For all time. Always!

“You want to what?” Ravonna looked across her desk at Mobius.

“I need to use one of the Time Theaters so that Loki and I can watch Amora’s file” He stated, possibly for the tenth time.

“Do you understand what you’re asking? Loki isn’t even an analyst, not to mention the fact that he and Amora have a rather close history”

“Please Ravonna, we have reason to believe that Amora has been in the TVA without us realizing”

Ravonna straightened her posture at the comment, “Why do you think that?”

Mobius slid Amora’s file across Ravonna’s desk to her.

“The list of offenses, they’re out of order and some are doctored…who would have done that?”

Ravonna’s eyes carefully read through the file, analyzing every detail they could before placing it in a drawer of her desk.

“I will have to speak to the Timekeepers about this, doctoring files is not something that is to be taken lightly”

“Then can Loki and I have access to Amora’s file?” Mobius sighed. “The sooner we figure out where she is the sooner we can have her pruned and forget about this whole ordeal”

Ravonna thought for a moment then spoke, “Fine. You can have the film”

“Yes. Thank You”

Ravonna reached into another drawer of her desk and pulled out a film reel. The name on the side read,

Amora – Earth 616

As Mobius took hold of the reel, Ravonna kept her grip.

“Mobius, he does know that once Amora is in our custody that she’ll be pruned, correct?”

“Of course” Mobius smiled, taking the film reel from Ravonna and heading towards the door to her office, stopping just before leaving. “And hey, if they try to pull a dynamic duo on us…I’ll prune them both” he said with a smile.

Loki was sitting outside of Ravonna’s office on one of the retro orange couches. Mobius had told him that he was to wait outside while he got Amora’s film. The waiting was beginning to make the god restless. Resting his elbows on his knees, Loki’s thoughts wandered. Most of them centered around what exactly that film reel would show, how much had Amora told him, and how much of it was the truth? On Asgard, she was the only person he considered his true friend. Sif and the Warriors Three only tolerated him because Frigga had pestered Thor into taking him along on their quests. The only reason that Frigga did that was that Loki had secluded himself after Amora’s “disappearance”.
For the longest time, Loki presumed that Amora was dead, it was the only logical solution that he could come up with. That, and Frigga was adamant that he stop trying to look into what happened to Amora.

“I care about you, my son” Frigga smiled at him. “You mustn’t spend the rest of your days wondering, you should go out and experience the nine realms as Thor has, there’s plenty to do than just sit in your chambers all day”

Loki looked forlornly at his mother; tears still present in his gaze.

“She never said goodbye, there must be a reason, Amora wouldn’t leave without telling me”

“Maybe you didn’t know her as well as you thought”

“No. I knew her. She wouldn’t have done this.”

Loki wiped the tears from his eyes that had formed from the memory. The pain of Frigga’s impending death, and knowing he was the cause, was still a fresh wound. Thinking about her lying there while he rotted in prison was an image that would forever be burned into his mind.

The door to Ravonna’s office opened and Mobius stepped out, a film reel tucked underneath his arm. Loki quickly stood up, making sure that his emotions were hidden.

“Did you get the film?” He asked, trailing behind Mobius.

“Yes, but it wasn’t easy convincing her to hand it over, she took the file as well, so we don’t have that” He sighed.

“But we have the film which is what matters,” Loki said. “Whatever is on that film will allow me to find Amora”

“And what if it doesn’t?” Mobius continued making his way down the corridors.

“It will. Amora is a person of habit, she has to have a place where she feels safe and unthreatened”

“Let's hope she hasn’t changed in the years you’ve been apart from her”

Stopping at the Time Theater, Loki and Mobius entered. The dimly lit room was the same design as the one that Loki had been sat in however long ago it had been. Sitting down across from Mobius, Loki watched as he placed the film into the projector and started typing on the device between them.

“Alright Amora…show us your story” Mobius mumbled, pressing play.

The two waited several seconds but nothing happened. The projector was spinning but the screen was black. Nothing was seemingly happening. Right as Mobius was about to get up and check the film, an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the theater.
Mobius placed his hands firmly over his ears and Loki winced at the noise. Once the scream ceased, it slowly faded into sobbing. Loki couldn’t even call it crying. The heavy heaves and sniffles were almost violent, but he knew who it was. Mobius frantically started pressing buttons on the monitor and managed to pause the film and the violent sobbing stopped.

“What the Hell was that?” Mobius said while continuously pressing buttons.

“Amora” Loki mumbled, blinking away the tears in his eyes.

“But we didn’t see anything” Mobius looked over at him.

“If my guess is right, and it usually is, if Amora did tamper with the files then…” He trailed off, putting his thoughts together. “She wants whoever watches her file to experience her pain”

“Bit sadistic. Why?”

“I’m not sure” Loki sighed, slouching back in his chair.

Mobius was still flipping through the film rigorously but stopped suddenly, looking up from the monitor he narrowed his gaze at Loki.

“You’ll want to see this,” he said, pressing play.

The projector cast an image onto the wall, it was an image of a book, opened to a random page but covered in blood. Written once again in Runes across the pages on the book, in what Loki hoped was red ink, were the words.

“Hello Trickster”

“Maybe she wants you to feel her pain,” Mobius said.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past her,” Loki said. “Didn’t you say you’ve seen her file before?”

“Yes, but so far, this is a completely different film than what I saw. In the one I watched, I was able to see through her childhood, teenage years, and some parts of adulthood but the projector broke before I could see much else”

Loki sat back, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger. The god was beginning to get frustrated; he wasn’t sure if it was with himself or Amora. It could possibly be both. In the centuries he had known Amora, she always had a flair for the dramatics. If she could get a reaction out of someone then it was as if she had been gifted the string of fate the Norns themselves weave.

“Play the film.” Loki sighed.

“We’ll get screamed at again,” Mobius warned.

“Just play it.”

Mobius sighed and hit play on the monitor, the screen was black before the same blood-curdling scream echoed through the theater.

Amora ran through darkened halls of the palace, her clothes drenched and the storm outside raging more and more each passing moment. The young woman couldn’t stop to catch her breath or else risk herself getting captured. In the distance, Amora could hear the footsteps on the Einherjar, as well as their shouts.

“Quickly! She went this way”

Amora thought her heart would burst from her chest from the way it was pounding. Rounding a corner, Amora quickly threw the hood of her green cloak over her soaked blonde hair. The entrance to the palace was only a few more turns and she would be able to escape into the night.
At the end of the corridor, a glow of light began growing. Amora cursed to herself and stole into the first door she came across. Waving her hand in front of the handle, she heard it click and quickly entered the room, relocking it behind her.
Leaning against the door, Amora heaved to catch her breath.

Without warning the candles in the room lit themselves and Amora’s heart dropped.

“Amora?” The voice groaned, sleep making it sound more gravely than usual.

Tears filled her eyes as she stood straight, looking toward the doorway where the voice came from. Looking down at her hands, Amora finally took notice of the fact that she wasn’t wet from the rain but the blood that soaked her garments and stained her hands and hair.
The sound of the Einherjar mere feet from her on the other side of the door gave her enough reason to not respond.

“Amora, you said you’d be back hours ago where-“ Loki stopped in the doorway, his eyes wide at the sight in front of him.

With yet another shout from the Einherjar sending a chill down her spine, Amora was beginning to panic. Loki heard the shout and quickly extinguished all the candles in his chambers. A small magic ball of light gave off just enough for Amora to see him carefully walking over to her. Loki took her hand, not caring that it was covered in blood, and lead her toward his washroom and away from any doors where the Einherjar might hear them.
Amora sat down on the edge of the bathtub, her hands shaking uncontrollably while Loki secured the washroom from anyone that might want to gain entry. Her vision seemed to tunnel but not enough to where she seemed at a loss of control.

“Amora, look at me” Loki knelt next to her, placing his hands on her elbows.

“No” she mumbled, trying to push him away but getting blood on him.

“Amora please” he sighed, tightening his grip.

Amora glanced up at Loki and then to the blood she had gotten on his arms and chest, “I’m sorry, I got blood on you” she said.

Loki looked down at the blood, “It’s alright, I’ll wash it off later, is it yours?”

Amora swallowed, losing all tension in her body. “No.”

Loki reached into a cabinet beside him and carefully took out a small mint plant. Taking two leaves off of it he offered them to Amora.

“Here, it will help you calm down”

Amora hesitated, trying to figure out what to do with the blood on her hands. Loki noticed and placed the leaves in a safe spot before grabbing a cloth and wiping her hands. Amora watched as he cleaned her hands, noting how gentle he was, it made her seem less afraid.
Once all the blood was mostly gone, he offered the leaves to Amora once more. Accepting them, Amora placed them in her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring the taste.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Loki asked.

The film continued to play but the audio seemed to cut entirely from it.

Loki was leaning forward in his chair, hanging on to every word that was said before he realized there was no audio. Mobius cursed under his breath and started pressing buttons and turning dials to try and recover the audio. Loki just continued to watch the silent scene in front of him, it was mesmerizing the more he watched.
Finally, Mobius decided to skip ahead to where the audio cut back in, but it didn’t stop after the event, it stopped before.

“The film is out of order, this looks like before, right?” Mobius asked, looking across to Loki for approval.

Loki snapped from his trance, sitting back up and looking at Mobius before glancing at the projection.

“I, uh, yeah, it must be before what we just saw because she’s wearing her sorceress’s robes”

“You don’t seem very sure about that” Mobius said.

Loki paused, trying to keep the previous scene fresh in his mind. “I’m not”

“Why? You were there, shouldn’t you remember your friend covered in blood like that?”

“I should but…I have no memory of it”

Mobius leaned forward on the table, “What?”

“I don’t remember that happening or even the conversation that occurred”

Mobius fell back in his chair, uttering another swear before looking back to the monitor.

“Let’s just continue watching, for now, please tell me if there’s anything else you don’t remember” Mobius pressed play and quickly scribbled something down on the notepad beside him.

“Will do” Loki mumbled.

Amora stood confidently beside Karnilla, whether it was false confidence or not wasn’t important. The aches in her arms and legs burned with each moment she stayed standing. Karnilla was adamant that Amora be present for her meeting with the Allfather, and after Karnilla’s anger trip the night before, Amora wasn’t a fool to disagree with her command.
It seemed like certain bliss when the Allfather asked to speak with Karnilla in private, allowing Amora time to sit on the steps in the throne room. She groaned in pain, rolling her green sleeves up to better see her arms. Dark purple and yellow bruises covered her arms, it was horrible to look at and made her feel even worse than before.

“Amora” A voice whispered her name from behind her.

Quickly, Amora rolled her sleeves back down and adjusted her robes before standing back up. She held back a scream of pain as it seemed her body was already screaming for her. Turning around, Amora noticed the familiar glint of emerald eyes peeking out from behind one of the columns.

“Loki?” She whispered, making sure that no one heard her.

Loki nodded, his smile and boyish charm strangely comforting.
Amora quickly glanced over her shoulder before rushing over to Loki as fast as she could. Her body almost collapsed but it was worth it when Loki pulled her into a hug.

“You’re back” he smiled, gently pulling out of the hug, and holding her by her shoulders.

“I am” Amora smiled back, feeling the smallest amount of safety in Loki’s arms.

“My friend, please, tell of your journey to Alfheim, did the elves teach you about their magic?”

Amora giggled, “I will tell you about it later, in the library, meet me at our spot after the palace has gone to sleep”

“I will” Loki excitedly grabbed Amora’s arms, making her cringe in pain. “Amora?”

“I think you’ve gotten stronger, maybe those training sessions with Thor are paying off” she smiled weakly.

“I haven’t had those sessions in months, and you know that, I told you in our letters”

“Oh, right, my bad, the traveling has really gotten to my head and-”

Loki took Amora’s arm and pulled the sleeve up, exposing the bruising.

“Norns, Amora” he breathed out, examining the marks.

“It’s nothing, I performed a spell wrong, and it snapped back at me” Amora tried to reassure him, but Loki gently lifted her arm for her to look at.

“Spells don’t leave bruised finger marks” he snapped. “When mother hears about this-“

“No Loki!” Amora wiggled her arm free and pulled the sleeves back down. “You mustn’t tell Frigga, don’t even utter a word of this to Thor”

“Amora-“

“It’s no one’s fault but my own, please don’t involve yourself”

Loki looked down at Amora’s hands, holding them in his own and frowning at the plea.

“I’ll meet you tonight,” He said, bringing Amora’s hands up to his lips and gently kissing them. “Until then, my Enchantress”

Mobius paused the film, seemingly skipping around to find something else.

“That one was new even for me,” Mobius said, writing things down while skipping through the file. “You looked like you two were thick as thieves, lovers perhaps”

“Friends.” Loki quickly corrected.

“I’ve seen friends, and I’m not sure that friends make goo-goo eyes at each other like that”

“We were very close,” Loki said.

“Whatever you say” Mobius mumbled. “Is there anything you can think of any memory that would give us a hint about Amora’s whereabouts?”

Loki shook his head, thinking for a minute before speaking.

“How far does this file go?”

“Until death,” Mobius said, “But I’ve looked and most of the file is doctored, just black screen”

Loki put his face in his hands, getting more and more frustrated with Amora as he uncovered more barriers. A thought appeared in his mind,

“Amora always had to have a mint plant with her” he mumbled.

“What?” Mobius looked tired as he looked over at Loki.

Loki sat up, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Amora always had to have mint leaves, or a mint plant somewhere she could easily access in times of distress” Loki repeated. “I never saw her tackle a problem without that damn plant”

“It would be hard to keep a plant with you when jumping back and forth through time”

“Is there anywhere you can think where she might be able to access an abundance of them without tripping the timeline?” Loki asked.

“Well, who's to say that she isn’t just jumping to different points and stopping by a convenience store?” Mobius said.

“No” Loki mumbled. “She would need to be confident that her supply wouldn’t run out and that she would be safe from your capture”

“So, we’re looking for a place that has mint plants and is incapable to be tracked in? That’s not going to be easy”

Loki once again slouched back in his chair, watching as Mobius got up.

“I’m gonna go clear my head and see if there are any more clues to dig up,” he said.

“I’m going to stay here with the film, maybe there’s something we missed,” Loki said.

Mobius fixed his jacket and shirt before exiting the time theater and leaving Loki alone. Changing spots from his chair to the chair Mobius was sitting in, Loki began skipping through Amora’s file. Past the scenes, he had already seen and passed more black screens, Loki didn’t think he’d find anything. That was until he noticed a scene that wasn’t completely blacked out.
Pressing play, the scene had loud incoherent noise that sounded like static mixed with muffled audio booming every once in a while. Turning a few dials on the monitor, Loki tried to brighten the image, but he could only brighten it so much.
A neon blue logo appeared on the screen ‘ROXXCART’, listening closely to the loud audio, Loki realized it wasn’t static noise at all. It was a thunderstorm.

Quickly writing down the logo and the sounds on Mobius’s notepad, Loki jumped from his seat and headed towards the door.

“Mobius!” He called out, trying to suppress a smile.

Throwing the door to the theater open, Loki saw that Mobius wasn’t even past the hall yet.

“Mobius!” He called out again, getting the agent's attention.

Mobius looked back, shocked by the sudden outburst from the god.

“What Loki?”

“I think I found something”