Chapter 3 – Disobedience, Glory and Noise

"Oh, come on, it's going to be fun!" Thor's voice boomed across the small room he was in.

The room in question was, in fact, more of a hall that usually served as a private banquet hall for when the royal family wanted to entertain guests in private. However, they had about a dozen such rooms, so this particular one had long since been forgotten, tucked away in a hardly-used space of the palace. In absence of it being used for its actual purpose, the hall in recent years had been taken over by the sons of Odin as their hangout, and they often retreated to it when bored or when they wished to avoid their duties.

Thor had even named the hall when they had first discovered it, calling it Glitnir, the gleaming hall and declared that it would be where the sons of Odin would meet to drink, feast and revel in tales of each other's glories. To that effect, he had even made Loki and Kal swear an oath that whilst there the three would always be brothers and never quarrel whilst in Glitnir's walls.

It was an oath that Loki looked on as a silly childhood promise, but which he never failed to use to his advantage when the three were together, using it as a shield for when one of his pranks got out of hand. Or when he was attempting to talk sense into Thor as he was currently trying to do.

"Why is it every time you say, 'it's going to be fun', I can tell we are all going to end up in front of father." Loki sighed, shaking his head at Thor's latest suggestion at adventure. His concerns were dismissed as usual.

"You worry too much, and besides he'll never know." Thor waved his hand as he spoke.

"I'm not sure Thor, maybe Loki is right. It does seem a little -" Kal's voice was soft and quiet as he wrung his hands nervously.

"Kal, don't worry. It's an adventure just like in the stories. More importantly, we are the sons of Odin, all three of us together, what could possibly harm us?" Thor wrapped one of his skinny arms around his little brother.

Thor was just past his first decade, each month he seemed to grow at least an inch in height causing him to start towering over Kal and Loki, his muscles hadn't quite caught up. Whilst he was by no means fragile or weak, the mismatch between his growing height with his physique meaning the crown prince of Asgard was currently an overly tall, very lanky 11-year-old.

"That, brother, is precisely why I am concerned:w e don't know what could hurt us" Loki's voice was slightly high in pitch, something Thor often teased him about.

2 years junior, Loki was not overtly smaller than his brother, but the height difference was fast becoming apparent especially as the former had yet to hit his growth spurts as the latter had. In all, Loki looked quite fine for a boy of 9, he wasn't too scrawny despite what Thor said, and he had started to acquire a sense of fashion. choosing dark green golden robes to wear, while his high cheekbones were starting to become pronounced.

Whereas Kal was now 6 and had jet-black hair that was kept fairly short like his brother's, but where his Loki's was neatly styled Kal's hair was an inkyblack mess that seemed to have no pattern to it. He was also quite tall for his age despite being nearly 3 years Loki's junior. He was about equal to his brother in height with the top of his head just passing Loki's eye level, a fact Thor constantly joked about declaring that Loki would be the smallest of them.

"Enough, are we going to do this or not?" The eldest brother huffed, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms in a clear attempt to imitate their father.

"Well… as long as you promise we will be okay?" Kal spoke to Thor and glanced at Loki looking for reassurance as he always did.

"Of course! What an adventure we shall have!" Thor grasped Kal in a hug whilst his fist stretched before him, as if doing so would cause mighty enemies and beautiful maidens to appear before them.

Loki merely rolled his eyes but gave Kal a reassuring smile "Okay, let's do it, but I swear that the moment this all goes wrong I amtelling father, and he will know that it was all your idea. Deal?"

"Fair enough, but like I said, he will never know." Thor grinned before grabbing his cloak and passing Kal his, making sure his younger brother's was securely fastened before they headed out.

The adventure Thor was promising was an unsupervised trip outside of the palace walls. Specifically, he was taking them to a place he had heard about from the servants and minor nobles' children, a place called Folkvang. Literally translated from the old tongue, Thor said it meant battle-field and it was apparently a place where young Asgardians went to prove their skills against each other, all without parental supervision.

It was the ideal setting for their first real adventure together, a place on Asgard where they could go without needing their parents to take them, and with no adults around so any glory they won would be their own. For Thor, it also meant a chance for him to have a real proper fight, not some training match or a sparring session against some noble's son, but a true test of might and skill.

Now, originally Thor had asked permission from his mother, then his father if he could go, but both had been adamant that he could not. For one, it was only a rumour, and more importantly the future heir to the throne could not just go out in public unsupervised to a fight club of all places.

He admitted to himself that it had not helped his case when he tried to say that he would of course bring his brothers along too for company, to try and get around the whole unsupervised aspect. Well, let's just say that he quickly realised his mistake. He also found out why people seemed to be so afraid of his parents, because the look his mother had given still sent shivers down his spine.

Nevertheless, Thor had not been able to resist the call of such a place. He was bored of being kept in the palace all day, sick of all the training without ever actually getting to fight anyone, and if he was honest was a little lonely too.

He certainly loved his brothers deeply, thinking the world of both Kal and Loki. In his dreams the three would be together forever, fighting battles and winning glory until Ragnarök, but the only issue was that it only ever was the three of them. There were never any other children for them to play with or befriend; the servant children were all too scared of displeasing their princes and the noble children that visited acted similarly, always agreeing with whatever they said, which was boring.

Thor knew that Loki and Kal felt the same. Had he not spoken to them about it and they not admitted to their feelings of isolation, he still would have known. The three were brothers after all.

Loki was dismissive of the idea of friends and played off his isolation as a great strength. But Thor had seen Loki cast illusions of children they had seen on the street below and then pretend he was really playing games with the phantom companions. Under the harsh words and bitter tongue, his brother truly longed for companions his own age.

Kal too had made imaginary friends, and since he could produce no illusions like Loki, he created them from the toys and figurines that he had within his room. Thor knew for a fact there wasn't a single object in Kal's room that his brother had not named and, at least once,pretended that it was alive and friendly.

In the face of that, Thor felt completely justified to disobey his parents this once, not merely because he wanted a real fight for the first time in his life but also because he wanted his brothers to at least meet other people.

Speaking of disobedience, the crown prince hadn't actually planned too far ahead. He knew the way to go after getting out of the palace, but the only problem was that he had no idea exactly how to leave without being seen. All of this was evidenced by the fact that the three boys were currently hiding behind the same pillar they reached 10 minutes ago, while Thor had the same confused look on his face as he debated their next move.

"You have no idea where we are going, do you?" Loki whispered as Thor, for the second time, turned his head in two different directions.

"Uhhhh, well I know where Folkvang is. It's just past the eastern edge of the city, in a wooded glen, and it's marked by a large runestone." Thor gave a confident smile that did not quite meet his eyes.

"I meant how to get out of the palace." Loki just raised his eyebrows as he looked at his elder brother.

"Ehhhh…"

"Thought so" he sighed "Come on Kal, we are going back."

"Wait! Alright, so, perhaps I don't know how to get out of the palace. I…" Thor admitted then mumbled something incoherent.

Loki's face broke out into a wide grin. "What was that, dear brother?"

"I need your help." Thor groaned at having to admit to needing Loki's help with his plan.

"I'm not sure." Loki was like the cat who caught the canary as he tapped a finger to his lips whilst his hand was on his chin.

"Please Loki. Do it for me and Kal." Thor implored whilst gesturing to their little brother, who was still looking uncertain about the whole ordeal and just then looked up to the two of them with hopeful eyes.

Loki upon seeing Kal's eyes simply sighed and gestured for them to follow him back the way they had come. The trio spent the next half an hour seemingly walking down random corridors and crisscrossing the palace, at least to Thor's mind, but neither he nor Kal said anything and trusted in their guide's abilities. If there was one thing they were certain of, it was Loki's ability to deliver exactly what he promised.

The end of the first part of their journey was rather disappointing for Kal and Thor who had been expecting to be led through some ancient secret tunnel behind a statue or painting. Instead they had arrived at one of the palace's laundry rooms. Loki then stepped up to one of the chutes on the wall, opening it and gesturing inside.

"My brothers, my I present: our very own Bifrost"

"Uhhhh, not to be picky but how is this going to get us out of the palace?" Thor looked at his brother with complete scepticism.

Loki merely facepalmed "Because, dear brother, these chutes are used for the bed linens. They are collected on carts and then brought to a cleaning establishment."

"So?" Thor was now just plain confused.

Loki rubbed his eyes and sighed. "So if the bed linens are washed outside these walls, then that is where their chutes obviously lead."

"So we go down the chutes and we end up outside then?" Kal spoke looking up to Loki to see if he was right.

"Yes, little brother." Loki smiled and rustled his brother's hair for figuring it out.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Thor then lumbered forward and proceeded to climb into the chute before pausing. "Wait, how far down does this gOOO?!"

Loki pushed him from behind whilst shrugging. "No idea, not far I imagine."

"Loki!" Kal half shouted and half laughed at his brothers' actions.

"Oh come now, he deserved that, and besides it's fine. A nice pile of sheets will be there to greet him." Loki reasoned, whilst giving Kal a wide grin.

"Umm, you mean those?" Kal gestured to the other side of the room where a massive pile of bed sheets had been left.

"Oh dear Well, I'm sure he'll be fine. How about you hold onto me and I'll float us along a bit more slowly?" Loki offered his hand to his little brother and proceeded to gently lower them down the chute.

It did not take them long once out of the palace to start making their way through the city itself, the streets were crowded and whilst someone might have normally raised a question as to why three children were by themselves, luckily everyone was too busy to notice. Vendors went about their business trying to sell an assortment of items from all across the Nine realms and beyond, and those who were not busy shopping were hurrying along weaving through the crowds trying to reach their own destinations.

Thor's sense of direction as to their objective was much better now they were out of the palace, and whilst he had never actually been to this Folkvang he had been given very specific directions from the serving boy who had told him. They turned left, finally leaving the busy market street behind them and the trio stopped for a moment, mostly to allow their youngest member to catch up.

Kal was having the time of his life even if they didn't end up at this place Thor was taking them to, He because this was the greatest adventure they had ever been on. He loved the crowded streets, the smell of food in the air, and the sound of people talking, although he did wish it was all a bit less strong, Kal was starting to get a headache at all the sensations swirling around him.

Although looking up at his older brother he did his best to hide his discomfort, Thor nor Loki seemed bothered by all this noise. Both appeared just as happy as him to be out of the palace, so he did his best to try and hide his discomfort, giving both a reassuring and broad smile when they stopped to catch their breath.

"So how far is this field of glory, oh god of finding places?" Loki quipped at Thor whilst eating an apple he had not had before they entered the marketplace.

"Well, it shouldn't be too far now," Thor said looking at a small map he brought with them. "According to the serving boy, it should be past that row of dwellings, over a hill, and in the glen beyond."

Loki turned his head to where Thor was pointing and, having no reason to doubt his brother yet, merely shrugged before gesturing for them to continue onwards. He also produced another apple from a bag, which had also not had before, and offered it to Kal who gladly took it.

Kal almost spat the apple out as took a bite into it. The offered fruit was too sweet and he could swear he could taste the leather from Loki's gloves on it. He suspected it was one of Loki's pranks and, not wishing to let Thor know he had been tricked, pretended not to notice following the bite he took whilst quietly discarding the apple.

He was starting to wonder how anyone lived in the city with all the clamouring noise that was around them. And the awful stench, he was starting to smell everything around him and it was mostly the smell of Asgardian sweat combined with the sewer below them. He was thankful that it lessened once they finally passed the row of houses Thor had pointed out, and they started to climb the hill that marked the easternmost edge of the city.

Whilst Kal could still hear the market behind them, the stench at least was overpowered by the smells of the woods in front of them. He breathed deep, letting the fresh aroma of clean air, oak, pine, and grass fill his nostrils… Before he promptly began to sneeze.

He never imagined the forest had so many scents, it was almost too much. His sneezing fit caused his brother to whirl around to face him, but before they could act Kal merely waved them off and blew his nose to dispel overabundant sensations.

As Thor lumbered on, pushing through the bushes in front of them and carving a path for his brothers to follow, Loki turned to face Kal. "Are you alright, little brother?"

"I'm fine Loki, don't worry about it. Come now, we are on an adventure, can't let Thor have all the glory." He grinned, rushing past in an effort to catch up with his eldest brother.

It took a little while but they eventually reached the site Thor had talked about: Folkvang in all its glory.

Honestly, Kal had expected more. Before them was a large clearing in the woods, and in its middle stood a very large runestone which depicted what appeared to be children fighting, or sparring at least. The runestone was about three or four times Thor's height, he estimated, and whilst impressive it was not exactly what they were after.

"Congratulations brother, you have brought us to a rock." Loki patted Thor on the shoulder whilst grandly gesturing at the runestone before them.

The two quickly broke into their usual bickering with Thor hopelessly trying to explain the lack of anything in the field other than the runestone. However, Kal was quick to drown out their bickering; he could swear he heard something. It sounded like people all around them, some were chatting and others were fighting but they were definitely there, almost muffled-sounding.

Kal then looked at the runestone before them very closely, and could see a small inscription carved just below the images of the children fighting.

'What do all young warriors seek, speak it now and you may gain it.'

Kal pondered for a moment. He hated riddles. Loki told them all the time, and the answer was either so obvious you felt like an idiot for not getting it or it was so complicated you just had to give up and beg for the solution.

Kal was silent for a few moments before deciding to give it a shot. "Um, we come for glory?"

With his statement, the runestone sent out a flash of light which blinded the three princes for a moment but once their sight returned, they saw the large field was now filled with children of all ages, from Kal's age to teenagers on the cusp of adulthood.

The field was set out haphazardly. There were makeshift fighting squares which had been set out with no pattern, along with benches, tables, stalls with food and drink, along with various other games placed all over the field. There was not a single adult in sight, all the equipment and furniture were clearly mismatched having been taken from wherever the occupants of the field could get their hands on it, so in all it was very impressive.

There seemed to be two points of order in the swirling chaos before them. One was a large circular area in the middle of the field with a large wooden board standing next to the ring where two older boys were currently fighting in front of a large crowd cheering them on. The other was a wide tented area where a number of bruised and battered youths were being attended by a number of young girls who seemed to be wielding magic while healing their wounds.

"Hail and well met! It seems we have some newcomers?" The speaker was a boy that was walking up behind them and the trio quickly turned around to face him.

The boy was about Thor's age, he possessed short cut curly blonde hair which was much duller than Thor's golden locks along high cheekbones and a very warm smile. He sauntered up to them,, and when he came close he seemed just shorter than the oldest Odinson, then provided them with an elegant and elaborate bow.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to Folkvang.I am Fandral, and you are?" the thus named Fandral gave a polite smile.

It was Loki who responded "We are the sons of Harbard the ferryman. My name is Logi, and these are my brothers Donar and Balder." Kal was always amazed by Loki's ability to lie so easily. "We were told about this place by a friend and thought we see if it was real."

"Well, sons of Harbard, you will find it's quite real" Fandral waved his hand over the field "A place to really test what you are made of."

"So, are you in charge here?" Thor stepped forward causing the showy boy to look at him.

"Oh, Valhalla, no. There isn't really any one person in charge, it's all just sort of run on good faith, you know." Fandral explained, "The rules are quite simple: one doesn't start any trouble, any who want to fight are placed on the board, and under no circumstance will you tell any adults about this place."

"Sounds easy enough. So, how does one get into a fight?" Thor grinned.

"Follow me."Fandral started to explain as he led Thor over to the board area with Loki and Kal trailing behind. "Here we are, just go over to the roster, write your name on a plank of wood, they slap it up and tell you who you're up against,"

As they approached Kal could see the two older boys fighting in the central circle, both were many years his senior, and had a good foot and half on Thor in height. They also had impressive musculature and had their torsos uncovered. The makeshift arena was deafening. Kal had to plug his ears which barely helped, he could hear the clang of the two boys' training blades striking each other and the roar of the crowd as they screamed for one of the combatants to win.

Loki noticed his brother's discomfort and wrapped an arm around his brother bringing him close, evidently believing he was frightened at being around strangers. Kal smiled back whilst trying his best not to ruin the day.

Thor was quick to sign up for the informal tournament and failed to convince the second youngest to sign up, with Loki merely gesturing to Kal who was evidently uncomfortable. Thor quickly nodded and gave Kal a wide grin and promised to win a match for him, before heading off to a fighting square for his first match.

To be honest, the day was starting to drag for Kal. He wanted to watch Thor fight but was having trouble staying on his feet amongst the crowd. Everything was just too noisy, and although he didn't want to be rude everyone stank. To him, the whole place was a mixture of sweat, blood and excrement.

Loki on the other hand was finally having fun as he stood close to Kal, who was currently standing on an improvised bench trying to watch Thor fight over the crowd. He was actually talking to people, real actual people and none of them knew he was their prince! They laughed honestly at his jokes, they really seemed interested in him, and whilst he obviously couldn't be truthful, he did have such fun spinning stories for their entertainment.

Thor's first match was against the Fandral boy. While there was no one in charge, it was clear that the matches were organised by the older boys who were entrusted with the job of refereeing in between their own matches.

Thor picked up a training mace from a weapons rack at the edge of the square and no sooner had the match begun than he was already hammering away at Fandral who was, as far as Kal could see from his vantage point, doing a remarkable job of parrying every single blow.

Fandral was swift and graceful; he sidestepped every advance and despite him clearly struggling with Thor's strength managed to deflect any strike he could not avoid. However, it was clear that Thor had the advantage and all Fandral could do was try to delay his defeat. Despite his superior grace, his opponent was relentless and left no pause or opening for him to take advantage of.

The match lasted longer than Kal thought it would, finally ending when Fandral in his exhaustion misjudged a dodge and took a direct blow from Thor that was so hard that he was lifted off his feet and thrown back a distance. With that, the older boy watching them declared the match over and Thor the victor.

The prince roared in victory and basked in his first real fight, but was quick to offer Fandral a hand which the now bruised boy took. "Good bout, you fought well!"

"Yeah thanks, you've got some arm for a ferryman's son." Fandral coughed whilst rubbing his chest. "Good thing we have some apprentice healers to patch us up until we fight again, Harbardson."

Fandral half-limped over to the large tent area that Kal had seen earlier, then more than a dozen girls suddenly swarmed the wounded boy as he left, each trying to be the one to ask if he was all right, a fact which Kal found confusing but Loki merely smirked at.

What Kal did not see was a tall blonde girl with flowing locks wearing an emerald dress and a golden necklace that stood just to one side of the ring admiring Thor as he prepared for his next fight. The look in her eye would have been unnerving if anyone met it, and appeared as that of a cat ready to pounce.

It was after a dozen matches that Thor finally returned, his shirt had been discarded displaying his lanky frame and lack of muscles. A large gash was on his chest and there were several bruises on his face which were starting to swell, but to look at him you think it was his birthday. The would-be warrior was grinning ear to ear and as he stepped out of the square it was to chants of his pseudonym:

"DONAR! DONAR!" The shouting still rang in the air even after he had left.

"This is the best day of my life, brothers! 12 fights, 12 victories! And that last one, did you see the size of that stonemason's apprentice and the backswing that I did to knock him into the dirt?" Thor's voice was electrified with joy.

Kal merely grinned at his brother whilst trying to keep the look of anguish off of his face, he could see that Loki and Thor were having fun here, but he was not. Everything was getting louder and louder, the smell was worsening and on top of all that Kal's vision was starting to go funny.

"So, are we heading back now?" Kal asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding strained.

"Back? I've just been invited to fight in the central circle and besides, aren't you enjoying it out here being around people your own age?" Thor looked slightly incredulous at Kal's question.

"I am! It's just we've been here for hours and if we don't get back soon mother or father will realise we're gone." Kal was doing his best to try and justify his desire to leave without revealing his troubles with his senses out of fear his brothers would think him weak.

"He does have a point, brother." Loki could tell Kal was not telling them something and besides whilst he was having fun they were starting to push their luck.

"Very well, let me do one more fight and get healed then we can go, alright" Thor was almost pleading with his brothers not wanting to miss out on this opportunity.

Loki looked down at Kal who merely forced a smile and nodded. "Fine, ONE fight."

Thor grinned in victory, "Okay, but you have to be in the front row, especially you little brother, I promised you a victory did I not?"

Before Kal could object Thor was off with the other two trailing behind him. As they reached the circle a very large boy much older than Thor stood in the centre, he was tall and brawny and looked like he could snap Thor in half. Loki pushed their way slightly to the front to allow Kal and himself an actual view of their brother's fight.

"So, when do we get started?" Thor cracked his neck as he picked up the training sword and shield that had been left on the floor, eager to begin his final match.

"Once she is ready." The large boy half-turned pointing at a young girl between Thor's and Loki's age.

The girl twirled the sword in her hand, she was about Loki's height and looked stunning, especially compared to Thor's battered and beaten look, she wore what appeared to be a modified dress that once had a full-length crimson skirt and elegant sleeves, but the sleeves had been torn off at the elbows and the skirt ripped so it only reached her mid-thigh. She had also strapped leather training pads over her torso and placed leather vambraces on her forearms.

"I'm fighting her?" Thor baulked "You want me to fight a girl?"

"What, afraid you'll lose? I've seen more meat on a chicken than on you!" The girl declared smirking at him whilst she twirled her sword again.

Thor merely shrugged and as he caught Kal's eye at the edge of the ring winked at his little brother and mouthed "Quick fight."

The girl caught the action, which caused her to scowl and drop into a warrior's stance ready to fight. Thor merely sighed and took a few practice swings to get a feel for the sword before nodding for them to start.

The elder boy clapped for them to begin and stepped back, Thor was first to move, bolting forward ready to deliver a powerful blow to end the match with one swing, and it would have had it hit its target. Instead, the girl raised her shield to meet but before the sword connected somehow smoothly rolled out of the way allowing the strike to hit the dirt harmlessly before she sprang up onto her feet and delivered a clear blow to Thor's side.

Kal winced, he could hear the broken crunch as the dull-edged training sword connected with his brother's side, and had Thor been anyone else the blow let alone the pain that followed it would have ended the match. Instead, Thor let out a laugh, surprising the girl who then had to dodge him trying to backhand her with his shield, and once she did, she had to parry a strike he made with his sword.

The girl smiled 'Finally a real challenge' she thought as she rushed forward just as Thor who had the same exact thought also charged leading to a series of blindingly fast strikes and equally fast parries between the two.

The circle was filled with a constant ringing of metal striking metal which, when combined with the noise the growing crowd was making as more joined to watch the match, caused Kal to start panicking.

His headache was turning into a skull-splitting drill which was burrowing in from every side. He had closed his eyes when the world around him suddenly exploded in violent hues and colours, his nostrils were on fire with the smell of sweat, blood and everything else and him. The worst however was the noise, no matter what he did everything was just becoming louder and louder with all the sounds now overlapping: the sound of cheering, the ringing of the swords, hell he could even hear Thor's heartbeat and the cacophony of the market street they had left.

He finally knew something was wrong, and quickly tugged on Loki's arm who had been watching the fight. "I want to go home now."

"We will after the fig- KAL!" Loki's alarm was at the fact his little brother was convulsing in pain, and if that had not been bad enough Kal's ears were bleeding.

Loki's shout caused the people nearest to them to step back and watch in horror as the young boy suddenly dropped to his knees screaming as he clutched his ears with his eyes shut after Thor's and the girl's swords struck each other again.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Kal screamed in desperation.

Loki was quick to realise what Kal was talking about and before anyone could stop him flung his arms out sending a spell out towards the two swords which quickly turned orange as they heated up. Causing Thor and the girl to quickly drop them mid-swing making the crowd groan and several people to call out "HEY! No magic allowed!"

Thor whirled around knowing full well Loki had cast the spell and was about to unleash his fury on his brother when and everyone else around the circle noticed Kal who was nearly writhing on the floor. Quickly rushing over Thor pushed past the girl to reach his brother and dropped to his knees desperate to help.

"Kal! Loki, what's wrong?"

In response, Kal merely screamed again for them to make it stop and Loki was looking around in a panic as if something nearby could possibly aid his brother. "I don't know! The healing tents, take him there!"

But before they could try to move him Kal grasped onto Thor's shoulder and with tears in his eyes begged his brother "I want to go home."

In that moment Thor knew what they had to do, looking up at Loki Thor merely nodded and said: "Loki, do it!"

Taking a deep breath Loki used every ounce of magical skill he currently possessed to make his voice boom across Asgard. "HEIMDALL!"

The entire field, bar Kal who was still sobbing in pain, went quiet as everyone just stared at the three brothers mostly in disbelief but before anyone could say anything an explosion of light occurred just before the brothers.

Once the light was gone, in its place stood Odin, Frigga and two dozen gold plated Einherjar warriors that quickly moved to surround the princes. In response to the sudden arrival of their monarchs in their secret battlefield, the gathered would-be warriors scattered. Everyone ran around in a panic as the concealment spell over the area collapsed.

Thor looked up into the faces of his parents, each one etched in a fury he had never seen previous, but before they could raise their voices and demand to know what they were doing, hemerely moved to his side to show Kal writhing in pain in his arms.

"Help" was the only word that escaped his lips.

Fury was immediately replaced with concern in Frigga's eyes as she scrambled forward to clutch Kal causing her to shove Thor onto his back as she tried to soothe her son that was still begging to go home. "Hush now darling, mother's here, everything is alright."

On his back, Thor saw the girl he had been fighting just staring at them until a boy he hadn't met yet ran up to her and pulled her by the hand, dragging her away. "Come on Sif we need to go."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Odin's voice bellowed as he took his eyes of Kal glaring back and forth between Thor and Loki, who could say nothing in response.

Realising that staying here would not aid his son, and that the other brothers had gone silent, Odin lifted Gungnir before striking the soil and causing another blinding light to form around them, as it cleared Thor saw they were now in Valaskjalf'smain hall.

"YOU STUPID ARROGANT BOYS, SNEAKING OUT AND TAKING YOUR BROTHER WITH YOU, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Odin rounded on Thor and Loki while shaking in rage and his voice caused the room to tremble.

"ODIN!" Frigga's voice snapped causing him to turn back to her, she simply lifted Kal who she was cradling in her arms.

"GUARDS!" Several dozen more appeared from the edges of the hall and corridors. "Take my wife and youngest son to the healing room NOW, get Lady Eir to examine him. And take my other sons to their rooms."

"But father we want t-" Thor tried to speak but was cut off by his father.

"YOU" Odin growled before taking a deep breath "You have done enough for one day. Now GO."

With that Thor and Loki retreated back to their rooms escorted by a dozen guards each whilst a similar number gently placed Kal on a stretcher they had brought in. The group then quietly escorted him and Frigga to the healing rooms.

Odin was left alone. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself as Mímir arrived, having been clearly alerted to something happening by the numerous guards that had just swarmed the main hall.

"My lord, what has happened?" Mímir looked at his king and old friend with concern.

"I don't know, Kal has had some kind of attack, his ears were bleeding. Get to the archives now, I want to know everything there is to know about what my son might be going through" Odin commanded.

Mímir nodded but hesitantly replied, "Of course. But, my Lord, we don't know much about his peo-"

"THEN FIND IT. I don't care if you have to tear that pod apart or search half the cosmos. I want to know precisely what is happening to him and what else may follow."

Mímir gave a quick bow before departing in the direction of the archives, hopefully to find answers to some very troubling questions.