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

[eyediot]

[His shoulder already feels numb under the touch. Couldn't save him. He feels like he's fighting to breathe in this chill, trying to turn his eyes where he thought he heard Algric's voice fading.]

...I-i should kill you.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Couldn't save him then, can't save him now. Does he even know where Algric is now? Drowning, surely, pulled down into the icy waters never to be seen again. Or maybe he's found another door again - to a better time and a better version of Jon.

(No, there's a flicker - Jonah can just barely see a hand above the surface of the water, clinging to a crumbling patch of sand--)

But that chill is sharp and painful in Jonah's shoulder, isn't it? It goes straight for the heart and the lungs. ]

Should have done it out there. In here ... well. This is where you belong.

[ There's a flicker of other shapes in the fog. Humanoid. Distant. ]

You're not the first time-displaced person I've met. Every last one of them ends up here eventually.

[eyediot]

I promised him I wouldn't.

[He sees it, sees Algric's hand and Jonah tries to shrug off Peter's hand. Take a step forward, any step however small. Just... further into the water. Away from this man and whatever these... Things are. But there are flashes still, the frosted windows. The ocean around him distant through the walls. A perfect domain of the Lonely that even Peter hasn't seen the full fruition of. Jonah lowers his head, nose just touching the surface of the water with a shuddering breath.]

Martin... Y-you... Have to remember. You're loved.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ No. He hasn't seen it. But with Jonah remembering ...

The scene shifts around them; the beaches recede, replaced by carpets that smell of mildew and salt. Barnacles cover those fogged windows as the waves crash somewhere outside. There ... is a chair here. An uncomfortable chair, alone in this uncomfortable house.

Somewhere, distantly, a familiar voice sobs. The compulsion can't penetrate the miasma of loneliness when Jonah's so far away from him. ]

Is that your plan? Love? That never works out.

[ He strides in behind Jonah, looking very pleased at the new surroundings. ]

Where is this?

[eyediot]

[He gasps sharply when the water he was about to shove himself into is suddenly floor, solid and hard. Unfeeling. Another barrier. Another thing in his way, this damned memory. He moves to rest a hand on that nearly frozen shoulder, resting his forehead on the carpet.

Promised Algric he could always find him, and now he's paralyzed here.]

Wouldn't you like to know.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ And the longer he's paralyzed, the more despairing and distant Algric's voice becomes. He ... isn't coming, is he? This engagement, their relationship, it's all hollow. He's just going to die in here, like he should have died months ago.

Peter laughs faintly. Rapping on the wooden paneled walls. ]

I would like to know. That would help me navigate it.

[eyediot]

[....

That's right.

This isn't some all knowing, able to spy on them at all hours boss. It's just an asshole who can seemingly teleport. One that Jonah's already destroyed once before. He lifts his head to look at Peter, brows low and a slow, roiling anger filling him. While the green static that's come to be familiar to him tints over, the red of pain is brightly visible at the edges, slowly filling in.]

Sit.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ That wipes the smile off his face. He all but snaps down into that uncomfortable chair, glaring at Jonah. ]

Really. That was uncalled for.

[eyediot]

Dragging us both here was uncalled for. We were minding our own business.

[It's a struggle to get up; his legs feel numb to the bone. Has to get to him. Jonah does get to his feet, arms hugging himself for the warmth.]

Stay seated.

[And... Well. It's not so easy navigating leaving the house again. But it's easier. He's done it, and... Just picturing Algric's face saying 'yes'. His feet weigh nearly two tons stepping outside the door again, his eyes darting every direction.]

Martin?

[curriculum_fictae]

I told you, it's inevitable. You all end up here.

[ But Peter can't move from the chair, despite how much he struggles. And all Jonah has to do is close the door behind him to keep Peter from following.

The rest of the house is entirely too large, filled with empty, labyrinthine rooms. Occasionally Algric's sobs echo from far off, though, and Jonah can see the faintest outline through the walls of someone brighter than his surroundings. He's dimming swiftly, though, as the warmth of Jonah's love mists away from him.

He doesn't respond. But ... he's close. A few more rooms and ...

Is that a familiar figure? He's seated in a chair, his back to Jonah. ]

[eyediot]

Martin!

[He sees the silhouette, tries to focus on it, let his Eyes guide him through the rooms, even when a few slow him down. (Large sitting rooms, large bedrooms, all places he feels so lost sometimes-)

But he sees the figure and... Breathes out, relieved.]

Thank god... [Just. One hand on his shoulder.]

[curriculum_fictae]

[ The figure turns towards him. He's ... shaped like Algric, it's true, but his face is devoid of all thought, all memory. He looks up at Jonah with frozen tears on his face and a dimly confused expression. ]

Who ... who's Martin?

[eyediot]

[No....

Jonah's eyes looking back are.. scared. He knees down in front of the man, carefully reaching to take his hand.]

You. [Swallow.] You are. You're Martin. Though. R-recently you started going by Algric. Please... Focus on me.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ His eyes slide around uncertainly before finally fixing on Jonah. If there's any recognition, it's buried deep underneath the surface. ]

Martin. That's ... that's a nice name. I - I think I'd like to be called Martin. Or Algric.

[ His hand is limp in Jonah's. ]

[eyediot]

I'll call you either name. Any time.

You're loved. You live in a house with three men who love you.

[He squeezes Algric's hand gently.] My name is Jon.

[curriculum_fictae]

Jon?

[ There's a moment of tension, where he nearly recognises that name. Jon. Jon, he remembers Jon, Jon is important, he loves -

No, it's gone again. He shivers all over and the memory recedes again, washed out with the sound of the ocean outside. ]

Is ... is this the house?

[eyediot]

[He almost saw it, that hope rising and falling just as quickly.]

No. N-no, this isn't the house. It's... I came to find you. I promised I would.

[He shifts so he can sit on the floor, sandwich both hands around Algric's.]

There... There's a man. He saw you disappear too before. He didn't know where you'd went, but he ran to follow after you. He found you. Right out there, on the beach outside. He took your hand, like this [He moves, lacing their fingers together] and said he would take you home. He knew the way.

[He wishes it had happened that way. It still could.]

That man, Jon, loves you. He came to find you again.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ He doesn't remember that? He's sure he doesn't remember that, but ...

It sounds so nice. Someone caring enough to follow him. To find him no matter what.

Trembling dimly, he closes his fingers around Jon's. Clinging to them. ]

Where ... where's home? How do we get there?

[eyediot]

[There's the dim spark of hope at that reaction. He squeezes Algric's hand gently as he stands.]

I know the way. I'll take us home.

[But his eyes hurt. Just... Enough to get them out of here, is all he asks. So far away from the Eye, in Peter's domain... It's taking everything.]

I've got you, Martin. Let's go.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ Algric follows him obediently, despite how much it hurts to stand. It aches to move, aches to even think about existing. It would be nicer not to. He'd rather ...

(No. No there's something wrong with Jon's eyes. He's seen this before, hasn't he? This is a bad sign. He ... he needs to ...) ]

Lead ... lead the way.

[ All he can do is cling. But he clings with as much strength as he can manage. ]

[eyediot]

[It's painstakingly slow getting through the house. While Jonah lets Algric clean to one arm, the other touches at the walls while the walk, helping guide what he's having trouble seeing. But he stops here and there, turning to check on his escort, making sure he's still here, still aware before pressing on.]

This man, Jon. He got you home. H-he made sure you were safe. Taken care of, and made sure he knew he loved you every day. He even proposed to you. W-wanted to... spend the rest of his life with you.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ He's stumbling and weak, his eyes glazed over. But every time it looks like he's going to fall behind and give up, something sparks dimly under the surface. Jon. Jon. He - he remembers you, Jon. He remembers - ]

I'm ... engaged. We're engaged?

[ He barely dares speak the words; they sound so fragile in his mouth. ]

[eyediot]

Yes. [He whispers it, so afraid of this being for nothing. But as much to remind himself.]

We were ring shopping, and we... Got a bit lost.

[A bit lost there. Maybe Peter hadn't been entirely full of shit.]

But I found you. And I'll get us home, Martin.

[curriculum_fictae]

[ There's a long, miserable silence. The wooden floors give way to sand again, to the beach. Past that ... are they close to getting out? Only Jon knows.

His grip tightens on Jon's hand. ]

Rose gold. I ... I wanted a rose gold band. The clerk had a lovely tray ...

[eyediot]

[It's hard for him to tell. Everything's starting to blur.

But hope.]

Yes. Y-yes, you did, you were looking at them. We're going to get married, Martin. Possibly take my name Sims.