[closed] intro for martin, jon, and elias

[lowficharm]

[Of all the places Martin didn't expect to wake up, a floor of an office hallway was probably in the top 10. That said, he doesn't really know where he expected to wake up, if even at all- it wasn't exactly the top of his mind when he was busy stabbing his boyfriend in the chest and a building was coming down around him, and he thinks that's pretty fair under the circumstances. All he knows is that he feels less sore than he thinks he should for a building collapse, and more than he's felt in a while considering the state of the apocalypse and--]

Jon!

[He gasps it out as he tries to right himself, immediately skittering a bit on the polished floor and trying to look around for anyone else present. Were they dead? Is this hell? There's a lot of options and he's already decided all of them are bad.]

Comments

[the_archivist]

[Jon has woken up in a lot of odd places over the years; hospitals, trains, the tunnels underneath the Institute. Office floors are not uncommon, although he's unused to the Archive floor looking this clean and new.

He blinks slowly at it for a few moments, and tries to place the growing sense of wrongness that he's feeling.

He's not in pain which is a pleasing revelation. He's not- not-

Oh god.

He feels empty. Hollowed out. For the first time in what feels like years, all that's inside his head is... him. Mostly him.

And then it hits him, heavy as the tide, and his breath leaves him just as surely. The end of the world. The end of the end of the world. And Martin, and Jonah and...

He pushes himself up onto all-fours, and then onto shaking legs, and finally looks around.]

Martin?

[eyeknowyou]

[Jon! Martin?

Elias had heard that over the years, finding it more and more like a Titanic romance novel as time went on. There was a moment of confused bitterness as he slowly woke up behind a desk some distance away, his eyes opening and finding himself staring at a cheaply patterned carpet. A fallen paperclip lay forgotten a few inches in front of him.

This wasn’t right. He was in the Panopticon, filled with dust and dirt and ignored ghosts, chilled by fog and warmed by eagerness; nowhere in there existed a business office.

He tried to Know. He tried and failed.

It had been hundreds of years since that had happened, this yawning nothingness coupled with a spinning, nauseating world. His heart hammered as he started to push himself up.

Composure. He had to find his composure – especially in front of Martin and Jon - when all he wanted to do was scream. Elias grabbed the corner of the desk and pulled himself to his feet, tearing the concern out of his voice and leaving only dry curiosity in its wake.]

While I hate to interrupt the happy reunion, perhaps we should find out what happened.

[lowficharm]

[It's amazing the speed of the mood whiplash that goes through Martin's body in the following 5 seconds. He's worried, he's got so many what if's and how's going through his mind-- and then Jon's voice cuts through it all. He turns his head running through the possibilities of there being blood and hurt and it's... fine. It's just fine.

For a moment, everything is good. He gets two steps towards Jon, a smile on his face, just thinking no matter what happens Jon is here and everything's going to be alright.

And then he hears Elias, and Martin screams.]

FUCK!

[He stumbles backwards, placing himself possibly conveniently between Jon and Elias, spreading his arms just a bit outside of himself as if somehow he's going to block the two men from each other.]

Wh-- you! How-- how are you-- you!!!

[good job, buddy, you did it.]

[the_archivist]

[Martin- god, Martin. He's here! He'd felt the tower begin to fall, felt the- the blood and pain and they were probably going to die but- but they're not dead. He doesn't think they're dead.

He's never really believed in an afterlife and if there was one Jon is sure that his would be unpleasant. This just looks like an office.

Then he hears that voice, and oh, he was wrong. There is a hell and Jon is there.

He stands up as tall as he can and narrows his eyes at the man.]

Jonah Magnus...

[eyeknowyou]

[The anger, the rage, how it permeated the room. He understood it; of course he did. Why wouldn’t they hate him after the bet, after Peter, after the secrets he kept.

So, this was welcomed, at least. It showed he had done something right.

And yet, Martin looked a little less…Lonely than he excepted. And Jon-

Something was different.

He dusted himself off, a little smile playing at his lips.]

Such language, Martin. I didn’t think you had it in you.

[His smile widened when he looked at Jon, ignoring Martin in the moment as he often did.]

Hello, Jon. You seem…different.

[lowficharm]

[For a single dot to Elias' credit, Martin doesn't usually curse, but seeing as the one thing that he was pretty sure was finally over is now standing and talking in front of him... well, he's considering that he might be in hell right now also. He's trying to stand tall and imposing, but mostly he looks like a pigeon that's been kicked and is quite mad about it, fluffed up in all directions and giving the stink eye to something much, much more dangerous than him.

He shuffles closer to Jon, still standing between him and Elias, even if he knows well he's not blocking their gaze. It's a little hard to place himself in any kind of spotlight, but like hell he's going to let Jon go this alone.]

I, I can say whatever I want to you, you-- you were dead! How are you here, usually people stay pretty dead if they die!

[God, he needs to calm down, and he takes a breath to try and facilitate that. It comes out more like a huff. People are supposed to die when they are killed!!]

[the_archivist]

[He notices Martin shifting between them, trying to shield Jon, but most of his considerable focus is on Jonah. Internally though, he's reaching for the Eye unthinkingly, waiting for answers and for power, the sick knowledge that the Eye wants him more than it wants Elias a strange comfort.]

So do you, Elias. You look unfortunately more alive than last time I saw you.

[With his blood all over Jon's hands. Oh god... he'd killed him.]

[eyeknowyou]

[And that caught his attention, didn’t it?

Dead. He was most assuredly not last time he checked, waiting after Jon had disappeared into the Lonely; his body –easily mistaken as a corpse – had been forgotten and remained where he had last left it. No knife had punched through the skin, and his eyes remained in this borrowed form.

But they didn’t look to be lying.

And yet, worse: he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t Know for sure.

That drew his attention. Just like the blood all over Jon's hands.

That was not his, was it?]

And yet you both were far more Lonely than I recall. So, which one of us is right?

[lowficharm]

[Martin's finally had a moment to start to calm down, even though, admittedly, Elias talking in his vicinity makes him want to strangle the other man on contact. Amazing how his tolerance for dealing with horseshit has gone down as soon as his boyfriend could obliterate anyone who was remotely rude to them with effectively no consequences. It's... it's complicated. But more than being mad at him, he's not going to be ignored in this moment, and he won't simply wither because the Big Eyeball Boys Are Having A Serious Talk.]

Pretty sure it's us, considering you don't really get past being dead very often. But we-- we don't have to tell you anything. You don't even know where you are right now.

[And neither do they, but that's another topic entirely. Or at least one he won't bring up directly himself, despite knowing it will likely be thrown back at him in about five seconds.]

[the_archivist]

[There is a satisfaction to having Elias on the wrong foot like this. For once, Jon knows more. Jon isn't scrambling in the darkness for scraps of information.

He gives a slow smile, unkind perhaps, and reaches out to take Martin's hand in his.

Not lonely. Not anymore.]

[eyeknowyou]

[What did this mean?

He was not dead. He certainly would know that. He-

There was a dramatic roll of his eyes as he watched them hold hands and made a ridiculous show of it; he was going to have a talk with Peter about what was going on later. But for now-]

And you do, Martin?

[He didn’t wait for an answer, his eyes shifting to Jon instead. Come now, he was very aware of who was the all-knowing archivist here.]

Where are we?

[lowficharm]

[He has to hold back the beaming smile he absolutely wants to put on as soon as Jon takes his hand, instead simply squeezing it back in return and feeling the triumph of being by his side. Not lonely for either of them, now. Not while he can stay by Jon's side.

He doesn't actually expect Elias to want an answer to that question, nor does he have anything smart to provide. Instead, he just keeps his hold on Jon.]

You don't have to tell him. If, i-if you don't want.

[But also he kind of hopes Jon Knows this one. Unless the entities weren't here, but that seems... well, he'll just keep those questions on hand for later.]

[the_archivist]

[He gives Martin a small smile, a soft expression. There is so much that they need to deal with. But for now... for now they are together.

His gaze flicks back to Elias, expression hardening. He takes a breath and reaches for the knowledge and- comes up blank. He isn't cut off from the Eye. He can feel it there, at the edges of his mind. But it's muted. More like it was before the apocalypse, and it's disconcerting.

One thing he does know though.]

We're not where we were. Not the same reality I don't think. We're somewhere else.

[eyeknowyou]

[Elias could not stop himself from rolling his eyes a second time; no, Jon did not have to tell him, but they were all together, trapped in the same place. Keeping secrets would help no one, especially if they wanted to go home.

There was no reaction to the hand-holding at least. That was to be expected, an obvious motion given where he had left them.]

Another reality?

[That… was not what he was excepting. He went to the desks, looking for information, names, letterhead, papers.]

I doubt we can just leave the way we came. [Considering that they didn’t know the way they came.]

[lowficharm]

[Martin's looking at both of them with a little wariness, trying to figure out exactly where they're all standing. The Entities are here, they have to be, but Jon would... well, Know more if this was where they were previously at. And if Elias doesn't either, that's it's own answer.]

We didn't really come here because we meant to, anyway. Doubt there's just a door.

[Or another convenient reality-hole like Annabelle had. And even if there was, it really didn't look like a thing to leap into.]

But you don't... know?

[A question posed to both of them, tentatively. Just to test the waters.]

[the_archivist]

I doubt there's a door. [Jon agrees with Martin.] We could maybe find out where we are in the world, and locate Hill Top Road here, but that's assuming it's mostly the same.

[He doesn't know much about multi-verse theory, but he got the impression that there were no guarantees that anything would be the same.]

I- no. The Eye is there I can feel it, but it's... muted.