Two Blades, One Dagger

The TVA (Sort of)

*All rights to the characters and concepts in this story belong to Marvel comics. I am just a huge Loki fan who is tired of waiting for Season 2 to come out. Hope you enjoy!*

"Who are you?"

The words echoed through Loki's mind as the gravity of his situation finally registered. Mobius and Hunter B-15 stood before him, both staring at him blankly. "Mobius-" Loki started, but for one of the few times in his long life, he was at a loss for words. 

Mobius gave him a friendly nod and chuckled. "Yup, that's me. Can I help you?"

Meanwhile, Loki stood in place, taking in the scenery around him. For the most part, everything looked the same as he had remembered in the TVA. There were countless floors of files and Variants (although they didn't know that about themselves) working in cubicles. It was almost identical to the TVA that Loki had taken to, except for one key difference. To Loki's left, where the statues of the timekeepers should've been, there was one man. Looming of Loki was a statue hundreds of feet tall: He Who Remains. 

"Um, sir?" 

"Huh?" Loki was snapped back to reality. While he was frantically trying to comprehend the world around him, he realized that he had been standing there with his mouth half open, gawking like an idiot. "Oh, yes, sorry," he replied, trying to regain his natural, cool demeanor despite everything that was happening. "It appears that I have found myself on the wrong timeline, due to a rather unfortunate set of circumstances, so if you two could ever so kindly help me find my way back to the end of the timeline, I would be forever grateful." He even threw in a little smile at the end, just to make it seem realistic. Politeness was not something Loki was used to displaying, but he figured it was worth a shot. After all, even though this was not the Mobius Loki knew, he still did not want to hurt him unless he had to. 

Mobius and B-15 exchanged sideways glances, and Loki thought for sure that they had bought in to his plan. "What is your name?" Hunter B-15 asked.

"I am Loki Laufeyson, of Asgard."

"Well, Loki," Mobius sighed. "We would love to help you, but I'm afraid there is protocol that forbids us from sending unknown variants to only Kang-knows-where on the timeline so they can go on some tropical vacation of sorts. Why would you want to go to the end of the timeline, anyway?"

Loki paused to consider his response. Because Sylvie's in danger, was the first thought that crossed his mind. However, that would lead to another, much longer, onslaught of questions that Loki didn't have the time or the patience to deal with. Rather than answer Mobius' question, he asked a question of his own. "Who's Kang?"

"Who's Kang?" Mobius laughed. "Oh, you're a real funny guy, aren't you, Loki? Who's Kang?" There was a moment of silence, where Loki and Mobius stared at each other, and the amusement disappeared from Mobius' face. "Wait?" he said. "You actually don't know, do you?"

"Well I don't see the point in wasting my breath to ask the question if I already know the answer," Loki replied. He was starting to become irritated. Every second that he wasted talking to this timeline's Mobius, the universe was exploding into madness, and the evil variant of Kang was coming closer to the end of the timeline, where he assumed Sylvie still was. For all he knew, it could've already been too late. He didn't want to think about that.

"Well, Loki, it seems like we have a lot of catching up to do. If you could please follow me, I'm sure we could discuss this in my office," Mobius said. Then, B-15 approached Loki. He saw that she was holding one of those time-loop collar things that they had slapped on him when he first arrived at the TVA. 

"Oh, no. I won't be needing one of those," Loki laughed nervously as he backed up against the railing of the floor he was on. 

"Don't worry, Loki. It's only standard protocol. All Variants have to wear them." 

Clearly, being dragged through the TVA's system again did not suit Loki's plan. He was going to get back to the end of the timeline, whether it was through a Tempad or he had to be Pruned. As B-15 backed him up against the railing, he braced himself and drove his heel into her chest. She stumbled backwards, and he broke out into a run down a hallway. He had no idea where he was, but there were seemingly miles of filing cabinets on either side of him. He turned left, then right, then another right, then left again. This was clearly a maze. Behind him, he could hear Mobius shouting. Loki took off in a sprint, weaving in between shelves and cabinets, until he finally arrived at a dead end. Turning around, he saw Mobius blocking off his only exit. Being backed into a corner was not ideal, but it wasn't like Loki hadn't been in a similar situation before. No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, Loki could always weave his way out. First, he tried ramming himself against one of the shelves. If it fell, it would've caused a domino effect, knocking over all of the other shelves and filing cabinets as well. Not only would it have been an escape, but it would've been a chaotic and hilarious one, at that. However, the shelf did not budge, and Mobius was only getting closer. 

"Mobius," Loki said, putting his hands up in front of him, "I don't want to hurt you." 

"That makes two of us, Loki," he replied. "However, by the order of the TVA, I am going to need you to comply."

"Huh. Don't take this personally, but compliance is not in my nature." Mobius braced himself. Loki balled his hands up into fists, preparing to fight, when a familiar zipping sound rang through his ears. Mobius took a step back, eyes wide. Loki looked down at his feet and saw that the area where he was standing was surrounded by a circle of buzzing sparks. It took a second for Loki to remember what had happened last time he had been surrounded by sparks, but by the time realization hit him, it was too late. He took one last look at Mobius, who was staring at him in awe. "Oh shit" were the last words that left his mouth before the ground beneath him disappeared, and he was falling into blackness.