Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[CLICK]

[PHONE RINGING]

[SOUNDS OF PACING]

TIM

[Muttering] Sasha... Sasha pick up. Pick up your phone, Sasha.

SASHA

Tim? [Laugh] It’s four in the morning. Is this a booty call?

TIM

God, I wish it was. Is Joey there? She… fuck. She said she’d be out all night, and I know you two are close enough for her to stay there.

SASHA

[Suddenly awake] Joey’s not home?

TIM

So- so she isn’t at yours?

SASHA

No, but here, I can- I’ll help you look for her. Do Martin or Jon know?

TIM

No but- oh, shit, Sash, you don’t have to-

SASHA

Yes. Yes I do. I’ll be at your place in ten, five if I’m lucky.

[DOOR QUIETLY OPENS IN THE BACKGROUND]

TIM

Thank you. Fuck, I, just- thanks.

SASHA

Right. I love you, see you soon.

[SOUNDS OF THE CALL TURNING OFF]

[SOUNDS OF TIM SIGHING]

JUDE

Do you think she hates me?

TIM

Aw, shit Jude, what’re you doing up?

JUDE

Couldn’t sleep. I was adding to my conspiracy board and I heard you talking.

TIM

Don’t worry, mate. I’m sure she’ll be back in the morning. Sasha’s just coming over to keep me company, if you know what I mean.

[PAUSE THAT IMPLIES TIM IS WIGGLING HIS EYEBROWS (SEDUCTIVELY)]

JUDE

Yuck!

TIM

Aww, what’s ‘yuck’ about consuming enough espresso to down an elephant and gossiping about our old research coworkers?

JUDE

You were clearly making… some sort of innuendo!

TIM

[Fake posh accent] I see, Detective Harley, I see. And where is your proof? Your evidence? You can’t pin me for anything.

[JUDE LAUGHS]

TIM

Seriously, don’t worry, okay? Joey’s your sister, and she loves you. She’ll be back. God knows I stayed out all night plenty when I was her age. And I got snippy with my little brother tons.

JUDE

You have a little brother?

TIM

[Wistful] I… I had a brother. He- he died a few years back.

JUDE

Oh, er, sorry. I didn’t-

TIM

Don’t worry, you’re, you’re fine. I brought him up.

[HEAVY PAUSE]

This is too heavy for uh, four forty five in the morning. Hm. Coffee, tea, or cocoa?

JUDE

Coffee…?

TIM

You got it. I’ll start the story while I put the kettle on. It’s… not a fun one, be warned.

JUDE

When you’re done, would you like to… to hear my theory as to what’s going on in the archives?

TIM

I don’t see why not.

[SOFT FOOTSTEPS]

XEFROS

Oh! Um, g-good morning.

TIM

I’m just making some coffee. Want some?

XEFROS

Ok! I… I’ll be o-over there.

TIM

Right. Here… I’ll… [Inhale] My brother was named Danny, Danny Stoker. He was younger than me, by a few years, and the kind of brother anyone would be proud to have. I ‘spose I should’ve been jealous of him. [Short laugh] I wasn’t, though. He was… he was taller and fitter than me, better looking even! I know, I know, hard to imagine. He was charismatic, too.

But it, what happened to him, started in 2013. That’s… god, that’ll have been three years now. Earlier that year he’d picked up a new hobby: urban exploration. It really suited him, y’know? I think… I think he would’ve liked doing it, long term, I mean.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

DOC SCRATCH

I apologize for cutting Mr. Stoker off, I really do, but I believe you already know his story. Hello, reader.

Yes, yes, don’t look so surprised. Here- let me slip into a… more symbolic narrative format.

[SNAP]

Chapter Text

You are now DOC SCRATCH. You are standing in your TOWNHOUSE, which is located in the GREEN SUN, and SIMULTANEOUSLY the beautiful city of LONDON. The décor is VERY GREEN, as foreshadowed by the name “THE GREEN SUN”.

>DOC SCRATCH: Give some exposition ==>

DOC SCRATCH: Are you familiar with the horrorterrors? Of course you are. You clicked on this fanfiction, knowing it was a Homestuck crossover. You know of horrorterrors, SBURB, trolls, etc. Let’s move on. The Entities: the Dread Powers, the Fears, the Things We Fear- they have many names, most of them Ominous and Spooky.
DOC SCRATCH: To put it simply, they are the creators of the universe we have been observing. Yes, yes. We. I have been providing the assorted texts you are reading.
DOC SCRATCH:Oh hello, Damara. Would you like to say anything to the Reader?
DAMARA: 私はあなたが嫌いです、愚かな男、私はあなたが苦しみながらゆっくりと死んで、人間が「地獄」と呼ぶところに直接行くことを望みます、クソ、クソ、クソ。
DOC SCRATCH: That was very rude.
DAMARA: 自殺する
DOC SCRATCH: Moving on. I’m sure you’re worried about Joey. Right now, she has two choices: join the Lightless Flame, or continue allegiance to the Ceaseless Watcher. Her brother, unfortunately, is too late. He has made his choices, he has been claimed by the Watcher. Jude was near perfect for it already, and his work at the Institute pushed him even closer to its gaze.

>Doc Scratch: While you’re here, elaborate on how the Entities were SBURB players????? ==>

You are happy to explain!

DOC SCRATCH: Have you ever lived so long that your sense of Being fractured? That any quality of kindness is polished away into dull numbness?
DOC SCRATCH: No?
DOC SCRATCH: Sigh.
DOC SCRATCH: Have you ever played Undertale? It’s like that: but intensified by a thousand due to time and magic psychic mind powers.

>Doc Scratch: So this is what happened to Earth C? ⇒

DOC SCRATCH: No. Now… let’s return to the story. Joey can take it from here.

>Doc Scratch: Be Joey ==>

You are now JOEY CLAIRE, in the ABANDONED BASEMENT of a BURNT-DOWN CHURCH. You are there to undergo INITIATION into what appears to be A WEIRD CULT. If your BROTHER JUDE were here, he would tell you: “JOEY IT IS A BAD IDEA TO JOIN THAT WEIRD ARSON CULT over”. However, Jude is NOT HERE. And JUDE PERRY, the WOMAN WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE, is very ENCOURAGING. And honestly, your MORAL CODE is getting RATHER RUSTY. You… you don’t CARE anymore.

JUDE PERRY: This is Joey Claire. She’s here to Join us.
SANDY: hm… are you *sure*? she’s kinda… puny looking.
ARTHUR NOLAN: And she’s from the institute. That’s the Eye’s territory.
JUDE: I’m *sure*.
SANDY: she’s rather small… you sure she’ll be able to find someone?
JUDE: I’m small, I managed.
JOEY: if… if it helps, i have killed before. that’s what you’re talking about? killing?
SANDY: objection rescinded. i’m impressed, kid.
JOEY: oh. um. thank you…? :I
JOEY: it was sort of just self defense.
JUDE: Right! Well, Joey, seems like you know what to do.

>Joey: ==>

You enter the institute.

JUDE: It’s better if it’s someone you know. Burning down your old life and all that.
JUDE: Though I’m sure you already have someone in mind.
JOEY: …

>Joey: ==>

You get a Chittr message. Do you want to read it?

>Joey: Ignore the message. ⇒

JOEY: marvus would be so proud of me right now.
JOEY: he’d be like “yo jo that is sum dope murdering ur doin rn”.
JOEY: am i making a mistake?
JOEY: no. no, this is right. this is what i should be doing.

Joey: Make the mistake. ==>

You approach Rosie’s desk. She just got back with her ex-husband, she owns two cats, she has so much to live for.

JOEY: hi rosie! would it be ok if i talked with you outside?
ROSIE: Can you wait until my lunch break?
JOEY: *sniff* no.
ROSIE: Okay… Oh no, don’t cry. Here, I can take my break early.
JOEY: thank you.

>Joey: Kill her. ==>

It’s surprisingly easy. The Institute is surrounded by back alleys and hidden places.

She burns easily too.

>Joey: Run. ==>

You run. This was stupid! The Institute is absurdly camera’d, everyone knows Rosie, this was *STUPID*.

But it’s done now, and it made you feel…

Powerful.

>Joey: ==>

You regroup at the old church. You’re greeted with open arms.

JUDE: Well *done* Joey!
ARTHUR: Didn’t think you’d have it in you.
SANDY: welcome to the club!
JOEY: oh! um! thank you.

>Joey: You’re not done yet. ==>

You’re not. You know you’re not. Sure you took her physical life, but Rosie Zampano’s Life is not yet destroyed and the god you can now feel is *hungry*.

The you you were when you were 14 would hate you, hate you like you hate your Pa. But that you’s biggest worry was mean kids at school, so her opinion doesn’t really matter.

>Joey: Be Doc Scratch again. ==>

You are once again DOC SCRATCH.

DOC SCRATCH: Hm? Oh, you’re back. That was fast. I suppose it’s time to return you to the transcript format, to wrap this up.

>Doc Scratch: Snap your fingers and return to the other format ==>

DOC SCRATCH: Hm. Before I do that… I’ll leave you with this:

>Message History xXstickit2meXx to jclaire_extraordinaire [TIME REDACTED]

xXstickit2meXx: hi joey.
jclaire_extraordinaire: helloooo
xXstickit2meXx: so tonight is the night you burn everything down?
jclaire_extraordinaire: :I
xXstickit2meXx: is there nothing i can do to change your mind? X:(
jclaire_extraordinaire: i wish i could tell you what you want to hear.
xXstickit2meXx: oh… so that’s a no? X:(
jclaire_extraordinaire: yeah :(
xXstickit2meXx: i-

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