Chapter Text
It didn't feel like anything at first.
He was clutching Jon's limp body, shirt bloody, knife sticking out of his chest. Martin clutched Jon's eye filled hand, tears spilling down his cheeks and onto the smaller man's shirt. He is aware the Panopticon was crumbling around him, that he might die, they might not end up Somewhere Else, but he didn't care. If both of them were to die, they die together.
That's the deal after all.
When Martin first awoke, he first felt the grass beneath his body.
Bits of his memory floated around his head like gas particles, scattered, all over the place, and he can't grasp a coherent thought.
The only thing he felt at first is bright sunlight showly filling his vision, a harsh contrast to the green light and scrutiny of the eye. Before it felt like his entire being was picked apart, stuck under a microscope and like his entire soul was being bored into. But now, it felt he is enveloped under the warmth under the sun as the grass tickles his skin in way he didn't think it was possible to experience ever again. Then suddenly, it all came crashing down on him like the Panopticon all over again.
He shot up with a gasp, his fingers clutching the ground under him as he felt the dirt beneath his fingernails.
(The Panopticon collapses around them. Martin clutched onto Jon like he's his lifeline. His blood is on his hands.)
Martin's eyes darted around for his beloved, finding himself in near what looks like a road and a mountain with… rails? Rails towered above him as one exited out of the tunnel from the mountain, his eyes followed the rails trail before it landed on a city floating above the water.
It looked like a metropolis floating above the water, a city Martin only thought was possible in those sci-fi fantasy books. The rails lead into the city as large walls blocked out the water surrounding it which seemed to be the point. Martin blinked in disbelief but he quickly shook his head. He would continued to marvel at the sight more but he needs to know if Jon is safe.
He quickly looked around again before he spotted Jon's body just a few meters away from him. He ran to Jon's side, his body unmoving but it fortunately seemed like he wasn't bleeding out again. Martin took Jon in his arms and began gently shaking him, making sure to not accidentally make the wound he inflicted even worse.
"Jon. Jon! Wake up, please!" He cried helplessly as Jon remained alarmingly still, his brown skin slightly pale from the blood he lost from earlier.
"Jon, Jon, you bastard, you better not die right now! You promised!" Martin cried, feeling tears stream down his face once again and onto Jon's face. He shook his love a bit more before miracolously, Jon's eyes snapped open, letting out a hiss of pain, his face was contorted with discomfort, tiny whimpers coming out of his mouth as his no longer eye-filled hand went to the source.
"Woah! Hey, hey…" Martin coaxed, gently taking Jon's hand away from the knifes hilt.
"M'tin…?" Jon managed to get out, the familiar taste of iron in his mouth. His eyes darted around. "Where..?"
Martin shook his head. "I don't know but we need to get you treated."
Jon looked at his bloodied shirt before burying himself into Martin's chest. "Hurts…"
Tears prick at the corner of Martin's eyes as he held Jon's hand. "I know, I know… We'll think of something…" The knife was buried all the way to the hilt in his chest but for some reason it didn't seem to be bleeding and looked Jon is somehow still conscious despite the fact he shouldn't be right now.
Martin was thinking to call for help but it seemed like that's not an option because he seemed very far away from civilization and he can't exactly leave Jon by himself. What if the wound gets worse? What if someone passes by and tries to hurt him? What if he—
Martin gets snapped out of his thoughts of the worst things to possibly happen when he saw Jon's free hand went to the hilt of the knife in which Martin stopped him and looked at him with apprehension. "Jon, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Jus' trus' me, M'in…" Jon slurred out. Despite the obvious pain he was in, he looked determined. And considering this was the same man who willingly let two of his ribs get removed and went into a hell coffin, Martin let out an exhale as he removed his jacket. At least Martin is here to help instead of letting Jon do things by himself again.
"Just in case things go wrong." He said to which Jon nodded weakly. One of each of their hands grabbed the hilt and began to slowly pull. Jon let out a groan of pain, the sound making Martin's heart lurch with guilt.
(He tried to ignore the scream of pain, Jon's fingers clenched around his jacket as he bled underneath him.)
After what seemed like forever, the knife was finally removed from Jon's flesh, the brown-skinned man letting out pained groan while doing so. Martin dropped the knife, pressing his hand against Jon's chest, making sure there wasn't blood coming out but the action other man hiss a little.
Martin immediately retracted his hand, "sorry."
"It-Its fine…" Jon reassured, carefully lifting his shirt up. The wound is still there, but its not as deep as Martin would've thought it would be. It just looked like someone only slashed his torso and left a shallow laceration but it didn't seem like Jon is bleeding nor in too much pain, it almost never looked someone didn't drive a full knife into his chest.
Almost.
Jon chuckled humorlessly, "guess The Eye is still… not willing to let me die even in another dimension. At this point, I don't know if I can even survive if I fully cut out The Eye completely…"
Martin remained silent.
Jon seemed to notice as he looked at his lover with an expression of guilt and regret. "Martin, I-"
He was interrupted when the larger man started to let out sniffles, tears streaming down his cheeks and hiccups were forcing himself out of his throat. Jon looked at Martin in alarm as he managed to sit up. "Martin, are you—"
Jon didn't get to finish his sentence when Martin's arms were enveloped around his thin frame, his face buried within the crook of Jon's neck. "You're okay! You stupid idiot, I killed you and when you weren't moving, I thought—"
Jon blinked, feeling his eyes sting as tears prick the corner as he wrapped his hands around Martin's neck, burrowing his face into the the other man's collar. "Oh Martin, I'm so sorry—" Jon didn't get to finish his sentence as a sob choked his way out of his throat.
Both of them sobbed into each other's arms for a while, clutching onto each other almost as if afraid the other would disappear forever. Despite everything. Despite thinking that "Somewhere Else" is just a pipe dream to assure themselves in their last moments. A fleeting moment that will slip under their grasps, they are here. They ended Somewhere Else; alive and together.
"Oh my!"
Both men flinched as they let go of their embrace as they turned their heads in alarm to the nearby voice and in front of them. The owner of the voice was a rather extravegantly dressed blonde woman in gold and black with an umbrella and behind her; two men in suits and sunglasses, almost like bodyguards.
"Are you two alright?!" The woman asked, going near them with the two men tagging along.
Both Martin and Jon looked at each other. They were tempted to say that nothing is wrong, everything is fine. But with both of their eyes bloodshot with tears, bloody clothing, completely alone together in an unknown world, it was hard to say anything that is within the lines of "we're fine". "We're not doing well I'm afraid…" Jon said after a moment of gathering himself.
The woman looked at them with concern. "Are you two injured in any way?" She asked.
Jon and Martin went still. They can't exactly say that Jon had a knife in his chest moments ago before they took it out and the wound started healing immediately won't they?
"…My partner has a shallow laceration on his chest from when we got attacked, and he needs medical attention and rest," Martin firmly said and Jon nodded but seemed to do a double take as he heard the second half.
"Wha— Martin, I don't need—" Jon tried to say but was interrupted.
"Jon, if you say what I think you're going to say, I'm never going to make tea for you ever again."
Jon shut his mouth.
The woman looked amused by their banter at first before she looked around with narrowed eyes, seemingly surveying the area. "Is your attacker still here?" She asked.
That made both of them pause before immediately shooting up to their feet. They looked around for any sign of Elia— Jonah, hoping he didn't came with them for both their sake and possibly this world's as well. The woman and her companions looked alarm as the older-looking man in the suit stepped forward to calm them down. "Gentlemen, please calm down—"
Martin pulled Jon closer, making sure their conversation isn't heard. "You don't think he's here, is he??" He spoke to Jon in a hushed tone.
"I sincerely hope not," Jon gritted his teeth. "But even if he came with us somehow, there's a high chance he's already dead… hopefully…" Well that did make sense. Even if Jonah somehow came with them there's no way he wouldn't survive for long with the blood he lost.
Both of them turned to the woman, who was waiting for them to finish their converstaion. "No. We don't think our attacker is here anymore," Jon says.
The woman sighed with relief, "Well that's good to know. Are you two aware of where you are right now?" She asked.
They shook their heads again. The woman furrowed her brows, almost as if she expected to know where they are. She then went over to her companions and is seemingly engagimg in a discussion. Martin and Jon shifted awkwardly in place before Martin felt a hand brush against his. It didn't take him being an Avatar of the Beholding to know why. He interlocked their hands together like its instinct, the second thing close to breathing, a reminder that yes; I am here, we are alive and I'm not going anywhere.
The woman seemed to have finished her conversation with her companions as she went over to Jon and Martin. "Well me and my companions talked to each other and decided that we to take you two to where we usually go to rest and get yourself treated," she smiled.
Martin looked at her closely. Her smile seemed so genuine and she didn't seem to have an ulterior motive. Plus a place to rest sounded so tempting right now.
"Okay. We'll go," Martin said before he turned to look at Jon. Jon, who is looking at the woman directly in the eye, a gaze that seemed to know about your very being, a gaze that made it seem like you're under a microscope and that your nothing but a specimen that needed to be observed and its a gaze Martin knows all too well.
"What is your name?"
Oh.
Oh shit.
The woman's eyes turned glassy, static fills their ears as an answer was pulled out of her mouth. "Navia Caspar, the President of the Spina Di Rosula." She blinked, shocked, her hand going up to her mouth and her two companions behind her looking at Jon in alarm, then caution.
Martin looked Jon in shock but it seemed like the man himself also didn't expect it. "What— Jon!" Martin scolded and Jon spluttered.
"I— I didn't expect it—!"
"What did you do to her?" The man in the suit with dark hair went forward and put his arm in front of the woman in a protective manner.
"Silver, it's alright." The woman— Navia said. So the man with dark hair is named Silver, good to know. The man backed off, but him and the other older-looking man are now eyeing Jon warily.
"I— I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Jon tried to say but the woman stopped him when she held up her hand.
"It's fine. I didn't know exactly what you did but from your reaction it seemed like it wasn't intentional." She regarded Jon with a more critical eye which made him slightly shrink.
"You're not human, are you?" It didn't seem like a question but more like confirmation. Jon looked at her with a panicked expression. Martin put his arm protectively in front of Jon and looked at the woman with narrowed eyes. "Yeah what about it?"
"Martin—"
The two men beside Navia looked guarded at Martin's tone, but the blonde woman quickly raised her hands in a calming gesture. "Wait don't take it the wrong way! That doesn't mean we're automatically gonna leave you two! Especially when you need help," Navia quickly assured them and Jon looked at her with shock before letting out a sigh of relief. Martin raised his brow but she didn't seem surprised by the fact Jon isn't human.
"Ah… thank you…" Jon said, gently putting down Martin's arm as he took a more clear look of his surroundings. It seemed like he was the large city sitting above the water in the distance because he was staring at it in awe. Martin can't blame him, it does feel like it came out of a fantasy show or game.
"Where are we?" Martin eventually said, breaking whatever trance Jon was in staring at the city.
Navia looked confused before her eyes widened. "Oh, right! Well, you're in Fontaine, the Nation of Hydro and Justice in Teyvat!" She exclaimed, extending out her hands in a grand manner.
"…Doesn't that mean fountain in French?" Jon randomly said which made Navia look at him in confusion. Martin gently elbowed his side which made Jon realize as he realized what he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
Navia waved him off, "its fine, its fine! I don't know what "French" is but it does mean fountain in Fontainian." She explained to which Martin and Jon nodded.
So maybe Fontainian is the equivalent of the being French here, good to know.
"I'm assuming both of you are definately not from around here then?" She asked to which both of them nodded and Martin snort.
"You have no idea," he said which made Jon huff as well.
Navia let out a chuckle. "Alright now that I introduced myself, I believe its fair for you two to introduce yourselves properly especially after… that." She said and Jon winced sligthly.
"Right, I suppose its fair…" Jon readjusted his collar as he attempted to stand straight with some help from Martin.
"My name is Jonathan Sims, The A— ah, you can just call me Jon." He said which made Martin giggle and Jon to look at him with confusion. "What?"
"Still trying to be formal even after all this time?" Martin teased which made Jon flush.
"W-Well we didn't exactly made the best impression!" He said to which Martin smiled.
"Alright, but you can call me Martin. Martin Blackwood," The ginger-haired man said.
The second older-looking man who came with Navia stepped forward. "You already knew her Demosielle and my companion, Silver, but I am Melus." He put his hand over his chest and lightly bowed as a sign of greeting to which Jon and Martin nodded awkwardly.
"So I'm pretty sure you two have no where else to go?" Navia said and Martin would've been a little offended by the comment if it wasn't true.
Jon let out a tired sigh and shook his head. "No, unfortunately."
Navia hummed as she put her hand on her chin and looked deep in thought before she snapped her fingers. "Well you're in luck! Me and my companions were just headed to Poisson, you can come with us and we'll try to find you two a place to stay and get yourself well-rested!"
"…Doesn't Poisson mean "fish"?"
"Jon!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
Navia giggled, "its alright, we also get those for newcomers." She slung her umbrella over her shoulders and turned to the direction of what Martin assumed where Poisson is.
"Now off we go! You two can walk, right?" She asked the two men.
Martin blinked out of his stupor. "Oh— yes, don't worry." He let Jon clung to him as he took slow steps before they started walking, both of them ready to learn about this new world.