Chapter Text
Henry had worked so hard for this.
For the past year, his life had been a sequence of events that were thrust onto him too fast to have the time to think through them.
Yet still, he had been troubled by dreams he often didn’t remember, by gut feelings for seemingly no reason, and now, just seeing or thinking about his closest friends made him uneasy.
Luckily, they were out of the house at the moment, so he’d been enjoying the moment’s peace, relaxing on the couch.
It was nice; he’d been worried that the two would force him to see a doctor at the rate he was at. He’d insisted he just needed some time off, and the General had decided to give the three a break for a while.
He felt a buzz go off on his lap. A quick check confirmed it was a text from-
...Charles.
He pushed down the various emotions rising up in him, trying to focus on the words first.
“
Hey, do we need any groceries while we’re out?
”
Why was such a simple question provoking such a reaction from him? The headache spoke for itself, but… why was he so scared? For what? Charles was fine! He was… he…
Oh god, what was happening to him? Henry had to be descending into insanity; he had to be. But the longer he thought about it; the longer he looked at that name- everything got worse.
Henry’s hand trembled as he squeezed his eyes shut, desperate for it all to go away.
...but it wasn’t.
Dammit, he’d just had his peace! He was happy ! He just wanted to live his life with Charles, and Ellie… and…
...wait, and who?
He didn’t…
Henry opened his eyes.
...
He wished he hadn’t.
Charles had been worried, evidently, by his lack of a response.
“
Henry? Something bothering you again? I can pick up some painkillers if you need!
”
“
Henry, are you there? Do we need to come back?
”
“
Henry? Hello???
”
“
Are you ok???
”
Tears began to stream down his face. He couldn’t have the two return when he was like this, fuck!
“
i’m ok charles, yes pls get groceries. love u
”
Yeah, that wasn’t concerning at all. But it was all he could manage. He shut off his phone, leaving it on the couch seat as he stumbled over to… somewhere else.
His perception was collapsing in on itself. No, nothing was moving or anything, but everything that led up to this moment…
It wasn’t that he couldn’t remember.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
It wasn’t clear, but he was getting closer to his answers.
He’d broken into the bank.
He’d escaped the prison.
He’d stolen the diamond…
He’d…
...wait, how did he-
Everything exploded.
Not literally.
But he understood .
And in that moment, his senses may very well have exploded.
He could see everything.
Feel everything.
Anything and everything was happening at once, like… he had made every choice, and each was true.
But that wasn’t possible.
And it wasn’t, for very long anyway.
Just as quickly as his existence had been split, it was being sewn back together in a horrifically different way with the stability of his own mental health.
He wanted to stay HERE!
HE WANTED THIS TO STOP!
WHY WOULDN’T IT STOP?
Henry screamed. Held his head.
It wasn’t until his voice was beginning to give out that he realized… he wasn’t in pain anymore. Well, besides the throat.
Then why could he still see- oh.
Henry had moved his hand in an attempt to examine his body, but it was covered by a sleeve that was far too big for him.
...He sort of liked it. Yeah, his outfit was comfy.
Okay yeah he was still seeing everything though he couldn’t just ignore that though.
The weirdest part was that he could still, like… “see” normally. He felt everything only where he was, which was a relief, but. It was still overwhelming.
It was like… well, there’s no metaphorical way to describe “seeing anything and everything that is currently taking place in each timeline”. It just was .
But he’d had the time to take it all in.
Besides, he was getting nowhere just sitting here. Charles and Ellie could be home at any minute; he had no clue!
But one thing was more important than that right now.
Henry had to know what in god’s name he looked like. If his clothes changed, then…
Well, he was on his feet now. Only one thing left.
Nearest mirror was in the bathroom, so off he went, slowly but surely.
He almost couldn’t bring himself to open the door, but… he had to know. It creaked to an open, and-
Henry had to do a double-take.
Was that really him?
There were one, two, three… too many to count. But that was NOT a normal amount of eyes.
And his mouth… it was more like… a mix between an animal’s maw and what his own was. The inside was weirder- the shape was what you’d expect, but the visual texture was something between TV static and outer space.
Henry felt something rise up in his throat.
How would he face Charles and Ellie now?