Loki waits a week before returning to the archive, hoping he has waited long enough as to not attract attention. He is nervous- this is the day he has decided to ask them about their thoughts on the escape plan he and Mobius have made. When he enters, he finds Ayshi already there, sitting at the desk.
"Is Mobius here?" he asks.
Ayshi shakes their head, "No. He sent for me and then had to go back to work. He actually did give me an assignment today, and it is related to a case of his. So at least I have a better cover."
"Ah. Where are the others?"
"In the other room," they answer.
"May I go back?" he asks.
"I think so. Let me check." Ayshi steps into the work room and he can hear them asking their peers about his visit. They walk back to the doorway and wave him over.
"Will you stay with us a moment?" he asks Ayshi, "There's something I need to talk to all of you about."
Ayshi nods and follows him into the work room. The others stop to greet him and he smiles back.
"Loki says he has something he needs to tell us," Ayshi says.
"Oh?" Cyd asks, is this a good something or a bad something?"
Loki sighs, "I don't really know how to answer that."
"Well," Tam says, "just tell us and we'll decide that for ourselves."
"Mobius and I had a conversation a week ago. The day after...well, after we all mourned Judith together. I asked him a question- what would happen if the powers-that-be discovered you all knew who you were, that you knew your names and nexus events? And neither of us were sure of your safety. I'm worried about you. I don't want to wake up one morning to discover you're gone," Loki replies, kneading his palms, anxious to hear their responses.
Tam nods, "I've wondered the same thing. How long before they decide what Judith knew was enough to damage the rest of us. But I don't know how to escape whatever fate they'd decide for us."
Iris pales and Cyd slides their chair beside Iris to make sure they don't fall from their own seat if they faint, "But it feels like we just started really living," Iris says.
Cyd hugs their friend, "I know. And it feels incredible to know what we were capable of. But this is where we are now. I guess we just have to hope they don't think we're a threat."
Ayshi rests their hand on Loki's shoulder and he gently removes it, "Loki...do you think it's likely they will?"
"After what Judith did? I'm scared. If they know you know your stories, will they think you would try the same thing as she did? If they discover music in the archives, will they think the same thing is going to happen? That you will repeat her actions and be a destructive force, all four of you together? I can't find reassurance in any of this. I hope I'm wrong. I don't know how to find that hope, though."
Tam's face is grim, "So what do we do?"
Loki's shoulders droop, "There's only one place I know that the TVA doesn't dare to reach and it's not a place I want to have to take any of you."
"Where?" Cyd asks.
"Where you were," Tam says to Loki, "The Void at the end of time."
Iris gasps, their hands flying to their lips, "No. Not there."
"I'm afraid that yes, it is there," Loki replies, "It's the only place we could conceive of, outside of hiding apocalypses like Sylvie did. And while the Void is merciless and dangerous, it is survivable. And perhaps while there we could enchant the creature Alioth and once again venture to the Citadel at it's centre. Maybe we can better understand why the TVA does what it does. Or at least make ourselves a bargain with whichever iteration of He Who Remains is living in it and find a home for ourselves."
Ayshi shakes their head, "I don't understand. How could anybody make a difference with him at this point? He reset all of us. Or something. But whatever happened there the last time you went, it brought this version of the TVA, one in which none of us really know anyone and things are harsher than before. How can we trust that won't happen again?"
Loki shrugs, "We can't. But we also don't plan on killing the person in the Citadel at this point, either. Maybe that's the difference. Or maybe we'll end up living at the end of time. But so long as we have a guarantee of our survival, we could also come back here. We'll take a TemPad so we know we can come back."
"This really is the only way, isn't it?" Iris whispers, "We can't escape who we are and what they might do."
"Mobius is keeping his ear to the ground for anything that could indicate action on the part of the powers-that-be, but that's the only chance we have of knowing for certain what might happen to you," Loki says.
"You'd be coming with us?" Cyd asks.
"Yes. And so would Mobius. And possibly one other friend, if they can still be trusted."
"What would we expect when we got there," asks Tam.
"Alioth will be alerted to your presence. You will have to run like the devil is on your heels. Mobius found a car last time and was able to rescue Sylvie with it. I don't know how we will do so this time, but I don't want to risk your deaths. But it still might happen. We don't know if you will all land in the same place. But we're going to try to time it so it happens when an analyst is pruning a timeline so there will be something far bigger to attract Alioth's attention than the few of us."
"So we risk death either way," Cyd says. "Sounds like this is basically one of the 'is it better the devil you know' kind of deals, but at the same time, one is almost definitely certain and the other is only mostly certain."
"How are those measures much different?" Ayshi asks, "We know if they think we'll be like Judith, they'll prune us. If they don't, they might leave us alone. But we can't know until it's too late. And if they do, we'll end up facing Alioth anyway. So we can do it when we're unprepared, or we can do it when we've had the chance to plan for it and figured out what we're going to need to bring through with us."
"We could steal things," Iris says, "Little things that could make our lives there easier. Weapons. Spare clothes. Maybe even food. And we can plan for how we're going to find one another."
"If we find one another," Cyd says, "And that's a big 'if.'"
"It is," Loki admits, "But I wouldn't ask this of you unless I thought it necessary."
"And it will be," Mobius says, startling Loki as he comes in from behind, "The word on the ground is that the powers-that-be are nervous about the archivists. They think Judith might have inspired you to rebellion because they think you know too much. There's talk of resetting you, just like they did the rest of the TVA, or there's talk of just pruning you and finding others that can do this job."
"Well then I guess it's decided for us," Cyd says, "We choose whether we die in Alioth's mouth when they decide or we claim our fate and do it ourselves."
"How much time do we have?" Ayshi asks.
"I don't know. But it sounded like it might not be long," Mobius answers.
Iris nods, "Then we have our mission. Judith was the one who sneaked the best, but I think I can manage to steal food. Ayshi, can you find a way to get an extra set of clothes for yourself?"
"Easily. Everything we wear looks the same. It won't be hard to make something disappear."
"And Cyd," Iris continues, "Can you find a way to steal knives?"
"Maybe. I know someone in the kitchen. I can probably find a way."
"I'll help with that," Mobius says. "And Hunter B-15's in, too. She's going to get us the pruning wands and arm up, too."
"Tam," Iris says, "I need you to find a medical kit. And I'm going to find a way to steal at least a few somethings we can eat before we figure out how to hunt."
Ayshi goes to the work station and fiddles around with something under the counter, "I think I also have something that can help us."
"Oh?" Iris asks.
Ayshi pops open a secret compartment in the counter, and cautiously picks up a hand gun, "I found this under the desk a few days ago, back by the wall. There was a stack of papers blocking it from view. It must've been Judith's."
The room falls silent for a moment; Loki breaks the silence, "Do you know if it's loaded?"
"No. I have no idea how to even check that."
Mobius walks to the counter and reaches for it, "May I?" Ayshi nods. He inspects it, "Yeah, it's loaded. We should fix that. We don't need anybody getting shot on accident. Got a bag I can put this all in?" He ejects the clip and sets it back in the compartment. Cyd brings over a cloth bag and he carefully wraps the gun in it and the clip, "We won't be able to reload, but there's at least a few shots in there. We'll save it for if we really need it."
"Will it work against Alioth?" Ayshi asks.
"No," Loki replies, "We saw an entire battleship fire their guns at it and it did nothing."
Iris looks crestfallen, "I hate this. But I also don't want them to choose for me." They look to Mobius, "What will it be like when we're pruned?"
"Well it doesn't feel pleasant," Mobius replies. "It's a burning sensation that spreads out from where it touches you. It's not the worst pain I've ever felt, but it does hurt. But at least it's fast."
"It's also disorienting," Loki says. "When you wake, you might not know where you are. It may take a moment to remember. But do, and move fast. If you encounter anyone else, you might or might not be able to trust them. If it's a child with an alligator, tell him you're with me. That you're with the Loki who came before with Mobius and Sylvie. He might help you, if he is the same child I knew then."
"Who else can we trust?" Cyd asks.
"No one, that I knew. There is a large man with a hammer who is a variant of Loki and he may betray you, even if he seems kind. Tell him you need to find your friends and he may help you stay safe for a while, but be on your guard. If you see a man who looks like me, but wearing green, and with a band of marauders, don't trust him. Don't allow him to take you anywhere but to safety and don't go in any shelter with him. I don't trust him to not try to harm you. And if you encounter anyone in cars, they may be intent on hunting you. If it isn't Mobius or myself or Hunter B-15 driving, run and find a place to hide."
"I'm scared," Iris says, "But we have a plan. Steal what you can. And Mobius, if you hear anything about the immediacy of this...call Ayshi here and join us as soon as you can. We'll smuggle out what we can steal a little at a time. There are plenty of places to hide things in the archives."
Loki opens his arms to all of them, "Thank you so much for trusting me with this."
Ayshi steps in for a hug and the others soon join, Loki gesturing for Mobius to take part in the moment as well, "Of course we trust you," Ayshi says, "We're family."
Loki's heart soars with that single, simple declaration. He might not have a family on Asgard anymore, nor might he have anyone to call him family in his obliterated timeline, but there is something deeply comforting that he is worthy of being trusted.
"You can't trust, and I can't be trusted," still regularly haunts his memories and his dreams; he holds his friends as tightly as he can, "Thank you. I promise you- I'll do everything I can to earn that trust and to keep it."
"We know," Cyd says, "And that's why we're going to do this. Together."
When they step back from their embrace, Iris clears their throat and says, "Well...you have your missions. Let's do what we can as we go through our today. We have to move fast, so steal what you can, smuggle what we already have, and let's try to get out of here alive."
At that, Loki leaves the archives to determine what it is he can contribute to the cause. His TemPad is the first thought that comes to mind. The rest...the rest he can conjure once they get there, if need be.