August 17 - Explanations (BtVS/Loki)
Title: Explanations
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Loki
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,100
Summary: In which explanations are made, and some interesting ramifications occur.
It had been a long time since she had been mothered.
After the most amazing shower known to man - seriously, when one does not have hot running water for an extended amount of time, it is incredible how divine a real shower felt - Buffy found herself curled up on a surprisingly comfortable leather couch, surrounded by a blanket so soft she could not believe it existed.
Or maybe it was the lack of luxury she had dealt with that made everything feel so amazing.
Either way, she could not ignore the pang in her heart as Wong came over and adjusted the blanket, making sure it was not slipping onto the ground. With his other hand, he reached over to offer her a mug.
“Here,” he said with a small smile. “It has little marshmallows.”
She gave him a smile as she blinked back sudden tears, missing her mother so much in that moment. To have someone fretting about the smallest of things, truly worrying about her well-being, giving her hot chocolate with marshmallows…Buffy felt human for the first time in years.
Even if this world was almost as overwhelming as the Void.
Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, she closed her eyes briefly at the flavor she had not indulged in years. Taking a minute to collect herself, she glanced over at her companions. Kid Loki was sitting in a leather chair of his own, calmly sipping from a juice box. Somehow, Dr. Strange and Wong had managed to conjure up a little pool for Alligator Loki, who snoozed peacefully in it. That was enough to get a small smile from her and she said, “Okay. Let me get this straight. It’s currently 2024, the world is still recovering from a 5 year ‘blip’, where half the people on the planet disappeared and reappeared, superheroes are a thing, and you guys were recently multi-verse hopping because of an evil witch.”
Wong, Dr. Strange, and America contemplated that for a moment before America twisted her lips slightly as she tilted her head and nodded. “Yeah. That pretty much covers it. Well, the multi-verse hopping part I know for sure, the other part I’m still a little fuzzy over.”
“Yes, that covers it pretty well,” Dr. Strange interjected before Buffy could respond. “And this didn’t happen in the Void?”
Sharing a glance with Kid Loki, Buffy shook her head. “Time didn’t really have meaning there. I mean, time passed, days passed, but nobody really aged in the Void. Nothing really changed. New pruned people, buildings, things would appear, but time was meaningless.”
“And the multiverse - “ America started hesitantly.
“Didn’t exist,” Kid Loki cut-off and all eyes swiveled to him. “Everything existed on the Sacred Timeline. And when something happened that deviated from that timeline, it was pruned and time was reset.”
“When you say pruned, you mean erased?” Wong asked, arms crossed in growing anger.
Buffy tilted her head and nodded after a moment. “That’s probably a good way to explain it. Everything about the you in that moment, every decision you made that led to the deviation, just gone. Sent to be judged, and then sent to the Void. And then the TVA forced the time to once again move back to the Sacred Timeline.”
“That, in a way, all makes sense,” Dr. Strange said absently, looking over all their heads as he lapsed into silence, clearly putting together more pieces in his head. Shaking his thoughts away, he looked back at them and said, “But how does the multiverse fit in to all this? According to the Sacred Timeline, the multiverse shouldn’t exist.”
Kid Loki and Buffy exchanged a look before she admitted reluctantly, “I think Loki - another Loki - and Sylvie - a female Loki - kinda…sorta…broke it.”
Dr. Strange and Wong shared a sigh, with Dr. Strange muttering under his breath, “Of course they did.”
“I don’t know how,” Buffy admitted. “They were going to go back to find the end of the Timeline. I guess they did. And when they did…maybe that’s when the multiverse was created. People and events started branching off at different points in the timeline and bam! Mess of timelines.”
Silence fell between all of them, as they contemplated all of the many possibilities. Finally, Dr. Strange stood up. “This bears a great deal of research. Even with recent events, we know far too little about the multiverse, and I fear we will need to know a lot more in the coming days.”
“That sounds like another way of saying holing up in the library for research, and that means I am out. I know its important, but I need to sleep. For like, a week. Do you have a place we can crash until we can figure out what to do next?”
Wong nodded. “Of course. There are plenty of beds here. We can talk more later.”
Buffy smiled up at him, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. “Thank you. I haven’t slept in a real bed in what feels like eons and I am ready for a good night…well, days sleep.”
*******
Light was just filtering into the kitchen as Dawn shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, the smell of coffee leading her to her destination. She absently reached into the upper cabinet and grabbed a mug, filling it with the caffeine goodness as she blearily looked around, a little surprised to see Willow and Buffy up so early.
“How are you conscious before noon?” Dawn rasped as she sat next to Buffy, grabbing a muffin from the basket in the middle of the table. “That raid last night was brutal.”
“The Scythe activated last night, during the raid,” Buffy explained, drinking out of her own coffee mug. “There’s a new Slayer in the New York area. Willow and I were just trying to figure out if we had anyone there right now, or if we needed to make a trip.”
Dawn perked up. “Can I come? New York has the best museums.”
“How are we related?” Buffy said dryly. “Yeah, when we get our team together, you can come with. We’re just going to see if any our international allies want to take a visit to the States, since us visiting New York gives them the perfect excuse to fly in.”
“Great!” Dawn chirped, turning her attention away from them and to her phone, pulling up the local news. Buffy or Willow would give her the details later. For now, she focused on her coffee and waiting for the caffeine high to kick in.
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Loki
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,100
Summary: In which explanations are made, and some interesting ramifications occur.
It had been a long time since she had been mothered.
After the most amazing shower known to man - seriously, when one does not have hot running water for an extended amount of time, it is incredible how divine a real shower felt - Buffy found herself curled up on a surprisingly comfortable leather couch, surrounded by a blanket so soft she could not believe it existed.
Or maybe it was the lack of luxury she had dealt with that made everything feel so amazing.
Either way, she could not ignore the pang in her heart as Wong came over and adjusted the blanket, making sure it was not slipping onto the ground. With his other hand, he reached over to offer her a mug.
“Here,” he said with a small smile. “It has little marshmallows.”
She gave him a smile as she blinked back sudden tears, missing her mother so much in that moment. To have someone fretting about the smallest of things, truly worrying about her well-being, giving her hot chocolate with marshmallows…Buffy felt human for the first time in years.
Even if this world was almost as overwhelming as the Void.
Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, she closed her eyes briefly at the flavor she had not indulged in years. Taking a minute to collect herself, she glanced over at her companions. Kid Loki was sitting in a leather chair of his own, calmly sipping from a juice box. Somehow, Dr. Strange and Wong had managed to conjure up a little pool for Alligator Loki, who snoozed peacefully in it. That was enough to get a small smile from her and she said, “Okay. Let me get this straight. It’s currently 2024, the world is still recovering from a 5 year ‘blip’, where half the people on the planet disappeared and reappeared, superheroes are a thing, and you guys were recently multi-verse hopping because of an evil witch.”
Wong, Dr. Strange, and America contemplated that for a moment before America twisted her lips slightly as she tilted her head and nodded. “Yeah. That pretty much covers it. Well, the multi-verse hopping part I know for sure, the other part I’m still a little fuzzy over.”
“Yes, that covers it pretty well,” Dr. Strange interjected before Buffy could respond. “And this didn’t happen in the Void?”
Sharing a glance with Kid Loki, Buffy shook her head. “Time didn’t really have meaning there. I mean, time passed, days passed, but nobody really aged in the Void. Nothing really changed. New pruned people, buildings, things would appear, but time was meaningless.”
“And the multiverse - “ America started hesitantly.
“Didn’t exist,” Kid Loki cut-off and all eyes swiveled to him. “Everything existed on the Sacred Timeline. And when something happened that deviated from that timeline, it was pruned and time was reset.”
“When you say pruned, you mean erased?” Wong asked, arms crossed in growing anger.
Buffy tilted her head and nodded after a moment. “That’s probably a good way to explain it. Everything about the you in that moment, every decision you made that led to the deviation, just gone. Sent to be judged, and then sent to the Void. And then the TVA forced the time to once again move back to the Sacred Timeline.”
“That, in a way, all makes sense,” Dr. Strange said absently, looking over all their heads as he lapsed into silence, clearly putting together more pieces in his head. Shaking his thoughts away, he looked back at them and said, “But how does the multiverse fit in to all this? According to the Sacred Timeline, the multiverse shouldn’t exist.”
Kid Loki and Buffy exchanged a look before she admitted reluctantly, “I think Loki - another Loki - and Sylvie - a female Loki - kinda…sorta…broke it.”
Dr. Strange and Wong shared a sigh, with Dr. Strange muttering under his breath, “Of course they did.”
“I don’t know how,” Buffy admitted. “They were going to go back to find the end of the Timeline. I guess they did. And when they did…maybe that’s when the multiverse was created. People and events started branching off at different points in the timeline and bam! Mess of timelines.”
Silence fell between all of them, as they contemplated all of the many possibilities. Finally, Dr. Strange stood up. “This bears a great deal of research. Even with recent events, we know far too little about the multiverse, and I fear we will need to know a lot more in the coming days.”
“That sounds like another way of saying holing up in the library for research, and that means I am out. I know its important, but I need to sleep. For like, a week. Do you have a place we can crash until we can figure out what to do next?”
Wong nodded. “Of course. There are plenty of beds here. We can talk more later.”
Buffy smiled up at him, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. “Thank you. I haven’t slept in a real bed in what feels like eons and I am ready for a good night…well, days sleep.”
*******
Light was just filtering into the kitchen as Dawn shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, the smell of coffee leading her to her destination. She absently reached into the upper cabinet and grabbed a mug, filling it with the caffeine goodness as she blearily looked around, a little surprised to see Willow and Buffy up so early.
“How are you conscious before noon?” Dawn rasped as she sat next to Buffy, grabbing a muffin from the basket in the middle of the table. “That raid last night was brutal.”
“The Scythe activated last night, during the raid,” Buffy explained, drinking out of her own coffee mug. “There’s a new Slayer in the New York area. Willow and I were just trying to figure out if we had anyone there right now, or if we needed to make a trip.”
Dawn perked up. “Can I come? New York has the best museums.”
“How are we related?” Buffy said dryly. “Yeah, when we get our team together, you can come with. We’re just going to see if any our international allies want to take a visit to the States, since us visiting New York gives them the perfect excuse to fly in.”
“Great!” Dawn chirped, turning her attention away from them and to her phone, pulling up the local news. Buffy or Willow would give her the details later. For now, she focused on her coffee and waiting for the caffeine high to kick in.