#Dr Schneep

[draw-the-squad-like-this]

Draw your characters like this

[mothgodofchaos]

Tune into the madness, tune into the madness once more.

The Madness:

Upon being locked away in an underground laboratory after a major security breach, Dr. [REDACTED] slowly lost what was left of his sanity. Swimming in his own madness and copious amounts of medical supplies, he began experimenting on the nearby corpses. He began to get used to the smell of blood and the feeling of bones against his fingers, his laughing echoing through the empty halls mixed with the squelching of flesh in his hands. He was eventually rescued, but is no longer of a sound mind. The doctor massacred his rescuers, and escaped with tools in hand to experiment on the masses.

The Madness is a frightening doctor with zero fear for the world around him. Having been isolated for so long, his body no longer has a fear response and therefore cannot be intimidated away. He is a fast, ruthless killer, but will experiment on his subject alive if he can. Modern weapons and warfare show to have little to no effect, with the only applicable deterrent found being highly concentrated acid. It is still recommended that The Holder moves away quickly from him, as he can recover from this. The hope is that he will find a new target, and continue his monstrous rampage elsewhere. The Madness cannot be killed.

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 6: Septnautical

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs | Read Septnautical

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

Once Alt is done describing outside, the others have reached the secret hidden research lab holding Jack. The boys and Zara all come into another tank of water- which seems to be an observatory aquarium facing the lab.

Curled up on the sparse white floor is Anti. He’s lying on top of a few of his tails, idly watching the view into the lab. His ear twitches as he hears people enter and then blinks in surprise at seeing all his brothers. “O-Oh… hey.” He smirks and looks at  reaper Jackie and Henrik. “Did those weird humans get eaten yet? I hope so-“

His eyes then widen as the human-hybrids enter and then they quickly narrow as he bares his fangs. “What the fucking hell?! Is this a joke?! Is this a white suit trick?!” He hisses as his back fin puffs up.

“Anti please- try to stay calm.” Henrik says gently. “It is strange I know but… this is not a trick. We’re trying to help them get home.”

Anti doesn’t seem convinced as he curls up more and growls at them. “How do you know this wasn’t just a-a elaborate plan to get to Jack?! You all just lead them straight here!”

“Cuz we trust them dude!” Mer- Jackie says. Marvin and Chase kinda grumble but Jackie ignores them. “I don’t think they could lie about all this- not even Alterra could make up some of the shit we’ve heard!”

“Look man, if we wanted to get into this place we wouldn’t bother with some fucking elaborate trick,” Jackie says, trying not to snap. “We’d be plenty capable of getting in here without any trickery.”

“I do not think that’s as reassuring as you want it to be,” Schneep mutters, hanging back.

We understand that this is strange, and you don’t have to trust us, JJ says calmly. But we really don’t mean you any harm. If there’s anything we can do or say to prove that, we would.

“As long as you don’t tell us to do something we can’t,” Jackie mutters. He leans to the side. “So… this is some kind of lab space. Or, it is on the other side.”

“Anything interesting?” Schneep asks curiously.

Anti bristles and growls at Jackie, bunching up like he might lash out. But Jamie comes over and shakes his head at him and touches over his heart. This seems to give Anti pause. Then, hearing JJ use the same robot as Jamie has him relaxing even more. But, he still on edge.

Behind Anti and through the glass is the lab space. Seems to be open air at the moment as a couple people in blue and black suits are walking around, typing stuff in on holo screens or checking on the main subject of the room. Which of course is Jack. He seems to be asleep, set mostly upright on a lab table with wires and things tucked under brown armor-like plates on his arms and upper torso. He has 5 similarly armored tails that are submerged in a small tank of water below him. They seem to have glowing bits of blue underneath like suction cups. He seems to have a breathing mask on his face but filled with water that also filters over the gills on his neck.

“Ya wanna prove yourselves to me? Okay- I wanna hear what Jack has to say about this.” Anti growls.

His brothers all balk and look at each other. “Uh… I dunno how that’s gonna happen Anti…” Chase says quietly. “You’re really the only one here that talks to him… r-regularly in your dreams…”

“He’d know if these bitches are a threat or not.” Anti glares at the newcomers. “I’m not letting them near him otherwise.”

“Anti please be reasonable!” Zara tries to say, “We just need to talk to Danan and you know she’s-“

“No!” Anti growls sitting up to spread out his tentacles in a defensive stance. “Don’t get any closer…”

JJ backs up, hands raised. We’ll stay back, he promises. He looks at the others. Won’t we?

Jackie looks up and nods. While this exchange has been going on he’s been describing the lab—and Jack—to Schneep. Now he looks at Anti warily. He doesn’t want to fight him, but if it comes down to it he’ll defend himself.

“Jack… is the one outside of the glass?” Schneep asks slowly. That soul feels strange. Like his Jack, but… there’s something about it. Like the magic he senses in JJ, Alt, and Bro. “A-and he speaks in your dreams? How? A-and… how are you going to get advice from him? You are not asleep.”

“He can hear us,” Anti says eerily. “If he’s as worried as I am… he’ll do something…”

“Like.. what exactly?” Alt says with a raised eyebrow. “Look I-if you let me closer I could talk to him for you- I could go into minds and-!” He attempts to swim a bit closer but Anti snaps his jaws and lunges forward. But not to attack just to keep Alt back. And Alt glitches back and Bro catches him.

“Don’t test me ya fucking fake humans! I’ll tear you to ribbons!” Anti growls. Jamie hugs his neck and tries to hold him back but- Anti is bigger and stronger than him.

Jackie tenses, glaring at Anti, the mandibles on his back instinctively snapping. JJ holds his hands out, a shield starting to form. Schneep backs up, scleras turning black, getting ready to leap out of the way of danger.

However before the situation can get anymore tense- the human-hybrids and Anti feel a sudden pull in their guts- and their eyes fill with cyan. And then… it’s like they’re pulled into sleep and they all sink to the floor as their consciousnesses get pulled somewhere else.

When they open their eyes, they seem to be in the deepest reaches of the ocean- almost pitch black around them. It still feels like water- and they’re still in their hybrid forms. But it also feels… floaty. Like a dream.

And… Schneep finds he can see.

A bit before them is… the hybrid they saw in the lab. But he’s awake now, staring at them with startling bright cyan eyes. He regards them with a neutral expression, tilting his head as he studies them.

“Huh?” Jackie looks around. “What? Huh?! Huh?!”

“W-Woah…” Alt whispers.

“T-The fuck is this place?” Bro asks.

JJ backs up. Is this an illusion?

“Ah!” Schneep presses his hands to his eyes, closing and opening them several times. He expects them to hurt from the sudden influx of imagery… but they don’t. Confused, he looks around.

Alt startles and goes over to Schneep, “A-Are you okay Schneep?”

Bro sees him seemingly looking around and gasps, “Can you see?”

“Oh! I can see! I can see!” Schneep laughs in amazement. 

“What?!” Alt and Bro both shout in delight.

Alt smiles. “This is the mind I guess… like you being able to see in dreams.”

Schneep looks at the others, starting with Alt and Bro. “Oh! I can see the resemblance, but you two look less like my friends than I was picturing.” 

Bro and Alt look at each other then laugh. “It’s the freckles I bet.” Alt snickers.

Then Schneep looks at JJ. “You look very much like my Jamie, though—except for the mouth of course.” Then he looks at Jackie. His eyes widen in shock for a moment. But he doesn’t say anything. He looks down at Jackie’s tail. “Oh—you have a lobster tail.”

“Wh—no I don’t!” Jackie protests.

JJ laughs. Lobster boy.

“Shut up!”

Bro laughs too, “Oh my god! He is a lobster!” Alt hides his laugh behind his hand.

Anti shakes out his head then gasps and spurs up towards Jack, “Jack!!”

The other hybrid smiles at Anti and open his arms and Anti hurries over and gives him a quick hug. Then he seems to protectively hang over Jack’s shoulder as he glares and growls at the visitors.  Jack keeps his face neutral but there’s a bit of warmth radiating from him.

“Sorry to just… pull you in. I didn’t want Anti to hurt you… if you’re as innocent as you claim.” He says with a bit of authority. 

“U-um…” Jackie stares at Jack. It’s a bit… strange… to hear his voice, so similar to the Jack he knows. When was the last time he heard Jack’s voice?

It’s fine, it seemed like an emergency, JJ says. 

Jack tilts his head, “Anti said you were …fake. And… I can sense you are not Alterans but also… so strange… were you really.. human?”

“We were indeed human,” Schneep says. “A-and we can be human again. It is unusual, I know, but it’s true. We mean you no harm. You or any of your family.”

JJ glances around. So… this isn’t an illusion. It must be some sort of… mental landscape.

Jack nods, “Yeah we’re… I dunno exactly where but I have like… telepathy I think it’s called. The hybrid part of me is sea emperor and they have that too… I think the doctors here think I can do a bit more cuz of you know- having a human mind.” He laughs. “It’s weird but… I can talk to people like this… least until they figure out how to wake me up.”

Jack separates himself from Anti, much to the younger brother’s dismay and appears in front of the group in a flash of blue. He studies them closer.

“Alt… Chase… Schneep… JJ and… Jackie huh?” He says slowly looking at all of them. He then smiles and nods. “…yeah I… I think you’re good.”

“What?! You trust them just like that?!” Anti yells.

“Mmm yeah. I can see… bits and pieces of where they come from. This isn’t their home… and it seems like they all have a lot to get back to… family and people they really love.” Jack smiles sadly and holds a hand over his chest. “…I know the feeling…”

Jackie backs up a little as Jack appears closer. “O-oh. You can like—read our minds?” he says. “Can you um—n-not do that? There are things in my brain that I-I don’t want people to see.”

“Not fully,” Jack laughs, answering Jackie, “I just get… feelings and snippets. Flashes of things that are important or like..  really strong feelings. I can talk in the mind more than see it. I won’t pry I promise…”

Jackie lets out a sigh of relief. "I-I know you won't. Still... thanks."

“You’re like… an enchanter almost…” Alt mutters.

Jack blinks, “…I dunno what that word means but… thank you?”

JJ also looks a bit uneasy, but he pushes through that, knowing Jack means no harm. We would very much like to get home, he says. I sort of left my friend waiting.

Jack looks to JJ with sympathy and nods, “Unfortunately me and my brothers don’t have the kinda powers you guys have… but I’m sure my brothers will do what they can to help. Even Anti.”

Anti makes a noise of protest but Jack gives him a look and Anti crosses his arms and grumbles. “…yer sure they’re not with Alterra?””

Jack nods, “I’m sure.”

There’s a beat of silence before Anti groans, “Finneeee!”

JJ laughs a little at Anti's attitude. He can't help but be reminded of his friend. Thank you, Anti. I'm sure there's a lot you could do to help us.

"You know, Jamie, if this is the mind, why are you still signing?" Schneep asks. "Shouldn't you be able to talk if I can see?"

JJ shrugs. I suppose I'm more used to this by now.

"Ah. Well, in any case, thank you, Jack." Schneep nods at him. "Now we have to figure a way out of here."

Jack laughs and shakes his head, “Don’t worry. I got that. It was… nice to meet you all. I wish it could have been in person but… keep my brothers safe if you can, okay?” He smiles sadly and then his eyes turn cyan before the space around the boys turns white.

"Bye Jack!" Jackie shouts, a bit desperately, as the space starts to fade.

"Nice to meet you too," Schneep adds.

Your brothers will help you, I know it, JJ says.

Jack smiles at them all before everything goes white.

Then, they’re back in the lab observatory. Alt shakes himself out and blinks as the merboys have surrounded the passed out visitors.

“Are you guys okay?!” Mer Jackie asks.

Anti pushes himself up and shakes his head out like a dog. Jamie hugs his head with Anti lets him do so begrudgingly.

Schneep blinks. "Ah, back to reality."

"We're okay." Jackie pats himself down. "Jack just wanted a word with us—well, kind of? He wanted Anti to know we were safe to trust."

Which we are! JJ says cheerfully.

Chase's eyes widen. "Y-You talked to Jack??"

"Yeah... and they're all good." Anti sighs.

"Now. Is Danan out here?" Schneep swims up to the wall of the tank, facing out. "I can tell there are people, is she one of them?" Anti lets Schneep pass with a huff. 

At the window, an older black woman with bouncy black hair and bright green eyes is writing notes on her own PDA. She blinks as Schneep comes forward and smiles. She touches a button on her jacket and her voice comes from a speaker on their side. "Oh Henrik I-!" Then, she blinks and takes notice of how different Schneep looks and seems confused.

Jackie chuckles. "I think you've been spotted, Schneep. And she looks really confused."

"Ha! I can imagine." Schneep grins.

"Yeah just- hang on-" Henrik says and goes to push the button for the comms as Alt and Bro come over to meet her. "Hello Danan? Is there a way for you to meet us in here? We have... many things to discuss with you."

Danan looks surprised but then she nods and touches the button again. "Of course. Lemme just get finished up in here."

It takes a few minutes but soon the door to the observatory opens and the woman swims in. She smiles at everyone but she can't hide her surprise. "Oh well! Hello there... I did not know we had so many new people on my base."

JJ waves at Danan. Hello! This must be very surprising. Well you're going to be even more surprised when we tell you where we came from.

"We're not from here," Jackie says. "To the point where we haven't even heard of Alterra. I'm Jackie, this is JJ, Schneep, Alt, and Chase. We're from another universe."

"Nice to meet you!" Schneep waves cheerfully. "The others speak highly of you."

“Do they now?” Danan says with a smirk. “I’m glad my reputation precedes me! Well I’m Dr. Kendra Danan and…I’m sorry did you say another universe?”

“Insane, right?” Zara laughs. “Have you ever heard of traveling to different universes?”

“Well… it was a theory I remember being vaguely interested in for a bit…” Danan says, crossing her arms.  “Alterra was very interested in the possiblity of it off planet but… not here.”

Alt deflates a bit, “Oh well… we were hoping you might know if it’s.. possible to maybe reprogram a… what were they called?”

Marvin’s eyes flicker pink, “Alien Arch.”

“yeah that!”

Danan hums and then thinks. “…I’m not sure we have the tools but..  if they were maybe connected to architect technology somehow…?” She looks at Marvin.

Marvin shakes out himself then looks at Danan with wide eyes. “M-Me?!”

“You are the only warper around that can possibly understand technology like that…” Danan says with an encouraging smile.

“Oh I.., I don’t k-know…”

“Well… it’s either we try this out or… we just wait for the rifts to find us again… which is not ideal…” Alt mutters.

Danan and Zara blink, “Rifts?” Danan asks.

"They're what sucked us here in the first place," Jackie explains. "See, the three of us—" He gestures at himself, Schneep, and JJ. "—were actually from a different universe than those two." And he gestures at Alt and Bro.

"Three separate universes, actually," Schneep says. "But then we were pulled to their world through these rifts, and all five of us were pulled from that one to this one some time later."

They look like black cracks or tears, JJ explains. Like the air itself has been ripped. And they pull at people nearby. Like... when you open an airlock and all the air goes rushing into the vacuum.

"How do you know what airlocks do? You've never been in space!" Jackie says. "H-have you?"

No, but I've seen movies! You ever seen a movie where someone got ejected into space?

"...I've played Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Unleashed, does that count?"

"Ayyy SBA2! That's me and Alt's favorite!" Bro says excitedly. Alt slaps his tail with his own. "Focus-"

JJ blinks. Sorry, I've never played a Sonic game.

"Really?" Schneep says. "Even I have played a Sonic game--the classic sidescrollers, though, none of the 3D games."

"We're getting so distracted." Jackie shakes his head. "God—I've probably missed my time to take my ADHD meds. Anyway. The point is. You really think that we might be able to mess with these alien gates to open up a way to another universe? That seems... complicated."

"... I'm sorry I don't know anything about these rifts...." Danan says.

"They also have like- magic and stuff." Mer Jackie says excitedly. "So- maybe that could help?"

"Well... what the architects could do was nothing short of magical... so- who knows? It's still a mystery to us but... maybe it just needs the right touch." Danan smiles. "Us scientists believe there's nothing wrong with trying something out. They should be safe to look at, at the very least."

Alt sighs, "... It at least gives us a goal for now... and if it works, great! If it doesn't then... gotta wait for the rifts then... honestly it could be worse."

Bro grins at the merboys, "You guys up for taking us on an adventure?"

"I wanna! I wanna!" Mer Jackie says excitedly. Jamie claps and swims around his brothers in a couple big loops. Henrik chuckles, "I am quite curious what we could find." Anti and Marvin grumble a bit but Chase nudges them and they get quieter. "If Jack trusts you all then... yeah. I'm willing to help you guys get home." Chase smiles.

"Awesome!" Jackie whoops. "Let's see more of this place! It's the strangest fucking place I've ever been, so might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

"I am getting better at swimming, I swear I am," Schneep says.

"Y'know, if might actually be better if you took off your shirt," Jackie suggests. "Less drag. More maneuverability. I mean--the fish'll still be there, but still."

"Huh. You might be right, actually," Schneep says, tilting his head thoughtfully. "Okay, might as well try. This is not time to be modest." He starts taking his shirt off.

JJ frowns at Jackie. Did you just want him to join the rest of us in some weird peer pressure thing?

"No, I don't care what he wears or doesn't," Jackie shrugs. "But I really do think it might help. Here, put it in the bundle. Also, do you guys have a bag or something for all our clothes?"

"Of course," Danan laughs. She swims over to the wall and there seems to be a fabricator in here too. After clicking a few buttons it starts to create a large flexible bag. She swims over and hands it to Jackie. "There! That should work right?"

"Ah sweet, thanks!" Jackie grins and takes the bag, putting all their clothes inside. "I hope one of you two know how to dry stuff for when we get out," he says, looking at Alt and JJ.

Oh, of course, that's easy, JJ says.

Then, Danan seems to think and looks over to Marvin, "Marvin... how did you know about the alien arches? Most of them are on land where you all can't reach..."

Marvin quickly looks away and holds his arms. "Um well... I... one it's this... f-fucking chip in my head... but um... I also found one in the lost river...? I... I think the forcefield that kept the water out got d-damaged by a Ghost Leviathan."

"The Lost River?!" Chase shouts, "T-That place with the brine that poisons you guys??"

"...I mean the new Schneep guy is a river prowler- he'll be fine." Marvin says shortly. "And JJ.. he's a ghost ray. And I-I can... self-repair... apparently."

"Ghost leviathan?" Jackie repeats, raising an eyebrow. If that reaper thing was also a leviathan—and there was poisonous brine— "This doesn't sound like a good place."

"Oh! I think there's another forcefield that got damaged in the one by the mushroom forest though!" Zara says happily. "I'm pretty sure I came across that recently but- wasn't really sure how to use those things still..."

"They need an ion cube to work usually," Danan explains. "Most of them that need ion cubes in the main gates are down in HQ but... I think those are still intact...? hm... the mountain base is probably one that needs one."

"...the Lost River one was active." Marvin says quietly.

"...that's really dangerous though! Last time you and me went there you nearly lost your arm and I got bitten to death by mesmers!" Mer-Jackie explains.

"We didn't die Jackie-" Marvin snaps at him. The two glare at each other the way siblings always do when they fight and want to be right.

"W-well, don't fight about it," Jackie says, voice trembling a little. "Don't—don't fight about it.” 

"What the fuck happened that nearly lost you an arm?" Schneep mutters.

And... what was that? Mesmers? JJ repeats, spelling out the word. He's visibly uncomfortable with the implications of that name.

Marvin looks to Schneep, "...a Ghost Leviathan attacked me and bit my arm. ...and it was just a baby too." He shudders and grabs his arm, where the others can see what looks like bite marks. "And uh.. m-mesmers are fish that can... pull you in with colors on their fins and they can s-speak in your mind."

"They majorly suck." Reaper Jackie says and Henrik nods in confirmation.

Hypnotizing fish, JJ comments. Great. He signs the word slowly, making the fish robot say it in a drawl that's clearly meant to be sarcastic.

Alt bursts into giggles. "Oh my god- that was great JJ. But also- mood."

"Also… uh, The brine is easy enough to avoid. It's only on the bottom of things and like... the falls and pools." Marvin mutters.

"Since when do you know so much about it?" Mer Jackie asks with a growl.

"Since I was trapped there for a month, asshole!" Marvin snaps back. Henrik quickly goes to push them aside. "Enough you two!"

Jackie cringes while looking at mer-Jackie and Marvin. He knows that they're siblings, bickering is probably normal, but—why is he thinking of fights with his Marvin? He doesn't like thinking about him— “We can—maybe we can grab one of those cube things from the lost river base and take it to the mushroom place?"

If we're going there anyway we might as well just stay there, JJ points out.

"Can you not make an ion cube with your machines?" Schneep asks, confused. "Or... do you need the design or something?"

"The ion cubes are architect tech so... we don't know how to make them." Danan explains, "They seem to grow in these places though and there's a self-replenishing supply in HQ. But that one is one you all cannot reach... or my boys can't at least."

"Plus uh- Alterra." Zara points out.

"Yes that too."

"Huh. I suppose even machines that can rearrange matter have a limit," Schneep says thoughtfully. "But that limit is not helping right now."

Alt looks at Jackie with a bit of concern and lightly touches his tail against his. Then he sighs and says, "... if the one in this lost river is the only one you all can take us to that's active... then we'll just have to take our chances."

When Alt touches him, Jackie jumps a little, then quickly shakes himself off. "Yeah. And we have safety in numbers, too."

"Besides! We got tons of natives here to help us!" Bro tries to say positively. The merboys either smiles at him or snort and look away.

Danan smiles and nods, "It shouldn't be a long trip. Marvin should just be able to warp you straight there. Unless you all are eager to explore. It is an eerily beautiful place down there."

JJ smiles at Danan. Perhaps we can explore a little bit, but we should do this quickly, I think. Messing with these arches might take a while.

"So we are leaving right now, then?" Schneep asks. "Or—should we prepare? I would be fine with leaving now, in either case."

The merboys all look at each other. Anti shrugs, "I say lets get this over with. I'm eager for things to... be less exciting." He grumbles.

Marvin nods and then opens up a warp gate in the middle of the room. "This should take us straight there." He says, "Everyone swim on through."

"Hmm. Swim through? So you open up a portal," Schneep muses. "Like a small wormhole. Or like a portal from the game Portal." He giggles to himself at the repetition of the word.

"Yeah, actually, it does look a bit like a portal," Jackie says. "But you can't see through to the other side and it's this swirling... pink and purple and blue—"

"Oooo, my favorite colors," Schneep says, grinning. "As my Jackie would say, bisexual lighting."

Jackie and JJ both burst into laughter at that. A little less intense, but you got the idea! JJ says.

Alt studies the warp gate curiously. "... I wonder what would happen if I tried to glitch through this..."

"I dunno if now is the time to play around like that Alt." Bro chuckles.

Marvin makes a face then shrugs, "If it's similar to warping... hm... I can't say I'm not curious too..."

Alt's eyes sparkle a bit and he grins and then glitches through. From their end- nothing seems to have happened- except a tiny spark of green across the surface. And a bit of green reflecting in Marvin's eyes and a barely noticeable twitch in his hands. Bro hurries after Alt.

JJ frowns as Alt glitches through. Not sure that was a good idea.

"Well, it's too late now." Jackie shrugs, making sure that he has the bag on securely. Then he swims on through.

Schneep frowns. He swims forward hesitantly, then passes on through.

JJ lingers nervously at the back. He probably shouldn't be worried. Probably nothing happened. But still, he can't stop the anxiety as he approaches and slowly goes through the warp gate.

Mer-Jackie doesn't look excited to go in the warp gate but Jamie grabs his hand and starts to lead him through. Henrik and Chase laugh a bit at this and follow after. Anti gives the others a neutral glance before he shuffles through.

Once everyone is through, Marvin follows and the gate closes. Zara and Danan wave goodbye. "You have your radios if you need us boys!"

[dancing-heart-pony]

August Art Prompts, Day 10: Coconut 🥥

Remember that time Schneep went on vacation?

[septnautical]

Hybrid Creation Logs

SH-003

——————————

Notes from observation of stalker human hybrid SH-003 from Dr. Kendra Danan:  10-21-2228 SH-003 is showing signs of very high intelligence and is already picking up language despite his mental age. The other hybrids did not show this much absorption of knowledge at the same stage. However, he seems to have attached himself to Dr. Peter von Schneeplestein, a visitor from the Teuton Alteran branch, who still have ties to their ancient German roots- keeping that fascinating culture alive, much like the Mongolians from Torgal. Which means- SH-003 has caught a slight jumbled accent and has found a preference for using German sayings. Much like how SE-002 has a slight Irish accent thanks to constant interaction with Dr. Xander. A strange phenomenon to be sure but… fascinating. And adorable…  Oh and he’s quite popular with the other scientists. Mostly because a mutation caused his body to be more white and his underbelly to be more aqua. Peter squealed to everyone that he looked like he was wearing a white coat like us- and now I can’t un-see it!  Also, it’s evident that SH-003 had some sight issues. He seems to be near-sighted and accommodations have been made- including specially goggles for him to wear. You’d think being genetically modified would rectify such an ailment but it must be passed down from Mcloughlin’s genes.  I think he’s nearing the age where we first introduced SE-002 to RR-001. And the results of their integration have been wildly successful. Both boys are more lively than ever before. I am worried about introducing a predator to two pacifists but… SH-003 seems to be on the gentler side as well. Really, he only showed true signs of predator-like aggression during his first two weeks and when he feels threatened. Perhaps, they will all get along?  However, his near twin subject SD-004 is a different story entirely… 

——————-

“CHASEEEE!!” 

The rabbit Ray merman was awoken by Jack practically bouncing on where his stomach met his tail. He groaned and try to hide his face under one of his wings. “What? Can’t I sleep in a little longer?” Chase yawned. 

“Not today!” Jack protested, slapping his hands down on Chase’s side. “The white suits said we’re meeting the new hybrid today!! So you gotta get up!! C’mon!!” 

Chase groaned again and flopped over to hide his face in the sand. “5 more minutes…” 

“Chaseee!!” Jack whined, flopping onto the older hybrid’s back. He curls some of his tails around Chase’s tail and mumbles, “Aren’t you excited to meet a new brother?” 

“Course I am,” Chase muttered back, cheek pressed into the sand. “I just wanna be more awake when we meet him is all-“

“You’ll sleep most of the morning if I don’t wake you!” Jack protests. 

Chase chuckles, “s’not my fault the sand is warm and cozy…” He then flips over quickly and grabs Jack, pinning him in a hug against his stomach. “C’mon…! Don’t you wanna cuddle a bit longer with your big bro, Jack?” 

Jack screeches and squirmed in Chase’s hold, “Nooo! You’re squishing me! Chaseee!!” 

They both suddenly freeze as they hear the sound of a hatch opening and something new entering the water. A cautious voice calls out, “um… h-hallo?” 

Jack squeals in delight and hits multiple of his tails in Chase’s face, making the older boy cry out and rub at it  as the younger brother speeds through the water towards the voice. 

In the open water is a tiny merman with a white and aqua tail. He has light green hair like sea moss and purple stripes along his tail and even on his arms. His tail fin is big and wide and he has several large dorsal fins running up his back. And, he has goggles on, which surround the same blue eyes Chase and Jack had. Those eyes look out shyly as he holds his arms tight to his middle. 

Jack gasps in delight at seeing the new hybrid. “Oh my stars…! A stalker!! You’re so tiny!!” 

The new hybrid startles at the new voice and looks at Jack with wide eyes. “Oh uh- h-hallo and uh… t-thank you, I suppose…?” 

Chase soon swims up beside Jack and laughs. “He’s about the size you were when you first got here, Jack!” 

“Aw really? I guess I must be growing a lot!” Jack giggles. Chase ruffles his hair then smiles at the new hybrid. “Hi there. I’m Chase and this is Jack- what are you called?” 

The stalker hybrid nervously messes with his fingers. “Oh uh… mein name is SH-3…” 

“Why do you talk like that?” Jack suddenly pipes up, tilting his head at SH. 

SH’s mood shifts quickly as he scowls and flicks his tail in agitation, “why do you talk like that?” He counters with a huff. 

Chase holds up his hands with a nervous laugh, “J-Jack didn’t mean anything by it! We just… haven’t heard anyone talk like you much… maybe some of the other doctors… but not much.” 

“We gotta give you a name that matches!” Jack says excitedly. 

“W-What do you mean?” SH stammers, “I already have a name! It is-“ 

“No no! That one doesn’t count!” Jack emphasizes, “You need a name like the white suits! Something that doesn’t make us sound like- like an es… esperimint-“ 

“Experiment, Jack…” Chase provides gently. Jack nods eagerly, “yeah that! We’re more than just that- we should get names that are more than just letters and numbers!!” 

SH seems to contemplate this before he slowly nods. “Mmm… o-okay… I… I think I would like that…” 

“Great!” Jack says excitedly, his tails twirling to show it. Then he hums and looks at SH with a critical eye. The tiny merman squirms a bit under the gaze. Finally, Jack pipes up with, “I’m getting a couple names from you! Guess it’s other white suits you know- like… Fitz! Orrr Nikolai? Or hm… Henrik?”

Chase perks up at this and smiles, “He seems like a Henrik, not gonna lie.” 

SH’s eyes roll and he scoffs, crossing his arms. “Please… those are all ridiculous names! If you’re gonna use the scientists' names you might as well call me… H-Henrik von Schneeplestein or something!” He grumbles, thinking of Dr. Peter. Though, he had to admit… thinking of sharing a name with him almost made SH feel… warm?

Jack and Chase exchange looks before the two of them grin at SH. “We could call you Schneep!” Jack says mischievously. Chase giggles and nods, “Yeah I like that!” 

SH quickly flushes and looks away with raised shoulders, “…please just… stick with Henrik… I suppose I… like that.” 

“Aww but Schneep is fun to say!” Jack giggles and starts to float around the stalker mer, “Schneep! Schneep! Schneep! Schneeep!!” 

Chase laughs and pulls Jack back after a bit, “Alright, little bro- give him some space!” 

Henrik seems to perk up at this, “…bro? What does this mean?”

The rabbit Ray blinks, “Oh! Short for brother! Cuz… that’s what we all are, you know?”

Henrik’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, “…we are? I thought brothers were ah… human. Human family members.” 

Jack snorts and then goes to grab Henrik’s hands in his. “We are brothers though! Cuz- cuz Xander says we all have the same human DNS-“ 

“DNA, Jack-“ Chase snickers. 

“Oh yeah! DNA! And he says that makes us related! Even if our fish parts are different!” Jack beams. “So now! You’re our new little brother, Henrik!” 

The stalker merman’s eyes seem to sparkle as he slowly goes to grip Jack’s hands back. He smiles, “O…okay… brothers. Yes I… I think I would like that…” 

Jack and Chase beam and then bring Schneep in for a hug. Henrik stiffens a bit but soon finds himself laughing and enjoying the contact. They were so warm. 

Jack soon grabs Henrik and leads them all off to go play. Henrik seems to have trouble keeping up with their energy- since he liked to spend a lot of his time in his own tank watching the education videos the white suits gave him. But, he tries his best. 

Soon enough, the lights dim and the boys all start to head towards their sleeping area. Henrik is being led by Jack but seems… nervous. He always felt strange at night. More… angry. But he didn’t know why. 

Chase flops into the little nest Jack and him have made- filled with soft kelp, writhing weeds, violet beaus red wort and spotted dock leaves. All hidden amongst the tall creepvines that surrounded the edge of the tank. There’s a small indent in the sand that is clearly made from how Chase curls up in his spot, yawning loudly. Jack laughs and then rushes at Chase and flops onto his side. Chase seems to anticipate this though as he opens up his arm without opening his eyes as Jack eagerly curls around under Chase’s wing. The older merman squints open an eye, looking at how Jack’s tails hardly fit anymore and chuckles. “You’re almost too big to keep hiding under there, Jackaboy-“ 

Jack sticks his tongue out at Chase and scoots back so his head is lifting up the edge of his wing like a floppy hat. “Too bad! Your wing is too comfy! I’m never leaving!” Chase just laughs and shakes his head. 

Henrik hovers anxiously at the edge of the space, unsure if he should join or not. His nerves feel like they’re on fire. 

Lost in his train of thought, he doesn’t notice Jack lashing out a hand to grab his fin and try to pull him in until he feels the tug. “C’mon Schneep! Join the pile!”

“Do not touch me!” Henrik suddenly hisses, his teeth looking sharper and his pupils turning more slitted. Jack gasps and shudders under Chase’s fin, looking scared. “Ah I… I’m sorry! I…” 

Henrik’s face falls and he scoots back, all aggression fading. He looks equally as scared as he stammers, “I-I… I will go s-sleep somewhere else… g-goodnight!” And then, in a flurry of bubbles, he spurs quickly away from the other two to the other side of the tank. 

Chase lifts up his head and looks concerned. He quickly turns over to hug Jack to his chest and wrap him up in his wings. 

“I… I didn’t mean to make him mad I…” Jack sniffles. Chase gently shushes him. “It’s okay, Jack… this is all probably a lot for him…” 

Jack rubs at his eyes and looks over to where Henrik swam off. “…I don’t think he meant it either… he looked scared.” 

“He’s probably not used to being around other people… you were a lot for me to get used to when you first got here.” Chase tries to laugh. Jack rests his head on Chase’s chest and hums, thinking. “… maybe he just… misses his old tank? But… isn’t that lonely?”

“Maybe… sometimes people like being alone. I don’t get it but… maybe Henrik is like that.” Chase answers quietly. 

Suddenly, there’s a quiet knock on the glass next to the boys and they both startle up. There’s a man at the window, one they don’t recognize, with goggles like Henrik’s and brighter brown-blond curly hair. He smiles at the boys and then points to the hatch nearby. Chase narrows his eyes but then scoops up Jack to go over to the hatch. The scientist opens it up and hangs in the open air part, fidgeting nervously, “Ah I am- sorry to intrude. I hope I did not wake you two…” 

“You talk just like Henrik!” Jack gasps in delight. The doctor blinks and then laughs with a soft, kind expression. “Oh? Did you give a name to SH then? Ha… that is very fitting.. I do not know why I did not think of it…” 

“The letter names are icky- we don’t like them,” Jack said plainly. The doctor laughs, “I can agree with that. Perhaps I can learn all of yours in time… You all can call me Peter though… Dr. Peter. I ah- watch over SH- …Henrik.” 

“We don’t gotta wait till later! I’m Jack and this is Chase!” Jack said brightly, patting Chase on the chest. Chase smiles shyly. “Hi… Dr. Peter. nice to meet you.” 

Dr. Peter smiles warmly, “it is a pleasure… those names all suit you wonderfully…” 

“What do you want? Did you need to see Schneep?” Jack asks plainly. 

Peter’s eyes widen, “…Schneep?”

“Oh- that’s the other name I wanna call him. He said a long name from another doctor like… schneeple-eplestein… I like how Schneep sounded though so I wanna call him that too! He tries to act like he doesn’t like it but I can tell he does.” Jack answers. 

The white suit looks surprisingly touched and smiles even more warmly at the boys. “I see… well… I did come because of S-Schneep, yes.” He pulls something out from his pocket and places it in the water part of the hatch. It’s a well worn piece of scrap metal, with various teeth marks and scratches on its surface. “…He can get very bitey and snippy at night… but I know having this helps him calm down enough to sleep. I was worried he would be missing it…” 

Chase and Jack’s eyes widen as they look at the scrap then back up at Peter. Chase smiles and gives the doctor a meaningful look. “…you really care about him, huh?” 

Peter’s face flushes and he adjusts his glasses. “I mean… I… I suppose I do but… how could I not? You all are… human too. More human than fish- you are just… children. You all need that care, ja?” He laughs. 

Jack giggles and quickly goes to grab the scrap. “We’ll give it to Henrik right away! Thank you, Dr. Peter. Come visit him a lot, okay?” As he says this- he feels a tight tug in his chest. When was the last time he really got to see Xander…? 

Peter chuckles and nods. “I will… and I will uh- be seeing you boys around then? Ah… be sleeping tight, okay?” He says a bit awkwardly before closing the hatch. He stiffly waves to the boys before hurrying out. 

“…I like him!” Jack grins. Chase laughs and adjusts Jack in his arms. “yeah- I like him too. It’ll be nice to have a new face around.” 

“Yeah like- Dr. Goodall is nice and all but… he’s funny. And I really think he cares.” 

“Hey! Dr. Goodall cares…” Chase tries to protest. 

“Yeah but… he feels different. Dunno why…” Jack says with a shrug. Then he squirms out of Chase’s grip and swims up, holding the scrap. “I’m gonna go find Schneep! Be right back!” 

Then, he rockets off before Chase can protest or try to follow. He would but… Jack was better at finding things then he was. And he’s so sleepy. He yawns and slowly floats back down into their nest. 

Jack swims around to look for Henrik- finally hearing or… feeling him inside another collection of creepvines on the opposite side of the tank. He pushes aside the leaves and shouts out excitedly, “Henrik! Look wh-!” 

He then pauses as he sees and smells blood in the water. Jack gasps as he looks down to see Henrik curled up into a ball, digging sharp looking claws into his arms and drawing out orange blood. 

“H-Hey! Henrik, stop that!” Jack shouts as he spurs down and tries to pull Henrik’s hands away from his arms. Henrik growls and lashes out, striking claws across Jack’s cheek. “I said do not touch me!” Henrik screeches, then balks as he sees the orange curling off of Jack’s cheek into the water. Jack touches the cuts thoughtfully and looks at his hand. “…that hurt… huh- haven’t really gotten hurt before…” 

“I-I-! I am so sorry I…!” Henrik stammers, tears in his eyes as his little body shakes. He hugs his arms close to his chest. “I-I did not mean to… I- y-you scared me and…!” 

Jack quickly swims down and holds out his hands. “Hey hey it’s okay! I can tell you didn’t want to… your head is all jumbled up right now…” 

Henrik stares at Jack with wide eyes. “I… y-yes I… how did you know…?”

Jack shrugs, “I hear lots of things from people without really knowing why or how. Maybe it’s something I’ll understand when I’m older. Point is though, I can tell you don’t wanna hurt people.” 

Henrik slowly nods and curls up more. “…I do not want to… but at night I just… f-feel so angry and I… I do not know why…!”

“Well… if it helps… Dr. Peter came by to give you something…” Jack says gently, going to pass the scrap over to Henrik. The stalker’s eyes light up and he quickly takes the scrap and goes to hold it tightly, claws digging in and tail wrapped around it protectively. Jack laughs, “you really like that thing, huh?”

The tinier merman looks away, cheeks flushing slightly. “…I do not hurt my doctors if I have this at night… and it… it makes me feel safe…” 

“That’s good!” Jack says brightly. “We don’t want our new brother to sleep all alone though! Come on- you can hold that and sleep on your own but at least stay by the nest, okay?” 

Jack offers his hand to Henrik and the stalker mer stares at it for a second before he slowly goes to take it, letting Jack pull him back up in the water. “I… I’m… o-okay…” 

The two of them swim back to the nest where Chase is peacefully dozing. He blinks open his eyes and smiles dazedly at them, “Hey guys-“ then quickly sits up, his eyes going wide. “Stars-! Is that blood?!” 

“Oh yeah but uh- we’re okay!” Jack tries to say calmly as Henrik huddles behind him, his tail trembling a bit. 

Chase swims up and brings them over to sit down on the sand then surges up to grab a couple creepvines leaves. He hurries down and hands one to Jack. “Press that against your cheek.” He says gently. 

Jack blinks and does so. 

Then, Chase goes to take Henrik’s arm but the little merman flinches back and looks scared. Chase smiles softly. “It’s okay… I won’t hurt you.” 

“I… I am afraid of hurting you-“ Henrik whispers. 

Chase laughs and shakes his head. “If you do it’s okay… this is kinda scary. But us brothers gotta stick together, right?” 

Henrik’s eyes widen and then he smiles a bit. He shyly offers his arm to Chase. “..r-right…” Chase beams and takes his arm, going to wrap up the puncture wounds with the leaves and tying them off. 

“Where did ya learn to do this, Chase?” Jack asks. 

“Oh- an informational video about how to survive on the planet from someone who lived here a long time ago.” Chase says casually. “Dr. Goodall says one day we might get to actually go out into the ocean so… figured it’s good to know.” 

Henrik’s eyes sparkle. “oh… I would like to watch that! I… I want to learn to help too! Not.. not to hurt…” 

Chase smiles and ruffles Henrik’s hair. “Sure! I’ll see if we can watch it in the morning! For now though? I’m bushed!” He floats back over to the nest and flops into it, sighing contently. 

Jack checks to make sure his cheek isn’t bleeding anymore then speeds back over and bounces on Chase’s stomach beside settling into place. Chase oofs and glares a bit at Jack before snorting and rolling over. Jack giggles. 

Henrik hesitates, holding his scrap close to his chest. Then, he slowly floats over and then inches his tail to slowly bump up against Chase’s and curl against him. Oh… that contact feels… really nice actually. Henrik seems to get very comfortable very fast, his eyes struggling to stay open. Jack is already breathing softly curled up against Chase’s side, clutching into his wing. 

Chase watches with a smile. “Night, lil bros.”

[ijwrff]

Hi if you're taking requests may I request a Yandere Henrik x reader where they're his new nurse and he becomes really obsessed with them

It ended up being longer than anticipated XD I know little to nothing about nursing and the medical practice in general, aside from my own experiences, so a whole friggin lot of this will probably be wrong. But thank you for requesting ^~^ yanderes be out here doing the worst. And we are all (me included) for some reason here for it.

@thattiredanimator1t0mblr @viciouslyyearning @serenitydusk

Word Count: 1,461

Becoming a nurse was something you always wanted to do. And you dreamed of being able to travel further from your little town, but you had to start small! There were a couple hospitals in your town, but one was bigger and dealt with more surgical procedures than the other. Being a surgical nurse seemed terrifying, but being able to start as an assistant rather than the full surgical nurse title couldn’t be so bad, right? You’ll have to go through more training, but it’ll give you time to get used to it! 

You were sure there were many applicants, but you were on the list to interview with the hiring manager, and then the head doctor in the larger establishment! It was equal parts exciting…and terrifying. You smoothed out your outfit, and went through the interview without a problem! You had amazing grades in school, and the hiring manager seemed a little apathetic. Hopefully not everyone here would be…and that fear was extinguished when you met the head doctor during the next part of the interview process. 

Dr. Schneeplestein was charismatic. Tired, but seemed warm hearted underneath that. He seemed to like you too, and within the week, you were hired! Those days waiting for a call were agonizing, but worth it in the end. You were over the moon, and already had scrubs and everything picked out! You even made sure to arrive a good few minutes early. Can’t be running late on your first day. 

When you watched surgeries, there were always at least three other nurses in the room. They talked to you quietly to inform you on the process, knowing you hadn’t been a surgical nurse before. It was nerve-wracking at first but over time you got used to it. The tools, the terms, and feelings all surrounding a surgery that you’d only read in your books now make more sense being exposed to them before having to actually use them. 

You didn’t see Dr. Sneep as he insisted on being called, much outside of shadowing him. If only you knew…how he’d been shadowing you too. But in a much, much different way. He turned down nearly every other applicant, once he had seen your excitement when it came to the job. You were new, and barely knew how things worked in an actual hospital. So when he said you’d be his only nurse in one of the following procedures, you simply took it as his way of saying you were ready for the job. Sink or swim. 

He was giving you a chance, and you weren’t one to mess it up! Even if you were pretty nervous about it, you chalked it up to being the first surgery nerves. It…couldn’t be too bad. You might mess up the surgery…but Dr. Schneep would be there. It would be okay! He wasn’t the head doctor for no reason, after all. If you were going to make a mistake, he would be there to correct it. Help you learn to be a better nurse!

The room was well lit, and after washing your hands thoroughly you had made your way into the operating room. He was waiting there, and had a patient on the table. It seemed like he was ready to begin the procedure, and you approached to figure out what kind of surgery it would be. 

He smiled behind his mask, which you could still see through the way his eyes and cheeks raised. “Hello, are you ready to begin? This one should be simple, a knee replacement. All the tools we need are laid out already, and the patient is sedated.” He pointed to his side, and said thoughtfully “It’ll be okay. The surgery will work out according to plan.” 

From there, it was mostly quiet. A few commands from him, but overall it didn’t seem as stressful as you expected it to be. Though you were so focused, you jumped a couple times when he spoke after several moments of silence. It got easier though, and it helped you weren’t doing too much of anything. He did still let you take the lead on some parts, but other than that he did most of the work. 

At the final stitch you did, it was over! You let out a sigh of relief, and smiled at him through your mask. “We did it! My first surgery…it went a lot better than I anticipated.” A couple small laughs and you looked over to him. But he wasn’t laughing. Just staring at you with the calculating eyes you’d seen all of the surgery. 

“Oh no, we’re not finished yet. No one’s here, no cameras or observation rooms.” He gestured to the person laying on the table, “I’d like to ask you something before we went back into the craziness.” He set his tools down, and faced you fully. “How long do you intend to stay with this hospital? I know in your interview, you mentioned potentially expanding.” His tone wasn’t warm, but you chalked it up to the stress of surgery. 

“Well…” It was odd he was asking you now, but didn’t think too much of it. It was…weird that a surgical room would have no cameras. Isn’t that a violation of some kind? It’s weird, but probably not unheard of. “I was hoping to get a transfer after working here for a good few months or so! I’ve been wanting to look in bigger cities for a while now.” You smiled and he smiled too, but his eyes were darker. Maybe the exhaustion really was getting to him. 

“Could I persuade you to stay?” His tone lacked any indicators on what he was feeling. It wasn’t happy, stressed, relieved or any of it. Just a straightforward emotionless question. “You’ll be an asset to this team. You show real promise. You’ve always wanted to be a nurse, and this could be your place to do it.” 

“Oh no, I’m not saying I don’t want to work here, but a bigger city is more ideal for me! I’d like to live closer to everything.” You laughed a couple times, and looked at your watch but he put your hand back down before you could even get a glance of the time. “Uh…Dr. Schneep? Something wrong?” His gaze wasn’t quite…a glare. But it definitely wasn’t anything positive. 

You stood in silence a good few seconds, when he sighed and dropped his gaze down to the medical tools. “Such a shame. Wanting to leave when the two of us were finally getting close.” He moved his mask down and you were met with a cold scowl. “I wonder what the medical field will think of you, if you ripped all these stitches open as you were placing the scalpel.” He chuckled, with his look still dark. “No one would ever hire you in the medical field again.” 

“Dr. Schneep? What…do you mean?” His aura had grown darker, much different than his usual composed expressions. “You’re not making any sense…” You hoped it was some kind of joke, but everything about it seemed too real. It was a serious threat. If he told the hospital about this you wouldn’t get to live out your dream! 

He tilted his head slightly and replied “I mean you’re not leaving the hospital, or me. I could also tell any amount of story to remove you from the medical field. Where would you go then, hm? What would you do?” He took a step closer, and you took a step back. “Go back to school? Find a new passion?” He had walked you into a corner, literally and figuratively. 

Dr. Schneep raised a brow, waiting for your response. You couldn’t get a word out, the only sound you made being the near silent sound of your tears hitting the hard tile floor. It gave him all the answers he needed. You wouldn’t leave, you cared about your job too much. But what could make a man like him just…snap. He had always been so kind to you, what changed? 

“You’re going to be my head nurse from now on. If you so much as said a word about this…”agreement” then you’ll be out of a job, living in that studio apartment of yours all alone with no way to pay rent.” 

“How…do you know what kind of apartment I live in?” He was insane! Completely delusional! You were backed into a corner by a madman. He had lost his mind, and completely changed your view of him forever. You just wish others would see him that way…maybe then you could escape him. But for now, his words will be ingrained in you for the rest of your days. 

“Because I love you, of course.” 

[sneakyfox55]

📷🎵🍪? :D

📷 What’s set as your phone’s lockscreen?

PICTURE OF MY LATE CAT, SPECIFICALLY THIS ONE, MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF HER <333333333

🎵 Last song you listened to?

GUILTY AS SIN? BY TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!! >:DDDDD

🍪 If you were a cookie, what kind would you be?

AAAAAAAAAA I MYSELF AM, NOT SURE BUT HJDSGHAJGSAJHSADGJSDJDSFHGDSHJGFDSJGFHJ VR3URYW YIREU RW I ASKED SOME FRIENDS AND THEY SAID MACADAMIA NUT BECAUSE I'M "sweet and comforting and wholesome and varied in texture" :'))))????? WHA T

[docheros]

ok i wanna do other egos polls but they don't have much interpretations like anti, and i don't want to always do "past ego" vs "current ego" bc that gets boring real quick. any polls suggestions?

[srpntlily]

henrik? more like henrizz.

[graphic-hawk]

‘One, two . . . He’s coming for you’

Discover Henrik’s origin. Discover them all. Find the story on my Wattpad - graphic-hawk

Don’t repost/steal/plagiarize

[draw-the-squad-like-this]

Draw your hijinks duo and resigned third wheel (Source)

[mothgodofchaos]

Twins

Ever decide to play god and accidentally make yourself two sons? Then immediately go “I’m a father! I must share this with my partner!” No? Maybe Henrik is just built different then.

Mad Scientist!Henrik x GN!Reader, TW: neck injury (Anti’s throat slit) Words: 1080

Henrik had promised to show you something he had been working on today, and you decided to bring along a cake and champagne to celebrate. You know that he’s been working really hard, but it does concern you how on your calls recently, he’s seemed a little more, sporadic. But there isn’t really a nice gentle way to go “hey, I think you might need to touch some grass, your evil cackle lasted a whole ninety seconds”. The other thing that’s been killing you is that he has absolutely refused to tell or show you what he’s been working on. Something about “ruining the surprise” when waiting the majority of a year for this hasn’t been making you go crazy over it.

“Are you going to tell me what it is yet, Henrik?”

“Not yet, meine Leibe. Although I zhink you vearing blue is very fitting.”

“What does the blue have to do with anything?”

“You’ll see~!”

He’s driving you out to somewhere, the cake in your lap and the champagne between your feet. Large fields stretch out on either side of the long country road, grain moving like waves in the wind. Off in the distance, you spot what looks like a warehouse on a hill.

“Is that where we’re going?”

“Yes. Can’t be doing vhat I’ve been doing near zhe city.”

More concern. But the suspense of finding out takes your attention again. When you pull up, he insists you leave the food in the car. He pulls out his key ring from his belt, scanning a card and opening the knob with a click.

Walking in, it’s dark with a few glowing fluids in test tubes offering their soft luminescence to fight away the blackness. He flips on a few lights, and in front of you a mad scientist’s laboratory comes into view. Jars of weird specimens sit on shelves that don’t sit quite right. Lab coats with questionable stains hang on hooks on the wall. And most importantly, a giant steel vault door stands on the opposite side of the room.

“Henrik… what’s behind that door…”

“Your surprise! You vill love it.”

Somehow, you doubt that. Henrik takes your hand, eagerly pulling you over to the door and punching in the code, briefly letting go to turn the large wheel lock. The door hisses as the pressure releases, a cold mist pooling around your feet. Once it’s cleared, you see two large test tubes, with two beings floating in them.

“Surprise! Ve’re parents!!”

“WHAT-“

Henrik practically skips over to the large vats, oxygen masks covering their mouths as they float motionless in the liquid. One is significantly taller than the other, stitches covering his body. The shorter one seems, not quite human, yet is about human sized. Something about him seems a little too sharp, and bandages cover his neck.

“What- what on Earth did you do!?”

“Well, I vanted to make just one son. But zhen two sprung up from my experiments. So, tvins!”

“Be grateful I love you because otherwise I would call the cops…”

“I have no doubts!”

Henrik kisses your cheek as he walks past you, reaching for a valve on the wall. He turns it, and the liquid starts draining from the tubes. All you can do is watch as they slump on the floors of their confinements, starting to blink awake as Henrik presses another button.

“Let’s hope zhey’ll be on zheir best behavior.”

The shorter one is the first one to take off his mask, teleporting out of the tube and stumbling into a table as he tries to stabilize himself.

“Anzhony, I haven’t dried you off yet. Get back in and you’ll be less vet.”

“Shit… right…”

He stumbles back in, using the door this time as Henrik presses another button, a high speed fan blow drying your two “sons”. The taller one takes off his mask, punching the door and shattering it before stepping out.

“Now zhat vas unnecessary…”

“Sorry…”

Anthony stumbles out again, scratching at the bandages on his neck as he nearly collides with his brother.

“Anzhony, vatch your step. You nearly ran into Robbie.”

“He’ll be fine, he’s like a fuckin’ brick wall.”

Robbie grunts in agreement, setting a hand on Anthony’s shoulder to stabilize him.

“T’anks…”

“So how does one “accidentally” create two sons…?”

“Oh! I vas trying to build Robbie over zhere, but zhe spirits from zhe bodies I was using weren’t happy. So zhey kind of, combined togezher and possessed one I had not dissected yet. Poor Irish lad zhat got his throat slit.”

“That explains the accent. But he isn’t trying to kill you, despite the spirits being angry?”

“He tried once, before his system settled.”

“That’s less comforting than I think you realize.”

Henrik only laughs as you process this. Anthony rubs his temples, still a little woozy from just waking up. Robbie, the giant that he is, just seems to tower over you, observing. The three of you are escorted back out into the main lab by Henrik, and his comment from the car finally clicks.

“You were making a gender reveal party joke.”

“Oh good, I vas zhinking of the right zhing.”

That gets a laugh out of Robbie, who rummages through a locker for something. He passes Anthony a hoodie and ripped jeans, putting on a striped shirt and sweatpants himself. If you didn’t know better, you’d say they look just like teen boys, spare the extra features.

“Huh, I really am a parent now. Well, does anyone want cake?”

“OH FUCK YEAH!”

That’s the most energetic you’ve seen Anthony this far, even surprising his brother with how fast of a turn around he managed.

“Easy, don’t need you hyped up on sugar, Ants.”

“Big ol’ zombie afraid of a demon lad?”

“I could throw you out that window right now.”

“Boys.”

The three of you turn to see Henrik sipping out of a coffee mug, somehow already looking like a tired father.”

“Sorry…”

“Zhat’s better. Let’s go get cake.”

You all sit in the back of Henrik’s truck, laughing as you catch up the boys on what life out in the outside world is like, popping the champagne and drinking out of beakers Henrik managed to scrounge out of storage. It’s a weird family to get used to, but you have zero qualms with it.

[wafflezcourtney]

Henrik and the quality of today

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 11: Darker Seas

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs | Read Septnautical | Darker Seas AU

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

The swim back is easier this time- without anything chasing after them. There’s the distant sounds of the crabsquids and jelly rays but it’s smooth sailing.

Anti hurries down to the base and knocks on the door again, not wanting to freak out the people inside.

There’s a beat then the door opens quickly, Zara’s face bright with joy. “Anti! You’re oka- oh my god?!” Zara gasps seeing all the hybrids gathered in front of the door.

“…we need some help?” Anti says with a nervous smile.

“Y-yeah c’mon! I’ll take you to the medbay and… I’ll get Danan and those blankets again!” Zara says hurriedly. She starts to swim down the hallway and turns the corner, Anti right behind her.

The other hybrids pour into the base behind them. "W-well, we got them back, a-as you can see," Schneep says, trying to sound lighthearted but his voice still trembling with nerves. "Your device worked. Thank you."

“I… I can’t believe it did! That’s… that’s great news!” Zara laughs, but she also sounds nervous.

Jackie, Alt, and Bro, JJ says, pointing out the others, their friends who'd been lost.

"H-hi," Jackie says quietly.

Zara looks at the others and smiles. And Bro’s breath hitches really taking in Zara’s face. She’s so different here… and she’s swimming- kinda like she has a limp. What happened to her…?

“Nice to meet you all.” Zara says.

“Y-Yeah… y-you too…” Bro whispers.

They hurry into the med bay- a small room that’s dark and Zara hurries to grab a light to turn it on. There’s a few hospital like beds bolted to the ground and a couple flickering monitors looking like they’re for x-rays. “Sorry this one is for uh… looking at other fish and Anti so… I uh… h-hope it’s comfortable. You can lay down whoever needs to get looked at on the tables. And I’ll get Danan and blankets!!” She says hurriedly and spurs back down the hall.

Bro watches her go then sighs and goes to swim in and tries to lay Alt down on the table.

JJ looks everyone over. I can heal surface injuries, like claws and bites and stuff.

"Ah... I would appreciate if you could do that for me," Schneep says, his injured tendrils waving in the water.

Bro, Jackie, do you need to be looked over? JJ asks. On a medical bed?

"I-I-I think I'm fine," Jackie says, wrapping his arms around himself. "It's a bit... cold, but I think that's just cause of the water..."

Bro pants a bit and shakes his head. “I’m fine… just… s-shaken from all of this…”

"W-we should be careful of Alt and Marvin," Schneep says quietly. "We do not want them to be scared by the environment."

Alt seems reluctant to leave Bro’s arms but eventually curls up on the table, holding his arms and trying to breathe and not panic. But- he’s super aware of the mask and how much it hurts and how awful he feels. He shivers.

Anti nods to Schneep and goes to just sit with Marvin on the table, holding him to his chest. Marvin isn't looking at anyone, digging claws into the edge of his mask, his fingers trembling.

Schneep prowls back and forth across one wall, nervous. Jackie just sort of... floats there. He's still processing everything.

JJ swims over to Anti and Marvin. I know this is probably very confusing, but you're safe now, he says to Marvin with a soft smile. The people here can help.

Marvin startles and looks at JJ with wide eyes. He curls up against Anti. “…w-who are you…? You.. you look like Jamie but…you’re not.”

“He’s someone… similar,” Anti tries to say gently. “But you can trust him… and the one that looks like Schneep… and t-they trust the others…”

Marvin still looks a bit scared but he nods.

JJ nods slowly. Don't worry, I'll give you space if you want, he says, backing up.

“T-Thank you…” Marvin says quietly.

Bro leans on Alt’s table and then feels… heavy… it’s hot in here… his head lolls a bit as he struggles to keep his eyes open, his arms trembling.

"Um... B-Bro?" Jackie says, looking at Bro. "Are you... okay? You look... bad. Tired?"

“Y-Yeah yeah I’m…” Bro says dazedly then shakes himself out, blinking slowly. “I’m… good. I’m just… t-tired yeah…”

"Tired all of a sudden?" Schneep's eyes widen. "Th-that is probably not good." He swims over to Bro, putting a hand on his forehead, feeling out his condition.

Bro definitely has a fever and is shaking quite a bit. He has a glazed look in his eye that he keeps trying to blink back. “‘M fine Hen… ‘m okay…” he mummers tiredly.

Alt sits up and looks at Bro with concern.

"H-he has a fever," Schneep reports. "I-I think he needs medical attention, too."

What happened?! JJ asks. That came on really suddenly!

"I-I don't know. Perhaps this is all just hitting him at once?"

“N-No ‘m okay guys, really…!” Bro tries to smile at them. “We gotta focus on Marv and Alt… a fever isn’t a big deal…”

"I would say it is, actually," Schneep says. He doesn't want to worry Bro, but... a sudden fever could easily be the sign of something worse.

Finally, the door opens and Dr. Danan comes back in with a worried look. “Z-Zara filled me in are you all-?!” She gasps as she sees Marvin and Alt with their masks and hurriedly digs through her bag. “L-Let me get some scans to see what we’re dealing with!”

JJ and Schneep swim back, letting Danan do her work first.

She swims over and does Alt first who tries his best not to move as she waves the tool around the edges of Alt’s face.

Danan then hurries over to Marvin and he cringes curling up and digging fingers in more. “oh nonono! Don’t do that love let me see please-“ Danan tries to say gently to him. Anti whispers something to him and Marvin finally lets go and Danan scans him quickly. Once done Marvin curls back up.

Danan then swims over to one of the monitors and starts to click around on her tool to try to transfer the scans to the screen.

Now that Danan seems done, JJ says, Ah, doctor, our other friend here is suddenly hot. He gestures at Bro. Is that... normal?

"I do not think it is," Schneep mutters. "But—but maybe it has something to do with the sort of fish he is? Do you know anything about that?"

Danan blinks and looks at them with knitted eyebrows. “Hot?” She looks over at Bro and frowns. “He’s.. a boneshark so… not that I know of? That’s… that’s not good… are any of the others starting to feel hot at all?” She asks Schneep and JJ.

Bro is staring out ahead. Why does the room look like it’s swimming..? And why did it look like for a second he saw yellow hair…?

"I-I do not know—no one else has says anything!" Schneep stammers. "Jamie, do any of them look feverish?"

I don't think so? JJ says, head darting between Alt, Marvin, and Jackie.

Jackie keeps hugging himself, sinking down to the ground where he curls his tail up. "I'm... I'm just... t-tired," he mutters.

Alt shakes his head but then pauses, “I’m… a little warm…? I can’t really tell…”

Anti feels Marvin’s forehead and frowns. Marvin has closed his eyes and is dozing against Anti. “I… I can’t tell.” He says quietly.

“Mmm..  the fatigue is justified considering the circumstances…” Danan mutters. “Let's see about getting these masks off then I can run some more tests if that's okay?”

"Please hurry," Schneep whispers. "I-I do not think they can eat with that there—unless you have other ways to get food. Injections of some sort."

Danan looks just as worried. “No we don’t have anything like that so let me get to the bottom of this…” 

Is there anything we can do to help? JJ asks. Or should we stay out of your way?

Danan smiles at JJ and shakes her head. “You all just rest…”

Jackie leans back against the wall while they talk, closing his eyes. Maybe he can fall asleep right here.

Schneep and JJ hover nearby, both looking anxious. 

Danan then gets the scans up on the monitor. She looks them over and then gasps at the sight. “Stars…! This is…!” She then curses, “That damn witch Jezebeth!” Before she swims to look through the drawers in the room. “I’m so sorry boys… I had no idea this went as deep as it did I… I might need to sedate you to get these off…!”

"What?! Wh-what?!" Schneep gasps. "That—that went that far into their—?!"

“T-Their jaw bones and muscles yes I-I…” Danan stammers, looking distressed. “I-I luckily still have a medical fabricator so it can rebuild the damage it just… they have to be completely still and… I don’t want it to hurt.”

JJ stares at the masks in horror. And then in anger. They have no right to mess with people's bodies like that! At least we could get the gauges out without sedation!

"Y-you two—you two please don't worry," Schneep says, darting closer to the medical beds again. "W-we will fix this. W-we'll just need to—to—it will take more than expected."

Bro growls tiredly, digging nails into the bed. “those fucking Bastards…!”

Jackie opens his eye slightly, staring at the commotion with a slightly glazed look. The water doesn't feel as cold anymore... he must be getting used to it.

Anti looks disturbed but he looks down at Marvin who has basically passed out. “Y-You’re good for Marv doc… get it over with before he wakes back up…”

Danan nods and hurries over, gently going to inject the sedative into Marvin. He slumps a bit more and Anti gently lays him down on the table, looking worried.

Alt looks like he’s on the verge of panic, sinking claws around his mask and breathing heavily.

Alt, please, please, you'll only hurt yourself, JJ says, trying to look reassuring and not like the anxious mess he feels like. Put your hands down. We'll be right here. We won't let anything happen to you.

Alt looks at JJ with terrified eyes and then back at Danan as she approaches. “I promise this is to make it as least painful as possible, Alt…” the Dr. says gently. “I don’t want this to hurt you…”

Alt makes a couple more panicked breaths before he eventually lets go and nods. Danan smiles and carefully moves some of his hair out of the way to inject him. Alt blinks heavily, already feeling the pull then Bro shakily leads him down.

Once Alt is down, Danan hurriedly grabs her equipment and starts to set up the fabricators- seems she has enough for both of them.

As that gets set up, Schneep swims over. "Chase, y-you have to lie down, please," he says. "You look like you're about to pass out. And then you cannot stay by Alt if you're asleep, yes?" His tone is unusually gentle.

Bro floats a bit straighter and blinks blearily at Schneep. “Hm? Uh… yeah maybe I…I’ll…” He glances at the door- then sharply inhales as he sees Demerci staring right at him through the window.

He yells in surprise then tumbles back, hitting the back wall in his scramble to get away. “N-No…!”

"Chase?!" Schneep gasps, staring at Bro in confusion. "What—A-are you okay?!"

JJ follows Bro's line of sight. He's looking at the door. What are you looking at, Bro?

Schneep blinks. "A... a hallucination, maybe? Chase, do you have hallucinations normally?"

“I-I- no I…!” Bro stammers in slight fear, looking paler. “I-It’s Demerci-! S-She’s right there! D-don’t you see her?!”

Danan startles a bit at this and looks at the door in confusion.

But then, Zara opens the door even as Bro yells and covers his head with his arms, shaking like a leaf. “I got the blankets!” She says cheerily. She then blinks in confusion to Bro’s reaction. “…damn is my face that scary…?”

JJ shakes his head. It's not you, Z. He's seeing someone else.

“Oh… that’s not good.” Zara says with a worried frown.

"Bro, Bro, please." Schneep gently grabs Bro's hand. "Clearly, JJ cannot see this Demerci. A-and I cannot sense any souls besides us, Danan, and Zara. If she's as close as you say, I would definitely be able to sense her. But--if she is somehow there, we outnumber her, yes? We can take her down. Y-you are safe here."

Jackie watches Schneep and Bro, blinking slowly. This feels somehow familiar... But reversed.

Bro whimpers and looks at Schneep with a terrified expression. “I-I swear I saw her Hen I-I’m not crazy…! I-I can let her get to Alt again I… I can’t-!” 

"No, I believe you, I-I'm sure you saw her, but she will not get to Alt, I promise," Schneep says in a calm voice. "We are going to protect him, okay? We are going to stay right here and protect him. Please don't go running off after her. We cannot get separated." JJ hovers anxiously behind Bro, listening to this.

Bro seems to calm down a bit at this and he slowly nods. “O-Okay I… won’t.” He laughs tiredly. “I-I don’t think I could even if I w-wanted to…” he then tiredly leans forward and lays against Schneep’s shoulder, his eyelids fluttering. “You make me miss my Hen and Dr.j…” he mumbles dazedly, laughing a bit. “Yer like a fusion of them…”

Schneep blinks in surprise. "Hah. I will take that as a compliment." He wraps an arm around him in a half-hug. "We will get back there to them, I promise."

“It is…” Bro says with a smile, settling in some more against Schneep. “Yer good like both of them… kind… even if you give us that scary stern look jays gives us… or like…” Chase’s vision dims and dips in front of him and he sees Demerci bending down next to them and… smiling…? She seems so gentle here… Chase doesn’t even feel scared. “…mum…” he whispers before his eyes flutter shut altogether.

“Mum?” Schneep repeats, confused. What does that have to do with anything? Maybe Bro is just delirious? Either way, he’s asleep before Schneep can ask about it. He chuckles. “Alright, let’s get you a blanket, then.” He drags Bro through the water towards Jackie. Bro mumbles something incoherent back to Schneep as he’s dragged over.

Zara swims over to Jackie and lays the blankets down on the floor next to him. She smiles gently. “hey… feel free to rest on these, okay?”

Jackie looks over at her and nods. "Thanks..." He smiles back, and looks down, sorting through the blankets. "You're so nice... I can see why I like you in those other worlds..." His voice gets quiet at the end. He doesn't think she can hear him.

Zara pauses in helping set them up and then looks at Jackie with wide eyes and a slight blush. “…w-what..?”

"O-oh, uh... I didn't realize you could hear that..." Jackie says, staring at her. "Um... I-I've been to... two other universes where you were uh... in a sort of relationship with a 'Jackie.' One was in its early stages and another was um... you were older an'... married." He clears his throat. "Um—y-you're really nice and pretty, b-but I actually have a boyfriend in my own world, so don't, uh... think of me that way?"

Zara blushes even more, “w-with Jackie? RL-006??” She looks flabbergasted by this and thoughtfully touches her scarred cheek. She then laughs and shakes her head. “…don’t worry. Not really in the right place right now to be d-dating anyways…”

JJ looks towards Jackie, slightly distracted by his rambling exchange. You said he was called Frederick, right?

"Yeah... he's pretty too." Jackie hums. "He has silky black hair and sparkly black eyes... pretty."

JJ laughs a little. Zara here has dark hair too, you know. And where I'm from, a version of you is married to a spouse with black hair.

"...Fuck, do I have a type?" Jackie mutters.

Zara smiles wide listening to Jackie talk about Fredrick. Then bursts into giggles at Jackie’s last statement. “Well… I’m flattered, truly. S’been a while since I thought I was pretty.” She laughs lightly.

“Well you arrrre,” Jackie says. “Jameson, isn’t she pretty?”

JJ  frowns. I’ve never liked girls romantically.

“Then you’ll be, uh…” Jackie struggles with the word for a second. “…objective!”

JJ laughs a little. Okay if you insist. Yes, I agree.

“Seeee?” Jackie yawns. As Schneep brings Bro over he curls up on the blankets next to him, subconsciously scooting a bit closer until he’s pressed up against Bro. Mm… warm…

Zara giggles, “You all are too nice. But… thank you.”  She smiles as she sees Jackie curl up against Bro.

Bro instinctually lays an arm over Jackie- as if wanting to protect him in his sleep.

Danan finishes setting up the machines and has actually used a laser cutter to take off the masks, exposing the open wounds for the fabricators to heal. Anti has been anxiously floating around Marvin the whole time. Danan finally sighs and gathers up the masks before addressing the group. “it will take a couple hours for the fabricators to work most likely… you all can rest here in the meantime and we can get you something to eat… whatever you need to feel comfortable.”

“Thank you, Dr. Danan,” Schneep says. “W-we really appreciate everything you’ve done to help.” He swims over to Jackie and Bro, settling down a little apart from them.

JJ nods in agreement. We do need rest and food, but I think the rest can come first. He looks at Anti. For you too. Marvin will still be here when you wake up. And I don’t think you want him to see you looking exhausted when he comes out of the sedative.

While JJ talks, Schneep has slowly scooted closer to Jackie and Bro, hoping that no one will notice.

Anti blinks over at JJ and seems confused for a second before he seems to sag. “…right right… I’m just… I’m afraid if I go to sleep… I-I might wake up and he’ll be gone again…” he whispers.

JJ smiles. I know that worry. But I promise, this is real. And we’re safe here. And he won’t leave you again. I’m sure he missed you as much as you missed him.

Anti’s lip trembles but he slowly nods. “…okay… okay…” his gaze lingers on Marvin for a bit before he goes to curl up at the edge of his bed, laying down in some of his tails.

Bro in his sleep is panting a bit, eyebrows knit together in slight pain.

JJ looks over at Bro, worried. Hopefully that dies down soon. For now, he swims over to join the rest of the group, squeezing under the pile they’ve all formed. He sighs, and tries to put his worries out of his mind as he closes his eyes.

Danan and Zara smile as all the boys settle down to rest. They quietly leave the lab, promising to check back later.

=========

Hours pass… but it’s hard to tell the passage of time here since they can’t see any light from the surface.

Everything seems to be going smoothly- the fabricators seem almost done with fixing the wounds on Alt and Marvin. Alt is trembling a bit in his sleep, the sedative slowly wearing off. He makes quiet whimpers as his eyes flit around under his eyelids, caught in a dream most likely.

Marvin on the other hand is still very still- it’s almost hard to tell if he’s breathing but he is. Anti is still curled up next to him, sleeping peacefully.

Bro’s panting and fever have only gotten worse as he presses his burning face into whoever is near, clinging to them and biting back a whimper. It’s hot… why does that feel familiar…?

Jackie is the first to wake up. He blinks his eyes open slowly and looks around. His head feels… weird. Is he sick? He raises it slightly and looks around the room. He hadn’t really taken in all the details before. All of the others are here, curled up together—Bro’s skin is hot against his. There’s also what looks like this world’s Anti and Marvin and someone else—

He freezes, staring at the figure. No. No, it's impossible. He can’t be here. But those purple eyes are unmistakable, looking over at him—

“Hello again, Jaaackie.”

Jackie screams.

Bro startles up immediately, gasping and looking around dazedly. “J-Jackie?!”

He tries to look over at him but is met face to face with Demerci again.

“Hi Chaser~ did you sleep well, love?” she whispers sweetly.

Bro screeches too and trips over himself to try to get distance, breathing heavily. “Nonono g-get away!”

JJ and Schneep immediately startle awake as the two other in their pile start screaming.

Anti jumps up at the screaming and hits his head on the underside of Marvin’s table in his scramble. He shakes this off and surges up into the water and over to the others, “Stars- what’s wrong?!”

“No! No, you’re not here!” Jackie wriggles out of the pile, scrambling back across the floor. “It’s impossible! Impossible!” His Marvin only laughs and gets closer. “No! S-stay the fuck away from me!”

“What is happening?!” Schneep asks. His brain scrambles. “A-are they seeing something, maybe?”

Anti swims back, looking at all their reactions with wide scared eyes. “Hallucinations??”

“Hallucinations,” Schneep confirms.

Everyone calm down! JJ says. There’s nothing in the room! He hurries over to Jackie’s side. Jackie—

“Get away from me, Jameson!” Jackie screams. The mandibles on his back snap, and JJ quickly jerks backwards, confused.

Bro pants, trembling like a leaf as Demerci seemingly lifts his chin up and smiles at him. “Love, you need to return to the base. You don’t belong here… and I miss you and your brother ever so much… won’t you come back to me?”

Bro bites back a whimper and shakes his head, “I-I can’t… y-you can’t hurt Alt anymore- I-I…”

“I don’t have to hurt you love… all you need to do is play along~” she hums sweetly. “Come back to the base and bring Alt too… then this can all be over~”

Bro chokes on a sob.

Alt meanwhile is blearily trying to open his eyes- his jaw is killing him and he feels really warm and shaky…

“Hello, cub~” Magnificent grins down over Alt. Alt yells hoarsely in fear and tumbles off the table in his scramble to get away.

JJ looks over at Alt as he falls. I think—I think all of them are experiencing that.

“Why would—This is not a sign of a fever, this is targeted,” Schneep mutters, his mind whirling. “A—a side effect, perhaps? An intended side effect? To—hurt them?” He shakes his head, swimming over to Bro. “Chase. Chase please, focus on me. D-don’t look at what you’re looking at. Focus on me, okay?”

Bro’s eyes flicker between Schneep and Demerci, unsure which one is real. “S-She’s gonna hurt Alt, Hen she’s-“ Bro’s head snaps to Alt as he yells and he tries to clumsily swim over to him but crashes over himself. “A-Alt!”

Alt feels like the breath has been knocked out of him as Mag bends down over to him. It feels like his head is being held down… or is his head just too heavy to lift?

“So sad to see you this way, kitten…” Magnificent purrs. “I wish I could have seen your spiral personally… how fascinating that would have been~” His voice is suddenly in Alt’s ears as he whispers. “Maybe I’ll drag you myself just to see it again~”

Alt croaks on a response but his entire face is so sore from the mask and the mouthpiece in it. “M-Mag- n-no…!” He breathes.

Jackie breathes heavily, eyes locked on the figure in front of him. “I’m coming for you, Jaaackie,” Marvin taunts. “You better run.”

And, instinctively, Jackie does, bolting for the door. JJ’s head whips around and he tries to conjure a shield to block Jackie in, but he’s just barely too fast, slipping through before the spell is complete. Damn it! JJ says. Schneep, you go after him, I don’t think he’ll react well to me.

Anti startles as Jackie bolts out. He hesitates for a second before following after him. “I-I’ll get him! Just hang on!”

JJ nods. With Anti going after Jackie, he turns his attention to Alt. He swims over, coming into view. Alt, it’s okay, you’re okay. We’re going to keep you safe. Did he say Mag? He’s not going to get you. Don’t listen to him.

Alt struggles to move his head back but looks at JJ with terrified eyes. “J…!” Magnificent is laughing so loudly in his ears and he chokes on a quiet sob.

“Chase, careful!” Schneep says, grabbing him and helping him up again. “Alt is fine! Look, he is okay. You can see that. Okay? Okay. Y-you are having difficulty swimming, it sounds like, do you want help getting to his side?”

Bro looks around wildly as Schneep grabs him. He- he feels solid through all the murky confusion. He grips Schneep’s shoulder and sobs. “I-I- I can’t let her g-get us Schneep- s-she’ll take us back there..! W-we can’t go back!” It’s unclear what back he’s talking about… hq? Or… somewhere else? 

You're okay, you're okay, JJ keeps signing, making sure that Alt can both see the signs and hear the voice from the robot fish. He's not sure what to do in this situation—maybe contact will help? He drapes the wings attached to his arms over Alt like a blanket. You're going to be okay. I promise.

Alt startles at the contact at first but then sinks against JJ, biting back frightened tears. But… the laughter seems a bit harder to hear under here. Is he really safe…?

"She's not going to get you," Schneep promises Bro. "Jamie and I will not let her get to you. You are not going anywhere, yes? Here, let's go over by Alt and Jamie. Come on." He helps Bro over to Alt's medical table.

Bro whimpers but clings to Schneep as he’s brought over. He can see Demerci trying to mouth stuff to him over Schneep’s shoulder but… it’s harder to hear her.

Once Bro has been lead to Alt on the ground the older brother gasps and tumbles down to be next to him. He hurriedly wraps him up in his arms and curls up against him, holding him tight, though still letting Jamie’s wing cover him. “You’re okay…! You’re okay…”

Alt jerks in surprise and then smiles dazedly, “C-Chase?” He whispers, voice still a bit raw. He hiccups a bit and then hides against Chase’s shoulder.

"We are all okay," Schneep says reassuringly. "See? We are all okay."

JJ smiles and nods. Don't worry. If anything bad happens, we'll help protect you. He adjusts his position so the wing is over Bro as well.

"Just everyone take deep breaths," Schneep says. "Everything is fine."

Bro takes a shakily breath and his shoulders relax. He hugs Alt around his back and the cooling blue light of JJ’s wing helps to calm him down too. “W-we’re okay…” he breathes and Alt nods against him. “We’re okay…” Alt gazes up at JJ and Schneep with slightly more focused eyes. “T-Thanks guys…”

Of course, JJ says, nodding. Schneep smiles.

Jackie swims wildly through the base, crashing into walls. Behind him, he hears more laughter, and he can see the purple glow. He sobs. He can’t go back there! He can’t let him take him again!

Anti tries his best to speed after Jackie- and luckily he knows these halls and all their turns. He quickly gains on Jackie then tries to grab him. “Jackie! Breathe! You’re seeing things! You’re okay!”

Jackie yelps, instinctively squirming against the grip. He looks back--no, it's not Marvin, it's Anti. "A-Antiiii," he cries. "I don't—h-he's not supposed to be here! H-how is he here?! I'm not—I c-can't just be seeing things, I—I-I've never--"

"Trying to escape, Jackie?" Marvin looms behind Anti, grinning.

Jackie cries out. "H-he's right behind you! W-we have to get out of here!" He grabs onto Anti in turn, trying to pull him away from the glowing violet figure.

Anti swallows shakily and shakes his head, not letting Jackie pull him away. If anything he tries to pull him closer. “It’s okay Jackie- no one here is gonna hurt you! There’s no one behind me… w-we need to get you back to the lab so Danan can look at you and figure out what’s wrong!”

"Don't lie to me!" Jackie shouts. "I-I can see him right there!" He squeezes Anti tightly. "H-he might be able to hurt even you!" He shakes his head. "I-I can't go back to that place! I-I can't go back to that dark room! H-he's gonna kill me this time, I-I know he will, I'll be too much t-trouble—"

Anti laughs a bit and shakes his head. “You won’t be taken anywhere bad Jackie… you said he’s behind me right? Watch-“ he gently floats back, going to lightly wrap his tail around Jackie’s hand so he can go back a bit farther. “He won’t hurt me. You’re okay.”

Jackie cries out as Anti floats back towards Marvin. But... nothing happens. Even though Marvin is still looking at him and smiling that sick grin. Marvin... Marvin would try to attack him, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he? Maybe—maybe something's up? Even so, he doesn't want to get close. He hesitates for a moment, then suddenly swims forward at Anti, wrapping his arms around him. His whole body is trembling. "Let's go—quickly!" he whispers.

Anti oofs out in surprise and looks down at Jackie with wide eyes. He holds his arms out- unsure what to do. But… like this… oh. He reminds him of his Jackie… when he was small… scared of the thunder and the big wide ocean… Anti blinks back tears and holds an arm around Jackie and hurries them back down towards the med bay. “okay okay- I got you…”

Jackie nods fast. He's trying not to look towards the purple glow as they head back down the hallways.

JJ looks up when Anti and Jackie return. Schneep also perks up. "You are back," he says.

"Sch-Schneep?" Jackie says quietly. "Schneep? A-a-are you... okay?"

"Yes, I am fine," Schneep says, swimming over. As soon as he gets close Jackie latches onto him instead of Anti, holding him tight. "Whoa! A-a bit tight there, Jackie."

"Pl-please—you can't listen to them anymore," Jackie stammers. "Please."

"I won't," Schneep says quietly. "I won't."

Anti blinks in surprise then looks back down at Alt, Bro and JJ before looking back at Schneep, “…any idea what he’s talking about….?”

“His Schneep…” Alt croaks quietly, “…I think h-he misses him… b-bad people have him…”

Anti’s eyes widen, “…like they had Marvin… my brothers…”

“Y-yeah…” Alt looks back at the others and seems a lot more calm and awake but he holds the trembling Bro to his shoulder. “C-Can we get the d-doctor…? I… C-Chase doesn’t get s-sick like this…”

Where did she go? Is there any way we can call for her? JJ asks, looking around.

“I can find her,” Anti says and hurries back out.

"He does not get sick like this?" Schneep repeats. "What do you mean?"

I think he means about his powers... JJ says slowly.

Alt nods, “Mhm… h-he might be under the weather but n-not this severely… h-he doesn’t get fevers this bad… I-I’m usually the s-sickly one.” He tries to laugh but it falls short.

"I-I wish I could help, but... my knowledge of medicine does not extend to side effects after being mind controlled," Schneep says slowly. "I... I suppose we just..." Then he realizes something. Jackie, holding tight to him, is also a bit hot. He presses his hand against his forehead. "Wait a moment. Jackie, do you have a fever, too?"

"I... dunno," Jackie says slowly. "M'head feels a bit weird...?"

"Weird how?"

"H-heavy, I guess... and... watery? More than just being in water, I mean. Everything's full of water."

"Scheisse," Schneep curses.

“I-it’s okay Schneep… t-this is the future… I’m sure there’s… there’s something…” Alt mumbles, trying to keep his eyes open.

Dr. Danan quickly bursts back into the room, in a bit of panic. “A-Anti said something was wrong?” She looks down at all the boys shaking and trembling and she inhaled sharply. “stars… o-okay… uh… scans I can do more scans hold on…” she grabs her scanner from earlier and goes to scan the boys.

“Chase was having hallucinations right? Hallucinations, fever, fatigue…” she muses to herself as she waits for the scans to process.

"They were all hallucinating, I think," Schneep says. "Except for Marvin, of course, he is still asleep. If that helps at all." He pats Jackie on the back. "Come on, Jackie, let's sit you down on this table over here."

"Okay..." Jackie mumbles, still clinging to Schneep as he guides him over to a medical table.

Alt struggles to help Chase up who still refuses to let Alt go. “C’mon Chase…”

“I-If you all are experiencing the same symptoms then it must be from what happened to you…” Danan muses. She goes to scan by Jackie’s ears and gets a result. Her PDA reads out: Detecting hallucinogenic toxins in subject’s bloodstream. Symptoms include hallucinations, fatigue, fever, paranoia, vivid dreams-

“Toxins? Okay… okay,.. we can work with this… some food with charcoal can help, water to flush the system and… oh…! These toxins are man made… so… we may be able to draw them out magnetically and replace the blood?” Danan mumbles to herself, swimming back and forth as she thinks.

"Replace the blood?" Schneep gasps. "Technology has advanced that far in this world?!" He sounds excited about that.

Danan blinks at Schneep and smiles, “Oh well yes! It’s not common but there’s a process to use nanomagnets to draw out toxins in blood and then add back in the cleansed blood…”

If it's toxins, then that means the symptoms will definitely fade in time, JJ says. Is there anything we can do, doctor? Maybe we can go get supplies?

She looks back at JJ and hums, “Maybe… I think we have enough water, I have charcoal… we might need more food? Fish could help… I think we have some marblemelons left? That could help too…”

JJ nods. I guess I can go out and try grabbing something? I don't think I'm built for hunting, though.

"I can go with you in a second," Schneep says. "Just have to get Jackie to calm down."

Anti laughs, “It’s okay I don’t mind getting more… you can come if you wanna try but- yeah I don’t think ghost rays have a lot of hunting skills in their DNA.”

JJ smiles at Anti. If you're sure... I think I'll be more use here. He looks down at Bro and Alt. They need some support.

"Doooctor," Jackie repeats absentmindedly. "A real one?"

Danan blinks a bit in surprise and then laughs, “Yes I am a real doctor. Got my license is both human and Xeno biology.”

"She's a real doctor, Jackie," Schneep repeats.

"No' like you," Jackie mumbles. "With a real license?"

Schneep looks a bit surprised at that. "Ah... yes, with a real degree." He looks back at the others. "Apparently the me in his world doesn't have a real medical license?"

You don't have a license at all in my world, you're not a doctor there, JJ says.

"Interesting. But I don't think that's what he's implying."

“Schneep in Jackie’s world doesn’t have a license…? But he wanted to fix Henny…” Alt frowns sleepily.

Jackie's eyes focus over on Alt. He looks confused for a moment, then seems to realize who Alt is. "He thought he could," Jackie whispers. "But he wouldn't be able to. He'd just hurt him." He shivers a little. "I-I... I would have... let that... I'm... s-sorry..."

Alt blinks at Jackie and then smiles and shakes his head, “…it’s okay,.. you wouldn’t do that now… that’s what counts, right…?”

"I... y-yeah..." Jackie nods slowly. "Yeah."

Danan nods, “I’ll get started on what I can… but food and water will probably be the best start. Perhaps the fever is already burning through most of it….”

"...Jackie," Schneep says quietly. "What if I have to go?"

"N-no." Jackie grabs onto Schneep's arm. "Don't. H-he'll get you."

Scheep turns to Anti with an apologetic expression. "I... might not be able to go help, either."

Anti laughs and shakes his head, “Don’t worry I’ll get some.” He hurries out to go find some food. 

Alt pats Bro’s hair as the older brother shivers and whimpers against him.

“I’ll go get some of the other stuff… hang tight okay?” Danan says gently before heading out too.

"We will." Schneep nods,

Silence falls for a while. JJ closes his eyes, feeling the two brothers' breathing beneath him. Poor Bro... he says. My Marvin gets fevers often, I know how much they suck.

"You two are close?" Schneep mutters idly.

He's my best friend. And my roommate.

"Hah... in my world, Jackie and Marvin are best friends and roommates." Schneep smiles idly, but then it fades. "Judging from how Jackie spoke of his Marvin, though, back when we were stuck in that SCLERA place... it is not the case, there. Not at all."

Jackie shudders.

“Mmm yeah.. Marvin in his world is… terrifying.. he.. he hurt Jackie..” Alt mumbles quietly. “Mag used to be roommates with my Jackie too… before he was mag… maybe that’s another constant..?”

You would know better than us, Alt, JJ says. It's not like that in my world, but maybe mine is an exception.

“Mmm… sometimes.. I can’t remember right now…” Alt mumbles.

Schneep nods. "You have been to more places than us. Though... I am very curious about different worlds." He chuckles. "If we had some way to control our jumping, I would love to visit other universes. See the differences. What about you, JJ? Jackie?"

JJ frowns. I think... maybe some other time. I still have business to take care of at home. Maybe once that's done, I can think about hopping to other worlds.

Jackie is quiet for a moment. "I... just want to go home," he whispers. "I-I wanna see Frederick and Chase again."

Schneep squeezes his hand. "You will. I promise."

“…’m sorry Jackie…I’m sorry to all of you…” Alt says quietly, “…the rifts are… they’re my fault. Kinda… I know I’m not supposed to feel like that but I do…” he slurs and shuts his eyes. “‘M sorry our mistakes got you taken away from your homes…”

JJ looks at Alt. How could it have been your fault?

"You... got tricked or something, right...?" Jackie mumbles. "That... doesn't count. It's the fault of the guy who tricked you. He's the one who did it."

“..it wouldn’t have happened if me and bro didn’t f-fuck around with visiting universes so much…” Alt mutters, “…we got too comfortable. I thought I’d have the TRVLR for… at least longer than I did… now I don’t even know how to get you all home…”

"You tend to blame yourself for things a lot, don't you, Alt?" Schneep mutters. "You should not do that. We do not blame you, so you should not blame yourself." He pauses. "One time, I was tricked, too. My Anti... he made me think I killed my Chase. F-for months, I... I felt terrible. I-I stewed in it. But Chase did not blame me. He wanted me to be okay. I still felt bad, though, so he forgave me." He shakes his head. "It is the same situation here. We do not blame you."

Alt looks down and doesn’t look at the others, feeling delirious tears in his eyes. “…you sure…?” He says weakly.

"One hundred percent," Schneep says. "I promise."

JJ nods. It wouldn't be fair to blame you for this.

"I blame the guy who tricked you, not you," Jackie mutters tiredly, closing his eyes.

Alt is quiet for a second before he says tiredly, “…okay…” he leans more against his friends and tries not to let his thoughts get too negative.

Danan comes back after this and goes to set down some food in front of them off. 3 bottles of blackish water and 2 regular ones. And a huge melon-like thing sliced for them to eat. Danan smiles, “Here you go boys… hopefully this will start to help…”

JJ's expression brightens. He swims over and starts passing out the water bottles—correctly assuming that the blackish ones are for the sick boys. These will help you feel better, he says after everyone has a bottle.

Alt nods and smiles and tries to shake Bro to get him to drink. Bro blearily blinks out and Alt hurriedly tips his head to help him drink. Then, he reaches to grab some melon and hands it for Bro to eat. Bro sleepily takes it and starts to eat and Alt smiles and goes to drink the blackish water.

Schneep takes the bottle, then makes his way over to where Danan is and feels around until he finds the melon. He takes a slice. "What is this? Melon?"

Not a fan? JJ asks.

"Normally I do not care, but for some reason it doesn't seem as appetizing." Schneep passes the slice to Jackie, who takes it without question.

Danan chuckles, “Anti should be back soon with something more hearty… the sick boys need some more hydration though!”

Turns out, Anti was near and it doesn’t take much longer for him to swim back into the room. He throws a bag down in front of the others, a couple Reginalds and peepers spilling out. “There you go! Most decent fish I can find around here… hope that’s okay.”

"It is perfect, I'm sure, Anti," Schneep says, grabbing one of the peepers and absolutely devouring it. JJ stares at him, surprised at the ferocity, and decides to stick with the melons.

Alt sees the fish and his eyes sparkle and he can feel his mouth watering. God he really didn’t realize how hungry he was. He hurriedly grabs 3 of the fish and starts eagerly tearing into them. As he does his eyes glow a bit and almost look like they did when he was under Alterra’s control. 

Is everyone feeling a bit better with food in them? JJ asks. Jackie, drink the water.

"You can't fucking control me," Jackie mumbles, turning over away from him.

JJ tries to hide how hurt he is. But even the blind guy can see it. "Do not be offended," Schneep whispers. "He seems confused about things right now. And... remember, he said that the you in his world was terrible."

JJ softens a bit, and nods. You help him, then? I think that's better.

"Of course." Schneep swims on over. "Jackie, really, you need to drink the water." He holds out the bottle.

After a moment, Jackie takes the bottle and drinks slowly.

Bro seems to shudder looking at the fish and hugs his stomach. But… it feels like some of the fog is clearing. He hears Jackie snap at JJ and he frowns, slurring out, “J-Jackie… don’t be mean…”

"...sorry," Jackie says after a while. "I don'... mean it, Jameson. It's not... for you."

JJ nods. It's fine, Jackie. You've been through a lot.

"Remember to eat, too," Schneep says, handing Jackie a fish.

Jackie stares at the fish absentmindedly for a moment before taking it, tearing it apart with his teeth and hands.

You all must be very hungry, JJ says, taking a melon slice for himself.

"Are you not?" Schneep asks.

Yes, but I'm fine with this, JJ signs, and then begins eating the melon.

“I had that f-fucking mask on-“ Alt growls through bites. “I think Jackie and bro ate a bit during that-“

“Is that why my mouth tasted weird?” Bro says with an exhausted laugh. “…mmm… god they do look kinda good though…”

“If I had time to go to the lava zone- I’d get you guys red eyeyes.” Anti snickers. “They’re spicy, they taste awesome.”

Spicy fish? JJ repeats, eyebrows raised. Sounds strange.

“Sounds interesting,” Schneep says. “Perhaps some other time.” If they’re stuck in this world long enough.

Anti shrugs, “they’re my favorite!” He grins. “But eh- not worth going to the lava zone right now… especially cuz… well..” he bites his lip- thinking of his brothers all still trapped at HQ.

Bro hesitates then grabs a fish and tentatively takes a bite. Then he eagerly starts to tear into it too.

Anti hurries to grab some food for Marvin and goes to set it on his bed, checking over the warper mer. Marvin sleepily blinks up at Anti and then smiles. But, it doesn’t last that long for it to fade and it seem like Marvin is getting those hallucinations too. But- now Anti knows what to do. He offers the blackish water and the food to Marvin and scoots to hold him close as he quietly eats.

Danan smiles at the progress and nods, having done some research on her own. “okay… while you guys are eating I think… I think the scanner and Zara might be able to help me make… an anti venom basically? That way we wouldn’t have to… sit here and filter all 3 of your bloodstreams… that would take a long time. I-I just need a sample from one of you that is affected… if that’s okay?”

Jackie raises his hand. “You can take it from me, I don’t mind,” he says, looking a bit more alive now that he’s got some food in him. “I can handle it. I can handle a lot.”

“Don’t push yourself, Jackie,” Schneep mutters.

“It’s just gonna be a little needle, right?” Jackie shrugs.

“Thank you Jackie…” Danan says gently. She kneels down next to Jackie and takes his arm, going to tie off a section then carefully draw some of his blood. Once done she spurs back up and smiles, “Okay we’ll go work on this- rest and eat and hopefully we won’t be too long…” she hurries back out.

A moment passes in silence. “Um… Jameson?” Jackie finally says. “I’m sorry for… being like that… earlier. I-I thought you were the Jameson from my world.”

JJ shakes his head. It’s fine, really. I figured it was some like that. And honestly, I might also be a little cold if I met another version of someone who’d really wronged me like that.

“Still. I’m… sorry,” Jackie mumbles. “Schneep’s getting along fine with the Antis.”

“Well ‘Schneep’ is not currently hallucinating,” Schneep says.

Jackie laughs.

Alt and Bro chuckle. “Yeah don’t be so harsh on yourself dude… we’re all just- going through it right now.” Bro smiles weakly.

“It probably helps that we haven’t really met any… of the bad Antis, to be fair.” Alt says quietly.

I can’t even picture a really evil Anti, JJ says.

Schneep laughs darkly. “I’m glad for you, then. The one in my world was… terrible.” He brushes a hand over the tear scars on his face.

Alt shudders and holds his arms, thinking of the evil Antis they’ve met. Evil versions of him… even if he’s getting more used to the idea and that he is different, it still sucks to remember that his face lives in others’ nightmares.

If he was as bad as Distorter from my world, I can imagine, JJ says.

“Who the fuck is that, by the way?” Jackie asks. “You mentioned them before.”

JJ shudders slightly. He is… a being with the ability to mess with people’s minds in all sorts of ways. If he hates you, he tries to kill you—or get you to do it. If he likes you, he tries to make you his “friend.” He used to be human, but… something happened. We’re not sure what. Something to do with the house he lived in, we think. And now he’s… like that.

Jackie’s expression softens. “Sounds fucking awful.”

Bro almost chokes on his water at the mention of Distorter, coughing and having to quickly look away.

Are you alright, Chase? JJ asks, concerned. Drink slowly.

“Y-Yeah I’m good-“ Bro laughs nervously, smiling at JJ. “just- that Distorter guy… he’s just the… worst.”

J sighs. I know. We're working on taking him down back home. Our Anti has an idea... something about confronting him directly.

Bro smiles weakly, “…I believe in you guys. You’re all tough lads. You’ll get him.” 

JJ nods, smiling. Thank you.

Meanwhile, Jackie notices Alt's discomfort, too. "You... okay? I mean... guess it's gotta suck to have someone with your name be so evil." He sighs. "At least you're good, you know? You're doing the best you can." Maybe that isn't fully directed at Alt...

Alt blinks up at Jackie and is quiet for a beat. Then he smiles and nudges Jackie’s tail slightly with his. “yeah… that’s what matters, right? Trying our best.”

Jackie smiles back at Alt. "Yeah. That's what matters. And there are people who can help us try." He nods in Bro's direction.

Alt glances at Bro and then chuckles , “Yeah from what I remember, your boyfriend is a pretty good influence.”

"Shhhhhut." Jackie blushes.

Alt laughs, “I meant it genuinely! …I know mine is a good influence on me… he helped me realize that… strangers can be kind again. But I’m glad he’s gotten you to find a good path.”

 "I-it's a—well, yeah, I—I guess? He's... such a good guy. I-I want to help others the way he's helped me. Maybe... I-I can support my Chase, or something." Jackie pauses. "Oh yeah. Since you guys last visited my world a month ago—for us, time is apparently inconsistent—Chase has... gotten a lot better. He's not fully better, but he's um... recognizably himself again."

Bro and Alt seem delighted to hear this. “oh I’m so glad to hear that! …wild to think that was only a month ago for you though… god I’m not even sure how long it’s been for us.” Bro says. 

“Long enough to consider ourselves multiverse travel experts, I guess.” Alt laughs quietly.

You know, your visit was only a couple weeks ago for me, JJ says.

"Oh, it was a longer time since you've been in my world," Schneep says. "A couple months... a whole season, really." He shakes his head. "Time really is inconsistent between worlds. How strange..."

“That’s… really crazy…” Alt says, shaking his head. “though… guess not too crazy considering… well we’re like 200 years in the future now. I wonder if the rifts have something to do with the time inconsistencies…”

“Probably, if I had to guess,” Bro says with a shrug, “We repeated like- the same couple hours in that one world the Antis saved us from.”

"Time and space are linked," Schneep muses. "If you are to travel to a different 'space' that is a different universe, it makes sense that the 'space' would have its own 'time.' And if these rifts are somehow cracks or tears in space, of course it would affect the time as well. I wonder how your TRVLR device managed to get around that. Perhaps it bases things based on the time of your own space..." He wanders off into some scifi sounding mumblings.

Jackie blinks. "You guys getting any of this?" he whispers to the others.

Bro shakes his head, “nooo fucking clue, bro.”

Alt hums and lightly hugs his tail as he thinks, “…that makes sense I guess. Time was inconsistent in some ways..? Mostly- technically we’d end up maybe a year or so in that part from our time… except once when we ended up in a world that was in 2009. Or- I dunno if I count the medieval would we ended up in either… because that just seemed like- a fantasy world, not going in our own past. Could be the same of here… we have no idea if our earth is the same as their earth. Most of the time though… the time didn’t really matter? So… guess I didn’t think about it. Not unless it was jarring, you know?”

"Hmm." Schneep nods slowly. "Perhaps you were jumping to the relative 'present.' But now there are rifts, and they are a bit less stable, sending you across the time of the space. It really is fascinating. I wonder if you can cause the rifts intentionally... But something like that must take a phenomenal amount of power."

“Hmmm I’ve been wondering about that too…” Alt says, “I’m still unsure if these were caused because the TRVLR broke… or cuz the Anti that tricked us made them. If it’s the latter than… yeah power is the thing. He nearly drained Mag of all his magic to do it. I still don’t get it…” He sighs and lays his head on his tail. “…the TRVLR made me feel like I got how all this worked… but without it I.. I just feel so powerless… I hate it.”

"God, I know how you feel," Jackie mutters. "I mean... the three of us also got sucked through to other worlds, y'know?" He shakes his head. "I think... I think my Anti mentioned something about working on stuff for you, though. He hasn't been around lately, I think cause he's doing that. So, if that helps... there's that."

Alt chuckles a bit and nods, “Yeah… he’s working with Sam to find the TRVLR pieces… they said they got scattered to many different worlds. But They’re an all seeing eyeball so… They’ll find it eventually. I thought we’d be… just stuck for a while though. No more adventures for a bit, you know?” He laughs a bit bitterly. “I guess ‘adventure’ just has a way of finding us.”

“Speaking of which though-“ Bro speaks up, “I’m surprised a rift didn’t just- yank us out of here already. I feel like this is the longest we’ve managed to stay in a world like this…” he shrugs. “Then again all this shit confuses me.”

"Well, you cannot expect something like that to work on a schedule," Schneep says. "They seem to be working at random, like all forces of nature do. Or, perhaps, they will get farther and farther apart. We do not have a way of knowing right now."

“I wish there was more notice a rift was coming beside it just popping up,” Alt grumbles.

“True that~” Bro chuckles. “…think I’m just eager to… uh- have legs back again. This was cool at first but…”

Schneep sighs. "It would be helpful to be in an environment I can use my cane."

At this moment, Dr. Danan and Zara float back in, grinning. “we got the antidote figured out you guys!” Zara says brightly.

Dr. Danan blinks down at the boys and then smiles, “Though it already seems you boys seem to be on the mend, huh?”

Jackie smiles at Danan and Zara. "Hey. I, uh... I-I guess?"

 But as long as that stuff is in you, it's possible that it could happen again, JJ says. So an antidote is welcomed. Thank you. He smiles at them. 

"D'you like... inject it?" Jackie asks.

Danan chuckles, “Yes- like a vaccine. It might linger for a little bit but this should guarantee it’s purged from your system.”  

“Just one more shot and you guys will be right as rain!” Zara smiles.

Bro grins tiredly and holds out his arm, “Sign me the fuck up- forgot how awful feeling sick is.” Zara seems confused by this but swims on over and injects the medicine into his arm and then massages the area. “Might feel a tad bit weird…”

Jackie also holds is arm out for the shot. "I'd love to be right as rain. I don't care how weird it feels."

"I'm sure you will be good soon, Jackie," Schneep says. "You too, Bro, Alt."

Danan chuckles and swims over his Jackie, gently injecting the medicine into his arm too.

Zara helps Alt next and injects him too and Alt glitches a bit in surprise at how it feels. Then, brightens a bit seeing himself glitch a bit easier. “Oh yo??”

Zara looks very surprised though, “uh- is that normal??”

“For him? Yeah.” Bro laughs.

We are all very unusual, remember? JJ says, making another small light show with his magic.

"Except for meeeee," Jackie says, giggling.

"You are still unique, Jackie, don't get yourself down," Schneep says.

"Oh, no, I wasn't getting myself down. I just find it a bit funny." Jackie shrugs. "I mean... it's like how Batman is a seemingly normal human being while the rest of the Justice League all have powers, but he has his own strengths that let him stand with them. I'm the Batman of our group."

Schneep chuckles. "I see."

“That’s a good way to think about it, dude!” Bro laughs.

Dr. Danan swims over to check on Marvin. Seems like having contact with Anti kept most of the hallucinations away but the fever is affecting him which seems to have unnerved him. When Danan approaches Marvin flinches but Anti  quietly reassures him it’s okay. Danan finally is able to inject him and Marvin sighs in relief.

“I’m not sure how long that’ll take to set in but you all are still welcome to rest here- or if you must move on, you can do so as well.” Danan says.

Zara frowns, “…they said they needed to get home though… you guys are.. stuck here right now aren’t you? H-how can we help?”

"Well... it is a bit complicated," Schneep says slowly. "We were just speaking about it, actually. The rifts that took us from our home worlds just sort of... appeared. They may just suddenly appear again."

"We tried to make one on purpose in the last world, but it might've been a coincidence that it showed up when it did," Jackie mutters. "Alt tried to control some alien arch thing... not sure if it worked, it definitely overwhelmed him."

We would like to stay here for now, until we can maybe figure something out, JJ adds.

Danan and Zara exchange wary looks. "Dang yeah... i wouldn't mess with Alien arches... most of them head straight to HQ." Zara says quietly. "Now that they don't have Marvin... they'll probably use those a lot more..."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you need," Danan smiles. "I guess if these...rifts are random- best to get as much rest as you can before they appear."

JJ nods. Thank you. We really appreciate all you've done for us. It would have been hard without your help and space.

"I hope they don't appear in our sleep," Jackie mutters.

"I am not so tired, I can stay awake and, ah... keep an eye out." Schneep chuckles. "I will be able to feel the pull if one starts up."

Danan chuckles, "We're more than happy to help... and you helped Anti so much... it's the least we can do."

"Rest well, guys." Zara says smiling, and she and Danan swim back out.

Alt yawns and flops onto the floor, "...sleep sounds good right now. Even if it feels kinda weird to sleep underwater-"

"..bro don't make me aware of it!" Bro groans, "It's like when someone mentions breathing and then you like- breathe manually- I am now too aware that we're breathing water-"

"Oh no, now I am too!" Jackie groans. "Chase, whyyyy?"

JJ and Schneep laugh.

"Don't pretend like you're not also thinking about it, you two!" Jackie says.

If you want to transition from manual breathing, but can't, think of yourself as monitoring your breathing instead, JJ says. That helps me.

"Hmm. I guess I'll try," Jackie says. He rolls off the medical table and onto the floor as well.

"At least get to the blankets, you two," Schneep says.

Jackie groans again and gets up, swimming over to the pile of blankets.

"No. Floor good." Alt says, flopping onto his face. Bro laughs and goes to help Alt up, "C'mon bro- you'll regret that later." Bro still isn't feeling entirely well enough to pick Alt up so they kinda rest on each other before flopping onto the blankets. Alt blinks and then sinks into them. "...okay nevermind this is better-" Bro just laughs.

Anti watches them from where he's curled around Marvin, curiously flicking his tails. Marvin is caught dozing against Anti's shoulder.

JJ looks over at Anti and Marvin. You two want to join? Or, if you don't, do you at least want some blankets?

Schneep silently separates some blankets from the pile in case Anti says they want some.

"w-we or... well.. I don't usually sleep on those... usually I sleep in a nest..." Anti says quietly.

"..i'm not really sure when the last time I slept is-" Marvin slurs, "Is that why I'm so tired...? I... did they even let me sleep...?" He looks a bit freaked out but Anti hugs him tighter. "You can sleep as long as you need... I'm gonna be right here..."

JJ nods. Take a nice long nap, Marvin. Even if we're gone when you wake up, Anti will still be there for you.

"You do not have to use them, but if you want them, here." Schneep pats the stack of blankets he'd separated out.

Anti is curious though and slowly swims over and grabs the blankets. He hurries over to the corner and makes a nest- piling up against the wall and making a little dip in the middle. He then carries Marvin over. Marvin melts from the softness and easily curls up. Anti smiles and curls up around him.

Good night, JJ says, swimming back over to Jackie, Bro, and Alt and squeezing beneath them.

Schneep smiles and nods, curling up nearby but not quite sleeping.

Alt blinks at JJ squeezing beneath their tails but then laughs tiredly. “Comfy, J?”

JJ nods. The pressure feels good. It must be something about his fish species' instincts. A ghost ray, they said. He doesn't know much about fish, but he knows that stingrays like to bury in the sand. Maybe that's similar.

Schneep chuckles quietly. Jackie doesn't say anything; he's already asleep again.

“Whatever makes you comfortable, dude.” Alt chuckles. Bro grabs Alt and holds him to his side and Alt sighs and lays back, closing his eyes. 

It’s not long before the rest of the boys starts to drift off. 

=========

A few restful hours pass- then… seems like Jackie predicted the rift. Because a black crack starts to form in the center of the floor- water starting to be pulled in.

Schneep perks up. He'd started to doze off, but the sound of the rushing water snaps him awake. "E-everyone!" He gets up, shaking the others awake. "I think it is here!"

JJ immediately snaps awake.

Bro sits up quickly and gasps, holding up Alt. Alt yells in surprise and blinks in sleepy confusion. “T-the fuck is happening??”

Jackie shakes himself up and immediately gasps as he sees the crack in the ground. "A rift!"

Anti startles up and looks out at the others, “A-Are you okay?! What’s going on??”

"There's a rift! There's a rift!" Schneep shouts.

JJ gasps. He wriggles out from underneath the blankets and hurries over to grab their bag of clothing. His eyes dart around and land on the little fish robot. Though it was helpful, it probably wouldn't be as useful in a world that wasn't underwater. This was time to leave it behind, then. JJ took off the gloves and folded them on top, tucking them and the little robot to the side so they won't get sucked in. Thank you, he signs to them. Maybe this world's Jameson could find a use for them once he was free.

"Oh fuck! I guess we're going!" Jackie makes sure to link up with Schneep and JJ.

Anti surges up in the water and looks worried, “T-that’ll get you home then?? It looks… scary-“

"I know, it really does look terrifying," Jackie mutters. "But we've done this before! It's safe!" Or as safe as it can be when they'll end up getting sucked to a strange world.

“T-That’s the hope.” Bro swallows nervously as he links up with Schneep with one arm and holds onto Alt with the others. Alt grabs onto his brother and looks at the others, “I-if we land somewhere different just- take the bracelets off and you’ll go back to normal, okay?”

"Take the bracelets off, got it!" Schneep nods.

“I-I guess this is goodbye, then?” Anti says quietly, “then… t-thank you. Thank you so much for helping me save my brother- for giving me hope again..! I… I won’t forget this.”

Jackie looks at Anti. "Yes. Maybe we'll be back someday. But maybe not."

JJ smiles and nods. "Be safe," he says in his hoarse voice. "And goodbye."

"Hold onto that hope!" Schneep encourages. "I know you will find a way out of this. Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" Jackie adds.

“Thank you for helping us- good luck!” Bro shouts with a smile.

Alt smiles at his other self and nods, “You’ll save them- I know it.”

And then- the pull becomes too strong and the 5 of them are sucked in. The sound of glitching screeches and pixels fill the air as they’re drawn down down down into darkness.

[dancing-heart-pony]

Dancing In Drawcember: Day 27, Mittens 🧤

Mittens and Muffs ☁️✨