Hell is Living Without You ~ Loki

Chapter Eighteen

Freyja's POV

I came to my senses, and noticed we were in a large hall. "Gracious Time-Keepers, as promised, the Variants." Renslayer presented. I saw Sylvie as well as Loki and I mentally smiled. "After all your struggle, at last, you've arrived before us. What do you have to say for yourselves before you meet your end, Variants?" They spoke. "Is that the only reason you brought us here? To kill us?" I shouted angrily. "I've lost track of the number of times I've been killed, so go ahead. Do your worst." Loki told them. "You and your bravado are no threat to us, Variant." One of the Timekeepers said. "Oh, no, I don't think you believe that.
I think you're scared." Sylvie commented. "No, Variant. You're nothing but a cosmic disappointment. Delete them." One of them said. "No, I'm not done with you yet." Sylvie exclaimed, stepping forward. Ravonna fiddled with the remote, causing Sylvie to return to her previous position. Suddenly she stopped, and Renslayer looked confused - until Hunter B-15 stepped out of the elevator. She disabled our collars, and we removed them quickly. "For all time. Always." B-15 said, throwing the pruning stick to Sylvie. I conjured one up, and began fighting the guards. "Protect the Time-Keepers!" Ravonna cried.
We fought everyone in a mix of punches and kicks, until everyone was on the floor - either dead or unconscious.

"You're a child of the Time-Keepers too, Sylvie. We can talk." The main Time Keeper said. "Oh, yeah?" Sylvie asked, before throwing the stick up and decapitating him. The head rolled down the steps and landed at my feet. I'm sure I saw a spark, but before Sylvie could kill the others, Loki cried out. "Wait!" He said, and the TimeKeepers 'powered down.' "Fake." I said, picking up the head. "Mindless androids." Sylvie added. "It never stops. Then who created the TVA? I thought this was it." Loki questioned. I dropped the head in defeat, "I'm sorry we couldn't help you Sylvie." I apologised. "Freyja." Loki started. "Not now Loki." I sighed. "No, I have to tell you something." He started. "We will figure this out." He reassured. "How do you know that?" I asked. "Because, uh...Well, back on Lamentis... This is new for me. Um..." Loki said, stumbling over his words. "What? What is it?" I asked. "I..." He said, before gasping in pain. He had been pruned before he finished what he had to say. "Loki?" I questioned sadly. But it was too late, he was gone, my expression changed from curiosity to anger. My face hardened when I saw Renslayer standing behind.

I lunged forward and fought her for a second, before the tables turned and I had the stick facing her. She put her arms up in defeat. "Do it." She muttered. I went to push it into her chest, but Sylvie stood next to me and pushed it down so it was facing the ground. "No. You're gonna tell us everything." She instructed. "Give me your TemPad." She ordered. Renslayer was lying on the floor, whilst Sylvie and I towered over her. "Who's really behind the TVA?" I asked, with venom on my tongue. "I'm as in the dark as you are." She said, but I didn't believe her. I pressed the base of my foot into her previously wounded shoulder. "Poor Judge Renslayer. Your whole reality's been destroyed. Tell me, how does it feel to be on the other side of it?" Sylvie spat, standing back from her. Sylvie looked around our surroundings. "This is it, isn't it? This is where you dragged me after you stole my life." She reminisced. "A fitting place, then, to take yours." I added. "And what if I said Loki wasn't dead? Not yet, anyway." She asked. "I'd say you were lying." I said, searching for any give away traits to see if she was lying or not. She wasn't, he was alive. "Maybe. Or maybe we want the same thing." She said. "How is he still alive? And how will saving him get us closer to who's really behind the TVA?" Sylvie asked. "It's complicated." Renslayer answered. I stepped forward threateningly with the prune stick.
"I'm telling you this willingly." She defended. "Why?" I interrogated. "Because I wanna know who's at the top of this. I want to know who lied to me." She said, with a heartfelt voice. "When we prune a branched reality, it's impossible to destroy all of its matter. So we move it to a place on the timeline where it won't continue growing. Basically, the branched timeline isn't reset. It's transferred." She explained. "To where?" I asked. "A void at the end of time. Where every instance of existence collides at the same point and simply stops." She told us.
"Why?" I questioned. "I don't know. The dogma states that the end of time is still being written, that the Time-Keepers are transforming it into utopia." Renslayer informed. "That's nice. Super believable." Sylvie muttered sarcastically. "Whatever the real reason... nothing ever comes back from there. I can help you if you trust me." Ravonna wagered.

Loki's POV

I had been walking with the other Loki's for quite sometime now, and I hadn't the foggiest what was going on. "I suggest we take a breather, so I can ask several thousand questions." I said, hoping one of them would listen to me. "Gotta keep moving so we don't die." The older Loki advised. "Okay, but what's your plan?" I asked again. "Don't die." The older one said. "Okay, but beyond that?" I elaborated. "Don't die." He repeated vaguely. I sighed. "That's not a plan. It's a general demand of living. If you're Lokis, you should always have a plan." I explained. Still no answer as they walked straight past me. Out of nowhere, a flock of peacock-like birds ran past noisily. "Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" I yelled impatiently, causing them all to stop and turn to me. "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 sadly I didn't find all that strange. And now we're running from God knows what to God knows where. When I need to be trying to find a way back to the TVA." I cried frantically. "Stop wailing or you will signal Alioth." The child version of me hissed, unsheathing his blade, and pointing it at me. "You mean the monster in the sky?" I questioned. The kid shook his head, then made his blade disappear. He then held his hand out, and helped me up. "Thank you." I said gratefully. "This is the place where the TVA dumps its rubbish, everything they prune. And Alioth, he ensures none of it ever returns." He explained. "It's a living tempest that consumes matter and energy. They send entire branched realities here that are devoured instant." The rather boastful version of me said. "We're in a shark tank. Alioth is the shark." The old variant added. The aligator made a noise and the old Loki turned to it. "Oh, there's no such thing as an alligator tank. Besides, it's a better metaphor." He cooed. The older Loki turned to me. "He's overly sensitive like the rest of us." He informed, and I'm sure my mind just froze. "Hang on. You're telling me that, that thing's a Loki too?" I asked in disbelief. "Oh, yes." The Old Loki said as if it were normal. I processed it for a second, then thought of Freyja. I chuckled a bit. "Okay, fine. Willing to accept that." I said. "Why are there so many of you?" I asked. "Because Lokis survive. That's just what we do." Classic Loki said. "Great. So how do we escape?" I said carelessly. "We don't. All of us were arrested by the TVA and pruned, just like you. And just like you, we all stood around making bad plans that went nowhere." Classic Loki almost hissed. "Have you thought about using a TemPad?" I asked, without thinking. "Oh, the one thing that could get us out of here, yes. They're all over the place, right, guys?" The boastful one said sarcastically, as all the others laughed. "Fine. What about causing a nexus event?" I suggested. "The TVA doesn't care what happens here." Boastful Loki said. "Surely there's something to do." I asked. "There is. Survive. That's all there is. All there ever was." Classic Loki said. "We're done talking. Let's go.
Just do what you want." The Child instructed, and they all obeyed. "Okay, wait, wait, wait." I muttered, running to catch up. "Why do you wear the horns? You let a child command you." I voiced out loud. "You'll do well to respect the boy. This is his kingdom." The older Loki advised. I stopped in disbelief. "Right. What was your nexus event, Your Majesty?" I said mockingly. He turned around and leaned in slightly.
"I killed Freyja and Thor." He said bluntly. I stood in shock for a minute. How could a child murder his brother and best friend?

After more walking, we arrived at an entrace in the ground. "So, why did you want to return to the TVA so badly, anyway?" The older Loki asked. "You leave your glorious purpose there?" The Boastful one mocked. "Something like that." I said, thinking about Freyja and Sylvie.