I couldn't leave you there. (feat. Joseph)

[badcopbrains]

[Joseph was still alive.

They kept him there, why? To prod at his brain some more? What could Joseph have that could keep him in this hellhole for any longer than he.

He thought they were over this, that they could walk it off and walk away.

But this shit was following them, and Joseph didn't follow him out of the building. Sebastian thought he was dead, he didn't know at all there was a possibility that he had still lived. Kidman shot him back there while attached to that freak machine. She set him free, they let him walk out of the building for air. To walk off any grogginess and pain, and to gauge just how much of what happened was even real.

He watched Leslie leave, vanish. Like a ghost that never existed.

Sebastian found it hard to believe, there was nothing he could do, it was another trick that his mind did.

And they won't be exposing that to Joseph anymore.

He received an anonymous tip from home, Sebastian still not have returned back to precinct since the incident for many reasons.

It must have been a few weeks, but he received a letter in the mail. Mail, one of the only things he brought himself to get outside. He took to drink heavily, and awoke one afternoon hungover and even groggier. But he became sober when he received a tip from that anonymous sender, no return address or name.

Just someone typing up something on a blank page in an envelope.

Joseph is still alive.

Someone knew. Someone knew him.

Sebastian suspected for a moment.

Someone he knew could only send this.

Then he stopped thinking. He grabbed his pistol and walked out his door. Speaking of crazy things, he was about to do one right now.]

Comments

[ahighplace]

[What did he want right now? Good question. A very good part of him wanted to go back to that tiny little room, where everything was quiet for the most part. Where he'd be alone for the most part. Aside from the occasional tests, nothing could hurt him and he couldn't hurt anyone else. That was ideal.

Sebastian wouldn't accept that.

What was the next best thing, then? He raised a hand to his face, palm pressing against the frame of his glasses. He couldn't look at Sebastian right now. What did he want more than anything?]

I want... things to go back to normal.

[He wanted things to go back to normal so he could feel normal. He wanted to lose every memory he had of STEM, because if he could no longer remember that horrid place, he wouldn't feel this way.]

THAT ICON FUCKING GOD ;;

[badcopbrains]

[Sebastian knew maybe asking that question would be his death wish. It was easier by now for Joseph to accept things as they were twenty minutes ago. The world was now scary, anything new was too scary to handle. The concept of reality was gone.

It was good that Joseph wasn't looking at Sebastian, because there was a hint of sadness there. It was evident, he didn't know what to do anymore. He didn't have many questions or options left.

He swallowed hard, his nerves were going haywire but his face was just showing that hint of frustrated sadness.]

...Do you think this is real, Joseph? Do you think I'm actually real?

MUAHAHAH

[ahighplace]

[Did he think it was real? Maybe. It felt real, but that didn't mean anything. STEM had felt real too. He could feel Sebastian- his fingers and his shoulder and anything else that was still supporting Joseph's weight, but it didn't mean a damn thing. The smell didn't mean a damn thing either. The bright lights and utterly normal people who were watching them, and how calm it seemed to be here...

All of it could be luring him into a false sense of security. And maybe Sebastian wasn't real either. Maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see. Maybe the real Sebastian was killed a long while ago. Maybe the real Sebastian found a way out of STEM and left him behind. Nobody in their right mind would go back in there.

He shook his head as much as he could without making himself dizzy. Just staying conscious was becoming a bit of a struggle.]

I don't know, Seb... I don't know.

[badcopbrains]

[He didn't know, and they seemed so close. Sebastian tried so hard to force this to happen and Joseph still didn't know what was real or not.

He really couldn't put as much blunt force into this as he hoped he would. But he can't sit here and talk with it, especially now with all of the patients and workers looking on to the scene. Some workers tried closing in, to which Sebastian just shook his head.

No, he didn't want them getting near this. He didn't want them near Joseph. He didn't want any prying ears about STEM and MOBIUS, and all other conspiracy bullshit that could make this whole thing blow up.]

Look, I'm going to be...honest here, okay? I don't know how to help you believe this is real or not. I wanna talk about it, I really do. I want to help you make sense of all of the hell they put you through and help get you over this. But I can't do that here, not in this hellhole.

[Then suddenly, right after.]

Please Joseph, I can't do this alone. I need your help, we need to get the hell out of here. I need you to trust me.

[urgetojump]

["Please"... The word kept ringing through Joseph's head for a bit longer. Sebastian was pleading. Sebastian was begging for his trust. That was exactly what an illusion would do. A cheap form of trickery.

But then... If Sebastian were real, it meant he was at his wit's end right now. It was hard to remember for certain, but Joseph was sure that his partner wouldn't plead just like that. If that was the case, maybe Seb was close to giving up on him. On leaving him behind. Maybe that would be for the better.

... No. He'd already decided, hadn't he? There were pieces that needed to be picked up. It was going to be a struggle, but he could still get better. Maybe. If that was the case, he couldn't let Sebastian leave him behind. Not again. He had to try and keep up this time. The moment he fell behind would be the moment they'd get separated, and then he might never see Sebastian again. That was a terrifying thought.]

... Okay.

[He frowned, trying to focus his gaze- trying to focus all of his attention and coherent thoughts on the door before him. Then, carefully, he raised a hand to press his fingertips against the handle.]