curriculum_fictae | [PSL] time travel, time travel

[ 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? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

eyediot

...I'm glad it didn't go that far, then.

From:

kayakking

Me either. Wasn't exactly fun times for me either. It's just-

[He... cuts himself off with a handwave. No point in retreading old ground.]

From:

eyediot

Right.

[He sits back in his seat a bit. He.. hadn't eaten and it's starting to hit him. He really needs to just let that alcohol settle before he gets himself sick.]

...I don't think I've ever really had friends, you know?

From:

kayakking

[Tim doesn't seem to keep much out either. While there's dishes in the sink, it's not as though there's much in the way of visible leftover. Though a bowl of fruit sits not too far from Jon.

Tim sets the empty can down, arms folding loosely in front of him.

Yeah... that's pretty probable, really. After all, friendship has to go both ways for it to be valid.]

From:

kayakking

[A few days ago, that might have come back with something devastatingly cutting. It still itches a bit in the back of his mind.]

As much as your taste is a bit rubbish.

Glad to be one of the first, then.

From:

eyediot

[Jon looks at Tim, appraising. Then nods with a smile and raises his empty can in a form of a. Toast. Sort of.]

I'm glad too. Happy to have you.

From:

kayakking

[There's a tiny little clunk of the empty cans together.

Then, after another long moment of companionable silence.]

Ah.. I almost forgot. I uh... may need to ask a favor. I think.

From:

eyediot

Hm? Oh, of course.

[Like it's the most natural thing in the world.]

From:

kayakking

The... the talk with Algric. Can you write down what happened in it?

From:

eyediot

[He looks a little confused but it only takes a moment to realize why. Some of it was fuzzy, even for him. It must be a big blur for Tim.]

Of course. As much as I can remember, I'll type up for you. Or, unless you want me to write it down right now.

From:

kayakking

Nah, it doesn't have to be now. But I'd... definitely appreciate that.

It's real disconcerting...

From:

eyediot

It's the same for me.

Yes, I'll get as much down as I can remember. [Which, unfortunately, won't be as much as he'd like but he'll do his best.] It is strange that it happens.

From:

kayakking

You too? I was hoping you'd have some... I don't know. Spooky immunity.

...

So also on the priority list, figure out how to make this stop happening.

From:

eyediot

I'll look into it.

[He adjusts his glasses, then sighs a little.]

I remember.... Most of it, but not everything.

From:

kayakking

I've got a lot less. Like.. I can remember it when reminded but... God, if I didn't know he looked like Martin I'd be having trouble there too.

From:

eyediot

Hm.

[Maybe it's his proximity to the Eye, maybe it's because it's Martin. He does remember more than Tim, but it's hard to figure out why exactly.]

Yeah. Yes, I'll definitely write it out for you.

From:

kayakking

[The interesting middle piece to study really would be Martin, wouldn't he?]

Right. I owe you.

From:

eyediot

You don't owe me anything

[Tim is a friend, and he's been listening to Jon freak out about office romance. As far as he's concerned, Tim's done him quite the favor.]

We've been helping each other.

From:

kayakking

That's -

[So weird. SO WEIRD. The pivot that has happened.]

Yeah. God, you know? If I knew that just stuffing you full of answers would have calmed your ass down to this extent, I'd have mad scientisted up a time machine or some shit.

From:

eyediot

Wha- [He sputters, looking at Tim SO offended.]

In my-my defense, we'd just been attacked by a paranormal being, hospitalized, found the dead, murdered body of my predecessor, and no one was seemingly interested in figuring out what happened! So yes, I wanted answers!

["Seemingly" is the key word there, Tim.]

From:

eyediot

So, yes finding answers to what happened. 'Calmed my ass down'. I just wanted to know-

From:

eyediot

['Knowing'. Christ.]

Oh god I'm part of the problem and I don't know if I can stop it.

From:

kayakking

[Okay, as much as he's not going to argue the part of the problem assessment. He makes a TIME OUT signal.]

Wait. Wait. Rewind.

Walk me back how you got there, Sherlock.

From:

eyediot

[Hey remember how he's just really blasted right now?

He rests his head on the table, hands on the back of his head.]

From what I understand, the Eye is about seeing and being seen, but also about knowing things and needing to know things. I... was like that even before I started at the Institute. I don't know if I know how to turn that part of my mind off. I can't just. Stop needing to know things.