Loki: The Series

Chapter 2: Free Will

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"Been a long journey for you, hasn't it?" Kang said, pointing at Sylvie. "A lot of running, lot of pain." He looked to Loki. "And you, you're a flea on the back of a dragon. In for one hell of a ride. But you did manage to hang on. I'm sure that counts for something."

Then he looked to (Y/n). "Hunter Y-00. Fierce, loyal, dedicated. You did some good work at the TVA, didn't you? And now here you are, once again caught in the middle of the messes made by not one, but two Lokis."

Loki glared at Kang. "Her name is (Y/n). And I'm not sure you quite understand the situation. You lost. We found you."

Kang looked at him, unbothered. "Duh. Of course you did."

Sylvie lunged forward, trying to kill him again, but he teleported away, sitting on the back of his chair.

"Woo! Swing and a miss." He laughed. "We're still doing this?"

Sylvie growled in frustration.

"Okay, let's get this all out of the way." Kang pulled out a folder from his desk and opened it, pulling a piece of paper out. "You can't kill me because, I already know what's going to happen."

Loki, (Y/n), and Sylvie all looked at the paper and saw the conversation they had just been having all written down.

Loki scoffed. "It's a parlor trick."

"Okay. Don't you wonder how I'm able to get out of the way just before you kill me?" Kang asked.

"It's because of that TemPad you have." (Y/n) said.

Kang nodded. "Right. But how do I already have it loaded up with everything I need to know to keep from being killed by you three? It's easy. I know it all. And I've seen it all. Everything you guys did on Lamentis, I saw. All the stuff the TVA didn't know about, I knew. All the scheming, all the t-t-t-talking. All the romance." He looked between (Y/n) and Loki who shifted uncomfortably. "Quite sentimental, very touching stuff, by the way. I'd love to see where you take her on your first date."

Sylvie was still in denial. "No. No we broke out of your little game. That's how we got here."

Kang shook his head. "No. Wrong. Every step you took to get here, Lamentis, the Void, I paved the road. You...you just walked down it. And I have the rest, uh, right here."

He picked up a stack of papers and plopped them down on the desk. "Everything that's going to happen. There's only one way this can go."

(Y/n) looked up at him with annoyance. "Then why the hell are we here?"

"Oh come on. You know you can't get to the end until you've been changed by the journey. This stuff, it needs to happen. To get us all on the right mindset to finish the quest."

"Right..." Loki said.

"Right."

"So it's all a game. It's all...a manipulation."

Kang raised his brows. "Interesting, that your head would go to that. Sylvie, (Y/n)! You think you can trust this guy?"

"Don't listen to him." Loki wanted.

"'Don't listen to him.' Sylvie, do you think you're capable of trusting anyone at all?" He asked.

...

"I think people are ready to here the truth now. You know, that it's all a lie." Mobius suggested.

"But what if it's a necessary one?" Renslayer replied, sounding a little desperate. "Someone created the Time Keepers. They created this whole place. They gave us all purpose. I have to believe they have a reason."

Mobius shook his head. "No. Because I've seen the horror waiting for people when they get pruned and there's nothing necessary about that."

"You know what would happen if we didn't prune the Timeline?"

"What?"

"Chaos. Death."

"Free will?"

Renslayer scoffed. "Free will? Only one person gets free will. The one in charge."

"Friends across time, allies to the end." Mobius quoted.

"Shut up."

"That was so beautiful. And then you sent me to die. What happened to you?"

"Nothing Mobius. I didn't change." Renslayer said.

Mobius looked at her with disbelief. "You didn't change? You betrayed me."

"No, no! You betrayed me!" She snapped. "I looked out for you, hung my neck out for you, and you suffer a crisis of faith and turn to those Variants? Eons of friendship. And you threw it all away on a couple of Lokis. No, Mobius, I didn't betray you."

Mobius sighed. "We can't take away people's free will, Ravonna. Do you not see that?"

Renslayer pulled out her TemPad and opened a door.

"What are you doing?"

"What I need to do."

"Wait, stop. Look, maybe we can rebuild this into something better together." Mobius suggested.

Renslayer shook her head. "I'm sorry Mobius."

Mobius activated the prince stick. "I'm not going to let you go."

"Please, Mobius. Even with that...you're no danger to me."

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that." Mobius challenged.

He stepped forward to try and prune her, but she easily disarmed him and kicked him to the ground.

"Yep, you were right." Mobius groaned. "Back here again."

Renslayer held the prune stick and pointed it at Mobius.

"Go ahead." He told her.

She stared at him for a moment before lowering the prune stick and turned it off. She turned back to her desk and grabbed her bag.

"Where are you gonna go?" Mobius asked her.

She glanced at him. "In search of free will." She responded before walking through the door, it disappearing behind her.

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