large room where Odin and Frigga sat. They had been expecting the two.

The all-father looked to Thor as his voice rumbled out, "Thor, you have returned." His gaze then turned to Loki and he said nothing, the only to be greeted the same stone cold expression that he usually had.
Loki wanted to yell out, scream at Odin and tell him to get rid of him already. But he could only stand there, hands chained behind his back and his feet chained together only allowing him to walk. Those things he could handle, but the muzzle. He hated the damn thing. How much he wanted to curse and tell Odin and Thor how much he hated them. The four of them stood there in silence, Loki glaring at Odin with fury in his eyes, and Odin only returning his stone cold look. Then he looked to Frigga, the only one of them he could handle, but in her eyes were defeat. Eventually Thor broke the silence.

"Father-" He started, and after a short silence he continued, "I know what you are thinking, but I wish to keep Loki on Asgard. Alive."

Loki's eyes shot up to Thor's. First he didn't believe what he was hearing, but quickly he returned to his aggravated state. He wished for no pity from his brother, his idiot brother. When Thor looked back he only glared at him and went back to looking down at the floor.

The all-father sighed, almost patiently and said, "I was not thinking of killing him, I could not do that to my own son."

Loki snarled at the words, he was not Odin's son. He was Odin's prisoner.

Ignoring Loki's visual display of annoyance he continued, "But I was planning on banishing him to another realm, but because you want him to stay, I shall think of a proper punishment."

Thor smiled and replied to his father, "Thank you, father. You won't regret this!" He trailed off but then followed up with, "If it isn't too much to ask, could Loki keep his powers aswell?"

The all-father sighed and smiled, knowing Thor only wanted well for his brother. He nodded in approval and motioned for them to leave. "I will think about my plan of action over tonight's feast and the gathering. I will have an answer before we retire for the night."

Loki was furious. He didn't want his brother standing up for him, and he didn't want to be imprisoned on Asgard once again. But at the same time he was thankful his brother wanted him to keep his life. Time passed very slowly for him, but the time for the feast came.

Loki could only sit and watch and Thor and his friends feast with his parents, while laughing and chatting of the past events. They completely ignored the fact that he was there, not that he minded. This allowed him to let his mind roam. But, to Loki's surprise, Thor looked over to the corner where Loki resides and gave him an occasional nod or a reassuring smile. This only angered him more, oh how he wanted to claw Thor's bright blue eyes out of his skull.

Where Loki sat soon started to reek of blood, but nobody payed attention to it. First the cuffs only scratched his wrists and ankles, but now they were creating large gashes and cuts. Blood was steadily flowing down his hands and feet, but his cloak hid this. His mouth was now also bleeding, and some of the blood was running down his face. He didn't mind this either. Loki closed his eyes and took a steady breath in. He had forgotten how sweet the air was here, and how easy it was to breathe. He sat there searching his own thoughts for an hour or so until he felt himself being lifted up. He quickly opened his eyes and saw Thor trying to get him to stand up. He only gave Thor a menacing look before struggling to his feet. He took a few steps to where everyone else was walking until he heard his brother say something.

"Loki, you're bleeding." He whispered, looking at his brother with pure sorrow filling his eyes. Loki turned around to see that where he sat was now a small mess of blood. He shrugged and started walking to the others again until he was stopped by Thor.

"Why didn't you do anything, or tell someone?" Thor questioned only to have Loki reply with something that seemed to be a sneer. Loki looked to the muzzle and walked away, not being interrupted by his brother again.

Walking proved to become more and more difficult for Loki. His ankles were in a massive amount of pain, and with every step the metal dug deeper into his exposed tissue. He began to slow down until the others were much farther ahead of him. He tried his best to keep up with them to no avail. He felt himself begin to slip away, his vision becoming blurry and surrounded by black. He slowly fell to the ground, passing out.

He awoke hours later in the healing room, with Thor and Frigga by his side. He realized his muzzle was gone and licked his lips a few times before sitting up, only to be pushed back down again. There was a sharp pounding in his head that he wished would just go away- he also wished Thor and Frigga would do the same.

"You shouldn't sit up yet, you've lost a large amount of blood." Frigga said compassionetly, "Your brother has been very worried about you."

Loki looked to Frigga, then Thor. He turned away from them both hanging his head and tried to talk, his voice only making a shrill raspy sound before he coughed. He then tried again, and successfully saying, "He is not my brother."

Just then Odin came in to the room, looking at his wife and son, then looking at Loki. "I have decided Loki's punishment for his crimes" He said in a very stern voice. Thor looked to his father and Frigga just looked down, hoping it would not be to harsh. "Loki shall have his mouth sewn shut, so he can never influence or lie to others again. Along with this Loki can choose who he wishes to do the sewing."

Loki showed no reaction to the news, but the pounding in his head continues. They sat in silence for a few minutes, everyone staring at him. Thor had horror written on his face, and Frigga sat trembling.

"I wish for Thor to do it." Loki said, his voice cracking with every word.

Thor looked to Loki with disbelief, "But, you're my brother, I could never do that to you."

"But It's my wish, and Odin said whoever I like." Loki said, his voice now becoming stronger.

"Do as Loki wishes, Thor." Odin commented while taking out some heavy thread and a large needle.

Loki's heart skipped at the sight of how large the needle was, but that soon dissipated. He turned to Frigga who only continued to tremble. Loki could not think of what it would be like not being able to talk, he hated being in the muzzle, so he could only imagine what his lips being sewn together would be like.

Odin instructed Loki to lie down, and he told Frigga to keep his head in place, for he could not help pulling away from the pain. He handed Thor the thread and needle and he asked Loki if he had anything to say.

"I hate you, I hate all of you." Loki said calmly, preparing himself for the pain he was about to experience.

Thor strung the needle and held it up to Loki's bottom lip hesitantly. After a few moments Loki was engulfed with pain. The needle going though his skin was red hot, and the thick string stretching his skin, causing even more discomfort. He struggled to maintain his composure, but after awhile he stopped feeling the pain and he sat emotionless, but tears fell constantly. Soon Loki's face was a mess of tears and blood, The pain being much worse than he had imagined it would be. Thor finished sewing and tied the end of the string with the help of a nurse. She inspected the stitches before nodding and leaving the room. Thor backed away slowly, panic and horror struck.

"I am sorry...brother." Thor finally said, his voice low and rugged.

Loki tried to reply, but as he opened his mouth the string ripped at his flesh. He had finally been silenced.