Chapter Text
Sam couldn't even open his mouth to speak (or more accurately scream), his limbs felt like concrete, and his brain was spiraling so fast it made everything else feel like it was drowning in molasses.
A human skull was on Arthur's cot, one that wasnt even fully decomposed at that. Pieces of rotting flesh still sticks to the bone, and the head was missing a few teeth. Sam felt like it was looking at him despite its empty sockets where eyes would have once been, assuming it had been alive at one point.
It felt alive. It was alive. It was going to hurt him.
He had started to hyperventilate sometime within the last couple of seconds, scrambling back from his fallen position.
"Sam?" Arthur calls out over the sound of Sam's ears ringing.
"What the fuck- what the fuck-" Sam stumbles over his words as he repeats the terrified profanity.
He had never really experienced flash backs or hallucinations before, but this was probably the closest he'll ever get. Sam didnt know how to describe it, it was like every couple of seconds the skull was the body back at his worlds Institute, like it was growing the rest of the body out of nowhere specifically to get him.
But it wasn't, the skull hadn't moved, and sam knows it wasn't going to move- he hopes it wasnt going to move. No matter how hard he knows that he isn't back in the gifted kids program, his body seem to have a really hard time remembering where he really is.
What his body didn't have a hard time with, is feeling like his body was in an acid mixer, his fear mixing with something painful to make... he didn't know, more fear?
His fingers dug into the skin on his arms, he knows it's bad, and would probably leave a couple marks, but it feels real, and he needs something real right now.
Sam realizes Arthur was probably trying to talk to him, but Sam couldn't hear nor cares about what he has to say at this point.
"Master, I believe he's having something called a panic attack." The skull's words cut through everything, seeing its mouth move, its jaw open and close directly in front of him, that was the last straw, it was alive.
He got to his feet like a baby deer at mach ten, and bolted.
Neither he, nor his body knew where he was going, he just follows the voice in his head saying run, and runs. Sam would say it was tunnel vision, but there was no light that the end of the tunnel to follow, just a dark cave to run down.
And run down he did, through a hallway, up a second, down another, round a corner, through a door- it doesn't matter he just needs to escape.
Eventually when he slows down, and is able to see through his eyes again, Sam looks around as he moves down the street with a limp, his leg was on its last life, and this specific leg was not made for running.
He had ran outside, the cool air helps to clear his head, it wasn't getting dark yet but it was probably going to sometime soon.
Sam's breath was still fast and uneven, as he finds himself at a public park. He walks for barely a second before sitting on the nearest bench. He was starving, tired, his arms hurt, and overall just done with spooky shit.
Just focus on calming down, he told himself, rubbing his hands over the fabric on his pant legs.
It was embarrassing having a panic attack in public, but he'll be embarrassed later, he was focusing on other shit at the moment. Mainly the human skull cause what the fuck?
"Anyone sitting 'ere?" A new York accent startles Sam away from his thoughts. Sam looks up, a maybe mid 30's man in a, what had to be vintage, withered trenchcoat, light brown hair, and eyes that were much older then his face, which was littered in scars and scraps. Much like Arthur, but Sam didn't want to think about him right now.
It takes a second for Sam to find his voice, but even then it was shakey. "No." He scoots over a bit to show the man that he could sit.
The two men sit in silence, as Sam continues to ground himself. Eventually the man asks, "what are you runnin' from, son?"
"What?" Sam sputters, did the man see him running? Was this man a external-? Or whatever they were called in this universe?
"You're nervous, jumpy, short of breath. I ain't blind I know you got something goin' on."
"Uh, I- well-" he had no idea what to say, 'a blind man from pre-world war two has a talking skull and im deathly afraid of skeletons because of magic child hood trama. Also im from an alternative parallel universe and the future.' Probably wouldn't go over good.
"If it helps, I'm a PI." The man offers.
Sam has to stop a groan, why is this guy Arthur's long lost seeing cousin or something?
"Uh, actually that doesn't," Sam chuckles at the crude joke the universe was playing on him, "the guy I'm- something happened, I saw something I wasn't really... supposed to, and the man was a PI, kinda looked like you too, in the loosest sense possible."
"No offense." Sam adds as an after thought.
"None taken, but that is... interestin' to say the least. What'd you see? If its not too intrusive."
"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." Sam admits honestly. Sam knew if he wasn't deep into this rabbit hole he wouldn't have.
"Trust me, I'm no skeptic, if anything I'm inclined to hear about this."
Seeing Sam's hesitation, and glances around the park, the man gets an idea, "how 'bout you tell me over a cup of coffee, I'll buy." He offers, brushing off his lap as he goes to stand up.
"Oh! Thank you, that would be great." Coffee was basically food. Basically.
"Oh and the name's Noel. Noel Finley."
"Samama Khalid, but you can just call me Sam." He gets to his feet, he'll worry about his leg later.
"Great to meet you, Sam" says Noel.
***
"Master, I believe he's having something called a panic attack,"
"What the hell is a panic attack?" Arthur was also panicking, although he wasn't being attacked by it, just unsure of how to calm down Sam who apparently looks like he's ready to bolt.
Arthur maybe try- SHIT! Arthur! Sam has got to his feet and spirited down the hall.
"What?!" Arthur jumps to his feet, "do we run after him?""
"He seems to be scared of me, if you were to run, taking me wouldn't be a good idea." Yorick jaw clacks.
"Oh god, when Sam had those eyes removed he talked about his fear of skeletons."
Thats why he freaked out
"He couldn't have gone far, how big is the institution?" Arthur leaves yorick on the cot, shutting the door behind himself as he sped into the hall, so no one would see a random skull.
It looked sizeable from the outside. Although we have a whole other problem, the tunnels, sam may have run down there, and we dont know how far they go.
"Shit, right, the tunnels, but who in there right mind would go down there, especially alone?"
Thats the thing Arthur, he's not in his right mind. Think of all the times you been functionality useless because of something, like the lights or mushroom circle back in the forest.
"Hey, you were affected by those too, john."
And with that, the two's second search for Sam of the day commences.
***
Martin holds two cups of tea, he was pretty sure Sam wasn't back yet, but it didn't hurt to make a extra cup of tea.
Although he kind of regrets the two cups when he arrives at the door with no hands full. Martin knocks with his foot, before calling out, "Hello? Anybody home?"
Through the door Martin hears a faint clicking, and someone who wasn't Arthur talking, "No one calls this establishment home. Except maybe one Jurgen leitner, but that is a debate on language."
"Pardon?" Martin didn't recognize the voice. Looking around the hallway, there isn't anywhere to set the drinks down, so the floor it was. With his hands free he grabs the door handle. "Im coming in!"
Martin was rather glad he put down the cups or else he would have dropped them, as on one of the cots was a... human skull, chain through one of its eye sockets, not even fully decomposed yet.
"What the fuck!?" Was that the thing that just spoke? Why can it speak? Is it alive? Martin is very confused, not so much scared, as it didn't have any bugs just a couple patches of skin, but very confused.
He hesitates, but eventually asks, "What... are you?" Great, here he was, talking to a skull, he's full lost it, Martin thinks.
"A Vanguard." Replies the skull, or the Vanguard, Martin supposes.
He blinks. "A what?"
"A Vanguard."
"Whats a Vanguard?"
"I am."
Martin sighs, this was going nowhere. "... how'd you get in here?"
"I was in master's bag as he came to his world."
"Master?" Martin repeats, these answers were only creating more questions, "Who's your master?"
"Arthur lester."
"I- Arthur? Why would a blind man have a skull? Why would anyone have a skull?!"
"Vanguards are useful informants." It adds helpfully.
"Yeah, you've really been great at answering." Martin rolls his eye's, "where'd Arthur even get you?" Sure he was having a QNA with a human skull now he's guesses.
"He took my tooth off of Kellin Holeman's sister." That really stops Martin in his tracks- 'my tooth'? What the fuck?
"I'm so- huh?" he mutters, "if the tooth is from a different person, whose skull are... you in?" Was that the right wording? Who cares?! He was talking to a skull!
"The prince." Great...
"Okay, this isnt getting anywhere." Martin exhales, trying to think of an important question, something that'd have an answer he'd beable to comprehend, even sort of. "Oh! What's Arthur hiding?"
"He is hiding quite a few things."
"Just start with stuff that he might have lied about?" Sure this was an invasion of privacy, but jon did that all the time, and this would help figure out if Arthur was going to murder them in their sleep!
***
"I bet 10 bucks someone's dead," Tim elbows sasha playfully as the two walk back into the Institute from their lunch break.
"No way- finding another interdimensional traveler is more likely," The woman replies "Plus Sam doesn't have the guts to kill, and Arthur... I don't know, I think he'd wait a little longer, plan it out more."
"I never said one of them would be killing, maybe they're the dead ones," Tim shrugs, "maybe Arthur kneeled over and just died on the spot because he heard Martin's secret love poems about jon and learned about homosexuality?"
"Oh give him a break, Arthur's done pretty well for someone pre-world war two. I haven't been call any racial slurs, or had to explain why I, a woman, was working! I've met people now who've been worse."
"Okay, I guess I can give him props for that." Tim rolls his eyes.
Sasha chuckles, "Plus you heard him talk about his 'partner' John-"
"Sasha!" Tim gasps teasingly, "now who needs to give him a break."
"Im joking! Obviously!"
The two continue to talk about nothing in particular, when suddenly heavy foot steps, a kind to someone frantically runnjng, interrupt them.
"Sams gone. Again." Arthur huffs out in a panic, trying to catch his breath as he runs up to the two.
"Did you check the trapdoor?" Sasha asks immediately on high alert.
"First place we checked."
"Who else is looking?" Tim jumps in.
"No one? Jon's in his office and refuses to talk to me, and I haven't seen Martin in a bit."
"Oh well you said 'we' and-"
"Doesn't matter," Sasha interrupts, focusing first and foremost on Sam rather then semantics, "where've you looked?"
"Everywhere in the institute!" He stresses the word, "the only place I haven't looked is the tunnels, and I don't think he would've run in there after this morning."
"Why did he disappear? Do we know?"
Arthur pauses at Tim's question, "uh... no, just disappeared, same as this morning."
Sasha and Tim share a look, but it's ultimately sasha who points out a blindspot (no pun intended) in his story, "Didn't Sam go for a walk? He isn't missing if he just hasn't come back."
Arthur visibly gets quiet-er.
"It's not like you just forgot," Tim adds, unsure of Arthur's age, but he was pretty sure Arthur didn't have dementia.
"Right," that was the sound of a man caught for his bullshit, "okay, he didn't just disappear, that was the wrong word. Sam ran, and I couldn't run after him as, you now know, I'm blind."
"Why did he run!? You need to get your story straight, grandpa" Arthur was waning on Tim's nerves.
"I'm only 34 first off, secondly-" Arthur sighs, "lets go somewhere less... open"