ABANDONED SETTLEMENT - LAMENTIS-1 - 2077

"Well, isn't this lovely."

Loki said wryly, glancing round at the run-down buildings, mostly metallic shacks and trailers, smoke coming from some of them from meteors crashing into the structures. Ruri rolled her eyes, looking back at Loki as he trailed behind her.

"If I had known we were seeing Lamentis-1's must see sights, I would've brought a camera." Loki continued, hands in his trouser pockets as he let out a sigh. Ruri stopped in her tracks, whirling round to look at the God, eyes narrowed.

"Will you shut up?" She snapped, shaking her head. "Make yourself useful and look for something that looks like it has power and could charge the TemPad." She ordered him, tone holding no room for argument as Loki raised a brow.

"You're not very fun." Loki muttered. "Taking all the joy out of an end of the world experience." He said lowly, tone wry.

Loki was not known for being serious. And it was clearly showing. Even now, when they were stranded on a doomed moon, he was still making comments, trying to get a reaction from the woman. And it was working.

Ruri once more rounded on the God, anger evident on her features. "Apologies if I'm not running around, shouting from the rooftops how 'fun' this all is-" She began, voice raised. "Some of us have to stay focused, we can't all just- Breeze through life and stop to smell the roses-" Her eyes flickered over Loki, his brows raising in surprise at her outburst. "Also I've spent years of my life in these hellholes, so pardon me if I am not exactly being joyous and enthusiastic about possibly dying here."

God, he really is... so... Stupid.

"So, if you'd rather stay here, enjoy the ambience-" She said sarcastically. "Be my guest. Give me the TemPad and I'll get myself off this rock."

Loki lowered his gaze, a sheepish expression appearing on his face at her words. She was right. It was hardly a time to make jokes. Their lives hung on the line, and in a way... It was his fault. He sent them there. And she had lived a good chunk of her life experiencing the horrors of dying worlds, and he had made a joke about their surroundings...

Idiot.

"Okay- Alright-" Loki sighed, moving his hands to his hips, looking back up at her. "You're right." He gave a curt nod. He watched as Ruri's jaw seemed to relax slightly, glare softening. They held each others gazes for a moment longer, before the woman turned round once more, continuing on.

Loki moved to follow, eyes once more scanning the buildings, spotting something glowing in the window of a nearby trailer. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he turned to walk towards it. It was a neon sign. But it had power.

Bingo.

"What about this?" Loki called over his shoulder to Ruri.

Ruri sighed, turning back to see Loki looking at a neon sign, as she realised he was serious.

He thinks that could charge an inter-dimensional time-hopping device?

He wants fun. I'll show him fun.

Ruri quickly moved towards the God, seeing him turn to look at her as she approached, a hopeful glint in his eye. "Maybe." She said lowly, moving up the ramp to get closer to the light. "If we can reroute the power into the TemPad through its intricate wiring system-" She rambled, knowing it would make little to no sense to Loki. "-then maybe it could give us just enough juice to get off this rock." She glanced back at Loki over her shoulder.

"And you thought I was useless?" Loki said with a faint smirk.

"I never said that."

"No, but it was implied."

"I mean..."

"So, we can use it, yes? Reroute the... power through the er- thing-" Loki spoke with his hand, brows furrowed, clearly clueless on what she had just said. Ruri stood back up straight, turning fully to face him as he stood at the bottom of the ramp. Ruri let out a short laugh, making Loki blink in confusion.

"No, you idiot." She said in amusement, smirking, striding back down the ramp. "We cannot charge the TemPad with a nightlight." She raised a brow, tilting her head faintly. "Maybe leave the tech stuff to me, yeah?" She said, tone condescending but playful as she patted his arm patronisingly before walking past him. "You're right. That was fun."

She is so...

Loki closed his eyes, jaw tightening as he let out an exasperating sigh. He looked over to see her walking ahead, shaking his head before following after her. "Very funny." Loki called dryly after her.

"I thought so." Her voice called back cheerfully to him.

"Make you feel better?" Loki asked, raising a brow. "Patronising a God?" Ruri spun round, looking at him as she walked backwards.

"Actually, yes. Yes it did." She mused, smile tugging at her lips. Loki couldn't help but feel his own lips quirk faintly, reluctant amusement entering his blue eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Loki shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Simple minds only seek simple joys I suppose." His voice held a hint of his own condescending tone. Ruri simply shook her head, rolling her eyes playfully before turning back round to look ahead.

Ruri spotted a trailer up ahead, a light seemingly on inside. She narrowed her eyes, beginning to head towards the steps. Her hand swiftly moved to the hilt of her dagger in her holster, gripping it tightly, pulling it from its seethe. She knew people could be... unpredictable when it was the end of the world.

Maybe someone is home.

"Let me do the talking." Ruri told Loki, beginning to ascend the small number of steps. "People tend to not like you when you open your mouth." She commented, a hint of a smirk on her lips. Loki rolled his eyes, following her. As they reached the small platform near the door, Ruri felt a hand grab her arm, stopping her as she turned to look at Loki.

"It could be dangerous." He said lowly, keeping his gaze on hers. "We don't know who is in there and you're not exactly the most charming person-" Ruri let out an exasperated groan. "And you're holding a dagger." Loki added, nodding towards the weapon in her hand, raising a brow.

"I have been on my own for years, dealt with many dangerous people and situations-" Ruri told him lowly, pursing her lips, chin raising slightly in defiance. "I think I can handle it." She gently shoved his hand from her arm, turning away to head to the door.

Loki opened his mouth to say something, hand raised awkwardly in the air, before he glanced down.

This isn't going to go well.

Just as Ruri was moving to knock on the door, Loki peered inside through the grubby window, noticing a photo of an older couple sat on a nearby table. An idea struck.

Time to 'make myself useful'.

Loki's form shimmered into the man from the photo, as Ruri turned at the sound of his magic, instantly looking irritated. "What are you doing?!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes as the door opened. But Loki didn't listen, simply stepping in front of the now open door, making Ruri step back. He could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of his head.

In the doorway stood the woman from the photograph, a large gun-looking weapon in her hand, aimed towards them, eyes narrowed. However, as she saw Loki disguised as someone clearly she knew, her eyes widened.

"Patrice?" The woman's voice asked, surprise clear in her voice. Loki, still as the old man, gave an emotional nod, hands clasped in front of him.

"It's... been a long time." Loki sniffled, playing the part.

Oh, for Gods sake.

Ruri shook her head, a hand moving to rest on her hip, unimpressed at Loki's 'tactical' move. They had no idea who this woman was, who the man he was disguised was, and he was seemingly just hoping he could play it off and get her to trust him.

"You're as beautiful as-" Loki continued, voice soft and weary, but before he could finish his sentence, a blast of energy suddenly knocked him off his feet, his facade shimmering away, sending him flying into the air before landing hard on the gravel below. Ruri couldn't help but let out an amused huff.

I know I keep saying it... but... what an idiot.

"Nice shot." Ruri looked at the woman, nodding, a pleased smirk on her lips.

"Patrice never said anything that nice to me in thirty years." The woman stepped closer to the doorway, her eyes flickering between the pair suspiciously. Ruri instantly took a small step back, holding her hands up slightly placatingly.

"If it's any consolation, I enjoyed that." Ruri said wryly, nodding towards Loki who was just sitting up, grimacing as he ran a hand through his hair. "I may need to get myself one of those." Ruri thought out loud, eyeing the weapon in the woman's hands.

"What do you want?" The woman clearly was not in the mood for idle chat, and Ruri couldn't blame her.

"Right, yes-" Ruri cleared her throat, putting away her dagger. "Is there anything nearby that has power? Like- A lot of power?" She asked, raising her brows. "We need a source that could charge something rather..." She paused, biting her lower lip briefly. "Big." She landed on, sighing.

The woman paused, eyeing Ruri before speaking. "There's a city not far. Shuroo." She told her lowly. "They'll have something. It's got enough power to send the Ark to space, so it'll charge something big." Ruri furrowed her brows, hearing Loki's shoes on the gravel approaching the bottom of the steps, breathing slightly heavier than normal from being winded on impact.

"The Ark?" Ruri asked, tilting her head.

"The evacuation shuttle." The woman said, furrowing her own brows. It was clear the pair weren't from around there. "There's a station on the outskirts of the town-" She nodded towards the direction. "Train goes directly there. But you'll never get a ticket."

Ruri glanced back at Loki, both of their expressions shifting into ones of determination.

"Then we have a train to catch."

Loki cracked his neck, jaw tightening as he held out a pained breath. That blast had caught him off guard. He really thought his plan would work. He heard Ruri snicker beside him, his gaze glancing down at her, eyes narrowed.

"Go on, laugh it up." He huffed, moving to adjust the collar of his jacket. They were heading through the settlement towards the station the woman had mentioned, meteors falling in the distance, quiet booms sounding through the place.

"And you were worried about me." She scoffed, shaking her head in amusement.

"I was not worried." Loki quickly said, brows creasing.

"Uh huh."

"I just wanted to save you the embarrassment-"

"You mean by embarrassing yourself?"

Vexing woman.

Loki sighed, turning his gaze ahead once more, deciding not to respond. He could practically feel the woman's amused smirk.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Ruri continued, shrugging. "Like I said, you're just a bit rusty-"

"I am not rusty!" Loki huffed, head snapping to look down at her, seeing the pleased look on her face that she had managed to get under his skin. Loki shook his head, pursing his lips. "You're rather annoying. If I do know you in the future, I expect I loathe you." He muttered grumbly, rolling his shoulders to loosen them.

Ruri couldn't help but let out a quiet scoff.

If only you knew.

"Such a strong word." She mused, raising a brow. "Come on, I'm a little bit endearing." She looked up at him, tilting her head. "Just admit it." She paused, smirking. "You find me entertaining at least."

"As entertaining as watching paint dry." Loki quipped back, making Ruri roll her eyes. "I mean, you've pointed my dagger at my throat multiple times, shouted at me, ordered me about, won't tell me who you are to me-" He listed off as Ruri pursed her lips.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." She waved a hand flippantly. "I'm 'prickly', like you said." She sighed, glancing back at their surroundings, seeing the station in the distance. A few moments of silence passed between them.

Loki's gaze flickered down to the woman walking beside him, quietly observing her, studying her features. There was a lingering sadness in her eyes, despite their usual hardened appearance. He wondered what she was like before she was on the run from the TVA. Whether she was lighter in spirit, not so defensive and angry. He supposed she had hardened over spending time jumping from one apocalyptic world to another. She probably had to.

And she was a magic wielder. That interested him greatly. It was rare for him to come across another who possessed such power. The only other person was his mother. Loki's own expression softened at the memory of Frigga, a flicker of sadness passing over him. He'd never see her again. Not if the TVA was right in that he couldn't return to his timeline.

And if he couldn't return to his timeline... Then he wouldn't know who this Ruri was. Well, at least not in the way she seemingly knew him before all this mess. But there would be time for answers later. Now they had to focus on getting board the train, making it to Shuroo and charging the TemPad.

And overthrowing the Time Keepers, of course.