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crystalninjaphoenix · 1 month
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Escape From Suilthair
Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Thirty-Five
A JSE Fanfic
After so long of Chase and Jameson being stuck in this city, it's finally time for them to leave. Marvin, Jackie, Henrik, and the rest of the Phantoms reach out to the two of them, and they make a plan to get them out of the city. Chase wants to say goodbye to Amabel one last time, so they wait until morning. But... things quickly go awry. And yeah. It's a long chapter so I'm not going to spend too long on the author's note. Hope you guys enjoy!
Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Taglist: @brokentimewatch
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Marvin woke everyone up before the sun rose, going around the boat and shaking everyone until they were roused from sleep. He merely said, “I found them. Help me get the others up.” It didn’t take long. Soon, everyone was gathered on the deck of the boat, listening to Marvin as he explained what he’d seen through Draco’s eyes. “A boathouse?” Jackie asked.
“Yes, I know what a boathouse looks like.” Marvin nodded as he paced back and forth. “I’ve seen them before, but this one was very run down. Didn’t look safe, to be honest, but it was hidden.”
“And they are both alright?” Henrik asked hopefully.
“As far as I could tell.” Marvin stopped moving. “Before we all speak with them, I should... Th-they said they discovered something very important about the King. And if it’s true... it could change everything.”
The rest of the group looked intrigued. Jackie leaned forward. “Well? Keep going!”
“I’m trying to figure out how to say it,” Marvin mumbled. “It’s quite... shocking.”
“Ah, just spit it out,” Vsevna said. Henrik nodded.
“They said that the King was being possessed,” Marvin blurted out.
Silence.
“...that...” Henrik clears his throat. “Did you just... say what I think you said? The King is being... possessed? As if... by some sort of spirit?”
“Yes,” Marvin confirmed. “Chase says that the person in his dreams is the real King, calling out for help. Which I suppose implies that this spirit is who we’ve really been fighting against this whole time.”
“But—but—but that’s a long time to be possessed!” Jackie stuttered. “We’ve been doing this for—for years now? If we assume that the spirit was behind all the King’s actions that have been worth fighting against.”
“I didn’t ask for details, I wanted everyone to be awake to hear it,” Marvin said. “So... are we ready to talk to them?”
The whole group gave various shouts of “aye” and “yes”.
“Let’s do it, then.” Marvin took the message rock out of his pocket. “Someone hold this.” Jackie hurried over and took it from  him, and Marvin sat down on the deck, leaning against the mask. “I’m just going to look through Draco’s eyes to be sure there’s no danger.” He closed his eyes... and after a few moments, nodded. “They’re ready.”
Jackie immediately raised the message rock to his mouth and started speaking at it. “Chase?! Jameson?! Are you there?!”
A second passed. Then— “—ackie, is that you?!” Chase’s voice said.
“Yes! Marvin told us everything you told him. Are you both unhurt?”
“We’re fine. We were injured a little after escaping—I said that Jameson was captured for some time, right? Anyway, we’re all healed up by now.”
“Oh thank the Elders,” Jackie breathed. “We’re coming to get you out of there.”
“Whoa whoa whoa.” Henrik stepped forward and grabbed the rock from Jackie. “I think we need some more informa—” He realized he wasn’t speaking into the stone and quickly fixed that. “I think we need some more information first. Where are you two? In relation to the rest of the city? Marvin mentioned you were on the edge, but which edge?”
“Yea, we’re on the very edge. There’s nothing but water to my left right now. I think we’re on the... northeast edge?”
“Great, that is as far as possible from where we are right now,” Henrik muttered.
“We could try to get closer to meet with you?” Chase suggested.
“That may work. Hang on a moment. Vsevna?” Henrik turned to face him, making sure that he was still speaking into the rock. “Do you think that the boat could sail around the edge of the Suilthair island and then approach at the edge where Chase and Jameson are.”
Vsevna frowned. “Perhaps, but... ah, can they hear me speak right now?”
“Oh! No, you need to be holding it. Here.” Henrik passed the message stone to him.
“Thank you.” Vsevna smiled at him, then turned serious again. “We could do as sova says and sail around to meet you. But the problem is that it will be very noticeable. Boats carrying goods to Suilthair can only dock at the South Dock. And that is only if they are carrying something very heavy or hard to transport. More usually, cargo is required to be unloaded on the shore, transferred to a ferry, and then taken to Suilthair. If the King’s people notice a boat sailing around the city, they will raise an alarm. If we are lucky, they will send out boats to board us. If we are unlucky, they will send wizard spells at us from the shore hoping to sink us.”
“That’s... a lot,” Chase said slowly. “So... no boats at all go around Suilthair? What about a boat sailing from the north to the south? Or from the south to the north? Not stopping in the city, but continuing past, down the Muinra Avon and through the Green Lake. Could you pretend to be one of those?”
“Those boats do exist, but we will have to get right up to the city for you to board,” Vsevna explained. “And that will be suspicious.”
“Oh! What if you we don’t get right up to the city?” Marvin suggested.
Vsevna walked over. “Hold on a moment, Marvin, explain that with the rock in hand.”
Marvin held out his hand for the rock—eyes still closed while he saw through Draco’s eyes—and started speaking into it. “We could find some rowboats or some such. Our boat could sail out around the city, not getting close to it, and then you could come out to meet us in a rowboat.”
“That’s a good idea, but... uh...” Chase hesitated. “I don’t think... there are any rowboats anywhere in Suilthair.”
The group of Phantoms muttered darkly. “Are you sure?” Marvin asked. “I didn’t see any while I was there, true, but one of Suilthair’s main trades is fish from the lake. There must be rowboats.”
A moment passed. Then Chase’s voice returned. “Jameson says that three years ago the King made it illegal for anyone to own boats of their own. All boats have to be rented from the ferry dock—the one on the shore, not the one in Suilthair.”
“What a crock of shit!” Marvin growled.
Jackie walked over and took the rock. “The King must want to control ways in and out of the city. He seems awful keen to control the waters in general, actually. We heard tell while on the move that he’s building up a navy—a real, proper navy.”
“That’s... worrying,” Chase said slowly. “Um... hang on, Jameson is suggesting something.” A few moments passed. Then he returned. “Jameson thinks that some of you should rent a rowboat from the ferry dock. You can sail it up to the edge where we’re waiting, and meanwhile, your main boat can sail around the lake. Once the rowboat picks us up, it rows out to meet the boat.”
Jackie raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good plan. Or at least, the bones of a good plan.” He looked around at the rest of the group. “Any better ideas?” No one spoke up. “Great. It should be a small group of us who go get the rowboat. Who wants to come?”
“I think I should,” Marvin said. “I can keep watch on them through Draco. Make sure that we’re in the right locations to meet each other.”
“I will stay on the ship, then,” Henrik announced. “We have already taken a big risk by taking all our leaders on this trip. We should not make the risk worse by putting all of us in a small boat.”
“That’s true...” Jackie said. “Marvin’s our lookout, then. We should take two more people. Good fighters. I can be one, if there’s just one other.”
One of Vsevna’s crew raised a hand. “You’re still two leaders in a small boat.”
Jackie laughed. “That’s true, too. But I’m a very good fighter. And this is an important mission. We need very good fighters.”
“In that case, take Mona with you,” Vsevna suggested, pointing out a woman with short black hair and a cat mask. “She’s handy with a blade.”
“You don’t want to go, Captain?” Mona asked.
Vsevna shook his head. “My skills are better suited on the ship, I think.” Not to mention Henrik was staying, too. Everyone noticed the way the two of them were leaning close to each other. Still so early into their official courtship, they don’t want to leave each other, and everyone knows.
For once, Jackie doesn’t send Henrik a teasing look. This was not the time. “That’s settled, then,” he said. “Chase, Jameson, I’m going to reach you with a rowboat, along with Marvin and one of Vsevna’s crew, Mona.”
“A wolf and two cats!” Someone commented, and Marvin rolled his eyes.
“Great,” Chase said. “When... when are you planning on doing this?”
“Well, I hear fishing happens early in the morning, so we’d have to act soon or wait until tomorrow if we want to blend in with the fishers renting boats.”
“Um... how early?” Chase asked. “Because, um... well... a-a little bit after sunrise, someone... m-my daughter shows up.”
Jackie inhaled sharply. “You found your family?!” he said excitedly. “Then we need to get them out of there!”
“I—I don’t think that’s... possible,” Chase said. “I-it’ll be dangerous. And... Stacia, my wife... she’s been... enchanted. I think everyone from my old city was. They want to stay here. They have whole new names and lives and everything. Sh-she wouldn’t... she wouldn’t listen to me, if I tried to get her out of here. And... if I took the children... she might... I-I don’t know what she would do, but it won’t be good for anyone.”
Silence. Jackie and Henrik looked at each other, aghast. Even Marvin opened his eyes to stare at the other two with wide-eyed disbelief. “Marvin, is there any way to break an enchantment?” Henrik asked. “Perhaps with wizardry?”
“I-it varies depending on who’s been enchanted,” Marvin stammered. “And how long they’ve been under the spell. In... in any case, I don’t... know any spells to do it. I’ve been trying to remember some ever since we learned the truth about the King, but I haven’t, a-and I couldn’t exactly research spells this past fortnight.”
“If you guys are talking about ways to break the enchantment... don’t,” Chase said quietly. “It’s fine. They’re safe here, at least. And I think they’ll continue to be. I guess I don’t know that for sure... but call it an instinct. Anyway, they’ll definitely be in more danger with us than here. So... I-I can’t.”
More silence. Then Jackie took a deep breath. “If you don’t want to try, we won’t,” he said into the message rock.
“But um... like I was saying, a little after sunrise, my daughter shows up,” Chase continued. “I want to say goodbye to her.”
“We can make sure you have time to do that,” Jackie said softly.
“Thank you,” Chase said, his voice just as quiet. “Um... is there anything else?”
“Specifics on our end, but you just need to know to watch out for our boat,” Jackie said. “We’ll probably put our masks on as we get close, so watch for that.”
“We will. Thank you.”
“Be careful,” Jackie said.
“You as well.”
And with that, Jackie lowered the message rock. He looked around at the others. “Well... sounds like we have to prepare.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chase paced across the floor, glancing through the crack in the ajar door whenever he got to the right angle to. No sign of anyone outside. No sign at all, even as the sun slowly rose and lit the wooden walkways with watery gray light. Jameson stood in the corner of the boathouse, going over some of the defense drills that Chase had been teaching him. Both of them were nervous. Chase couldn’t think about anything but the upcoming escape, mind filled with dread for what might happen.
Until, eventually, he saw Amabel walking up the path towards the boathouse. Chase immediately stopped walking and opened the door a crack. She normally waved and hurried up when she caught sight of him moving the door. But today she just smiled and continued forward normally. She squeezed into the door through the gap Chase had open. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, Amy.” Chase smiled at her, then became serious again. “Is everything good?”
“Hmm? Yea, why d’you ask?”
“You just seem a bit less excited than normal,” Chase said.
“Maybe I am.” Amabel shrugged—and then her eyes landed on Draco, curled up on the floor, and gasped. “Kitty!”
Chase laughed. “Yep! Kitty. He belongs to a friend of mine.”
“Can I pet him?”
“You can try.”
Amabel nodded, taking her new task seriously, and slowly approached Draco. She held her hand out. Draco sniffed it. And when he didn’t turn away she started petting him, making little “aww” noises as she did.
Chase let her do that for a moment, watching with a faint smile. Jameson stopped his drills and walked over to the boathouse’s door, peering out through the gap. “Um... Amabel,” Chase finally said. “He suddenly arrived here with news. It’s... it’s time for us to go.”
Amabel looked at him. “You’re leaving? When?”
“As soon as possible,” Chase said. “Now, maybe. But... I wanted to tell you. A-and you can tell Quentin when you get home.” He crouched down so their eyes were level. “And I want to remind you that it’s not because of you, or Quentin, or Mom. I don’t want to leave, but I have to. We’ll see each other again. I love you.”
Before Amabel could say anything in response, Jameson inhaled sharply and looked back at them. Chase? There are warriors outside.
Chase’s attention immediately sharpened. He straightened up and walked over, peering through the gap next to Jameson. There were indeed warriors outside. Right outside. Wearing the royal crest. And walking directly towards the boathouse at the end of the walkway. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Do they know we’re here?!”
I don’t know! But they’re blocking the way out!
“They are.” Chase nodded. “Alright. We’re going to have to swim for it. Through the hole in the floor, just like last time.”
Jameson nodded. He didn’t look happy about it, but he sat on the edge of the hole, his legs dangling in the water. What about your daughter and Draco?
Amabel scooped Draco into her arms, holding him so his back legs stuck out. “I’ll go distract them!” she said, and ran right out of the door and towards the warriors.
“Amy, no—!” Chase hissed.
But it was too late. She was running right up to the warrior in front, saying something. The warriors stopped, all of them looking down at her. One at the back pushed to the front. They were wearing a helmet that covered all of their features. Amabel tried to talk to them. The helmeted warrior looked down at her, completely expressionless—and then grabbed her by the arm. The other warriors ran up to the boathouse.
Fear surged through Chase’s chest. “No!” he shouted, and he burst out through the doorway, immediately grabbing the nearest warrior and throwing them to the ground. The other two nearest backed up, starting to draw their swords, so Chase bent over and grabbed the sword from the fallen warrior’s sheathe and quickly blocked their strikes. He put all his effort into pushing the swords back—
And then Jameson appeared, shoving one of the warriors off the side of the walkway and into the lake. Without the second sword pushing back against him Chase’s efforts sent his sword flying forward, knocking the warrior’s aside and digging into their arm. They didn’t flinch, though, and swung their sword back around. Chase quickly ducked and ran past. There were two other warriors still standing—three counting the helmeted one. These two each drew a bow and tried to nock an arrow on the string. But Chase was fast. He ran up to them and swung the sword wildly, forcing them to dodge out of the way. The younger warrior—probably the newest—dropped the bow and the single arrow he was holding. Chase quickly picked it up. 
While he was doing that, there was another splash, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Jameson had pushed a second warrior into the lake. The one who’d been knocked down to the walkway gets up again. “Hey!” Chase shouted. Jameson looked towards him, then followed his gaze, and barely managed to dodge the warrior trying to grab him.
A sword came swinging out of nowhere. Chase, distracted, wasn’t quite able to dodge. At least it was only the flat of the blade that smacked into his shoulder. But there was still a burst of pain. He stumbled, and swung the bow around, smacking the wood into the side of the warrior’s head and stunning them for a moment. Long enough for Jameson to rush over and tackle the other warrior, who was also trying to attack, no doubt aiming to reclaim the bow Chase took.
Chase took advantage of the warrior’s confusion to shove them off the side into the water. Then he aimed the bow and arrow at the helmeted warrior. “Let go of her!” he shouted.
“Would you shoot a child?” the helmeted warrior said calmly, holding Amabel close to them. “Would you shoot your daughter?”
Chase started. “How do you know—”
A yowl filled the air, and Draco wriggled out of Amabel’s grip, scrambling up her shoulder and jumping right at the warrior’s face. Even with the helmet, the warrior still needed to see, and they instinctively yelled and staggered to the side as they tried pulling Draco off. Amabel immediately ran out of arm’s length.
“Ja—hey!” Chase started to shout Jameson’s name before realizing that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. “Let’s go!”
Jameson scrambled to his feet and ran towards Chase. The two of them then ran off together, with Chase grabbing Amabel as they went past her. “After them!” one of the warriors shouted. 
The three of them ran down the wooden walkways, turning at every possible opportunity. Until, finally, the sound of footsteps behind them started to fade. Chase grabbed a side door in an empty-looking building and threw it open, pushing Jameson and Quentin inside before going in himself. He closed the door behind him, breathing slowly, listening. The footsteps faded completely. Chase let out a breath and looked around. This appeared to be a living area for a small cottage. Currently empty. And nobody was visible through the doorway to the attached bedroom. The person who lived here must have left the door unlocked. “Are you okay, Amabel?” Chase asked.
Amabel nodded, eyes wide, looking a bit overwhelmed.
“You’re not hurt?”
She shook her head.
What was that?! Jameson asked. It’s like they knew we were there!
“N-no, I d-don’t think so,” Amabel said. “There are... there’re lots of warriors around today. All over. Searching everywhere.”
“Oh no,” Chase breathed, going pale. “This is the worst time for them to do that! Not that there’d be a good time. But if they just waited a couple hours—”
What do we do?! Jameson asked.
“They—they expect us around the edges of the city. We have to stick in this area until we can’t. We’ll contact them with this magic rock.” Chase took the message rock out of his pocket. “Where’s Dra—”
There’s a slight meow, and Draco hopped through the curtain blocking the window and into the living room. He looked around in a surprisingly human way until he saw the group. Then he purred, and a voice came from the message rock. “Chase! Jameson! You’re alright?!” It’s Marvin, whisper-shouting.
“We’re okay,” Chase confirmed. “Were you watching through Draco?”
“Yes, I saw everything. We’re in the boat looking for you. You’ve run farther into the city, you need to get out and find us!”
“Can’t you row between the buildings towards us?” Chase asked.
“I—maybe?” A moment passed. “We can try to get closer. I’ll try to guide the two of us together. We’ll be there soon! Be careful!”
“We will.” Chase promised. He lowered the message rock and looked at Jameson—then at Amabel. “Amy. Y-you have to go home now.”
“Huh?!” Amabel’s eyes widened. “But—but wh-what if the warriors come?!”
“You’ll—you’ll be fine,” Chase said, trying not to let his doubt show. “They won’t hurt you or Mom and Quentin.”
“But—but they saw me with you! What if they ask me about you?!”
“Then you tell the truth, okay? You tell the truth. Don’t worry about me.” Chase was sure he hadn’t given her any important details. “You have to get out of here! Go home.”
Amabel hesitated... then nodded. “O-okay. Goodbye, then.” She walked over to the cottage’s door. After putting her hand on the doorknob, she looked back, as if waiting for Chase to ask her to stay.
“I love you,” he said.
“I... love you too, Dad,” she said. Then she opened the door and ran out into the city.
Chase watched her go, fear settling into a heavy ball of lead in his stomach. He didn’t know she would be safe. But he was sure she would be safer here than with him... right?
Jameson put a hand on his shoulder. Chase jumped a little, then looked over him and sighed. “I... want her to be okay,” he said quietly. “And the rest of my family.”
I’m sure she will be, Jameson said.
“Yea...” Chase took a deep breath. “Well, we need to get out of here.” He took his bag off his back. “Here, I think this is a good time to mask our faces. We’ll probably be jumped by warriors no matter what we do, so might as well declare ourselves.”
Jameson nodded. Maybe we’ll throw people off.
“Maybe.” Chase took out Jameson’s rabbit mask and handed it over, then put on his own deer mask. “Let’s go.” He looked down at Draco. “Are you there, Marvin? Help us find you.”
Draco stretched, then trotted out the doorway. Chase glanced at Jameson—now wearing his rabbit mask, his features hidden. Here. He held out a quiver of arrows.
“Where did you get this?” Chase asked, surprised, as he took it.
From one of the warriors. I might have torn the buckle loop when I tore it off.
“It’s fine, I’ll just wear it in the waist position instead of the back position.” Chase fastened it in place. “Oh. There’s a little knife sheath attached. Here, you take that.” He drew the knife and handed it over.
Thank you, Jameson signed, and took it.
“Ready?” Chase asked. Jameson nodded. “Then let’s go.” The two of them left the cottage and headed out after Draco, hoping to find the boat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jackie, Marvin, and the crewmate named Mona had found it easy enough to rent a rowboat. The man in charge of the rentals had raised his eyebrows slightly at the way Marvin kept his eyes closed, but Jackie explained it away as him being his blind brother who wanted to try and help despite his lack of sight. Marvin nodded along. It wasn’t the worst excuse.
They were out on the lake, skirting around the south part of Suilthair, when the warriors attacked Chase and Jameson. Marvin reported everything to the other two as he saw it through Draco’s eyes, including their relative position to the rest of the city. They were now in the east section instead of the northeast, still in the floating neighborhoods but no longer on the edge. “They’re going to make a dash for it,” he reported.
“So we better make a dash for it, too,” Jackie muttered. He and Mona were rowing, but they paused to put on their masks. “Marvin, do you need help with your mask?”
“No, I could put it on with my eyes closed,” Marvin said—and indeed he could.
“We’re going actually into the neighborhoods, then, sirs?” Mona asked.
“You don’t have to call us sirs, I told you,” Jackie said.
“Force of habit, you show respect on a ship. But my question?”
“Yes, we’re going into the neighborhoods,” Jackie confirmed. “Meaning we might also be spotted by warriors. Strange... why do you think they’re patrolling so much? Do they know?”
“I suppose there’s a chance Jair had a vision while he was captured...” Marvin said slowly. “But he would have told us that.”
“He definitely would’ve,” Jackie muttered in agreement. “It might be that the King just decided to throw all the swords at Chase and Jameson. Maybe... maybe because they figured out that... secret of his.”
“Do you believe it, sirs?” Mona asked. “That there’s a possession?”
“Do you?” Marvin rebutted.
“I don’t know much of your spirits here in Glasúil,” she said. “I’m from Viargul myself. But I think it’s possible. I just don’t know how likely.”
“Not... all that likely,” Marvin said slowly. “But again... not impossible.”
As they talked, the boat slowly rowed closer to the edge of the floating neighborhoods. “Where do we bring the boat?” Jackie asked Marvin.
“Hold on a moment, I’m trying to get oriented.” Marvin opened his eyes for a brief moment, then closed them again. “It’s hard to match stuff up normally while I’m looking through Draco’s eyes. And the layout of the city is different than it was last time I was here. It makes sense, of course, that was years ago, but...” He trailed off, concentrating. “I think... turn into an opening here.”
The building closed around them as they rowed in between the walkways. Jackie and Mona kept rowing until the walkways became too close, the ends of the oars knocking against the planks. “Where are they?” Jackie muttered, looking around. Chase and Jameson were nowhere in sight. In fact, no one was in sight. There weren’t many people out on the walkways. Surely a city as big as the capital should have more people going about their business.
“I’m telling Draco to guide them closer here,” Marvin muttered. “We might have to tie the boat here and go meet them halfway. There are warriors all around. They might need help.”
Mona immediately went about tying the boat to the walkway, using the rope that came with it to attach the boat to a pole with a lantern on it.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” Jackie said. “But let’s go, then.”
The three of them climbed out of the boat and onto the walkway, running deeper into the city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“There they are!”
Chase glanced over his shoulder and saw a squad of warriors pointing directly at him and Jameson. “Shit! Go!” He pushed Jameson around a corner and ran after him, just in time to avoid an arrow whizzing right past them.
Unfortunately, down the walkway is another squad of warriors, led by one of the helmeted warriors. Jameson skidded to a halt just as the second squad noticed them and ducked down a branching path to the side, Chase right behind him. This was not going well! They’d managed to be stealthy for a while, but there were just too many warriors out and about.
Draco ran out in front, speeding past the humans but occasionally looking back at them to be sure they were still there. He guided them through the twists and turns. Arrows flew past them, none hitting them but Chase felt a couple slice through his skin. A horde of footsteps pounded on the wooden walkways behind them—
And then suddenly, the walkway ahead of them broke apart, its planks lifting up into the air. Chase skidded to a halt, Jameson right beside them. There was now a gap in the path before them, too large to jump across. On the other side of it stood a woman with pale blonde hair and unnaturally blue eyes, wearing a black shirt and riding skirt. One hand was raised into the air, yellow light swirling around it, and the other clutched an emerald amulet around her neck. She looked across the gap at them and Draco hissed. Chase had only seen this woman twice, but he knew her. “Thalia Tinechroí,” he said.
“Lady Thalia Tinechroí,” Thalia corrected. “Though I’m glad to see my reputation precedes me.”
Chase quickly nocked an arrow in his bow.
“Now think this over!” Thalia said, seeing him do this. Her eyes flicked back to Jameson. “Especially you, Lord Jairsolas.” Jameson flinched. “If you surrender now, the King will be merciful. You will live. I cannot promise you will if you fight.”
Chase laughed. “He’s not going to be merciful. And do you know why, Lady? It’s because he’s scared.” He grinned at her, baring his teeth slightly. “The King you’re devoted to is scared. And whatever he’s promised you for helping him, he’s not going to give it to you. Because he’s not who you think he is. Not at all.”
Thalia blinked, surprised. For a moment, she hesitated.
And that was long enough for Chase to loose his arrow.
Thalia cried out as the arrow hit her arm right above the wrist. Her concentration broke and the wooden planks toppled to the ground, landing perfectly back in place to cover the gap. “Now!” Chase shouted, and he and Jameson ran across the walkway towards Thalia, the warriors behind them still pursuing. Jameson shoved Thalia to the side and she had to quickly right herself or risk falling off the walkway into the lake. As Chase and Jameson passed her, the warriors behind them hesitated, not wanting to just push past a noblewoman. “What are you all standing around for?!” Thalia shouted. “After them! Loose arrows!”
A wave of arrows soared through the air—but Chase and Jameson had ducked around a corner, so they all missed spectacularly. Chase dug the message rock out of his pocket. “Marvin?! Jackie?! Where are you?!”
“No names!” Marvin’s voice came immediately. “We’ve gotten into the city, we’re getting close, I promise! Damn it, all these streets look the same!”
“Mar—Th-there’s—Thalia Tinechroí is here!” Chase gasped out.
“Yes, I saw! We’ll be there soon!”
“Enid!” Thalia’s voice came from behind them. “Come to me!” There was a burst of light behind them, and then a howl. Chase glanced over his shoulder and saw a dog running forward, pulling ahead of all the humans at a quick pace, a dog with a deep red-brown coat that’s marred by a scar along its side. Draco hissed and stopped running, turning to face the dog.
“Draco!” Chase shouted, but the cat wouldn’t listen. As soon as the dog came close enough he leapt at it, and the two animals began fighting, bodies flailing.
“Don’t worry about him!” Marvin’s voice came from the message rock. “He’s buying you some time. He’ll meet up with us later. Turn right at the next chance!”
There was no time to hesitate. Chase and Jameson kept going. More arrows were loosed, and more of them scratched them—until, finally, one hit. Chase cried out as it was buried in his back, just under his waist. He staggered and Jameson grabbed him, pulling him onward. A blast of bright blue fire flew past them—Thalia was attacking. How foolish, to throw fire in a wooden town!
The next right branch was coming up. Jameson and Chase turned it quickly. There! At the end of the walkway, three figures with white masks covering their faces. One of them shouted out and drew his two swords. Another grabbed something around his neck and made an arcing gesture with his hand. An archway outlined in white glowing light appeared before Chase and Jameson—a shortcut. On the other side was Marvin, Jackie, and that other Phantom, Mona. Chase and Jameson barrelled through, and Marvin quickly shut off the magic doorway, leaving a good distance between their group and Thalia and the warriors. “Why can’t you just do that to get us to the boat?!” Chase cried out.
“Boats are hard! They don’t stay still!” Marvin said. “I tried it out a couple times on the journey over but—” Suddenly, Jameson threw his arms around him in a tight hug. Marvin stumbled back, surprised. But then he gave Jameson a quick hug back. “I’m—I’m glad that you two are alright,” he said softly.
“You’ve been shot!” Jackie gasped, looking at the arrow sticking out of Chase’s back.
“No time to stop!” Chase said. “Where’d you come from?!”
“Right! This way!” Jackie started running back the way they came, and the rest of the group followed after. “God damn, those arrows!” Jackie shouted as more of them flew through the air. One hit his back but just bounced off the chain mail shirt he wears. “Can you do anything about that, Magic Cat?”
“On it!” Marvin spun around, flinging a ball of light behind them. It expanded midair, growing to a circular shield. The arrows hit it and immediately fell to the ground—but then a blast of white fire hit the shield, cracking it. Marvin cursed under his breath and threw more light at the shield to reinforce it.
“We’re not too far away now!” Mona said. “But once we get there, we still have to cast off!”
“I can help with that,” Marvin said. “Just worry about getting there first!”
“Can’t you do your doorway thing for that?” Chase asked.
Marvin hesitated. “I’ll have to take the shield down so I can concentrate on that. Get somewhere safe!”
Jameson sprinted ahead suddenly, grabbing onto the door of the nearest building—some sort of tailor judging by the clothing in the windows. He pulled it open and gestured for everyone to go inside. They all piled through, and Chase slammed the door closed behind them. 
“Don’t mind us!” Jackie said cheerfully to the group of three people working in the shop, who were all staring at the Phantoms, stunned. “Just passing through! Might want to get out of the way of the windows!”
An arrow whizzed through the window at that very moment, tearing the sleeve of a shirt hanging there. One of the tailors shrieked and all three of them hid behind a table of fabric at the back of the shop.
Marvin clutched his focus and made that same arcing gesture as before, tracing a doorway in midair. Light followed his finger, and another doorway opened up, through which was a wooden walkway with a boat tied to a pole with a lantern. “Go!” Marvin shouted.
Jackie pushed Chase through first, then Jameson. Chase stumbled out onto the new wooden walkway, looking around to get his bearings—and saw something completely impossible. He stared.
“Dad!” Amabel ran down the walkway towards him. She was holding hands with Quentin, pulling him along behind her. “I knew I’d find you eventually! All the warriors were shouting about you being nearby! Something about re-in-force-mints?”
“Amabel,” Chase said quietly. “Quentin. What are you two doing here?”
“We’re gonna come with you!” Quentin shouted.
“No, no, you are not coming with us!” Chase said sternly. Behind him, Jackie, Mona, and Marvin all ran through the doorway, which disappeared as soon as Marvin walked through. “You are staying here! Where it’s safe!”
“But Dad! What if it’s not safe at home?” Amabel asked seriously. “The warriors were going all over, into people’s houses and stuff, they’d remember me and know I was with you! And that’d put Mom and Quen in danger!”
“I—I see where your reasoning is, but—but i-it won’t be safe where we’re going!” Chase said desperately.
“But—but we—we’re already here!” Amabel said defensively.
While this conversation was happening, Mona got into the boat and started untying it. Jackie and Marvin stared at the kids in shock. “What’s uh... what’s going on here?” Jackie said slowly.
“We’re coming with Dad!” Quentin announced.
“No, you are not,” Chase said. “Get home now! It’s going to be dangerous here soon—”
And just as he said that, another doorway formed, a bit down the walkway from where Marvin’s was. Warriors began pouring out. Jackie’s head snapped towards them and he ran forward, blocking their way. The warriors drew their swords, and a fight started, with Jackie holding them off as they came out of the narrow doorway. “Get in the boat!” he shouted at the others.
“Get in the boat!” Marvin repeated, shoving Chase and Jameson that way.
“Go home!” Chase ordered the kids. “Now!”
Amabel hesitated, looking back at the warriors a little nervously. But Quentin darted forward, diving into the boat. And Amabel followed not long after. “Ha! Now we hafta come with you!” Quentin said.
“No! That’s not how this works!” Chase rushed over to the side, getting down to grab Quentin. “Come on, you’re getting out of there.”
A warrior broke through Jackie’s defense, swinging a sword at Marvin, who was looking at the situation with the kids. Jameson darted in, sinking the knife Chase gave him into the warrior’s side. The warrior shouted out and spun on him, but Marvin pushed him away with magic before he could attack Jameson. More and more warriors were getting past Jackie, though, so Jameson and Marvin quickly had to defend themselves. “There’s no time!” Marvin shouted back at Chase. “They have to come!”
Chase hesitated. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to drag them into this. But Marvin was right, there’s no time. He let go of Quentin and hopped into the boat. “I hope I don’t regret this,” he said under his breath, drawing his bow again and aiming a nocked arrow at the crowd of warriors.
Marvin and Jameson backed into the boat as well, with Marvin almost toppling over as he got in. But he recovered and sent out a blast of force magic at the warriors, pushing them back long enough for Jackie to break his fight and sprint over to the boat, jumping in with enough force to rock it. “Go!” he cried.
Marvin leaned over the side and put his hand in the water. Blue light spread out with the ripples—and all of a sudden the boat shot away from the walkway, not unlike an arrow fired from a bow, leaving a trail of blue behind it. Everyone else fell down, but recovered quickly. On the walkways, warriors were running along, trying to shoot them all. Chase pushed the kids behind him. He noticed Mona drawing a bow and shooting right back, so he did the same.
Soon they were out of the floating neighborhoods and out into the open water of the Green Lake. Marvin continued to concentrate, steering the boat with his magic. “How are you doing that?!” Amabel asked in amazement.
“Wizardry,” Marvin said simply. “The water is pushing us along.”
“Whoa.” Amabel whistled in awe. Quentin leaned over the side of the boat to look at the blue light in the water, but Chase quickly pulled him back. He looked at the two of them, the strangest mix of relief and fear bundled in a knot in his chest.
The boat flew across the lake, turning in a wide arc until the large river boat the Phantoms borrowed came into view. “That’s it!” Jackie said. “Can you make it go faster?!”
“No!” Marvin said. “But we’re almost there!”
As they approached the larger boat and the rowboat started slowing down, they could see people moving around on the deck. Someone threw a rope ladder over the side as Marvin slowly magically steered the rowboat up to the side of the larger one. The person above leaned over the edge—a blonde man wearing a mask in the shape of a dragon’s head, only one eyehole carved out of the plaster. “What has happened?!”
“Warriors caught up, captain!” Mona shouted. Ah right—the blonde man’s voice is the same one who told Chase through the message rock about Suilthair’s laws on boats. Vsevna. “We have to get underway as soon as possible!”
“Kovatch blein!” Vsevna withdrew from sight and started shouting.
“Get the kids up first,” Mona said, looking at Chase.
Chase nodded. “Amy, Quen, you need to climb up the ladder. I’ll be right behind you.”
The children both nodded seriously and started climbing up. Amabel first, and then Quentin. As soon as there was room for him, Chase started climbing behind them, watching carefully to make sure neither of them fell. Quentin was a little shaky and slow but they both made it alright.
“Chase!” Henrik ran on over—then immediately stopped, eyes wide behind his owl mask. “Wh—what?!”
“I know, but it just happened!” Chase said. “W-we can talk about it later!”
Henrik nodded. Behind Chase, Jackie, Mona, Jameson, and then Marvin climbed onto the deck. “Is anyone hurt?”
“Just Chase,” Jackie said. Chase winced. The arrow in his back was aching. He hadn’t noticed with all the running and fighting, but now the pain was returning.
“Here, Chase, let me see if I can do anything about that,” Henrik said, walking on over.
Chase stepped back. “N-not in front of the kids.”
“Well, there is not much space in here to hide from them,” Henrik said, smiling a bit.
Someone suddenly shouted. More soon joined. Sailors paused their business as the boat got underway to point out at the lake. Chase spun around. So did Jackie and Marvin. Something was flying across the water, trailing blue light—the same spell that Marvin had used. But this wasn’t a boat. It was a square of wood, like part of the wooden walkways had broken off. Standing on it was a single figure, fair hair flying in the wind.
Jameson’s eyes widened. Is that...?
“You have to be joking with me!” Marvin shouted, more annoyed than anything else.
“Vsevna! How close are we to casting off!” Henrik shouted.
“We are moving, but we are not yet to speed!” Vsevna shouted back from the helm.
The makeshift raft suddenly stopped—yes, that’s Thalia Tinechroí on it, along with her familiar, Enid. She grabbed her amulet and made that same arcing gesture Marvin made earlier. A doorway of light opened up on the boat deck. Slightly moving—no, staying in place while the boat moved. Thalia and Enid leaped through, and arrived on the boat. “You’re not getting away that easily!” she shouted.
Every single crew member drew weapons. “You damn fool, Thalia!” Marvin said, laughing a little. “Do you really think you can take out everyone on this boat?”
“Oh, I very much do, Marvin.” Thalia’s eyes glowed yellow. “You know I was always stronger.”
“You have more magic, but you are not strong,” Marvin bit out. He held out his hand to the side, and Draco appeared from nowhere, walking around the mast like he was hidden behind it the whole time. The cat trotted over to his side and hissed at Enid. “You only ever do what Mother wants you to, don’t you?!”
“It’s our duty to serve the family!”
“Good! I’m glad you’re serving your family! But I’ll stand by mine until I die!”
Thalia lunged forward, hands bursting into fire. Marvin conjured a shield and blocked her attack, then started wrapping it around her, forming a bubble. Thalia opened up another set of doorways and walked out. Enid jumped at Marvin but Draco intercepted her midair, knocking her to the side. But Draco was smaller, and tired from the fight earlier. Enid pinned him. Marvin’s head snapped to him and he threw out magic towards Draco, eyes glowing bright white. As the magic hit Draco’s body, his eyes glowed blue. And the colors of their eyes, wizard’s and familiar’s, shifted color until they were the same pale blue. Marvin gasped in surprise.
Thalia ran for Marvin again, throwing back the crew members with magic who tried to stop her. She threw out a hand and magic spun from it, forming a rope that wrapped around Marvin’s arms while he was distracted with saving Draco.
Suddenly, the light from Draco’s eyes spread across his body. He became—bigger. Growing in size until he was as big as a wolf, bigger than Enid. He threw her off easily now and pounced at Thalia. Her head whipped towards him and she tried to conjure a shield, but Draco broke through it, clawing at her. She turned and ran. While she was distracted, Jackie ran over to Marvin and cut through the magic ropes. As soon as he was free, Marvin grabbed light from his amulet. He watched as Draco drove Thalia back against the edge of the boat—and then he threw the light. It slammed against Thalia, pushing her overboard. A loud splash filled the air.
Henrik darted forward and grabbed Enid by the collar. He looked terrified just being near her but he ran over to the edge of the boat and threw her over after Thalia.
Everyone else stared in shock. Waiting, anticipating, Thalia reappearing. The whole thing happened so suddenly that it didn’t feel real. Marvin glanced around. “She can’t use magic in the water,” he said. He chuckled a little. “She’ll need all her concentration to swim.”
Chase let out a long breath. He sat down heavily on the deck of the boat. “Dad!” Amabel shouted, running over to him. Quentin wasn’t far behind. They both stopped nearby, unsure if they should hug him.
“I’m okay, Amy, Quen, don’t worry.” Chase gave them a smile. “It’s just that... this was a lot. I need to sit down.”
Quentin nodded. He sat down, too. “We’ll stay with you too.”
“Yea.” Amabel sat as well.
“Heh.” Chase shook his head fondly. “Alright.” And though he was still worried about them, and worried for their mother, as the boat sailed across the Green Lake and back towards the southward-leading river... he couldn’t help but be happy that they were here. That they were together again after so long.
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Note
When you say somewhere else, do you mean still in the place? Or did they get spat out in another spot in the city instead?
...
Its not going to be the latter, is it? -:)
Your question gets directed to him—or, them, technically? He's lying on the floor of a dark place, completely black except for floating orbs of green light. Slowly, he groans and opens his eyes, looking around. "...huh?" He slowly gets to his feet. "This... is this the Place? Is it?" He looks around, frowning.
There are two figures nearby. One man with brown hair, an eye-patch covering his right eye, a green scarf around his neck. Another man with fading dyed-purple hair under a cap, clutching a small black journal to his chest. The first looks over at him—or them. "Hey. Are you lost?"
"I... We... I think I can f-figure it out?" he says. "Who are you?"
The man's eye flicks over him. "Hm. Hard to explain. But we're kind of similar."
"Wh-who are you?" The second man asks.
"I'm... We're... I guess you can call us Sean?" he says. "Or... Jack. Or Anti. I don't know." He shakes his head. "S-sorry, I... think I have to go."
The first man nods. "Good luck."
"Thanks." He smiles at him a little, then takes a step forward—
And suddenly he is somewhere else again. A round room with black walls and ceiling made out of a nondescript black material. The floor is red, brighter in the center and getting darker towards the edges. In the middle of the room is a hospital bed. "This—this is the Place," he says. And the green glow of his left eye disappears, leaving just the right. "This is just what it looked like when I first fell in here," Anti says. "Well... except for the bed. I'm... I'm really, truly, sorry for what I did to you."
His eyes flicker, and the left eye glows, the right dimming. "Why did you do it?" Jack asks quietly.
Anti again. "I... was angry. I-I thought you guys had abandoned me. You hurt me, so I wanted to hurt you. Especially you, who I thought forgot about me deliberately."
Jack again. "...Maybe... on some level, I always suspected. That we were the same. Especially when I first started glitching. But I couldn't believe it. Not someone so...well, you know. I... I really wanted to punch you in the face. Still do, sometimes."
Anti chuckles. "Well. I can't say I don't blame you." He turns around. There is suddenly a door in the wall of the Place. "Yes... just like the first time."
"Where's that go?" Jack asks.
"My room, I think."
————————
((Forgive me for breaking the fourth wall and referencing my own stuff a bit fhjdskh I wanted to have fun with this and like dropping multiverse hints XD))
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k9povnd · 10 months
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If anyone would like to ask any questions about our boi angel!chase brody, feel free to! (Yes, he's going blonde again)
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fankayart · 2 years
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Its me, Astyn, I need you to know that I’m requesting Anti with #6 Pretty Face
Please
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Pretty Face Wrath <3
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crystalninjaphoenix · 5 months
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Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Finale
A JSE Interactive Fanfic
The Beginning | Previous
The results are in.
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You have reached the end of your path. Will you be happy with what you've found?
Thank you to everyone who participated in this event! It was so much fun to do :D I'm hoping on releasing the full, all-possible-branches experience as a work on AO3, but at this point I've only finished one of five possible routes, sooooo it's going to be a LONG while before we reach there XD So I hope you're all happy with the ending you've reached! I am :)
<><><><><><><><><><><>
“Schneep.” Chase keeps his voice quiet, slowly raising his hands in a ‘calm down’ gesture. “Henrik. We know something’s wrong with you. We don’t want to hurt you.”
Schneep laughs. “Then you’re a bit outmatched, aren’t you?” The knife moves a bit closer to Jackie’s throat. “I don’t have any problems hurting you.”
“That’s because—because you’re not Schneep, are you?!” Marvin says accusingly.
The knife stops. Jackie is trying not to breathe. “So one of you isn’t an idiot,” says the voice coming from Schneep’s mouth. “Not that it matters in the long run. I’m going to kill your friend, you know, it doesn’t change anything if you know the truth or not.”
Henrik. JJ looks at Schneep sympathetically. We know you’re in there. Keep fighting.
“You dumb little m—” Schneep stops suddenly, his whole body tensing up. The knife trembles. Jackie tries to lean away from the blade.
JJ nods encouragingly. Yes, that’s you, isn’t it?! Henrik. Henrik. He keeps signing Schneep’s name sign over and over. 
“I-I...” Schneep’s eyes squeeze shut, then shoot open again. His chest rises and falls quickly. “Th-there is... something i-inside,” his voice gasps out. “I cannot—cannot keep him—c-cannot fight him...”
“Of course you can,” Chase gives him a small smile.
“It doesn’t have to be for long,” Marvin says gently. “Just let go of Jackie. Put the knife down.”
“I-I cannot...” Schneep’s eyes roll back in his head. “This isn’t going to work, you fucking morons,” the other one hisses. “You can’t get rid of me with a few simple pleas to your psycho friend—” He’s suddenly cut off by a strangled cough.
“Don’t fucking call him that you bastard!” Marvin snarls.
“Don’t listen to him, Schneep!” Chase adds. “It’s your body, you’re stronger than him!”
The other one laughs. And again, it’s cut off by a choked sort of noise. Tears slip out of Schneep’s eyes. “I cannot do this,” he whispers. “I cannot do this.” His fingers are turning white with how hard they grip the knife and Jackie’s hoodie.
You can! JJ signs firmly.
“H-he is so much more than just me...” Schneep’s voice trails off. The lights overhead, alight now that Marvin switched the power back on, flicker for a moment. “Things a-are not—they should not be—I-I hurt Jackie, a-and Jamie—”
JJ shakes his head. It’s not your fault. I forgive you.
“Just for a moment, Schneep,” Chase says quietly. “Just for a moment, then we’ll take care of it.”
Schneep is shaking all over, teeth clenched together, head twitching occasionally. The blade is coming closer to Jackie’s neck, then moving farther again a second later. Nobody dares say anything else. Marvin glances back at Chase and JJ, unsure, but both of them shake their heads. It’ll work. It has to work.
Jackie takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes. “It’s okay, Schneep,” he says quietly. “It’s okay.”
Schneep’s eyes snap towards him, locking onto his face. For a moment, he goes very still. Then, with a scream that fills the tiny room, he flings Jackie across the room, leaving him to crumple against the bed.
Marvin and Chase rush forward. Chase grabs Jackie and pulls him back, and Marvin runs towards Schneep. He grabs him by the arms. “Alright, you motherfucker,” he hisses. “Get out of my friend.”
Schneep twitches, and the other one laughs again. “It doesn’t work like that,” he says in a singsong voice. Then his head jerks forward and smashes into Marvin’s nose. Marvin jerks back instinctively, shouting as blood starts to leak from his nostril. The other one pushes him aside and lunges towards Jackie and Chase. But suddenly JJ jumps forward, moving fast despite his injury, blocking the two of them. Schneep’s body collides with him. A strangled yell comes from JJ’s throat. It scares the others—JJ doesn’t scream. And yet he did. When Schneep pulls away, staggering to his feet, the handle of the knife he was holding sticks out of JJ’s stomach, the blade buried within.
Chase cries out in horror. Marvin rushes to JJ’s side. He hesitates, then presses down on the wound around the knife, trying to help stop the bleeding. “You—y-you just—” he gasps. “Jameson, you didn’t h-have to—”
I did, JJ signs weakly.
Schneep’s body shudders. “No,” he breathes. “N-no, I—Jamie, I-I am so sorry, he is too—” Schneep screams out, grabbing his head. “Go away!” he cries. “Leave me alone!” He stumbles away from the others until his back hits the windowsill—of the open window. He suddenly stiffens. A single eye twitches. “No!” he shrieks. He spins around and—before anyone can do anything about it—grabs the windowsill and pushes himself out.
“Schneep!” Jackie screams.
Chase runs forward and leans out the window. Schneep’s form is visible on the dark ground outside. For a moment, he doesn’t move. And then he stirs. A single arm reaches out.
“He’s moving!” Chase gasps, jerking backwards. “I-I’m going to check it out! Marvin, help JJ and Jackie!”
“On it!” Marvin is already looking at the medical kit they brought in earlier. And with that, Chase spins around and rushes out of the room.
He sprints down the hall, doesn’t slow for the stairs, then bolts across the living room and bursts out the front door. He takes a moment to orient himself, then turns and keeps running across the ground. It’s blind luck that he doesn’t trip on a loose pebble.
Schneep’s body is crumpled under the window. Or, slightly to the side of the window. He’s been crawling slowly away. Chase comes to a stop a few feet away. “...Schneep?” he says.
Schneep’s head snaps up. Chase can already tell by the look on his face that the problem hasn’t been solved. “You... you fucking bastard,” the other one says, baring his teeth. “Damn you. Damn you all! This isn’t fucking over! Even if you break his body, you can’t get rid of me!” He laughs. “You don’t even know anything! You don’t know where you are! Fucking—pieces of shit, I’m sure any of you would’ve been better—fuck you. Fuck you.”
Chase stares down at him. He feels strangely empty looking at this. “It’s going to be okay, Schneep,” he whispers.
“No, it’s fucking not,” the other one hisses.
“Shut up.” Chase bends over and grabs Schneep’s body, wrapping his arms around his torso in an awkward half-carry half-drag. The other one screams and tries to wriggle out of his grasp, but stops abruptly, going almost still. Almost. Chase can feel Schneep shaking. “It’s going to be okay,” he repeats. “It’s going to be okay.”
He ends up leaving Schneep in the first-floor bathroom. It doesn’t have a window, only one door that Chase wedges a chair under. Then he sits on the floor in front of it and stares.
A couple minutes pass. Then Chase hears footsteps coming down the stairs. It’s Marvin. “Hey, Chase,” he says quietly.
Chase swallows a lump in his throat. “How are they?”
“I... did what I could. Jackie’s fine, I-I’m more worried about JJ, but... I’m sure he’ll be fine. The police are coming soon.” Marvin tries for a reassuring smile. “What about... you know?”
“He’s alive,” Chase says. “That was a terrible fall, I bet he has at least two broken bones. But he’s alive. That... thing, though... it’s still there.” He laughs. “What a way to find out ghosts are real.” The laughter dies quickly. 
Marvin looks at the bathroom. “You locked him in there?”
“Not sure what else to do.” Chase shrugs. “How are we going to explain this to Jackie? How are we going to explain this to anyone? I-I don’t think people will believe us if we say that a serial killer from the 20s possessed our friend and tried to kill us.”
“Yeah,” Marvin agreed. “I’m wondering why all this was in Jack’s cabin. He better have a good explanation for why he didn’t get rid of any of that shit.” He folded his arms. “Well... I-I’m going to go back upstairs and... sit down. With the others. I’ll try... to tell Jackie everything that happened.”
“Tell them I say hi,” Chase says.
Marvin nods and goes back upstairs. Chase continues to stare at the bathroom door. It’s not long before the banging and shouting begins.
Luckily, it’s also not long before the sounds of sirens fill the forest.
<><><><><><><><><><><> 
...The cabin was located in the Scanrúil Forest, an hour and a half away from the nearby town of Asphodel. While two of the party were injured (Jackie Mann, 30, and Jameson Jackson, 30) they are expected to recover. The police have released a statement saying they believe the fifth occupant of the cabin, a Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein, 31, was the intruder the others had called about. Dr. Schneeplestein was recovered with a broken leg and arm that he claims happened when he fell from one of the cabin’s second-story windows. He has pleaded guilty to the assaults while also denying that he was responsible. This confusion, along with erratic and violent behavior, has led to his admittance to Silver Hills Mental Hospital for a psychological evaluation. The owner of the cabin, Jack McLoughlin, 32, was contacted for a statement. But when the police were unable to reach him, they found entry into his house and found Mr. McLoughlin asleep and unable to be awoken. Doctors at St. Mark’s Hospital have confirmed the man is in a coma, though the cause is unknown. The police say they do not suspect McLoughlin of being personally involved with the attack, but he may have been an accomplice...
Ending Reached: Slasher Survivors - Alter 4
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crystalninjaphoenix · 25 days
Text
To All New and Returning Subjects
Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
I bet a lot of you guys hated me for the cliffhanger of the last story, right? XD But now we can see what comes of it! All five of the guys have been caught by IRIS, and now find themselves locked up in separate rooms. Each of them wonder what is going to happen to them as IRIS stops by them one by one. And yeah. There's not much more to say about it jdkhalsf This is just the start of the guys' adventures in IRIS! They have to get used to their new home! :D Enjoy, hehehe
More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Anti opened his eyes and found himself in a familiar room. Simple, undecorated walls, the only things in the room being a bed, a table, some chairs, and a camera mounted in the ceiling corner. Fear immediately shot through his heart and he sat up straight. This couldn’t be real! This had to be a dream of some kind, or another one of Distorter’s illusions. He patted the walls and bed around him—but they felt real. They felt so real.
His breathing started to speed up. No! No, he couldn’t be back here—back in IRIS! But as he got up and explored the room, desperately trying to find some flaw in this illusion, the truth slowly sunk in. He was back.
Or had he even left at all in the first place? What if Disorter had merely been toying with him this whole time? Giving him glimpses of a hospital room that didn’t actually exist? While the whole time he’d been here, stuck in this room, maybe with those sick fucks watching him like this was some science experiment—
No. No, he couldn’t believe that. That moment with Jackie had to be real. It had to be.
Anti took a deep breath and immediately ran for the door, yanking on the doorknob. It was locked, of course. He tried pounding on it, kicking it, shoving his shoulder against it, but there was no give at all. Of course there wasn’t. He should know better by now.
Okay. Okay. He has to stay calm. Taking a deep breath, he looked up into the corner of the room. The camera was on, its red light blinking. “You fuckers,” he hissed. “You fucking freaks. Why? Why?!”
The camera didn’t answer, of course.
Another deep breath. Anti started pacing around the floor. Okay, think. What was the last thing he remembered? There was an IRIS scientist, and a bunch of smoke that knocked him out. It must have knocked out the others, too. Were they also in this place? Or had IRIS only taken him? He had no way of knowing.
He wanted to ask the camera questions, but knew better than to expect an answer. And he couldn’t waste his energy. That might have been his problem last time he was here. He wore himself out, and when an opportunity to fight came, he was too tired to. Patience would be the name of the game this time. He couldn’t spend all his time on bullshit that didn’t matter.
Sighing, he sat down on the bed again, noticing a lump under the covers when he did. He stood up again and moved the blankets aside. It was a green bouncy ball. The same green bouncy ball that they’d given him last time. It was still here. He laughed darkly and picked it up. “Hope you guys give me food before you give me a second ball,” he muttered, squeezing it. He looked up into the camera. “If you guys went to all the trouble to bring me back here, you have to want me alive. So you better keep me alive. Okay? I can’t die of hunger.”
Come to think of it, when was the last time he ate anything at all? It had to be before he sleepwalked to IRIS the first time. Maybe dinner that night with Will? God—Will. He had to hold onto hope that he was alright. He didn’t even get to see him after Jackie woke him up from Distorter’s dream world.
He shook his head. He couldn’t dwell on this. It would only make him spiral again. For now, he had to distract himself. But also conserve his strength. He’d only been up and active for a couple minutes and his muscles already felt weak. Guess that was what he got after being stuck in some sort of dream world for who knew how long. Maybe... he should do some exercise? He’d never been a fan of working out, but he had to get strong again. At the same time, if IRIS didn’t give him enough food, he might have to save his energy... It was going to be a tough balancing act from here on out.
Sighing, he bounced the ball against the wall.
———————
Jackie groaned and cracked open his eyes, finding himself in a strange room. Featureless off-white plaster walls, with a bed, a table, some chairs, and a camera mounted in the corner of the room. There was a second camera on a tripod next to the table.
“What the hell?” he muttered, sitting up. “Hello?” He looked up at the camera, confused. The last thing he remembered... was the hospital room filling with white smoke. All of them falling to it, unable to stay awake. The white smoke... and the man in the IRIS coat.
His stomach dropped. Was this somewhere in IRIS? He’d never seen any rooms like this. But then again, he’d only ever been in one of their complexes. There were at least two others near Mirygale. He could be in one of those places.
Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the door. Locked. Of course. He turned around and crossed the room again, examining the camera on the tripod. This was one of the WTCHR cameras that IRIS produced. He laughed dryly. God, he could remember them bragging about their advanced cameras, able to detect emotions with great accuracy. That seemed so long ago now.
“W-well? What are you going to do to me, then?” Jackie asked, his voice shaking slightly. “I—I’m not going back to you. S-so... you shouldn’t waste your time trying to convince me. I-I know better now.”
There was no response. Evidently, there wasn’t an intercom in this room. Which made sense, he couldn’t see any speakers anywhere. Unless... they were super small?
Jackie backed away from the camera, walking around the edge of the room a couple times, looking for any sign of IRIS’s technology besides the cameras. Nothing. He seemed to be alone with the WTCHRs.
They couldn’t be planning to leave him alone for long, though. There was no way they would leave him in this room for longer than a couple hours. Well... there was a bed. That implied they expected him to sleep. But there wasn’t a bathroom or anything, so that was a bit contradictory. Were they going to let him out for that?
Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. A vague feeling of dread pooled in his stomach, clawing at his insides, eating away at them. He thought he knew IRIS. But it’s clear he didn’t know anything about them. He had no idea what their plans for him would be after he’d stolen some of their technology and fled with the help of Schneep and JJ. For all he knew, they would just... leave him here...
No. No, that couldn’t be it. They had to have some sort of plan. Maybe someone would show up eventually. He... he just had to wait. That’s it.
And hope that the others, wherever they were... hope that they were alright.
———————
Marvin woke up, aching all over his body. He lied there for a moment, figuring out where he was. This was a bed of some sort. Not a particularly comfortable one. The mattress was hard and the sheets had a strange crinkly texture that he didn’t enjoy. The light was bright behind his eyelids. He slowly opened them up, glancing around the room.
A plain space, more like a cell than anything else. Besides the bed he was lying on, there was a table with two chairs and a small alcove blocked off by a curtain. A camera was installed in the corner of the room, dangling from the ceiling. Exactly like the WTCHR cameras JJ had bought from IRIS.
IRIS. This must be in one of their compounds. After they all got knocked out, everyone must have been brought here. They all must be in rooms like this.
Marvin pushed the blankets away and pushed himself up. Then, slowly, carefully, he stood up—ah. Right. He stood up. He hadn’t really had time to process that back in the hospital, since the fight with Distorter had quickly taken priority. But—how the fuck was his leg suddenly healed?! Sure, his legs were shaking now, but that was from his usual fatigue and weak muscles. There was none of the pain he’d expect from a broken leg.
There had to be some sort of explanation, but he couldn’t think of what it could be right now. He slowly walked towards the alcove in the corner, using the wall for support, and pulled away the curtain. A toilet and a sink. Well... good to know. He turned around and walked back to the bed, sitting down, staring blankly forward.
After a moment, he patted himself down, making sure that he had everything. All his clothes were in place. Seemed like they just dumped him in bed fully dressed—
Hang on a moment. Where were his cards? He double checked all his pockets, but—no, his deck of cards was nowhere to be found. “They took my cards?!” Marvin blurted out in shock. “Why?!”
Did they know the powers the card had? Maybe they thought he could use them to escape? Honestly, he probably could, so he could see their reasoning—but it didn’t stop him from being shaken to find them no longer with him.
He pulled his legs back onto the bed, eyes darting around. The door would be locked, wouldn’t it? If they went to the trouble of drugging them and bringing them over, they would surely lock the door. He tried to get up again, but his legs gave out. “Shit!” he cursed. He should’ve used his strength to go check on the door. Sometimes he really hated his body.
He’ll have to wait for a good time to move again. Rest would help with that. Marvin laid down again, kicking off his shoes and trying to go to sleep. But the fear of being in this place made that difficult.
———————
JJ gasped awake, flying up immediately. Something’s wrong something’s wrong something’s wrong—
He staggered to his feet, eyes darting around. A door! He rushed for it—but found himself yanked backwards by something wrapped around his ankle. He fell heavily to the ground, then got up and looked back at what stopped him. There was a cuff around his ankle. Made of some sort of white material, connecting him to the floor by a tether made of some flexible half-transparent material. He grabbed onto the tether—felt like plastic—and tried making a knife from magic to slash through it—
Pain raced up his leg and he cried out, collapsing to the floor. What was that?! It must have come from the cuff. But—it looked normal—or as normal as a cuff with a tether could be. How did that happen?
JJ shook his head and tried to push back the panic. He looked around the room, really taking it in for the first time. This was a small room—tiny, really—with white plastic-looking walls and. To his left was a bed, and to his right was a small alcove blocked off by a curtain. Judging by the length of the tether, both of these would be in reach. But the door is too far, the wall in front of him much farther away. The room is rectangular and he’s stuck at one end. Two cameras dangle from the ceiling, in diagonal corners.
And then Jameson looked down at himself. What the hell?! He wasn’t wearing his clothes anymore. Instead, he was wearing a white shirt-and-pants combination that reminded him vaguely of hospital scrubs. When did that happen?! Why did that happen?!
He staggered to his feet. Just to check, he tried a small spell, something to just conjure a few dancing lights—and another shock of pain rushed up from the cuff, sending him slumping back against the wall, breathing heavily. Okay—so no magic. At all. Good to know.
Where was he? The last thing that happened was that man in the white coat throwing that device in the hospital room, filling it with sweet smoke. IRIS. He remembered the logo on the sleeve. So—this must be some sort of IRIS facility, then? The same people who’d done all that to Schneep. What were they planning to do to Jameson? What were they planning to do to the rest of his friends?
Jameson began to hyperventilate. He tried to stop, pressing a hand against his chest, but he couldn’t help it. Tears came to the corners of his eyes, filling his vision, blurring it. It would be fine. It would be fine. It would be fine. It would be fine. He had to believe it would be fine.
But he didn’t believe it at all.
———————
Schneep woke up staring at a blank white ceiling. And yet, despite how featureless the ceiling above was, he instantly knew where he is. He sat up, gasping, and looked around. This room—it wasn’t the same room where they kept him. That room would be burned into his mind forever, a tiny space no bigger than a jail cell with walls made of a strange white material. This room was slightly bigger than that. It had an actual bed instead of a cot attached to the wall. There was an alcove blocked off with a curtain. And there were two cameras attached to the ceiling in diagonal corners. The shape of the room was strange, a long rectangle with him at one end.
He got to his feet quickly, and noticed a pull around his ankle. There was a cuff attaching him to the floor. A white cuff, with a translucent tether. He crouched down again and tugged at it experimentally. It felt solid. And tight against his ankle, too. He couldn't even get a finger underneath—
Wait a second. What was he wearing? These weren’t his clothes! But he did recognize the white pants and shirt. They gave him the same sort of clothes the first time.
He pushed down his fear and stared up into the nearest camera. “W-well—what are you going to do now?!” he demanded. “I thought you were done with me! Weren’t you? I-I heard your white coats say that! D-did you change your mind?” It was a useless question, he knew. Just because IRIS considered him ‘completed’ didn’t mean they were done with him. They were doing this for a purpose.
After a moment of staring at the camera, watching the red light blink, he started walking around, testing the limit of the tether. He could get to the bed and the alcove—which turned out to be a crude bathroom—easily enough. But he couldn’t get to the door. Not even close. He even tried lying on his stomach and stretching out, but his fingers couldn’t even brush the metal.
...he was trapped again.
His heart was pounding in his chest, but he tried not to panic as he got up and walked back over to the bed. He stared up into the camera once more. “Y-you should actually take care of me this time, at least,” he said. “Whatever you want from me, I will be of no use to you if I am suffering.”
He wasn’t expecting an answer. And he didn’t get one.
He couldn’t freak out. He couldn’t break down. The cameras were always watching, and if IRIS saw him break down, they would win. Or—not literally. They probably didn’t care at all about his mental state. But it would mean that they really were affecting him. And he wouldn’t let them have that.
Though the fear inside him was enough to make his hands shake, Schneep laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. He tried not to move. He tried to breathe slowly.
———————
Jackie wasn’t sure how much time passed. There was no clock in the room. And nothing to do. He couldn’t even count the seconds. All he could do was pace in circles as the anxiety mounted.
And then the door opened, and a man walked inside. Jackie whirled around at the sound of the lock turning, and stood there, frozen, as the man closed the door behind him, sat down at the desk, and took out a clipboard. He fiddled with the camera on the tripod and then turned back around. “Hello, Dr. Parker.”
Jackie blinked. “Um... do I... know you?”
“No, but I have read your file, Dr. Parker,” the man said. “You were employed at IRIS recently.”
“‘Were’?”
“Well. Wouldn’t you say running from a compound and taking experimental MR technology with you is grounds for termination?” The man said it in a joking manner, but it just caused a pit of anxiety in Jackie’s stomach. “Please sit down.”
Slowly, Jackie walked over and sat down in the free chair.
“The date is February 29th, 2020, we are interviewing Dr. Jackie Parker,” the man said.
“Um... who are you, by the way?” Jackie asked, trying to hide his concern that a day had passed since IRIS found them in the hospital.
“You can call me Daniel, Dr. Parker. Dr. Parker is a 5 foot 9 inch white man in his early 30s. Dr. Parker was employed at IRIS until February 26th, at which point he fled the compound where he was living, taking with him a prototype MR Headset Pair. He was accompanied by an unknown anomaly and escaped EX subject 1-019—”
“Is that what you’re calling Schneep?!” Jackie gasped.
“Subject 1-019 has since been recaptured,” Daniel continued. He put the clipboard down and looked at Jackie. “Dr. Parker, we have some questions for you.”
“I—I-I—” Jackie stammered. “Am I... W-what are you going to do to me? What are you going to do to my friends?”
“That entirely depends on how you answer these questions, Dr. Parker,” Daniel said calmly.
Jackie stared at him, unsure what to say. He could feel his heart about to pound out of his ribcage.
“Dr. Parker, can you explain why you took the MR Headset Pair that you were entrusted with?” Daniel asked.
“I...” Jackie hesitated. It... would probably be good to tell the truth, right? “I... thought they could help... my friends. F-from ALTR 53815. Or I guess, from the creature attached to it.” To IRIS, the house on Aspen Street was the true anomaly, and Distorter was a side effect. 
“I see.” Daniel wrote something down. “Did you use the Headset Pair in the time since you fled the compound?”
“Y-yes.”
“For what?”
“I... managed to go into my friend Anti’s head,” Jackie said quietly. “He was... in some sort of trance. Caused by the ALTR creature. A-and he was being made to... try and hurt people. So... I went into his head and woke him up.”
“I see.” Daniel wrote another thing down. “You’re referring to the man called ‘Anti’ McLoughlin?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have any contact with ALTR 53815 or 53815-A in the time since you fled the compound?”
“N...no. I don’t think so.” His friends had been the ones to fight off Distorter. He had just stayed in the hospital room.
“I see.” Daniel nodded. “Dr. Parker, when did you come into contact with EX subject 1-019?”
“D-don’t call him that,” Jackie whispered, hands curling into fists by his sides.
“Apologies, Dr. Parker,” Daniel said, sounding not sincere at all. “Now, can you please answer the question?”
“I’m serious. Th-that’s fucked up! It’s really fucked up!” Jackie shook his head. “I know everything you did to him now! A-and I don’t know what you did to Anti, but I can guess!”
“Dr. Parker, when did you come into contact with EX subject 1-019?”
Jackie took a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn’t help anything. He knew that. If he made IRIS angry, they might... well, he’s not sure what they might do. But better safe than sorry, right? “I knew him... before,” he said quietly. “But that was... the first time I’d seen him in... god, it must’ve been weeks.”
Daniel nodded. “And when did you come into contact with that anomaly who was also there that day?”
“The... a-are you talking about Jameson?” Jackie whispered.
“The anomaly was in the form of a 5 foot 9 inch white male with brown hair and facial hair, often giving off blue light,” Daniel explained.
“You... are talking about him.” Jackie’s eyes widened. “He’s not some anomaly, h-he’s a person!”
“He is a person with an anomalous form of energy,” Daniel said.
“Where is he? Wh-where are all of them?!” Jackie leaned forward. “Where are my friends?!”
“They are safe, Dr. Parker, as are you,” Daniel said.
“I don’t believe you.” Jackie shook his head. “I don’t fucking believe you.”
“When did you first come in contact with the anomaly who was also there that day?” Daniel repeated.
“I—I-it was years ago! We’ve known each other for years! That’s how I know he’s a person, not an anomaly—though I guess you don’t need to know someone for years to know that they’re a fucking human being!”
Daniel stared at him quietly for a moment. Then he put the clipboard down and folded his arms. “Jackie. IRIS is very disappointed in you.”
“Disappointed?!” Jackie repeated in disbelief.
“We really could have helped you contain ALTR 53815 and its peripheral anomaly. If you had simply asked to use the MR Headsets, we would have granted permission. There was no need to steal them.”
For a split second, Jackie was taken aback. For a split second, he wondered if he made a mistake running off, if he could have worked with IRIS around all this. But then the image of Schneep begging him to leave, screaming about what IRIS had done to his body, flasheD through his mind. And that doubt evaporated. “You guys... y-you’re experimenting on people,” Jackie whispered. “And not just by testing your tech out on them. You’re going so far beyond that. I... I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t.”
Daniel sighed, like a parent with a child who just hadn’t learned their lesson. “Alright, Dr. Parker. We’ll speak with you again later.” He stood up.
“H-hey!” Jackie shot to his feet as well. “What’s happened to my friends?! Are they also going through this?! Or did you ship them off to whatever place Schneep was trapped in?!”
“Get some rest, Dr. Parker,” Daniel said, hurrying over to the door.
“Tell me!” Jackie screamed, running after him—but he’s not fast enough. Daniel closed the door quickly, locking it just as Jackie slammed into it and grabbed the doorknob.
Jackie shuddered. He sank to the ground, gasping, trying to push back tears. 
———————
Marvin only realized he’d fallen asleep again when he was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening. He lifted his head and saw a woman in a white coat walk into the room, her curly blonde hair held back by a headband, carrying a tripod under her arm. She smiled at him. “Hello there.”
“...hello?” Marvin said, confused.
The woman set up the tripod next to the table and sat down at one of the chairs. “Can you please come sit with me?”
Marvin sat up slowly. He tested out his legs—but found that not enough time had passed. He winced. “Ah... d’you mind if I stay over here?”
“You’re out of view of the interview camera over there, unfortunately,” the woman said.
“...huh. I don’ t’ink you understan’, I-I can’ walk that far righ’ now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the woman said. “But we do need you over here.”
Marvin stared at her. She said nothing else. A quiet sort of anger curled around his stomach. Fine, then. He took a deep breath and scooted over to the end of the bed closest to the wall, reaching out and grabbing it to pull himself up. His legs still wobbled, but with the help of the wall he managed to get over to the table, stumbling the last couple steps he took crossing the open floor and practically running into the chair. He adjusted his position, then leaned onto the table, staring at the woman with narrowed eyes.
“Thank you so much,” she said, smiling. Then she looked down at her clipboard. “The date is February 29th, 2020, we are interviewing an unknown man. Please introduce yourself for the camera, sir.”
“...Marvin. Marvin Moore,” he said slowly.
“Mr. Moore is a 5 foot 11 inch white male with brown hair and weakened muscles, especially in the legs, likely as a result of childhood illness,” the woman said.
Marvin tensed. “How d’you know about t’at?”
“He was caught with Dr. Jackie Parker, a former IRIS employee who took confidential IRIS technology from a compound, as well as ‘Anti’ McLoughlin, a subject exposed to ALTR 53815, an unknown anomaly, and escaped EX subject 1-019, all of whom have since been captured—”
“I’m sorry?!” Marvin gasped.
“Mr. Moore also had an anomaly in his person, in the form of a deck of cards with strange designs on the back,” the woman said.
“My cards!” Marvin leaned forward. “You took them from me! Why?”
“Because, Mr. Moore, anomalies such as that could be dangerous,” the woman said personally.
“N-no, those aren’—those are mine, I-I know how they work,” Marvin protested. “They’re not dangerous at all.”
“We cannot be sure about that, Mr. Moore,” the woman said, her tone condescendingly gentle. “It’s better safe than sorry.”
“But... they’re... they’re mine,” Marvin said numbly, unsure how to protest this.
“Are they, Mr. Moore?” the woman asked. “Because we did some cursory tests and research on these cards. They’re styled in the manner of cards printed several decades ago, but the material they’re made of only seems to be ten years old at most.”
“Ah...” Marvin hesitated. Every instinct told him that IRIS shouldn’t know the reality of his situation. Of where he came from. Or, rather, when he came from. “They’re... replicas. I-I bought them at a tiny shop some years ago.”
“Do you remember the name of the shop?”
Marvin shook his head. It wasn’t a lie. He really didn’t remember. He’d never been back to the shop after buying the cards, either.
“I see.” The woman nodded. “Mr. Moore, have you ever heard of ALTR 53815?”
“I... don’ t’ink so?” He said, confused.
“When did you first come into contact with ALTR 53815?”
“I—I don’ know, I can’ know anyt’ing unless I know what that ‘alter’ thing is, can I?”
The woman hummed, then started to get up. “Well. We’ll be seeing you, Mr. Moore.”
“Wait, wait.” He leaned forward, reaching out, asking her to stop. “Ye can’ expect me to jus’ stay in here! What abou’ my friends?! Where are they?”
“They are safe, Mr. Moore, don’t worry,” the woman said. “No doubt undergoing the same thing you are.”
“And what am I undergoing?!” Marvin demanded. “Why am I in here?! I’m not—not’ing has happened to me!”
“Get some rest, Mr. Moore, you’ll have a busy day tomorrow.” The woman smiled at him, then headed for the door.
“Wait! You can’ jus’ leave me here!” Marvin pushed himself up with the help of the table. “Not without some answers!”
“We’ll be back soon, Mr. Moore,” the woman said cheerfully and quickly walked over to the door. Marvin stood where he was and watched her leave, locking the door behind her. A vague sense of despair pooled in his stomach as he made his way back to the bed to lie down.
———————
When the door finally opened, Jameson’s face was streaked with panicked tears as he sat up against the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. He quickly wiped his face as best he could before looking over towards it. A woman in a white coat walked into the room, her black hair cut in a pixie style. Two people came in with her, wearing black uniforms with helmets that covered their features. Guards. What did Jackie say they were called? Right, C&C. He couldn’t remember what that stood for right now. Had Jackie even explained that?
“Please stand up,” the woman said, her face blank and completely empty of emotion.
JJ stared at her, uncomprehending for a moment.
“Please stand up,” she said again. “Cooperation is necessary.”
Shivers crawled along his skin. He slowly got up, and the woman hurried towards him, taking something out of her pocket. Before he could react, she was right by him, measuring him—because that small object from her pocket turned out to be an extendable measuring tape. She grabbed his arms, measuring their length, wrapped it around his chest, then his waist, put the end on the ground and measured his legs, then wrapped it around his wrists, ankles, and neck. All before he could so much as process what she was doing. Then she stepped back again.
Excuse me? JJ signed, and then realized that these people might not know BSL. He’d have to use his voice, wouldn’t he? Well, then he should choose what to say carefully since his throat would hurt quickly.
The woman put the measuring tape away and pulled something else out. Some sort of handheld device; it reminded JJ of the geiger counters seen in movies and games. She pointed it at him, moving it up and down—scanning him.
“Ex...cuse me?” JJ asked in his hoarse voice. “What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer, but her eyes did flick down to his neck, where the faint scars of Distorter’s attack could still be seen.
“What are you doing?” JJ asked again.
Still not answering, the woman put the handheld device away and took something else out—a syringe of some kind, though it was a bit bulkier than any syringe Jameson had ever seen. She reached for his arm and Jameson immediately balked, yanking his arm away. “Please cooperate,” she said, walking closer.
He backed up into the wall, shaking his head. “Can—can you explain?!” His voice cracked with fear on the last word. He didn’t want them to inject him with anything!
“If you do not cooperate, we will use force,” the woman said calmly. Behind her, the C&C guards stepped forward.
Jameson’s eyes darted to them, then back to the woman. With his magic not working, he’d be no match for either of them. And though he really wants to try and shield himself somehow, he doesn’t want to be shocked—or whatever it was—either. So, reluctantly, he held out his arm.
The woman took it, plunging the syringe into the crook of his arm. JJ gasped in surprise as it hurt far more than expected. And soon the empty vial of the syringe filled up with red liquid. His blood. They’d taken his blood, and done it surprisingly quickly. Drawing blood usually took at least thirty seconds, but that was barely five, if even that at all. She quickly stepped back, tapping the side of the syringe and squinting at the blood within.
“What... are you doing?” Jameson asked again. “Please. Tell me.”
No answer. The woman turned around, heading back towards the door.
“Please!” Jameson shouted, then coughed as pain scraped through his throat.
The woman didn’t even look back at him as he coughed furiously. She simply opened the door and left, the two C&C guards going with her.
As JJ stared at the door as it closed, a bit of uncharacteristic anger curled around his stomach. He couldn’t believe that they were doing this to him. Were they doing something like this to his friends? Why?! What did they ever do to deserve this?!
But then the door locked, and the anger was quickly snuffed out by fear. He sank back down to the ground and tried not to fall back into panic. What did IRIS want with him? Were they... going to do the same thing to him that they did to Schneep? Why did they even do that to him in the first place? Did they want to make Schneep a weapon? Were they going to make Jameson into one as well?
He buried his head in his arms, thoughts spinning through his mind, drawing him into a whirlpool of anxiety that he couldn’t swim back out of.
———————
Schneep’s eyes snapped open the moment he heard the door open. He sat up straight and saw two guards in black uniform walk into the room, followed by a guard wearing a uniform with white highlights and a redheaded man in a white coat. Schneep recognized that man instantly. He’d come to think of him as a “handler,” of sorts, as he was the one Schneep had most seen during his first captivity here—the scientist who worked with him most often. And he did use the phrase “worked with him” in the most literal way. “You,” Schneep growled.
“Hello 1-019,” the handler said calmly. “Before you say anything, I will tell you that we have a disabling signal ready at the first sign of aggression. It has since been proven to work, as you no doubt remember.”
Schneep clenched his fists and glared, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to experience the signal again. He didn’t want to feel so helpless.
The handler paused, gauging his reaction. “Thank you,” he said, as soon as it became clear that Schneep wouldn’t be fighting back. “Now stand up.”
Slowly, Schneep did so, standing stiff and straight as a pole. The handler walked over and took out some sort of measuring tape, using it to measure out Schneep’s height, then the length of his limbs, then the circumference of his chest, waist, wrists, ankle, and neck. Schneep tried not to show his discomfort. Tried not to squirm or shudder or shout as this happened. Though as the measuring tape went around his neck he was barely able to restrain himself from shoving the handler away. He trembled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, forcing back the rage and sick panic that filled his whole body.
The handler stepped back, retracting the measuring tape and putting it back into his pocket. He then pulled out a syringe instead. “Arm.”
“Fuck you,” Schneep whispered, but held out his arm anyway.
“Stay calm, 1-019,” the handler said as he drew blood from the crook of Schneep’s arm. “You will be safe.”
“S-sure, of course,” Schneep muttered. He did believe him, in some way. IRIS wouldn’t want all their hard work to go to waste, would they?
The handler finished with the syringe, putting it back into his pocket. Then he held out his hand and looked back at the guards. One of the ones in black walked on over, and Schneep noticed for the first time that he was holding a small black briefcase. The guard opened it up, and the handler reached in and took out a small handheld device connected to the interior of the briefcase by a black coiled wire. The other briefcase lid flickered on, revealing itself to be a screen of some kind. “Stay still,” the handler said, and began scanning Schneep with the device.
Schneep did stay still, if only because his eyes were locked onto the screen on the inside of the briefcase lid. This was some sort of X-ray machine. He could see a live feed of his bones as the handler scanned him from the feet up. His bones... and all the other things inside him. Darker gray shapes running parallel to the white of his bones, tiny gray lines running through his muscles. As the scan reached his hands, he saw flat circles under his palms and fingertips, connected together with thin wires. Then it reached his torso, where his stomach and chest were crowded with gray shapes, and up to his head, where he could see small squares in a couple places around his skull.
Sick horror filled his stomach, climbing up his neck towards his mouth. It was all he could do to keep standing there and not collapse to his knees.
The handler finished and put the handheld scanner back into the briefcase. The screen flicked off and the guard closed it. “We will examine that later,” the handler said. “Get comfortable, 1-019. We will return later once we have finished your assessment.”
Schneep nodded slowly.
And with that, the handler and the three guards left him.
He stood there for a while, the X-ray’s images still flashing through his mind.
———————
Anti didn’t know how much time he spent waiting for something to happen. It must have been a long, long time, though, as he had worn out all forms of entertaining himself. The bouncy ball had lost its allure a while ago, and he tired himself out by trying to exercise. He fell asleep for a while. Then woke up, and found himself still alone.
He looked up at the camera. “So... you guys are uh... just gonna leave me this time, then? What’re you even doing?”
There was, of course, no response.
“Last time I was here, an alarm went off, didn’t it?” Anti recalled. “You were going to move me somewhere. But now I’m back in this room. So... whatever happened was taken care of, was it?” He paused, struggling to remember what happened. His memories were crowded by the long dream Distorter had kept him in.
Distorter.
Anti’s eyes widened and he stood up. “Oh fuck. He killed a lot of your guys, didn’t he? Or—maybe he controlled you to kill each other?” He laughed. “Seems like something he would do.”
He walked over to the chair and climbed on top of it so he could stare closer at the camera. “Are you waiting for him to show up again?” he asked. “Is that why I’m back in here? Am I the bait?”
Somehow, that felt right.
“Then... what happened to the others?” he asked. “Did you take them for bait, too? Are they somewhere in here, too?!” He shook his head. “You’re probably real fucking interested in Jackson, aren’t you?” he muttered.
He got off the chair. “Well fine! You win for now! But I swear, you’ve gotten in over your head! We’ll find a way out of here!”
He wasn’t sure how much he believed that. But he held onto it. He just needed to find a way to contact the others. If they could find each other, they could get out of here. They would get out of here. He refused to consider anything else.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months
Text
The Vault
A JSE Fanfic
SepticHeroes AU: Part 26
First Part | Previous Part
This turned out so much longer than I expected. But I really like this chapter so I don't mind as much and I hope you guys don't either XD It's about 7500 words, though, so be prepared for a long haul. Jackie tries to figure out what to do with the tape the guys found in JJ's apartment, and Marvin stops by with something that might help. Meanwhile, JJ is in prison. Yaaaaay :( This Vault place is a lot weirder than he expected, but at least he's not alone in there. Have fun reading :)
===============
Jackie had never tried calling the police on the Red Line before. He’d never tried calling any number on the Red Line that wasn’t to someone else in the League. But Lorelai told him that police stations could identify a Red Line when it called in and would treat him like a Hero. Even so, he was nervous as he dialed the police’s non-emergency number. Maybe it was because of this new villain. They could clearly access normal phone lines. But surely they couldn’t access the Red Line as well.
Someone picked up on the other end. “Daindover Police,” they said. It sounded like a young man.
Jackie swallowed his nerves. “This is Windstorm,” he said, sounding much more confident than he actually was. “I need to speak to whoever’s in charge of the Puppeteer case.”
A long pause. “Uhhhh... one second sir,” the voice said. And then music started playing.
They put him on hold? What the hell? Jackie didn’t even know police stations could do that. Well, he could wait. This operator was probably trying to call over a supervisor to ask what to do. Which, if the police call center was anything like the call center Jackie used to work at, would take a while.
He tried to relax while the hold music played. He sat down at his computer and looked through the games on there, but nothing really appealed to him. He tried social media, but nothing appealed to him there, either. He opened up some of his comic books but found they just made him nervous. The battles between Heroes and villains in them were once exciting, but now he just thought about how different they were from the events happening right now in his life. The comics never talked about a Hero’s friend being revealed to be a villain, and then that friend’s sister being revealed to be a hero who the friend was just trying to save. 
... You know, maybe the comics were bullshit. With all he’d learned about the League recently, he wouldn’t be surprised to hear they’d taken some liberties with the fights Heroes had.
Finally, the hold music stopped. Jackie had left the Red Line on speaker so he noticed it right away, and quickly lunged over to scoop it up again. “Hello? Windstorm?” a voice was saying.
“Ace? Is that you?” Jackie asked.
“Huh, so it is you. Yep, it’s me, kid.”
“You’re in charge of the Puppeteer case?”
“Well no, but I am on the case. The guys know that you and I have a rapport, so I’m gonna be relaying whatever you said to Detective Michaelson. He’s the lead on this.” Ace paused. “So. Last I saw you, you were really hung up on the trial thing. Is this about that?”
“Kind of,” Jackie said slowly. “I think I’ve found some evidence that the Puppeteer wasn’t... That there’s more to this whole thing than just the Puppeteer.”
“You mean... an accomplice?”
“I-if anything, it points to the Puppeteer being an accomplice. There’s someone else in charge, a, uh—a mastermind behind this. And I don’t think the Puppeteer was entirely willing.”
“Huh. That sounds like some damn good evidence.” Ace was clearly impressed. “So are you calling to make some arrangements for dropping it off, or...?”
“Uh—not yet,” Jackie said slowly. “I-I want to make a backup of it first. But I needed to let you guys know that it exists. This mastermind villain—I-I think they’re called Anti-Virus—might go after it.”
“Kid, if they’re gonna go after it, you need to get it somewhere safe as soon as possible,” Ace explained. “Nowhere safer than the police station.”
“Villains have broken in there before. And Anti-Virus isn’t limited by, uh, physical space. I think—I think they’re a technopath,” Jackie whispered that last part, glancing at his phone and computer as he did so. “A-and this could be... i-it’s risky. I need to make sure there’s backups.”
Ace was silent for a while. Then he sighed. “I’ll see what I can do with what you’ve said. But until you hand this evidence over, the police aren’t gonna act. You understand that, right?”
“That’s fine,” Jackie said. “I-I just want to establish that I have it.” Then, from down the hall, Jackie heard someone knock on the apartment door. Chase shouted something, probably telling whoever it was to wait a minute. “I have to go now,” Jackie said.
“Alright. See you around, kid. Good luck.”
“You too.” And Jackie hung up.
Just in time, too. Chase shouted down the hall, “Jackie! Marvin is here!”
Jackie was surprised for a moment before he remembered that he’d given Marvin permission to come to his apartment to reach him. That was just the day before yesterday, but it seemed so long ago. “I’m coming!” Jackie shouted, putting the Red Line on the dresser and rushing down the hallway.
It was weird seeing Marvin in his apartment. He was standing there awkwardly, shifting from side to side, one gloved hand messing with the zipper on his jacket. Chase was sitting on the sofa nearby. Frosty had clearly been the one to open and close the apartment door, as he was standing next to it and wagging his tail excitedly. Chase whistled, and Frosty trotted over to him, where he received many scratches behind the ears.
“There you are,” Marvin said, eyes locking on Jackie. “I have something for you.”
“Iiiis it in that bag?” Jackie pointed at the bag Marvin had slung over his shoulder. It was gray and made of canvas, completely featureless.
“Yep.”
“Alright, put it down on the coffee table, then.”
Marvin nodded and walked over, Jackie right behind him. He set the bag down on the coffee table and took a couple things out. A black rectangular box, a plastic bag full of cables (or maybe just one?) and a cloth laptop case that clearly had a laptop inside—one of the bigger ones. “Whoa, what’s all this?” Chase asked.
“This is everything you need to copy that tape we found at JJ’s place,” Marvin explained.
“A laptop?” Jackie said doubtfully. “Uh... I thought we were trying to keep it away from digital spaces where Anti-Virus might be able to access it.”
“You’ve just decided to latch onto that name, huh?” Marvin muttered.
“Hey, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Don’t change the subject.”
“Heh.” Marvin grinned. “Don’t worry, the laptop’s been modified. I got all this from the Dismantler and her family. She personally went in and removed the camera, the microphone, and the parts it needs to access the internet. It can play and record video, but that video can’t be accessed through wireless means. The hard drive was also wiped, so there’s no chance of anything already being on there.”
“Hmm.” Jackie raised an eyebrow. “She’s very thorough. Or did you and your paranoia ask her to do all that?”
“Both. And I’ll point out that my paranoia is very well-founded.” Marvin shook his head. “I... realized recently that... Anti-Virus might know who I am. Not the identity I have now, I mean... who I used to be.”
“You mean your rogue Hero shit?” Chase asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well fuck. That’s bad.”
Marvin laughed. “Putting it lightly, yeah. But this bitch made Jameson control me. They made Jameson do a lot. And they have Timekeeper. I’m willing to risk my identity if it means... making things right for the two of them.”
Jackie wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d never seen Spitfire Cat act so... selfless. Maybe this is closer to who he used to be. “I didn’t know you cared so much about Timekeeper,” Jackie whispered.
“I always thought he—she seemed like a real hero,” Marvin said slowly. Then he laughed. “And she clearly doesn’t like the League, so points for her in my book.”
Jackie rolled his eyes. “Okay, yeah, sure. Anyway, how do I work all this?”
“Dismantler included instructions,” Marvin said, unzipping the laptop case and reaching inside. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, just confirming that it’s there, and then put it back. “She also told me, but I don’t remember off the top of my head. I think you basically have to connect the VHS player to the computer with this special cable and then, uh... record it. And then you can... transfer it to another tape?”
“I’ll figure it out,” Jackie said. “I’m good with video software.”
“He really is, I ask him to edit my YouTube videos all the time,” Chase confirmed. “Also, uh... who’s the Dismantler? Should I know them?”
“No, uh, you guys have never met and I didn’t really talk about her,” Jackie said. “She’s a, uh... vvvvillain?” Uncertainty made that last word longer than it usually would’ve been.
“I don’t think what she and her family does counts as villainy, just crime,” Marvin said. “Besides, she’s only involved because it’s her family, so I don’t think she should count.”
“Isn’t her uncle Pathos?” Jackie asked.
Marvin started, surprised. “Don’t just say that!”
“Oh yeah, Pathos was that big villain, wasn’t he?” Chase asked.
“Yeah, til I whooped his ass and put him in prison.” Jackie grinned. “That was probably my first big battle as a hero. I mean, it was sort of easy, actually, but he had a reputation! That put Windstorm’s name out there. And all the villains I fought after that, holy shit there was a big spree that time last year.”
Marvin rolled his eyes. “There was a spree because you took out a ‘big villain’. When an organization like Pathos’s falls, two types of people appear. Those who want to be the next big thing, and those who were too scared of the local organized crime to cause chaos until it was gone.”
“...oh.” Jackie blinked.
“You seriously didn’t realize that until now?” Marvin snorted.
“Hey shut the fuck up.” Jackie put his hands on his hips. “It’s calmed down now! I handled it.”
“You did do that,” Marvin muttered reluctantly. “Anyway. Gw—the Dismantler also wanted to remind you about the Puppeteer’s mask. Do you still have that?”
“Uh... yeah,” Jackie said slowly. “I mean, after figuring out this guy was a technopath, I wrapped up the mask in a bunch of my spare clothes so they couldn’t really use the cameras or microphones in it.”
“Nice.” Marvin grinned. “Anyway. Dismantler pointed out that the mask could also be a piece of evidence. You just need to get someone else to notice the weird stuff that she did.”
“The weird stuff that pointed to it being controlled remotely?” Jackie nodded. “Yeah... I should take it back to Dr. McLoughlin for another scan.”
Marvin’s expression darkened. “You’re going to... you’re going to take it back to the guy... who messed up the scan in the first place. Even though he should have noticed it. You... you do realize how suspicious it is that he told you the mask was normal, right?”
“It could have been an honest mistake,” Jackie pointed out.
“Or it could be something else.”
“Don’t be so judgemental, bro,” Chase said, speaking up for the first time in a while. “Aren’t people innocent until proven guilty?”
“I—” Marvin was so surprised at Chase calling him out instead of Jackie that he didn’t have a comeback.
“Look, I get it, it’s weird,” Jackie said. “I agree. But I’m not going to go around being suspicious of everyone. I’ll keep it in mind that he did the scan wrong, but until I find proof that he’s... I don’t even know what you’re accusing him of—”
“I’m saying that he’s probably in cahoots with this Anti-Virus,” Marvin interrupted. “Or maybe he even is him.”
Jackie’s eyebrows shot into the air. “Ooookay. That’s a pretty serious accusation. And it’s one that I’m gonna keep in mind, but I’m not gonna jump to conclusions, okay? I’m gonna give McLoughlin a chance to explain what went wrong. He deserves a chance to do that, at least.”
“Not if he keeps tricking you,” Marvin muttered.
“I’d rather be tricked than go around doubting everyone!” Jackie snapped.
“Yeah, clearly.”
“I’m just saying there’s a line!” Jackie shouted. “I can’t think the worst of everyone, okay? If I thought the worst of everyone, we never would’ve found the tape! Because I would’ve written JJ off as secretly evil the whole time instead of talking to him! But he’s not evil, and he doesn’t deserve to be in jail! So I’m not gonna throw someone else in there based on what could’ve been a mistake!” He stopped, breathing heavily. Marvin and Chase were staring at him, gaping. Even Frosty was staring at him.
“Wow... never seen you go off like that, Jackie,” Chase said.
“I guess this whole situation is... getting to me a little,” Jackie muttered.
“That’s... fine,” Marvin said awkwardly. “Um... understandable. Y-yeah. I’m not... I’ll do my thing, you do your thing. I’m not gonna stop you. Uh... you can keep all this.” He gestured at the stuff on the coffee table. “But this is mine.” And he grabbed the bag. “I’ll... come by if anything happens.”
“Y-yeah.” Jackie nodded. “See you around, then.”
“See you.” And with that, Marvin walked over to the door and left.
Jackie sighed. The apartment seemed strangely quiet.
“Hey, uh... Jackie?” Chase said. “I get it about the JJ thing.”
“I just... I-I hope he’s okay,” Jackie said. “He’s tougher than he looks. But they sent him to the Vault. There’s a whole bunch of dangerous villains in there. That’s where they send the biggest threats. I hope he’s okay.”
Chase nodded. “Like you said, he’s tougher than he looks. I’m sure he can hold on until we’re able to get him out.”
“Yeah... yeah.” Jackie would believe that. He had to.
===============
Jameson didn’t remember much of the journey. He knew they traveled across land for a while, and then they traveled across the sea for a bit longer, but the car and boat didn’t have any windows, and so he quickly grew bored. Even though it was uncomfortable to sit straight up with tight handcuffs on, and slightly disconcerting to have people watching him, the lack of stimulation meant he soon fell asleep. 
Was he really worth all this security? He hadn’t caused any trouble while in the police station. Did he really need four different people watching his movements at all times? He thought that, but then he remembered what he’d done, and he understood their caution. A villain who controlled so many people for so long should not be given any leeway.
“Hey. Get up.” Someone shook JJ’s shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked at them. It was one of the League Safety members—people without powers, or with very minor powers, who took care of all the everyday internal threats that Heroes were too busy for. Things like protecting League facilities... or overseeing the transportation of imprisoned supervillains. The LS people wore black uniforms with yellow highlights. Said uniforms included helmets with mirrored visors, bulletproof vests, and utility belts—where their main weapon, a neutrinalin dart gun, hung. But that particular weapon wasn’t necessary. JJ had already been injected before leaving the police station.
“We’re here,” the LS person said. “Get up.”
Jameson nodded, standing up. The LS person grabbed him by the arm, guiding him out of the boat.
So. This was it. Byrthon Vault.
The Vault was situated on a man-made island in the Irish Sea. It was closer to the UK than Ireland but big enough to hold villains from both places. All supers in this part of the world knew about the Vault. They’d heard about its towers and the tall, eight-sided wall surrounding the whole compound. But it was different to see it in person. The wall was a fifty-feet tall barrier of smooth metal, and the towers within rose into the sky like pillars of black rock. Jameson felt dread just looking at it.
A concrete path led from the docks to the wall’s singular gate, sloping up a slight hill as it went. Jameson let the LS person pull him up the way. Another LS guard walked on his other side, and there were two behind him. As they approached the gate—a pair of ten-feet-tall sliding doors with red lights in the center of each—Jameson almost froze up. Actually being here was giving him doubts. The whole thing felt so final. If he walked through that gate, he knew he would never be coming out again. He’d known that the whole time, but the reality of it was hitting him all at once now.
But he didn’t really have a choice, did he? 
If you ever fail and get captured, you are not to say anything about me. You are to accept the full blame and take whatever punishment the law and the League give you. Likely, you will be sent to Byrthon Vault. If you protest this at all, I will terminate her. But if you are caught, I promise you no harm will come to her, and I will work to reverse her condition.
None of his messages with the blackmailer ever stayed on his phone for longer than an hour, but that one had been sealed in his memory from the moment he read it.
They stopped at the gate. One of the LS guards waved at a camera in the corner—or, that’s what JJ assumed that red light was. A panel slid open on the wall. The LS person pressed a keycard to it, followed up by a quick series of taps on a number pad. The camera’s red light turned green, and they went inside.
The area they walked into looked surprisingly normal after the imposing exterior. There was short gray carpet on the floor and white paint on the walls, and a woman sat behind a counter—though the counter was protected by bulletproof glass. “Hi, state your business?” she said pleasantly.
“Transfer from Daindover, Britain,” the LS person holding Jameson’s arm said.
“Right, we’ve been expecting you. Enter your access code there.” She gestured to another number pad sitting on the counter. One of the LS people walked up and tapped in another sequence. The woman typed something on a keyboard, staring at a computer screen. Jameson wondered if that computer was connected to the internet.
He wondered if they knew he was here. 
“Alright,” the woman said. “Jameson Jackson, alias, the Puppeteer?” JJ jumped a little when she said his name.
“Yes, that’s it,” the LS person said.
“Great. Wait here for a moment.”
About thirty seconds passed in awkward silence before a door slid open next to the counter. Two people walked out, wearing uniforms similar to the LS uniforms, though with blue highlights instead and missing the helmets. With them was an older man with a salt-and-pepper beard. Tha man looked at Jameson. “This is him?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” the LS person replied.
“Alrigh’ then. You, Jackson, follow us.”
Jameson hesitated, then walked over.
“Cooperative,” the man grunted. “Good. I’m Daly, I’m in charge here. I hope you’ll understan’ quickly that whatever power you had out there, it’s useless in here.”
Jameson nodded. He felt the urge to laugh for a brief moment before it was suppressed by heavy anxiety. Power? What power? 
They walked through a short hallway to a square room with nothing but two doors and a table that had a handful of items on it. One of the blue-uniformed people—prison guards, assumedly—picked something up from the table. Another neutrinalin injection gun. “Hold out your arms,” Daly commanded. Jameson did so, and the guard rolled up his sleeve and injected him right in the crook of the elbow. Made sense. His last dose had probably worn off.
The other guard picked something else up from the table. A black wand, also similar to something you’d see in an airport. The first put the neutrinalin gun down and took a set of keys from their belt, unlocking Jameson’s handcuffs. “Stand with your arms out,” Daly said. “Don’ make any sudden moves.” Jameson wasn’t planning to. He stayed perfectly still while the guard ran the wand over him.
After that was over with, the first guard picked up a bundle of cloth from the table and shoved it at Jameson. “Get changed in there.” Daly pointed to one of the doors, the one to the left. “I’m told you can’t talk, so knock on the door when you’re done and we’ll start the decontamination process. If you take longer than five minutes... well, don’t take longer than that.”
Jameson nodded. He took the cloth and headed into the other room, a space the size of a closet. He changed quickly into this new outfit—a white shirt, a pale green jumpsuit, and flimsy slip-on shoes—then knocked on the wall.
“Decontamination starting in three... two... one.”
JJ gasped, then quickly recovered when he realized that the robotic voice saying that wasn’t the same robotic voice he’d get phone calls from. But he gasped again when holes slid open in the walls of the room he was in. Jets of mist burst out, smelling vaguely medicinal, and droplets of liquid settled on his skin and clothes. Then a loud WHRRRR started as fans appeared and dried everything. Once the fans calmed down, one of the guards opened the door. “Step out,” Daly called from the room.
From there, the group headed through the room’s other door, down a long set of hallways, until they reached the main area of the prison. The cell blocks. Two of the Vault’s towers were dedicated to them, one for male and one for female. Obviously, this was the male block. It was... bigger than expected. The space was wide open, rows of cells stacked on top of each other, with catwalks reaching the higher cells. JJ counted six floors of cells. Everything was made of metal and plastic, all of it sleek and new-looking. And it was... quiet. So quiet. Pretty much the only sounds were JJ’s and the guards’ footsteps. That... must have been because it was early. Even so, the quiet made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
They took a lift up to the fifth floor and Jameson got a closer look at the cells. The walls were mostly solid metal, with the only exception being the door, which was made of a clear, bulletproof plastic. He glanced into the cells as they passed, but they were all too dark to see inside. It must’ve been lights out. But even so, was no one awake? Or curious about what was happening?
Soon, they stopped at a cell with a number plate reading 525. One of the guards took a key card from their belt and pressed it to a panel underneath that number. The door slid open. Jameson started to step inside, but Daly said, “One moment, 3117.”
Jameson tensed. Oh. Right. The jumpsuit had the number 3117 on the back and lapel. That must be him. He turned to look at Daly, tilting his head curiously. Instinctively he raised a hand to ask What is it? but then realized Daly probably didn’t know BSL.
“Hold out your hands,” Daly said. Confused, Jameson did so—and suddenly Daly snapped something around his wrists. Jameson started and pulled his hands back. These weren’t handcuffs. There was no chain connecting them. But they were two bands of metal now wrapped around his wrists, each about an inch wide but only a centimeter thick. “Congratulations,” Daly drawled. “You get some extra precautions. Those are magnetic pow-sup bracelets. When powered, that purple ligh’ across the middle will turn on, activatin’ power suppression and snappin’ the bracelets together. So don’ try anything, okay?”
Jameson nodded slowly.
“Good. Now, go on. It’s lights on soon enough, so you won’ get much time to rest before the roll call.” Daly made a dismissive go-ahead type gesture.
And with only a moment’s hesitation, Jameson turned around and stepped into the cell.
The door slid closed behind him. It was dark, but as his eyes adjusted, he could make out the cell’s features. It wasn’t too different from the holding cell back in the police station. The walls were metal. There was a single cot to sleep on, along with a toilet and sink to use. There was a small metal shelf jutting out from the wall close to the ground. Some sort of... table? To use while you’re sitting on the floor? Or was it supposed to be a chair? Maybe both?
Well... there wasn’t much to do in here. So even though Jameson had spent the whole journey here sleeping, he lied down on the cot and tried to sleep some more.
But he couldn’t. Now that he was actually here, the despair he felt was too much. This was really it, wasn’t it? Surely the others would have found the tape in his apartment by now. Surely, if it could be useful, it would have been used by now. Right? No. No, he shouldn’t think like that. Maybe the process was just slow. Everything would work out eventually. He just had to be patient.
But it was hard to hold onto optimism like that in the face of this new reality.
===============
Over the next two days, JJ got used to his new routine. The lights came on in the morning, and then about thirty minutes later there was an announcement over the intercom for roll call. They happened floor by floor, lasting five minutes each. When your floor was called, you had to hurry over to the central meeting area of your floor—which ended up being a suspended platform for floors two through six. Jameson was glad he wasn’t afraid of heights.
After your floor’s roll call, everyone there moved to breakfast. The cafeteria was in a different tower, connected to the two cell block towers by narrow hallways. The food wasn’t much to talk about. Bland, with a weird plasticky aftertaste. Forks and knives were not allowed. After eating, there was a short period where you had to either go back to your cell or go take a shower. Then a maddeningly long period of time later, it was lunch, which was almost exactly like breakfast.
But after that, you were finally allowed to go somewhere other than your cell or the cafeteria. The afternoon was a sort of free period—though it wasn’t really free at all if guards were watching your every move—where you could go to the courtyard, do chores like laundry and cleaning, or go back to your cell. Jameson wasn’t allowed to do chores, as security on him was still too high, but he could do the other two things. After the afternoon, there was another roll call, dinner, another chance to shower, and then, an hour later, lights out.
The routine didn’t bother JJ. Honestly, even the guards didn’t bother him too much. Sure, they were constantly watching him, but he was being watched all the time before this, anyway. Just through cameras instead of in person.
No, what really bothered him were the other prisoners. 
Not because they were intimidating or scary in any way. In fact... it was kind of the opposite. Byrthon Vault was home to some of the most dangerous supervillains in this part of the world. Jameson recognized a good number of them, either from hearing about them on the news or from helping her on her superhero patrols. These people were supposed to be ruthless, merciless monsters. Either lifelong criminals or people who’d done one thing so terrible that they got sent here right away.
So... why were they all so... quiet?
He’d noticed it from the start. The other prisoners barely talked. Only when answering a guard’s question or mumbling to their neighbors during meal times. And once he noticed that, he began noticing other things. They were all so pale—even paler than expected for someone trapped indoors almost all of the time. Many of them had dark circles under their eyes. And others were very thin, basically skin and bones. Some of them swayed while they stood. Some of them slumped onto the tables during meal times. All of them stared at him, but none of them talked to him.
Jameson didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but he knew he didn’t like it.
He spent the free period of the first two days in his cell, but by the third he was so confused and curious about what was going on with the other prisoners—not to mention extremely bored and tired of napping so much—that on the third day, he finally visited the courtyard.
This was a wide open space, octagonal like the walls around the Vault. A mesh net stretched over the entire top of the courtyard—presumably to deter flying villains from swooping in and rescuing prisoners. The middle of the courtyard was dedicated to various sports and exercises. Around the edges were benches and tables for people to sit at. Everything was concrete, metal, and plastic.
Jameson looked around. Like the cafeteria, the courtyard connected to both cell blocks, so some prisoners from the female block were here, too. He’d noticed that they were just as pale and lethargic as the prisoners in his block. So whatever this was, it wasn’t just affecting them.
There were some prisoners playing basketball or trying out the exercise equipment. But it was only a fraction of the people out here. Maybe a quarter of them. Or less. And even then, only a quarter of those people were really enjoying the activity. Most of them were just going through the motions. Sometimes stopping what they were doing to stand there, or even to sit down.
This was really freaking him out. His plan was to go over and ask the friendliest-looking person what the hell was going on, but he wasn’t sure they’d be able to tell him anything. Not to mention how unlikely it was that someone here would know BSL. So, overwhelmed by the strangeness of this situation, he walked over to a bench and sat down.
He was tired. He wasn’t usually this tired. Maybe something about being stuck in one place and bored all the time made him tired. Sighing, JJ tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a moment—
“Hey!”
Then he jumped and opened them again. That was the first shout he’d heard in here outside of roll call. He looked around—and saw someone approaching him. A woman with dark, wavy hair. Not a guard, as he expected. But another prisoner. She had dark circles under her eyes but was otherwise moving with more purpose than he’d seen most others move with. Slowly, he raised his hand and waved at her, unsure what to do.
The woman stopped in front of him. “You’re from Daindover, right? In Britain?”
JJ nodded.
“Did Windstorm lock you up?”
He nodded again.
The woman scowled. “That bitch. Hope someone puts him in his place one day.” She punched her palm. “So. What did you do? Did it hurt him?”
JJ hesitated. Can you understand me? he asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “What is that? Are you making fun of me?”
He hurriedly shook his head. And then he patted his throat, trying to indicate his lack of voice.
“What? What is that?!” She leaned over him, scowling.
This wasn’t working! Jameson tried to show her the scar on his neck, tracing its faint line with a finger.
“Oh, now you’re threatening me?!” The woman grabbed his wrist. “Listen, I don’t know what kind of fucking bigshot you think you are, but these mean you can’t do shit in here.” She shook his arm, indicating the cuffs on his wrists.
He shook his head hard, started to sign I’m sorry but then remembered how poorly signing had gone before and scrambled for a new idea—
“Angela.”
The woman—Angela, apparently—jerked backwards. While she’d been getting up in Jameson’s face, someone else had appeared. Another prisoner. A man this time, wearing the jacket of his jumpsuit unbuttoned and sliding off his shoulders. He had bright red hair, cut close on his right but longer on his left, and—and purple eyes. Jameson stared at them for a second, at first processing their existence and then admiring their dark shade and how it contrasted the man’s brighter hair—and then he snapped back to his senses. Who was this guy? He looked vaguely familiar. “Soren,” Angela said curtly.
“What’re you doing?” Soren asked calmly.
“This bitch was threatening me!” Angela glared at JJ.
“You mean him doing this?” Soren mimicked the motion JJ had made to indicate his scar—which, JJ is now realizing, looked like the ‘I’ll slit your throat’ gesture people made to threaten others. “I think he was trying to show you that scar of his.”
Angela looked back at JJ, staring at him closely. “Well before that he was making all sorts of hand signals! Probably being fucking rude—”
“He asked if you could understand him,” Soren interrupted.
“How do you know that?!”
“Because I know British Sign Language when I see it. I could translate for you, if you let go of his hand so he can talk.”
Angela looked at JJ... and reluctantly let go of his hand. 
“Right!” Soren said cheerfully. “So what was the conversation?”
“Asked him what he was in for,” Angela mumbled, sounding almost embarrassed.
Soren looked at JJ, who quickly started signing, I ended up taking control of a couple hundred people in my city and got them to commit various crimes. Including storming several buildings belonging to a tech company.
“Jesus, this takes forever,” Angela muttered.
Soren, meanwhile, looked intrigued. “Oh. So you’re the mind controller who came in from Daindover, huh? Is Windstorm still the hero there?” JJ nodded. “Hmm. Wonder if he’s gotten any better. He had the power, but was pretty new to it when I was there.”
Angela’s eyes widened. “Wait. Wait, he’s the—the string guy? Puppets guy?”
Jameson looked down, hiding the guilt on his face, and nodded.
“Oh. Oh, holy shit. I guess I should’ve, uh, realized. Uh—” Angela stood there for a moment, then abruptly turned around and left.
Soren watched her go, then looked back at JJ. “Don’t take it personally,” he said. “Angela isn’t dealing with this well. She’s always had a temper, and now being stuck here and feeling shitty all the time has made it worse. And I think she’s not used to feeling vulnerable. After all, Angela Lewis is the invulnerable Titanium.” He chuckled a bit, then sat down next to JJ. Now that he was closer, he could see how thin and pale he was—pale to the point of being practically paper white.
How do you two know about me? Jameson asked.
“We’re both from Daindover too. Word gets around about new arrivals, and people always listen up for their city.” Soren looked at him and smiled tiredly. “Anyway. What’s your name? Not your alias, I know that. It’s okay to spell it out.”
JJ did so, introducing himself as Jameson Jackson.
“Alliteration. Fun.” Soren held out a hand for a shake. “Soren Moizone. Nice to meet you.”
...oh.
Jameson suddenly realized why he looked familiar. He’d been on the news quite a lot. And that’s not all. A memory flashed through his head, vivid and real, of a past conversation.
I don’t get it. You could easily take down Pathos, Dahlia. Why don’t you? “Because as long as people like us keep him in line, things are better.” I still don’t get it. “If you suddenly take out the head of a big organization like that, the power vacuum can be worse than they were, y’know? See it all the time in comics about Heroes’ early careers. Everyone rises up to take their place.” So you’d rather fight him every month? “It’s not really a fight most of the time, I just show up and look intimidating and he’s like ‘pack it up, you lot, we’ve gone too far.’”
Soren Moizone. The supervillain known as Pathos. The man who’d held crime in Daindover and the surrounding area in his grip—until a year ago when Jackie defeated him.
“Ah. There’s the look.” Soren’s easy smile faded a bit. “The realization. Listen, I can’t really do much in here, unfortunately. Neither can you. Or anyone, really. I think we’re all the same in the Vault. But up to you if you want to be on speaking terms.”
JJ hesitated. Then he reached out and shook Soren’s hand.
Soren laughed. “You have balls, Jameson Jackson. Though I guess that’s evident, from what you just said you did. Daindover really has a problem with mind-controlling villains.”
It’s not really mind control, JJ said. My powers, I mean. It’s... body control.
Soren tilted his head. “Hmm? What’s the difference?”
I don’t hypnotize people, JJ explained. When the strings wrap around their wrists, I can move their bodies with my thoughts. They’re still aware. And it doesn’t just work on people. Anything shaped like a human can be controlled. I used them on dolls when I was a kid. His parents had been mildly surprised the first time they walked in on him putting on a show for his twin. But not too surprised. It ran in the family, after all.
“Fascinating. You’re right, that’s not really mind control, is it?” Soren mused. “But to be fair, mine aren’t, either.”
JJ blinked. Can’t you make people think the way you want them to?
“Common misconception. I don’t influence their thoughts, just their feelings. It’s not the same thing at all, no matter how much people on the news told you it was.” Soren chuckled.
JJ raises an eyebrow. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous. Another brief snippet of a conversation flickered in his mind.
“I swear, James, I’d never felt so scared in my fucking life before. If the feeling hadn’t stopped when I paused things I would’ve been frozen. But instead everyone else was frozen, ayyy. I suppose powers like that don’t work on me when I’m out of time.”
“Well you’re one to talk, aren’t you, Puppeteer?” Soren pointed out. “I overheard some guards chatting about what happened in Daindover. They were shocked. Though it sounds like the rumors were a bit exaggerated.”
JJ tried to laugh in agreement, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Silence fell between them. Jameson turned his attention to the rest of the courtyard and tried not to think about the fact that Pathos—a lifelong villain who she often fought—was sitting next to him. Though as he looked around, it did remind him of why he was out there. Can I ask you something?
“You can ask me, can’t promise I’ll answer.”
Everyone here is so...quiet, JJ said. And... tired. I don’t know how to describe it. But that can’t be normal, can it? Or is this just what it’s like in all prisons?
“What were you expecting?” Soren asked. “Did you think there’d be a riot every day? Like a TV drama?”
I thought there’d be conversation, at least.
“No, you’re right.” Soren’s face turned very serious. “This isn’t normal. How long have you been here, Jameson? A couple days?”
Three days, JJ said.
“So you’re going to start feeling it soon, then.” Soren leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “Have you noticed that weird taste in all the food? It’s a sort of... artificial taste, like someone put plastic shavings in everything. That’s neutrinalin. It can be injected or consumed. All the food for the prisoners has heavy doses of it.”
JJ nodded slowly. He’d been wondering that. Nobody had pulled him aside to give him a neutrinalin injection since he arrived. And yet, he still felt his powers out of reach when he tried to find them. Not to use them, just to see if he could.
“Now, neutrinalin is all fine for the short term,” Soren continued. “But if it’s in your system for too long, say three or four days straight, you start feeling a bit sick. Like a bad cold. And until the neut is out, that feeling will just keep getting worse.”
Dread pooled in JJ’s stomach. And yet, he still had to ask, Did you say N-E-W-T?
Soren laughed. “It does sound like that, doesn’t it? No, ‘neut’ as in short for ‘neutrinalin.’ It’s slang. Sometimes people call it ‘the muffler’ too, or ‘the League’s best friend.’ Guess you’re not in those circles, huh?”
JJ shook his head.
“Anyway. The reason why all these great and powerful villains are walking around like zombies is because they feel like shit all the time. Some of them for years straight. I think Havoc Cry has been in here the longest, you don’t see her around often cause she’s too tired to leave her cell most of the time. Which—look, I’m not gonna say she doesn’t deserve it after she basically destroyed London, but... no, I’m gonna say that. She doesn’t deserve it. She deserved to stay here for the rest of her life, just like Avalanche, Dr. Rundown, Death Angel, the Mutilator—” Soren pointed out each villain as he said their name. Jameson had heard of all of them, but he wouldn’t have recognized them like this. “—and most of the others, but the drugging is a bit much.”
Jameson covered his mouth, hiding the horror on his face. All these people... Sure, criminals and villains, the worst of them, but... he couldn’t help but feel terrible about it as he saw them all in this state. Does the League know about the side effects? he asked, looking back at Soren.
“Dunno.” Soren shrugged. “You don’t hear people discussing it, not even in the underworld. Some people in here mutter that the League made it that way on purpose, but I don’t think so. I think they just never thought about it during development. And if they know what’s happening in here, they don’t think fixing it is worth it.”
Jameson shook his head slowly. This was awful. People must not know. If they knew, they’d be horrified.
Soren looked doubtful. “Would they?”
Of course! Even the Heroes would be horrified. Or at least... Jackie would.
“Maybe.”
Jameson scowled. He made to stand up—but stumbled as a wave of dizziness overcame him. He started to fall, but Soren quickly stood up and caught him before he hit the ground. Thank you, he signed shakily.
“Don’t thank me, it’s not needed.” Soren helped him stand upright again. “Let me guess. Everything started spinning?”
That must have been one of the side effects. JJ went pale as he realized that everything was just going to get worse from here on. He nodded slowly. Why are you handling this sickness better than anyone else in here? he asked.
“That’s not something I’m keen to share.” Soren smiled, a bit of mystery to his expression. “Now. If you’re standing up, I’m guessing you’re leaving?”
JJ nodded slowly.
“Try to come to the courtyard as often as you can. Sunlight and fresh air’s good for you. Makes you feel a little better. I’m here most days. Or we could try to meet during meal times—if you want to meet, that is, but I’d love to hear from you some more. Talk about how things have changed in Daindover.”
That would be nice, JJ said. He knew he had to take this chance. Talking was a lot less boring than napping, but not many people in the Vault would be able to understand him. Soren knew BSL. And even though he was a supervillain, so was everyone else in here. So was Jameson. Soren seemed nice, at least. And... he liked the way he smiled.
“Great. I can try to find you. What floor are you on?”
Floor five, Cell 525.
Soren raised an eyebrow. “They put you up high. The higher your floor is, the more dangerous they consider you. I’m on floor three, in 316. So it sounds like I’ll have to wait for you in the cafeteria.”
I don’t know if I’m flattered or not that they think I’m so dangerous, JJ said, frowning.
“I’d be flattered. But they’ll probably move you down later if you don’t cause trouble.” Soren smiled tiredly. “In any case. Later, then?”
Later. I’ll see you around?
“Certainly. Goodbye for now.”
JJ waved a goodbye as well, then turned and left the courtyard. He hadn’t spent much time there, but he needed to be alone. He needed to think about everything that just happened. About what he found out.
He was still hoping that somehow the others outside would figure out a way to get him out of here. But that hope was starting to waver. Especially knowing what was to come with the neutrinalin side effects. But... at least he wouldn’t be alone in here.
At least there was that.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months
Text
The Morning is Sure to Come
Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Thirty-Four
A JSE Fanfic
A lot of stuff happens in this one, and I'm not really sure how to describe it. Chase talks with his kids some more, and then falls asleep and has another dream with Jack, where he learns some more about the situation that was revealed last time. And meanwhile, Henrik, Jackie, and Marvin are getting close to Suilthair and scouting it out, looking for Chase and Jameson. Huh. Guess it wasn't as difficult as I thought. Anyway, with the summary done, I'll leave you to it. Enjoy! :D
Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU
Taglist: @brokentimewatch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two more days, and Chase and Jameson were still stuck hiding in the abandoned boathouse. They passed the time with Chase giving Jameson lessons on some combat maneuvers. It was strange without actual weapons, but Jameson appreciated it nonetheless. Surprisingly, he remembered a lot of these moves, either from his time at Wyvernlair or his youth when he was learning self-defense. But he was a bit rusty actually going through the motions.
“There has to be somewhere to get weapons in the city,” Chase muttered. “At this point, I think I can go out without too much suspicion. If I’m careful and come right back.”
Do you have any money? Jameson asked. I don’t, and I know weapons shops have high security.
“Damn. You’re right. It’s too risky to steal them. I could ask Amabel for money—no, I don’t want to do that.” Chase shook his head. “She’d probably take it from Stacia, a-and she might get in trouble, and I don’t want that.”
It’s fine, Jameson said. We’re doing well enough without them.
“For now,” Chase muttered. “Eventually we need to find a way off this island. And when we make our escape, we need to be prepared for a fight.”
Even though they couldn’t go out into town to get weapons, Chase started going around for other reasons. Gathering more information, mostly. Trying to find that way out of Suilthair. If there was one good thing about the week he wasted wandering around the city, it was that he developed a reputation. The common folk recognized him. They knew he was one of them and that the biggest danger he posed to anyone was asking for money. There was no reason to report someone like him to the royal warriors. He was pretty harmless in their eyes. Chase still had to worry about avoiding patrols, but at least he didn’t have to worry about everything.
Unfortunately, nobody he talked to knew of any way out of Suilthair besides the ferry. They were all quite insistent on that. Chase wondered if this was, perhaps, caused by the King’s enchantment influence. Maybe by making people want to stay in the city, he made them forget anything besides the official ferries? But surely there had to be smugglers or something. Who was he supposed to ask about that? Probably people who were more dangerous than the average cityfolk. Were they desperate enough to do that yet? No... maybe not. But in a couple more days, they might be.
Amabel continued to stop by every morning and evening. Chase was always happy to see her, even if he was getting more and more worried. If she kept doing this, someone would eventually notice where she was going. “Amy, are you sure this is safe?” he asked. 
“Mm-hmm.” Amabel nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Alright,” Chase said hesitantly. “But if it gets too dangerous, if people see you come here, I want you to stop.”
Amabel blinked. “Huh? No, I’m not gonna stop.”
“Amabel, I’m serious,” Chase said firmly. “What me and Jameson are doing is really dangerous, we don’t want you caught up in it.”
“You haven’t even told me what it’s all about!”
“Because you’re safer if you don’t know anything,” Chase said. He paused for a moment, trying to think about a way to explain that there was a chance the King could hear her thoughts if she got in too much trouble. “The people we’re up against have ways—magical ways—to find stuff out, even if you’re very, very careful. But if you really don’t know what they’re talking about, then they can’t do anything.”
Amabel stared at him. “Do you mean they’d hurt me?”
Chase was quiet for a moment. He didn’t want to tell his daughter that yes, the people out there would hurt her. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe.” When the King sent the warriors to their home, they didn’t kill the children. But he wasn’t sure if that was because the King—or, the spirit controlling the King, as he had to remind himself—really didn’t want to cross that line, or if it was simply because he was focusing on eliminating the adult man who would defeat him one day.
Amabel was also quiet upon hearing that. Then she nodded. “Okay. I promise I’ll stop coming to see you if I think people see me. I don’t want anything to happen to Quentin or Mom without me.”
Chase gives her a small, sad smile. “You know you don’t have to be responsible for them, right?”
“Yeah, but... I wanna be there,” Amabel said slowly. “To, uh... Because...” She trailed off, unable to put words to the feelings she had.
Because you care about them? Jameson asked.
“Yea! Thank you, uh, Mr. Jameson,” Amabel said. “Oh. Dad. Quentin wants to come by tomorrow morning. Remember, you said I could bring him?”
“O-of course I remember,” Chase said. “Be very careful, it’ll be worse if both of you get in trouble.”
“Don’t worry, I can do it,” Amabel promised.
“Okay. In that case, I’ll see both of you tomorrow.”
The rest of that day passed without much of note, and tomorrow morning, Jameson shook Chase awake a bit earlier than normal. Your children are coming, he said, pointing to the ajar boathouse door.
Chase got up quickly and opened the door fully. It was a cloudy day today, but not gloomy. Even with the weak early morning light he could clearly see Amabel walking down the wooden walkway towards the boathouse, holding her brother’s hand in hers. Quentin waved at Chase, smiling when he saw him, and almost shouted a greeting before Amabel leaned close and murmured something to him.
Your children are both so cute, Jameson said, smiling.
“Hah. Thanks. Quentin takes more after his mother, y’know. He has her hair exactly.”
The kids walked up to the boathouse door, and the moment they were inside Quentin shouted, “DAD!” and tackled Chase in a hug.
“Whoa!” Chase pretended to stumble back from the force of the hug, then laughed and leaned down to hug his son. “Hey, Quen. Wow, you’ve gotten so much bigger and stronger.”
“Really?!” Quentin beamed. He looked over at Jameson. “Hi! Bellie says your name is Jameson and you speak in hands. Is that true?!”
Jameson chuckled silently and nodded. Can you understand me?
“Uh... I think you asked if I know handspeak, and I mean, a little. Bellie is better at it.”
“That’s me.” Amabel raised her hand.
Thank you, young lady, I did think that’s what he meant.
“Heh.” Amabel grinned.
“I’m so happy to see you, Dad!” Quentin squeezed him tighter.
“I’m so happy to see you, too.” Chase wrapped his arms around Quentin and lifted him into the air, causing him to shriek with delight. He was a bit too big for this to be easy, but Chase didn’t care, if he could make it work he would. “Now, did Amabel tell you that I’m not staying forever?”
Quentin nodded. “She said you were really busy and that you couldn’t talk about it because it’s secret, even from Mom. Is that why Mom is mad at you? Because she doesn’t like secrets?”
“...hah.” Chase gave a sad little smile. “Your Mom doesn’t even know about the secret. She thinks that I left you guys because I wanted to. But I didn’t.” He blinked back tears. “I promise, I didn’t want to leave you guys. I’ve been trying to find you for a long time.”
“Why can’t we come with you?” Quentin asked, whining a little.
“Because this is grown-up stuff, Quentin. It’s no place for someone like you.”
“Because I’m too sick all the time?” Quentin grumbled.
“No, that’s not it at all.” Chase shook his head. “I’m not letting Amabel come, either. The problem is that you’re both too little. It’s not something shallow like you getting sick. I’ve told you, that doesn’t change what you can want to do.”
“Hmmm.” Quentin frowned, a thoughtful expression on his little face, then nodded. “Okaaaay... I get it. But I really miss you, Dad.”
“I know, I miss you so much, too.” Chase looked at Amabel. “Both of you.” Then he set Quentin down. “I have to leave soon, you know. It might be really sudden. I might not have the chance to say goodbye. Do you two know that?”
Amabel nodded slowly. Quentin looked at her and nodded as well. But maybe he was just copying what she did.
“If that happens, it’s not because I don’t love you two, or your mom,” Chase continued. “It’s not because I don’t want to be around you or because I don’t miss you or because I’d rather be doing something else. It’s just... really unlucky that I had to leave and couldn’t say bye. This thing I’m doing is important. Not more important than you, in my mind, but it’s very important to a lot of people. And it’ll help you guys, too, though you might not understand how.”
“Okay, Dad,” Amabel said, nodding again more firmly.
“So... Mom is wrong?” Quentin asked.
Chase hesitated. “Mom isn’t really wrong, she’s just... made a mistake. But that’s okay.”
“Oh.” Quentin nodded along with Amabel again.
Chase laughed a little. “You two look like little chickens with your heads bobbing like that,” he said teasingly.
“Wha—Da-ad!” Amabel put her hands on her hips, while Quentin giggled at the image. “Fine, Dad, I guess I’m not gonna give you this food.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Amy. It was just a joke.”
Amabel sighed. “I know. Here. We can have breakfast together. Or, I guess it’ll be a snack for us, we already ate.”
The group sat on the wooden floor of the boathouse and ate together. Quentin asked Jameson a lot of questions, and Chase translated Jameson’s handspeak answers when the boy struggled with them. Then, after what felt like a too-short time, Amabel and Quentin got up, said their goodbyes, and Amabel promised to see them again that evening. Chase watched them go, waving, trying not to show his sadness. As soon as they were out of sight, he fully closed the door, sighing.
Everything alright, Chase? Jameson asked.
“It just... gets harder to see them,” Chase said quietly. “Knowing that eventually, I’ll have to say goodbye again. I get this pang of... of grief.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Right here. And it gets stronger every time.”
Jameson looked at him sadly. You know... my father once told me not to borrow grief from the future. I don’t think I understood what he meant until now.
“What did he mean?” Chase asked, confused.
You’re not leaving them yet, Chase, Jameson said. You will, but you’re not leaving them right now. You’ll just hurt yourself thinking about it. And you won’t be able to treasure this time together if you’re hurt.
Chase blinked. Something about that went straight into his core, hitting a ball of something that he didn’t even realize was there. “That... that makes sense,” he whispered. “Thanks, Jameson.”
Jameson smiled. Happy to help in any way.
The rest of the day passed as normal. Chase briefly wandered around a bit, returning by the time Amabel visited in the evening. Then he and Jameson talked about more possibilities of escape. But they were running short on topics, having already talked about this for so long, that they ended up going to bed early. Chase took the first watch. And when it was his time to sleep, he fell asleep right away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the first day of boating up the river, the group of Phantoms had to switch boats. The flatbed boat they’d used for traveling the Moors would be no good on the Muinra Avon. It wouldn’t be able to handle the more intense waves and deeper waters. Instead, they used a boat that looked like a miniature ship, once again borrowing it from a small group of people. They weren’t Phantoms, but they must have been sympathetic to the cause. Or maybe they were paid really well and were smart enough to not ask questions.
Henrik was in a bit of a daze for the whole trip. Not because of his symptoms, for once. It was hard to believe that he and Vsevna were really officially courting. And yet it was true. Something that Vsevna reminded him of on the morning of the fourth day of the trip by sneaking up on him and kissing him on the cheek. “Morning, sova.”
“Ah!” Henrik’s face turned very red. “Morning, Vsevna.” He couldn’t help the smile spreading across his mouth. “I, ah, I-I hear that we will be arriving at Suilthair today.”
“In the evening, yes.” Vsevna nodded. “We will have to talk about what to do there some more. But for now, we can enjoy the journey.”
“Indeed.” Henrik hesitated, then reached out and took Vsevna’s hand. “Do you want to show me around the new boat?”
Vsevna’s eye lit up. “Of course.”
The scenery passed surprisingly quickly, even though they were heading the opposite direction of the current. One of the sailors, Talinir, mentioned something about having a favorable wind. Jackie and Marvin spent most of their time on the deck, with Jackie continuing the training he was doing on the ship. Marvin just sat around, watching the sailors. Jackie tried to tease him for a moment about how he was watching one of the sailors, Mona, quite a lot, but Marvin just muttered something about how he had a cat mask first and how it just looked strange when two people whose names started with the M sound had the same kind of mask. “We look like we’re a pair, but I’ve never seen her before.” So Jackie shrugged that off, a bit sad that he couldn’t tease both his friends for having sweethearts.
Around late afternoon, the boat stopped for a moment, lowering its anchor. The Phantoms gathered in the center of the deck to discuss a plan. “I mentioned this a couple days ago,” Marvin said, “but I have the ability to see through my familiar’s eyes.” He pointed to Draco, lying in a patch of sunlight on the deck. “I think we need to use this somehow.”
“A way to scout the city?” one of the sailors, Jiro, suggested. The others murmured in agreement.
“Great idea, but how are we going to get Draco into Suilthair?” Jackie asked. “Can he just... find his way?”
“It is easy for small animals like cats and rats to get on ships without knowing,” Vsevna said. “I’m sure Draco could get onto the ferry easily enough.”
“Once he is in there, what are we going to look for?” Henrik asked. “Obviously we must find Chase and Jameson. But it is a big city, how will we know where to look? I do not think a cat could cover all of its ground in a single day.”
Marvin nodded slowly. “It doesn’t cost too much of my magic to look through his eyes. But if I keep it up consistently, that constant drain could stack up. But if you’re worried about leaving Draco alone in the city, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Familiars aren’t normal animals. I’m sure the only danger to him would be other familiars.”
“Even so... we cannot have you focusing on that all the time,” Henrik said. “You must rest sometimes.”
“What if we send Draco on one of the morning ferries, have him look around all day, and then come back on an evening ferry?” a sailor named Anya suggested. “That way Marvin could get some rest at night.”
Marvin nodded again. “I’m capable of that. But say that Draco finds Chase or Jameson. What then?”
“We have to have some way of communicating with them,” Jackie muttered. “Attach a note to his collar?”
“We don’t want any of the warriors reading it, though,” a sailor named Catherine points out. “D’you think we could write it in code?”
“I do not think that would work,” Henrik muttered. “Chase struggles with reading even now, and Jameson does not know any of our codes. They could both make mistakes.”
“Is there some magic that could work?” Jackie looked at Marvin specifically as he asked that.
“Wizards have ways of talking with each other over long distances, but it requires that all parties are wizards,” Marvin said. “I’m sure there’s some witchcraft that could work, though. I think I remember hearing about people in Drakild, that kingdom across the sea, using... stones, or something?”
“Message rocks,” Vsevna said. “I have also heard of them. I think I remember some of the runes you need for them.”
“Huh. Alright, Vsevna, you and me talk about this, maybe we can figure out the runes between us,” Marvin said. “And Henrik, you too. You’re familiar with witchcraft, you should be able to tell us if something makes sense or not.”
“That could work,” Henrik muttered. “We attach a message rock to Draco’s collar, and if he finds Chase and Jameson, they can use it. But... what if he does not find them? What if something has happened? Such as... I-I do not want to say it, but such as the King getting to them—”
“Shut up.”
Henrik flinched, avoiding the urge to look over his shoulder at the voice. He knew no one was standing behind him. He knew that. But... what if... what if there was someone on the shore? Someone listening in on their conversation?
Jackie put a hand on Henrik’s shoulder, steadying him. “Deep breaths,” he whispered. Henrik nodded. “You good?” Another nod. “Okay.” Jackie turned to face the group at large. “If the King’s got Chase and Jameson, we’ll have to make a plan to get them out. And that plan will depend a lot on whatever information we can gather. Such as where they’re being kept and what the defenses of that place is. Right now, we’re just in the initial planning and scouting phase. If it turns out they’re in hiding, we then have to plan on a way to get them out of the city, ideally without confrontation.”
The group all muttered in agreement. “We should get started as soon as possible,” Vsevna said. “Hopefully we can get these message rocks done in time to get Draco onto the evening ferry.”
They did, though just barely in time. By combining Vsevna and Marvin’s knowledge they’d heard about these message rocks with Henrik’s practical knowledge about witchcraft, they were able to create two talismans out of smooth, white pebbles with runes on them. Some of the sailors fashioned a small leather pouch for one of the rocks and attached it to Draco’s collar. He didn’t seem too happy about it at first, but he tolerated it.
Then the boat docked on the shore of the Green Lake. Marvin dropped Draco off on the land, giving him magical instructions to get onto the ferry and into the city, then activated the spell to see through his eyes, sitting down on the deck while he did so.
As Vsevna had said, it was easy enough for Draco to get onto the evening ferry. He hopped aboard at the last moment, and none of the crew or passengers had the heart to kick him off into the lake. And so, he got a free ride into Suilthair.
Marvin tried to think about where Chase and Jameson would be, if they were indeed in hiding and not captured. They wouldn’t be foolish enough to get an inn. And they probably wouldn’t want to be too close to the castle. “The neighborhoods, Draco,” he muttered, clutching his focus in his hand. Though his eyes and ears were seeing and hearing what his cat was, he could still feel his body sitting on the deck where he left it, and he could feel his amulet warming with magic. “Focus on checking out the neighborhoods.”
He knew he could keep up this spell all night. But he did hope that he wouldn’t have to keep it up for multiple nights in a row.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For once, when Chase woke up in the draísling, he wasn't in the garden he’s used to. It really threw him off for a second, and he wondered if this is a normal dream. But just thinking that question proved his point. He wasn’t this aware in normal dreams. So he looked around the location, trying to assess things. This was a hallway. A regal-looking hallway. It must have been one in the castle, but it looks different. Newer, somehow, the stone brighter and the tapestries fewer, but less worn. He tried getting a good look at them, but their images seemed to shift. The hallway ended in a pair of grand wooden doors, looking too heavy for a single person to open. It’s lucky that they were already open, then. And in front of them stood the deer.
Chase tried to ask what happened, why things had changed. But his voice wouldn’t work. Even so, the deer dipped its head, like it knew what he was asking. It turned around, facing the open doors, lowering its head and pointing forward with those golden antlers. Chase understood. He walked forward, past the deer, and into the room beyond.
He’d never seen this room before, but he knew what it was the moment he walked in. The castle’s throne room. Tall stone pillars lined the way down the long room, and a green carpet guided people towards the dais at the end of the room. Candles in sconces dotted every surface, making up for the lack of windows. The throne room didn’t have windows? That made sense, you wouldn’t want an assassin to shoot an arrow through a window, but still, even with all the candles lighting things up, the room looked... smaller than he expected. Windows would have helped.
At the end of the room was a dais shaped like a half-circle, with two steps leading up to it, covered in that green carpet. On the dais was a throne. It wasn’t gilt in gold or silver like thrones in stories. It was made of wood. But that didn’t mean it was any less grand. The whole thing somehow seemed to swirl, the wood carved into a willowy shape. Green velvet cushioned the seats, arms, and back. At the very top of the throne were three embedded jewels—two green with a blue one in between them—teardrop shaped with the points at the bottom, forming an overall shape like a budding flower.
A man was sitting on the throne. Jack. Chase recognized him, and tried not to shudder upon seeing the King’s face. Jack looked the same as he had for that brief moment in the last dream when Chase had seen him. Fine clothes that were now torn and bloodstained, chains wrapping around him. A manacle around each wrist connected to the throne’s armrests, and a thin metal collar around his neck connected him to the back of the throne. He was sitting slumped in the throne, but as Chase got closer, he raised his head. His blue eyes widened, shocked. “Y-you... came back...?” he whispered.
Chase walked up, stopping at the bottom of the dais. “Y-yea, of course I did,” he said. “I don’t really control the dreams.”
“You didn’t have to come into the room, though. You could’ve waited outside.”
“...I wouldn’t do that,” Chase said. He looked around the room again. “So... this is different.”
Jack laughed. “Yes. The nightmares change every so often. Just when I start getting used to it. I’m guessing it was deliberate this time, though. After all, you broke me out. I couldn’t be allowed to stay out.”
“...the spirit does this, doesn’t it?” Chase asked.
Jack blinked, surprised. “You... figured it out?”
“I did.” Chase nodded. “We found proof that the King’s eyes were blue as a child, but they’re green now. That’s not normal. Something has to cause that. And you’ve said you were imprisoned by the King. Well... I can’t think of a worse prison than being trapped in your own body.”
Jack slumped again, looking almost relieved. “I thought... you wouldn’t believe me if I told you...” he breathed.
“Maybe not,” Chase said. “But then... what would be the point of me having these dreams? I’m pretty sure that—Oh, I shouldn’t say too much, should I?” He glanced around.
“Probably not,” Jack said. “The spirit hears everything.”
“Well... I’ll say that I’m pretty sure something is giving me these dreams,” Chase said. “And if this was... a trap of some sort, and you were actually lying to me this whole time, what would be the point of that? Do you understand?”
Jack nodded. “I do.” He took a deep breath and adjusted his hands in his lap, the motion accompanied by the sound of clinking metal. “So. Y-you know the truth now. I’m... My name is Aodhán Jack Willeim mak Lough, King of Glasúil. I-it’s a mouthful, honestly, I know. I prefer to just go by Jack. My friends called me that.”
Chase walked up the steps onto the dais. He wanted to be level with Jack... but found that impossible. While on the floor, he was too far down, and while on the dais, he was too far up, and Jack couldn’t stand so they could look each other in the eyes. This fact made him distinctly uncomfortable. So he knelt down on the dais. He was still a bit shorter when that happened, but it was the closest their eyes could be. “How did this... Y-you weren’t always possessed,” Chase said. “When did the spirit show up? Did you... somehow attract its attention?”
Jack sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t think so. I think, perhaps, it was just looking for the right person. And I was perfect.”
“How long has this been going on?” Chase asked.
“...Seven years or so,” Jack said quietly.
“That long?!” Chase cried.
“I only had one year as King before it fully took over,” Jack said. “You know, I always thought it was suspicious. Both of my parents getting sick with some mystery illness, and no one else in the castle being infected no matter how close in contact they were with the King and Queen? I thought someone had killed them. Poisoned them, maybe, with something that worked quickly but not too quickly. And I knew I would be the first suspect. That people who didn’t know me would think I...” He swallowed a lump in his throat.
“I don’t... remember any suspicion about your parents’ deaths,” Chase said slowly. “Or your rise to the throne.”
“It was there. Either it was only the nobles who thought it, or the spirit used my power to make everyone forget about that once it took over.”—
“So... the spirit killed the old King and Queen,” Chase whispered.
Jack nodded.
“I didn’t know possessive spirits could do that.”
Jack laughed darkly. “I don’t think this is just any old spiolash that wanders the countryside. He’s... very powerful.”
“Seems so,” Chase muttered. “What... what happened after their deaths? If you’re okay with talking about that?”
“It’s fine, I’ve had enough time to think about it,” Jack said. “Things went... I won’t say things went well, but they were... normal. Being the King was difficult, especially when some of my advisors thought I’d poisoned my parents, but things proceeded how you’d expect them to. Until... I started seeing things.”
“...Things?” Chase asked hesitantly.
“In the dark, usually,” Jack said in a hushed voice. “When I was trying to sleep. A figure in the shadows. I thought it was just sleep freezing—have you heard of that? When you wake up and can’t move and sometimes see fucking terrifying things? I thought it was that. Until I started seeing these shadowy figures during the day, too.”
“Did you think it was a false world curse?” Chase asked.
“I considered it. I got desperate enough to consult with a doctor about it—which did not help my reputation when people found out. But they said I didn’t have any of the other symptoms, so it might’ve been something else.” Jack shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep. When I did, I sometimes woke up in strange places. My nose started to bleed, rarely at first, then as often as once every week. My eyes bled occasionally, too. I tried talking to wizards about it. Maybe this was some sort of curse. But... when I tried to ask, my voice froze up. I couldn’t even imply it subtly. A-and eventually, I wasn’t able to even walk towards a wizard to talk with them. My legs wouldn’t work.”
“That was the spirit stopping you.” Chase meant it as a question, but it didn’t come out as one. Probably because he knew the answer.
“Yes,” Jack whispered. “I-it got worse and worse. I started having nightmares. I started walking in different directions than I meant and it’d be a chore to correct myself. Said... unkind things to people. Couldn’t apologize. Started using my powers in ways I never wanted to. I-I promised I’d never control people. Th-there was an incident when I was little where I would make all the kids around me happy... it creeped me out. And afterwards, when the kids remembered, they wouldn’t talk to me. So, ever since then, I-I promised I wouldn’t do it, even if I thought it’d be good. But... I was... against my will, I was... making people think things. And making them forget things.” He shuddered. “One night, I had a terrible dream. A man with green eyes was chasing me through a dead forest, and he caught me, and pushed me into this little opening at the base of an oak tree and shoveled dirt in front, trapping me. Then, when I woke up, I couldn’t move. My body was doing things without me. I couldn’t... do anything. And ever since then... this has been my life.”—
Chase was quiet. He didn’t know what to say to that. What could ever be good enough for that? Words didn’t seem enough. So he leaned forward and wrapped Jack in a tight hug. He felt him tense for a moment before he absolutely melted into it. “We’re going to get you out of here,” he said. “I swear it, we will find a way to banish this spirit. You will be free again.”
Jack’s breath hitched. “That’d be nice,” he said, his voice thick as he tried not to cry.
“I swear it,” Chase repeated. “I swear it thrice.”
“O-oh. You’re... that serious about it?”
“Of course I am. I can’t leave you to suffer like this.” Chase leaned back. “Not to mention, it’ll really help the kingdom if it wasn’t being headed by an evil spirit.”
Jack laughed. “It would. I was so worried about being a good King once I was coronated, but now that I’ve seen fucking this, I know I won’t be the worst one out there.”
“Not by a stone’s throw.” Chase shook his head. “Maybe I’ll see you in these dreams again. I hope I do.”
“I hope I see you again, too,” Jack whispered. “I hope that the next time you see me, you’re able to see... me. And not that spirit.”
Chase nodded. “I’ll do everything I can.”
“Thank you.” Tears welled in Jack’s eyes. “Thank you so much.”
And then the draísling faded away and Chase woke up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jameson was finding more and more that he hated keeping watch at night. It was boring. So, so, so, so boring. He didn’t have anything to read—not that there was enough light to read even if he did—and no one was awake to play games with or talk to. And since they were trying not to attract attention, he couldn’t very well get up and wander around. So he was left just sitting there. In the dark. His mind tended to drift off, getting lost in his own thoughts.
But he forced himself back to the present. He had to check regularly if there was anyone nearby. He inched over to the door and eased it open, peering out. No, nobody in sight. It was getting close to early morning now, and people would already be getting up and going to work elsewhere in the city, but not here.
And then he saw it. Something moving. Small, and pale against the darkness of the city. He stiffened, leaning forward. Oh. That was a stray cat. But... there were no stray animals in Suilthair. At least not out in the floating neighborhoods. They were liable to fall off the wooden walkways. And yet...
Jameson glanced back at Chase, still sleeping. Then he got up and slowly, anxiously, walked out the door. He crept closer to the cat, glancing around nervously as he did so. It heard him eventually, and stopped, turning to look at him. He stared at it, not wanting to scare it away.
But he didn’t have to worry about that. The cat turned and pranced straight towards him. And suddenly, he recognized it. Jameson gasped and hurried forward. Yes! Yes! It’s Draco! Relieved, he crouched down to the ground and held his hand out for Draco to sniff. Draco did. And once it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere, Jameson hurriedly scooped him up and went back to the boathouse.
Draco wriggled out of his arms soon after he walked back in, landing on the wooden planks with a solid thump. Jameson went over to Chase and shook him until he woke.
Chase opened his eyes, momentarily confused, then looked back at Jameson. He took in the darkness of the boathouse—barely enough to see by—and sat up straight. “Did they find us?!” he whispered.
Jameson shook his head. He pointed back towards Draco.
Chase blinked. “...elders,” he breathed. Then he laughed. “Oh, thank the Elders. H-he found us! Marvin has to be nearby, right?” He crawled a bit closer, petting Draco’s head. “Huh. Did you notice this?” He pointed out a small leather pouch attached to Draco’s collar.
Jameson shook his head. Open it, maybe there’s something inside. A message, even.
“Okay. Hold still, kitty.” Chase reached forward and carefully took out what was in the pouch. “It’s a stone. With... runes on it.”
A talisman? Jameson asked.
“Must be.”
And then, suddenly, a voice came from the rock. “Chase? Jair? Is that really you?!”
“Whoa!” Chase fumbled with the rock and almost dropped it before recovering his grip. “Marvin?”
“It’s me!” Marvin’s voice said, and laughed. “I-it’s so good to see you! I’m watching you through Draco’s eyes right now.”
The rock? Jameson asked.
“Some witchcraft Vsevna suggested. You have to hold it in your hand and speak directly into it. It’s so good to see you two. It really is. I-I didn’t mean to leave, but—well it’s a bit complicated. I can tell you all about it later. Right now, I have to let you know that a whole squad of us have come here to find you.”
“A whole squad?” Chase gasped. “Who?”
“Me, Jackie, Schneep, and Vsevna and some of his crew. Oh, I realize neither of you have met Vsevna and his crew. But they’re very reliable.”
“O-okay,” Chase nodded. “What about Wyvernlair? Did they get our warning?”
“They did,” Marvin confirmed. “But there was still a bit of a scuffle. I’m not sure... I’m not sure how many people were lost. B-but most of them are fine. There’s a new camp. I-I don’t think I should tell you about it, just in case.”
That’s reasonable, Jameson said.
“Are you guys coming to get us out?” Chase asked. “We’re—we’ve been stuck in here. Jameson was caught by the King, I-I got him out of there, but—but we’ve been hiding, and there are no ways out of the city that we can find—”
“It’ll be alright, Chase, I promise,” Marvin interrupted. “Jair? Did you... really get...?”
Jameson nodded.
“I-I’m so sorry,” Marvin said quietly. “L-look, I should probably go, get everyone else awake so we can talk about things together. Keep a hold of the rock. And Draco, though I’m sure he can look after himself.” Draco curled up on the floor as he said that, looking about ready to go to sleep.
“That’s fine,” Chase said. “Um, how long will that take? To gather everyone up?”
“I don’t know, probably not that long. There’s not that many of us. I’m going now.”
“No, wait, one thing we need to tell you!” Chase hurried to add. “Before anything else. W-we learned something big about the King.”
Jameson looked at Chase. Are you sure it’s a good idea to share this? What if this is a trick?
“The King already knows we know this, so he won’t be gaining anything if it’s a trick,” Chase said.
“What is it?” Marvin asked.
“The King isn’t really the King,” Chase said. “He’s being possessed. That voice, that person in my dreams, that’s the real King. His body is being controlled by a spirit.”
Silence. “...if that’s true...” Marvin whispered. “Holy flame, I... I’m not sure how to... W-we’ll be back soon, alright?”
Chase nodded. “Alright. We’ll be waiting.”
“Thank you.”
And though Chase and Jameson stayed quiet, no more words came from the rock. Chase looked at Jameson. “Do you really think it’s a trick?” he asked.
I hope not, Jameson said.
“Yea. I hope not, too.”
For the first time in days, they had a direction. And Chase, after the draísling he just had, felt that he had a purpose, as well. Or a more solid purpose than he did before. He was going to help his family, and the whole kingdom, and Jack. It was a tall order, but he would do it. He could do it.
For the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful about the future.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 3 months
Text
Coming Home
Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
I was planning on having a short, not-very-busy chapter after the action of last time. That did not end up happening. Sometimes ideas just get away from you, y'know? Anyway, onto the summary. The group meets up again after the IRIS infiltration to talk about what to do next. Jackie tries to process everything that he's just learned and get used to being home again, but he's having difficulty. And onto the story now :) Enjoy :)
More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter
“Oh my god.” Jackie covered his mouth in horror. “I-I had no idea. I was—I was trying to find some way to protect against Distorter, but all this time—IRIS—th-they had—He was—I can’t believe—Anti—”
“Calm down, Jackieboy,” Rama said from the driver’s seat. “Remember how to breathe.”
Jackie pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beating a mile a minute beneath his ribs. “I’m breathing. I’m just—w-we have to—I mean, can I see Anti? We need to go see him. As soon as possible—”
“Not as soon as possible,” Schneep interrupted. “I know you are worried about him. But I do not want to go straight to the hospital right after breaking into IRIS. They could be following us. Tracking us, somehow.”
I don’t think they’re following us, at least, Jameson signed. His movements were slow, tired, but his eyes still glowed that bright blue that showed he was using his magic. I’m trying to detect their strange signature, and I can’t feel anything.
“They could still be tracking us,” Schneep muttered. “We cannot go straight to Anti. I don’t want to lead them to him.”
Rama sighed. “We have to talk with Marvin, Jack and Stacy about all this. I know we can just text them that the mission was a success, but now we have to think about the next steps. Jackie is right. We need to focus on Anti.”
“This does deserve an in-person meeting,” Schneep muttered.
I’ll text them, JJ offered.
“No, you wanted to take a nap, yes? Give me your phone, I will do it.”
JJ hesitated, then nodded and passed Schneep his phone.
“Okay, so, we’re going to meet up with them right away, then, right?” Jackie asked anxiously. “We’re going to talk about this right away? The Anti thing, I mean?”
“Stacy had work,” Rama muttered. “So maybe not right away, but definitely as soon as possible.” They looked in the rear-view mirror back at Schneep. “Ask them for ideas of where to meet. If IRIS is tracking us, I don’t want to lead them right to my house, or to where they are staying.”
“I-I don’t know if... if I-IRIS will track things...” Jackie trailed off. What did he know about IRIS? Nothing, apparently. He didn’t even know they’d kidnapped two of his friends.
“Jackie, what were those things you grabbed from your desk?” Schneep asked. “They looked like—like those things you put over your eyes to play VR.”
“Oh right. I did start to explain, but then we got cut off. Uh, maybe I should explain when everyone is together. That’d be easier. Do it in one.”
“Okay, okay, but do you know them inside and out?” Schneep asked. “Are you sure what is inside them?”
It took Jackie a moment to process what Schneep was asking and why he was asking it. “Oh. You mean—you mean you think that they could be tracked. We’re still talking about the tracking stuff. Um... I think I’m pretty familiar with them. But I don’t... know for sure. Maybe—maybe���But I-I think—I have an idea, maybe, that’s starting to form, but if they’re being tracked—” He groaned and leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. The seatbelt cut into his neck, but he didn’t really feel it.
“Are you okay, Jackieboy?” Rama asked quietly.
“I’m having a fucking crisis.” His voice was slightly muffled by his hands.
“Well... you and your friends are all very traumatized, by this point,” Rama said slowly. “I guess that’s to be expected.”
Jackie laughed, the sound piercing and manic. “Yeah... yeah.” He didn’t know what else to say.
———————
By the time they’d driven back to Mirygale, Stacy was off work and ready to meet up. Jack was also ready, though he didn’t really want to leave Anti alone. But he understood that this was important and so decided to trust Sam to find him if something happened. Marvin was ready to go whenever. He said that he could take the bus to wherever they were meeting.
When the tracking situation was explained, Stacy said that they could meet at a park near where her rented apartment was. When everyone else arrived, they saw that it wasn’t really a park, so much as just a fenced-in green space. It had probably been part of a church once before modern development took over, and for some reason, the yard had been allowed to stay when the church wasn’t. There was enough room in the space for a few big trees and a couple benches, but not much room for more. Rama parked on the street right outside and everyone climbed out.
The others were already there. Jackie stopped walking for a moment, seeing Marvin in the wheelchair. “O-oh,” he whispered. 
Marvin saw him first. His expression brightened. “Jackie! You’re back!” He laughed. “Come on over here! Hey, c’mere to me, how are you doin’? You look... well, you could look better.” His smile faded slightly, but still lingered.
“Jackie!” Jack got up from the bench where he was sitting and waved him over. “Come on! The rest of you! God, you all look fucking terrible.”
“Better than the first time I met you,” Stacy muttered, then winced. “I’m sorry, that was probably too much—”
Jackie laughed a bit. “No. No, you’re right, that was—you’re right.”
“Still. Sorry.” Stacy stood up too. “Here, you guys can sit, you probably need it more.”
The group settled down, Jackie and Rama sitting on one bench, Schneep and JJ sitting on another, Marvin’s chair stopped next to JJ’s bench, and Jack and Stacy standing up. “Weird doing this out here,” Jack said, looking around.
“I agree, t’is is a bit strange,” Marvin said. “But it’s better t’an IRIS goin’ to our houses.”
“Technically, don’t they already know all about where you guys live?” Stacy asked, looking at Marvin and JJ. “Because you had those cameras up for a while?”
The two of them blinked in unison. Well we’re out here now, JJ said. If we put in all the effort to get here, might as well stay here.
“Besides, we don’ want them to know for sure t’at Schneep and Jackie are connected to us,” Marvin said. “The cameras only went up after they both left. We coul’ reasonably deny t’ings the cameras overheard, but not if ye show up in our house.”
“Okay, okay, okay, can we—can we just—” Jackie swallows a lump in his throat. “I-I want to talk about Anti.”
Jack straightened slightly. “What do you know? About... what happened?”
“They filled me in on the drive here,” Jackie said. “Anti disappeared, but it turned out that IRIS had him in their facility to the north. H-he was stuck there for three days before Distorter showed up and... and took him instead. Schneep said that—that IRIS might have isolated Anti intentionally, to get something to happen with Distorter.”
“What?!” Marvin gasped. “Schneep, you never said anyt’ing like t’at before!”
Schneep looked down. “I... am not sure if it’s true. But it feels like something they would do.” 
I was just as shocked when he brought it up on the drive, JJ said.
“But it makes sense,” Schneep said, raising his head again. “They have an interest in Distorter. Perhaps they wanted to see if they could trigger an appearance by him.”
“I-I-I guess I can see that,” Jackie said. IRIS had been proud of how much they tested their hypotheses and inventions before putting them out on the market. It had... reassured him. But if they were doing that same sort of testing with people and supernatural creatures... He shuddered. “A-anyway, something did happen. Distorter showed up and took Anti out of there. And ever since... Anti’s been under his control. Y-you said... he’s at the hospital? Because... of the blood loss... and stuff.”
“Unfortunately, it’s also a place where... they can make sure he doesn’t do anything,” Jack said slowly. “Distorter is still controlling him. H-he tries to attack the nurses sometimes but can’t, since he’s... anyway, yes. He’s at the hospital.”
Jackie went quiet. “The first time I ever met him was in a hospital...” He whispers. “That same one, too, from what you’ve said.” He laughed a little. “I don’t think he likes them. Maybe it reminds him too much of what happened to land him there the first time.”
“Huh?” Marvin blinked, confused. “I know you’ve mentioned meetin’ Anti in the hospital before, but—what?”
Jackie and Schneep exchanged a look. Then Schneep shook his head. “It is not our place to say,” he said. “Besides, Anti never fully explained it. I only know about the injury because Jackie told me about it.”
“And Anti never said what happened to cause that,” Jackie added. Though he had started to form a suspicion in recent months... “I-In any case, my point is he’d probably hate that he’s there if he was conscious enough to know where he was. But he’s not. B-because Distorter is definitely doing all sorts of terrible—of horrible fucking things to his mind. We have to get him out of there now!”
“Calm down, man,” Jack said evenly. “Panic isn’t going to help Anti.”
Jackie nodded. He blinked, pushing back the tears threatening to rise to the surface. “I’m calm.”
“You... said you had an idea?” Rama prompted. “In the car, remember?”
“Y-yeah.” Jackie reached into his pocket—he was still wearing this coat, he should probably take it off, maybe burn it—and pulled out the headsets. “We can use these somehow.”
Stacy leaned forward. “Um... what the hell are they?”
“Right, right. So...” Jackie bit his lip, thinking. “There’s this trope in old scifi stories where you can watch people’s memories or dreams on a screen, and their minds are all visualized and everything despite how, in real life, thinking is really abstract. These are kind of similar. MR Headsets, they’re called. ‘Mental Reality’ Headsets.”
JJ’s eyes widened. He grinned excitedly. You mean... we can look at someone’s thoughts with those?
“Basically. One person wears this white one, and someone else puts on the black one. The one wearing the black Headset can experience whatever the person in the white Headset is thinking. Or... remembering, or dreaming. Whatever’s in their head. I-I was thinking that... that maybe if we put this white Headset on Anti, and someone else wears the black one, maybe they... maybe they’ll be able to... reach him?”
Jack nodded. “That could work. Sam says that Anti is ‘deep down’ and they’re having trouble reaching him. Maybe if someone could like... go into his head and pull him closer to the, uh, ‘shallow’ parts, then Sam can burn away the rest of Distorter’s powers.”
“But Distorter will try to interfere,” Schneep said.
“That’s where I come in, right?” Stacy asked. “We know that he’ll be distracted by me being there.”
“We’ll need more than jus’ t’at, I think,” Marvin said slowly. “We’ll need to keep him distracted for a long bit of time t’ere. Someone else will have to be t’ere to help wit’ the distraction.”
Schneep stiffened slightly, then nodded. “I can... I can do that. His tricks and hallucinations do not work on me anymore.”
They don’t?! JJ said, surprised.
“How do you know t’at?” Marvin asked.
“...ah.” Schneep cleared his throat. “Distorter tried to pay me a visit. But nothing happened when he tried to make me see things, and I could see him even when he tried to disappear from my mind. I think... that is also... because of IRIS.”
Jackie burst into laughter.
“What the—Jackie?!” Jack looked at him, shocked.
“Jackie...?” Schneep whispered.
Marvin and JJ just stared, concerned.
“I-i-it’s not funny!” Jackie said, still laughing beside himself. “It’s not funny! But—but it is funny! I’ve been—been—The whole reason I was there was to find a way to block out Distorter’s tricks! I wanted to—I-I wanted to—and they said they could do it! They said they had a prototype, b-but that it had to be in your head, a-and I didn’t want that—But they knew the prototype would work! They knew because they tested it, didn’t they?! I didn’t ask! I-I didn’t ask, and even if I did, they wouldn’t say that they know it works because they fucked with my friend’s head, would they? Would they?!”
“Jackieboy,” Rama said in a soft voice. They put one arm around his shoulder. “Take a moment. It’s not your fault, okay?”
Schneep, looking shaken, nonetheless nodded. “I-I do not think you could’ve done anything even if you knew. Things would just become bad for you, too.”
Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. “I-it’s just—it’s funny, you know? The whole t-time, what I was looking for was—was being used against—” He laughed again.
“It’s not your fault,” Rama said, more firmly. “Say it, Jackie.”
“It’s... it’s not my fault.”
“Good.” They nodded sharply. “Now... do you need a moment?”
“Or... anyt’ing else?” Marvin added. “Not much we can get for you while out in t’is yard, but still.”
“I’m good. I’m good. I promise.” Jackie took a deep breath and sat up straight. “Okay. So... that’s two people doing that. Should... more people come?”
You definitely should, Jackie, JJ said. I’m assuming you know how to operate these devices.
“The MR Headsets. Yeah, I’m familiar. But I’ve never... actually used them. There’s this practice simulation you can do on the computer with a regular VR headset, I-I did that a couple times when I first got these, but... never used the real thing.”
Still, that’s more than any of us have, JJ pointed out. I’ll go, too. If Distorter suddenly stops being distracted, I can protect you. I’m assuming that you won’t be able to do much while using ‘MR’.
“You’re right,” Jackie admitted. “I’ll basically be asleep, I-I’ll need someone to watch me. If something goes wrong, there’s a button you can press to wake me up immediately... theoretically. Again, I’ve never used them.”
“Well, if ev’ryone else is joinin’ in on the plan, I’ll be joinin’, too,” Marvin said. “Least I can do after I missed the action today.”
We offered to let you come, JJ said.
“Yes, but I wanted to... The point is, I can help, even if I’m stuck wit’ t’is.” He patted the arm of the wheelchair.
“I’d rather stay at home and keep the kids safe,” Rama said. “If that’s okay.”
“It is fine, Rama,” Schneep said quietly. “We are happy that the kids are in your good hands.”
“That’s settled, then,” Jackie said. “When’s the next bus? We can’t all fit in the car.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a moment.” Jack raised his hands. “We’re not doing this now, are we?”
“Why not?” Jackie asked.
“Um... because you all look terrible?” Jack pointed out. “You haven’t said what happened at IRIS, but it’s clear that it was... difficult, in some way. Physical, emotional, I don’t know.”
JJ nodded slowly. That’s true. I used all my magic. I’m running on fumes right now. I need a day or two to recover.
“But—but Anti—” Jackie stammered.
“I... hate to say t’is,” Marvin said slowly. “But Anti has lasted t’is long. We know Distorter isn’ going t’kill him. I don’ want to leave him to suffer in his hands, but... but if we’re going t’get him out of t’ere, we need to be in top shape for it.”
Schneep sighed. “It is true. There may be a fight against Distorter, and he is a tough opponent even without his mental powers. He does not feel pain, and so he does not stay down. I think that even if his body breaks, he will keep going, and to fight such a power we need to be fully prepared.”
Jackie glanced around, eyes darting to each of their faces. “O... okay,” he said quietly. “When are we going to try this, then? Tomorrow?”
“How about the day after?” Jack suggested. “To make sure everyone has a full rest. We can go to the hospital as soon as visiting hours start.”
“When’s that?” Jackie asked.
You don’t know? You worked there. JJ raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t remember off the top of my head,” Jackie mumbled.
“They start at nine,” Jack said. “So if that’s okay with everyone?”
Everyone agreed that they could meet at the hospital at nine the day after tomorrow. “How long do you think this will take?” Stacy asked. “What if they kick us out before we can fix things?”
Surely it won’t take the whole four hours for visitors, JJ said.
“Our real time limit is how long we can keep Distorter distracted,” Schneep pointed out. “He will eventually turn his attention back to Anti.”
Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. “I-I can reach Anti quickly. I’m sure I can.”
“Alright.” Rama nodded. “I suppose... we all go home now, then. And keep in contact. JJ, do you want to drive your car back? I can take the bus.”
JJ nodded. I have enough energy to drive. Thank you for driving all the way out of the city and back. He turned to Marvin. I’m guessing you want a ride?
Marvin laughed. “O’course I do! Volt, what abou’ you? Need a lift somewhere?”
Schneep hesitated. “Drop me off at the park where you picked me up. If you could. Please.”
I can do that, JJ agreed. Jack? Stacy? Jackie?
“I can just walk back,” Stacy said.
“And I’m fine with the bus, too,” Jack said.
Jackie paused, unsure. “Um... Volt isn’t staying in his flat, so... I can’t hitch a ride with him. I guess—”
“Actually, um, Jackieboy, I want to talk to you about something,” Rama said. “We can... talk on the bus. If you want.”
“Oh, um... y-yeah.” Jackie tried to hide the way his stomach dropped. When your spouse says they want to talk about something in that tone... “Yeah, I can... take the same bus as you.”
Jack looked between the two of them. “Well, I need a different bus, so you two will be on your own,” he said.
“How do you know what bus we’ll be taking?” Jackie muttered.
“I’ve gotten familiar enough with the system. But there’s only one stop nearby, so want to walk with me there?”
Jackie glanced at Rama. They nodded, and so he nodded too.
“We will keep in contact,” Schneep said. “Jackie, you still have your cell phone, yes?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I don’t... know if I’ll get your messages...”
In response, JJ took out his phone and typed something out. Jackie’s phone soon vibrated, and he took it out of his pocket to see JJ’s message on the screen, a simple Test written in the text.
Jackie laughed nervously. “I guess it will, then.”
“We’ll see you later, t’en, Jackie,” Marvin said. “Or you can stop by whenever you want, if you want to stop by beforehand. Or call, o’course. Call when you want. If you want. I-it’s good to see you again, it’ll be grand to see you some more.” JJ nodded along, agreeing with Marvin’s rambling.
“See you,” Jackie said. “All of you.”
And with that, the group parted ways.
———————
The bus was empty except for Jackie and Rama. And the bus driver, of course, but the two of them sat in the back so the driver didn’t really count. Jack had waved them off at the stop and kept waiting for his bus to come. The two of them climbed on, with Rama paying the fare for both of them, and took their seats.
Jackie stared out the window. Why did the city feel so strange? This was the place he’d lived all his life. Nothing much had changed in the time he’d been gone. And yet, it was like he hadn’t seen these buildings for a long, long, time. Maybe he’d never seen them at all.
“Jackie.”
He flinched a bit, then looked back at Rama. “Yeah?”
“Where...” Rama paused, taking a breath. “Where are you going to stay? Are you going back to Henrik’s apartment?”
“I... yeah, I th-thought I would...” Jackie trailed off. “You... don’t want me to?”
“I... don’t want you to... do anything that would hurt you,” Rama said carefully. “But... but I’ve been so worried about you. It feels like I haven’t stopped being worried about you ever since that first time you disappeared. If you go back to that apartment, you’ll be alone. Schneep isn’t staying there right now. He’s too worried about IRIS. If something happens, I... I don’t know. And also, I... I’ve really missed you, Jackie. Michelle has missed you, too.”
“I missed you too,” Jackie whispered. “Both of you. But...”
Rama waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. The bus jolted along down the city streets. They sighed. “I know that it’s not your fault, this way you feel,” they said. “I know that it’s just... how you’re reacting to everything that Distorter creature put you through. But... sometimes... I feel like you’re avoiding me. Or Michelle. Like you don’t want to live with us anymore. Like I’ve done something wrong as your partner.”
Jackie let out a quiet whimper. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I-I never wanted—never intended—It’s not you. I-it’s not Michelle, either. I-I know she’s probably really confused, wondering why she hasn’t seen her dad in the house. I’ve tried to make it clear that it’s not her fault. I don’t... want to avoid you. I still love you, and I still want to live with you, but... god. Fucking damn it.”
“God fucking damn it?” Rama repeated, laughing a little.
“Don’t.”
They immediately stopped laughing. “Sorry.”
Jackie stared straight ahead, not looking towards them, not looking away from them. “I... I hate that I feel this way. It’s my house. I-I should feel safe there, but I just don’t. Everything about it reminds me of—of that place. It’s—it fucking sucks. Sometimes I wonder if Distorter planned that, if he knew that—that by using common things in houses to—to—I-if he knew that I would start seeing regular household items as a threat, and if he knew that would affect how I felt in regular houses. Schneep’s flat was good because it was open plan, the setup was so different that I knew I wasn’t there whenever I looked around. Even staying with IRIS was good, the quarters they gave me were also open like that. But... a house would just be...” He shook his head. “I hate it. I hate it so much that I’m like this now.”
“I’m... sorry,” Rama said quietly. They also looked straight ahead. “I didn’t want to pressure you.”
Jackie took a deep breath. “No, I know. I-I like that you’ve said this. It’s better to know how you’re feeling. Maybe... maybe it’s more of a mental block. Maybe... if I could try... j-just for a night, maybe.”
“You... want to come home?” Rama tried to sound neutral, but they couldn’t disguise the hope in their voice.
“Just for a night,” Jackie repeated. “To test it out. I-I might not—you have to know I might not—”
“No, no, I know.” Rama leaned closer to him, then put an arm around his shoulder when he didn’t push them away. “We’ll see how you react. If I remember, you were... you were working on that in therapy. Maybe you’ve made progress.”
Jackie laughed. “I-I think the progress I made got reversed when I panicked and skipped town.”
Rama paused. “What... exactly happened, then?”
Jackie was quiet for a moment. He wondered if he should tell them. But, well, if he couldn’t tell Rama, who could he tell? “I was looking for some way to protect against Distorter,” he started. “Looking for a while. Everything he was doing was just... really getting to me. So I started looking, and that’s when I heard of IRIS. After doing some research, I realized they had a branch just out of town. I-I wasn’t planning on going there, though. I was just keeping them as an option. Then... Marvin disappeared. Distorter got to him, even though he shouldn’t have been able to, even though JJ warded their house. That became the incident where he broke his leg that Schneep and JJ talked about in the car.”
Rama nodded, following along but not saying anything.
“Something about that just... just got to me. I-it was like all our work came crashing down, like it all seemed useless. A-and they were talking about going into that place like it was so easy, wh-when they didn’t know what it was like—They know now, but... Everything just... snapped in that moment. It was so much. I took our car—S-sorry about that, by the way—”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. This isn’t the time.”
Jackie nodded. “I drove out of town for a while. I didn’t really know where I was going, just that I was going far from Distorter and that place. And then I regained some of my senses—not all of them, but enough to realize where I was. That I was close to this IRIS place I’d made note of earlier. I-I looked up the directions again and drove that way. They weren’t... happy to see me at first. Some guy drives straight up to their secure facility screaming about how they need to help him... I didn’t exactly make a good first impression. B-but I wouldn’t leave. I just kinda kept shouting, a-and crying, I was crying by that point, until they eventually let me in and took me to this room where they... tried to talk to me. I-I didn’t really respond, I just... I just kept begging for them to help.”
Rama inhaled sharply. “Jackie...”
“It... didn’t change... I mean, I didn’t do much else for a while,” Jackie said slowly. “Looking back on it, knowing now what they did to Anti and Schneep, I’m surprised they were so... nice? Or maybe that’s just what I’m telling myself. I-I guess I was in that room for a while. But I wasn’t really thinking about that. The whole time, I was just... thinking about Distorter. Anytime anyone showed up I just screamed for them to help me, to help my friends, to do something about this thing haunting us. Even after I lost my voice I tried to keep talking. I-I got really dehydrated. They were giving me food and water but I was crying so much that it wasn’t enough.”
“Jackie.” Rama pulled him closer to themself. He let them do it. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Jackie took a deep breath. “Eventually I calmed down. Someone showed up, this guy, and he was... really nice. He explained everything about IRIS—well, not everything, b-but he said they could help. And that I was probably really smart and knew a lot about this house they were investigating. And then he said that if I could help them with some stuff, they would help me with Distorter. And I said I would. And then things... just sort of... I just got used to it all.”
“That... Jackie, I don’t know for sure how it was, but... that sounds manipulative as all hell,” Rama said. “You were in a terrible spot, and they took advantage of that.”
“Maybe,” Jackie said quietly.
“Maybe?!” Rama repeated indignantly.
Jackie laughed a bit. “Th-thanks for feeling all defensive about it. I... I appreciate that.”
“This is something to get defensive over,” Rama muttered darkly. “You’re my husband. I’m going to be defensive when a shady company takes advantage of your terrible mental state to—to make you work for them? Am I understanding that correctly?”
“Yeah. I didn’t mind, though. It was kind of cool sometimes.” Jackie paused. “I don’t want to talk about IRIS for now, though. Um... how’s Michelle been?”
“She’s good. Grades are slipping a bit, but that’s understandable, given everything that’s happened in the past year. I’m just glad that the grades are the only thing affected. She hasn’t had any friend troubles or anything, and she’s still very active. She wanted to sign up for the football team but unfortunately by the time she got that idea tryouts had passed.”
Jackie smiled slightly. “She’d be great at football.” The smile faded. “Do you... think she’ll be happy to see me?”
“Of course she will, Jackieboy,” Rama said. “Of course she will.”
———————
“Dad?! Dad! DAD! YOU’RE BACK!”
Michelle was indeed happy to see Jackie. The moment he appeared in the front doorway, she ran up and tackled him in a big hug. “Whoa!” Jackie stumbled backwards a bit, barely managing to keep his balance. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, Mich. You’re so big now, how did that happen so fast?”
“You’re back!” Michelle just said again, her face buried in his shirt as she squeezed him tight. “You’re back you’re back you’re back!”
“I’m back,” Jackie said, hugging her in turn. “I’m sorry I was away for so long. And that I didn’t say anything about it.”
Michelle pulled her face away. “Where did you go? Was it important?”
“Um...” How the fuck was he supposed to tell his seven-year-old that he had a mental breakdown? “It’s... hard to explain.”
“Will says there’s a bad man trying to get to you and everyone,” Michelle whispered, like she was sharing a secret. “Is that what happened?”
Jackie tried not to shiver. Even her childish way of talking about Distorter made him nervous. “No, that’s... not what happened. I’m okay. A-and you’re okay. You’re going to be okay. It’s... it’s complicated. I don’t know how to tell you about it right now, so can we talk about it later?”
Michelle stared up at him for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. D’you wanna watch Supergirl?”
Jackie laughed. “Sure. We can watch Supergirl.”
Will had been staying with Rama too, but he was mostly quiet while Michelle was eager to spend time with her dad again. The two of them spent a while watching this Supergirl cartoon she’d found and gotten really into, and then it was time for dinner and for the kids to do homework. Michelle convinced Will to watch more of the show with her while Jackie... got used to being back here. He still had clothes in the house, but all his toiletries—toothbrush and deodorant and such—were back in Schneep’s apartment, so Rama went out to buy him some more.
Everything felt... strange. Unfamiliar, and yet nostalgic at the same time. He didn’t like that he felt that way. He wanted this to feel like home, but it wasn’t. Had it felt like home at all? Or had he felt out of place ever since he escaped the house on Aspen Street?
Night eventually fell, and it was time to go to sleep.
———————
He woke in the middle of the night and found himself in a dark room. Why did he wake up? Did he hear something? Was something coming? Was someone coming? His eyes darted around, landing on the shadows in the corners.
What was this room? This was a bedroom. Which bedroom was it? Which version of the bedrooms was it? He didn’t remember. He didn’t remember. He didn’t remember.
His chest felt too tight for his heart. It was pounding against his ribs, trying to escape, making its way into his throat but that was tight too—Where was he? Was he back there? Which bedroom was this? Which version was it? Did he move him while he was asleep? When would he show up again? He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe, is that him, did he do something to his breathing?!
He reached for his throat, gasping, feeling nothing. Nothing but the collar of a hoodie. Hoodie? That’s right, he’s still wearing his hoodie. And that—that’s important because—because he didn’t have that in the house. This wasn’t the house. Unless Distorter was tricking him into thinking he’s wearing his hoodie—no! No no, this felt too real. It’s real. He wrapped his arms around himself, pulling his legs up, too. Feel how real it is. This wasn’t an illusion. This couldn’t be. The blurring of the world wasn’t in his head, it was in his eyes, his eyes that were filling with tears. This was real.
Movement. Movement behind him. His breath hitched. Why—who was—The sheets and blankets rustled, so someone was in the bed with him. Who—Was it him? No, he wouldn’t do that. He’d never done that before. For as much as he liked grabbing onto him—especially yanking on his hair—he’d never done something like that.
“Jackie?”
Jackie didn’t say anything. He didn’t know if he could, his breath was passing rapidly in and out of his mouth, not giving him room to speak. He squeezed his eyes shut. Hot tears slipped out and trailed down his face onto the pillow.
“Jackie, is everything okay?” Rama asked quietly.
That was them. That was really them, it had to be, this was real, his memories were too elaborate to be fake. But he still couldn’t answer them. He tried to calm his breathing down, tried to remember how to—how to hold it in for—how long was he supposed to hold it in?
A hand touched his shoulder. He instinctively tensed, and it quickly withdrew. “Jackieboy...” Rama said, sounding a bit unsure. “You’re... you’re safe. I promise. Nothing’s going to get to you. You’re not in that house anymore. You’re in our home.”
Right. Right. This was their home. This was supposed to be his home. Why did it feel so strange?
“Do you want me to turn on the light?”
He managed to nod his head.
More rustling, and the yellow light of their bedside lamp lit up the room. It was their room. It was his room. He was facing the windows, and there were no boards on them. The walls were a warm orange color, not the lifeless, colorless shade of all the walls in that place. The blanket and sheets were not the old, thin ones found in that place, it was the heavy comforter they brought out for the colder months. This was his room. He hadn’t realized that at first. It had been so long since he’d seen it. And wasn’t that his own fault, when he thought about it?
“Do you... do you need anything?” Rama asked. “A glass of water? Or... or I can turn on some noise, of some kind. I-I have audiobooks on my phone.”
“N-no,” he gasped out between breaths.
“Oh... Okay. Okay.”
The silence stretched for what felt like forever, but was actually only a few seconds. Jackie closed his eyes again and concentrated on breathing. Then he reached a hand back over his shoulder. It was an awkward position, but he wasn’t sure he could talk to ask what he wanted.
Luckily, Rama understood. They reached out again and put their hand on top of his shoulder. He pulled their arm over him. Rama inched closer until they were pressed up next to each other. Jackie continued to try and breathe slowly. He opened his eyes again and stared at the curtains covering their bedroom window. He’d never really liked the patterns on them, but now his eyes followed those patterns in detail. Rama was breathing slowly next to him. He tried to match his breath to theirs.
“It’s going to be okay, mi corazon,” Rama whispered.
Tears filled his eyes again. He rolled over and buried his face in their shirt. His head fit perfectly into the spot where their neck met their shoulder. They were warm. Steady. Solid. Definitely really there. He clung to them tightly, and they wrapped their arms around him in turn. “...‘m sorry...” he mumbled.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Rama said.
“W-woke you up...”
“That’s not really a big issue in the scheme of it,” Rama said lightheartedly. “It’s okay.”
“...l-left you. For... so long. Michelle... a-an’ everyone...”
“Nobody blames you for that,” they whispered. “And I can promise that nobody was mad when you disappeared. Or even when we found out about IRIS. We were just worried.”
“Shouldn’... make... make you worry...” The words got caught in his throat.
“Jackieboy, I just said nobody blames you. So you shouldn’t blame yourself. You don’t deserve it.” Their voice was as steady as the rest of them.
He didn’t say anything for a while. He just kept trying to breathe. “S-sorry...”
“Shhh. Don’t. You have nothing to say sorry for.”
“I-I think... think I do...”
“...it’s okay, Jackie. It’s all okay.”
He held them tighter. And he didn’t say anything. They didn’t either. They kept holding him back, one hand rubbing circles on his back.
His heart stopped trying to escape his chest. The tight feeling faded. He closed his eyes again. He counted his breaths for a while until he was sure that they were slow enough, and then shifted from controlling his breathing to just observing it. Rama was still there. They hadn’t gone away.
Maybe it had been a bad idea to leave... No. No, he was sure that it was a good idea at first. But he shouldn’t have stayed away so long. He’d been so scared of it that he forgot what he was leaving behind. It wasn’t just the house. It was his family, too. He missed them. He shouldn’t have let fear keep him from his home.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 11 days
Text
Caverns & Creatures - Part One
Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Twenty-Two
A JSE Fanfic
Before things start getting serious in this AU, let's have a fun adventure! One where I get to be a real nerd XD Much like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, this adventure got longer than expected, so I had to split it in two. Jackie decides to teach the five younger kids how to play the tabletop game Caverns and Creatures. But Anti is upset that he got left out, and things go crazy from there. Hope I made this fun for people who don't know anything about DnD XD Enjoy! :D
More of this AU | From the Start | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix
++++++++++++++++++++
“What do you mean it showed up again?!” Chase shouted.
“Shhh!” Marvin hushed him, then glanced around nervously. The cafeteria was always loud and crowded, but there was always a chance that some of the teachers might overhear—especially those who were part of the Circle, and who might be listening in intentionally. “Not so loud.”
“Sorry,” Chase said. “But it’s—it’s just freaky, right?”
“Is that doll with you right now?”
JJ nodded slowly. He opened up his bag, and slowly took out that same plush doll, now wearing a miniature version of their school uniform.
“It changed clothes again,” Marvin muttered, shuddering. “It really is mimicking you.”
JJ hurriedly put it back in his bag. I didn’t put it in my bookbag, but when I checked on it before coming to the cafeteria, it was there, he said.
“Omg,” Stacy gasped. “You’re right, Chase, that is really freaky.”
Chase nodded. “But, uh... what do we do?”
“I don’t know, that’s why we’re asking you!” Marvin insisted. “When it showed up in our room again, we were completely lost.”
“You threw it out the window, yes?” Schneep said. “Did that... do anything? To the doll, or to Jameson?”
The doll is fine, JJ said. As for me... I don’t know. I seem fine. But I don’t think a fall from our window would really hurt, you know? So it’s hard to tell.
“Hmm.” Schneep frowned. “I still do not think we can do much... if we cannot tell that JJ will be safe, it is not worth the risk.”
“Maybe Marvin can pull the greenlight out of the doll?” Chase suggested. “Like he could with the paperpillar?”
Marvin paused. Then he turned to JJ. “Hand it to me.” JJ nodded and took the doll out again, handing it over to him. Marvin screwed his eyes shut, concentrating. Then he shook his head. “I don’t... I don’t know. It’s hard for me to, uh... grab it? It’s like... slippery. If that makes sense.” He handed it back to JJ.
“We can ask Jackie about it,” Stacy said. “Are we, uh, still gonna do that thing on Saturday?”
“Yeah... the thing.” Chase nodded. “We’re gonna do that.”
“You can just say we’re playing Cavern and Creatures, y’know,” Marvin said. “There’s no reason to be scared of it.”
“Well I mean... y’know, I...” Chase stammered. “I have a... Um, that’s like... M-maybe some other time. I mean, I don’t even know if I’ll like the game.”
The group had agreed to meet at Jackie’s house on Saturday around two to try out a game of Caverns and Creatures. This would give Jackie enough time to borrow stuff for the game from his friend Ram, give the others time to think about what sort of characters they wanted to make, and also, conveniently, Stacy’s parents were attending a piano recital for her sister Roxy, and with enough pleading she’d managed to convince them to let Jackie “babysit” her instead of dragging her to the recital as well.
“I’m sure it will be fun, Chase,” Schneep said. “After all, we are doing it together. If you are not enjoying the game, at least you will enjoy us, right?”
Chase laughed. “Yeah. That sounds so cheesy but yeah.”
JJ smiled nervously. I’m excited too. I just... hope nothing happens before then.
Chase hesitated. “I-it’ll be fine, JJ,” he said. “Cheer up.”
JJ’s expression brightened. Alright, I’ll look forward to it.
“I’m sure nothing will happen,” Marvin said, hiding his uncertainty. “We’ll just keep a close eye on the doll in the meantime.”
It will be fine, JJ agreed. It will be fine.
++++++++++++++++++++
“That doesn’t sound fine,” Jackie said.
The next couple days had passed without incident, and now the group was gathered in the living room of Jackie’s house. The doll had once again followed JJ, tagging along in his bag even when he left it home. And it was once again wearing a miniature version of his clothes: today, a button-up yellow shirt and brown pants.
“Well, no, but at least nothing bad’s gone on!” Marvin said.
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s fine,” Jackie insisted. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You have my phone number.”
JJ shrugged and didn’t answer, putting the doll back in his bag.
“D’you have any ideas, Jackie?” Chase asked, looking up to him.
Jackie sighed. “I dunno, little man. If Marvin can’t pull the greenlight out of it, I just don’t know. I don’t want to risk hurting JJ by destroying it. I mean... it might not work that way, but if it does... I-I guess we just wait and see? If it turns out that it’s hurting JJ more by keeping it around, we’ll try ways to get rid of it.” He paused. “Maybe we could try getting it far away and that teleporting things will stop? But how far away?”
Schneep sighed. “This is a problem.”
“What’s a problem?” Mr. Mann walked into the living room, overhearing Schneep’s last statement.
“Just some school stuff, Dad,” Jackie lied. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it all sorted out.”
“Helping them with their homework?” Mr. Mann chuckled. “I thought you all were going to play a game.”
“We are! This was just, uh, small talk and stuff.”
“Alright, alright. Head on down to the basement whenever you want. If you guys need anything, just shout. And uh, try not to touch my camping supplies, okay?”
“We won’t, Mr. Mann,” Stacy promised.
“We’re going to the basement?” Marvin asked.
“Yep.” Jackie nodded. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”
Jackie led the way. There was a plain wooden door in the middle of the hallway, completely undecorated. He opened it up—giving it a good tug, seemed like it got a bit stuck in the frame—and flicked on a light switch, showing a set of stairs leading downwards, covered in shaggy brown carpet. The group headed down into a hallway, the walls painted a pale yellow. There was a door to the left, ajar, showing a laundry room of some kind. There was also a door to the right. Jackie opened that one up, turning on the light in there as well, and everyone piled in.
Right by the doorway was a bookshelf full of stuff: old board games and boxes for puzzles. Up against the opposite wall, underneath a high-up window, were a series of stacked plastic boxes full of what looked like old clothes. Outdoorsy equipment was stacked in the corners of the room. There’s a desk up against a spot by the wall, with two clunky computers on it. “I set things up already,” Jackie said, indicating the center of the room, where two folding card tables were pressed against each other, forming an island of sorts with some folding chairs around it.
The kids immediately crowded around. A lot of paper covered the surface of the tables. Most of it was a big folding map, sort of like a board for a board game, with a grid pattern overlaid on top of the drawings. At one end of the table was a folding screen of some kind, blocking off a section of the table from view. And in the middle of the island was a shoebox full of dice.
“Whooooa, wait, what?” Marvin reached into a box and picked up a handful of dice. “These are so pretty!”
Jackie laughed. “They better be—I spent a lot on them. But some of them are Ram’s, so try not to lose any. I-I wanted you all to have your own set.”
“Weird shapes,” Chase muttered, picking up one that looked like a pyramid.
“Yep. You’ll mostly be using this one, though.” Jackie grabbed one, holding it in two fingers. “The d20, as it’s called. Here, everyone sit down, I put a character sheet at each place.”
Everyone took their places. Jackie sat at the head of the table, behind the screen. Chase took the seat to his right, and Schneep sat on Chase’s other side. Stacy sat across from Chase, and JJ next to her, leaving Marvin at the other end of the table, bouncing in the chair excitedly.
“Okay, I texted you all a list of possible stuff your character can be, but it might not have been that clear,” Jackie said. “So, um... any questions?”
Stacy raised her hand—like she was in class. “Can I be a vampire?”
Jackie blinked. “Um—”
Chase burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?!” Stacy said defensively.
“I just—wasn’t expecting that from you!” Chase said, smiling. “It’s kinda fun.”
“Vampires are cool. Are there vampires in Caverns and Creatures?”
“Yeah, there are, but uh... I don’t know if you can play as them.” Jackie picked up a book—looking like a thin textbook—and started flipping through it. “But, uh, if you really want, I can try to... adjust the monster stat block for you? You know you’ll have to be careful of sunlight, right?”
“I can have an umbrella or something,” Stacy said.
What’s the difference between a warrior and a knight? JJ asked.
“Well, a knight is more built around armor and defense, and a warrior is varied,” Jackie said. “And then there’s the martial artist if you want to be fast, the berserker if you want to be strong, and the rogue if you want to be sneaky.”
“That one!” Stacy raised her hand again. “I want to be sneaky. If I stay in the shadows, I can be a vampire.”
Jackie laughed. “That does make sense. Okay, give me a minute, Stacy, I’m gonna have to mess with some stuff for you.” He picked up a pencil and piece of paper and started to write. “Are the rest of you guys sorted?”
“I bet Marvin’s gonna be a witch,” Chase laughed.
“There’s no witch, actually,” Marvin said. “But there are lots of magic ones! Sorcerers, enchanters, wizards, pact-sworns... I like sorcerers best, I think, cause it’s like... the magic is part of you, you know? But wizards do have more spell options, hmm...”
“Can I be one of the bird people?” Schneep asked tentatively. “With the wings? Or will that make things too hard, Jackie?”
“Why would it make things hard?” Jackie asked.
“Well... flying could mean I could fly over things.”
“You do what’s fun to you,” Jackie said, looking up at him and smiling over the screen. “I can work with whatever.”
Schneep nodded slowly. “I, uh... I want to do that. And I want to be a potion master, too.”
“Nice! Underrated class, if you ask me. Your potions work the same as spell slots, you’ll have a limited number of them and during a long rest we can assume you spend some time replacing them.”
Chase shook his head. “The spell slots thing confuses me.”
“Then don’t pick a class that uses them,” Jackie said.
“I’m not gonna. I want to be a hunter. With the bow and stuff.” Chase pantomimed drawing back a bow and arrow. “It’s kinda like my Nerf gun.”
“Alright.” Jackie nodded. “You did seem interested in that when I texted you. JJ? Got an idea for what you want?”
JJ blinked. He looked a bit embarrassed. Don’t laugh.
“None of us are gonna laugh, JJ,” Chase said.
I... want to be a berserker, JJ said, signs small.
“Huh?” Stacy looked surprised. “That doesn’t really seem like you.”
Exactly. I think it’ll be fun to play someone different than me. And I want to hit things.
Jackie grinned. “That’s totally great, Jays. Hitting things is pretty fun in C&C. And Marvin? You decided?”
Marvin had been looking over a handout from Jackie this whole time, listing out the basic differences between the different magic classes. “Uhhh... yeah, I’ll be a sorcerer. A fiend sorcerer.”
Oh! And I’ll be an elf, I forgot to mention that, JJ added.
“Awesome. We don’t get a lot of elf berserkers, that’s not a usual combination.”
Chase frowned. “I just want to be human. Is that boring?”
“Nothing’s boring if it’s fun for you guys,” Jackie assured him. “Really. I usually play a human warrior, that’s about as basic as it gets.” He chuckled. “Okay. Stacy, I think I got some stuff sorted out. With that, I’ll help you guys fill out the sheets. Take these dice, we’re going to roll for your stats. JJ, you’ll want your highest one to be strength, Stacy and Chase, yours should be agility, Marvin, focus on charm, and Schneep, focus on intelligence.”
Some time passed as Jackie helped the kids figure out all their stats and abilities. Marvin and Schneep took the longest, as he had to guide them through what possible spells and potions they wanted to use. Soon, though, they each had the whole sheet filled out.
“That took a while,” Chase said, looking at a clock on the wall. “Like... an hour. And that’s just getting ready?”
“This isn’t normally how it works out,” Jackie said. “But you guys are new. Once you learn more this becomes easier. And there’s also five of you at once.”
“Okay, so what are we playing, then?” Marvin asked excitedly. “What’s our quest?”
“I’m using a one-shot campaign from a kit,” Jackie said, picking up a booklet and showing the others. “Secrets of Suilara. It shouldn’t take too long... but if it does, we can come back to it some other day easily enough.”
Schneep reached into his backpack and pulls out a small notebook and pencil, writing something down. “How do you spell that? Sool...arr...uh?”
“Here, the lid of the box has the name.” Jackie handed it over to him.
“What’re you doing?” Chase asked.
“Taking notes. If we might come back to this later, we need to be sure we don’t forget.”
“Oh that’s a great idea!” Stacy gasped. “I should’ve brought my notebook.”
Jackie laughed. “Alright, everyone put your pieces on the board.” He’d mentioned that they didn’t have miniatures earlier, so everyone had grabbed parts from the board games on the shelves. “Before we get started, we should get snacks. C&C takes a surprising amount of energy.” He stood up. “I’ll go get some. Any requests?”
“D’you have Lassie Trail Mix?” Stacy asked. “My family is very specific about the sort of stuff we can eat and that’s my favorite.”
“I’ll go look,” Jackie promised. “Anything else for anyone?”
“Crisps?” Chase said.
“D’you have pretzels?” Marvin asked.
“Definitely crisps, not sure about pretzels,” Jackie said. “My dad’s probably gonna suggest fruit or something, too.” He stood up. “I’ll be right back. You guys talk about your characters and stuff in the meantime. How they know each other, if they know each other, stuff like that.” He waved at the others and headed out of the room. They could hear him head up the stairs.
“Well... this is going to be fun!” Schneep said cheerfully.
“You guys think so?” Chase asked.
JJ nodded. I’m sure it will be.
The lights overhead flickered. “You guys are having fun without me?”
All at once, the kids turned to look at the corner of the room... the corner where Anti was now standing, shadowy as ever.
“What the fuck?!” Marvin gasped. He whirled towards the doorway. “Jackie!”
“No no no no.” Anti disappeared and reappeared in front of the door, which slammed shut on its own behind him. “Don’t be like that! I can’t believe you all are playing a game without me!”
“Why wouldn’t we be playing a game without you?” Chase demanded. “We don’t really know you!”
Anti blinked. “But—but—you can’t do that without me!”
“Oh fuck off!” Marvin snapped.
“You eff off!” Anti shouted back. He suddenly appeared next to the table, right between Marvin and Schneep. “I heard alllll your explanations. I can play! In fact, I can make it even better.”
Stacy stared at him. “...what do you mean?” She asked, trepidation in her voice.
Anti reached out to the side, and something appeared in his hand. He threw it out onto the table. Seven crystals, irregularly shaped—not like the dice, but clearly meant to serve the same purpose. They landed around the edges of the board and immediately started glowing green.
JJ got to his feet. Marvin shouted “What the fuck?!” Stacy turned towards the doorway.
But before any of them could do anything more than that, the green glow flared, filling the room and blinding them all. When it faded, all of them were gone. And the board was glowing green. Anti leaned over it. The whole thing had become a window, looking down at a forest floor. Anti grinned.
The door to the room opened again, and Jackie poked his head in. “Hey guys, do you want potato or corn cr—” He stopped, eyes going wide. “Wh-what?”
“Hi!” Anti smiled at him, waving.
“What’s going on?! Wh-what did you do to the others?!” Jackie demanded, feeling frozen in place.
“They’re in here!” Anti pointed at the window-like board.
Jackie rushed over, peering down into the window...
++++++++++++++++++++
Chase opened his eyes, and found himself no longer in Jackie’s basement room, but now in a forest. Gentle dappled sunlight coated the forest floor, and bright green moss covered the trunks of the trees. He looked around, confused. Then he looked down at himself, even more confused. His clothes were different. He still had the cap he was wearing, but everything else was different. What sort of costume was this? Dark browns and greens, thick leather armor, and... was that a real knife on his belt? And a real quiver full of arrows?
“What the fuck?”
Chase turned towards the voice and yelped. “Marvin, is that you?!”
“Huh? Yeah.” Marvin blinked at him. His head dipped a little, weighted down by the heavy horns that were now growing out of his head. “Whoa.” He reached up, feeling them. His eyes went wide. “Wait a—wait a minute!” His outfit had changed as well. His cape was still in place, but now he was wearing a pale purple tunic lined with gold. “Do I have—why do I have fucking horns?!”
“Help!” Schneep was lying on his back nearby, trying to get up. He was also wearing a tunic, though his was white and blue, and he had leather armor like Chase’s on over it.
“Oh, yeah, o-of course.” Chase hurried over and helped him up. It was more difficult than expected... because Schneep was not, as Chase first thought, lying on a pile of feathers. He instead had a pair of wings sprouting from his back, in shades of brown and creamy white. “...Schneep?! Are you an angel?!”
“Ah... thank you, Chase?” Schneep said, confused.
“You have fucking wings!” Marvin pointed and shouted.
“What?!”
“Uh... guys?” The voice came from above them that time. They all looked up into the trees, and saw Stacy there, looking white as a sheet—and not from shock. Her glasses were still in place, but her outfit had been replaced by another medieval-style outfit. This one was pink with black frills, and black leather armor. A belt around her chest had three sheathed knives. “H-how do I get down?”
“...climb down?” Chase suggested.
“Thanks, that’s very helpful.”
“Where’s JJ?” Marvin looked around. “Where is he?!”
A whistle came from behind a tree trunk. JJ peered around it, then came out and walked over. He was wearing some sort of loose short-sleeved red shirt with a cape made of some sort of fur pelt. His ears had become pointed at the top. And there was a giant freaking weapon strapped to his back. Is that... a flail? JJ had chosen that as his weapon for his character in Caverns and Creatures—oh.
“Are we in the game?!” Chase gasped.
Part of the sky above them seemed to open up, a green glowing circle forming. In the middle of it: Jackie’s worried face. “Guys?! Are you okay?!”
“We’re fine, Jackie!” Schneep shouted, looking up at it. “Are you okay?!”
Jackie laughed. “I-I’m fine! But Anti—”
Anti’s face suddenly appeared, shoving Jackie’s to the side. “C’mon c’mon! Go go go! Where are all the monsters? There’s supposed to be monsters!”
“You put us in the fucking game?!” Marvin shouted. “What is this?! I-is this some sort of weird pocket dimension?!”
“I dunno. I just made it happen.”
How do we get out of here?! JJ asked.
“Yeah, how do we get out of here?!”
“I-I don’t know!” Jackie shouted. “Um—Anti, how do they get out?!” he asked, desperately looking over at him.
“They finish the game, duh.”
“Do you even know how the game ends?!” Jackie asked.
Anti stared at him, blinking.
Jackie sighed, frustrated. “Okay. Looks like I’ll have to CM you guys out of there, then.” He briefly disappeared from sight. The others could hear the sound of him flipping through the book.
“Seriously, how do I get out of this tree?” Stacy asked.
“Just... try climbing down? I-I don’t know how to explain it,” Chase said.
“Okay, okay. Fine.” Stacy stared down at the ground, thinking. Then she pushed herself off the branch—
A series of numbers appeared next to her, pink and mist-like, flipping like they were on a rolling counter. It landed on 02, and then a +5 appeared next to it, bumping the number up to 07. Stacy immediately fell on her face. “Oof!”
“Holy shit!” Marvin gasped. JJ winced.
The guys immediately rushed over to her.
“A-are you okay?!” Chase asked.
“Owww.” Stacy got to her feet. Another number appeared above her head. 10... which then rolled down to a 09.
“Uh... I think you just failed your agility saving throw,” Jackie said. “And you lost a health point because of that.”
Is that just going to happen whenever we try to do anything? JJ said, eyes wide.
“Probably,” Jackie said. “Okay, uh... we’re playing Secrets of Suilara. There’s this opening paragraph of exposition, I-I think you guys need to hear this so you can understand what the hell is going on right now. So, you guys were hired by Dalrun the dwarf to carry a satchel of precious gems to the city of Suilara, through the Kanrrol Forest. One of you should have that.”
“I think I do?” Marvin said, pushing back his cape. He did indeed have a leather satchel on his back.
“Okay, good. I don’t remember, who has the highest navigation skill? Probably Chase, right?”
“I think mine was really high, yeah.” Chase nodded. “I, uh... filled in the little dot next to it. That means I’m really good at it. So... I’ll lead the way, then?”
“Exactly,” Jackie said.
“Alright, uh...” Chase looked around. A set of yellow misty numbers appeared next to his head, rolling, and landing on a 15, and then a +3 made it into an 18. Suddenly, Chase saw it. The way the grass and undergrowth was trampled down, creating a winding trail through the forest. “This way. Let’s go.”
They walked for a while. Stacy found out that the staff strapped to her back was actually an umbrella, which turned out to be needed as the bits of sunlight coming through the trees burned her as she passed by. “I didn’t think I’d actually be a vampire,” she muttered. “Or I would’ve chosen something else.”
Meanwhile, Marvin started immediately trying out magic. He was able to conjure up sparkles, make the smell of freshly-cut grass, and cause a rock he picked up to start glowing. He seemed absolutely delighted by all this, grinning the whole way. Schneep was similarly delighted by all his potions, small glass bottles in various shapes, filled with brightly-colored liquids, all strapped to the belts he had around his waist and chest.
“This is boooring!” Anti suddenly said, chiming in through the window of the sky.
“Well this is how the game goes,” Jackie said, glaring at him.
“No, it’s not! It’s supposed to be more exciting!” Anti leaned forward. “Suddenly—monsters! They appear from the shadows and attack!”
Chase looked up at the window in the sky. “You can’t just make stuff happen by yelling—”
But then growls come from the trees around them.
The group stopped walking all at once. Yellow eyes glowed in the shadows, and five creatures slowly stepped forward. Blue lizard-like creatures, as big as wolves, with clear insectile wings sprouting from their backs. “Are these dragons?!” Stacy said, her voice squeaking.
“Oh shit!” Jackie gasped. “Th-those are fly-dragons! You’re supposed to find them later in the game, if you come back into the forest to find the—okay, um—h-hang on, let me find their stats—”
Numbers appeared over each of the fly-dragons’ heads, rolling through until they landed on different amounts. 09, 04, 13, 15, 18. Then the same thing happened with the kids—Chase: 12, Schneep: 07, Marvin: 17, JJ: 16, and Stacy: 10. “What’s that?” Marvin asked. “Oh! Wait, that’s the turn order, righ—”
One of the fly-dragons lunged forward, teeth snapping. More numbers rolled by its head, landing on a 09 that was deflected as a 17 appeared in front of JJ. The fly-dragon bit onto JJ’s arm but JJ managed to pull it out, and looked down at his unharmed skin in surprise.
“What’s the turn order, again?” Chase asked.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Jackie explained. “You take turns doing things in combat. Looks like it’s Marvin’s turn next, he was the next highest.”
“Oooo.” Marvin grinned excitedly. He cupped his hands together, and a ball of fire formed in them. He threw it towards the fly-dragons. Numbers flew through the air, and the fireball exploded, knocking back three of the dragons. One of them stopped moving, while the other two got back up.
“Marvin, did you just use a fireball spell on these dragons?” Jackie asked.
“Yep, I think so!”
“That... was maybe a bit overkill.” Jackie shook his head. “Anyway, who’s next?”
JJ raised his hand. What do I do? 
“Uh... hit people with your big weapon???” Chase said.
Right. JJ reached over his shoulder and grabbed the flail. He adjusted his grip on it a couple times, looking nervous. Then he started to raise it, but lowered it again. Then he walked forward, slowly, towards one of the fly-dragons, which growled—
“Oh just fucking hit it JJ!” Marvin shouted.
JJ jumped in surprise and swung the flail. More numbers appeared in midair, made of blue mist, and they landed on 20—accompanied by a few sparkling fireworks. The spiky ball at the end of the flail hit the fly-dragon right in the face, the number 7 flying out from the impact—which then turned into a 14.
“Huh?! Why’d it turn into something else?” Stacy asked.
“I remember this actually!” Schneep said. “If you land a critical hit then you double the damage of an attack!”
“Ohh so those numbers are us rolling!” Chase nodded. “Good job, Jays!”
JJ blinked, then grinned, excited.
One of the fly-dragons roared and opened its mouth, a column of blue fire pouring out of its mouth and hitting Chase and Schneep. Chase yelped—but the fire didn’t actually hurt. It was very hot, but it didn’t hurt. A little number appeared next to his head: a 12 that rolled down to an 08. He saw more numbers appear next to Schneep: a light blue 09 that became a 05. 
“Wait a second—that’s our health, isn’t it?!” Chase gasped. “What happens if it reaches zero?!”
“...oh no.” Jackie turned to stare at Anti. “What happens if their health reaches zero?”
Anti shrugged. “They lose.”
“Do they—”
Another one of the fly-dragons leaped forward, claws extended, and attacked Marvin. He yelped, going down, and a green number by his head went from 07 to 04.
“Shit!” Jackie cursed. “You weren’t supposed to fight the fly-dragons yet! You’re under-leveled, you don’t have enough health! Get out of there, guys!”
“Can we get out of here?!” Chase asked. “What if we’re locked into the level?!”
“This isn’t a video game, you can do whatever you want! And you should want to get out of there right now!” 
“Okay!” Chase broke into a run, darting across the ground. But he didn’t get too far before his legs suddenly stopped on their own. “What the heck?!”
“Shit, right, you have limited movement on each turn,” Jackie cursed.
“Uh—this is fine!” Chase reached over his back and grabbed the heavy weight he’d felt there earlier. As he suspected, it was a bow. He notched an arrow, hands moving on their own like he’d been doing this forever. He aimed at one of the burned fly-dragons and fired the arrow. Numbers followed it as it shot towards the dragon. They landed on a 13, only for a 14 to show up above the dragon as the arrow bounced off its scales. “...what?”
“Ah, you didn’t break its armor!” Schneep said, nodding decisively. 
“Greaaaat.”
“I think it’s my turn now?” Stacy said. “Hang on, Marvin, I’ll get that dragon off you!” She pulled one of her daggers free and ran over to the dragon pinning Marvin down, stabbing it—the number reading a 16 as she did—and using the force of the motion to push it away. She reached down and grabbed Marvin by the hand, pulling him up and running away, dragging him behind her.
“What the—?!” Chase gasped. “You—you moved so much farther than me!”
“Oh, I remember this! I can use a bonus action to dash!” Stacy said, delighted.
“No fair!”
Another of the fly-dragons breathed fire towards Jameson. He stumbled back, a 16 above his head going down to 14. Then it was Schneep’s turn. He unhooked a potion from his belt and drank from it. A 05 above his head rolled up to a 09.
“What?!” Chase gaped. “What was that?!”
“Healing potion! I have many of them,” Schneep said, running towards him.
“Did I choose the wrong class?!”
A fly-dragon lunged for Stacy, trying to bite her, but she managed to dodge. Another one—the first one who’d attacked—breathed out a column of fire, only for an 01 to appear above its head as the fire just barely missed Schneep.
“Fucking hell!” Marvin gasped. “Just run! Everyone run!”
It took a while, and they had to keep dodging the attacks from the fly-dragons, but eventually they pulled away from them and the dragons disappeared into the distance.
“Oh come on!” Anti leaned up close to the window in the sky. “Boooo! Boooooo!”
“Hey shut the fuck up!” Marvin shouted. “You sprung those fucking dragons on us! You heard what Jackie just said, we weren’t supposed to fight them yet!”
“But you were just walking through the woods! That’s no fun!”
“Get out of the way!” Jackie tried to shove Anti back, but found his hands went right through him. “I’m the CM here! Not you! Okay, uh—so the trees clear up and you see the city of Suilara on the horizon.”
As he said that, the five kids rounded a big tree trunk, and saw it just as described. Buildings made of stone and highlighted with dark wood. Behind the town, a rocky slope rose into the air. A mountain of some kind, maybe? Though it would be a small mountain.
“Okay, let’s hurry over there before more fucking monsters appear,” Marvin said, speeding up a little.
I hope they can help us gain more health back, JJ added.
“What’re you so concerned about?! You got a little burned, I lost like half my hp!” Marvin pointed out.
Maybe you should have picked a class with more health, then.
Marvin shoved him.
The group found their way over to a little road and followed that into the town. Some people walked about, wearing tunics and dresses in the same style that they’d found themselves wearing—though these people’s outfits were less elaborate. “Alright... so this is the town, then,” Chase said, looking around. “What’re we supposed to do, again?”
“Deliver that thing Marvin had, right?” Stacy recalled. “Uh... to who, though?”
“Oh!” That window in the sky was still there, so the group could see Jackie reach over and pick up the booklet he’d shown them earlier. “You’re supposed to find a dwarf named Helga Wolffighter to give that to.”
“Okay... where is she?” Chase asked.
“That is sort of ruining the fun to just ask, is it not?” Schneep pointed out.
“Well—I wasn’t expecting to actually go into the game! And like... have to walk around and stuff. Not to mention if Anti’s right we’ll have to actually ‘beat’ the game to get out of here, so... seems important to do that quickly.”
“You can’t ask!” Anti shouted suddenly. “That’s cheating! It won’t count!”
Jackie looked at him and frowned. Then he turned back to the window. “Sorry guys. Uh... I’ll do everything I can to help without just telling you. And I’ll try to make this fun, like a good CM does.” He laughed nervously. “Okay, um... ask around. Normally this would be a search skill check, I don’t know how you, uh, do that... while in game.”
“If it was like how I climbed out of the tree, then you just like... do it,” Stacy said. “And it either works or doesn’t. D’you guys remember who had the highest search skill? I think mine was a +4 or something.”
“I had a +6,” Schneep says, raising his hand.
Stacy laughed. “Alright. Uh... you take the lead, then?”
Schneep nodded. He wandered out to the front of the group. More of the numbers appeared by his head, landing on a 12 and then getting an additional +6 to make an 18. “Ah yes, that weapon shop over there. It says ‘Wolffighter’, see?” He pointed at a low stone building, which did indeed have the world ‘Wolffighter’ on its sign, along with some other weird symbols. “I think it says it in dwarvish, too. And there is also an inn over there, if we want to find somewhere to stay for the night, first.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
“Hmm. Coooool,” Marvin said. “I think we can go to the inn after we drop off this bag thing. Do we know what’s inside?”
JJ shrugged. He looked up at the window in the sky. Do we know what’s inside?
“Uh—the booklet just says that you know it’s valuable and that you were promised a lot of money to deliver it,” Jackie said. “But if you want to know more, you can... do a recall skill check? Which uh... means just trying to remember? I think?”
JJ nodded. His face screwed up in concentration. The numbers by his head rolled, landing on a 10... but then a -2 appeared, making it an 08. I vaguely remember that it’s... heavy? JJ said.
Marvin laughed. “Your memory is shit! It’s usually better than that!”
Well, it’s not really my memory, is it? JJ said. Right now, we’re all in the place of our characters. And I remember putting a really low number for my intelligence and all its skills.
“Why would you put a low number for your intelligence?” Stacy asked, shocked.
If I was going to be mostly hitting things, it didn’t seem necessary! 
“Let’s just, uh... go to that weapons shop,” Chase said slowly.
The five of them headed over there. It looked like they were attracting a few looks from the locals of Suilara. Chase waved at them cheerfully. Some waved back, some didn’t.
When they arrived in the shop, a bell let out a low dingdong sound, announcing their arrival. The shop was filled with, of course, weapons of all types. Mostly swords and axes, which hung on the walls in proud display rows. There were also long spears, some hammers, daggers, staffs, bows and arrows, sticks with spikes on the end—just about any weapon imaginable. There was a counter at the back of the shop, and behind it—a short, stocky woman about four feet tall, with curly brown hair and a curly brown beard to match.
“...beard?” Stacy whispered.
“Yeah, all dwarves have beards,” Jackie said from the window in the sky.
“Well, what can I do you for, travelers?” the woman asked—apparently not hearing Jackie’s comment.
“Hi!” Chase said. “I’m, um... oh, we should probably use our characters’ names, huh? I’m Fahl Trailblazer.”
“And I am Morgana Ebony Rose,” Stacy added, making her voice higher and whispery.
“Why’re you talking like that?” Chase muttered.
“This is how Morgana talks!” Stacy whispered back.
“And my name is Axitios, perhaps you’ve heard of me,” Marvin said, making his voice hoarser and rougher.
“And I am Rhess Zachter!” Schneep added, speaking in a higher, slightly screechier register.
Chase frowned. He turned to JJ. “Should I start talking differently or is that lame?”
JJ shrugged. He turned back to the dwarf woman and signed, spelling it out, And my name is Ion Esinna. Somehow, his signing seemed different than usual. Why was Chase the only one who hadn’t been able to come up with a new voice?
“Great job, guys!” Jackie said encouragingly.
“An unusual group, I see,” said the dwarf woman. “Here to buy?”
“No, we’re actually here to, uh... sell?” Chase said.
“Sell? What d’you have to sell?”
“No, wait, we’re not selling anything!” Marvin quickly added. “We’re looking for Helga Wolffighter, we have a delivery for her from, uh... Dalrun the dwarf. Are you her?”
The dwarf woman seemed to stand to attention. “Aye, that’s me.”
Marvin narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you really?” More numbers appeared by his head. 16+3. 19. “Oh. I guess you are.” He took the pack off his back. “Now, uh... we were told that we’d receive payment for this.”
“Of course. How much?”
The group paused. Chase looked up at Jackie. “How much are we gonna get?”
“Dalrun promised, uh...” Jackie checked the booklet. “Fifty gold pieces for each of you.”
“Got it.” Stacy nodded, and looked at Helga. “Dalrun promised us a hundred gold pieces for each of us.”
JJ and Marvin burst into laughter. “Stacy!” Schneep said, shocked.
“What? Morgana loves gold and treasure! This is totally in character!”
Helga narrowed her eyes. “That seems an absurd amount, even for this.”
“Well it’s true,” Stacy lied.
“Okay, you’re definitely going to have to do a persuasion skill check for this,” Jackie muttered.
The numbers appeared next to Stacy’s head, landing on an 11+4 to make a 15. “I’ll give you seventy-five each, but I’ll go no higher than that,” Helga said.
“That’s fair,” Stacy said.
Helga reached beneath the counter and, after a bit of rummaging, pulled out five small pouches. “Now... the package, if you’ll please.”
Marvin took the satchel off his back and set it on the counter. Helga picked it up and turned around, looking inside. All at once, the five of them leaned to the sides, trying to catch a glimpse of what was in the satchel. Numbers rolled beside their heads, resulting in a 07, 05, 09, 11, and 17—with Chase having the 17. He was able to see something round and golden, like a volleyball made out of gold. It seemed to be glowing slightly. Then Helga closed the satchel and turned back around, nodding. “Thank you very much. Now, anything else I can do for you?”
I don’t think so? JJ said.
“Very well, then. Pleasure doing business with you.”
After a moment of silence, Schneep said, “I suppose we just... leave?”
And so, they did.
The five of them stood on the street outside the weapon’s shop, watching the city. And all of them... waiting. “Um... we did beat the game, didn’t we?” Chase said, looking up into the window in the sky. “So... why aren’t we... going home?”
“Um... nnnno,” Jackie said slowly. “You... didn’t beat the game.”
“What?!” Stacy shouted.
“Even a short one-shot isn’t just a simple delivery quest like that!” Jackie said. “There’s—at least one more thing you can do.”
Behind him, Anti laughed. “Yeah!” Jackie looked back over his shoulder and glared at him, but Anti didn’t even notice. “That would be laaaame.”
Can’t you do anything, Jackie?! JJ asked.
“I-I don’t know! I don’t know how this happened! And I don’t have any powers or anything. All I can do is help you guys out from up here.” Jackie flipped through the booklet. “Look, uh... Schneep noticed that inn, right? Maybe you should go there for the night.”
The five of them looked around. “We’re not... gonna have to sleep in here, are we?” Chase asked anxiously. “I mean... what would Mom say? I-if we don’t come home?”
“I’m going to get you guys out of there before anyone notices, I promise,” Jackie said fiercely. “The campaign doesn’t last that long, I swear. It... it’ll be fine.” His voice cracked a little.
“W-we have a couple hours before things start getting worrying, i-in any case,” Schneep pointed out. “They will not be expecting us back before then.” 
“Look, just go to the inn, I’m going to do everything I can to move this along,” Jackie said.
“Alright, alright.” Chase sighed. “Let’s go, guys.”
The group trickled down the street, heading towards the inn that Schneep had pointed out earlier. It’s called the Unicorn’s Crown. A tall man with a thick beard sells them rooms for twenty gold each—apparently the five of them all had money in their pockets even beforehand. Together they bought three rooms. Stacy insisted on getting one to herself, which none of the guys disagreed with, and from there they split up into Chase and Schneep in one room and Marvin and JJ in the other. 
The rooms were on the second floor. Before splitting up, they all gathered in the hallway. The window in the sky remained, Jackie and Anti visible in it. “Uh... start... getting some rest, guys,” Jackie suggested slowly. “You just went through a lot. Rest recovers your health.”
“I have health potions,” Schneep said, taking bottles off his belt. “Who is hurt the most? Marvin, yes?”
“Yeah, I think it’s me, thanks.” Marvin took the offered potion and drank it. “...huh. I expected it to taste like cherry, but it’s basically just water.”
“Strange, yes?” Schneep said. “Now... we rest.”
“Don’t rest for too long!” Anti shouted. “That’ll be boring!”
JJ looked up towards the window and made a very rude gesture.
Anti laughed. “Maybe you’re not so bad after all!”
“Okay, let’s all lie down, then,” Stacy said. “Hopefully soon we’ll be able to get out of here.” And she turned and left the room.
JJ and Marvin left soon after, leaving Schneep and Chase in the room. “Chase...?” Schneep whispered. “We are going to get out of here, yes? I mean... that fight back there was sort of fun, but I do not want to worry Aunt Jess.”
Chase put his arm around him, pulling him close. He brushed against the new wings growing out of Schneep’s back in the process. “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “This is... just another adventure! It’s a pretty crazy one, but we’ve gone through worse. Remember the hospital?”
Schneep nodded slowly. “Well, that was worse for Marvin than the rest of us. But I get your point.”
“Exactly. It will be fine.” Chase smiled.
This was going to be a big adventure. But they’d handle it like all the others.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 18 days
Text
Against All Obstacles
A JSE Fanfic
SepticHeroes AU: Part 28
First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Hey, a fic on the shorter side for this story, that hasn't happened in a while XD Shorter for me, I mean, it's still 5600 words. Jackie turns in the video tape copy to the police, hoping it will help get Jameson out of prison. But this move causes Anti-Virus to retaliate, and Jackie has to get advice from the others. Meanwhile, JJ is still in prison, unfortunately fdhsjakh Anyway, enjoy reading! :D
===============
“So... you’re saying that this video tape has this special evidence on it?”
“Yes.” Jackie nodded. He looked back and forth between the two detectives. He was familiar with Ace and his usual gruff demeanor, but this other one—Michaelson, apparently—was new to him. He was younger than Ace, with slicked-back blonde hair and sharp facial features. “Don’t tell me the police station doesn’t have a VHS player.”
“No, I’m sure we can find one,” Detective Michaelson said. “But you’re sure this will change the Puppeteer case that much?”
Jackie nodded again. “As I just told you,”—He tried not to sound too annoyed—“I believe that the Puppeteer was being blackmailed into committing his crimes.”
“And you believe that because of this?” Michaelson asked.
“Yes.”
“Where’d you find this, kid?” Ace asked, turning the tape over in his hands.
“In the Puppeteer’s apartment,” Jackie said. “I asked to be able to search it. I’m sure that the League let you all know I was doing that. It was hidden in a locked room. And I found a way to copy the original video tape to a second one. This is that copy.”
“Hmm.” Michaelson hummed. “Alright. Thank you, Windstorm. If this evidence is really case-breaking like you say, we’ll get right on that.”
“What? Why not look at it now?” Jackie pushed. “You are the two detectives in charge of the case, right?”
“Well, we need to examine it, to be sure that it’s not somehow trapped,” Michaelson explained.
Jackie folded his arms. “I’ve had this in my possession since I copied it. How could it possibly be trapped? What, are you afraid that a girl’s gonna crawl out of the screen?”
“Calm down, Windstorm.” Ace raised a hand placatingly. “It’s not that we don’t trust you. This tape would be examined no matter how we found it. We can’t skip due process because you’re a Hero.”
Michaelson tilted his head. “Well... if you want, you can put in special override orders through the League.”
Jackie blinked. He remembered learning that Heroes could do something like that. It was part of the test on the Super Laws he had to take to get into the League in the first place. But he’d never used it. He’d never had an opportunity to until now. “Um...” And yet... did he even want to use those ‘special override orders’? Something about that... It felt wrong. The same way that villains not getting trials felt wrong. But he didn’t want JJ to be stuck in prison for too long! And who knew how much time the regular process would take?
He stood there for probably too long, staring at the two detectives. Then he slowly shook his head. “That’s... alright,” he said slowly. “I’d... rather... everything happen as it usually does.” And yet, saying that left a sinking feeling in his stomach. “How long will it take?”
“We can look at this today or tomorrow,” Ace said. “If this evidence is all you’re saying it is, we’ll be able to get started on the trial right away.” Michaelson looked a bit more doubtful, but Jackie appreciated Ace’s direct assertion. “We’ll have to find a public defender for the Puppeteer—I’m sure there are some villain specialty attorneys who can help. Then of course we’ll have to find a prosecutor willing to take on so much work—after all, it’s a lot of crimes. You’ll probably be called to testify. Are you okay with that?”
Jackie nodded. “Of course. I-I’ll get to the bottom of all this.” He pauses. “And... if the court rules that the Puppeteer was indeed being blackmailed, what will happen from there? We’ll have to find the mastermind, won’t we?”
“If that’s what the court rules, then yes,” Michaelson said slowly.
“And the Puppeteer will probably be transferred from Byrthon Vault to somewhere with less security,” Ace added.
“Still high security, mind you,” Michaelson quickly said. “A super with a power that dangerous will probably have a hard time getting free.”
Jackie was glad that his mask partially hid his face. Because otherwise his worry would show in his eyes. “Of course,” he said calmly. “Can I stick around to see you play the tape?”
Ace chuckled a little. “I just said we might get to it tomorrow. Are you sure you want to stick around for a full day?”
“Ah... no, you’re right. I have work to do.” Still, Jackie was reluctant to leave. He had to be sure that this would work. That the police would see Jameson’s message and start the process of finally having a trial. But... there wasn’t much he could do while just waiting around, was there? “I’ll be back tomorrow. At this same time.”
“We’ll look forward to it, kid.” Ace smiled. “Don’t worry.”
And though Jackie smiled back as he turned to leave, he couldn’t help the pit of anxiety that opened up in his stomach.
===============
Chase could tell that something was off when Jackie came home. So he immediately started bugging him. “Hey bro, you wanna try out a Smash round? I bet I could win with no items!” Jackie gratefully took the offer. The rest of the day, evening, and night passed with the two of them playing all sorts of video games. But then as night drew close and Chase moved to his room in preparation of eventually going to bed, Jackie was left on his own. And that anxiety wormed back in, chewing away at his insides. He watched YouTube videos until four in the morning, at which point his exhaustion finally caught up and he passed out.
Bring bring! Bring bring! Bring bring!
And then he woke up to the sound of the Red Line ringing. Jackie raised his head, momentarily confused. He reached out and fumbled for the Red Line, grabbing it and checking the screen. Lorelai’s ID number was on the screen. He took the call. “H’llo?”
“Jackie!” Lorelai shouted. “Are you okay?!”
“Huh? Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Jackie sat up, confused. “I just woke up. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You just woke up? It’s noon!”
“I went to sleep late last night!” Jackie said defensively. “Now, why wouldn’t I be okay? What happened?!”
“It should be on the news if you want to check,” Lorelai said, “but—th-there was a massive data leak in the League.”
Jackie took a moment to process that. “...huh? A... data leak?”
“Yes! No Heroes, I think—but a lot of League workers had their identities leaked onto multiple websites.”
Jackie was immediately awake again. “What the fuck?!”
“Yeah! What the fuck?!” Lorelai shouted.
Jackie immediately rushed over to his laptop, booting it up. “What are the websites you’re talking about?!” Lorelai listed them out, and Jackie plugged each url into his browser as she said them. He also opened up a couple of his bookmarked local news sites. He scrolled wildly, reading headlines and snippets of articles. ‘Massive Leak Reveals Secret Identities’—‘Unprecedented League Hack’—“League representatives are already reassuring the public”—“affected employees are being pulled into protection”—“What the fuck?”
This had never happened before.
Never happened before.
Sure, villains had uncovered and revealed Hero’s identities before, even whole groups of Heroes. And all League employees had to hide their employment, because villains have, in the past, tried to get into the organization through all sorts of workers. But the sheer size of this leak—hundreds of people had been revealed as League employees. It wasn’t just their names that were revealed, but photos—the sort used for company IDs—and even addresses. Jackie’s only consolation was that the leak had concentrated on different counties, so the people he worked with wouldn’t be directly affected. Even so, just seeing this...
“This is a disaster,” he whispered.
And then his phone started to ring.
Not the Red Line—which he was still talking to Lorelai on. His phone.
Jackie slowly turned his swivel chair around and stared at where it was sitting on his dresser. He stood up, each step feeling heavy, and walked over. There was an Unknown number calling. He could guess who it was. “Uh... hey, this is all a lot for me,” he said to Lorelai. “I’m gonna... go. Do you mind?”
“Oh. No, of course not,” Lorelai said. “Call me later if you need to talk, okay?”
“I will. Goodbye.” And Jackie hung up. He picked up his phone instead. There was still a sticky note over its camera. He hesitated, half-wondering if he could just ignore the call. But he knew better. He picked it up and pressed the phone to his ear.
“Hello, Windstorm,” said a robotic voice.
“You.” Jackie knew it would be him. Anti-Virus. “What did you do?”
Anti-Virus laughed in that menacing way. “I told you, didn’t I? I said ‘I will show you what I’m capable of.’ And I just have.”
“So you did do this,” Jackie muttered. He knew it, but it was another thing entirely to have it confirmed. “How the fuck did you get into the League databases?! Those are the most well-protected servers in the world!”
“I am very good at what I do, Jackie.” The voice sounded smug despite its electronic tones.
“But—how?!” Jackie insisted. “You—your powers are based on spying!”
“I never said that,” Anti-Virus said calmly. “It is you who assumed that. I am perfectly capable of controlling technology in all sorts of ways. Including, as they say, hacking.”
“Even the League?” Jackie said quietly.
“Even the League. Which is why I must warn you, Windstorm. If you continue looking into me, if you continue trying to get Jameson Jackson out of prison, I will be forced to do something much worse. It would be easy enough to tell the world who you are. Or perhaps I could tell every single villain out there the identity of every single Hero.”
“Why the fuck are you doing this?!” Jackie suddenly shouted.
Anti-Virus laughed. “I don’t need to tell you anything, Jackie. But if I were to sum it up in a single word?” He paused. “Control, perhaps.” And then the line dropped.
Jackie stared at the phone. Chills passed down his spine. For a moment, he just stood there, eyes blankly looking at the screen.
Then— “Um... Jackie?” Chase’s voice came from across the hallway. The doorknob to Jackie’s door turned, and Frosty poked his nose inside, opening it up so that Chase could look at him from his room across the hall. “Everything okay?” Chase asked, looking worried.
Jackie looked over at Chase and shook his head. “No, I-I don’t think it is. We—we have to get everyone together. And I mean everyone. Fuck! How the hell are we gonna contact Marvin?! I have to go to his fucking work—” He groaned. “Okay, that’s fine, I can do that. I’ll go do that now. Can you contact Schneep?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, sure.” Chase nodded. “Now?”
“Now! No, wait. We need to figure out a spot to meet first, and Marvin’s gonna be hardest for that.” Jackie paused, biting his lip. “I’ll go see Marvin first, then call you about where we’re meeting up so you can call Schneep and get down there.”
“Why don’t I just come with you to meet Marvin and we can both call Schneep from there?” Chase asked.
“Whatever! We gotta go fast!”
“I can go fast!” Chase said, pushing his chair back. “Frosty!” He whistled, and Frosty walked over, helping him stand up. “Where’s Marvin’s work? Did you tell me?”
“No, I haven’t told you. Come on, I can explain on the way.”
===============
“You don’t look too good today.”
JJ sighed, looking up at the sky through the mesh net blocking in the courtyard. He shook his head slowly. He didn’t have a headache when he woke up. But he still felt weak, his thoughts cloudy. Like the start of a cold. Thanks for letting me know, he signed slowly. I had no idea.
Soren chuckled a little. “Sorry. It’s just... sad. It’s always sad to see.” His faint smile faded and he turned to look out at the rest of the courtyard.”
Dread pooled in JJ’s stomach. You always seem fine, he said.
“Trust me, I used to be much more handsome.” Soren tried for another smile.
JJ rolled his eyes. You know what I mean. I haven’t seen you be much affected by the neutrinalin. You seem alright.
“Well... it comes in waves for people.” Soren shrugged. “And you get used to it.”
Jameson looked down at his lap. I don’t... WANT to get used to it...
Soren looked at him sadly. “No one does,” he said quietly. “I’m... sorry.”
It’s not your fault.
“I don’t mean sorry in the way of an apology. I mean sorry in the way of sympathy. Or, empathy in this case. After all, I know what you’re going through.” Soren nodded vaguely at the courtyard. “We all do.”
Jameson stared out at the courtyard silently for a moment. Some people were going through motions on the exercise equipment. Most were sitting on the benches like he and Soren were. He saw a couple lying on the concrete ground. He pointed those out in particular. Do you think they’re okay?
“Probably having a bad day,” Soren muttered. “Hm. Morgan Jansen, Jayce Waverly, Jason Storm, and Athena Raine. Otherwise known as Calamity Blade, DragonWing, Soundwave, and the Blight. They tend to hang out together, so it’s probably no mistake that they’re all lying down. Maybe they were exercising and are now exhausted. Have you heard of any of them?”
No, Jameson said. Do you know everyone stuck in here?
“A lot of them. There’s not much to do in here besides get to know each other.” Soren shrugged. “If you ever want me to introduce you to someone, I can do that.”
That might be a good idea. He couldn’t just cling to Soren the whole time. But... not yet. Not today. He shook his head.
Soren looked at him thoughtfully. “Alright. Some other time, then. Personally, I think you’d get along with Morgan.”
I’d get along with someone called Calamity Blade? JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The name is the most intimidating part of him right now, I assure you.” Soren laughed a bit. “Besides... I’d think some people would react the same to ‘the Puppeteer.’”
I didn’t choose the name, JJ said, sulking a bit. 
“If you did choose your name, what would it have been?” Soren asked.
Oh. He didn’t think of that. JJ blinked, but his slow mind was coming up blank. He just shook his head. Something with more thought to it, at least. The puppet themes are obvious. But there could be something better than just ‘the Puppeteer.’ I’m sure there are at least five other villains in the world who call themselves something like that.
Soren laughed. “That’s probably true. Honestly, part of the reason I went with something like Pathos is because it’s very unlikely anyone else would choose that.”
It’s very fitting for you, JJ says.
“Thank you.”
A few moments passed in silence.
“You should probably try to do some exercise,” Soren suggested. “It’s good to stay in shape. You won’t always have the energy for it.”
JJ frowned. I don’t know if I feel well enough for that. He paused. But I suppose I could try. He knew his energy would just drain over time the longer he spent in here, the longer he was under the effects of neutrinalin. I’m not experienced with... gym... sort of... things.
Soren laughed. “Not familiar with exercise equipment?”
Not at all. Dahlia worked out a little, but she didn’t go to the gym. She mostly did it in her room or out in the park. JJ sighed, pushing that memory back for now. Do you want to try as well?
Soren blinked, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Um... well...”
JJ sighed. You don’t have to, of course.
“No, if it will help you, I will,” Soren said.
Are you sure? JJ asked.
“Might as well. It’s been a while since I did some exercise myself.” Soren pushed himself up. “Let’s go.”
They walked over to the equipment in the center of the courtyard. Jameson looked it over, confused as to what some of this could even be for. He recognized the sports stuff, like basketball hoops and such, but most of that was taken by others. So... they were left with the more traditional exercise equipment. JJ stared at it, then slowly sat down on a chair-looking thing. He thought that he had to pull down on the handlebars hanging overhead. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed it, trying to pull. But the bars didn’t even move.
“I think you can adjust it,” Soren said, looking over the chair. “There has to be a dial or switch or something here. Ah.” He found something and turned it. “Try now.”
Jameson reached up again and pulled. It was difficult, but at least the bars moved a bit.
“Don’t know why this isn’t on the lowest setting by default,” Soren muttered, turning the adjustment dial again. “They have to know the state of their fucking prisoners. Try again.”
Jameson did. Slowly, he pulled the handlebars down. Then he let go. Maybe something else. He was already breathing heavily, almost gasping. God—he wasn’t that weak, was he? He was able to hold his own in a fight with Windstorm—Jackie. That neutrinalin was really doing a number on him already.
“Maybe the bikes, then.” Soren pointed at a pair of stationary bikes. “We can... try that together, then.”
JJ felt his heart flutter a bit, and he immediately pushed it away. It was too soon, and also, not a good person to do that with. He nodded and quickly stood up, walking over. After a moment, he sat down on the bike on the right.
Soren sat next to him on the left bike. “Alright... make sure... it’s adjusted,” he said, looking it over.
It’s by the pedals, JJ said, pointing it out to him.
“Ah. Right.” Soren put the bike on the lowest setting. “Well... let’s start.”
JJ nodded and looked away. He could ride a bike. It had been a while since he did it, but he remembered learning. And he didn’t have to worry about balancing it, or moving at all. He just had to move the pedals. It was... easier than that chair with its weird handlebars. Still difficult, but not nearly on the same level. Maybe something was wrong with the equipment. Maybe it wasn’t him. He closed his eyes for a moment, assessing his own body. That fatigue was still there, but he could push through it. He could.
A couple minutes passed before he became aware of the wheezing breaths next to him.
Jameson opened his eyes again and looked over at Soren. Though his bike was on a lower setting than JJ’s, he was gasping and sweating, already very pale. Suddenly panicking, Jameson reaches over and grabs Soren’s arm, grabbing his attention. Soren looks over at him with slightly dazed eyes. Soren, stop! JJ signed.
Soren blinked slowly, then stopped as soon as he finished processing JJ’s signs. He leaned heavily forward onto the bars of the bike, panting.
Are you okay?? JJ asked, worried.
There was a long pause. “...Pathetic, isn’t it?” Soren muttered.
JJ shook his head. It’s not your fault. It’s the neutrinalin, isn’t it? He paused. I told you... you didn’t have to exercise with me.
“I wanted to try,” Soren said. “See if anything had changed.” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them up and sat up straight. He grinned. “Well... I guess I’ll wait for you and offer encouragement on the side.”
Are you sure you’re okay? JJ asked, surprised by this sudden change of attitude.
“Of course.” Soren stood up. Jameson couldn’t help but notice the way his arms shook as he pushed against the bike handles to help himself get up.
I think you should go back to your... room, Jameson said slowly, deliberately avoiding the word ‘cell.’ It still felt too harsh. I’ll be fine on my own.
“I don’t want to abandon you,” Soren said.
I’ll be fine on my own, JJ repeated insistently. Go... lie down.
Soren stared at him. Then he nodded slowly. “Alright. If you insist. I’ll head there now.” He hesitated. “You... good luck.”
JJ smiled at him. Thank you.
As Soren walked away, Jameson watched him thoughtfully. He’d thought that Soren had been handling the neutrinalin side effects well... but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe... he was just good at hiding things.
===============
Getting the whole group together was messy. Jackie and Chase had to take the train to the Channel 5 building to meet up with Marvin, then they had to discuss a meeting place, then they had to call Schneep to tell him about the meeting place, then they had to wait for Marvin’s shift to end before they all could take the train—by the time they were all together, almost two hours had passed.
The meeting place was a park. Neun Park, to be specific. It was a nice enough place, with a weird abstract concrete sculpture in the center and tall pine trees around the edges. Jackie paced across a short stretch of grass between a bench and a drinking fountain. Chase, Marvin, and Schneep stood nearby. Even though the bench was empty, no one made a move to sit. “You are sure?” Schneep asked, face drawn and worried.
“There’s no mistaking his fucking voice,” Jackie said. “Anti-Virus did this.”
“Maybe he was lying?” Chase suggested.
Marvin raised an eyebrow. “It’d be a huge coincidence that a massive leak happened the day after he threatened to show Jackie what he could do.”
“No, I don’t think he’s lying.” Jackie shook his head. “I’m sure that he did that. He really hacked the fucking League of Heroes. And they didn’t even catch him!”
“Has the League said anything to you about this leak?” Schneep asked.
“They sent out a generic message about keeping everyone safe,” Jackie said. That text had come through on the Red Line right before he and Chase left to find Marvin. “And that they were working to find the culprit. I don’t think they have any leads.” He paused. “I should tell them about what Anti-Virus said, right?”
“Uh... yeah?” Chase said. “They can’t catch him if they don’t know he didn’t do it.”
Marvin narrowed his eyes. “You’re worried that you’ll make things worse.”
Jackie raised his shoulders defensively. “What do you mean?”
“He told you to stop looking into him,” Marvin stated. “And if you tell the League he was behind the hack, that would count as ‘looking into him.’ You’re scared he might retaliate.”
“Not scared,” Jackie grumbled. “But... you’re otherwise right. I-if it was just me, if it was just my identity on the line, I might... I’d be willing to risk it. But if he can get into the League’s databases, that means countless Heroes are at risk of being exposed.” He looked directly at Marvin. “Say what you will about Heroes and the League, but there’s no doubt that there are a ton of villains out there who’d take advantage of an identity leak like that. Hell, there’s probably a lot of villains trying to take advantage of the leak that just happened! I... I can’t be... responsible for that.”
Chase stared at Jackie with a sad look in his eyes. “You’re not responsible for this leak, you know.”
Jackie looked over at him. He wanted to deny it, but found the denial got caught in his throat. “I... I could have...”
Schneep walked up to Jackie, putting his hands on his shoulders. “Do not blame yourself for what this monster has done,” he said fiercely. “If he could do this the whole time, there is nothing saying that he wouldn’t have done it anyway, regardless of if you turned the evidence over.”
“No, it... it’s not just that,” Jackie said quietly. “I... taunted him. I said that he couldn’t do anything, that he was limited to spying on people. That’s when he said he would show me what he could do. It... it wasn’t just about the evidence. It was that I goaded him into it.”
“No, Schneep is right,” Chase said. “If Anti-Virus can do this, he could do it whenever.”
Jackie laughed drily. “That isn’t actually encouraging. It just means that he’ll probably do it again even if I stop getting in his way.”
“So? That means you’re gonna give up, then?” Marvin laughed. “You didn’t strike me as the type, Windstorm.”
Jackie bristled. “That’s not—”
“Yeah, it is what you’re doing,” Marvin insisted. “You’re getting scared and giving up.”
“Shut the fuck up, you don’t know me!” Jackie snapped.
“But we do, Jackie,” Chase said. “And... yeah, it’s not like you to give up like that. You’re a hero, bro. And heroes do the right thing despite all obstacles.”
Jackie looked around at his friends. Well, his friends and Marvin. Though, at this point, did Marvin cross the line from acquaintance to friend? He wasn’t sure. The point being, they were all looking at him with similar expressions. Expressions that he couldn’t name. He sighed, and raised his hands to sign. Don’t speak out loud. Do you all have your phones?
Marvin and Schneep caught on immediately, nodding. Chase looked confused, then realized as well and also nodded. 
Put them all down on the bench, Jackie said. We’ll have to get out of earshot of the microphones. He took his phone out and set it down first. Marvin followed him, then Schneep, then Chase. They all walked to the side, away from the bench and towards the drinking fountain. Frosty, accompanying Chase as always, seemed to look at the humans with confusion. “Okay, I think this is far enough,” Jackie said quietly.
“Isn’t this a bit paranoid?” Chase asked.
“No, I don’t think so.” Jackie shook his head. “Yesterday, he was able to look through my phone camera. I was wearing my supersuit, and he pointed it out. So... there’s no reason why he shouldn’t also be able to hear through the speakers.”
Chase went a bit pale. “Well. That’s... freaky.”
“So, why do you want to be out of earshot, then?” Schneep said. “You want to say something that you do not want Anti-Virus to hear, yes?” His expression hardened a little. “You are going to take that bastard down, yes? You better be planning to say that.”
Jackie grinned. “Of course I am.” His smile fell. “But I’ll have to be careful. We’ll have to be careful. So fucking careful... I’m not going to risk other people’s identities. Anti-Virus can’t know that I’m looking into him.”
“That we’re looking into him,” Chase said. “I mean... I can’t do much to help with that, but I don’t want to be left behind!”
Jackie laughed. “Thanks, Chase.” He looked at Schneep and Marvin. “And I bet that you two want to do the same.”
“Of fucking course.” Schneep nodded firmly. “After what he has done to my cousins? He will not get away.”
“And that fucker made Jameson control me,” Marvin said. “He’s gonna pay.”
“Good. Cause... we’re gonna need some of your paranoia, Spitfire,” Jackie said.
“It’s not paranoia if I’m right,” Marvin insisted.
“That’s fair.” Jackie’s eyes darted around, looking at the others. “But my point is that we’re not going to say shit about the investigation while we’re anywhere near technology. Only in person.”
Schneep nodded. “What about when we need to meet up? We cannot do this runaround every time, it takes so long.”
“Uh... what if we always meet up here to do that?” Chase suggested. “So that if someone mentions Neun Park, we know that it has to do with Anti-Virus.”
“That’s a good idea, Chase,” Jackie nodded. “This is a great meeting place. It’s sort of midway between our apartment and Marvin’s work. It kind of sucks that Schneep lives farther away, though.”
“Ah, I can handle the travel,” Schneep said. “If I could not, I would not live out there.”
“We can always change the meeting place if we want to,” Marvin pointed out. “So. What’re we going to do about Anti-Virus, then?”
Jackie shook his head. “I’m not fully sure. I trust Ace—he’s, uh, a detective I know—I trust him enough to take care of the evidence I handed over. But... there’s more to do. I-I know there is. We have to figure out who Anti-Virus is.” He rubbed his eyes. While his vision is briefly covered, Marvin and Schneep exchange glances. “And we have to find Timekeeper.”
“Well, that first one will probably help with the second,” Chase said.
“You’re right.” Jackie lowered his hands and looked at Chase. “But it’s also possible that if we search for Timekeeper, it will give us a lead to Anti-Virus. We need to attack this from two angles.”
“I can help with finding Dahlia,” Schneep said. “JJ had told me she was at St. Ellen’s Hospital, and that she was injured in a super fight. I can perhaps pull some strings as a SDER doctor to find out what happened to her. If she was ever there in the first place.”
Jackie frowned. “You sure, doc? We don’t want to leave a paper trail—or, uh, electronic paper trail. You’ll have to go in person.”
Schneep blinked. “That will make it more difficult... Many hospital communications require emails or phone calls or filling out forms on websites...” He trailed off. “Ah, but you, as a Hero, can bypass all that.”
“I can?” Jackie blinked.
“Yes. If Dahlia really was being taken care of by St. Ellen’s SDER department, you, as a Hero, can know details,” Schneep explained. “It is the same with the SDER at Greenway. After all, there is always a possibility that super-related injuries will play a part in the super fights you normally take part in.”
“...that feels... sketchy,” Jackie said slowly. “Like, I know that makes sense on the surface, but... I don’t want to go in and demand her medical details.”
“Well, it seems you will have to, if you want to find her,” Schneep said. “The doctors will ask for proof that her details are related to something you are working on. Simply tell them that you are looking into Timekeeper. After all, Dahlia was injured in the same fight that the hero was last seen in. It will make sense.”
Jackie nodded slowly. “...Right. I... I can do that tomorrow.”
Next to him, Chase frowned, looking vaguely uneasy. “That was... the last fight Timekeeper was in? Really?”
Marvin nodded. “Yeah. I thought we established that at Jameson’s apartment when we found the tape.”
“Yeah... o-of course.” Chase shook his head. “Don’t mind me. I just... you know how my memory is, hah.”
Jackie and Schneep looked at Chase, concerned. But, ultimately, neither of them said anything, even though Jackie made a mental note to ask him about it later.
“We should probably put on a show for the phone microphones, just in case Anti-Virus really is listening,” Marvin said.
“Right.” Jackie nodded. “Everyone, act upset that I’m not going to investigate more when we walk over.” He turned around back towards the phone. The others followed.
“Are you sure?” Marvin said as he picked up his phone. “This really isn’t like you.”
“I’m not going to be responsible for it,” Jackie said, putting his effort into sounding convincing. “I-it’s too much of a risk.” And honestly... he was still nervous about that risk. He wasn’t going to let Anti-Virus get away with this, but... he was very aware of the possible consequences.
“I cannot believe you,” Schneep muttered, sounding so realistically angry that Jackie shrunk away for a moment. “That is my cousin, your friend, in prison.”
“I know,” Jackie said quietly. “Um... look, I-I already turned the evidence in, they’ve probably seen it by now. There’s no stopping that. But... I’m not going to help with the investigation.”
Schneep grumbled—and again, it sounded so real that Jackie wondered if Schneep was genuinely upset with him. But then Schneep’s expression softened and he smiled at Jackie, reassuring him. Jackie nodded back.
“Well... you two better hurry to catch the train, then,” Marvin said, looking at Chase and Jackie.
“Oh fuck, right.” Chase checked the time on his phone. “It’s coming in ten minutes, Jackie, we gotta go.”
“Shit! Yeah, yeah.” Jackie nodded. “Talk to you guys later.”
As he and Chase headed off, Schneep also started after them—but then Marvin grabbed his arm. “Hey. I want to talk.”
Schneep looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. “About the same thing you came to my office about?”
Marvin nodded.
“I am working on it,” Schneep said. “No specifics in a public place like this. If we want to talk about it, come to my apartment, yes? Your workplace may not be as safe as I thought. I will text you the address.”
“Is there anything you can say now?” Marvin asked in a low voice. “Even just the vaguest terms.”
“I have been looking around the area,” Schneep said. “Getting my bearings, yes?” He was up late last night scouting out the North SepTech location.
Marvin nodded. “Alright. Text me your address. Let me know if there’s anything you... want to talk about.”
“I will,” Schneep promised. “Now... goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
The two of them part ways.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 5 months
Text
Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Part Nine
A JSE Interactive Fanfic
The Beginning | Previous
The results are in.
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You have made your choice. Wonder what you'll see? Honestly I expected the other option to win XD You all really were like "There's no time! Smash it!" Anyway. THIS IS THE LAST PART WITH A CHOICE. This is YOUR LAST CHANCE to affect the ending. Good luck ;)
The FINAL poll to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on October 26th at 12:00pm PST. Your ending will be revealed on October 28th at the same time.
<><><><><><><><><><><>
“Ah, fuck it, we can’t waste a moment!” Chase backs up. “Move! I’m going to break it down!”
Marvin backs out of the way and says, “Aim for near the handle! That’s where it’s supposed to be weakest!”
“Got it.” Chase takes a few breaths to psych himself up, staring at the door. It’s heavier than the ones upstairs, but it’s still wood. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? He braces one foot against the ground, then—SMACK!—kicks the door right above the handle.
“Keep going!” Marvin encourages. “Something broke!”
“Okay!” Chase nods. “H-hang on.” His leg aches a bit from the impact. He takes a step closer to the door—the last one felt like he was about to fall down the stairs—and kicks again! This time the noise of splintering wood is louder.
A whistle comes from down the stairs. Marvin and Chase spin around, instinctively expecting any number of awful things—but it’s just JJ. He’s halfway up the stairs, clutching the bannister to keep himself upright. The pain on his face is clear but he smiles and asks, What are you doing?
“Sorry, J,” Chase says, wincing. “We kind of—but we left Jackie, we have to—”
JJ blinks, then nods in understanding. Keep going, then!
“Don’t have to tell me.” Chase turns back to the door. He braces himself, then kicks a third time—
SLAM! The door flies open. Chase stumbles and almost falls, but Marvin catches him. “You okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine.” Chase regains his balance. “JJ?” he calls over his shoulder.
Another whistle. Marvin turns, going down the staircase, then reappears at the top carrying JJ in two arms. “There’s no time to waste!” he says, and JJ nods.
“Let’s go, then!” Chase breaks into a run, the others right behind him.
They run across the living room, up the stairs to the second floor, and down the hallway to Jackie’s bedroom. The door is wide open. They rush inside—but stop just a few steps after the doorway.
Schneep is there. So is Jackie. He’d put on his hoodie over the bandages around his torso, but that proved to be a bad idea, as Schneep now holds him up by the front of it, one hand clutching the fabric. Schneep’s other hand holds another kitchen knife up against Jackie’s throat. Jackie’s hands are wrapped around Schneep’s wrist, trying to push the knife away, but he doesn’t even have the strength to stand up, much less fight off his former friend. His eyes land on the three in the doorway, and he shakes his head. “Get... out of here...” he whispers.
Nobody moves. “Schneep,” Chase says, surprised at the steel in his voice, “put Jackie down.”
Schneep’s head turns to look at the three in the doorway. He smiles. It is not his smile. “This won’t take too long,” he says in that voice that lacks its usual accent.
“I don’t know what the fuck’s gotten into you, but this isn’t you,” Marvin says. “You wouldn’t—”
Schneep laughs, interrupting him. “‘This isn’t you’?” he repeats. “That’s funny, that really is. ‘What’s gotten into you,’ that’s also funny. You don’t even know, do you? You all just think your insane friend has snapped. That’s what the papers will say in the morning. I suppose that’s one benefit of this ill fit.”
You’re not insane, JJ says. He pushes away from Marvin, wincing as he lands on his feet. Whatever you’re going through, we can still help.
“Hmm?” Schneep blinks, looking confused at JJ’s gesturing. “What are you—” His eyes widen. He gasps suddenly, and he pulls the knife away from Jackie. “M-mein friends,” he whispers. “Th-there is something—i-inside—you h-have to run, I c-cannot—” His body shudders again, and the grip on the knife handle tightens.
“Get out of here,” Jackie pleads weakly. “Please. You... you guys can still...”
“We’re not leaving you,” Chase says stubbornly.
“You’re not leaving at all,” Schneep says, a cruel light in his eyes. He lifts the knife again, raising it to Jackie’s neck. Jackie gasps and tries once more to push his hand away, but he can’t. The blade stops only an inch from his throat. “None of you. Only me.”
There has to be some way out of this. Chase’s eyes dart around the room. He sees Marvin and JJ do the same.
“Shouldn’t have left that pan downstairs,” Marvin mutters. “But it’s still two on one. JJ, stay back.”
JJ shakes his head. We can’t fight him.
There’s no time to think. They have to figure something out quickly.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months
Text
Awakening
Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
WHO'S READY FOR A DOUBLE-LENGTH SPECIAL?! :D This fic is around 11,100 words, so it's extra long. As you can expect, so much stuff happens that it's gonna be hard for me to simply summarize it all. But it boils down to two things. The group enacts their plan to wake Anti up. While Schneep and Stacy try to distract Distorter, Jackie uses that new IRIS technology to venture into Anti's mind to see what he's seeing, and hopefully snap him out of this trance. No more talk. This is The Moment. Let's get to it.
More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter
Everyone arrived at the hospital at around nine o’clock. They all came separately, with Jackie and Rama arriving first. “Are you sure you don’t want to, uh, see this?” Jackie asked them.
“I’m sure.” Rama nodded. “Honestly, I’m not sure how much help I’d be. I’m a writer, not a magician or a super-enhanced guy.”
“I’m neither of those things, either.”
“You’re the only one who knows how to use this MR thing. They need you.”
Jackie sighed. He knew this. And he knew that it would be safer for Rama if they stayed home. He didn’t want them in danger. Not to mention he was a bit nervous about leaving Michelle and Will alone. Sure, they could hire a babysitter, but it would be easier to have Rama watch them. “This won’t take long. I-if I don’t call you in an hour, maybe drive on over.”
“Got it.” Rama nodded, then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” They were going to need it.
Jack arrived after that, then JJ and Marvin, then Stacy, then Schneep. They didn’t talk much, the task weighing heavily on their thoughts. They might only have one chance for this. If they failed, Distorter would no doubt guard Anti zealously. Even Stacy showing up might not distract him for much longer. Jackie pressed a hand to his hoodie pocket, where the MR Headsets were awkwardly tucked away. He really hoped this would work.
Jackie couldn’t help but gasp when the group walked into Anti’s hospital room. “O-oh my god,” he breathed, and rushed over to the side of the bed. His eyes darted around, taking it all in. The bandages, the tubes, the monitors, the restraints. “This... oh my god.”
The others walked over slowly—though Marvin stayed back, moving his wheelchair to the corner of the room by the door. Jack crouched down close to the ground, and a green glowing orb shot out and into his outstretched hand. “Hey, Sam,” he said. “How’s he doing?” He listened intently to Sam’s mental voice. “They say that he hasn’t changed. They... also say they have a feeling like something big is gonna happen.”
Smart eyeball, JJ commented.
Stacy swallowed a lump in her throat. “Well... you guys should have your moment,” she said carefully, turning around. “I’ll wait outside.” And with her lines recited, she turned and left the room.”
Schneep was supposed to say that he was going to check on her and follow, but... he found his throat had closed up. When they walked into the room, no one else in the group had seen the figure standing in the corner of the room. The gray man who had noticed the way Schneep was staring at him, then gave a little wave and ducked behind the bed, out of sight. Distorter was here. Distorter had probably been here the whole time. And nobody else could see him. “I-I... I, ah... w-will go,” Schneep finally said, trying to hide how disturbed he was by quickly turning and hurrying after Stacy.
She was waiting just out of sight for him. The moment he walked out, she jerked her head down the hallway then turned and headed in that direction, asking him to follow. He did, quietly. Once they were out of sight, she whispered, “Jack told me there’s this room at the end of the hallway that’ll work. We’ll be able to see him coming. Or... you will.”
Schneep nodded. The two of them found a room at the very end of the hallway. A room without a patient staying in it. The blinds were drawn, but the door was unlocked. Schneep made sure to prop it open so they would have a good view of the hall.
Stacy paced nervously back and forth. Schneep glanced around. He didn’t like that they’d be distracting Distorter while in a hospital. He would’ve preferred that they take this outside altogether. But he wasn’t sure if Distorter would follow them, or if his commitment to torturing Anti would overwhelm that. Maybe Distorter wouldn’t even fall for this trap at all. Maybe he would realize what they were planning.
But then he saw the movement coming from down the hall. Schneep’s head snapped towards it. Distorter was walking calmly towards them. If Schneep didn’t know better, he might be tempted to think that this was just some guy in a spooky costume. But he did know better. And he knew to recognize the strange featureless features of Distorter’s face. “He’s coming,” he whispered.
Stacy stopped pacing, tensing up. She gave a little laugh. “You know... I wasn’t scared up until this moment,” she whispered back.
“It will be fine,” Schneep reassured her. “I will make sure nothing happens to you.”
Distorter stopped in the doorway. He stood there, hands loose at his sides, smiling as wide as ever. Stacy didn’t look directly at him—not avoiding him, but... she must not have seen him. But Schneep could. “So... that wasn’t a fluke, then, was it?” Distorter said, looking straight at him. “You can see me.”
Schneep stared directly at him and nodded.
Stacy jumped, going pale as she finally looked right at Distorter. “Y-you.”
“Me.” Distorter gave a little wave. “So... let me guess. You two are here to give your friends back there time to work. Time to try and break Anti out of my hold. Is that it? Because it’s a really stupid plan, you know. So obvious.”
“And yet, you’re here anyway, aren’t you?” Schneep pointed out.
Distorter giggled. “Because it doesn’t make a difference. I don’t care what magic you think you’ve found, it won’t be strong enough.” He stepped farther into the room. “Why not see what this was all about?”
———————
“I t’ink they’ve got it,” Marvin muttered, staring down the hallway. “I t’ink he’s left.”
“Are you sure?” Jackie whispered.
Marvin shook his head. “Can never be sure with Distorter. But... I’m almost sure. As close as I can be. It’s been enough time for him t’get curious.”
Jack let out a long breath. “You’re sure this will work, Jackie?”
“No.” Jackie reached into his pocket and took out the MR Headsets. “But we have to try.” He handed the white Headset to JJ, who carefully removed the bandages over Anti’s eyes and put the Headset in their place. Anti didn’t respond. He stayed lying where he was.
“Sam has a good feeling about it,” Jack said. Sam, curled up on Anti’s chest, waved their optic nerve slightly. “So... that’s a good sign. They’re going to try and help you as best they can.”
If something goes wrong, we’ll be here, JJ said. I’ll defend you.
“Thanks,” Jackie breathed. He held the black Headset for a moment, staring at it. No time to waste. He took off his glasses and put on the Headset, making sure it was secured. He couldn’t see a thing. And from what he remembered about this technology, he probably wouldn’t be able to hear or feel anything soon, either. “Press the power button on Anti’s headset. It’s right here, on the left—from the wearer’s perspective.”
“It’s on,” Jack reported. “There’s a little green light showing that it is.”
“Great.” Jackie nodded. His own finger hesitated over the power button. “Once I push this, I won’t be able to respond to you guys until you either power it off, or I wake up on my own,” he said. “And... that’s happening. On three. Take care of everything, okay?”
“We got it, I promise,” Jack said.
“Great.” He took a deep breath. “One... two... three.” And he pressed the button.
———————
“So... what’s your plan, then?” Distorter asked. “Do you think the power of friendship will be able to pull him back now that you have Jackie with you?” He laughed. “If ‘love’ didn’t work when his son was here, it won’t work with a mere friend.”
“Do you honestly think that we will tell you?” Schneep asked.
Distorter tilted his head. “No. But I expected you to think about it when I brought it up. And yet... whatever IRIS did to you, it made it harder to reach your thoughts. So I can’t see if you did.”
Schneep felt the breath knocked out of him. “Wh-what...? You... you know about...”
“About IRIS fucking your head into oblivion? Not at first. But it just makes sense. I’ve learned a lot about IRIS since they showed up here. And that seems just like the thing they’d do.” Distorter wiggled his blackened fingers. “They’re into that freaky shit, and choose their lab rats from people no one will miss.”
Schneep couldn’t help but stumble backwards. The fact that Distorter knew about it—knew about what they’d done to him—
“Why don’t you read my mind, then?” Stacy asked.
Distorter looked at her. “What?”
“You—you were trying to get us to think about our plan to free Anti so you could read our minds to find it,” Stacy said. “But you’ve only brought up Henrik’s mind and thoughts. Not mine. Why didn’t you look at me? I-I don’t have any of that IRIS stuff, surely you’d have an easier time there.”
Distorter kept staring at her. Stacy shivered, but didn’t look away or back down. “I told you to go home,” he whispered.
“I can’t,” Stacy said. “Not until all this is settled. This has been fucking haunting me for years—because of course it would! My family died! And you’re—you’re here. You’re still walking around, a-a living reminder of that, s-something that is still unsettled. Like a ghost.”
“So, like a ghost, you want to put me to rest?” Distorter asked in a low voice.
“...if it’s possible,” Stacy whispered.
He laughed. “It’s not, Stacy.” She flinched; he had never said her name before. “Something like me will never die. Will never be satisfied. Not until you give this up.”
Stacy kept staring at him. “I can’t do that.”
Distorter kept staring at her with those empty black eyes. That pasted-on smile, wide and unchanging, gave his face a mask-like quality. Was... that what it had always been? A mask?
Long moments passed. Stacy didn’t look away from Distorter, though she twitched slightly, an anxious expression on her face. Was Distorter trying to intimidate her with illusions that Schneep couldn’t see? Was he speaking into her mind? He had no way of knowing. He could only stare, tensed, waiting for Distorter to finally make a move.
And then he did.
Distorter lunged towards Stacy, and Schneep lunged towards him in turn, tackling him to the side before he could reach her. Distorter let out a loud shriek and twisted around, long nails scraping at Schneep’s throat. He hurriedly backed up before they could do too much damage, leaving Distorter to scramble to his feet in a flurry of limbs. “Ohhhohoh, so you want to be like that do you?” he growled.
“As opposed to letting you attack her? Yes.” Schneep raised his hands, getting into a defensive position.
“Fine. I’ll be like that too.” Distorter leaped for Schneep, animalistic in his movements, and the two of them went tumbling across the floor until they hit the wall. Stacy gasped and instinctively ran to the side, putting a chair between her and the conflict.
Schneep and Distorter struggled on the floor. Distorter lashed out at him, clawing and scratching and biting and kicking. Luckily his nails, sharp as they were, were not enough to get through the thick shirt Schneep was wearing. But that didn’t mean the blows didn’t hurt all the same. Schneep tried pinning Distorter to the floor, but he always yanked free of his grip, often with an unpleasant cracking or popping sound. So Schneep had to get more violent. He slammed Distorter’s head against the walls and floor, punching him in the ribs and stomach, stomping on his legs when they got too close to him. And, of course, he shocked Distorter. Over and over, causing Distorter’s limbs and body to spasm uncontrollably when the electricity ran through them.
The fight shifted tides often. One second, Schneep had Distorter cornered. The next, Distorter had leapt onto him and was trying to claw his eyes out. Schneep threw Distorter across the room and into the wall, but Distorter recovered and ran back, diving at Schneep’s legs and knocking him down into another on-the-floor struggle. Stacy watched it all with wide eyes, wanting to help but knowing she would just be putting herself in danger. “Wake him up soon,” she whispered under her breath. “Please.”
———————
It happened in an instant. One second, Jackie was sitting in an uncomfortable hospital room chair. The next, he was falling forward, rushing, bright lights flying past his face as he got closer and closer to the ground—and then he landed. He looked around. This was... a schoolyard. He would recognize one of those anywhere, though this was a lot smaller than the one at Michelle’s school, or even at the school he went to as a kid. There was a chain link fence around the edge of the yard, and in the far corner was an old playground with rope courses and swings and metal slides. The sky above was gray, cloudy, and generally gloomy. Kids ran around, climbing the playground structures and kicking up woodchips on the swings. They were all wearing school uniforms, red jumpers with gray pants or a skirt for girls. None of them could have been older than twelve years old.
Jackie stared at all this. It didn’t feel quite... real. Sure, the colors were vivid and the sounds were loud, and he could feel the ground beneath his feet. But there was something off... It was the details. On a cloudy day like this, he should’ve felt chilly, if not cold, but he felt fine. And he couldn’t quite make out what the children were saying. It all sounded like babbling gibberish. And beyond the chain link fence, it all sort of got blurry. He could see houses and a street, but it was like looking at them through slightly frosted glass.
Suddenly, one of the kids screamed. Not in joy, like they usually do, but in anger. Jackie’s head snapped towards the sound as he saw one small boy suddenly throw himself at a bigger boy, knocking him over. The other kids all immediately crowded around, and Jackie hurried over as well. He tried not to get too close, but he didn’t need to worry about that. The kids didn’t look at him. One even ran right through him. Clearly, he couldn’t interact with them... but he remembered from his research into MR that he should be able to interact with Anti. He just needed to find him. Maybe one of the fighting kids was him?
He easily peered over the heads of the smaller kids who were gathering around—some shouting for the fighting to stop, most yelling encouragement—to look at the fighting boys. The smaller one, the one who had provoked the attack, was hitting the bigger one at first. But then the bigger boy got the advantage and pushed the smaller one over, hitting him in the face repeatedly. “Hey!” Jackie shouted. “Hey! Stop that!”
But nothing happened. Jackie started pushing his way through the crowd of children, but saw that someone else was doing the same thing. An adult man, yelling “Break it up, break it up!” Immediately, the bigger boy stopped fighting and backed off. The smaller boy scrambled up. The man looked between the two of them. “Alright, who started it?”
“He did, professor!” the bigger boy pointed at the smaller. “He attacked me!”
“That’s not fackin’ fair you motherfacker!” the smaller boy immediately protested. “You started it! You called Mam a bitch!”
“░░░░░░, we dunnae use language like t’at!” the man—a professor, apparently—snapped.
“He did it first!” the smaller boy shrieked. “He called my mam a bitch and me a two-eyed freak!”
Jackie frowned. He leaned closer... and his eyes widened. The small boy had messy brown hair and two different-colored eyes. Blue on the left, green on the right. “...Anti?” he whispered.
He was far enough that he shouldn’t have been heard, but the smaller boy looked in his direction anyway. He blinked, looking... confused. No recognition in his gaze. 
“Well, ev’ryone?” the professor looked around. “Who t’rew the first punch?”
The kids all muttered things. Many of them pointed at the smaller boy—at Anti.
“Very well. ░░░░░░, we’ll be talkin’ to your mother after school.”
Anti clenched his tiny fists. “She’s not gonna show up,” he muttered darkly.
The bigger boy from before leaned a bit closer, whispering something barely audible. “Because she can’ bother for you.”
Anti screamed and whirled around on him, punching again. The kids surged away, looking afraid. The professor stepped in, grabbing Anti from behind and pulling him off the bigger boy. “That’s enough, ░░░░░░!” He snapped. “We’re goin’ to the dean’s office! Now!”
“What?! Hang on! Didn’t you hear that?!” Jackie protested. Anti, fighting against the professor, paused for a second to stare at him.
Jackie tried running forward, reaching for him. “Anti, do you know who I am?” he called, but—
All of a sudden, he fell forward. Bright lights surrounded him once more, and the schoolyard disappeared.
———————
Sounds echoed down the hallway. Slamming, thumping, various sounds of things hitting other things. JJ glanced nervously towards the open doorway of the hospital room. Then he glanced back at Jackie, slumped in his chair, and Anti, still unresponsive in the bed with Sam curled up on his chest and Jack hovering nervously next to him.
“If we can hear t’at, ev’ryone else in the hallway can, too,” Marvin muttered. “Really hope t’at people don’t go check it out.”
“Of course they will,” Jack mumbled. “They’re people. People get curious, especially when it’s something like that.”
We can’t have anyone walking in and getting hurt, JJ said. He took his stage mask out of his bag and pulled it on; it usually helped him focus his magic. Hold on, I’m going to ward all the other rooms on the floor.
“You can do t’at?” Marvin said, surprised.
In theory. JJ walked over to the doorway. He pointed at the nearest door and whispered something under his breath. A small sphere of blue light shot from his fingertip and bounced on the door, splashing and rippling across its surface. The sphere leaped across to the next door over, causing a ripple of blue magic there, too, and also spawning a copy. The spheres of blue light kept bouncing to every door, until each one was covered in an almost-imperceptible blue film.
“And t’at’s the whole floor?” Marvin asked.
In theory, JJ said. But they’re not the strongest wards. I don’t want to prevent doctors from reaching an emergency. It should be enough to prevent people from checking out the sounds, though. They’ll walk up to the door and think better of going out. But if there’s something really important, they’ll be able to power through.
“Sam, can you... tell me how they’re doing?” Jack asked. “Can you sense that somehow?” Sam swished their tail. “No, no, i-it’s okay, I know you can’t read minds.” Jack sighed. “Just keep trying to reach Anti.”
Suddenly, a scream rang out. The three guys’ heads snapped down the hall. “Was that Schneep?” Jack gasped.
JJ immediately started running out of the room, but Marvin caught him, stopping him. “Don’! You’re our las’ line of defense for t’ese two, remember?” He gestured back to Jackie and Anti. “You can’ be the las’ line of defense if you get yourself hurt.”
But Henrik! JJ protested.
“I know.” Marvin hesitated. “I’ll go.”
“But Marvin, your leg!” Jack gasped.
“Come wit’ me, t’en!” Marvin snapped.
JJ stared at Marvin for a moment. Then nodded. You brought the cards, didn’t you?
“O’course.”
Then go. Be careful.
Marvin nodded. “Actually, Jack, you shoul’ definitely come—at least push me down t’ere faster t’an I can wheel.”
Jack nodded. He hurried over, grabbing the back of Marvin’s wheelchair, hesitated a moment wondering if that was okay, then rushed down the hallway once Marvin seemed fine with it.
JJ turned back to the room, watching Jackie and Anti. His eyes glowed blue as he drew more of his magic out, prepared to protect them both if need be.
———————
Jackie found himself somewhere else. Unlike with the schoolyard, this place was mostly empty. It was a pub or bar of some sort. And not a nice one. The table surfaces were scraped up, as well as the surface of the bar. Small graffiti was written just about everywhere, on the walls, on the chairs, around the door frames leading in and out. The floor looked like it hadn’t been swept in ages. Grimy windows showed a view of a city at night.
Jackie looked around, and his eyes immediately landed on a man sitting at the bar. He was younger than expected—probably barely of-age to be in here—wearing an old black jacket and ragged jeans. Anti was the only patron in this shabby bar. Quickly, Jackie hurried over next to him. “Anti.”
Anti doesn’t respond at first, still leaning heavily on the bar. Then he slowly turned to look at Jackie. There was something in his hand. A lit cigarette. Though, it looked a bit strange to Jackie. He never smoked, was never even tempted, but he’d seen discarded ones all around and... there was something off about that one. Maybe it was just something weird with the MR. “And you are?” Anti asked.
“I-I’m Jackie,” Jackie stammered. “Jackie Parker. Don’t you—Do you remember me?”
“Hmm.” Anti blinked slowly. “Should I...?”
“Well... I-I don’t know, I’m not fully sure on how this works,” Jackie said quietly. “But yeah, y-you should! I think. Even if this is just a memory.”
“Hmm.” Anti blinked again. His eyes seemed a bit cloudy.
Jackie stared at him. “You... you need to wake up.”
“Heh.” Anti gave him a wry smile. “Why?”
Jackie was taken aback. “Because—because we’re all so worried. W-we miss you, you know. W-we don’t want you to have to keep going through this.”
“You don’t have to lie for me.” Anti took a drag of the strange cigarette.
“...what?” Jackie breathed.
“You don’t have to lie for me,” Anti repeated. “I know the truth. I’ve never even told you guys my name. Why would you care about some guy you don’t know the name of?”
“I-it’s not just your name, Anti!” Jackie insisted. “You’re our friend even without that! We know you! We—we know that you’re a good man—”
Anti barked out a laugh. “I’ve really managed to fool you all, haven’t I?”
“No! I mean—it’s the truth!” Jackie stepped closer. “We know you, A-Anti. You’re smart, really able to think out of the box with things, a-and you’re really creative too, though you would insist that hacking games isn’t a creative thing at all. And you’re fun to be around, you have this really sharp sense of humor that’s really great, a-and if anything goes wrong you’re really willing to go to bat for your friends. A-and you’re really good with kids. No matter how snappy you are with adults, you’re never that way with kids, and they all love talking with you. That’s why—that’s why Will got along with you, isn’t it? When you guys first met at the agency.”
“...Will,” Anti whispered. He looked down at the bar counter. “...They never should’ve let me take care of him,” he says quietly. “The only reason they did was because I fooled the background check. Not sure how. I guess they really weren’t all that thorough. Or maybe they didn’t care. That was a shitty agency, I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Jackie shook his head slowly, in shock. “You’ve... you’ve never said anything like this before...”
“That’s not the sort of shit you say out loud.” Anti closed his eyes and took another drag. “Go away. Leave me alone. I just wanna get rid of these thoughts. They’re... hot. They make my brain heat up. It’s from how fast they go, y’know. Not a lot makes them quiet. Listening to them does, but that gets me in trouble. Well... this gets me in trouble too.” He laughed, shaking the cigarette. “But at least it’s just me.”
“I... didn’t know you smoked,” Jackie said slowly.
“Well I do.”
Jackie stared at him. Then he shook his head. “No. You don’t. That would be hard to hide from us. You’re good at hiding things, but not that good. You... you must’ve quit. In the past couple years.”
Anti stared at him. “Why would I do that? This is the only thing that helps.”
“No, that can’t be true.” Jackie shook his head again. “You wouldn’t do that. You wouldn’t expose Will to that. So you must have quit. You must have figured something out.”
Anti stared some more. He gives a little laugh. “I... I think you think too highly of me.”
“No, I just know you,” Jackie insisted.
“...no, you don’t.” Anti whispered. “No one does.”
And before Jackie could retort, he found himself falling again.
———————
The battle was turning. Distorter managed to slash his nails across Schneep’s face, making three shallow cuts that nonetheless bled quite a lot, making it hard for him to see. They’d been fighting for fifteen minutes, and that felt like hours when you were enduring constant pain and exertion. Schneep was mildly surprised to find he wasn’t running out of energy—but his body still ached where Distorter had clawed and bit and kicked. Not to mention how he would sometimes throw his whole body at Schneep, slamming Schneep to the ground with a breathtaking impact. Everything was starting to add up. It was hard to keep going when movement hurt.
But Distorter wasn’t slowing down at all. Distorter wasn’t tired, and he wasn’t feeling the pain of Schneep’s punches and shocks the way Schneep was feeling the pain of his attacks. “Oh, someone’s hurting!” he laughed. “Someone’s slow!”
Schneep growled and sent another shock through Distorter’s body. Distorter jittered for a while, then recovered—faster than he had the previous times. Schneep felt Distorter’s wrist slip from his grasp—the sensation of bones grinding under his skin made him want to throw up—and Distorter punched him in the side of the head. Schneep managed to shake off the blow but it left his brain rattling in his skull.
“And I think you’re running out of juice, too,” Distorter whispered, smile widening. “Like a battery! Do you think you have some inside you?”
“Shut up!” Schneep shouted, grabbing Distorter by the shoulders and throwing him into the wall. Distorter just laughed and instantly jumped back, using the bounce of hitting the wall to give him more power as he tackled Schneep to the ground.
“Wonder if they’ll be disappointed in you,” Distorter whispered directly into Schneep’s ear. “Their great weapon can’t even take down one guy after five minutes.”
Schneep shrieked in frustration and jerked his head to the side, knocking it against Distorter’s. Distorter jerked back from the impact, giving Schneep just enough space to scramble out from under him.
Suddenly, Stacy gasped. “What are you guys doing?!” she shouted. “Get out of here!”
Schneep looked to the side, and saw Jack and Marvin in the room’s doorway. His eyes widened in horror, and he started to shout at them to get away before Distorter suddenly lunged at him again, nails digging into his skin.
“H-hey!” Jack shouted. He glanced around the room, then ran to the side and grabbed one of the hospital chairs that had been knocked over by the fight. He started to swing it towards Distorter—
“No don’t—!” Stacy protested.
—And Distorter leapt backwards, leaving Schneep to take the full force of the blow. “Oh my god!” Jack immediately let go of the chair. “I-I’m so sorry!”
“He’s too fast for us!” Stacy shouted. “I-I don’t know how Henrik is keeping up—”
Schneep pushed the chair back and scrambled to his feet, grabbing the chair as he went and bashing it into Distorter’s side. “Stronger than you two, I think,” Schneep gasped. “The chair just slows you down—” He suddenly yelped as Distorter grabbed his ankle and pulled, making him fall.
“H-hang on, Schneep, w-we’re here t’help!” Marvin said, taking his cards out of the bag attached to his chair and looking through them.
“Are you, now?!” Distorter laughed. “Why don’t you sit tight there? And you two—” His head snapped back and forth between Stacy and Jack. “Leave this to us!”
Suddenly, both of them collapsed, ragdolls losing all strength. Marvin gasped as he saw a drop of blood slip from Jack’s right eye. Distorter had done that! He’d controlled their bodies for a brief moment, just enough to make them fall like that. Hurriedly, Marvin looked through his cards.
“It’s just us now,” Distorter hissed to Schneep. He swiped his hands towards his face, but Schneep jerked his head back in time to avoid more scratches. But that was just to throw him off guard. Quickly, while Schneep was still reeling from that dodge, Distorter lunged forward, grabbing Schneep’s wrist. The two of them went tumbling, and Marvin couldn’t exactly make out what happened, but somehow it ended with Distorter pinning Schneep to the floor, holding both his wrists in one hand, knees pinning his legs. “Say goodbye.” Distorter’s free hand reached for Schneep’s neck, digging his nails into his flesh. Schneep thrashed against his grip but couldn’t break free, he gasped, starting to choke—
“No!” Marvin got up, dropping the cards in the process, and grabbed Distorter’s arm, pulling it back from Schneep’s neck.
Distorter looked up at him in surprise. “What? You—but—That shouldn’t be healed yet!”
Marvin blinked, and looked down at his broken leg. Or... formerly broken? He should have been in agony from standing on it, but it felt fine. Actually, it had felt fine for a while. He assumed the pain was fading naturally, but—but it still should have hurt when he put weight on it.
What happened?
In any case, Schneep was able to take advantage of Distorter’s surprise to pull a hand free and grab Distorter by the throat. There was an electric SNAP! and Distorter was thrown backwards with such force that Marvin couldn’t keep hold of his arm. Stacy gasped and scrambled to her feet. Jack did the same. That shock must have broken Distorter’s concentration. Stacy immediately rushed to Schneep’s side, helping him up. “I’m fine,” Schneep gasped. “I’m fine. It must look worse than it is.”
“Looks fucking terrible, yeah!” Jack said. Blood was dripping down Schneep’s throat in a steady river—or, actually, five small rivers, from five small wounds.
Distorter got to his feet, bones cracking. “Oh, does it?” he growled. Then he looked at Marvin and his grin widened. “Well, if you’re feeling better, you should make yourself useful, shouldn’t you? For your friend.”
Marvin blinked. Friend...?
Friend.
His vision seemed to waver, everything becoming blurry as his eyes lost focus. Friend. Friend.
Schneep went pale. “Marvin... don’t listen to him.”
“Smile for me,” Distorter whispered.
Marvin’s body moved without his mind, lurching for Schneep. Jack got there first, blocking him. Marvin tried to push past but Jack grabbed him, wrapping his arms tight around him and pinning his own arms in turn. “Marvin, snap out of it!” he shouted, but his voice sounded so far away... Muffled... Yeah... That’s the word for it...
“Schneep, watch out!” Stacy shouted, warning Schneep just in time for him to dodge Distorter suddenly attacking him.
“Schiesse!” Schneep cursed. “Y-you two take care of Marvin, I can handle this!”
“Can you?” Distorter grinned, and attacked again.
———————
For the third time, Jackie found himself somewhere else. But at least he recognized this place. It was Anti’s apartment, with the window outside showing the night sky, but it looked so different. There was hardly any furniture in the living room, pretty much just a sofa—not the sleeper sofa he had now—and a coffee table with a small TV on top of it—again, not the furniture he had now. The kitchenette didn’t have its counter stools... or anything else. It was pretty much just the furniture that was attached to the floor. Clothes were scattered around the floor, along with dishes, some of which were broken, most of which had old half-eaten food on them. Everything looked dirty. Jackie was glad that he couldn’t smell anything while in MR.
Anti was sitting on the floor between the sofa and coffee table, staring at the TV. It was on, but it displayed nothing but static. He wore an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Jackie hadn’t seen him wear an outfit like that in forever. Anti was alway proud of his style. But... he did vaguely remember a time like that. And he did remember seeing the apartment in a state similar to this... though he didn’t remember it being this bad. “Anti?” Jackie called.
He didn’t answer. He just kept staring at the TV screen, rocking back and forth. One hand absentmindedly scratched his wrist—in fact, it looked like it had been doing that for a while, judging by how red and raw the skin was there.
“Anti!” Jackie hurried over, waving his hand in front of the TV screen to get his attention. “I know you can see me!”
Anti’s eye twitched. “Shut up,” he mumbled. “Leave me alone.”
“No! I will not leave you alone!” Jackie looked over the TV, found the power button, and pressed it.
Anti suddenly shrieked. “No! No no no no—” He reached for the power, but Jackie grabbed his wrist, finding that he could touch some things while in MR. “Stop it! I need it!”
“You need to stare at TV static? What the fuck?”
“The noise, I-I need the noise,” Anti said in a hushed voice. He reached forward with his other hand, but Jackie grabbed that one, too. “I need the shapes in the screen!” Anti’s voice cracked. “I need—I need—i-it goes fast, I need—I need—I-I need—”
“Anti, please.” Jackie knelt on the ground next to him. They were pretty close together. He could feel Anti’s whole body trembling slightly. “That’s not... something you need. You’ll just hurt your eyes. H-how long have you been sitting here? Did you eat anything?”
“I—” Anti blinked, eyes still fixed on the screen like he could make the static reappear just by waiting. “I—I—I—M-my brain—is stuck,” he gasped. “I—I—I h-have to—I can’t—think of a-a-anything else—”
“Does this happen often?” Jackie whispered. “Or... did it? I know this is a memory. It has to be. I’ve never... seen you do anything like this these days.”
Anti laughed. His eyes rolled back to look at Jackie. “Just because you’ve never seen it—just because it hasn’t happened in a while—” He laughed again. “Wh-why are you here? Why are you here?”
“I’m here to help you wake up,” Jackie said quietly.
Anti shook his head. “Wh-what if I don’t want to wake up? Wh-what if—what if you’re making a mistake—What if y-you’ll all be better if I stay like this—”
“There’s no way we’ll be ‘better’ with you like this!” Jackie said firmly. “You think we’d be happy to hear that you’re—you’re stuck in memories like this?!” He gestured around at the horrid state of the room. “This is fucking awful! I-I can’t believe this was—this was how things were for you! Anti, why didn’t you ever tell us? I mean, I remember you not having a lot in your apartment when we first met, but it was at least clean. A-and at least Volt and I were able to help you out. Even if you grumbled the whole time.” He laughed. “This... why didn’t you say anything?”
Anti looked at him. “...doesn’t matter, does it?” he whispered.
“Why?” Jackie asked. “Why doesn’t it matter?”
“Because it’s just me... nothing important.”
Jackie stared at him, shocked. Then—he couldn’t help it. He shook Anti by the shoulders. “What are you saying?!” he shouted. “You—nothing important?!”
Anti laughed darkly. “Besides... no telling what you’d say.” His head lolled back. “Better to be nothing. Better to be angry. Better than... being hurt.”
Jackie shook him again, then realized that this probably wasn’t the best method for getting through to him and stopped. “Th-that does explain some stuff about you, I guess,” he said slowly. “But—but Anti. I promise you. We would never hurt you. I-I think... I think you’ve been hurt a lot. Is that it? Is that why?”
“Why what?” Anti mumbled.
“Why... e-everything, really.” Jackie shook his head. “Like I said, it would explain some stuff about you.”
Anti shrugged wordlessly.
“Anti, we would never hurt you,” Jackie insisted. “We care about you. We’ve always cared about you, a-and we’re not gonna stop any time soon.” Anti started to shake his head. “No, don’t do that. Don’t do that, Anti.” Jackie hesitated, thoughts scrambling. If he remembered correctly, he should be able to have some influence over the MR world. Not as much as Anti—or Distorter, who had created this illusion—but some would be enough, maybe. “Don’t you remember? H-here. I think—I think I can show you.” He held onto Anti tight, closing his eyes as he concentrated. Maybe—maybe if he thought hard enough about it—
He felt that falling sensation again. And this time, Anti came with him.
When they landed, Jackie immediately heard Anti inhale sharply. “Wh-what?” he breathed. Jackie opened his eyes... and saw that they had landed right where he wanted them to. In a hospital room. Another Anti was lying in a hospital bed, bandages around his neck, fidgeting absentmindedly with the edge of the blanket. On the table next to him was a small whiteboard and a dry erase marker. “This... place...” The Anti beside him whispered.
As the two of them watched, a man walked past the open door to the hospital room. Then stopped, turned around, and walked into the room. Now it was Jackie’s turn to gasp. He didn’t realize how much younger he would look. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d met Anti, was it? Or... maybe it was. “Um... hi.” The past Jackie gave a little wave. “You, uh... you’re new in here. I’m Dr. Parker. This is sort of, my area. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
The past Anti glared at him. He picked up the whiteboard, and wrote down Fuck off.
“Oh.” The past Jackie blinked in surprise. “Well, uh, I don’t want to bother you. Just wanted to introduce myself. You, uh... it’s funny, maybe we’re related? We kind of look alike, don’t we?”
The past Anti wrote over the Fuck off from before, making it bigger.
“Huh. Um... I’m guessing you can’t talk, then? That’s okay.”
The past Anti underlined the Fuck off.
“I wasn’t very nice to you...” Anti whispered. “I don’t know why you came back. I wasn’t expecting you to.”
“But I did, didn’t I?” Jackie said.
The scene before them fast-forwarded a bit. The past Jackie kept trying to talk to Anti but eventually left... and then returned with something. A milkshake. “I hope you like vanilla,” he said. “I thought it was the safest bet, but I can always go get another if you want. They have chocolate and strawberry down in the cafeteria.”
The past Anti stared at him. And, slowly, he picked up the whiteboard and wrote, Why? 
Shrugging, the past Jackie said, “It looked like you needed one.” He set the milkshake down on the table and sat down in the one chair in the room. Anti stared at him. Then stared at the milkshake. Then, slowly, reached over and picked it up, carefully sipping through a straw. Jackie smiled. 
Anti shook his head. “This... this isn’t the same,” he muttered. “You didn’t know me. I-I was just some—some random fucker with a hurt neck.”
“You know...” Jackie hesitated. “I... saw the report on your injury later. A-and all this time, I thought you’d gotten in a fight, you seemed the type. But lately... I’ve been thinking... You... don’t have to talk about it, of course. But... Anti, did... did you—”
“Yes,” Anti whispered. “But it wasn’t like what you’re thinking. The goal wasn’t... I wasn’t going to... I-I wasn’t thinking straight. I knew that... sometimes, if I got hurt, m-my thoughts would calm down. So I... But like I said, I wasn’t thinking straight... I didn’t... think of the consequences...” He trailed off. Then he turned away from Jackie, away from the memory of the two of them. “Don’t give me pity. I don’t need it.”
Jackie shook his head. “It’s not pity, Anti,” he whispered. “It’s empathy. It’s compassion. Because you’re my friend.” Tears welled in his eyes. “Knowing that all this happened to you... I-I can’t... it hurts me, to think about it.”
“Sorry to hurt you, then,” Anti muttered.
“No, not like that. It’s because I care about you, Anti. A-and because I care about you, I want to know this. I want to know, so that I can be there for you, so that I can help if something like it happens again. I-I’d rather know than suddenly get blindsided by this one day.”
“You don’t know me,” Anti whispered.
Jackie reached out. He didn’t touch Anti. He simply offered a hand. “Then help me know you.”
Anti stared at his hand. He hesitated, a nervous expression on his face... No. It wasn’t mere nervousness. It was fear. “You... won’t like what you see. A-and then you’ll...”
“I’ll what?” Jackie prompted. “Leave? Not want to be friends with you anymore?” He shook his head. “You’re already convinced that I think it’s better for you to stay asleep, in this fucking hellscape of bad memories. I don’t think it’ll get worse than that, will it?”
“Hearing it will be worse,” Anti said.
“Okay. But you might not hear it at all. You might find that I don’t care about whatever you’re hiding from me. You’ll never know.”
Anti was quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, as if expecting Jackie to pull his hand back at any moment, he reached out... and took it. Around them, the memory faded, a dull gray color taking everything over.
“Tell me about yourself,” Jackie whispered gently.
Anti nodded. “My... my mother was Ciara McLoughlin,” he said, forcing the words out. “She... lived in a town called Tragóige, i-in Longford County in Ireland.”
Around them, vague shapes started to form out of the grayness. Jackie saw a woman with long brown hair and dark eyes. She was checking her makeup in a wall mirror that hung on nothing.
“I—I d-didn’t know my father. She didn’t either, sh-she saw a lot of guys during that time. N-never checked, I think. Maybe she did, but she couldn’t reach him. I don’t know. All I know is... it was just the two of us.”
A small boy appeared next to the woman, tugging on the hem of her shirt. Jackie recognized Anti as a child. A room started to form around them. Dull brown-yellow walls with a faded wallpaper pattern. A TV on the floor and a saggy sofa. An overflowing trash bin. End tables with dirty dishes and bottles.
“We didn’t actually own the house. I-I knew that even when I was little. She rented it. It was on some farmer’s land, Donovan was his name, I-I think. He never seemed to like Ciara that much, I don’t know why he let us stay there. But we did stay there. My room was in the attic.” The room around them shifted, the woman disappearing, leaving just the child Anti, in a room with wooden walls and a slanted ceiling and a big circular window. “It was always up there. She got really upset when it was late at night and I showed up in her room. Which I did, sometimes. When I was littler. I stopped going down there when I got older. I figured out she wouldn’t do anything about the nightmares, or about me crying because I was alone.”
The scene shifted again. A classroom, filled with children. The young Anti sat in the back. For the first time, Jackie noticed how his uniform was a bit different than the others. The jumper was a slightly different shade of red, the pants had patches on the knees. “I didn’t really think anything was weird about all this until I went to school. I heard the other kids talking about their families and their parents and these things called birthday gifts. And... I realized I was different. They realized it, too. And kids don’t like kids who are different.”
Rapid-fire memories surrounded them. Anti being tripped in the hall by other kids, Anti having his things stolen by the kids around him, Anti being shouted at about how his eyes were weird, Anti getting his things back with insults written on them, Anti being taunted by the kids about how his mother didn’t care for him. Jackie’s heart swelled just seeing it.
“So, if they weren’t going to leave me alone, I was going to be too much trouble for them to deal with. I-I started fighting back, shouting back. I carried around a knife so that if anyone tried to hit me, they’d think better of it. That scared people. I... I think I liked that. I-it was better than being the one who was scared. So then I started doing things that would get around. Destroying school stuff, taking small things from shops, generally causing mayhem around town. I-it got me in trouble. A lot. I-I think I was just barely able to keep from being expelled, really. But... it worked. People stopped bothering me. But... some started getting really on my case. Which I don’t think I minded. I think... I think some part of me was thinking... that if I caused enough trouble, maybe she would finally do something about it. Ground me, shout at me, I don’t know. Something.”
The memories shifted. Anti grew older. A teenager. He waved a switchblade in other teenagers’ faces. He started fiddling with computers, using what he learned to break into other people’s machines. He threw bricks through windows and flipped off the police who started chasing after him. Rarely a sentence came out of his mouth that didn’t include at least one curse word.
“But... everything just got worse, too. I mean, of fucking course it did. I was the trouble kid, and soon, I’d be an actual criminal. So... before I turned eighteen, before I would have to start worrying about going to prison, I left town. I-it was really easy to, actually.” A memory of Anti at a bus stop appeared, a single backpack by his side. “I didn’t have much to tie me down there. But... I didn’t know where I would be going. Just that it wouldn’t be there. So I started wandering.”
Snapshots. Rural roads became suburb roads became city streets.
“I think... it’s around that time th-that I started... changing. I-I don’t know what it is. I studied psychology later, but I’ve never looked up what could’ve caused all this. I don’t... even really know how to describe it. Maybe I’m too scared to. I-it’s like... Some of it is intrusive thoughts, but it’s not just that. It’s... a state of mind. A disconnectedness. Disassociation, maybe? I’m not sure. Thoughts that keep going down the same path over and over, thoughts that I don’t want to keep going or get hooked on, but that I can’t stop.” Anti’s voice hitched. “F-for a while, I got... I got into some stuff, trying to muffle them. I-I knew it was bad, but I couldn’t help it. I-it was a short period of time, but I-I managed to get past it. But... that doesn’t mean things were better.”
More snapshots. Anti wandering city streets, Anti getting in fistfights, Anti causing more destruction and vandalism.
“I-I did some bad stuff. Stole things. Broke things. Attacked people for no reason, I-I might’ve even... k-killed someone.” His eyes welled with tears. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t mean to. I-I don’t know if it’s true, but... it might be. I-I don’t know. But eventually, I wound up in this city. Mirygale. I-I had some cash, so I started renting a place to stay. Bought a couple pieces of furniture. E-even found an old TV on the side of the road and a rebuilt computer. I didn’t expect to be able to stay there long, but it was... better than being out in the elements. But things wouldn’t stop. M-my thoughts... they... they weren’t being muffled anymore. I tried... other things. Distraction. Pain. Until... you know how that ended.”
The hospital room faded back into view. Jackie wasn’t there yet. It was just Anti in the past. Staring up at the ceiling. Eyes glazed. Completely still.
Anti took a deep breath. That scene faded away again, and they were surrounded by more of that gray nothingness. “So... now you know. Th-that’s my whole life.” He wiped at his eyes. “Jack’s my cousin, you know. Did you know that? I didn’t. Ciara never told me she had a brother, much fucking less that her brother had a family.” He laughed drily. “Maybe that’s where she got some of her money from. I don’t think she made a lot on her own.”
“I...” Jackie was left speechless. His brain struggled to process everything he heard... to understand all the misery that had plagued his friend’s life. “Anti, that’s... I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry that you had to go through all that.”
“Heh.” Anti gave him a small, wan smile. “Knew you’d say that.”
“You did? Then what was all that about being afraid to tell me?”
“Things will be different now,” Anti muttered. “You’ll look at me differently. You feel sorry for me, and every time you look at me, I’ll see that in your eyes. Just... something to feel sorry for. Maybe be a little afraid of. It won’t be normal.”
“Anti... that’s not true.”
“You say that but—”
“No, Anti, let me talk,” Jackie interrupted. “I’m sorry, but let me talk.” He put his hands on Anti’s shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes. “I feel sorry for you, yes. But that’s not all you are to me. You’re not an—an object for me to project feelings onto. You are my friend. You are the man I chose to be Michelle’s godfather.”
“You really shouldn’t have done that, by the—”
“Anti, please. Listen.” Jackie paused for a moment, making sure Anti’s full attention was on him. “You’re my friend. You’re my daughter’s godfather. You’re an excellent self-taught programmer—which is fucking amazing, by the way. And to get a minor in psych while doing that, fucking incredible. You’re a role model to tons of people online. You’re a great father. No matter what you think of yourself and your ability as a parent, you’re good at it, Anti. You’re good at all of this. Anti, I... I think I always knew there was something dark in your past. Someone who shows up in the hospital with a slit throat could not have had an easy life. And I saw your flat when you first lived there, remember? I knew you were struggling with something. But you know what? You managed to get past all that. You picked up your life. You got yourself a degree in fucking record time—and fuck anyone who says it doesn’t count because it was online—and managed to make yourself a career out of doing something that you love. Because I know you love games. Playing them and breaking their code, hah. And, after all that, you found a boy who was also struggling, and you gave him a home and someone who cares about him. The fact that you could do all this despite everything you went through? Anti, I think that’s the strongest thing I’ve ever heard a person do.”
Anti stared at him, completely and utterly shocked. “I... but... I-I’m not—I-I don’t really make a difference—”
“How could you say that after everything I just said?” Jackie asked. “All the people who love your videos aside—they’re all strangers really—what about the rest of us? You think we’d be the same without you? You think our lives would be better? Anti, that’s simply not true. Every day, I’m so happy to have met you. I’m so happy that you’re my friend. I-I always want to do everything I can to help you... sometimes to my own detriment.” He laughed weakly. “Because you’re my friend. Because you matter to me, because my life is so much better having met you. And it’s the same for everyone else, too. Especially Will.”
Anti swallowed a lump in his throat. “Maybe... maybe Will could’ve had a better family, if he hadn’t met me,” he whispered weakly.
“No, he couldn’t have. Because you care about him so much, Anti. You care so much that you’re worried you’re not good enough. But you are. There’s no one Will would rather have as a dad than you.” Jackie smiled. “And there’s no one we’d rather have as a friend. Anti, I love you. You’re my best friend. Don’t tell the others that, especially Schneep. But... I think it’s true. And you’ll still be my friend after this.”
Anti was quiet for a long time. He was blinking back tears. “Do... you promise?” he asked in a hoarse voice.”
Jackie gently grabbed his hand, wrapping their fingers together. “I promise, Anti.”
Anti closed his eyes. He leaned his head forward until it rested on Jackie’s shoulder. “Aodhán.”
“Huh?”
“My name,” he whispered. “I’m Aodhán McLoughlin.”
Jackie stood there, stunned for a moment. Then he smiled. “Nice to meet you, Aodhán.”
Anti let out a breath. And then, he started to sob. Quietly at first, and then louder and louder, great heaving breaths. He wrapped his arms around Jackie, squeezing tight, clutching at his clothes. Jackie hugged him back. Around them, the gray nothingness began to change. A green glow was piercing through the fog.
After a while, Anti stopped crying, but he didn’t let go of Jackie.
“Is it time to wake up?” Jackie asked.
“...yeah,” Anti whispered. “I’m ready.”
———————
“Marvin, I swear, we’re your friends!” Jack shouted desperately.
Marvin didn’t seem to answer. He kept struggling against Jack with that glassy look in his eyes, blood dripping from his sockets. Jack kept him pushed to the floor, and meanwhile, Schneep and Distorter were still fighting. And it was becoming increasingly clear that the fight was one-sided. Schneep stumbled, and Distorter pushed him against the empty hospital bed, his head hitting the railings with an unpleasant CLANG!
“Stacy?” Jack glanced over at her. “Do you have them?”
“Y-yeah, I think I got all of them!” Stacy pushed all the cards she’d gathered into a deck. Marvin’s cards, spilled across the floor when he suddenly jumped to Schneep’s aid. She hurried over, kneeling on the ground next to Marvin’s face. “Look! Marvin, these are yours! Do you remember these?!” She glanced at Jack, unsure. Jack nodded back. Surely the cards will jog Marvin’s mind or something. But his eyes were still glassy. “Uh... h-here, you can look at them.” She spread the deck out, showing the different designs on their backs.
And at that... something finally flickered in Marvin’s eyes. Jack felt his struggles still for a moment, and then one arm pushed against his hold. Jack hesitated, then let up for a moment. Marvin slowly reached for the cards, picking out two with the same symbol. Three lines forming a rough, wide U shape, with two dots in the middle.
“These? Uh, okay, what do we do with these?” Stacy wondered. “Uh—” she started putting random cards near those two, in hopes of getting more of a response from Marvin. It wasn’t working. Marvin’s eyes were glazing over again and he started to struggle again against Jack.
“I can’t hold him forever!” Jack said.
“I know I know! Uh—” With increasing panic, Stacy kept showing Marvin cards. Nearby, Schneep cried out in pain as Distorter bit into his arm. He lashed out and punched him back, but the cloth of his shirt ripped as Distorter pulled it away. “Marvin, please! You know this, we don’t! We need you! H-he’s playing mind tricks on you, please remember!”
“...mind,” Marvin whispered. He stopped struggling for a moment, reaching out and grabbing another one of the cards, this one with a pointed shape in the middle and two lines next to it. He pulled that forward, into the middle of the two cards from before—
A faint golden light rippled out from the three-card formation. Suddenly, Jack leaned back, blinking and shaking his head as he felt it suddenly clear. He hadn’t realized how foggy he’d felt until just then. Stacy’s expression was similar. And, suddenly, Marvin gasped. “H-holy fucking hell!” he shouted. “What the—wh-what’s happening?!”
Distorter looked towards him. “What? No! No, you’re supposed to be—” Schneep came out of nowhere, punching him in the face so hard it knocked him to the ground.
“The cards,” Marvin whispered. “Mind and safety—I-I knew. I knew e-even like t’at, I knew what they—Jack, can ye get off me?”
“Right.” Jack hurriedly moved away, allowing Marvin to sit up.
Distorter scrambled to his feet. “Fine! But that won’t work on your ‘friend’ Ant—”
A blue burst of light came flying into the room and hit Distorter in the chest, pushing him back against the far wall. Ice formed along his torso, pinning him there.
Marvin gasped. “Jems!”
JJ stood in the doorway, hand outstretched and eyes glowing bright. Don’t talk about Anti, he said. He’s not under your power anymore.
Schneep blinked. “You—you mean—”
Jameson smiled, nodding. The glow in his eyes faded, revealing the tears lining them.
“Forget abou’ t’at guy!” Marvin said, gesturing back at Distorter, struggling against the ice keeping him attached to the wall. “Let’s go!”
Everyone scrambled to their feet. Marvin made sure to get his cards but left the wheelchair behind; he could come back for that later. JJ looked confused about how Marvin was walking fine again, but shrugged it off. This was more important! They all rushed down the hall.
Distorter paused, assessing his connection to Anti—and found it gone. He screeched with frustration and broke away from the ice, tumbling to the ground. He quickly got up again, ready to rush after them... but then stopped. His head tilted to the side. What... was that? He... was sensing something strange. Slowly, he turned around, peering through the blinds on the window and down at the ground below. Oh. Oh. No, he didn’t want to be here for that. Quickly, he turned and ran, trying to find the easiest exit out of the hospital.
The group burst into Anti’s room. Marvin and Schneep weren’t sure what they would see. JJ said Anti was awake, but it didn’t seem real. Not until they all rushed into the room and saw Anti, unrestrained and sitting up, with Jackie sitting on the bed beside him, the two of them hugging each other tight and crying.
“...Anti?” Schneep whispered.
Anti looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, but clear, not glazed over. He gave him a small smile. “H-hi.”
Schneep relaxed. He laughed. “Hi? You are under a monster’s control for days, maybe weeks, a-and you just say hi?”
Anti shrugged. “Yeah? Fuck you. Is that better?”
Schneep laughed harder. “Oh. Oh, it is so much better. Anti. Anti. I-I am... so... so, relieved.”
Marvin covered his mouth, too overwhelmed by emotion to say anything. He hurried forward, reaching out but stopping. Anti stared at his hand, then took it, holding it in his. Tears filled Marvin’s eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I-I know what it’s like. Maybe... not... exactly all t’is, but...” He took a deep breath. “Y-you’re back. T’at’s what matters.”
JJ wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He nodded, choking back a sob.
“W-we should all give him space,” Schneep said, hiding the tears in his eyes as well.
“No, i-it’s fine right now,” Anti said. “I get it.” He looked past everyone else to Stacy and Jack, hovering near the doorway. “You two are here too, huh? Uh... good to see you, Jack. Stacy.”
Stacy looked a bit surprised, but nodded back. Jack gave him a tired smile. “I’m so glad you’re awake,” he said.
“Me too... fucking hell.” Anti shook his head. “I don’t ever want to relive that.”
“You won’t have to,” Jackie promised. “You’re back now. And we’re gonna make sure Distorter doesn’t fucking try anything like that again.”
Anti laughed. “Yeah.” He looked around the room. “Man... this place fucking sucks. Glad I wasn’t able to see most of it. Can I get out of here?”
“You cannae jus’ walk out of a hospital,” Marvin said.
“Yeah, there’s paperwork and stuff,” Jackie says. “We have to get a doctor to check you over.”
“We can go do that,” Stacy said. “Me and Jack.”
“Yeah, if you guys want a moment, we’ll just go look around for whoever’s in charge to tell them this,” Jack said. He glanced around and frowned. “And I’ll go look for Sam, too. Where did they go?”
“Yeah, you two can clear off,” Anti said. He paused. “Not that... it’s not good to see you,” he added awkwardly. “It... is. I-I think you guys helped wake me up? So... thank you. But... can I... Th-these guys are...”
Jack nodded. “We get it.”
Anti sighed. “Yeah.” He hesitated, then said, “Besides, as my family, you’re probably gonna be the one filling out paperwork.”
Jack’s eyes widened. He glanced around at everyone else.
“Wait, you’re related?!” Marvin gasped.
“We’re cousins,” Anti said. “It’s a... long story.”
I suppose that would explain some things, JJ signed, looking thoughtful.
“Finally, two of our group who look alike turn out to actually be related,” Schneep chuckled.
Jack smiled. He nodded at Anti. “Yeah. I’ll do all that paperwork and stuff. C’mon, Stacy. Let’s find a doctor.” The two of them headed off.
You’re really okay, Anti? JJ asked.
“I feel shitty, actually.” Anti pushed Jackie away a little and looked down at himself. “Fuck... hospital clothes don’t suit me at all. But yeah, my head’s all fucky a-and I feel... weak? I guess?” He looked back up. “How’s Will?”
“He’s alrigh’,” Marvin said. “Rama has been lookin’ after him. He’s missed you.”
Anti crumpled, tears coming back to his eyes. “I’ve missed him too,” he whispered. “F-for a moment... I-I was stuck in this facility, for a while, kept there by these guys called IRIS. And while in there, they said something, a-and... for a moment... I-I wondered if he was even real. N-nothing has ever scared me so much.”
“He is real,” Schneep said firmly. “And he is still your son.”
“And we know about IRIS,” Jackie added. “You don’t have to explain anything.”
Anti nodded, taking a deep breath. He raised his head higher, looking at Schneep, then Marvin, then JJ. “My real name is Aodhán McLoughlin.”
“Wha—” Schneep choked. JJ looked at Anti in surprise. Marvin leaned back, processing that. “Y-you just—just—”
“I told Jackie while in that freaky dream shit,” Anti said. “It’s only fair that you guys know, too.”
JJ laughed hoarsely. Well, it’s good to know, but it doesn’t change anything. Especially for me. It still starts with an A, so my name sign for you doesn’t have to change.
“You’ll still be Anti to us,” Marvin said. “Unless you want us to start usin’ Aodhán.”
“Uhhh no that’s too much too fast,” Anti said.
Schneep sighed. “Well... I suppose all this is settled. Finally.” He paused. “There is still much we have to do, though. But we can take a moment to rest. Get Anti out of the hospital. And—”
AAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAIIEEE!
Schneep suddenly screamed, clapping his hands to his ears and collapsing.
“Volt?!” Jackie gasped, scrambling to his feet. “What is it?!”
“What the fuck?!” Marvin stared. JJ crouched down and started shaking Schneep.
A man appeared in the doorway to the room. They all looked up at him in unison. Like all the doctors here, he wore a white coat. But there was a symbol on the arm. It looked like an eye with three irises.
“No!” Anti scrambled backwards, going pale. “F-fuck off!”
The man tossed something into the room and then slammed the door closed. It was a small metal ball, which fell apart into two different halves with a click. White smoke came billowing out from the inside at an alarming rate.
“What is t’at?!” Marvin asked. He grabbed the pillow from the bed and threw it at the metal ball, but the smoke was pouring out in such quantities that the thin pillow did nothing to stop it.
JJ threw his hand out and a blue shield formed a dome around the ball. For a moment, the smoke was trapped inside—but then the shield flickered and died. JJ looked down at his hand in alarm. He tried conjuring another shield but he couldn’t. He shot a bolt of magic at the ball but all he managed to do was rip the pillow in half and send the two parts of the ball skittering in opposite directions, both still emitting smoke.
“I-I don’t know what that is but it can’t be good!” Jackie shouted, running for the room’s window. But the window didn’t open. “Fuck!” He pounded his fists against the glass. He tried grabbing the chair but it slipped out of his grip. Shaking his head, he stumbled. Why did everything feel so heavy right now?
“It’s... i-it’s a drug,” Marvin said, his words slurring together, head drooping.
Anti tried to stand up, but found he couldn’t. So he started shouting. “HELP! HEEELP! HELP! PLEASE!”
But his pleas fell on deaf ears. Or maybe they just fell on ears that weren’t fast enough to do anything. His voice tapered off quickly and he fell back against the bed, eyelids fluttering.
One by one, they all succumbed to it.
And on a turn of a dime, their triumph was overcome by despair.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 4 months
Text
Puppeteer and Timekeeper
A JSE Fanfic
SepticHeroes AU: Part 25
First Part | Previous Part
GUYS I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS PART :D It's really long, about 7600 words, but so much is revealed that it makes sense. I want to get right to it so I'll keep this author's note short. Jackie and the guys check out Jameson's apartment, hoping to find out more about the Puppeteer. They do... and learn more about the city's hero before Jackie, too. :3c I've been waiting for this since the beginning. And now... it's time >:Dc
===============
Contrary to yesterday, today was nice and sunny. Too bad they would probably be spending most of it inside, looking through Jameson’s apartment.
Jackie and Chase headed out shortly after Chase got home from work. He looked tired, but he insisted on leaving right away. “We don’t want to keep Schneep or Marvin waiting,” he’d said, so they hopped on the first available train.
Schneep was already at Jackson Legacy Crafts by the time they arrived. He leaned against the nearby wall, looking casual except for the repeated tapping of his foot. “There you two are,” he said upon seeing him. “You’ve taken long enough. What happened? Was there a delay?”
“Hey, we’re right on time,” Jackie said defensively. “Sp—Marvin is the one who’s late.”
“You didn’t go in when you got here, doc?” Chase asked. “Do you still have the key? I mean, I guess that wouldn’t really matter for you, but you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I still have the spare key,” Schneep said. “But I...” He glanced back through the plate glass windows into the store beyond. The lights were off, but Jackie could still see the dust gathering on the displays and items. “I-I thought we should all go in at once. Seemed... fitting.”
Chase nodded. Next to him, Frosty walked over to Schneep and nudged his head with his leg. Schneep glanced down at him. He didn’t pet the dog but he didn’t push him away either.
They waited in silence for a few minutes. Watching the pedestrians walking by. There was always a lot of foot traffic in this area, but most of the passers-by didn’t glance at the closed shop. Until, finally, a familiar face peeled away from the rest of the crowd. “You’re all early,” Marvin muttered.
“Early?! No, you’re late!” Schneep snapped.
“I-I am not!” Marvin said defensively, a bit surprised that Schneep was the one getting on his case instead of Jackie. 
“Well you’re here now, so let’s go!” Chase said, quickly changing the subject. “Schneep, the key?”
Schneep nodded curtly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the key. He quickly unlocked the door and headed in. Jackie, Chase, and Marvin followed him.
The shop was just how it looked from the outside: dark and dusty. It was actually amazing how much dust could gather in just a few days. Jackie glanced at the clocks on the wall, wondering if they were still chiming every hour. It was strange to think about the shop with no one inside to hear their ticking. But this wasn’t the time for this. “You guys think there’s anything down here?” he asked quietly. “I know JJ said his apartment specifically, but...”
“I’m surprised nobody’s robbed this place yet,” Marvin said, looking around. “Some of this stuff would sell for a lot, and there’s probably still cash in the register.”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Jackie said, more out of habit than anything.
“I’m not stooping so low as to steal from a guy in jail,” Marvin responded, also out of habit.
“I do not think there would be anything down here,” Schneep said.
“Yeah, if JJ had some sort of secret... which, I mean, he did,” Chase said, “he wouldn’t want to keep stuff relating to it out where anyone could see it.”
“Alright, we’ll just head on up, then,” Jackie said, leading the way.
They passed by the counter—Schneep stopping for a moment to look at the family pictures hanging on the wall behind it—and opened the door to the upstairs. Jackie turned on the lights, and they all went up, pushing open the trapdoor at the top and finding themselves in Jameson’s apartment.
It looked exactly the same as it had the last time they’d all been there. Had it really been the same day JJ was arrested? The same day they found out who the Puppeteer was? Or... at least who one of the people behind the Puppeteer was. Jackie had told Chase about the Puppeteer’s mask yesterday, about the cameras and microphones and the LEDs being controlled externally. And then Schneep had called, and Jackie told him, too. They all knew that Jameson hadn’t become the Puppeteer because he wanted to. That there was someone else working with him, maybe controlling him somehow. And that had made them just as determined as Jackie was to find out what was going on up here.
“Where do we check, then?” Marvin asked.
“Schneep, you’re related to him, do you know anything about where JJ would hide stuff?” Chase asked.
Schneep hummed. “Not in the main area. It might be in the workspace, but last I checked, it had not been used in a while.”
“Workspace?” Jackie asked.
“Here.” Schneep walked over to a door and pulled it open, reaching inside to turn the lights on. The small space had been adapted from a closet. It was barely big enough for a desk and chair, but it was crowded with all sorts of projects as well, tools shoved under the desk, bits of wood pushed up against the walls. Much like the shop downstairs, it was covered in dust, though there was much more here than there was down there. Jackie could even see a cobweb in the corner.
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s touched that in like the past... six months,” Chase said. “I guess we can always check it later if we don’t find anything anywhere else. So... where else could we check?”
“Upstairs,” Schneep said, closing the door. “We should start in Jamie’s bedroom.”
“Oh, duh,” Marvin muttered. 
Jackie walked over to the spiral staircase in the corner of the room and peered up. “Y’know, I haven’t been up there,” he admitted.
“Yeah, me neither,” Chase said.
“Well, I have, so you all follow me, then,” Schneep said. He walked past Jackie and started up the stairs. The others followed.
The second floor of the apartment—technically the third floor, counting the shop downstairs—was much smaller than the one below it. There was just a single hallway. Windows on the left side looked out the back of the building. On the right side were two doors. At the end of the hallway was a small table with a pale green cloth and some dusty picture frames. Curious, Jackie immediately walked down to that table. Now he could see the photos in the frames. “Oh... are these JJ’s parents?” he asked quietly.
“Most of them,” Schneep said, striding down the hall to join Jackie. “I think there is one of my parents there, and there are a few of Jameson and—”
“Is this a flower?” Marvin asked.
Jackie looked back at the others. Marvin and Chase had gathered around the first door in the hall, which he and Schneep had gone right past. Confused, Jackie turned and went right back, passing Schneep. Sure enough, there was a framed photograph of a red flower with lots of petals. “Yeah, that’s a dahlia flower,” he said.
Marvin raised an eyebrow. “You can recognize flowers on sight?”
“Some of them. Dahlias are pretty distinctive, they look like a puffball, see?” Jackie gestured at the picture.
“Why’s this on this door?” Chase asked. “I don’t think JJ liked flowers that much.”
“No, that’s not for him,” Schneep said, not moving from where he was halfway down the hall. “That is Dahlia’s room.”
The other three all looked at him in confusion. “Uh... who?” Chase asked.
Schneep stared at them. “Dahlia.” When they didn’t respond, he looked just as confused as they were. “You... do know about her, yes?”
“Did... JJ have a... have a roommate this whole time?” Jackie asked. “H-how did he not tell us? How did we never meet this, uh, Dahlia?”
“...Are you fucking kidding me.” Schneep was shocked. It was like the three of them had just told him they thought the moon was made of cheese. “Marvin, I understand, Jamie was only just getting close to him, but—but Chase?! Jackie?! Did he never tell you about Dahlia? His fucking sister?”
“Sister?!” Jackie repeated, gaping. Chase’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “Jameson has a sister?!”
“Mein verdammter Gott!” Schneep facepalmed. “You actually had no idea?!”
“H-he didn’t tell us,” Chase stammered. “I would’ve—I-I would’ve written it down, if he had, I don’t... think I did?”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jackie demanded. “If Jameson has a sister, she’s your cousin, too!”
“Well I thought Jameson would say something!” Schneep shouted. “She is not here, as you can tell by never meeting her! So why would I bring up personal information like that?! I-it’s not... relevant, and it is not exactly pleasant to talk about!”
Marvin narrowed his eyes. “Why.”
“H-huh?”
“Why isn’t it ‘pleasant’ to talk about her?” Marvin asked. “That’s what you just said, right? Is she a dick or something?”
Schneep bristled, then calmed down and sighed. “No. Dahlia was—Dahlia is very nice. But she... sh-she is in the hospital. She has been for nearly three years.”
“...oh.” Marvin shrank a little, his suspicions disappearing. “I’m... sorry.”
Schneep laughed darkly. “Yes, I was too, when Jameson told me. I... Chase, you are very familiar with the collapse of the East SepTech building.” Chase shifted slightly, clutching Frosty’s lead close to him. “Dahlia was caught up in that, too. It injured her. She... she went into a coma. I-I had not... hadn’t yet reconnected with Jameson, o-or I would have known, I would have... asked to be assigned to her case.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “It was only after that I realized how close I was to her. Had been in the same building as her for so long, until she was transferred to another hospital out of the city, one that would help her more.”
“I... I’m so sorry, Schneep,” Jackie said quietly.
“It... is fine,” Schneep said haltingly. “It is really terrible for Jameson, though. H-he was so much closer with her. I thought that her... absence was really getting to him in the recent months. I thought that was why he was falling apart...” His voice trailed off.
They all stood there for a moment, until the silence grew from solemn to simply awkward. “So... we shouldn’t go in that room, then,” Chase said, stepping away from the door.
Schneep took another deep breath. “Maybe. Th-there is a chance that... that Jameson asked us to check his apartment because of her. Perhaps he left her medical information in there. But we should check everywhere else, first.”
“Agreed,” Jackie said. “Let’s start with JJ’s room, then.”
“Yeah,” Chase said.
“Lead the way,” Marvin added.
Jameson’s room was both exactly what Jackie expected and not at all what he expected. The walls were painted blue, and the clothes in the closet were neat and nice. The bed, dresser, and desk with its table were all made of old, looking fairly old. No doubt a set that Jameson had inherited. But... the room was a mess. Any clothes not in the closet were piled on the ground, and the blanket and pillows were twisted out of shape. Half-carved projects were piled in a box next to the desk—they all seemed to be dolls or marionettes of some kind. Some of them were even scattered across the desk’s surface, around an old desktop computer and monitor. Jackie picked up a couple of these, looking them over. “Puppets,” he said, and laughed even though it wasn’t that funny.
“Where do we check, then?” Chase asked. “I don’t wanna tear up JJ’s stuff if we don’t need to.”
Schneep looked unsure. “Just... around. There is sure to be something.”
But there was nothing. They even looked under the mattress and in the pockets of the clothes—well, Marvin did those, as the others were reluctant. There was nothing to find. Nothing that even hinted to JJ’s supervillain activities. Upon Marvin’s insistence, Jackie tried to get into the computer a couple times, but couldn’t guess the password. Schneep said he was pretty sure that the computer was just for work and listening to podcasts, anyway, and Jackie was inclined to agree.
So they moved back downstairs. They checked the living room, the kitchenette and dining area, the bathroom, the workspace. Nothing. Though... Jackie did notice that Marvin was tearing up the place a bit more than the rest of them. Rummaging through drawers and cabinets and not putting things back where they’d been before. The others all made sure to keep things in order.
“Guess that’s it, then,” Marvin said, closing the door to the workspace after everyone else had finished cleaning it up. “Whatever we’re looking for has to be in Dahlia’s room.”
Schneep nodded slowly. He looked up at the ceiling, as if he could see through it. “Let’s... go back up, then.”
As he and Chase led the way, Jackie hung back, pulling Marvin aside. “Hey,” he said. “You, uh... I don’t know how to say this. But... you’re being a bit... You’re being very thorough.”
“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be?” Marvin pointed out.
“Well, yeah, but...” Jackie paused. “Are you being this way... because you don’t... I-I remember how the Puppeteer controlled you for a time.” He noticed Marvin stiffen, but continued anyway. “You’re not... looking for evidence against him or something, are you? I mean, I know you’re not, stupid question. You were there when Gwen took the mask apart. But... maybe unconsciously, you don’t... like Jameson that much? And are being... not as careful as you could be... with his stuff?”
Marvin sighed. “I want to snap at you for assuming the worst in me, but I guess it’s valid in this case,” he muttered. “Look, I... It’s complicated. I didn’t know him as well as you guys did, so I don’t think I’m taking the ‘he’s the Puppeteer and now he’s in jail’ stuff as hard as the rest of you. But he was... nice. I-I still... like him?”
“Why’d you phrase that like a question?”
“Don’t fucking interrogate me, I—” Marvin shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not good with... feelings. Especially feelings towards other people. I... I feel the same as you do, I think. Just... simplified.” He paused. “I think... Jameson tried to apologize to me once.”
Jackie blinked. “Really? When?”
“Not too long before the arrest. A few days, maybe. He said he was really sorry, a-and he claimed it was because the shop was closed the other day, but...” Marvin trailed off. “I don’t... hate Jameson, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t want to be careless with his stuff, and especially not the stuff of his sister who’s in the fucking hospital. I-I find it hard to hate the guy. It’s like hating a kicked puppy.”
Jackie laughed. “That’s—that’s not funny. But... god, it kind of is what he looks like when he’s sad, doesn’t it?”
Marvin gave him a small smile. “It really is.” The smile faded. “But... It’s still true, what he did. To me, to all those people.” He locked eyes with Jackie. “I want to know why.”
A second passed. Jackie nodded silently. He understood. How could he not? It’s all he wanted to know ever since he saw who was behind the mask. “Let’s see if the ‘why’ is in Dahlia’s room, then. I have a feeling... And it’s not a good one.”
Chase and Schneep were waiting for them by Dahlia’s door. In fact, Schneep had been walking for the stairs, like he was about to come down and ask what was taking them so long. “Ah, you’re here,” he said upon seeing Marvin and Jackie. “So glad you could join us. Not like this is important.”
“Hey, we had shit to talk about,” Jackie said. “Let’s just... Let’s do this.”
“Yeah,” Chase said quietly. “Um... the door is locked, but...”
“I was about to do that, yes,” Schneep said. As soon as Jackie and Marvin had joined Chase by the door, Schneep turned and walked through the wall. A second later, there was the loud clunk of a rarely-used lock turning, and he opened the door from the inside.
“How’d it get locked, anyway?” Marvin asked.
“This, I think.” Schneep reached to the side, grabbing something and holding it up. A small wooden doll with jointed limbs, easily held in one hand. One of the doll’s own hands had a stick with a key duct-taped to it. “Jameson used this to lock it from within.”
Chase blinked. “Right. His powers aren’t just for people, also people-shaped things.”
“Yes, exactly.” Schneep stepped to the side. “Well... come in. A-and do be careful.”
The curtains were drawn in here, so as soon as everyone had filed in, Chase turned on the overhead light. The room was bigger than Jameson’s though only by a little. The floor was wooden but covered with a large circular rug with a pattern of white and purple concentric rings. A black metal bed with blue blankets sat pushed up next to the window, neatly made. There was a white desk with a closed laptop, a stack of notebooks, and pencils in a cup. And the walls were covered in two types of posters: vintage movie posters advertising the great films of the past, or superhero posters showing Heroes and villains duking it out. Jackie’s eyes were also drawn to one thing on the wall in particular: a flag with blue, pink, and white stripes.
Schneep noticed where Jackie was looking. “Ah. Yes, Dahlia was—Dahlia is the same,” he said. “But in the other direction. She and Jameson are twins. Identical in theory, fraternal in practice, as they said.” He chuckled.
“O-oh.” Jackie laughed a little. “That’s... that’s funny to think about.”
“This isn’t as dusty as the workspace,” Chase muttered, running a hand along the top of a nearby white dresser.
“I guess JJ took care of it... for a while,” Marvin said. He picked up something from the dresser Chase had touched: a wooden clock carved to look like a rabbit. “Heh. Cute.”
“Well... let’s look around, then,” Schneep said. “Ah, I will get the drawers, Jackie, you look around the bed, Marvin you search the desk, and Chase, check the closet.”
They all mumbled agreements and split up. Jackie stopped next to the bed, looking it over. It didn’t feel right to take apart someone’s bed, much less while they were in the hospital. But it was probably fine to check underneath. He got close to the floor and peered into the dark gap. He could see boxes and folded blankets. But in front of those was... something else. Something curved, with a fluffy bit sticking out. Jackie reached in and grabbed the item, pulling it out. A hat. A black hat with a blue feather, sort of Three Musketeers style.
...No way. This... had to be part of a costume or something.
Jackie set the hat on the bed and kept feeling around in the spot where it had been. He found a stack of cloth and what felt like a pair of boots. Quickly, he pulled this all out as well and put it on the bed. He unfolded the clothes, laying them out on top of the blanket. All black and blue, Victorian-inspired clothing with a short cape and a cloth mask meant to cover the lower half of one’s face.
“No...” Jackie whispered. “No fucking way. H-holy shit, this... this... Guys?”
“What is it?” Schneep asked. Marvin and Chase also stopped their searches and looked at Jackie.
“This... Is this what I think it is?” Jackie held up the hat and gestured at the rest of the costume. The suit.
Marvin’s eyes widened. He shut the desk drawer he had open and hurried over. “That’s not—not really it, is it?” he asked, awe in his voice. “That has to be like—like a-a costume or something, maybe she was a fan, I mean, look at all these posters—”
Schneep and Chase joined them, and Schneep picked up the top part of the suit. “I... Dahlia was not the type to wear costumes casually,” he said slowly. “On Halloween, yes, but... I-I do not understand. What is this?”
Jackie laughed. “I think it’s pretty clear what it is. This is Timekeeper’s suit. The coolest superhero this side of France. It’s just—just under her bed.”
Chase reached over and grabbed the hat from Jackie’s hands. Ignoring Jackie’s offended shout, he turned it over in his hands. There was a distant look in his eyes. He raised the hat to his face, then lowered it. “It... smells like dust...” he muttered. “Like... concrete and wood. Disaster.” Tears welled in his eyes.
“Chase, are you okay?” Schneep asked.
“Huh? I-I’m fine.”
“Then... why are you crying?” Jackie asked quietly.
Chase touched his face, catching a tear as it fell. “I-I don’t know. It... it feels like... there’s something... I feel like I’m forgetting something again...”
Marvin looked over the suit. “Hey. There are... rips in the fabric.” He gestured at spots on the pants and cape. Jackie hadn’t noticed it before, but yes, the suit was a bit beat up. And as Schneep put the top back down, he looked down at his hands to see gray dust on them.
Jackie reached out and felt the suit, just as Marvin did the same. “Feels gritty.”
“Yes.” Marvin nodded. “Henrik... you said that... Dahlia was in the same incident Chase was. Where the buildings came down. Wasn’t that... one of the last fights Timekeeper was seen in? Maybe the last fight?”
Silence. Slowly, Schneep nodded, eyes going wide.
“W-well... that would explain why this looks familiar,” Chase said, holding up the hat. He reluctantly put it back down on the bed. “Maybe I saw Timekeeper that day.”
“But I-I don’t understand,” Schneep said. “Timekeeper is a—”
“A guy?” Jackie interrupted. “Yeah. Physically.” He pointed at the flag on the wall.
Marvin laughed. “What a way to hide your identity.”
“Yeah. I guess Dahlia wasn’t concerned with her super identity matching her normal one. Or at least, not as much as I am, hah.”
“B-but I don’t—” Schneep cut himself off and threw his hands in the air. “Verdammt! Why are both my cousins supers?!”
“Oh you’re one to talk, Specter,” Jackie pointed out. “What are the odds of all three of you having powers?”
“Not too low, actually,” Marvin mused. “Research shows that superpowers have a genetic factor—”
“So, we’re all in agreement, then?” Chase asked. “Dahlia is Timekeeper. And she’s also Jameson’s sister—who he didn’t tell any of us about. That’s what’s happening?”
“Yeah, I... I guess.” Jackie ran a hand through his hair. This was all... so much to process. This whole time, his superhero role model was related to one of his friends. And that friend became a supervillain. What the fuck was his life?
“Well, that probably makes this important.” Chase pointed at the closet. “I was about to tell you guys this before Jackie showed us the supersuit, but... there’s a tape in there labeled ‘play if I die.’”
That snapped Jackie back to reality. “What? A tape? Like a video tape?”
“Yeah. There’s also—uh, just come see.” Chase walked back over to the open closet, Frosty by his side. The others followed. He pushed aside some dresses and gestured at the floor.
Jackie crouched down. On the floor of the closet was an old mini TV with a built-in tape player, a heavy-looking old camera, two shoe boxes with writing on the side in permanent marker... and, on top of those shoe boxes, a black videotape. He grabbed it and stood up. “Doesn’t exactly say ‘play if I die,’” he corrected. Schneep and Marvin leaned over each of his shoulders, looking. There was white masking tape across the top of the cassette. Black marker words were squished across the surface. ‘Play if something happens to me,’ it read.
“Oh, right, but it’s the same thing, isn’t it?” Chase said.
“No, it’s really not.” Jackie turned the tape over—and saw more masking tape with words. ‘Or if something happens to me,’ these ones read. They were in different handwriting.
“That is Jameson’s writing.” Schneep tapped the ‘Or if something happens to me’ message. “The other one is Dahlia’s—though I confess I have not seen her writing as much as his.”
“Well, something certainly happened to both of them,” Marvin pointed out.
“Yes, we should watch it,” Schneep said. “Chase, is there anything else in here that would help?”
“Well I haven’t checked the shoeboxes,” Chase said. “I mean... They’re at kind of an awkward angle for me. I only read the writing on the tape cause it was facing up.”
“Right, right.” Schneep nodded. He got down to the ground and pulled the shoeboxes closer. “This one on the bottom is labeled ‘Childhood Videos’ and this one on the top is... and I am reading this directly, ‘Adult Videos (but not like that! I mean we’re grown up in them).’” He chuckled fondly.
“We can leave the childhood videos for now,” Jackie said, not wanting to pry too much into the Jacksons’ lives. “But the, uh, not-childhood videos might be useful.”
“Say what they’re called, coward,” Marvin said jokingly.
“Just cause you asked I won’t,” Jackie said, also jokingly. “Look, let’s just drag all this out. Chase can’t really sit on the floor to watch them.”
A couple minutes later, they’d taken the old TV and the box of ‘not-childhood videos’ and moved them over to the bed. They had to do some moving, taking the stuff off the bedside table and moving that over and plugging the TV in. But once it was done, all four of them were sitting on the side of the bed. It was a bit crowded. But nobody said anything. “Okay... I have rewound the tape to the start,” Schneep said, leaning forward with his hands on the TV’s buttons. “Are we ready?”
Everyone nodded silently.
“Okay.” Schneep took a deep breath, and pressed play, leaning back so the others could see.
The tape stalled for a while, showing just a blue screen, before static gave way to a close-up of a bright blue eye, framed by mascaraed lashes. “Gah! Shit.” a voice said. Then  the scene shifted. The camera was now placed on a flat surface—judging by the background, it was the desk in this very room. A woman was standing in frame. The resemblance to JJ and Schneep was clear. She had the same sort of build, if maybe more feminine, and the same brown hair and bright blue eyes. Her hair was done in a curled style reaching down to her shoulder blades. She wore a white tank top with a semi-translucent purple button-up over it. She took a deep breath, then smiled at the camera. “Hi. My name is Dahlia Jackson. But you might know me by another name. I am Timekeeper.”
Jackie inhaled sharply. It was one thing to piece it together from the suit under the bed, it was another to hear it from someone’s mouth—even if it was through a recording. His eyes glanced down at the date in the corner. January 1st, three years ago. Only about a few months before Timekeeper vanished.
“Now I know what you’re thinking,” Dahlia continued on screen. “‘Whaaat? This lady is Timekeeper! But that’s not possible! Timekeeper’s a man!’ Well, you know, you shouldn’t make assumptions about people.” She laughed. “I’m uh...” Hesitation. Jackie recognized it on her face. He knew this sort of pause very well. “I make sure that everyone thinks I’m a man when out taking care of stuff. I figured, the whole point about a secret identity is that it’s secret, and what’s a better way to hide it than make people think you’re another gender?” Another laugh. “But now you’re thinking ‘what proof do you have? This recording could be edited!’ Well, no, it couldn’t be. That’s why it’s on a tape. So that everyone who watches this will know that this isn’t fake.”
Dahlia stepped up to the camera, grabbing something from behind it. A ceramic mug with a Christmas theme. “Observe,” she said. And she raised the cup over her head and dropped it.
It only fell about a foot before its fall visibly slowed, losing momentum until it stopped mid-air. Dahlia stepped to the side and waved her hand above and below the suspended mug. “See? Not edited. And no trick wires or anything. This is my power.”
“Holy shit,” Marvin whispered. Jackie glanced away from the TV for a moment to look at the others. They were all shocked, Schneep the most of all. Although, there was something else in Chase’s face. Something like... concentration. Like he was trying to... remember something.
On screen, Dahlia grabbed the mug out of midair and set it back on the desk. “I’m making this video because...” She paused, several emotions struggling on her face. “Well, I-I realized that... that if something happens to me, no one will know. If Dahlia Jackson gets in an accident or something, the public will wonder about Timekeeper. And if Timekeeper gets... hurt... in battle, my friends won’t know why Dahlia suddenly disappeared. This is for that. I’m trusting this to my—to a family member of mine.” She froze. “Maybe I shouldn’t’ve—Should I start ov—No, no, i-it’s fine. Probably.”
“She means Jameson,” Schneep whispered.
“If something happens to me as Timekeeper, he’ll play this for the people who know Dahlia,” she continued. “And if something happens to Dahlia, I’ve asked him to give it to... some authority figure. The media. Maybe the police. Not the League, please.” She laughed. Maybe that was a nervous habit of hers. “But... yeah. I’m Dahlia Jackson, and I’m Timekeeper.” She tossed the mug in the air. Its flight stopped suddenly, shortly before it reached its apex.
“People are always curious about our origins.” She kept going with the mug hanging there. “Mine is... unusual. In a way. Um... nobody knows this, not even most of my family, but my mother had superpowers. Not much, really. She could conjure these strings out of thin air. They didn’t really do anything but glow slightly, so she just used them to sew stuff up. Special stuff. Like my first dress. Or a plush animal she and Dad sent to relatives living out of country—”
Schneep inhaled sharply.
“—or like, good luck socks.” Dahlia grinned, but there was some sadness to it. “She was born with it. Said it came from her father, whose guitar was stringed with superpowers. And, ah...” She looked unsure for the first time. “I have... another close family member... with powers like Mum’s. He can make strings like her, but um... Anyway, I grew up knowing two people who could do these amazing things, but I was just not all that special. My dad wasn’t super, but he was very smart and talented. Felt kind of... strange, just being there. I wanted to do something great. But, uh, I-I didn’t get my wish the way I wanted to.”
Dahlia took a deep breath. “When I was about ten years old, some burglars broke into my family’s shop. We lived in a flat right above it, so the burglars came right upstairs. They ordered my parents to open the safe down in the shop. Mum and Dad didn’t want to, of course, so there was a bit of a scuffle. One of them threatened me and my... my brother. He tried to protect me, using—he tried to protect me, but one of them had a knife. He turned and whirled on my brother... and...” Her eyes went distant. “...the burglar tried to kill him. I-it was bad. I screamed, knowing, even as a kid, that the chance of coming back from that was rare, needing to stop it, to stop everything—and so, everything did stop. It all froze. The living room of our flat caught in a single moment of time, with just me.” She forced a smile on her face. “A-and ever since then, I’ve had some control over the flow of time.”
Behind her, the mug paused in midair suddenly fell with a loud clatter. She jumped a little, turning to look at it. “Shit,” she whispered. Then turned back. “W-well, I might have to clean something up, so I’ll hurry. Why did I decide to become Timekeeper? It’s... quite simple, really. Because it’s hard for a ten-year-old b—girl to forget the sight of a man trying to kill her brother. I never wanted anyone else to have to go through that. No other kid has to live through something so harrowing. So, as soon as I left uni, I began preparing. And not long after that, when I was sure that I could support a secret identity and a hero identity... I went out into the world.” Her eyes flashed with determination. “If I could save just one person, it would be worth it. But I wasn’t going to stop at one. I-I know it’s probably impossible for one person to save everyone from everything... but I can save a lot. And I’m going to. I promise, as long as I am Timekeeper, I will not quit.” A wan smile crossed her face. “Hopefully this tape will never be shared. But if it is, I want anyone watching to know that, okay? This is what I wanted to do. And I will have no regrets.”
Dahlia let out a long breath, then stepped up to the camera, picking it up. She fiddled with it a bit, then the scene suddenly switched—
Schneep leaned forward and paused the tape. “I-I am sorry, I—I need a minute.” There were tears in his eyes behind his glasses.
“Y-yeah, of course.” Chase nodded. “Take as much time as you need, doc.”
“Yes.” Schneep pulled his glasses off and stood up, walking out of the room’s open door and turning out of sight.
Jackie leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. Oh. There were glow-in-the-dark stars above the bed. He stared at them, finding patterns in the random design. So. That was Timekeeper. That was Jameson’s sister. He understood why Jameson wouldn’t tell any of them about her. Was Jameson proud of his sister? He had to be. Jackie would be. But why hadn’t he shared the tape like Dahlia wanted? People had been wondering about Timekeeper ever since he—she—disappeared. Maybe... maybe Jameson thought she would pull through. Even after all this time. Maybe he just believed in his sister that much.
A couple minutes later, Schneep walked back in. His eyes were red. He sat down again, put his glasses back on, and asked, “So, are we ready to continue?”
“If you are,” Marvin said in an unusually gentle tone.
“Y-yes, I am.” And before they could say anything more, Schneep reached forward and pressed play again.
The date in the corner read August 23 of this year. The camera was moving so much that it was hard to tell what was happening. Until, eventually, it settled. It was placed on a wooden surface—the coffee table in the living area downstairs. The camera was pointed at the TV, filming nothing of significance. Until a hand came into view. A hand holding a phone with tape over the camera.
“JJ,” Jackie realized, recognizing his phone. “Wait, he doesn’t usually have his camera taped up, does he?”
“I do not think so,” Schneep muttered.
The phone and the camera were tilted this way and that until the camera could see what was on the phone without the light from the screen blinding it. This was a text message conversation between JJ and a number labeled Unknown. Quickly, Marvin reached over and paused the tape. “Let’s look at that,” he said, and started reading out loud.
I have another special target for you. 
Is it less dangerous than the last one?
About the same. Just expect to get burned instead of frozen. He will be in the Impressionist Exhibit at the Daindover Fine Arts Museum, at 1:15 AM exactly this coming Saturday night.
Marvin stopped reading, going pale. “That’s—that’s me. Th-they’re talking about me.”
“Are you okay?” Jackie asked.
“I’m fine,” Marvin said hurriedly. He played the tape again.
Jameson’s phone disappeared from the screen for a moment. Then it reappeared with a new message on screen, sent from him. Almost immediately, the Unknown number sent a reply. Marvin paused to read aloud some more.
What if I can’t do this? This is a lot to ask.
You know what will happen if you can’t. Don’t you need her? Don’t you care about her? Or have you grown callous? After only twenty days? I thought you were a kinder man than that, Mr. Jackson.
“...no,” Schneep whispered, shocked. “This can’t be—” His fists clenched. “Keep going.”
Marvin played it again. Once more, the phone disappeared and then came into view with new messages. Pause, read out loud.
I’ll do it. But I want you to know you are a plague on this city.
I prefer to think of myself as the opposite. An Anti-Virus, if you will. Ha ha ha. But if you are concerned about a plague of puppets now, you should save that worry for later.
As soon as Marvin played the tape again, a new message appeared, making him pause it immediately.
Why is your phone camera covered?
Jackie shivered. “This person can see through JJ’s phone camera?” His tone was hushed, as if scared this mystery person could see them right now. “Keep going!”
Marvin nodded, pressing play again. Instantly, things changed. The camera view flew backwards, the screen becoming a blur of colors and then going dark, a bit of reddish light along one edge. Jameson had just thrown the camera onto the sofa. Silence followed for a while. The group of four waited with baited breath. Until, finally, they heard footsteps. The camera view shifted, brightening again. It was pointed at the ground. Jameson’s shoes came in and out of frame as he walked across the floor. The creak of a door. The floor changed from wood planks to tiles. And then the camera lifted upright again.
Jameson was in the apartment’s bathroom. The camera was pointed at the mirror, showing both it and Jameson in the reflection. He looked... scared. His eyes darted back to the door, then back to the mirror again. He picked something up off the counter and held it up. A notepad. A notepad with writing on it. Instantly, Marvin paused the video again and read what was written.
About one month ago I got a mysterious phone call. The robotic voice on the other end said it had kidnapped my sister Dahlia from the hospital where she was resting in a coma.
Play. Jameson put down the notebook, camera jostling, and turned the page. He held it up again. Pause.
When I checked with the hospital Dahlia was not there. Their records showed that she had been transferred but the doctor in charge was not notified. I sent an email to the new hospital. It never made it. I was instead emailed by this stranger again.
Play. Jameson turned the page again. Pause.
They refused to identify themselves, but sent a picture of Dahlia. There was a newspaper with that day’s date. They said they knew about my powers. And that if I wanted Dahlia to live, I would do what they said.
Play. Another page turn. Pause.
I cannot let anything happen to Dahlia. If you watched the first part of this tape, you know why. She is not just my sister. She is a hero. People need her. So I agreed. If you’re watching this, I have probably been arrested. Know it was not my idea.
Play. Another page turn. Pause.
I think this stranger is a super with technopathy. They can see me through any modern camera and monitor my activity online. But I don’t think they can access this old videotape model. So I record it here. Find them. Stop them. They have a plan and will not stop if something happens to me.
Play. One last page.
I have to continue to play along. They will get rid of me if I become reluctant. But I might break one day. I’m sorry, Dahlia. I’m sorry, my friends. I’m sorry, everyone.
With tears in his eyes, Jameson lowered the camera and the notebook. The tape abruptly stopped and the TV returned to its blank blue screen.
The four of them sat there, faces bathed in the blue light, all absolutely shocked. “Holy shit,” Chase whispered.
“I’m going to kill them,” Schneep whispered. His voice strengthened. “I am going to find that motherfucker and I am going to kill them for what they’ve done to my cousins. I am going to strangle them with my bare hands and watch the light leave their fucking eyes—”
“But how are you going to do that?” Marvin asked, looking at him. “They only contacted JJ through electronics.”
“Messages can be traced!” Schneep shouted, standing up.
“Yeah, but I don’t think they’d let that happen.” Marvin stood as well. “This super is probably whoever was remotely accessing the Puppeteer mask. The one actually doing the talking.” Marvin looked at Jackie. “The same person who edited my warning email to you. If they can do that, they can probably make sure their communications are untraceable.”
“What’s technopathy, by the way?” Chase asked.
“Oh. It means they can control technology in some way,” Marvin explained. “Either the physical machinery or the programming and stuff. Hardware or software. Sounds like this guy is software-based.”
Jackie shook his head and got to his feet. “This is it!” he said excitedly. “This is what we came here for! I-it’s the evidence that’ll prove JJ was innocent in all this! Or, more innocent, at least. If he was being blackmailed his ass is covered under the law! Not even the Super Laws, just the law. I don’t know if he can get free entirely but he’ll at least be going somewhere other than the Vault, a-and for much shorter, too!” He ejected the tape and grabbed it. “I-I gotta take this to the League—”
“Um—” Marvin coughed. “You probably shouldn’t do that. And I’m not just saying that cause I hate the League. Don’t you remember what Dahlia said?”
“Yeah, even I remember,” Chase said. “She definitely said she didn’t want JJ to take the tape to the League if she disappeared.”
“I—Okay, well, the regular police, then,” Jackie said.
“Are you sure?” Schneep asked. “This is the only tape we have. Do we want to hand it over to anyone? What if something happens to it? Is there—is there a way to copy video tapes? There must be, yes?”
Jackie frowned. “That’s a good point... But what about this mystery super? The real Puppeteer. This... Anti-Virus, they called themself that in the message. If JJ’s right and they can watch through cameras, we don’t want to leave the tape anywhere they can see it.”
“I have people I can ask about this stuff,” Marvin volunteered. “The Dismantler and her family are really good with tech.”
“Okay, you ask them, then.” Jackie looked at the TV and the shoebox of other video tapes. “What do we do with all this stuff? Should one of us take it home?”
“I dunno if there’s room for it in our place,” Chase muttered.
“I can store it somewhere,” Schneep said. “I can take the tapes now then come back for the television and camera later.”
Jackie nodded. “Okay. That works out.” He paused. “Can I at least tell the League I have evidence that JJ is innocent? Do you think I can do that?” A nervous breeze ruffled the curtains. He really, really wanted to get started on this process as soon as possible. The less time JJ spent in prison, the better.
Marvin sighed. “I don’t know, Windstorm. Use your best judgment. Do you think it’ll help? Really?”
“I...” Jackie swallowed nervously. “I have to try. For JJ. For both of them.”
“Course you do.” A smile flickered around Marvin’s face. “Well. I guess I’ll be leaving, then. Seems like we’ve found what we needed.”
“Yeah, Jackie, it’s getting late.” Chase pointed out the window. The sky was the orange of sunset. “We should get home.”
Jackie nodded. “You’re right. I-I need the Red Line to contact the League anyway, and I left that in my room.”
Schneep bent over and picked up the box of tapes. “So... we will all be leaving, then.”
“Mm-hmm.” Jackie paused. “Uh, Schneep. If you need anything... you can ask me anytime.”
Schneep locked eyes with him. “What I need most is my family home safe. But I think you are already working on that, yes?”
“...yeah,” Jackie whispered.
“Keep in contact with me. If there is any news with the tape, or the League, or the police, you call me first.”
“Don’t give too much away in texts or phone calls,” Marvin said. “I don’t... I don’t think they’re secure.”
Once upon a time, Jackie would’ve called him paranoid. But now he nodded, thinking about this other super who’d watched and controlled JJ for so long. Anti-Virus. That’s what they’d call them. “We’ll talk about big stuff in person.”
“Well... great, then.” Chase, with Frosty’s help, stood up. “Let’s get out of here. It feels... wrong to be in this room. Maybe even in this building.”
Jackie had to agree. Somehow, it felt disrespectful.
The group quickly dispersed, going their separate ways. Jackie remained quiet on the train ride home. His head was still spinning with everything that happened. The videotape was in his hoodie pocket, a square shape against the fabric. He kept one hand on it at all times. This was the key. The Jacksons wanted their story known. Some way or another, he would make sure it was shared.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 3 months
Text
Hold My Hand Tight
Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Nineteen
A JSE Fanfic
Forgive me if the title seems unfitting, I almost forgot to queue this so it's super late as I'm titling it and writing this author's note. I'll get straight to the summary. Chase realizes that he made a mistake earlier, and so tries to make up for it by hanging out with Marvin, just the two of them. There's also a brief discussion about what to do about the thing in the school basement, and a scene where JJ gets an unexpected visitor. Enjoy reading :)
More of this AU
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The school week passed uneventfully, but still, Chase couldn’t help but feel like something was off. And it wasn’t because of the “paperpillar” in the basement. He hadn’t heard anything about that. No strange sounds or sights, and no rumors about a paper monster in the school. No, this was something else.
It took him until Thursday afternoon to realize what it was. He was watching TV in the living room. Schneep was there, too, but he was curled up reading instead of paying attention to the show (he wasn’t into this show.) The commercials had just started, allowing Chase’s mind to wander—and then it hit him. “Oh my god, I’m an idiot,” he whispered.
Schneep looked over at him. “What? Why?”
“I called Marvin ‘weird’ again.” Chase hit his forehead. “Dumb! Dumb dumb dumb! I didn’t mean it like that! I should’ve used a different word!”
“Chase.” Schneep lowered his book and stared at him.
“Don’t sound so disappointed! You didn’t say anything when it happened!”
“I was busy thinking about how Marvin suddenly had powers. And... a-and I should not have to say something every time you make a mistake.”
Chase slumped back against the sofa. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he repeated, mumbling.
“What did you mean it like, then?” Schneep asked.
“I dunno. Uh... strange, but cool. Because it is cool.” Chase shook his head. “I just... I use that word all the time. Everyone does. Even Marvin does, I’ve heard him say it. But I should’ve thought about what happened. And the, uh... the... surroundings. Of the word. There’s a word for that, um... the context. I should’ve thought about the context.”
“And you should have realized what you did before now,” Schneep muttered.
“I know! But we’ve been kinda busy!” Schoolwork was really starting to get intense, which wasn’t fair, because the end-of-term exams were still at least a month away. And besides that, there was, you know, a giant paper caterpillar in the basement of the school. And that weird Circle group, which everyone was convinced was watching them. And that guy who looked like Anti—Jackie had called him Jack McLoughlin. Chase had tried asking around about him, but he was too old for any of the kids in his year to have known. “And I’ll say again, you didn’t say anything, either. And neither did Stacy!”
“Well maybe she thought you would’ve realized on your own much faster,” Schneep pointed out.
Chase sighed, slumping further. “I should’ve.” He paused. “Uh... what do I do now? I should say sorry, right? Or has it been too long?”
“You should say sorry.”
“Yeah.” Another pause. Chase stared blankly at the commercials on TV. Some toy ad was playing. He didn’t really care about it. “But like... I wanna do more than that, too. Cause like... I don’t want Marvin to hate me. Or think I hate him. I want to do something to make up for... um... being a butt.”
Schneep laughed a little. “Maybe you two can do something together. Ah, ‘hang out’ somewhere.”
“You don’t think that’s too much?”
“You just said you wanted to do more than just say sorry. I think hanging out together could be that.” Schneep shrugged. “Marvin might not want to, of course. In which case, you still say sorry. There is nothing to lose in asking. You should not be so, ah, unsure about yourself.”
“...yeah, I guess you’re right.” Chase nodded. “I don’t know what he’d want to do, though. I guess he could choose. That’d be easier, and show that I, uh... wanna hear about stuff he likes to do.”
Schneep grinned. “That seems good to me. We will see everyone tomorrow after school to talk about everything, ja? You can talk to him after all that about this.”
“That’s a good plan. Thanks, Schneep.”
“You are welcome.”
At that moment, Mom walked into the room. She glanced over at the sofa on her way to the kitchen. “Chase, do you want to break your spine? Stop sitting like that.”
Chase groaned. “It’s fine, Mom!” he said, but sat up straight anyway.
Schneep laughed.
++++++++++++++++++++
The whole group had agreed to meet up at Zelly’s on Friday. Mom dropped Chase and Schneep off, promising to pick them up when they texted her. Everyone else was already there. Jackie, Stacy, and of course, the Jacksons. Chase stared at Marvin for a little longer than he probably should have. But Marvin didn’t notice. He was too busy methodically shredding a napkin.
“Hey guys!” Jackie grinned as Chase and Schneep sat down. “We’re probably not gonna have a lot of time. I have to work in like, half an hour. But I think that’ll be long enough.”
“I didn’t know these guys sold hot chocolate,” Stacy said as she read a menu.
“Yeah, they sell it in winter,” Chase said. “Did they put it on the menu already? It’s not that cold.”
I’m going to disagree, JJ said. He was wearing a blue jacket over his normal shirt.
“Well, let us decide what to get and then talk about the past week,” Schneep said.
They decided on their drinks—Jackie, Stacy, and JJ would get hot chocolate while Chase, Schneep, and Marvin stuck with soda. A server came over and they ordered, adding on a couple baskets of fries for the table. As soon as the server was out of sight, Stacy leaned forward. “So, like, how does this work? Do we just start talking about how to deal with the paper thing in the basement right away?”
“The paperpillar,” Marvin said, his eyes brightening a little. “It’s a paperpillar. Paperpillar!” Clearly, he really liked the word and/or the concept of a paperpillar.
“Yeah, that,” Stacy said. “What’re we gonna do about it?”
“Do we need to do anything about it?” Schneep asked. “It has not come up into the school since we saw it. And I have not heard about any trouble.”
“But like... it tried to eat Jackie, sooo...” Chase pointed out.
“It wasn’t eating me, it was just like... wrapping around me,” Jackie said. “It didn’t hurt or anything. And I don’t think something made of paper can ‘eat’ things in the first place.”
Chase has a good point, though, JJ said. It ran at us the moment it saw us. It will probably do the same thing to anyone who goes into the basement.
“Hmm. Yes, you are right.” Schneep nodded. “Even if most people do not go down there, it looked like there was a lot of, ah, maintenance things there. Someone will go in the basement one day to mess with those things. That is how maintenance works.”
“Alright, so we agree we gotta stop it, then,” Jackie said. “How?”
“Uh... we can, like, burn it or something,” Stacy suggested.
“Whoa!” Chase laughed. “I-I didn’t think you’d say that.”
“What? Cause I’m a girl? Girls can burn things down if they wanna.” Stacy pushed her glasses into place. “And if it’s made of paper, fire is probably the best thing to use. Have you ever seen paper burn? It goes up immediately.”
JJ nodded. We can find lighters easily enough. Maybe we could throw one at it. Maybe a couple, just to be sure it will catch—
“Maybe let’s not set a fire in the school?” Jackie said delicately. “If it spreads to the rest of the building, uh... there’ll be a lot of people in there. So... that’s bad.”
“Oh.” Stacy blinked. “Right.”
Will it spread so easily? JJ wondered.
“Yes,” Jackie emphasized. “If the thing on fire is a big paperpillar that can run really fast, then yes.”
JJ frowned. Probably a bad idea, then.
“There could also be gas things in the basement,” Schneep added.
“Okay, so no fire,” Chase said. “But what do we do, then? We can’t banish it like the ghost, we can’t pop it like the bubble monster, we can’t cut it up like the mushrooms, we can’t... uh... what did we do with the monster dog?”
Marvin, previously rather quiet, straightened. “I was thinking about that, actually. Uh, so, you know, we managed to like, pull all the greenlight out of the monster dog and turn it back to normal, right? Using a bunch of crystals. But, like, uh... I have this now.” He held out his hands, palms up. A tiny ball of green light appeared hovering over each of them. He quickly closed his hands into fists, making the lights disappear, and continued. “Maybe I can just pull the greenlight out of the paperpillar by myself. I mean, if that’s a good idea. Do you guys think it is?”
Chase squirmed in his seat a little, but no one was looking at him to notice.
“Do you think you can do that?” Stacy asked. “I mean, in movies and stuff people always have to learn magic and get better and stuff through practice. Pulling out the greenlight seems hard.”
“I, uh, I have been practicing,” Marvin admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed.
JJ nodded excitedly. He can make shapes!
“Make shapes?” Schneep repeated. He leaned closer, intrigued. “How? Can we see?”
“Oh, uh... s-sure.” Looking uncharacteristically nervous, Marvin cupped his hands together, holding them over the table palms-down. A translucent green golf ball appeared on the table under his hands. Then it shifted to a cube. Then a pyramid. Then a squiggly sort of cylinder. Then Marvin lowered his cupped hands over the shape and it disappeared.
“Cool,” Chase breathed.
Very cool! JJ signed. He can also make glowing stars, like the kind that goes on ceilings, they look so nice at night. And he can make tiny hands and ropes to move and grab stuff.
Marvin laughed. “Y-yeah.”
“Wow.” Jackie grinned. “So, you’re kinda like Green Lantern, then.”
“Who?” Marvin asked.
“He’s a superhero.”
“Oh. Well, I’m a witch.”
“We are getting off topic,” Schneep said, shaking his head. “The point is, do you think you can do that? Pull the greenlight out?”
“Uh... I mean, I don’t think I can really practice that,” Marvin said slowly. “Not without something that has greenlight in it. And the only thing we know about like that right now is the paperpillar. So... we kinda just have to try.”
“If crystals can make greenlight more powerful, maybe we can bring some to try and help you out?” Stacy suggested.
“That’s a great idea!” Jackie said, grinning. “Okay, I think we have a plan. We meet after school one day—oh.” They paused for a moment as the server returned with their fries and drinks. “Thanks.” After everyone had their order, small talk with the server was done, and the server had walked out of earshot, Jackie continued. “We’ll meet after school one day. Go into the basement to find the paperpillar. Most of us will try to distract it as Marvin tries draining the greenlight. If he can’t do it, we’ll run and try again some other day.”
“We’ll need somewhere we can defend, then,” Chase said. “A fort of some kind.”
If we’re doing it after school, maybe we can lure it out of the basement and into one of the classrooms? JJ said. There are sets up in one of the Theatre rooms we can hide behind.
“That sounds perfect,” Stacy said.
“Okay, but before we start talking about more details and stuff, can I ask something?” Chase said. “Has anyone found out anything new about the Circle? Or that Jack guy who looks like Anti?”
A chorus of various ‘no’s rang out around the table. “The same teachers are being weird, but nothing actually happened all week,” Marvin said.
“Maybe they’re not going to do anything,” Stacy said optimistically. “Maybe they’re just going to keep an eye on us to make sure we don’t say anything.”
Schneep frowned. “I do not trust grown-ups like that to not do anything. Just because nothing has happened yet does not mean nothing will happen ever. They are probably just waiting for a good time to... to...” He looked down into his soda glass and went quiet. Chase leaned a bit closer, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. Schneep squeezed back.
“We still have to be careful,” Jackie said. “Try not to go anywhere in school alone. And definitely don’t trust strangers.” He paused. “You also asked about Jack, right, Chase?”
“Mm-hmm.” Chase nodded. “Did you find anything? I didn’t.”
Jackie shrugged. “Got confirmation from some Band kids that Jack moved back to Ireland right after the school year ended. But they didn’t know anything else about where he’d go. One of them knew his parents’ names, I guess... guess I’ll try looking online or in phone books for their names? Gonna be hard covering all of Ireland, though. So it’ll take a while. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Anti would look like that guy.”
“Maybe it’s random,” Stacy guessed. “Maybe Anti just started looking like the first person he saw when he came out of the dark place.”
JJ frowned. Maybe. But I think there’s a connection. It’s just not clear why.
“Yeah.” Chase paused. “Well... back to the paperpillar, then.”
The group talked some more, hashing out the specifics, and agreed to try fighting the paperpillar after school that Monday. After that, they talked some more about school. Mostly complaining about tests and homework. JJ and Schneep insisted it wasn’t that bad, while everyone else universally agreed it sucked. Even Stacy, which surprised Chase, since she seemed like the smart type. Jackie did point out that school was important, but he was probably only doing that because he felt like he had to, as the oldest one in the group. After the school discussion, they talked about games and movies and books for a while before it was time for them to all go. Mostly because Jackie’s shift was about to start and it would’ve been awkward for the kids to stay there while he was working.
But, as Schneep suggested, Chase hung back, waiting. When everyone was gone but him and the twins (Schneep agreed to wait outside) he tapped Marvin on the shoulder and said, “Hey. Can I, uh... talk to you?”
Marvin looked at him. Then he looked at JJ. Then back at him. “Yeah. Do you mean alone? Should JJ leave?”
“Uh... I guess not,” Chase said. “I was just wondering if you wanna... hang out? Sometime this weekend? Not like, the whole group, I mean. Just you and me?”
“Um...” Marvin looked confused. “Sure, but why?”
“I wanna hang out with you,” Chase said. “I don’t think I’ve done stuff with just you before. Or, uh, just you,” he added, looking at JJ. “If you and me wanna do something after this, we can.”
JJ smiled a bit. That’d be great, but I don’t think I’d have the time. I have a lot of classwork to do. But you and Marvin can do stuff together. I don’t mind.
“You sure?” Marvin asked.
I’m sure.
“Alright, then.” Marvin looked back at Chase. “What were you thinking?”
Chase shrugged, trying to look casual. “Whatever you want to do.”
Marvin stared at him. “...shit. What do I like to do?”
JJ laughed, seeing the blank look on his twin’s face.
“Oh shut up.” Marvin shoved him. JJ shoved back. The two of them were distracted by a shoving contest for a couple seconds before Marvin suddenly went “Oh!” and looked back at Chase. “I got it. Do you wanna go watch a movie?”
“A movie?” Chase repeated. “Uh, yeah. Sounds fun. The theater’s closed on Sundays so we’ll have to go tomorrow—”
“Oh, not at the big cinema,” Mavin interrupted. “Have you seen the small one on Everson Street? It’s just called ‘Hollewych Motion Picture Cinema.’ It’s kinda old.”
“Uhhh... I think I’ve seen that?” Chase hadn’t really thought much about it, though. It was just part of the background of that street. “You want to go there?”
“Yeah, we go there all the time during school holidays,” Marvin said, gesturing to him and JJ, who nodded. “They don’t usually show new movies that just came out, instead they screen a lot of ones that are already out. Some of them are kinda old, too, but they can do anything that’s on DVD. We can go tomorrow or Sunday, they’re open all the time. And nobody usually goes there so it’s not as crowded. Which is great.”
“Okay. Sure.” Chase nodded slowly. “I don’t know if Mom will let me go see a movie by myself.”
“Why not? Doesn’t she let you go to the library and park and stuff alone?”
“Yeah, but I dunno. Something about a movie seems different. But, uh, maybe if I say Jackie is going too, that’ll work out. He can... watch a different movie. While we watch ours. If he’s cool with that.” Chase glanced towards the kitchen doors. Jackie had disappeared through them a couple minutes ago. “I’ll ask him. Does that work?”
“Yeah, fucking perfect.” Marvin smiled a little. “So... talk to your mom and Jackie about times and stuff. Then call JJ.” JJ waved. “And I’ll pick up.”
“Got it.” Chase nodded. “I’ll see you later, then.”
“See you later.”
And with that, Chase turned and left the restaurant.
++++++++++++++++++++
Chase was correct; Mom would not let him go to the movies without someone else. When he asked why, she said it would be dark so anything could happen. But she agreed to it when he said Jackei would come. And thankfully, Jackie agreed, too. He picked up Chase Sunday morning, and together the two of them picked up Marvin and drove down to Emerson Street.
This was in the center of the city, where a lot of the older buildings were. Hollewych Motion Picture Cinema sat right on the street. That was a bit weird, since the other theater in town, the Cineworld, was a bit off the street, surrounded by parking lots. Posters were plastered on the sides of its concrete building. There were no posters outside HMPC, only a couple of those signs with the removable letters hanging on the side of the brick building. Marvin, Chase, and Jackie walked up to these signs. They listed the prices for tickets and the movies that were currently playing, times included.
“I brought extra money if you guys need help covering your tickets,” Jackie said.
“No, I got it,” Marvin said. “JJ and I know how much it costs. We use his allowance money for it. I got just enough right here.” He put a hand in his pocket. “But all of this looks boring.”
“Uhhh I wouldn’t mind watching a couple of these,” Chase said. “But, um, yeah. You can choose. I dunno what you’ll want to see if it’s all boring to you, though.”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
There was a ticket booth next to the theater’s entrance. Marvin walked right up to it, leaving Chase and Jackie to follow. A man sat behind the glass in the booth—a boy, really, not that much older than Jackie. He wore a nametag pinned to his shirt that read ‘Nick.’ He wasn’t really paying attention to them, instead reading a thick-looking textbook propped up on the counter. “Hey,” Marvin said.
The guy—Nick quickly closed the textbook. “Hi, what can I do for you toda—Oh hey, Marvin.” He looked at Chase. “Did Jameson get shorter?” Then at Jackie. “Or... taller?”
Marvin grinned. “No, this is my friend Chase, and the beanie boy is my friend Jackie.”
“Oh, nice to meet you two.” He stared at Jackie for a minute. “Aren’t you that kid with the name change?”
Jackie looked a bit nervous, but smiled. “Uh, yeah, that’s me.”
“Alright.” Nick looked back at Marvin. “What can I get for you today?”
“Do you have an empty theater?” Marvin asked. “Your listings are boring.”
Nick laughed. “Yeah, one’s empty right now. What d’you want to play?”
“Can we watch, uh... that bridge movie? The sad one?”
Nick’s eyes widened slightly. “That’s, uh... probably a bit too sad for your friends’ first visit here. Don’t want to make a bad impression.” He laughed again, just to clear the tension. “How about The Princess Bride? Or maybe Narnia? We’ll be getting the sequel to that soon, y’know.”
“Narnia is good,” Marvin said, looking a bit disappointed but getting over it quickly. “Two for that.”
“Um, what’s playing in the theaters next to the empty one?” Jackie asked.
“We have The Godfather and Spider-Man 2.”
“Oh hell yeah. I’ll have a ticket for Spider-Man 2. Can I just walk in?”
“Yep, go ahead. I think it just barely started.” Nick bent over, fiddling with something under the counter, and reappeared with three yellow tickets. Marvin and Jackie paid for their respective tickets and Nick passed them over, along with some change. “Alright, you two head to Theater 2, it’ll be a moment to get it started. Jackie, right? Yours is Theater 3, it’s to the right of 2. Enjoy your movies.”
The three of them said their thanks and headed inside, Marvin in front. The interior of the small theater was done in shades of warm yellows and oranges against contrasting black. There wasn’t much in the main entrance, just a small counter for concessions manned by a woman with curly blond hair. She was also familiar with Marvin, handing him two small bags of buttered popcorn. Chase watched this and wondered how often the twins came here if the staff knew them on sight. Or maybe not many people worked here. Maybe both.
They walked down the one hallway, with Marvin talking as they went. “This style of, uh, interior design is called ‘art deco,’ JJ really likes it, and I can get where he’s coming from but I think I like ‘art nouveau' more, it’s much more swirly while this one is all angles. And here we are!” He stopped in front of a pair of theater doors. 
“You guys have fun,” Jackie said, continuing down the hall. “Text me if anything happens. I’m not gonna silence my phone.” He laughed. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t!” Chase said. “You have fun too!” And he followed Marvin into the room.
There were only five rows of seats in here, and the screen, while much bigger than any TV Chase had ever seen, was way smaller than regular movie screens. The chairs in here looked a bit old, their red fabric cushions faded, but there was something nice about it. “You gotta sit in the middle,” Marvin said, inching his way into the third row. “That way you’re not too close or too far away. But if there’s a lot of people they always go for the middle, too, so if it’s full, I prefer the back. But it’s not full now.” He sat down in the exact middle of the row. Chase sat next to him, and Marvin passed him one of the popcorn bags. “Cool, huh?”
“Yeah.” Chase nodded. “Um... so... I wanna watch the movie, but I... also want to... talk to you about something.”
Marvin stared at him. He nodded slowly. “Okay. Let’s wait for a bit. Watch the start of the movie.”
“Okay.” Chase nodded back. “Um... I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this one. What’s it about?”
“Oh, you haven’t?! Okay, so...”
Marvin had just enough time to explain the basic plot before the lights dimmed and the film started. Chase tried to relax, but he couldn’t. He was busy mentally preparing what to say. And then... well, he was a bit confused. “I thought you said this was a fantasy movie,” he whispered to Marvin.
“I said that they went into the fantasy world,” Marvin replied in a normal volume. “They have to start in the real world first. You’ll see. The beginning is, like, ‘oh my god,’ but then they go out to the country and find stuff there.” He paused. “Also you don’t have to whisper. It’s just us in here.”
“Riiiight.” Chase nodded, going quiet for a moment and trying to pay attention for a bit. Marvin didn’t have any problem with that. He was immediately sucked into the movie, eyes glued to the screen even as he ate popcorn. Chase almost hated to interrupt him. But he had to. So, when the movie seemed to be slowing down, he spoke up again. “Um... can we talk now?”
Marvin glanced at him. “They’re not even in Narnia yet.”
“Yeah, but... but I-I wanna talk before we get too into it.”
Marvin sighed. “I guess that makes sense.” He put the popcorn bag on the seat next to him and looked at Chase. “What is it?”
“I, uh...” Chase’s mind went blank. He fidgeted with his own popcorn bag for a moment before putting it aside and blurting out, “I’m an idiot.”
“Okay.”
“Wha—You’re not gonna, like, say that I’m not?”
“A lot of people are idiots,” Marvin said. “I’m an idiot. But we’re smart in other ways. I thought you were establishing a rapport.”
“A what?” Chase repeated, confused. “What the heck is that?”
“It’s uh... You know, I don’t actually know how to explain it.”
Chase shook his head. “Well, I wasn’t doing that. I was, um, opening up to something. I’m an idiot because... because I didn’t realize I’d made you upset again. When we figured out you had greenlight powers, I said they were weird. I, uh... i-it took me a while to realize you, uh... got... your feelings hurt.”
“...oh.” Marvin stared at him, then looked back at the movie. “That’s fine.”
“No it’s not!” Chase protested. “I didn’t want to upset you! I... I’m sorry I did. I wasn’t really thinking. I was just... using the same word I always would’ve and didn’t think about the context. I’m really sorry. You’re not weird.”
“Yeah, I am.” Marvin didn’t look back at Chase. “I’m an idiot, but I’m not fucking stupid. I like wearing capes and others don’t. I talk a lot and others don’t. I get upset when the lights in the school are too loud and others don’t. I’m a fucking weirdo, Chase. And you don’t have to pretend I’m not. I know. People think I don’t know, but I do. I mean, I didn’t used to know, like when I was really little, but by now, I’ve figured it out. I’m not normal. I’m weird. Fucking... deal with it.”
“...oh.” Chase wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “I, um... It’s not a bad thing. To, uh... not be normal.”
“People always say that,” Marvin sighed. “But like... even though I don’t get made fun of or anything, the difference feels bad sometimes. Like—like—” He gestured vaguely. “Like, everyone is painting a picture, but my paints are different colors. And I can mix colors and stuff to get something that’s sort of close to what everyone else is using, but it’s not right, and everyone can tell. So, like, fuck it, right? Might as well use my own colors. At least then everyone’s looking at my painting. Even though they like everyone else’s better.”
Chase nodded slowly. “Um... I like your painting, though.”
“Uh... I don’t actually have a painting. It’s a metaphor.”
“No, I know. I know what a metaphor is, I’m okay at English class. And I’m keeping going with this one. I like your painting. I like how you use different colors.”
Marvin finally turned to look at him, surprised. “But... you...” He paused, struggling for words. “You keep... It’s... I’m a magic weirdo, though.” He raised one hand, a little baseball-sized sphere of greenlight forming in his palm.
“I like that you’re a magic weirdo,” Chase explained, grinning. “Look at that! That’s so cool. You can just, like, make stuff. Freaking amazing, bro.”
“And... the cape and stuff?”
“I’m not gonna lie, it was, uh, strange at first, but now I know you and it’s also cool.”
Marvin blinked. “I’m... confused.”
“Uh... how do I say this...” Chase looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “If we talk about it like paintings again, I think... I think a lot of people want their paintings to look just like what everyone else wants to see. Maybe they’re drawing a bowl full of apples, but they wanna draw a bowl full of oranges, but people like apples more than oranges so they don't. For me... I’m looking at what everyone else is painting. A-and I’m trying to do the same thing.”
“Why do you want to make the same thing everyone else is making?” Marvin asked quietly.
Chase shrugged. “I think everyone does. But that’s impossible. Everyone paints differently. Why don’t you want to make the same thing?”
Marvin paused. He shrugged. “It’s hard. And it’s not fun. And it’s not... it’s not me.”
“Yeah.” Chase smiled at him. “And I like that. I like that you’re... that you’re so you all the time. I-I wish I could be as much me as I wanna be. But... when my painting starts looking a bit different than everyone else’s, I get nervous. I-I don’t want people to look at it and think ‘I don’t like that because it’s not like mine.’ So, even if it’s hard and not fun and not me, I try to change it. But you don’t. And I think you’re really... I think you’re really brave and cool for that.”
Marvin blinked. His eyes were looking watery. “I... I-I get nervous, too, you know.”
“Yeah, but you do it anyway, and I don’t. In fact, I...” Chase lowered his head, ashamed. “I get so nervous that I don’t even want my painting to be near different ones sometimes. B-but I shouldn’t want that! It’s not fair and it’s mean and it’s not what I really want. I want to hang our paintings together.” He raised his head again. “I want to keep being friends. Screw what other people think. But I-I might make mistakes sometimes. Because I’m not used to it. So... I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
A moment passed. Marvin looked away. It took Chase a moment to realize he was wiping his face on his cape. When Marvin looked back again, his eyes were red, but clear. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “I... I want to keep being friends, too. I’m not... good at making them. So, a couple mistakes aren’t gonna make me hate you or anything.” He smiled a bit. “But I think you should’ve said this earlier.”
Chase slumped with relief and smiled back. “Yeah. I know now. But I’m an idiot when it comes to other people’s feelings and stuff. Don’t know how to deal with it.”
“Fuck, I don’t know, either. Let’s just agree to talk about stuff right away in the future. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Marvin smiled wider. He leaned over and bumped his shoulder against Chase’s.
Chase laughed. “Oh, man. I have not been watching the movie at all. What’s even going on?”
“Oh shit, I think we missed the first moment! Alright, it’s okay, I remember what happened. So basically...”
As they grabbed their popcorn again and settled down to finish the movie, Chase felt like a weight was lifted from his chest. Huh. He didn’t even realize that was there.
++++++++++++++++++++
JJ closed the textbook, relieved to finally be done with his history notes. Carefully, he slid the sheets of lined paper into his binder, preparing them to be turned in on Monday. God, he hated taking notes. He was already good at remembering stuff. He didn’t need notes. Especially Cornell notes, ugh. They didn’t help at all! Why was his World History teacher so obsessed with them? Why did he need to prove that he’d done them?
He’d do it anyway, of course. They got graded on their notes. It’d look bad if he skipped them and got a bad grade as a result.
Well... now what?
He sighed, leaning back in the kitchen chair. He wished there was room for a desk in his and Marvin’s bedroom. It’d be nice. Doing his homework in the kitchen wasn’t too annoying, but it did mean Mam and Dad sometimes poked their heads in to ask if he was working. Which... obviously he was. And... obviously they were interrupting him. Obviously.
JJ stood up and put his binder back in his bag. Then he headed out. He could hear the TV playing from the living room. Sounded like one of Granmam’s shows. Maybe after he put his bag back in his room, he’d come back down and sit with her. She didn’t mind it when he was there. 
Sometimes he and Marvin wished that their grandmother could stay with them all year. Everything seemed... somehow better when she was there. But they knew they couldn’t ask her to do that. They were lucky that she stayed with them through Christmas every year. Grandparents didn’t usually do that.
He headed up the stairs. There was more TV noise coming from Mam and Dad’s room (totally wasn’t fair that they got a second, personal TV and he and Marvin didn’t even have a desk) but he ignored that and headed straight to his room. He walked in, turned on the lights, put his bag in its usual place in the corner by the door—
“Hey.”
—and then spun around when hearing the sudden voice.
Anti was sitting on the windowsill. It was narrow, probably a tough place to sit, but Anti could float so it didn’t really matter to him. He grinned when he saw JJ and gave a little wave.
JJ grabbed the nearest thing he could find—one of Marvin’s shoes—and threw it at Anti. It passed right through him and thudded against the window’s glass.
Anti’s grin disappeared. “You really like throwing things, huh? Rude. You’re so... so fucking rude.” Then he giggled, as if amused by his own swearing.
What are you doing here? JJ demanded.
“I still don’t know what you’re saying, but you pointed at me, so you’re probably asking why I’m here.” Anti tilted his head. “Your twin is off doing something right now. With someone else. Did you know about that?”
Confused, JJ nodded. He glanced around the room, wondering if there was something he could use to get Anti out of here. Maybe if he threw enough stuff at him he’d go away. He took a couple steps forward, aiming to get to the dresser.
“You did? And you’re okay with that?”
JJ nodded again. Why wouldn’t he be okay with that?
“What if Marvin stops doing anything with you?” Anti pressed. “Would you be okay with that? Are you scared of him doing stuff by himself?”
JJ frowned. He shook his head.
“You’re not scared of that?” Anti blinked. The ceiling light flickered. “What if he’s scared of that? What if he doesn’t want you to do things without him?”
Marvin wouldn’t be like that, though. The two of them had always been together, and always will be. They’d gone through a lot, told each other things that they’d never told anyone else. JJ isn’t so... insecure... to think that Marvin doing something with Chase means he’ll stop hanging out with JJ. And the same could be said for Marvin, too. Besides, they lived together. They couldn’t ignore each other forever. JJ took a couple steps towards the dresser and shook his head again.
Anti stared at him. His eyes narrowed. He seemed somehow unhappy with JJ’s answers. “What are you scared of?” he whispered. “You don’t ever look scared. You don’t ever look upset at all. But you have to be scared of something. Don’t you?”
JJ raised his shoulders. Something about this conversation was disturbing him. Quickly, he grabbed the nearest item from the dresser and threw it.
The object hit Anti in the chest, right under his neck. “Ow!” Anti gasped, catching the object as it fell. One of Marvin’s crystals. Anti stared at it. He seemed more surprised than hurt. And soon, both those feelings were overtaken by anger. He looked up at JJ, the green in his eyes flaring brighter as the ceiling light flickered wildly. JJ started backing up. “You’re terrible, Jameson Jackson,” Anti growled. “I gave Marvin a nice birthday present. Maybe you’ll get a Christmas present that’s just... as... ni͢c͏e̡.̛”
The light went out for a few seconds. JJ looked up at it. Then he looked back at the window. Though he should have been able to see Anti’s silhouette even in the sudden darkness of the room, he only saw the dark blue square of the window. And then the light turned on again. And his suspicion was confirmed; Anti had disappeared. Marvin’s crystal was on the ledge right where he’d been sitting.
JJ shivered. He walked over and quickly grabbed the crystal—and the shoe he’d thrown first. Then he put them back where he’d found them. And he thought about what Anti meant. If he’d pushed Marvin down the stairs as a ‘present,’ what did he want to do to him? The twin he didn’t like?
...It would be fine, wouldn’t it? JJ would just have to be careful to not go near anything dangerous by himself. He could do that. No need to tell Marvin or any of the others about that. Well, he should probably tell them he saw Anti. But not about the... threat. He didn’t want to worry them. He needed to not worry them. Or anyone. Ever.
JJ headed back downstairs—gripping the bannister tightly—and walked into the living room. As he suspected, Granmam was on the sofa watching one of her ‘shows,’ as she called him. She looked back as he came in. “Hey, lad,” she said, smiling. “Everyt’ing alrigh’? You look a mite pale.”
I’m alright, JJ said.
“Hmm.” Granmam pursed her lips. “Hey, c’mere t’me. Ye want to sit with you granmam for a bit?”
JJ nodded and hurried over. He slid onto the sofa and scooted up next to her. She always smelled a bit like vanilla. It was nice.
“Your brother’s still out?”
He nodded.
“T’ink he’ll want to join in when he gets back?”
Maybe.
Granmam smiled down at him. “Well, I know your parents are up for the night, so we have some time.” She leaned a bit closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I love ‘em, but they can be a pair of dryshites sometimes.”
JJ burst into laughter.
Granmam grinned right back. “Not Marvin, o’course, he’s grand. He can come right in if he wants to. For now, let’s have a moment, yea?”
JJ nodded. He leaned his head on her shoulder and stared at the TV. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but that wasn’t really the point of watching shows with Granmam.
Nothing to worry about. No need to worry anyone about anything.
Neither he nor his grandmother saw the shadow walk down the stairs, stare down the hall at them, and then disappear into thin air.
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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months
Text
Taking Care of Business
A JSE Fanfic
SepticHeroes AU: Part 27
First Part | Previous Part
I'm starting to realize I tend to write longer chapters for this series XD I guess I just really can't help myself from going off with character interactions with these guys. In this chapter, Jackie goes back to SepTech to ask McLoughlin some more questions. Meanwhile, Marvin drops by Schneep's office, and Jameson gets to know this new guy he's met. Maybe they could be friends? Heheh :D
===============
Jackie landed outside the North SepTech location. He took a deep breath to prepare himself before heading in. Everything would be fine. Dr. McLoughlin said that he could stop by whenever he wanted without even needing to make an appointment. It would be fine. But as he walked through the doors, he still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Was it just the natural anxiety of walking in somewhere like he owned the place? Or was it something more? Was he... suspicious of McLoughlin? Marvin had brought up some good points, after all.
No, no. He refused to judge the man before he even had a chance to talk to him. That would taint their entire encounter. For all he knew, McLoughlin just made a mistake when analyzing the Puppeteer’s mask. That’s all.
He got a visitor’s pass from the receptionist and then asked for directions again. He couldn’t remember the exact way to McLoughlin’s lab. She told him the way, and he managed to get to the lab pretty quickly. It was still a shock to see how different this futuristic basement was from the office building above. Everything white and metal. Jackie walked up to the double doors to the lab, and they slid open automatically. Cool.
The lab was just as crowded and messy as it was the first time he was here. Jackie’s eyes flicked over the robotic arms dangling from the ceiling, the monitors around the walls and standing in the middle of the floor, the wires and metal scraps and weird mechanical parts covering every inch of every surface. No sign of any people in here. “Hello?” he called. “Dr. McLoughlin? Are you in here?”
A moment passed. Then one of the monitors nearby turned on, its screen showing the words INTERCOM SYSTEM ACTIVATED. “Hey, Windstorm!” McLoughlin’s voice said excitedly. Coming from the speakers by the monitor. “I didn’t know you were stopping by!”
“Uh—y-yeah, last time I was here you said I could pop in whenever,” Jackie said.
“I did, didn’t I? Right. Sorry, my memory sucks sometimes—which I think I’ve also told you.” McLoughlin laughed. “I’m all the way at the very back. Come on over.”
“Sure.” Jackie hopped into the air, flying over the mess taking up the floor and towards the back of the lab. It’s a pretty big room. You could probably fit a handful of tennis courts in here end-to-end.
Most of the back wall was one massive monitor, but there were smaller monitors surrounding it. They were all turned off except for a couple right below the big screen. Jackie saw McLoughlin’s special SAM rise into the air and flew over there, dropping to the ground nearby. “Hey!” McLoughlin was working at some sort of console, sitting in a swivel chair that he spun around to face Jackie. “Good to see you! Welcome back to the lab.”
“Uh, nice to be back,” Jackie said, looking around. “What’re you working on now?”
“Theory and blueprints,” McLoughlin said, gesturing at the screen. “Trying to come up with new stuff. But I feel like I’ve hit a block, you know? It’s not really ‘artist’s block,’ but if you know what that is, it feels the same, I think. I’ve maybe got an idea for something to supercharge supers’ powers? But it might be dangerous so I’m not sure if I want to go through with it, lord knows the League would leap on it if they heard I was even thinking about that.”
“Uh... huh.” Jackie nodded slowly. “What do you mean? How would it work?”
“Well, it’d be most helpful for Type E, I think, supers who draw power from energy,” McLoughlin explained. “Basically it would give them a bigger dose of energy, but I dunno, there might be side effects from that. Might shock their systems. And I can’t exactly test that on myself like I did with the interface.”
“Right. I forget you have a fucking... chip in your head,” Jackie muttered.
McLoughlin laughed. “I’m a fucking cyborg, and I’m proud of it. Do you know how hard it was to work on an advanced prosthetic while you only have one arm and one eye?” He flexed the fingers on his right hand.
“Couldn’t you have gotten a less advanced prosthetic to help while you worked on the one you were making?”
“Well... yeah, I guess, but then I’d have to remove it—and that’s a whole can of worms. I figured it was easier to just wait until I was done.” McLoughlin shrugged. “Wasn’t so bad. I had the robots to help with a lot of it.”
“Speaking of, uh, your robots.” Jackie reached down, unhooking the Puppeteer mask from his belt. “Remember this?”
“Oh yeah, the mask!” McLoughlin nodded.
“Did you, uh, have your robots do the scan on this?” Jackie asked. “Or did you... How much... Were you heavily involved, or did you just leave it to the machines?”
McLoughlin chuckled. “I pretty much ‘left it to the machines,’ as you said. That’s a fun way of putting it, I’ll have to remember that.” His expression suddenly became serious. “Why? Is there something wrong with it?”
“Um... yeah.”
“Set it down there, then.” McLoughlin pointed at the nearest table. “Face-up. Tell me what this is about.”
Jackie set the mask down. The SAM flew down. Part of its metal casing slid open—specifically, the bottom part of the blue ring around its central camera—and a wave of blue light came out, scanning the mask slowly. “I took it to someone else about the mask—they, uh, asked to see it—and they said that it had been tampered with, that its LEDs were being controlled externally and so was the voice synthesizer. And they said there were cameras and microphones, and those were also being controlled externally.”
“Hmm.” McLoughlin frowned. “That’s a lot of modification. Huh.” He stood up and walked over to the mask, flipping it over as soon as his SAM was done scanning. Once it finished scanning the back side as well, McLoughlin took out that remote with the red button. “Importing scans from SAM-0 to the internal network. Display them on the nearest blank monitor.”
One of the screens turned on, displaying the scan the SAM made, a bunch of complicated white lines on a black background. Jackie didn’t understand it at all, but McLoughlin nodded thoughtfully. “Do you see them now?” Jackie asked.
“Yeah. That’s weird.” McLoughlin spoke into the remote again. “Compare these scans to the last scan of the Puppeteer mask.” A second set of scans showed up underneath the first, which shrunk in size so all four images could be displayed at once. Red circles popped up on the new SAM scans, highlighting the differences. “How did we miss this before?” McLoughlin muttered into the remote.
“It is likely that the differences are a result of modification done after the previous scan,” said a robotic voice from the computer speakers.
“No they’re not,” Jackie said. “How would that be possible? The mask was with me the whole time after you gave it to me.”
McLoughlin nodded. “Assume that the differences were there during the previous scan,” he said to the remote—clearly connected to the computer. “How could we have missed them?”
“It is possible that the damage inflicted to the mask caused errors during the initial scanning process,” the computer replied. “It is possible that the scanning equipment may need to be repaired or updated. It is possible that the scanning equipment or the recorded scans were modified by an outside party. It is possible that SAM-0 may have more advanced scanning equipment. It is possible that human error—”
“Thank you, you may stop listing possibilities,” McLoughlin interrupted. He glanced at Jackie. “You really have to stop it early, or it keeps iterating on problems and getting absurd.”
Jackie frowned. “It said... that the scans might’ve been modified by someone else?”
“Yeah, that was one of the possibilities.”
“That... might be likely.” Jackie hesitated for a moment. Should he tell McLoughlin about the new developments? Well, he’d already told the police. “Dr. McLoughlin... there’s someone else involved in the Puppeteer case.”
“Hmm? Oh, well, I guess that’d make sense,” McLoughlin said. “If there are cameras in the mask, and the lights and voice were being controlled externally, that just makes sense. Cause who would they be controlled by?”
“Exactly!” Jackie nodded. “This other person—this Anti-Virus, I’ve been calling them—”
“Anti-Virus?” McLoughlin raised an eyebrow.
“—they might be a technopath,” Jackie said. “I-I have evidence that they can see through cameras and send messages and emails and stuff.”
“That doesn’t mean they can get into SepTech’s system, though,” McLoughlin pointed out. “We have very high digital security.”
“Okay, but—but the Puppeteer was controlling people in SepTech, right?” Jackie said, his mind whirling. “If he got a hold on someone who worked with your system, like an IT guy, maybe, o-or even someone with a very high security clearance, he could’ve made them open up a path for Anti-Virus.”
“...oh.” McLoughlin went pale. “Well... shit.”
“Shit.” Jackie nodded in agreement.
“I-I can flush our system again,” McLoughlin said. “That should be able to drive out anything currently—but does it work the same for a technopath? Well, I guess if there are any viruses they planted or anything, it’ll get rid of that, at least. I’ll see if we can increase security, too, do a quick check on everything, make it harder for this Anti-Virus to get in.” He shook his head. “Can’t fucking believe it. The Puppeteer had a partner.”
“Um... no, actually,” Jackie said. “All signs point to the Puppeteer being blackmailed to do all this by Anti-Virus.”
“What?!” McLoughlin’s head snapped to Jackie.
“I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”
“How the fuck do you know? You sound so sure.”
“I-I found proof,” Jackie said. He’d spent an hour yesterday making sure he’d copied the video tape JJ had left for them to find. But he only copied the part about JJ, electing to keep Dahlia’s involvement—Timekeeper’s part of the video—out of it. It might make a bit less sense, but he didn’t want to willingly tell the police a super’s secret identity. Not when Anti-Virus probably had her in their clutches. That felt like a violation.
“Must be some good proof, then,” McLoughlin muttered.
“Hopefully, combined with the mask, it’ll be enough to get—get Jameson Jackson out of the Vault,” Jackie said. “He doesn’t deserve to be in there.”
“I mean... the guy did mind control people,” McLoughlin said. “He’ll probably still be in jail, even if he was blackmailed.”
“But it’ll be a normal prison,” Jackie insisted.
“Hmm. True,” McLoughlin said slowly. “I’m just saying. The memories of people trying to get into my lab while I sealed up the one entrance will be in my nightmares.”
Jackie winced. “Um... sorry?”
“Why are you apologizing? You weren’t the one who did it.”
“Yeah, but... I-I don’t know, he’s not here to apologize, so I might as well.” Jackie laughed a little. And then his mind processed something. “Wait, one entrance? I saw a couple doors around the sides of the room, though.”
“Yeah, those only lead to storage rooms,” McLoughlin said. “All sorts of shit in there. I don’t even keep track of it all. I swear some of those doors I haven’t opened in years.” He shook his head. “Not the best organizer.”
“Oh I feel that,” Jackie chuckled. “Well. Anyway. Can you maybe print out those scans or something? So I can use them as evidence for the police?”
“Of course.” McLoughlin spoke to the computer again. “Print out all scans of the Puppeteer’s mask, including the ones with the highlighted differences.”
“Yes, Dr. McLoughlin.” A little tray popped out of the side of the console. There were several mechanical noises, and papers slid out of a slit in the console, landing in the tray.
Jackie walked over and picked them up. Yep, those were the scans. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll be taking these with me. Oh, and the mask, of course.” He made sure to pick it up.
“No problem,” McLoughlin said. “And, uh, Windstorm? I’m so sorry about the scan from before. That it wasn’t accurate, I mean.” He looked down at the ground, embarrassment on his face. “I-I swear my stuff is better than that, usually.”
Jackie’s heart softened. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “You probably got hacked, not your fault.”
“Still.” McLoughlin sighed, then looked up again. “If there’s anything you need, let me know. Though, uh, the system flush will probably cripple my ability to do much for a while.”
“No I get it, that’s fine, really.” Jackie smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thanks for stopping by,” McLoughlin said. “Again, feel free anytime.”
“Will do.” Jackie gave him a little salute, then jumped into the air. “Goodbye.”
“Bye!” McLoughlin waved him off.
Now all Jackie needed to do was fly home and get that tape copy he made. He could deliver it and the mask with its scans to the police station today. They could look into it and start the process of getting JJ a proper trial. The sooner they started, the sooner they could finish, and the sooner JJ would be out of the Vault.
This would be enough. It had to be.
===============
Schneep was just getting ready to leave work when he heard a knock at his office door. He quickly clocked out on the computer—he could always clock in again if this turned out to be an emergency and not more paperwork—and called out, “Yes, come in.”
An unexpected face walked through the door. “So, this is your office, then?” Marvin said, looking around. “Not exactly what I expected. Then again, not sure what I was expecting.”
“Marvin?” Schneep blinked. “What are you doing here? Wait, I never told you where I work!”
“Sorry about that,” Marvin said, closing the door behind him. “I realized I didn’t have any way of contacting you. But I did remember JJ telling me where you worked once, so I figured I’d stop by.”
Schneep sighed. “Well, I suppose it does not matter that much.” He started shutting down the computer. “So I repeat my question. What are you doing here?”
Marvin glanced around the room. “Are there any... cameras in your office?”
“Security cameras? No, there are none in the offices at all. Only the places where actual important things are stored.”
“Do you have like... patient information in here or something? Wouldn’t that be important?”
Schneep stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet, tugging on the drawer. It didn’t open. “Locked. I suppose that is good enough for the hospital.”
“And... what about the computer?” Marvin jerked his head towards the desktop monitor.
“No cameras on work computers,” Schneep said. “No microphones, either. If you need either of those, you need to borrow an external one from IT and plug it in. Besides, even if that was the case, I just shut the computer down.”
“In that case, shut your phone down, too,” Marvin insisted.
Schneep rolled his eyes, but he took out his phone and did so, showing the shutdown process to Marvin. “There. Is this about Anti-Virus? You are worried about them listening in?”
Marvin nodded. “Just in case.” He paused, then narrowed his eyes. “You’re not going to call me paranoid now, are you?”
“No, not paranoid. Perhaps a bit over-cautious, but I don’t think you’ve crossed into paranoia. Paranoia would mean you are unjustified. And after hearing the truth about Anti-Virus from that video... I’d say you are very, very justified indeed.” Schneep shuddered a little.
Marvin relaxed a little. “That’s what I think, too. About... Anti-Virus. God, we’re all really sticking with that, aren’t we?”
“It is what they called themself in that text message, that is the closest we’ll get to this villain naming themself,” Schneep said. And he always thought heroes—and even villains—should name themselves. Otherwise the public would do it, and they would come up with something generic like ‘the Specter.’ Schneep’s name had grown on him over time, but he remembered being very annoyed about it at first, thinking anything he could come up with would be better. 
“Right. I guess.” Marvin sighs. “I bet Windstorm’s told the police about them, using that name. It’s gonna stick now.”
“Okay, we have talked quite a lot, and you still haven’t answered my question,” Schneep said. “What are you doing here?”
Marvin gave the room another look-around. Then he walked up to Schneep, lowering his voice a little. “Have you ever infiltrated SepTech?”
Schneep nodded. “Yes, a couple times. That is how Jackie met the Specter, actually. In the East location.” He’d gone there because he heard they had chameleon cloth. If he was going to get back into the game, he wanted an updated suit, and one that blended into the environment seemed like a good fit for him.
“Oh.” Marvin blinked. “Right. Okay. Well.” He coughed awkwardly. “What if... what if I commissioned you to spy on them some more?”
“Commissioned me?” Schneep raised an eyebrow. “What, am I an artist?”
“Depends on if you think it’s an art to break into places.”
“A skill, more like it.” Schneep grinned. And one he very much enjoyed using. He’d be happy to infiltrate SepTech... but he wanted to know why Marvin wanted him to do this. “So... what is this about, then? Spying on them? Why?”
“Because of that Dr. McLoughlin guy,” Marvin said. “There’s something up with him. Something suspicious. I’m not sure what, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s connected to Anti-Virus. He might even be Anti-Virus.”
“That is a serious accusation,” Schneep pointed out.
“I know. That’s why I haven’t brought it up to the police. Well, that, and my whole... villain persona,” Marvin admitted. “But Windstorm wouldn’t believe me when I told him that there’s a connection.”
“Really?”
“He admitted it was suspicious, but said it could be a coincidence and isn’t doing anything about it,” Marvin clarified. “I think he’s even taking the Puppeteer mask back to Dr. McLoughlin so he can look at it. The guy who probably deliberately hid details about it! Hell, he might even have given it to him today!” He shook his head, anger clouding his features. “I don’t blame him for being so trusting—but I think it’s a mistake.”
“So... you think I could spy on Dr. McLoughlin for you, then?” Schneep asked.
“I’d help, of course. But I think you’d be best for actually going into the SepTech locations.”
“That is true.” Schneep nodded. “With the word ‘commission’ thrown in, I wonder, will you pay me for this? Or is this a favor for friends?”
“I mean, I can pay you if you want,” Marvin considered. “Not that much, but I have some spare cash. But... I thought you would want to do this. For yourself. And... for your family. After all, if McLoughlin is connected to Anti-Virus, he might have information on where Dahlia is. He might even be the man who took her, the man who made JJ do all that Puppeteer shit.”
Schneep clenched his fists. “You are appealing to my revenge?”
“...No,” Marvin said quietly. “I’m appealing to your love for them.”
“Well... that is the right thing to do.” Schneep turned away, looking out the office window at the cityscape. “If there is a chance that this McLoughlin man is connected—the slightest chance—I will take it. I-I cannot leave them behind.” Especially after he couldn’t convince JJ to run. He could have gotten him out of there before he got sent to the Vault. He knew he could have. But JJ didn’t want that. Schneep now understood that it was because of Dahlia. He wasn’t sure of the details, but he was sure that JJ thought fleeing the police would just put her in danger. Well... if this McLoughlin guy turned out to be connected to Anti-Virus, Schneep had a lead on how to get Dahlia out of danger. And JJ too, by extension. Those two were the only real family he had left. He had to do whatever he could to help them.
Marvin nodded. “Yeah. I-I know.” His voice broke a little, so he cleared his throat and moved on. “I don’t know how your, uh, infiltrations work. So I’ll leave that up to you. Just keep me updated.”
“How? I don’t know any way to contact you,” Schneep pointed out.
“Stop by my work,” Marvin said. “Here, if you have a pen and paper I can write it down, and my hours.”
“Ah, yes, of course.” Schneep turned back to the desk and pulled out a scrap piece of paper and a pen. “I will write down my office hours as well.”
“What do you do most of the day here?” Marvin asked. “SDER is a pretty specialized department. You can’t possibly have that much to do.”
Schneep laughed. “Well, since there haven’t been many super fights lately, you are right. Windstorm is very careful, which I will always be happy for. When SDER personnel are not taking care of super-related injuries, we have secondary positions. I am also a neurologist, and I specialize in patients with injuries that affect the brain and nervous system. That is why Chase was assigned to be my patient—his injuries fell into both my areas. Ah, here.” He handed Marvin the paper and pen.
Marvin took it, wrote down his work address and shift hours, then tore the paper in half and took the half with Schneep’s details. “Thanks.”
“Do you want to talk over the details some more, or should I just show up at your work once I have completed my first heist?” Schneep asked.
“Well, it’s not really a heist, I’m not asking you to take anything,” Marvin said.
“Are you suuuuure?” Schneep prompted.
Marvin laughed. “I’m sure. For the first couple times, at least. If we find out there’s anything worth taking, we can talk about it more.”
“Heh.” Schneep grinned. “Well, I look forward to working with you, then.”
Marvin grinned back. “The same to you.”
===============
JJ woke up with a pounding headache. He might have brushed it off before, but not today. Not after he heard about the neutrinalin and its side effects. Was this the first sign that the constant doses were catching up to him?
Well, he couldn’t just lie in bed all day. If he missed role call, the prison guards would come over to his cell and drag him out anyway. He was pretty sure they would do that no matter what. Given the listless state of most of the other prisoners, he was pretty sure that the only thing that would prevent him from having to adhere to the schedule... would be if he literally could not walk at all. So he got up and staggered out of his cell once role call was announced.
The cafeteria of Byrthon Vault wasn’t anything to write home about. It was completely bland, with stainless steel tables and benches and blank off-white walls. JJ got his food as he had every day before, and was about to sit down—when he spotted a shock of red hair through the crowd and immediately diverted course.
Soren saw him coming. He gave him a little wave as he sat down across from him. “Looks like you almost missed me,” he said. “Did you forget about me already?” He winked playfully.
JJ smiled a little. I woke up with a headache, it must be clouding my thoughts.
“Hmm. It does do that, doesn’t it?” Soren tapped the edge of his tray with his spoon. Looked like he’d already finished eating before JJ even arrived. Which made sense, the lower floors got to the cafeteria first at meal times.
JJ looked down at his own food. It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?
“Slowly, but yes.” Soren shakes his head. “Maybe it’ll be especially slow for you. I’ve noticed that the more powerful you are, the longer it takes for the shitty side effects to take hold. And rumors say you’re pretty powerful.”
I suppose so, he said. It must run in the family. She was—is very powerful. And Schneep seemed able to hold his own, too.
“You’ll be fine,” Soren said quietly. “I can tell.”
How? You don’t know me that well.
“Intuition, I guess? I’m used to listening to my gut feelings. They can save you more often than you think.” Soren shrugged. “So. How have things been in Daindover while I’ve been gone? Did things fall to chaos?”
JJ shrugged back. I remember hearing about a crime spree after Pathos—you—were arrested. But it calmed down. Windstorm took care of it.
“Really?” Soren tilted his head, intrigued. 
I don’t know the details off the top of my head, though, JJ said. Sorry.
“No, it’s fine. Can’t expect you to remember everything.”
I know things were calm for a long time after that, JJ said. Relatively, I mean. Seems like things are never fully calm. He paused. Then I came along.
Soren’s eyes flicked up and down, examining JJ. “I’ve been thinking about this. And you don’t like what you did, do you? The guilt on your face is clear as a bell.”
A bell? JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re dodging the subject. But that’s fine. It’s clearly very personal, no need to tell a guy you met yesterday about it.” Soren chuckled.
JJ glanced around the cafeteria. If this conversation happened when he first arrived at the Vault, he would’ve been worried about sharing. Scared that if rumor got out that he wasn’t a big tough villain, people would attack him. But clearly, most of the prisoners didn’t have the energy for that. So, really, why not? I didn’t like it at all, he admitted. If I had a choice in the matter, it never would have happened.
“Someone forced your hand,” Soren muttered. “Blackmail? Threats?”
JJ blinked. How did you figure that out? 
“Comes with my line of work. I know a lot about... persuasion.”
Right. Soren was Pathos, and Pathos had been head of the biggest organized crime family this side of the country. JJ almost forgot about that. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking Soren over. Did YOU enjoy what you did? he asked.
Soren blinked, as if no one ever asked him that before. He leaned back, looking thoughtful. “Some of it was exciting,” he said slowly. “But most of it was simply... business. I did what I had to do.”
JJ wanted to protest that you never had to become a villain... but that seemed a bit hypocritical. So instead, he simply asked, Why?
“Why did I have to? Oh, a lot of reasons.” The spoon tapped against the edge of the tray again. “Mostly to prevent something like that chaotic crime spree you mentioned. The one that happened after I was arrested. But it’s not fully that. After all, sounds like the city recovered soon enough.” Soren paused. “What about you? Do you want to talk about why you had to do what you did?”
JJ slowly shook his head. Not now.
“Right.” Soren grinned a little. “I get it.”
The rest of the breakfast passed in mostly quiet, with JJ occasionally asking questions about the Vault or its prisoners that Soren answered. Then breakfast was over, and JJ went back to his cell to lie down for a while. Maybe he could nap off the headache.
...Nope. It was still there when lunch rolled around. It wasn’t a strong pain, he’d certainly had worse, but it still dragged on him. Still, he didn’t want to miss lunch. So he got up and headed to the cafeteria.
Just like at breakfast, he spotted Soren easily and sat down across from him. Soren looked up as he did so. “Again?”
If you want me to leave, I will, JJ said. But you’re the one who asked if I wanted to sit with you, Soren. And you’re the only person who’s done that.
Soren laughed. “You got me there. Wow, it really does feel biting when you go to the trouble of spelling out my name. I get we’re not close enough for you to give me a special sign, but still. Feels like you’re dragging out the tone.”
JJ decided to take that as a compliment. Soren certainly intended it that way. Do you talk to a lot of people in here? he asked. There was that Angela woman. Anyone else?
“I’m sure you noticed that there isn’t too much talking in here in the first place.” Soren jerked his head to the side, indicating the cafeteria at large.
JJ nodded slowly. It was the silence that had bothered him. The first thing that led him to notice all the other odd things about his fellow prisoners. 
“But I know what you mean. There do tend to be... groups.” Soren chose that word carefully. “Like in movies about high school, you get different cliques.”
What the— JJ couldn’t help but giggle a little. It seemed like such a childish comparison, and it certainly wasn’t something he expected Soren to say.
Soren raised an eyebrow. “Hey, that’s the best word for it, it really is. You’ll notice that someone will sit with the same small group of people over and over again. They don’t really open up to newcomers sitting with them. Which makes sense. In this place, everyone is dangerous. If you have a group you can trust, that’s probably enough. Why waste your limited energy on a stranger? Usually, people from the same sort of... geographical area tend to stick together.” He smiled. “Like how I asked you about Daindover.”
JJ nodded slowly. He understood that. And though he wanted to say something about how trust is good and people should open up more... again, it felt a bit hypocritical. He didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her. He didn’t tell anyone about the messages through the phone.
The rest of lunch was the same as breakfast, and then JJ again went back to his cell. The headache was still there. Still annoyingly persistent, sapping his will to do much of anything. It was even making it hard to sleep. Would it keep him up tonight?
Evening role call, and then dinner again. He found Soren for the third time and sat down. I was thinking about what you said at lunch, he said, starting the conversation this time.
“Oh? What?” Soren asked. “I said a lot.”
About me spelling out your name. If we’re going to talk a lot, and I think we are, it would be convenient to give you a name sign, even if we haven’t known each other for that long. This was very, very, very unusual. Names weren’t really a thing in BSL, using a specific sign for a person was usually reserved for friends and family. But... honestly, JJ didn’t care about that right now. His friends and family weren’t here, and they would never find their way in here. 
“...Really?” Soren raised an eyebrow. “Moving a bit fast, aren’t we?”
You’re the only person who’s been friendly to me, JJ said. I know it’s fast, but... He sighs. I think I better prepare to be in here for a while. Even if he hoped he wouldn’t be, it was better to act like he would. Just in case.
Soren stared at him for a moment. Then nodded slowly. “Alright. Can I choose my own?”
JJ raised an eyebrow. Do you have something in mind?
“Yeah. If I ever talk to someone in BSL and they need to refer to me, I’ve always asked to be called the same thing.” Soren made two signs: the letter S, and heart. “Or, if we’re being professional.” A similar set: heart, and the letter P.
S-heart, JJ repeated. Any meaning behind it?
“Well you know my powers. I manipulate emotions. Some say I manipulate hearts.” Soren flashed a smile. “You know, as opposed to thoughts and the mind. That’s why I adopted a heart motif whenever I dressed as Pathos.”
Makes sense, I suppose, JJ said. You know, people don’t normally ask to choose their own.
“Really? Most of the people I talk to who know BSL ask me to choose my own. Maybe I’m just special. Or maybe your experience is that different. Have you seriously never had that happen?”
JJ hesitated. Well... actually, my sister did. Just signing the word ‘sister’ tore open a wound in his chest. Did he really want to talk about this?
“Sister?” Soren looked intrigued. He leaned forward a bit... then back again. “You look... a bit pained, Jameson. Sore topic?”
A bit, JJ said.
Soren was quiet for a moment. “I... understand,” he said softly. “We don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”
JJ shook his head. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I love her. But... she’s... She’s alive, but... He trailed off.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Soren repeated, in an even quieter voice.
JJ took a deep breath. An explanation for the name thing, at least. Growing up, after I lost my voice, she was always D-twin. But then we got older, and she became more confident in who she was, and she asked if she could be flower-time instead. 
“Flower time?” Soren asked, failing to hide the amusement in his voice.
I know. JJ chuckled a little. I always picture an alarm going off, signaling flower petals to rain down from the ceiling.
Soren laughed too. “That’s such a vivid fucking image.”
I don’t usually have a very visual mind, either, which makes it even more vivid. That’s pretty much the only image I’m able to mentally picture. His smile faded slowly. Maybe because it always reminds me of her.
Soren stared at him, purple eyes like two deep wells of water. “It’s good that you two are so close,” he said quietly. “I have a sister too, y’know. Elena. She’s about fifteen years older than me, so we never really knew each other as siblings, if that makes sense.” He chuckled. “When I was ten she pretty much left the family so she could marry someone. So I didn’t see much of her.”
JJ blinked. I didn’t know that.
“Well, Elena was never much into the family business, so the news didn’t report on her to the public that much. Makes it all the stranger that the guy she married is an arms dealer, but the heart wants what it wants, yeah?” Soren shrugged. “Anyway. I always liked Elena, even if we weren’t too close. Liked her daughter, too. Wanted to be sure she was taken care of.” He stared at JJ for a moment. It seemed like he was... waiting for something? JJ stared back, confused. “Huh. Okay, either you’re more respectful than you are curious, or you never heard the rumors.”
Oh. You mean the ones about your brothers? JJ asked. 
“So it’s the first option, then.”
You were expecting me to ask about that?
“Seemed like it.” Soren leaned onto the table, propping his head in his hand. “I mean... if you hear a guy who’s rumored to have killed his father and brothers talk about how much he liked his family... most people would want to ask. Even if they were too afraid to.”
JJ shook his head. I know those rumors aren’t true.
Soren blinked. “You do, now? You seem very sure.”
He was sure because she found out the truth one day—and she told him when she came home from that fight. Well, why don’t you tell me about it, then? JJ said. If you were expecting me to ask.
Soren laughed. “That’s fair, that’s fair.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Enzo and Nicolas were older than me, they should have gotten control of the family before me. But, after I developed my abilities, our father started seeing the... potential of them. They got jealous. And, in an effort to prove himself, Enzo got killed by that Razor Queen villain.” He laughed. “Who would’ve guessed a woman with knives on her hands would be deadly. Nicolas was a bit more cautious, but he still got angry and reckless. Died in an ordinary shootout... but not before he managed to poison our father and make it look like I did it. The man he got the poison from confessed to me, but said he’d rather die than share his involvement with the public. So, I decided to leave well enough alone... and figured I might as well use that rumor. People wouldn’t be eager to fuck with someone who did that.”
JJ nodded slowly. That lined up with what she’d told him that night. She managed to get the poison information from the very man—Hemlock, a villain known for poisons. And then said that Pathos told her the rest.
“Or... I could be lying about all this,” Soren grinned. “Maybe I really am that ruthless.”
Well, if you are, I still don’t have many options for people to talk to, JJ commented. So I’ll probably keep showing up for meals with you.
Soren laughed. It got overtaken by a cough halfway through, so he stopped. “God. Jameson. You’re really something.”
JJ blinked. Well... thank you? Oh. Oh no. Why was his stomach fluttering? This was not a good person for that to happen with, son of a bitch—
“But still, I have to ask,” Soren continued. “You didn’t seem surprised at all during that story.”
JJ froze. His mind whirled, considering what to do. Oh shit he was probably waiting too long wasn’t he? He had to say something. So he leaned forward. What if I told you... that my sister knew you?
Soren raised an eyebrow. “I know a lot of people. That wouldn’t narrow it down. If you’re comfortable with it... can you tell me her name? Spell it out, I mean.”
JJ hesitated. Then, slowly... sign by sign... Dahlia.
Saying her name felt like a knife being driven into his heart.
“Dahlia? Like the flower?” Soren asked.
JJ nodded. His vision was getting a bit blurry so he hurriedly blinked it clear again.
“That’s a nice name,” he said quietly. “I’m guessing she chose it, like how she chose her name sign? Good choice. The flower is often said to symbolize inner strength and elegance.”
Didn’t expect you to know that, JJ said.
A memory flashed through his mind. “Yeah, that way I get to keep my initials for the towels Mum monogrammed for us when we were kids. I want to keep that, you know? And more importantly, it’s a name with a strong meaning. But graceful, too. I think it really fits me. Or... I dunno, what do you think?”
He agreed, of course. It really did fit her.
“I know a lot of random trivia,” Soren said. He paused. “Are you... okay?”
Fine, Jameson signed shortly. He blinked some more.
“Do you want to keep talking?” Soren asked in a surprisingly gentle voice. “Or... should we stop?”
I’ll be fine in a minute, he said. Just give me a minute.
Soren nodded.
The rest of dinner passed quietly, and then they had to go back to their cells. But not before Jameson gave Soren a quick Thank you. It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest after that conversation. Maybe he needed that moment. Maybe he needed to remember her name.
===============
“Alright, I got everything,” Jackie muttered. “Tape, check. Mask and mask specs, check.” He put each item into his backpack as he listed it. A carefully discrete backpack. He was going to the police station as Windstorm, and he couldn’t have anything with him that would link Windstorm to Jackie Skye.
He was just about to leave his room when his phone vibrated. It was sitting on his dresser—he’d also planned to leave that behind—so he leaned over and picked it up.
A text message was on the screen, from a number labeled Unknown. You know who it is. Pick up the call.
Jackie’s blood ran cold. Was it—but how did they know—
His phone immediately started ringing, the same unknown number calling. After a moment of hesitation, he answered. “Hello?”
“Windstorm.” The word was spoken in a familiar inhuman voice. The robotic tones that he’d last heard coming from the Puppeteer. Or, more accurately, from the Puppeteer’s mask.
Jackie knew he had to deny this. “I-I think you have the wrong—”
“Don’t lie to me, Jackie Skye,” Anti-Virus interrupted. “I know the truth. That day, when you announced it to your roommate, my puppet was outside the door, and I was on a call with him. Listening. Making sure that everything went as I wanted. It didn’t, but it worked out eventually, and I learned something so, so interesting about you.”
Jackie felt his heart stop. He opened his mouth to say something more, but nothing came out.
“Not to mention that you are currently wearing your supersuit in full view of your phone camera.”
Jackie yelped, yanking the phone away from his head. His head darted around his room until his eyes landed on a stack of sticky notes. Quickly, he peeled one off and stuck it over the phone camera. It was at an awkward angle so it didn’t cover the speaker, but it worked. Reluctantly, he pressed the phone to his ear again. “What do you want? Are you going to threaten me? Big talk from someone still using a voice synthesizer. Afraid to reveal who you are?”
“Not afraid, but my identity is one of my greatest secrets, and I will take care to protect it,” Anti-Virus said. “As for what I want... I want you to stop this. Stop trying to free Jameson Jackson.”
Jackie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh? So you’re threatened by him?”
“Not at all. But if I understand correctly, you are trying to free him through proving I was there. And I cannot have that. You cannot look further into me.”
“I think I can, actually. And I will. Bitch.” Jackie growled. “You forced someone to turn a hundred people into puppets. Clearly, I can’t have you walking around.”
Anti-Virus laughed. Jackie held back a shiver; there was something menacing in its robotic tone. “It does not matter what you can and can’t have, Windstorm. You will not look further into me.”
“Or what?” Jackie asked. “I know what your powers are. You can spy on people, big whoop. You can’t do much else.”
“Oh? Are you sure?” Anti-Virus said. “Very well, then. I will show you what I’m capable of.” And abruptly, the call ended.
Jackie stared down at the phone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he just made a terrible mistake.
But he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t let this villain intimidate him into leaving his friend in jail. Taking a deep breath, he put the phone down and secured his backpack with the evidence inside. Then he opened the window to his room and leapt out into the evening air.
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