Disclaimer: I do not own Fringe.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! There was only one review last chapter, which is a bit discouraging, but of course, I'm going to continue to write, so you don't have to worry! Tell me what you want to see happen next! I'm always open for ideas and suggestions.
Chapter Nine
They separated, quite reluctantly, and both stood, turned toward the door. Perhaps it had been a mistake—who would be knocking on their door? Who would know they were there? From the looks of it, the place had been empty for a while before Peter had come upon it, and no one else was around. Olivia was glad she still had her gun, and removed it from its holster as the two of them crept toward the door. The knock sounded again, this time louder, and Peter was cursing the fact that the door had neither a peephole nor a window. Olivia gesture for him to stand to the side as she moved toward the door, and, after a moment, pulled it open, her gun at eye-level.
There stood the Observer, stone-faced as always.
"I'm pleased to see that you found each other," he said. "But you cannot stay here much longer."
"Yeah," scoffed Peter, "we assumed as much. But, it'd sure be nice if you told us how."
The Observer took a step backward. "Come with me."
Peter glanced at Olivia; she nodded, and so, the two of them moved forward, following the bald man. He led them toward the edge of the forest, until Peter spoke up again.
"No further," he said. The Observing had just the hint of a look of puzzlement on his face; strange, because it was the only sign of emotion either of them had ever seen him display. "We're not moving any further until you tell us how you're going to help."
"There is no time."
Olivia watched as Peter frowned, his hands unconsciously clenching into fists at his side. "Time? Well, time is exactly our issue, but if we're going to follow you through the forest, then I want to know how exactly this is going to help with our time management."
The Observer did not blink, did not avoid eye contact with Peter. He looked entirely unintimidated, which was the exact opposite reaction Peter had been attempting to elicit. "You are more powerful than you think, Peter Bishop. You both are special. Do you know why?" Neither said anything, so the Observer continued, "It is because you two are the only Peter and Olivia that are together. No other universe has the same combination. There is a very rare occasion; something like this is quite improbable, but you both have beaten the odds."
"That's wonderful to hear." She had seen his façade fade for just a moment, but the harsh tone to his voice was back just as quickly. "But, you're avoiding the question."
"I'm not. But, my intrusion has caused many problems. I am trying to help you as much as I can without causing more damage to any universe. I should not be helping you, but I must fix this problem. And, helping you is the only way I can. You must listen to me, though."
"But what did you mean?" Peter was obviously still content with none of this. "What did you mean when you said that 'I am more powerful than I think'?"
"The Machine is only a vehicle for what you both are able to do." His gaze flickered to Olivia. "You have always known that she is special, that her abilities are extraordinary. But, she is not the only one. That is why you cannot cease to exist, because neither of you can exist without the other. Your disappearance caused an imbalance, and this imbalance must be fixed."
"The only way we know how to do that is to stop Walternate from turning on the Machine," said Olivia, stepping forward. "But we would need to travel through time to do that."
"I exist in every time only because I am able to comprehend that time is non-linear. As much as you wish, you are not able to do the same."
"So," Peter said, through gritted teeth, "you're saying that we can't fix this?"
"No, that is incorrect. You have already traveled through time."
"That was my consciousness."
"Traveling through time is not much different than traveling to different universes, which you both have experience with." The Observer glanced at the sky; it was dark, ominous. "You must simply be able to wrap your mind around the idea. Who are you to say whether it was your consciousness, or your whole being, if you cannot understand its entirety?"
Olivia took a gentle hold on Peter's arm as she saw him tense. It would do him no good to lash out at the Observer; he wouldn't be able to do any damage anyway, she assumed, and she knew that the Observer was more than able to hurt them just as badly. And so, he attacked with words,
"You said you would help us."
"And by me helping you, you are helping me."
"But you have to tell us how."
"I cannot do that. It is innate. Together, you both can do anything." His eyes moved from the sky to the forest, where, beyond it, laid the lake. "The lake would be a suitable place to start."
"The lake?" Peter turned to look at Olivia, and she looked at him. Reiden Lake in the two universes had been a place of significance; was it possible that here, too, it would be important? "But what about once we get there—?" He cut him words short when, as he turned back to the Observer, he saw nothing but the trees in front of them. "Wonderful. He's gone."
Olivia's hand wandered from his arm to clasp around his own. "Didn't you hear what he said, though? We can do this, together."
#
The trek through the forest was arduous, but at least it provided them necessary cover from the road, where they could hear vehicles buzzing along, oblivious to their presence. This hostile world was unsafe, and both were looking forward to leaving, despite the fact that they knew their journey was far from over. Any steps forward were good progress.
Just as they came to the opposite edge of the forest, where they could see the shore of the lake a little ways off, they could hear voices coming from the opposite way. Peter grabbed Olivia's hand.
"What do we do?"
Her other hand went to her gun. "Wait here until they pass."
They waited, but the voices did not get any further away, and they both became aware that the temperature had dropped quite a bit since the last time they had been outside. From a distance, they could see that the lake was frozen over. Had it been earlier? Olivia couldn't remember.
The voices were getting closer, and they could hear footsteps tromping through the thick growth.
"Over here! There's something over here!"
"I'm not picking up anything."
"Well, I am! You're really going to argue with me?"
Peter tensed. "They're right behind us."
"We can't just run," hissed Olivia, peering over her shoulder, "we have to get to the lake."
"But that won't help anything if they kill us before we can reach it."
"Why are they looking for us in the first place?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But, I don't want to wait and see."
"OVER HERE!" The voices were just behind them, though the trees hid them from view. "They're real close!"
"We can't just sit here!"
Olivia dropped his hand. "Run."
He couldn't ask her 'where to?' because she had already taken off, and so, he had no choice but to follow. The voices followed them, though they took on black-clothed figures now, shouting at the two of them to stop. They didn't.
Olivia's coat flapped around her legs, and she gripped her gun, letting loose a couple of bullets as she ran, though neither hit their target. Peter was right beside her, not wanting to overtake her, for fear of leaving her behind. They were closing on the lake, and though its surface was frozen, there was no telling whether it would hold their weight or not. But their foes didn't slow, and so they had no choice but to continue their chase on the lake, lest they wanted to be caught.
Peter became aware of a crackling sound beneath his feet, as well as the telltale whirring as a bullet sliced through the air just inches from his ear. He called Olivia's name, but it was futile—there was nowhere to go; they could only continue forward. He managed to twist his head, to crane his neck to see that the others hadn't followed them onto the lake, and instead stood at the shore, taking aim at them. It was ridiculous, because they hadn't even presented themselves as a threat, and yet he had long ago concluded that this universe was full of irrationalities.
Then, the world collapsed beneath their feet. They dropped down into the freezing water below, almost as if the ice had swallowed them. Peter waved his arms in a desperate attempt to reach the surface, but it was no use. The two of them were like heavy weights, their clothes dragging them further toward the depths of the lake, and no matter what they did to prevent it, the surface only grew father away. Olivia felt him clutch around the waste, pulling her tight. She opened her eyes, though his were squeezed shut.
They were going to die here, in the bottom of Reiden Lake in this hellhole of a universe.
She held onto him more tightly than she ever had, fighting against the blackness that clouded the edges of her vision, and the pain ballooning in her chests as her lungs fought against the lack of oxygen. Her body had gone numb from the extreme water temperature, though at one moment, she could feel the water around them turn quite a few degrees warmer. Just as her consciousness had begun to fade, she felt a tug on the collar of her jacket, and she was yanked upward. She had no idea how or why; she only knew that Peter was motionless in her arms, and she had resolved to die. It was fine, as long as they were together, as long as she had found him. It seemed the cosmos had a different idea in mind.
Peter, too, had begun to fight again, by a sudden burst of energy. With one hand still wrapped around Olivia, the other pushed them upward. His eyes stung, but he kept them open. By some miracle, the ice was gone, and their heads broke the still water, gasping for breath. In a final spurt of adrenaline, they made it to the shore, where they crawled onto the land, and collapsed beside each other.
Peter's hands were cupped around her face, and his forehead rested against hers. The air here was warmed, and there were no gunshots or explosions—only darkness and silence. Though they were both shivering, they were both also very much alive.
"What the hell just happened?" Peter murmured, his words barely discernible through chattering teeth. Olivia did not answer; she merely glanced at the sky.
A single zeppelin drifted among the stars.
