CHAPTER IV.
A SONG OF FREEDOM

' lurking in the shady streets, hazy
wandering all on your own, crazy
thought you were the monster here, how sad
time to learn your place you're only just a lad '
god syndrome ━ madame macabre

TIME'S A FUNNY THING WHEN YOU'RE SLIPPING WEARILY THROUGH SUBCONSCIOUSNESS.

    Kel has come to know this better than anyone. First, while working at the TVA, as sleep tries to pull her under after long hours of the same work, a monotonous routine that causes her eyes to droop. The second is while she rests, when her mind wanders, daydreams taking over, her blank thoughts a tapestry of fatigue weaved over her mind.

    And the third is right now, while Kel is jostled half awake as Loki sprints through the portal, emerging back into the TVA.

    Kel's vision is blurry, a blazing ache rising up the back of her neck, sprouting from a gash on the back of her head. Blood stains Loki's fingers as he stumbles slightly by the weight in his arms. Kel's arm hangs down, her stunner still gripped tightly in her fingers, and she shakes, her eyes fluttering open, then closed.

    The need to fall under the bliss of sleep is overpowering, all-consuming, and never has she wanted it more.

    "Kel, Kel, hey." the girl groans, a dull fire raging beneath her eyes. She becomes aware that she's being lowered to the ground, and her back hits something hard. She tries to swat away whoever's got her shoulder, but her arms are weak.

    Slowly, however, her vision starts to return, and colour seeps back into her line of sight. Kel's face twists as her head continues to throb, but the dizziness subsides and she peels back her eyes carefully.

    Kel's surprised to find Loki kneeling down in front of her, a concerned look on his face as he watches her, and Kel cocks her head to the side, very much tempted to reach out and prod his cheek just to make sure he's actually there.

    She doesn't, but she does frown at him, holding the back of her head with one hand.

    "Ow." she states plainly. Loki stands, his shoulders stiff, and Kel notices that he's looking around wearily, head whipping from side to side. "Wh-Where are we?" she asks then, her eyes still adjusting to the light. She racks her brain, hoping to remember something that would be useful, but all she can recall is a tuft of pale blonde hair and... "Mobius." she breathes, eyes widening.

    Kel goes to stand, pushing herself up with the help of the bench behind her. Her legs are like the jello they serve at the cafeteria, and her head swims as if she's sinking into the depths of darkness. Kel sways on her feet for a second before turning sharply to Loki, who's moving towards the lockers.

    "What did you do to him?" she asks, and her tone is so sharp and so unlike her that Loki pauses, turning back around, brows furrowed.

    "What?" he asks.

    "What did you do to Mobius?" Kel asks, her voice thundering, and Loki's face gets even more confused.

    "Nothing." he replies sincerely, but apparently, Kel's not finished. She stalks towards him, nearly falling over a couple times from the nausea that cascades throughout her stomach, but she keeps walking.

    "You left." she says. "You went through a portal. With me. Why?" Loki's face softens. "Why did you leave Mobius to go with-with..." she pauses, trying to remember, but her mind is clouded from the pain. As if on instinct, she reaches up to the base of her neck, and winces as her fingers graze the cut, her fingers pull away bloody. Her and Loki share a look of concern.

    Then she remembers what she's here for. "Why did you leave, Loki? And why did you take me with you?"

    Loki opens his mouth as if to reply, then snaps it shut. "Look, this really isn't the best time." he says, and Kel huffs out a breath, crossing her arms.

    "Why not?" she demands.

    "Because the Variant is here!" Loki yells, and she takes a step back. "She's here! In the TVA!"

    "What?" Kel exclaims, her head turning to look into the hall, then back to Loki. "Well, why didn't you tell me that sooner?" she asks. Loki gives her an incredulous look, but Kel doesn't have time for it. She holds onto her weapon while Loki moves over to B-15's locker, taking out the daggers he was deprived of earlier.

    He turns and gives Kel a flashy grin, but she just rolls her eyes and starts to head down the hall, Loki running to keep up.

    When they move out into the corridor, both of them pause. Kel's eyes narrow as she looks down at the trail of bodies the Variant has left in her wake. They walk side by side, slow and methodical, Loki's daggers in his hands, Kel's mini baton in hers. Her alarm and confusion of the events at Roxxcart are pushed aside knowing the threat is now here, in her home.

    "Let's keep moving." Kel whispers. "Follow the trail." she doesn't need to elaborate further, they both know what the trail is.

    Kel and Loki follow the bodies. There are many of them, Minutemen slumped on the floor, their weapons discarded, strewn about. Most have broken bones, their legs sticking out at unnatural angles, and Kel's dizziness returns at the sight.

    Before long, as they round a corner, they find her.

    The first thing Kel sees is a tuft of bright blonde hair. She pauses, her hands dropping to her side, as the woman turns around. She is older, probably Loki's age, with short cropped hair pulled back to reveal bright eyes and a smirk encapsulated on her lips.

    The Variant pulls out her sword, and Kel aims her weapon at the woman, frowning, but Loki steps in front of her and holds up his daggers. "A few questions." he says, and Kel looks at him as if he's gone mad.

    "Have you really got nothing else to do?" the woman asks, stepping forward. Kel and Loki expertly step away, weapons still raised. Kel looks between them, a flicker of unease passing through her. She's acutely aware of what she is, a child, in the presence of two Loki's, some of the most dangerous Variant's the TVA has ever caught. Kel's breath catches in her throat.

    "Rude." Loki remarks, and the three of them continue to spin around, swerving until Loki and Kel are on the other side now, the Variant watching them. "Are you sure you're a Loki?" Kel raises an eyebrow at his question.

    "You're in my way." the woman says.

    "You are my way." Loki retorts, and Kel makes a disgusted face. This seems to be enough for the woman to unsheath her sword again and swing it at the two. Loki grabs onto Kel's shoulder and pushes her back. Kel stumbles, glaring at him, and she runs back, swerving under the woman's sword, hoping to reach her stomach, but again, Loki grabs her and pulls her away.

    "What are you doing?!" Kel exclaims as her feet tangle beneath her, and her body threatens to tip over. Loki doesn't reply, continuing to battle the Variant. Kel curses under her breath as her head spins, another round of dizziness claiming her.

    And then Loki says something that makes Kel's blood freeze in her veins. "I thought perhaps we could work together." Her eyes find his face, and her frown, usually light and teasing, cuts deep. For the first time in a long while, the anger that blazes in her stomach is enough to hurt.

    "Loki!" she yells, voice ringing out through the dimly lit hall. Again, she's ignored, and the Variant steps forward, raising a booted foot and hitting him square in the chest. Despite everything, Kel gives a satisfying smirk as Loki flies into the wall with a grunt. She stands up straight, pushing away the sickness that rises up her throat, and she grips her weapon tightly.

    All the while, her head rings out with Loki's words, and then another thought; I should have known better. Kel gulps. If only Mobius were here. He would know what to do.

    "But now I see you lack vision." Loki is saying, getting back up." Kel sneers and the Variant groans, swiftly turning back to the door behind her. That's when she sees Kel, and her face flickers with surprise, as if the woman is just remembering the girl is there.

    Kel doesn't hesitate. She lunges in, a leg swinging towards the woman's knees. The Variant is barely able to get out of the way, and Kel stands up, moving again. The Variant swerves, but not before Kel's fist grazes her shoulder. The force of impact is enough to make them both stagger.

    The Variant flips back her hair, clearly frustrated, and holds out her sword, swinging it towards Kel. The girl falls to the ground, landing on her palms, and scrambles back as the dagger is plunged into the floor, right where she just was.

    And then she's kicked in the face.

    Kel yelps as she flies backwards, her nose (already dislocated from her fall at earlier) throbbing wildly, and tears sting her eyes as she goes onto her back, hands covering her face. Her eyes scrunch closed as the pain works its way through her body. She takes deep, shuddering breaths, but none of it can stop the pure shock that runs through her.

    Why did she follow after Loki? Why didn't she fight harder? Where is Mobius?

    Loki looks worriedly from Kel curled up on the floor to the Variant, who smirks. His face hardens.

"So either you'll come willingly..." he says, stalking towards her. Kel pushes herself up and looks over at them. Just the sight of the two, one a murderer and an enemy to the TVA, the other a trickster, a mischievous scamp she should never have listened to. But she had, and look where it's gotten her. Bleeding out, slipping through consciousness like a ghost, two Variants running loose, and no one is coming to help her.

Kel looks down to her hands, shaking, covered in dried blood, her bracelet slung around her wrist. She frowns when she sees one of the little charms is missing. It must have fallen off during the fight. 

The woman swings at Loki again, but this time he is able to hook his arm with hers, and her dagger is pulled behind her back. Kel's hands are too shaky for her to stand properly, but she tries it nonetheless. A part of her knows there's no winning this, either she'll be betrayed by Loki or stabbed in the back by the Variant.

But what would she win anyway? How could she possibly capture both of them? The entire reason she's not a real agent is because of her lack in skills, the bile that rises at the thought of death, the twist in her gut when it comes to pruning someone. She's not the best fighter, and she's an even worse analyst. Her mind doesn't know how to stay focused, and the only thing that's ever kept her tethered back to the mission is Mobius, but her partner is nowhere in sight.

Kel groans as the wound on her head flashes, a spasm running up her neck, and she's tempted to just give up right there, to rest her head against the wall and let the fighting continue without her.

But that is not the way of Kel M. Mobius. It never has been. So, the girl grits her teeth and struggles to stand, staggering towards the two, who now face each other, weapons raised.

Two voices call out at the exact same time. "HEY!" Loki and the Variant turn to see Kel standing awkwardly, her whole body quivering. Then, across the hall, Judge Renslayer stands proud with two Minutemen behind her, and she turns on her TVA baton, the top of it crackling with energy.

Kel pauses briefly, looking towards the other woman, but then the Variant swings around Loki and is able to press her sword to his throat, trapping him. Kel jerks forward, but stops when the woman casts a warning glare. Kel bites down on her cheek.

"Come any closer and I'll kill him." the woman says gravely. Kel's breath catches in her throat. Despite the fact that she's pretty sure Loki would betray her ten times over to get what he wants, her stomach churns at the thought of his blood being spilt.

Renslayer has a different idea, however. "Go for it." Kel turns back to Loki and the Variant, her eyes narrowing when she sees Loki expertly removing the stolen TemPad from her coat. It takes her a moment to realize what this means, and in an instant, both Kel and Renslayer are running towards the two as Loki hits the TemPad. Kel dives for Loki, whose eyes clash with her own she holds onto his foot. Renslayer's baton swings overhead.

And then they are falling, Kel, Loki, and the Variant, landing with a hard thump on the ground.

Kel rolls away instantly, the breath knocked out of her, arm landing awkwardly under her back. She turns to the edge of what feels like a mattress, and a groan escapes her lips as the ceiling above her spins around. It's like she's looking through a kaleidoscope.

She blinks several times, trying to steady the rising thump of her heartbeat. She looks over to see both Loki and the Variant on their backs, just as dazed as her. She cranes forward to see the TemPad laying on the black, sandy floor. Her head swivels back to Loki and the woman, and grimaces when the Variant's eyes blink open softly. The woman looks at the TemPad, then to Kel, and her blood freezes in her veins.

She doesn't have time to reach for her weapon before the Variant's boot lands straight in Kel's stomach. The clone is sent flying backward, falling off the edge of the soft cushions they'd landed on. Her back hits the ground with a sickening crunch.

She tries to get up, but her head flares so acutely that it's hard to even breathe. Her whole body aches.

For one of the first times in her life, Kel has become utterly and completely useless. To be fair, she already was, one step back from being like Mobius, always causing trouble, a permanent thorn in the TVA's polished, pristine side, but she could still do things. She had the mind of Mobius, she shared his thoughts, and they could balance each other off perfectly. Kel might have wandered off, but there was always someone to bring her back.

Now she's alone, bruised and broken, laying on the floor only the Time-Keepers knows where, in the company of two mischievous God's most likely bent on destroying the only home she's ever had.

And she can't even sit up.

Loki and the woman are screaming at each other, flipping over one another to get to the TemPad. Kel looks at them with an unimpressed pout, pushing herself backwards on her hands. The dizziness continues, and the world seems to tilt this way and that as Kel hoists herself up behind a shelving unit. The girl has no idea where she's landed, but anywhere could be better than stuck with two warring Gods. She's outnumbered and under-powered, barely able to lift herself up, let alone fight those two off.

There's a resounding crash, and Kel winces at the noise, her ears ringing softly.

"Goodbye," Kel hear's the woman's voice ring out clear and cold. "Variant." Despite it all, Kel flinches at the word. It has always left a sour taste in her mouth, a lump in the back of her throat. There is no humanity in the term, not that Kel has ever thought of herself as a real human being.

When you're a clone working for an organization that is set beyond Space and Time, what type of creature are you? Not human, but not alien. It's a question that's been haunting Kel for years.

"It's not working." Kel peers through the slit in the shelves to see the woman standing over a beaten Loki, and from her spot, she can see the front screen of the TemPad. Miss Minutes is repeating the same words over and over again. Out of juice, out of juice, out of juice.

Kel almost wants to laugh. She can just imagine the look on the troublesome Variant's face. And then her thoughts are flung to reality. Kel's mind, usually off in a daydream or ten steps behind, catches up to her, and she looks down instantly, her hands moving about her waist, fingers shaking. They teeter over her stunner, and find the empty spot on her belt.

The spot where her own TemPad should be.

Kel's eyes widen, only to see Loki and the woman fighting again. Loki disappears in a burst of vibrant green, only to reappear behind the Variant. Kel sees his arm reach up, and she has just enough time to fall out from behind the shelf before Loki throws the woman into her previous hiding spot.

Kel gasps as her lungs seize in her chest.

The woman stands back up, and Loki reaches down for the TemPad, hiding it inside his jacket. Kel scoots back, thinking it best to stay on the ground. Apparently, that's enough for both the Variant's not to notice her. She lets herself breathe as the woman and Loki face each other, Kel watching them hesitantly from the ground in the middle.

"Just give it back to me." the woman calls out. "You don't even know how to recharge it." Kel bites down on her tongue to keep from blurting that she, in fact, does know how to recharge it.

"Of course I do." Loki says bravely. "You're not the only tech savvy Loki." They walk around each other, prancing as if they're both in a waltz.

"Don't ever call me that." The Variant states. Kel and Loki look at her strangely, their movements perfectly in sync.

"Tech savvy?" Loki asks.

"No." the woman responds. "A Loki." she spits the word out as if it's laced in poison. Then she walks forward to where Loki has revealed the TemPad again, but it vanishes the moment she tries to grab for it. Kel chuckles softly, which causes another spasm to ricochet up through her chest. She's pretty sure she's broken a rib, or at least bruised one.

"You're just fully a magician then?" the woman jests.

"Fine." Loki says, his tone more serious. "For my next trick, I'll make you disappear." his daggers come flying out of his sleeves in a trick Kel can't help being impressed by. However, it's not exactly going to be good when these two murder each other and she is left alone.

"Alright." she mutters to herself, then takes a deep breath and goes to stand, bracing herself against the window and getting shakily to her feet. Then she promptly steps in between the two Lokis, her heart thudding madly in her chest. Both take a shocked step back, having forgotten the girl was sent to the planet with them.

"Listen," she says, pointing a finger at each in turn. "I would really appreciate it if we could save the fight for when we get out of here and I can find a nice, comfortable, and most of all, safe spot to not get killed." she squints at Loki in a teasing manner. "Can we do that?" he frowns at her.

"Great!" she exclaims, but is cut off as Loki grabs onto her arm and pulls her forward, just in time to get out of the way of a flaming rock that barrels through the top of the building, burning a hole into the ground.

Kel looks at the flaming hole in horror, and Loki lets out a relieved breath.

"Is that one of your powers?" Loki demands.

"Where did you send us?" the woman retorts.

"Can I go home now?" Kel pleads. They ignore her. Instead, Loki's face grows dark, and everyone turns towards the front entrance as sounds of more explosions reach their ears.

The Variant opens the flap, and Kel clambers out last, shielding her eyes as a bright light cascades over them. The sunlight is harsh and the air thin. The ground is rocky, with great canyons made of light purple stone that crumbles as more flying asteroids hit the surface.

It is a place that reeks of destruction.

"Woah." is all Kel can say as they look up to the vast sky. Above them, a planet, or a moon, she isn't quite sure, is visible through the slim atmosphere, blazing bright with a core of purple. Kel watches on, entranced.

"You idiot!" The variant's high pitched voice careens towards Kel and Loki. "This is Lamentis 1!" Kel frowns, unable to place where she's heard that name before. Clearly, it means nothing good.

"I don't know what that means!" Loki replies, but is cut off as a large chunk of the planet above crashes right in front of them. Kel's heart jumps to her throat.

"The moon that planet is about to crash into and destroy!" the Variant replies, and her answers do nothing to quell Kel's anxiety. Without a second thought, all three begin to run, destination unclear, but the will to survive driving them forward.

Kel drags behind them, her whole body quaking with agony at the many hits and blows she's been dealt in such a short amount of time. Without warning, her legs nearly give out beneath her, and her eyesight shifts in and out of focus, breath going shallow.

"Wait!" she stifles out, her pace slowing down as the others run forward, arguing with each other. "Wait! I can't!" Then she stops talking, because who is she kidding, there's no way those two are going to help her. Their Gods of Mischief. It's clear none of them have any love for the TVA, or subsequently, her.

The chunks of the planet collide to the ground around her, spraying dirt and grime onto her tan face. Kel coughs, her lips tinged in bright red from the wound rubbed raw on the inside of her cheek. A part of her pleads to let go, to simply stop running and rest. Kel's breaths grow short as she follows after Loki and the woman, who run towards a truck in the middle of the encampment. She arrives later than them, sliding in next to Loki, who is too preoccupied arguing with the Variant to acknowledge her.

Kel lets out a heavy breath, her face twisting as her insides seize at the movement.

"I don't know where you hid that TemPad," the Variant says. "But if you blow up, it blows up, and then I end up blown up." Kel's too busy coughing up blood to reply that she would also get blown up.

Her eyes are slim and watery, her skin paling by the second.

The Variant stands immediately and points to another building a little ways away from them. "There!" Loki and her get up, Kel begrudgingly forcing herself to move. It's as if her bones have started to shut down, the cogs and screws slowing down, until it's not her mind that's controlling her body, but a rope pulled taut, like a puppet on strings that are slowly coming undone.

Kel chases after the two, as seems to be the case from this point onwards, ignoring the searing pain that wracks up her body, or the fact that a white light has started to tug at the corners of her vision.

They get to the building nearly at the same time, crashing through the door into the small space that lies beyond. Loki is the last to enter, shutting the door immediately. An eerie silence overtakes the space for a second as Kel staggers forward, away from the woman and Loki. She's clutching her chest, her shirt clasped between tight fists.

Kel pants and places her hands against a shelve, bracing herself as her head swims. Behind her, the Variant looks over to where Loki is also catching his breath, and smirks as his back turns. Kel frowns at the gesture, watching as the woman stalks slowly towards the other God, and she raises an eyebrow as the Variant puts both hands to either side of Loki's face.

There's a sudden burst of green light, but it slowly peeters out. Loki looks upwards confusedly. "What are you doing?" the woman says nothing. "You trying to enchant me? It won't work."

The woman moves her hands, and Kel can see her whole body stiffen in frustration. "Why? Because you're a magician?" she whirls back around, and immediately finds Kel slumped up against the side of the wall. Their eyes lock, and the woman's face changes. Kel's frown deepens at the sight. She shrinks back as the Variant walks towards her instead.

Kel and Loki share the same worried look as the Variant cocks her head to the side, and once there is no more space left for Kel to shuffle back, the panic settles in quick. Kel's flurried breaths become a drumbeat that ricochets through the tight space as the woman reaches forward, her hands, crackling and divine, going to the side of Kel's face.

"No!" Loki's strong voice rings out through the space, and the woman pauses, whipping back around to see the man marching towards her, weapons raised, a determined look on his face.

The woman pulls away, and Kel lets out a relieved breath, then curses herself for being so useless. But what can she do? She's half awake, half slipping into a bottomless pit of exhaustion. Her insides are on fire and she's slowly bleeding out from the gash on her head. All of this knowledge weighs down on her, but Kel pushes it away.

Because that's what she does. It's what she's always done.

Loki sighs as the woman pulls out her own dagger. "Look. Are we really about to do this here? Again?" Kel's head bobs from side to side, and she blinks fast, looking down at her wrist, where her bracelet rests, stained ruby red from her blood.

"What do you propose instead?" the Variant asks angrily.

"I don't know." Loki replies. "A truce?" the woman scoffs, smiling as if that's the most ridiculous proposition she's ever heard.

"Listen." Loki says, more serious this time. "None of us are getting off this rock if we can't get that TemPad back on." Kel's brows furrow. Their voices are too loud. Everything is too loud.

"Where do you have it hidden?" the Variant demands, pointing to him with her sword.

Loki leans over. "In my heart." He says jovially. Kel begins to shake her head, reaching up to the back of her neck. The moment her fingers connect with the soft flesh, a burning sensation takes over. When she pulls away, vermilion tainted liquid drips down her pale skin.

"Well then I'll cut it out." the woman yells. Kel shudders, and her feet start to feel like she's walking on thousands of tiny needles.

"Nice." Loki responds. "Very droll. Lovely." Kel blinks again, her movements slowed. Was everything always this bright? "Okay, yes, I do have the TemPad, but I'm not gonna get very far if you keep trying to kill me every thirty seconds!"

"Well you're full of it because you need me to get that thing recharged!" the Variant screams, and Kel's legs start to give way under her.

"That's the-" she's going to continue yelling at Loki, but another voice cuts in.

"Enough!" Kel, despite her words slurring and her mouth going as dry as a desert, is loud enough to make both God's turn to look at her. She looks like a deflated balloon, perched atop a pile of crates, blood dripping from her hand, arms gripping her chest.

Her face is pale and her cheeks sunken. Her normally luscious chestnut hair is sticky with sweat, bangs bent out of shape. She's like a corpse, both the Variant's think. A half-dead carcass of what was once a human being.

She looks terrible, and she feels even worse.

But that doesn't deter the young clone to sit straight and focus her piercing gaze on each in turn. "Enough." she says again, this time weaker. "You two are..." she takes a deep breath. "Not going to get far if you keep arguing." they frown, and Kel turns to the woman. "We need you to charge the TemPad." she looks to Loki. "and we need him because he's the one who has it." she turns to the middle, swaying lightly on the balls of her feet. "So really, the only one we don't need is... me-" her voice trails off, eyes growing dark, eyelashes fluttering.

Loki takes a concerned step forward. "Kel?" he asks, but the girl doesn't have the energy to answer.

"But..." she finally manages to stutter out, slowly sliding to the floor. "I don't think that's going to be a problem..." Loki and the woman run towards her as Kel collapses to the ground, convulsions gripping her frail body. "Anymore..."

"Kel!" Loki says, able to catch the girl in his arms right before she injures herself more. She's shaking so terribly he's afraid she'll hit him. The Variant kneels to the ground in front of him. She reaches out a hand to the back of Kel's neck, and pulls away as ruby red stains her fingertips.

"Right..." the woman says. "I might have hit her... a little too hard."

Loki looks at her incredulously. "A little?" the woman shrugs. "She's injured. Probably a broken rib, a concussion, and she's lost a lot of blood." His voice is panic stricken. The woman gazes at him.

"So?" she asks. "What does it matter?" she leans closer as Loki tries to keep Kel still. "She's with the TVA." Loki pauses in his manic rampage and peers upwards to the Variant that nearly tried to kill him more than once.

After a moment, he shakes his head. "We have to save her."

"What?!" the woman yells. "Save a TVA agent?"

"She's not an agent..." Loki argues. "Not yet, anyway." the woman groans, throwing back her head, and Loki's brows knit. "So what? We just slaughter each other here in this abandoned mining shack instead?"

The woman shrugs. "Works for me." she retorts back

"Would you just listen?" Loki snaps, and the woman stops, her mouth hanging open. The worry in his voice has not gone unnoticed. "She will most certainly die if we don't help her right now, and we have to help her." The woman still doesn't look convinced, so Loki takes a deep breath and speaks in a lowered tone. "She's important, she's..." the woman frowns at the seriousness in his tone. "She can't die."

They are left in silence for a moment, Loki's eyes on the blood pooling around Kel's head, the pain still etched on her face as she falls unconscious. His eyes trail over her bracelet, the one she never takes off. The one that makes his blood boil under his skin.

The Variant looks down at the girl, the girl who worked for the organization that has destroyed her life. The girl who is currently bleeding out because the woman knocked her on the head too hard.

She takes a deep breath, looks straight into Loki's eyes, and nods.

━━━━━━

KEL'S EYELASHES FLUTTER OPEN SLOWLY. It takes an effort for her eyelids to part, stuck together by the pulse of sleep and the heaviness that leeches to her bones.

A groan erupts from her lips as light pours into her senses. She reaches up a shaking hand, wincing as an ache erupts across her chest, and rubs her eyes. The motion makes her aware of the tightness around her head, the feel of rough cloth in her hair.

"What the-" she mutters, her lips parched and cracking. Everything in her feels like it's been dragged through oil. Her head is the worst. Fog clouds her judgement, and she's unable to fully process her surroundings. It's like a reset charge has gone off in her brain. "Ow." she finally mutters.

"You're awake!" Kel flinches at the loud, cacophonous voice, and it is then she becomes aware of the body beside her. Her head rolls to the side, and she comes face to face with Loki, who is looking at her keenly, concern rippling across his face.

She frowns. He smiles.

She reaches up one hand and shoves him as hard as she can. "Traitor!" a look of betrayal passes on Loki's face as he stumbles a little, regaining his balance, going back to kneel beside her. "You bloody traitor!"

Behind them, the female Variant chuckles, twirling her large sword around.

Kel turns to look down at her crumpled form. There are strips of cloth around her hands and head, encircling the nasty gash near the base of her neck. Kel reaches up to stroke the bandage which wraps around her temples like a headband. With each stitched wound and healed bruise she finds, Kel's frown grows dimmer and dimmer.

Finally, she stares up at Loki. "What did you do?" Now it is the God's turn to frown.

"Uh, I believe the correct thing to say would be 'thank you'." he answers gravely. Kel scoffs, then winces.

"You're welcome." she says, a bite in her tone. Loki pauses, confused. From above, the female Variant clears her throat and sheathes her sword, turning to them.

"Okay, look." she says each word with a ferocity that burrows under Kel's skin. "You two have interrupted a plan years in the making. So you're welcome, Kel, for saving your pitiful life," the girl makes an offended face and shuts her mouth with a loud snap. "But as soon as we turn that TemPad back on, I'm going straight back to the TVA to finish what I started." Kel refrains from retorting that this woman is most definitely not going to be doing that, but a ball of anger rests at the bottom of her stomach.

Kel glares at them all, and curses herself for letting her get brought into this ridiculous situation.

    "Good." Loki answers.

    The woman smirks. "I'll kill you then."

    "Or I'll kill you."

    Kel huffs out a breath. "And I'll do nothing."

    The woman scoffs and makes her way over to the entrance of the building. Kel grunts as she begrudgingly takes Loki's hand, hoisting herself back on her feet. The world teeters and blurs in her vision for a moment, but eventually Kel comes back to reality. She hates to admit it, but whatever the woman and Loki were able to do to heal her, it's worked. She still aches and her whole body is on fire, but Kel is pretty sure she's not close to dying anymore.

    That's a relief.

    "Where're you going?" Loki asks. The woman stops at the door.

    "There's power somewhere on this moon." she explains. "We just need enough of it to travel through inter-dimensional time and space." The moment she finishes speaking, a rumbling overtakes them, and Kel braces herself against one of the shelves, a hand against her stomach.

    Both Kel and Loki peer up with similar gawking faces.

    The Variant rolls her eyes and wrenches open the door. "Jeez." she mutters under her breath. Kel and Loki follow after her.

    A while later, the trio's footsteps echo against the gravel of Lamentis-1, rocks and debris falling against the surface like water droplets from a cloud. The sky is a painting of aster and cerulean, the sunlight barely visible against the purple clouds. Kel and Loki walk together, though the girl tries to get ahead at some point, her arms crossed and a hint of anger in her stance. However, she's still injured, and going too fast makes all the air dissipate from her lungs.

    "Would you stop staring at me?" Kel grumbles as they hurry to catch up with the woman. Loki opens and closes his mouth like a fish as he stumbles along. "I'm still mad at you."

    "Yes, but why?" he relents. Kel pauses in her haste to let Loki fall into step with her, before she turns on him with a furious glint in her eyes.

    "Why?" she says incredulously. "Why? Really, Loki? Because you betrayed us. You're a traitor." Loki's face falls at her words. "You walked through the portal after that woman." she points to the Variant up ahead. "And you took me with you, for some strange and still unexplained reason." Loki opens his mouth to seemingly answer that question, but Kel shuts him down with a scowl. "And not only did you betray the TVA and me, but you betrayed Mobius."

    At this, Loki slows down, his eyebrows furling inwards. Kel points back to the way they came, her words a flurry now.

    "He stuck his neck out for you, argued with the bosses for you, promised things he didn't even know were possible, and you threw it all back in his face." Kel stops walking and steps up to stare into Loki's face. "He's a good man." then she scoffs. "But I guess you wouldn't understand that, would you?" It's not a question that needs any answering. Loki's pace slows to a halt as Kel gives him one final glare, before whirling around, limping forward, wincing as the impact of foot against floor causes her ribs to bounce inside her chest.

    The God watches after them, a wounded look on his face, before that face turns to stone, and he pushes Kel's hurtful words aside. He rolls his shoulders back and plants a lackadaisical smile on his face, a chaotic neutrality taking over him. A mask. A front.

    Then, he starts to run forward, keeping up with the others, who go forward in silence.

    He calls to the woman, ignoring Kel. "so, what's the plan?" he demands.

    "There's a town near here." she answers plainly. "And can you shut up? Just because I have to work with you doesn't mean I want to hear your voice." Kel snorts.

    "All right well..." Loki starts, then trails off. "Slow down, Variant." He rushes up to the two, who now reluctantly walk side by side, and turns on his heels to face them.

    "What part of imminent death confuses you?" the woman says, gesturing to their crumbling surroundings. "And don't call me 'Variant'." Kel raises an eyebrow, playing with a strand of hair.

    Loki chuckles. "I'm sorry, but I'm not calling some faded photocopy of me 'Loki'."

    "Good." the Variant relents. "'Cause that's not who I am anymore." Both the God and the girl look at her in surprise. "I'm Sylvie now."

    Kel smiles. "Nice."

    Loki seems offended. "Oh, you changed your name. Brilliant."

    "It's called an alias." Sylvie responds.

    "It's not very Loki-like." Loki says, and Kel rolls her eyes, turning to look out across the violet landscape. The wind rustles her hair, and a shiver runs down her spine. This moon definitely has less oxygen than she's used to, and she has to breathe slowly, carefully.

    "Yeah?" Sylvie jests. "What exactly makes a Loki a Loki?" she smiles, and Loki scoffs. Then, he looks past the older woman, to Kel, still staring out at the rocky terrain.

    He clears his throat and says. "Independence. Authority. Style." Kel's attention drifts away from the two's argument, not hearing Sylvie and Loki as they bicker on and on for what feels like ages. It is as if she's become invisible, part of the background, as she so often feels back at the TVA.

    At the thought, she is reminded of Mobius. What could he be thinking right now? Is he worried? What had he thought when he'd chased after them back at Roxxcart, when Kel and Loki were swallowed up through the portal? Has Renslayer talked with him since they fought back at the TVA? Questions and concerns run through her head, an endless loop, and each time she goes back to the battle at the store, to Mobius screaming her name, her face grows darker and darker. Her steps are more laboured. Her pain is more sharp.

    The town which Sylvie speaks of is old and run down, made of ramshackle houses that are burnt and clearly abandoned. A panicked air settles over the emptiness. Smoke rises from the floor. Kel snaps back to attention the moment their pace slows.

    "It looks like everyone already fled." Loki remarks softly.

    "If they did, it was in vain." Sylvie replies. A lump wells in Kel's throat.

    "How long?" she asks, her voice hoarse. Sylvie casts a distasteful glance in her direction, but answers nonetheless.

    "Twelve hours or so. Things down here are only gonna get worse. More meteors, gravity quakes, and of course, the collapse of society in the face of annihilation."

    Kel's mouth makes an O shape. "And there's nothing to be done?" she blurts out before she can stop herself. Both Sylvie and Loki pause, their heads whipping back to look at her. Kel's cheeks heat, and her head starts to ache from holding her breath.

    Sylvie raises an eyebrow, her eyes like daggers, stabbing straight into Kel's gut. "No." she answers, words blunt. "Because this is supposed to happen, according to your Sacred Timeline." The hatred in her voice does not go unnoticed. Kel bites down on her tongue, her eyebrows furrowing at the frustration and torment, the colossal volume of emotion in her voice.

    "Alright, alright," Loki says, going to stand between the two. "There is a truce, remember?" Sylvie frowns and Kel huffs, but the tension dissipates, and they continue on their way. This time, Kel knows better than to speak again.

    They come to another halt a little ways away, in front of what looks to be a storefront, a pink neon sign flickering in the window.

    Loki points to it. "Could that charge the TemPad?" Sylvie's eyes light up at the comment.

    "Maybe." she remarks, and runs up the ramp towards the building. Next goes Loki, and finally, Kel hobbles after them, out of breath and angry. Up ahead, Sylvie fiddles with something behind the sign, Loki watching her with his hands on his hips.

    "I'm just checking the coupling." she explains. "Making sure it can connect."

    "Right." Loki says. Kel purses her lips. Then the woman turns around, her face placid, and holds out a hand.

    "Okay." she says softly. "Hand it over." Kel crosses her arms, smirking, a flicker of understanding sparking in her chest. Loki snickers, shaking his head. Clearly, he sees it too. Sylvie makes a defeated face and retracts her arm.

    "Pitiful." The God teases. "I'm not giving it to you. You're gonna have to try harder than that." Sylvie pushes herself away from the building and stalks towards them.

    "Then don't give me your 'tech savvy' ideas either." she grumbles, stopping in front of them. "The TemPad requires a massive power source, not a night light." Kel pouts, turning her head to look over at the massive towers in the distance. She's been watching them for a while, massive stone structures with a dozen lights fixed into the architecture, always two standing side by side.

    She points over to them. "What about those?" she asks. Sylvie looks annoyed that the girl has chosen to talk again, whereas Loki is grateful she interrupted the woman's rampage. Their eyes go to the towers, and Loki makes a hopeful face, whereas Sylvie scowls.

    "Nope." she says, and Kel's face falls. "Those are just markers for the roads. The only power there is in the lights. It's not strong enough."

    "Oh." is Kel's only response. Sylvie scoffs and pushes past them, nearly knocking Kel over due to the girl's innate lack of stature, but she refuses Loki's hand of support, flinching as she trips down the ramp.

    The journey continues, much to everyone's displeasure.

    Soon, after a while walking in silence, the group comes across a lone house, sitting in the center of nowhere. It has an air of something putrid and hot, something Kel can't quite put a finger on, but all she knows is that nothing good has happened here.

    It's probably just the fact that everything here is about to be destroyed, including whoever occupies this estate. Kel shivers and crosses her arms. Her bangs sway in the wind, her arms shaky.

    They walk up the stairs together, cautiously stepping onto the landing in the entrance. As they do, Sylvie draws her weapon, and Kel sucks in a breath, stepping back. Loki grabs onto the woman's arm, stopping her.

    "Brute force is no substitute for diplomacy and guile." he whispers. Kel can't help but laugh, and the God shoots her a look. She bites down on her tongue to keep from blurting that Loki has definitely not shared this mindset in the past, where he literally tried to take all of humanity captive using a massive alien army.

    But she doesn't.

    Sylvie grips Loki's forearm and gives him a sickly sweet smile. "Noted." she says sarcastically, then turns around and kicks open the door. Kel yelps and quickly ducks behind Loki, who sighs and shakes his head.

    There's a beat of silence, then Sylvie is thrown back as a gust of purple tinted something pushes her away from the house. Loki and Kel watch with wide eyes as the woman lands with a thump on the ground, grunting.

    Before she can stop herself, Kel lets out a short, high-pitched giggle.

    Loki reaches up a hand to cover her mouth, and Kel shuts her mouth with a snap. Sylvie groans and scuffles about on the ground, trying to gain footing. Kel and Loki share a look.

    "It's remarkable that you ever made it as far as you did." Loki says jovially, which causes Kel to laugh out again, and the giggle inevitably turns to a wince at her aching ribs.

    Loki leans in near the doorway, and says. "Sorry about that."

    A harsh, female voice sounds from inside the house. "Don't be. I enjoyed it."

    Loki chuckles uneasily. "Oh... I did too." Kel smiles. "But I can assure you, despite my acquaintance behaving like an animal." Sylvie scoffs from where she kneels in the dirt. "Uh, we mean you no harm. We're simply weary travelers."

    "Sure you are." the woman calls out, disbelievingly. Kel sighs and Loki turns to her, shrugging his shoulders. Then he moves back, peering inside the house, and sees something that makes his face light up. Kel frowns, and when he goes back to her, she starts to furiously shake her head. Whatever idea Loki's gotten, it's clearly not going to go well.

    Nothing with him ever seems to go well.

    However, it's too late, as Loki's appearance transforms into that of an old man, crippled and watery eyed. Kel rears back in surprise as Loki steps forward, looking back to wink at her. Kel makes a disgusted face. Then he rounds the corner, putting on a show of being heartbroken yet gleeful.

    Kel watches in silence, eyes nearly popping out of her head.

    Loki speaks in a voice that is definitely not his own. "Hello, dear." he says in a shaking voice. Kel covers her mouth.

    "Patrice?" the woman says, dumbfounded. "Patrice" nods, tears falling down his wrinkly old cheeks. He splutters and gasps as if overcome with grief.

    "It's... It's been a long time." he utters out. "You're as beautiful as ever..." but Patrice never gets to finish his sentence, because he too is thrown back by the woman's weapon, his disguise fading away as he lands next to Sylvie. Kel staggers backwards, nearly tripping over a chair as the woman, carrying the biggest blaster the girl has ever seen, steps out onto the porch.

    "Patrice never said a thing that nice in 30 years." she says. "You're no travelers. You're devils.." It's then that she sees Kel, standing beside her, and shifts the gun over to point straight at the girl. Kel holds her breath and raises her hands in the air, a surrender. Inside her chest, her heart thumps wildly.

    "Wait wait wait!!" she squeals. "Please don't shoot! I promise, I'm not a devil."     "No?" the woman quips. "Then what are you?"

    "Listen," Kel says, her voice calming. "I know that what those two idiot partners of mine did was wrong, and I'm sorry." the woman scoffs. "But we really do mean you no harm." There is something in Kel's tone, some small syllable, or an ounce of emotion, which makes the woman pause. She looks into Kel's face, and what she sees is complete and utter sincerity.

    The gun lowered away from the girl and turned back to Sylvie and Loki, who stepped casually towards them, gawking at the scene.

    Kel sighs and continues on as the woman eyes the two with suspicion. "Where is everyone?" she asks, her eyes on the woman. "Everywhere we've been, it's all deserted."

    The woman chokes on her words as she answers. "The ark.'' When she can see that the strangers are all confused, she finishes. "The evacuation vessel." Kel nods as Sylvie whispers something to Loki, but she doesn't need to guess what it is. Working at the TVA for as long as she has, Kel knows enough about TemPads to know something like a starship would be enough to power it up completely.

    "So, um," she cuts in before Loki can say anything. "How could we get to the ark?" the woman stares at her, then replies.

    "The train station's the edge of town. But you'll never get a ticket." Kel nods again as Sylvie starts moving away from the house, Loki following after her. She turns back to the woman as she staggers down the steps.

    "Thank you!" she calls. "Really, thank you." she is about to turn and follow after the others before a stab of shame rises up in her stomach. Kel whirls back around to see the woman still watching her. Her eyes are sad.

    "I'm sorry." Kel tells her, her voice soft. "I'm so sorry." she means it, and the woman can tell.

    The older one nods towards the girl, a hint of a smile on her face. And with that, Kel moves, running after the two rogue Variants.

━━━━━━

THE TRAIN STATION IS PACKED WITH PEOPLE DESCENDING INTO VARIOUS STATES OF PANIC.

    Outside the vehicle, men, women, and children all line up outside a guarded off platform, where guards dressed in bright blue go about, keeping the others away. Kel walks beside Loki and Sylvie, her eyes scanning those who can't get on. Some are crying, hugging each other for dear life. All are dressed in clothes covered in grime and filled with holes.

    The poor, Kel realizes with a start. The ones who can't get on are all the lowest class. The thought puts a knot in her stomach. Is this really what humanity comes to on the brink of destruction? Putting the wealthy above anything else? What about the children? What about the small babies clasped in their shaking mother's arms.

    Kel wants to run to them, pull them aboard, do something, but it will all be in vain. No one gets off this planet. They all die.

    "Well, this looks fun." Loki remarks coolly. Kel clenches her jaw.

    "Come on." Sylvie says, pulling them forward.

    "Shouldn't we-" Kel calls, but Sylvie gives her a warning look, and the girl falls weakfully silent.

    "We can't fight our way onto that train." Loki says.

    "Who said anything about fighting?" Sylvie asks.

    "All your plans involve fighting."

    "That's true." Kel mutters.

    "Not this one." Sylvie argues. "I'm going to enchant a guard, have him lead us through the crowd, and if anyone gives us any trouble..." she trails off.

    "Make him start shooting?" Loki suggests. "And then what, kill every guard and hijack the train."

    Kel makes a sound of protest. "If we do that, we should get these people on, too." Both Sylvie and Loki turn to look at her as if she's just grown another pair of arms. The girl glares at them, standing her ground.

    Sylvie turns away. "Whether or not there's a fight is entirely up to them." she says to no one in particular, completely ignoring Kel's words. Seeing that her protests will go nowhere, the young girl stops fighting, casting her eyes downwards, following blindly.

    "We're doing this my way." Loki says after a beat. Then, he takes Kel's shoulders and moves to the other side. In doing so, both Sylvie and him change their clothes into the armour of the guards surrounding them. Sylvie peers down at her suit in disgust, while Kel watches Loki with an eyebrow raised.

    His hands go out to his sides. "How do I look?" he asks her.

    Sylvie replies for Kel. "Like someone with a shit plan." Kel nods furiously.

    "It's a great plan." Loki says. Kel and Sylvie just stare at him. The man sighs, before he gestures to Kel. The girl frowns, but does as he does, and puts her hands behind her back. Loki grabs one arm while he pulls Sylvie to grab the other.

    Kel flinches as the woman's grip turns to iron, squeezing the life out of her forearm.

    "Just follow my lead." Loki says bravely, and they stalk up the steps of the platform, the crowd screaming in their direction. Kel flinches as the group hurls insults at tem, protests rising from the air. She stares straight ahead, biting the inside of her cheek, cursing her own vanity.

    Loki and Sylvie stop as they near the entrance to the train, a blue uniformed guard turning to look at them. At first, Loki tries to just walk right through, but the man sees them and holds up a hand, stopping the trio from going on.

    "Whoa! Hey!" he exclaims. He has an expectant look on his face.

    "Taking this one to Shuroo." Loki says in a gravelly voice, nodding his head towards Kel. Sylvie nods, agreeing with her partner.

    "Okay." the real guard says. "And the tickets?" Kel's heart rises to her throat, and she thinks of Mobius.

    "Orders come from the top to get her on this train." Loki answers. Kel purses her lips as the man leans up and calls to his superior, but before he can utter all the words, Sylvie moves and touches his arm, a spark of green erupting from her hand.

    The man's face softens, and he peers around lazily. The man he was calling to steps beside them. "Everything okay?"

    The guard laughs. "Yeah, everything's fine." Kel nods her head in encouragement, not that it's needed. "Yeah, I just remembered that headquarters radioed in their request for them this morning."

    There's a beat of silence as the superior officer watches them carefully, and Kel doesn't dare move. Then he sighs and nods his head. The other guard steps out of the way to let them pass.

    As she is hauled up the steps of the train, the last thing she hears before the door swallows them up is the pleading cries of the men, women, and children left to be destroyed.

a/n: guyyyysss I'm so sorry this took FOREVER to get out, but here it is!! Originally, this chapter was going to be all of episode three, but somehow this ended up being a 9k monstrosity and we're not even halfway through. I seriously have no idea how that happened.

ANYWAYS, there are a couple things I feel I should clear up before moving forward. now that all of loki season one is out, I've been able to plan out more of Kel's story, and I now know pretty much her whole arc. But with this comes some changes to the show canon. Firstly, SYLKI IS NOT GOING TO BE A THING. I know that it makes sense in terms of the show, and with Loki's character and all, but idk, I'm not a big fan of it, and with Kel now being with Sylvie and Loki, their whole relationship is going to be purely platonic. Loki and Kel are the ultimate BROTP and so the whole nexus event stuff is gonna focus on that instead of Loki essentially falling in love with a version of himself. and SECONDLY, LOKI IS PANSEXUAL. HE IS NOT BI, we're sticking with what I think is the actual canon, so yeah, that conversation is going to be different. ok ok glad we cleared this up.

with that out of the way, what did you guys think of this chapter? this one really showed Kel's weaknesses, and there was a BIT of foreshadowing, so if you caught that (hmmmm) pls leave your theories in the comments. As always, don't be afraid to comment, VOTE, and mayhaps give me a follow?? Love you guys, and until next time <33