Just outside the Arms Hotel, Sunday evening.

[grand_fallguy]

Why Tim felt the need to run outside the moment he woke up he wasn't sure. Assure himself everything was still standing perhaps?

That had been...a most unpleasant dream, to say the least. And now there was another thing he needed to do

Comments

[notafairmaiden]

Gwynn was at his place when her cell phone rang and she reached for it immediately.

"Tim?!"

[grand_fallguy]

Oh thank God.

"Gwynn! Jesus it's good to hear your voice."

[notafairmaiden]

"Tim, what's going on? I haven't been able to get your phone to ring for a week and then I couldn't find Fandom to see if you were still there."

[grand_fallguy]

Tim's memories of the other Tim's past before last week were very hazy. But he knew that Gwynn had not been there. And on that island, that hadn't boded well.

"I'm not completely sure to be honest. But it seems like we were all stuck in some alternate universe for a week. Some woman named Umbrage had taken over the island."

[notafairmaiden]

"Umbridge." The name came out as a hiss. She remembered when that bitch had taken over the island and had hurt people and Gwynn had to close her eyes to push the memories away.

"She was an evil woman. She tried to take over the school one year and she ended up being imprisoned."

[grand_fallguy]

"I guess in the world we all got shunted to, she'd won. The place was in pretty sorry shape and...and she had some kind of mental control over some of us. A powerful spell of some kind."

[notafairmaiden]

"Something happened, you sound upset." Her voice was soft. "Come home?"

[grand_fallguy]

Something had happened all right. He didn't have any memories of specifically doing anything to anyone, but Leda sure hadn't been happy to see him.

"Yeah that's the plan. Just lemme grab my stuff and I'll catch the next portal. I love you." Why did it feel like it'd been so long since he'd said that?

[notafairmaiden]

"I love you, too," she said softly. "I'll see you soon."

[grand_fallguy]

want to do a post in her apartment or continue from here?

[grand_fallguy]

A short time later, Tim arrived back in New York. He never thought he'd think that traveling by portal was too slow.

"Hey." he smiled at her as if he hadn't seen her in a long time.

[notafairmaiden]

She smiled back, her eyes full of concern as she went to hug him.

"It was bad."

It wasn't a question. She could tell from the way he was acting. "Tell me that some hellspawn version of me wasn't there and tormenting you."

She hated it when that happened.

[grand_fallguy]

Tim took a long time answering. Partly because he also kissed her like he hadn't seen her in a long time. Finally, he swallowed and spoke;

"You...you weren't there. I don't know, or don't remember why, but you weren't there."

[notafairmaiden]

She stroked her hand gently down his face.

"I'm here, now," she assured him. "If I wasn't there, it was because of something bad because you know I would never have left you alone in a world like that."

[grand_fallguy]

Every time that other him had come close to thinking about Gwynn, the imperio stopped him. So, yeah he'd suspected something bad had happened to her.

"You know," he said, after a moment. "I'm a magic user. And sometimes, magic scares the shit out of me. The idea, that someone could hurt you. And still make me take their side, or, or turn me into a monster who would hurt children..."

He didn't know what he'd done to Leda to make her so murderous.

[notafairmaiden]

"They may have used me as an example for you and when you couldn't save me, your pain and emotions would have made it easier for them to use magic on you that would make you choose their side." She brushed a lock of hair from his head. "Eve explained that to me one time when she was grieving over pain her daughter had gone through in one of those weird worlds from Fandom."