Summary:

Part 1:

And when their eyes met the world as they knew it, the whole multiverse, everything and all life in all universes seemed to stand still.

"At some point you have to ask yourself what it is that you really want"

And then the moment was over.

And hope was pushed away by bittersweet realization.

Part 2:

His gaze roamed over to Sylvie and Mobius, one eyebrow raised.

"Is this a family drama, Thor?"

"Well, truthfully.." Thor started.

"Do me a favour, Loki, and stop stalking me."

Her words echoed in his mind over and over like a merry-go-round and every time they cut a little deeper, making the wound even bigger.

The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. He had convinced himself that all he wanted was to make sure that she was okay, that she had the life she always wanted.

The life she deserved..

"I want a life..I want to live."

His last words had hurt her, he knew it. Had seen it in her eyes, in the way her lips moved, her body tensed up..heard it in her voice.

Loki thought about the moment that had led to this.

The moment when she had mentioned their kiss, the moment she had told him that it wasn't her only intention to distract him with it. In this moment something had started to burn inside him again. A flame that hadn't been visible, but had always been there all the same.

He had felt the irrepressible urge to know it. Know why she had done it.. had to hear it out of her own mouth.

Had to know what it meant to her.

It had been the first time that they spoke about it at all and when she mentioned it, there was that hunger again, that need he had buried deep inside himself and he couldn't, no, he wouldn't let her get away with excuses.

And so he did the one thing that he never thought he would do, something that had never come to his mind before.

He let go of them all..

"Because you're holding the branches of the whole multiverse in your very hands.."

The moment it happened was so surreal that they both could just look at the moving timelines before their eyes.

The branches didn't die.

And for one tiny moment there was hope.

Hope that they could live without him.

Hope that he could climb down this throne.

Hope that he could take the woman he loved in his arms..

..and never let her go again.

And when their eyes met the world as they knew it, the whole multiverse, everything and all life in all universes seemed to stand still.

"At some point you have to ask yourself what it is that you really want"

And then the moment was over.

And hope was pushed away by bittersweet realization. For some reason Sylvies words came to his mind. The words she had said to Miss Minutes when they walked into the citadel..her answer to the deal she had offered them.

Everything that they ever wanted..

Everything they ever craved..

And they could have it all together.

Sylvies answer to that had been realism in its purest form..words so real, so true, yet so hard to speak out loud considering all they could take, all that had been within their reach.

"That is fiction"

Quite similar to the words he had said to Mobius when the analyst had confronted him with his deepest fears. The fear to face his feelings, the fear to hurt her.

But also the irrational fear of happiness.

And that they should try..

Try to get him out of there.

"But for me, in this equation..it's all fiction. I'll stay here because I have to."

There it was..

It was fiction.

Before his eyes the god remembered everything that had happened from the moment she came here, the moment she stood before him again. The pure joy and excitement to see her had turned into relief. Relief, that he was still a part of their lives, a part of his friends lives.

A part of her life.

The serious tone that had followed, her burning questions, listening to her talk about how she felt..it had all been necessary. Never had come to his mind that it could have been this hard and hurtful for her that he had made the decision to step outside to destroy and replace the loom, alone.

Mobius had been right after all.

It was about time they spoke about it, spoke about what had happened between them. Verbalise all the pain and anger and frustration, everything that they hadn't had the time and space to reflect on.

It had never occured to him that Sylvie might want to talk about them so badly.

She had been so angry and he, for his part, had been so unsure.

And then within a heartbeat all the cards were on the table.

Even though she still couldn't speak it out loud, what some part of him had always felt intuitively had proven to be true.

Their kiss had meant something to her.

It hadn't just been a distraction.

And then, as fast as it happened, that moment was over again.

They wouldn't let him leave..

That was what he had signed for, the sacrifice he had made.

How ridiculous his characteristic words felt in retrospect. Everything he thought he had wanted his whole life, what he thought it would mean..the sentence he had said over and over again like a manta.

"..and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

How naive he had been, blinded by false perceptions, misled by fantasies about grandeur and purpose. Never could he have comprehended what it really meant.

"You just choose your burden."

They were all right and they all were wrong, nevertheless. Mobius, Frigga, the being that had spoken to him. He had put it on himself, burdened himself with something that was so much bigger than everything he could have ever fantasized about.

And the most ironic thing was that he didn't want it anymore.

He didn't choose it..

But it had chosen him.

They had chosen him..

"Can't you see that this is bigger than our experience."

How ironic the words he had told Sylvie in the citadel now sounded in his mind.

Because it was exactly like that.

This here was so much bigger than everything else..

Therefore they all were right and they all were wrong, nevertheless.

Because they didn't know what it meant, couldn't feel what he felt, weren't connected with the branches like he was. The moment after he had destroyed the loom, when they were all dying before his eyes, he had felt that connection for the very first time..had felt that they needed him, heard all the pain and the despair through all the universes..

And at this point it wasn't even a conscious decision anymore.

He just knew it..

Felt intuitively that he had to save them. And so he had put all his energy, all his life, all his seiðr in them.

And this process couldn't be undone.

They were a part of him and he was a part of them. As unfair and bittersweet as it might be, he had made this decision. And for the very first time in his whole life he couldn't, no, he didn't want to run away from that responsibility.

Because if he did, what had all that been for?

And besides that, it just wasn't possible..

That realization hit him hard again the moment the branches forced Sylvie to the ground, when she tried to reach him.

The illusion was over.

And now he was the one who had to speak out the hard truth.

He was the one who had to be realistic about it.

"It's okay and it doesn't matter anymore..things are how they are."

Speaking those words out loud was as if he pushed his own dagger deep into his heart and Sylvies face and reaction did the rest, turned the dagger painfully around, was the final straw for him.

She didn't understand it and he told her what he had seen.

The kiss with Valkyrie..

The moment he had mentioned it he saw it before his eyes again and the pain inside himself grew even bigger. But at the same time he witnessed how happy she looked, how at peace.

Everything in her life had been hard.

Now she had the possibility to find true happiness.

And who was he to stand in her way..

He mad his position clear but her reaction shattered everything inside him, nonetheless.

"Do me a favour, Loki, and stop stalking me"

And then she was gone..

Deep in thought Loki let the branch slide through his fingers. It was the only thing that he did, didn't look inside. He forced himself not to look.

For her..

And for his own peace of mind..

If something like that was possible for him at all.

Loki held the branch in his hand like it was the most precious thing that he had ever possessed and would ever possess.

She would understand it.

Like he had to understand it.

And so he banished the flame deep inside himself again. He couldn't blow it out, no matter how hard he tried, but maybe it would abate through time and die out in the end.

He wished he could believe it..

"I want a life..I want to live"

Unwilling and against everything that he wanted he let go of the branch that felt so right and so good in his hand..releasing it back to the other ones and the emptiness that came with it slowly filled every cell of him.

Something wet ran down his cheek.

A single tear..

"177 a Bleecker Street"

"And this is where one of the biggest sorcerers of this universe lives?"

Sylvies sceptical tone came with an even more sceptical expression, while her eyes roamed over the old building in New York.

Thor just grinned and began to knock at the door, "This here truly brings back old memories," he said and looked at Sylvie, "the last time I was here, Loki and I were in search of Odin."

Sylvie smiled back at him while Mobius nervously shifted from one foot to the other. The enchantress turned around to the analyst.

"What's the matter?"

"Over the eons we dealt with several variants of Stephen Strange," Mobius started, "how should I put this..not all of them were 'good' sorcerers."

He made inverted commas with his fingers while he said the word 'good'.

Sylvie responded to his statement with an eye-roll, "Let me guess..you got rid of them discreetly?"

"One of them almost got rid of me," Mobius answered and thinking of it seemed to unsettle the analyst.

"Do not worry Agent Mobius," Thor started and placed a gentle hand on the other mans shoulder, "this one here is a friend."

Thor knocked again, this time with even more force.

"Hm, that's unusual.."

"Shouldn't he have already seen us?" Sylvie asked, "after all you told us about his powers?"

Thor slowly began to open the door a crack, "The last time he did. Before I could even take a step inside he already teleported me there. He also knew that Loki was on earth."

The three of them exchanged glances, before Sylvie took matters into her own hands and opened the door. She rushed past Thor and directly into the Sanctum Sanctorum.

But the scenery they found inside could only be described as bizarre.

The huge stairway in the middle of the vast hall and all the walls and pillars where covered with thick layers of dust, as if no one had been here for a very long time.

"Hello?!"

Sylvies loud voice echoed through the room and back from the walls, but no one answered.

"Is there someone?!"

Slowly and cautiously Mobius moved beside the goddess, "Not so loud Sylvie..we don't want to.."

"..wake up the dead?" she finished his sentence, "since when are you such a chicken, Mobius? We have witnessed the end of all worlds together and recently you just stumbled into a war zone."

He just grinned and nudged the blonde woman slightly into the side, his tone still nervous, "Well, maybe that's because I'm the only one here who isn't endued with superpowers."

Thor went to the big wooden stairway, swiped with two fingers over the handrail and held them up, showing the dust to Sylvie and Mobius. The enchantress grinned, as she remembered something.

"Now THAT brings back memories.."

The god of thunder took a few steps, trying to see something on the upper floor.

"Sorcerer Stephen Strange, can you hear us?"

All of a sudden yellow sparks emerged beside them, which made Mobius jump immediately. Within a few seconds the sparks changed into a big circle of light.

A portal..

..from which someone stepped out.

"He can't hear you, because he's not here."

The man who just emerged in front of them was obviously of Asian origin. He was dressed in a robe made of cloth and leather, which looked like some kind of combat gear. His brows were knitted and his expression could be described as sceptical, to put it mildly.

"Thor Odinson"

When he looked at the Asgardian, his gaze seemed to get even more suspicious. He clenched his hands behind his back and turned to look at Sylvie and Mobius.

"I don't know either of you."

"I'm Agent Mobius, we want to.." the analyst started in obedience, but was interrupted by Sylvie immediately.

"Who are you anyway?!" the enchantress asked provocative, her eyes bore into the others, her arms crossed before her chest.

"I'm Wong, Sorcerer Supreme and protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum, as long as Stephen Strange is..absent."

His voice was powerful and clear but the pause at the end of his sentence made Sylvie suspicious.

"Where is he then?"

Wong held her gaze, unyielding, "We don't know that..but back to you.."

"Sylvie," she simply stated and the tension that filled the room now was almost palpable.

With her strong presence and determination, Sylvie could manage to make someone feel really uncomfortable within the blink of an eye. But at least externally Wong didn't let anything show. Despite his grim expression and the obvious irritation concerning Strange, this man seemed to be very self-contained and calm.

Thor now moved beside Sylvie and placed a hand on her shoulder, "These two belong with me, Mister Wong."

The Asian didn't seem to be the sort of person who gets easily overflowed with joy, but the statement from the thunderer raised a slight, but visible smile from him.

"Thor Odinson, I remember something that Strange said to me once while I was protecting the Sanctum Sanatorum for him before.."

His smile grew even a little bigger, "I try to quote him..'And no matter what you do, Wong, don't let yourself get involved in one of Thor Odinsons family dramas."

His gaze roamed over to Sylvie and Mobius, one eyebrow raised.

"Is this a family drama, Thor?"

"Well, truthfully.." Thor started.

"It's about the multiverse!" Sylvie blurted out.

Wongs eyes widened at that and for a moment the grim stoic in his face seemed to vanish.

"How do you know about the multiverse?"

Mobius took a deep breath because of Sylvies rash briskness, "I'm afraid that's a really long story.."

Wrong also crossed his arms before his chest now, an expression of deep mistrust on his face, obviously waiting for more explanation.

So Mobius continued, "We were searching for someone who can open interdimensional portals and we thought Stephen Strange could help us with that."

But that, too, didn't seem to be enough for Wong. He stood there like a statue, calm but relentless, at any time ready to fulfill his duty to protect this place against all enemies.

Mobius took another deep breath and continued, "We can't quite assess the urgency of this issue yet. But it is possible that the existence how we know it, this new multiverse..could be in danger."

Wong looked at the trio for another long moment without saying anything, his face unreadable.

When Mobius already relinquished his hopes that they could get any answers or help here, the black-haired man made a vast move with his hand and the yellow lights from before began to emerge before their eyes.

The circle of light opened again and on the other side they could see something that looked like an Asian castle.

Wong went through it and waved at them to follow him.

"Strange can't travel the multiverse..but I know someone who can."

Hey y'all,

I'm so sorry that this took such a long time now.

I hope there are people who are still reading my story, though. And I hope you like the chapter! For me it was necessary to get Lokis POV after his last talk with Sylvie. And I'm also sorry that Strange isn't there at the moment, but our trio will get help nevertheless ;)

Please read and leave a review if you have some time - it means everything to me =)

Have a great time and stay save!

The Enchantress