Loki couldn't pinpoint when the mission had gone so wrong.

Perhaps when they'd all decided to split up, separating him and Mobius from the highly trained—and very dangerous—minute men. Or maybe the fault was in Loki's mere presence on the field. Their most recent target had some sort of vendetta against him.

Even though Loki had never seen the being before in his life.

Accursed future timelines.

While going on missions with Mobius always proved to be entertaining—a good distraction from the fact that he was currently trapped in the TVA—they often plagued Loki with an odd sort of depression, of mourning. Especially missions that took them into the future, so to speak.

He found himself missing something he'd never had; the life he'd never had a chance to experience.

Loki banished the dismal thoughts from his mind, choosing to focus on their present situation. There's absolutely no time for such foolishness.

Whatever variable had shoved the mission off kilter, it would remain unknown. And that was fine. Loki didn't have the mental capacity to dwell on it, anyway.

They were cornered now. The bloodthirsty Variant had chased them to the edge of a very high, very rocky cliff.

Loki's heart rate began to climb as he risked a glance over the edge.

Oh, Norns.

It was a long way down.

A sudden, breathy curse sounded to his right and Loki turned his attention to Mobius… without looking like he was turning his attention to Mobius. Of course. The Variant was watching closely, after all.

"Do you trust me?"

Something in Loki twisted then because he wanted so desperately to say yes. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Loki!" The tension drenching Mobius' tone reminded him that the Variant was drawing closer by the second.

"Fine!" He hissed, but he couldn't bring himself to say those three heavy words. I trust you.

Mobius nodded before turning around and facing the Variant head on. For his part, Loki worked on trying not to look behind him.

Mobius had the situation under control. I'm sure.

They were not going to fall.

Not again.

Fighting back wasn't an option yet. There was a reason this particular Variant was marked as extremely dangerous by the TVA. Not yet, anyway. Loki had his fingers at the ready, though, prepared to conjure up his daggers at a moment's notice.

They were running out of time, and either Mobius had some sort of brilliant plan cooked up in his mind, or he was the single bravest man in the universe.

Come on, come on! With each quick step, the Variant came closer and closer to shoving them off the edge.

Loki tensed, bracing himself to the inevitable. Notagainnotagainnotagain—

"Now, hold on!" Mobius called out, adding to the panicked chaos swirling around in Loki's mind. "Wait a minute! Just… wait."

Perhaps it was the draining effects of the chase finally catching up to him, or maybe it was simply the natural calming effect of Mobius' voice, but the Variant actually slowed his advances.

"Okay," Mobius sighed. "That's better. Now, maybe we can talk this out—come to an agreement."

The Variant snarled, readying his weapon, but said nothing.

He's quite cooperative, I'll give him that, came Loki's sardonic thought.

"Something you want for something we want," Mobius continued.

He was stalling. For what, exactly, Loki didn't know. Backup, perhaps, though they had lost track of the minute men sometime ago.

An idea, then? That was a plausible explanation.

Whatever you're waiting for, Mobius, it had better come to you soon.

Another scathing snarl filled the air as the Variant jabbed his weapon toward Loki. "Him! I want him. Or, rather,"—And the villainous grin that stretched his lips sent shivers down Loki's spine—"his head. On a spike."

When the Variant took another step forward, all of Loki's instincts told him to get back, get back! As his foot met nothing but air, his fingers scrambled for purchase, latching onto Mobius' arm at the last possible second.

His lifeline tensed slightly and Loki risked a glance his way. Mobius' brain was working overtime now, the much was clear. Good.

Please, have a plan. Please, tell me you have a plan!

"Who?" the agent said at last, his tone taking on an easygoing rhythm. "Him? He's just a harmless variant. What'd he ever do to you?"

"More than you can imagine."

"Really? Because I can imagine quite a bit." Mobius shrugged. "Well, if those are your terms, come and get him, then."

What?

Time seemed to slow, though there wasn't a time displacement collar in sight. Letting go of Mobius in his shock proved to be Loki's first mistake. The second his fingers slid off the fabric, Mobius reached out.

Then, he gave Loki a hard shove backward.

"Mobius, what—?" Solid ground made room for a thick layer of air, through which Loki plummeted faster than he could move his mouth.

He wanted to call out, to beg Mobius to save him. But he just couldn't.

Mobius—!

The feeling of falling immediately brought him back to his descent into the Void. Darkness. Pain. Panic. Uncertainty.

Despair.

He couldn't go through it all again.

Not again. Please, not—!

The fall was over before it had truly begun, but to Loki, it had lasted a lifetime.

Pain shot through his back as he collided with the floor and Loki heard someone cry out. What little he saw of the room looked vaguely familiar, but he didn't let his eyes roam, choosing instead to snap them tightly shut.

Because if he couldn't see the Void, then maybe it wouldn't actually be there. Maybe it would go away, vanish into thin air and leave him alone.

Alone! Leave me alone!

Curling into a sitting position, Loki squeezed his lids tighter as he pulled his legs close and wrapped his arms around them.

He thought he heard voices, the whispered beckonings of his tormentors calling out his name.

"Are you lost, little prince?"

"Fallen far from home, have we?"

"Don't worry, worthless child, we will take good care of you here…"

Or, perhaps it was only his imagination.

Why was it always just his imagination these days?

Still, Loki wasn't feeling brave enough to take any chances. So, he focused on breathing; on filling his screaming lungs. An erratic pulse and a handful of strangled gasps was all he received for his efforts.

When a hand clapped his shoulder and Loki nearly bit his tongue in half to keep from crying out.

He should've known… He should've known Thanos would find him. It was only a matter of time.

"If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you."

Chills wracked his frame. Stop—!

"You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."

He had failed. He'd failed and now he was going to pay for it. And if he knew Thanos, atonement would cost him dearly.

"Loki?"

The cautious voice of Mobius was not what he'd been expecting. Confusion clouded his mind. He couldn't think—and still couldn't breathe—nor could he find it in him to move.

"Loki!" The hand was shaking him now, jarring his shoulder until he was certain it would fall off completely. "Come on, it's okay. He's gone now."

Who…?

The question was the driving force that made him open his eyes. Just a crack, at first. Then he caught sight of Mobius' concerned face and forced his lids open the rest of the way.

"There," Mobius sighed, sitting back on his heels. "That's better."

"Mobius…?" Loki cast several silent curses upon his voice for quivering.

"Are you all right?"

"Am I…?" Blinking, Loki felt a sudden rage-soaked confusion wash over him. "You… You pushed me!"

"Yeah… Sorry about that. I didn't see any other way out of there."

"So, you decided to shove me off a cliff? Brilliant plan, Mobius. Just brilliant."

"I had a portal open for you," Mobius replied, as if this fact made all the difference. "I knew you would land safely."

"What if I hadn't? Did you ever think of that? What if you'd pushed me just a bit harder and I missed the target entirely?"

"But I didn't."

"Oh!" Loki threw his hand back, gaze lifted to the heavens in exasperation. "And that just makes it all so much better, doesn't it?"

Burying his eyes in his palms steadied him, but only slightly. The world spun so fast, it was a battle just to keep up with it. So, Loki didn't even try. He simply let the current of pain drag him under.

So what if he couldn't breathe? That was fine. Not breathing meant not thinking—and thinking was the last thing he wanted to do. Thinking meant memories, and memories meant pain.

"Loki?"

Go away. Just go away!

Sometimes, this TVA agent reminded Loki of Thor. He was way too persistent.

"Loki, I really am sorry. It all turned out all right in the end, though."

"All right?" Loki gasped, locking eyes with Mobius once again. "All right? What about pushing someone off the edge of a cliff seems all right to you?"

Mobius opened his mouth again, and while he was no doubt trying to convey another apologetic sentiment, Loki couldn't hear him.

His heart pounded loud in his ears as his throat constricted. No…

"I can't—" Another strangled gasp sent him clawing at his chest. "Fall… You—You let me fall. You… You made me—Mobius, I can't… Mobius!"

Everything was one big blur of chaos, and yet, amidst this chaos, Loki could feel Mobius' palm press against his chest. It was steady, solid. Grounding.

"All right, you're going to breathe with me now, okay?"

As Loki forced himself to nod, he felt his own hand get taken up and pressed against Mobius' chest.

"Okay, good. Now, inhale…" A shaky breath rattled Loki's chest, but it was a breath nonetheless. "And exhale. Good. Again."

For a solid minute and a half, Loki focused all his attention on breathing. It was only when his lungs no longer screamed for air that his mind began to wander.

The TVA. They were in an empty corridor in the TVA.

Not the Void.

No, they were far from the Void.

He was safe. Safe. Then, why did he still tremble like a frightened child?

When he turned his attention back to Mobius, he was met with a knowing look that dripped with guilt. Good. Let him feel guilty. Let him finally realize what he's done.

"Loki, I… Oh, gosh, how could I forget? Look, I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking." The understatement of the millenium. "I just… Gosh, I'm sorry."

It's all right. The three little words danced on the tip of his tongue, but Loki couldn't bring himself to give them a voice.

Because he wasn't sure if he truly believed them.

"I promise, I'll never do anything like that again. Can you…" A sheepish Mobius rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, I hope you can still trust me with that promise, all things considered…"

Slowly, Loki felt himself nod. He couldn't imagine not trusting Mobius. Perhaps there was a time when this would've been a very foreign concept to the prince.

Loki didn't trust easily. He knew this well. Perhaps it was because he was so untrustworthy himself, so he expected others to act the same way.

But… Well, there was just something about Mobius. Something that made you want to trust him. Always.

And if Mobius said he was sorry, Loki believed him. If Mobius promised he would never do it again, Loki could trust that he wouldn't.

"What—?" Loki cleared his throat, desperate to return to some sort of normalcy after suffering the silence a moment too long. "What happened to the Variant?"

"Oh," Mobius cracked a smile, "that psychopath?" Standing, he offered Loki a hand. "He might've met the wrong end of my pruning stick when he tried to dive off the cliff after you." A wink prompted Loki to accept the offering and clasp his hand against Mobius'. "All part of the plan."

With the agent's help, Loki lifted himself onto shaky legs. "That was quick. Don't you have to, I don't know, reset the sacred timeline, or something?"

"Nah. C-20'll take care of that." Then, Mobius gave Loki's shoulder a light nudge. "Had to make sure you didn't break your neck."

"If I had," Loki said as he straightened his jacket, "I'd blame you."

"Yeah, sure. But you didn't."

"I could've." But all the bite had left his tone. Only a playful camaraderie remained.

"Really, I am sorry."

Loki flashed a slight smile. "I know."

As Mobius returned the gesture, he landed a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Come on. I don't know about you, but field work makes me hungry. Lunch on me?"

"Well, first of all: I'd say it's about dinner time. And second, the commissary serves food for free."

With a laugh, Mobius clapped Loki on the back. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, let's go."

And for the first time since the Void, Loki entertained the idea that he was truly free from Thanos. The TVA sat completely off the grid, far from the mad titan and his wretched children.

Free. He was finally free.

Who knew being a prisoner of these crazy time police could feel so freeing?