Thor stared down at Loki, distraught at how frail he still looked. Against the dark sheets, his pale skin made him look like a ghost. The bandages wrapping his torso were still soaked in blood, but none of it looked fresh. Thor sighed and brushed a strand of raven hair off his brother's forehead.

The very memory of what happened made Thor sick, as he sat by Loki's still unconscious form. A band of rogue frost giants had somehow got past Aasgard's defenses and had gained entry to the realm. Though no damage had been done, Thor had been furious. Even though Loki had begged him to see reason, assuring him that the passage they used had been sealed off, Thor made up his mind to get revenge. He remembered how Loki had chased him down the hall, trying to dissuade from making such a rash choice.

"You have no idea how many there are!" Loki said.

"It doesn't matter."

"So you're telling me you are just going to march right into their camp and just SEE HOW IT GOES?"

"That was my plan."

"Thor, they are most likely expecting you to follow them, for all you know this whole thing could be a trap!"

Thor turned to his brother, "I'm going and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Thor began to step through the passage to Jotunheim when Loki grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Get off me!" Thor roared, Turning, he hit Loki full in the face sending him sliding across the floor. Thor stepped through the Bifrost. Loki pulled himself up, wiped the blood from his mouth, and leaped though after Thor.

Loki pulled himself out of the snowdrift into which he had landed and sprinted in the direction of his brother's footprints. It didn't take very long to catch up to his brother, who was heading to where the rogue giants' camp was. Loki ran over to his brother, keeping one pace behind him. "Thor!" Loki's voice was a harsh whisper, "You have no idea what you are walking into." Thor grunted and quickened his pace, causing Loki to stumble into yet another snowdrift. Loki sighed and picked himself back up and ran after his brother.

Thor was focusing on the tracks of the frost giants, which all seemed to be heading in the same general direction. He heard his brother still trying to get him to turn back. The only words he caught were "rash" "stupid" and "going to die". Loki seemed like he was having trouble walking through the ice fields here. Thor could make out his brother cursing every time he stumbled.

They continued walking until they reached a small passageway cut into a glacier. "Thor don't even THINK of going in there, you have no idea how many are in there, they could easily ambush us." Thor ignored his brother and began to walk down the passage. He heard his brother begin to follow. The passage soon began to get wider, until it reached a large cave in the middle of the glacier. Thor walked out into the open and looked up. He heard Loki curse behind him. Clinging to stalactites on the cave wall and ceiling were more than fifty frost giants. They dropped to the ground and formed a circle around Thor and Loki, blocking their only way of escape.

Without warning, they all began to attack. Thor swung back and forth, hitting all the giants in his general vicinity. "Is that all you've got." He gloated as he took out even more. On the other side of the cavern Loki was battling giants of his own. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he conjured a torrent of green flame that twisted and turned with only a movement of his hands, sending giants running out of the cave in terror. Loki looked over at Thor, and saw that his brother seemed to be enjoying himself too much. Loki sighed and sliced his hand through the air, causing the frost giant in front of him to collapse without Loki even touching him. Suddenly, something caught Loki's eye.

One of the frost giants, Loki assumed that he was the leader, was scaling the rock with a cruel-looking, curved blade. Thor was oblivious to anything other then the next giant in front of him.

"THOR!" Loki shirked, sprinting across the cavern just as the frost giant pulled back his arm to throw the knife right at Thor. Hearing Loki's scream, Thor turned around just as his brother threw himself in front of him, taking the knife full in the torso. Loki screamed in agony as he slid across the floor of the cave.

"No." This couldn't be happening, Thor ran over to his brother as the frost giants began to close in.

Suddenly Thor saw magic surrounding them that seemed to be radiating from his brother. It incinerated anything it touched, both frost giants and the cave walls. All Thor could hear was the screams of his enemies and the sound of rock and ice splitting and the roof of the cave falling in. Just as Thor thought they would be crushed under the rocks and ice, the world around them began to spin into blackness.

Loki wasn't sure if he could keep this up for much longer. The magic he was performing required an enormous amount of energy to transport just one person, to transport two people was considered and enormous risk without being up to full strength. He focused on pushing every last drop of power in his veins into keeping him and Thor continuing toward Asgard. The air around him crackled with magic as he desperately tried to stay conscious. Suddenly the spinning stopped and Loki was thrown across the courtyard. They made it. They were inside the palace walls; they were safe.

Red spots began to fill Loki's vision as he looked down at the hilt of the blade buried in his torso. "Loki!" Thor ran over to his brother and tried to staunch the blood flowing the wound in his brother's chest.

"Hang on, brother."

Loki's breathing had become shallow and labored, his hands grappled at the hilt, pulling out the curved blade. Loki could only process one thought before he slipped into the blackness; Thor was safe.

While Thor continued his vigil at his brother's bedside, he realized that it wasn't the first time that his brother tried to save his life. Loki had always been there for him, offering advice and reason when Thor needed it most. When Thor was angry or frustrated Loki had always been there to listen to him. He had probably stopped Thor from taking the Warriors Three and Sif on countless suicide missions. Loki had always been looking out for Thor, even though he never really noticed it before. Thor closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain but all he could see was his little brother lying in a puddle of his own blood. Loud sobs wracked Thor's body as he begged Loki to wake up.

Loki felt like he was floating. Was he dead? Loki wasn't sure. He could still feel pain, so Loki guessed he was still alive. Why couldn't he wake up? He tried to break the force of whatever was holding him here. The magic he preformed to get him and Thor back to Asgard had probably weakened him immensely, but he should still be able to move. He heard a voice far away that seemed to be calling his name. He struggled toward the sound that seemed to be getting closer and closer.

Thor looked back at his brother just in time to see his green eyes flick open.

"Thor?" Loki's voice sounded horse. He cleared his throat "Are you there?"

Thor wrapped his brother in his arms, to overjoyed to say anything. Finally he whispered, "Loki I'm so sorry; I'll always be here for you."

Thor never realized it before, but Loki will do anything to save his brother, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.