this chapter,, might be a little bad, because this was when i started fighting with writer's block a tad bit
it's not terrible, but it was written over the span of nearly three weeks, which i think made it kinda choppy and inconsistent.
sorry in advance.
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Julia threaded her fingers through her short brown hair. "He's gone. He's just gone. I don't understand it."
"He can't have just vanished, can he?" Lukas asked.
She shook her head wildly. "No way. He wouldn't have just left, not when he told me he'd be here. And he wouldn't have abandoned his research. This makes no sense."
"Are you sure there's nowhere else he would've gone?" I pressed, not wanting to accept that we may have just come all this way for nothing.
"Yes, of course I am. Ivor told me he'd be here, and even if he's been a shady character in the past, he wouldn't've lied or changed his mind without telling me. And you didn't see how obsessed he was with this whole timeline thing; there's no way he would've left all this stuff behind." Julia said, still wringing her hands anxiously.
Radar spoke up next. "Well...it has to have been at least two weeks since you last saw him, right? So...maybe something came up only recently and he didn't have a chance to get a message to you? Especially since you were kinda in another dimension?"
Examining the dusty shelves again, Lukas argued, "No. He's been gone for longer than that, from the look of this place. Which still leaves the question of where he went, and why."
"He would've left a note, or some sign of where he was going. Unless..." Julia started pacing, sounding even more worried than before. "Unless he didn't intend to leave. If something happened to him..."
"Let's not jump to conclusions. I'm sure we can figure this out." I told her gently.
"But..." Radar started nervously. "Without Ivor, do we have a way to learn more about the timeline deviations? What do we do?"
Julia shook her head again, not seeming to have fully heard what he said. "There's gotta be a way to find him."
"But what if we can't?" Radar worried. "If he's gone, how are we supposed to fix any of this?"
Julia hesitated for a second, then turned away. "I...I'm not sure."
Lukas crossed his arms. "You're not sure?" he echoed. "Are you really telling me you don't have a plan here?"
She stopped her pacing to give him an upset scowl. "Yeah. Ivor was supposed to help us; he was supposed to be here. My entire 'plan' was hinging on that."
"So what you're saying is, you didn't hesitate to pull us into this even though you had no idea what was really going to happen." Lukas challenged. His voice had taken on a hard, critical tone.
Julia's glare deepened. "I had no reason to believe Ivor wouldn't be here! I thought I knew exactly what we were getting into! Don't try to put this on me."
He let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, you're clearly blameless here, subtracting the fact that you were the one to come barging into our lives and dragging us into this whole mess. This wasn't our fight, until you decided to make it so."
"Lukas." I said in a warning tone. I was ignored.
"What else was I supposed to do?" Julia snapped. "Do you really think that enlisting the help of myself from another dimension was my first choice? No! My friends are all gone, Lukas! They're deep in their own lives, and they either weren't willing to help or were too difficult to even get ahold of! I sought out Jess because I hoped that if my most-trusted friends didn't want anything to do with it, then maybe another version of me would!"
"That doesn't change the fact that you still went barreling ahead without really knowing what you were getting yourself, and us, into." Lukas continued stubbornly.
Julia balled her hands into fists, the very picture of frustration. "For gods' sake, Lukas. I thought we already went over this. I thought all the answers would be here. This makes no sense, and you blaming me for everything you can think of isn't getting us anywhere! We...we need to figure out what we're going to do."
The anger had begun leaching out of her voice as she said this. She still seemed tense and fairly ready for a fight, but was now acting more anxious than furious.
I turned to glance at the papers scattered across the crafting and cartography tables. "Well, even without Ivor, there's gotta be some clues here. Maybe we can find something about how the deviations work, or...anything that'll point us in the right direction." I knew I was beginning to grasp at straws, but I was also starting to get desperate for some solution to Lukas and Julia's arguing.
Lukas still had his arms crossed over his chest, and hadn't let up on the cool glare he had pinned on Julia. He stayed silent for another moment before relenting. "Fine. I'll browse through the bookshelves in here. You and Radar check the stuff on those tables."
The fact that he hadn't acknowledged Julia did not escape me, but I chose to ignore it. "Okay. Julia, can you search the other room?"
Still giving Lukas a fairly hostile expression, she replied with a brief 'sure' and turned away, heading for the other part of the house. Lukas also directed his attention elsewhere, beginning to examine the dusty bookshelves without another word.
Radar gave me a cagey look as we started to sift through the chaotic jumble of papers on the tables. "So...that could've gone over better." he muttered to me, lowering his voice so Lukas wouldn't hear.
"No kidding. I'm not sure what kinda grudge those two have or where the hell it came from, but we need to figure out how to keep them from picking any more fights." I added.
Glancing briefly back at Lukas, Radar said softly, "Well...he sorta had a point this time. Julia really doesn't seem like an expert in the art of 'thinking ahead'."
"That makes two of us. Though I guess that's what we have you and Lukas for, right?" I pointed out. Radar shrugged agreeably, seeming happy to be needed.
Ivor did not appear to have even attempted to organize his research. The papers seemed to have been thrown about with no thought at all, which made me wonder. While not being the most organized person, Ivor could be strangely meticulous in certain ways, and this wasn't his style.
Another strange thing was that not all of the writing seemed to be his. Most of it was, but some things were written in flowing, lighter-handed penmanship that I didn't recognize.
I scanned through a few documents that seemed to be elaborating more on the 'key terms' of the timelines; constants, variables, et cetera. My eyes snagged on Soren's name written beside the bit about variables, followed by two question marks and circled twice.
I thought back to the hidden room in the Order's temple. I still believed it was Soren who had been investigating the timelines there, but this seemed to point to that he was involved in them somehow.
Could he have something to do with the influx of deviations that Julia had described?
Across from me, Radar set down a small notebook. "Jess..." he started hesitantly, still looking down at the table.
"Yeah?"
He took another few moments to answer, and when he did, it was in a very uncertain, slightly nervous voice. "I've been thinking of the timing of all this, and I don't...I'm not sure it matches up."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Just...how all this is unfolding. Did Julia ever say how long it was between her finding out about the timelines and deciding to go after you?"
I nodded, remembering when the topic had come up during our trip to the Far Lands. "Yeah, a little over a week. She said Ivor had returned and told her about this only a few days after he left Beacontown, and that she spent awhile trying to recruit some of her other friends before giving up and coming to my timeline."
He tapped the notebook. "Well, it doesn't really fit. He's been gone for a while, from the look of this place. But not that much time has passed since he would've left, which, by the way, he doesn't appear to have. Not to mention that it says here that he not only expected Julia to be here, he knew you would come too."
"Me?" I asked with raised eyebrows. Radar shook his head quickly.
"Well, not exactly you. But he knew she was going to try to find another Prime. So, there's just no way he would've deserted Julia and his research, since he was supposed to have been waiting for her."
I set down the paper I'd had in my hand. "Radar, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying...I think it's very possible that Ivor didn't leave, but was...removed? Probably by someone or something that didn't want us to know about the timelines."
I gave him a cautious look. It was very unlike Radar to present such a dismal theory. But on the other hand, he was known for his candor, so if he was telling me this, he must have really believed it.
Another thought occurred to me. "Okay. I guess I can see that. But then why leave all these papers and stuff here? Take the researcher, but not the results?"
"Maybe they were hoping we wouldn't make sense of it on our own." Radar suggested. "A lot of this stuff isn't exactly worded in the most crystal-clear way."
I shrugged, unconvinced. "Maybe. Seems pretty inconsistent, though."
We returned our attention to the various documents. I picked up a paper written in that smooth, unfamiliar handwriting, scanning the words.
The particular paper I was looking at seemed to be describing the effects of major deviations in the most wordy, unhelpful way possible. Nonetheless, from the look of it, nothing good would come of the continued disruption of the timelines.
I remain decently uncertain of the full effects these such deviations can have, it began. Minor things build up and become more problematic than I know how to describe. The dimensions were never meant to be perfectly equivalent; some differences will of course arise. But the most major events in a Prime's life need to remain the same, or things start spiraling out of control. Time is a fragile thing- when the fabric of the universe begins to have holes torn in it, such gaps can arise in the passage of time as well. Slips and jumps can occur, as well as small events repeating (like an intense sort of déjà vu). But what I believe may be the worst effect is bits and pieces of one timeline beginning to impact another; such as items 'crossing over', if you will.
I inhaled sharply. That had already happened, with the map that had mysteriously appeared on my desk. I pondered this for a moment before reading the last few sentences.
Such things can lead others to discover what I have, the truth of the timelines and our parallel dimensions. People were not meant to know of this, partially because the knowledge of such things can cause the timelines to deviate even more. I do not yet know how this works, though more research will certainly be put into it.
My hands felt slightly clammy as I set down the parchment. I did not like all that talk about time being altered, and didn't want to consider how that could escalate more. Lukas may not be happy that Julia had dragged us into this whole mess, but I for one was glad to help if it meant preserving the simple laws of our world.
Noticing what looked like my name on a different page, I lifted the paper to examine it. This one was obviously written by Ivor- his untidy scrawl had become very familiar to me over the years. This particular note seemed to have been jotted down in a rush, judging by the way some of the letters ran together and certain punctuation was left off.
This timeline appears to be a branch, not an original, despite the irregularity she found. Do not yet know the name of the Prime that drives the 1st original, though the other original is Jess. Is the J thing a coincidence, or something else? Coincidences are becoming less 'coincidental' by the minute but I can't think of a reason for the names to be linked
Is it possible for new timelines to branch off a secondary timeline? Unsure of how to figure out, but it could potentially happen
Don't yet know how much of a gap exists between each timeline. Must be at least a few months between the original and this one, though I don't know about the two originals or how to find out without going there. Julia will have to find out on her own, it's too risky for
The rest of the paper was blank. I turned it over in desperate hopes that answers would somehow be on the other side, but of course, there was nothing.
This new tidbit of information had given rise to more questions than I'd have liked. Who was the 'she' mentioned in the beginning? I didn't think it meant Julia, but who else? What was too risky?
What the hell was an original timeline versus a secondary? And what did he mean about timelines branching off?
I gripped the edge of the table, running my other hand through my hair. Questions. Always so many blasted questions.
Radar, who'd been mutely shuffling through papers like I had, lifted his head. "Ah...I think I found something."
"What kind of something?" Lukas asked, suddenly regaining an interest in us. He must not have found anything relevant among the various bookshelves.
"Possibly the beginnings of an answer to the whole what-do-we-do-about-all-this question." Radar said with a slight smile as he reached up to adjust his glasses.
I made an impatient, 'go ahead' gesture with my right hand, and he gave me an amused look.
"So, you know how the whoever-it-was doing all the research in the Order's temple described the things called constants, right?"
"Yeah, the shit that's consistent in multiple timelines. The Prime being the Wither Slayer, the Admin losing his powers, whatever." Lukas replied, crossing his arms casually. Julia silently approached us, obviously listening but apparently deciding not to contribute.
Radar nodded. "Right. There's not a lot of constants, but the ones that exist are pretty obvious. Well, according to Ivor, there's a missing constant in one of the timelines, and a pretty big one."
I frowned. "Wait, what? There's gotta be a lot of missing constants, right? With all the deviations and stuff?"
"No, no, hold on. You're getting constants mixed up with variables." Radar corrected me. "Variables are all different. The whoever-it-was defined them as objects or people that are still in one timeline but not in another. Like, um...Aiden. He's alive in our timeline, but not in Julia's, and we don't know about the rest. His fate varies."
He fluttered the paper in my general direction. "But this...this is something else. This constant is something that's in every single timeline except one. That's what's causing the most issues. All the timelines are different, but this 'missing constant' is something that's not supposed to be different."
"What is it, then?" Julia asked hurriedly.
Radar gnawed his lower lip, shifting rapidly from confident to nervous. "I have no idea. If Ivor knew, he didn't write it here. He managed to figure out that it existed, but I'm pretty sure he didn't manage to find out what it was."
Lukas huffed. "Great. So, as usual, we're just one piece short of solving a puzzle. I'm really hating this theme we're starting to get into."
"Maybe, but at least this time it's one piece instead of like, a million." Julia said. "If this 'missing constant' is what's causing the influx of deviations and problems, then we've just gotta find it and fix it. Simple as that."
He shook his head. "I object so much, to all of that. First of all, if Ivor didn't manage to find out what this constant, or un-constant, I suppose, how are we going to? And what if it's not something that can just be removed? What if it's an event that was supposed to've happened years ago? We can't just fix that."
Julia shot him a mulish look. "We can certainly try. If you're that bent on being the king of pessimism, go ahead, but I'm not going to just give up. The entire universe as we know it is at risk, and I refuse to let petty questions get in the way of saving it."
"They're not petty questions! They're things we need to know if we're going to get anywhere with this! God, now I know you two are different versions of the same brain." Lukas snapped, pressing his fingers against his forehead. I tried and failed not to take offense at that statement. "Look. I get that you want to just leap headlong into this, but it's just gonna make more problems if you don't slow down and think about what's going on. How are you planning on fixing this 'missing constant'?"
Planting her hands on her hips, Julia shot back with, "Well, that depends on what it is. Which we're not going to find out just by standing here and arguing."
"How are we supposed to figure it out, anyways?" Radar added. "With Ivor gone and no other clues here, where do we even start?"
Lukas let out a pointed little 'hmm', and Julia's glare deepened. I cleared my throat, somewhat surprised no one had pointed out the most obvious solution yet.
"We start with the other timelines, of course. It may not be as easy as searching through papers, but somewhere out there, in those alternate dimensions, are all the answers we need."
Radar gave me a startled look. "You don't mean...just, jumping into another dimension and seeing what's different?"
"Why not?" I inquired. "Do you see another way to do this? Because right now, I'd say going straight to the source is probably our best bet."
Julia's frustrated expression morphed into one of surprise and approval, while Lukas scowled slightly and scanned the other papers on the tables as though a different solution would magically present itself.
He then exhaled slowly, looking like he was giving up an internal battle. "Fine, then. If this is the only way we're going to fix this...then into the unknown we go."
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big sigh
nothing,, happened this chapter. i mean. there was some very relevant information thrown around, but. still no stuff.
like come on, rush. let's get to the part where they're fighting themselves from another dimension. stop fucking around with all this boring stuff.
ugh.
next chapter in a week, if you're still here by then. i wouldn't be.
Word count- 3093 (hhh this was so long for such a lame chapter,, whyyyy)