Chapter Text

Are you sure about this?
No. But I love you
I love you too

Martin's lips on his. The salt of his tears. The pain of an impact. The sound of tearing flesh. Then-

The tape unspooled. Backwards, earlier, faster and faster, static and static and static and then-

Silence. The steady drip, drip, drip of water. Ground at his back. Solid. Brick? Cold. Pain. Head swimming

He opened his eyes. His vision blurred. He was in… the tunnels? But they looked… foggy
“-Ar’in?” he tried. His voice choked in his throat. He tried again: “Martin?”
Nothing. No response. He looked inward, demanding the Eye tell him Where is Martin?. But nothing. He didn't know. He didn't Know

Footprints. Echoing. Coming towards him. Shit. He tried to sit up. His arms felt weak. The fogginess was disappearing. He rubbed his eyes

Voices. Echoing. Familiar. He paused, listening
“You don't need to assist me, Tim, I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own”
“Right, yeah, sorry. Did you see which way Martin went?”
“No, I think he's gone off without us”
“Do you think he'll be alright?”
“I don't think it's likely that any of us will be alright, given the circumstances”

Jon frowned. He remembered that conversation. Was he hallucinating?

Shadows on the wall. Getting larger. Adrenaline shot through him. He froze
“Jon, there's something down here. I can see someone”
“Prentiss?”
“No, they're lying down. I think they're hurt”
“What do they look like?”
The man standing in front of him was tall, handsome, with dark messy hair and bright eyes that stared at him with curiosity. He was so familiar it hurt

But it couldn't be him
“Wh-Who are you?” he rasped. His voice hurt to use
“Don't answer that, Tim!” called a voice from further away. His voice
The Tim-lookalike chuckled “‘Don’t tell him, Pike!’” he quoted to himself. He cleared his throat “Uh… Timothy Stoker. I'm with the Magnus Institute”
“No, who are you really?” he asked before he could stop himself
“Timothy… Stoker?” the man frowned “I'm with the Magnus Institute”
“You can't be. You're…” dead. Dead, and it's all my fault
He paused. Prentiss? But, did that mean… he knew they might end up ‘somewhere else', was it possible that meant in-?
“What- What's the date today?” he asked
Tim's eyes lit up

“Who is it?”
Jon looked over Tim's shoulder, and came face to face with… himself. It was definitely a few years ago. His hair was shorter. He was walking with a limp. He had glasses perched on his nose - oh, yeah, he'd forgotten he used to need those. And… Christ, he looked young
“It… He looks like you” said Tim “I think… he is you”
He's not going to believe that
“Don't be ridiculous” he snapped “I'm me”
He stopped several long paces away from him, refusing to come any closer
“He- he asked what the date was. Don't you think maybe-?”
“No. Time travel isn't real”
“To be fair, nor were worm ladies up until-”

“Is Jane Prentiss attacking the Institute?” he asked “Right now?”
The two of them jumped. As if they'd forgotten that he could talk
“How do you know that?” asked his doppelgänger, eyebrows narrowing in suspicion
So she is, then. Right. This was good. He was back quite far. There were… so many people he could save this time. Including-

He jerked himself upright, alarm ringing in his head. Pain shot through his gut. He looked down, to see his jumper stained with blood. Oh yeah, stab wound. He likely wouldn't have much time to talk. He had to make it count

“Tim. Tim” he steadier himself with his hands “Listen to me, this is important. In your memories, what does Sasha James look like?”
“Sasha?” Tim went very tense “Why-?”
“Just answer me”
He waited for the rush that accompanied him whenever he compelled people. It didn't come. But Tim answered anyway
“U-Uh, dark brown eyes, frizzy black hair, tied back, tall, round glasses, bright dangly earrings normally-”
Completely different from how he remembered her “Oh, thank God, it's early enough. She's still alive”
“What do you mean, still alive?” Tim went pale “She went back out there to save me, is Prentiss-?”

“No, not her, something else” he shook his head. His vision swam “Listen to me. You have to go back into the Institute right now”
“We can't go back!” yelped the Other Jon “Prentiss is-”

“Fuck Prentiss! Sasha’s in danger” Tim yelled. He turned back to him “I'll go alone if I have to. Where?”
“Artifact Storage. After telling J- Elias to set off the fire suppression, she gets trapped there alone. You need to get there in time to stop her going in at all. I can deal with the creature afterwards. Tim, you need to hurry. I don't know how much time you have. You won't be able to kill it if any of you go in there. It works for the Circus, the one that killed your brother”

Tim's eyes widened “How do you know about-?”
“GO!” he pointed down the tunnel to his right “Down there, it's quicker. There's a ladder to a trapdoor that opens right outside Artifact Storage. Don't ask how it makes sense, I don't know. If your image of her in your head changes from what you just said, it might already be too late. Go! Hurry!”

Tim raced off instantly. The Other Jon - the younger him - paused, seemingly unwilling to come any closer to him. Jon groaned - bile rose up in his throat, and his vision blurred. He could feel his consciousness start to drift
“You should go too” he told his Other. He coughed “It will be hard to convince Sasha to stay out of Artifact Storage, when it looks the safest place to go. It'll be easier with more people”
“Why… why should I trust you?” asked the other Jon “How… What are you?”
Good question. He couldn't help but laugh “Anything I say, you won't believe. I know that because I am you. You from the future. Or, a future. Now go! Do what I couldn't. Save her”

The Other Him paused for an agonisingly long moment, confusion and doubt and fear playing on his face, before turning and running after Tim. Jon sighed, relief flooding through him. He lay back down, and let himself fade

The last thing he saw was the tunnel filling with fog. And as he closed his eyes, he thought he felt a hand cup his face

Jon

Jon checked his tape recorder. It was still on, thank god. Hopefully his successor would understand what on earth was going on a hell of a lot better than he did

So, underneath the Institute there was a labyrinth of tunnels that didn't make sense geographically and could possibly conjure visions of yourself with cryptic warnings? Sure. Sure, why not?

His legs burned as he raced past endless dull brick. He probably shouldn't be running, what with the newly burrowed holes around his ankles, but Tim was sprinting so he didn't have much choice if he wanted to keep up. Not that he was keeping up, that is - it was honestly unfair that Tim got to be physically fit on top of everything else. Hopefully this trapdoor that his doppelgänger mentioned would appear soon. He didn't want to be lost down here alone

He considered recording what was going on as he ran, but no. His lungs were burning enough, if he tried to talk on top of it he'd probably pass out

He wondered where Martin was. Had he found a trapdoor too? He hoped so. He might be the worst coworker he'd ever had, but he didn't want him dead. Especially not down here, where no one would ever find his body… he shivered

There was a bang from up ahead, and he turned a corner just in time to see Tim's legs disappear up a ladder. Thank god. He couldn't manage much more running. Hopefully whatever it was he thought of to say to Sasha, she'd be able to understand through unbearably heavy breathing

He reached the ladder. As that apparition - or body double, or something - had said, there was a trapdoor at the top, and he could see the whitewashed walls of the Institute on the other side. He began to climb. If running had been agony on his legs, scrambling up a ladder was somehow worse - at least while he was running he had adrenaline on his side

He reached the top and collapsed to the ground. His ankle was screaming at him. His vision swam. Everything in him told him to stop, to rest. But another voice, quiet but insistent, spoke up. Reminding him of Sasha giving him a tour when he'd first arrived at research, introducing him to Tim, inviting him to their weekly drinks. For the first time since uni he'd had friends, or at least people who would tolerate him, despite everything. He'd kept his distance since the promotion and now if he didn't do anything Sasha might be about to… to…

He stood up

His surroundings slowly came into focus. He knew where he was. Somehow, he was on the ground floor. There were worms here - not as many as in the Archives but more than in the tunnels. They weren't moving, yet. The stairs down to the Archives were on the door to the left. And to the right - that way. Artifact Storage was that way

He limped forward. The door was already open, and he could hear Tim's footsteps getting quieter. At least, he assumed it was Tim. He couldn't see him anymore

He managed to get halfway through the corridor before the worms woke up, inching toward him. And then, the voice
“Archivist”
Jon froze. The voice was feminine, sing-song, wrong. He didn't need to turn to know who it was
“Can't you hear them, Archivist? My hive” she sighed “Don't they sing so beautifully?”
He needed to run. He couldn't fight, he needed to run. But his legs refused to move. Her voice moved closer
“You should join us, Archivist. Your Eye will want to see. We're going to change the world, Archivist. Then we shall all sing together. Everyone, forever. Wouldn't that be wonderful?”

He felt cold fingers at his neck and flinched, revulsion shuddering through him. He shouldn't have left the tunnels. The fingers closed around his throat. He should've followed Martin, not Tim. He shouldn't have listened to that thing wearing his face. He was going to die here and no one would even notice just because his stupid body won't move-

A sudden noise jerked him out of his stupor. An alarm. A fire alarm. His arm moved on instinct, lashing out behind him until his elbow met flesh. The fingers disappeared and he lunged forward, swinging round and bracing against the assumed retaliation. But she didn't fight back. In fact, by the time he'd turned to face her, her focus seemed to have shifted from him entirely. She was staring up at the ceiling. And she looked furious

Jon followed her gaze. It was one of the fire suppression devices they'd had installed. But it wasn't carbon dioxide coming out of it. After all, you can't see carbon dioxide

White smoke billowed out of it, far more than it could reasonably hold. It surrounded them both, the worms, everything. When the smoke hit his chest it pushed him, far more solid than it looked, and Jon managed three wobbly steps back before collapsing to the floor
“No!” Prentiss shrieked “This is our victory! You cannot interfere! We have worked too hard, too long, for our moment of triumph to be snatched away by The One Alone! Leave, now!”

There was no response. Of course there wasn't, Sims, it's fog, it can't talk. But for a moment, it seemed as though the smoke saw him. He held its gaze for a long moment, fear freezing his veins, before it turned its attention to Prentiss

“Wha- What are you doing?” Prentiss hissed, as the smoke surrounded her, so thick and so completely that Jon could only hear her voice “This is not your concern! This is between us and The Ceaseless Watcher, you have no reason to- what-”
And all of a sudden, there was no sound at all. The worms on the floor went limp, as if their strings had been cut. The smoke billowed away, disappearing through the door he had just gone through. And Prentiss was… gone. The worms were the only indication that she'd been here at all

Jon sat there, breathing hard, for a long moment, unwilling to move. But then-
“JON! I need your help, come on!”
Of course. Tim. Sasha. He got to his feet, and kept going

He thought he heard someone following him. But when he turned to look, there was no one there. He could smell something burning. Was he about to have a stroke? It honestly wouldn't surprise him at this point

He reached the door to Artifact Storage out of breath, disheveled and in agony. The Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, ladies and gentlemen. He couldn't see Sasha anywhere - they must've gotten here before her. Tim was right up against the metal door. As he watched, he took several paces backwards before throwing himself at it, letting out a roar of frustration when nothing happened

“Tim, what are you doing?” he asked as he reached his side “Where's Sasha?”
“In there” he threw himself against the door again
“What? But- that thing said we had to reach here before-”
“I know that” he said. He raised his voice “Sash, Jon's here too now! It's gonna be okay!”
How would me being here help?, he couldn't help but wonder. Fat lot of use he'd been so far

“Jon?” Sasha's voice clawed through the door, muffled by the thick metal
Jon jumped “Sasha?”
“Jon, is that you?”
“Yes, it's me”
“Good, okay. Listen, I've kept the tape recorder on me like you said-”
“Sasha, priorities!” Tim complained. He turned to Jon “Help me break the door down?”
“What? Why?”
“Oh, Yeah” there was a thump, and Tim rocoiled like he'd been shoved. When Sasha spoke again, she sounded nervous “I can't get out of here. The door won't budge. And- Jon, I think there's someone in here with me”

“What?” Jon froze. Were they already too late? “Who?”
“I- I don't know. I can hear something moving in here, and I feel like I'm being watched. It… maybe it's nothing, I might just be imagining it-”
“I- I don't think you are” said Jon “Listen- there's a series of tunnels under-”
“Explain later!” snapped Tim “Door now”
“Can't you just unlock it?”
“No, look” Tim flicked the lock. Nothing happened “Someone's jammed it somehow”
Someone. Or something “Shit, right. Maybe- if we both lunge at the same time? One- two- three-!”
They both rammed into the door. Pain split up his side, but the door didn't budge. They tried again. Nothing. And again. Nothing. Jon felt himself grow cold. This door was built to withstand earthquakes. If Sasha truly was trapped in there-

Out of nowhere, a shout came from behind them
“MOVE”
Before he could react, a figure shoved them both aside. He stumbled back, Tim's hand on his arm stopping him from falling. He turned his attention back to the door just in time to see a man raise a booted foot and kick at the door. BANG. It slammed open, and the man stormed inside. He wasn't sure how he spotted it, but Jon's eyes moved on instinct to the lock. Or, where the lock had been - in its place molten metal was running down the side of the door

Tim didn't seem to notice that, quickly following the figure into Artifact Storage. Jon hovered at the door frame. Sasha looked unharmed, letting out a soft oof as Tim pulled her into a hug
“Sasha! Are you alright?” he asked, swinging her round so he was between her and the room
“Yes, yes, I'm-” her speech gave way to a scream
Jon turned to follow her eyeline. A table in the corner of the room burst into flames. The smell of burning filled his head
“COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!” roared the man

The noise jumped him back to himself
“We need to get out of here-” Jon stammered “the smoke-”
“Right, of course- oh my god, what the hell is that?!”

Jon froze. There was a thing forming in front of him, melted flesh flowing into a shape, towering over them all, grinning with mouths upon mouths upon mouths. Fear gripped at his lungs, too tight for him to scream. All he could make out was limbs and flesh and a face that was both empty and too much, before someone had an arm around him, and he was shoved out of the room

He staggered back a few paces, before checking for everyone else. Sasha was right behind him, while Tim was in front of them both, arms held up protectively while he watched through the gap in the door. The man who'd kicked the door in was still inside. He could hear muffled shouting inside, and noises that were almost human voices
“What's happening?” he asked
“Shh, I'm listening” Tim waved a hand as if to ward him off

“Jon” hissed Sasha “If you put your hand through the door, the recorder might pick up-”
“Absolutely not” Tim snatched the tape recorder out of his hand, without looking back
“Hey!” Jon grabbed for it, but Tim held it too high for him to reach “I wasn't going to do that!”
“Weren’t you?”

He didn't have time to introspect on that, before there was a shriek. Bestial, celestial. Thousands of voices, all overlapping, all crying out in pain. And then-

Silence. An awful, ringing silence. Tim turned back to the rest of them. He had gone very pale
“I… I think it's dead” he said weakly

They all stared at each other for a long while, trying but unable to process what just happened. The sound of movement made them all jump. It was coming from the other side of the door
“Uh, h-hello?” called Sasha
The door creaked open slowly. Tim backed up several paces, guiding him and Sasha back with him. The figure stepped out, and Jon froze. His hair was messier, there were burn marks down the right side of him, and he was missing an arm. But aside from that… it was Tim
“Oh” said Tim's doppelgänger “You're all still here”
“What- who are you?” asked Sasha
The Other laughed humorlessly, and pointed at Their Tim
“I'm him. Who are you?”

“Uh… Sasha… James?”
“Huh-? Oh. Right” something dark flashed over Other Tim's face “Well then, you're welcome. Bye”
He brushed past them all, and headed towards the steps down to the Archives
“Wait- hang on!” Jon called “You can't just leave! What's going on?”
Other Tim flipped him off. Before he could protest that, he was gone

He paused. The adrenaline was leaving him all in a rush. His legs felt weak. For a beat they were all too stunned to speak. Then, finally, Tim voiced what they were all thinking
“…What just happened?”