The Before [Prequel- Part 1]

Aunt Jemma's Advice

~~~Linda's pov~~~

I ran to Kasius' level of the Lighthouse as fast as I possibly could, my heart beating out of my chest.

I needed to make sure they made it back to 2018.

When I was only a few feet away from the room where I knew the monolith was, I ran into Aunt Jemma. Literally.

She was running towards the Crater while I was going in the opposite direction, so naturally, we collided.

"Aunt Jemma, I am so sorry." I apologized, extending my hand to help her off the ground from her fallen position.

"That's alright." She assured me, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up. "How are you so strong?"

I shrugged. "I'm the daughter of a witch and a god. What? Did you expect me to be weak?" I raised a brow playfully.

"Well, when you put it that way, it makes more sense. What are you doing here?" She asked me, dusting off her clothes. "How are you here? Voss said you were on the surface and that he killed you!"

Oh, yeah... I forgot about that...

"Well, funny story." I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "When I was taken down to the Kree levels six years ago, I sent a duplicate of myself to the surface. That way I could monitor what Voss was doing. When he began plotting to kill you guys, I tried to stop him, but he ended up killing my double." I explained, knowing full well how confusing it sounded. "How did Deke take the news?"

She stood there, wide-eyed for a moment before snapping out of it and responding. "Not great. He chose to keep Voss alive though, if that's any comfort. But where are Cat and Ben? Are they with you?" She questioned, noting the two absences.

I shook my head. "Cat's on the upper levels with her dad. I'm just helping with the evacuation and making sure you guys get back to 2018. I mean, my future kind of depends on it."

"Oh, well, we're heading back now. I'm just going to find Mack and Yo-Yo. Everyone else is ready to go. Your parents included." She nodded and I remembered what was supposed to happen next.

"Great. Um, and if you're looking for Mack and Yo-Yo, you should check the Crater. If my parents' stories were right, they should be in there." I explained, hoping that I just saved her some search time. "If you're all good, I'll head up to the upper levels and continue to help with the evacuation." As I turned to leave, she grabbed my wrist, stopping me before I could so much as take a step.

I looked back at her, perplexed. What was she doing?

"Linda, wait." She sighed. "I know you said you couldn't see your parents because it would mess with the flow of time, but I really think you should."

That was what this was about?

I shook my head, tears pricking my eyes. "I can't. Look, it's been twenty years. I've accepted that this is how it has to be."

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to see them, especially my dad. You have no idea how much. But it's not possible.

It's not possible...

"According to who?"

Um, the TVA? Or He Who Remains. Whatever.

"It's not healthy to do this to yourself. You haven't seen your parents in over two decades. And now you have the chance to see them again. If you don't take that chance, you'll end up regretting it. Just give yourself some closure."

Closure? Yeah, like any of my childhood trauma got any closure.

The thought was laughable.

But maybe this could be my chance to finally break that cycle... To see them both again after what happened.

"But they can't know who I am-" I tried to protest, but she interrupted me, not taking no for an answer.

"Then don't tell them. They don't need to know." She grabbed my hands to emphasize her statement.

And that was it. She convinced me.

"Okay, I will." I nodded tearfully. "Thank you so much, Aunt Jemma."

"I'm glad I could help." She smiled and gave me a small hug. "And I can't wait to meet you in a few months."

I let out a small laugh, knowing that it would be much more than just a few months. More like four years. But she couldn't know that yet. "Just prepare yourself. I'm quite a handful."

"With parents like yours, I have no doubt." She laughed as well. "I mean, you're the daughter of the God of Mischief. Speaking of which, since you are his daughter, do you have a goddess title or something like that? I'm honestly not sure how that works."

"I do." I nodded. "I'm the Goddess of Chaos and Tricks. Although, I'm also known as the Emerald Witch, depending on who you ask."

My goddess title was something I got because I was my father's daughter. The 'Emerald Witch' thing was in honor of my mom, the Raven Witch.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. You're right, you will be quite the handful."

"Yep." I smiled. "Okay, you should get going if you're going to find Mack and Yo-Yo before the monolith opens.

"Alright. Good Luck." She smiled and ran off to the arena.

A million things should have been going through my head at that moment, but only one thought rang out prominently in my mind.

I was going to see my parents again.