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Chapter Text

The Ark was falling and all Loki could do was watch. He was vaguely aware of Sylvie running away from the chaos, but he was rooted, watching their final chance at escaping Lementis-1 utterly and completely destroyed. He felt a tug on his sleeve and it was Sylvie.

"C'mon! There's shelter over here!"

Loki almost resisted. He wanted to laugh and watch it all burn. He didn't want to feel lost or angry. Humor would serve here. But he caught her eyes which burned and looked so much like family. He couldn't resist and let himself be led into a building that must have been some kind of library at some point.

They hunkered down against built-in shelves, sitting on stacks of books. It almost felt blasphemous to treat knowledge so cavalierly. But now that he was still, safe, and had no hope he couldn't bring himself to care. He just listened to the ragged rhythm of his own breathing and that of Sylvie next to him.

As he settled in, breaths calming, brain processing his own final demise, he took in the relative calmness of the library. Aside from an occasional groan of structural damage from outside or the sound of another book falling off the shelf, it was fairly quiet. Loki lifted an eyebrow and Sylvie shrugged. "The building had a symbol on it. The nearly universal sign for 'bomb shelter.'"

Loki sighed. "That says so much about Midgardians, doesn't it? Always blowing something up."

Sylvie didn't respond. She just leaned her head against a shelf, and ducked as a book fell and almost hit her on the crown of her head.

"Now what?" Loki asked.

Sylvie fixed him with a look that said, 'You already know, you fool.' She sighed and said, instead, "I don't suppose you can teleport to other timelines or across light years."

"No. Not as such," he admitted.

She didn't even look at him. She just closed her eyes, not caring how untrustworthy he might be because it didn't matter.

Everything was eerily still. Loki stayed on full alert until the godlike version of adrenaline left his system and he could barely stay awake. His eyelids fluttered, weighted by lead.

Loki's head snapped up when he heard a scraping, scratching noise. He pushed Sylvie, perhaps a little too hard, because she punched in his direction and landed a solid hit on his shoulder, which really hurt. "Stop that," he hissed. "Something's happening."

Sylvie's eyes flew open and looked around. She oriented on the sound and hopped into a crouch. Loki would never say he was envious of her physical prowess, but he wished he'd gotten up as gracefully. Sylvie was now fully focused on the fading sounds and the eerie blue light coming from another side of the library.

"What do you think it is?" asked Loki, only to receive a full stare from Sylvie. "Alright, alright! I'll keep quiet!" Sylvie held up her hand, indicating 'wait.' She peered around the corner and abruptly pulled back.

"There's something there," she hissed.

Loki sighed. "And?"

"It's a box. But it wasn't there before."

"Well hello!" said an unfamiliar and strangely cheery voice.

Sylvie and Loki both turned in horror. At the end of the shelf of fallen books was a humanoid figure. Loki could tell he wasn't exactly human, but he looked very much like a Midgardian. He was wearing a long, impractical coat and red shoes. The alien was waving at them and grinning with way too many teeth.

Sylvie already had her knives out.

"No need for those," The alien said. He brought out some kind of whirring, buzzing device that glowed blue and waved it around, but in a somehow non-threatening way. Sylvie looked at Loki who shrugged. He'd never seen anything like it. After it made a lot of noise, the stranger looked at it, seemed to take note of something and said, "I'm the Doctor, and I really think you two should come with me. Now."

Sylvie and Loki shared another glance and then both started talking at once. The Doctor waved impatiently. "Hey, hey, hey! This is a dangerous fixed point in time. We need to go. Now. Really. Run!"

He started running towards a tall blue box that hadn't been there before. Loki said, "He's a time traveler!"

Sylvie was all disdain, "You think?" and she sprinted towards the box with the man now standing inside the bright, warm light of the interior. Loki didn't hesitate (much) and launched himself at the door.

Loki bounded through into a space that was seriously much larger than the outside of the box. He looked around, saw Sylvie was also looking, and the Doctor was expectantly watching both of them. The man was grinning as he twisted and turned knobs on the console. He dialed something in, looked away and said, "Everyone says it. Go ahead."

"What? That this is magic?" Loki asked.

The man looked surprised and then broke into that goofy grin. "That's a new one."

"What do most people say?" Asked Sylvie.

"Oh! You know, just that it's bigger on the inside."

Loki huffed. "Obviously it's bigger. Why point out the obvious?"

"I dunno. It's just a thing humans usually do."

"Ah! Well, that may be where you've gone wrong. We are from Asgard."

The Doctor looked impressed. "You mean THE Asgard? Odin and Thor and...?"

Irritated, Loki waved at the names. "Yes, yes, just that."

The Doctor peered at him. "Let me guess. You two are gods."

Sylvie was impatient. "Yes--"

"No, no! Wait! Don't say anything. Let me guess!"

Sylvie sighed and looked like she was going to bring out her knives. "He's Loki, and me, you don't need to know. Really, we just don't have time for this sort of thing."

The man laughed and spun around the space. "Are you kidding? I'm a Time Lord. This is a TARDIS. We have all of time, and space, too."

Sylvie had enough. She advanced on the man and grabbed his hand. Green magic flared outward, but the man kept smiling, apparently unfazed by her attempt to enchant him. "That tingles a bit," he told her and then beamed up at Loki. "I thought you were just a myth."

"Well I'm not. And what's a Time Lord anyway? Are you part of the TVA?"

Sylvie stepped back, being unable to enchant the Doctor. For the first time, though, the man looked really serious. "You mean the Time Variance Authority?"

Sylvie and Loki exchanged looks. "Yes. That one. What do you know about it?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Not much, yet. The TVA has been a real problem for me. They're messing with the normal flow of time. I guess that explains why you both had such strong temporal signatures if you're part of the TVA."

"We're not part of the TVA," Loki said

Sylvie leaned against... something and looked up at him and the Doctor. "You kind of are, since you're a pet agent," she said.

"I was just...Shit! Mobius doesn't know that he's a variant, too!"

The Doctor said, "Variants? Mobius? How involved are you all with the TVA?"

Sylvie said, "I want to destroy it."

The Doctor grinned. "Now you're talking. Only problem is that I have no idea where it is. I think it's based in some kind of pocket dimension. I've been following agents and people with a high temporal auras, but no luck. But both of you have been there. How long?"

Sylvie looked at Loki and he relented, saying, "I have no idea."

"Long enough to get the company jacket," Sylvie interjected.

Loki spun on her. "It wasn't--"

"Wait, Loki, you said a name, right?"

"Mobius?" His chest got tight, remembering the last time he saw him.

The Doctor moved in, his face near Loki. "Yeah. You close to him?"

Loki drew himself up, trying to be taller than the other man. "He was… he kept me from being reset, or killed," he finished. He thought about how Mobius looked at him and seemed to actually see him. Not see what he wanted to see, like everyone else.

The Doctor seemed satisfied with his answer. "There's probably enough of a bond there that we can use the psychic circuits."

"I'm sorry, the what?"

"Don't be scared. It's a really cool way to drive the TARDIS. I'll get it set up!"

"Wait! I don't know if I want to consent to this… mind reading."

The Doctor looked up from the console. "Oh, well if it's any consolation, it's less invasive than what your friend tried to do to me."

Sylvie protested from the corner while at the same time Loki emphatically denied their friendship. The Doctor shrugged affably, almost like how Mobius may have done in the same situation. Loki sighed. "Fine. Yes. Let me drive this thing."

"Excellent! Give me a moment."

Loki said, "Great. I'll be, uh, over here I guess." He ambled over to where Sylvie was tossing a knife in the air and catching it over and over. Loki reached out to grab it from the air, only to discover that it was an illusion.

"So, it sounds like you do have a Prince," Sylvie said, a curved smile on her face.

"He's not my Prince. C'mon, it's just Mobius. I just…" he thought about saying he didn't matter or that he didn't care, but the lie wouldn't come to his tongue. Loki just sat down heavily on the floor of the TARDIS. He changed the subject. "How do you think they do this?"

Sylvie gave him a sideways look. "It's not magic. I probed it and it feels like it's alive and extremely powerful."

"Really? That's interesting. And weird. Definitely weird." He pushed his hair out of his eyes and refused to think about Mobius.

Sylvie looked at him and smirked. "You're thinking about him."

"Who? The Doctor?"

Sylvie kept smirking. "No. Mobius."

Loki scoffed. "Of course I'm thinking about Mobius," he said arrogantly. "If I can't remember anything, we can't get to the TVA."

Sylvie began to flip another illusory dagger. "Ok."

Loki huffed and stood up so he could see what the Doctor was doing. The man was tall, but not quite as tall as Loki. "What exactly does a Time Lord do?"

The Doctor looked over his shoulder. "Depends. Thing is, I'm the last one, so pretty much whatever I do is what a Time Lord does by definition." He clipped something bright and shiny to a plate full of goo.

"The last one? Did your world have an apocalypse?" Not that Loki cared. Obviously, apocalypses happened all the time to all sorts of people: even him, on another timeline.

"Sort of like an apocalypse. More like a stupid war." the Doctor said and Loki could tell he didn't want to say anymore. "How did you end up with the TVA?"

"I'm apparently from an unapproved timeline."

"Ah. I see."

Loki fixed him with a squint and a faltering smile. "But do you really?"

"Well, yeah," he retorted. He paused to do something that looked pretty tricky. "I told you, I'm a Time Lord and these TVA people think they can muscle in and fill a power vacuum. But there's no such thing as 'unapproved timelines.' Time is meant to be wibbedly-wobbedly. It's not supposed to flow in a straight line. They're killing people, destroying societies. I can't let that happen anymore. You get me to the TVA and we'll get your friend, Mobius."

"He's not--"

"Sure. You say that, but your eyes tell a different story."

"You don't know anything about me!"

The Doctor straightened up, put his hands in his pockets. His brown suit was like something Mobius would wear. But his pointy hair and stupid shoes were all him. He said, "You're Loki Laufeyson. You have a complicated relationship with your family. You once gave birth to a spectacular horse. You're the god of Mischief…"

"Okay, okay. Enough." There were things Loki didn't want to talk about either.

"Fine. It's ready," the Doctor announced.

Sylvie came forward and looked at the strange device on the console. "Will this really work?"

"Should," said the Doctor confidently.

She looked at the two men. "Do you have a plan?"

The Doctor said, "Absolutely! The TARDIS will take us straight to Mobius. We'll materialize wherever he is. And based on where that is, we'll handle the situation. We'll extract him, then work out something to take down the TVA. Once we know their location, we can go back later."

Loki nodded. "Sounds good."

"That's not a plan," she said. "It's goals."

Loki said, "Look. I have to get him out of there. He was… he doesn't deserve whatever the TVA is doing to him."

Sylvie gave Loki a look. Then she turned to the Doctor. "What's your real name?"

He folded his arms. "It's the Doctor," he reasserted. Loki felt that this wasn't true, but Sylvie let it slide.

She said, "I'm Sylvie and I want to help you stop the TVA."

The Doctor smiled ear to ear. How could one person smile so much? Loki sighed. "Count me in, too. As long as, one, we get Mobius, and two, no one hurts Casey."

Sylvie put a hand on his shoulder. "So many friends!"

Loki scowled. "I just feel merciful."

"Great! Now, Loki, stick your fingers here," he indicated the goo.

"Seriously?"

"I never joke about the TARDIS."

"I don't suppose you do." He poked at the goo gingerly, then just shoved his fingers inside of the maybe living machine. It was obscenely warm. His fingers and scalp tickled. The scrape of the TARDIS...engaging engines?...was loud, until it was drowned out by his memories.

Loki had no idea how long he was in the TVA. Mobius said time moved differently there. It felt long enough of a time to forge some kind of relationship, though. He practically felt Mobius hovering nearby. He saw the outline of his lips forming a sense of wonder and other times expressing determination. The slightly rumpled suit. The tie askew. The way Loki felt when he touched him. When Mobius trusted him with the daggers. It was always daggers.

The sound faded and the Time Lord tugged on Loki's sleeve. "I think you did it." He tugged harder and Loki stumbled after him, meeting him at the door with its reverse "Police Box" sign. They opened the door.

Loki looked out into a drab and empty office space. The desk was covered in files and there was an orange can of soda sitting open in the middle. He looked around and heard something rustle. A file fell to the ground with a dull slap.

Loki held up his hands and gestured at Sylvie to do the same. The Doctor already had his up and was smiling with everything except his eyes. An incredulous voice came from behind the TARDIS. "Loki?"

Loki spun around, his hands still up. "The one and the same."

Mobius stepped into view. He looked unarmed and there was something in his expression. He wasn't angry. He wasn't disappointed. Loki was very familiar with those kinds of expressions. Mobius almost looked proud. "I knew you'd come back," he said and closed the space. Before Loki knew what hit him, Mobius had wrapped his arms around him and buried his head against Loki's chest.

For a moment, Loki didn't know what to do with his own arms and hands. He shot a look of panic at both Sylvie and the Doctor, both of whom were no help at all. In the end, he chose to hold Mobius, to press him closer to his own body. And he didn't give a damn about anything else.

The Doctor let them have their moment. But eventually he said, "We have to go." The sound of Minutemen running in their direction could be heard.

Mobius pulled back and looked at Loki. The god said, "You coming?"

Eyes so trusting, so alien, so beautiful. "Absolutely," Mobius said.

Loki shouted at Sylvie and the Doctor. "Let's go!"

The Doctor grinned, "Right! Allons-y!"

They piled into the TARDIS, engaged the engines and disappeared. Loki pulled Mobius into a corner of the room.

"You came back," Mobius said, sounding so, so glad.

Loki let himself really smile as he straightened his tie. "For you, every time. Always."

Chapter Text

After Loki straightened his tie, Mobius smiled, a small, real expression that somehow became the most beautiful thing Loki had ever seen. He basked in that smile and he felt a sharp, stupid loss deep inside when the other man turned away to look around. His hands were in his pockets as he looked up and down, taking in the domed ceiling, the golds and greens, the strange designs. The Doctor watched everything with that goofy, expectant look on his face that said he was waiting for something good to happen.

Mobius touched Loki on the shoulder and took a few steps around, away from Loki. "Wow. This box is way bigger on the inside."

Sylvie threw a dirty look at Loki while the Doctor began to wax philosophical about 'his old girl, the TARDIS.' Then the Doctor caught Loki's eyes, "See? Humans."

Mobius looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"The Doctor is rather fond of humans," Loki said.

"Smart guy," Mobius retorted.

This made the Doctor preen and then pretend to be humble which left Sylvie and Loki exchanging various looks across the room. Then Loki realized that he was also fond of a certain probably human person and stopped his wordless communication with Sylvie. "Do we know Mobius is human? He said the Timekeepers made him."

The Doctor deployed his unassuming stick which hummed and glowed in the direction of Mobius. Then he held it up to his face and announced, "Yep! Human."

"Oh," said Loki. This time he caught Sylvie's eyes and knew she was thinking the same thing. "Doctor, may I ask? Is there any place I can talk to Agent Mobius? Alone?"

The Doctor seemed thrown off stride for a nanosecond. A human wouldn't pick up on it, but Loki noticed. "Yup. Absolutely. Private rooms off to the right. Oops! Sorry! Your right, not mine!"

Loki graced him with a genuine smile, briefly. He put his hand on the small of Mobius' back and walked with him into the unfamiliar interior of the TARDIS. Mobius let himself be led away either out of curiosity, or maybe because of their fragile trust, or maybe… Loki stopped himself.

Even though this was supposed to be an alien ship, the corridor he walked down with Mobius reminded him of Asgard. Mobius picked up on that, too, commenting on details that made Loki wonder about the TARDIS. How had it known? Was it intelligent? It seemed so and of course, Mobius knew so much about his former home. Knew so much about him.

Randomly, Loki opened a door and found a small kitchenette behind it. Absurdly, it was reminiscent of the TVA but it seemed safe enough. Loki magnanimously indicated that Mobius should sit while he tried to make tea. Or something. Opening the cabinets revealed nothing but can after can of instant hazelnut coffee. So Loki heated water and mixed In spoonfuls of caffeine according to the directions on the label.

It sufficed. Barely. Loki held his hands over the warm liquid, soaking up the heat. Mobius did the same. It was wretched coffee. But warm and nice to share.

Mobius pursed his lips. "Care to explain all this?"

Loki sighed. "I can't. It's not my ship."

"And the Doctor?"

Loki sipped at his mug. Still awful and bitter. "He's a Time Lord."

Mobius nearly spit out his coffee. "What? Really? He's THAT Doctor? We were told we'd probably never see one in real life. That they don't interfere because they approve of the TVA mission. Some agents think they're made up."

Loki pushed his hair back. "They're real. Or he is. He's the last one."

"He told you that?"

"Yes," Loki narrowed his eyes. "Was he lying?"

Mobius flipped his palm over. "Not exactly. Time is complicated. While the being they told us about that calls themselves the Doctor experiences time, they are also part of time. As a TVA agent, we saw pictures of multiple incarnations of the Doctor. But I don't suppose this one would accept that they are not really the last. Nor would they want to know that there have been hundreds of beings that considered themselves to be this being: the Doctor."

Loki frowned. "I am a god and I have no idea what you're on about."

Mobius smiled over the brim of his coffee. His feet tapped against Loki, invading his space. Loki didn't mind. "The Doctor is a very special entity on the Sacred Timeline."

Loki drew in a deep breath. "Speaking of timelines, I have something you need to know."

Mobius leaned on his arms, giving Loki his full attention. Loki thought to himself, how was that simple expression so peculiarly appealing? Mobius said, "Oh?"

Loki sighed. What he was going to say, Mobius wasn't expecting right now. In fact, Mobius almost looked open to something… more. Like it would be okay to say other things, reach for something else.

Loki couldn't cross that line. Not yet. And then, without thinking too much more said, "The TVA didn't make you. You were once a variant, too."

Mobius sat still for a moment, as if he was waiting for the punchline. Finally, he said, "A variant?"

"Yes. All of you are variants."

Mobius sat back. He raked his fingers through his short hair. "Wow. Just wowy, wow, wow."

Loki's brow wrinkled. "I don't know what that means."

"Me either." He sipped his coffee, grimaced and put down the mug, hard. "How do you know?"

"Sylvie."

"The variant. I don't know if you can trust her. Can you?"

"As much as you can trust me," Loki said. Then realized it might not come across the way he wanted. He winced and was again surprised at how much he cared.

Mobius leaned in and said. "You can be trusted." He reached his hand across the table and Loki looked at it for the briefest moment before he took it, letting Mobius curl his fingers around his own. That touch, with their fingers pressed together, was more intimate than anything Loki had ever experienced in a long time. He burned inside and ducked his head to hide his emotions. He also knew he should say something.

"I'm sorry," Loki said, his eyes down.

Mobius said. "It's not your fault. It sort of makes sense. It explains the jet skies." Loki made himself look at the man. Mobius broke into a sad smile. "What the heck did they do to me? To all of us?"

Loki looked down. "I don't know. But we will find out. I promise you, and I mean it."

"I know," Mobius smiled again, the whole expression lighting up his face. "We should get back. I don't know if I like leaving… her name is Sylvie?"

A nod from Loki.

"Yes, Sylvie and the Doctor alone? Do you really trust her?"

Loki looked up. "She found shelter for us both and that's where the Doctor found us. Otherwise we would have died. The tempad was broken." He felt Mobius' fingers tighten just a little around his own.

"And the Doctor found you how?"

"Tracking energy. Something the TVA gives off. Says the TVA is in a pocket dimension."

Mobius nodded. "Makes sense. What are we going to do?"

Loki smiled, eyebrows lifted, "Burn it all down?"

Mobius nodded and replied in his easy, calm voice, smiling a little. "I like that. Classic. Maybe we can also help people get back to their own lives."

"Maybe, but I'm not so sure that's possible."

"Then maybe we can let them go, to make new lives." Mobius reached forward, touched his cheek. He leaned closer and Loki couldn't resist. He kissed his beautiful mortal over the small, orange, alien kitchenette table. When Mobius pulled away and stood up, Loki gathered him closer, wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed his head against his stomach. He held him like he was truly, utterly precious. Which, if Loki was being honest with himself, he was.

Mobius touched his hair and Loki looked up. Mobius leaned over to kiss him again. He found himself drawing Mobius tight against his body, opening his mouth, letting Mobius inside. The kiss wasn't chaste. It was desperate and hungry. It scratched with his mustache and jolted when their teeth clashed. Mobius fell into Loki's lap, straddling him. The man moaned into his mouth. "I can't believe…this is happening. I wanted this," Mobius whispered. "I wanted you. Always have."

Loki knew Mobius had seen him at his worst, but also maybe at his best. He wondered briefly if Mobius had seen him make love, participate in orgies, or just watched him masturbate. Maybe he'd ask sometime. Right now he didn't want to ruin anything for once and tried to fully concentrate on the beautiful man in his lap. His open, expressive face with his cute, crooked nose. His slim body that moved with strength and experience against Loki, a god of many things, including hedonism. Loki wondered how many people Mobius had bedded, and praised them all for showing him how to kiss, how to touch, how to grind.

He didn't care about anything else. Not himself, not his rage, not what he was owed. With Mobius kissing him, holding him, loving him, he felt full, complete, and he thought, maybe happy.

Loki kissed his jaw, his neck, and loosened his tie, kissing Mobius on his collarbones. He wanted everything off. He wanted Mobius' roving hands to rip off his stupid Midgard shirt and pants. He wanted nothing between them. He just wanted Mobius: the man who saw him and still kept telling him that he could be anything. That he could be good.

The door creaked open and Loki noticed it before Mobius. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw both Sylvie and the Doctor peering at them. Sylvie said, "Told you." The Doctor slapped something into her palm (Were they betting on the two of them? Outrageous!) and they entered the room.

By now, Mobius was aware of them and coughed and tried to nonchalantly slide out of Loki's lap. He almost made it look good. Sadly, he also began to rebutton his shirt. Loki just grinned at everyone, both happily rumpled and sorry the perfect moment was over. "I don't suppose this is an emergency, is it? Because we were having some pretty important personal time."

The Doctor hopped forward, bouncing on his toes. "Well, that's the thing, innit? Time. And I think we cracked what makes TVA tick."

Loki tried to look interested, but Mobius made up for any lack of the god's motivation. He moved away from Loki, towards the Doctor and said, "What do you have? Show us."

The Doctor grinned, obviously enjoying the attention. They filed out of the awful kitchenette and into the hallway. Loki only moped a little, after all, it was now incredibly obvious that Mobius really wanted him and Loki knew how to be patient. He also found it easier to tamp down on his feelings after he caught Sylvie side-eyeing him.

They went back to the TARDIS console room. In the time that Loki and Mobius had shared coffee and kisses, Sylvie and the Doctor had found paper, pencils, and colored markers. The formulas drawn over the wide sheets of paper had to be walked around in order to see the full calculations. "What is this from?" Loki asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The Doctor shot another smile at Sylvie. They were obviously now co-conspirators. "It's data the TARDIS gathered from the TVA pocket dimension. It describes an unusual--or should I say--more unusual part of the agency."

Mobius whispered. "The Timekeepers."

Sylvie nodded. "This formula describes the room the Timekeepers are inside of. Notice anything, Loki?"

"Aside from bad penmanship?"

Sylvie sneered. "That's the Doctor."

"Oi!"

Loki frowned. He had an idea, but was loathe to repeat it out loud until he was sure. Next to him, Mobius, all buttoned up, with a mostly straight tie, crouched down to better read some of the writing. "This is a formula for describing a Klein bottle, or something like it "

"A what?" Loki asked.

Mobius stood up and said, "It's a three or four dimensional object with just two surfaces. It's like my namesake. A Mobius strip is a two dimensional object with just one surface."

"I know what a Mobius strip is."

"Oh, I just assumed you wouldn't learn science in Asgard," Mobius said, and while his voice was teasing, his eyes were gentle.

"It's math," Sylvie said, "And math is tied to some kinds of magic."

"Like a runic working," Loki said, sure now that his guess was right.

"Bingo!" said the Doctor happily, and Loki busied himself with looking at the formula so that the rest of them couldn't see how much he was enjoying this. How… interesting it was to be around people who cared about these kinds of things. How *nice* it was to be right and be met with a smile, rather than derision. "Sylvie saw it right away and as she started writing, I realized it looked like the Klein bottle."

Mobius nodded. "And other types of topologies."

The Doctor grinned. "The best part, is that it looks like the magic and the science are tied up together. If we can, say, begin to unravel the Klein bottle, then the working will also fall apart. And boom. The Timekeepers have no more power."

Mobius said, "This would only affect the Timekeepers' room and the Timekeepers themselves, right?"

The Doctor said, "I made Loki a solemn promise that you and Casey would be safe. I think we can save everyone, though. Everyone can live."

Mobius smiled at Loki and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Casey? Loki, you made a friend!"

Sylvie smirked and said, "I like your Prince."

Loki drew himself up and sent a scathing look in her direction.

Mobius cocked his head, "Your Prince, huh?"

Loki reached for Mobius' hand. "We can work out the technical details of your rank after we destroy the TVA."

"Absolutely," said Mobius. He smiled, just for Loki. And Loki bathed in it, basked in his approval.

"So, Princes, Princess, I think we have the start of a good plan," the Doctor said.

"One question. How do we accomplish this unravelling?"

Sylvie smirked. "The Doctor and I have some ideas."

Chapter Text

Sylvie leaned against the TARDIS console like it belonged to her. She grinned. "Since the Timekeepers' room has this unique configuration, like a Klein bottle, we just have to unravel it. But of course, where and how do we start?" She paused, and Loki refused to become part of her show and ask the obvious question.

Of course Mobius did, "Ok, I'll bite. Where and how?"

Sylvie and the Doctor both beamed. The Doctor said, "This is real good. Tell 'em, Sylvie."

Loki tried not to look as curious as he felt.

Sylvie continued, "In order to unravel a shape like a Klein bottle that exists in both time and space and which contains an extra runic anchor, we need to make a tear. It needs to be very big and very close to the pocket dimension."

The Doctor was practically bouncing now. "And then once there's a tear, I can use the TARDIS to pull and unravel the metaphorical threads, as it were."

Mobius asked, "But what kinds of things can make the tear you need?"

The Doctor said, "We'll need to create a very unstable time paradox as close as possible to the Timekeepers' realm."

Loki had a feeling he knew how, "And Sylvie and I can do that."

Sylvie nodded. "Exactly! We were already there once. The Doctor can bring us there again, in the same room as our past selves."

Mobius said, "That would create an enormous time anomaly."

All teeth and energy, the Doctor said, "And the TARDIS can use the anomaly as an anchor point."

Mobius put his hands on his hips and said, "Time anomalies are extremely dangerous."

"Oh, danger and me have quite a lot of experience," the Doctor said.

"Right. But I don't want any of us getting hurt, let alone innocent agents," Mobius countered.

"There are no innocent agents," Sylvie quipped.

"If we've all been mindwiped and told something different… ?"

Loki put his hand on Mobius' back. "We'll make sure no one else gets hurt." He shot a look at Sylvie.

"Exactly, and that's where Mobius comes in," the Doctor said, excitedly.

Loki stepped closer to the Doctor, away from Mobius, but slightly in front of him. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh no. We are absolutely not putting Mobius in any danger."

The Doctor didn't react to Loki's implied threatening behavior. He held up his hands and waved them around as he talked. "No danger. We just need Mobius to help us steal a few tempads. It should be easy! We can all help, too. Act as lookouts and the whatnot," rambled the Doctor.

Mobius put his hand on Loki's shoulder. It grounded him. Instead of yelling, Loki glanced back at Mobius, who was ridiculously calm, and then over at the manic ball of energy calling itself the Doctor. He asked, "Why in the Nine Realms do we need to steal tempads if the TARDIS can travel through time?"

Sylvie answered this one. "The Doctor and I are pretty sure that unravelling the Timekeepers' realm will take all of the energy of the TARDIS. We need an out in case of emergency."

"Right. And I'm probably going to keep the TARDIS in the Time Vortex and she won't be accessible. You'll definitely need a getaway device if that's the case."

Mobius ran his hands over his face. "Fine. But Loki and me are in charge of the tempads."

Sylvie looked furious. "I'm a Loki, too."

Loki raised an eyebrow at her and she just stared back. Loki sighed. "We have to trust her. We have to trust each other. It's the only way we succeed."

"That's the spirit!" The Doctor cheered. "So what do you say?"

"I promise. No backstabbing," Sylvie said.

"We always say that," said Loki.

Sylvie smiled, "We do. And look where it's gotten us so far? Our truces, our ceasefire, our *trust* had given us a chance to stop a very real evil. We have to keep it up. And when it's over, then we go our separate ways, no harm, no foul."

The Doctor looked at Mobius, "You in? I know you used to work for them…"

Mobius stepped up next to Loki. "You can love the job, but it will never love you back. I'm in." He looked up, an open invitation of an expression, and bumped his hand against Loki's. Loki grabbed it and laced his fingers through his.

The Doctor grinned. "Right-O! Let me make some adjustments to the old girl so we remain undetected. You all get some rest. It'll be awhile."

Loki opened his mouth to say 'gods don't need rest,' but he was exhausted in reality. The hazelnut caffeine had worn off already and he really just wanted to crawl into bed, preferably with Mobius next to him. So instead, Loki said, "Fine. But when you come to get us, knock first."

The look on Mobius' face was worth it. Loki began to walk back to the Asgard-decorated corridor, and Mobius followed, his hand still firmly in his.

In the corridor, away from the others, Loki chose the very first door, pulling Mobius in after him. He pushed Mobius against the wall and kissed him. The smaller man was compliant and eager, obviously excited for him. Loki felt like he was in control again. He knew the basic boundaries of sex and desire with humans. He knew what to do. His mouth was clever in many different ways.

"Mmph, Loki, there's a bed," Mobius whispered.

Alright. Maybe Loki wasn't completely in control. Mobius was… Mobius and instead of being upset that Mobius was taking some of the control, he decided to play along.

Loki stepped back, away from Mobius, backing towards the large bed in the center of the room. And as he backed away, Mobius walked towards him. Loki slid onto the bed, pushing himself backwards until he was laying on the pillows. Mobius followed, shucking his jacket first, then crawling over the bed towards Loki. And Loki found that breathtaking. The agent on his hands and knees for him, crawling towards him, not in worship, but in desire for *him.*

Loki lolled back on the pillows, legs spread open, and took in Mobius who was now close enough to touch. Loki grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. Now Mobius' face was above his face and his legs between his. Mobius smiled. "Hi, Loki." A nudge against his groin sent want quivering through Loki, and looking up at Mobius, he knew exactly the effect he had on the god.

Instead of pulling him closer, Loki let go and commanded him to remove his tie and shirt. Mobius gave him a quirky smile. "Only if you take off yours."

Loki rolled his eyes and magicked away his shirt. He held out his hands and said, "There. Now you."

But again, Mobius did the unexpected. "Wow. Just look at you."

Loki said, "I'm sure you've seen me shirtless before, using your time cinema."

Mobius whispered, "Not like this," and the words sent shivers through Loki. Instead of waiting for Mobius to remove his own shirt, he made it and the tie disappear. Mobius laughed, a joyful sound, and one Loki wasn't used to hearing in his presence. "Much better," he said, and bent down to kiss Loki's chest.

When Mobius' bare skin came in contact with his own, he wrapped his arms around the other man and revelled in how good this felt. His mouth found Mobius' and they kissed like they were starving. He felt Mobius grind against him, gentle, but insistently wanting.

"You're so beautiful, Loki," Mobius said.

"I know."

"Of course you do," Mobius answered, nipping his lower lip and catching his eyes.

Loki smiled, "But you're more so," and kissed him tenderly. Mobius melted into the kiss, obviously pleased.

Loki rolled them both over and braced himself above Mobius, letting himself look at the man. He was panting under Loki, squirming just so in anticipation. He had the body of a normal rather attractive human, but somehow, it was so much more. Loki suspected this was because Mobius was so completely himself, so self-contained, that his personality could be read through every move. And Loki loved his personality, loved how it surprised him, challenged him, and wanted him back.

Loki touched the silver hair on his lower abdomen, tracing it downward and letting his fingers slide under his waistband. "I want these off."

"Oh, yes, your highness?" His teasing voice was husky. "Why don't you do something about that?"

So Loki did.

Chapter Text

After they made love, Mobius, who had recently been on top, rolled over onto his back. He smiled at Loki, sweaty and extremely satisfied-looking. Mobius surveyed the bed. "We wrecked the Doctor's room. I can't believe we did that."

Loki smirked and easily magicked away any mess on themselves and in the room. The bed was again soft and clean and Mobius' skin was warm and welcome. Loki pulled him closer. Mobius rested his head on top of him, his mustache and hair tickling slightly against his chest and shoulder. Loki stroked the top of his head, remembered how nicely and so *well* Mobius had made love to him, and drifted into sleep.

As requested, a knock on the door signalled the end of rest. Loki's eyes flew open, watchful. When the Doctor's cheerful face and lanky body followed the voice, Loki groaned and nudged Mobius.

"It's time," said the Doctor, obliviously.

"Give us a minute," Loki requested.

The Doctor asked, "Earth standard or Asgardian?" and kept standing there, a tall, alien goofball. "Or TVA? Though I understand--"

"Leave!" Ordered Loki.

The Doctor frowned, raising his hands, palms out. "No need to be rude. Nothing wrong with being naked. I just wanted to go over the details--"

Loki threw a spell at the Doctor, trying to push him away, but it had no effect. "What are you?"

"Time Lord, remember?"

Loki sighed and since he'd magicked their clothes off earlier, just did the reverse, only the clothes were now fresh and repaired. Mobius whispered, "Thanks."

Loki kissed his forehead. "It's nothing." Louder, to the Doctor, "Let's hear the details." He sat up and watched the Doctor usher Sylvie into the room.

She raised her eyebrows at the two of them, still under the covers, and made a wolf-whistle. Mobius actually blushed a little. Loki again indicated that they should get to the point. To emphasize that, he got out of bed and stood up. It felt ridiculous to be fully dressed under the covers. Mobius stayed on the bed, but sat, legs crossed. His feet were bare. That little, silly detail made Loki wish there was nothing for them to fight and nothing that would put this human that he cared about in danger.

Sylvie outlined the plan with Mobius chiming in with various details about the TVA. Loki had to admit that it was a decent enough plan and felt fairly safe that they wouldn't get caught in the first stage at least.

The Doctor was satisfied, at any rate. "Alrighty! Let's all meet at the console and I'll set the coordinates. We should land right in their supply closet, so to speak." The Doctor and Sylvie left and Loki brought Mobius his shoes and socks.

Mobius reached for his hand. Loki gave it. "No matter what happens, Loki, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The words melted Loki. "That's… a lot," he said.

Mobius shrugged. He let go and started putting on his socks. "It's the truth."

"Thank you," Loki finally said.

Mobius stood up, shoes on. He smiled and touched Loki's shoulder. "You're welcome." The praise warmed Loki from his head to his toes.

They entered the TARDIS console room together and the Doctor said, "Ok then! Allons-y!" He threw a switch, the TARDIS whined in the now familiar engagement of engines (or whatever drove the ship) and then after a shifting of both forward momentum and a feeling of *something* that Loki would have called magic if he didn't know better, apparently arrived. The Doctor checked something on the console and then said, "We're here."

The TARDIS door was opened and Loki could see that they were in a huge, dimly-lit room with row after row of shelving. Sylvie cast a spell on herself before leaving the TARDIS and moved invisibly into the room. As they thought, already cast spells held. They just couldn't be cast in the TVA. Loki did something similar, becoming invisible, and stepped out after her. The Doctor, on who spells didn't seem to affect, walked out with Mobius who would stay visible so it would be easier to protect him. Hard to protect an invisible, but very important person. Plus invisibility didn't hold well after the invisible person interacted with visible stuff, like tempads.

Loki was on high alert, hypervigilant and twitching at every noise. Mobius found a few tempads and checked the charge levels. Then he tapped one to open a door.

"It works," he whispered. "The charge sometimes runs down if they sit on the shelf a long time." He handed them to the Doctor. "Let me get a couple more." The Doctor nodded agreement, and waved his blue stick around. Mobius walked down another row of agent supplies. His shoes squeaked just ever so slightly as he moved.

The Doctor hissed out, "We might be getting company."

A whistle from the door from Sylvie indicated that there was possible trouble outside, confirming the Doctor's readings.

Loki ran in her direction, and while he couldn't see her, he could hear her moving. He knew Sylvie was straining as hard as he was to hear things on the other side. Loki himself caught phrases like, "Gate activated," and "going in." He braced himself.

When the door swung open, Loki jumped aside. He heard a crack where a boot must have broken a bone. One of the hunters went down, groaning in pain. Behind him, he heard the Doctor hissing at Mobius. A loud crash and subsequent shattering materials meant they'd had some kind of accident in the dimly lit room. Loki made himself concentrate on the hunter in front of him and decided to forego a fair fight, sucker-punching the woman in the back of the skull as she tried to help the other hunter. Loki's hunter passed out, but now he was visible.

The injured hunter called on their device. "It's variant L--" But that was as far as they got, as Sylvie, still invisible under her different, but more effective spell, took the radio and knocked them out.

She slammed the door closed and said to Loki, "Let's get your Prince and the Doctor out of here!"

The Doctor was already ushering Mobius into the TARDIS. Good. However, they seemed to be without the tempads. Neither had anything in their arms or hands.

Loki wasn't sure where Sylvie was right now, so he just hissed out, "I'm going to grab some more tempads. The idiot Time Lord must have dropped them."

Before Sylvie could respond, he ran deeper into the room. He felt a tug on his arm. It was Sylvie. "They have them."

"But…"

"Trust me. The Doctor is an alien, but he's not an idiot."

The supply room door opened, spilling in light. Loki saw Judge Renslayer outlined there, holding a pruning baton and something else.

Loki turned and sprinted back to the TARDIS. When he was inside, he crashed into a still-invisible Sylvie. She swore and they ended up on the floor together. The Doctor was doing something to the console of the TARDIS, but for whatever reason, the engines weren't engaging.

Loki looked outside and saw Renslayer aiming a weird, yellow TVA device at the TARDIS. He beckoned Sylvie over. "You open the door, I'll blast her backwards."

Sylvie nodded and Loki prepared himself. As soon as the door opened, he lashed out with magic. The gust of wind originating from inside the TARDIS didn't lose momentum in the TVA. Good. Renslayer fell back, faltered and the device was knocked from her hand, clattering to the ground. Behind him, the engines of the TARDIS engaged just as Renslayer got to her feet and launched herself at the door. From Loki's perspective, she and the room disappeared.

The door remained open for a minute before anyone had the chance to shut it. The environment outside was wild and chaotic. The Doctor stepped carefully, but quickly past the two gods who were rooted to the ground, staring out the door and shut it himself.

Loki inhaled, not realizing he had held his breath all this time. In that view through the TARDIS door were all possibilities, all combinations, endlessly twining and unravelling. Colors undescribed, sounds never before heard, and the sweet familiarity of something he couldn't quite place. It was nihilism and true purpose. It was the roots of life and the white sharp teeth of the end. Loki absorbed it and had been entranced by it. He wanted to throw himself outside the TARDIS for a brief, mad moment. He finally asked, "What was that?"

The Doctor smiled, fondly, Loki thought. "The time vortex."

He tried to explain, "It was utterly…"

"Beautiful," Sylvie finished. "Doctor, you are more chaos than you know."

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, I know. Madman with a box and all that. You two alright?"

It was too much. Loki stood up and dusted himself off. "Of course," he answered, hating how prickly he sounded. He caught Sylvie doing the same.

"Good." The Doctor reached into his coat and tossed them each a tempad. He saw their question before they answered it. "Pockets are bigger on the inside, too."

Loki smiled. "Love those pocket dimensions."

The Doctor grinned back. "Don't we all." He turned to Mobius and then back to Loki and Sylvie, "So, are we all ready?"

Mobius spoke for them all. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

Loki grinned. "That's my Prince."

"Ok. Time to make a paradox. Allons-y!"

Chapter Text

Before the Doctor rematerialized the TARDIS out of the time vortex, there was an argument. "Mobius, you have to stay here."

"Loki, you know I can't. It's my whole world. I need to see this through."

"I don't want you to get hurt. There will be four very righteously pissed-off gods and who knows how many cops with death sticks. It's a recipe for trouble and I wrote the cookbook."

Mobius smirked at him. "Recipes and cookbooks?"

Loki shot him and exasperated look.

Mobius continued, "Ok, listen. I'll stay out of the way, but you need someone to hold onto the extra tempads. You know they don't work well after a scuffle."

Sylvie put in, "He's right, Loki. Plus we may need his TVA knowledge."

Loki turned around, angry and not wanting to yell at Mobius or yell at anyone else in front of Mobius. He knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. He tried to master his anger and, he knew, his deep down fear that he might possibly lose another person close to him. He said quietly, "Fine."

He heard Mobius fist pump behind him and spun around. "You absolutely have to stay out of the way. Promise me."

Mobius said, so quickly that Loki knew he was lying, "I promise." But he let it go. He would never be able to control Mobius and that was something he usually liked about him.

"Great," said the Doctor. "Everyone get ready. I'm going to land and after you all are out, me and the old girl will go back to the time vortex. It'll be easier to anchor from there. So, three, two, one-and-a-half, one...Go!"

Sylvie opened the door and the three of them left the safety of the TARDIS and ran into a tense scene. Loki watched as Mobius did immediately flatten himself against a wall, exactly as he'd hoped. Then Loki turned to look at himself from a couple of days ago. He and past Sylvie fought one another. Loki briefly noted that he looked pretty good, until Sylvie caught him and held a sword to his neck.

Next to him, Sylvie crouched. She hissed, "Renslayer," and the door opened, revealing the judge and hunters.

As all of this went on, the TARDIS was trying to dematerialize. The grinding, whining of the engines continued far longer than Loki thought it should.

Renslayer held up her hand and said, "That box isn't going anywhere." But it wasn't the Renslayer who just came through the door talking.

Loki looked in her direction. Sylvie hadn't been talking about the upcoming entrance of the judge. Instead, it was a time-displaced version. She held a pruning baton and had a terrible smile.

Past Loki and Sylvie thankfully disappeared while past Renslayer approached her other self. "Told you they'd be back," she said to herself.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Loki demanded.

"Why isn't there an anomaly?" asked Sylvie.

"Because we prepared for this," one of the Renslayers said. She said to herself, "I got this."

The other nodded, took out a tempad and created a gate. "Don't forget to nab Mobius. He's in the corner."

Renslayer nodded to the hunters who began to move. The door to the TARDIS opened and the Doctor looked out, then ducked back in. He came back out with his buzzing stick.

Meanwhile, Sylvie crouched into a fighting stance and had real daggers out. She caught Loki's eyes and tossed one his way. He grabbed it midair and turned his back on her and began to fight his way towards Mobius.

He spotted him, but Renslayer was already there. She held both Mobius and a baton and looked ready to use it. "Not one more step."

Mobius said, "Ravonna--"

"Shut up, traitor."

"No, you are the traitor. You destroyed the lives of everyone here," shouted Loki.

"You're wrong. You don't know anything," she said and touched the baton to Mobius.

Chapter Text

"No!" screamed Loki and without a second thought, he threw the dagger at Renslayer's face with all of his strength. It went through her left eye and she fell backwards, spraying blood and then slumped lifelessly to the ground.

He ran to Mobius who was somehow still whole. Loki threw his arms around him and felt tears well up. Mobius tapped him on the back. "We don't have time. Behind you!"

Loki spun and brought up his arms in time to block a blow from a baton wielded by a hunter. Loki kicked and knocked the hunter's feet out. He grabbed the baton and bashed the hunter across the head. The hunter didn't get pruned, but they were knocked unconscious.

Behind him, Mobius said, "Wow. They're not working."

Loki barely had time to process this when another hunter tried to erase him. This time, he was less worried about the business end of the baton and easily dispatched the TVA hunter. He looked over at Sylvie who was stepping over fallen bodies to reach him.

Loki heard the Doctor's buzzing stick again at the doors to the room. "That should hold them for now. Are there any other entrances?"

Mobius said, "Not that I know of... aside from the doors to the Timekeepers."

Loki said, "What exactly is that weird little stick?"

The Doctor looked proud, "It's a sonic screwdriver." He held it up and Loki easily snatched it out of his hands. "Oi!"

Loki turned it over and found it to be… unreadable. He handed it back. "It locked those doors? But you're not magic."

"It also disabled the pruning batons. You just have to know what frequencies to suppress or trigger and this little beauty turns deathsticks into… well, just sticks."

"Impressive," Loki said and the Doctor grinned.

Loki turned to Sylvie who was pulling her dagger out of Renslayer's eye socket. She looked up.

"I wish I'd gotten to kill her, but at least she's dead." She straightened up and started for the doors, passing the dagger back to Loki. "Let's go get those Timekeeper assholes."

"Wait," said the Doctor. He went to pick up the device Renslayer had. He ran the stick--the screwdriver--over the small, yellow square. "Yup. It was a time travel suppressor. Shouldn't have stopped the TARDIS by itself, though." He put it in one of his coat pockets, stepped over an unconscious body, murmured, "I'm so sorry," and joined the rest at the doors to the Timekeepers.

Mobius said, "I'm not sure how to open these doors."

"No worries! I've got this," said the Doctor and ran the screwdriver over the door several times. Nothing happened.

Sylvie sighed and pressed a button next to the Doctor and the doors slid open.

The Doctor didn't seem to mind being shown up. "Excellent, Sylvie!"

Sylvie rolled her eyes but Loki could tell she was pleased. Loki let her and the Doctor enter first and then said to Mobius, "After you."

Mobius didn't go, though. He turned around and faced Loki. "I'm sorry you almost saw me die. I'll be careful in there."

Loki put his hands on his shoulders and kissed him. Then he said, "You better be. Anyway, I have your back."

"I know," Mobius said, and he turned away and stepped into the strange, gray mist that filled the other room.

Loki mused that having his back was so much better than stabbing it, and stepped through as well.

Chapter Text

The fog was everywhere. On the other side of the room, red geometric lights showed a triangular arrangement of three dark figures who were presumably the Timekeepers. As the group approached, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver lit the fog around them a blue color temporarily. He said, "Uh, I hate to be a killjoy, but there's just us and some animatronics in here."

Everyone turned to look at the Doctor. Sylvie's voice came through the clearest. "I'm sorry? What is an animatronic?"

Mobius interjected, "I thought that was a Disney trademark."

The Doctor whispered, "You're thinking of Imagineers."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mobius nodded like any of what they said made any sense.

The Doctor stepped forward from their group, screwdriver buzzing, and walked towards the thrones of the Timekeepers. The entities there erupted into action and one spoke, "How dare you imply we are just animatronics!"

The Doctor got even closer to the Timekeepers and spread his arms. He turned around, catching the eyes of the others one at a time. He really did like to grandstand. "If it walks like a duck…" The Doctor made his hand mimic a talking mouth. Mobius and Loki shared a look as the Doctor said mockingly, "Quackity, quack, quack!" and pretended his hand was a puppet. Then he said, mostly for Sylvie, "Animatronics are like robots, but with less agency."

The Timekeepers started up again and the Doctor immediately stopped them, apparently by using his screwdriver. Loki had heard of people looking at all problems as if they were nails that just needed a hammer, but the Doctor took that to a new level. Then Loki realized the gravity of what the Doctor had revealed: the Timekeepers weren't lizards. They weren't even real.

Loki marched up to the wall. The Timekeeper there had cords that snaked back into the wall. Loki grabbed them and pulled, making sparks fly. "Oh for fuck's sake," he cursed.

Sylvie dropped her dagger. It clattered to the ground, loudly clanging in the room. "I can't believe it. This is it and it's… nothing. My whole life ruined, for nothing." She tried to surreptitiously wipe away her tears, but Loki knew that move. He picked up her dagger.

"Sylvie, I'm not good at this," he said, handing her dagger back. "But there's got to be more here than we can actually see." He tentatively touched her shoulder and she let him, giving Loki a small, tight look of anguish.

The Doctor chimed in, jarringly cheerful. "Loki's right. There's something else here. This whole area is tethered to yet another dimension, which I've cleverly been able to identify the location of, just not the *when* of. Still, it's no wonder everything has been a little wonky with my TARDIS."

Sylvie wasn't appeased. She sat down, hard on a small boulder. "What do we do now?"

"We do research. Figure out what's really going on," Mobius said. "We need someone with high level access to TVA files. Maybe Miss Minutes can help here."

Loki rolled his eyes.

Mobius pursed his lips at him. "Don't think I don't know how you treated her. We'll be lucky--"

"Well Hello there!" said Miss Minutes, floating just behind and to the left of Loki.

Loki spun and swatted in her direction. Miss Minutes jumped away, easily staying out of Loki's reach. She chided his bad manners and then turned to Mobius. "How can I help you?"

"I need to know about the Timekeepers," Mobius said. "Can you give me alpha level access?"

Miss Minutes said, "Afraid not! But as everyone knows, the Timekeepers ensure that time flows in the proper direction according to the dictates of the sacred timeline."

Loki sighed. "Yes, yes, but what else do they do?"

As Loki and Mobius engaged with Miss Minutes, the Doctor came up to the annoying mascot, screwdriver in hand, and said, "I got it." The Doctor clarified after seeing Loki's confused expression. "I mean, I downloaded the database."

Mobius gaped at the Doctor. "All of the files?"

"Yup. Nice tool, the sonic screwdriver. We don't need this computer interface anymore. But we do need to move. The other agents are going to break through the doors any minute now. What I did to lock them only lasts so long." He started jogging towards the other room.

Loki held out his hand to Sylvie, who took it. He helped her to her feet, and she smiled at the unnecessary gesture--it was just something comrades would do. She let go of his hand and joined him and Mobius as they followed the Doctor.

When they entered the other room, they had to walk past Renslayer's body. Mobius slowed down here. The Doctor looked anxious, but kept moving, and Sylvie joined his side as they continued to the TARDIS. But Loki was rooted.

Mobius crouched down and touched the intact part of her face. "You were once my friend," he said.

It was weird to see the aftermath of a betrayal he hadn't caused. That, in fact, he had prevented. It almost made him feel like a hero, though he figured a hero probably wouldn't have thrown a dagger through someone's eye with enough force to shatter the back of their skull...but still, fairly heroic.

Loki watched Mobius crouch at her side for a long moment. Then the other man straightened up and turned around.

Loki said, "I'm not sorry."

Mobius caught Loki's eyes and said, "Me neither. She intended to kill me."

Loki nodded. He knew it went unsaid that no one messes with the people he cares about. No one. He held out his hand to Mobius this time. He took it. Mobius' hand was so real and solid and Loki was committed to keeping him that way. They ran into the TARDIS together.

The Doctor quickly put the TARDIS into the vortex. Once he'd evidently decided they were safe, he displayed the relevant data stolen from Miss Minutes. There was quite a lot. Sylvie and Mobius were rather interested in the displays. Loki was not. It looked too much like the same kind of files he'd pored over with Mobius in the past. Awfully boring.

He watched the three of them instead. The Doctor's manic energy was growing on him. The way the man jumped from idea to idea and put together concepts was rather entertaining. Sylvie had some of that energy, but with her, it was channelled into intensity and purpose. Mobius was calm and steady, following their mad train of ideas and keeping everything on the same track.

Loki watched them merge the data taken from Miss Minutes with the location information the Doctor said was tied to the Timekeepers' pocket dimension. The Doctor frowned and tried to redo his calculations. He made Sylvie double check. Mobius must have felt left out by now because he came over to sit with Loki.

"It's nice to see a bunch of smart people figuring things out, isn't it?" Mobius said.

Loki almost opened his mouth to say that he was smart, too, but realized at the last moment that he didn't need to. Mobius knew. And Mobius also knew what he was going to say, and chuckled at this just a little. Somehow, Loki found that endearing.

Mobius reached for his hands as if he'd done it a thousand times before and it was normal, everyday stuff. Mobius made everything seem easy and smooth. Loki was still thrilled by his touch, knowing someone like Mobius wanted him. That he really and truly cared.

Mobius caught Loki's eyes. "Seriously, though, I need you to know that I was scared to death when I thought I was going to be pruned. I couldn't believe Ravonna of all people could do that to me. I'm sorry she turned out to be a different person than I thought I knew."

Loki squeezed his hand and gifted him a real smile. "I couldn't let anything happen to you. I --" he stopped himself, not sure how to say it. Not sure how to express the mad, exuberant joy he felt with Mobius. He knew what it was. He knew it, but naming it was different. He could tell that Mobius understood anyway, so he said, instead, "Are you Okay, though?"

Mobius smiled a little. "Yeah. It's not the first time my life was threatened."

"It will be the last," Loki promised.

Mobius smiled at him. "C'mere big guy, I could use a hug."

Loki gladly slid his arms around Mobius, feeling their bodies pressed together in solidarity, friendship, and-- that other thing. He gently stroked Mobius' back and thrilled at the feeling of the other man's hands around his waist.

In the middle of the room, Sylvie and the Doctor loudly arguing interrupted the nice moment he was having with Mobius. Loki would have let them bicker, but Mobius pulled him along to see what was wrong.

"What's up?" Mobius asked.

Sylvie stabbed her finger at a piece of paper with very nice formulas written with excellent penmanship in orange crayon. "Look. The location of the dimension is fine, but the *time* it's in--"

"Can't be the end of the universe. I've been there before," the Doctor interrupted.

Loki cleared his throat and they all looked at him. "When was the last time you went? The TVA is powerful enough to change time. It could be different now."

The Doctor sighed. Sylvie fixed him with a look. "You know I'm right, Doctor. It's right there at the end of time."

The Doctor said, "When I was there last, at the end of time, it wasn't pretty."

Mobius said, "We've been through a lot, Doctor. We got this."

"We better hope so," the Doctor said. "Let's get going. We'll use Sylvie's coordinates and hope for the best."

Sylvie beamed, glad to be recognized. Then she frowned at the Doctor. "We really need more answers, though."

The Doctor smiled back ruefully. "We'll find out one way or another. To the end of time! Allons-y!"

Chapter Text

The scrape and whine of the TARDIS settling into time and space filled Loki with a feeling of dread. This could be it. He might finally come face to face with the assholes who had put all of them through so much pain and suffering. He caught Sylvie's eyes and she nodded grimly at him. Mobius put a hand on his shoulders and Loki felt stronger knowing he was there. The Doctor approached the door and peered out.

"You're not going to believe this," he said.

Loki pushed forward, crowding into the space next to the Doctor. At first he wasn't sure what he was seeing. The room was chaotic, decorated in Christmas lights and games. A water-filled kiddie pool was in the middle of the floor. It certainly didn't look like the lair of an all-knowing Timekeeper.

Sylvie said, "Is it possible we missed the mark?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe?" He went back to the console and tried to restart the TARDIS. Nothing happened, except a half-hearted whine of the engines. The Doctor sighed. "Well, even if we did, we're not going anywhere right now."

Mobius said, "We still have the Tempads."

"Good," the Doctor said. "Those will be our backups. In the meantime, let's see what we're dealing with."

The Doctor stepped out with his sonic screwdriver buzzing. Sylvie came next, blades out. Loki put his hand on Mobius' back and followed him, ensuring that he'd be looked after. He was on high alert.

Something knocked the Doctor off his feet. He yelled, "Oi!" and landed in a pile of old newspapers and a tangle of scaly limbs. Space lizards were real?

Loki ran around the TARDIS to see that the Doctor had been knocked over by a small, hissing alligator wearing a crown. Three other Loki variants were standing in various postures of defensiveness surrounding the Doctor. The oldest Loki's hands crackled with green magic. One Loki had a strange hammer and the youngest was just frowning. "Who are you? This one isn't a Loki. We can tell," the boy said.

The Doctor tried to pet the alligator which snapped at him. He smiled at it anyway. "I'm the Doctor, and we have two Lokis here and a former TVA agent."

The old Loki asked, "Doctor of what?"

"Of everything, of course!"

Old Loki smiled and extinguished his crackling magical energy. "I like him. Croki, you can let him up."

The alligator made a noise and slid off the Doctor and meandered over to the kiddie pool. Sylvie pointed at the gator, "Is that a Loki, too?"

Old Loki nodded. "We're all Lokis. This whole place is full of Loki variants."

"Because we're survivors," Loki said.

"Exactly," Old Loki said.

The kid said, "You all may as well get comfortable. We'd like to hear why you're here." He walked up to a throne decorated with candy canes. "Who speaks for all of you?"

The Doctor, Loki, and Sylvie all said, "I do," at the same time. Off to the side, Mobius snickered.

Kid Loki threw Mobius a look that inspired Loki's protective instincts. He didn't want Mobius getting hurt, so he stepped forward, "I can speak for us. We traveled here on the Doctor's ship to this place to kill the Timekeepers."

This made the other Lokis laugh. Old Loki actually threw himself backwards onto a rather shaky-looking chair and kicked his feet into the air.

"What?" Loki asked, irritated.

Kid Loki said, "You don't understand. This is the void, the place the TVA strands pruned variants. There are no Timekeepers here."

Sylvie kicked something on the floor behind Loki and started swearing. She disappeared behind the TARDIS and screamed rather loudly.

Old Loki said, "Is she Okay?"

Loki said, "Screaming makes her feel better."

Old Loki raised an eyebrow. "How did two variants end up working with a TVA agent?"

Loki said, "He's not an agent anymore. He's my... Mobius." He finished lamely.

The Doctor grinned. "They're kind of a thing."

Loki was horrified to realize his face was getting hot. He must be turning red. Mobius smiled at Kid Loki. He grabbed Loki's hand and caught his eyes, holding them as he said, "We are totally a thing."

Loki waited for his other selves to laugh or berate him for his weakness, for letting someone, a human, so close. Instead Old Loki said, "Props to you. About time one of us fell in love." Kid Loki rolled his eyes but the Loki with the hammer gave him a nod of approval. Even Croki seemed happy, as happy as an alligator could seem. Loki just soaked up the tacit approval like a cat in a sunbeam.

Sylvie's voice broke the moment, "Uh guys? We've got company."

Loki turned around, and saw several versions of himself enter the room, again, over and over, filling the space everywhere. They all looked like they meant business.

Kid Loki stood up and pointed at Sylvie. "Did you bring these Lokis in?"

The Loki in the middle wearing a green vest and "Vote Loki" buttons said, "No, it was that Loki. We just found her beating up your pinball machine next to the ladder and entrance." Everyone turned to look at the Loki with the hammer who was being singled out--except for Loki who looked at Sylvie who just shrugged. "He told us where to find you. In exchange for supplies, we take the throne."

Hammer Loki yelled, "Wait, I was supposed to get the throne!"

Kid Loki shouted, "You betrayed us!"

By this time, nearly all the variants had pulled daggers on each other. Loki stared in disbelief. "What a fucking mess!"

Old Loki grabbed Loki's arm. "We need to get out of here."

The Doctor hissed, "I can't leave the TARDIS!"

"What's that?"

"The blue box!"

"Done!" Said Old Loki, and he transported himself, the Doctor, Sylvie, Mobius, Kid Loki, and Croki, along with the Doctor's ship somewhere else. When Loki had a chance to reorient himself, he thought maybe they were outside the Loki den. Everything around them here was all greens and grays. A storm seemed to be raging in the distance.

Loki looked at Mobius. "You alright?"

"Fine, I'm doing Okay," he said, then looked at Loki, "That was a little weird, right?"

Loki laughed. "Just a little."

The kid walked up to the two of them. "Can you get us out of the void with your ship?"

Loki indicated the Doctor. "It's his ship, and it's not working."

The Doctor frowned. "I think the TARDIS is affected by the strange energy signature I'm picking up."

The kid raised an eyebrow. "That would probably be Alioth."

Loki asked, "What?"

The kid pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "That storm in the distance? It's alive. And it eats everything."

Chapter Text

"Of course there's a hungry, living thunderstorm," Loki moaned.

Mobius squeezed his hand and said to the other Lokis, "What should we do?"

The other Lokis and the Doctor said at the same time, "Run!"

Sylvie, on the other hand said, "Wait! Look closely. It's not a cloud."

The Doctor pulled out a pair of binoculars from his coat, put them up to his eyes and adjusted them. "Oh for Rassilon's sake! You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Loki demanded.

The Doctor passed him the binoculars and now he could more clearly see what Sylvie meant. Instead of being a cloud made of particles, it was a cloud made of flying metal balls with sharp spikes on the outside.

"The toclafane," the Doctor said in answer to his unspoken question. "That cloud is made of millions and millions of toclafane. That's exactly what I was hoping *not* to run into again at the end of time."

"The cloud," Sylvie said, "It's coming closer."

"Yeah," said Kid Loki, "because it wants to eat us."

Sylvie said, "The toclafane, Doctor, what do you know about them?"

"They used to be human. Inside every little spiky ball of death is a human mind twisted by cruelty and regressed into a feral, childlike state." Kid Loki shot the Doctor a look. The Doctor shrugged. He continued, "They're all connected, almost like a hive mind."

Sylvie said, "If they were once human, we can probably defeat them easily. I can enchant them and the rest of you can use your own powers to help out."

Croki made an alligator noise. Old Loki translated. "There's too many."

Loki said, "But there's so many of us. I'm taking a stand. Who's with me?"

Kid Loki said, "If it's made up of former humans, and we have a decent strategy, maybe. But there's no wiggle room. I'm not ready to die yet."

Mobius said to Kid Loki, "Neither am I. I don't have any powers. But I do have a lot of extra Tempads. You can all take one and be ready to use it if things go bad." He pulled out two time travel devices and handed one to Kid Loki and Old Loki. "You can go or stay. I'm staying."

Old Loki looked up and sighed. He said to Kid Loki, "At least we have an out if this enchantment doesn't work."

Loki grinned. "That's the spirit! Doc, can you and Mobius find someplace safe to hide?"

"The TARDIS maybe? Sure, but you might need our help," the Doctor said.

Loki was about to argue when Sylvie shouted, "They're getting closer. Let's go!"

Loki looked over his shoulder and was glad to see Mobius and the Doctor heading towards the TARDIS. He took a deep breath and deliberately jogged towards the cloud made up of sociopathic, flying metal. He ran to catch up with Sylvie. "How are you going to enchant one? They look hard to catch "

Kid Loki brought out a long, gold short-sword. He said, "How about we swat them out of the sky, then Sylvie can enchant one."

Old Loki said, "I'll distract them."

Loki said. "Great! And I'll just kind of generally help as needed!"

"You're needed now," yelled Kid Loki. He swung at a toclafane which dodged his swing only to take a blast of energy from Old Loki. It flew back into the cloud where the other toclafane devoured their own.

Loki blasted more toclafane. Sylvie yelled, "Shoot them down, not backwards!"

Old Loki was spinning an illusion of a large wall and the toclafane stopped and went around it. They were being funnelled closer to Sylvie. Kid Loki finally knocked one to the ground and Croki snapped it up, bringing it over to the group.

Sylvie picked up the toclafane and her hands glowed green. Loki paused in fighting off angry, flying ball-bearings to watch the creeping green of her magical energy start to spread to other toclafane. She yelled, "I need help!"

Loki and the others ran to her side. Instinctively, Loki put his hand on her right shoulder. Old Loki took Loki's hand and then Kid Loki's. Croki grabbed onto Loki's foot, but mostly pretty gently.

As their combined power flowed into the cloud of toclafane, they began to fall from the sky, clattering to the ground and forming silver heaps across the endless void. For a cloud as large as it was, it took a long time for them all to fall.

When all the toclafane were enchanted and asleep, they didn't need to hold the spell any longer. Sylvie turned around and said, "You think that's it?"

Loki said, "I hardly doubt those creatures were the Time Keepers "

The Doctor was back jogging across the green field with Mobius. "No, it wasn't the toclafane who were the Big Bad. I can sense now who was really behind all of this."

Mobius took Loki's hand. "I don't like the sound of that," he whispered.

Loki frowned. "Me neither."

In the distance, a man walked forward. He was slim and handsome in a somehow deliberately calculated way. He had light blonde hair and he grinned even more maniacally than the Doctor.

"Who's that?" asked Mobius.

The Doctor said, "My oldest, dearest enemy. It's the Master."

Chapter Text

The Master, dressed in black casual slacks and ivory shirt came closer and Sylvie pulled out her blades, rocking back into a defensive stance. Kid Loki scoffed. "He doesn't look like much."

Old Loki raised an eyebrow. "Agreed. No magical energy, no visible weapons." He held up his hand and let green energy crackle over his palm.

The Doctor whispered, "Never underestimate the Master. And pro tip, magic doesn't work on us. He's a Time Lord, too." Old Loki looked a little put out and the green energy rippled away.

The Doctor strode forward, leaving the others behind, walking with a discernible swagger. He opened his arms and said loudly, "Master! What is going on? You're supposed to be dead. Or was that just another lie designed to break my hearts at the time? To crush me with despair so I felt alone--again!"

The Doctor let the Master get way too close. It put Loki on edge with how cavalier he was with this being. The Master smiled indulgently. "My dear, dear Doctor. You, of all people know I am not so easily disposed of. Are you not happy to see me?"

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets. No defensive posture. Just pure trust. He was a madman. "Happy isn't a word I'd use when seeing you. Apprehensive, annoyed, aggravated, maybe, just to start with the beginning of the English alphabet."

The Master smiled. "How provincial. Always palling around with--" The Master paused, and this time really considered the others. Was he smelling the air? Smelling them? "Most of them aren't human. Interesting." He pushed past the Doctor and walked towards Sylvie and the other two Lokis.

Loki stepped in front of Mobius. He whispered, "Stay alert."

"Always," came Mobius' instant response.

Loki watched this strange man approach his own deadly variants. Sylvie held up a dagger and said, "Take one more step and I'll cut you."

The Master pretended to be scared, smiling and putting a hand to his chest. "Oh my! How frightening!"

Sylvie bared her teeth. "You should be afraid. We are gods."

The Doctor had looped back around and positioned himself next to Sylvie. The Master nodded at him. "Doctor! I approve of your new companions! Come with me and visit my citadel. We all have much to discuss." He whirled around and began walking. Then he turned, "Oh, and bring your TARDIS. The void is unstable."

Old Loki sighed. "Mind if I put it in a dimensional pocket? I hate teleporting large objects."

The Doctor said, "As long as you take care of the old girl, I don't mind. I'm grateful for your help."

Loki said, "Doctor, what should we expect?"

The Doctor shrugged, "Madness and chaos mostly. Should be right up your alley. Let's go and see what the Master's up to. Maybe he knows about the Timekeepers."

"Maybe he is the person behind the Timekeepers," Mobius suggested.

The Doctor shook his head. "Nah. There's something else going on. We should follow. Allons-y!"

The Doctor started out, walking after the Master into the fog. The others trailed behind. Loki walked next to Mobius. "I don't like this," he said.

Mobius bumped his shoulder. "Me neither. Seems a little hinky."

"Seems a little convenient that they know each other," Loki said. "He's supposed to be the last Time Lord."

"Sounds like that's what the Doctor thought. Said he was supposed to have died. I told you his story was a tangle."

Loki crowded closer to Mobius as they walked through a portal and up to the stairs of a large citadel. "I guess. But this is all extremely weird."

Mobius laughed. "You just decided that now it's weird?"

Loki gave him a lopsided smile. "Touche."

The inside of the citadel was dark and contained a strange mix of old and new technologies. The Master led them to a room with comfortable seating and asked them to get comfortable. He grinned and indicated the space. "This is where I got the job."

"And it's where your job is terminated!" Sylvie shouted. She ran towards the Master, slashed at him, only to have him appear across the room, unharmed.

The Master laughed. "I love the fire in this one!"

Old Loki aimed a magic blast at the Master who just stood and laughed, the magic doing nothing to the Time Lord, as the Doctor warned. "Come now! No need to fight! We can all rule here together at the end of time!"

The Doctor said, "What exactly did you mean about 'getting the job?'"

"Does this look like my handiwork? I took over from a human who built this. It serves, even if it's primitive. The best part, of course, is helping to maintain the timeline."

The Doctor folded his arms. "Why would you care about that?"

The Master's eyes widened and he gestured grandly. "Every pruned timeline means fewer opportunities for beings to grow and change. I can control what they become. I can cause suffering to untold millions who are snuffed out in but an instant with a reset charge. A whole universe, a whole timeline, gone. And it lets me ensure that you, Doctor, have fewer places to run, fewer worlds to explore, until everything just meanders its sad way to the end. And that's where I am, or rather, where we are. We can all rule together, if you wish, though I really did this for the Doctor."

This infuriated Sylvie even further. "My life is not a game!" She swung at the Master, who again disappeared. He reappeared behind her and neatly held a sword to her neck.

"Please," said the Master. "Sit. It's so rare I have visitors." He let go of Sylvie then, who continued to refuse to sit, standing her ground, arms folded. The Master reappeared at the back of room, looking smug. "Really do sit, everyone. Relax."

Kid Loki sighed and perched on the arm of a couch and Old Loki sat next to him. Croki curled up next to both. Loki sat down, feeling tired. Nothing was going the way he expected. Mobius settled in next to him and Loki reached for his hand. He was his anchor who made everything bearable.

The Doctor stood, like Sylvie, in defiance. He jutted his chin at the Master. "So you just took over another human's work. Thought you held them in disdain."

The Master sat behind the big desk in the room and flipped a stapler into the air, catching it. "I normally do. They'd be below my notice usually, but this one had quite a bit of knowledge. Like us, he had seen into all of time and space. It probably made him a little mad, too. So when I found him here, and he gave me the offer to take over, I said 'why not?'"

Loki said, "So you control the TVA?"

The Master grinned. "Absolutely! Isn't that what we Time Lords are meant to do? Keep time running along its course?"

The Doctor frowned. "Not at the expense of beings in other universes, other timelines. That's not part of our remit at all."

The Master shrugged dismissively. "What would you know? You've always thought small."

Loki noticed something ripple and move briefly in the room. It was illusion magic. He looked at his companions. They were still there, or at least seemed to be. Suddenly, Old Loki reappeared behind the Master, two daggers pressed to the man's throat. He said, "I hate having to resort to daggers, but if you move, you're bleeding."

Chapter Text

The Master seemed actually surprised. His eyes opened wide and his cool demeanor seemed to slip. That's when Loki noticed that his alligator variant had slithered under the desk and clamped his teeth on the Master's crotch. It was nice seeing Lokis working so well together.

From the side, Sylvie jumped onto the desk and added her own dagger to the threat, sticking the tip against the Master's cheek, just under his left eye. "I should kill you."

The Master seemed amused now, having regained his composure. "Maybe you should. But it wasn't me who started this. That man is free and only I know where to find him."

"You're bluffing," the Doctor asserted.

"Agreed. Sounds like a bluff to me," Kid Loki chimed in.

The Master rolled his eyes. "Do you really want to take that chance? Killing me won't bring back your pruned timelines. Those are gone forever."

Sylvie hissed, "You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" the Master asked. "If you remove me, new timelines will form, but your worlds are all lost to you. Forever. Especially the crocodile's.That timeline was just weird, anyway. Good riddance! Truth is so much more painful, isn't it?" He looked at Sylvie pointedly.

Sylvie straightened, putting away her dagger. She walked along the desk, kicking things off the surface. Then she jumped down and stomped into another room. The sounds of pottery breaking could be heard immediately after.

Loki looked up and saw the Master grinning. The Time Lord loved this. He loved hurting them and in that, Loki recognized himself. He was always trying to twist the knife, burn it all down. At least he had been, before Mobius.

Loki stood up and walked to the desk. He put his hands on it and leaned forward. "What's your endgame?"

"I already told you--"

Loki cocked his head and leaned closer. "No. Those are the things you are saying to get a rise out of us. Especially out of Sylvie and the Doctor. What broke you so completely?"

The Master's lips pulled tight. There was definitely something there. A quick glance at the Doctor showed Loki that the Doctor knew just how broken he was.

Loki straightened up, using his full height to tower over the sitting Master. "You are a Time Lord, but we are gods. We have demands, and you will fulfill them. We expect to be obeyed."

The Doctor asked, "What do you want him to do?" The Doctor still cared about this being, clearly.

Loki took a deep breath. "I want him to come with us. I want him barred from his seat of power. I want him to watch his own life over and over until he gets it."

"He'll never get it," the Doctor said.

Loki felt his own anger bubble up inside. "Then he can rot in the TVA for all I care. He had no right to do what he did, to any of us, no matter how bad we were." He sneered at the Master.

The Master shrugged. "Do what you think you need to, but without someone here running things, chaos ensues."

"Good," said all three Lokis.

"Time should be twisted and tangled," the Doctor said. He produced a strange sort of device from his pockets and used it to restrain the Master, binding his hands behind his back.

Kid Loki said, "It's okay, Croki, I think you can back off now. You too," he said to Old Loki.

Mobius called for Sylvie, waiting for her to jog back into the room before he opened his Tempad. He caught her up in a few words. The Doctor and Old Loki escorted the Master and the group stepped back into the TVA, emerging in one of the time theaters.

Loki said, "Slap a collar on him and let's see if there's footage of his work on the Sacred Timeline."

Mobius fitted a collar onto the Master. Then he whispered to Loki, "We really didn't leave this place on good terms, remember?"

Before Loki could answer, an alarm went off.

The Doctor said, "What's that?"

Mobius said, "It's an emergency alarm." He looked at a monitor showing the alarm code. "The timelines must be diverging since we removed the Master from the head of this mess."

The Master was laughing. The Doctor, however, was holding up his sonic screwdriver. "No. This is right. The timelines are supposed to branch. That's healthy." He turned to the others. "I don't think the TVA will be stable much longer, though. We need a way to warn everyone."

Mobius said, "We can broadcast a message to everyone's TVA devices, but my clearance isn't high enough to do that."

Sylvie snarled and pushed the tip of her blade against the Master's cheek. "I'll bet his is the highest."

The Master grinned. "You bet right. But I'm not helping you for nothing."

Sylvie grabbed his hair and pulled his head back so he was forced to look at her. "The code or you die."

Loki couldn't believe they were negotiating with the Master again.

The Master laughed. "Are you kidding? Death has no sway over me. My freedom for the code."

Mobius said, "So you can go back to the end of time and start over?"

The Master shook his head. "The only way getting back is the long way, and if the TVA crumbles, even the long way around won't matter: the Citadel at the end of time will crumble with it."

Kid Loki said, "When he says the long way, he means just living, year by year till the end of time?"

"Exactly," said the Doctor. "That's the long way 'round."

Old Loki said, "So he can't get back right away. If at all again."

The room shuddered. The Doctor said, "It's going to get worse."

Sylvie said, "Let's make the deal. Then we can set him free. But he better know I will hunt him across time and space."

The Master blew her a kiss. "I do so love being pursued." Sylvie bristled and turned away.

The Doctor said, "Fine. I don't want innocents to die. You give the code, make sure everyone evacuates, and we'll set you free."

The Master grinned. "It's a deal."

Sylvie said, "Don't forget you also owe us the information about the creator of the TVA."

"Of course," the Master said, smoothly. "Anything for you."

Chapter Text

Loki and Mobius left the others to make sure the TVA was being evacuated. Leaving the time theater, they stepped into chaos. Loki couldn't help but admire the movement of people running and yelling. It was pandemonium and Mobius walked right into it and immediately owned the situation.

Loki was impressed at how well Mobius was able to calm agents and hunters alike. Some he evacuated immediately to various safe times and places. Others he ordered to run along and get more Tempads, sending them to evacuate other areas.

When this sector was calm, Mobius said, "We need to release the prisoners. They're probably forgotten."

"Ok. And I want to find Casey."

Mobius nodded. "I'll keep an eye open."

They walked into an elevator and rode downwards. Loki reached for Mobius' hand. But instead, Mobius turned swiftly, grabbed a fistful of Loki's hair and pulled him into a kiss. Loki leaned into him, feeling the tension drain from his body as Mobius opened his mouth to him. Mobius' hands moved over his back, sliding over his ass. He squeezed gently as he bit Loki on his bottom lip.

Loki loved that. He pushed himself against Mobius, pressing the smaller man to the wall of the elevator. The thrill of Mobius' body against his was lovely and perfect. Hearing Mobius gasp into his mouth as he ground their hips together was everything. The pain, the fear, the uncertainty of the past few days all melted away under Mobius' touch.

Mobius looked up at Loki. "I had to," he said with a small smile as the elevator slowed down. His hands held him around the waist.

Loki kissed his forehead. "I'm glad you did."

The elevator finally halted and the door opened. Neither Mobius or Loki moved to step apart. Loki was, however, surprised to see Casey on the other side, his mouth wide open. "Agent? That's Variant L-1330--"

Mobius smirked at Loki then back at Casey. "We're kind of a thing now," he explained.

Loki said, "We're totally a thing."

Mobius smiled and Casey kept staring as they stepped out of the elevator. Mobius asked, "Are the prisoners released?"

Casey rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Hunter B-15 sent me down here. I threw Tempads at them and ran." He looked at Loki who was holding Mobius' hand. "Am I just hallucinating? You know that's Variant--"

Loki rolled his eyes, "I can't believe I was worried about this guy."

Mobius leaned over and patted Casey's shoulder. 'C'mon, buckaroo. We have to get back to the team." They walked back into the elevator.

"What's that mean? What team? Why are you holding hands?"

Loki said stiffly, "He's my boyfriend."

"But you're a variant," Casey said. Loki tried very hard not to be offended.

Mobius ran a hand over his face. He was trying not to laugh, Loki saw. "Casey, it turns out we're all variants."

"Oh, I think I'd know if I was a variant."

Loki said, "Can I give him to Sylvie? She'll crack him open."

"To who?"

"No, well, maybe," Mobius said.

The elevator dinged and opened on their floor which was now empty. They walked out and Mobius reached into his coat pocket for a Tempad.

"I've got one already," Casey said. "I'm going to ride this out at an aquarium." He opened a portal and waved goodbye. They watched him leave. Loki was glad he'd finally learn what a fish was.

Loki turned to Mobius. "Now that he's safe, can we finally burn the place down?" The halls were empty and quiet. They started heading back to the time theaters.

Mobius laughed. "Why not?"

As they walked, Loki noticed a strange smell. "Did I speak too soon? It smells like something is burning." They turned another corner.

"Look!" Mobius pointed down the hall.

Loki followed his gaze and saw smoke rising to the ceiling, creeping closer. "Shit. Is there protective equipment anywhere?"

"We can backtrack, but the others might be in danger. Can you try your magic?"

Loki tried… and nothing happened. He made a decision. "I'm a god. I can handle the smoke. Go get something to help you breathe."

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Loki." He folded his arms.

Loki stood up straighter. "I'm not going to let you die."

"Then we backtrack together," Mobius countered.

They stared at each other as the smoke got closer. A scraping sound interrupted their argument. The TARDIS materialized. The door flew open and the Doctor said, "Get in!"

They ran for the door which the Doctor shut behind them. He returned to the console.

Inside, Sylvie and the Lokis were talking to each other, gesturing wildly. Loki strode up to the group and asked, "Which one set the fire?"

Kid Loki smiled. "It was Croki."

Mobius bent over, laughing. "How?"

Old Loki said, "He's a Loki. We find a way."

Mobius said, "Was everyone out of the TVA?"

Sylvie said, "The Doctor scanned the place. You two were the only life forms showing up anymore. That's how we found you." She looked over her shoulder at Old Loki. "I bet they wasted time making out somewhere."

"That's what I would do if I had a cute boyfriend with me," Old Loki declared.

Kid Loki look embarrassed by all of the adults. Loki felt himself beam with pride. Mobius *was* cute.

Mobius smirked and pretended to ignore them. He asked, "So what are you all going to do now?"

The Doctor came over with the Master, still in restraints, in tow. "We're going to drop him off on a nice planet where he won't cause too much trouble. Then I'm taking these folks to Asgard. Always wanted to see the place myself."

Old Loki said, "We'd all like to see Thor again. Even if he's not exactly 'our' Thor. We miss our brother."

Kid Loki said, "Would you join us?"

Loki looked at Mobius. "I think we have another destination in mind."

Sylvie smirked. "You two definitely need a honeymoon. I plan to travel with the Doctor, if he'll have me stay on after Asgard." She fixed him with a look that dared him to say no.

The Doctor only smiled, bounced on his toes and said, "I can't wait. Never traveled with a Norse god before. Guess I'll drop off Loki and Mobius first, then! Let's go!"

Chapter Text

Mobius looked across the water, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Are you sure you didn't want to go to Asgard?"

Loki came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Mobius' bare stomach. He spoke quietly, smelling the scent of Mobius, of sunscreen and sweat over the salt of the ocean. "Before the TVA captured me, I was the number one villain in Thor's life. I still have a lot to process." He pressed a kiss to the back of Mobius' neck. "We need a break. I need a break. And you deserve this."

"Thanks," Mobius said. "I really never thought this would happen."

"Show me how these things work." He let go and dove smoothly into the water near the pier.

Mobius jumped in next to him, legs tucked in close, yelling, "Cannonball!" He splashed Loki and jostled the jet skis.

Loki splashed him back, laughing, feeling truly free. He and Mobius drew close in the water. The sun glittered around them with every splash. The shouts of children and seagulls fled the air. Mobius' own laughter, laughing with Loki, was the best sound. Loki kissed him, tasting salt. They made out in the water a nice, long time.

Eventually, they parted and mounted the jet skis. Loki's was a bright green and Mobius had chosen a deep blue one with yellow stripes. Mobius said, "Put on your life vest first."

"Gods don't need life vests," Loki stated.

Mobius gave him a look. "This one does, because his boyfriend cares about him."

He mock saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Mobius raised his eyebrows, then continued. "Remember to keep the lanyard for the key attached to your wrist. And then turn the ignition." Loki watched him in anticipation. As the engine purred, Mobius accelerated forward. He made a whooping sound and looked over his shoulder, grinning. He looked like the embodiment of joy.

Loki followed after him, feeling the sun hot on his body. The cool water lapped at his feet and his heart sped up as he zipped past Mobius. He threw a look over his shoulder and Mobius waved back. So simple, so lovely. Loki could finally say it to himself: he was in love.

They raced throughout the afternoon. Loki fell off several times when he was trying to turn. He saw the wisdom of the vest and lanyard when that happened the first time. Mobius was a natural, or more likely, his body had muscle memory from a time before the TVA.

In the evening, they tied the jet skis to the pier and sat down at the edge. Loki's toes were in the water. He'd dried both himself and Mobius using magic. The woiden planks of the pier were still warm from the sun. A breeze ruffled Loki's hair. Mobius leaned against him and Loki put his arm around his shoulder. "Thank you," Mobius said. His voice was gravely and full of emotion. "This was wonderful."

"This was a moral imperative," Loki said and elicited a chuckle from Mobius.

They stared out over the water together. The air began to cool as the sun disappeared. The reds and oranges faded to purple and then stars came out to compete with the neon lights from the bars along the beach.

Loki said, "Mobius? I think after this trip, we should go to Asgard."

Mobius looked up into his eyes. "Oh?"

"Yes. I'd like my brother to meet the man I fell in love with."

"You scamp!" Mobius said.

"What?"

"Telling me you love me without telling me!" He grinned at Loki who sat up straighter.

"Fine," he said. He was very serious when he continued, "Mobius, I love you."

Mobius' eyes softened. "I love you, too. Through and through. Always." He kissed Loki under the stars.