Lamentis felt colder than usual.
She'd decided to come to the planet a full six months before it's apocalypse, since it's one of the few places that Kang wouldn't look for her at.
She wondered if anyone else would.
Sylvie knew the minute she'd shoved Loki through that door, it was over. She was throwing away the one piece of happiness that the universe had ever granted her. But she couldn't stop, not when her entire existence had been driven to this point. She'd nearly killed him once during their fight, she couldn't bear it if the next blow would have been successful.
So she broke Loki's heart while she tore out her own.
In the end, He Who Remains had been right. A few minutes after she'd thrust the sword into his heart , several portals opened up into the citadel, with variants of the man stepping out of them. One, in particular, called himself Kang the Conqueror, and took her prisoner. For weeks she was beaten and tortured for information she didn't even have. It was only when a guard got sloppy that she was able to enchant them into releasing her bonds so she could escape.
Now Sylvie was back to her original routine of running from apocalypse to apocalypse. The branching of the multiverse made it even more impossible to detect a nexus event, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She'd finally settled on Lamentis, the first place she'd ever known something besides fear. Then she took out the tempad she'd stolen and stomped it to the ground.
The Góððess of Mischief was done, both with running....and with living.
This is where she would die.
********************
"I don't understand it, Mobius, she has to be somewhere!"
Loki was frantic. Ever since Sylvie had shoved him through that time door, he'd made it his mission to find her.
The first thing he did was locate his Mobius. The first one he came upon didn't really understand what he was telling him, but still loaned him a tempad without hesitation.
It seemed he had a good friend in all the timelines now.
Once he finally got back to the right TVA, he, Mobius(who crushed him in a bear hug as soon as he stepped through the portal), and an oddly concerned B-15 began scouring everywhere for Sylvie's nexus signature. Inbetween searches they were fighting off the multiple Kangs that had invaded, especially the head Variant that was simply known as Conqueror. It was during a fight with his armies that Loki got his first break. He overheard the soldiers mention that their leader couldn't break the blonde sorceress he'd captured.
Loki felt his blood boil at thought of someone harming Sylvie, and he quickly overpowered the gossipers and used his newly acquired enchantment powers to find a location.
He and B-15 took an army of minutemen and invaded the fortress. By the time they got there, Sylvie was gone, but Loki saw the chains and blood....and him.
"If your here for the little enchantress, she's gone."
"Gone where? Where did you take her?!"
"Nowhere yet," Kang said with an arrogant smirk, "but I'll find her soon enough...maybe if you pledge your loyalty now...I'll let you play with whatever's left."
That turned out to be a very bad thing to say.
With a cry of rage, Loki unleashed a wave of magic that was unlike anything he'd ever done before. It crumbled the castle and disintegrated most of the army. Kang tried to rush forward and attack, but Loki grabbed him by the throat, hoisting him several feet into the air.
"No more resurrections this time."
In an eerie echo of his former master, Loki snapped the Conqueror's neck, just before ripping the head clean off the body.
In one move, the Góð had singlehandedly brought the war to an end.
But there was still no sign of Sylvie.
*****************
"We're going to find her, Loki."
"I've went through thousands of timelines, and there's been no trace of her! Oh Norns, what if she's....."
Mobius jumped up from his chair and put his arms around Loki before the man had another breakdown.
"Sylvie is as tough as they come, if anyone could survive this mess, it's her."
"I think I might have an idea," B-15 said as she rushed into the room, "she used to hide out in apocalypses, yeah?"
"Yes, but those have increased by an existential amount."
"For the most part, but there's one that hasn't been replicated on any other timeline."
Loki took a look at the event she pointed to and could have smacked himself for not thinking of it sooner.
"B, darling, you're a genius! I gotta go!"
Loki gave the stunned Hunter a kiss on the cheek before running down the hall to grab his tempad and open a door.
He just hoped he wasn't too late.
*****************
"You could still catch that train, you know."
Sylvie had been staying with the old woman that she and Loki encountered the last time they were on this planet. She'd learned her name was Clara, and they'd ended up forming a solid bond. Clara had been trying to get her to board the train for the ark to save at least one of their lives.
Pity she didn't realize that it was useless for both of them.
"No, that's okay, I don't really like riding trains."
Especially when all her thoughts swirled to a certain prince getting drunk and singing to her the last time she was on one.
"Well, if your sure, I hate to see someone so young die with unfinished business."
When Sylvie raised a brow at her, Clara just chuckled.
"I know the look of someone in love, I had the same one for my Patrice a long time ago."
"Even so, it doesn't matter now , does it?"
"No, I suppose not," Clara said as Sylvie walked towards the door, " Where will you go?"
"Somewhere that there's a good memory."
She waved goodbye to the woman and took off down the path. She ended up at the same lake she and Loki almost faced their end at.
The first place she'd felt something besides desparation and lonliness.
She sat on the same rock he had and stared out at the water. The explosions were starting to pick up, so the end would be coming soon.
"I'm sorry Loki, I wish things had been different for us."
She closed her eyes against the stinging sensation threatening to spill over, and pulled her knees up to her chest.
The rumblings picked up, and she burrowed her face further into her lap so she wouldn't have to see when death took her. As the planets collided, and the destruction rolled towards her, Sylvie braced herself for what was to come.
Only for strong arms to grab her by the waist and pull.
*****************
Loki slid through the time door just as Lamentis exploded. The grip he had on Sylvie's waist still tight. He was glad that she'd been at the lake, cause he didn't think there would have been time to search everywhere else. He pulled himself up to lean against the wall, cradling her to him as he murmured into her ear.
"Sylvie? Sylvie, it's me, it's Loki. You're safe now."
She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Loki? Is it really you?"
"It is, and thank the Norns I found you just in time."
"You were looking for me?"
"Of course I was," He said as his grip around her tightened, "I only wish I'd gotten there before Kang did."
At the mention of Kang, Sylvie panicked and tried to push away from him.
"I can't be here, he'll find me again! Or worse he'll come after you and I....."
"Sylvie," He said quietly at first, but when she continued to struggle he yelled, "SYLVIE!"
She stopped fighting and looked at him with so much fear and uncertainty that it nearly killed him.
"Sylvie, love, he's gone now. He can't hurt you or anyone else ever again."
"How can you be so sure of that?"
Loki did a swirling gesture and summoned the Conqueror's head from his pocket dimension.
"Because I'm the one that killed him."
Her eyes bulged at the sight before turning back to Loki.
"His armies were numerous.....why would you risk yourself like that?"
"He hurt you, that's why. No one tortures the woman I love and gets away with it."
"You still love me...even after I betrayed you?"
"Oh Sylvie," He murmured as he cupped her cheek in his palm, "I've loved you from the moment we met, and I have no plans on stopping now."
The tears that had been threatening to spill overflowed as she threw her arms around his shoulders.
"I love you too, and I'm so sorry for what I did...."
"Sshh, it's alright, we're together now, that's all that matters."
Suddenly Mobius and B-15 burst into the room, relieved when they saw both Góðs safe and sound.
"Oh thank goodness, I guess B's tip turned out to be right after all."
"Indeed, I..." Loki paused when he noticed the two time agents holding hands," hang on, what did I miss?"
"What? You thought you were the only one that gets a post-apocalyptic girlfriend out this?"
"Apparently not, I'm happy for you Mobius."
"Someone has to keep him line, we'll see guys later on."
B-15 drug the analyst out the door, leaving Loki and Sylvie alone once again.
"So what now?"
"I suppose at some point, I'll have to explain the new role of the TVA in maintaining the multiverse...but for now, I just want to enjoy having my other half back."
"Sounds like a plan."
Sylvie closed her eyes and snuggled against him to rest, content for the first time in a long time that she had a reason to wake up again.