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skell3 · 6 months

Text

So I wrote something for RP.

TMA Multiverse stuff. Jan is Jan Fairchild, avatar of the Vast... And yet Gertrude still manages to get her hands on him to stop the Buried ritual.

TW: sick/getting sick, brief mention of dismemberment

MAG 97 Spoilers

To The Pit

“I need your assistance with something.”

The coffee shop buzzed around the two of them seated in a corner spot, where one Gertrude Robinson had her back to the wall and eyes to the nearest window. Jan Kilbride– Fairchild sat across from her and contemplated his drink nervously. This woman makes him nervous, had made him nervous from the moment she set eyes on him. Maybe that was a sign he shouldn’t have agreed to meet with her.

“...something?” Jan ventures, peeking up again. Today his eyes were deep and a little gray, as the sky was covered in clouds and- fortunately for him- it wasn’t raining. Yet. He would like it to not rain at all, to not deal with that and his hearing aids, but this was London and he had to go without them or stay inside more often than not.

“Yes, well… something important. I believe someone has told you about rituals?” Gertrude was being cryptic, and Jan half wanted to back out already. But she also seemed… how to put it? He sort-of wanted to help her out, just a little bit. The fact that he let out a soft breath when she made a noise of approval at his nodding was a big indicator of something. She was scary, and he did not want to be on her bad side.

“Mm… yeah. Mike mentioned them once- I think. And then Simon and I were discussing them, and that’s why we had the, uh. Meeting,” Jan explained. The meeting that went on among all of the so-called ‘heads’ of each of the fears currently experiencing difficulty with the Stranger and all its children. Never-mind the ‘time shift’ that everyone was experiencing, and the need to gather more information on that. “Is there a… ritual going on now? Or about to? Is that what you need help with?”

Jan tapped his fingertips against the side of his tea mug and waited, watching the old woman look out the window. When she turned her gaze on him, he couldn’t help but reach up to fix his beanie to attempt to look a tiny bit more presentable. His messy blond hair tucked under that would just have to remain hidden for that to be anywhere close to truth. Then Gertrude smiled, to herself, and he gave a nervous smile in return.

“The Buried are up to something, and I need one of the Vast to come assist me in shutting it down.” She made it sound so simple. One of the Vast- that’s definitely him. And a Buried ritual could be… well. Bad. Especially bad for the Vast, if it succeeded. He gets downright dizzy if he even tries to go down to one of the tube stations of the London Underground, so if the world went Buried…

“What would you have me do?” Jan asks, hopefully helpfully. He doesn’t ask the ‘Why me?’ question he has on the tip of his tongue, because it probably doesn’t matter, does it? If she just needs one of the Vast, any of them will do, and honestly he’s probably the least busy at the moment. Gertrude smiles at him again, and this time he smiles more comfortably back. He wants to help. Going to the meeting with Simon had proven his eagerness to be useful to the others, and now that he was part of the Fairchilds… Well, he would want to protect his family, right?

“Come to America with me. We’ll investigate the ritual site, then interrupt them with your presence.” Gertrude sets her cup down and turns it on its saucer briefly. “I’ve already got tickets and a car booked. Would take us… I don’t know, two days? Three, max.” She really does make it sound so simple, and she seems pleased as Jan seems more interested in the idea. He has been wanting to see how he fares with flying, and… to America?

“Should I- um. Do I have time to pack anything?” Jan’s only a tiny bit nervous that she had said she already has tickets, and his smile fades when she shakes her head.

“No, we’ve got about two hours to get to the airport. But we can pick some things up for you after we head out.” Her hand reaches over the table to pat at his arm, and she knows he’ll agree to come, at this point. “Don’t fret, Jan. I’ve got everything taken care of.”

Jan isn’t entirely sure what he got himself into, here. Gertrude was a cranky traveler at best, and while the flight was alright, he felt too… confined. It gave him a headache and he was sick by the time they landed in the US. It took them about an hour to get the rental car, and so far, they haven’t picked anything up for him to change into. The flight had provided a toothbrush and all but his mouth was still tasting a bit sour and he wished he had a chance to clean up.

“Now, you’ll be able to roll down your window here, but try not to do it too much, alright?” The car wasn’t particularly large, and Jan knows he’s going to feel like he’s being packed into a sardine tin riding in that thing. But he was too tired and already too unwell to really argue, so he nodded and loaded into the passenger side. The seat slid back and tipped back to give him as much space as he could manage, and it was that way he was able to get a tiny bit of rest.

It was dark by the time Jan came around again, and they were definitely still driving. Sitting his seat up, he groaned a bit at the motion sickness that came with it and immediately rolled down the window. The stink of farmlands hit him then, but at least he could get some air on his face to not get sick again. “Where are we? Weren’t we going to hit a hotel?” Details were… sketchy, to say the least.

“We’ll hit one once we get there. We’re short on time.” Gertrude has her window cracked, a cigarette between her lips as she drives a fair amount above the speed limit.

“I thought you had this… planned out? Timed?” Jan ventures to ask, then wishes he didn’t for the look he got. Making a quiet, anxious noise, he opted to look out his window and try to get some fresher air. He had agreed to help, so he was here to help, but he couldn’t help but feel like something wasn’t right. Maybe the ritual was happening sooner than she had anticipated?

Fortunately for him, they have to stop for gas and Jan gets the chance to stretch his legs and feel less confined. It does wonders for him, though he’s still jet-lagged and jet-sick and carsick and all the kinds of things one meant for the vastness of the universe would experience being tucked away in essentially differently-sized boxes. They ate dinner at a diner in town and headed out again, and Jan opted to try and sleep some more. Conserve his energy since he’s not entirely sure Gertrude would let him go ‘feed’ on some poor unsuspecting souls who have a fear of drifting into the unknown.

It took the better part of the evening for the duo to make it to their destination. Bucoda, Washington… Not someplace Jan had ever heard of, but the scenery was lovely and he was getting some clearer air than he’d ever had in the city. The sky had a small smattering of clouds, the sunrise had been beautiful to watch. Scenic and enjoyable if he weren’t still riding in the car wishing he didn’t feel the urge to retch every couple hours. The last one was only half an hour ago, and Gertrude had grudgingly stopped to let him do so before handing him a bottle of water to sip from. It helped, but only a little.

The car slowed as they pulled into the sleepy little town, and then off to the side so that Gertrude could consult her map. Jan wanted to ask if he could get out and stretch, but she seemed… on edge. Was he imagining things, or did she keep glancing up and over at him as if she expected him to disappear. He wasn’t too sure, so he stayed put and kept glancing out his open window, checking the place out.

“You’ll do just about anything to help your… family, won’t you?” Her words drew Jan out of a daze, and he looked back to Gertrude with furrowed brows.

“Well… yes? Simon’s helped me out considerably… Even helped me achieve my dream. So I think I would probably do just about anything to repay him and the family for taking me in. He doesn’t like her short ‘hmm’ of a response, and he checks his phone. While he had mentioned going out of town for a bit to Simon, Manuela and Mike… he hadn’t been entirely sure of where, and hadn’t had any time to get a new sim card for it to work abroad. So here he is without the ability to ask anyone anything, and he feels so incredibly daft that he hadn’t done so beforehand.

“You won’t get much out here as far as signal goes, even if you did swap that over,” Gertrude confirms Jan’s thoughts and he sighs and tucks it away. “You can use mine when we’re done here.”

“Can’t I use it before? Just to update everyone? I forgot to when we landed.” He was too sick to even think about it, and he would’ve never have guessed that maybe she anticipated that.

“Can’t. I need to take it to the store to get it swapped. But we’re close, and it shouldn’t take too long. We need to get this done first.” Gertrude’s voice was stern, and Jan winced but nodded. She did say they were short on time, so… maybe it really was happening soon. He didn’t feel too different where they were now.

“Should I… be able to tell where it is?” Being Vast and all, sometimes he gets bad vibes from some people and he half suspects they might be Buried or otherwise.

“You might, but… I think I've got it.” The map gets closed up and the car pulls forward as they continue on their trip. Jan goes from feeling just carsick to worse. Much worse. Gertrude seems to notice but she doesn't slow down or pull over for him, she just keeps on going. “Get used to it, kid,” she digs out a fresh cigarette as they wait at a traffic light. “We're not quite there yet so it's going to get worse. This is the hard part.”

The hard part? Jan swallows hard and tries laying back in the seat again, but it only seems to make him feel worse. He doesn't even see the pit until they pull up to it, and by then he wasn't sure it was safe for him to move. With tears in his eyes and his hand clasped around a pendant at his throat, he feels a tiny bit worried he's not going to be able to handle this. That he won't be able to help at all. The feeling of that trinket in his hand helps soothe him, reminds him of Manuela and has felt like her being there with him the whole time, but it does not ease him out of the sickness.

They arrive at the Pit relatively early in the day, sun shining bright and the whole town nothing but quiet. Jan swears he heard a car go by but he doesn't recall it, stuck in the passenger seat because if he moves he is going to throw up. Gertrude got out of the car a little while ago, looking down and out over the thing with equal measures of distaste and cigarette smoke. What a situation this was, and she didn't think she had anything to do the job with until she spotted a large shovel nearby. That will have to do.

“Jan, I need you to come out of the car now.” Gertrude's voice has shifted to something smoother and more coaxing. “You can throw up wherever, I don't think anyone here will mind.” If there was anyone left. Jan made a noise in his throat but didn't move immediately. When he did, it was first to wipe tears from his face, and then it was to slowly open the car door. Each movement was difficult, as if he was somehow moving through soil. It takes him a moment realize his connection to the Vast is muted here.

“I d-don’t… I don't know if I can do this, Ms. Robinson.” It was a statement that Jan knew was a little too late given that they were here now, and they were short on time. The ground seemed to shake beneath him once he finally got out of the car, and for a long few moments he thought it wasn't just him. When he realized it was just his own legs, he stumbled away and landed on hands and knees to be sick in the dirt. Fortunately for him, he didn't see what was in that pit, nor would he ever. The town was quiet for a reason.

“Unfortunately, we don't have time to deal with that right now.” Gertrude has the shovel now and she tests it's weight in her hands. Looking over, she knows that if she doesn't do this now, she may never get the chance. So we without much feelings to it, she went over behind where Jan was getting sick and struck him with the shovel to the back of his head. He goes down quickly, and she sighs.

*I'm sorry, Jan, but you just being here won't be enough. I had hoped but now I need to do what I came here to do. Thank you for your help.”

It took a lot longer than anticipated to get Jan’s body hacked into enough pieces for it all to fit into the hole at the base of the pit. Gertrude was covered in blood and dirt before she even managed to stuff him down in there. She had noticed a pendant when she beheaded him and had made a mental note to find it when she was done, but as she stuffed the last of him in there, the earth heaved and the Buried complained and she had to get out of there. In the car, out of town… just out of there.

By the time she made it to her hotel, she was exhausted and frustrated that it had to go that way, because she knew that she wasn't going to be welcomed by some when she made it back to London. But Gertrude did what she had to do, and made her observations as best as she could first before making her decisions after. The Sunken Sky would not come to them all, and they should be relieved of that. But something was nagging at her about the whole thing, and she couldn't quite place the apprehension she had when she flew back home and tucked back into her apartment.

It was only then that she remembered the pendant, but it was much too late. Bucoda, Washington was now a pile of dirt on the map after an earthquake struck it, and that pendant was likely long gone now.

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