Two Blades, One Dagger

Alioth and the Sunshine Band

Loki was quickly knocked off his feet. 

Dirt and debris were thrown up in his eyes, and a heavy wooden beam pressed down against his chest. He coughed vigorously. He tried to breathe, but instead his lungs were filled with dust. What the hell was going on? After a moment of struggling, Loki decided to use magic to free himself. After all, what was the point of being a god if you didn't utilize your power? With a flick of his wrist, the beam flew off of Loki, and the dirt and dust disappeared. He got to his feet to observe the chaos around him. 

The first and most obvious thing that caught his attention was Alioth. The dark gray and purple monstrosity loomed over everything, roaring in delight and striking down all matter in its path. Next, Loki saw the army. Men and beasts alike were fighting against Alioth, but with no success. They all looked very different; it was clear that they came from different planets, maybe even varying timelines. However, every creature bore a shiny purple chestplate that had a golden emblem etched into the center of it. Loki squinted, trying to block out the world around him so that he could focus solely on the symbol. He realized it was a clock. Arching over the top of the clock were the words FOR ALL TIME. At the center of all the chaos was one solitary man- a Midgardian. He bore the same chestplate with the same clock, but instead of the mantra etched into every other chestplate, his read FOR MY TIME. The man wore a solid gold helmet, which hid all of his facial features. However, judging by the way he seemed to be leading the attack, Loki was certain the man was Kang. 

That was it. He was so close. All Loki had to do was kill him, which wouldn't be too hard considering he was busy fighting Alioth, and then Loki could get to the end of the timeline. The plan was almost foolproof, if it weren't for one significant factor...

Smack!

Loki was knocked off his feet again. This time, it wasn't by flying debris- it was by one of Alioth's massive, sinister arms. Loki gasped for air as he watched the creature inhale an entire section of the army, obliterating it from existence as if it had never been there. In order to kill Kang and get to the end of the timeline, Loki would have to evade the raging beast a second time. He laid on the ground, trying to catch his breathe as he contemplated how the hell he was going to dispatch the beast. His thoughts were interrupted by Strange's voice.

"Loki!" he shouted. His voice was barely able to cut through the chaos. 

Loki turned in the direction of Strange's voice and saw him and Wanda standing a couple yards behind him. He rushed towards them, stopping when he was close enough to talk to them without completely losing his voice. "That thing," he yelled in response, pointing to the monstrous tempest looming over them, "is Alioth. He consumes any and all matter, and he guards the end of the timeline. We have to get past him!"

"And how do you expect us to do that?" Wanda exclaimed, her voice barely audible over the battle going on around them. 

Loki had an idea. It was a terrible, unreasonable, completely suicidal idea, but in that moment, he felt they had no other choice. He looked to Wanda, then to Strange, and he smiled. "You guys take care of Kang!" he shouted. "I'm going to slay the beast!"

Strange and Wanda wore identical expressions of confusion. "What?!" they exclaimed in unison. "How?"

Loki simply grinned. "I'm going to enchant that son of a bitch," he laughed. 

Strange shook his head. "You do realize you'll die, right? I've never taken you to be the noble-self-sacrifice kind of guy. Either you've turned over a new leaf, or you're an idiot."

Loki scoffed. He rolled his eyes and turned to look back at Strange in a borderline maniacal fashion. "I'm a god, Strange." With that, he rushed off towards Alioth, silently praying that Strange and Wanda would do their part and kill Kang. The air began to get thick and heavy as Loki got closer to the beast. He could feel heat from the heart of the monster, and he was close enough to see the purple lightning bolts rippling through its core. Despite all of the action happening in the area, Alioth turned its attention towards Loki, and it stormed towards him. Loki braced himself, preparing to enchant it, just as he had with Sylvie. The plan would work- it had to. Alioth's smoky arms crept closer to him, and he grasped onto one of them. Quickly, he focused on tapping into the beast's mind. His head throbbed as he tried to subdue the giant tempest, but without Sylvie's help, he wasn't strong enough to overpower the monster. Loki dropped to his knees, straining to grasp some sort of control over the beast, but to no avail. The heat was overwhelming. He was surrounded by the pitch black cloud, and he felt like his skin was going to melt off his body. This was more brutal than any pain Loki had ever experienced. Throughout his long life, he had been burned, stabbed, tortured, and much, much worse, but somehow, this was still more agonizing. It felt as though Loki's body was not only being ripped apart, but his mind and soul as well. Alioth was slowly tearing apart every fiber of his being. 

Loki managed to pry open his eyes just long enough to look down at his hands. They were black and charred, as were his forearms. He gritted his teeth and squinted as he looked up. He was inside Alioth now, being tossed around in a stormy gray vortex crackling with violet lightning. In the very center of the vortex was a glowing purple orb. It was no larger than a human head, and it floated motionlessly as the tempest raged around it. Loki couldn't think straight, but something in the back of his mind told him that that was the heart. Alioth's heart. Suddenly, Loki was slammed against the ground. He grasped onto a rut in the dirt and slowly began to pull himself towards the glowing purple orb. His strength was fading rapidly. He watched in horror as flakes of charred skin began to fly from his trembling arms. Everything in his body told him that this was the end- he was going to die- but he could not let that happen. He was so close- merely a yard away from the floating purple heart, but every movement seemed impossible. Loki's vision was crowded with black dots. He couldn't see, he couldn't move, and his body was eroding like sand. In one last desperate attempt, he thrust his hand forward, grasping out for something- anything- that might save him. He felt something hard, smooth, and invigoratingly cold. It sent a jolt of lighting though him. The tempest stopped, and a roar erupted all around Loki, rattling the very fibers of his being. Loki's strength returned. He knew what he had to do. 

Loki gripped the heart tightly and reached out with his mind. He could feel Alioth's overwhelming presence. The beast struggled against Loki's magic, but Loki was able to grab onto its consciousness and dive deep down, all the way into the fiber of its being. Suddenly, the world went black. Once again, Loki was standing in the center of an empty void. Alioth hovered in front of him. However, the beast was shrunken down to the size of a Midgardian housecat. It was bound by glowing green magical chains, which were wielded by Loki. Loki couldn't help but grin. He pulled the chains taught, and they sliced through Alioth. The beast evaporated into thin air, leaving Loki standing alone in the black void- the Dark plain. 

For the second time, Loki willed himself to be transported back to reality, and he was. Not a second had passed in real time, but the once glowing heart Loki held in his hands had faded to a dull gray. The storm around him faded away, and the debris that had been flying all around within it came crashing down. Loki dashed forwards, not sure where he was going but entirely certain that he didn't want to be crushed. He stumbled forward into a gateway, and he finally looked forward. A glorious and terrifying sight loomed over him- the citadel. Cautiously, he approached the door. He was not greeted by Miss Minutes this time. Instead, the tall double doors creaked open, and Loki stepped inside. From there, he made his way over to the elevator, which only had one option for a destination. He pressed the solitary button, and the elevator doors shut themselves. The elevator took an aggravatingly long time to reach its destination. Loki had summoned his twin daggers, which he gripped tightly as the doors finally opened. He had been in this room before. A long rug rolled out before him, which ended at an oak desk. Behind the desk sat a smiling man. Loki glowered at him menacingly, but he only cocked his head to the side and extended his arms in a welcoming fashion.

"Loki, I'm so happy to see you!"