A Merged Timeline

Markus - Reason #2 as to why I don't trust gingers.

"Huh. Alright then." I casually responded, and though he seemed less aggressive now that I wasn't asking so many questions, I couldn't help but feel like he would gladly punch me in the nose if I say something wrong.

Maxwell chuckled a little, and hiccuped. "Ehh..yep. Neva' heard o' that sorta name 'round here?"

I figured I'd go along with it to get some more answers, and shook my head. "Oh, I'm not from here..you said this is London, yeah?"

He nodded, leaning back on the stool and glancing around the bar. "Yeppp..New London, some grand ol' city 'round 'ere. It ain't run right, thanks to-" He hiccuped. "Dames, but..eh, whatever..." He leaned back a bit further, and almost fell back out of his seat. "So, who're you?"

I shrugged, and thought for a few seconds. If I wanted a new name - codename, not an actual legal name - then I could make one up on the spot. He tapped his fingers on the counter as he waited on an answer, so I decided to pretend to think even longer.

He exhaled impatiently. "If ya can't recall your own name, can't you at least say where ya from?"

I chuckled a bit. I didn't usually like messing with people who weren't sober, but this wasn't harmful. "Oh, y'know, I've been around. Nowhere around here." I stopped talking, but he still seemed interested. I figured I could continue. "..Though, I've settled down in a small district with my wife."

He didn't wait to answer his next question. "What'cha out here for, then, eh? Tryin' to pick up some on the side?"

I think he could tell I was taken aback by the question, but he didn't try to cover up the fact he just asked me that. Which, by the way, is an awful question to ask. I slowly responded. "No..no, I'm just here because I have nowhere else to go. I'm completely loyal to her, and-"

He interrupted, sounding a bit confused. "But ya went to a bar? If ya had any sense, you'd be doin' what I'm doin'." He slapped his hand on the counter. "Lookin' for hookin'!" He belly-laughed to himself, drawing the attention of a few people in other stools.

I sighed. This wasn't going anywhere fun, and clearly, this guy was..not a great guy. I tried moving the conversation along. "Right..yeah, well, I've got kids with her, so I wouldn't do that, anyway."

He sat up straighter. "How many, eh?"

"Three." I mumbled a response.

He slapped the counter again, chuckling to himself. "I had three, too! Now it's only two. The third one ain't dead, I just hate 'im."

I had to glance around the bar to see if I was the only one hearing this. "..I don't think you can reject and ignore one of your kids over a grudge."

He stopped laughing after that, and looked right at me. His eyes narrowed a little. "Are you judgin' me, kid? If you are, I ain't gonna take that. You think you can just insult my decision because your feelings hurt? Are you some sort of idiot?"

No. "Yes."

On second thought, yes, I was.

Maxwell glared, obviously annoyed with my answer and probably annoyed with me. "My son..he turned. A traitor, an obnoxious runt...if you knew what he was like, you'd understand my decision."

I spoke up again, mostly out of pure confusion and curiosity, but also out of concern, I think. "So, since he was too weak for your standards, you threw him aside?"

He laughed loudly. "See, you're one of the only person who gets it! Exactly that!" He hiccuped. "What'm I gonna do to raise a kid if he ain't putting in the work? If he can't do anythin' for himself, why do I gotta?"

"..Because you're his dad, maybe, and he deserves support regardless?" I quietly responded. I felt like I really should stop with this, since I'm not making this any better, but luckily, I don't have to. He does it for me.

Maxwell looked like he wanted to kill me for saying that, but before he could do anything to me, he leaned back in his seat even more, and fell. I couldn't resist snickering a little, even though he was obviously injured by that. He weakly looked up at me, and narrowed his eyes.

I took that as my cue. I got off the stool, and quickly rushed out of the bar before he could get to me, glancing back to see if he would try and get up.

And that's when I ran into something.

I don't know what it was, since I shut my eyes on impact. Unfortunately for me, I hadn't anticipated for this (of course I didn't, how could I?) so my hands weren't exactly free. I tried turning around to break my fall, but I wasn't fast enough as the floor flew towards me.

I blacked out as my head struck the ground.