[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

[curriculum_fictae]

[ He is both extremely genuine and extremely upset now. A hallucination would be an answer. This? He doesn't know what this is. ]

I ... I'm Martin Blackwood.

[ His voice wavers a little. ]

Martin Blackwood, from September 2018.

[eyediot]

...............


That's not possible.

[curriculum_fictae]

I-I bloody well know it isn't! But - but it's happening anyway!

[ Even as he blurts out his own misery, he's thinking rapidly. October 2016. What's next at this point? He dimly remembers this, he thinks. Didn't Helen get trapped in a door right around now? ]

[eyediot]

This is some-- It has to be some elaborate prank by Tim. He put you up to this.

[Tim and Sasha know he's trying to get to the bottom of something, that Jon's falling into paranoia. He knows because they're starting to get annoyed and suspicious of him. It'd be easy to get Martin in on it.]

Fine. Fine, if they want to do this, then I'll just. I'll keep working to find the truth.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Oh. Oh.

He should probably object to the thought of Tim getting Martin to play a prank on Jon but -

He only barely gets his hands over his mouth before a small strangled sob escapes him. ]

Tim's still alive?

[ Of course he is. It's 2016. ]

[eyediot]

What?

[curriculum_fictae]

I - I guess he'd have to be. If it's only 2016, I -

[ Wait. Tim being alive is good, yes, but that means there's another problem. ]

-- Sasha. You - you have to get away from Sasha. She's not - not Sasha.

[eyediot]

[Yeah, they've just completely forgotten all about the tea now huh? And even though the tape should have run out by now, it's still somehow going. Jon's paying it no mind, not when Martin is... having some kind of break down. He doesn't fully understand it.]

And you're not Martin, even if I can't explain it. We've dealt with supernatural beings and-- and stories of cults and anything else, but time travel? Even that's a little far fetched.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ It is far fetched. Even with all the things they've done, they haven't encountered that, right? No statements --

Wait. ]

No, it's. It's happened. We have a - a statement. I've seen it. 0092204, given by Anya Vilette.

[ He remembers faking follow up work for it while preparing for the Unknowing. ]

[eyediot]

What?

[That's enough to pull Jon out of his spiraling thoughts. Statement 0092204? He hasn't encountered that one yet. The name doesn't ring a bell off the top of his head either.]

I haven't read it yet. Where is it?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin has to close his eyes a moment, trying to remember. ]

I think ... in a box on top of the row E shelving? Nowhere near the rest of the Hill Top Road statements.

[eyediot]

['The rest'.]

Hill Top Road.

[God, he's starting to hate that house. He covers his mouth with one hand while he thinks. Gets up and paces around his chair once. Twice. Eight times.]

Come with me.

[And then he's off to find this. This time travel statement.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Sorry, Jon. Martin didn't come here to make a mess of your life, but. Well. That's just how things are in this world, it seems.

He trails after Jon helplessly, hunched in on himself and half leaning over his smaller boss. Strangely enough, his footsteps don't make any noise at all. ]

Do you - do you need me to get it down for you?

[eyediot]

I-- [UGH. Damn him and his height.] We'll see.

[HE'S A BIG BOY HE CAN GET A STEP STOOL ALL BY HIMSELF AND EVERYTHING. But he stops at the end of Row E. There isn't much on the top shelf, but there are a few boxes. He reaches for the stool.]

I'll check the one on this end here. You check the others.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin sort of ... looks at Jon. At the stool. And then back up at the shelf. ]

It's the one on the left.

[ He points helpfully. Don't be daft, Jon, of course he knows which box he got statement out of. How else would he put it back properly? ]

[eyediot]

............. I don't know how I feel about this twenty-eighteen Martin Blackwood know it all.

[But fine!!! He picks the stool up and moves it to the one on the left and climbs up, digging through the files. And wouldn't you know, there's statement 0092204.]

Well. At least he's accurate.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin flushes dimly, the thin prickling of colour strange against his pallid cheeks. ]

I - look. Despite all those terrible things you said about me, I'm actually not a bad assistant.

[eyediot]

[Mighty high praise Martin's giving himself. He doesn't respond, though. He's flipped the file open and started reading - inexplicably aloud. The moment he opens his mouth with a breath, there's a click somewhere close by and he doesn't even question it. Instead, he turns to sit on the stool, back against the shelves and reads the statement.

When he finishes, he stares at it. Just like Martin said, this is... a strange case of time travel.]

... You knew about this statement already before I'd even read it. Did you do any follow up on Anya?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Oh. It's been a while since he's listened to Jon actually recording a statement, hasn't it? When is the last time he heard that? Normally Jon's so private, and Martin does try to respect that ...

But it wasn't as though he could keep from hearing them while he lived in the Archive. It was ... soothing. He'd fallen asleep to Jon's voice more than once. ]

A little. She doesn't exist here - no record of her. A-and Lettings, the owner? Doesn't own Hill Top Road here. It's an alternate timeline, probably, with a side of - well. Showing up two weeks prior.

[ Is that what's happened to him? Has he fallen into an alternate timeline? ]

[eyediot]

But that's...

[Absurd, he initially wants to say. But hasn't everything that's happened in the Archive the last few months also been absurd? Jane Prentiss, Michael, everything?

He holds the file in one hand and sort of just... relaxes, elbows on his knees while he tries to think.]

...You're really from twenty-eighteen then? Tim's... dead?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Sorry, Jon. It's not like he inflicted this on you purposefully. ]

Yes. He's - he got blown up saving the world.

[ He turns his head aside. ]

So did you, technically.

[eyediot]

[The stab wound is starting to ache with a fresh pounding and he's... tired. He's so tired.

And if Martin really is from the future, doesn't that mean he shouldn't even ask anything else? Wouldn't it change everything, or create a different timeline universe like Martin is saying? It could be detrimental to everything.]

....I think I'm ready for that tea.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Ha. Ha. "Detrimental."

Martin nods weakly at that. ]

Right, okay. Me too.

[eyediot]

[Listen the world's not destroyed yet and Weirdmageddon hasn't happened yet. They've got time to downplay it.

He keeps one hand clutched on the file while the other reaches for something solid to pull himself to his feet with. The last hour is catching up to him and he's a little dizzy.]

...I didn't. Thank you. For bandaging this.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Martin blinks slowly at that, not sure if he heard Jon right. ]

O-oh. Ah. Sure, of course. Any time, Jon.