[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]

..... You sound like you've had to send a few.

[kayakking]

[Jon might have been gearing up to hear that Tim had been keeping peace between the other departments around Jon.

Instead:]

Yeah, so I was a manager for a stint there in my last job.

[eyediot]

[Jon moves to flop back down on the mattress, feeling it buoy behind him before settling his weight.]

Answers quite a lot, I think.

[Any small wonder he's been frustrated with Jon "Extremely Underqualified For This Position" Sims.]

[kayakking]

[There's a snort from Tim, but it's good-natured enough.]

Oh, don't think I was aiming for your job. I, very specifically, didn't apply.

[eyediot]

.... How many times did the site crash.

[kayakking]

Fffour before I just decided it wasn't worth it.

[eyediot]

Only four?

[Oh look at that, he's just picking through his clothes again and checking his toiletries.]

[kayakking]

[Jon.]

... How many did YOU slog through?

[eyediot]

Don't, um. Don't know how the count really matters.

[Look, at the time he didn't know about Gertrude, all he saw was an opportunity to get closer to the real research he wanted.]

Lost count at twenty-four. [Stubborn ass.]

[kayakking]

Christ, Jon.

[eyediot]

I needed to find information about Leitner!

[kayakking]

[Yeah he.

Okay, he gets that. There's just a noise in answer to that.]

[eyediot]

[With no biting come back to that, Jon deflates a bit.]

I didn't... I didn't know it'd lead to this.

[If he had, he probably would've left Tim and Sasha in research. Not brought them into any of this mess.]

[kayakking]

Right. Not that I don't appreciate the heads up now... [He casts a look over at Algric.] But imagine if we'd gotten this back in Research. Could be off doing risky nonsense entirely somewhere else.

[eyediot]

Could be back in publishing and I could... be doing literally anything else.

[What did he even want to do originally at Uni?]

[kayakking]

Oohhh, no, that bridge was solidly burned. I, uh. Didn't give notice.

Or technically, a resignation.

[eyediot]

What-- Tim?

What happened?

[Guess who still doesn't actually know what happened.]

[kayakking]

[He looks down at his hands, then back over to Jon, making a decision with a roll of his shoulders.]

My brother died. [It's not a statement. It's the quiet tones between two friends. But there's so much underneath.] Algric calls them the Stranger. [His voice goes low that if Jon is not focused, he'll catch them.] I saw it happen.

So. I, uh, didn't bother to go back to work after my bereavement leave ran dry. And applied.

[And there it is, the mystery Jon had been scrabbling at for months now.]

[eyediot]

[Jon listens. He listens so carefully as soon as he senses that shift in tone. There's a tug there, some other thing Tim's keeping to himself, but... He's learned enough not to tug on it.

Leave it alone.

Don't break this razor thin trust Tim has in him.

I joined because I had an encounter that I survived but someone very close to me did not. And I've been looking for... I don't know. God. Answers. Revenge, maybe. Something.

God. No wonder. Something does click into place for him.]

...The Circus of the Other. Th-the Unknowing ...I'm sorry, Tim.

[kayakking]

[His head snaps up at that. The click is almost audible in the air, and his entire posture changes, shifting forward, lips pressed and eyes narrowed.]

That's who's ritual it is? [The name had been looming, the death knell on the horizon. Something they desperately needed to account for.

And it's them.] That's what they want to bring into the world?

[eyediot]

I-i...

I think so, yes. [Jon sounds almost bewildered himself, like he didn't realize he knew that.] That is them.

[With what Tim just told him, it makes sense in Algric's time why Tim would be there. And why he would be willing to die.]

[kayakking]

[And now, Sasha. Perhaps later, he'll go back. Perhaps later he'll pick up on the confusion in Jon's tone and it will be another block in a very different puzzle.

Instead, Tim's world just became very sharp and very clear.]

Fine. Fine. We focus on getting through this week, all of us alive and in one piece. Then we handle them.

[eyediot]

Right.

[Solid plan. A Jon Sims One Step Approved Plan. Perfect.

Jon looks at Tim and ....considers. Tim trusted Jon a lot these last few days. Enough to come at a vague request to his flat, enough to trust him on... all of this.

It's only fair he extend it. Jon holds out his hand, all seriousness.]

I'll help any way I can.

[kayakking]

[There's a blink and something.. shifts a little. The plan can't be as reckless with more than one person, can it?

He takes the extended hand.]

Right. I'm sure as we get an idea of it, I'm going to be heavily taking you up on that.

[eyediot]

Please do. I want to help.

[Anything so he isn't feeling so useless. He shakes Tim's hand once, squeezes it gently. An understanding, there.]