Chapter Text
When that “thing” pulled out its mini-version and shoved it into its mouth, everything went dark.
He faintly felt a pain he couldn’t describe, but once everything darkened, he stopped feeling it.
And when that darkness faded, it seemed like... he was back in his laboratory!
Or rather, he was reliving his memories.
Back to when everything was happiness in his newly opened laboratory alongside his... beloved Stacy by his side...
He relived how he built a telescope with such an incredibly distant range that he managed to see inside a black hole, and it made him so happy that he bragged about it to Stacy all night long.
But there... was when the memories stopped.
And now he was being attacked and tortured!?
Where did that electric shock come from!?
What is that seven-eyed thing!?
Why are indescribable bugs peeing on him!?
Worst of all, he can’t hide or run away!
What did he do to deserve all this!?
And as if that wasn’t enough, his mind began projecting things that contradicted his beliefs.
How is there more than one God!? Wasn’t there only The Creator!?
The God of Gods is a dolphin!?
Why do dogs hate him now!?
AND WHY ARE THEY SHOWING HIM ALL THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE!?
He feels like his head is going to explode from so much information.
So much that he can’t even process everything happening to him anymore.
He feels confused and terrified.
Is this hell? Or something far worse?
He can’t answer that, but eventually he collapses onto the floor, no longer capable of processing anything, and it’s not like his age helps him either.
...
..
.
Finally after... who knows how long, he wakes up.
But in a completely different place from before.
Was all the suffering he just went through a dream!? Considering everything he lived and saw, it wouldn’t surprise him now that he thinks about it...
It was a... dark place.
The floor was viscous, and everywhere there were faces, the same faces as his murderer! Staring at him and judging him...
He wanted to sit up to properly observe the place, because just from looking from his current position he realized he was in an immense place.
...But he was too weak to do so.
—Hello!
—AAH!! —But that black figure suddenly appears in his vision, and that startles him enough to make him stand up.
—Wow man, calm down. —Steven says.— I just wanted to greet my past friend! How’s it going, you piece of human trash?
—Y-You and I are not friends! —Beanies replies, visibly angry and frightened.
—Do you seriously not understand sarcasm? —He crosses his arms.— Between you and me, I’m the one who hates you... You have no idea how pissed off I got when I realized everything you were doing! Do you even understand all the disaster you caused across different timelines!? And don’t even get me started on what you did in the past!
—Me!? But all I did was travel into the past, switch roles with my other self, and repeat everything over and over to see if my mission would finally work! And it did, it’s the first time I managed to reach Infinity... But of course! You had to appear and ruin everything! Besides, Maggie was the one causing all those disasters in the past! It’s not my fault she exterminated an entire bloodline!
—OH MY GOD are you actually stupid or what!? For a scientist capable of making a time machine, you’re unbelievably dumb!
—Excuse me!? I can assure you my IQ is far superior to yours!
—Nope, I’m pretty sure it isn’t.
—Why you little—! —The doctor doesn’t hesitate and charges at him again with a punch.
Steven takes the hit but immediately counterattacks, striking him back and shoving him to the floor.
They struggled quite a bit while beating each other up, and from how the fight was going, it looked like nobody would win.
...Until inevitably Dr. Beanies gets tired and Steven manages to kick him away.
—Idiot! —Steven insults him.— Didn’t you learn anything from the last time you fought me!? I literally could’ve killed you again and left you somewhere worse than this! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO END UP IN NOTHINGNESS!?
—Cough, cough...! —The doctor coughs, though surprisingly he doesn’t spit blood as he stands back up.
The injuries he had when his own experiments dragged him out of the laboratory were still there, along with the ones that entity caused him before he got here.
—You... You brought me here, right!? Get me out of here!
—You know you’re condemned to stay here for all eternity, right? At least be grateful you’re here and not in hell... Though thinking about it, I think this place is worse than hell... But hey! At least you have Steven!
—“Steven”? That’s your name?
—Yep! Isn’t it awesome?
—...That’s a very stupid name for an entity like you.
—Hey! Worse than “Thomas”!
—And by the way, I’d rather suffer in hell forever than see your face again!
—...Ouch, you know I have feelings too.
—I refuse to spend eternity together with... you! I deserve something better!
—Um... You know we’re both trapped here, right? I mean, I can go wherever I want, but I’m still tied to this place... While you’re directly condemned here, so inevitably we’re going to have to live together.
—...If you think I’m going to coexist with you, you’re insane.
—That, or spend eternity alone. Your choice!
—Damn yo— Ugh...
Already exhausted, he simply sits on the floor while pulling his knees against his chest.
—Oh? You already accepted this is your new home? That was fast.
No response.
—...Hello?
No response.
—...Aaaah I see... the silent treatment... Just so you know, I’m still not getting you out of here!
No response.
—...You know? We’re not the only ones here! There’s a Steven over there, a Steven over here, and another one over there! And I can talk with aaaall of them! After all it’s kinda like a hive mind!
No response.
—Hello Steven! Nice haircut! Oh, hello Steven! I’m in the box! Hello Steven, I hate you!
No response.
—And uh... Ash is here too! He’d talk to me for hours about his favorite games and his love for flies! ...Though it seems he let this place consume him and now he’s stuck in an endless loop and doesn’t want to talk...
No response.
—...Oh fcuk.
And all that talking made Steven realize just how alone he was, even with himself, though it’s not like he tolerated himself much to begin with.
—...Hey, um... You know I can’t get you out of here, right? I mean, you’re literally trapped here forever, there’s nothing I can do about it even if I wanted to.
No response.
—Oh come on man please! At least insult me or something! Don’t leave me talking to myself like an idiot!
No response.
...Or rather, the doctor was just thinking about his answer.
—...What exactly is this place? —Beanies asks, still not looking back at him.
—Huh? Oh, uh... It’s hard to explain but... It’s The Box! Though I like calling it Eternity. It’s neither hell nor heaven, think of it as... a midpoint. Only those who meddle too much with time like YOU end up here because of me.
—...What are you?
—I’m Steven!
—What exactly are you?
—Um... Steven?
—I DON’T WANT TO KNOW YOUR NAME! —He finally turns to look at him.— I want to know what you are! A God!? A Lovecraftian entity!? Science!?
—But that’s what I am! I’m “Steven”! Literally on a molecular level! What else do you want me to say!?
—You’re hopeless...
—...Though I guess for you people I could be the “passage of time.”
—Aha! That’s all I wanted to hear! ...And what exactly does that mean?
—That I’m time, though I can’t really explain it very well either... Even I don’t understand myself sometimes.
—“Time”? The idea that an entity representing it existed never crossed my mind... I thought only The Creator existed.
—But I’m not a God! ...Though considering everything I know and can do maybe I kinda am... But that sounds really cliché.
—So... it’s true? I really... am going to be trapped here for all eternity?
—Yeah... Sorry... But you kinda deserved it, considering all the suffering you caused to humans and animals alike... I’ve seen more copies of Stacy than temporal loops at this point already.
—I-It was for a noble cause! I just wanted to see her again! She was taken away from me! Can’t a father do the impossible just to see his daughter again!? B-But now... I won’t even be able to see her anymore... Not even her copies or the only thing I had left of her... I-I have no reason to keep standing anymore... —He starts tearing up lightly.—
—Wow calm down... It’s not that bad... Maybe someday you’ll get over it here?
—It’s been 35 years since her death... Do you think I’m just going to magically get over it overnight!?
—Well there are no mornings here so... Y-You’ve got all eternity! Someday it’ll pass!
—...Didn’t you hate me?
—I thought you hated me too.
—O-Obviously! You took my life away from me!
—Then why were you asking me questions like we were acquaintances?
—...Because I have nothing else to do... And I wanted to know what you were.
—I’m Steven.
—And you? Why were you trying to comfort me?
—Um... —He crosses his arms again.— Honestly... I don’t know, I don’t like seeing people depressed... I’ve gone through that and I don’t want to remember it again even though it keeps replaying over and over in my mind and for Mewgenics people keep replaying Time Fcuk.
—Huh?
—The point is, yeah, you made me really angry, but you’re still someone else... In all this emptiness, I don’t really talk much with people like this, y’know, usually it’s either to scold them for cheating or... lately it’s only been that...
—So “time” itself is lonely, interesting.
—Call me Steven! It feels weird when people refer to me like that...
—Alright... —He looks back down at the viscous floor.— So... are we technically friends?
—Huh!? Where did that come from!?
—I mean... I don’t want to hate you for all eternity either... And much less let myself be consumed by it. Scientifically speaking, the best option is to make peace with you, though I still resent you...
—Hmm true... —Steven thinks about it for a moment.— Fine, let’s make peace. But if you annoy me again we’re fighting again, got it!?
—Wouldn’t fighting an old man count as abuse?
—I’m time, technically I surpass you by infinite numbers.
—Touché.
—.......... —Steven hesitated on whether to approach him.
I mean... they’re friends now, right? The resentment is still there but they’ll have to live with it.
Besides, he knows this is a fanfic, he doesn’t want to add more filler.
So he approaches and sits beside him.
Dr. Beanies stares at him dumbfounded, but upon understanding the gesture, looks back at the floor.
—So... what does it feel like to be time? —The doctor asks.
—Boring and depressing. What does it feel like to be a doctor?
—Stressful and depressing.
—Then why did you keep following the same path? I mean, your fate would be very different from now if you had changed.
—You never had a daughter ripped away from you, you don’t know how I feel.
—She was a cat.
—But she was the most important thing in my life...
He wrapped his arms around his legs while resting his head on them.
Dr. Beanies was right that Steven didn’t understand him, after all he had never lost someone close to him. —Since he never even had anyone.— So he didn’t know exactly what to say.
Still, in an attempt to comfort his new companion, he patted his back.
—Remember that “Ash” guy I mentioned? —Steven asks while pulling his hand back.— He clung to the past because of his deep fear of the future, and when he finally reached it well... what I told you happened. Technically almost the same thing just happened to you, though at least you’re still conscious.
—...You mentioned you went through a depressive period. —He slightly raises his head and looks at him.— Is that the reason why you are what you are?
—...I don’t really want to talk about that, but ever since I can remember I’ve been... like this.
—...You know? You resemble Stacy with that thing on your head.
—Huh? —He tries to look upward but realizing he obviously won’t see it, he looks back at the doctor.— Oh yeah, I don’t really pay attention to it, sometimes it separates from me and another one grows back.
—Maybe looking at you will at least help me keep my sanity haha... I... um... think I really would fall into an endless void if I completely forgot her...
—Wow... you really were lonely... I thought you and Maggie had something going on considering how you sometimes talked about her.
—What!? I’m a doctor! I can’t maintain a romantic relationship with my patient! Much less with a corpse! She was pretty, yes... But doctors have rules!
—Says the same guy who thought hurting his experiments was a stupid rule.
—And it is!
Steven glared at him, but laughed lightly at how selfish the man was, and Dr. Beanies launched into a full explanation about why his perspective was the only correct one and everyone else’s was wrong.
—...And that’s why the first is the last!
—You know I didn’t understand anything you just said?
—Pff... For being time itself you really lack information processing skills.
—Hey! I’m way smarter than you!
—Well during all the time we’ve been talking I haven’t noticed.
—...Grr... —He clenches his fists tightly.— You’re making me regret comforting you...
—Heh... You’re funny after all.
—And you’re stupid.
An awkward silence followed, neither of them knew how to continue the conversation.
And realizing there was nothing else to say —at least for now— they accepted the silence and simply enjoyed each other’s company.
Both of them were very lonely when it came to “closeness,” so finally having someone new comforted them.
Steven got carried away by the moment and rested his head on the other man’s shoulder.
—What are you doing? —The doctor is surprised by the action.
—Shut up. —Steven didn’t even look at him since he had already closed his eyes.
—........... —Dr. Beanies struggled to understand Steven’s intentions at first, this wasn’t something that happened to him often. —And the girls he hired were never this affectionate with him, after all they were paid.—
So he returns the gesture as well, placing his head atop Steven’s.
And now that he was closer to him, he could confirm that his body was a mix between viscous and solid.
He would’ve liked to experiment with that material if he were in his laboratory.
But that made his head comfortable, and genuinely made him want to sleep. —Even though he could no longer experience sleep, pain, or hunger here.—
They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other’s company without making any disturbing noise or anything else.
The doctor briefly thought about trying to hug Steven, but quickly dismissed the idea since he didn’t know if it would be reciprocated or not, besides, he remembered that he was the person who brought him here in the first place!
—..........
Well, he’s dead anyway, and he already confirmed he can’t do anything against this entity of time.
So he slowly raises his arms and—
—Ah! —Steven quickly stands up, worried.
—Huh? What happened!? —The doctor was wondering if that gesture he hadn’t even completed had been too much.
—Fcuk! Of course! During this nice moment someone comes to bother me! I have to go... My cheater friend pulled his crap twice and I need to go punish him. See ya!
—Wait!
—Huh— Ah!
In an unexpected move, Dr. Beanies lunges at him and hugs him with all his strength.
—W-What are you doing!? —Now Steven was the confused one.
—...Please... —The doctor says.— Tell me you’ll come back and won’t leave me here... I don’t know what I’d do in all this loneliness!
—...Wow, and at first you were telling me you wanted me gone haha.
—I was in shock... And the anger still hadn’t faded.
—Of course I won’t leave you! I’ll torment you for all eternity! You can count on that! Though yeah, like now, sometimes I’ll have to leave for a while, and other times maybe much longer... But no matter where I go I always end up in the Box, in the past or the future.
—...Alright... —The doctor loosens the hug slightly.— Then I’ll wait for you.
—Meanwhile you can talk to the multiple “mes” around here, and if you find Ash even better. Bye!
And in the blink of an eye, Steven disappeared.
Dr. Beanies didn’t know what he meant by that “cheater” friend or what “a while” meant for someone who is time itself.
But one thing he was sure about was that he would return, and at least that kept him sane.
—...Who is Ash? Would he be around here?
All eternity was a place... without end, so if he wanted to find that “Ash,” it was going to take... quite a while.
But at least it would keep him entertained.