((AN: Sorry for any typos. I read this three times to try get them out but I could have missed some. Probably did.
This has spoilers for episode four.))
"That's what I'd like to do. Just riding around on my jet ski," Mobius said. He knew what was going to happen. He had seen it happen to other people. Nothing he said was going to change his fate. It was too late for that.
He knew that this was it, but for a moment, he felt something that was close to happiness. The thought that some version of him could have been happy. Truly happy. No, not just some version of himself, actually him before he had been taken.
Maybe the reason he loved jet skis as much as he did was because once he had one. It could have been a simple pleasure. After a long exhausting day of work, he could have gone out and rode his jet ski on the water. The worries and stresses of the day would slip away and all there would be was him, the jet ski, and the water. Nothing else. And everything would be good for a short time.
When he closed his eyes, he could almost smell the sea and feel the salt water and wind against his skin. He could almost hear the seagulls' cry and the waves crashing against the shores.
Happiness. That was what his earlier version must have felt. Simple joy.
Wanting to ride a jet ski was a simple dream, but he didn't care. Maybe simple joys were what made most people's lives and truly brought joy to them. Yes, the big events were sure to be important, but they were rare and far between. Life couldn't only be about them.
"Prune him," Ravonna, his friend, said without any regret in her voice. She was determined like she always was. She didn't hesitate to order his death. Mobius didn't resent her for this. Even now, he couldn't do that. She had been his friend and his coworker here at the TVA and he understood how much the TVA meant to her. Everything.
This would be it for Mobius. He would be gone like so many of the variants he had helped capture.
Like he was.
Pain. Pain worse than you could ever imagine. Pain that Mobius would never have been able to describe in a million years. It was a way it was like he was being torn apart, but even that wasn't right.
Pain.
The sound of the birds and the waves faded away and soon all he heard was Loki's heavy pained breathing. He would probably be pruned soon too. Soon even the sound of Loki's breathing had faded away.
There was nothing.
Nothing.
But then he heard a familiar sound. A sound that he had always loved, probably even before his memory had been wiped. Waves. Maybe he was imagining it again. Could you imagine things when you were dead? Maybe there was something after death despite everything. Maybe.
The waves seemed to be getting louder. And then Mobius felt something. Water. It crashed into his side, getting him wet. This couldn't be real. He was dead. But then another wave crashed against him, putting him backward. Some of the water even got up his nose. The sensation was unpleasant, and he wanted it out.
But it wasn't foreign. It was as if this had happened to him in the past. The sensation would fade.
Wake up. He had to wake up. He thought opening his eyes would be hard. That they would be heavy and maybe even feel like they were fused shut.
But no. It was easy.
And that was when Mobius saw where he was.
A beach.
Not just any beach. The most beautiful one that he had ever imagined. The water was so blue that he was sure if he was out on a boat or rather a jet ski that he would be able to look down and see fish swimming. The beach's sand was sugar white and warm to the touch of his skin. Nothing like the kind of sand that was course, rough, and got everywhere. No, this sand was different.
Off in the distance there were boats floating on the water. One looked like it could have been the glass bottom boat. The ones where you could look down and see fish and the coral reefs. The ones that let you see all the ocean's beautiful secrets.
And then he saw him, someone was zooming toward the shore. On a jet ski. For a moment, Mobius couldn't breathe. The jet ski glided over the water, just like he had always imagined it would. No, not just like he always imagined. Better. He couldn't make out the man's face yet, but he could only imagine the joy that had to be on it.
Just watching the jet ski made Mobius happy.
The man riding it parked it at the dock, which was just beautiful as everything else at this beach and then came over to Mobius.
"You're here," the man said. Even though he didn't look much like Mobius with his surfer blond hair and his tan, for some reason, he reminded Mobius of himself. Maybe it was just because they both appreciated the greatness of jet skis.
Or maybe Mobius used to be more like him.
"Your jet ski. It's amazing," Mobius said, and it was. He could even tell by here. He had seen pictures of jet skis and this one looked like a model from the 2020s. He could imagine how it would feel driving it on the water.
However, Mobius knew that he would love just about any jet ski.
"It is," the man said. "But it's not my jet ski."
"It's not?" Mobius asked confused. He had been driving it like it was his. Even from the shore, he could see that this man had experience with jet skis. That he was confident using them. And that he also loved them. He probably had his own somewhere. "You're good at using it."
"Yes, and I have some. But this one isn't mine," he said.
"Then whose is it?" Mobius asked, even though maybe it didn't matter. It wasn't like he was going to know the person. None of this even made sense. He had been pruned. He shouldn't be here on this beautiful beach.
Everything should have been over for him.
But then the man said the most beautiful words. Beautiful and confusing. At first Mobius wondered if he had heard them wrong.
"It's your jet ski," he said.
At first all Mobius could do was stare at him. These were words he had imagined people telling him before. They were words, he knew that he would never actually hear, at least not regarding him.
But now there were out. They were real. He wasn't imagining this.
"What?" Mobius barely managed to get out.
"Your jet ski," he repeated. "We've been watching it for you, but this one is yours." And with that, the man tossed Mobius a set of keys. The keys had a little jet ski keychain on them as well as a dolphin.
"I've never been on one before," Mobius said, feeling the keys in his hands. It felt natural and right. Like he was meant to be holding them.
Maybe that he had even done this before in his forgotten past.
"Yes, you have," the man said. "You're a master with jet skis. You know everything about them and are great at driving them."
Beautiful words. Beautiful. Mobius couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he knew that it was true. His fascination of jet skis hadn't been random. He had one in the past. Maybe more than one and he was sure that he had spent weekends on it.
"I know you have forgotten, but it will come to you naturally," the man said and Mobius believed every word.
He smiled and nodded. He and the man walked over onto the dock. Mobius couldn't help but grin as he got closer to the jet ski. As soon as he was close enough to touch it, he did. Touching it… he could almost see himself on the water. Past memories wanting to come back to him. He could almost see himself with friends out on the water driving their jet skis. He also could feel the water against his skin.
Soon it would all be real.
"This… wow…" Mobius couldn't help but say. He fell to his knees in front of jet ski almost as if being near it was a religious experience. Right now, it felt like it might be. Jet skiing was part of him and now he would have it back.
Maybe one day the memories would even return.
"Yes, wow." The man said as he put his hand on Mobius's shoulder. "It's time. It's time."
Mobius nodded and stood up. In just a few minutes he would be on the jet ski, flying over the water. He knew that he would experience wonderful joy and fun.
"Thank you, Loki," Mobius muttered to himself. Because despite his many flaws and the horrible things he had done over the years, this wouldn't have happened if not for the trickster god.
And now Mobius would be on his jet ski soon, and he knew that actual driving on it would be better than he had ever imagined. He would always be thankful to Loki for this which probably would be a small thing to him.
But meant so much more to Mobius.