So this is it.

This is how he dies.

He supposes it could be worse. He was destined to die by Thanos's hand. At least this way doesn't give Thanos or Destiny the satisfaction.

Of course, dying in the collision of a planet and its moon will probably take longer. It might hurt more, too. He'll also never get to see his brother again. But that's a small price to pay to avoid playing into the Time Keeper's hands, right?

... oh, who is he kidding? There's no plus side to this.

Sylvie walks away. She accepts their defeat graciously — much more so than last time. Loki does the opposite; he just stands and stares. Earlier, he'd still had hope. He still had time — time to think; time to scheme. He doesn't have that anymore. Now it finally feels real, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.

So what does he do now?

What can he do?

Besides...

Stare.

A hand grabs his arm from behind, wrapping around his upper arm and holding on tight. Things had calmed down when everyone had realized this was hopeless. Apparently someone didn't get the memo.

Loki whips around, a fist raised and ready to throw it, but he pauses when he sees who it was who grabbed him. He slowly unclenches his fist, otherwise frozen in place. Is that...?

"Mobius!" Loki throws his arms around the man. "Oh, is it good to see you!" He came back! He watched Loki leave him in the dust, and he still came back! Loki should have known he could count on him.

"Right..." Mobius awkwardly pats him on the back a few times before gently pushing him away. "Look, this moon is --"

"I know, believe me," Loki says. It would be hard to miss. "Are you here to bring us back?"

"I --"

Loki cups his hands around his mouth. "Sylvie!" She couldn't have stayed around a minute longer? "Sylvie!" He looks around, only to find her just a few feet away, her arms crossed as she taps her foot impatiently. He tries to ignore the judgemental look on her face.

"Sylvie, look!" Loki yells. He hopes she can hear him over the bustling of the dying city. "Look, it's Mobius!"

"That's great!" she yells back, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Why do I care?"

"Because he's going to get us out of here!"

"No, I'm going to get you out of here," Mobius says.

"What?" Loki cocks his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're not going to take her?"

"Of course I'm not going to take her!" Mobius says. "I don't even know who she is!"

"She's a --" He cuts himself off before he can say "friend." That's not quite right. Hell, that's not even kind of right. No, she's... "She's my partner." His partner in crime -- quite literally. This whole miserable crusade has been one big crime against the Sacred Timeline. He has enough crimes to answer for; what's a few more to the list?.

"Loki, you don't need a partner," Mobius says, exasperated. "I'm your partner!"

"Well, she's my other partner," Loki says. He has one partner who kind of likes him but doesn't trust him, and he has one partner who kind of trusts him but doesn't like him. That's just his luck, isn't it?

Mobius groans. "We don't have time for this!" He pulls out his TemPad to open up a Time Portal. "She's supposed to be here. You're not. Let's go." He reaches out to grab Loki's arm again, but Loki pulls it free.

"No, she's not," Loki says. "Neither of us are supposed to be here. We're Variants; we're not supposed to be anywhere." They're not allowed to be anywhere, more like.

"Wait, she's --" Mobius looks over at Sylvie, who hasn't moved an inch since he showed up. "That's the Variant? The one that's been killing all our Minutemen?"

Sylvie somehow manages to make a wave look sarcastic. How she does it is beyond him. "Hi."

Mobius shakes his head to himself and turns his attention back to Loki. "She's not coming. Of course she's not coming. Why would you even think --"

"If she's not going, I'm not going." That's his ultimatum. She's done too much for him today -- albeit mostly against her better judgement -- for him to leave her behind.

"Fine." Mobius opens up a Time Portal. "Then neither of you are coming."

Loki scoffs. "Excuse me?" He'd been so sure that would work. It had seemed like a foolproof plan in the two seconds he'd spent thinking of it.

"You finished the job," Mobius says. "In two minutes, there won't be a Variant for you to hunt anymore."

Loki gapes at him. "But you promised!"

Mobius spreads his arms questioningly. "Promised what?"

"That you wouldn't just get rid of me when I wasn't useful anymore." They had a deal. He trusted that they had a deal -- and he doesn't trust easily. Mobius can't just renege on it now, after everything they've been through together; everything they've done together.

"Which is why I'm giving you a way out!" Mobius insists. "A way out that's closing in a second, whether you come with me or not."

Loki narrows his eyes. He's asking for one favor. Just the one. Mobius really can't even give him that? Sure, he may have some preconceived notions about her that might make him a little hesitant, and sure, those preconceived notions are mostly correct, but come on!

Sylvie groans and starts to make her way towards them. "Your 'diplomacy' is exhausting."

Loki scoffs. "I'm trying to help you!"

"And you're doing a great job at it," she says sarcastically. She walks up to Mobius, who immediately backs away. That's probably a fair reaction. He would probably do the same.

"What are you doing?" he asks. He glances at Loki. "What is she doing?"

"Don't worry about it," Loki says nonchalantly. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where she's going with this; it just takes a Loki. He steps behind Mobius to stop him from backing up again, putting a hand on each arm to hold him still.

Sylvie stands in front of him and reaches for him, resting her hands on her neck. Loki can feel him start to struggle, to try to free himself, and Loki tightens his grip. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel bad, but Mobius forced his hand.

"Loki?" Mobius says nervously. "Loki, what's she...?"

The faint flash of green is all he needs to know he can let go. He drops his hands to his side. She has a strong enough hold on his mind that he won't need to hold his body.

Mobius holds out the TemPad, and just as Sylvie is about to take it, Loki swoops in and grabs it himself. He gestures to the Time Portal. "After you, m'lady." He gives a sarcastic half-bow, and gets a glare in return. Still, she steps through the portal, and Loki shoves Mobius through before he can process what just happened now that he's not under her enchantment.

Loki is about to follow, eager to save himself from certain doom, but he pauses. He glances around at all the civilians. They're petrified; scared for their lives. None of them stand a chance of surviving the collision. Their only mistake was being born at the wrong time in the wrong place, and they're going to die for it.

And there's nothing he can do to save them.

He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. At least it will be quick. It will be over in no more than a few minutes. That's more than he can say for himself.

He steps through the portal.

And he's back at the TVA.

It's clear that Sylvie's enchantment didn't last through the portal because she and Mobius are at each other's throats the moment he steps through. Even without her magic, Sylvie seems to be winning the fight; Mobius never stood a chance.

Loki closes the portal and tucks the TemPad away, then forces himself between his two uncooperative partners. "Will you stop it?" he hisses. To Sylvie, he adds, "Do you want the entire TVA to know we're here?"

Sylvie clenches her jaw, but she reluctantly backs off. Mobius tugs on his suit jacket, straightening it out, and they both turn to look at Loki.

"Mobius, we need to talk," Loki says. "The TVA is not what you think it is." Which he knew from the beginning, thank you very much, but now he knows why.

"Yeah?" Mobius says. "And who told you that? Your new Variant friend?"

"Well... yeah," Loki says awkwardly, "but—"

"But nothing, Loki!" Mobius says. "I know you don't trust the TVA. I know she doesn't like the TVA. That doesn't mean it's bad."

"It's not bad because I don't trust it; I don't trust it because it's bad!" He looks over to Sylvie. "Tell him! Tell him what you told me!" She knows the truth. She's seen the truth. Surely she can explain—

Sylvie shakes her head to herself, exasperated, and walks away.

"Sylvie—" Loki jogs after her, Mobius following shortly behind, and grabs her arm in a failed attempt to stop her.

Sylvie rips her arm free and keeps walking. "If you want to have your little heart-to-heart with your new best friend, that is fine by me, but I have a job to finish."

"Then I'll help!" Loki tells her.

"You don't even know what the job is," she reminds him.

"Maybe not," he concedes, "but I know it involves destroying the TVA, and that is something I would be interested in."

"I thought you wanted to take over," Sylvie deadpans.

"Woah, hang on a second." Mobius puts an arm out to stop him, and reluctantly, Loki lets it hold him back, but not without dramatically throwing his head back to make sure Mobius knows how inconveniencing this all is. "No one is destroying the TVA."

He sounds like a patronizing father right there (Loki would know; he got a lot of that growing up). Loki raises an eyebrow and glances at Sylvie, who, unlike him, did not stop when Mobius wanted them to. "She is."

"No, she's--" He cuts himself off and runs after her, and Loki can already tell it's not going to end well.

Loki follows them, and he catches up with ease. He has to wonder if Sylvie even knows where she's going. She's been walking with purpose for a long time. Sure, the TVA is a confusing mess of hallways, but they can't be that far away from wherever they're going.

"Mobius, you have to listen to me," Loki says. "The TVA is not--"

"Not what I think they are," Mobius finishes. "I know. And I'm sure you believe that, too, but--"

"Everyone here is a Variant!" Loki spits out.

Mobius furrows his eyebrows. "What?"

"Every single person here is a Variant," Loki says. "Including you." He pauses. "Probably." He supposes he doesn't really know that, but Sylvie seemed fairly confident that all the workers were Variants. That would include Mobius, right?

Mobius scoffs. "That's stupid!" He shakes his head. "It's stupid. I'm not--"

"I can prove it."

Mobius sighs. "If I let you 'prove it,' will you shut up about your stupid theory?"

"I will," he says, then mutters under his breath, "and it's not a stupid theory."

"Fine." Mobius stops where he is and spreads his arm. "Prove it. Give me your best shot."

Loki stands in front of him and nods once. This is his one chance. He better make the most of it. He slowly reaches out, gently resting his hands on the sides of Mobius's head. He closes his eyes, ready to root through his memories...

"What are you doing?" Mobius asks.

Loki opens his eyes to see a very confused agent in front of him. He drops his arms to his side. "Right. Magic doesn't work here."

Mobius gives him a look that can only be read as Duh.

"We need to go somewhere," Loki says. "Give me the TemPad."

"What? We're not going anywhere!" Mobius says, like he's crazy for even thinking it was a possibility. "And I'm definitely not giving you a TemPad!"

"Trust me on this."

"No!" Mobius practically yells. "Every time you say that, you do something that proves that I can't trust you!"

Loki frowns. "Well, that's simply not true."

"But it is!"

Loki pauses. He guesses Mobius has a point. He's never done it intentionally -- he really would like to gain his trust; it's just proving more difficult than he'd anticipated -- but it probably looks that way to him. But also...

"Then don't trust me," he says. "Trust that I love being right. I proved myself last time, didn't I?" He was absolutely right about apocalypses. The TVA never would have gotten this close to Sylvie if he hadn't proved himself then (which, in hindsight, should probably make him wish he hadn't been right). He deserves the chance to prove himself right again.

Mobius eyes him skeptically for a few seconds, then sighs. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere," Loki says. "Anywhere my magic works."

Mobius hesitates. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" He pulls out his TemPad and opens a Tim Portal. "I lost sight of your Variant friend for this, so it better be good."

"Oh, it will be," Loki says, gesturing for Mobius to go through the portal. Mobius doesn't; instead, he gestures for Loki to do the same. Still that lack of trust, apparently. He rolls his eyes but he goes first anyway. At least he knows he can trust Mobius to follow -- and he does.

Loki's not quite sure where they are right now. It's somewhere (or some time) he's never been to before, not that this narrows it down at all. For all he knows, it's not even one of the nine realms. But they're alone, no distractions in sight, so it should work.

Mobius closes the portal and tucks the TemPad away. "Alright, go ahead. Prove away."

Loki stands in front of him and reaches out to him. He'll just put his hands on Mobius's head and—

Mobius takes a step back. "Look, I don't know about..."

"Mobius." Loki puts his hands on the agent's shoulders. "Trust me. Just this once."

"I'm not gonna to—"

"Please."

Mobius just looks at him for a few long seconds, then sighs. "Okay, go ahead."

Loki grins. That's all he wanted to hear.

He puts his hands on Mobius's head and closes his eyes. He reaches into Mobius's mind and begins flipping through memories. There's a lot from the TVA; memories he's not very interested in. He looks at a lot of dead bodies from a lot of different time periods (the case files didn't do it justice; Sylvie killed a lot of Minutemen). There are some lonely-looking lunch breaks.

There are quite a few one-on-ones with Judge Renslayer. Admittedly, these are kind of interesting, though he knows if he peeks around too much, Mobius is probably going to get upset. Ordinarily he wouldn't care — he's the god of mischief; upsetting people is his greatest skill — but he really tried hard to gain Mobius's trust for this and he wants to prove he deserves it. Still, he catches bits and pieces. He really hopes that "I'll prune him myself" remark was not directed towards him.

Not once does Loki see the Time Keepers. He skims through these memories so quickly, it's entirely possible he missed them, but it still makes him a bit wary. How is Loki supposed to get an audience with the Time Keepers if it's such a rare occurrence even for Mobius? Though he supposes that's probably not in the cards anymore after his adventures with Sylvie today.

And then he finds it.

Peace.

Serenity.

Jet skis.

Loki isn't quite sure where they are or what they're looking at, but he feels it's a safe assumption that this is likely Midgard. They're out on the water, no land in sight, not that Mobius seems to mind.

He's practically gliding across the water on his big, heavy jet ski, a big smile across his face. It's not too uncommon to see Mobius in high spirits around the TVA, but never like this. Loki just stops and watches for a long moment, soaking in that contagious joy before moving on to another memory.

Mobius is back on land, this time in the grassy outdoors. He's not alone; there are others all around, talking to each other and eating some delicious-smelling food that Loki wishes he could have a taste of. Mobius is sitting around a table with some other men, a soda can in his hand — the same soda he likes to drink at the TVA, it would seem. They're all talking and laughing, having the time of their lives.

He goes back even further. The child in front of him is so young, Loki wouldn't have recognized him if he didn't know this was Mobius's memory. He's lying in bed with the lights on while a young woman covers him with a blanket.

She presses a kiss to young Mobius's forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"'Night, Mommy," young Mobius says with a small smile.

The woman — his mother — pushes a cassette into the cassette player by his bed and presses play. Loki expects to hear music; instead, the faint sound of waves on a beach floods the room.

"Sweet dreams," his mother says softly.

Loki had planned on showing Mobius memory after memory of the life he'd lost. At the very least, he'd planned on finding the moment the TVA plucked him from it. But this memory... It was so beautiful, so sweet... and it reminded him so much of Frigga. He's not sure he can handle seeing more of that. Not now that he knows what happens to his mother. Not when just the thought of her fills him with both grief and guilt.

Loki gently removes his hands, and he and Mobius are both brought back to... well, wherever they are now. Mobius stumbles backwards with wide eyes. Loki reaches out — to stop him, to help him, to comfort him, whatever he can — but Mobius just backs away.

"What was that?" Mobius asks, his voice shaking. Loki's never seen him like this before. He's scared. He's petrified.

"That was you," Loki says softly. "That's who you used to be, before the TVA."

"No," Mobius says. "No, that's not — that doesn't even make sense. I'm not — That wasn't —"

"You were a Variant," Loki says slowly, keeping his voice as calm as he can. "Just like me. Just like Sylvie. Just like everyone else at the TVA."

"That's not true," Mobius says. "This — This is a trick. It's..." He runs a hand down his face. "It's just one of those silly little mind games you love so much."

"No, it's not," Loki says. "It's real. That's the life that the TVA took you from — that they stole from you." Seeing that Mobius still doesn't believe it, he asks, "Do you want to see more? I can—"

"No," Mobius says immediately. "No, I..." He squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I just — I need a minute."

"Of course." Loki nods politely. He knows the feeling all too well. It's not easy to find out that you're not what you thought you were; that you didn't come from where you thought you came from. If he needs time, he needs time. He's just not sure how much of that they have.

Eventually, Mobius lowers his hand and raises his gaze to Loki's. "This isn't a trick?"

"What would I stand to gain from that?" Loki asks. "I told you I wanted the truth about the TVA and I've found it — found part of it, at least."

Mobius eyes him warily.

"It's your truth, too," Loki says. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, this is where you come from. You deserve to know that."

Mobius just looks at him for a few moments, and Loki offers him a sad smile. He knows this is going to be hard to accept. He knows Mobius won't want to accept it. When Loki was in his position, he didn't want to, either — though he'd had more concrete evidence that something was wrong, which puts Mobius in an even tougher position.

Mobius shoves his hand in his pocket and pulls out his TemPad. "I need to talk to Ravonna."

"So you believe me?" Loki asks. That's what he's saying, isn't it? That he needs to tell Judge Renslayer about this?

"I don't know," Mobius admits. He points the TemPad at him rather threateningly as he adds, "If you're messing with me, I—"

"I'm not," Loki says. "I promise."

"Doesn't mean a lot from you," Mobius mutters, which, Loki has to admit, kind of stings. He opens up a Time Portal and gestures for Loki to go through. "Go ahead."

Again with the lack of trust. Loki steps through the portal first, followed shortly after by Mobius, who takes off immediately towards Judge Renslayer's office. Loki has to jog to catch up, and it takes a bit of effort to even keep up with Mobius's walking pace. He's really in a hurry, isn't he?

Usually, Mobius tells Loki to sit down (and not to go anywhere to do anything) when he talks to Judge Renslayer. This time, he goes straight for her door with no thought given to the Variant trailing behind him. Loki's not sure if that means he's supposed to follow or if he's supposed to assume he's to remain seated until Mobius is ready to come back to talk to him, so he awkwardly stands a few feet back.

Mobius pounds on the door. "Ravonna?" He knocks again. "Are you in there?"

Loki cocks an eyebrow. If she's not here, where is she? Or did Sylvie get to her? He's sure that wouldn't end well (for the judge, at least. Sylvie's a strong girl; she'd be fine).

But finally, those giant doors to Judge Renslayer's office open, and Loki perks up. Finally, someone with power; someone this information will actually mean something to. He's actually not sure why his first thought when Sylvie mentioned it was that he wanted to tell Mobius. It's not like Mobius could do anything about it — though he absolutely deserves to know; keeping it from him would make Loki no better than his father.

Loki's never actually seen Judge Renslayer's office before. Mobius always makes him sit down before she opens the door, and he doesn't exactly have the best angle from there. It looks like a nice place. Not as fancy as an Asgardian room, but nice nonetheless.

The next thing Loki notices is Judge Renslayer in the doorway. Of course she's in the doorway. She's the one who opened the door, after all. It's just really good to see her (god, he never thought he'd say that). He can finally tell her—

But then he sees the third thing of interest, and his mood falls. In Judge Renslayer's arms, struggling to get free, is Sylvie. She has a Time Collar around her neck and her hands cuffed behind her back.

He can't believe it.

The TVA got her.

"Congratulations, you two," Judge Renslayer says. "We got the Variant. I think the Time Keepers are going to be very happy with you."

"Oh, I doubt that," Loki mutters under his breath. Not when they blow this whole thing wide open.

"Loki, run," Sylvie says.

"Loki's fine," Mobius tells her. "He's with us."

Loki shoots her a cheeky grin. He's not with them and she knows it. He'll get her out of here, hopefully with Mobius and Judge Renslayer in tow. Then they can burn this place to the ground.

"Loki, run!" Sylvie insists.

Loki cocks his head to the side. He's not sure how much more obvious he can make it that he's okay. This was (almost) all part of the plan. Not her plan, admittedly, but the plan nonetheless.

Judge Renslayer slaps a hand over Sylvie's mouth, her gaze not leaving the two men by the doorway. "Is everything okay? You seemed... panicked."

"Do you have a minute?" Mobius asks.

Judge Renslayer almost looks concerned at that. "Yeah, of course. I just have to get rid of her." She gestures to Sylvie with her head on the last word. "Come in."

Judge Renslayer drags Sylvie over to her desk, where she calls for assistance over some nearly prehistoric intercom system. For a place built in the future (it is the future, right? Mobius never really gave him an answer on that), it really feels like the 1980s in here.

Loki awkwardly stands outside the office with his hands in his pockets. He's not really sure what to do right now. Should he go in, too? Is he allowed inside? Should he just sit down until Judge Renslayer and Mobius are done talking like he usually does?

Mobius glances back at him and gestures for him to come in, answering that question for him. Mobius sits down on the couch, and, realizing there's really nowhere else to sit, Loki stands next to him.

Loki doesn't recognize either of the Minutemen who come in to take Sylvie away, and neither of them even spare him a glance. One of them slaps on a mechanical-looking gag so shut her up before they each take an arm.

Loki watches with a frown. He really doesn't like Sylvie. They fought more often than not today, and she was a pain in the ass to travel with. Still, they made quite a duo, and he hates to see his new acquaintance manhandled like this.

"I'll be back," he mouths. He can't tell if she understands it, but he means it regardless. Once everything's under control and he and Mobius have explained everything, he's sure he'll have no problem getting Sylvie back. It's the least he could do.

Judge Renslayer waits until the doors have closed before speaking. "I'm sorry about that. What's up, Mobius? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, it's fine," he assures her. "I just... I have a question."

Judge Renslayer waits expectantly.

"Do you remember anything before the TVA?"

Judge Renslayer raises an eyebrow. "Before the TVA?" She shakes her head. "Mobius, there was no 'before the TVA.' Not for you, not for me..."

"Well, actually—" Loki says, but Mobius holds up a hand to stop him.

"But what if there was?" Mobius asks.

"What if there was...?"

"A before," he says. "What if we weren't made for the TVA. What if..."

To say Judge Renslayer looks confused would be an understatement. "Mobius, what are you talking about?"

Mobius pauses as if trying to figure out how to phrase it. "Do you think... I mean, is it possible—" He sighs, clearly struggling with this.

Loki decides to step in — probably against Mobius's better judgement but Loki is fairly confident that his worst judgement is still better than Mobius's best — with, "You weren't made for the TVA. You're a Variant. All of you."

Judge Renslayer scoffs. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it, though?" Mobius asks.

"Yes," she says firmly, "it is. The Time Keepers—"

"Ravonna, I've never even met the Time Keepers," Mobius says (earning a very confused look from Loki). "I believed in them because it's all I knew, but now...?"

"Now what?" Judge Renslayer asks cautiously.

Mobius sighs. "Loki, he... showed me something. He said they were memories — old memories I'd locked away. I was just a normal person, I—"

"Then he showed you lies," Judge Renslayer says. "Do you even remember who you're dealing with? He's the god of mischief, and making you question your existence? That's about as mischievous as he can get."

Loki scoffs. "I would never—"

Judge Renslayer holds up a hand to stop him, and though he does reluctantly allow her to, he has to admit, he's getting a little peeved that they keep cutting him off.

"I know," Mobius says. "I thought so, too, at first. But the more I think about it..." He shrugs. "Is it that crazy?"

Judge Renslayer eyes him for a few moments, then her face falls. She grabs something from her desk, holding it behind her back as she walks towards them. Loki suddenly wishes he had his powers back, because now feels like the right time to make a hasty retreat. But right now, he just feels trapped.

"No," she says finally. "No, it's not that crazy." In one swift movement, she's pulled two Time Collars from behind her back, slapping one on each of the men in front of her. "Not crazy at all."

Loki swallows hard. Maybe this is going to be a little more complicated than he'd hoped.