THE CAVES Pt 6

Instructions

TW: MASSIVE lore dump- so much lore in this one guys The Doctor opened the curtain to Sebastian’s room an hour and a half later. Sebastian was curled up on his bed with a new change of clothes. He held an iPod up to his ear, his eyes closed, his head bobbing to the quiet music. He stopped and brought the device down when he heard the Doctor come in. “Hey,” Sebastian said. “Hello,” the Doctor responded. “What’s up?” Sebastian paused his music. “I would like to speak to you about the character you found,” the Doctor said. “Mark, was it? He is… interesting.” “Tell me about it.” Sebastian set his iPod down on the floor next to his mattress. “That is precisely what I’m here for.” the Doctor stepped fully into the room, closing the curtain behind him. “Mark was not a previously existing headcannon, nor is he an original character. When you and Purple found him, that was his introduction to Headspace.” Sebastian stared at him in confusion. “...But… why didn’t he enter on the surface?” “That is what I need you to know. He was introduced in the middle of a major event, and couldn’t enter through the Hub, as it was entirely destroyed. There is no entrance at the moment.” “Weird…” Sebastian muttered. “And this has never happened before?” “As far as I’ve observed, no. But, as you might have already figured out, this can lead to major gaps in the system. For example, headcannons are supposed to enter as the arbitrary idea of the character itself. Or, rather, from no specific point in the timeline. Mark seemed to have entered directly before his last moments in his story. You’re familiar with the Iron Lung universe, aren’t you?” Sebastian gently smacked his fist against his tail. “I knew I’d seen him before- And I call myself an Iron Lung fan…” The Doctor rolled his eye. “I’m guessing that’s also why he was hurt?” Sebastian added. “Correct,” the Doctor said. “Because he was ripped directly from his own story, he entered with any ailments he might have had previously.” Sebastian nodded. “And why do I need to know this?” “Well, you are a ‘fan’ of his story. Another problem with this specific kind of entrance is that, until Crystal has him documented, the character himself is unstable. I figured since you and Purple found him in the first place, you would be willing to keep him grounded until we can bring him back to the surface.” “What do you mean by that?” “Explain everything to him. Tell him where he is, what his purpose is here, how the whole system of Headspace works, why he is in the caves instead of on the surface, and any other key points you might be able to think of. Let him get to know other characters and build relationships. And most importantly, keep him calm. It is very normal for a character’s first week to be hectic, but we need him to be as sane as possible.” “What happens if he isn’t?” “Mm…” The Doctor glanced down. “That would result in a headcannon becoming a dark thought. These are much harder to control, especially during a time when Crystal is specifically trying to repress them. We have luckily never seen this happen before, but it is a constant threat. So it is better to be safe than sorry.” “Read you loud and clear,” Sebastian said. “I’ll let him rest for today. I think we all need it, to be honest. Then I can start introducing him to people tomorrow.” The Doctor nodded. “I appreciate your commitment.” With that, he turned and left the room. Sebastian was honestly expecting more of a goodbye after all of that, but he decided the short and sweet exit was good enough. He pulled out his iPod and unpaused his music, putting it back up to his ear.