"Great..." Loki mumbled to himself in the darkness. To the ebony haired brother s not-so-surprise, he was once again dragged on another voyage Thor wanted to go on. This adventure brought them to some unknown planet which was rocky and cold to the Tricksters displeasure. Only this time as if it was any different from the many others, they were lost. Halfway through their hike in finding a way back home, the younger of the two gods had suddenly disrupted the ground he stepped on and fallen through a large opening in the ground. With a yelp, Loki vanished under the rocky planet s surface and had fallen a great distance down. It took a second for Loki to shake off the pain of his landing.

"I should have seen this coming." Loki grumbled with a wince as he tried to pull himself up but in vain. Confused by what could be keeping him from getting up; he slowly outstretched his hand, letting a small ball of light conjure out of thin air and levitate and glow in his palm to see what appeared to be a boulder that pinned him down.

"Thor, help!" Loki yelled out slightly panicked, hoping his brother hadn t run off far so he could assist his injured brother out of the cave.

Thor had turned the moment he heard the ground crack and cave in, swinging to grab Loki before he fell but had acted too late.

"Brother!" Thor shouted into the hole, a sinking feeling settling into his stomach. He was to blame for this. Though he would not outright admit it, Loki had been right all along-they should never have come here. Upon hearing his brother's voice, the Thunderer relaxed slightly, glad he was, to some extent, safe.

"Loki, do not move! I will find a way down!" He inspected the edges of the rocks, and after deeming them somewhat safe, began to climb down.

To Loki's relief, he could hear Thor's thunderous voice over head, which oddly brought him great comfort.

"I'm pinned down Thor, I can't get free!" Loki called back, still frantically trying to get his left leg free.

He pulled until he figured that was a bad idea, whimpering slightly out of pain. In his panic he must have been making it worse for his injured leg. So he tried the stone. No matter how hard he would try to push it off, nothing happened. Even his own magic seemed to fail him in the situation. The ground and the stony walls around him groaned and creaked as if the tunnel was going to collapse on itself again.

"Oh dear..." Loki murmured to himself, stilling and freezing in his spot, not wanting to make any sudden movements that could have him falling even further. "Brother, it's not stable; I'll fall again, if you don't hurry the pace!"

Silently cursing, the Aesir indeed hurried his pace. He did not want to fall too great a height and injure himself, for he would likely be of no use if that were the case. "I'm coming, brother. Just a moment-arrgh!" A shout of surprise escaped his lips as one of the stones supporting his foot slipped from its holding, sending it, and Thor, down the tunnel. He sounded a yelp of displeasure upon roughly landing on his rump and tumbling a few feet down. Luckily for him, the fall had only been half the distance Loki fell and he was, aside from a little bruising unharmed. Fumbling to his feet, he shook his head before turning to find his brother, who lay not far with a rather large boulder firmly planted on his leg. The ground seemed to groan at each of the god's heavy steps, and he carefully made his way over to his brother.

"It is possible that the cave will collapse in on itself if I attempt to move this," he sighed, scrutinizing the rock. "But there seems to be no other way. Hold on." He planted his feet and dug his hands under the boulder's side, straining to move it. Inch by painstaking inch, it began to move.

"Thor!" Loki yelled in fear when he saw his brother lose his grip and fall to land somewhere above him. "Thor, are you alright?" He asked, straining himself to move lightly to his side, trying to get a glimpse of his brother. It caused him great pain, but not knowing if his brother was alright or not would bring only more. He could see Thor now. He was fine, barley a mark on him.

"Thank goodness...You had me worried." He waited patiently keeping himself as calm as he could and as still as he could until Thor had made it to his side.

"I do not know. This whole area is unstable, but it may be the only way to free me." Loki readied himself as Thor began to try moving the huge rock. He bit his lip trying with all his might not to scream or howl out in agony as Thor pulled the boulder off his brother. The raven haired god dug his pale fingers into the dirt, needing something to hold before he buckled under the pain. "H-Hurry...Up!" Loki choked out with a whimper.

Grunting with exertion, Thor gave the boulder one last heave before finally managing to lift it high enough for the Trickster to slip out. "Go!" He gasped through clenched teeth, his form shaking from the strain. The prince could not let the rock fall; not whilst Loki's leg was still underneath-the force would surely crush it. Sparing a worried glance downward, he soon ensured that his brother had pulled himself free, heaving again as he slowly lowered the enormous stone down to the ground. Simply letting it drop could very well cause the cave to collapse. Finally free from the tension of lifting such a heavy object, Thor fell backward, breathing heavily. He turned his head toward Loki and couldn't help but smile slightly to himself. His brother was safe.

Loki quickly obeyed his brother and used both hands to pull his broken and battered leg out and away from the rock. Once it was over he watched Thor finally let go of the boulder which had been pinning him down moments ago and stumble backwards out of exhaustion. Loki checked the damage to his leg. It would take alot of healing once they got home, but otherwise it would be good as new in a couple of days. To his relief it was thankfully not too wounded to fix. They were both left breathless and tired but they were both safe, causing Loki to copy his brothers grin.

"Thank you brother...I would have been surly done for without your services. I owe you one." He chuckled softly only to be interrupted by the sudden shaking around them.

"I think its best we leave soon though and finish our victory of still being alive elsewhere. Sadly though, I don't think I can walk on this..." Loki pointed to his bloodied and oddly crooked leg.

Grin fading, Thor pushed himself up, examining Loki's injured leg with a scowl. No, there was no feasible way he would be able to walk on that. Upon the ground's shaking, he tensed, looking for a way out. It was true; they had better leave soon before they are crushed. The Thunderer's eyes found the hole they had fallen down. Was it possible to climb back out in time? His arms were already complaining of their previous work. Furthermore, he'd have to carry his brother whilst doing so... No. He was Thor, Son of Odin, and Prince of Asgard! Songs will be written of his heroism, not of his demise in a cave on some forgotten planet. "Brother, we will climb out. I will carry you on my back." He knelt beside Loki, offering to help him up.

"Are you sure you can handle both our weights and climb up a self-destructive cave?" Loki gave a huff, but didn't question Thor and managed to pull himself closer and wrap himself tightly against brother's back, making sure to keeping a strong hold on him.

"If you drop me I swear, I'll blast you into a dragon s nostril and let his revolting goo rain down on your blonde locks..." Loki rolled his eyes as he gently teased his brother. "If we survive this...you tell nobody I was forced to be carried like some child." Loki grumbled. "My leg and my dignity lost in the same day...must be a new record. Well, lets go before we're crushed here." He gripped his brothers neck tighter out of fear. "I'd rather not have anything else crushed today thank you very much." Loki added in sarcastically.

"Do not doubt my strength, brother!" With Loki securely on his back, Thor approached the edge of the rocky wall, gazing up at the ring of light: his destination. That... was quite a climb. But it mattered not. By his strength, he will get them out alive. He placed a hand upon the first hold he could find, glancing back at his brother, smirking at the sarcastic comments.

"Hold tightly, Loki. Rest assured, I will not let you fall." Finding a foothold, the Thunderer began to climb, carefully checking each crack and crevice for stability before trusting it with his weight. Nearly halfway up, his arms began to shake once more, a small pain starting to ebb at his muscles. Panting, the thunder god continued on, sweat beading his brow. "Alm-most there, br-other!" They were soon close to the edge, and Thor's arms felt like they were going to go limp any second. Just out of reach of the opening, he stopped climbing, panting and holding them in position. He pain was almost unbearable.

Loki could see the pain and exhaustion his brothers face. With a growl for not thinking of it soon, Loki slowly pulled one hand away and swung it to press against Thor's back.

"No brother...don t give up! You NEVER give up. You are the great and mighty Thunder God of Asgard. The best warrior I know. The Prince and soon to be King! Bust most importantly my big brother." Loki's eyes glowed dimly in the darkness, their emerald glow that of a cats in the night. He pressed his free palm into Thor's back, and with a sudden unleashing of his magic, he gave any and all of his power he could give into every muscle and ever nerve in Thor's body, hoping it would be enough to ease some of the strain and heal in tearing which might have been happening. He pulled all his own energy in that one spell, feeling his own body's core beginning to drain but Thor's growing stronger with their brief connection. Loki fell limp against Thor's back, all his power and energy gone out of his body but into Thor's. "Y-You...You can do it...I know you can..." Loki whispered out with the little energy he had left.

His brother's words comforted Thor, and upon receiving his sudden burst of energy, Thor roared and hauled them up to the top, flopping over the edge in a heap. Just as he did so, a low rumbling sounded from the cave beneath them, debris and stone collapsing upon itself. The particular piece of ground they were on, thankfully, remained stable. Still panting, the god worriedly leaned over his weakened brother.

"You... did not have to do that, Loki... What if your own strength failed you? What if you could no longer have held on to me and fallen?" He paused blinking a few times. "But I thank you, brother. We... we are both safe."

Loki fell and lay in a heap on the ground, his body worn and tired. "W-What mattered to me w-was your own safety...I did not fret of my own." The younger sibling coughed harshly, wheezing as he tiredly gave Thor's knee a gentle pat. "Y-You needed the boost. If n-not we would have both d-died...if it came to that I would have wanted I to-take the fall than you.." Loki shook his head. "It doesn't matter any-anymore...we are both now s-safe and alive...that's wh-what counts. No...thank you. Y-You did very well brother..."

Loki smiled proudly at the blonde. On a lighter tone, he gave out a weakened chuckle. "So. Is this y-yet another f-fun tale to t-tell to the others when we get home hmm...?"

Thor found himself grinning, despite his worry. "Yes... of course. We will tell of your vigilance and strength, Loki; of how we survived together. We are the Sons of Odin, brother. Together, we can overcome any obstacle." The smile faltered a bit. "But never say you would rather die in my place. I will never allow it." He looked up, glancing about. "And I think... I think I know where we are. Our ship is due west of here, is it not?" Loki gave a lazily look around and gave a short nod. The various rock spires and cliffs all looked the same, save for one-one Loki had remarked earlier looking like the head of a dragon. That very rock stood in the distance.

The Thunderer took hold of his brother and pulled him into his arms, standing and begging his way back. "Let us return home and get you healed. A few healing stones will do the trick." Thor realized that Loki would probably have been able to heal himself, had he not wasted his magic on giving him strength. He should have been stronger. The thought hung low on him, but he turned and smiled. Had Loki not given him strength, sapping his own, they might have indeed fallen to their deaths. Comforted by his brother's affection, he began to walk, careful of the injured leg. Thor promised himself as he watched the resting form in his arms to be stronger and to do a better job in the future at protecting his little brother. After all, what were they without each other?

THE END