Across All Time

Chapter 16- You Were Wrong (Loki)

The lights above my head started flickering. I desperately scanned the hallway, even though it was pointless.
"MOBIUS" I screamed, praying he would answer.
He did not respond. Instead, the being I was trying to ignore did.
"Loki Loki Loki," He said while shaking his head. He made a tsk noise like I was a naughty child. My blood boiled. My fists clenched so hard my nails where digging into my palm.
I turned to face him.
He was floating in the middle of the room. A sudden onslaught of wind made his deep purple robes whip around him. On his one side, Sylvie laid splayed out on the ground, unconscious with a large gash on her head.
He Who Remains gave a snort like laugh. It was quick and joyless. "Loki... man, have you been a pain or wha-"
"Where is he!?" I shouted. What little remained of his light expression, or the mask of one, disappeared.
He paused a moment and sighed deeply.
"You know, it's rude to interrupt,"
"You slimy litt-!"
"Uh-uh," he held out one finger and shook it. My rage grew with ever minute he treated me like a child.
"Are we done interrupting now?" He Who Remains asked with a dark glint in his eye.
I clenched my jaw and said nothing.
He Who Remains clasped his hands together.
"Now we can be civilized. I think we both owe each other a few honest words. Your friend is safe, as are all the people here, other then you Lokis," He said, glancing down at Sylvie.
"Get up," he said loudly and sharply to her. She did not respond. He laughed harshly. "I have spent a lot of time watching Lokis, I know of your acting skills. Now get up, or I will be forced to remove you,"
Reluctantly, Sylvie sat up. She refused to make eye contact with me.
"To continue with what I was previously saying, everyone is fine. They are simply in a bit of a 'time out' from time. That way no unnecessary casualties happen. However, since the time out was created by me, it needs me to survive. Therefore, if I am killed, the time out, and everyone in it, is killed. Are we clear?"
I stare at the ground, but nod. He gave himself the best protection he could, now neither Sylvie or I would dare harm him.
"Good," he said staring directly at me. "So, how was our game going before you bluntly broke the rules? I mean, obviously you found who you were looking for eventually," He gestured towards Sylvie, "I guess she wasn't enough though? Because by coming back here, you lost the game. It's time to go back,"
He floated down so that he was on the ground and offered me his hand. "Let's go," he said firmly.
I stared at him, confused.
She
He wasn't talking about Mobius. I glanced at Sylvie just in time to see her pull herself up from the floor and voice her twin puzzlement.
"She? Last time I checked, Mobius went by he/him,"
He Who Remains looked back at Sylvie, eyebrows furrowed.
"Mobius? What about Mobius?"
"He was the one I was searching for," I said. He turned back to look at me.
"No, I'm pretty sure it was Sylvie,"
A large, dangerous smile spread across Sylvie's face as she started laughing. He Who Remains now looked worried.
"You two like each other, or at least Loki... You two kissed! Right in front of me! And... I know all about time. I know what happens. You two are in love. Slyki and all that mushy stuff,"
Sylvie prowled to my side and put her hands on my shoulder.
"Wow, did you hear that Loki?" She said with a shit eating grin. "We're in love. Never mind my wife or your desperate search for Mobius, no because he knows what happens," she let go of me and started laughing again. It was a cackle. It made me feel uneasy, and it was clear that He Who Remains was as well.
"You were wrong," She told him, no longer echoing his words mockingly.
"No I wasn't," he said, panicked "I can't be!"
"Oh let me guess, you don't know how to handle someone telling you you're wrong? Well you are, and while I might not be able to kill you I can rub this in your face like the child I was before I was kidnapped for your sake," Sylvie snarled.
"You don't understand, I'm not wrong. Because if I was wrong then the entire timeline would be completely unstable. As in, preparing for a complete collapse," He faced Sylvie. "Do you know what that means? It's much like like pruning, only it isn't just one branch,"
"It would kill the whole tree," I finished shakily.
Sylvie froze, her smile fading. He Who Remains adopted a neutral expression.
"Nothing has happened yet. Maybe this was a minor enough mistake that nothing will happen, the books will hopefully adapt to this new information... I should get back," He turned to face me. "I'll send you back before I go,"
"No!" I interjected.
"Loki, you know the timeline can't be left alone for long. It will need you again and we're already potentially unstable,"
"Because you're wrong, you're losing your touch," Sylvie said, "Maybe someone needs to take your place?"
He Who Remains laughed. "You would need a whole army to do what I do,"
"You already offered your job to us," I reminded him. I wasn't overly interested in overthrowing him, but I wanted to see where it would go.
"Yes, because you two together are close to how much power is needed, you still might not be enough. And that's just powering it, we need Loki to keep it stable, in place. You know, like what he's trying to run away from doing," He glared at me, "No, I think I should stay in control,"
"Well that's your opinion," Sylvie said darkly. She apparently forgot about what would happen if He Who Remains was killed, because she pulled a dagger from a previously concealed spot. "I disagree,"
"Sylvie, no!" I cried and put my arm out to try and stop her. She pushed past and flung herself at He Who Remains. The fight lasted only a few seconds before she hit the ground once more. He Who Remains looked down at her.
"Don't underestimate me," without looking away from her, he said "For the last time Loki, let's go,"
I felt desperate. I came all this way, how many times have I almost given up before? Then one last idea came to mind.
"You were wrong," I said, a bit quieter then normal.
Now I had he who remains's attention.
"Yes, we've covered this-"
"No, not in that way, what I'm trying to say is you gave me a wrong hint,"
He simply watched me, wearily.
"Well," I continued, "your incorrect hint sabotaged my, er, game. I may not know the rules, but isn't that against them in some way?"
He Who Remains considered this for a moment. Then a small smile spread across his face.
"You know... that's not genius, not even clever. Honestly I expected better, but you do have a point." He pulled back one of the sleeves of his robe to reveal an odd looking watch. He rubbed his forehead while looking at it, then he put his hands up, palms facing me, in a passive defensive gesture.
"I can give you roughly a day. Do you have your temp pad?"
I shook my head.
He sighed. "Of course you don't... here," he pulled a watch out of somewhere in his robe and handed it to me. I inspected it. It was gold and looked very fine. It almost looked like it should be analog, but a a large strip through where the hands would be showed a digital timer. It said 23:30.
"You have twenty three hours, be grateful, that's more then I thought I could give. We'll have to be quick after to get you back in time,"
He glanced around the room before sighing again. "I have to get going,"
"Thank you," I said, surprising myself with how much I meant it.
He smirked wryly, "Don't thank me yet,"
Everyone seemed to be saying that a lot lately.
He Who Remains snapped his fingers. A sound like a pop filled the air. Bea was back, and now she was down on the floor beside Sylvie.
"Stay sharp," He Who Remains teased. Then the air felt electric and he disappeared with the pruning like glitching that he did.
I shuddered, then looked down at the watch in my hand. It now read 23:29. I slipped it into my pocket, and then heard Mobius's voice.