Clock's Ticking

Liar

"Oh, come on. You know you can't get to the end until you've been hanged by the journey."

I look down between Loki and Sylvie and they both look to me, "I like to think we have."

"Maybe. But not in the way that matters. This stuff, it needs to happen. To get us all in the right mindset to finish the quest. ""

"Right..." Loki looks over the papers.

"Right."

"So, it's all a game. It's all... a manipulation."

"Interesting, that your head would go to that."

"But it is," I cross my arms, "isn't it?"

He Who Remains leans in toward Sylvie and I, "do you two really think you can trust this guy? I mean, do you think you can trust each other."

"Don't listen to him," out of the corner of my eye I see Loki turn his body toward me.

"Don't listen to him," He Who Remains laughs. "Do you think you're even capable of trusting anyone at all? Are any of you? On that note, are any of you even capable of love?"

I look up to Loki, who looks as though he is concerned about my answer. Then I look to Sylvie, who looks as though she is unphased by the question, "I like to think we are."

"Oh, I know you do. I understand your moral objections to what the TVA does. And my methods are deceptive. But the mission, it never was. Without the me, without the TVA..."

"People would have freewill."

"Everything would burn."

Loki speaks calmly, "then what are you so afraid of?"

He Who Remains takes a moment to think about his response, "me."

"And just who are you?" Sylvie shrugs.

"Oh, I've been dubbed many names by many people. A ruler, a conqueror. He Who Remains, a jerk. But it's... it's not as simple as a name." He opens something on the device on his hand and flicks something on to the table. As he speaks the begin comes to life, playing out as he tells us his story, "eons ago, before the TVA, a variant of myself lived on Earth in the 31st century. He was a scientist and he discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own. At the same time, other versions of us were learning the same thing. Naturally, they made contact. And for a while, there was peace. Narcissistic, self-congratulatory peace. 'I love your shoes'. 'I love your hair.' 'Oh, man, nice nose.' 'Thanks, man.' Eat cetera. They shared technology and knowledge. Using the best of their universes to improve the others. However..." he picks up his apple and takes another bite of it. "Not every version of me was so... so pure of heart."

I scoff, "you're pure of heart."

"Let me finish. To some of us, new worlds meant only one thing, new lands to be conquered. The peace between realities..." he imitates an explosion with his hands and mouth. "...erupted into all-out war, each variant fighting to preserve their universe and annihilate the others. This is almost the end..." he chuckles, "ladies and gentlemen, of everything and everyone."

"And then the Time-Keepers came along and saved us all," Sylvie adds a bit of venom onto her words.

"Amen," He Who Remains sings and folds his hands together. "No," he laughs, "no. Nope, this is where we diverge from the Dogma. That first variant encountered a creature created from all the tears in reality, capable of consuming time and space itself. A creature we all know."

I nod, "Alioth."

"Bingo! I harnessed the beast's power end began experimenting on it. I weaponized Alioth, and I ended... I ended the Multiversal War."

"Well, it's nice to know not everything I believed was a complete lie."

"Once I isolated our timeline, all I had to do was manage the flow of time and prevent any further branches. Hence, the TVA. Hence the Time-Keepers end a highly efficient bureaucracy." He Who Remains stands up in his chair, "hence, ages and ages of cosmic harmony." He moves from his chair to the table, "hence..." he then drops to a knee, "you're welcome. You came to kill the devil, right?" He then jumps off his desk, "well, guess what? I keep you safe. And if you think I'm evil, well, just wait till you meet my variants. And that's the gambit."

"So you control the timeline and killed hundreds of people, dragging them away from their part in the timeline, because you couldn't figure out when to stop. You or you're variants."

"Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos," He Who Remains walks back around his desk, "you may hate the dictator, but something...." He exhales deeply, "far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him."

"Or something far better?"

"Maybe. But I've lived a million lifetimes. I've gone through every scenario. This is the only way. The TVA, it works."

Sylvie shrugs, "or you're a liar."

"Or I'm a liar."

Loki shakes his head a bit, "so you just... continue to prune innocent timelines?"

"Mmm-hmm. You two would," he points to Loki and Sylvie, "there's two options! One... you kill me and destroy all this, so you don't just have one devil, you have an infinite amount. Or... you two. You two run the thing and Kamaria and stay and do whatever she wants."

"You're lying. Why would you give up being in control?"

"Buddy... I'm tired. And I'm older. I'm older than I look. This game is for the young, the hungry. I've gone through a lot of scenarios... trying to find the right person to take this spot. It turns out that person came in two. But it's definitely you two. So, no more lies. You kill me and the Sacred Timeline is completely exposed. Multiversal War. Or you take over and return to the TVA as it's benevolent rulers. Tell the workforce who they are and they they do what they do."

"You treated real people's lives like some kind of game," Sylvie takes a deep breath.

"It's not personal, it's practical."

"It was personal to me."

He Who Remains groans, "grow up! Grow up, Sylvie! Murder! Hypocrite! We're all villains here. We've all don't horrible, terrible, horrific things. But now, we, you... have a chance to do them for a good reason."

"Even done for a good reason, horrible things were still horrible, we would still be playing with peoples lives like there were nothing," I snap.