Chapter 17

"How can we trust you?" Loki asked, "You are part of the TVA, the people who tried to kill us an hour ago."

"Hey to be fair," Mobius threw his hands up, "I'm not part of the killing team, I'm just your transition advisor and a big admirer of you and your life. I was going to put in a good word for you and ask them to let you two live at the TVA where you can't change anything in the Sacred timeline."

"You're just saying that now because you're stuck here with us," Loki accused.

"It's true," Idunn stated, "I saw it in his mind," she moved her fingers but seemed deep in thought.

"You trust him?" Loki asked her. "He could change his mind in an instant and change the outcome."

"I don't have a choice. I want to know why I came here, I want to remember who I am." They stared at each other for a few minutes. Mobius stared between the two and licked the ice cream he'd gotten when they sat down.

"You, however," she said eventually, "do. You don't have to do this."

Mobius could see Loki's body change as he got angry. Loki placed his hands on Idunn's shoulders and trembled as he spoke, "If you think you are going to do this without me, you're more foolish than I thought."

"I…" she placed a hand on one of his and pried his fingers off her shoulder, trying to calm him.

"You will not be doing this without me." He whispered as he leaned closer resting his forehead against hers.

After a sigh, she pulled away.

"What was that?" he asked quickly, trying to hold on to a lingering thought he had been able to see in her mind.

"You have to stay here," she said and he could feel his magic go away.

"No!" he groaned, feeling that magnetic feeling again.

"I don't want you to get killed by them," she stepped out of his reach.

"Don't do this!" Loki roared, "Idunn! Mobius, don't let her do this."

"What am I supposed to do?" Mobius complained.

"Idunn, Infinity, Yelena Rodgers! Don't do this! You need me."

"I'm going to second that, he is needed for my plan to work," Mobius pointed out.

Idunn snapped her head to Mobius, making him jump slightly.

"Woah," Mobius said with his hands in surrender, "We are not against you, sweetheart."

Her focus stayed on Mobius, and Loki could feel his magic return. He walked closer to Idunn and took her hand.

"I know you're scared," he whispered and kissed her head. "I will be with you all the way." Loki looked over her head at Mobius who was moving his ice cream bowl away and getting ready to leave.

"If you betray us, I will kill you with my bare hands," Loki said to Mobius who nodded with his lips pursed.

"I won't, I have a bone to pick with them too."

Loki let go of Idunn and the three of them gathered closer to set their plan in motion. Idunn took the gadget out of her pocket and started following Mobius's instructions. She opened another portal door and they paused.

"One more thing," Loki said, turned, and kissed Idunn one more time. He kissed her as if he was drowning and she was air. He kissed her until her warmth filled him up again.

"You good?" Mobius asked as he pointed at the portal door.

"Lead the way," Loki stated and took Idunn's hand as Mobius shrugged and walked through the door.

Loki took a deep breath and followed, taking Idunn with him and when they walked through, they were on the bridge in the very center of the TVA as Mobius had promised. He felt a bit drained but not as bad as he felt when they were hit with the void cloud earlier.

In the middle of the bridge that stretched through the length of the TVA City, was the Elevator shaft with the giant statues of the three timekeepers.

"Hey!" they heard someone yell from a distance and they looked around, seeing an agent running their way.

"Here we go," Idunn said and ran to the edge of the bridge jumped onto the railing, and leaped over the side, targeting the statues. Both men ran to the edge to watch her land in the hands of one of the statues.

She stood up and started climbing up the arm. Loki kept an eye on the agent running towards him and Mobius and then looked back at Idunn. She reached the shoulder and clambered over his head, only to jump from this one's shoulder to the next. She slipped and slid halfway down the statue's robe before she reached a gripping point. Loki's heart nearly stopped as she slid down but was relieved when she started moving upward again. The agent reached them and Loki started fighting him, rendering him unconscious swiftly. But by this time a few other agents on other levels had started running towards them. Loki looked up at the second statue just as Idunn reached the face.

Idunn reached for the 'third eye' on the middle statue and used a small dagger to start hacking at the sculpture. She wiggled the blade under the black stone as Mobius had instructed, ignoring the blood dripping down her hands. After a struggle, she felt the blade click in and the stone pop lose. She felt a surge of power run through her as she held the stone between her fingers.

Loki looked on as the stone started smoking. The cloud of smoke became bigger and bigger and surrounded Idunn. It looked almost as if it was drawing into her ears and eyes and nose and mouth until she was completely encircled by the black cloud and it collapsed into itself. Leaving nothing behind.

Idunn was gone.