Until We Meet Again

Loki squinted, wincing at the painfully bright light that was placed above him illuminating the empty room. Looking down, he impatiently tapped his fingers on the table he sat at. He had gotten some form of sleep in his cell, as much as his whirling mind would allow before being jolted awake by a loud, obnoxious banging on the door to his cell. A group of four hunters unlocked the cell and dragged him out. One of the hunters had only said he was requested at the Time Theater but when Loki questioned who had requested him the hunter just dismissed him with a flick of his head, the grip around his arm tightening to prod him on. Although he knew it was probably Mobius’s request.. he couldn’t be too sure. He couldn’t be sure of how Mobius would react after what had played out.. And everything he had told him. What is he going to do with me? Would he put me in another time loop? Would he prune me? Gods, he couldn’t trust anyone anymore, not even Mobius.. Or at least this Mobius. He had no idea who or what to believe anymore. It felt as if everything his TVA stood for was turned on its axis in this place. 

Or.. maybe being pruned was what he should be after? After all, Sylvie was in the Citadel--at least that's where he’d left her--so it would only make sense to try and get back to her that way? But that would mean he would have to get past Alioth again to get to the Citadel.. But he had only been able to succeed at doing so with Sylvie’s help. Their bond had created yet another spike, which heightened their magic abilities, killing Alioth. Although.. Alioth was defeated, right? So maybe it would work.. But, the last thing he needed was to be thrown back into The Void. He had made many good relationships in his time there, but it would be impossible to get back to the TVA again if things went south. 

So.. that wouldn’t work.

Maybe.. A TemPad? ..But where would he go? And how would he convince someone to willingly give him one, especially after the commotion he had caused. The rumor was bound to have spread among the other hunter’s and analysts by now...

Then he froze. The statue. He has to be here already.. What if.. What if he had found out that-

“Sorry for the wait,” 

Loki tensed at the sudden voice, stopping himself right before he tried to conjure the sword he’d been given. He’s been on edge for so long it's almost instinct now. 

Mobius quickly slipped into the room, looking behind him every so often to ensure no one had followed or seen him enter the room.

“I had to clear some things up,” he sighed as he walked over to the table. 

“Of course, my colleague had some.. Strong opinions on me coming to speak with you..”

He huffed as he slumped into the chair, setting down his clipboard in front of him. 

“So, I took matters into my own hands” He whistled as he shoved a rusted gold key into his jacket pocket with a small chuckle.

“I told her you were probably just stressed with the timeline branching, and I offered to come calm ya’ down but of course she had to come up with every reason for me not too..” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“This job is very complex and draining.. But that just shows how dedicated you are to protecting the timelines. It’s understandable for you to be under a lot of stress right now.” 

Loki froze for a moment. He thinks I work here, doesn't he.. Because of the suit?.. How could I forget? 

He broke Loki’s thoughts with a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.

“So.. are you doing any better?” Mobius sat forward, ready to listen if he objected.

Loki sharply exhaled in a chuckle, shaking his head. “If only you knew..”

“Try me” Mobius slumped back again, popping open a bottle of Josta that he had brought in with him. “After all, that's why I'm here, Isn’t it?”

Likely in a way to soothe the tension Mobius gestured his can forward with a nod, pointing to another can that was on the table. 

The first time he had met Mobius, he had offered that very drink the same exact way. Ironically both times--then and now--he’d been battling in his head whether he should trust Mobius or not. Then he had refused the drink, but right now his body ached with thirst more than ever.

Loki hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the can from the table with a grateful nod.

There was a long, comfortable silence that filled the room as the two drank, enjoying the moment of peace within each other's presence. 

It was so odd that even though Mobius claimed he didn’t know who he was, he sat so comfortably in his presence like he’d known Loki his entire life. Maybe this Mobius wasn’t so different after all..

Then, something in the silence changed, unease and hesitancy now crackling in the air between them.

Reluctantly clicking his pen against his clipboard, Mobius was the first to speak. 

“I.. I'm sorry about what happened back there” 

He avoided Loki’s questioning gaze, fidgeting with the pen in his hand.

“I really did try to remember who you are but.. It just wouldn’t come. I thought I must know you, given you know my name.. But I just froze, which usually doesn’t happen to me.”

Loki was surprised at how drastically his tone had changed. He’d never heard Mobius be this vulnerable, not even when they were exchanging hugs in the Void. He always held that witty sarcasticness that usually would fill in most of the high-tension moments he found himself in. Loki wasn’t quite sure what to say now, Mobius was usually the one to brighten up such a moment of vulnerability. 

“It’s.. not your fault, Mobius” Loki finally choked out, trying to hold back the unease in his voice. 

“To answer your question.. I’ve been better, that's for sure. To be completely honest I really wish I could tell you everything but.. you wouldn’t understand what happened, or what happened to us at the Citadel, at least not this yo-” 

Breaking off, he felt a wave of embracement rush through his body. He should’ve known letting down his guard would cause him to slip up somehow.
Mobius’s head shot up in confusion. “The.. Citadel? What’s that? And what do you mean.. This me?” 

Lovely. Now, he would somehow have to come back from that without making himself look like he’d lost his mind--which he felt was half true at this point. 

Shifting uncomfortably under Mobius’s confused gaze, he swallowed hard. 

“Mobius, yo-”

The door flung open, cutting him off. His and Mobius’s head shot up simulentationsly.

“Mobius, you’re needed in Renslayers office right away”

It was a female hunter, about 20 or so, which was one of the youngest hunters he had seen since being at the TVA. 

Ah, perfect. That judge was still in her spot.. Which he half expected when Mobius said one of his coworkers had tried to prevent him from coming to talk. 

Mobius turned to Loki with a ridiculed expression.

“Will you be okay here?” 

Loki managed to give a reassuring nod, which seemed to half satisfy Mobius. 

“..She actually requested him, too” the hunter added swiftly, gazing at Loki.

Loki swallowed hard. It was hard enough trying not to slip up talking to Mobius--which he had done--and luckily the hunter had come in before he could explain more. But now he had to talk to her about it?

“Alright.. Let's go then, I'm in enough trouble for talking to ya”

Mobius waved his hand, signaling for Loki to follow. When he hesitated, Mobius fell back to walk beside him.

***

Mobius had sent the hunter on to tell Ravonna that they’d be there momentarily. The hunter was skeptical, but continued on without questioning him. Their pace then slowed after the hunter had left, despite the order of coming ‘right away’. 

Standing in the elevator, the both of them stood in silence. 

Then Mobius turned to face him. “You never told me your name?”

Clearing his throat, he met his oddly calm gaze despite everything that had happened.

“It uh.. It doesn’t matter..” He broke off with an aggressive clearing of the throat again as Mobius eyed him down.

“Boy, you don’t want to share anything do ya? You’ll have to tell me at some point so we can look you up in the archives and give a proper report”

Loki felt a wave of embarrassment flush over his body. He hated having to lie to him, but he wasn’t sure of anything else to do right now and he needed to remain nameless for as long as he could until he was.

Before Loki could respond the doors to the elevator opened.

Mobius looked back up at him, his eyes shining with amusement.

“Better be a good one if you’re trying that hard to hide it” He winked before stepping out.

Loki stood there with a frown for a moment before hurrying after him.

“You know, I could just uh.. Wait out here for you to finish talking to her? You know, for privacy reasons?” Loki was hard on his heels, almost yelling to him as he tried to keep up with his fast pace. 

Seems like every version of Mobius is always so damn fast. 

“If anything you should consider yourself lucky, she never usually lets anyone other than me and the hunters in there”

Loki let out a groan in reply, rolling his eyes. 

Turning the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks. Multiple hunters poured out of Ravonna’s office, yelling into their radio communications saying Ravonna demanded a lockdown and all hunters were to report to the main hall. Hearing that drained away any last bit of humor between the two, their slower pace before now turned into a sprint as they ran to see what was going on.

Mobius was ahead now, leaving Loki behind again. He hurried to catch up, running into a hunter who was sprinting out of the room. 

Ravonna seemed to calm down the slightest bit at seeing Mobius burst through the door but as her gaze briefly fell on Loki the comfort faded, a guarded expression creeping across her face. 

“What on earth is going on, Ravonna? What’s the lockdown for?” 

“You definitely took your time getting here,” She stated coldly, ignoring his wave of questions.

“If you were here a few minutes ago, you would’ve already known” 

She pointed to a device on her desk which showed what looked to be the sacred timeline.. That’s now a rapidly growing web of weaving, intertwining lines. Instead of Ravonna gesturing to the rapidly growing timeline, she instead directed their attention to the middle of one of the timelines where a glowing orange dot was blinking. 

“How?..” Mobius exhaled sharply as he swiftly walked up to Ravonna’s desk to get a closer look at the device she was holding. Loki slowly followed close behind.

“How can it be.. There’s only one of those..” 

“Whoever this person is, they have his TemPad.” She added coldly. 

“It has to be one of them..” Ravonna muttered, half to herself. 

After a moment of silence, Ravonna spoke.

“Just what he said would happen..” She took a deep breath. “A variant of Loki is coming, and they now have his TemPad.” 

Loki's eyes widened in terror, stumbling back a step at the wave of bewilderment. 

his head started to spin. Could it be-

Suddenly screaming, hollering and loud crashes came from down the hallway.

Ravonna gave Mobius a brief icy stare, running to a cabinet. 

Within seconds Ravonna scooped up a Prune Stick and tossed Mobius one of his own. It seemed like they completely forgot he was there as they both darted out of the room without a word.

Loki stared after them with wide eyes like a deer in headlights, unable to move. Once again things got even worse, right when he thought it couldn’t. 

Suddenly something in him was urging him on, almost like an invisible force thrusting him toward the door. Something in him knew he needed to go, like his life depended on that one decision.

Making up his mind, he went after them.

Loki followed in a mad dash to keep up with them as they rushed down the hallway.

Skidding a corner he saw countless hunters unconscious on the floor as Ravonna, Mobius and B-15 stood motionless with their sticks held out to a being before them. Shoving Mobius aside, a blur of blonde caught his eye, disappearing into a time door milliseconds before being hit by B-15’s stick. 

Sylvie?..