What Comes Next?

Chapter 1: Crash landing

I didn't expect the detonation from the final bomb to rip through time quite as quickly as it did. As I attempted to flee though the TVA's golden portal the blast hit me in the back throwing me through it. I felt the skin of my palms rip as I slid several feet across the rocky earth of this new planet.

I flipped on to my back before I caught my breath, eager to watch what final moments I could through the fading doorway. Buildings collapsed inward and the entire TVA headquarters folded in on itself. It continued to crumple inward until the portal itself blinked and was swallowed. The last of it's light flashed out like a dying star or the ending of an old tv program.

I swallowed and struggled to remember how to breathe. As soon as my body began receiving oxygen it used it to call attention to my various injuries. My palms were torn, my chin was split and bleeding from the blast, my ankle was swollen from kicking the Time Keepers door down, at least one rib was broken and there was a dagger lodged in my thigh from my final fight with Ravonna. Thankfully she went down with her ship, like a good Captain. And I witnessed the utter collapse of the entire TVA, hidden as it was within the quantum realm.

Now the timelines could all naturally evolve and coexist as they were meant to, in harmonious chaos. I allowed a few tears of relief to slide down my cheek while I focused on just..being. Not being chased, not leaping blindly from apocalypse to apocalypse to escape and not being...with him.

He was gone and I had nothing to distract me from thinking about him. The last two weeks were a blur of vengeance, orchestrated destruction and a constant struggle to survive. Now I had nothing to do but lay here and think. What was he about to say before Ravonna..deleted him? No. Murdered. Removed. Erased from existence.

I closed my eyes to fight back against the tide of loneliness that threatened to crush me. I didn't know where I was, I was bleeding out and there sounded like a group of booted feet were running towards me. It was clearly time to focus on surviving, not crying.  I rolled onto my knees, sucked in a torturous puff of air and stood. I tried to reach for my sword, which was gone with the TVA, but instead involuntary wrapped my arm around my ribcage. I don't know if it was the standing or the breathing that triggered my coughing fit but my body decided it was beyond trying to survive. I coughed and spat a gob of blood onto the gray dust, I was still staring at it in a daze when all the boots stopped. The bright red was almost beautiful next to all that gray.

I decided that if I couldn't fight I could at least lift my eyes to my attackers. An old man in a ridiculous costume, a muscled man with a hammer, a dark haired child, a reptile in a hat and....Loki? MY Loki?

His eyebrows pressed in together as his icy blue eyes looked both relieved to see me and devastated to see me at the same time. His lips parted and I think he tried to say my name but a desperate guttural sound fell out instead. I was still staring at his lips when he suddenly appeared in front of me. His arms wrapped around me, his hands on my back encouraging me to fall forward onto him so he could hold me up and let me rest a moment. I knew his intentions without us speaking a word, I knew him and he knew me.

I collapsed into his chest, my head on his shoulder, careful to not bend my torso the wrong way.
"Sylvie." His voice rumbled in my ear.
"Are. We. Dead?" I asked between ragged breaths.
He was so careful with his arms as he supported me, framing my body without unnecessarily touching me anywhere else.
"Not yet. I'm going to have to carry you." His eyes and voice were already full of apology.
"Yes." I said without much enthusiasm.
"It's going to hurt." He almost whispered.
"Yes." I responded and tried to sigh dramatically but instead triggered another bloody coughing fit.
I think he whispered, "I'm sorry." As he swept his arm under my knee and lifted me with the speed of a God but I was coughing too loudly to hear.

I must have lost consciousness for a moment as we started to move because we went from gray blood splattered earth to yellow grass in a moment. Then darkness. Then the smell of sweat and my face pressed into my blood all over Loki's white shirt. Then darkness. An abandon city seemed to flash by, all broken glass and twisted metal. Then darkness. The sound of metal objects being knocked to the ground and the smell of alcohol.

"Lay her here." A deep wavering voice I didn't recognize said.
"What do you know of healing?" My Loki asked.
"Enough." Came the wavering voice again with a bit of a bite.
I tried to blink the darkness away from the corners of my eyes but I could feel it pulling me back in. My body was capable of taking a lot of punishment but I was willing to admit I'd been incredibly reckless the past few weeks since....

I felt my rib snap back into place as weathered old hands pushed and pulled at me. A green pulsing energy accompanied his work but did absolutely nothing for the pain.
I gasped, my head unintentionally thrusting back, breaking the newly forming scab on my chin back open.
"Keep her still!" The old man barked.
"Sylvie. Look at me." Loki's hands caught both of my wrist and I stilled for a moment.

I focused on breathing again and found his eyes over my head, his face upside down to me.  His eyes were a bit wild but determined, as his thumbs began gently stroking the inside of my wrist. I took another breath, clearer this time, and felt his thumbs pause a moment. No doubt noticing my pulse speed up at his touch. One corner of his mouth lifted a bit before the old man ripped the knife out of my leg. I must have screamed because my mouth was open when Loki's lips met mine, he swallowed the sound and I felt my body still for a moment at the distraction. The kiss was brief then he pulled back to study my face again.
"The worst of her is mended as best I can do. She'll have to do the rest on her own. " the old man grumbled. "You can let her go."

Loki's eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer then his hands did.
"How do you feel?" He asked.