that one time travel psl

[eyediot]

sad bad end s5 jon and tim on a monster road trip



[Algric had given the trio a fair warning of what was happening. Not the specific details of what he was coming from, but he was from a little further along Algric's timeline, and came through Hilltop Road. Never pleasant, but he's here now. IT took a few days of settling, readjusting, and putting some firm self-imposed boundaries on himself before Jon felt comfortable enough to see the others.

After a few minutes of surprise and staring, Jon ends up sitting alone with Tim for a few minutes; the others having some things to take care of themselves. He sits there, fiddling a bit with his fingers, trying not to be self conscious. He can't do anything about the myriad of different, newer scars, nor about his black sclera or so many other things about himself now.

But god... Tim. Alive and not shouting at him right this second. How novel.]

Tim... I.. [Where does he even start.]

Comments

[curriculum_fictae]

Er. Teleport.

[eyediot]

Oh.


You can do that?

[curriculum_fictae]

Y-yes. I don't much, but. I can. And I think it will be safest.

[eyediot]

[A long, thoughtful pause. Why wouldn't he do it much...

He steps closer, offering his hand.]

Then. Then let's go.

[curriculum_fictae]

Right. Just - hold on, okay? Don't let go of me for any reason.

[ He grips Jon's hand tightly. ]

[eyediot]

[Worrisome.

He tightens his grip.]

I won't. I'm ready.

[curriculum_fictae]

Right. Then here we go ...

[ The world melts away around them. It ... seems like the Lonely at first? It has that misty chill to it, but it is neither the beach nor the empty, labyrinthine house. If anything, it seems very much like the Institute, except ...

Just around the corner, there's the sound of people. Familiar sounds, warm voices, if indistinct. But they don't see you, don't hear you, don't even think about you. You wander like a shade in the night, passing unseen.

Also, for some reasons, there are tinned peaches everywhere. ]

[eyediot]

[His breath leaves him for a moment as the rush takes them. But... Oh. He squeezes Algric's hand again.]

Peaches?

[Something about that pings for him. He knows there's an association there for some reason.]

[curriculum_fictae]

Oh.

[ Algric's voice is wavery, not entirely there. But his grip is solid, still. ]

I think that's - well. Me projecting a bit. I lived off the stuff when I disappeared for two weeks, remember?

[eyediot]

Oh.

[OH.

The tinned peaches... Right. He swallows thickly and keeps moving with him.]

...Will we really be all right like this?

[curriculum_fictae]

It'll - it'll be fine. Probably. Safer than coming in through the door.

[ He keeps walking through the winding halls; they shift as they go. Algric's old apartment hallways. The nursing home. School hallways where no one notices them, nor wants to be friends with them. ]

[eyediot]

[He notes each change, deciding not to comment for now. Taking it all in. This is more than just that little patch of Lonely that he saw before... This is something else.]

I'll trust your word for it.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Yes. Some mix of the Lonely and the Eye - something that's all Martin. Algric. Whichever.

At least it's less oppressive than the Lonely, and they move quickly through it. At last ... something in the halls change, and they're in the reading room of the Archive. ]

[eyediot]

[It's easy enough to feel the change, but seeing it too. He feels... Better, being in the Archive, even through this lens of Algric's teleport domain. He feels some measure of strength here.]

We made it?

[curriculum_fictae]

Yes. We're here. I'm - ah, keeping Elias from seeing us, so. Still stay close.

[ Algric himself is rather seethrough, all mist and outline and hardly any physical form. He seems all right, though, just ... tired. ]

[eyediot]

[God. Right. Elias. He nods, squeezing his hand again with no intention of letting go.]

Right. So... Statements.

[It occurs to him now that while he personally hasn't read that many, Jonah... has probably read the majority of the Archives. Are there any even left?]

I-i don't fully know what I'm looking for.

[curriculum_fictae]

Oh. Um - hang on, I think I know where some good ones are.

[ He leads Jon down towards one of the lesser used rooms. ]

[eyediot]

[It's easy to follow like this. No one to interrupt them, just their own voices.]

Did we have statements in here?

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Indeed, it's very quiet. Unnaturally so, but. It's also getting on in the evening. ]

Mm, we did. Ones that Gertrude already went through.

[eyediot]

Oh. I...Guess that would be why I didn't know.

[The Eye already ate them, why bother knowing they're here? Once in there, he looks at his hand, then starts carefully picking through, grabbing any files he can with his free hand.]

How many should I take?

[curriculum_fictae]

Just - just fill a bag with them. And I'll get a banker's box.

[ He's already moving to do that. ]

[eyediot]

Got it.

[Even if Algric's cloak is still there, it feels just one level thinner with the loss of contact. But. Focus. Help Jonah. He grabs a tote - leftover from someone else, who even knows at this point - and starts stuffing files into it. Some his hand reaches for easy, others he trembles, has trouble grasping.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric just shoves everything he can as quickly as possible, returning to Jon soon enough. The fog deepens, gently, as he approaches. ]

You all right?

[eyediot]

Yes, just-

[How can he even explain this?]

I don't, um. Think some of these want to go with us?

[curriculum_fictae]

What - what do you mean?