The Dark Angel¹

5.1 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑂𝑓 𝑀𝑦 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠

THE VOID

Sometime later, Loki too has found his variants.

"What is this place? Where are we? Who are you?" He asks the three, with the crocodile four, Loki's.

"This is The Void. That's Alioth. And we're his lunch. Come on!" The classic Loki quickly explains.

They walk off with Loki following.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"I suggest we take a breather, so I can ask several thousand questions," Loki speaks after some time of walking.

"Gotta keep moving, so we don't die." Classic Loki informs him.

"I can get behind that, but what's your plan?" Loki asks curiously.

"Don't die."

"Okay, understood, but beyond that?"

"Don't die."

"That's not a plan. It's a general demand of living. If you're Loki's, you should always have a plan."

"Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on? Look, it's been a very, very, very trying past few days. Months? I don't even know how long it's been since New York. All I know is, I got pruned, and I woke up here, and now I'm surrounded by Variants of myself, plus an alligator, which I'm heartbroken to report I didn't even find all that strange. And now we're running from God knows what, trying to get to God knows where. When I need to be trying to find a way back to the TVA." Loki's voice has been rising while he rambled on.

Alioth rumbles in the distance.

Kid Loki pulls his dagger on Loki, who backs up and falls.

"Stop wailing or you will signal Alioth."

"You mean the monster in the sky?" Loki makes fun of them.

Kid Loki lets his dagger disappear and gives Loki a hand up.

"Thank you"

"This is the place where the TVA dumps its rubbish, everything they prune. And Alioth, he ensures none of it ever returns." Kid Loki explains.

"It's a living tempest that consumes matter and energy. They send entire branched realities here that are devoured in an instant." Boastful Loki speaks up.

"We're in a shark tank. Alioth is the shark." Classic Loki tries to give Loki a better explanation.

Alligator Loki growls.

"Oh, there's no such thing as an alligator tank. Besides, it's a better metaphor. He's overly sensitive, like the rest of us." Classic Loki seems to understand him.

"Hang on, you're telling me that thing's a Loki too?" Loki can't believe it.

"Oh, yes." Classic Loki answers as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Okay, fine. Willing to accept that. Why are there so many of you?" Loki questions further.

"Because Loki's survive. That's just what we do." Classic Loki speaks.

"Great. So how do we escape?" Loki gets cheery.

"We don't. All of us were arrested by the TVA and pruned, just like you. And just like you're doing right now, we all stood around making bad plans that went nowhere." Classic Loki destroys his little hope.

"Yes, but have you thought of using a TemPad?" Loki suggests.

"Oh, the one thing that could easily get us out of here, yes. They're all over the place, right, guys?" Boastful Loki mocks him, and the other Loki's laugh too. 

"Fine. What about causing a nexus event?" Loki tries again.

"The TVA doesn't care what happens here." Boastful Loki says with a sad undertone.

"Surely there's something to do." Loki pressures.

"There is. Survive. That's all there is. All there ever was." Classic Loki is getting fed up.

"We're done talking. Let's go. Just do what you want, I guess." Kid Loki and the others walk on.

Loki looks around. Thunder rumbles and he hurries after them.

"Okay, wait, wait, wait. Why do you wear the horns? You let a child command you." Loki finally asks another kind of question.

"You'll do well to respect the boy. He is the second in command." Classic Loki explains to him.

"Second? Then who is first?" Loki asks.

"You'll meet her." Kid Loki speaks.

"Right" He is too tired of all the different Loki than to really register that he said her.

"What was your nexus event, Your Majesty?"

"I killed Thor." Kid Loki speaks with seemingly no regret.

After that, they continue on with their journey.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

They arrive before some kind of hatch.

Classic Loki uses his magic to open it.

One after another descends into their base.

As Loki is climbing down, classic Loki asks him a question. "So, why did you want to return to the TVA so badly, anyway?"

"You leave your glorious purpose there?" Boastful Loki makes fun of him.

"Something like that." He is at the bottom of the ladder. "You know, I-" As soon as he spots who is sitting on the throne in the room, he forgets his sentence.

"That's our first in command." Classic Loki explains.

"How can she be your queen?" Loki exclaims.

"Calm down. Why don't you settle down first, and then we discuss that in peace?" Laverna smirks at him.  

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