"I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times." Loki grumbled as he stood up. "You. You conniving, craven, pathetic worm. You did this. Right?"

Mobius emerged from the Time Door. "What are you doing?"

"Passing the time."

"Do you care about this Variant?" Mobius asked.

"Sylvie?" Loki said snarkily. "I'm not sure if 'care' is quite the right word. I think we've covered this back in-"

"Shhh, shhh. Just shut up." Mobius said. "Do you really think you deserve to be alone?"

Loki said nothing.

"Loki!" Mobius urged.

"You told me to shut up." Loki said.

"Do you really believe you deserve to be alone?"

"I don't know."

"Well you'd better figure it out quick, because the nexus event the two of you caused, whatever that connection is, can bring this whole place down. So we better understand."

"We?" Loki questioned.

Mobius closed his eyes and breathed. "Do you swear she didn't implant those memories in Hunter C-20?"

"Mobius, no. I believe her." Loki said.

"So I just have to trust the word of two Lokis?"

"How about the word of a friend?"

Mobius nodded. "You were right, about the TVA. You were right from the beginning. And if you want to save her, you need to trust me. Can we do that?"

Loki nodded. "Yes."

"Okay." Mobius said. "You could be whoever, whatever you want to be. Even someone good...I mean, just in case anyone ever told you different."

Loki smirked and followed Mobius through the Time Door.

When the two emerged in the Time Theater they were greeted by a squad of four Minuteman along with Judge Renslayer.

"I think you have something of mine." She said.

"Yeah," Mobius said in an upbeat manner as he reached into his pockets. "I got all the way down there before I even realized I picked up yours."

Hunter D-90 took the Tempad from Mobius's hands, returning it to Renslayer.

"What's going on?" Mobius asked innocently. "What's the problem, Ravonna."

Renslayer and everyone else remained silent. The room felt charged with tension.

Mobius sighed as he realized the charade was over. "You know where I'd go if I could go anywhere?" A hint of humanity gleamed behind Ravonna's eyes. "Wherever it is I'm really from. And wherever I had a life before the TVA came along. Maybe I had a jet ski. That's what I'd like to do."

D-19 engaged his Timestick.

"Just riding around on my jet ski." Mobius finished.

"Prune him." Renslayer said.

D-19 jammed the Timestick into Mobius's chest. The former TVA agent grunted as he was slowly pulverized into nothing but sparks. Loki gasped in horror as his friend was obliterated.

The Minutemen grabbed him. Renslayer moved out of their way as they brought Loki to the door. He looked at her in disbelief as they took him.

"Wait for me at the elevator." Ravonna ordered.

The Minuteman brought Loki down the hallway to the elevator. Renslayer and Hunter D-90 entered the other Time Theater. Sylvie sat there, at the table. Her hair completely sopping with water.

"Who was in here with her?" Renslayer asked.

"Sorry ma'am." One of the Minutemen outside answered. "Hunter B-15 insisted."

Renslayer turned to D-90. "Put out an alert for Hunter B-15. She too has been compromised by the Variant."

D-90 nodded in confirmation, then proceeded to exit the room.

Renslayer looked back at Sylvie who smiled back upon her glance.

The Minutemen proceeded to walk Sylvie down the hallway.

As they connected with the set of guards that had escorted Loki, Sylvie looked over to him, mouthing the words. "You okay?" He nodded grimly in response.

"I've got them from here." Renslayer stated, holding out her Time Twister. The guards departed shortly afterwards, leaving the two Variants in her care.

They entered the elevator and began to ride it up.

"Do you remember me?" Sylvie asked, breaking the silence.

"I do." Renslayer responded indifferently. 'What do you wish to say to me Variant?"

"What was my nexus event?" She asked. "Why did you bring me in?"

"What does it matter?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"It was enough to take my life from me, lead to all of this." Sylvie said. "Must've been important. So what was it?"

Judge Renslayer pondered for a few moments before her face took on a delightful smile. "I don't remember."

Sylvie's expression shattered as the words reached her. The elevator doors opened.

Loki and Sylvie entered an endless room reflecting endless blue light. There was a narrow platform leading towards a set of stairs. Four guards stood at the corners of the platform, dressed in yellow-sashed decorated officer uniforms different from those of the standard Minutemen ranks. At the top of the stairs sat the three Time Keepers. Three reptilian-bodied figures atop floating thrones.

"Gracious Time Keepers." Renslayer lauded. "As promised, the Variants."

"After all your struggle." The center Keeper spoke. His voice echoed as if reverberating through space itself. "At last you've arrived before us."

"What do you have to say for yourselves before you meet your end, Variants?" The second lizard to the left of the first beckoned.

"Is that the only reason you brought us here?" Loki practically scoffed. "To kill us? I've lost track of the number of times I've been killed, so go ahead. Do your worst."

"You and your bravado are no threat to us, Variant." The Keeper on the right said.

"Oh, no, I don't think you believe that." Sylvie entered the conversation. "I think-"

Sylvie stepped forward and was immediately warped back as Renslayer activated her Time Twister. The Time Keepers smiled in relish.

"...I think you're scared." Sylvie finished.

"No, Variant." The middle Keeper said. "You're nothing but a cosmic disappointment. Delete them."

"No, I'm not done with you yet." Sylvie said approaching them again. Her figure warbled as the Time Twister was activated again, but for whatever reason she wasn't being wound back. Renslayer continued to press the Time Twister but it kept malfunctioning.

The elevator opened up to reveal Hunter B-15, with a Time Twister of her own. Pressing another button on the Twister managed to deactivate the Time Collars on Loki and Sylvie's necks. The guards activated their Time Sticks in preparation for combat.

"For all time." B-15 said. "Always."

From her other hand she tossed Sylvie's machete into the air. The goddess intercepted it.

"Protect the Time Keepers!" Renslayer shouted.

The guards immediately dove into action. One half formed a perimeter in front of the Time Keepers, while the other attacked B-15, knocking the defenseless Hunter unconscious in a moment. At the other end of the platform the two Lokis engaged in melee combat including the other two guards that were finished neutralizing their ally.

"Little help over here." Loki said, attacking two guards at once.

"Here." Sylvie said, tossing Loki the machete.

"Come on." Sylvie beckoned the other guards.

They attacked her at once. She dealt with them easily, neutralizing and disarming the first before stabbing the second with the bladed end of the Timestick.

After dispatching them she turned her attention to Renslayer. The Judge stepped down and kicked up one of the fallen Timesticks to her hand.

"This time..." She said, activating it. "I finish the job."

Renslayer lunged at Sylvie. After a succession of blows Sylvie managed to cut across the sleeve of Renslayer's shirt. The Judge looked up in panic. Sylvie could only produce a sadistic smile.

On Loki's end he managed to dispose of the last guard, sending a blade through his chest. At the same time Sylvie had managed to take down Renslayer, knocking her out with a firm blow to the face.

The two Loki's regrouped in front of the Time Keepers. Loki handed Sylvie her blade back.

"You're a child of the Time Keepers too, Sylvie." One of them said. "We can talk."

"Oh yeah?" Sylvie challenged before taking two steps and lobbing her machete at the Time Keeper, slicing it's head off.

As the head fell from it's body, sparks flew out of it. The other two Time Keepers laughed maniacally before deactivating entirely.

Sylvie bent over to pick up the decapitated head as it rolled down the steps towards her.

"Don't." Loki warned.

She picked it up anyway. Manipulating it in her hands. Looking deeper in the neck appeared to be completely made of circuitry.

"Fake." She said. "Mindless androids."

Loki looked up in disdain. "It never stops." He then scanned all around him. "Then who created the TVA?"

Sylvie thew the head on the ground bitterly. "I thought this was it."

"Sylvie..." Loki began.

"Not another pep talk, please." She said.

"No, I have to tell you something." He said, pausing to process things. "We will figure this out."

"How do you know that." She said.

"Because, uh..." He began. "Well, back on Lamentis...this is new for me. Um..."

"What?" She asked him, halfway from impatience, halfway genuine concern.

Loki didn't speak, instead simpy placing his hands around her.

"What is it?" She asked again.

Loki stared at her but just before he could open his mouth a seed of light sprouted in his chest, rapidly spreading to his entire body. As he faded from existence the open air revealed Judge Renslayer, holding up her Time Stick to where his body used to be.

Sylvie's expression turned from concern to pure contempt. Renslayer attacked her with her Time Stick. Sylvie repelled the blow with ease, snatching the weapon from her hands and knocking her to the floor.

"Go ahead." Renslayer said, a look of dignity remained in her eyes. "Do it."

"No. You're going to tell me..." Sylvie said, pushing the Time Stick closer to her face. "Everything."