(A/N) This chapter is set the night before they travel to the Dark World, when Thor visits Loki to tell him his plan.

"Loki! Focus!" Loki looked up to see his brother glaring at him. Smirking, he looked down at the table where Thor was laying out his plan in front of him and shrugged. "Alright, alright." He examined Thor's plans and shrugged yet again. "Yes, brother?" As Thor began to re-explain his plans, Loki drifted off again, fiddling with his hands under the table.

Thor growled. "LOKI!" He grabbed both of Loki's hands and then let go of them immediately, inhaling sharply. His younger brother's right hand was covered in blood, and his left held a strange needle of sorts. "Loki? Loki! What is this!?" Loki shook his head, hiding his hands behind his back and smiling smugly. "It's nothing, do please continue with your absolutely wonderful plan to possibly kill us, brother." Loki drawled casually, but Thor saw through it immediately. "Loki. Loki, what is that?" He asked quietly.

Wordlessly, Loki handed the needle over to his brother, who examined it. "What is this?" Loki shrugged. "Just a needle." Thor glared over at him. "I'm not stupid, Loki."

"That's news to me." Loki smirked. "Very funny. You know I mean the symbols on this needle." The brunette smiled. "If you're so smart, why don't you figure it out yourself?" Thor growled and seized his brother's right hand, using his belt dagger to slit the delicate fabric along the seams. Peeling the sleeve back, he narrowed his eyes. His brother's arm was covered with strange symbols, all carved deep into the flesh, some scars and others fresh cuts, welling crimson blood.

"What is this!?" He squeezed his brother's arm and Loki winced. "Unhand me, Thor!" However, Thor only gripped his arm harder. "Not until you tell me what the meaning of this is!" Loki gritted his teeth, but Thor only tightened his grip. Finally, Loki gasped, "Fine!"

He held up the needle and examined it for a moment, before wiping the blood off it. "Do you remember when we were mere children? Sif had a dagger...she showed it to all of us, it could cut and the scars it left would never disappear?" Thor nodded impatiently. "Yes, what of it?" Loki's eyes seemed to drift. "After all of you had left, it was just her and me. She...ah...showed it to me again..."

Loki looked after the retreating backs of the Warriors Three and Thor. Sif had stayed behind to clean her dagger and Loki had not beeninvited to join Thor and his friends. He never was. Just as he was about to turn, he felt cool metal press against his neck. Sif had walked over to where Loki was and drawn her dagger on him without making a single sound. She whispered words in his ear that made him turn pale, and lowered the dagger to his collarbone, dragging it lightly across it, just enough to draw blood, before withdrawing it and stalking off.

Loki lowered the collar of his tunic just enough to show Thor the long scar that ran from the base of his neck to his left shoulder. Thor's eyes widened and he stood, pacing. "Sif will pay for that!" Loki shook his head. "Nay, I should thank her, in fact. While I was in the dungeons, I kept thinking about that, and I created this needle after the same design. Now, if you don't mind..." Loki looked meaningfully at his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Thor released him and looked at his hand, which was covered in Loki's blood. "But why? Why would you do this to yourself?" Loki cocked his head and looked at Thor. "Well, isn't it obvious? There was no one else to experiment on!" Thor sighed and shook his head, when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

He grabbed Loki's other hand and yanked up the sleeve roughly. Sure enough, it was covered in more symbols, mercilessly gouged into the flesh. He looked at Loki, eyes asking a silent question. "Well, of course it's all over me! I don't have countless arms, you know!" Thor sighed. "Loki..." He took the needle and put it in his pocket, shaking his head at Loki's look of askance. "Thor!" Swivelling, he hushed Loki with a glare and gestured. “Come, let us go to the healers-” Loki smiled. “This treason thing a bit new to you? The palace services are no longer available to us.” He paused for a moment.

“I’ll be fine.”

As they strolled down the corridor past Sif, Thor nodded to her curtly. She drew her sword and placed it to Loki’s neck to prevent him from going any further. “If you betray him, I will kill you.” She waited until Thor was out of earshot, before shifting her sword, pushing his collar down with the tip of her sword and tapping meaningfully on the scar before withdrawing her sword and turning to face the onslaught of soldiers.

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“What...what did Sif say to you?” Loki turned to face Thor on the ship to the Dark World. He shrugged. “The thing about killing me if I betrayed you. Same old, same old.” He smirked. Thor’s eyebrows creased. “No, I meant when she gave you that scar.” Loki looked away for a moment, before turning back to face Thor. “I-I’m not sure...I can’t remember…” His cool, collected mask slipped for a second and he inhaled quickly, and Thor thought he could detect the faintest flush in his brother’s pale face.

Of course Loki knew what Sif had said…

Sif leaned closer to Loki’s ear...