#maybe i'll finally finish this! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

huffle-dork · 2 years

Text

Curiosity Killed the Cat: Chapter 11

Breaking the Mold

Chapter 10: [x] Read from the Beginning: [x]

In a sleepy haze, Jameson walks down the street, his eyes glassy and glowing green. Anti keeps his strings on his puppet tight- He didn't want him remembering the way here… could be dangerous. For him obviously- he didn’t care about Jameson. Not at all.

Soon, the puppet finds himself in front of what looks like a fortune teller’s shop. He doesn’t hesitate before breaching through the doors, hardly shivering as the cold of the interior hits him. He walks briskly to the middle of the candlelit room and stands stiffly at attention, gaze still clouded.

Then, slowly his eyes lose their glow and they widen. He gasps like a man waking from a dream then looks around frantically. Last he remembered, he was with the others leaving Phantom’s shop! He- he doesn’t recognize this place at all!

…or… does he?

A low feminine chuckle echoes around Jameson and he stiffens.

“Well- Antisepticeye’s puppet returns… and yet- this time you are awake?” It says.

Jameson shivers. He- he had been here before. When Anti used him… is that why he’s here again? Was Anti planning on using him? Was he going to hurt Marvin? A barely audible whimper escapes the gentleman’s mouth as he tries to back up.

Yet- he feels a spark of his bravery return. He straightens and stands tall before addressing the room, signing boldly. “My name is Jameson Jackson. I am my own- no one else’s.”

He can feel his phone in his pocket vibrate and glitch slightly as if agitated by his words. He ignores it though.

But- a glitchy whisper echoes in his ears. U̴s̵e̴ ̴t̶h̷a̴t̸ ̷b̵i̸g̴ ̵b̶r̸a̸i̸n̴ ̵o̵f̸ ̷y̸o̵u̴r̴s̵,̵ ̸O̸l̸d̵t̶i̴m̵e̸r̴.̴ ̵I̵ ̸b̴r̴o̷u̷g̷h̸t̴ ̴y̵o̷u̶ ̷h̴e̴r̴e̸ ̵f̷o̵r̸ ̸a̵ ̶r̴e̵a̵s̸o̵n̵.̷ ̴D̴o̶n̷’̵t̵ ̶w̵a̵s̴t̶e̶ ̵w̶h̵a̴t̵ ̶l̸i̸t̴t̷l̵e̶ ̷t̵i̷m̷e̵ ̷w̵e̷ ̵h̵a̶v̶e̸.̶ Suddenly, multiple pearl white glassy eyes open up on the mirrors’ surfaces that line every wall, and all their gazes seem to hone in on Jamie. The gentleman backs up again, trying to hide his shaking.

“Does the puppet grow a spine? How… peculiar-”

A wisp of white flows from one of the mirrors- taking the images of the eyes with it and suddenly goes to appear in front of Jameson. A ghostly figure of a woman with short ebony hair, a veil and a dress and shawl made of stars. She grins predatorily down at Jamie and moves into his face- close enough he should feel her breath. But- there’s nothing- except the presence of powerful magic. “I see… you are here to break from your part as well… just like your brother.”

It feels like a shock has gone up his spine- Jameson's eyes widen. Then, he’s frantically signing back at the ghostly figure. “My brother? Marvin? Was Marvin here?”

Then, his eyes darken and faintly spark with teal light.

“You- are you the reason he’s acting the way he is? Who are you?” The ghost seems to blink then chuckles lightly behind her hand. “Ah- I forget sometimes how strong a master’s hold can be-” “He is not my master!” Jameson angrily signs as his magic also projects his words in front of the ghost on a slide. She’s quiet for a second before her head dips in apology, but the smirk on her face gives off an air of insincerity.

“My apologies… I can answer your questions, Mr. Jackson. For one, my name is Celine.” She floats back and then gestures to the rest of the room- the candlelight glows brighter- then begins to flicker red and blue- then black and white and then back again. Tinting the room in an ever-changing eerie light. Her pearl-like eyes seem to glow as she regards Jameson again. “I am an avatar of black magic in this world. I slip through the cracks and whisper corruption to the souls that seek it. The power-hungry, the twisted, the trodden on, the curious- I bring them here to find what they seek.” She goes to walk up to a bigger mirror on the wall and touches light fingers to it. The surface ripples like water before an image starts to form. It looks like…. Marvin! The day they found him- “Your brother was such a soul. Beaten and curious- seeking answers to questions left unsaid. Anger burning in his heart-”

“Y-You’re lying!” Jameson tries to say, “My brother is… Marvin isn’t anything like that! He’s not power-hungry or twisted!” Celine’s head seems to snap towards Jameson- how she’s understanding him without looking his way he wouldn’t understand. She doesn’t blink as she regards him. Then she looks back towards the mirror and touches it again, the image of Marvin starting to move. “You need to be convinced… listen well, child. See the truth-” In the mirror Marvin suddenly shouts out with anger, turning away from the large window in front of him. “Jackie replaced me with that no good, immature, hardly magic wannabe?! With JAMIE?!”

Jameson winces and goes to hold his arm, rubbing it lightly. This… must be how he found out about his hero work. Oh.. no wonder he had been so angry. To find out so soon after being kidnapped?

He continues to watch as Marvin’s magic backfires and purple flames destroy Jackie’s tv. Marvin looks at the magic in horror and tries to shake off the flame. He seems distraught by his magic- wondering if Anti had corrupted it. Jamie would give anything to reach in there to quell his brother’s fear… Then, Marvin starts to laugh unstably as he leans back against the window, fists trembling beside him.

“This is all just one big joke…” He scoffs, “T-the universe just loves to mess with me. Loves to fuck with me.” He bares his teeth and grips his fist harder before he slams it against the window behind him.

“Well I'm sick of it!” Marvin screams to no one, “I’m sick of being the one to fuck with, you hear me?! I refuse to be the plaything anymore!”

Tears rise up in his eyes and he shakes them away as he continues to shout at the sky, “Give me some goddamn answers! A fucking chance to fight back! I don’t want to pushed around anymore! Let me be the one with power for ONCE!”

Jameson’s mouth falls open slightly, his eyes widening. He shakes his head minutely. He sympathized but… he had no idea Marvin felt that way! But… it’s not like his brothers gave him any chance to talk. They should have stayed by his side… Jamie should have stayed by his side- instead of trying to play hero! Celine looks back to Jameson with a soft smirk on her lips. “Now you know the truth, Jameson Jackson. Marvin’s thirst for answers were heard by the darkness- and brought him here.” Jameson felt tears in his eyes as he shakes his head. “He… He could have- he could have talked- we could have-” His fingers fumble over his words before he drops them in defeat.

Celine chuckles darkly, “He sought to break out of his mold. No longer satisfied by playing his part- no longer wanting to wait for his chance to be strong. No longer wanting to be subjected to the will of others.” Once again, in a blink of an eye, she’s back up in Jameson’s face, the candles all tinting red. “Don’t you feel the same, Jameson Jackson? Aren’t you wanting to break from your role? To no longer be the puppet? Wanting to be a hero? To be in control?” Jameson can’t help but shake as he tries to move away- but Celine suddenly lashes out with strong hands- grabbing his collar and holding him close to her face. “Don’t deny it- your actions here speak enough! So, I’ll ask once again, little puppet… Are you here to seek power from the dark as well?”

Jameson swallows thickly and looks away, blinking confused tears from his eyes. But- even though he’s scared and unsure- the answer seems so clear- bright and bold in his heart while the rest is clouded by darkness. He lifts Celine’s hand off his collar and then brushes himself off before addressing the spirit, his eyes set in determination, despite how his hands shake. “...I know I’m breaking from the role Jack wants me to play… But- I think he would be proud. I may not know him well… but he’s not Anti. He doesn’t control us in absolutes… he’s given us the freedom to think and choose for ourselves. And… so does his fans.

It’s… scary. To have that. Especially when my role is to be controlled. But… My brothers know better than anyone how to live and they’ve taught me so much. Jackie has taught me to be brave. Chase has taught me to have fun. Henrik has taught me to be kind and compassionate… and Marvin-” He looks to the image in the mirror- stuck on Marvin's moment of anger- his moment of being so lost and scared and feeling alone. Jameson’s eyes flare teal again as he looks back to Celine. “He taught me that I’m more than what I was made to be! That I can be whoever I want to be- dispute the powers working against us- despite what the world thinks of us! He’s taught me to love every flaw and mistake that was made when I was created- to create a new version of myself that’s of my own choosing! Sure he’s broken his mold- but only because he felt alone and scared! And… I never want him to feel like that again- and if.. If this darkness consumes him- I’ll never have the chance to let him know that! He’s not alone- he never has to be alone- because we’ll be here for him no matter what! Even if Jack abandons us- or Anti corrupts us- I want to stand by my brother’s side no matter what!”

Thick passionate tears drip down his face as he pushes forward, closer to Celine in desperation. Teal magic whips around him like a strong wind, echoing his conviction. “I know you helped him embrace this darkness but- I must have been brought here for a reason! So, please… I know this darkness isn’t my brother! Sure he’s angry and scared- but if he was in his right mind I know he wouldn’t want to hurt us! So please… forget this light and darkness talk- I just… I want to save my brother! Please! Help me save him!”

The magic bursts around him in a shower of teal stardust- falling like snow. He hardly seems to notice as he keeps eye contact with Celine.

Celine watches the magic fall with a strange wide eyed expression. Then, she seems to jerk and gasps as if in pain. She goes to hold her middle and leans against the wall. She holds herself as her form seems to distort and jitter- as if it’s attempting to break apart. Jameson startles back then tries to reach out a hand towards her, “Miss Celine?” Celine’s eyes snap back up to meet Jamie’s. Then, she grabs his hand before jerking it to go and touch one of the mirrors on the wall. But- not just any mirror… the big wooden framed mirror in the center. The one with the giant crack. Jameson is too shocked to resist and soon, his fingers splay across the cracked surface and- When he next blinks open his eyes, he’s somewhere new. Half the space seems to be a log cabin with a stone fireplace- but the flame has long since been snuffed out. In fact- the floor- there’s water gently lapping at Jameson’s thighs. He lifts up his feet in confusion. It’s freezing- he can see his breath puff out of his mouth. In front of him is a large pane of cracked glass- so large he can’t see where it ends. If he squints- it looks just like the crack that was on that mirror. But- it seems like where this water came from- it broke through most of the surface. Leaving a large gap where water leaks. Celine sits against the cracked glass but… she’s dressed differently. She looks like a survivalist- wearing mountain gear with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Yet- her body is covered with frost- and she sits surrounded by the water that’s trickling through the cracks. She looked like she was asleep before her red-tinted eyes opened up and regarded Jameson.

Jameson tries to step forward, “Miss Celine?” “I was just like your brother once… in another life,” Celine’s voice echoes off the icy surfaces. She sounds tired. “I let my… curiosity and hunt for power cloud my judgment. I let my anger drive me forward. My confidence in my power, in the arcane and the occult…it blinded me. I wanted to hurt those who hurt me and my family so bad…I didn’t care if I sold my soul to the dark.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep shaky breath. “My baby brother… Damien… I wanted to protect him. Everything I did… the secrets I kept- the power I sought. It was all to keep him safe… I never wanted anything to hurt him.” A single tear tries to fall down her face before freezing in its path. “Perhaps that’s why Marvin too went in alone… I could tell how much he loves his family. How much he wanted to protect you all from the glitch. Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to him as well… or well… my darkness was.”

She chuckles tiredly, meeting Jameson’s fearful eyes.

“My curiosity… it killed us. Me and my brother. The darkness won us over and claimed us as its own. Our souls are mashed together… stuck in a being fueled by my darkness and his rage. In a broken body that wasn’t even our own. And what remained…” She gestures to herself. “Is trapped in this mirror. In this dimension where only reflections of our souls remain…”

She slumps more against the glass, sighing and watching her breath cloud in front of her face. “For the longest time… I kept him in the dark. Wanting to preserve his mind… his kindness. If I was careful… I could keep him from becoming what he wanted him to be.”

“Let me help you!” A bearded man’s face shows up on the glass’s surface, shouting as his voice echoes even more thinly then Celine's, like an echo of a memory. Celine smiles, “He was always so stubborn…” Celine gets to her feet with some effort, using the broken glass behind her to help her up. She walks up to Jameson with a gentle and kind smile. Nothing like the ghostly figure of her outside.

“Much like you. You… remind me so much of my brother, Jameson Jackson. Loyal to a fault… wanting to help others- despite the cost.” His voice, Damien’s voice, echoes again, “ If you let me help you… then maybe together… we can start to set things right.”

“It takes a lot of courage… to break the role our stories write for us.” She begins, taking Jamie’s hand in her own. Her hand is freezing cold- yet… there’s a tiny hint of warmth. “That courage… it’s rare to find. Marvin is so lucky… to have a brother like you by his side.” Jameson’s hiccups slightly, more tears gathering in his eyes. He shakily produces a slide to Celine, “Please- can you help me save him?” She sighs and looks away, back at the past reflecting in the glass. “... you must try to reach him beyond his corruption. Appeal back to his core- what he wants to fight for. Dig through his rage and confusion.” She holds Jameson’s hand tighter and cups it with her other. “What happened to me… to us… was because I was too stubborn and I was too far gone to save completely. By the time Damien helped… we had already fallen too far into darkness. And… his help could only do so much. I needed to change… but it was too late. I was corrupted far before I saw my brother that night.” “How do I know he’s not there yet? What if we’re too late?” Jameson pleads.

Celine smiles, “It’s not too late. Even now… I can still feel his light. If he was truly gone… I would know.”

“Then how? What do we need to do?” Jameson’s slide projects once again. “You must convince him to relinquish his darkness- to let go of his black magic. Remind him of how powerful his light can be. And- you must have him seal his corruption here- in the mirror dimension.” She lets go of Jameson’s hands and in them, a block of ice starts to grow from where they’re cupped to form the shape of an ornate handheld mirror. Jameson blinks at the surface, confused on why he could barely see his own reflection.

“The mirror dimension is an inverse of your world. Where black magic is strong yet… contained. Through the cracks, it can slip through and corrupt- which is what it does with my own image outside.” She sighs, “I have barely any power left to control it. It controls my husk to draw more to its side. Like it will drive Marvin to do as well.” Jameson shivers. That’s what Phantom warned them about. Celine leans in and holds the back of Jameson’s hands to draw his attention again. She smiles. “However, Jameson Jackson. You have the courage and light to fight back his doubts. You and your brothers. Remind him that he is not alone and the darkness is not his friend. Remind him of what he wants to protect. Of who he truly is. Only then will he start to separate from it enough for him to trap it away where it cannot control him. But, he must do it himself… or he will never be truly free.” She reaches over and touches light fingers to the surface of the mirror, then speaks in a foreign tongue. Red runes seem to etch themselves on the surface before disappearing. “...when he is ready- the spell will come to him.” She looks to meet the gentleman’s eyes again, then goes to cup his cheek like an older sister would. She gently thumbs away his tears. “... Marvin will not share our fate, Jameson. Not with you and your brothers there to guide him. Thank you… for fighting so hard for him. And reminding me once again of… how strong the light can be.” She giggles a bit wetly, tears in her eyes. “You and Damien… would have gotten along so well…” Jameson's eyes fill with tears again but now he pushes forward to wrap Celine up in a tight hug. His slides are almost too hard to read but Celine can just barely make out, “Thank you! Thank you so much, Miss Celine! Thank you…” Celine laughs and hugs him back briefly before letting go. She steps back with a shaky smile. “Good luck, Jameson.” Then, there’s the sound of breaking glass and cracking ice- When Jameson opens his eyes again, he’s back in Celine’s parlor. He’s lying on his back, and hovering over him is Anti’s glitching form. It may be his imagination… but it seems like the glitch relaxes slightly before he’s angrily shouting back down at him. “About goddamn time! I don’t know what that witch did but- I can’t believe she knocked out both me and my goddamn puppet! Get up, you useless sack of shit!” Jameson blinks then smiles slightly. He pushes himself up, seemingly unbothered by Anti’s abuse. “Whatcha so smiley about?! The fuck happened-” Jameson holds up a hand then feels under his vest- and soon produces the light blue mirror for Anti to see. The glitch’s eyes widened slightly. “...son of a bitch- did she actually- that will stop Marvin?” Jameson nods determinedly, eyes shining with hope. Anti glitches more wildly and starts to try to push Jameson towards the door. “Whatcha standin’ there for then?! Let’s go stop that bastard before we all-!” Jameson pauses as he suddenly feels a vibration in his pocket. He pulls out his cellular phone and looks at the surface curiously. Chase’s face is up on the screen with a green button to swipe. Oh- Jameson still wasn’t very good with these things- how does he answer again? “For Christ’s sake-” Anti rolls his eyes then unlocks the call. “Jays!” Chase’s voice is frantic on the facetime call, looking panicked. He seems to relax ever so slightly once he sees Jamie is okay. “...t-thank god- Anti didn’t hurt you… W-Where are you?” Anti pushes into the frame and grumbles out at Chase, “Yeah yeah- I wasn’t gonna hurt him- he… ran an errand for me.” “That would explain why no calls were going through…” Chase sighs back. Jamie taps at the phone’s surface and tries to wave the mirror to Chase. He quickly tries to finger sign, “Got help! To save Marvin!” Chase’s eyes light up and he laughs in a relieved yet nervous way. “Oh- y-your timing couldn’t be better jays… We need you here quick then-” Jameson raises an eyebrow and tilts his head. Chase’s face turns pale as he pans the camera back to where it seems Jackie and Schneep are leaning up next to Jackie’s desktop. On it is a Youtube video pulled up- a livestream.

It’s on Jack’s channel… and a familiar figure is on the screen. But- not who you expect. It’s Marvin but… he looks- normal. All the corruption from before seems to be gone? He smiles in a seemingly innocent way. Chase looks back into the call. “... I dunno what’s gonna happen but- you both should get back here quick.” Anti and Jameson exchange glances- then Anti grabs Jameson and glitches them back through the phone.

#readcktc #cktc #curiosity killed the cat #jse fanfic #jameson jackson #marvin the magnificent #antisepticeye #celine the seer #damien the mayor #explaining my bullshit #i think i did a good job of tying in my random celine idea into actually helping the story ahbjg #that's what i was so nervous about when writing this chapter |D #but! im stoked to keep going!#maybe i'll finally finish this!#hufflewriting

30 notes · View notes