Almost But Not Quite Human

The Lonely Journal Keepers

Tw for a swear, and for this chapter italics symbolise events that happened in the past.
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Much against the popular opinion of almost everyone who saw him walking down the street, or bought something from him in The Bread Basket, Conner's mutation had nothing to do with speed or agility.

He was just a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog okay? So sue him.

Now, winding through the emptying streets Conner thought back to when he first got his mutation. It was confusing and scary - even more so than puberty for goodness sake.

See Conner's mutation was nothing to do with his strength or speed or physic but in fact his mind. It was always difficult to explain, but Conner's mutation basically enhanced his mind in a way.

No one could get a lie past him, he could sense people's intentions and tricks a mile away, and strangely stuff like caffeine and alcohol just didn't effect him anymore. Multiple times Karl had suspected that Conner could also read minds, but his friend would neither confirm or deny this. And worst of all Conner was pretty sure there was more he just hadn't figured out yet.

The wind picked up a bit, so Conner sped up and wrapped his hoodie a little tighter. The library wasn't too far now anyway.
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About three months after getting this strange mutation, Conner had thought that he'd finally found out everything it had to offer, then he woke up one morning and it was five weeks in the past. One awkward conversation told Conner he was the only one who noticed that time had inexplicably jumped backward.

What could he do but carry on as if nothing happened without seeming crazy? Nothing. So 'nothing' is what he did. Until he met Karl.

Speaking of whom, the mutated Conner was looking for was currently up in the rafters of the library again. Conner rolled his eyes and began to make his way up there. The library was blissfully empty this time of day.

Conner started working at the bakery a few months ago, and one day a man with a 90's-esque hoodie walked in one day to buy a loaf. As soon as Conner saw him, he knew something was off about the guy. Conner introduced himself, and Karl did the same.

They became closer friends, and soon Conner stopped wondering what he had sensed from Karl that first day. Life was going pretty well until one day, Karl died.

"Hey Karl, it's Conner!" the mutated called, "Can you like, let down the ladder or something?"

"Just a minute!" came a muffled reply.

After a spate of creaks and bumps, a dark and rickety looking ladder snaked down from the rafters, and Conner happily climbed up. It was a miracle he and Karl were never caught up here.

When Karl had died, Conner specifically remembered his last words being "Not again..." which in Conner's opinion was a pretty strange thing to say, but he hadn't had time to dwell on that for long as the world was consumed in a brilliant white light.

When the light faded, Conner was in the bakery again about a month in the past.

'How did he know how far back it was?' you ask. Well, it was just instinct, Conner supposed. Or maybe his mutation lending him a hand.

The first thing Conner did was find Karl to demand what the fuck was going on.

Books and parchments were ordered fairly neatly on one side of the little nook of the library Karl and Conner had claimed, each one of them titled with a date ranging from the last year to the next.

This was their work, and how they were going to fix things.

When Conner told Karl what had happened, the first thing his friend did was cry. Or laugh. Conner still hasn't figured out which it was.

Karl has said, "So I'm not mad after all? I can't believe that it's real... " he trailed off, hands falling to his sides.

"What? What's real? Tell me what happened man!"  Conner demanded. He was angry and confused and wanted - no, needed - a straight answer.

It took a bit of effort to wrangle a clear answer out of him but eventually Karl said;

"Conner, when I die time goes back however long I need to change whatever caused my death. It's happened about four times before, but no one else knew... I thought I was just mad."

"Oh wow, I did too... So no one else knows?"

"Not that I've seen."

"Huh."

Conner unziped his hoodie thanks to the warmth of the library, and came to sit next to Karl.

"I saw Quackity didn't make it this time. Are you going to be okay if this is the one?" the Sonic fan asked softly.

The brunet beside him sighed, "I have to be. Besides, we're no closer to fixing this than in any other cycle."

"I know I just... I want to be sure you're okay."

"I'm fine Conner."

Conner didn't know why Karl still tried to lie to him after all this time.

He leant back casually, peering over the edge of their little overhang. "So, should we go down to the castle tomorrow? It'd be nice to get a head start this cycle."

"I was thinking we wait until Dream gets out of the hospital. Him being there would probably complicate things."

Conner hummed, "True." 

Karl crossed the small room, and picked up a purple book bound with golden rings. It was large, dusty, and took some considerable effort to carry over to where Conner was sitting.

The book was set down with a soft thud and Karl sighed. "So, let's get down the basics shall we?"
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I know I know I have so many characters in this book, but it's all fun and games and I want to be able to write about them so there.

Remember if anything is confusing or whatever just ask me to clarify! I'm obviously not a professional, so there's bound to be slip ups or plot holes or unclear things.

Sincerely, starchy uncooked toast