Family is for all time, always [1]

Going Separate Ways

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

We walked up to the dark building and climbed the steps to the door, Sylvie in front.

The entire outside of the place looked like a haunted house. Not a good sign.

I looked over to Loki as we came up on a set of stairs. "This looks like that haunted house we took Linda to last Halloween."

He nodded. "It does."

I smiled at the memory. She loved that Halloween. So much candy.

A few more seconds passed, and Sylvie was still stuck in front of the door.

"Aren't you going to tell me not to kick the door in?" She asked, breaking the silence.

Loki shrugged. "Never made a difference."

She turned to us. "Well, if you think it's a bad idea, I prefer you to speak your mind now."

"Okay, maybe don't kick the door in. You could just knock." I suggested.

She nodded and raised her hand to knock, but the door opened on its own.

That's not creepy...

We slowly walked inside, not knowing what to expect. I found myself grabbing Loki's hand tightly for comfort. I just needed to know he was there.

As we walked further, I noted the statues of the time-keepers.

The door suddenly slammed shut behind us, making my nerves spike.

Everything is fine. Everything is -

"Hey, y'all!"

"What the hell!" I fell into a defensive position, getting my magic ready before I realized it was just Miss Minutes.

Still scary.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

You know what? Linda was right. That clock is terrifying.

I'll tell her about this when I get back to the TVA.

Not if. When.

While Catherine was readying her magic, Sylvie got out her sword, and I got out a set of daggers.

"Welcome to the Citadel at the End of Time." The clock continued to speak.

How was she even here?

"Come on," I whispered to Catherine and Sylvie as we walked around the hologram.

"Congratulations! Y'all had an awfully long journey to get here. He's impressed."

"Who's impressed?" Catherine beat me to the question.

"He Who Remains."

Not a weird name at all. No. Definitely not.

"And who is he?"

"He created all, and he controls all. At the end, it is only He Who Remains. And he wants to offer you a deal. He's been making a few creative adjustments, and he's worked it out so we can reinsert the both of you back into the timeline in a way that won't disrupt things."

"Won't disrupt things?" Sylvie raised a brow.

"Mhm. The TVA can keep doing its vital work, and y'all can live the lives you've always wanted."

Wait. The both of us?

"What do you mean, the both of us?" I asked.

"Well, you and Sylvie will go back to a timeline-"

"And what about Catherine?" I interrupted.

"She would go back to working for the TVA. Like she has all her life."

I was about to say something, but Catherine spoke up first.

"That's a lie. I had a life before the TVA. A family." I felt her grip on my hand tighten. I turned to her and saw that she had tears in her eyes.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

Miss Minutes shook her head. "If you want to meet him, you'll need to hand her over so I can send her back to the TVA."

I was about to lose it, but Loki pulled me to the side.

"You need to go back." He sighed, a look of sadness washing over his face.

Did I hear that correctly?

"What?" I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Look, if you go back now, you can make sure nothing happens to Linda. As much as I trust Mobius, he isn't the best fighter. And once Renslayer knows we escaped the Void, she'll go after them."

He was right, but...

"Just promise me you won't disappear again." I blinked back tears.

"I'll try my best." He combed a stray hair piece of hair behind my ear.

I hugged him, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time.

He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Wear the necklace. Don't take any chances."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. I couldn't afford to get my mind wiped again. The necklace worked for Linda, so it should work for me.

~~~Sylvie's pov~~~

Catherine walked up to Miss Minutes as a time door opened up.

"That's it? You're just going to let her go?" I asked quietly in disbelief.

I saw how close the two were. They were married, for Odin's sake! So why was he letting her go that easily?

They must have come up with a plan. That's the only explanation.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

Seeing Catherine go back to the TVA was hard, but if she didn't, Linda could be in danger.

"Now that she's gone, we can discuss our deal." Miss Minutes started. "As I said before, the two of you can be put into a timeline where you get what you've always wanted."

I rolled my eyes. "And what have we always wanted?"

"Now, don't play coy with me, mister. You know how you got into this mess."

"What?" I was genuinely curious. If her answer was saving my daughter from being killed, then I would be impressed.

"The Battle of New York, silly." She answered confidently.

Nope. Wrong.

"You versus those self-righteous Avengers. How would you like to win? But not just there. You can kill Thanos. You want the Infinity Gauntlet? Yours! Throne of Asgard? No problem."

Let's weigh my options, shall we?

Beat the Avengers? No. I never wanted to win. I was being brainwashed.

Kill Thanos? I would love to. Not only did he torment me, but he also threatened to kill Catherine, who was pregnant with Linda at the time, unless I gave up the Tesseract.

Infinity Gauntlet? No, thank you. I'm pretty sure it would kill me after one use. 

Throne of Asgard? What's the point? Surtur will destroy Asgard regardless. That apocalypse theory was tested and proved.

The clock continued. "What about you, missy? All those years on the run. Desperate, alone. How would you like to wake up tomorrow with just a lifetime of happy memories?" She turned her attention to Sylvie.

She didn't seem to be buying it.

"What about Catherine?" I asked. "Would she be in my timeline?"

This would be the dealbreaker.

"Of course not. You only met her after you lost the battle, and you yourself became an Avenger."

Yeah, no. Not happening.

"No. We write our own destinies now." Sylvie made up her mind.

"Oh, sure you do. Good luck with that." Miss Minutes said before disappearing.

Linda was 100% right to be scared of her.