Apocalypse

You stumbled out of the Timedoor and you instantly recognised your surroundings; you were back in one of the beige hallways of the TVA. You wanted to berate Loki for recklessly following the Variant but you realised that you had bigger problems on your hands. "She's here," you burst out and Loki gave you a pointed look before nodding gravely. He took your hand and started running down the corridor in strident steps and you barely managed to keep up with his long legs. "Where are we going?" you panted but Loki didn't bother replying and instead pulled you through a door you had never noticed before.

You glanced around the room and rather than being yet another office it seemed to be filled with lockers and cupboards of all sizes. Loki dropped your hand and you watched him open one of the cabinets and pocket two daggers that reminded you strongly of Asgardian weapons. "Our dear enchanted friend took these from me but I believe they might come in handy," he said with a smirk and you laughed at the image of Hunter B-15 taking sharp objects away from Loki.

You followed the demigod down another hallway and you suddenly realised where he was going; the golden elevator leading to the Time-Keeper's chamber was around the corner and surely the Variant's final destination. You turned a corner and just as expected you were faced with the blonde woman in her Asgardian armour and cloak. "You know it's not too late to surrender and forget your little crusade on the TVA," Loki stated casually and you saw her roll her eyes when she noticed your presence.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked and let out an exasperated sigh as Loki pointed his daggers at her. You knew that within the walls of the TVA she wouldn't be able to use her magic but you had noticed the impressive looking sword she was carrying on her back and you were certain she knew how to use it. Suddenly the Variant used a combat roll to get close to you but instead of attacking Loki she drew her weapon and a moment later cold steel touched the fragile skin of your throat.

You could feel yourself quivering and you tried to will your body to stay as still as possible to avoid getting cut by the sharp looking sword. Your back was touching the woman's chest and her voice vibrated through you when she harshly ordered Loki to drop the daggers. When he stared at her in shock and didn't immediately jump to action she pressed the steel edge into your throat and you hissed in pain as the sword broke the skin. Your heart was hammering in your chest and you were terrified for your life as you regarded Loki with a pleading look.

For a long moment he stood still and you felt panic rise in your chest at the thought that he might not care enough about you to comply. He sighed heavily and your body flooded with relief when he bent down to put the daggers on the floor without breaking eye contact with you. The feeling didn't last since you were still being held hostage and the woman slowly started backing away to the elevator with you in tow.

You had to think of a way out of this situation and fast. As you stumbled along your body hit her chest again and you could feel the edge of the TemPad dig into your back. You pretended to lose your footing and as she loosened her grip on the sword to stabilise you you reached into her cloak and quickly grabbed the TemPad. You threw it in Loki's direction and luckily he had decent enough reflexes and managed to catch it instinctively. He grinned at the Variant and asked in a sing-song voice "Shall we trade?" before picking up his daggers from the ground.

The woman growled at him and for a moment you were concerned she would kill you just to spite him but she seemed to realise her disadvantaged position. She didn't let go of you and you could still feel the cold metal against your throat but she started moving towards Loki with an annoyed groan. Once you were close enough she held out her hand but the second she touched the TemPad Loki pressed a button on it and all three of you were thrown through a portal.

You crashed into a building that appeared to be a bunker of some kind and the strange tension in the air told you that you had left the grounds of the TVA. Loki pushed you behind him and brandished his daggers at the woman who was still holding onto her sword and glaring indignantly at him. The TemPad had fallen to the floor in the scuffle and she pounced to pick it up but then screamed in frustration when she realised that its battery had run out.

"You imbecile!" she yelled at Loki and swung her sword wildly in his direction. Before any hits could land the building shook with the impact of something heavy and when you ran outside you saw a small purple meteor on the roof. You looked up and all three of you instantly jumped aside as yet another meteor came crashing down from the sky.

Loki used the commotion to snatch the TemPad out of the woman's hand and when she snarled at him he quickly hid it with magic and gave her a wink. "That thing is useless right now," she growled and your heart sank at her next words, "And you brought us to Lamentis, you absolute clown!" You gasped and a glance around confirmed that she was in fact correct. You had read about Lamentis during your research and you instinctively reached out to hold onto Loki's sleeve.

He raised an eyebrow at you and you took a deep breath before explaining in a trembling voice "It's one of the worst disasters recorded in the history of the Sacred Timeline. No one survives." His eyes widened and he looked over at the Variant who appeared to be impressed at your knowledge of apocalypses. "At least one person who has done their homework," she said with a huff and then turned to regard you with curious eyes, "Who are you anyway?"

You sighed and gave her your name before adding that you would be more than happy to tell her everything once you were not in immediate danger of getting crushed to death. She seemed to see reason in your words and nodded before crossing her arms expectantly. "I'm certain that with two Lokis we will find a way out of this situation," Loki said with a grin but you could hear the undercurrent of anxiety in his voice and you frowned in response. "Don't ever call me that," the woman barked out and it took you a moment to realise what she was referring to.

You focused on keeping your voice gentle and friendly when you asked "If you don't like to be called Loki, what shall we call you instead?" She seemed surprised at your attempt at peace but eventually shrugged and informed you that her name was Sylvie. "A Loki with an alias, how odd," Loki pointed out and you chuckled when she simply told him to please shut up. "What do we do now?" you asked and your question earned you an eye roll and a huff from Sylvie.

"Isn't it obvious? We need to find a power source for the TemPad."