Chapter Text
Ian’s never been much of a dreamer. He has them sometimes, though it’s rare for him. Usually, they’re flashes of color, or random noises and phrases he’d heard that day. He almost never remembers them the next morning, save for a few vivid ones.
This is surely going to be one of them.
Ian’s lost in the tunnels and he’s completely alone. His preflex goes off, signaling a threat, but he doesn’t know if they’re gnomes or something worse. He knows his friends are down here but he has no idea where they are.
Ian can hear footsteps now, so he whirls around in frustration and tries to pick a path from the fork in front of him. He groans, choosing one and starting to run. The footsteps get louder, and Ian mutters a curse under his breath, forcing himself to run faster.
Ian stops, breathing hard and slumping against the cold wall. Okay, he just needs to think. First thing, he needs to find his friends. Next, he needs to find a way out. Or, maybe he needs to switch those.
His preflex goes off again, though it feels different this time. Less of a danger, more of a… warning.
“Ian.” He knows this voice, but his head is swimming, his thoughts incoherent. “Focus. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“Where are you?” Ian calls, scrambling up. “What do you mean you don’t have time?”
“Ian, I don’t have time to explain, but you need to get back to your friends,” the voice says. His memories blur together, but he remembers his dorm room, a third roommate that was distinctly not The Great Unknown.
“I’m trying,” he says. “Which way am I supposed to go?”
“I don’t know,” the voice is frustrated now. “I can’t tell. You need to figure that out yourself. You can’t do anything if you’re alone. You need to stay together. You need to find your way again.”
“Is that supposed to be a big philosophical thing?” Ian retorts.
“No, Ian, you’re lost . You need your memories back, so you can be un-lost.” The voice is a little amused now. “You’ll need your friends for that. I have to go now, Ian, but that’s your first priority.”
“Wait!” Ian calls. “What do you mean, my memories?”
Ian keeps calling, but no one answers. Scowling, he starts to run again, going back to looking for his friends. As he runs, the tunnel gets darker and darker, until he can’t make out a single thing in the darkness. He stops, catching his breath in the blackness.
Slowly, he takes a step forwards, completely uncertain. He can’t feel anything, not even his ability. Fear swirls through his body, sapping the heat from his body and sending his heart racing.
He’s alone.
Completely alone.
Ian jolts awake, heart hammering in his throat. There’s a thin sheen of sweat covering his whole body, made more obvious by the chill in the room. He blinks, trying to take stock of his surroundings.
He’s in some sort of room, though he can definitely tell it’s not his dorm room. It looks a little more like a prison cell. The walls are bare, painted over in white. The light is harsh, probably to make up for the lack of windows. Ian himself is in a bunk bed, a scratchy blanket draped over his lap.
He takes a deep breath, forcing himself to think. Okay, so he’s not in his dorm room. Where were they last night? He thinks they might’ve had a late night in the observatory, but he can’t quite remember. He doesn’t even know what day it is.
Careful to be silent, Ian slips out of the bed, stretching. To his relief, Gabe’s in the bunk above his. Ian can’t help the grin that spreads across his face at the sight of Gabe—and Señor Guapo, who’s tucked under his arm—and the familiarity he provides.
He’s not alone, not anymore.
“Gabe,” he whispers, poking his shoulder. “Gabe, get up.”
“Five more minutes,” Gabe mumbles, turning over.
“Gabe, come on, get up,” Ian insists, shaking his shoulder. Gabe raises his head, giving him a bleary but reproachful look. He doesn’t have his glasses, so Ian quickly scans the room, finding them carefully folded on a side table. There’s a closet off to the side, carefully shut and presumably empty.
“Here,” Ian says, handing over the glasses. “Come on, man, we gotta figure this out.”
“Figure what out—uh, where are we?” Gabe asks, scrambling to sit up.
“Not sure,” Ian says, even though he has a really bad feeling he might know. “That’s what we have to figure out.”
“Wait, how did we get here?” Gabe asks, climbing down.
“No clue,” Ian admits. “What do you remember?”
“I… remember we were talking about rations, maybe?” Gabe says. “Last night? I thought we went back to the dorms.”
Ian nods, running a hand through his hair. His intuition tells him that his sneaking suspicion is probably right.
“It’s kind of weird,” Gabe admits. “I don’t really remember everything, just bits and pieces. It’s like someone put my brain in a blender or something.”
“Gabe, don’t freak out,” Ian starts. “But I think we’re in West Campus.”
For a long moment, Gabe doesn’t say anything. Then, the color drains out of his face.
“Don’t freak out,” Ian repeats, trying to sound positive. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.”
“What do you remember?” Gabe asks. Ian fills him in, about his patchwork memory, about the dreams, and especially about the familiar voice.
“Okay, first, we need to figure out what we did to get here,” Gabe decides. “That’s step one.”
Ian nods, looking at the door.
“Think we can leave?” he asks. Gabe shrugs, heading over to try the door, with no success. Ian hadn’t noticed before, but there’s a window on the door. Ian peeks out at first, making sure no one’s out there before taking a longer look.
The hallway looks like an isolation ward, and Ian counts at least ten rooms down the hall across from theirs. There’s a heavy-looking dark door at the end of the hall, one that definitely doesn’t look like it’ll budge. The only place they could be is West Campus
“Okay, we’re locked in,” Gabe says, panic lacing his tone.
“Maybe I can break the glass?” Ian wonders. He hadn’t checked if the side table was nailed down, but if he can use it, he could probably break through the door.
“It’s not that big, but it’s worth a try,” Gabe says, taking a few steps back, arms over his head to protect himself. Thankfully, the side table isn’t nailed down, so Ian hefts it up, aims, then sends it swinging down. Just before he can hit the glass, the door swings open.
Ian grunts, yanking the table and sending it clattering to the floor.
“Ian. I’d appreciate if you could keep the furniture where it is.” Headmaster stands outside their door, arching an eyebrow at Ian. “Boys, follow me.”
“Uh, what?” Gabe asks, but Ian ignores him.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he says. “Are we in West Campus?”
“For the time being,” Headmaster says coolly.
“What did we do to get put in here?”
“I can’t disclose that, but if you boys would—”
“Nope,” Ian interrupts. “We want answers. Now.”
“Mr. Archer, I assure you that everything is fine, and I am doing all that is possible,” Headmaster says. “We take breaches in security very seriously here, and putting other students–even potentially–in harm’s way is intolerable.”
“Harm’s way?” Ian asks, fear straightening his spine and anger hardening his jaw. He crosses his arms, fists clenching. “How could we put them in harm’s way?”
“Mr. Archer, do you know why you’re here?” Headmaster asks, but answers before Ian can retort. “You are here so we can help you develop your ability and keep you safe. This campus is the safest place for you, and any attempts to remove yourselves puts you in harm’s way, along with your classmates.”
For a moment, Ian’s heart stops. Did he know they were trying to leave? Did he find something in their dorms, or up in the observatory? Ian silently curses his own stupidity; of course Headmaster would know about the observatory. How could he think he and his friends were safe up there?
“We haven’t done anything,” Gabe says quickly, looking Headmaster in the eyes and pouring power into his words. Ian can feel it himself, but Headmaster doesn’t so much as flinch. “We’ve been here–I mean, we’ve been at classes and the dorms this whole time.”
“You’ve gotten better during your little hiatus,” he mutters, then continues louder. “Gentlemen, it’s very important you think critically about your next moves, because the extent of your punishment depends entirely on you. While I’m prepared to do what is required to set you straight, I'd appreciate a little self-reflection on your part. Though I want to see you reach your full potential, your safety is paramount. That is why we follow the curriculum we follow.”
“What hiatus?” Ian asks.
“Mr. Archer, you will learn the answer to that yourself,” Headmaster says. “Our interests align, after all.”
“What does that mean?” Ian demands, tired of the cryptic non-answers.
“As I have said, I just want to see you reach your full potential,” he says, tone annoyed now. “As an educator, it’s my greatest goal. Now, gentlemen, if you’ll follow me, I’d like to show you something.”
“We’re not going anywhere with you,” Ian says automatically, but Gabe shakes his head, jerking his chin out in Headmaster’s direction. He tilts his head, as if to ask, “what have we got to lose?”
Headmaster sighs, like a tired parent dealing with a temper tantrum. Wordlessly, he gestures for them to follow. After a long moment, Ian nods at Gabe. Whatever happens, at least the two of them will be together.
“Okay,” Ian says slowly. “Fine. On one condition.”
“Mr. Archer, I’m surprised that you think you’re in any position to make demands right now,” Headmaster says.
“Where are Suki and CJ?” Ian demands.
“Also, what day is it?” Gabe chimes in from behind.
“Ms. Sato and Ms. Ward are fine,” Headmaster says. Ian rolls his eyes; of course he wouldn’t get a real answer. “It’s Thursday.”
“Where are we going?” Ian asks.
“I think I’ve indulged you enough,” Headmaster says. “Now, boys.”
Apprehensive, Ian and Gabe follow. Ian takes stock of everything around him, of who’s in the cells. To his surprise, in one of the cells in Howard. He looks up at them in surprise, then glares at Gabe. Sheepish, Gabe gives him a little wave, but Howard looks down, pretending he doesn’t see them. For a moment, Ian thinks he looks scared.
“Come on,” Ian mutters, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away.
“Jesus,” Gabe mutters. “It’s been months .”
They’re led to another room, some sort of storage room filled with kitchen stuff. Rusting pots and pans hang on the walls and dusty cardboard boxes occupy each corner.
“Where are we?” Ian asks.
“Just wait for a while,” Headmaster says. “I have to gather some things I want to talk to you boys about. I’ll be back in a while.”
“What?”
“You’re just leaving us in here?”
With that, Headmaster swiftly walks out, pulling the door shut behind him. Ian stares, dumbfounded. What is the point of dragging them out here and then just leaving?
“Are they… going to starve us?” Gabe asks. “Or make us fight to the death? Because look, man, I can’t take you—”
“Gabe,” Ian sighs.
“—I saw it in a movie once, where only the survivor got to be let out of the room—”
“Gabe!”
“What?”
“Start looking around,” Ian says. “We’re not going to get an opportunity like this again.”
“Wait, you think—”
“Yeah, I do,” Ian answers the unasked question. “Headmaster’s giving us a chance.”
“To escape?”
“No… Or, I don’t know,” Ian admits. “Either way, he brought us here to buy us some time, I think.”
“You trust Headmaster?” Gabe asks, incredulous.
“No, but it’s like I said,” Ian says. “We’re not going to get another opportunity like this again.”
The two of them start looking around, Ian taking stock of anything that can be used as a weapon, or possible escape routes. The windows are a bust; not only are they nailed shut, but there are bars over them as well.
“Uh, not seeing much,” Gabe tells him.
“Me neither,” Ian mutters. “Okay, we just have to think. Maybe West Campus has tunnels too? How do they bring kids here?”
“No clue,” Gabe admits. “Honestly, I was picturing a bag-over-the-head, unmarked-van situation.” Ian snorts at the picture, but truthfully, it’s just as likely as anything else.
“Maybe I can break down this door,” he muses.
“You’re on a hot streak today, huh macho man?” Gabe teases. “Put those muscles to use.”
Ian flushes red despite himself, resolutely trying to ignore Gabe’s comments. He tests the lock—firmly in place, unfortunately—then rears back to slam his heel as hard as possible against the door. Gabe lets out a wolf-whistle.
“Bet you wish CJ was here to see this, huh?”
“Shut up, Gabe,” Ian tells him, his stupid blush intensifying.
“Calling it like I see it,” Gabe defends himself.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ian mutters. “Okay, Headmaster said Suki and CJ were safe, which means Main Campus. Why are the others on Main Campus though?”
“No clue,” Gabe says, far too nonchalantly. “Maybe they did a room raid and saw some of our supplies in our dorm?”
“I think they’d ask about it before they just threw us in West Campus,” Ian rationalizes. “Keep looking around. It helps to know as much about this place as possible.”
“Yeah, knowing everything about these old pots and pans is really going to help,” Gabe mutters sarcastically. Still, he does as he’s told.
Ian carefully checks each wall and vent until he finally gets something.
“Dude,” he says. “Come check this out.”
“We’re too big to crawl through the vents,” Gabe reminds him.
“No, look, it’s not a room vent, it’s industrial,” Ian explains. “Room vents either curve up or down, but this is a straight shot.” He runs a finger along the edge of the vent, noting how it lines up exactly with the grooves of the wall.
“I think…” He tugs on the grill of the vent, then beams as it and part of the wall come away in his hand. “See?”
“Where does it go?” Gabe asks, peering into the opening. “It looks like it might be connected to the tunnels.”
“Should we try it?” Ian asks.
“Worst case scenario, we just get thrown back in here,” Gabe says. “I’m in.”
“Okay, I’ll go in first, check it out, then signal when it’s safe for you to come in. You just have to pull the grill shut over it.”
“Got it, boss.”
Ian rolls his eyes, climbing in. It feels familiar but foreign all at once, and the conflicted feelings only add to Ian’s unease. Maybe this is a bad plan. Maybe Headmaster has something worse than West Campus. Maybe he’s putting Gabe in danger and—
“Dude?”
“Yeah, come up,” Ian says. This part of the tunnels is empty and quiet, thankfully. Gabe clambers in, pulling the vent shut and testing it.
“Where are we?” Gabe asks.
“No clue.” Suddenly, Ian’s thinking about that dream he had, about being lost and having to get un-lost. “Let’s go find out.”