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So this was a second story written for the contest I talked about in the "Give an Ending!" thread. I was initially going to use this for a second thread GMaE, but turns out I trolled myself and left a huge gap of spaces right before an existing ending. Anyways, excuse the weird choice of style here, I'm not exactly sure why I had been writing like that.
"Darling, I'm not teasing you at all. This is quite a serious matter."
"I don't believe in time machines."
"And yet, here we have one. Nothing less, nothing more."
Felix opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. If it was this person, it was possible. A mammoth-like piece of machinery, riddled with bolts and sparking electrical wire, ornately decorating a shimmering blue entrance that swirled and pulsed like some otherworldly being.
It could be something else. A warp gate maybe. Or a fountain of youth. But damn it all, it really did look like a time machine foremost!
"Ok. Let's just assume this is a time machine. Why me?"
"Felix, your words wound me. Who else would I choose but you? In all my years, I have never met anyone who so fully saturates my mind with their presence. Why indeed! If not you, then it must be you!" said a tall, suave figure whose very appearance seemed little more than a love song to gentlemen everywhere. An inventor of past prestige, a mad scientist of the underground, known only as Archie to the students who regularly visited this old physics laboratory for their lessons twice a week. A tutor in the morning, a solemn owl in the evening, no one knew why he took refuge in this defunct educational facility, nor what he did in there.
Felix wasn't even a student. He was simply a janitor boy, cleaning up after the students as according to community standard regulations. Nor did he much care for the scientific babble that Archie drowned the classroom in. And yet, this demented professor had attached to him like a suckling parasite. It was chilling, mindshatteringly disgusting, the way his words always twisted into seductions, how his eyes darted hungrily over him like an online window shopper looking for a steal.
In short, he was completely repulsed by Archie in everyway possible. But he could not deny the man's accomplishments. He did not care for science. He did not care for studies. But even Felix could not help but be enchanted by the amazing things this man seemingly conjured from thin air.
This time machine was no exception.
And so, it was with those thoughts in tow that Felix repressed his usual, harsh rejection and instead replied patiently. "You are teasing me. Give me a serious answer."
"Dear God, it is no wonder this child must be sent back to the past to accomplish this deed," muttered Archie, flapping his hand aimlessly. "My dear Felix, I am not exaggerating. This time machine was built solely for your use! It is with you in mind that I tore apart the fabrics of space and time. It is your calling."
"So then, what exactly do you want me to do in the past?" said Felix, just barely able to keep his voice steady. It was true that Archie loved to tease, but once the matter of fact was discovered, he always cut his losses and spoke the truth. That meant that he really was going back in time. "Is there some sort of disaster I have to prevent?"
"A disaster?" said Archie. "What in blazes are you talking about, child?"
"Why else would I go back in time? I have to correct something, right? No, maybe I have to bring something back? An artifact? No, no...that would cause interferences in the timeline, wouldn't it?"
"Ah...I understand now," said Archie, rubbing his hands together. "Yes, yes. Time is a delicate thing. If you affect something in the past, the future can be either ruined or saved. Cause and effect, tied together by the temporal of our reality--ARE YOU DAFT!?"
Archie literally tore hairs out from his head with his deafening outburst.
"I am sick of this insinuation that time is like a rope that can be used in a tug-of-war between fates! If you are standing next to a person and they are shot, they die! So then, if you are standing a thousand feet from this person and they are shot, do they live!? Can they be revived by having someone stand next to them after they are dead!? It doesn't matter where you are in relation to a temporal period! The event will occur, the event has occurred, the event is occuring!"
Archie snorted furiously and whirled away to the time machine, his white lab coat flapping behind him. Felix could barely stand. He had never been the subject to one of Archie's few, but frequently fierce explosions. The intensity of how much the time issue irked him was quite clear.
"Every unit of time is a discrete unit. You can go back to any point in time, do whatever the hell you can think of, and not a thing will change here! Every moment is self-contained!"
"T-Then...why are you sending me back? If I can't change anything that's already happened, then what's the point? I know I talked about artifacts earlier, but the cloning machine's made everything in the past all but worthless..."
"Indeed! Hardly worth tearing apart the fabric of space and time for! The Mona Lisa? Such a disgusting piece of drivel isn't worth wasting a speck of graphite on."
"I...wasn't really talking about that..."
"Nevertheless, Felix, this is an important matter. I cannot stress this enough. You, my dear lovely child, are embarking on a quest, a journey! What you do there is up to you. All I can hope for is that when you return, you will return transformed!"
"You're not sending me to the Jurassic period, are you?"
"A man, Felix! A man! From the pitiful, but adorable janitor boy that you are now, to a glowing, formidable, spirit-enflaming, essence of masculinity! Yes, yes...that will be quite a sight to see," said Archie, licking his lips as he stroked his chin.
"Why am I going back in time?" shouted Felix.
"Ah...such a sting in your words...yet this is also new and exciting..." said Archie, hugging himself. His wide grin faltered as Felix's heated glare burned a hole into his forehead. "Ehem, calm yourself, Felix. You're simply getting a girlfriend. There's no reason for you to be so anxious about this."
"Look, I think I have the right to know why exactly I'm being flung into a timehole to God knows where for God knows what reason, especially when--"
The words were finally processed in Felix's mind.
"WHAT?"
"I had to take matters into my own hands. You weren't getting anywhere and your youth is wasting away," said Archie, averting his eyes from the enraged janitor boy. "As much as I enjoy your company, I can hardly just stand still as I see you fumble so aimlessly through the best years of your life--"
"NO! I'm not going! That's it! I'm done! I'm leaving, right now!"
"Don't be such a prude, Felix! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance of the highest order!"
"Do you know what it means if I go? You know, don't you!? You're really fucking with me now, aren't you!? Is that what you wanted to tell me? I'm such a pathetic loser, I might as well go back in time to get some? Maybe you're hoping I'll turn to you in desperation or something!"
"Banish the thought, as enticing as it is." Archie spoke with a light tone, but his eyes were hard and cold now. "This is not a joke, Felix. I am sincerely worried for you. I have watched you and believed in you, but no longer! A pathetic loser? That is microscopic in scale to what you truly are. I feel such shame, such depravity! How can such a fool crowd my mind like a incessantly buzzing bee? It's a tragedy! A work of art that would trump the Ancient Greeks!"
Felix slumped back to the ground. So even Archie thought of him in that way. Was he really that useless? Was he really that hopeless? He felt like crying.
"Do you understand, darling, what separates the trash from the magnificent? Well...nothing really. As they say, one's trash is another man's treasure. However! Only if said trash can become a treasure. Take steps towards becoming magnificent."
Archie tapped a button on the time machine. The blue glow intensified, its light so blindingly bright that it could've easily been mistaken as white.
"I will say no more, Felix. Nor will I say anything about your decision."
Archie stepped away from the time machine. He did not look at Felix. The machine hummed, as if it was an onlooker, trying to hide their nosiness. The minutes whiled away. Eventually, Archie sighed and rubbed his fingers forlornly.
The light flickered.
"I forgot," said Archie, his lips widening into a smile. "You should check your watch when you arrive. There's a nice historical anthology that may come in handy."
A pause, then a deep, reverbrating sound, like the air of a bustling crowd being silenced to nothing.
"There he goes. I do hope he can figure out how to get back on his own."
***
"Five years? You didn't think to check your watch at all?"
"How was I supposed to know you turned my watch into a portable time machine, damn it!"
Although he had been sent back to become a man, Felix hadn't really changed. Aged, yes, but even Archie was surprised at how familiar the boy felt even after five years had passed for him. Although only a week had passed for the scientist.
"So? How went your quest for the Holy Grail?" asked Archie, sipping a cup of tea.
"It's been five years. It's pretty hard trying to remember everything that happened."
"I didn't ask for every little detail, darling. Just a summary will do."
"I do remember being pissed because there was a folder of historical records titled "For you, my dear bimbo" in my watch."
"In case you didn't know, "bimbo" used to be a word meaning--"
"I know what it means!"
"I'm sure. You were right in the time period after all. Like a cultural exchange."
"It worked," said Felix suddenly. He exhaled and set his cup of tea down. "Like a charm."
"My, did it now? Honestly darling, I didn't think you would be up to it. I'm glad to be proven wrong, however."
"I made a couple of changes. I don't really like apples, so after I bought the company out, I changed the name to Banana."
Archie roared with laughter. Truthfully, he had been on tenterhooks for the last few days. After all, a bimbo was a bimbo. But perhaps there had been progress after all.
"In any case, it looks like you've done well. My hats off to you, Felix," said Archie, wiping a tear from his eye. "So, now let us get to the juicy entree...who was the lucky one to sink her jowls into your petite little--"
"If you want her name, it's Olivia. We met in a cafe after I accidentally spilled her coffee."
"Delicious. Tell me more."
Felix really didn't want to tell this guy about his love life. Especially when his eyes were curled up like a Buddha completely teaked out with drugs. But he felt like he owed him that much at the very least. Although Felix said that he didn't remember, he remembered clearly the first few years of his time there.
Years where he had been frightened, so utterly out of place, that he contemplated suicide. Attempted suicide. Succeeded, but then was brought back by dated medical procedures.
Or perhaps it had been those words. Fireflies in his head, little beacons of light that he could hold onto until they faded, like the last slivers of moonlight upon dawn.
Take steps towards becoming magnificent. From the pitiful, but adorable janitor boy that you are now, to a glowing, formidable, spirit-enflaming, essence of masculinity!
No, what was he talking about? Just words, not even particularly good. How could he have depended on them? Impossible, impossible, impossible--
"Archie..."
"Yes, darling? You've stopped at a good part, I hope you have something meaningful to sa--"
"Than-" The words were interrupted by a sudden bout of coughing. Felix felt like there was something catching in his throat. Goddamn it, even my body realizes how much I don't want to say this!
"What was that? I couldn't quite--"
"Thank you!" shouted Felix, taking advantage of his next, unhindered breath. He panted and wiped his shaking lips. "Thank you...Archie. Not just Banana...but Olivia...no...I mean..."
"No need," said Archie after a moment's pause. "I would hardly want to say a gloomy failure is an example of what occupies my admirable mind. Anyways, it's been quite a while since you've last been here, so why don't we do something a bit more entertai--"
"I'm going back," said Felix.
"Naturally. You can't just whisk a girl out of time after all," said Archie without skipping a beat. Five years. That was the barrier erected against him now, rather than simple repulsion. It was far more formidable than he had thought.
Well, I was never one to resist a challenge, thought Archie, sipping his tea again. There was a clatter of porcelain as Felix began coughing again and dropped his cup.
"Dear, dear. Did you catch a cold? If I remember, global warming was at quite a low level during that period..."
"Yeah...Olivia has one too. I must have caught it from her," said Felix, his voice lingering slightly on Olivia, filling that simple word with an emotion that made all his other words seem lifeless. It was subtle, it was slight.
Archie licked his lips.
"Well then, you must get back to her. Can't leave your loved one alone in such a state," said Archie.
"Not that it matters. I can go back anytime," said Felix, smiling.
"Ah, yes. But, that means there is a time where you aren't with her. That means, that at some point, she is isolated from you. And you will never reach her," said Archie. Felix's smile vanished. He stood up to depart and, for the first time, bowed to Archie in respect.
Dear child...
It's almost heartbreaking to see one turn into a grown man.
***
"You can't go back."
Felix munched absentmindedly on the butter cookie. More of Archie's ramblings. But he had started getting used to it. Having become more active in his company's development, Felix was starting to see just exactly what made Archie such a genius. His accomplishments seemed to have become even more amazing and spectacular then when he had been a child.
"And why's that? I'll have you know, Olivia's expecting me back at exactly 6:00pm for dinner."
"You can't go back. Nope, nope, nope. That's final."
"Archie, give it a rest already, will you? I'm actually flattered you haven't given up on me after all this time, but I'm already with someone and I can't even tell if you're serious half the time--"
A loud drone burst in the air. The shining blue glow of the time machine was swallowed up by pale, shadowy darkness.
"...What are you doing?"
"You can't go back," said Archie, his body softly illuminated by a beeping red light.
"Archie. Turn it back on. This isn't funny."
Archie didn't move. He simply stayed silent, standing in front of the machine like a stone statue. Guarding. Forbidding.
"Archie, I will fucking kill you if you say something like "Oh, darling, can't you take a joke?""
What was it? That dark, stifling feeling? He had felt it many times, but never from Archie. What was that feeling again?
Despair...
"Archie..." said Felix. His mouth was dry. The words he wanted to say were crushing his tongue. "Why can't I go back?"
Time is discrete. That's what he told me. That means even if I go back, nothing will happen here. Anything I do won't affect the future. So that means...if I go back, something is going to happen in the past.
Olivia...
"Archie...Tell me right now. Is it Olivia?"
Archie didn't answer.
"Damn it, Archie! Tell me fucking now! Is it Olivia!?"
Felix couldn't stop shivering. The thoughts running through his mind, they were clawing at him, scraping at him with cold, numbing fingers. Not Olivia...Not Olivia...Why? Why? Why would something happen if I went back? What is it...What--
"No. It's not Olivia."
Relief. He had never felt his body loosen so much, never felt so light in his life.
"It's you."
***
"Let me...go back..."
Materialization. That was the problem. To be sent back, he had to be materialized into that time period. But something had gone wrong. An error. A bug. Little by little, they had accumulated. Each trip had cost more and more to undertake.
Felix had lost nearly half of his internal organs.
It was a miracle itself that he was still alive. But it was a curse that was afflicting his body.
The organs didn't matter. They had been replaced. His body had been fully cured. The most modern medical attention had been given to him. Every radical experiment available had been used.
But Felix was dying. His skin was sinking into craters, he was turning grayer and grayer with every passing second. He was constantly shivering, constantly losing muscle, constantly having fat seeping out of his pores--
"Send me back..." rasped Felix, gripping Archie's arm. But he was so weak, so fragile...blood was leaking from his fingers. His grip was just a touch, feathery, unstable...
"I can't. You will die."
"I am dying..."
"I will find a way! I will...save you. Time is the ENEMY!" said Archie, his hand gripping his face, as if he wanted to tear off his skin.
"Olivia...I have...to tell Olivia..."
"NO! That is the worst you could possibly do! Leave her with death!? Your corpse!? With nothing but a shoddy explanation, nothing but words that can't be trusted..."
Tears dripped from Archie's eyes. Felix felt what little strength he had mustered fade away. He was right. It was what many wanted, to see their loved ones before they died.
But as they were dying--
To be seen--
To realize that there was no way to save them--
To watch as they died, as they withered away--
Fading, fading, fading...
"What do I do...WHAT DO I DO?" screamed Felix, his voice cracking as his throat suddenly constricted and his hands clawed at his neck. Archie raced over and stuck him with a syringe. Instantly, his body relaxed, collapsing on the bed.
Faster. The symptoms were coming on faster. He was racing towards death. He was failing, failing, failing--
"Stay with me...I will save you! I swear it!" said Archie, dabbing at Felix with a towel. Blood was streaming from where his fingers had pressed against his throat. It was flowing from his mouth from where his teeth had punctured his lips. Bursting from his knuckles after they had been clenched. Pooling inside his body, gathering in his flesh, drowning him, drowning him--
"Archie..."
He needed more time. But he couldn't go back in time. Time was discrete. There was nothing he could to do save Felix.
Felix was going to die.
It was determined. It was inevitable.
It was destiny.
"A man...leaves behind a legacy. A man...does not leave tears. A MAN BURNS BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN AT DEATH!" cried Archie, his hands gripping Felix's sodden shirt. He rocked forward, his eyes clenched, his mouth open in agony--
"Archie...I'm sorry but..."
A half-smile forced itself onto Felix's lips.
"I'm so scared..."
As if he was a child, Archie huddled Felix to him. Huddled his shaking body, listened to his cries that were so frightened, so filled with fear, that they were silent. Watched as the light glimmered, then vanished from Felix's eyes.
Unleashed a wordless wail of pure torment as the child stilled, as he returned to how he had been born.
Covered in blood and filth. Blind to the world.
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