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huffle-dork · 8 days ago

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Long Live the King

Chapter 10: Heart of a Storm

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

Back in the other clearing, Dr. J is still trying to wake up Henrik. The side of his head was bleeding so the good doctor tended to that as fast as he could. But, he still wasn’t waking up and Dr. J was worried he could be concussed. Or… he probably was but he wasn’t sure the severity.

Thinking fast, Dr. J sees the remains of one of the jewel-like fruits from earlier. He grabs one and cuts into it and then waves the fruit in front of Henny’s nose, just trying to expose the smell of it.

Henny’s eyes shoot open and he shoots up, “Verdammter Scheiß!” he shouts then holds his hands over his nose, blinking tears out of his eyes. He looks up at Dr. J as he throws the rotting fruit away. “Juwel… what- happened? Where are the others?? Where’s Alt??”

“Alt f-freaked out and you got hurt- the others went to get him back,” Dr. J explains quietly. He inspects Henny’s eyes and looks relieved there’s not an immediate sign of a concussion. “Are you alright?”

“Ah… my head is aching but… I-I am okay…�� He pushes himself up and then helps Dr. J up. “We should hurry to find our friends! What if more kelpies or scary monsters are out there??”

As if on cue, a faint humming whine starts approaching. There's a light in the distance, and it's getting closer. Aneirin has been casting the ball lightning spell over and over. Whenever the last one bursts into a small shockwave of electricity, he immediately creates a new one and rolls it across the floor. It burns through the undergrowth, leaving a black trail for him and Magnificent to follow. Magnificent has kept up with Aneirin this whole time- determined to find his cub.

Dr. J and Henny stiffen at the sound. Henny pushes JJ behind him and holds onto his pocket watch, faint magic shimmering around his hand. “M-Maybe that is Alt?”

“They went the other way…!” Dr. J whispers. He looks around and finds his bow and fumbles to nock an arrow.

The ball lightning bursts into the clearing and both the boys jump and exclaim in shock. Henny tries to cast a pause spell to keep the lightning in place.

Instantly, the ball freezes. It's almost beautiful, actually, with its arcs of electricity hovering in midair. But its still deadly.

Henny’s eyes widen. Holding this spell is already straining- it must be very powerful. “What is this??” He gasps.

And then the King appears. He stumbles to a stop, surprised to see these two all by themselves in the woods. Then he grins. "Well, isn't this a sight." And his eyes lock onto JJ's face. "A bit familiar, even."

Magnificent stumbles in right after the King, catching his breath. He’s about to ask why they stopped when he sees the others and he grins. “Well well well! If it isn’t my two favorite puppets!”

Henny gasps and pushes Dr. J more behind him, “M-Magnificent!”

JJ looks at the King and swallows nervously. He does not like how he’s looking at him. His hands tremble on his bow.

“Oh put that down Jameson- we both know you wouldn’t hurt a fly~” Magnificent chuckles before he turns deadly serious, growling at the two with glowing eyes. “Where is he?”

Henny’s eyes widen, then he glares at Mag, baring his teeth. “He is not here. And we will not let you hurt him anymore!” He grabs his watch and spins the dial backwards- trying to see if he can get the ball lightning to rush back at the King and Mag.

The King's eyes widen. "What in the damn--?!" It's going backwards?! No time to think about it! He runs out of the way, trying to grab Magnificent but his grip isn't tight enough and he slips free as he rushes to the side.

Magnificent tries to rush away but then the lightning hits him dead on, sending him flying back as he yells out. He lands in a heap, electricity crackling and burning at his skin.

Henny looks surprised- “T-that worked?” He whispers.

Aneirin winces. He looks at Henny. "You. Drop that device."

Henny’s eyes widen as the King commands him. He doesn’t hesitate and does so. The pocket watch stops glowing and falls to the ground with a soft ting.

The King lunges forward immediately to try and grab it, simultaneously sweeping his seax in an arc to deter the two from getting too close to him.

“No!” Dr. J cries out and tries to shoot his arrow to stop the King- but the seax sweeps it back and he gets away with the watch.

Henny shakes out his head, “H-Hey! That is not yours! Give it back!”

The King backs away a little, grinning, dangling the watch from its chain. "It's funny that people think a plea like that will actually work," he says.

Magnificent pushes himself back up with a growl and whirls on Henny, anger palpable in his eyes, “You miserable fake magician! I should string you up by your fucking neck!”

Dr. J nocks another arrow and shakily aims it again. “Not another s-step! Either of you!”

Raising the seax, electricity crackles outward. "Go on and try. Lightning is faster than arrows." The King glances back at Magnificent. "Don't get carried away, Mag." He pauses. "How hurt are you?"

Dr. J doesn’t lower his trembling arm- but he doesn’t shoot either. Henny looks around for his weapon.

“Not enough to keep me down,” Magnificent growls. He glances at the watch and snorts, “The tall one is useless without that watch. And Jackson has been very well conditioned… but he's weak. They won’t be useful Iike Alt… but we might could use them as… leverage?” He suggests, grinning towards the King.

Aneirin's eyes light up. He grins right back. "What a great idea. The others are sure to come back." He moves he seax to the side, slicing through the air, and green lightning circles around Henny and JJ, crating a rough barrier.

Henny and Dr. J cry out, backing up and bumping into each other’s backs.

Henny turns and glares at Magnificent and the King. “You will not win this! The Elders are already helping us! You all will lose!”

Aneirin grins. "And so you think this land's gods will swoop in to save you? Ha! Let me tell you something, Henrik. If they could stop me, they would have done it a thousand years ago."

Henny bares his teeth, “They have! The Winged Elder brought Alt back to us! I will not be scared of a pompous false snake of a King!”

Meanehile, Dr. J is trembling so hard, trying not to look Magnificent’s way- afraid of what he’s going to do to the both of them. He’s been trying so hard to be a rock for the others- but here… all he can remember is that dark dungeon cell, flickering with green light.

The King’s eyes flicker over to JJ. "And don't hide behind false confidence. I can tell you're scared. At least your companion isn't trying to hide it. Those are some strong memories, hmm?"

Dr. J’s gaze flickers to the King and he trembles more. He can see into his mind?! His mouth opens and closes but no sound comes out.

Magnificent giggles, “Now… isn’t that a good puppy? Remembering his place… to be seen and not heard.”

Dr. J’s eyes fizzle with static and he completely drops his weapons now, standing up straight.

Henny turns around to see this and desperately starts to shake JJ’s shoulders. “no no no! Juwel! no you can’t fall into that again! Please!”

Aneirin grins. He glances at Magnificent. "That's a helpful trick you have there."

Magnificent grins back, “I told you he’s very well trained~ not worth much but- very fun to mess with~!”

And then the King looks back to Henny, his expression darkening. "And you should not speak about things you know nothing about. This isn't your world. You don't know how it works. I'm betting that your Alt still hasn't been restored to how you remember, has he? So shut up and stand there and wait."

Henny yells out in anger, looking like he’s ready to burst through the lightning and fight the King and Mag. But, the King’s command has him freezing in place, lips snapping shut. His eyes are wide with terror but- he can’t move.

Magnificent looks delighted, “Oh this is gonna be such a sight to see~!” He giggles. “Our cub will be putty in our hands again~!”

"Indeed." The King flips the seax in his hand. "No use hiding, given how overt this is. So let's get ready for them to return. They can't have gone too far, can they?" He closes his eyes, casting out his senses for others' thoughts. "Yes... I can feel them coming closer. It won't be long now."

Magnificent eyes glow bright with mad hunger, “Good.”

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

Alt kept trying to glitch ahead as they make their way back- but he’s in no condition to. So soon enough, Bro is carrying Alt to keep him from being reckless.

Jackieboy was worried they’d get lost after all that excitement so he used his bracelet- following the blue orbs back to their resting spot. But then… the orbs flicker and then pulse with purple light. Jackieboy freezes, then looks back at Alt and Bro. “…I-I don’t think that’s a good sign-“

Jackie speeds up a bit, taking the lead. "I don't know anything about magic, but that definitely doesn't seem like a good thing."

"Isn't purple--A-Alt had purple on him earlier, isn't it--the sign of--" Marvin stammers. He reaches back and grabs Henrik's hand, who's lingering behind, pulling him a bit quicker.

"Hurry!" Chase says, nocking an arrow while he runs.

Jameson sees him doing this and does the same.

Soon, the crackling green energy of lightning comes into view. Jackie draws both his swords. "It's not just him!" he says, voice rising in volume.

Alt is panicking, simultaneously wanting to hide and wanting to run to his friends. "No no no! Nonono!" He pops and fizzles in Bro's arms, curling up and gripping at his head with his good arm as the hero pushes to go faster.

Jackieboy draws his knife and tries to catch up to Jackie.

They burst out into the small clearing and see it. The circle of lightning with Henny and JJ frozen inside, and Magnificent and Aneirin standing there, waiting.

"Well hello there," Aneirin says, grinning. "Welcome to the circle."

Bro and Jackieboy cry out at seeing Henny and Dr. J stuck. JJ doesn't acknowledge them at all, but Henny's eyes try to flicker towards them, looking fearful.

Chase gasps. He hesitates, not wanting to hurt JJ and Henny.

But Jameson reacts instinctively, loosing the arrow he has drawn.

Aneirin is not expecting that at all. The arrow hits him square in the shoulder and he stumbles backwards. The branches of the Wyldwood rustle. For a moment, the green in his eyes flicker, replaced by blue. And then it steadies again. "Oh. We're doing that, then."

"Fuck yeah, Jameson!" Jackieboy shouts.

Magnificent yells out at Aneirin getting hurt and then stands in front of him, baring his fangs at the cluster in front of them.

Bro's eyes glow bright blue in anger, and he helps set Alt on the ground. "Let go of our fucking friends." He growls dangerously, pulling out his sword.

Magnificent cackles madly and strides forward, "Not until you give back something of ours."

Alt shudders at this, gripping at his head as it starts to fill with static again.

"Oh Alt~! Come here, kitten." Magnificent tries to command.

"N-No!" Alt wheezes, eyes flickering wildly again.

Magnificent frowns angrily, his eyes glowing bright. Then, he breathes and tries to let his voice ring out smooth and charismatically. "Come now, Gentlemen... This can all be solved without more bloodshed, hm? Just... come back with us, Alt. And we'll free your friends~"

"Oh sure, of course you will," Marvin drawls, venom in his voice. "Of course we should believe you, you look so trustworthy, I'm sure we can do whatever you say. I know that if I was you, and I am, in one case, I would kill the rest of us as soon as I had what I want."

"You're not helping, Marvin!" Jackie snaps. "Alt, don't listen to them! They're not going to keep their word."

Aneirin stands up straight, breathing heavily. He reaches for the arrow in his shoulder, raising his seax--and in one swift motion, severs the arrow's shaft close to where it's embedded in his skin. He doesn't even flinch as the seax comes so close to him. "You don't know we won't," he says calmly. "We're on our own path right now, it will be more beneficial to go our separate ways and avoid conflict."

Chase shakes his head. "You're lying," he whispers. "You've wanted to kill us for so long. You won't let us go."

A small smile flickers across Aneirin's face. "Well, this is a dangerous place. Perhaps I won't need to kill you."

"Yes, you sound like such a reliable person," Marvin mutters.

Alt grips harder at his head, whimpering and biting back his sounds of distress.

“Leave him alone! Stop fucking torturing my brother, you sick fucks!” Bro screams, energy crackling around his arms like lightning.

“We haven’t hurt him, Fantastic!” Magnificent grins, “He offered to help us~! Didn’t you, Alt?” He flashes his eyes and creates a false image of the TRVLR, broken from their arrival. Alt doesn’t understand what it is but he knows it’s important. “You’re helping us find a way home, right?”

Alt��s eyes fill with purple and his face relaxes slightly as he breathes, “…y-yes… I… I need to help… the TRVLR…. It’s broken. I… I have to get us home…” He says distantly.

He starts to straighten up and walk towards the King and Mag but Jackieboy lashes out and grabs his arm. “Alt no! He’s lying!”

Jameson helps pull Alt back. They LIE, Alt! he signs frantically. Remember that?! They hurt people! He hesitates, and then pulls down the neck bow he wears, revealing the faint + shaped scar on his throat. This is the King's fault!

Alt still tries to pull himself forward, but being pulled back by both Jameson and Jackieboy has his injures flaring in pain- snapping him out of trance for a second. He's able to catch Jameson's signs and see his scar. His eyes widen. "T-The King... t-took your-?!"

"No it's not," Aneirin says, putting a little bit of influence into his voice. "You're mistaken."

The influence washes over Alt though and his eyes flash and glaze over slightly.

Even the rest of the fantasy guys look a bit unsure at that, buying into the influence, but Chase shakes his head. "No. No. No! You can't do this! You're not going to do this!" He pulls the bowstring back and quickly fires. He can't bring himself to shoot Jack's body, so he aims for Magnificent.

Bro doesn't seem affected and as he sees Chase going for Mag, he yells and goes for the King.

Chase's arrow hits Mag in the stomach and he yells out and stumbles back, digging his claws around his wound. He looks at Chase with murder in his eyes. "I'll roast your head on a fucking SPIKE-!" He screeches. "Enough fucking games! Alt- get rid of Chase Brody!"

Alt stiffens, eyes trying to fill with Mag's toxic magic again and he gasps, trying to fight. But, soon enough he slumps, his eyes filling with purple. He turns on Chase and growls, drawing his own seax and lashing out to cut him.

The King blocks Bro's sword slash, effortlessly deflecting it with his own seax. He laughs. "Amateur work," he smirks, and slashes back, electrifying the blade of his weapon.

Bro screams as the king's blade slices down his chest, shocking his body and making him fall back in a trembling heap.

"CHASE!" Jackieboy cries. He hurries down to his side then shakily holds his knife out at the King, trying to protect Bro. "F-Fucking get away from him!"

Meanwhile, Chase sees Alt coming. He whirls around and blocks the cut with his bow. The blade cuts deep into the wood but doesn't break it. "Alt! No!"

"Chase!" Jackie runs for him.

"N-no, I got this, go help other-me!" Chase insists.

Jackie hesitates, then nods and runs after Bro.

Jameson grabs Alt from behind and pulls him away from Chase. Alt cries out as Jameson grabs him but he tries to shake him off, growling.

"Alt, listen to me!" Chase says. "You're stronger than this! We know this! All your friends know this! They cannot control you. They cannot control you."

For a moment, as the forest rustles, the sunlight coming from between the branches turns the antlers on his mask golden.

Alt briefly looks at Chase and his eyes flicker wildly. The magic seems to fade all together as he sees the golden antlers, his eyes widening. Then, he narrows them in determination and nods, green-blue glowing bright in his eyes. "... y-you're right. They can't." Then he smiles a bit, "... not when I have friends like you."

Chase grins. "Precisely. And you have more friends, too. Friends who are in danger right now." He jerks his head towards the circle where Henny and JJ are stuck. Alt grins too and nods.

Meanwhile, Marvin conjures a shield around him and Henrik, whose vacant expression has turned glazed as he twitches slightly. Marvin glances around frantically, wanting to help but wanting to protect Henrik more. He grabs him and shakes him, urgently trying to snap him out of this.

"Or what?" Aneirin grins. Jackieboy trembles back, nearly falling over Bro. "You think you can hold me off with your--" Suddenly, with a sudden bellow of a shout, Jackie appears and brings both his swords down on the King.

The man barely dodges in time to avoid a devastating blow. Jackie breathes heavily. "You... stay... away from them."

Aneirin blinks. Then grins. "Fine, then." And he attacks Jackie with his seax.

Jackie knocks it to the side but the King keeps his grip on it and darts closer, ducking under Jackie's attempted slash but having to back away again as a second slash follows up. The two of them stay like that for a few seconds, dancing around each other. Jackie's strength in his sword fighting was always his agility, but the King is faster.

By now, Marvin has managed to get Henrik somewhat back to himself. He's currently rummaging around through his bag, looking for something.

Behind him, Alt catches the glimpse of a bird amongst the trees.

Alt looks back towards the others. He catches the glimpse of the bird and his eyes widen. Then, they fill with green-white light and crackles with electricity as he grins.

He can feel it inside himself... the heart of a storm.

Magnificent yells out in rage at this and in a buzz of static turns into his tiger form and charges at Chase, Jameson and Alt.

Alt whips around and panics at seeing Mag charge and then tries to find that strength. He grabs Chase and Jameson and pulls them down with him.

In a buzz of energy that leaves the hair on their arms sticking up, they're suddenly surrounded by familiar, electric green-white wings coming from Alt's back. Chase and Jameson gasp in awe at seeing the wings again.

Magnificent isn't expecting this at all- and the wings sweep out and knock him back. He roars in pain and then skids across the ground, stilling into a sparking heap.

Alt's wings flare out and he looks at them and then himself and then he laughs. He's awake this time- in control.

Back by the King, Once it looks like Jackie has a handle on him, Jackieboy turns Bro over and starts pressing on his wounds. "Chase- Chase-! Stay with us... Please!" He cries.

Bro is gritting his teeth in pain, eyes shut as his wound burns and crackles from the electricity. But, The wound isn't bleeding- Jackieboy finds this out quickly. Soon enough, he blinks open his eyes and pushes himself up, panting but seeing Jackie in trouble. He grits his teeth and gathers up power in his hand- then tries to shoot lightning at the King.

Jackie feels the crackling of lightning behind him and jumps backwards barely in time. Bro's lightning hits the King square in the chest and he staggers backwards.

And something... strange happens.

The trees rustle, and the shadow beneath the King's feet writhes--then disappears. And for a few seconds the green disappears from the King's eyes, replaced by a normal blue. The seax slips from his hands and he breathes heavily, swaying on his feet like it's been a long time since he stood.

Those blue eyes dart around the Wyldwood, and a hoarse voice comes out of his throat. "Kawair--"

And then the shadow returns and the King suddenly collapses.

Chase watches Magnificent get pushed aside and scrambles up. He's just in time to see everything happen with the King. His eyes widen, and he silently mouths the word the King said. A word that, thanks to the translation spell, everyone knows. "Help me."

Bro's eyes widen and Jackieboy drops his knife in shock.

Alt's head also snaps to the King, with enough time to see the control drop.

As the King collapses, The lightning around JJ and Henny lessens but doesn't vanish--though the Command on Henny does. Henny blinks out of the Command and then backs up, going to try to shake Dr. J awake again. "J-Juwel!"

But- Dr. J wakes up almost immediately, magic snapping out of his eyes. He shudders and leans up against Henny, who catches him.

Marvin tentatively drops the shield now that the King and Mag are--at least temporarily--incapacitated. He walks up to the lightning circle trapping JJ and Henny, scanning it. "Hey," he says. And he kneels down to the ground, rolling something under the circle. It's a small glass bottle, with one half of it filled with purple liquid and another half filled with pink liquid. "Pour that out. Not all of it. But Henrik thinks it might help."

Behind him, Henrik gives a little wave.

Henny blinks and then perks up excitedly seeing the potion. He looks to Marvin and nods, popping open the bottle and pouring about half of it out.

The liquids pour out onto the ground. Once they start to mix, they form a white mist that spreads across the ground and rises up. The lightning flickers as the fog reaches it... then eventually stops.

Henny looks around excitedly and hurriedly helps Dr. J up and out of where the lightning was- just in case it comes back. "T-Thank you! Mein gott... that was awful...."

JJ nods silently, clinging to Henny's side.

"The magic in the potion might be interfering with the magic in the lightning," Marvin explains. "Something about how the spirit's power is so different. They repel each other. Like the ends of two lodestones." He glances at Alt. "Probably also helps that your friend is distracting him."

Distracting is a way of putting it.

Alt's eyes flare brighter and- he does something reckless. He knows he won't have long before this burns the magic out of him.

He needs to extend the timer.

He finds one of the magic fruits again and takes a huge bite before shaking himself out, letting his magic fizzle bright around him. Then, in a mix of flying and glitching, he makes his way over to the King, landing in front of him and flaring his wings out in an intimidating display.

Jackieboy gasps, "A-Alt?"

Jackie backs away to make room for Alt. He looks confused, but glances at his other self and nods. "Let's let him work," he says.

The King stirs soon, lifting his head--revealing that his eyes are green again. Aneirin looks up at Alt. For a moment he goes a bit pale. But then he scowls. "What? Do you think you can scare me?" He starts reaching for his seax.

Alt smirks, "Kinda." He lashes out to try to grab the King by his collar.

Aneirin gasps slightly as Alt grabs the collar of his shirt, then scowls and grabs Alt's wrist, trying to push him away...but the blast Bro hit him with has left his muscles weak. Or is it that his control over the body is still shaky? No! He won't let that happen! He's been here for years now, he won't lose it now. Silently, he glares at Alt, waiting for whatever he's trying to do.

Alt's eyes are like an angry storm as he growls. The air is electric around them- almost suffocating. "I should fucking just end you for all the suffering you've caused! For all the shit you've put us through!" He opens up his other hand and a massive ball of green blue lightning forms.

Bro's voice cracks as he tries to call out, "A-Alt! No!"

"No no no no no!" Chase rushes forward. "Alt, he's possessed!"

Jackie almost grabs Alt's shoulder but then stops, deterred by the electric wings. "Chase is right, there's—there's—y-you're talking to a possessive spirit right now—'spiolash', we call them. I-it's taken over the real King's body."

"And has been in control for the past seven years!" Chase adds. "W-we can't—Jack—"

Alt stops himself as everyone yells at him. His eyes widen as they explain he's possessed. Especially when he hears the name Jack.

Aneirin grins. "I don't think you'll be able to convince him that easily, Chase mak Brody," he whispers. Maybe if he can throw Alt off by opposing this, he'll be distracted for long enough for him to grab his seax.

"Didn't you see that just now?!" Chase asks. "H-he was there for a moment! He—" He looks down at the King. "I know you're still in there! W-we're working on it, I-I promise!"

Aneirin laughs as he feels Aodhan trying to call out to Chase. Poor fool. Fools, actually. The both of them.

Alt looks back down at the King with a conflicted expression. His grip on him loosens for a second before he holds on a little tighter.

"Alt- please!" Bro calls out, "Hear them out!"

Alt seems too angry for a second, his expression getting stormier and his wings rising higher. He brings the King closer to him, their faces just barely touching. For a scary second- it looks like he might actually try to hurt him. Then, his expression softens as he tries to look past those hateful green eyes- towards whoever is trapped inside. "... you said you needed help. How can I help?"

Aneirin scowls. "I don't know what you think you can do, you idiot," he hisses, tightening his one-handed grip on Alt's wrist. "You don't understand. None of you do. I am eternal. You can't defeat me."

"Shut up! For the love of the Deaths!" Marvin shouts.

"I-I, uh, I usually talk to Jack through dreams--these magic ones," Chase explains. "I don't--know if you can do that--"

Alt bares his teeth at Aneirin, more electricity sparking between them. Then, Chase's statement makes a hazy memory come back.

Of... another man- that looked like him. He had glitched into Dr. J... and came out, waving his hand. 'I just did what I had to do. Alt might learn how to do this on his own someday.'

He knits his eyebrows together, "... I dunno if I can do that... but I can do something."

In an instant, Alt's body and his wings turn into a cluster of green, blue and white pixels and then they dive like a bolt of lightning into the King's head.

This sensation is familiar, and yet so different. Alt spirals through nerves and neurons, searching, parsing through thought pathways covered in a strange shadowy substance... until he gets to a spot where it's clear. Buried deep beneath all these shadows. Sounds filter in first, and then visuals, slower. This isn't real. He knows that. It feels more like a lucid dream. But what's said here is true. Most of the environment is vague and fuzzy. When he looks to the sides or behind him, he just sees a weird fog, like someone drew a fantastic background for a drawing and then used the blur tool to smear it all together.

In front of him is a man sitting on the floor. His face and build is exactly like the King's... except for the blue eyes. He wears fine clothes that have rips and tears in them, some of them edged in crusty red-brown. Chains connect his wrists, ankles, and neck to the floor. He looks surprised to see Alt there. 'You're... here?' he whispers.

Alt blinks open his eyes and looks around in confusion- then his eyes fall on Jack. The real King. His heart aches at seeing the King trapped and he tries to hurry over to see if he can... do anything. Is there anything he can do? "Y-Yeah I'm here! I can help- I can- do something!"

Jack laughs. 'S-sorry, it's just--it's really good to see someone else. Or... it's not really 'seeing,' but... it's nice to interact with someone else.' His faint smile falls. 'I-I'll tell you the same thing I did Chase. If you break the chains they just come back the next time. They're not real. They're whatever he wants them to be. But--but I think they have a plan out there. Chase has said they're on their way to find something. He hasn't said much, since he--Aneirin--can hear us in here. But I think... it's something that can help.'

Alt stops and looks back at Jack with a concerned and desperate expression. "...T-There has to be something I can do! I-I'm here... The Elders are helping-! E-Even if I don't know you- I can't just leave you here...!"

Jack laughs again. There are silver tears lining his eyes. He blinks them away. 'I... really appreciate that, Alt. You're so kind. But I... I don't know. I don't know what there is to do.' He shakes his head. The motion is accompanied by clinking metal. 'I'm just trusting that what Chase and the others are working on can do it. There's... there's a future where Aneirin is defeated. Jameson saw it. They're reaching for that. Alt... if you want to help, get Magnificent out of here. Take him back to your world. Those two are fucking terrifying together. Th-they can't both be here.'

Alt also has slight tears in his eyes. He slowly nods, "...I... I can do that... I'll make sure he never comes here again." He shakily sighs and looks away, knowing that means they probably can't come back either... not if Mag will try to find them every time. He finally looks back up at Jack, his eyes burning with determination. "... they'll save you. I trust them- I trust the Elders. If they could save me... they'll save you. I know it."

'...thank you,' Jack whispers. He gives Alt a watery smile. 'I-I hope they do. Chase definitely isn't going to give up. I can hang on until then.'

Alt gives him a small smile. "I know a Chase... they're really stubborn when it counts." He laughs lightly.

Jack pauses. 'And, um. In the more... immediate moment. If you have to knock out my body or something, do it. I really don't mind if it means Aneirin can't do anything.'

Alt hesitates then goes to put his hand on tops of Jack's and squeezes it. "Okay... just... stay strong, Jack."

Jack squeezes his hand in turn. 'I will,' he says. 'I swear it on my name. Farewell, Alt. Thank you.'

"Farewell, Jack."

And then, back out in the physical world, glitches start to form around the King's body before a collection of them burst back out and Alt's body forms again. His body stays a solid color for a second- bright green as his wings flare out.

The King's body had been slumped for about a minute while Alt had been inside his head. Once Alt is out again, Aneirin is back in control. He tries to get to his feet--

But before Alt even fully forms back, he grabs Aneirin again and then punches him straight in the face with all the strength he can muster- enough to bruise immediately.

There's a loud crack kinda like thunder before Alt lets his body drop back down and he blooms fully back into color. He glares down at his body and spits, "Jack says Fuck you, mu Rith."

Aneirin lies on the ground, stunned for a moment, and then tries to get up again, moving slowly.

"Can we... can we knock him out, you think?" Jackie asks.

"Oh, please?" Marvin adds.

"What--you two!" Chase stammers. "We just made it clear there's someone else in there!"

"Alright, but the spirit's going to kill us if we wait," Marvin says. "Can we knock him out?"

"Jack said it was okay," Alt calls back, "He just doesn't want this fucker to do anything."

"Well... if Jack says it..." Chase says reluctantly.

"Who wants to do the honors?" Jackie says.

Alt looks ready to rear back his foot and kick his lights out but he stops himself.

"Jair should get to do it," Marvin suggests.

Jameson looks at the others. Aneirin was still trying to move, slowly reaching for the seax.

There's no time to debate. Jameson draws his knife, walks forward... and slams the hilt into the King's head.

He collapses immediately.

Meanwhile, Alt glances at the body of Magnificent, who is struggling to get up now. He glares, "I'll take care of my bastard now.”

"Alt wait you're-!" Bro tries to call out.

But Alt doesn't hear him as he glitches over and then lands with one foot on top of Magnificent. He growls darkly, pushing his hand against Magnificent's snout as the tiger tries to react. His eyes fill with green white light and crackle as he snarls, "I'm giving you the taste of your own fucking medicine!"

There's another loud crack of thunder as lightning seemingly strikes the two. There's a roar of pain and then the light fades. And as it does- there's a body of a cat curled up on the forest floor, crackling with electricity.

Alt staggers back and unsteadily sways on his feet, looking down at the cat with a distant expression.

Everyone’s heads whip over in unison to see Alt and the cat.

"H-Holy shit-" Jackieboy breathes. Henny holds a hand over his mouth and Dr. J looks pale.

Marvin's eyes widen. "...oh," he whispers. "Don't... That's not... permanent, is it?"

“No…” Alt says dazedly, “Just until we get… get…”

The timer’s up.

Alt’s eyes roll up into the back of his head as his wings and the energy around him disappear in a quick zip, bursting up into the sky. Alt is immediately pale as he falls- and he lands in a boneless heap on the ground.

“Alt!” Bro cries, pushing himself up and rushing over to his side.

Jackie, Marvin, and Jameson all immediately abandon the King and rush over to Alt. Chase hesitates just long enough to be sure the King is breathing before also rushing over. The other swaps aren’t far behind.

Dr. J pushes forward and goes to feel his pulse and the others back up to give him space. It’s extremely high- his skin feels like it’s on fire. But he’s breathing- even if it’s fast and labored.

JJ tries to open up his mouth to tell everyone but, he finds he can’t. So he signs, He’s okay. High fever and pulse but… he’s breathing.

The fantasy boys look confused at the gestures he's making, and Marvin quickly casts that same translation spell as when Jackieboy, Henny, and JJ showed up, just in time to catch the end of his signing.

"Breathing is good," Jackie says quietly.

Henny sits back, stunned by all of this. Jackieboy seems to be too, lightly putting his hand on Henny’s shoulder.

Bro bends over Alt and then slowly goes to pick him up and then hugs him gently, hiding his face against him. His shoulders are shaking.

Henrik approaches Henny and Jackieboy, taking a moment to lean against the two of them, collecting himself. "D-do we... rest?" he says in a quiet voice. "Rest... seems good. That... last time... worked."

Henny blinks and then puts his arm around his other self, offering him comfort.

Dr. J nods, We should rest. I don’t think there’s much more we can do…

What about the cat? Jameson asks.

The cat isn’t moving but is breathing too, the magic still crackling around him. There’s some kind of green-blue rune in the center of his forehead- like a seal.

What is that seal?

"It must be keeping him in the cat form temporarily," Marvin says. "Good that it's temporary. I wouldn't want to be trapped as a cat. I mean... maybe if I could turn myself into one... but then what if someone traps me while I'm a cat?" His rambling is not really directed at anyone, more just him coping with the worry he feels towards Alt.

Jackieboy stares at the cat, “…Mag trapped Alt as a cat once. A tiger. Made him believe he was one for like… a month. Guess he finally had enough magic to … turn it on him.” He says quietly, seeming kind of out of it. “…he deserves it.”

Marvin shudders. "Trapped as a big cat... for that long... I suppose Magnificent does deserve it, at least for a little while."

Jackie frowns. "Maybe..." He picks up his swords and sheathes them, then looks back at the King's body lying on the ground. "What are we going to do with him?"

"Didn't we bring rope?" Marvin asks. "I'm sure I saw it in one of the packs."

Henrik starts grabbing the bags. He's looking around for somewhere good to possibly camp for the night.

As he and Jackie discuss that, Chase walks over to Bro and puts a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't say anything. Just stays there, supportively.

Bro is mumbling, holding Alt’s trembling, beaten body. It’s almost too quiet to hear- like a prayer. “…I just want one adventure… one adventure where you don’t get hurt… why are you always getting hurt, Anti…?”

He stiffens slightly as Chase touches him then lifts red lined eyes to look at him. He stares at his other self for a second before leaning against him, wordlessly thanking him. He sets Alt back down on the ground, but close enough to keep an eye on him.

Henny watches the others with a worried expression. “We cannot go home with Alt like this…” he mumbles sadly.

Dr. J now sits on the other side of Jackieboy, leaning up against him. He looks exhausted.

“…I guess we’re too far away to go back to the camp by the cliffs, huh?” Jackieboy asks, looking around at his tired everyone is. “Plus you all have your… your quest.”

"Much too far," Marvin agrees with Jackie. "It's starting to get dim, and I'm sure we don't want to walk around during night. And... yes, there's that." He looks around. "I know vaguely where we are and where we need to go. You guys... Once Alt is better... I don't know. Nevermind. I'll talk about it later once Alt is better."

"Better?" Henrik sits down sort of near Alt and Bro and Chase. "Um... s-supplies? Yes?" He's struggling to stay tethered.

"Henrik, last time you had something to help with a fever, right?" Chase asks quietly. "Something with witchcraft in it? Do you have that still?"

"Mm-hmm." Henrik takes a jar out of the bag. He hands it over to Chase, who offers it to Bro.

"I'm sure Alt will get better," Jackie says from where he is with the King. "He just had to rest last time we saw him do this."

“Henrik… you can rest too, it’s okay.” Bro says gently. He takes the salve and nods, going to spread it on Alt’s blistering skin.

“H-He ate more of the fruit- to give him a boost.” Jackieboy says with worry. “Henrik said he shouldn’t eat anymore… t-that his fever could burn up his body…”

Alt whimpers and scrunches his face up in pain, breathing fast, face covered in sweat. His veins are glowing green again- just like the last time. Pulsing with green and blue light, a hint at the power used. The salve sorta seems to help but it’s also hard to tell.

“He pushed himself when he was already injured…” Bro sighs. “Plus all that magic…! What if he…”

“…w-water,” Dr. J chokes out quietly, hardly louder than a whisper. “H-he needs water. To start. T-to cool down the fever and f-f-flush it out.”

“Water, of course.” Jackie nods. “It’s a good thing we packed some, isn’t it?” He looks around for the bags. Jameson has moved them all to one area and is already looking for all the water flasks.

Jackie hurries over to help, grabs one, and rushes over to Bro and Alt to hand it over. He glances at Henrik as he does. “Bro is right. You can take a break.”

Henrik blinks and looks up at him. “I-I-I am a doctor I need to—and I don’t want to untether—”

“I-I am a doctor too, Henrik,” Dr. J says quietly, “I can help, p-please rest.”

“It’s okay, Schneep,” Marvin says quietly. “We’ll help you get back. For now, stop pushing yourself.”

Henrik hesitates, then nods. He leans back against a tree and looks up into the branches.

JJ looks back to Bro and shakily says, “Alt m-might be able to drink if we can w-wake him up just enough… w-we need to make sure he doesn’t dehydrate w-with a fever this high.”

“Oh Juwel! We can use the fruit trick you did with me!” Henny says and rushes to grab one of the bad fruits.

“Ah jeez Hen be careful-“ Jackieboy tries to warn.

Henny smiles and then takes a knife and just barely cuts into the skin. “Do not worry, my friend. we just need enough for him to smell.”

“B-Be ready with the water, Chase,” Dr. J advises.

Bro holds Alt up in his lap and hovers the water flask near Alt. Henny leans in and holds the fruit near Alt’s nose.

Alt gasps, his eyes snapping open. But they’re still filled with pulsing white-green magic. He coughs and almost falls back limp but Bro catches him and puts the flask to his lips. “Drink, Anti, please-“

Deliriously, Alt is able to drink a bit of water with Bro’s help. But soon enough his eyes slip shut and he falls completely limp again.

“I-If we can f-find a rag we can cool him down with the water too-“ Dr. J mumbles.

"We just need some cloth, then?" Chase says. He pauses, then starts ripping his shirt from the hem.

Chase you don't have to do that, Jameson says.

But by the time he's finished saying that, Chase has already torn off a chunk of his tunic. "It's fine, we can patch it up once we're done here," he says.

Jameson sighs. He whistles for Chase's attention and then throws another flask of water his way.

Chase leans far to the side, barely catching it. He wets the bit of cloth with the water and crouches down next to Bro and Alt. "Here."

Bro smiles gratefully at Chase and takes the rag. He puts a bit more of the salve on Alt’s forehead then puts the wet cloth over it. Alt exhales and seems to relax some at the cool feeling.

"Him being asleep is probably fine, right?" Marvin asks. "I know sometimes you don't want someone to fall asleep, but it's probably alright in this situation, right?"

“I don’t think it’s like a concussion…” Bro mumbles, “I think it’ll be alright.”

"He spent all his energy," Jackie mumbles. "Remember, we compared it to your magic last time."

"If you keep bringing up the fact that I saved your sorry ass but then fell asleep for three days afterwards--" Marvin cuts himself off and shakes his head. "You're right. I think we figured out that was similar."

“I think… Marv- I mean… Mag used to tell me… that when you use a lot of magic sometimes your body just- forces you to sleep to gain that energy back. Kinda like… shutting you down so all your strength can be put back into getting your levels back to normal.” Jackieboy explains.

“…exactly like a fever.” Dr. J says, “sickness forces us to rest so the body can fight off the infection. Except in this case- it’s forcing Alt to rest so he can’t use any more magic.”

Marvin nods. “Precisely. Your body shuts down so you won’t do anything else.

Henny frowns in worry and then goes to take Alt’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “…do you think all of this might have fixed his memory…?”

“… I suppose we’ll see.” Marvin mumbles.

“He seemed to know who you all are,” Jackie says slowly. “Which is a step forward. Maybe… maybe once he wakes up, his memory will… settle? And if it doesn’t, I’m sure we can help.”

Chase sighs. “If we’re going to be waiting here for a while, let’s get the bedrolls out. We brought an extra one for Alt.”

Jackie nods, and he and Chase and Jameson start setting up a camp.

The swaps nod though they look concerned. Henny keeps holding Alt’s hand and rubbing his thumb against it. Jackieboy half hugs Dr. J against him. Bro keeps moving around the cloth to wet Alt’s forehead and neck. The magic is his veins just barely seems to dim but- it’s something.

Marvin, meanwhile, picks up the new cat Mag and sets him down next to the King, who is still unconscious and has been tied to the nearest tree. Draco sniffs the Mag cat then jerks backwards, fur along his spine standing on end.

The Mag cat’s eyes blink open as Draco approaches and then staggers up and hisses at him. He then seems to realize he’s still hissing and looks down at himself. He starts to freak out, yowling in distress. He backs up into the King’s side and continues to hiss towards Draco, tail curled around him and ears back.

“Oop- guess the cat bitch is up.” Jackieboy winces.

“Guess so,” Jackie mutters. “I feel sort of bad threatening a cat.”

“Don’t,” Marvin says. “He’s not really a cat.” He grabs Draco and gently pulls him backwards. It’s harder than usual as Draco has his claws out and digging into the ground. “Alright, Magnificent. Here’s the deal. You’re going to be stuck like that for a while. And sure, you could wander off into the Wyldwood if you want, but that seems very dangerous for someone of that size. So. It’s probably better for you to stick around.”

Magnificent crouches down, pressing his body against the King's leg and hisses at Marvin. He flattens his ears at Marvin's advice but glares at him with bared teeth.

What about the King? Jameson asks. Is he waking up soon?

Marvin glances at the King. He reluctantly reaches out and shakes him. The King’s eyelids flutter and he groans slightly but doesn’t really move much more. “Probably soon.”

When he tries to shake the king, Mag tries to swipe at him with his claws.

"God he's gonna be a nightmare to deal with," Jackieboy mutters.

"No worse than he usually is," Bro sighs.

"Ah- true. At least this way he can't magic us and shit-"

Marvin pulls his hand back sharply. "All above! I wasn't going to do anything to him, you know!" He glares at Magnificent. "Why do you even care? You know he's probably using you."

Magnificent just keeps hissing and growling at the others, protectively sticking by the King.

Can I point something out? Jameson says. Unlike Magnificent, the King can still use magic right now.

"Damn it, that's true." Marvin pauses, thinking. "The commands are the greatest danger to us, though, and he can't use those if he can't speak..."

Chase raises an eyebrow. "Do you think Magnificent is going to let you get close enough to gag him?"

"I don't need to." Marvin takes some light from his amulet and casts that same silence spell from earlier, except much smaller, just big enough to cover the King and one other person. Marvin says in handspeak, It won't be a problem if we can't hear the commands.

The others blink in surprise at the spell and then Jackieboy gives Marvin a crooked grin. "Clever!"

Bro frowns remembering what Marvin said to Mag and looks back at him, "...you know... I dunno if they were... actually using each other this time. Maybe they would have but... out of all the villains me and Alt have met? ... the King is the most like Mag... in terms of goals, if anything... the need for power and control."

"...that is probably why they were so scary together..." Henny says in a small voice.

Jackie shudders. "I can't imagine what they would have been able to do together. It's good that we've stopped them here. If we've stopped them here." He glares suspiciously at Magnificent and the King. "I know that Magnificent is going to go back to your world, but what do we do about him?"

"I don't know if we can drag him along," Chase says slowly. "Wherever we're going will help us defeat him. I don't think we'll want him knowing what's there."

He's probably resourceful enough to break out eventually, Jameson says. We could just... leave.

"I'd feel bad about abandoning Jack, though..."

"...I think Jack would understand..." Bro says quietly, "... I mean you guys said it's been 7 years...? As much as it sucks... h-he can probably wait a bit longer. Just to make sure you have the best chance of success."

"It is not abandoning either." Henny tells Chase gently, "You will come back. I am sure Jack knows this..."

"Plus, now maybe you'll be better equipped when you guys come next!" Jackieboy grins, "We've seen a bunch of monsters- so you'll know better what to expect!"

While they discuss this, the King slowly starts to stir. Aneirin opens his eyes and instantly notices the rope tying him to the tree. He starts to struggle but the rope holds him tight. Then he notices Marvin. He tries to say something, but of course, the spell is muffling his voice. His eyes widen, and then he glares at Marvin, pure anger in his gaze.

Marvin silently backs away.

Aneirin keeps glaring at him for a while, then looks down and notices Mag there. He blinks, surprised, unsure how to react to him being 1) a cat, and 2) right next to him.

Mag looks back up at Aneirin- and looking at his eyes, the King can recognize who it is, if he hadn't figured it out already. He has the same scars around his blind eye and a rust-like marking like his mask. The rune on his head pulses with Alt's magic. He looks almost- embarrassed to be stuck like this, his ears flattening. He curls up, giving the King a bit more space but staying close. He glares at the others, his tail flicking angrily.

Aneirin's eyes widen as he realizes what this cat is. A smile flickers across his face for a moment but it quickly fades as he realizes that he doesn't actually like seeing Magnificent suffer. Not like this. He mouths the Glasish word for "sorry."

Mag looks back in time to see him mouth the word. He huffs slightly- then presses his head against Aneirin's leg.

"Yeah, I guess..." Chase says slowly. He looks over at the King. "Jack, if you're hearing this right now, we'll be back for you."

Aneirin glares and makes a gesture that the Swaps don't recognize but which is clear from the context and how offended the fantasy guys look.

"Well to you, too!" Marvin gasps.

As if on the same wavelength, Bro and Jackieboy glare then both of them flip the King off at the same time.

"Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat!" Jackieboy curses in Irish.

"... where the fuck did you learn that?" Bro asks, blinking at Jackie.

"...I dunno my mam used to yell it at anyone who pissed her off-"

The others can recognize what it means though thanks to the translation spell: May the cat eat you and the [devil] eat the cat!

...strangely fitting.

Aneirin looks at Jackieboy in surprise and confusion, which quickly turns to anger. He scowls and looks away, deciding to ignore that.

Henny and Dr. J exchange looks and then break into quiet giggling.

The fantasy guys look at Jackieboy with confusion before Marvin starts giggling along with Henny and JJ. "That's a good one, we should remember it," he says.

Jackie starts giggling as well. "I'm not sure what a 'defel' is, but I think I get the point of it."

Jameson smiles and starts taking food out of the food bag. We should have supper. Of course, we'll save some for Alt, too.

Bro looks over to Jameson and smiles gratefully, "Thanks, Jameson... I'm sure he'll be super hungry when he wakes up."

"Oh yeah- dude's a monster when he's hungry." Jackieboy grins. "Though- nothing rivals you when you're starving, Bro."

Bro shrugs with a grin, "Imma big strong boy! I need all I can get!" He then makes a face while he thinks,"oh yeah to explain… From what I know- whatever spirit is possessing the King is probably the closest a devil could be." Bro giggles. "So ah- ah... what did you call it? A ssss something-"

"'Spiolash'," Chase says. "Though often people just call them possessive spirits. There's some superstition that saying that name will draw their attention and they'll possess you." He glances at Aneirin, who rolls his eyes. "Though this one is strangely powerful."

"Or like- if there's any evil Elders they’d be like a devil." Jackieboy shrugs, "Probably not cuz the Elders seem cool. But like- in our religion... that none of us practice but we know- the devil used to be like a god, but fell from grace and became a bitch ass."

"Man I love when you talk church, Jackie," Bro laughs, "You should become a priest."

"Please do not." Dr. J sighs in exaggeration.

The other swaps all laugh.

"The Elders aren't malicious, but they will strike back if you cross them or their domains," Jackie explains. "I wonder... would it be possible for an Elder to fall from grace and become wrathful?"

"Isn't there a story about the Celestial Sisters that's like that?" Marvin wonders.

Henrik suddenly starts. "No, those are cheap untrue cult variants. Luna did not wish for power from Sola, Sola was not a tyrant to her sister, both of those versions are wrong and their followers are prejudiced assholes."

"Hey, welcome back, Henrik!" Jackie says cheerfully. "Are you hungry?"

"A bit." Marvin passes him a small packet of food. "So apparently all we needed to do was say something wrong."

"Apparently."

Jackieboy opens his mouth to say something at hearing the name Luna but Bro preemptively smacks him. "Do not expose these guys to my little pony Jackie i swear to god-" He hisses as Jackieboy tries not to break into laughter.

Dr. J smacks him too. "Be respectful!"

Henny smiles at his other self, "Glad you are back, other me! I was very worried for you..."

Henrik smiles a bit. "Th-thank you. I am still feeling a bit strange, but better."

"Better enough to correct people," Chase chuckles.

"Are there really people like that who follow the faith?" Jackie asks.

"Back on the east continent, yes," Henrik says. "Those who say Luna is evil are often the sort who like to control others, and those who say Sola is evil are often the sort who like to cause chaos. Neither of the Sisters would approve of that. They rule together but separately, a balance between order and freedom."

"There are some people who use the Elders to justify their bad behavior as well," Marvin mutters. "We're lucky they're few and far between."

Henny shifts a bit, "To be fair- people do that with some of our religions back home too. There is... always evil people who twist faiths to suit their narratives. It is sad... they do not come from a place of wanting to learn, but of hate."

Jameson looks at Jackieboy, confused. Ponies?

Jackie laughs a bit. "What a shift of tone."

Bro hits Jackieboy again and Jackieboy exclaims, "OW! Stop hitting me! Technically you brought it up!"

"Only cuz I knew you were going to you, ya fucking meme lord!" Bro exclaims.

"I was gonna bring up that my daughter likes the show and the princesses! And say that the story of Luna and Celestia was similar! That's it! Why ya gotta assume it was something bad??"

"Cuz I will never forgive you for the rainbow dash thing-"

Dr. J sighs, "How on earth were you gotta explain a colorful pony show to people who don't even know what a TV is, Jackie?"

Jackie pauses and then knits his eyebrows together in thought. "... uhhhhh-"

JJ looks up to the sky in exasperation.

The guys all look confused at this conversation.

"A show? Like... a play?" Marvin asks slowly.

Dr. J looks relived, "Yes, kinda like a play."

"So it's a story of some kind," Chase guesses. "Maybe an ongoing one like those morality plays--did you guys see those?" The question is addressed to the guys from this world.

"I never saw them as a kid, but there were a lot of performances when we were living in the same city together." Jackie gestures to himself, Marvin, and Henrik.

How do you put on a play about horses? Jameson says, confused.

"Well I'm sure it is not literally a play, just like a play, for our understanding," Henrik says.

"That is a good way to describe it-" Jackieboy muses. "But it's more like- a play... in a tiny box- the TV- and instead of actors it's pictures that move. They create stories that way! But with... lightning. It powers it and shit."

"Is a 'tíví' like those metal devices you have? Last time Chase and Alt brought some, they are this big and showed pictures on them." Henrik holds up his hand, mimicking holding a phone.

Meanwhile, Aneirin is gently banging his head against the tree, half-hoping to knock himself out again instead of listening to this inane chatter. Internally, Jack is actually pretty fascinated with all this.

Bro blinks and then brightens up, laughing, "Oh yeah! The first time we met- I-I tried to give you my phone!" He starts to laugh, "I thought that- that you might know how to get service! I was so fucking confused- I hadn't realized we were somewhere they wouldn't work! I remember you holding it like it was something super important, Henrik!"

"What did they say about it?" Henny asks with a tilted head, "Maybe they were just as confused as I was!"

"I have no idea- they were speaking Glasish and we hadn't found a way to translate yet!"

Henrik chuckles a little. "I was showing Jackie how neat it all was. Everything was so smooth and the angles were so perfect and there were those tiny lines and holes--I had never seen such fantastic craftsmanship."

"To be fair- the phones aren't made by people," Jackieboy says, "They're made by machines! That's why they look so neat. S'different from here where everything is made by hand."

Bro laughs more, realizing how ridiculous he was when he first got here. "I remember being convinced I was in a really realistic ren fair- and like- it took me forever to realize Jackie was Jackie cuz they're were saying it more with a D- Dyaki-"

"oh my god- Chase-" Dr. J laughs, shaking his head. "Your mind astounds me."

"My name is Dyaki," Jackie says, confused. "That's--that's how you say it? I suppose you all are pronouncing it more like 'Dshak-EE'... And then you're pronoucning Tshais like 'TCHaays'... wait hold on. I'm... I'm having a moment here. It's been all off, hasn't it? That spell is strong for correcting all the pronouncing."

Marvin laughs a little and The swaps laugh too.

"Yeah it's a crazy spell huh? I'm glad Alt found one that can work so well..." Bro says, lightly smoothing back Alt's hair as he rests. Alt stirs slightly and then presses into Bro's hand, kinda like a cat wanting to be pet. He seems to be cooling down. Slowly... but enough. Bro smiles.

Jackieboy pulls something out of his bag, "We still have our Phones but- they're dead right now. They have to be powered to work. Alt might be able to get them working when he wakes up!"

"So yes, Henrik a TV is similar- but much bigger," Dr. J shows, making the gestures for how big one is, "And it plays moving pictures on the screen for us to watch."

Moving pictures? Jameson leans forward, eyes lighting up a bit. I saw something like that once! Clearly it's nothing at all like what you're talking about. But I saw a device with pictures on it that, when it spun fast enough, looked like motion. I can't remember the name of it, but I LOVED it.

"Oh oh!! I know what that is!!" Henny says excitedly, "That sounds like a zoetrope!!”

Jameson brightens. Yes, that's exactly what it was called! I don't think there's a word for it in handspeak, though.

”We had some in my time too! But I remember being so entranced by the tvses and bright pictures when I first arrived." Henny giggles.

"I could not get you away from the TV for like a week," Dr. J says, shaking his head with a smile.

"It was so pretty and bright! and funny!"

"A 'fón' and a 'skrín' and a 'tíví.'" Chase laughs a little. "These are all such strange words... And we know about how your world uses lightning for so much. Alt said last time that you even use money that way. Here, we still use gold. Or sometimes jasper, which is a sort of crystal."

Dr. J looks to Chase, "Oh! How fascinating! We use... lightning, yes. But, us old fashioned folks still use paper money too."

"I think you're insane for still carrying cash, Jay," Jackieboy laughs.

"It helps me stay on top of things! Plus it was easier to use with Henrik since he understood it."

"I still do not understand the money card..." Henny says, shaking his head. "How does it hold it all? Where does it go??? It is so tiny!!"

"Do you think the name of things like, uh, zoetropes, are being translated by the spell too?" Chase wonders.

"Ugh. I don't want to think about that. It makes my head hurt," Jackie mutters.

"Oh, but your head doesn't hurt at the idea of lightning money?" Marvin says teasingly.

"It doesn't, but that's because it's all so strange that it's easier to just accept it," Jackie says. "And I've never seen these tívís or money cards but I am right now experiencing the translation."

"Zoetrope is an older word now- and it was made up by someone, using other older words. So, now it just means that!" Henny grins, "Learning about where words come from fascinates me too because I know many languages. My mother was German and my Father spoke English and French. That is why my accent is all over the place!" He giggles.

This is fun, Jameson says cheerfully. I love hearing about these differences, it's so fascinating.

Dr. J smiles, "I like learning the differences too. It is so interesting, especially because this place is not a one on one on how we understand our own past."

"Oo, I have one more question," Chase says. "Bro, you mentioned a 'ren' fair earlier, that you thought our camp was one when you first appeared. What is that?"

"Oo! Is it like a training field for warriors?" Jackie asks excitedly. "Because I do think that our Phantom camps resemble those fields sometimes."

Bro blinks and then laughs, " A Ren fair! Short for 'renaissance'-"

"Which is basically a big fancy word for a certain time in the past," Jackieboy explains, "A time with knights and kings and people riding horse back and fighting with swords-"

"So- very similar to here." Bro cuts him off with a chuckle, "The whole thing isn't like a training field but! There's places where performers will act out fighting scenes with swords or jousting tournaments to show how people fought. Or let you try archery. Its a way for us to connect and understand our past better and see re-enactments on how they lived. And like- buy cool shit too. People love old fancy stuff."

"It's like playing pretend! And you get to dress up!" Jackieboy grins.

"Which is why I thought I was in one when I first came, "Bro laughs, "No one dresses up like this on a normal day back home."

Henrik chuckles. "Yes, I remember your strange outfit well. It was so bright, I cannot believe you all wear colors like that all the time. Dyeing cloth must be so much easier there than it is there."

"People always love older times," Jackie sighs. "We still tell stories about the old days before the kingdom was united."

Still stuck in the silence spell, Aneirin mutters something with a dark expression.

"Maybe if we ever go to your world you can take us to one of these fairs," Chase says. "I doubt we will, but it's an interesting thought. We can compare more differences."

"You want to go to another world where they have moving pictures and use money created by lightning... and you want to see the things that are already similar to here," Marvin sums up.

"...it does sound a bit idiotic when you say it like that."

Don't feel bad, Chase, I understand, Jameson says. The familiar is appealing.

"Personally, I would like to see more outfits from the other world," Henrik says.

"I will say, woman's outfits back home? Fucking stellar man- Zara and Kelsie have such pretty clothes." Jackieboy sighs with a lovesick smile.

"Ooo, and you mention being able to travel really fast, I'd love to experience that," Jackie adds.

"I'm still curious about blue raspberry myself," Marvin says. "Your food must be so different."

"Man- I'd love to take you guys- but I'm afraid the differences might blow your minds," Bro laughs, though it sounds a bit sad.

"It is... hard to adjust, but it is also wonderful." Henny says with a smile. He looks at the others and seems timid for a second before he sighs and tries to look brave. "If you all do come some day, I can help! Because I... am also out of time. Not nearly as much as you are here but I told Jameson- I believe it is a 90 year difference between where I was living to where we are now."

"You are also out of time?" Jackie repeats, eyes wide. "Whoa... that's also breaking my head."

"To be honest, It was breaking my head as well," Henny giggles.

"You've adjusted like a champ though, Schneep!" Jackieboy grins and pats Henny on the back.

The taller gentleman blushes and hides his then idly fidgets with his hands- "It was so strange to be somewhere where everything was so slick and shiny and bright. The signs would shine bright like the sun but move in ways I could not understand. It was hard too because at the time I could not hear too. But... everything is bright- clothes, hair, the sights. The food is so many flavors! Things you would not even think of! Spicy and sweet and creamy and so so salty. And everything is- electric! Powered by lightning and so so fast- but... I like it. So much." He grins, patting his bright teal hair. "Sometimes I go to find things I understand when I am overwhelmed but- finding new things to learn is very funny too." He then blinks and laughs, "In a way- coming into the Wyldwood was very similar to me coming to our world the first time. So strange and fastastical and... kind of scary."

Jameson grins. It's a bit hard to adjust to, but I imagine it's hard for these guys to adjust to our world, too. As hard as it would be for us to adjust to theirs.

"It would be hard, but maybe one day," Jackie says. "It sounds so fascinating. I know that you all have a tool that allows you to travel to other worlds. The, uh... 'tráfelr'? That's not at all how you say it, I know." He laughs a little. "We don't have that here, but I'm sure there's a way with magic. We can come visit you and see all these bright sights."

"It sounds so interesting," Henrik agrees.

"Yes, it really does." Marvin's eyes light up. "A world with all these same things--not to mention magic that works differently. I'd love to explore it some day."

"We'll try to find a way," Chase says. "Once we have everything settled here, we can try."

Bro makes a thinking face, "Hm... we could use the TRVLR maybe but- I dunno if it's powerful enough to jump like 10 people at once..."

Alt's eyes flutter open slightly. He blearily looks out and then mutters, "...doorway..."

The swaps all freeze and Bro leans down closer to listen to Alt, "What was that, Alt?"

"mm... t'ere's a doorway h..here..." Alt mumbles quietly, "...was lookin' for it... s'like the one with the... the inverted us-es... the f-first ones..." He squeezes his eyes shut and lets out a shuddery breath.

Bro's eyes widen, "Like the one Mag found in Sclera?"

Alt nods tiredly and slumps back down. "mmmaybe... could use..." He opens back up his eyes but seems to be struggling to keep them open. "...dunno... needs gli'chin..."

And then he's out again.

The others start, all unconsciously leaning forward as Alt stirs slightly. And then back when he falls asleep again.

"A doorway?" Marvin repeats. "You know... there are rumors that float around among wizards about a stone arch that can do incredible things. Maybe... that's what he means?"

"And that's why the King and Magnificent brought Alt here?" Chase asks. "To try and find another way to get to other worlds?" He looks towards the pair, but Mag is a cat and Aneirin is still under the silence spell, and even if they were able to talk it's clear from their expressions that they wouldn't. Mag flicks his tail and bares his teeth at the others as they look their way.

Chase turns back around. "Well, like I said, we can try after everything is settled down here. Maybe Jack can tell us once he's free. He's been there for anything that spirit has said."

"What about the ghlishing?" Jackie points out.

"There has to be something here that can work the same way," Marvin says, determined. "If this is something that exists in multiple worlds, it only makes sense that it would appear in worlds where it could be used."

"Yeahhh from what I know- it takes black magic and glitching," Bro says, re-checking over Alt and rewetting the cloth to keep cooling him down as he talks. "But, none of those are really here if Mag and Alt aren't. So... I'm sure there's another way. Otherwise, why would it be here? Someone had to have made it. Even if it was a long ass time ago.”

Dr. J nods and then looks back at the King and Mag. "... I think waiting would be wise. Our world isn't going anywhere. We'd be delighted to have you- but even more so if you can travel to us safely."

Jameson looks around. Well, to talk about something else, it's getting dark. Should we stop and try to sleep?

Jackieboy stretches and nods, "Probably... it's been a long day."

"You know it's been one if you're agreeing to sleep," Dr. J smirks at Jackie.

Jackieboy shrugs.

"Yes... maybe more sleep would be good- so Alt can get all the rest he needs too." Henny agrees.

"...we might need to stay up to monitor his temp-" Dr. J starts to say.

"I got it," Bro volunteers. "And I can wake you if anything seems bad."

"If you can wake me in a few hours that would be great," Marvin says. "Well, no, more than just 'great'. I need to renew the silence spell eventually, otherwise that bastard can start using commands."

"Remember to sleep yourself, Bro," Henrik says. "Maybe Marvin can take second watch?"

"I'd be fine with that," Marvin agrees.

Bro looks reluctant but eventually nods, "Okay. I can do that."

"The rest of us get some good rest, yes?" Henrik says.

Don't worry, I'm sure we're all tired, Jameson says.

"It's been a long day," Chase agrees.

"Good night, everyone."

"Good night." Jackie holds back a yawn as everyone lies down to sleep.

"Goodnight, all together!" Henny says brightly.

Bro helps to set Alt up in the extra bedroll and then sets himself up to watch over him. At least for a bit.

#LLTK #long live the king #YEAHHH EPIC BATTLE TIMEEE #such a fun fight and god the DRAMAAA #Jack and Alt meeting was so nice too #alt seems like a mean emo boy who’d scratch you if he can but deep down he just has the biggest heart #and he just wants to help people since he has the power to now #probably cuz he spent so much of his life thinking he was powerless and wanting the help he now gives #wagghh making myself cry over my own character don’t mind me JGHBJB #but anyways I told cry while I was editing this-#crazy how the final battle is also in the same chapter the swaps accidentally introduce mlp to the FM boys HGGVBB #and with that- last part will be up tomorrow! happy new year!!#oh also?? loved coming up with the idea of alt turning mag into a cat #that bastard would not give up unless forced to HFGVB #it’s just such sweet karma jghbn

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caffeinewitchcraft · 2 months ago

Text

AITA for going no contact with my brother after he pulled a scare on my husband?

EDIT: For those of you coming here from my brother’s post (X) to shit on me, you look like idiots. Try to have an original thought and really contemplate who’s telling the truth after hearing both sides.

I (32f) am one of three siblings. We come from a very well off family. My dad is a former Cryptid and he pioneered the Hook Man in the 70s, so he still gets residuals off of that. We grew up very comfortable and with the ability to do anything we wanted in life. My older brother went to a very prestigious school and my dad gave him the money for tuition. Because my older brother got scholarships, he was able to save some of that money. Right now he works in human tech (very lucrative), but his long-term plan is to use the money to start a Cyber Spook business once he is satisfied with his knowledge foundation.

I ended up taking a gap year before going to community college, but I never felt anything click. I worked part-time jobs spinning out scarer costumes and even did some part-time work as a slasher before deciding it wasn’t for me. I finally found my calling when I offered to help cater for my high school reunion, and now I run a fairly successful catering business.

When it came time for my younger brother, “Steve,” to get his money, he didn’t tell anyone what he was going to use it for. He was working as a Slasher at a small firm in town. We all assumed he’d either go to Scare School or invest the money to start a business like our older brother did.

So when Steve showed up to Halloween dinner one day, six feet taller with extra joints in his arms and legs, we were all shocked.

Dad was furious. He gave us all the same talk about the scare industry when we got our first part-time jobs documenting missions at his company. He told us that scare work was hard and backbreaking. We couldn’t buy our way into it or use his connections to become successful. If we were interested in it, we had to work our way up from the ground like he did. If we didn’t, we’d more than likely end up dead at the hands of a final girl.

He especially emphasized that mods had to be considered carefully and were NOT a substitute for skill.

Steve thought they were. When his company didn’t pay him back for his body modification AND didn’t promote him from Slasher to Regional Nightmare, he quit. But the surgeries drained his cash and he couldn’t afford his apartment anymore. He had to move back in with Mom and Dad. As always, Mom totally coddled him. She said that he didn’t have to pay rent and agreed with whatever he said when he’d go on these long tirades about his former company.

I could tell Dad wasn’t happy with the arrangement, but he’s never been able to go against Mom. So he mostly kept his mouth shut though he did try to get Steve a job at his old company. However, last I heard, Steve was set against anything corporate and was spending a dozen hours a day driving around using the app SlashDash to find jobs.

About a year and a half ago, I was over for dinner with Steve, Mom and Dad. Steve was talking about work. He said SlashDash wasn’t working out for him and was taking too many fees out. I offered advice since I’d done Slashing in high school. I recommended sites like Scarework and Midnighterr to get more gigs.

Mom told me I interrupted Steve. She gestured for him to continue and tell me about his exciting new setup.

Steve told me he was beyond the sites I recommended. He said he’d bought a scanner so he could listen to broadcasts of active corporate missions. When those fail, he arrives on scene to kill any straggling humans before the scare company in question can send a cleanup crew. And since he’s a Slasher on their scene, they have to give him emergency pay for doing it. It’s a total ambulance-chaser, bottom-feeder move.

Dad was just staring at his plate, not saying anything, but I could tell he was ashamed of Steve. Steve was bragging about being a vulture in the profession Dad helped build.

I asked Steve if he was proud of himself for living off of leftovers. Steve blew up at me, but so did Mom. She chided me for not respecting my brother’s hard work and that his idea to get a scanner was genius, not predatory.

After that dinner, Steve and I rarely talked. Most of the news I got about him came from our older brother bitching about Steve badgering him for scare connections or Mom bragging about Steve killing and “meeting quota.” She would get very cold with me when I told her he was finishing a quota someone else started and not doing his own work. She told me if I couldn’t respect Steve, then I was welcome to not come over while he lived with her.

(Yes, Steve’s always been the golden child.)

I stopped interfering with Steve and focused on my own life. Shortly after, I met my wonderful fiancé “Reginald” while catering an event at Dad’s old company. Reginald is the head of sanitation and he’s the one who gets sent out to clean up any unexpected events during a Scare (like any magical residue or body parts that can’t be explained away through human means). He used to want to be a Cryptid, but he’s got a heart condition that prevents him from working in the field. He says that he’s happy being the “janitor” and happier being with me 😊

Reginald and I got engaged after only eight months of dating. Dad always says that when you know, you know. I invited everyone in my family to an engagement party. Steve didn’t bother answering the invitation. Even though Steve and I weren’t on good terms, I was still hurt when he didn’t show.

When I confronted him about it afterwards, he said that he’d been promoted to Regional Nightmare and he was patrolling his territory, and that’s why he couldn’t come. I asked him what company he was working for, and he said he was still using the scanner.

I pointed out that he couldn’t be a Regional Nightmare without a state license since only the state can assign territories. He started going on and on about being his own “Monster” (and let me tell you, extra joints DOESN’T make you a Monster, those guys are way more committed) and that he had passed the state exam.

When I told Reginald about my brother calling himself a Regional Nightmare, he was concerned. He works closely with the legal department, and he said that Steve is opening himself up to lawsuits by declaring public slashing grounds as his “territory.” He offered to talk to Steve.

We went over to Mom and Dad’s house together to confront him. Dad didn’t know he was calling himself a Regional Nightmare and he went pale when I told them why we were there. Reginald explained to Steve and Mom that being certified was different than being licensed. Legally, Steve is a Slasher even if he can control shadows now (which is a VERY expensive talent to acquire if you aren’t born with it. I think Mom may have paid for it).

The conversation didn’t go well. Steve said a lot of nasty things about Reginald not hacking it as Slasher and claimed he was just jealous. He picked on Reginald’s health which I had me seeing red. I asked Steve what there was to be jealous of since he still mooches off of our parents? Mom got involved and it went downhill from there.

All this to say that I didn’t expect Steve to show up at my gender reveal party less than 5 months later.

Reginald and I weren’t planning on kids this early, but we knew it was meant to be as soon as I got that pregnancy test back. We decided to put off our wedding so that our baby can be part of the ceremony that makes us a family. That being said, I did still have a lot of things ordered for the wedding so I turned the day into a baby shower/gender reveal instead.

That brings us to the party my lovely brother wrote about. First of all, he wasn’t invited by me. Mom invited him, and when I found out, I wasn’t happy with her, considering he never apologized to Reginald after our last fight.

Reginald was stuck at work (some idiot brought together a whole summer camp of final girls and the aftermath was brutal) so I had to force myself to be a good hostess. It was mostly fine. We have good friends and my older brother was very kind in helping me with some of the baby games we were planning to play when Reginald finally got there.

Steve, however, was NOT helpful.

He was annoying the whole time. He messed with the kitchen and he hounded the guests. I’m PREGNANT and the smell of raw meat triggers my gag reflex. He took the meat off the heat without me noticing and basically prevented me from eating lunch with everyone else.

Additionally, Steve claimed in his post that the party was dying??? Reginald and Dad have a lot of friends in common so the party did NOT die. They were all interested in talking to Dad. Dad’s voice is very quiet and raspy from strain over the years, so everyone was being quiet to hear him better. Steve was the one practically screaming over him to talk about his scummy job. The new Hook Man who succeeded Dad was there and Steve basically treated the poor man like a novice even though he’s a Cryptid.

Reginald finally got home and I could tell he was exhausted when I met him at the door. He still put on a smile for me though and said he didn’t need to miss out even when I told him it would be okay. He wanted to be there in our big moment to celebrate our family. He went upstairs to change.

I went back to the guests to tell them that we would start the games soon. That’s when I heard Reginald scream and fall down the stairs.

I’ll never forget the look on Reginald’s face. He was lying at the base of the stairs and looked like he was dying. He was gasping for breath and clutching at his chest. I was terrified his heart was giving up. I asked Hook Man to call an ambulance.

That’s when Steve started laughing.

I lost it. I screamed at Steve to get out. He told me to calm down, he’d just scared Reginald a little bit as a joke. I told him he knew about Reginald’s heart condition and that it was incredibly disrespectful to scare my fiancé in our own house.

He said he didn’t mean to scare him that bad, but that he was just better at it than he thought. His scares were too powerful. He seemed smug and was still laughing.

I accused him of intentionally hurting Reginald because of the licensing versus certification argument we had. I said he was a bully and an idiot.

Mom jumped in and said it was an accident.

Dad FINALLY said something. He shadow-walked (the first time in YEARS) up the stairs and hooked Steve by the neck. He dragged all twelve feet of him down the stairs and told him to get out.

Steve said, “For what? It’s not my fault that weak-hearted son of a bitch can’t take a joke.”

Dad lost it. He told Steve a REAL scarer wouldn’t use their abilities like that on their own families. He told Mom and Steve it didn’t matter if he meant it as a joke. The fact is he used his scare tactics on a layperson, and he could get blacklisted from the profession for it.

Dad kicked Steve out and told him he wasn’t welcome back into the basement until he got a REAL job. Steve kept arguing, but the paramedics arrived then and I lost track of the rest of it.

I went with Reginald to the hospital where Reginald insisted we both get checked out. The stress wasn’t good for the baby and doctor told me it might be best to go on maternity leave sooner rather than later. Reginald is also going to be taking a leave from work. He had a heart attack because of my brother.

Things could have ended worse, but they didn’t end well. I told my parents that I refuse to have Steve at my wedding or even to see my child after they’re born (and now I STILL don’t know the gender! Only our older brother knows since he got the gender reveal cake).

Mom started to protest, but Dad said he understood. He said that both he and Mom just wanted me to be happy and healthy and that they would take care of Steve.

So now I leave it up to you. Having read both of our posts, who do you think is the real asshole? My brother for being “proud” of scaring my fiancé into a heart attack at our baby’s gender reveal party? Or me for never talking to said brother again for the health of my future family?

AITA?

----

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See you next week!

This week's story is based on this (x) prompt from Writing-prompt-s:

You are a person who covers your counter space in clutter and inadvertently makes a shrine to a long forgotten god who shows up to thank you.

#my writing #reddit parody #aita reddit parody

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