bigapplesauce | [closed] Johnny needs at least two apples a day...

Johnny had much the same idea, going out for a change, seeing the city, putting some solid distance between himself and everything at home. He hasn't quite recovered from the other night's awful dream, and he doesn't want to seem cagey around Gabe. So he's here, of all places, ostensibly looking for books. It'd be nice to have something to read once in a while. Mostly he's ended up looking at these "Nook" things, another bizarre creation of the future.

Enough of that, though. He doesn't want mysterious future tech he can't afford (and would never ask for). He wants the fiction section. He can't help entertaining the notion that maybe he'll find his book somewhere - yeah right - and perhaps it is that alarming thought that drives him to the elevator. He doesn't normally take elevators. He needs the reminder of a little closed up space. Don't look for your book, you idiot. Go find Catcher in the Rye or something.

He's happy to find the elevator empty. Happy for the privacy.

Less happy when someone manages to duck into it.

Really, really unhappy when it's Peter.

He jerks back against the wall, thinking for a moment that Peter has actually pursued him into the elevator, what, to give him more grief about the thing with Lucy? Christ, this is just what he needs.

Peter's a lot cleaner, though. And wearing a suit? And barely even looks at him. Is this some kind of long con? Johnny hesitates, just staring awkwardly as the doors slide shut.

He also has sideburns, you'll notice. Really nice sideburns, okay. He just vaguely assumes that he startled Johnny a bit when he came hurtling through the doors at last moment, and doesn't pay him any more mind after that.

After a few moments he does notice the continued staring, though, and looks back at Johnny with a confused frown. He's about to ask if there's something the matter when the elevator stops.

"What?" he asks vaguely at the doors, and tries to push the button to go up. Nothing happens. And continues happening.

"N-nothing." Johnny keeps staring for a moment longer before forcing himself to look away. This guy is obviously not Peter. He looks... okay, exactly like Peter, but... He wonders for a moment if this guy is the Peter of this universe, but what the hell are the odds he'd run into the same guy like this?

He's distracted from this confusion by the elevator having stopped.

"Did that..." He leans forward and tries pushing a button as well, as if it'll work better when he does it. "Is this really happening?" he says, supremely unimpressed.

"It is," he affirms, staring at the buttons for a few moments, waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it's just a hiccup. But it doesn't appear to be that easy this time. After another few moments, he presses the alarm button, holding it in for five seconds. Even weirder, this doesn't seem to do anything either. Considering they haven't lost the lights, it shouldn't be a power situation...

"Hmmm." He reaches into his pockets and puts on a pair of glases, then glances back at Johnny. "So, tell me. Do I have something stuck in my hair, or do I just look uncomfortably similar to someone you know?" It's happened enough times now it's his go-to guess when someone acts weird seeing him. Well, when he's not doing anything particularly alien or strange, that is.

Well hey. Guessed it on the first pass. Johnny frowns at him suspiciously, still trying to figure out if this is some psychotic elaborate setup - and if so, wow.

"Uhhhh yeah, sort of," says Johnny vaguely, really really wishing this wasn't happening to him. Elevator rides are awkward without the small talk, without the being stuck, without the guy who looks uncomfortably similar to another guy who, last time they met, threw several objects at his head.

"Peter or Andrew?" he asks, reaching into his pocket for the sonic screwdriver, moving his body a bit to conceal what he's doing from Johnny as he opens the panel on the wall to start fiddling. Hey, at least Johnny got stuck with someone who's proactive about this sort of stuff, huh?

WHAT.

"Who's Andrew?" demands Johnny, now thoroughly lost. "Who are you? What..." He trails off briefly, mouth hanging slightly open as this guy just hauls off and opens up the elevator panel. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting us out of here. So, Peter then?" he answers with a slightly pained glance back at Johnny. "My sympathies. Peter's a prat, but at least Andrew's decent."

And now he's fiddling with wires. That is, until there's a loud thump from above them, followed by a distinct "Ow."

The Doctor frowns up at the ceiling. "What?"

"The fuck was that?!" Johnny looks up, startled and extremely displeased by this new turn of events. As if Peter's absurdly nonchalant doppelganger wasn't bad enough.

"Someone on the elevator, at a guess," the Doctor answers. There's a few more, much lighter thumps on the ceiling, the sound of feet. Then a creak as the elevator hatch is opened, and a wild mess of brown hair appears, upside down.

"Pardon me," it says, then disappears, and is replaced by a pair of black shoes, then some tan trousers, then a black frock coat and grey waistcoat, until the entire body drops down, revealing a man with still pretty wild hair and a bright grin.

The Doctor stares dumbly at the Doctor. "What," the Doctor comments. The Doctor looks back with a polite smile, adjusting his cravat.

No no no no no no no.

Johnny can't even comprehend the absolute absurdity of what's happening. He backs up, but there's nowhere to go (there never is), and he's stuck cowering against the wall of the fucking elevator he just had to step into. Fucking great.

He can't speak; can only press himself to the wall hoping for spontaneous invisibility, or, failing that, the chance that this Peter-looking guy will be able and/or inclined to protect him.

The Doctors both get distracted by Johnny's sudden terror.

And then the newly arrived Doctor is distracted from Johnny's sudden terror by the sudden disappearance of the other Doctor.

He blinks at the spot where just a moment ago, there had been a tall, gangly man standing. The stare in itself hadn't been that odd - he's a man dressed in Victorian clothes climbing into an elevator that is definitely not in the Victorian age.

"What on Earth..." he comments with confusion, before looking back at Johnny again.

Well FUCK. Johnny has no energy to expend wondering what happened to the other guy - whether he knew exactly who'd just come in and chose to vanish, or whether it was something else, or whether he'd never been there in the first place - none of that really matters, because what's happening now is he's trapped in an elevator with Zagreus.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he says, his voice a little bit shrill. He's already learned not to respond with aggression, but this is so beyond the pale of what he'd expected from the man that he can't particularly help it. "You're breaking into elevators now? Are you that bored?"

Well, if this were Zagreus, that would been about the worst thing he could have said, or at least certainly among the top ten worst things. Johnny knows that immediately, and he slumps a little, eyes downcast, expecting the worst. "Why can't you just leave me alone," he murmurs.

What is going on?

First he spontaneously relocates to an entirely different place. Then a man vanishes -- which doesn't even seem to phase this other man, who's still focused on him, and.. apparently recognises him. And the Doctor doesn't even know where he is.

"Excuse me?" he asks with obvious confusion, because he's not entirely sure where to start on all the other questions. "You know me?"

Johnny hesitates. This is not what he'd expected. Granted, he doesn't know what to expect, or if it's safe to expect anything. It seems stupid to play the innocent when Johnny already knows the truth. He's never balked before at just reaching in and crossing wires to get Johnny to feel the way he wants. Why this?

Why does Zagreus do anything? What's stupid here is trying to find reason in the madman's warped methodology. Still, it's almost insulting, and Johnny finds himself emboldened by his own indignation. "Yeah, you're hilarious," he says derisively.

Right, that's helpful. He'll take it as a yes, though.

"Alright, second question. Would you mind telling me where we are? Besides an elevator, as that part is fairly obvious," he asks. He adds the last bit because Johnny doesn't exactly give off the vibe of helpfulness.

What the hell is this game? Is Zagreus trying to gaslight him now, with ordinary household manipulations as opposed to the fancy invasive techniques he's normally so fond of? Johnny's getting scared again, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar waters. If Zagreus' goal is to throw him off balance, it has been done and then some.

"Barnes and Fucking Noble," he says, trying not to sound desperate. Angry and flippant, but desperate all the same. "Somewhere between, uhhh, the second and third floor. My head. Is that what you want to hear? Last I checked this was real."

Is it though? Is he so damaged that he can't even tell anymore?

Doubt seeps in, causing him to tremble, just a little bit.

Edited 2014-04-25 10:08 (UTC)

Great, Barnes and Noble, that puts this anywhere between probably the 1950s at the earliest, judging by this elevator, and... well, really, anywhen after that point, and probably anywhere too. Not actually super helpful.

"Right. I'm decently sure I'm not in your head, and that yes, this is indeed real," he confirms. "Not that I'm in any position to give guarantees. So, if this is real, why did that man just disappear? Where did he go. And I'm genuinely asking you here, because I have no idea, and you barely seemed to notice."

"I don't know," says Johnny, upset now, confused and alarmed by this bizarre interrogation. He sinks to the floor, tugging his knees to his chest and ducking his head down between them. Like he's hiding under a desk in some old nuclear bomb "safety" video. Every bit as useless now as then. "Why are you doing this?"

Edited 2014-04-25 18:11 (UTC)

The Doctor stares at Johnny for a few moments. Obviously he hadn't been very subtle about his worry and anger, even though the Doctor still doesn't know why, but this just went a bit beyond what seems reasonable. Is Johnny having a panic attack? It looks like he is, and since the Doctor is apparently the one inducing it, he's not sure if comforting is gonna have the right effect.

"...I'm sorry. I'm not sure what it is I'm doing, but I'm sorry if I've frightened you," he says, in what he hopes is a reassuring way. And in case it's the whole 'locked in elevator' thing that's the real problem, he turns to the panel, which hey, was already off. Mysteriously disappearing guy must've gotten started on it. Alright then, he can finish, and get them out of here, and hopefully someone else will be more forthcoming. If all else fails, B&N has customer service, right?

This is new. Apologies. Zagreus may be duplicitous beyond anything Johnny's ever known, but somehow it doesn't seem like him to apologize, even if it was part of a game. Johnny lifts his head halfway, peering up at the man, who's now turned his attention to the panel.

"Who are you?" he asks. Plain lying is obviously more Zagreus' strong suit, but he's curious nonetheless.

"I'm the Doctor," he answers, pulling his sonic screwdriver (which is a lot more steampunk than the other Doctor's) out of his pocket to fiddle with the stuff behind the panel that the powers that be are keeping very vague. Messing with wires and all that, trying to find a way to get the elevator moving again, as it's still unclear why it's not.

Doctor. Johnny sits up straighter. Charley kept talking about a Doctor in her dream and Johnny never asked who or what...

But she also knew Zagreus.

Johnny stares dully at the implement the "Doctor" is apparently using to inspect the elevator. "Yeah?" he says, tiredly willing himself to play along. As long as Zagreus doesn't touch him, he'll be okay, right? "Doctor of what?"

"A bit of everything," he answers, as usual. He'd've hoped Johnny was too scared to follow this line of conversation, but people will apparently go above and beyond to ask these questions. Just the Doctor? The Doctor isn't a name. You can't call yourself the Doctor. And you can't be a Doctor of everything, you gotta at least pick a subject, maybe two, certainly not a hundred and twenty-two subjects.

"Okay." (Maybe the Doctor will appreciate Johnny's unflagging ability to accept the poorest of explanations even in such circumstances.) Johnny leans his head back, staring up at the top of the elevator, from whence this bullshit dropped onto him.

He can't waver. If there is a plan here, it's going to be something along the lines of lull him into complacency and then pounce. Johnny rakes his fingers through his hair a few times, remembering the sensation a little too vividly from one too many encounters.

"Look, I get the whole cat and mouse thing," he says, losing patience, abandoning caution as he always does. "But wouldn't it be more of a timesaver for everyone if you just dropped the act and got to the torture part? I'm not gonna get any more unready."

He shuts his mouth, wishes he'd shut it sooner, and looks away angrily, the threat of tears already burning his eyes. Why does he always do this to himself?

Well, that gets his attention. The Doctor looks away from the panel, frowning worriedly at Johnny, spending a few moments trying to piece together a reasoning for why he would expect torture to happen. No answer presents itself. It seems to have to do with the whole recognising the Doctor thing. A future version of him, maybe? That still doesn't explain why torture is on the table.

"I don't even know who you are. And I don't know who you think I am, but torture, of anyone, is absolutely out of the question as long as I'm here," he answers, seriously but calmly.

A laugh bursts out of Johnny, ugly and humorless and slightly hysterical. "Fuck you," he says. "Fuck you, fuck you. I don't care what you call it, torture, fucking lessons, whatever. I don't want it." He rubs the burgeoning moisture angrily from his eyes and looks helplessly up at the Doctor, who's doing such a fine fucking job looking concerned and bewildered. "Drop the act, will you? It's not a good look for you. Just get it over with. Just be Zagreus."

This is what giving up looks like.

The concerned and bewildered look continues all the way till the final word. Then it morphs into.. something that could, in a pinch, possibly be described as concerned and bewildered, but is probably closer to shocked, angry, possibly a little scared.

"Zagreus?!" he asks, his voice suddenly not so soft. "Is he here? How.. how is he here, I trapped him in the Divergent universe years ago! And he wasn't even me then!" He's not waiting for an answer. In fact now he's pacing, and seeming to talk much more to himself. "And I think I would've remembered being him and being here, or meeting you, unless this is some.. future version of him and me. But that doesn't make sense either, because Zagreus can't be here, he's made of anti-time, and this is definitely a universe with time."

Johnny says absolutely nothing. He stares, tight-lipped, at the Doctor, listening to the sudden outburst without an ounce of comprehension. If this is playacting, it's obscenely elaborate. If it's not, then... he doesn't know. He can't afford to let the possibility seep into his mind. He can't afford the luxury of hope.

A lot of this smacks of things Charley told him, but he can't quite remember it all clearly, and what's more, it's entirely possible that Zagreus has been in his mind since then, found that out, is now using it to some sick advantage. So he's silent.

The silence is not really helping, but at least it gives the Doctor some time to work through this revelation, some muttered, some just inside his head.

After a few moments more, he seems to remember Johnny's existence. "You. What's your name?"

"Johnny," he answers automatically. He's no longer sure what's going on, but at least the Doctor's acting more like he ought to, intense and almost angry. This is more familiar ground. He's locked in, literally, so he may as well play by the rules now. "Johnny Truant."

The Doctor nods and files that away. "How do you know Zagreus? How can I reach him?" he further asks. And he realises that if Johnny still believes the Doctor is Zagreus - with all the understandable mistrust and caution that would entail - it might be difficult to get a decent, honest or easily comprehensible answer, depending on the situation. But it's worth a try.

"God." Johnny rolls his head back, looking up at the ceiling again. "I don't fuckin know, man. Look inside your heart or whatever. Actually, wait, no. I got it." He looks back at the Doctor. This has gone so fucking far there's no sense in holding back anymore.

"What you gotta do is go somewhere and mind your own business and look vulnerable for a while, and he'll just show up, just like that. And he'll trap you in your head and threaten to break you apart and leave you there, and you get away but he's still there, and there's fucking nothing anyone can do to keep him out. How's that?"

The Doctor frowns worried at Johnny. Not actually helpful, but very informative in other ways.

After a moment, he slowly approaches Johnny, squatting in front of him to get on eye-level. "Is he in you now?" His voice suddenly sounds sympathetic now. The Doctor would think he'd feel it. He should be able to sense the anti-time. It may be a different universe, time feels different here, but he knows how Zagreus feels. But even if he's not really here, there might be traces of him inside Johnny's head.

"He's always in me," whispers Johnny, refusing to make eye contact, squirming back against the wall. He feels crowded and trapped, and he hates the gentility in the Doctor's voice, it's so wrong and confusing, he wants to believe it, that this is a whole different person who isn't going to hurt him, but he can't afford to believe that. He can't afford to trust his perceptions and he learned that long before he ever met Zagreus.

"Johnny, listen to me," he answers, still speaking softly. "I know Zagreus. He has been in me too. Long time ago, now. I left Zagreus behind in a different universe, and I'm not sure how he's gotten here and why you would recognise me as him, when I clearly am in possession of my own body. But I plan to find out, and I will do everything in my power to stop him from hurting you or anyone else. I promise." Look into his eyes, Johnny. Are these not the soft, trustworthy blue eyes of someone there is no need to be scared of?

Johnny does look. Slow and hesitant, trying to hide his fear. New possibilities spin wildly, unstoppably, from his overzealous imagination. If this is true, or something close to the truth, what's to say that Zagreus isn't only sometimes in control of the Doctor's body -- that he's not in there right now, waiting to claw back out and seize him by the throat.

His eyes are gentle, but they're the same, same as the Zagreus who sometimes visits him in his dreams. Zagreus has been gentle. Whispered kind, cloying things in his ear, touched him almost soothingly before it became violent.

The close press of their enclosure and the Doctor's proximity are too much. He snaps suddenly, crying out and swinging his arm toward the Doctor's face.

And he thought it was going so well. That he could actually reassure Johnny. Guess not. Too much like a caged animal lashing out in fear, even if the Doctor poses no threat.

He jerks back in time to escape the brunt of the hit to his face, but on the other hand he ends up falling backwards onto his ass, his own arm flying up reflexively to grab Johnny by the wrist.

It's obviously a reflexive gesture, not an assault, but it doesn't matter any more. Johnny jumps back, pressing back to the wall, both palms flattened against it - and it opens right the fuck up, so suddenly that he tips backwards into it, his arms windmilling briefly, comically, before he plummets.

"FUCK," he screams into the darkness, afraid for a ridiculous moment that he's fallen into the elevator shaft, but no, you idiot, he did this. He escaped.

He tumbles out through the ceiling of his own apartment, landing neatly on his bed, the passageway sealing up behind him.

The Doctor stares at the elevator wall for several long seconds.

One moment there's a Johnny right there, the next he seems to be... swallowed by the wall? Did he see that right? There is definitely more than one strange thing going on here, people keep disappearing before he can get his answers. Or in the case of the first guy, even say hello.

After a few moments more, he gets to his feet, brushing himself off and taking mental stock of the situation. Well, first things first, gotta get out of here. He returns to the panel on the wall, but just then, the elevator starts moving. Apparently, whatever stopped it in the first place is no longer an issue. The Doctor is not playing to devote time to that particular issue. He's going to go out and figure out where the hell he is and what's going on.

[closed] Johnny needs at least two apples a day...

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