[PSL] time travel, time travel

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin had always known that Lukas would kill him in the end. If not along the way, then surely at the end, once he'd gotten what he wanted out of Martin, whatever that turned out to be. When the Lonely rose up to swallow him, he'd accepted his impending death with ... what?

What did he have left, really? Numbness, mostly. A hallucination of Jon in the Lonely, looking for him, but - but that was impossible, ridiculous. His mind playing cruel tricks. He settled himself down in the frigid surf, knees drawn up close to his chest, unshed tears frozen to his cheeks and lashes.

And then. A door. A door that shouldn't exist, that couldn't exist. That he shouldn't take at all. The Lonely was terrible, yes, but it was quiet, and it was peaceful. Martin was aligned enough with it by now to very nearly enjoy it, in a strange and terrible way. The Spiral would be infinitely worse than this quiet beach.

But ... it was hope, too. In a strange way. Hope enough that Martin found himself turning the door handle and stepping through, leaving the false comfort of the Lonely behind him.

The transition was unpleasant. Long. But Martin couldn't remember it after; he only remembered stumbling out through the door of a supply closet somewhere deep in the Archives, blinking up at the dim bulbs that pretended to be sufficient. What time was it? Had he escaped? Where were Lukas and Elias now?

And where was Jon? ]

Comments

[eyediot]

[He's used to Martin crumbling a bit. Stumbling over himself to apologize, maybe offer to make tea. But no, this time Martin straightened up. He seems more tired and frustrated than usual.

Jon blinks a bit at the affront.]

...Th...The Distortion? [Michael was connected to the Distortion, if not the Distortion himself. He's still reeling from that whole conversation, and now this. But he knows for certain he hadn't mentioned it around any of the rest of the staff.]

How do you know about that?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Pretty suspicious, right? Where had he heard it? But Martin just makes a baffled look at that. ]

You told me, Jon. And - and Helen herself, of course.

[eyediot]

You just said you hadn't seen Helen leave.

[Hell, Helen didn't even know the term 'the Distortion', just that she was lost in corridors and met a figure named Michael.]

I haven't told you anything. I've been pointedly not telling anyone anything.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin just stares for a moment. None of those words make any sense coming out of Jon's mouth. ]

No, I didn't see her leave? I didn't see her at all. And - and okay, you're not very communicative, but I know most things now, thanks.

[eyediot]

[Everything Martin's saying, every word that comes out of his mouth is only feeding his paranoia. He stares at Martin seriously, can almost feel like he's on the verge of finding some great truth, but ... Somehow, he knows if he tries to ascertain it, he'll fall to some depth he can never climb out of.]

I... Martin. [Deep breath. He settles in his seat, finally finally buttoning his shirt back up. Some semblance of being put-together.]

You're not making any sense.

[curriculum_fictae]

Well - w-well neither are you!

[ But one of them just got stabbed, so-- ]

Sit down, Jon. Let me make us some tea.

[ Let him calm himself down too. ]

[eyediot]

[Whatever is going on here isn't going to be solved through anger or yelling. He lowers his head, his slowly growing hair falling in his eyes and he sighs.]

Fine. Of course.

[Of course. Tea.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Even his hair is less grey, Martin thinks. It - what on earth is going on here? ]

Right. Let's just ... go to the break room.

[ He'll go first and put the kettle on. ]

[eyediot]

No, I'd--

[He said that a little too fast. But he doesn't trust the break room, where Tim or Sasha or Elias could just walk in. Sure, they could easily just walk in here, but he feels... safer. Here with the statements and the recorder. It's less... conspicuous to have it recording here than if he drags it to the break room.]

I'd rather we talk here.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin stops midstep, nearly stumbling. Is there even a kettle down here? He took everything up to Peter's office when he'd been reassigned. ]

Well I don't have any tea down here, so that's a problem.

[ (It isn't true. Martin's desk is right over there and it is full of both tea and snacks.) ]

[eyediot]

[Okay, that Jon looks confused at.]

Your desk is right over there. It's full of tea and your snacks.

[curriculum_fictae]

What?

[ Martin turns. It - it is his desk? His little decorations are still up, the ones he'd had to ditch in Peter's office due to "unprofessionalism." The picture they'd taken at Jon's birthday party. A selfie with Sasha. A few succulents that could withstand the low light down here. Fire extinguisher under his desk, a corkscrew visible in a drawer.

And about a million tins of tea, of course. He stares at it like it had turned around and bit him. ]

That - but - I cleaned it out months ago. H-how long was I in that corridor?

[eyediot]

You've never cleaned it out.

[One of the statements is coming to mind: the Not!Them. Maybe, maybe maybe. A few ideas creep into his mind. He's noticing the differences the longer he looks at Martin now - the skin tone, the hair. Even the quiet sadness in his voice.

He can't trust this. Not until he knows for sure what's going on. He's running out of tape on this recorder but he doesn't dare turn to change it.

His tone comes out more stern. No confusion, no frantic. The Archivist.]

Who are you.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Oh. Normally he kind of likes your Archivist voice, Jon, but this is less pleasant. Borderline compulsion - not that Martin needs it.

(What the hell is going on. Where the hell is he?) ]

I'm Martin. Martin Blackwood. Your -

[ No. Not any more. ]

Jon, how do you not know who I am?

[eyediot]

Everyone in this Archive has been lying to me, in some way or another. I don't trust anyone, least of all someone who almost looks like Martin but doesn't know what lies he's told to keep straight.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin flushes a little of that. Because of course he's lied plenty, but just - not like this? For Jon to not even believe that Martin is himself is new. ]

You had rum and raisin ice cream at my birthday outing.

[eyediot]

[If this Martin is the Not!Them, it could easily have pulled that information from Martin himself. Or however that thing works.]

Tell me. What is going on.

[curriculum_fictae]

I don't know what's going on!

[ Said with rather more force than he'd intended, plus a stray tear or two. A horrible realisation grips him, and he abruptly thinks he does know what's going on. ]

I - god, this has to be a hallucination. I'm just hallucinating you being all weird and paranoid, because the Lonely isn't content to just - just leave me in silence, it needs me to be tormented by the man I love instead, so I can feel even more alone with you here next to me--

[eyediot]

[Jon sits back, blinking rapidly. That's usually a little more emotional than he usually gets from the person when he takes statements. Let alone what's being said.]

The...The Lonely?

[Don't worry he'll circle back around to that 'love' comment, just. Fucking what.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Sorry Jon. He's only saying this because he thinks you aren't real.

Martin sinks slowly into his desk chair, holding his head in his hands. ]

Yes. The Lonely. I don't know why I didn't realise it sooner. It's the only option.

[eyediot]

[Jon watches him, then slowly reaches to ... Nudge him.]

This? Is not a hallucination. [He gestures to the bloodied tissues on his desk, his blood on Martin's hands.]

Something weird's been going on here since Jane attacked and you found Gertrude's body. [God, he can hear the static on the tape recorder picking up. Busted old thing.] I've been trying to get to the bottom of it. But this? This is...

I don't understand.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin lets out a soft, miserable noise. It's ... not quite like anything Jon has heard before out of him; it's far more despairing than the usual panic. ]

So it's a realistic hallucination. Probably why Helen was there in the first place. Spiral and all. God --

[ But then he stops. Something else catches his attention instead. ]

Wait. What - what do you mean, since Jane attacked.

[ That is not the milestone he would have used to describe anything recent. ]

[eyediot]

Jane... Attacked the Archive. I've only been back a few weeks. [Look, his WORM HOLES are still healing, he hasn't even taken off all the bandages yet.]

We haven't even gotten rid of all the fire extinguishers yet.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Jon's worm holes are still healing. And the fire extinguisher is still under his desk. And --

Something is very wrong here. Something that isn't just the Lonely. ]

What day is it? What - what year is it?

[eyediot]

... It's the second of October. [And because he asked:] Twenty-sixteen.