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huffle-dork · 7 months ago

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Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 21: The Rift

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| The Rift ARG

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The car stopped briefly at a pharmacy, with Stacy rushing in and returning with a bagful of medicines. She gives it to Xio to hold and then continues driving down the street, going perhaps a bit faster than the speed limit. Until, finally, the car reaches an intersection, and-- "There!" Xio points down the left street. "I hear footsteps that way. Three of them. That could be them."

Stacy nods and turns. Chase presses his face to the window, staring anxiously for his twin.

Jackieboy also tries to look, looking for Bro's signature jacket. Or, a flash of anything familiar.

Three men walk down the street, one in a red jumpsuit leaning on one in an orange jacket. The last one raises a hand, looking towards the car.

"There!" Chase gasps.

"I see them," Stacy says, pulling to the side of the road.

As soon as she stops--maybe even before she stops--Chase opens the door and tumbles out. "Jackie!" he shouts. "Jackie!"

Jackieboy hurries to get out and follows after Chase, grabbing his backpack and the medicine. He slows down as he sees the shape other Jackie's in, "woah holy shit man... A-Alt did all of that...?"

"I mean... me flailing around probably... probably didn't help," Jackie mumbles.

"W-we have to clean the wounds," Chase stammers. "We gotta roll up your sleeve and pants, m-maybe even take them off, is that okay, J?"

"Make sure no one's in sight, C, and it'll be fine."

"Heh..." Chase glances around. They're in a business district, but no one is in sight, all inside at work. "Hope we can do that."

Henrik, Stacy, and Xio all get out of the car. "Here, this was the best we could find," Henrik says, holding out a bottle of water.

Bro helps to set Jackie down against a wall of a building and kneels down next to him.

Jackieboy takes the water from Henrik and nods, going to try to pull up Jackie's sleeve and pants leg to try to clean out the wound. He digs around in his first aid kit and finds some hydrogen peroxide. "Okay sorry this is gonna sting but- can't let it get infected."

"It's okay, I-I can handle it," Jackie says, gritting his teeth.

Jackieboy then carefully pours some over the wounds and lets the peroxide do its work. But, he talks and works like a doting father- making sure to be gentle and not too harsh. "...we're also gonna ignore how weird it is I'm giving first aid to a version of myself-"

Jackie laughs. "Fucking hell, yeah, this is fucking absurd."

"You're doing great, though," Chase says. Jackie is holding tight to his hand, giving away just how much it hurts.

"Here, antibiotic cream," Stacy says, offering a jar of the stuff. "Internet says you're supposed to apply it to animal bites. Obviously not directly on it, but... h-heh." She smiles nervously.

Jackieboy laughs and then blinks up at Stacy. He smiles and takes it gratefully. "Thanks Stacy." He makes quick work of putting on the cream and bandaging up the wounds, making sure the guaze is nice and tight. "These should probably still get checked by a professional but... I think you'll be okay. I don't think anything was big enough to need stitches either so... thank god." He starts putting stuff away back in his backpack and offers Jackie the rest of the water bottle. "Make sure to hydrate- oh and I think i have some pain pills too.. ah ha!" He hands Jackie a few. "There- that'll really help."

Jackie sighs. "Th-thank you," he says. He pops the pills in his mouth and swallows them dry. "I'm already feeling better."

"Man... you really did come prepared." Bro comments.

Jackieboy gives him a knowing smirk. "Never dismiss a father's wisdom, Chase~"

"Yeah, never dismiss a father's wisdom, Chase," Chase adds jokingly. "Good to meet you by the way."

Bro laughs, "Good to meet ya too."

"I was the one who kept the first aid kit in the bathroom stocked, wasn't I?" Stacy says teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah." Chase mutters. He looks over at Magician. "...so. Hi."

"Hello, Violet," Magician says. "Good to see you." He nods at Henrik. "You too, Dr. Wiley."

Henrik lets out a snort of laughter.

Bro gestures at Chase's hair, "I gotta know... why purple? Never really thought it was our color." He tries to joke.

"I was considering green or yellow at first, but I dunno." Chase shrugs. "Seemed too... bright, I guess? At the time. I guess I was nervous about standing out too much."

"C'mon, C, you gotta embrace it," Jackie says, testing out their leg and arm. "Man, the suit got all torn up. D'you know how hard it is to repair this when you're living in hiding?"

Jackieboy tilts his head at Magician, studying his face. Or what he can see around the mask. The mannerisms sure are similar. "...You got a lot of nicknames, huh?"

Magician flashes a smile. "I have difficulties with names that aren't as magnificent as mine."

Jackie snorts and rolls his eyes. "God. You were being so nice."

Jackieboy's expression falls and becomes something a bit more guarded. "Huh... is that so."

Magician's smile falls into something unreadable.

Bro feels the tension from Jackie's response and he hops to his feet. "Okay! Now that Jackie is taken care of- we should probably get back to looking for Alt, right? Alt and Mag and... JJ- right?"

"We should," Stacy says. "It'll be a tight fit in the car, but we should stick together."

"Do you guys have some way of finding Alt?" Chase asks. "You guys keep talking about magic and stuff, right?"

"Hmm." Magician reaches into his pocket and pulls out a white phone-shaped device. "Maybe this could help? Alt gave it to me."

"Oh yeah! We have the bracelets!" Jackie says, his mood shifting back as he pulls up his sleeve to show it. "This has a tracker to find our other bracelets-" Jackie cuts himself off and him and Bro both look at Magician. Then, Bro's eyes darken.

"I-Isn't that the TRVLR?" Jackie gasps.

Bro immediately lashes out and grabs it and then pushes Magician up against the wall, baring his teeth. "Alt wouldn't have given that to you! He doesn't let it leave his fucking side- he would never leave it with a stranger- you're a fucking liar!"

Jackie--the one from this world--puts his head in his hands. "Jesus fucking christ, dude. Can you not be a kleptomaniac for five minutes?!"

"I--" Magician stalls. "H-he dropped it."

Jackie hits his forehead. "Can you not be a compulsive liar for FIVE MINUTES?!"

"That Magnificent guy was trying to steal it so I got it first," Magician says.

Chase leans over and punches his arm. "Bruh." He looks at Bro and Jackieboy. "Don't take it personally," he says tiredly. "He read my journal once. This is just who he is."

"I'm..." Magician opens and closes his mouth wordlessly.

"Yes?" Stacy folds her arms, giving Magician her bests Mom Look. "Are you trying to say you're sorry?"

"...that."

"Well go on, then. Apologize to our visitors."

Magician is silent for an awkwardly long time. "Um, apparently that device says our world is under quarantine, so I think you guys should get out as soon as possible. Let's use that magic stuff to find Alt, yes?"

Bro looks enraged, blue flashing brightly in his eyes. He hasn't let Magician go. "I fucking trusted you! How do I even know you telling me Alt was in danger wasn't a lie too?! Did you have something to do with him being captured?! Why else would you steal from him and then lie about it?!"

Jackieboy tries to push over to pull at Bro's shoulder and calm him down. "H-He said he was sorry, Chase. Let's try to hear him-"

"No! I don't like how casual you all are making this- he stole from Alt and lied to me about it! Plus- the TRVLR is our only way back home! You stole our only way out of this and for what?! I know Alt would have told you it was important!" Bro snarls.

Magician flinches, wordlessly trying to pull away from Bro's grip. "I-I-I--I--I d-d-didn't know--I--" He's visibly trembling as Bro yells. "D-don't--D-don't--I-I'll just go, I'll just go, just--just let me go--"

"Um... Bro?" Jackie gets to his feet. "Maybe you can... calm down a little? I've never... seen him freak out like this..."

Xio, quiet all this time, walks over to Bro and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Back off," she says in a firm voice. "I can handle this."

Bro is stiff and quiet for a long beat, staring down hard at Magician even as he trembles. Then, he slowly lets him go and backs up, but his expression stays just as cold and angry.

As soon as Bro is far enough away Xio swoops in. "We're going to go down this alley over here, okay?" she says in a gentle voice. "We're going to talk for a little, okay, 25?"

Magician nods wordlessly.

"Okay. Come on, follow me."

Xio walks into the nearest alleyway and Magician follows close behind her. They're out of earshot for most people... but not Bro with his super hearing.

While Jackie mutters something about how that was weird and Stacy apologizes profusely, Bro listens in on their conversation.

"You can't keep doing this, man. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"I-I know, I know, I-I don't know how to—I just—"

"Deep breaths, 25. He wasn't going to hurt you. He's a good guy."

"I-I don't—A-are you sure? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. They said he was a hero. Deep breaths, man."

Moments pass, filled with shaking, wet breaths.

"Why'd you grab it?"

"Th-they scared me. They got in my house. A-and that one had my face, he had my face, Xi, i-it wasn't right, it—A-and he knew my name, I don't—Th-they weren't supposed to find me, no one was supposed to—"

"Breathe, 25. Okay, you were scared. Why'd you grab the thing, then? How are they related?"

"I—It was all I could think to do a-at the time. Maybe—m-maybe if I had th-their thing I could—I-I don't know. Th-they were in my house. H-he tr-tried to do something to me."

"Why didn't you tell them about this? Why'd you lie?"

"I-I-I didn't want them to—t-t-to—Th-they'd be mad."

"Lying made them more mad, you know."

"I can't stop, Xi, I-I want to—I c-can't—"

"You know you need to say sorry. For real. Not that indirect thing you did just now."

More shaking breathing.

"They're still gonna be mad, but I promise it'll make them less mad. I can be right behind you if you want. Even hold your hand."

"N-not now. I-I need a minute."

"It's okay." Xio's voice, as it had been this entire time, was incredibly soft and understanding. "We can stay here for a minute."

Bro’s face starts to fall a bit as he listens. Man… he sounded terrified. And he knows he’s done bad stuff when he’s scared or angry. Just like now… he leans up against the wall and crosses his arms, trying to hide how bad he feels. He wasn’t going to hurt him… but he was tempted. Because… he saw what happened to Alt… but maybe even that was a lie. He studies the TRVLR in his hand and feels sick. Alt always had this on him and… he was gone. Trapped with Mag and this world’s Anti… who he still didn’t know much about but.. the track record wasn’t looking good. And this quarantine thing has him sick to his stomach… could it be as bad as that horror world? Or… worse?

Jackieboy comes to lean next to Bro. He’s quiet for a second before saying, “…I know you’re worried, but Alt wouldn’t want you to hurt anyone unnecessarily, dude.”

“…I wasn’t gonna hurt him.” Bro says quietly.

“Bro you looked ready to punch his lights out.” Jackieboy deadpans. He then sighs when Bro continues to be quiet. “…not everyone is so black and white, Chase. I know it’s easy to think that… being a hero. But- I dunno. Doesn’t he remind you a bit of Alt- when we first met him?”

Bro traces the edges of the TRVLR with his fingers. “…I guess. He did… lie and steal a lot too.”

“Alt did a bunch of crazy stuff because Mag was going after him… these guys are on the run from those crazy Psyode dudes. I think… it’s similar types of thinking. Maybe based on fear.”

“Maybe.” Bro says, glancing at the alley.

Jackieboy leans his head back to look at the sky. “…I’m not saying you can’t be mad or worried. This is… not fun to learn about. But… try to see their side too. And believe me it’s… hard.” Jackieboy looks back down and curls his fingers into his jacket as he hugs his arms, “right now… looking at him? All I can see is… is Mag. How I knew him back then but also… mixed with how he is now. And it makes me want to… distrust him. But that’s not fair. He’s a whole different person. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.”

Bro is quiet again but he sighs and nods a bit.

A few moments pass in awkward silence—silent for everyone else, Bro can still hear that heavy breathing slowly calming down—and then Magician and Xio return.

Bro stands up straighter as Magician returns.

Magician is keeping his hands behind his back, and Xio is standing slightly behind him, one hand out of sight.

“I—I-I-I’m s-sorry,” Magician stammers, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. “F-for taking your th-thing a-and not telling. I-I wasn’t thinking s-straight b-but I should’ve r-realized.” He tenses slightly, bracing himself.

Chase and Jackie stare at Magician in shock. Stacy and Henrik are a bit less shocked but they’re still surprised.

Bro stares at him with a neutral expression before he sighs. “…it’s… it is what it is. We can move past it. I’m just glad we have it back now. …thank you for apologizing.”

Jackieboy pats Bro on the shoulder.

Magician visibly relaxes. “Y-yeah. No problem.”

“What are you two, some sort of miracle workers?” Jackie mutters, looking back and forth between Bro and Xio. “I’ve never heard him say sorry.”

“A-are you still going to stay here with us?” Henrik asks. “While we look for Alt?”

Suddenly, like a flip had switched, Magician stands up straight and flashes the gang a smile. “Why of course I am! I wouldn’t want to deprive you of my amazingness. Not to mention my great power will come in handy.”

Jackie sighs. “And there it is. Whatever.”

Xio rolls her eyes. Jackieboy and Bro each hear her voice, sounding like it’s whispering right into their ears. “He’s overcompensating, don’t take this seriously.”

Bro huffs out a breath of a laugh.

“So… you were saying about your magic bracelets?” Chase asks.

Jackieboy smirks slightly then holds up his bracelet again. “We can use this to find him! Can't believe we keep forgetting about that-“ He taps the gem on it and whispers ‘loonu’- and then a trail of blue green wisps of magic start to pop up- but they pop and flicker before they flicker purple.

Jackieboy and Bro blink and then exchange glances.

“…Magnificent’s hold on Alt must be influencing the magic…” Bro says darkly.

“Well- now I can’t really tell if he’s close or not-! But at least we have a trail…” Jackieboy sighs.

“You know, the trail doesn’t seem to go that far,” Stacy says, peering down the street. “I think it ends on the corner up there, actually. Is that norm—”

And then, all at once, the street lamps and lights from the businesses go out. A blackout rolls down the street, leaving only that glowing purple trail.

“…that’s not good.” Jackieboy squeaks.

“Everyone, try to huddle! It could be an ambush-!” Bro warns, trying to grab people he can feel in the dark and push them behind him.

Laughter echoes down the street. “Foooound yoooou,” a voice calls, seeming to come from all their phones.

“Get in the car, get in the car,” Stacy hisses, opening up the door.

“No! I know this,” Jackie says. “This is Anti—he was with them before, meaning Alt could be nearby.”

Indeed, the purple trail is quickly growing shorter.

“You are hurt, you get in the car for safety!” Henrik says, pushing Jackie through the door Stacy opened.

Magician reaches into his utility belt and starts taking things out. “They’re coming,” he mutters.

Bro grits his teeth, his eyes glowing blue. Jackieboy fumbles to find Alt’s pocket knife again.

The trail gets shorter- and shorter… then, the swaps recognize a familiar laugh and a snap of fingers.

There’s the flash of an animal’s eyes reflecting the purple light of the spell before a dark blur of some kind of big cat roars and tries to tackle Magician.

Magician shrieks, and suddenly an invisible force pushes the cat to the side, missing him entirely. “Holy shit! You weren’t kidding!”

“Yeah, no, I wasn’t!” Jackie shouts.

“Fuckin’ hell!” Magician throws something into the air, then lights it on fire with a lighter. It’s some sort of burning powder that he moves around with his powers, lighting up the area and forming a defensive circle around himself. “Nice kitty!”

“Not a kitty!” Chase shouts. “That’s—that’s Alt, isn’t it?!”

In the light of the powder, they can see the crouched form of a white tiger with burning purple green slitted eyes, glitches vibrating off its fur.

Bro and Jackieboy both gasp.

“Y-Yeah that’s Alt!” Bro looks even angrier as he roars and looks around, “Where is that motherfucker?! I’m gonna kill him for this!!”

Magnificent voices chuckles from the shadows. “Temper temper, fantastic… don’t worry. We won’t be long~ we just need something that’s been stolen from us~!”

Xio suddenly gasps. “Footsteps! There!” She points to the left, and suddenly someone lunges from the darkness, going right for Bro.

While he’s looking Bro hears Xio’s warning and manages to grab the person lunging for him.

Bro pulls into the light a man in a suit with a dark mustache. He gives Bro a sad, almost apologetic smile. Then Jameson’s body jerks in his hold, head shooting forward to hit Bro in the face.

Alt growls and glitches, trying to get back by Magician and attack him again.

Magician spins around, pushing Alt back again with his powers. “Where the hell are you, you coward?!” Magician shouts, looking around for Magnificent. “Xio,” he hisses. “Listen for him.”

She nods, paying close attention to the surrounding sounds.

Magnificent laughs, his voice echoing from different places around the alley. "I'm not a coward, kitten~ I'm a strategist! Why bloody my hands when my cub can do it for me?"

Bro balks but when Jameson hits him he doesn't really react. He blinks and then he backs up and hovers in the air a bit. "Hey... you're Jameson, huh? You don't need to fight for Anti- we don't have to do this!"

Jameson stumbles. He shakes his head. It's not my choice, he signs. Sorr-- His hands jerk away halfway through signing his apology, towards his pocket. He takes out a knife and lunges at Bro again.

Alt shakes his head out and then lunges again to try to bite Magician.

Magician holds his hands up and pushes Alt back, skidding out into the street. "Maybe because your cat can't do it?!" he shouts. "Are you afraid, you freak?! Compensating for something?! Maybe hiding how powerless you really are?!"

Alt tries to stop his movements by digging his claws into the ground. He growls more, his eyes blaring green as electricity crackles around him.

Xio frowns. "I-it's hard to tell where he is," she whispers. "He's causing distractions."

Stacy fumbles with her phone and tries to shine its flashlight around the area, but the light suddenly dies. Its screen is overcome by static and then turns off. How is it even darker than before?

Bro catches Jameson’s hand and throws him back, "Ah... so he's making you too?" He glares around at the darkness around them. "where's that bitch? Is he too scared to fight too?!"

"Y-you can't fight Anti!" Henrik shouts. "He is not a physical being! An EDC--Extra-Dimensional Consciousness--"

"A what?!" Bro shouts.

"Such a special name for me," A voice says from all their phones. "But if you want to fight, Bro, fight this."

Anti makes Jameson jerk backwards. A ball of electricity forms on the ground where he'd been standing, shooting out random arcs of lightning towards Bro.

Then, Bro sees the ball of lightning and he gasps in surprise and gets thrown back by the arcs. He grits his teeth then gets up, "I-I'm not fighting someone who doesn't even want to fight! This is wrong!"

“Oh… won’t you?” Anti’s voice says.

Suddenly, Jackieboy finds his legs bringing him forward against his will.

"No! I won't!" Bro argues. Jackieboy cries out as he's forced up and towards Bro. He looks completely freaked out, "U-Um??? W-What the fuck?!" He looks at Bro fearfully, "C-Chase I... I can't c-control my body..!"

Bro's eyes widen, "No... No you- you sick son of a bitch!" He tries to yell towards Anti.

“I’ve heard worse,” Anti says casually, as he makes Jackieboy pull out Alt’s knife and lunge forward.

Magnificent laughs some more and then appears behind Magician, curling his claws under his neck. "I was trying to spare you, kitten. But, fine. I can play~!" He tries to stab him with his claws.

Magician gasps. "H-how did you--AUGH!"

JJ's head snaps towards the sound. He starts running forward before suddenly stopping, Anti holding him in place.

"25!" Xio shouts, lunging forward.

Magician breathes through the pain. The ring of firey powder surrounding them suddenly snaps smaller as the powder rushes for Mag,

Magnificent laughs darkly and curls his claws into Magician's stomach. "Oh- such a lovely scream~ Now... tell me thief. Where is the TRVLR?" Mag sees the powder coming and he rolls his eyes and uses a burst of magic to push back the powder before it gets to them.

Magician takes a shaky breath. “I-I left it at home,” he lies. “I can bring you back there—Xi, no! H-he’s gonna—”

But she doesn’t listen. The air lets out an earsplitting shriek all around Magnificent and she tries to tackle him from behind.

"You're a liar- do you really think I'll bel-" Mag screeches out in surprise as he's tackled to the ground. He growls and tries to claws at Xio, "Get off me! This doesn't concern you!"

As soon as Mag lets go, Magician whirls around, grabbing Xio with his powers and pulling her away before Mag can claw her face off. “Don’t you touch her!” he screams. “Don’t you fucking dare you pathetic piece of shit!”

Magician reaches a hand out and Magnificent suddenly feels a squeezing pressure around his throat, steadily getting tighter.

"Ohhh did I touch a ner-!" Magnificent tries to taunt and then chokes, going to try to claws at whatever is crushing his throat.

But of course, there's nothing there. Magician growls. "You don't get to talk about that! No one cares about you! No one would miss you! And it's all your fault, and you know that! Even I have a couple! You have nobody!"

Magnificent glares angrily at Magician and bares his fangs. But, he can't breathe so the intimidation is kinda ruined.

Suddenly, Jameson finds himself free again, and he's able to move as he wants. He immediately rushes forward, in front of Magician, blocking his line of sight. Don't do this, M-love! he signs. You're not that type of person!

Magician gasps, stumbling backwards. "JJ...?"

The pressure on Magnificent's throat suddenly disappears as he loses concentration.

Magnificent falls to his knees as the pressure is dropped and he coughs and gasps on the ground.

Magician stares at JJ in shock for a moment, then suddenly rushes forward and wraps his arms around him. "I'm not letting you go this time," he says, a sob catching on his words. "I'm not letting him take you again. I-I'll drag you out of here if I have to."

Chase wants to do something useful but he’s not sure what he’s capable of doing. Still, he has to help! So he ends up doing something insane: running right up to the tiger. “Alt, I don’t know if you can understand me!” He gasps. “But we need you! Please! Y-your friends are in danger!”

“CHASE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” Jackie shouts.

Alt backs up as Chase approaches him. His eyes flicker slightly- seeing a familiar face... even if its very different from his brother's. His ears flatten back and he bares his teeth at Chase, crouching down low.

“Ch-Chase no!” Jackie gasps, rushing over.

“Jackie!” Henrik shouts, rushing after him.

“Guys, no, don’t scare him!” Chase holds his arms out, pushing them back before they can grab him.

“Alt, please! W-we’re friendly! L-look, your—your friends are fighting. They don’t want to, someone is making them. Th-they need your help.” He gestures with his head back towards Bro and Jackieboy.

Jackieboy gasps in surprise and then yelps as he's forced to slash at Bro.

Bro isn't expecting Jackieboy to be that fast and he gets cut across the cheek.

"S-Sorry!" Jackieboy calls out and Bro just brushes the blood off his cheek and narrows his eyes. "C-Chase you can knock me out if you need to," Jackieboy urges. "I-I don't want to hurt you...!"

"I'm not gonna let him win by hurting you Jackie," Bro says softly.

"That's unfortunate then, isn't it?" Anti says, and Jackie lunges forward again.

Alt stiffens as the others come and crouches down lower- scared for a second before he growls more and snaps his teeth at them. But, he blinks a bit more at Chase's words. He glances at Jackieboy and Bro fighting and some light comes into his eyes.

"Y-yes, exactly, Alt!" Chase nods encouragingly. "Y-you know them. You don't want them to get hurt, do you?"

Jackie stares at Alt warily, but still says, "Alt, please. We need you right now."

Bro quickly side steps Jackieboy who rushes past him. There's terrified tears in his eyes as he forced to turn back around and face Bro. His hand trembles on the knife. "I-I can't fight it Chase...!"

"It's okay... It's gonna be okay," Bro tries to assure him.

Magic builds up around Alt as he backs up and his ears lower again, looking more scared. Then, he closes his eyes and glitches build up around him until he bursts back into his human form. He falls to the ground and is shaking wildly. He looks at his hands like he's having trouble recognizing them before looking up at the others. He looks so tired. "I...I... I-I don't know how to h-help..! I.. I don't think I can influence w-whatever Anti is using to control them...!"

"W-well, i-it'd be helpful if we didn't have to worry about multiple threats," Chase laughs darkly. "I-if we can get Mag under control, w-we can get away from Anti's influence. I-I don't think us normal people can fight him, though--"

"Don't put yourself down like that, Chase," Henrik mutters.

"Th-the point is the same! Anything you can do would be helpful, Alt! Anything!"

"I...I d-don't have a lot of m-magic left," Alt says quietly, "a-and I..." He grunts as purple flashes in his eyes and grips at his head.

Behind them, Mag is staggering back up, looking enraged. "Who said you could break your strings, puppet?!" Magnificent snarls.

Bro hears Alt's voice and looks towards him, momentarily looking relieved, "Alt!"

Anti takes advantage of Bro's distraction to send Jackieboy at him once again.

Magician's head snaps back over to Magnificent. "You shut up! Shut the fuck up!" There's a flash of metal, and Magician's razor sharp cards fly through the air towards Mag.

At the same time, another one of those sharp shrieking sounds rings out, conjured by Xio, and accompanied by a loud sound like ten different buzzers going off at the same time as she tries to distract Mag from his control over Alt.

Jackie grabs Alt by the arms, shaking him slightly. "Th-then tell us what we can do to help! W-we want to help!"

Jackieboy cries out as he's forced to attack again. And Bro is too distracted so Jackieboy ends up pinning him against the wall, stabbing the knife near his collarbone- just barely missing his chest. Jackieboy is shaking so much as he sobs, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Bro grits his teeth in pain but shakes his head, "i-it's fine Jackie- i-it's fine-"

Alt sees this and cries out in panic through the static, "No!"

Magnificent is about ready to drown out his resistance when the sounds go off and he cries out, covering his ears. He can't even dodge as the cards stab into him over and over. He staggers back then falls.

Jackie grabs Alt and more blue comes back into his eyes. He's shaking but he looks a bit more aware. "I... I need- I need something I-I can take the electricity from...! P-Phones or... a-a computer or something...! M-Maybe I can get enough magic to counteract what A-Anti is doing...!"

"Phones!" Stacy, hiding back by the car, suddenly rushes forward.

Chase digs into his pocket and pulls out Jackie's phone, and they both hand it to Alt. "We can live without these for a short time. Please!"

Alt looks surprised but he nods in determination and holds them in his hands. He grips his hands tight around them and starts to siphon the electricity and pull it into his own magic. It's sharp and hot and unnatural feeling in his veins- which glow green with his effort as he tries to take it all in. He grits his teeth as the flickers of lightning course around him.

Then, he bursts open his eyes and they're glowing brightly. He looks to Chase and Stacy and smiles, nodding to them and handing the now dead phones back. "T-Thank you..." He then gets to his feet and then glitches to try to grab Jackieboy off of Bro.

Jackieboy yells in surprise and is then tackled to the ground in a flurry of electricity and glitches. "A-Alt!" he gasps.

Alt smiles tightly and then looks down at him. Anti said people are mostly electricity... which he knows. That's how he can possess people but... can he be like Anti here and take control of Jackie's nerves to get him out? ...there's only one way to see. He grabs Jackie's wrist that has the knife and closes his eyes, trying to see if he can channel his magic to help.

Anti's laugh comes from Jackie's phone. "Oh? What are you trying to do, Alt? Do you think you can defeat me?"

And then, through Jackie's own mouth, he says, "You don't understand what you're dealing with."

Alt shudders and looks into his friend’s eyes- which still look scared despite the demon stealing his voice. And that keeps Alt determined.

Alt can feel it. The foreign entity in Jackie's system. A parasite latched onto his nerves. His magic pushes against it.

Static bursts from all the remaining phones. "What are you doing?" Anti's voice asks, a tinge of panic to it. "How are you doing that?"

“I hate to admit it… but I’m like you-! So if you can did this… then I can reverse it…!” Alt shouts, pushing even more magic against the parasite inside.

"You're nothing like me!" Anti shouts. "No--no! Stop it!" The power Alt is pouring into Jackie's system is drowning it all out. "Why can't I control your power?! It's energy! It's all energy!"

But Alt's is different.

"It's more than that! It's magic!" Alt laughs with confidence.

He keeps pushing, more-- And then-- It's gone.

Anti is gone.

Then, Jackie slumps and pants heavily, the horrible feeling gone.

Alt pants too and lets go of Jackie's arm, shuddering and going to sit down fully on the ground.

Silence.

The blackout around the area ends as every single light turns back on. Everyone looks around.

“Is… is it over?” Henrik asks.

“For now, I think,” Jackie says. “Other me, are you okay?!”

Jackieboy slowly nods through gasping breaths, "Y-Yeah I'm... t-that was awful..." He breathes, shaking wildly.

Alt gently helps him sit up against the wall and then takes stock of himself. Then, he suddenly panics, glitching over next to Bro. "Chase! Chase are you okay?!"

Bro laughs and smiles tightly at Alt, "Y-Yeah yeah I'm fine! It stings like a bitch but I'm okay- you really thought this would keep me down?" He tries to joke.

Alt smiles tightly back and snorts out a laugh.

“What about this guy?” Magician glares at Magnificent, still holding tight to JJ. And JJ clings to him too, though he looks around cautiously, not quite believing that this is all over.

Both Alt and Bro stiffen as Magician mentions Mag.

Magnificent is trying to push himself up, despite the cards imbedded in him. "N-No! We just needed the...!"

"Oh- you mean this, Mag?" Bro smirks as he holds up the TRVLR. Then he glares at Mag as the villain stares at him dumbfounded.

"You lost, Mag. And I'm gonna fucking kill you for making Alt be that fucking tiger agai-!" He starts to shout, blue blazing in his eyes but Alt grabs him and holds him back. "C-Chase it's okay it-"

"No it's not okay! Don't tell me it's okay, Alt!"

Alt looks down and tries to hide how freaked out he still is as his trembling hands hold onto Bro's jacket. " 'm fine..." He whispers shakily.

Chase looks at Alt. "You're clearly not fine, dude," he says in a gentle voice. "It's okay. You can just... take a moment." He glances over at Magnificent. "I don't think that guy's going anywhere with all those stab wounds."

Alt tries to protest but Bro just pulls him into a hug. Alt stiffens and then falls against him, silently letting himself cry.

"I can hold him," Magician says, gritting his teeth. An invisible force pushes in against Magnificent, holding him still.

Magnificent cries out as he's kept down and bares his teeth ferally at Magician.

"25, what about your headaches?" Xio asks.

"This is more important. They haven't started yet." Magician bares his teeth right back at Magnificent.

JJ looks over at Alt. We can look away if you want, he offers. Or we can stay. Whatever you need. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Alt looks up at JJ and shakes his head. "...I don't mind... I... I think..." He meets JJ's eyes and whispers. "Don't say sorry... it wasn't your fault."

JJ shakes his head. I know... but I still feel bad about it.

Jackieboy soon comes over and Bro pulls him into a hug too, pressing his friends’ heads to his shoulders and holding them tight.

While the other-world guys have their moment, Jameson looks over at Henrik. I'm sorry for what happened to you and that girl, too.

Henrik shakes his head. "It is fine. We understand now that you, and all those other people too, were not doing it by your own will. You did everything you could."

"Can you... Is Anti really gone?" Chase wonders. "Did he abandon you, uh, Jameson?"

He may be back for me, JJ says. If he comes back, I have to go with him.

"What?! No!" Magician's head snaps over to him. "I'm not letting that happen, JJ! Please, I-I can't--If you were to--"

"Why?" Jackie asks. "Because he'll control you?"

...maybe, JJ says slowly. But also... he is able to hurt people. I couldn't... let him...

"So it's better that you get hurt?" Chase asks quietly.

JJ looks at Magician. I'd rather it be me than you... who he said he would target.

"...oh," Magician breathes. "W-well, I'd rather get hurt than lose you again."

I knew you'd say that, JJ says with a faint, dark smile. Which is why I couldn't let it happen.

“Why not just… try your best to stick together?” Bro asks, looking at jj and Marvin. “It seems you both want to keep each other safe so… do that. You can’t do that very well if one of you just- lets himself be taken. Self sacrifice hurts everyone in the end.”

“That’s really something coming from you, Chase.” Alt weakly giggles.

Bro goes to place his chin on Alt’s head, “…it’s a lesson I’m starting to learn…”

Alt blinks a bit and then remembers the last world. His stomach churns with guilt as he holds on tighter to Bro and hides his face.

Marvin and JJ look at each other.

"You two know what you want," Xio says. "And if it helps, we can help you hide, JJ. Our little group is very well hidden."

JJ glances at her, then back at Marvin. He nods slowly.

Marvin lets out a breath. "Thank you," he breathes. "Thank you."

"What about you guys?" Stacy gestures at the three visitors. "Do you guys... like, need anything? Somewhere to stay a-and rest?"

"As much as I'd like that for these two," Bro says, sighing. "I don't want to risk Mag breaking out or Anti coming back. You got some magic back, right Alt?"

Alt nods and wipes at his face.

Bro squeezes Jackie's side and sighs heavily. "Then... we should go. H-Hopefully this time we'll actually get home..."

"Besides, our world is under quarantine, apparently," Magician says. "So it might not be a good idea to stay here, as fascinating as this all is?"

"...quarantine?" Henrik asks, brows furrowing. "By who? Who placed the quarantine?"

Alt silently asks Bro for the TRVLR back and powers it up once he has it. He looks at the message, "Apparently IRIS- it says here that we needed to jump immediately or risk being fired. I mean- we don't work for them but... I don't know what that means."

"Maybe that... something is at risk of escaping from here...?" Jackieboy asks quietly.

"Well, yes, that is usually what quarantines are for," Henrik says. "Something you want to keep contained that is risky to people--and has the potential to spread farther."

"But... what's the thing IRIS is trying to contain then...?" Bro says with a frown. "It's not... any of you guys I don't think-"

The hair on Magnificent's neck suddenly stands up as static electricity builds up behind him. Something warm presses down on his shoulder--no, it's just the warmth, like a hand without the weight of it. And he feels something. Something that he has treated many, many people to before, but never experienced before. His power being drained from him and out into an unknown space.

"So... your magic is still energy," Anti's voice says from his phone speaker. "Don't mind if I do."

Magnificent suddenly yells out in pain as his magic is drained- leaving almost nothing behind. His eyes slightly roll up into his head as he fully crashes to the floor.

And as almost all of Magnificent's magic is drained from him, something forms behind him. The figure of a person crouched next to Magnificent on the ground. Anti's form, looking more solid than he did before. He grins. "And it can do a̶ǹy͏t̡ḩíng." Anti stands up.

JJ notices this first and lets out a strangled gasp.

Anti flings out a hand, and--suddenly--Alt lets go of the TRVLR and it falls to the ground.

The swaps all startle at Mag's scream and Alt tries to glitch to his feet- then freezes as the TRVLR falls out of his hand without his say so. "W-What...?!"

Anti laughs. His form becomes a bolt of purple and green lightning and he rushes at Alt.

Jackie reaches out to try and stop him, but even he isn't as fast as lightning.

The bolt knocks Alt, Bro, and Jackie to the side, and Anti reforms where they were standing, the TRVLR clutched in his hand and a manic grin on his face.

Alt gasps and tries to block the bolt but him, Bro and Jackie all fly in different directions as the bolt hits.

"H-how?!" Henrik gasps. "You--you have no body, how can you hold--"

"Magic, of course." Anti laughs. "Something that doesn't exist here, but something that I knew exists out there." His head tilts around, looking at all four of the swaps. "Did you think I would give up that easily?! I didn't spend nearly all my power p̡u̸l͢lìǹg̢ you off course, cor̸r͝ec͞ting you every time another world got in the way, to just QUIT like that! Not right when my goal is fin͠al̛l҉ý at my fingertips!" His grip on the TRVLR tightens. The smell of ozone fills the air.

Alt quickly tries to get to his feet, his eyes sparking with green. Then, his stomach drops at Anti's reveal. "N-No... no!"

"T-This whole time the TRVLR has been taking us random places... it was you the whole time?!" Bro gasps.

Alt yells in anger and tries to glitch over to Anti to grab the TRVLR.

But Alt isn't fast enough. Anti squeezes the TRVLR tight and--it shatters. Broken glass flies off in different directions, metal crumpling, internal parts falling to the ground.

Alt feels like he's been shot as he sees the TRVLR destroyed.

A shockwave of energy sends everyone flying backwards. Red energy races up Anti's arm, and his whole body gets stained with red and black, his white-static eyes the only thing not tinted with crimson. He laughs. "Ye͠s̀.̕.̵.͠ it͠'s ̨t̀i̧m͏e," he hisses. "T͏i̛me͏ to̕ ̡l̀èav҉e ̧th͝is ̷world̡ ͏f͝òr̀ ̛ot̛hers.̶.. a̸ńd̢ ͏şee̴ ̶h̕o͡w̧ ͞m̷any ͠I can͡ ̕de̶lete."

Black rips appear in the space around them, air rushing for them like an open airlock on a space ship, and in a ripple of static electricity, Anti is gone.

Alt groans and tries to hurry to get back up but- he's only in time to hear Anti say his final words and then disappear.

The silence afterwards is deafening- Alt falls to his knees, staring at the spot where Anti disappeared in complete, numb disbelief. He slowly stares at the bits of the TRVLR shattered around them. He then falls onto his elbows on the ground and screams.

But, There's no time to break down. Those black rips in the world are getting bigger.

Rifts, darker than the deepest reaches of outer space, a complete absence of anything.

The parts of the TRVLR skitter across the ground, sucked into a couple different rifts... and then Alt feels it. The pull, like strong wind, like gravity. Bro feels it as well, and Jackieboy, and even Magnificent--but the people from this world stay where they are, clothes caught in the wind but otherwise unmoving.

"Wh-what's happening?!" Chase gasps.

"We have to get these people out of here!" Henrik shouts.

Bro hurries over to try to pull Alt up and away as magic burns and snaps around Alt like live wires, reacting to his emotions. He tries to dig his heels into the ground below, holding Alt close to him as the glitch hyperventilates.

Jackieboy yells and tries to reach out for Bro and Bro clumsily grabs onto him.

"W-What did he do?!" Jackieboy gasps.

"I-I don't know!" Bro shouts back, trying to hold onto Alt and Jackieboy tighter.

Alt tries to cling to both of them as he panics. He stares at the black before them as feels dread so deep it makes it hard to breathe.

But, One by one, the four of them are pulled into the rifts.

Magnificent is too weak to fight the pull, weakly trying to dig claws into the ground but not finding the strength to hold on.

Jackieboy screams as he's torn away, desperately reaching out for the others.

Bro yells out after him and feels his feet leave the ground- Alt tries to glitch them back but- their connection breaks and they both fall away from each other, screaming out each others' names.

They fall through blackness, with the slightest bit of red light, and then... Well, they're not in this world anymore.

The rifts close slightly, their pull lessening, but they still hang there in midair, the fabric of space-time in tatters around them.

"A-are those guys going to be alright?" Magician whispers.

"I don't know," Jackie whispers back. In shock, the group stares at the rifts, black lines connected to nothing. Jackie shakes his head. "W-we gotta do something about this!" he shouts. "Evacuate people!"

"Fuck! Right!" Stacy gets out her phone--then remembers it's dead. "Fuck! W-we need to call someone--"

"Who the fuck are we going to call about weird holes in the air?!" Chase shouts.

"I-I hate to suggest it, but--" Xio shakes her head. "The people with the most knowledge about this... is Psyode."

"We are not calling them!" Henrik shouts.

"I'm not saying we do! I'm saying we get people out of here and cause such a fuss that they come looking!"

"I can handle that," Jackie says, pulling down his mask.

You're still hurt, JJ says.

"I know! But I think this is a bit more fucking important, isn't it?!"

JJ nods quickly, agreeing.

"E-everyone spread out," Magician says. "Do anything you can to get people out of here."

"I hope they're okay," Chase mutters. Then he shakes his head. "Go! Now! Call the police, try contacting the ghosts, do anything!"

The group runs, leaving the area.

Behind them, the rifts linger.

#SATCV #SATCV The Rift #THE BIG MOMENT #cry said they had this ending in their head for MONTHS #or weeks #a long ass time jahbk #it FLOORED me when we first did it!#ugh i cant wait to see yalls reactions :)#alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 12: The Facility

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| JSEFacility

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt lands hard on the ground. He's in front of a row of doors with numbers on them--a motel, one of the ones where the room doors open directly into the outside. It's really run-down looking, with peeling paint and stains on the ground. A cracked asphalt car lot holds only a couple cars. The sky is alight, pink and orange with either sunset or sunrise. Distant traffic noises come from somewhere. It's not clear where, as the only sign of other civilization is a road heading left and right.

Alt pushes himself up and groans, rubbing at his head. He looks around the area and cringes a bit. He recognizes a place like this… cheap motel for a quick rest on a dirty bed that probably smelt like cigarettes. He glitches to his feet and glances around the area, trying to see what else is around. He’s not eager to stay in a place like this.

Suddenly, someone leans through the nearest door. Leans through is the right way of putting it, as the door doesn't open at all and the figure passes straight through it. The figure is transparent, reminiscent of the ghost Chase they just saw, but completely monochrome instead of that strange white-tinted coloring. Even though the figure is a bit blurry and flickering, some details can be made out. The man has a thick mustache and is wearing a T-shirt over a button-up shirt.

Alt screeches in surprise and slight fear as he glitches back, away from the figure. He stares with wide eyes at him and blinks rapidly, trying to process what he’s seeing. That’s- JJ.

The monochrome man’s eyes land on Alt and he smiles in a friendly way, giving a little wave before pulling back into the room.

But then he just- disappears back into the room. Alt just kinda stares at the door- wondering if that was an… invitation or just a coincidence.

After a moment passes, the door opens a little bit, just wide enough for a person to appear in the gap. It's a guy, with brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail, wearing a baggy red hoodie and a blue bandanna around his neck. His eyes are green. And there seems to be a slight green glow coming from the room, too.

"Uh..." he says. "Where'd you come from?"

Alt glitches a bit in place and waves stiffly. “Uh- hi! I uh… kinda just… fell here. It’s a long story… sorry though, didnt mean to uh… loiter.” He blinks at the green light behind him and slightly points. “…I’m assuming you know your room is glowing-“

The man tenses a little. "Y-yeah, yeah, I know. Uh... hi. Hi. Um..." He looks back into the room for a moment, and then turns back to Alt. "My friend is saying you should come inside. So... come inside?"

Alt looks around and turn slowly nods. “Um.. alright.” He gingerly steps through the door, smiling awkwardly.

"Alright." The man steps aside.

The room beyond is small, with just a little bit of walking space in between the two beds, the night stand, and a small table. At the back are two ajar doors, one leading to a closet and one to a bathroom. The patterned wallpaper looks like it's from the 70s or earlier, and has some water stains on it.

The ghostly JJ is still there, and he waves at Alt again. Along with him and the man in the red hoodie, there are two others. A man with square glasses, wearing a blue turtleneck and a pair of gloves. And a man wearing a snapback cap and red scarf, the ends of his brown hair holding the remains of yellow-green eye. That man is holding a toy dart gun in both hands. He also has... scars all over his arms. Straight and regular. There's also one crossing his eye and one crossing his neck. Wait a minute? Where's the green glow coming from? ...Oh. It's coming from the guy in the red hoodie, who hurriedly closes the door.

Alt’s eyes widen as he takes in all the people in here. JJ, Jackie he’s guessing opened the door and… that looks like Chase. So many scars… does he have as many as Bro? Or even more?

"So," says the man in the turtleneck, fidgeting with his gloves. "Who are you, then?"

“Oh um… I’m Alt. Alt Brody? I’m a magician… from another world.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and fidgets nervously.

"Another world?" the man in the hoodie repeats. "You mean like in comic books? So that's real?"

The man in the turtleneck frowns. "Does that make sense?"

"I mean... we've seen weirder stuff," the man in the cap says slowly.

It's true, the ghostly man says. He and his friends appeared out of nowhere and they'll disappear just as suddenly.

"I trust J3 on this," the man in the hoodie says.

"It is just a bit hard to believe," the man in the turtleneck says, doubt clear in his voice. "What if this is a trick?"

"I don't think it's any harder to believe than the rest of our lives," the man in the cap mutters.

Alt looks at the man in the turtleneck. “I mean… it’s not a trick. I’m from a parallel world… one where… I’m friends with people who look a lot like all of you.”

Alt looks between everyone as they talk, getting more and more confused. “Wait… how do you know we’ll … do that?” He asks the ghostly man. Then he looks to the hoodied man, “J…3?”

"That's J3," the hoodied man points at the ghostly man.

The ghostly man waves. He reaches up to his neck, grabbing the collar of his shirt--

"J3!" The man in the cap hurriedly steps in front of him. "We can't just--"

J3 steps right through the man and shows Alt something. A tattoo on either side of his neck. A series of letters and numbers.

J3110.

And I know it will happen because I'll be there when it does, J3 says.

The man in the turtleneck sighs. "You are just confusing him more."

Alt staggers back, eyes wide as he sees J3 step through the other man and show his neck. He’s at a loss for words. It’s like… a brand. “C-Can… can you see the future…?” He asks quietly.

J3 nods. In a way. I don't exist in just one time at once. I know it's hard to understand.

"You just have to accept that he knows things sometimes," the man in the cap says.

Alt blinks a lot more at this, “…woah. That’s… insane.” He says to J3.

"You said We're friends in another world?" The hoodied man smiles and looks around at the others. "Do you guys hear that? We're all friends in another world!" His excitement is almost contagious.

Alt’s head whips to the hoodied man and he blinks almost comically at his enthusiasm. He laughs quietly. “Y-Yeah… you are. Are you… not friends now…?”

"Well, I think we are!" the man in the hoodie says. "I mean--we're sort of new to it. We didn't have that much time to get to know each other."

The man in the turtleneck chuckles. "I think we are friends, yes. Even if M is being a bitch right now."

"I'm just so happy to hear that we're still friends in other places," the hoodied man says, beaming. "We don't know an 'Alt' right now, but maybe we'll meet you someday!"

Alt can’t help but smile. “Well… that’s good to hear… I mean to be fair… I’ve only known my friends for like… a year or so? Maybe two? So… I get it.”

Alt does seem to cringe a bit at them not knowing an Alt and grips at his arm. “I mean… do you … know an Anti…?” He asks quietly.

"Anti?" the hoodied man repeats. "That's a weird name. I mean--no offense."

Alt laughs and shakes his head, “None taken. I made it up when I was like 4.”

The man in the cap blinks. "That's... what A called himself... one time."

The man in the turtleneck looks back at him. "What? When did you hear him say that, C?"

"While we were leaving. Wh-when me and J were alone with him for a while." C swallows a lump in his throat. A moment passes.

"Well that doesn't mean anything," the hoodied man says firmly. "Alt here is clearly different. He's not trying to stab us."

Alt listens to the others and sighs, “that’s what I was afraid of… my parallels in other places seem to be very… stabby. And fucked up.” He tries to process all of this and then looks up at everyone. “Wait.. do you all… just go by letters? All of you?”

"Heh. Unfortunately." C pulls away the scarf he's wearing, revealing tattoos reading C1104. "This is all we really have to go off."

The man in the hoodie removes his bandanna next. J1007.

Then, reluctantly, the man in the turtleneck pulls down his shirt, revealing H1509.

"I'm J1, by the way," says the one in the hoodie. "J is someone else."

Alt seems to pale slightly, looking at all their tattoos. “N…no way. You guys don’t… even know your names?? Just a letter? H…how? How did that happen?”

"Well if we knew that we'd be calling each other our names," C mutters.

J3 sighs. There is... a company in this world. A corporation. They like to control unusual things. Including people. But people prove hard to work with, so they remove their memories.

"J3 was only a partial success, though," H says. "Due to his... state."

But even though I know more about the world and what happened, I don't know any personal details of who I was before, J3 clarifies.

Alt looks heartbroken for them, his chest aching. Seeing versions of his friends reduced to just… letters and numbers. Things to control and… experiment with. Just like how SCLERA saw him and chase…!

He’s quiet for a couple beats before he softly says, “…I could tell you… I could tell you your names. If… if you wanna know…”

The group falls silent, their eyes going wide in shock. None of them were expecting this. Even J3 seems a little surprised.

"I... are you sure they are the same?" H asks.

“Pretty sure…” Alt says. “I’ve been… to a lot of parallel worlds. I know all your faces. Every name has been pretty much the same…”

C fidgets. "Um... s-someone called me... something once. It might... be true... So... I don't think it's fair that I might know and you guys don't."

J1 takes a step back. "Um... I-I don't... I..." He shakes his head. "We should all be here when you do that. M and J aren't here, a-and only J3's shadow is."

"And... it is strange, but... it feels like cheating," H says. "Perhaps... you can offer again, later. Perhaps things will be different then."

Alt nods but he looks… uncomfortable. It’s so strange to be around people who just… don’t even have names. “‘Course- wherever you guys want.”

Alt does knit his eyebrows together though, “Okay then… random question. If this is J3 and you’re J1 … who’s J2?”

"Oh, there's not one," J1 says. "There's just J, J1, and J3."

"They are nicknames derived from our subject identifications," H says, indicating the neck tattoos again. "There was never one starting with J2 at the facility."

"Which is weird," C says.

No, because the numbers are dates, J3 say. It just means they didn't pair up a J with someone they brought in on a 20th of a month.

"Ohhh. Still weird. But less weird."

"Ohhh okay.... that makes sense," Alt says. He looks around the room again and then asks, "...so... why are you all just- holed up in a motel room? and you said that ...M and J weren't here? Any idea where they are?"

The group exchanges uneasy glances. J3 leans against the wall, waiting for others to do the talking.

Finally, C sighs and sets the toy gun down on the night stand. “We… escaped from somewhere. A facility run by this corporation J3 mentioned. Th-they’re still looking for us, so we’re hiding from them. And running. We… needed somewhere to sleep, so…” He gestures around at the room.

"Oh..." Alt mumbles quietly. "I'm... so sorry. I... kinda know the feeling but... not as bad as you guys have it."

“J got left behind,” J1 says quietly. “He’s still back there. W-we we’re talking about going back for him. But, uh, when we brought it up…”

“M started acting like a little bitch baby and left,” H grumbles. “He took the van we were using, too. J3 went with him—which I know is confusing considering J3 is right here—” J3 waves. “—but think of him as a version from the future, and our current J3 left.”

“I mean… I don’t blame M for freaking out,” C says. “But still. Did he have to take the van?”

Alt sighs and rubs his head. "Well... it was nice meeting you all but... if you're in hiding I don't want to expose you all... I need to find my brother and my friend... and a dangerous man who's been brought with us here."

“A dangerous man…?” J1 says. “Ooo! We can help! We’re like—we can be superheroes, yknow?!”

J3 nods. I know where your friends appeared.

“Of course you do,” J1 laughs. “Where?”

With M.

“Of fucking course,” H mutters.

Alt blinks in surprise. "...that is like- super freaky. But... helpful!" He laughs. "If you guys wanna help... I'm all for it. Hey- maybe we can get you your van back."

“Love to get the van back,” C mutters. “I don’t think M knows how to drive. I think I’m the only one.”

He then turns to J1 and studies him. "You said you're... like superheroes? What can all of you do?"

“Ooo! Well I am super strong!” J1 bends over and easily lifts up the end on the bed.

“Careful, do not make too much noise,” H says.

“I’m careful!… these days.” J1 gently sets the bed down. “I can also be pretty fast but I have to build up to that speed. And I glow, obviously, and I make people less sad! And then H can heal people while touching them, and C can’t die, and you know about J3’s time thing, and M, when we find him, can do a ton of stuff, he can move stuff without touching and make things suddenly appear and disappear and heat up things—well I guess it’s just those three things when you boil down to it—”

“Jeez, J1, give him some space to talk,” C laughs.

Alt looks impressed and he laughs shaking his head. "Don't worry I'm used to that. Ch- My brother and... my friend are just like that. But, awesome! That'll all be really helpful. The dangerous man- his name is Magnificent... he's a dark magician from my world that is constantly looking for power and he doesn't care who he hurts to get it. Though hm... I dunno if what you guys can do counts for what he's looking for..."

"Ooooo, a magician," J1 repeats, looking excited. "It's really like in the comic books!"

"Well, uh, if we don't count, then we might be helpful," C says. "It means he wouldn't be targeting us? Maybe?"

Alt chuckles at J1's excitement. So much like Jackie... "Yeah... he uh... also goes after his parallels... which I'm pretty sure is M so... best we find them." Alt says quietly.

"In any case, if your friends appeared near M, we need to find him," H says. "J3? Where did you guys go?"

Turn right when leaving the motel and head straight that way, J3 says. And then, abruptly, he disappears.

C blinks. "Just when the shadows start giving you good information, they fade away every time. Well. At least we know where to head."

Alt blinks too as J3 disappears and then laughs, "Guess that happens a lot then."

"Yeah, they don't tend to stick around," J1 says. "The actual guy does, who we'll meet soon if we're finding M."

"Great. Let's go, then." H heads into the bathroom, reappearing with a small black bag slung over one shoulder. "We don't have much to take with us."

"Yeah." C walks over to the closet and grabs a backpack from the floor inside. "Do you think we should be worried about M? If this Magnificent guy is going after him, I mean."

"M can take care of himself," J1 says. "I think he can handle his own. Not sure if he'd win, though... so that's why we're going."

"Hope you do not mind walking," H says to Alt.

Alt chuckles, "I mean... I can try to glitch us- but I dunno how close I can get if we don't know exactly where he is..."

J1 looks confused. "Glitch...?"

"Do you... appear and disappear?" C asks. "Like--teleporting? And it looks all, uh, pixelly and stuff?"

Alt laughs and then glitches from one side of the room back to where he was, "Pretty much yeah~!" He smirks.

"Ooooo!" J1 gasps.

"That can come in very handy," H agrees.

C tilts his head. "A could do that too... but I think it mostly traveled through, like, electrical systems and stuff. And you can... take other people? Huh."

"I can... kinda do that too. But, I try not to do it too often... messes with my brain and shit." Alt says, hunching up in his hoodie.

"But we do not know where he is, so I do not think we could go right there," H says.

C sighs. "You're right. We're gonna have to walk."

"It's gonna be a nice day, though!" J1 says cheerfully. "So let's get to it!"

Alt chuckles, "Walking's fine. Let's get going then."

-----------

Bro and Jackie fall together, landing in a patch of tall grass. It looks like it's around sunrise. On one side of them are some scraggly trees forming a rough forest. On the other side of them is a long single-lane road. A van has pulled off the side of this road, parked directly on a dirt spot by it. It's a white van that looks like it had a logo once, but which was covered up by household off-white paint.

Bro groans and rubs at his head, blearily looking around at the surroundings.

Jackie lays on the ground for a minute, sighing. "Dude... I'm so tired. I think after this I'm gonna sleep for like ... a week."

Bro chuckles, "Maybe you'll actually fix your sleep schedule this time."

"Doubtful." Jackie smirks and then pushes himself up. He looks around, squinting. "Why the fuck are we in the middle of nowhere?"

"Near a freaking- creepy van too..." Bro comments, pointing it out.

"... I hope they don't offer us candy- or a puppy." Jackie tries to joke.

The doors at the back of the van open up, and a man hops out. He’s wearing a white button up shirt underneath a blue T shirt, and has a thick mustache. His eyes land on the two of them, and he freezes.

Then immediately climbs back into the van and closes the doors again.

Bro and Jackie blink at the sight of the man and watch him climb back into the van. They're silent for a second.

"...that looked like Jay." Jackie says.

"No yeah 100%." Bro replies.

"...should we... I dunno... knock?"

"I dunno- what's proper etiquette for trying to enter someone's van?" Bro makes a face, "...Now I sound like Jays."

Jackie giggles.

The man doesn’t appear again. Nothing else moves.

After a bit of waiting, Bro finally sighs and gets up, moving towards the van. Jackie trails nervously behind him.

Bro hesitates, then knocks on the van door. "Uh- hello?" Bro tries to call.

Suddenly, the van door bursts open again. A different person stands there, a man with shoulder-length hair wearing a loose long-sleeved shirt. He glares at Chase and Jackie. His eyes are strange. Normal blue, but with strands of white light dancing across the surface, like sunlight through water.

“Don’t fucking talk to me C, J1!” he snaps. “I don’t care what you say! I’m not coming with you! I’m not going back! Sorry that you wasted the trip out here, but fuck off!”

Bro and Jackie both step back with wide eyes.

Bro puts up his hands in a calming gesture. "Woahhh! Hey I uh- dunno who those... guys are? But- not them! I'm Chase- and this is my friend Jackie? We uh... saw someone we thought we recognize go into that van and so we uh... wanted to see?"

The man pauses. His eyes flick over the two of them, taking in the details. And he starts to look confused. He turns over his shoulder and looks back into the van. “It’s not them,” he whispers, too quietly for Jackie’s non-super ears to pick out. “I don’t know. Are they going to hurt us? Well go check!”

Bro tilts his head. He calls, "We're not gonna hurt you! We just... wanna know where we are. And uh... well- see if you guys can help us? We need to find some people but we're kinda lost?"

The man tenses, looking back at Bro. “Wha—no, you didn’t hear that! You didn’t hear that!” He suddenly closes the van doors.

Bro balks as the door gets slammed in his face.

"...I think these guys might be a tad bit paranoid-" Jackie whispers. Bro tries to hide a laugh.

Then, a moment later, the doors open again, and now the man from before is in front while the second one lingers in the background.

Can you understand me? he asks in sign language.

Bro perks up as the first man pops back in. He nods, "Yeah I can! We both can understand sign language." He gestures to Jackie who is still lurking behind him, almost like a shy child.

The first man sighs. I’m sorry about my friend’s reaction. He’s not good with people, and you look like some guys we know who he argued with. If we can help, I’d like to. You’re looking for someone?

Bro deflates in relief and he smiles. "Yeah... we're looking for my little brother. Andddd someone... not so great. A villain. Tho we did just drop in so... I don't think he's gotten into too much trouble yet." He sticks his hands in his pockets. "We just... need to know where we can go to start looking for them. Cuz- I dunno where the hell we are."

We’re sort of isolated right now, the man says. But there’s a town back there. He points down the road.

“The town’s called Mooridge, I think,” the other guy mutters. He brushes back his hair absentmindedly, and for a moment, the guys catch a glimpse of some sort of black mark on his neck. A tattoo of some kind.

We haven’t seen anyone else, the first one says. But it is early in the day. We were asleep for a while. We could have missed someone.

"Ah, that makes sense." Bro nods. "Well- sorry to disturb you both. I guess we'll head that way."

Jackie looks at Bro and then tugs on his jacket pulling him back to whisper to him, "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be... I dunno- sticking with these two? They're... kinda our friends. And they know how this world works!"

"They clearly don't want to be around anyone, Jackie! I'm sure we can manage on our own..."

The two in the van stare at Bro, and the first looks at the second.

“Can you check?” the second asks. “They’ve already seen my eyes.”

The first one nods. And something flickers. It looks like a copy of him, monochrome and blurry, walks away from him and fades into nothing. Then another one of those copies comes back and walks over to him.

Bro and Jackie stop their conversation to stare wide eyed at the blurry copies coming and going off the first man.

"...am I hallucinating?" Jackie breathes.

"Nooo I see it too. W-What the hell?" Bro whispers. "Uh... w-what are you... checking, exactly?"

I hope you’re not offended by this, but I was checking to see if you were telling the truth when you said you wouldn’t hurt us, the first man says.

“And?” The other prompts.

They’re not.

The other man breathes a sigh of relief.

The first one sits down, legs dangling out of the open doorway. Are you two really from another universe?

“Wha—” the other man chokes in surprise.

The swaps exchange confused glances but kinda just shrug it off- until the first one asks his question. Bro and Jackie also choke slightly- eyes wide.

"How... How did you know that??" Jackie asks, flabbergasted.

You’ll talk about it a lot in the future, the first man says.

“J3, are you sure this is safe to talk about?” The second man asks.

Yes, I trust the three of them.

"You can see the future??" Bro gasps, then smiles, "Just like Jair! Oh- that's really cool! ... I don't think you're an oracle though-"

"Ohhh yeah!" Jackie blinks at the first man and then sheepishly smiles. "Well... since you seem to know so much about us and trust us now... can we get your names?"

J3 smiles sadly. Unfortunately, we don’t know our names. Our memories were lost. So we call each other nicknames.

Bro and Jackie look shocked. “You don’t even know your names…?” Bro whispers in sympathetic horror.

The second man sighs. “I’m M. This is J3. You are Chase and Jackie. Glad we’re all introduced.”

“Oh… well… n-nice to meet you then, M… J3…. Why the 3?” Jackie asks.

Because we know two others who also started with a J, J3 says.

“You know even more people who don’t know their names?! And they- they look like us??” Bro looks absolutely flabbergasted. This whole situation… it’s making him feel… weird. And uncomfy. And he’s not sure why…

Unfortunately, J3 says. Four others, to be exact.

“I… thought you were one of them…one of the Js,” M mutters, glancing at Jackie and then looking away. “Thought him and someone else we know had come here to try and… talk to me. Convince me to do something.”

“Ah- that explains the yelling then,” Jackie says, crossing his arms. “Immm guessing you all split off?”

M fold his arms. “They wanted to do something stupid. Well if they want to do that, fine, I’m not going with though and they can’t fucking make me.”

They might be mad that we took the van, though, J3 says.

“I mean- I’d be mad if someone took my car.” Jackie comments.

Bro knits his eyebrows together, “…what did they want to do?”

"They wanted to go back to that place!" M snaps. "Back to the place we came from! The place where they--where we were--" He shudders, looking to the side. "We were... stuck in this... this facility. A-and the people there, they--they--" And he stops again.

It was not a kind place, J3 signs slowly. But one of us got left behind in the confusion when we escaped. The others wanted to go back for him.

Bro's eyes widen. That... sounds like what Alt told him about... about that place- SCLERA. He shudders and holds his arm. Then, after a beat he says, "...M-Maybe... we could help. We could help you get him back?"

Jackie looks at Bro like he's crazy.

"What?! No! We're not going back there!" M shouts. "I-I don't want to--I really don't want to--I--" He turns around and walks farther into the van, disappearing after sight.

J3 watches him go with a sad expression. Then he sighs and turns back to the other two. I do think we should go get our friend, but... M's experience there was... terrible. I don't blame him for not wanting to go back. But I don't want him to be out here by himself, so I'm staying with him. But... we may be able to help you find YOUR friend, maybe?

Jackie nods, “That’s a good idea. We’d really appreciate that. We don’t wanna get too much into things that don’t involve us.” He slightly nudges Bro.

Bro glares at bit at Jackie but then slowly nods. “Yeah… okay. We need to find my brother, Alt. …god I hope he didn’t end up in this- facility place…”

Hold on, I can check where he appeared, J3 says. Another one of those monochrome shadows stands up and disappears. He nods. You said his name was A-L-T? He didn't appear there. He showed up with our other friends.

M comes back just in time to see this. "You're fucking kidding."

“Heyyy that’s handy!” Jackie grins.

Bro sighs in relief. “Okay… at least he’s safe. Can you… help us get to them? Even if… you don’t wanna see them. Sorry, M.”

M groans for a long time, staring up at the sky. "Fine," he finally says, shortly. "Get in. I'm driving. We can meet them halfway." He climbs out of the van and walks around towards the driver's side door.

Thank you! J3 says. That's so kind!

"Yeah, yeah."

Jackie laughs. That was such a Marvin-ism. Takes him back.

“Thank you!” Bro calls too. Then him and Jackie climb into the van.

The area in the van is mostly empty. There's a pile of clothes in the corner and a handful of blankets and pillows in the center. Clearly a crude sleeping area. Sitting on top of one of the pillows are three plush animals. A purple llama, a rainbow elephant, and a black and white seal. Part of the llama's fur is a bit burned.

As soon as the two guys are in, J3 closes the van doors, leaving the area dimly lit.

M pushes open a window that connects the main body of the van to the part where the driver sits. "J3, can you hand me Lia?"

J3 nods. He picks up the llama plush and passes it to M though the window.

"Thanks." M takes it. A moment later, the engine starts up.

Bro and Jackie look around and then try to find a place to get comfy. Bro sits up against the wall of the van. Jackie sticks close by.

Jackie smiles when he sees the stuffed animals and M grabbing one. “aw those are cute. Remind me of one’s my daughters have. Do the other two have names?”

"Yeah well I'm not a child!" M snaps. Then he pauses. "Sorry. That was... you weren't implying anything. Didn't mean to shout."

Another pause. "Ella and Seth. That's the other two. They're... very important to me."

Jackie blinks in surprise then laughs nervously. “Oh.. well- those are nice names! I’m… um- glad you have them.”

“They’re very cute.” Bro adds with a smile.

"Thanks. I think so, too." M slowly turns the van around and starts driving down the road.

Slowly. J3 knocks on the window. You can go a bit faster, you know.

"Oh, but last night you were complaining about me going to fast."

There has to be a middle ground.

Jackie laughs, “yeah- that middle ground is usually called the speed limit.”

"You know, I don't think I drove a lot before this," M says. "This all feels new. C was driving us before, he said that driving felt familiar. I don't feel that."

C came from somewhere else, like H did, maybe people over there drive more than here, J3 says.

“…are you saying you haven’t driven before??” Jackie asks, suddenly nervous. “I-I have my license if you’d like! I could drive just steer me in the right direction!!”

Bro chuckles, “Hey they’ve gotten this far- seems like he’s at least decent.”

"I-it's just a straight line, it'll be fine," M says. "But, uh. You could come up to the passenger seat if you want. And tell me how I'm doing."

“…yeah sure why not. Practice for when my kids get older I guess.” Jackie mumbles.

Once the car stops he makes his way over to the passenger side and hops in. Bro tries his best to hide his laughter.

M nods at Jackie as he climbs in . "Good to h-have you here," he says, suddenly a bit nervous. Lia the llama is sitting on the drink tray between the two seats. The driver's cabin is pretty generic... except for the world 'AMBREL' stamped across the dashboard. "Now let's keep going." He puts the van in gear again and keeps going.

Still a bit slow.

Jackie smiles encouragingly. He watches for a while before leaning over, “You can step on the gas a little bit more. Try to press with just the front of your foot instead of putting your whole weight.”

"Just the front... okay." The van lurches forward for a moment before M figures out a good speed.

Jackie clings to his seat in slight for a second before he gives M a shaky thumbs up. “That’s good!”

There's someone else who came from your universe with you besides your friend Alt, right? J3 asks. I heard him talking about someone else, and you mentioned someone earlier.

Bro blinks at J3’s signs and then nods. “Yeah… there’s also a… a dangerous guy here. His name is Magnificent. He’s a seriously messed up dude- who can do all sorts of messed up mental magic and like control people.”

J3 shudders. We know something like that. They called it A1010. It can put people in a trance or make them see things. But it prefers to be more... direct.

"Do you think A1010 is still at the facility?" M asks J3.

J3 nods.

"Well in that case, at least we won't have to worry about him as well as this Magnificent guy."

Bro shudders, "Yeah,,, I'd hate to have to deal with two people like that... Mag is bad enough." He can't help thinking about the King and Mag working together. Yeah he'd really like to avoid that if he can.

-----------

Magnificent appears in a room that's entirely white. Walls, floors, ceiling, all white. But the lighting is red, so it's all bathed in crimson. A single door leads into the room, made of metal and halfway slid open. The main feature of the room is a glass wall. Or, three, actually, making a room within a room. Inside the glass is a set of furniture, like you'd find a bedroom, all generic and metal. Cameras are scattered across the area outside of the glass, on the ground and on tripods, cables connecting them all to a corner of the room where the plaster has been torn away, with the cables feeding into the resulting hole.

Magnificent awoke as they fell and so he falls into the room and has to push himself up, his face aching. He growls and bares his teeth, "Fucking... Brodys- both of them! I'm gonna rip that hero into fucking shred-!" He pauses as he realizes where he is and his stomach slowly drops as he pushes himself up to his feet. "W-What... what is this...?" He breathes. Then, his anger spikes and he throws himself at the glass, trying to break out of it.

The glass is surprisingly--unnaturally, in fact--sturdy.

"Um..." A man pokes his head out from around one of the furniture pieces--the free-standing wardrobe. He's wearing a black hoodie, and the sclera of his right eye is bright green. "Who... are you?" he asks timidly. "How did you get in here?"

Magnificent screams in rage, ready to strike again when the voice gives him pause. He straightens up to look back at the other man and tilts his head. He narrows his eyes. "...You can call me Magnificent. As for how I got here... I have no earthly idea. Usually the device doesn't put us in such... situations." He glares up at the ceiling and crosses his arms, trying to hide how unnerved he really is. "... suppose the universe is having a laugh at me." He then sighs and looks back at the man. "Who are you? What is this place?"

"I'm, um... J? J0702. That's what they call me." The man pulls aside the edge of his hoodie, showing that sequence tattooed on his neck. "This is... a facility, I guess? The location is called JSE2012. I-I don't know where it is. Sorry." J gives a small, nervous laugh. "You... got in here with a... device?"

Magnificent makes a face seeing the man's tattoo. "Huh... a facility." He then snorts and waves his hand, "Yes- some device my cub picked up. It takes us from our own world into others. Appearing in a new world is random... hence... my being... here."

"You're from another universe?" J asks. "I... guess I've heard weirder. There are probably things to help you travel to other worlds here."

Suddenly, the sound of static fills the room. Red lights start blinking on all the cameras.

J tenses, staring in horror. "Oh god." He scrambles backwards, glancing around wildly for somewhere to hide. The closet isn't deep enough for him to fit. There's a chest, but it's also not big enough for a grown man to fit. The only real option is the attached bathroom, which is just big enough for a toilet.

"I--If you can get out of here, you should. Or--if you can hide somehow, you should."

Magnificent raises an eyebrow, looking back at J. "And... why is that?" He glances at the cameras and bares his teeth at them. He could always try teleporting out of here.... how did he forget that? He blames Fantastic for scrambling his brain.

A mass of black stuff pours out on the lens of a camera, something grisly. It glitches, breaking into green pixels and broken static.

“Because of that!” J says, running into the bathroom and sliding the door closed. The mass pours onto the ground and then rises again, forming a humanoid shape. And then the figure shifts, turning into… a perfect image of Magnificent himself. Well, almost perfect. The right eye is dangling from the socket.

Magnificent still looks confused then watches the camera thing glitch and- "What the hell?!' He growls at the copy and lights magic in his hands, baring his teeth. "What kind of joke is this?!"

"You see your own face and think it's a joke?" The other him laughs and tilts his head. "That's not a good way to think of yourself." He walks up to the glass, pressing his forehead against it. "Have you trapped yourself in there? Are you too afraid to try and get out?"

Magnificent snarls at the copy. "I can get out just fine!" He tries to teleport out of the glass to attack this cheap imitation!

He can teleport out just fine but- he ends up barreling past the copy and skids on the floor. He seems temporary relived there was no magic barrier or anything keeping him in.

The copy laughs, twisting around to look at Magnificent--first the head, then the torso, then the legs. "You're not that smart, are you?" it says. "Never have been. And not as powerful as you think. Otherwise you wouldn't keep getting knocked out every time you fight someone in these worlds. Maybe you're just a bit... o̴u̕t̴ ͟o̢f̶ ̀y̢o̕ur͠ ̨dep̛th̶.̕"

A knife appears in the copy's hand and it rushes for him.

Magnificent makes a disgusted face and staggers back. Then, he yells out in rage and tries to block the copy's attack but he gets sliced across the arm. He grunts then whips out to blast fire its way.

The copy screeches as the fire burns him. He loses concentration, dropping Magnificent's appearance and returning to a black skeletal look. He crouches close to the ground and shifts again--now looking just like that man from before, J0702. Still with that dangling eye, and with the addition of a slit throat weeping blood. He looks up at Magnificent and laughs. "Always so blunt. Except for when you're not, and even then, you are."

The air behind him flickers, glitches and colored static running together, forming... a spiral.

Magnificent backs up more, watching this thing with wide eyes. "W-What are you?!" He cries. He then watches at the spiral forms- but soon enough he growls, not being pulled into its thrall. He starts to laugh madly, "Fine! You wanna copy each other?! I can do that too!" He spreads out his hands and an array of magic knives appears above him in an arc. He shouts and sends them all flying at the creature.

The creature glitches wildly, avoiding most of the knives--however, a couple hit him, and he screeches again. He disappears and reappears inside the glass wall. And, smiling, he gives a smug little wave. "You ask me what I am? I am ▒A░n░t░i▒, and I am the only one like me in this world."

Magnificent hisses at the creature then laughs, "You call yourself that then? Pity- I know far greater Antis then you. Ones that don't cower behind glass."

"Cower...? Do you think it matters to me where this body is?" All at once, the cameras in the room turn towards Magnificent. Electricity sparks along the cables, turning the floor into a minefield. "This facility is mine now," A hisses. "You will not escape it."

He reaches up towards the lights in the ceiling. His form becomes electric and disappears up into it. The half-open entrance to the room shuts and clicks, sealing itself closed.

"What?!" Magnificent gasps, he tries to run towards the door- seeing if he can try to teleport out of it-! He can't be trapped here, he can't!

He appears on the other side of the sealed door in a long hallway, all with equally sealed doors. There's a hole in the ceiling, through which dangle wires and metal parts sparking with electricity. The ceiling creaks, like something heavy is moving on top of it.

Magnificent tries to keep his panic back as he rushes forward, trying to look for another way out.

Every single door is sealed shut. The only ones that aren't are ones that aren't all that important, leading to janitor closets or electrical rooms that are so full of loose electricity that he can't step inside at all.

"No no no!" Magnificent hisses. Okay... maybe there's... power around here? Something he can use? He tries to look around for any source of magic or power nearby.

Yes, there's power all around, though it feels slightly different than what he's expecting. It's hard to describe. Like someone was recreating a recipe but got the ingredients slightly wrong. It's mostly... above him? On the higher floors of this facility.

Magnificent purses his lips at this. But, at least it gives him a goal. He stops his running and tries to teleport up higher.

The next floor up is exactly the same as the one below--though some of the walls are knocked down, revealing large, featureless rooms beyond.

And inside one of those rooms, a large creature is moving...

Magnificent tries to focus but... what is that thing? He... He's too curious not to get a closer look. He approaches the creature with a tilted head.

That thing turns out to be a giant animal. A raccoon, to be specific, The thing is about ten feet tall, sniffing along the edge . There's a collar wrapped around its neck, on which is written, in massive letters, S1707. It raises its head, looks at Mag, and growls.

Magnificent is startled by the raccoon. "What is the world??" He asks and then shakes his head and looks around for that source of power.

There are several sources around... and the closest is, indeed, the raccoon. But the second closest comes from some way down the hall. It seems like it's actually two sources close together.

...he doesn't want to chance being mauled by a raccoon. He heads towards the other two sources.

In one of the smaller rooms with the walls broken, there's... a cat. A cat right in the middle of the room. It's a very fluffy white one, and it's batting at a ball of purple string. Seems like the power is coming from both the cat and the yarn ball. Oh... it's such a pretty cat, too.

Magnificent inherit love of cats has him softening slightly at the sight. He chuckles and starts to approach the cat, kneeling down close to it and offering it his hand. "Well.. hello there beautiful!"

The cat looks up at him with big green eyes. There's a collar around its neck with the ID W3012 on it, along with a small black box. It meows gently and bats the yarn ball towards him. It misses, and just keeps rolling. It's unraveling... and unraveling... and unraveling... the ball doesn't look any smaller but the string trailing from it is now about ten feet long. Heh. How funny.

Magnificent watches the ball roll with increasing concern. "What... the fuck...?" He shakes his head then tries to pet the cat.

The cat sniffs his hand, then flicks her tail and sits down, purring, allowing herself to be pet. For some reason, Magnificent is reminded of something... Some time when he last felt... content...

How long ago was that...?

...too long. It's been far too long.

Since he became... this- he always yearned for something more. For power... for magic.. for souls. Contentment isn't something he's used to anymore.

So... the last memory that comes up into his head is... uni. He's sitting in the living room, excitedly telling Jackie about a new spell he learned as he works on a costume for class. Jackie is laughing, his cheeks red and Mag feels his own cheeks flushed, having an easy relaxed smile. ...how long has it been since he smiled like that?

He gasps and pulls away from the cat, feeling a... wetness in his eyes. He trembles back from her, his voice caught in his throat.

"Aw... isn't that s̀w̕eet̛?"

The cat's head snaps to the side. It yowls and suddenly bolts. Away from the figure who suddenly appeared.

The black, skeletal figure that soon transforms into... Jackie, just as he looked in that memory.

Magnificent stiffens and then scrambles away from the creature- but his breath is taken away as he sees Jackie. Just how he remembered him.

But that cruel smile ruins it.

"You know you can't go back there," A whispers. Blood starts to leak from his eyes as they roll back in his head.

A choked noise comes from Mag’s mouth at A's words. But, then he growls and shoots a bolt of magic at him. "I know I can't! I-I don't need to!"

The bolt hits Jackie square in the chest and he screams, falling backwards. He lands hard on his back, the front of his shirt burned and smoking from the impact. "M...Marvin...?" he breathes. "Wh-why...?"

And then he breathes out and stops moving.

Magnificent stands there, frozen, his hand still outstretched. He feels like he can't breathe. Part of him knows- knows this isn't Jackie- but the other part of him, that part of his heart that still beats- still convinces him he's human- its screaming.

He backs up, another choked noise of confusion and suppressed pain escaping his lips.

Moments pass in silence. Jackie lies there, unmoving.

Until... "Fascinating," a voice whispers behind him. "I thought you were heartless."

Magnificent shudders and then moves to slash behind him, breathing heavily. "S-Shut up! S-Stop messing with me!"

His claws scrape across A's chest--once again in the form of Magnificent himself--and he falls backwards, laughing. "But it's so fun, isn't it?!" he shouts, still laughing. "And you'd better get used to it! Because you'll be here for a while."

And then his body disperses into pixels and disappears.

Magnificent huffs, a mix of rage and sudden exhaustion. He takes a second to compose himself, breathing deeply. Then, he rubs at his eyes, growling to himself. He shakes his head and goes to move forward... he needs to find a way out of here.

#SATCV #SATCV Facility #alt anti #swap magnificent #jackie mann #bro fantastic #jse facility #this one was sooo fun #i love playing with bro and jackie's friendship #and showing mag's vulnerable side too!#oh- and some stuff is gonna be revealed about the swaps in this section so- that'll be fun :)

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 14: The Facility

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| JSEFacility

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Time passes. Buildings fall into the distance. The sun shifts through the sky. They’re driving through miles of blank countryside. Until they see a fence in the distance. A plain chain link fence with a check point and gate. Beyond the gate are shapes of buildings, half hidden by a swell of hills.

“That’s it,” J1 says.

The swaps had all fallen into various states of anxious dozing for the next several hours. But once Bro hears J1’s statement he perks up and starts to rouse the other two. Alt glitches up and tries to push back the anxiety that wants to swallow him whole.

Jackie yawns and double checks his bag, before slinging it on. “Okay so- the plan is for Alt to glitch us inside, right?” Jackie asks.

J3 nods. We just picture a spot for him to take us, yes? Where should we picture?

“What about the first floor?” H suggests. “Getting to the surface elevator is always the hardest part.”

C parks the van and he and J1 leave the cabin, heading around to the back.

“When you’re ready, Alt,” M says quietly. “Take your time.”

Alt swallows shakily and takes some more deep breaths, giving Seth one more squeeze before gently leaving him on the ground.

Bro pats his shoulder and gives him an encouraging smile.

Alt takes a trembling breath and makes sure he has all his things then says, “We need to link up- just.. try to make sure everyone is touching.”

Jackie nods and goes to grab Alt’s hand, Bro grabs the other. They both offer their hands for the others to take.

J1 takes Jackie’s hand, and C takes Chase’s. That just feels right. From there, H takes off his gloves and grabs onto C while J3 grabs J1 and M grabs him.

Once they’re all linked up the air starts to feel electric as Alt closes his eyes and builds up his power.

Then, in a quick zip they all glitch away into the building. The landing is a bit bumpy but manageable. The air seems like burnt metal and there’s a feeling of static electricity in the air and the lingering feeling of sparks trails in the others’ veins as the feeling of glitching wears off.

They’ve found themselves in a white hallway—completely white, walls, ceiling, floor. It’s almost too bright to look at, like a field of snow. They’re near a T intersection where the hall diverges. Spaced along the walls are doors, some of them normal, some of them looking more secure, made of metal and sliding.

And there’s a man standing here, wearing a white coat. His hair is black and so are his eyes—though his left one is half green. What’s that called? Right, sectoral heterochromia. He looks down at a device in his hands. It looks strangely like the TRVLR, but with the world Ambrel stamped across the back. “So this does work, then.”

C is the first to recover from the feeling of glitching. “Dr. Lawson?”

Alt hears the new voice and immediately crouches down and builds up electricity in his hands, just in case this guy is a threat. He stops though when he sees the device and seems to pale and double checks his pocket to make sure he still has the TRVLR.

Yes, there it is, safe in his pocket. That must be something else that just looks like the TRVLR by inter-universal coincidence.

Bro gets into a fighting stance, “the fuck are you?”

"Dr. Michael Lawson, head of the S-class department," Lawson says, completely unphased by Alt's electricity.

"And direct supervisor of A1010. Meaning the mess downstairs is my fault, to everyone else."

"So he's still running free down there," C mutters.

"Indeed. We've set up a CC barrier to contain it but that takes a lot of the facility's energy, so it's not a permanent solution."

"Wh-why the fuck are you talking to us?" M demands . "A-and what do you mean 'this does work'?"

"Interceptor," Lawson says, raising the device. "It's experimental. Supposed to direct unknown energy to its location while turned on. Very unknown energy." His eyes flicked back to Alt, and then to Bro and Jackie. "You... you're not from this world."

Alt and Bro glare at the doctor with burning glowing eyes.

Alt bares his teeth and snarls out, “What of it?”

Jackie is hiding a bit behind Bro and slowly pops out. “L-Listen mate- we don’t want trouble. We just need to grab our other guy and then get out of your hair. I’m sure he’s already been a… handful- to say the least.”

"You mean the other sudden strange appearance of a person on the floors below?" Lawson asks. "He's stuck down there because of the CCB, too. So, not really. Though every time we manage to take temporary control of the camera system, people are very confused before A1010 wrests it away."

"H-how did you know they were from another world?" H asks.

"We know of the existence of other worlds. This has been the first direct incursion of someone else into ours, though." Lawson shrugs. "It's no matter to me. But what is a matter to me is that the facility director is highly considering collapsing the structure and burying everything below ground. I would not like that to happen. But if I am unable to stop it, you should get your others out."

“Are you… trying to help us?” Bro asks with confusion.

Alt narrows his eyes, not trusting any of this.

“I am trying to complete the number one tenant of my position: not letting the S-class die.” Lawson points down the hallway. “Straight down that hall in the downward stairwell. Believe me or don’t. I will keep the cameras disabled for one hour, more than that will be suspicious.”

“…wow you’re like… really committed to your job-“ Jackie mumbles.

A moment passes in silence.

“J3, what do you think?” M whispers.

A quantum shadow flickers around J3. He’s telling the truth. And I know where J and the magician are now.

Alt still glares at Lawson until J3 says otherwise. He sighs and then nods. “…Alright. Let’s get this done quickly then.”

“Uh.. thank you then, Dr. Lawson,” Bro says politely, starting to push Alt and Jackie towards the hallway.

Lawson nods and watches the group go.

The stairwell is pretty industrial looking, spiraling down for two landings before it ends at the third floor below the surface. Pasted to the walls are small discs, each with three blue dots.

M frowns. “I know those…” he mutters. A beam of white light suddenly shoots out, shearing a line of the disks from the wall, smashing them in the process. “Break them. Otherwise we won’t be able to get out once we go past.”

Alt blinks and then grins, "You don't need to tell me twice." He goes to try to zap a couple disks with some lightning.

Bro goes to try to punch some of them.

The discs shatter under his super strength.

They reach the bottom of the staircase. Down here, the red emergency lighting makes the hallways easier to see, but kind of foreboding.

Surprisingly, there's something already here. It's--J3. One of his quantum shadows. He signs something. Don't let him do it. And then disappears.

J3 frowns. Well that's ominous, he comments.

"It's not good when you say that," C mutters. He's holding his toy gun in both hands again, like he's going to fire at whatever comes by.

Alt's eyes widen at J3's shadow's warning , "...I don't like that..." He whispers.

Jackie grips Alt's pocket knife in his hand, keeping it at the ready.

Bro narrows his eyes at the red light, hating how it almost feels... familiar. Like something he's seen in a dream. "...they need to pick a different color for the lighting in here-" He mutters, trying to keep the mood light.

"This is the emergency lighting," M comments. "It's not normally like this."

"Remember that time you crushed an alarm?" J1 asks.

"Yeah. Because I was stabbed shortly before that. It's a very vivid memory."

"ah- still sucks though. Makes the place creepy." Bro shudders.

M glances at J3. "Where to, then?"

There's another staircase, we need to head that way, J3 says, leading the way down the halls.

Alt anxiously look around the area and stops- seeing what's on the floor before them.

It's just- a mess. Craters and burn marks tinged with green and purple litter the walls and floor. Anything that wasn't bolted down was smashed or crushed or clawed like it lost a fight with an angry cat.

Alt winces. "... Mag was definitely here..."

"...where did he go then? This is like- the exit right?" Jackie mutters.

"Maybe he got sick of trying to get through here..." Bro answers.

"Your man has a temper," J1 mutters.

"That's a massive understatement," Alt replies.

There are two staircases leading down into the floor, J3 explains as they go. He's trying the other one.

They walk in silence.

Until, suddenly, C stops. "Whoa, holy shit." He pushes open a half-slid door. "This is where I stayed."

The room is the size of an average bedroom, and has a bed, a closet, a table and two chairs, and a low table. "There used to be a TV and game console in here," he mutters. "That was my designated entertainment."

Bro and Jackie stick their heads in to look with C. "Huh... kinda barren." Bro says.

"Well it's not exactly an ethical living situation, Chase." Jackie mutters.

"Well I know it's not ethical. Didn't realize it was... barren, though," C says. He glances back at the others who were in here. "Is it?"

"Not... especially more barren than the other rooms... we had," H says slowly.

"I mean- makes sense. They're not gonna give you a lot of stuff if you're... you know."

There's a bit of movement underneath the table.

Jackie shrugs. Bro blinks at the movement and moves slowly into the room, trying to get a closer look.

Alt glitches anxiously out in the hallway, "C-Chase- be careful."

An animal crawls out from under the table. It's... a cat. A fluffy black cat with big yellow eyes. A collar around its neck reads B3012.

"A cat?" C says, confused.

Bro blinks in confusion and tilts his head. "What's a cat doing here?" He hums. He smiles though, "It looks like a fluffy Glitches."

"You're only saying that cuz its black," Alt mutters, "Glitches is wayyy prettier."

Bro laughs and then offers his hand to the cat, pspspsing to it. "Hey little guy! It's okay... not gonna hurt you."

The cat is a bit skittish, freezing when it sees Bro. But, slowly, it creeps closer.

M leans into the doorway as well, gasping. "Oh that's Bee! That's what I call her. I met her and her sister Dub a while ago. I think it was a test? But I'm not sure for what."

The cat sniffs Bro's hand carefully.

"Ha- Bee and Dub- that's an adorable duo name." Bro laughs. Once Bee smells his hand he goes to try to pet her. "Aw... you're a sweet thing, aren't ya?"

"C-Chase- didn't H say not to touch any of the animals??" Alt calls.

"Oh it's okay Alt! It's just a cat!"

"It's probably fine, they didn't do anything to me," M says, shrugging. Bee balks for a moment, before arching her back into Bro's hand, letting him pet her. What a cute cat.

…

C, H, J1, and J3 are all glancing around uneasily. Sure, it might be harmless. But... this place... C shudders suddenly, rubbing a scar that goes around his elbow.

Bro chuckles and pets Bee all over, scratching her chin and behind her ears. "See Alt? Perfectly safe~!"

Alt still seems hesitant but he does look at the cat curiously. ... She is really cute. He glitches over, trying to keep a good distance not to scare her before slowly approaching. He starts to smile wide when he sees her. "oh...! You are a pretty baby..!"

"Are we seriously getting distracted by a cat right now?" Jackie grumbles.

"Cats are cute," M says defensively. "I asked them for a cat plush multiple times after meeting these guys. Nothing."

H groans and clutches his head. "C-can we move fast? I--I am feeling some... I-I don't know what, but I am feeling something ."

The others look unsettled. A shivery, jumpy feeling has settled in their stomachs. And though the cat is cute, Alt, Bro and Jackie start to feel it, too.

When was the last time they felt like this...?

Alt shudders with a quick inhale of breath and stumbles back. He sees- he's back in that awful room with Dr. Cornelius. He's staring at the blinking light of the WITNES camera- hearing the evil presence within taunt him. Pure dread fills him as he looks at his hands and sees his veins filling with bright hot purple corruption. It's eating up all his senses- his thoughts! A voice that's not his slithers through his mind, piloting his body- making him crave destruction and chaos. His core is burning- swallowing him whole. Then- he sees someone else- a woman with blond hair who's grabbing him. She's shocking him- hurting him! Telling him this will help him!

But she lied- she always lied!!

Bro freezes, his head suddenly killing him. He shouts out and grips at it, curling up on the floor as it feels like his skull is threatening to crack in half. He gasps as images start to fill his head- but... it can't be a memory- he doesn't recognize what he's seeing. And yet... part of him knows it must be.

Chase is running- running through sleek sterile hallways, looking behind him as he runs. The lights are red and flashing, alarm bells threatening to burst his eardrums. Still, he runs- he runs because it's all he can do.

Then, a hand lashes out and catches him and he screams, squirming and trying to punch the people who grabbed him. "NO! Let me go!" His voice screams but- it sounds so... young. Like a child.

The sound of clicking heels is heard over the alarms and Chase's stomach drops. A kind face with cool eyes and blond hair kneels down in front of him. "Aw Chase... that was a good attempt! But were you really going to leave your sister behind?"

"NO! I was trying to find him! Where is he?! Where's Anti??" Chase's voice cries, still trying to fight the hands holding him.

"Anthea's in her own tests today, Chase, did you forget? Yours was strength and hers was endurance."

"Stop calling him that! He's not a girl, he's a boy! And his name is Anti!" Chase spits.

The woman looks annoyed and wipes at her face. "That's not what I named her. I wish you both would stop with this nonsense. It's becoming more trouble than it's worth." She sighs and gets up, pulling something from her pocket, a syringe filled with blue liquid.

Chase feels like he can't breathe as he kicks and fights, yelling out, "No no no! Mum! Stop it!"

"Hush now, Chase.. it's time for our next game~!" His mother coos to him sweetly, injecting him with the syringe. And then it all fades to black.

Jackie had watched Bro and Alt collapse and tries to rush over to help them. Then, he's suddenly hit with whatever this is too. It's... a hazy memory. One that doesn't make much sense. Marvin is holding him- magic is spiraling behind him. He looks like he did right before he disappeared. He's talking urgently to Jackie, trying to... convince him of something. Make him forget something. It's hard to remember what... His eyes wander past Marvin towards the floor and he sees Zara there- and he feels cold dread fill his body. He starts to fight Marvin, yelling at him even if he feels weak and dizzy. He doesn't want this! He doesn't want this!! Stop it!! Marvin's face looks furious- he's so angry, his eyes burning a horrifying green. Jackie feels so scared- he's never seen Marvin look like that before. He shuts his eyes- trying to get his hypnotic voice out of his head-!

Jackie crashes to his knees, looking out like he's in a trance. Terrified tears in his eyes as he mumbles for someone to stop- stop-!

Bro is curled up on the ground, panting like he's ran a marathon, tears running rapidly down his face.

Alt is curled up into a protective ball, glitching rapidly and hardly able to stay together as he pants in panic, eyes stare wide out at nothing.

Honestly, the guys from this world don't look too much better.

C keeps rubbing at that scar on his elbow, H clutches at his head and keeps muttering "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" over and over, J3 has collapsed to the floor and is shaking slightly, and J1's eyes have gone distant... blank and hopeless.

M looks back and forth between everyone. Then he looks at Bee. "Oh. Um." He hurries forward and scoops her up, then runs down the hallway a bit. When the others don't start looking any better, he puts her down on the floor. "Go on," he mutters, nudging her with his toe. "Go find your sister or something."

Bee stares at him, betrayed, and then walks into a doorway and turns the corner.

Abruptly, like flipping a switch, the memories fade, and the anxiety disappears.

The switch happens so fast it leaves them all breathless.

Alt jerks and seems to snap back together- though he's afraid to uncurl, his limbs trembling.

Jackie shudders violently and grips at his head, wanting to crash to the floor completely.

Bro slumps and is still breathing heavily- not able to take anything else in. Even with the switch he feels like he's still trapped in that memory. ...were he and Alt...? He panics, holding a hand over his mouth and looking like he's gonna be sick as he heaves and gasps in breath after ragged breath.

"G... guys?" M says tentatively, looking around at how everyone is a mess. "Is... is everyone okay? Is everyone okay? I-I'm sorry. I didn't... know she could do that."

H keeps muttering under his breath. J1 keeps staring at nothing. J3 slumps against the wall, blinking rapidly. Several quantum shadows get up and leave as he tries distancing himself from what just happened.

"Guys?" M asks again in a quieter voice. "What... Is there... anything I can do?"

"I-it's fine," C whispers. "It's fine."

Jackie eventually groans and shakes out his head, "I... I'm okay... I'm..." He shudders.

Alt tries to speak up but all that comes out is a choked squeak. He's trying to calm down his breathing.

Both of them seem to notice Bro as the same time. Alt glitches over and tries to shake his shoulder. "Chase?! Chase!" Jackie hurries over to his side and crouches down. "B-Breathe man! Breathe! You need to breathe h-here I'll help just follow me!" He slowly starts to demonstrate to Chase, pulling his hand away and showing the movements. Bro is still having trouble- but eventually he seems to start to come back to himself as starts to breathe a bit slower. He's shaking like a leaf.

M walks over to J3, crouching down by him and speaking gently. Words that don't really mean anything, just repeated reassurances of safety.

"H-Here... s-stay with him, Jackie... I'll... try to help the others," Alt says quietly and then shakily tries to shake H.

H yelps the moment Alt touches him. He jolts away and stares at Alt in fear--not fear of him, more like... fear for him. He looks down at his hands, then reaches into his pocket and quickly puts on the gloves he took off earlier. "I am not just a healer," he whispers. "I am a... hurter, as well. To make people sick as easily as to cure them... I-I do not want... Do no harm. Do no harm." He shakes his head. "I--I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Alt glitches back, momentarily shaken but his quick reaction. He stares at H and then swallows and nods. "...It's okay... you don't mean to. That's... that's okay." He sits crossed legged next to him and sighs, "...I think we... all... hurt people when we don't want to. I know I have... a lot."

H takes a deep breath. "...yes. I-it is... not me. It is not me." He looks at Alt. "I am... sorry. If you have felt something like this before."

Alt shrugs, "...you get used to it." He says quietly.

M hold out his hand for J3 and pulls him to his feet. J3 hears the tail end of Alt and H's conversation. He wanders over, eyes still a bit distant. It's in the past, he says. And that's what matters.

H breathes deeply again. He nods silently.

Alt looks up to J3 and nods too, trying to smile. "Yeah."

Jackie has finally got Bro to slow down and breathe and he slumps with relief.

But, Bro suddenly grabs onto Jackie's wrist and pulls him closer, panic in his eyes. He whispers to him. "Jackie I... I saw a... a memory I think... but i.. I've never seen it before and... i-if its true then... me and Alt we... we...!"

"Hey hey- don't panic again, Chase! Breathe,... Breathe..." Jackie tries to soothe him.

Bro has tears in his eyes again and hiccups. "...if its true then... me and Alt are... are-" He looks around at the others- the ones from this world and swallows thickly. "..we're more similar than I ever k-knew...!"

Jackie looks confused and alarmed, "W-What do you mean? Similar to... t-the guys here? But then that means you-" He suddenly goes pale and sits back, "...oh..."

Alt hears Bro's distress and looks back over, eyes widening as he hears his name and starts to piece together his words the same time as Jackie does. He starts to shake even more- afraid to approach now. He holds a hand over his mouth and curls up again. The image of the blonde woman he saw earlier pops in his head again and fills him up with even more fear.

"...C? C?" H asks.

C isn't doing too well. He presses a hand to his head, and looks over at Bro. Slowly, he gets up and moves over to him. And he wraps his arms around him in a silent hug.

Bro is shakily trying to push himself up so- he's surprised by C's hug. He's stiff at first but then he slowly goes to wrap his arms around him too. And then he starts to cry again, gripping onto C tighter. "... I don't want it to be true! I don't want it- I don't... i-i-it's not true...!" He whispers through shaky sobs.

"You can move past it," C whispers. "You can move past it. I never thought I'd get out of here. I thought... I wanted to... But we got out. We got out, a-and we're going to make a new life. You can move past it."

H nods slowly. "It won't go away. But you can move past it."

"I don't remember it- I don't... that's probably good r-right? but i..." Bro hiccups but he slowly listens to the other words. "...w-we've got past it... we're... we're okay..." He whispers.

"Besides... you can't tear down that place if you break down," M adds.

Bro chuckles a bit at M's comment, "R-Right..."

Bro lets go of C and pats his shoulder. "T-Thanks man." He then looks over and sees Alt curled up again- and now it's his turn to give some comfort. He comes over and scoops Alt up, whispering reassurances to him. "Hey... when we get back home... we can... we can try to find out more and... g-get some closure. But they're right... we can move on. We're okay now... we're okay...."

Alt chokes on a very quiet sob and hides his face in Bro's arms- nodding but... needing a minute.

C watches Bro and Alt. "We can wait for a moment," he says quietly.

J3 shakes J1 gently. He blinks, and his eyes slowly regain their life. "H-huh? What happened?"

Jackie smiles sadly at C, Bro and Alt and then goes to kneel down next to J1, "Hey man- you okay?"

J1 blinks again. "I... just..." He looks around at where they are. "I guess... they were right. I couldn't ever escape this place."

J3 shakes his head. What are you talking about? We're only back here for a moment. We'll be out again.

J1 laughs. "I-I know you're like... in the future and all, but you can't know about forever. What if we come back here? I jumped the fence once. They found me right away. They always found me. They'll always find us." That distant look is back again.

Jackie knits his eyebrows together and shakes J1's shoulder, "Hey! That kinda talk ain't like ya, J1! Snap out of it! You got out once, and we sure as hell aren't letting any of you guys stay here- we already made a way out- you're getting out! And we'll burn this motherfucker to the ground to make sure you can't get put back in- okay?!"

J1 laughs dully. "Don't burn it. There are still people and animals in here. Ones that didn't do anything,"

"He's right, though, J1," C says softly. "We got out once before. We've avoided them for a while now. Who's to say we can't shake them forever?"

"It just... seems..." J1 looks down.

The future is never certain, J3 says. But I'm certain that if we stay together, we can shoulder past anything that we couldn't get through alone.

"Exactly- they kept you all apart for a reason- they're probably scared of what you guys can do together! You won't get stuck here again... I'm sure of it." Jackie smiles.

"...maybe." J1 nods, slowly at first, and then faster. "Y-yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Why would they do that? Why else would they be so scared to let us meet?" He gives Jackie a weak smile. "Th-thanks. That... that does help. Thanks." He shakes his head, taking a deep breath. "Alright. I'm ready, but if anyone else needs time, let's wait."

Jackie smiles and offers his hand to help him up. "Anytime, J1!"

Alt and Bro seem to have calmed down and Alt glitches to his feet, wiping at his face. "I...I'm okay... for now. Let's just... focus. We all need to get out of here."

Bro nods and gets to his feet. "...sorry I touched the cat." He says sheepishly.

M shrugs. "It's okay. Sorry I made you guys thought she was harmless. I, uh, don't understand why it wasn't affecting me."

"You're just, uh... what was that phrase we heard the kids use on the mall?" C mutters. "You're built different."

M laughs. "I guess I am. But then again, we all are."

Bro and Jackie laugh at this. Alt gives a weak smile. He glitches back out into the hallway to start their search again.

J3 nods. Alright. Let's keep going.

The group rushes down the hallways. Occasionally they see a stray strange animal but no one wants to get too close after what happened with Bee the cat. Some items litter the floor, but again, no one wants to touch it or anything.

Soon, it becomes clear that they're approaching something. There's the distant sound of... smashing?

"Uh... do we... go towards that?" C asks.

J3 nods.

"...that's probably Mag," Alt mutters. "Temper, remember?" He moves to glitch faster down the hall.

"Just as long as he doesn't hit us-" Jackie groans, trying to keep up.

The group speeds up. They turn a corner, and see a hallway leading to another set of stairs, this one going both up and down, with the part going up plastered with more of those discs from earlier. And in this hallway... is Magnificent.

Magnificent is throwing magic desperately at the barrier, screaming out in wordless anger. He builds up another burst of magic and then freezes as he hears footsteps. He whips around and holds the magic out at the group, eyes blown wide with wild anger and desperation. He almost relaxes for a second before his eyes narrow and he hisses. "What kind of trick are you pulling this time, A?" He laughs a bit unhingedly, "Turning into my cub and his friends?! Ha! I didn't think you could do multiples... and Like I'd believe they'd actually come here!"

The swap exchange glances, unsure how to approach this. "Um... Mag? It's... actually us. We- we came to get you out of here."

Anger flares in Mag's eyes as he suddenly yells out and throws fire their way, "LIES!"

C yelps and tries pushing Alt--the nearest one to him--out of the way, while J1 grabs Jackie--the nearest one to him and pulls him back.

Alt yelps and glitches slightly in C's grasp but lets him grab him. Jackie stumbles back with J1 as the flames hit the floor.

Bro jumps up into the air and then dives down to grab Mag and pin him up against the wall. "Hey! Mag- fucking! Cool it man! We're actually trying to help your sorry ass for once! You're welcome!"

Mag growls and fights against Bro, spitting. "I'm not gonna let this place get to my head! S-Stop messing with me!"

"Hey, um, Mag? If that's your name? If we're A messing with you, then where do you know us from?" J1 gestures at himself and the others from this world.

M walks up to Bro, staring at Magnificent with wide eyes. "Uh...do you need help getting him to stop being, what's the word? Pissy? Cause I can hold him."

Magnificent looks at the others like he's just now realizing they're there. He stops squirming as much- looking at them with confusion. He opens up his mouth to come up with something clever but gets distracted as M joins them. He's starting to get drained again- not having any new sources to try to take and using so much power trying to get out.

Bro sighs and releases Mag a bit, gesturing at M. "Yeah if you have something that could work M that'd be-"

Mag's eyes flash desperately as he lashes out and grabs M's arm, digging his claws in and trying to drain his power.

M's eyes widen. And as Magnificent starts to drain his power, he realizes something--strange. He's taking this power, but... the source isn't draining. And M isn't tired at all. Even so, the power just sort of sits on top of Mag's own, not converting at all.

Magnificent looks confused and then yells as Bro grabs him around the waist and pulls him away. "Goddamnit Mag! Can you like not for 5-?!"

"Wh-what the fuck are you doing?!" M shouts, terrified. Instinctively, he reacts. A strand of white light wraps around Magnificent's neck--

And out of nowhere, J3 runs at M and tackles him to the side.

Bro and Mag freeze as the light wraps around Mag's neck and M gets tackled.

Magnificent's head turns sharply to the side, sharp enough to hurt... but not sharp enough to snap like it would have.

Mag yells out in pain and his head snaps and Bro is startled enough to drop him.

"T-The fuck?! What just happened??" Bro gasps.

Mag holds his neck and stares out wide eyed- now realizing that... he could have just died there... that was so close. If it wasn’t for M getting tackled…

"M! What the fucking fuck?!" H gasps.

"I-I don't know! I--I got scared!" M shouts. He's shaking slightly. "I-I-I'm not a battery!"

J3 pats him on the shoulder. He stares at Magnificent. I understand now, what that shadow said, he says. Don't let him do it.

M clutches his head. "I-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Alt hurries over to M and tries to calm him down, "Hey it's okay! You didn't mean to! It's okay..."

M takes deep breaths. I'm okay, he signs. I just need a moment.

"Well if anything proves we're not an illusion, we got that at least," C mutters darkly.

Bro sighs and rubs at his face. He gestures at C then looks at Mag, "...do you believe us now, Mag?"

Mag thoughtfully holds his neck without looking at them, "...why are you here? I know you all- you'd sooner let me rot here then rescue me."

"Well lucky for you- we're not just here for you." Bro says getting to his feet.

Jackie steps up and glares at Mag.

Mag seems to flinch a bit.

"...As much as we hate you... we're not the kind of people that would just... strand someone here. Even someone like you." Jackie offers his hand to Mag. "...c'mon- we got one more stop to make before we bust you out of here."

Magnificent looks at Jackie's hand like he's afraid it will disappear at any second. He hesitates- then lets Jackie help him up.

"Well... while we're here..." J1 says slowly. "Magnificent. H-have you seen a man while you were stuck in here? Brown hair, and one eye has a green sclera. Kind of looks like all the rest of us."

"Not A," H clarifies. "Someone other than him."

Magnificent knits his eyebrows to think and then eventually nods. "Yes... when I first came here there was another man in the cell. Downstairs- the... lowest floor i think. he hid as soon as A appeared."

C inhales sharply. "That has to be him! Wh-what did the cell look like? Any details?"

"Glass, 3 walls of glass and... basic furniture. The lightning was red. There were many cameras outside the cell." Magnificent says.

"All the lighting here is red now," H mutters.

"That was my room, J3 says. It's on the sixth floor down. There are eight floors total. But I wouldn't be surprised if the bottom two are very unsafe considering A1010 and the more dangerous animals were kept there. He frowns. The cameras are new, though. I wasn't supposed to have any cameras there because A1010 took an interest in me once.

"A must've brought them there," C figures. "To keep an eye on J."

"Well, we know now!" J1 says. "Let's keep going! I doubt the elevators are safe so here we go!" He runs for the stairs.

Bro nods and looks to Mag. "Stick with us and try not to cause any more trouble?" Mag grumbles but nods. The swaps soon follow after the others, running to keep up with J1.

Unfortunately, keeping up with J1 is impossible, as he quickly gains speed while running down the stairs, increasing to inhuman levels.

"J1! Slow down!" M shouts, panting.

But he doesn't slow down. He skips over missing stairs easily, until they reach a landing labeled 6, beyond which the stairs decay into ruin.

J1 opens the door, rushing into the floor--and suddenly shrieks.

Alt pushes to catch up, glitching to be next to him, panting slightly. "J1?! What's the matter?!"

J1 turns to look at him.

...

Nope, his eyes aren't playing tricks on him. There are two of them.

Alt gasps and stumbles back. "... oh fuck-"

C is the second one to catch up wtih J1, followed by the rest of the group. He skids to a halt, going pale. "A--!"

"C! Guys! I--I don't know what's going on!" the first J1 says. "I came down here and--"

"No, don't listen to him!" the second J1 says. "He's lying! That's A!"

The other swaps stumble in and blink at the exchange. "It's the second one," Jackie says, pointing, "It's always the one that tries to accuse the other of being the 'bad' one first."

"... how do you know that??" Bro asks.

"I read a lottt of comic books bro."

"What?! Nononono, I was just explaining!" the second J1 shouts, real-sounding panic in his voice.

Jackie pales, "Oh uh- n-never mind I guess??"

"No, you're right, I'm the real one!" the first J1 says. "C! Shoot the other one!"

C goes a bit pale. "Uh... I-I don't think J1 is capable of telling me to shoot someone."

"Right?!" the second one says. "I'm literally unable to hurt people!"

"Shooting A1010 isn't gonna bother him!" the first one protests.

"Wh-what the fuck...?" H whispers.

Bro looks between the two like a ping pong match. "Uh Uh- fuck this is hard??"

After a bit Mag suddenly shouts in frustration and shoots both of the J1s with bolts of his magic, "I'm not gonna play this idiotic game!" He snarls.

The fire hits both of the J1s and they fall back, screaming in agony.

C stumbles back in horror while H rushes forwards, pulling off his gloves again.

M gasps. J3 goes pale.

And then, as H approaches, the two forms of J1 collapse into static, the two parts rushing together to form a whole as A1010 grabs H from behind. "Hey there," he says, twirling his knife in his hand.

"Wh-what the fuck?!" M gasps. "H!"

"Let him go!" C aims his toy gun at A. "Wh-where the hell is J1?!"

"Right here." A's head jerks to the side. Part of the air seems to shimmer, revealing J1 slumped forward on his knees, a drop of blood leaking from one eye. "Can you grab him and this one before I slit his throat?"

Alt gasps as A appears and staggers back. his stomach dropping. Then, he goes to meet Bro's eyes and the two of them nod. Bro flies for J1 while Alt glitches over to try to grab H and glitch away with him.

Alt yoinks H right out of A's hands, and A actually looks surprised.

"Th-thank you," H breathes. Alt hands H over to one of the others.

But Bro doesn't fare as well. Not because he's unable to grab J1. But because the moment he gets close, J1 slams a super-strong punch into his face.

Bro cries out as he gets punched and flies across the floor.

A sees that happen and laughs. "Oh, you two are similar, aren't you? Have some fun!"

J1 lurches to his feet and rushes at Bro.

Bro yelps as J1 rushes him and tries to leap into the air to dodge him. “J1! C’mon man! I don’t want to fight you!”

Meanwhile, A looks at Alt, grinning. "I'm not the first me you've seen, hmm?" His form shifts. He looks like Alt. Then he looks like the vampire Anti from the previous universe. Then he looks like that hologram of Anti-Virus. Then he looks like a royal King with a gold circlet.

Alt’s breath feels like it’s been punched out of him as he sees the other Antis. Especially as he sees the King- he flinches and staggers back. “S-Stop that- don’t-!“ He breathes, voice shaking.

And then A’s appearance finally settles on an Anti with an eye-patch and green scarf.

As he sees the final form Alt yells in anger, magic brimming around him, “STOP IT!” He glitches in front of A then tries to rush at him with a burst of magic.

A shrieks and falls backwards as Alt blasts him. The electricity causes his form to spasm, becoming a glitchy black figure before he recovers, turning into his usual mimicry of J. “Oh, clever, aren’t you? Then again, we usually are.” A glitches forward, swiping with the knife.

Alt bares his teeth in a snarl and tries to send out another blast but he’s not prepared for A to glitch too and is caught off guard- getting slashed across the chest. Alt cries out in pain, staggering back.

J1 misses, going for an attack again—only to be caught by ribbons of white light that wrap around him, pinning his arms to his side. “We don’t have time for this!” M shouts. “We need to get J and get out of here!”

“But A is on the way!” C protests.

“No he’s not!” M points to the side, and white light bursts through the wall, creating an entrance into a room. “Go around!”

Bro blinks in surprise at M holding back J1- and as he makes an entrance into the room he flies through and quickly starts to look around for J.

The room M blasted into is empty. So M rushes into the room, dragging J1 with him, and blasts a hole into the next room. “Keep going! J3, how far is it?”

A ways, J3 says, joining them. Keep going!

Bro nods and hurries after them too.

Alt recovers quickly from being slashed and eyes the hand that A has the knife in as the others start to run- and lashes out magic to try to see if he can blast it out of his hand.

The knife goes flying out of A’s hand as his hand jitters with glitches from Alt’s magic. He scowls at Alt, glitching away to go get it.

“Go go go go go!” H grabs Alt’s hand and starts pulling him down the hallway. He also starts… humming? Or, emitting a hum is a better way to put it, like a radio frequency.

Alt yelps as H grabs him but quickly follows after him, looking confused about the humming.

“Come on, hurry!” C looks back at Jackie and Magnificent and gestures for them to follow while A is distracted.

Jackie and Mag look at each other and then hurry to follow after everyone else.

The group sprints down the hallway, with Bro and M rejoining the others.

Behind them, A1010 shrieks. The red lights get dimmer, making it hard to see, and cables sparking with electricity burst from the ceiling, narrowly avoiding the group as they turn corners and rush through straight sections.

Bro and Alt try their best to bat away the cables and obstacles as the group runs.

Until, finally, J3 darts down a small side hallway that ends in a sliding metal door. He points to it and looks back at the others urgently.

“Guessing that’s it, then,” M says, his eyes glowing. White strips of light dig into the seal where the door is shut and forces it open with the screech of metal.

Inside is the room where Magnificent first appeared, complete with loose cameras. Behind the glass wall, J0702 jumps up from the chair he’s sitting in and stares at the newcomers. He looks doubtful while looking at the guys from this world. “Y-you can’t trick me,” he stammers. “You can’t… wait, who are you?” He looks at Bro, Alt, and Jackie with confusion.

Once inside with J- the swaps all breathe and look at each other.

Alt steps forward, "It's a long story but- we're from another world and we're here to help get you out!"

“From another world?” J notices Magnificent. “Oh, you’re back. You said that too.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Um—alright, I guess? A can’t make new people, so—” And then he suddenly stops, eyes going wide.

Behind Bro, a second Alt appears, slashing down a knife to stab him in the back—

“No!” C shouts, shoving Bro out of the way. The knife sinks into his chest instead.

Bro gasps, quickly turning around to see C get stabbed. "NO!" He cries and tries to tackle the second Alt to the ground.

Alt glitches back and watches with wide eyes, suddenly frozen. "C!"

A goes in for a second stab—and the knife goes through Bro’s arm as he tackles him. He screams in frustration as he falls to the ground.

Bro screams out in pain but tries to keep A down. "F-Fucking piece of shit!"

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” C gasps. There is… so much blood coming from the stab wound over his heart. “Get J out of there! Hurry!”

“Fucking DIE you piece of shit!” A screams at C, glitching out from under Bro.

M runs up to the glass wall, white light trailing behind him. The glass warps to the side, like it’s melting. He runs in and grabs J’s hand. “E-everyone link up! For Alt!” he shouts.

Alt snaps out of his daze and hurries to try to grab C and pull him towards everyone.

Bro flies and grabs Mag and Jackie, putting them all together with Alt, J and M.

"Y-You heard M! Hurry!" Alt shouts. He holds out his other hand for someone else to take.

H grabs onto it, then reaches out and grabs J3, who makes sure he has a good hold on J1. M links onto them in turn. “Go go go!” he shouts.

A screams and lunges forward, trailing electricity—

Bro grabs onto Alt's shoulder and Alt quickly closes his eyes and pictures the van- glitching them out of there.

And suddenly, the hellish red light of the facility is replaced by clear sunlight. The group has appeared right next to the van.

J1 suddenly gasps and stumbles back, rubbing his eye. “W-woah. I wasn’t expecting that. You weren’t kidding about that hypnosis holy shit.”

J looks around. Confused at first… but that soon gives way to awe. “Oh. O-oh it’s… it’s so pretty out here.”

C laughs. “I know, the pictures don’t do it justice.” He starts to give J a hug. “We missed you. I’m sorry it took so long.”

J laughs. “I-it’s okay, really. Dude, you are covered in so much blood.”

“Yeah that’s what happens when it hits your heart. And a lung too, feels like.”

Alt shakes himself out and then wavers to sit down on the ground, catching his breath.

M sits down next to Alt. He doesn't look tired. He must just be there to support or something. Then J3 sits next to him to support.

Magnificent slinks away from the others, going to curl up by the van and process everything.

Jackie goes and pats J1 on the shoulder, "You good dude?" Then he balks and looks at C with wide eyes, "WAIT WHAT?!"

“I will be with you in a moment, C,” H says, grabbing onto Bro. That humming starts up again, and suddenly the wound on Bro’s arm closes up. “Huh. Normally that takes much longer.”

Bro staggers for a second before H heals him. He blinks and then grins, "Oh yeah- I'm usually a fast healer! Super healing~! Or like- super regeneration and... stuff." He looks back at C too and looks freaked out, "Wait wait- it was that bad??! H- forget me hurry and get to C!! How.. how are you still alive?!"

"Oh, um... yeah, J1 only mentioned that to Alt, and only really in passing," C says, giving a little, wheezing laugh. "I, uh... I can't die. Or at least, I can't be killed by most things." H latches onto his arm and the humming starts up again. "I've been, uh, stabbed, shot, fell from a high place, they injected me with some stuff that I'm pretty sure were poisons, I don't bleed out, I don't suffocate... I mean, I might die if you strap a bomb to me but I think I'd actually just exist as a bunch of tiny pieces so I really hope that never happens."

"You know you're probably freaking them out, yes?" H mutters.

The swaps indeed do look freaked out. "Y-You went through... a-all of that...?" Bro asks in a small voice, looking pale, "That's... that's insane."

"...seems useful," Mag comments quietly.

Jackie whips on him and glares, "Your opinion is not wanted here, bitch."

"I mean... he's right, it can be," C says slowly. "But mostly it just... Well, honestly, I think the concept speaks for itself."

Alt checks on his own chest wound, trying to see if its still bleeding. As he does... he sees A in his head again- becoming all those other Antis. It makes him shudder.

"We are not going back there, so hopefully, this will never happen again," H says firmly. He glances at Alt, noticing him checking the wound. "Oh, sorry, Alt, I was not able to finish healing that. I will be right with you."

The chest injury isn't bleeding as much, and it seems shallower.

Alt blinks up at H and then smiles, "Oh- I wondered what that humming was. Thanks H just... take your time. I'm okay."

J looks around. "So... I guess you guys... from another world... that's not normal there, either." He blinks. "I probably shouldn't introduce you to Sam, then," he mutters. "Well... are you all okay?"

Jackie laughs and shakes his head, "Yeah no... as the most normal out of this group- ... none of this is normal. But, I have two superpowered friends so... kinda used to it? ...kinda being the operative word-"

"We're all good it looks like!" Bro says with a smile. "Even better now that we know you are okay! Hearing about you being trapped down there was awful- I'm so glad we could help!"

“Heh. Yeah… thank you.” Tears we’ll update in J’s eyes. “Thank you so much. I thought we’d be stuck there.”

J1 shakes his head. “We wouldn’t have left you there.”

“Y-yeah…” M whispers.

Alt smiles at the others, "...things can be different now."

Bro nods, "You can move on... start a new life. Far far away from this hell hole."

“Hell. Yeah.” C nods. “We can take this van and drive somewhere far away. Find some way to make money so we can buy stuff. Try to figure out who we were before.”

H lets go of C’s arm, going over to Alt and gently taking his hand to finish healing. “Speaking of… you said you might know who we are, back when you first showed up.” H looks at the others. “If we want to know… I mean, it will be helpful to have names to introduce ourselves as…”

M blinks. “You do? You mean… because you know us in your world?”

The others are quiet for a moment.

“I think I’ve figured it out.” C nods at Bro. “It wouldn’t be fair for the rest of you to have to not know.”

“I’d like that,” J whispers.

The others all nod.

Alt blinks and looks around at the others. Then he smiles at glitches to his feet. He nods to Bro and Jackie. "...why don't you two go first."

Bro smiles and extends his hand out to C, "...good to meet ya, Chase Brody."

C--Chase smiles, taking Bro's hand. "Good to meet you, too."

Jackie hesitates then laughs going to J1 and clapping him on the back, "...how do you do, fellow Jackie?"

J1 blinks. He laughs. "Jackie, huh? Jackie... y-yeah." Jackie shakes his head, smiling. "Yeah, I'm... yeah."

Jackieboy shakes his head with another chuckle, "I dunno what your last name is though... I think that changes in each universe."

Alt glitches to his feet then looks at M, "Umm.. same for you M... your last name kinda changes but... You're Marvin."

M nods slowly. "That feels right," Marvin says slowly. "J1--Jackie. Do you want to have the same last name? We could be related or something."

Jackie laughs some more. "Sure, M. Sure, Marvin. We can do that."

Alt looks to the others and starts to point, "J3, you're Jameson Jackson.”

J3 nods. That feels right, Jameson says. He looks down at his hands, then makes the J sign twice. That's me. He grins.

Alt grins back. “You're Jack Mcloughlin, J.” He says, pointing at Jack.

"Jack and Jackie, huh?" J, Jack, smiles. "That's funny. That's... I-I don't mind, it feels right, like J... Jameson said."

“and H, you're Henrik von Schneeplestein." Alt smiles fondly.

"What an odd name," H mutters. But then Henrik smiles. "You're all right, though, it feels right. It matches my voice when I hear myself."

"Thanks, Alt," Chase whispers. "Thanks."

Alt smiles so big, he even feels his eyes get a little misty. "... it's nothing... I'm just glad I can help."

Bro stretches and shakes himself out, "Well- with everything wrapped up so nicely- suppose its time we try to get back home again. Or... wherever the TRVLR wants to take us next."

Alt sighs, taking out the device. "Yeah... guess we better move on too."

"Man- I was secretly hoping for another nap," Jackie laughs.

"You slept like the whole way here!" Bro argues.

"I have insomnia, bitch! I'm always tired!"

Mag snorts and rolls his eyes, getting to his feet. ...he could turn all of this to chaos... but... considering what the others did for him... he supposes he can act on good will. ... for now at least.

H nods. "I feel you with that insomnia, Jackie. Or, ah, I suppose I should call you other Jackie now?"

"I'm glad we could meet you guys," Chase says, smiling. "Not just cause it helped us figure out who we are a bit more. You guys are... you're good guys."

The TRVLR lights up as Alt powers it on. This universe is identified as UA-1030019TF.

"So that's what takes you to other worlds, then," Marvin mutters. "It does look like something the company would make. No wonder that doctor wasn't surprised to hear you guys were from another universe."

"I guess that makes sense... if they made all those... creatures in there. And... you guys? Kinda?" Alt shrugs.

They didn't make us, Jameson says. They just... found us. In which case, I wonder how we got these abilities in the first place.

"It was nice to meet you all too though. ...we'll come visit someday. Check in to see how you all are doing." Alt says.

JJ smiles. I'd love to see you all again.

Bro grins. "Yeah! We'll catch back up and... I dunno- get Mcdonalds again." He laughs.

Jackieboy rolls his eyes, "Nah- I'll cook us something! Better than that place-"

"You can make food better than the fast places?" Jackie gasps. "Ohhhh I waaaant it."

Jackieboy laughs, "Hell yeah! We'll make a feast!"

Jack laughs, nudging other Jackie. "Maybe you can learn to make it yourself."

"That'd be amazing. New goal, learning how to cook stuff."

"I'll learn with you J1--Jackie," Chase says. "We can show you guys how we've improved if we see you again."

"It was lovely to meet you," Henrik says, smiling gently.

"Goodbye," Marvin adds. "Maybe goodbye for now."

"And... thanks again." Jack looks at the world around him with awe.

Jackieboy goes over and grabs Mag, who grumbles a bit. Alt smiles and takes Jackie's hand and Bro takes his. Alt looks back at the others and grins. "Well- until then, take care of yourselves, okay?"

Then- he clicks the jump button on the TRVLR.

The group falls into darkness once again, and once again, there is that ripple. They are pulled off course, heading somewhere else. A snowflake's journey cut short when it is caught on a hand.

#SATCV #SATCV Facility #im nervous for this one cuz this reveals a big thing about bro and alt :')#and like reveals some stuff i wanna write in the future #eeee i can't wait to see reactions though #alt anti #bro fantastic #jackie mann #swap magnificent

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 9: Shadow City

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Bro lands somewhere unfamiliar yet again. This time, it's the living room of a suburban house. There's a hallway extending to the left and an archway leading to a kitchen in front. Behind him is the front door, and a wide window showing a nighttime cityscape. The walls are covered in pale blue wallpaper and the furniture is all generic shades of brown. Something about it screams 'rented, not owned.' But there are little personal touches all over. There's a TV stand with a flatscreen TV and a couple video game consoles attached. An old-looking mirror in a coppery frame hangs on the wall. And there's a laptop on the coffee table, connected to a set of speakers. It's playing music. "🎵 Come and breathe the air into my lungs, I just wanna be your skeleton... 🎵"

Bro looks around and scratches at his head. "What the hell...? Again? Fuck... that doesn't look like Brighton at all..." He blinks at the music coming from the laptop and points at it. "OH! I know this song! Alt loves this band!"

As if responding to him, the music abruptly shuts off.

"Oh- well- oops?" Bro whispers, looking around the place some more. "Um... helllooo?"

Quiet for a moment. Then--it sounds like footsteps behind him. Close behind him. But there's nothing there. Even as a cold breeze passes right by him, like someone brushing past.

Bro whips around, trying to figure out where that breeze is coming from or the footsteps. "Um-! I-If someone's there I'm sorry for technically breaking in but if it helps I didn't mean to!"

The TV turns on, but it only shows static. And, directly in his ear, a voice whispers, "Get out."

Bro lets out a loud-pitched scream of terror and ducks down, covering his head.

And then the front door opens and a man walks in. "I'm home!" he announces. "What--" And then he notices Bro, ducking down in the middle of the floor. He blinks, clearly confused. "Uh..."

Bro comically peeks his head out from under his arms and then hops up to his feet. He waves stiffly to the man and smiles nervously. "Hiiii! Sorry uh- didn't mean to intrude just- ... bro i think your house is fucking haunted-!"

The man laughs. "Uh--okay." He has brown hair pulled back in a small manbun and a thicker beard. Over his button-up shirt is a blue jacket with the letters SPDFI on the lapel. "Yeah, I know it's--hold on." He looks away from Bro and towards the TV--not at it, but at some point near it. Then back to Bro. "Um... so... that's a very impressive shapechange, but the guy you're pretending to be doesn't live here anymore, so it's kind of obvious you're not him. How'd you get in? I thought the place was warded."

Bro blinks rapidly, "...those are a lot of words I'm only vaguely familiar with-" He says plainly. "I'm... not a shapeshifter though... but I'm guessing you know a Chase Brody? Cuz I'm him- but from another world." He grins nervously, "Tah-da?"

The man blinks. "Another world...? Well that would explain why I can't see through it. Yeah, I know a Chase, he's--"

And then he abruptly stops, looking back towards that spot near the TV. "Well, it's not the craziest thing," he says. "Did you turn the TV on? Can you turn it off?"

A pause.

He chuckles. "Alright, I'll do it." And he walks over, picking up a remote from the coffee table and turning the television off. "Whatever's happening here, I think it'll help if he could see you, you know."

Bro looks back and forth over his shoulder and knits his eyebrows together in confusion. "Ummm.... who are you talking to??"

"Ya see?" the man says, glancing at that spot again. "I look like a fucking lunatic."

Pause.

"It'll be good practice, at least."

Pause.

"Okay." He looks back at Bro. "Something's about to happen. Promise not to freak out."

"I can try my hardest not to!" Bro laughs nervously. "As long as I don't get like- jumpscared again."

The man laughs. "Alright. Ready."

And then someone... appears next to him. A man who's not entirely there. He's translucent and his coloring is pale, like someone put a layer of white over a digital drawing and then lowered the opacity. Parts of him are more transparent than the others, mostly parts of his stomach and upper arms, and his legs fade away entirely. But most startling is his head. His eyes are empty, black sockets, and dark near-black blood drips down one side of his head from a hole just under the cap he's wearing.

Bro can't help it- he screams and ends up hovering up in the air, hitting the ceiling in his attempt to get away. He curls up on it and then blinks comically at the man and the see-through man. "Ah... s-sorry- wasn't expecting the... the blood and eyes and- ... yeah-"

"Whoa!" The man jumps in surprise, looking up at Bro. "Um... okay, then?" He glances at the transparent man.

"Chase, the eyes, you're forgetting the eyes again."

"Sorry," the transparent man says. He blinks, and now there are normal gray-blue eyes where the empty sockets were. "Um... I can't do anything about the blood, though." His voice is quiet and whispery. It almost sounds like someone is repeating what he says a half second after he says it.

Bro's eyes widen. "Oh y-you're... you're..."

It feels like his breath gets knocked out of him as he looks down and sees... a ghost of himself. He slowly floats back down but can't take his eyes off the ghost. "... t-that's what you meant by he doesn't live here anymore... huh-" He breathes, looking freaked out and pale.

The ghost him rubs the back of his neck. "This is probably pretty shocking for you, huh?" He laughs awkwardly. "I-it was shocking to me when it happened. Sorry for... trying to scare you off. You just... appeared. It freaked me out."

The hero swallows shakily, trying to push back some hard hitting memories before they make him spiral. "I-It's fine I'm sorry for- f-freaking you out."

A moment passes in silence.

"I'm Jack, by the way," the man says. "I see ghosts and stuff. And... you're not... a witch, are you? You're... really some other version of Chase?"

Bro looks back at Jack and slowly smiles. "Oh- hi, nice to meet you. No, not a witch. I'm... a super hero actually? But yeah I'm... Chase Brody. Even got my ID if that helps-"

Jack shakes his head. "No, that's fine. Just hearing you offer that, uh, helps. It's just... really weird." He laughs. "A superhero. Can't fucking believe it."

"Can't believe it?" the ghost Chase repeats. "Magic is fucking real, and the superhero thing is what you can't believe?"

"Well, it's a different kind of thing, y'know?"

Bro laughs and shakes his head. "No I get it- far as I know in my world, ghosts don't exist so..." He glances at Ghost Chase and then quickly looks away again.

Jack looks at Bro. "So, uh... what're you doing here, then? On some sort of hero mission across universes?"

"Um... no we just got... lost.” Bro says, “This was supposed to be a fun trip for our friend but now our device we use to travel is... broken, I guess. We were supposed to be home by now..."

"Oh. That... sucks." Chase says. "Sorry it's not working." He notices Bro avoiding looking in his direction and glances down at himself. He becomes just a bit more transparent.

"Wait, 'we'?" Jack repeats. "There's more of you?"

"Yeah... I got my little brother, Alt and my best mate, Jackie," Bro says, "And... a villain named Magnificent. God- I'm guessing there's magic again here... He's gonna be hot on the trail for that." The hero groans, rubbing at his head.

Chase blinks. "You have a brother? And a Jackie?" He smiles. "That's great."

"Not so great about the, uh 'villain,'" Jack says. "Magnificent? Huh. I'm guessing he's a witch if he's going after magic, then. I can call some friends and ask them to keep an eye out for him. In the meantime, can you, like, call your friends? Or do you not have a phone? Or, uh, do they not work between dimensions?"

"Didn't you say something about interference, Jack?" Chase asks. "Tell him about that."

"...fuck, you're right." Jack sighs. "Ghosts and magic interfere with radio waves, including cell calls and WiFi. It's not normally that big a problem, but it might be worse for you? For some reason? I don't know, just thought I'd better warn you."

Bro digs out his phone and then sighs, "Aw- we had such a good streak going of places with wifi... shit." He shakes his head. "But, don't worry. I can at least find my brother and Jackie. My brother is... a witch too. I guess that's what they're called here! But, he made us these tracking bracelets so we can find each other." He shows the bracelet off for them to see.

"Whoa, really?" Jack walks closer to see it, and Chase does too--though it's more like he glides along. "Weird runes. Then again, I don't really know much about magic in the first place. How does it work? D'you need to activate it?"

"Yeah, I just need to speak the phrase and it'll show me where to go!" Bro says proudly. He touches the gem on the bracelet and whispers 'loonu' to it. And soon enough will of the wisp type magic blossoms into the air. creating a trail. "Blue means they're close and green means they're farther away!"

Two trails drift diagonally across the room, heading out the front door. They're similar in shade, but one is a bit more blue.

Jack walks across the room and looks out the window. "Huh. Looks like they're heading downtown."

"Oh cool!" Bro says, looking like he's ready to follow after Jack.

Meanwhile, Chase stays where he is. "Um..." he says quietly to Bro. "Hey. I, uh, noticed you were uncomfortable earlier. Can I ask a, uh... blunt question? Does this... bother you?" He gestures to the blood. "I mean... the location?"

Bro stiffens ever so slightly as Chase speaks up. Bro is quiet for a second before he looks back towards Chase with a somewhat haunted expression. He meets Chase's eyes- looks at the wound and then quickly looks away, "um... y-yeah. Sorry I just..." He touches his own scar on his head quietly.

Chase nods. "Yeah... if you're me, I thought it would be like that. I-if it makes you feel better... I didn't do it. I-I don't remember what really happened, but I know it wasn't me. Someone just... made it look that way."

Bro looks back towards Chase with a bit of surprise. "...o-oh." He pauses and then laughs a bit sheepishly, messing with his hair. "...that's... a bit of a relief. Still... hard to see a version of you that's... a ghost."

"Yeah. I can imagine it would be really disturbing." Chase nods, and gives him a small smile.

Bro looks at Chase with sympathy, "...I'm sorry that... that you died. I hope you can find out what happened..."

"Thanks. I-it's... very different, as a ghost. But I'm adjusting. And me and Jack are working on figuring that out."

Bro nods with more of a smile, "Hey... at least you're still around somewhat. That's good- you can give whoever did this to you some hell."

"Heh. Yeah." Chase grins. "I'm gonna stick around until I'm ready."

Jack has been waiting quietly while the Chases talked. Then he clears his throat. "So. Uh. D'you need me to drive you after these trails? I mean, I know you can fly, but that's not normal here, so unless you can turn invisible now you might not want to attract attention."

Bro blinks back at Jack and then deflates with a slight pout, "Awww man, I can't fly again! This is bullshitttt." He playfully whines. Then he refluffs his hair and sighs but smiles at Jack gratefully. "If you wouldn't mind, that'd be great."

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Jack says. "I mean... gotta be honest, I'm new to driving, but not too new!" He looks at Chase. "Do you want to come, too? Could be good practice leaving the house."

"Everything is practice for me with you," Chase says, rolling his eyes.

"Well you need it."

"Alright, if you and other-me are fine with me coming, I will. I want to meet this, uh, Alt? And the other Jackie."

Bro smiles, "Yeah, Alt. Also goes by Anti but- only I call him that." He shrugs, "I don't mind! We'll just- need to make sure to keep them informed about the ... head thing."

"Anti?" Jack frowns. "I think I've heard that name floating around somewhere... rumors or something." He shakes his head. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing."

Chase self-consciously raises a hand to the side of his head. "Yeah... it tends to freak people out if you don't see a lot of ghosts around."

"Which most people don't," Jack says. He grins. "I'm special. Anyway, we better head out fast, then." He takes off the jacket he's wearing and throws it over the back of the couch. "Out of my work clothes and ready to go. Let's find your friends."

Bro laughs and nods, “Let’s go!”

-----------

Alt appears on a strange city street. Tall, narrow buildings surround him, most of them shops of some kind. Street lights provide puddles of yellow light to see by. No cars are passing by. Next to him is a shop with a sign identifying it as 'Magnificent Magics'. And there's a man in the shop window staring at him.

Alt blinks as he appears in this new city. Then he curses loudly and takes out the TRVLR again, almost wanting to rip it apart as he whisper-shouts, “what is wrong with you, you piece of shit?!” He then realizes he’s being watched and he meets the man’s eyes with a bewildered expression. Especially once he sees the name of the shop.

The TRVLR briefly displays the universe as UA-1313025SC before the low battery icon appears.

The man raises a hand in greeting. Then he walks over to the front door of the shop and opens it, still looking at Alt. His hair is chin-length in a half-up style, and he's wearing one of those sleeveless black turtlenecks underneath an open button-up shirt. The shirt has elaborate flower designs on it, like they're growing from the bottom upwards. What's the name of that style? Art noveau, right. "So... are you going to come in, or did you teleport directly outside my shop by coincidence?" he asks.

Alt freezes as the man approaches and almost starts to glitch away but stops himself. Even if pixels pop and fizzle around him. “Um… y-yeah sure…?” He says quietly as he approaches the door.

"Alright, come on in then." The man laughs a bit. "Cool magic. I haven't seen anything like that." He stands aside so Alt can walk into the shop.

Inside is... a bit strange. It's like a bookstore, a witch's hut, and a cat cafe all got merged together. Bookcases line the walls, filled with all sorts of books. Paper cover, hard cover, leather cover. There are also various trinkets on the shelves. Candles and crystals and bottles and incense and more. There's a counter at the back of the room with more of these trinkets, and a cash register for purchases. Two doors behind it lead deeper into the building. Bundles of plants dangle from the ceiling. There's a cat tree in each corner of the room. The air smells like pine needles and mint. The main body of the shop is filled with small round tables, all covered with silky tablecloths in various jewel tones. Some of them have more books or trinkets, but some are empty. At the very back of the room, near the counter, a man sits at one of these tables.

Alt looks around the shop with wide eyes and awe. This place is amazing- it almost puts Blaise’s shop to shame.

As soon as Alt comes into the shop, he's swarmed by cats. Wow, that's a lot of them. A black-and-orange tortoiseshell cat, a white cat with gray patches, a fluffly black one and fluffy white one that look like a pair, a small black one, a ragdoll one, a fluffy brown one with only three legs, an off-white one with darker ears and tail and stripes on its legs and face--wait a minute. Some of these seem familiar.

Alt’s eyes widen and sparkle as he bends down to look at the cats, looking beyond happy to see so many. “Oh!! Hello babies!!” He then blinks as he realizes. He’s… he’s seen cats like a lot of these before. That’s… weird.

"Hey! Give him space!" the man nudges the cats out of the way with his foot. "Sorry about that. They're not usually that clingy... I think. Most of them aren't mine. But they are up for adoption, if you're looking. Except for Sam and Higgins."

“It’s okay I don’t mind!” Alt laughs, “Unfortunately I don’t think our apartment, or my brother, can handle another cat. As much as I want one.”

"That's fair. They need a good, safe home," the man says. "Alright. Well, I'm Marvin, I'm the owner. What're you looking for? I have just about everything. Though, hmm, what are you, a chaos witch? You guys need some weird shit sometimes so that might be the exception. And if you're looking for a reading, I have to tell you I don't work with the French or Thoth arcana, only crystaleye and traditional cards."

Back in the back of the room, the other man in the shop watches. Is he... staring at Alt?

Alt gets to his feet after petting a couple cats. He blinks as Marvin explains about the shop- curious how he knew about Alt’s chaos magic. He seems excited about the tarot. “Oh! I was learning about those from my mentor! Still don’t really know how to do a reading but- god it’d be cool to get one…” He blinks and looks out at the other man. …why is he looking at him? He tilts his head slightly.

"Really? Were they teaching you traditional arcana? Because like I just said, I don't work with those decks..." Marvin trails off as he realizes where Alt is looking. "Oh. That's JJ, he's a friend of mine."

JJ waves at Alt. Now that Alt is really looking, he can see the identifiers of Jamesons across universes. The mustache, the neat hair and clothes. This JJ is wearing a blue vest over a white button-up, the style old-fashioned, maybe from the early 1900s. He's also very pale, wit a slight gray tinge to his skin that looks kind of unhealthy. "We were hanging out, but don't worry, I'm still open," Marvin continues.

Alt blinks and then smiles and waves at JJ. “Oh no worries! Sorry get kinda- paranoid with stares.”

Sorry, you just look like someone I know, JJ says, absentmindedly.

"Oh, JJ just said you remind him of someone," Marvin translates.

Alt seems to freeze a bit at this- looking back at JJ. “…I look like someone you know?” He asks quietly.

JJ blinks. That was my exact wording. Oh! Do you know sign language?! he asks, looking excited. "I guess he must, cause I didn't translate that directly." Marvin grins.

Alt grins too, “Yeah I do! One of my friends is deaf.”

Alt is practically buzzing with energy - this shop is like a candy store to him. “About the tarot though!! We do traditional like the standard 78 deck, but they were telling me about the variants! But god I also want to know what you have for Chaos magic! I haven’t met anyone who can just openly say they do chaos magic!”

"And what're you talking about? I mean, chaos magic is rare, but it's not like it's taboo or anything. I mean, some witches are gonna be assholes about it, but they're probably just jealous that they can't figure it out." Marvin chuckles. "As for what I have, there are some grimoires with chaos spells over here—usually the ones with bright covers—and I got some mantras and mandelas and dice, and of course the generic supplies like candles and shit."

Alt flushes at Marvin’s statement and he messes with his mask. “Oh well- it… kinda is where I’m from? But man… magic is so accepted here!” He beams.

Marvin leans back against one of the tables. "Well I mean... don't go doing magic out in front of the everydays, or the Night Council will have your head, but yeah. There are witches all over Scuabyrg. There are more vamps and wolves, though, I think. Where're you from, then? You don't sound like you're from too far away. Oh, uh... I'm also realizing I didn't get your name."

Alt blinks at the new phrases but easy enough to gain the meaning… Everydays must be normal people and the Night Council must be like the magic circle back home. He can’t help but balk at the casual mention of vampires and werewolves though. But he tries to shake that off as he laughs nervously. “Oh! My name is Alt, Alt Brody. Umm I’m from a place called Brighton but… alsoimfromanotheruniverse?” He says really quickly, ears turning red.

"Brighton? I've never heard of--wait a minute." Marvin stares at him. "How'd you get here, then?"

JJ, who had paused to take a drink from a glass sitting on the table, makes a choking sound. He sets the glass down again and quickly signs, You can't just take him at face value! That's ridiculous!

"I mean, he could be fucking with me," Marvin says slowly. "But I prefer to be optimistic about people."

Alt laughs, “T-That’s a good trait to have- but um…” He takes out the TRVLR. “I have this device that I can power with my magic- and it can take us in between universes. Parallel ones, actually.” He looks down at some of the cats and laughs. “It’s funny- even some of the cats here look like ones I’ve seen in other worlds.”

JJ stares at him with obvious doubt, but Marvin's eyes light up excitedly. He grins. "I knew it. I knew someone would figure out a way to travel between worlds eventually. You know, I know there are other places beyond this one, but no one ever fucking believes me. Like, they think I believe in the theory of it, no, I know. I mean... I've never personally seen any, but I know. Cause of magic. Fuck yeah." He looks at the cats, who are all busy getting underfoot or climbing the cat trees. "Hmm... if these are cats who exist in other worlds too, maybe that's why they keep showing up here. Maybe they know a 'me' in these other worlds."

Alt looks excited too, buzzing with glitches as he grins, “Fuck yes! Someone who believes us right away!” He looks down at the cats again and laughs, “Yeah maybe! Other yous had cats like these! Like- the white and gray striped one was called Draco and he lived in a fantasy world. And the 3 legged one is called Mister- well, Mr. Fluffington-“

"No way, that's what I called them!" Marvin laughs. "Okay, that has to be it, then. Fucking whims of the universe."

JJ sighs. He reaches over and grabs a bottle sitting on the table. A wine bottle, specifically. There are two on the table, the same brand of red wine, but one has the letter B written on it in red marker. JJ grabs that one, pours it into his cup, and takes a long drink.

Alt stops his recounting of cats to watch JJ take a drink. He sees the B written on the bottle and knits his eyebrows together- before his eyes slowly widen. …Marvin did mention there were vampires here.

JJ notices Alt's expression. He puts the cup down, looking almost embarrassed.

Marvin looks back and forth between Alt and JJ. "Uh... something wrong?"

I don't think Alt has... met... someone like me before, JJ says delicately.

"Oh! Oh." Marvin inhales sharply. "Okay, Alt? Don't worry. Vampires don't hunt people down here. Well, most of them don't, the good ones don't, and JJ's one of those. We have blood banks and stuff and the Night Council makes sure no one dies. It's fine."

People aren't going to just relax immediately when you say it's fine, JJ points out. Especially about something like this!

Alt is quick to raise his hands and shake his head, “H-Hey! It’s okay! The JJ I know wouldn’t hurt a fly… unless provoked so. I believe you. You don’t seem like a bad vampire. Just- something I’m not used to seeing.” Alt does look very excited though, “it’s fucking wicked… vampires! And werewolves! Fucking! Supernatural shit!” He pops and fizzles some more, hardly able to contain himself. “And all this magic!! So cool!!”

JJ sighs in relief--which does have the unfortunate side effect of drawing attention to the fact that he wasn't breathing until he took a breath to do that, but that uncanny fact is counterbalanced by his gentle smile. Thank you. I try to be as kind as I can.

Marvin laughs. "Fucking great to see someone excited about this. You kinda get used to it over time. But yeah, we have all sorts of stuff in this universe. Scuabyrg--this city--is mostly home to vamps, wolves, and witches, with the occasional weirder creature. Oh, and ghosts, of course. There are ghosts wherever people die."

We actually met a really nice ghost recently, JJ says.

"Yep, you and him are the newest members of our little gang," Marvin says. "We also have another vamp in our circle, and a wolf, and a meddie--uh, that's a nickname for a human who can naturally see through illusions and talk to ghosts and stuff. Comes from the word 'medium.'"

“Ghosts huh? That’s… that’s wild.” Alt laughs, pushing back his hair. “This is stuff you always hear about and wish were real even if it’d be scary because like?? How cool would it be?? I- I wanna meet them maybe Chase or Jackie have-!” Then Alt stops himself and then curses. “Ah fuck right! I… I gotta go find my brother and Jackie…! And god if magic is here then Mag is gonna be even more desperate-!” He hisses to himself.

"Chase and Jackie? Heh,those are some of the 'gang' I was just talking about," Marvin says. "I guess you brought some alternate versions of them with you? And... Mag? Who's that?"

Maybe it's short for Magnificent and that's an alternate you, JJ says, half-jokingly.

Alt makes a wide eyed tight lipped face and looks away for a second. “…you’re actually spot on. Except Mag is… bad news.”

JJ and Marvin stare at him, blinking. Then Marvin looks at JJ. "Are you fucking serious?"

So I was right, JJ says.

"Don't say that like you were making a serious claim!"

I was. Don't get mad that you didn't put it together, maybe by the time you're my age you'll be just as smart. JJ smiles smugly, keeping his lips closed.

"You were joking and we both know it you sack of--" Marvin clears his throat. "Anyway. Bad news, huh? I'm gonna guess he's a witch. And... I can imagine a lot of ways a 'bad news' witch could go. What's his deal?"

Alt nods, “Basically… he’s a mental magician. He uses mental magic… mind control. Hypnotism- he makes people… puppets or pets. And he’s obsessed with getting new magic- and destroying alternative versions of himself. If he can kill two birds with one stone… he just might.” Alt hutches himself with his hands in his pockets. “But honestly? The last place we were in had no magic so.. he might be super desperate for the first source he can find.”

Marvin hisses. "Well... that sounds bad. Especially for me. I mean, I'm probably the strongest witch in the city."

JJ rolls his eyes. Braggart. He spells out the word so there can be no mistaking it.

"I brag because it's true." Now it's Marvin's turn to smile smugly, though it's quickly replaced by a serious expression. "Well, if he's already appeared, he's probably already caused disaster. Like I said, there are a lot of witches in the city. We can call our friends and see if any of them have seen anything. Meanwhile, can you contact your friends?"

Alt smiles nervously at Marvin. Maybe that confidence could help them with Mag. “Oh- lemme see.” Alt tries to turn on his phone and see if he can message the others.

The cell and WiFi is terrible here. On the verge of being nonexistent.

Marvin leans over his shoulder. "Oh yeah... magic here tends to interfere with wireless stuff. But normally I get fine service. I guess being in a different universe makes it worse for you."

But you're a witch, surely you have some other way, JJ says.

Alt makes a face but sighs. “Yeah felt like it was about time our phones wouldn’t be of use.” He shrugs then beams at JJ when he calls Alt a witch. He doesn’t know why- but it makes him feel proud almost. “Uh yeah actually! I made a tracking talisman- it can lead me to where they are.” He shows off his bracelet and then whispers to word to show the trails of magic.

The magic branches off to the left and the right, with the one to the right being definitely more blue than the other.

"Niiiice," Marvin grins. "We have tracking spells here, too, but they usually need something of the person's. So. Which one are we heading after?"

“Blue mean they’re closer so let’s head to that one first!” Alt grins back. “Oh- if you want to come that is… if you guys want to stay away I.. I understand-“

"Of course we're coming!" Marvin says. "How often do you get the chance to talk with people from another world? Besides, you'll need help navigating the city."

And if we're confronting mental magic eventually, I should come, JJ says. Vampires are immune to magical compulsion and hypnotism. He pauses. Except for the power of other vampires.

"I mean, it's from a different world, but it's worth trying," Marvin adds.

Alt brightens and can’t help but glitch in excitement as he nods. “That could very helpful! Alright then- let’s go!”

Marvin smiles excitedly. "Alright! Let's go." He stands up, grabbing some things from the counter.

You're not bringing your cards, are you? JJ asks.

"Just in case we have downtime. I'd love to do a reading for Alt. And of course, I need this." Marvin picks up a cat-shaped mask, white with black and green designs on it. "This focuses my power. Sounds like we'll need it."

JJ nods and stands up. It's a good thing the sun just set. We'll have all night.

"Mm-hmm." Marvin heads for the shop's front door, stopping only briefly to bet the tortoiseshell cat as he passes a table. "Now let's go."

Alt’s eyes glow green-blue as he glitches to the door with a determined smile.

-----------

Jackie lands in a small hallway with wood-paneled walls. At one end of the hallway is a set of bathrooms, at the other is a T-intersection, with noise and chatter drifting in from the left branch. One of the wood panels has writing on it in various-colored markers. This is clearly some sort of public area. A restaurant? Or a pub? Unfortunately, he doesn't land alone. Magnificent appears nearby. And Jackie is blocking his way out of the hallway.

Jackie blinks and looks around, trying to figure out where they are.

Magnificent groans and then sees Jackie in front of him. Huh… and none of his friends are around…

In a flash, Mag is grabbing Jackie and slamming him into one of the walls of the hallway.

Jackie screams in surprise and pain and scrambles to get Mag off him. “M-Mag-?!”

Magnificent crackles, eyes alight with mad rage. “You didn’t think I’d let those comments about me go unnoticed, did you, old friend~?” He laughs and then takes one hand and grabs Jackie’s throat- choking him as he digs his nails into his flesh.

Jackie gasps and flails desperately, trying to pry Mag’s hands off him.

And at that moment, a group of people comes in from the left branch of the T-intersection. Three college-age guys, who all stop and stare at Magnificent as he does this.

"H-hey!" one shouts. "Hey!" he turns back to the branch. "Someone's attacking someone down here!"

The other two go for their pockets, one grabbing a phone and another grabbing--what is that, a bottle of something? Its contents sparkle strangely.

Jackie looks towards the new guys with desperate eyes, trying to choke out a plea for help.

Mag looks and glares at the newcomers, growling lowly. “This is a private matter, gentleman. You’ll leave if you know what’s good for you.” His eyes glow bright toxic green as he bares his fangs at them.

“Whoa, holy shit!” The shouting one backs away but the other two, though they look shocked, stand their ground. The one it’s the phone is clearly filming him now, and the other one—the other one’s eyes start to glow white.

And that’s when Magnificent realizes it. These three are magic. It’s bright, like distilled starlight—definitely light magic so it’s of no use to him, but… is there more nearby?

Magnificent's eyes lock onto the glowing hungrily but he quickly grows more angry as he senses the light polluting it. But, he's distracted enough for Jackie to at least gasp and get some more air, prying Mag's hand away from him slightly.

“What’s going on down here?!” A man joins the group, around thirty, wearing a red hoodie and ripped jeans. He suddenly gags and covers his nose, like he smells something terrible. “Wh-what the fuck?!”

And then someone else appears, too. He looks around the same age as the hoodie one, wearing a black coat over what looks like hospital scrubs. His skin is pale with a slight gray tint. His eyes land on the sight, confused. “Marvin?”

“That’s not fucking Marvin!” The one in the hoodie says. “You kids get out of here!” He practically shoved the three college guys back down the hallway.

The mad magician growls and lets go of Jackie and then flares out green fire to cut him and Jackie off from the newcomers. "I said- Back off! This doesn't concern the likes of you-!"

The two men back away from the fire. “Jesus fucking hell, dude!” The hoodie one gasps. “Of course this concerns us you fucking idiot! You can’t kill someone! Especially not an every—” Then the hoodie one looks directly at Jackie, and stops, confused. “…huh?”

Jackie crashes to the ground, coughing. He almost doesn’t see man in the hoodie but manages to look up in time, his eyes widening.

“Fire!” The other one is shouting down the hallway. “Fire! Magical fire!”

A woman runs down the hall, dark-skinned and with a head of curly hair. She grabs an amulet around her neck and flings out a hand. Water bursts forth, putting out the flames that had quickly attached to the wooden panels on the walls.

Magnificent tumbles back and hisses at the magician. He teleports back and picks up Jackie by his hair then flares out his claws underneath his neck, causing him to freeze in fear. Magnificent snarls, “One more false move, magicians, and I spill this human’s blood- and you’ll be to blame for his death.”

The three of them back up. "Dolores, go call the police," the man in the coat whispers to the woman. She nods and hurries down the hallway.

The man in the hoodie growls--and then laughs. "Magicians? What are you, a newb or an idiot?" And, surprisingly fast, he lunges forward-- --and halfway through the lunge, he turns into a massive wolf.

“Wha- the fuck did you just call me?!” Magnificent hisses, bristling like a cat. His eyes widen as he sees the man turn into a wolf. He yells out and soon he’s being tackled to the floor, arms pinned by its claws, leaving Jackie heaving for breath, looking at the belly of the giant wild.

“H-Holy shit…!” He breathes.

The other man hurriedly rushes forward, grabbing Jackie and pulling him out from under it. "Process all this later," he says. "We're getting out of here now!"

And he runs down the hallway, dragging Jackie behind him.

Jackie stumbles to his feet and hurries to catch up with the black coated man. “T-Thanks!” He calls as he nervously looks behind them.

The wolf growls in Magnificent's face.

Magnificent glares at the wolf and bares his teeth back, struggling underneath him.

The wolf waits until Jackie and the man are out of sight before getting off Mag and running after them.

The hallway joins up with a main dining area, taken up with long tables and a bar pressed up against the nearest wall. Directly across from the hallway is a glass door, through which is a stairway leading up. Weirdly enough, there are no windows in this pub area. There are about ten patrons scattered about, who are all looking towards the hallway in confusion and worry.

"Everyone out!" the man in the coat snaps. "Black magic!"

The reaction is instant. Anyone sitting down stands up. About three of them disappear into thin air. Half of the remaining ones turn into wolves and start sheparding people to the glass door.

Jackie’s eyes widen as he sees the pub erupt into activity and… wolves?! Are these-?? “W-Werewolves..???”

"Yes, please process quickly," the man in the coat says, pushing Jackie over to the glass door. "They won't hurt you."

Meanwhile, a white wolf gently nudges Jackie and the man in the coat out of the glass door. They are now in a stairwell, which leads up to another door, this one wood.

“R-Right- uh- okay!” Jackie squeaks and lets himself get nudged and pushed through the door and up the stairs. He rushes to the wooden door, pushing it open.

Outside is a city street at night, bright street lamps light it up as the occasional car passes by. The other patrons of the underground pub are scattering, many of them taking out phones to call people. The man in the coat turns around, staring back down the stairs they came from, worry drawing his features close.

Once he’s free, Magnificent pushes himself to his feet and then starts to laugh wildly. He grins and teleports to be in the pub area to hear the warning. He laughs even harder, building up black magic flames in his hands. “Oh? Are you all scared of black magic?! Good!” He looks around for that wolf and tries to send flames his way, snarling in crazed anger.

The wolf snarls and leaps out of the way of the fire and onto a table. It swipes one of the chairs with its paws, sending it towards Magnificent. Some of the wolves bark and snarl aggressively towards Mag, and a red one and a gray one run over from the rest of the group to give the other wolf--a brown one--protection.

Magnificent laughs madly and burns the chair with his magic. “You really think you mutts can stand up against me?!” He blasts fire at the floor around them, the black magic fire burning hot but somehow seems to make the room darker- casting it in an eerie purple hue.

“I’ve always wanted a nice fur coat~!” Magnificent giggles, opening up his hands and controlling the flames to close in on the wolves in a ring.

The wolves all yelp in surprise, the fire getting close and burning some of their fur and skin. The red one nudges the brown and gray one towards the center, suffering the worst of the burns.

Suddenly, the woman from before pops up from under the bar. "Hey!" She throws a bottle at the back of Mag's head.

The bottle distracts Mag at the very least as he throws out more flames to crack the bottle before it reaches him. He grins, eyeing her down. Is she light based? These flames are not efficient enough to keep running when he was drained from the other world. He keeps one hand out to keep the wolves trapped.

The woman's magic is something heavy, deep and rich like freshly tilled earth. She grabs her amulet and another bottle, pouring out its contents on the ground. Instead of liquid, out comes a pale blue mist, cool to the touch, spreading across the floor and filling the room.

And while Mag is distracted, the white wolf leaps forward onto his back.

Magnificent doesn’t even pay attention to the mist- he stares at the magician like a predator stalking its prey. Moving like he’s possessed by his hunger. He seems to feel the rush of the wolf right before it pounces and he lashes to slam it into the flood by its neck. He grins wide, eyes sparking as he tries to drain magic from its body. “Aren’t you a pretty thing? Why don’t you just die for me? Hm?”

Though there's a hint of magic in the wolf, it's inaccessible. Like trying to pull a thread from the middle of a tapestry.

Mag’s eyes widen, “What?!” He curses ready to tear his claws across this wolf’s throat for being useless to him.

"Leave her alone!" the woman--Dolores, she was called earlier--shouts. She runs around the bar and flings out both hands. A bolt of sparkling green magic whizzes right by Magnificent's head, drawing his attention to her again. And drawing his attention away from the circle of flames, where the mist is gathering around it. The flames flicker, being smothered by the moisture and the magic in the mist. And the three wolves trapped inside lunge for Mag again.

Dolores’s magic draws Mag’s attention again and he teleports up to look at her, grinning wide. He giggles and tries to lash out to grab Dolores- But the flames die down and the red wolf breaks through and chomps down on his outstretched arm. Magnificent screams bloody murder and claws and pushes to try to get it off him. “Fucking-!! Unhand you fucking beast!!”

While Mag is distracted by the wolf, Dolores grabs the amulet around her neck and disappears in a shower of green sparkles.

The red wolf lets go easily enough, running back to the white wolf, sniffing her and nudging her back to her feet. The white wolf shakes herself off and immediately starts herding the other wolves towards the door. They all run there.

Magnificent staggers and grips at his arm, the limb shaking from the bite. He turns to see Dolores is gone and then screams in rage- fire rocketing out and eating up what’s left of the pub. He then snarls and teleports out of the pub, going to find a place to lick his wounds… and to begin his next hunt.

"Jackie?" The man in the coat runs over to the doorway. "Scarlet? Lily? Bryson? Jackie?! Get up here!"

Jackieboy anxiously tries to get his phone to work outside and curses over and over as nothing connects. “C’mon!! The one time I need to call you guys!! God-!” He keeps anxiously watching the door, afraid Mag will be back out to kill him at any second.

The man in the coat is about to head down there after the people left in the pub, but then he sees the wolves running up the stairs and hurriedly moves to the side as they burst out onto the street.

The white wolf quickly transforms, now suddenly a woman with long brown hair wearing a white scarf. "Lily!" the man gasps. "I-is everything alright?!"

"H-he hit these guys with some fire," the woman--Lily--says in between panting breaths. Her voice sounds hoarse. "Smelled like black magic. Went after Dolores but she teleported away. Still a fire down there."

The brown wolf shifts back to the man from before. Parts of his hoodie are burned through now. "I liked this hoodie," he mutters.

The man in the coat laughs. "You have two others just like it, Jackie." Then he becomes serious again. "We must get those treated. And, ah..." He looks over at Jackieboy. "Do something about him."

Jackieboy jumps and nearly drops his phone as the wolves burst through. He watches them change back with awe. Especially as he sees the other him. He waves timidly at the two men, “uh… hi-“

The man in the hoodie--clearly another Jackie--smiles. "Hi. You're... probably really freaking out, huh? Um... Well. Turns out, werewolves and magic and stuff are real... but that shit down there doesn't happen normally, I promise." He waves. "I'm Jackie. This is Henrik--" gesturing at the man in the coat. "--and these are Lily, Scarlet, and Bryson."

The red and the gray wolf shift back, becoming a woman with a red pixie cut and a young man with long blonde hair. The redheaded woman stumbles, and Lily catches her. There's a resemblance between the two of them. Relatives?

Jackie stares at the two of them, looking in between them while rapidly blinking. God- this Henrik looks nothing like Henny. It’s blowing his mind. He coughs to clear his throat. “I’m.. also Jackie. J-Jackie Mann. And uh- usually I’d be scared to say this for fear of looking insane but it… feels less crazy then the fact werewolves are here. I’m… a-actually… you. From another universe.”

The group just stares at him.

Jackie grumbles wordlessly. "You're not on about that same shit Marvin's on about, are you?" He sniffs. "No, you don't have any magic."

"He does look a lot like you, Jackie," Schneep says. "Don't say you didn't notice it."

"Smells like you, too," Scarlet adds, a bit weakly. "Just human instead."

Jackieboy blinks at himself and then while the others are talking, experimentally sniffs himself to see if he can smell what they can. …then he realizes that’s dumb they’re literally wolves and he quickly stops, looking embarrassed.

"Save your strength, Scar," Lily says gently. "I'm taking you and Bryce to the hospital. Jackie? You too."

Jackie hesitates. "Sorry, but... I-I think I need to wait a minute. To... talk about this."

Lily raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You never know how black magic will react. We need to get it purified soon."

"I'm fine for a little," Jackie says slowly.

"Alright, if you're sure. Promise to call an ambulance if it gets too hard."

"Yeah, of course." And then Lily and the other two walk off.

Jackieboy watches Lily, Scarlet and Bryson walk off with concern. He then looks back at Jackie sheepishly and pats his legs, “I uh… d-dunno how else to prove it cuz I’m just… human. Can’t do anything cool like you do.”

"Well, uh... I guess we could go with this for a while," Jackie says slowly. "We have this friend, Marvin, he talks about how other universes exist all the time. It's actually kind of annoying. So... I guess it's possible?"

"I mean... I'm one of those nerds I guess- but only cuz it's in comic books." Jackieboy mutters, ears turning red.

"If you are from another world, what are you doing here?" Schneep asks. "Are you looking for something? Or are you lost?"

"And how bad is your luck to get immediately attacked by a witch like that?" Jackie shudders. "His magic smelled... rotten."

Jackieboylooks at Schneep and messes with his hair. "...lost I guess is the right word? I still don't really get how it works- my friends are the experienced world hoppers- they keep saying we should be home by now so... I think our ride is broken."

He laughs bitterly at Jackie's last question, "Unfortunately... me and him go wayyy back. He's from my universe. Goes back and forth between wanting to kill me and wanting to just.. torture me. It's... complicated. His name is Mar- ...Magnificent."

“So he’s ALSO from another world…” Schneep repeats, muttering.

Jackie narrows his eyes. “Were you about to say Marvin? Is this Magnificent guy Marvin from another universe?” He suddenly barks out a laugh. “So he’s not perfect in every world.”

Jackie sheepishly nods, "Yeah... he used to be Marvin... he's not anymore." He says with a slight tinge of sadness in his voice. Mixed with... anger.

“This is not the time for your weird grudge against Marvin,” Schneep snaps. “No matter what you think about his magic, do you think he’s the type to torture and kill?”

Jackie’s smile falls. “No. Of course I don’t.”

Schneep shakes his head. “This Magnificent is clearly dangerous. What did you say, other Jackie? You have friends who are better at this? Are they here, too?”

Jackieboy nods to Schneep, "Yeah... my mates- Alt and Chase. I uh... I was trying to call them but the service here sucks ass."

Schneep takes his phone out. “My service is fine,” he says. “Something about you being from another world must be making it worse. Magic and ghost activity does tend to make it worse.”

“Chase…? Is he Chase Brody?” Jackie asks.

Jackie nods, "Yeah! Chase Brody- better known in our world as Bro Fantastic!" His eyes sparkle with pride as he talks about his friend, "Back home, he's a superhero! Strongest one I've ever seen! And- Alt, he's a magician so... they're probably already looking for me... cuz you know- I can't do what they do. Alt can like- glitch and stuff. Oh and Chase can fly."

"Ooooo," Jackie says, grinning. "Superheroes are real in your world?!" He balls his hands into fists and shakes them, stimming excitedly. "And Chase is one?! And he can fly there?!"

"Chase here can fly, too," Schneep points out.

"He floats. It's not the same thing, especially since it's just cause he's a... uh..." Jackie looks a bit awkward for a moment. "W-well, uh, that's a natural part of being that."

"What if I learn to fly one day?" Schneep asks. "Will you be just as excited?"

"I'm excited about your Spiderman stuff now."

"Wh--no, th-that's--I look ridiculous doing that," Schneep stammers.

Jackieboy's eyes sparkle with excitement, "Spiderman things?! Dude that's my favorite superhero! Don't tell Bro- but!! What!!"

Jackie grins. "Schneep here can walk on walls."

"It is not wall walking, it is wall crawling, and I look ridiculous!" Schneep insists.

"Oh come on, be proud of your ability!" Jackie says, nudging Schneep.

"I would rather be proud of the skill I spent fifteen years perfecting instead of the random bullshit powers I suddenly had one day." Schneep folds his arms. "Do you know how few vampires can identify toxins and sicknesses in blood?"

Jackieboy's eyes widen now, "Woahhh- You're a vampire, Hen??" He grins wide, "Dude what!! That's sick!!" He then laughs and grips at his arm, "Guess a lot of you here are... special, huh?"

Schneep blinks. Then he laughs, and Jackieboy can see the sharp edge of fangs. "People don't usually react that way! They are either scared or way too enthusiastic."

Jackie nudges Jackieboy. "Hey. Don't let it get you down, other me. We may be 'special' here, but the shadow city couldn't run without the help of everydays--uh, normal people--who know the truth and help us out. People like us need to stay hidden. There are those out there who wouldn't react well if they knew werewolves and vampires and witches were out there."

Jackieboy blinks and then tries to smile and nods, "Heh... guess that's pretty cool then." He blinks and looks down at his wrist and then looks excited. "Oh! I forgot! Alt made us bracelets that can track each other! It won't help us find Mag but- it can find them! ...fuck though I.. I don't remember the word I'm supposed to use! Something with an L? Loooney… something-“

"Ah shit." Jackie mutters. "I'm not good with magic. Schneep?"

Schneep leans forward. "I do not recognize these runes."

And then, suddenly, a soundclip comes from Jackie's pocket. "Shadow Wizard Money Gang: we love casting spells..." He jumps. "Oh! Wait, hang on, this might be perfect!" He takes his phone out of the pocket. "Marvin just texted me asking me if he could call. Hang on."

Schneep raises an eyebrow. "When did you change your text tone?"

"It's a personalized one for Marv. I have one for you, too, and Jack and Lily." Jackie dials a number, putting the call on speakerphone. As soon as the other end picks up, Jackie starts talking. "Marvin, you're not gonna believe this. Or, you are, but you're gonna be so fucking insufferable about it."

"Oh?" Marvin's voice comes from the other end. "Did you find someone from another universe?"

Jackie blinks. "Y-yeah, actually. How the fuck did you guess?"

"I have someone here who's exactly the same," Marvin says smugly. "Hang on, I'm putting this on speaker. Say hi, Alt."

"Yoooo!" Alt's voice comes from the speaker.

Jackieboy perks up and laughs, "Alt! Hey!"

"Hey Jackie! Glad you're okay- ... you are okay right?"

"Oh you know- Mag tried to kill me. Same ol' same ol'-"

Alt hides a laugh, "Seems like you found your other you! We're hopefully on your trail- or Chase's... dunno really. Where are you guys?"

Jackieboy looks to the other him and Schneep to explain.

"We are at the Harvest Moon," Schneep says. "Ah, I suppose that wouldn't mean anything to you, Alt."

"It's a pub downtown," Jackie adds. "A secret one, for people like us. Your Magnificent guy set it on fire. I think. I dunno, that magic mist might've cooled it by now."

"Ohhh, yeah, I think we are heading in that direction," Marvin says. "We're walking down Shelley, if you guys want to meet up with us. Oh, or JJ's with us, too, so we can all teleport there. I think. Alt, how far can you teleport?"

"Mmm a decent bit- especially if you guys are familiar with the location." Alt replies.

"You doing okay on magic, dude?" Jackie asks.

"I mean- I'm not a full power but I'm not like dangerously low either. Should be fine- especially if Mag is near..."

"I mean... he hasn't come out of the pub entrance, so I'm assuming he 'ported away," Jackie says.

"Alright, that works out," Marvin says. "Alt, I'll help you along with your teleporting, JJ can meet us there. If you're drained after that I can transfer some of my magic to you for a boost."

"So we just stay here?" Schneep asks.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Once we're all together we need to find these guys's other friend. It's Chase, apparently."

"Yes, the other Jackie told us," Schneep says.

"He's a superhero!" Jackie adds excitedly.

Alt laughs, "I mean- thank god we don't need to hide his identity here, huh, Jackie?"

Jackieboy flushes and laughs nervously.

"We'll be there in a second then!" Alt says.

"And we mean that literally!" Marvin adds.

"Alright, see you guys in a minute, then," Jackie says, and hangs up.

And a few seconds later--

There's the smell of metal and the crackling of electricity as Marvin and Alt appear right next to the pub in a flurry of glitches. Alt looks a bit dizzy for a second but then shakes out of it grinning. "Hello!"

Jackieboy grins and hurries over to Alt, giving him a big high five. "Wicked, dude!"

Jackie jumps slightly, then grins as well. "Nice, dude! I haven't seen magic with that effect before."

Alt grins more and shakes himself out, letting himself glitch a bit more. "I'm called a glitch back home~ cuz that's what I do. Glitch!"

"Whoo." Marvin shakes himself out. "That definitely felt different than normal teleporting."

Alt looks at Marvin apologetically, "Yeah it takes a bit to get used to."

"Feels like pop rocks in your blood, doesn't it?" Jackie laughs.

"...huh- I guess that's a way to describe it-" Alt ponders.

"It is nice to meet you, Alt," Schneep says, giving him a decidedly closed-lip smile.

"Oh, he knows, Schneep," Marvin says. "JJ was with us, remember?"

"Ahhh." Schneep nods. "Where is he, by the way?"

And perfectly on cue, JJ steps out of the shadows behind Schneep and taps him on the shoulder.

Schneep yelps and spins around, then groans. "You need to stop scaring me like that!"

But it's fun, JJ says.

Jackieboy also jumps when JJ pops out but quickly waves, "Oh! Other Dr.J!"

Alt's eyes light up as he watches JJ step from the shadows, "Woahhh! Shadow Travel! That's so cool!"

JJ waves, smiling. Sorry if I scared you.

"Not sorry that you scared me, though," Schneep grumbles.

"Vampires tend to develop a grab bag of powers," Jackie explains. "JJ's a shadow walker. They can move from one shadow to another. Can't you do something else, too, JJ?"

They call it 'stillness,' which isn't the most interesting name, JJ says. It's basically the ability to go unnaturally still and quiet, to the point where sometimes people don't even know you're there. Everything seems like it fast forwards, from my perspective.

Alt stims a bit, glitching a bit more, "That's so cool-" He whispers.

Jackieboy laughs, "Dude- I hardly see you get this excited!" “There's so much cool magic shit here dude!! And powers and-!" Alt glitches from side to side and then breathes, "Okay okay I'm normal now-"

Marvin is thinking to himself as JJ explains this. "Glitch... Y'know there's a crystaleye card like that."

"Ah, your man's special interest has cropped up," Jackie says. "We can't get started on tarot arcana now, Marv. We have to find the last one of this group."

Marvin stares at him. "Did you get... burned?"

"Um... yeah, but it's fine."

Schneep shakes his head as Jackie says that.

Alt does seem to calm down as Marvin mentions Jackie is burned. He glitches over and looks at him, "... was it green fire or... purple fire? Cuz the purple fire is... bad. Sometimes the effects don't show up right away- but it can leave behind something Mag calls corruption. It's like- a mark of black magic. It can mess with your magic or your body if you're not careful..."

"...purple..." Jackie admits.

Marvin stands to attention. "Here, can I see?"

"Fine," Jackie says reluctantly.

Marvin joins Alt by Jackie's side. Jackie holds out an arm for him to look at, with a burn on it. Marvin carefully rolls up the sleeve to get a better look at it. "I'm not the best at purification, but I can try. Alt, do you know anything that can help?"

"Light magic is the best cure..." Alt mumbles. "... I'm not really good at purification spells either, though."

"You should really start to learn those Alt, considering how often we face Mag." Jackie says with a raised eyebrow.

"Healing spells are really hard for me! I don't know why!" Alt replies shortly, "Believe me I'd like to be able to use them more regularly! It's just... hard. I dunno..."

Marvin frowns. "My source isn't a light source, you'd need a celestial witch for that. But I can try a little bit. If Jackie's okay with that."

"Better than being corrupted or shit," Jackie mutters.

"Okay." Marvin pulls his mask down over his face. The markings on it start to glow green... and so do his hands? Yes, he has tattoos on his hands. On the back of his left is some sort of spell circle, on the back of his right is an eye surrounded by swirls, and around each wrist is a Celtic-knot-like design encircling it like a bracelet. All of this glows for a while, but then Marvin shakes his head. "Sorry."

Alt looks hopeful for a second, especially at seeing Marvin's magic. Damn those tattoos were cool... But he deflates a bit and then shakes his head. "We can take a better look at it in a bit... I have a spellbook but I'd need to set up a spell circle or something to make sure it works. I can't do that out here... but maybe once we find Chase we can find a safer place for me to try."

"Right. Yeah." Jackie nods, giving Alt a smile. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure we can get this taken care of eventually. But finding the rest of your group and stopping this Magnificent guy seems more important."

Alt gives Jackie a worried smile and nods, "Yeah... who knows- It could be okay..."

"If you do anything that will make your health worse on purpose while we're doing this, I swear I will drink you like a Dr. Pepper," Schneep says threateningly.

"Never heard a soda be used in a threat before-" Jackieboy comments with a laugh.

Jackie laughs. "Oh c'mon, you wouldn't do that. We both know you guys can't handle wolf blood."

Well, Alt, can you use that magic bracelet to find your last friend? JJ asks.

Alt blinks at JJ and then nods, touching the gem and whispering 'loonu' again and a new trail of light appears.

"Ohh right! That was the spell word!" Jackie points.

Alt gives him a look, "You forgot the word?? ...you ADHD bastard I told you it before we left!”

The trail points down the street, more blue than green.

You said that more blue in the color meant they were close by, yes? JJ says. So this is good, then.

"Alright, more walking," Marvin says. "Maybe running, if we can keep up with these guys." He gestures at Schneep, JJ, and Jackie.

Jackie grins. "Better hurry up!" He starts running down the street after the trail, shifting shape--but it's strange, it's slower than it was the last two times he tried. And when he's fully turned into a wolf he stops for a moment, shaking himself like he's trying to shake off water. He looks back at the others.

"For fuck's sake, Jackie," Schneep grumbles. "You better hope nobody sees you."

Alt still looks impressed and awed as he sees Jackie shift. "Awesome...!" Then, he smirks at Marvin and glitches ahead to be back Jackie. "I dunno about you! But I'm pretty speedy!"

"You're such a show off cheater!" Jackieboy yells after him.

Marvin laughs. "Don't worry, other Jackie, you're not gonna be the last one. There's no magic for speeding up, and I don't exactly get out much."

"We should hurry," Schneep says. "I hope your Chase has not gotten into trouble."

Jackie the wolf is already running after the trail. The others have to hurry to keep up.

Jackieboy grumbles. “Fucking magic bullshit…”

Alt laughs and hurriedly glitches after Jackie.

#SATCV #SATCV SC #Shadow City #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #IM SO PUMPED FOR YALL TO READ THIS #this is an idea that cry wants to write in the future but hasnt yet and I LOVE IT SOOO MUCH #there's already so much fantastic world building GOD #i hope you guys enjoy!!

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 7: PW Timeline

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read the PW Timeline

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt lands, by himself, in a bedroom. It's not a familiar bedroom. Small, and made even smaller by how crowded it is with knickknacks. The walls are pale green. There's a desk, a wardrobe, a bed, and a small table shoved in the corner by a big window. On that table are candles, some figurines, bowls, a wooden wand, a plate with a five-pointed star drawn on it--an altar of some kind, apparently. And there's a cat. A small black one. Standing on the desk and staring directly at Alt with big yellow eyes.

Alt looks around the room and almost immediately groans out loud. He whacks the TRVLR in his hands with a scowl. "What is wrong with you?? Why are you acting up now??"

The TRVLR briefly shows the menu screen--and the code UF-0707019PW in the corner--before the low battery icon takes over.

Then, he notices the cat and he freezes. "Oh.. hi kitty?" He can't help but soften as he pockets the TRVLR and tries to get near it, holding out his hands for it to smell.

The cat immediately bolts, knocking down a water bottle and plastic cup of pencils as it jumps down from the desk and runs out the open bedroom door. No offense to Alt. Seems it just has the zoomies.

Alt glitches back in surprise and watches the cat jump away and can't help but laugh as he watches. Oh... tiny kitty zoomies. He remembers when Glitches had those-

Down a hallway, someone shouts. "Luna Void, I swear to fuck if you knocked over something important--no pets for the rest of the day!" It's followed by an exasperated groan and approaching footsteps.

Alt freezes at the voice. Shit! His mind blanks on something to do as he backs up- tries to think of something to say. He's broken into someone's house! ...completely on accident but! Still!

A man walks into the room, stopping in the doorway. He has long wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail, and is wearing a black sweatshirt with a design of a cresent moon made out of various-sized circles. He looks at Alt. His eyes widen and he backs away. "Wh-whoa, hey! Hey! I-I don't know how you got in here, b-but I'm calling the police!" He's reaching into the pocket of his jeans, probably going for his phone.

Alt jumps and glitches a bit to get closer, "Wait don't please I-I can explain!" He tries to say quickly. He searches the man's face, trying to see if he recognizes it. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you I just- d-don't know where I am-"

The man freezes the moment Alt glitches close to him. His eyes, somehow, go even wider. "What the--what the fuck?" He suddenly scrambles backwards. "How did--what--I--What the fuck?!" And then he turns and runs down the hallway.

"...shit-" Alt mutters and then tries to glitch after him. "Wait!"

The man reaches the living room, where there is another man standing. This one is wearing a blue button-up shirt and has a mustache. He clutches a phone in one hand like he's ready to dial.

"JJ!" the first man shouts. "I-I don't know what's going on, but--"

Then Alt appears in the hallway entrance. The first man spins around, gasping, and the second one jumps in surprise.

Alt finds himself freezing once again and he very slowly puts up his hands. "H-Hang on... please- I... I can explain- I'm not gonna rob you- or hurt you... I just... g-gotta figure out where I am." He swallows thickly. "Please, just, hear me out?"

He eyes the second man, taking in the signature look of JJ and feels himself start to relax. Okay- parallel again... so the first one must be... Marvin? Cuz cat?

The two men stare at him in shock. Slowly, Marvin backs up towards the coffee table. Then he quickly grabs a small piece of candy from a bowl and gently throws it at Alt.

Alt blinks and goes to catch it, holding it in his hands. He blinks comically back at the two men. "...uh... thank you?"

"What the fuck?!" Marvin shouts again. "You're real?!"

"Y-Yes I'm real!" Alt shouts back. He shoves the candy in his pocket and then shakes his hands, "Okay let's just.. back up. You already think I'm insane so let's just run with it!" He stands up taller and with confidence as he says, "My name is Alt Brody. I'm from another universe- a parallel one. Where the same people exist in different places. So... I know people just like you two, Jameson and Marvin."

The two of them just gape at him. Marvin glances at JJ and asks in sign language, Do you think this is a trick? Is A-N-T-I back?

He wouldn't do something that weird, JJ says. And if it was, he knows sign, you're not hiding anything.

"Fuck," Marvin curses.

"...I also know sign." Alt says sheepishly. His stomach drops at they seem scared once again of someone called Anti. Of course... at least the last one was kinda nice. "...I'm... technically a parallel of... your Anti. But, I'm not like.... evil or anything. I'm a magician."

Silence. "Okay. Yeah. Sure." Marvin laughs. "If this is a prank, it's not funny. Come on, where are the cameras? How did you do those weird effects?"

JJ just frowns at him. You're my age. You're not Anti.

Alt knits his eyebrows at JJ and slowly nods, "Yeah... you're younger than my JJ... huh." He then turns to Marvin and sighs, "It's not an effect." He holds out his arm and lets its glitch, showing it splitting into different colors and pixels before snapping back into place. "I'm magic. And also a glitch. Technically." He stuffs his hands into his pockets and looks at them. "...someone in your group... has to be magic... right? ...someone always is... somehow."

JJ and Marvin stare at the glitching. They both look weirdly pale. Marvin folds his arms, hiding how unnerved he is. "Yeah, okay, ha ha. I'm not that kind of witch. I-I-I don't know--how you're doing that--but this is a really fucking cruel joke."

I don't think he's joking, Marvin... JJ signs slowly.

"He--he has to be," Marvin says a bit desperately. "I-I mean--that sort of 'magic'--like in the movies--it's not fucking real!"

Now it's Alt's turn to look pale as his eyes widen. "...magic doesn't exist here...?" He breathes. Then, he pushes back his hair and slowly starts to laugh. "...oh boy... Mag is not gonna be happy..."

He looks back at them and opens up his palm, creating a ball of dancing electricity. He tosses it up into the air and as it hovers for a second, he glitches and then changes into a mostly black calico cat that stares at them up from the floor, his strange heterochromaic eyes practically glowing. Then, as the ball falls he glitches back and manages to catch it before it zaps away into the air. "...for me, magic is real." He says quietly. "I wouldn't lie about that."

Marvin and JJ watch all this silently, their faces an identical mix of awe and shock. Then Marvin slowly walks over to the sofa and collapses on it.

Are you okay, Marvin? JJ asks.

P-R-O-C-E-S-S-I-N-G. Marvin signs out the word letter by letter.

JJ nods. He leans back against the wall by the door. It's like... the many worlds theory.

You sound like H-doctor. Clearly, Marvin means 'Henrik' by that.

My point is, if it's true, then there are infinite possibilities. Including that magic is real somewhere.

"Fucking bejesus hell," Marvin mutters.

Alt shuffles sheepishly. "...sorry- we... haven't traveled to a world without magic before. I'm... so used to just being able to do it." His form buzzes with static for a bit, pixels vibrating off him before he forces himself to snap back together. "I guess it makes sense... we've been to enough places- about time we ended up in a place with no magic." He sighs and leans up against the doorway, "But that creates a lot of problems on my end..." He starts to take out his phone, hoping he can contact Jackie or Chase.

"This is... gonna be a lot," Marvin says. "Mr. uh... What was your name? Anti?"

He said 'Brody' too, JJ recalls.

"So, what? He's from a magical alternate universe where Anti is Chase's brother instead of y--"

JJ makes a shushing sound.

"Oh. Sorry."

Alt’s head snaps up at this, staring at Jj with wide eyes. “…you’re brothers with Anti…?” He asks quietly. He’s very quiet for a second, trying to imagine Dr. J being his sibling but… no. Too weird.

JJ tenses a little bit. By blood, he says carefully. Our relationship is... bad.

Marvin rolls his eyes. "Light way of putting it."

Alt nods in understanding.

“…it’s uh Alt, by the way.” He corrects Marvin, “don’t really go by Anti anymore… only Chase calls me that.”

For once, cell service and WiFi work. The cell service is abysmally low, but it's there.

Suddenly two cats run into the room. The small black one from before, chasing a fluffy ragdoll cat. The black one corners the ragdoll in and jumps on top of it, causing a "mrow!"

"Stop, you two," Marvin says automatically. "Not near the terrarium."

Alt glitches at bit back as the cats rush in but then his eyes sparkle. He kneels down, just to look at them as he grins. “Oh… such pretty kitties…!” He softly coos.

The ragdoll cat pushes away the black one, who zooms away while the ragdoll licks his paw.

Marvin grins. "That's Luna Void and Ragamuffin. They're my babies. Them and Salazar... though I wonder if I should change his name recently."

Marvin points at a large terrarium nearby. Inside, curled up on the floor, is not a pile of purple rope, but a snake. "I'm biased for the kitties, to be honest, though." Seems the cat talk has helped him recover from his rattled state of mind.

Alt giggles at their names. “Great names… I have a little void at home. Her name is Glitches. …you can probably guess why.”

Alt’s eyes wander to the terrarium and makes a slight Pog face as he almost glitches over- but he doesn’t want to scare the kitties or the snake.

“Woahhh! A snake! What a cool color!” Alt winces a bit at the name and laughs, “Yeah… not a great time for anything named from Harry Potter, huh?”

“He’s a lavender corn snake,” Marvin says, grinning. “And yeah… I’m thinking of calling him Crowley now, after a character in this book called Good Omens.”

Did you hear they’re making a series of that? JJ comments.

“I did! Think it’s coming out in May.”

Alt grins happily bouncing, “So cool- snakes are cool…”

Marvin takes a deep breath. “Okay. I think I’ve processed this whole… thing. Or at least I’m functional now. JJ? What about you?”

The same, JJ says.

“Alright. So.” Marvin looks at Alt. “If you’re… from an alternate universe… what are you doing here? How’d you get here?”

Once it seems like the others are settled he sighs and nods, “that’s the thing… we should be home. The first time we used this device, the TRVLR.” He pulls out the device to show them, “we didn’t know our code to get home but now we do and for some reason we keep ending somewhere different! Which might not be a problem if it was just me, my brother and Jackie… but we have a hitchhiker… a villain named Magnificent. He’s also magic… and very very dangerous. And everytime we jump- we end up separated… but pulled towards parallels we know in this universe.”

“Evil magicians,” Marvin mutters. “Ooookay. Great.”

JJ frowns. Don’t you use ‘Magnificent’ as your username on a lot of games?

“Wha—No!” Marvin says defensively. “It’s um… that… but in leetspeak. Whatever, are you saying I’m evil?”

I’m saying if they appear towards parallels of people they know, that’s a big coincidence.

Alt tries to hide his laugh about Marvin’s username.

“Okay whatever, moving on,” Marvin says hurriedly. “So we have to help you find this guy and the two others you came with? Jackie and… your brother? Chase, right?”

We know two people with those names, JJ says. If your friends appeared near them, we can contact them.

Alt sinks into his jacket and hides his hands in its pockets. “…you don’t have to help if you don’t want to- but… yeah they’ve most likely appeared by one of them.”

“Is Anti an option for people you appear by?” Marvin asks. “Since you’re like him? Because if that’s the case, they could be fucking anywhere, Anti skipped town a while ago.”

Let’s hope they don’t appear near Anti, JJ says. He would take advantage of that.

Alt stiffens as he hears about Anti and looks up in slight fear, “h-He skipped town? Oh… fuck. Yeah they… they might end up next to him- we’ve ended up in separate countries before… fuck!”

Please don’t panic, JJ says. If your friends have powers like you they can handle him easily.

“Can you call them or something?” Marvin asks. “Do phones work in other universes? If they don’t, we can at least check with Chase and Jackie.”

"Y-Yeah lemme see who I can call... I think I saw I had some bars..." Alt mumbles, taking out his phone. He dials Chase's number-

—————

Bro lands in a small, dark space that smells like cleaning supplies. What is this? A closet? Nearby, Jackie lands in an empty waiting room, with rows of chairs and a couple different hallways branching off. There’s a directory on the wall listing things that sound very hospital-like. He hears a clatter inside a doorway labeled ‘Janitor.’

Bro oofs and then feels around the room, laughing nervously. "H-Hey! Who turned off the lights?? Hello??"

Jackie rubs his head and shakes off the disorientation and then perks up when he hears Bro's voice. He laughs and goes to see if he can open the door- "H-Hang on Bro-!"

As Jackie goes over to open the doorway—which isn’t locked so he’s easily able to—another doorway opens. The front glass doors leading into this waiting room get pulled open and in walks a man in a snapback cap and gray jacket. He sees Jackie right away and grins. “I don’t think you’re allowed to go in there, bro.”

Jackie jumps slightly and whips around, looking at the man that entered. "Uhh-"

Bro peeks his head out of the closet, his own gray cap on backwards. "Yooo! Haven't ran straight into another me right away in hot minute! Sup?" He grins wide, going to shut the door to the closet behind him.

"You and Alt are wayyy too casual about all this jumping business, dude." Jackie mumbles.

"Eh its starts to feel less and less crazy with each jump."

The other Chase stops walking, taking in the sight of another him popping out of the closet. “Uh—What the—huh?” He stammers.

"See dude, you freaked him out!" Jackie says, nudging Bro.

Bro shrugs, "It gets all the weirdness out of the way!"

And then someone else appears, walking down one of those hallways. A man with shoulder length hair and round glasses, pulling on a red jacket. “Man, fuck that paperwork,” he mutters. “Hey Chase. Hey… wait a minute.” He glances between Jackie and Bro and Chase. “Uhhhhh…”

Jackieboy and Bro both blink at the new man that enters and Bro grins, pointing, "Eyyy two for one! Lets goooo!"

Jackie hits him again.

The other Jackie and Chase just stare at them. Then Jackie quickly walks over to Chase, giving the two a wide berth.

“Chase, what the fuck is going on?” he whisper-shouts.

“I dunno, I just got here! Isn’t there supposed to be a receptionist or nurse or something?”

“I think the desk guy is on break and I ditched the nurse.”

"Hi! Totally can still hear you by the way," Bro says cheerily. "Sorry to freak you out- we're you guys! From a parallel universe!" He beams. "Don't know where the hell we are though- hospital? I guess?"

"Probably- I've been in enough to recognize the smell." Jackie nods. "Uh sorry- to be honest I'm just as fucking lost as you two must be. But, I'm Jackie Mann- This is Chase Brody, also known as Bro Fantastic."

Bro waves.

The two of them just stare. Chase stiffens slightly as his name is mentioned, but they’re otherwise quiet for a while.

“Riiiight,” Jackie says slowly, clearly not believing them. “Well… good luck then. We’ve uh, actually got a thing to go to so we’ll be leaving now.”

“We do?” Chase says, confused.

Jackie nudges him. “Yeah. We do. So let’s go.” He looks more than a little freaked out.

“Yeah that’s a fair reaction-“ Jackieboy sighs.

“Oh- okay. No worries,” Bro says, letting his happy demeanor drop, “Guess you all don’t see this kinda stuff often here. Before you go though, can you tell us what city this is? Or I guess what hospital this is?” He shrugs, “We need to find some other people so it’d be nice to know. I think my cell should work here-“

Jackie pulls out his and nods, “Yeah I think we got bars.”

"Um... y-yeah, sure," Chase says uncertainly. "This is Southpoint General Hospital in Corrigale."

Jackie looks at him like he's crazy but he ignores him. "Um... m-meeting up with friends?"

"...kinda yes kinda no-" Bro laughs, "I gotta find my little bro, Alt. Then- well... we gotta find a really bad guy before he... does something... bad."

"wayyy to sugarcoat it, bro," Jackie mutters.

"They're already freaked out I don't wanna freak em out more!!" Bro whisper-shouts.

Chase and Jackie glance at each other. "Um... one second, please," Chase says, pulling Jackie to the side.

They're out of earshot for Jackieboy and his normal range of hearing, but Bro can still hear them whispering.

"Okay so they're not crazy fans of mine. They'd know I don't have a brother."

"Why do they look like us? What sort of bit is this? Are we on a fucking prank show? Who does that in a hospital?"

"I-I don't know! But, I... I don't think they're with Anti."

"Only Anti would be able to make makeup that real-looking, though."

"Maybe they really just look like us? Look, can you really see Anti pairing up with someone to fuck with us?"

"...No. I don't think he'd risk coming back into the city to do something so weird."

"...Chase I know you can probably hear them but can we just try to approach this like we're nor- okay yeah no you're not listening to me." Jackie tries to whisper to Bro but can already see his friend's eyes locked onto the other two.

In a quick zip, Bro comes a bit closer to them- not too close but definitely closer than he was. He blinks at them and tilts his head, "You guys mentioned a guy named Anti? That's technically who we're looking for! Well- my Anti- not yours, I'm guessing. Looks like this guy has you all kinda spooked. Is he a bad guy here?"

Jackie's head whips over to Bro. His face blanches and he suddenly bolts for the front door.

"Jackie!" Chase shouts. He glances at Bro. "I-I'm so sorry, he's--he's gone through some stuff. Jackie!" And he hurries after him.

Bro's face falls and he looks apologetic. He's frozen for a second before he rushes out after them.

“Wait- Chase!" Jackie yells out. He then sighs loudly before rushing after him.

Outside is a cloudy afternoon sky. Jackie presses his back against a lamp post, hands over his mouth and breathing heavily. Chase is trying to comfort him. "They said it's not the same guy, they're not with him, it's okay, nothing's gonna happen. It's okay, it's okay."

Bro slows down and tries to approach, "I-I'm so so sorry...! It's just... my brother- he's called Anti too. R-Really only by me but... I... I didn't know it would make you react like that... I promise my brother isn't anyone who would hurt you. He's... a really good guy- and magic! So... um... im... im really sorry..."

“F-funny name, hah…” Jackie leans his head back against the lamp post, moving his hands from his mouth to his chest. “I-it’s not your fault. It’s okay. This is just… really weird.”

“Do you need a moment?” Chase asks him.

“I’m good now. Promise.” Jackie rubs his eyes under his glasses. “S-so… your brother. His name is Anti? A-and he does magic tricks? Th-that’s cool.”

Bro looks sheepish as he nods, "Yeah... he goes by Alt now though. I call him Anti- but only sometimes. Cuz that's the name he wanted when he grew up."

"He can do more than just magic tricks- he's a magician. He can glitch and shit-" Jackie adds.

Chase blinks. “…glitch? More than tricks? What do you…” He trails off, realizing this isn’t the time for questions.

Bro looks really concerned, "... You don't have to say anything you don't want to but... I'm guessing your Anti... he hurt you? I just... we might run into him... knowing our track records. I wanna know what we might be getting into. ...my brother could be with him."

“Yeah, he… hurt me,” Jackie mutters. “Our friends, too. Y-you, uh, your brother probably won’t run into him. We think he left town to avoid the police.”

Bro nods solemnly, "...I'd be more inclined to believe that normally but... one time we ended up in other countries and... and he got really hurt there so I..." He looks terrified for a second and grips his hands into fists, "..police- so he's a criminal. Okay... I... I just hope Alt didn't end up with him." He looks back at Chase and Jackie and smiles slightly. "...I'm sorry for all the trouble. We can... get out of your hair- thank you for answering our questions."

"It's okay, really." Jackie nods slowly.

"Yeah, uh... nice to meet you. If a little weird." Chase laughs a little.

Jackieboy laughs, “Yeah it’s a bit strange. Thanks for humoring us.”

And then Bro's phone starts ringing.

Jackieboy and Bro seem like they’re ready to head out when Bro blinks and digs out his phone. “Oh! It’s Alt!” He quickly answers.

"Oh good!" Chase smiles a little. "Glad to hear he's alright--" And then his phone gives off a text tone. He blinks, answering it. "Uh... huh." He shows Jackie what he just received.

A messages from a contact labeled Double J. Weird question but have you run into anyone claiming to be from an alternate universe?

Jackie blinks. "What the hell...?"

“Chase! Are you okay?” Alt’s voice asks frantically on the other end. “Where are you?”

Bro looks relived, “We’re okay, are you?”

“Yeah I’m fine- I ended up with Marvin and jj- did you know there’s no magic here??”

Bro’s eyes widen, “Really? None at all?”

“No- they were really freaked when I got here - then they told me about the Anti here and I got scared that you were-”

“We’re not with him. I’m with Jackie actually- and we found both of our doppelgängers. But we’re okay- we’re actually right outside a hospital. Southpoint general.”

“Okay… it’s probably best for us to keep a low profile so- maybe we can see if someone can… drive us…?” Alt’s voice sounds disgusted at the thought.

Bro laughs. “Yeah maybe- I can ask.”

“And we’ll need to keep out for signs of Mag… I dunno how he’s gonna react to a world like this.”

“…Right. Okay bro bro we’ll keep you updated…”

Meanwhile, Chase is having a text conversation with JJ. Yeah how did you know?

Some guy showed up in Marvin's house. And I know it sounds crazy, but we believe he's telling the truth about the different world thing.

Jackie glances at Bro and Jackieboy. "What the fuck?" he whispers.

Chase keeps texting. How do you know for sure?

He could do impossible things. Like teleport and transform. I'm not fucking with you when I say this.

No yeah youre not the type Sounds like the guy is talking with his friends on the phone now. Something about meeting up. Chase and Jackie glance at Bro again.

I think were on the other end of that conversation Ask the guys for proof about being from another world. they might do something strange.

"You guys... weren't being serious about the parallel world thing... were you?" Jackie asks slowly.

Bro and Alt end their conversation for now and the hero blinks back at Jackie. “Oh no I’m completely serious.” He says, not missing a beat. He then grins mischievously. “Want me to prove it?”

“Bro didn’t Alt just say-“ Jackie tries to warn.

“I’m! From a world! Where Chase Brody is a superhero~” Bro laughs and then steps back into the air, hovering a little bit off the ground. He beams.

Chase's mouth drops open. The phone falls from his hand.

Jackie just stares blankly. "I'm not... I'm not hallucinating, right, Chase?" he mutters.

Chase shakes his head slowly. Then he suddenly bursts into laughter. "Man. Why couldn't I be born in the universe where I'm a superhero?"

"I mean... technically... you were, I guess. And this is... you?" Jackie gestures at Bro.

"Yeah. Yeah." He bends down and picks his phone up again. "Well. Uh. You probably don't want to fly like that for too long. Or else you're gonna end up all over the internet."

“Yeah Chase get down you’re not even wearing your mask!” Jackieboy scolds as he grabs Bro by the jacket and pulls him down.

Bro laughs and touches down quickly, messing with his hair. “Yeahhh that’d be bad for you… don’t want that. Not being able to fly around is gonna suck ass though-“

“Oh boo hoo- you’ll have to be normal like the rest of us for a bit-“ Jackieboy grumbles.

Bro shrugs, “So Alt is actually with your friends Marvin and Jj! So he’s safe- for now at least…. But that only leaves the issue of Magnificent…”

“Magni…what?” Chase asks.

“Isn’t that Marvin’s name on Minecraft?” Jackie asks.

“Oh my god- that’s amazing.” Jackieboy laughs.

“I don’t know, I don’t play Minecraft.” Chase says.

“You should ask JJ to add you to his server, it’s really cool, there’s a mushroom biome at spawn—” Jackie starts to ramble.

“God- we should get back into minecraft-“ Jackie blog says to Bro.

“Maybe if I didn’t have to keep catching this damned cat.” Bro grumbles.

“We’re getting off topic.” Chase shakes his head. “Okay. Remembering what you guys said, Magnificent is probably the guy you’re looking for. The bad guy you have to stop. Am I right? Do you have any idea where he could be?”

Bro shakes his head, “I have no idea. We have ways to track each other- but no way to track Mag. Usually… he ends up finding his way back to us. And if this place has no magic… he’s probably gonna try to find Alt. He has the device we use to travel between worlds.”

Jackie sighs. "This is... so much."

"W-well, uh... I can at least give you guys a ride?" Chase suggests. "Jackie can't drive, and I don't know if you guys know the bus system here."

“Yeah if you don’t mind that’d be great,” Jackieboy replies with a smile. “I know it’s a lot- a have a hard time following along when it’s stuff just in our universe-“

“Oh but- you guys were going into the hospital for something right? We don’t want to get in the way of that.” Bro adds.

"Oh, Chase was picking me up," Jackie explains. "I was, uh, in there for a while. But I'm good to go now."

"I kinda wanted to stop by and check on Jack," Chase mutters. "But this feels more important. I'm sure he'd understand."

"The question is, would he believe us?"

Chase opens up the camera on his phone. "That's what photographic evidence is for. Hey, other me? You wanna take a picture together?"

"Oh my god." Jackie rolls his eyes, but still smiles.

Bro’s eyes light up and he bounces slightly. “Yeah! Let’s do it!” He rushes over to stand next to Chase.

“Dork!” Jackie calls with a grin.

"God, the dork-ness transcends universes, doesn't it?" Jackie agrees.

“Yeah- but unfortunately he’s my dork.” Jackieboy laughs.

"Alright, say cheese." Chase holds the camera up high and does a peace sign as he takes the picture. Bro copies the gesture with a big ol’grin.

"And we're good." Chase puts his phone away. "We can do more later. I think we should head out now. I want to meet your brother. Oh! Wait a minute. He must be an alternate version of Anti, then? A... nice one?"

"Now that is hard to believe," Jackie says. "Oh, uh, I'm sure your brother is great, though."

Bro beams and nods. Then he messes with his hair. “Yeah- Alt’s a good guy. He’s not like a lot of Antis we meet. You’ll see. I uh- I think Alt said they’re at Marvin’s house?”

Jackie pauses. "I'm looking forward to meething him, then." "Great, that's not too far," Chase says. "Come on. I'm parked over here."

-----------

Magnificent lands on a carpeted floor. This is a long hallway of some kind, lined with doors that have numbers printed on them. Probably in a hotel. ...No, not a hotel. It's too... clinical for that. The magic ice holding his arms to his sides is gone. Not melted, just disappeared like it was never there, leaving only a lingering chill.

Magnificent pushes himself up, suppressing the chill that the ice left behind. He looks around the hallway curiously. He, of course, tries to look around for any sign of magic nearby. Surely there must be something?

... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Usually he's able to sense at least some distant magic, but not this time. In fact, he almost feels his own magic more drained than normal. What the fuck?

Magnificent's stomach drops dramatically. There's no magic here? ...oh no.

There are voices coming from around a corner. They're coming closer.

He hears voices coming and he curses, quickly using his power to change him into his Jack the Magnificent disguise. But- less showman-y and more... business like. He tries to casually look like he belongs.

A group of three people round the corner. There's a short woman with black hair, wearing a white coat, a taller man in some sort of beige uniform that kind of looks like nurse's scrubs, and a man with brown hair wearing an off-white sweater, holding a notebook and pencil bag.

"--really glad it's been working out," the woman is saying. "I'd love to see what you're working on some time, but you don't have to share if you don't want to."

"No, I know, thank you," the brown-haired man says. "I feel like I should show you, yes? I mean, there is the therapy in art therapy--" He's the first to notice Magnificent. And he stops short, staring at him, confused. "...Marvin?"

The woman and other man also notice.

Magnificent stiffens. ...he knows that accent. He waves timidly, trying to seem friendly. "H-Hey! Whats up?"

...he's so fucked-

"Um... how did you get in here?" the woman asks. She looks at the tall man. "Oliver?"

"What? I didn't let anyone in."

The woman sighs. She gives Magnificent--under the impression that it's Marvin--a stern look. "You know we have security cameras, right? You can't just break in whenever you want. Aren't you still paying that fine?" She's close enough that Magnificent can see she has a name tag: Dr. Rya Laurens.

Magnificent tries his best to process this all quickly and sticks his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "What? I can't visit my good friend Schneep? Seems your security is a little lax so- you can thank me for showing you its flaws." He tries to laugh.

Schneep blinks. "When did you cut your hair...?"

Mag blinks at Schneep and pats his hair, "Oh uh- recently. It was getting in the way... you know?"

"Oh. I thought you liked it long." Schneep looks confused, but he accepts this.

Dr. Laurens still looks a bit annoyed. "Well... you still can't just do that. We're all on edge after what happened with Anti. You'll have to go."

"Ah right... the Anti thing." Mag says, nodding like he understands. "Dunno why that just... slipped my mind.”

"Um... w-well, he came all this way, we can... talk for a little bit," Schneep stammers. "I-I can show him my room."

"I don't know if we can allow that..." Laurens says slowly. "But... we can go down to the visitor's room, if you want."

“It's alright, Henrik- I can just come back and visit another time. Properly, of course." Mag tries to smile charmingly. "Though- i turned myself around so- maybe you can least help me find the way back out?"

Schneep chuckles. "Your sense of direction is still terrible, then?"

Laurens also smiles a bit. "Okay. Sure. Schneep, you want to come with?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Alright, then. Oliver, do you mind?"

Oliver shrugs. "Nah."

"Very professional sounding of you," Schneep mutters.

"It's this way, we'll take the stairs," Laurens says, hurriedly turning around back the way they came.

"Ah thanks- 'ppericate it." Mag smiles and follows after them.

As they walk Magnificent lingers behind, trying to see if he can probe into any of their minds... just to see what universe they're dealing with. He tries to look through Schneep's mind first.

There is absolutely no resistance to Magnificent's probing, but what he sees doesn't really make much sense. Schneep's thoughts and memories are in scattered fragments, interspersed with things that look incredible--bleeding shadows moving on the walls, eyes dangling from the ceiling, the feeling of things crawling beneath the skin--but aren't... consistent in the way real things are. The figure of a man with two-colored eyes loom large in his memories, half his face terribly scarred. Fear is linked to this figure and his cruel grins. Magnificent sees a man in a red hood screaming, arm bent at an awkward angle, and flashes of dead people's faces. There's a man with a mustache and gentle smile whose face sometimes flickers into the scarred man's, there's one with a snapback cap who's smiling at him, one with green-dyed hair who has the memory of sickness and guilt attached to him, one with a long wavy ponytail--ah, that's his other-world counterpart. The more recent memories are the most stable, many of them involving hour-long conversations with this Laurens woman, all of them taking place in this building. A hospital. But not the normal kind of hospital.

Hmm... so Schneeplestein is in a mental institution. Fascinating. But, not helpful. It seems there's no mysterious power or anything to harness here. The two-colored eyed man seems interesting but not in a way that captures his attention. Sure, he could conquer these guys minds and maybe suck their life forces if he's desperate. But... what is there to gain? Boring... hm... what to do...

They reach the first floor, winding through some hallways towards the front of the building.

"You know they say I will be able to leave soon," Schneep says. "Not on my own, a-and not... permanently, I mean. I'm not ready for that. But for small trips into the city. Maybe we could... do something when that happens." He trails off.

"That'd be nice, Henrik." Mag replies shortly, still caught up in his head.

Something has been bothering Schneep about Marvin during this short trip. He's trying to ignore the paranoia, but it's hard. Is this... really Marvin?

...He doesn't think it is. There's something in the way that he walks that's off. He's too... confident. In a way that almost reminds him of... him.

"Schneep, are you okay?" Laurens asks. "Remember to breathe. You're not breathing."

"I-I-I am f-fine," Schneep says. "Um... Marvin has been in this area before, h-he should know where to go from here."

Magnificent pauses as he realizes Schneep seems to be more wary all of sudden. His right eye burns bright green as he tilts his head at Schneep. "Is something the matter, Hen? You don't want to lead me to the door?"

Schneep gasps as his eye starts to glow. He staggers backwards, dropping his notebook and pencil bag.

"Hey, be careful," Oliver says, crouching down to get those for him.

"Schneep?" Laurens follows Schneep's line of sight--and sees Magnificent's eye glowing green. Her jaw drops. "...what?"

Magnificent starts to laugh, "Oh- did I give something away?" He chuckles a bit more and shakes his head and as he raises his head again, you can see the scars around his left eye. "Oh well... cat's out of the bag, now, isn't it~?"

A bloom of spiraled magic appears behind him as he laughs, "Don't know what I'll do in such a pathetic world but... a puppet is a puppet~!"

"Wh-what is--th-this is not possible--" Schneep stammers, backing up.

Laurens reaches for the pager on her belt, about to call for security.

Oliver pops up and pushes his way to the front, protecting the other two.

Mag starts to approach them slowly, grinning sinisterly as he puts a finger to his lips.

"Hush now, kittens. Don't want to alert the other normies to my magnificence just yet~"

The effects are instant. They don't know how to pull away. They don't know what Magnificent is even trying to do. The moment their eyes land on the magic, all of them are instantly under his spell. Schneep lets out a final squeak of protest before the magic completely takes over his mind.

"Mmmm excellent job, kittens.... don't fight it now." He giggles and prowls closer. He goes straight to Schneep and lifts up his chin. He hums, "Oh... I missed seeing this face under my power~! You know, Schneeplestein... I think you can aid me quite well..." He looks at Laurens and Oliver and tilts his head. He then snaps and shoos them off. "You two. I have no need of you. Lock yourself in one of these rooms and forget me and Henrik were ever here, won't you?"

Laurens and Oliver nod. They walk over to the nearest room, with Laurens dropping her keycard on the ground before closing the door on them.

"What will we do now?" Henrik asks quietly.

"Hm... what will we do indeed?" Mag giggles. He looks around and then hums. "We should get away from the cameras... we have a naughty cub to find." He grabs Henrik and in a snap, him and Schneep disappear in a flicker of static out of the hospital.

#SATCV #SATCV PW #alt anti #bro fantastic #swap magnificent #jackie mann #as someone who's only read like a 3rd of the PW timeline this was wild for me ajhkja #but also very fun #its not often the boys meet people without some kind of magic fuckery!#also mag is such a brat in this section it was kinda fun to play XD

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huffle-dork · 7 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 25: Epilogue

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs|

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt and Jackie find themselves in a pitch black space. And yet, somehow, they can still see themselves and each other. Just... nothing else.

Anti appears behind them. "Okay," he says. "Let's--"

And then, suddenly, someone else appears. Bro, with Mag still slung over his shoulder. And behind him, another Anti with an eye-patch and green scarf. "Okay," that Anti says. "Let's--"

And then the two Antis lock eyes. And they stop.

Alt stops as soon as he hears the other voice and puts an arm up to hold Jackie back behind him protectively.

Bro's eyes meet Alt's and he breaks out into a huge grin. "Y-You're okay!"

Alt and Jackie look relieved, "Chase!" they say almost at the same time. They all look like they wanna run towards each other- but they glance at the antis warily.

"... how come you guys got an Anti too?" Bro asks, tilting his head.

"Bro- this one hasn't even met us!" Jackie says.

"what??? How does that work??"

"Heh. You guys think you're the only versions of yourselves out there?" The Anti with Bro grins. "Didn't you see that shit back there? Lots of different worlds that are all pretty similar. I thought I was the only one of me, though."

The Anti with Jackie and Alt nods. "Same. Maybe it's just the two of us."

"Maybe."

The Anti with Bro has a short sleeve shirt, and behind his tightly-wound scarf there are bandages around his neck. The Anti with Alt and Jackie is wearing long sleeves, and his scarf is looser, showing a bare neck beneath it.

"So." Short-sleeve Anti gestures at his neck. "You... took care if it, then? Jack is safe?"

Long-sleeve Anti nods. "From them, at least. We're having some trouble with IRIS. Did those guys fuck with you?"

"Oh yeah. Give 'em hell."

"Oh believe me, I will." A pause. "So... how'd you meet these guys, then?"

Alt watches the conversation with a furrowed brow. "...I feel like you are being really causal about this and its kinda freaking me out..."

Jackie looks like he's gonna have a crisis thinking about other hims that are like him in the moment.

Bro adjusts Mag on his shoulder and genuinely seems unbothered. He wouldn't be able to comprehend what all this means anyways.

Bro then looks at long sleeved Anti and grins, "Oh! We got blasted into his universe by some black magic glitchy fuckery and he helped to save our friends from the messed up guys in your universe! Which... I'm guessing are the same considering how you two are talking."

"I don't understand," Alt says, glitching forward and in between the two Antis. "How... are you guys the same but- you don't know what the other did? Aren't... you from the same world? The same things happen to you and... that's what makes you.. you- right?"

"Well... yeah, I guess when you put it that way," Long-sleeve Anti says. "We have to have shared most experiences."

"Otherwise we wouldn't be so similar." Short-sleeve Anti nods. "I think I understand. The moment you guys showed up in our universe, it must've split in two--the version where you showed up, and the version where you didn't. That's why he doesn't know you guys. Hey, d'you remember Marvin's museum heist? With that weird ass doorway in the middle of the exhibit?"

Long-sleeve Anti nods. "What? Something happen there?"

"Marvin shot his magic at me while in that doorway. That somehow summoned these guys and two of their friends."

"Ah. That didn't happen with me. I glitched out of the way just before. So that's the point of divergence."

"ooh!" Alt says, eyes sparkling as he understands. "It's... its a timeline split! Okay... okay that makes sense!" He laughs, "I dunno why that's easier for me to wrap my head around..."

"Would make sense," Short-sleeve Anti muses. "Marvin got really fucking obsessed with other worlds after that. If he never met these guys... none of that would've happened." Sadness flashes across his expression. "Jack would be safe right now..."

Long-sleeve Anti glitches over to him. "You'll get him back," he says. "I know what we're capable of, and I know you can get him back." Short-sleeve Anti smiles. "...thanks."

Bro and Alt look kinda guilty and look away from the tender Anti moment while Jackie blinks a bit in confusion.

Alt looks back to the Anti they know with determination, "...my offer still stands you know. If you ever need back up we can be-" He then cuts himself off and it dawns on him that... he can't make that promise anymore. The TRVLR is gone. Frustrated tears perk up in his eyes and he quickly tries to blink them away. "...well... n-nevermind can't... really u-universe hop anymore..."

Short-sleeve Anti raises an eyebrow. "I'm guessing something happened to your TRVLR."

"Sounds like some IRIS shit," Long-sleeve Anti mutters.

"Ha! That's exactly what it is. They got it from another world with them, stole it."

"Nice." Long-sleeve Anti pauses. "You don't... think it's related to the rifts, do you? This TRVLR thing?"

"I don't think IRIS is capable of doing shit like that. But... they might be linked." Short-sleeve Anti looks at the guys. "Well? What happened?"

Alt curls his hands into fists, magic flickering and sparking around him in anger. "...we were tricked. We thought the TRVLR got broken during a trip we took to that medieval world I told you about which is... such a long story. But- we thought it would be okay to take Jackie to go meet his superhero self! But then... it kept breaking- taking us to new places instead of taking us home... and we found out it was all a plan to bring the TRVLR to the universe we were in b-before all this rift stuff happened... and he, another Anti... he took Mag's magic and he destroyed the TRVLR and said he was gonna go d-delete other universes and... we couldn't stop him. The TRVLR tried to warn us! it said the universe was under quarantine but... I..." He gets angrier as he looks towards the still passed out Mag, "Mag got a hold of me right away and I- I couldn't warn anyone or get away and he... he-" Alt takes a couple shaky breaths to keep from exploding in anger, or bursting to tears. He honestly feels on the brink of both. "He got it and... We got sucked into the rifts and separated in the places you both found us. I... I dunno where he is now... who knows how many things he might have destroyed..." His shoulders shake and his voice breaks as he whispers out, "A-and it's all my fault...!"

"Hey! Alt d-don't say that," Bro says gently. "None of us could have prepared for this..."

The Antis stare, eyes getting wide as Alt tells his story. Then they look at each other.

"Must've been one of the places with a connection, right?" Long-sleeve Anti says.

"Yeah." Short-sleeve Anti nods. "Couldn't have been the place with the facility, I don't think the Anti there cares for deleting worlds. Same with that place with the time loop city. So... the other one."

"Yeah." Long-sleeve Anti nods. "That must be why They sent out a call. Because that Anti escaped. He can't do that much, though, can he?"

"...connection... call... what are you guys talking about?" Jackie tries to ask.

"Some universes have connections to other worlds," Long-sleeve Anti says.

"It's hard to grasp, I know, just... accept it and it'll be easier," Short-sleeve Anti adds.

"Oh.. okay," Jackie replies meekly.

Short-sleeve Anti frowns. Then he turns to Alt. "Your brother's right," he says in a quiet voice. "Nobody could have prepared for that. It's not your fault, okay? He was already working on a way out. He would have found it eventually, even if you didn't show up. It's not your fault. Okay? For some reason, people love to blame themselves for things that others have done. Not sure why. All it does is let the actual perpetrators escape blame-free, because they don't usually feel the guilt that decent people do. You gonna let this guy get away blame-free while you take it all?" He shakes his head. "It's not your fault. Anyone else in your situation would've been tricked, I'm sure. Even me. Or, uh, us." He gestures at himself and the other Anti.

Alt is quiet and is fighting back tears.

Bro sees how this is affecting Alt and he throws Mag to the... well what they're standing on- hard to tell with all this black. And then hurries over to come and hug him.

Alt seems resistant at first but eventually leans in, sniffling. He laughs half-heartedly at Anti's point and shakes his head. "... no...you're right I just... feel responsible..."

Bro shakes his head rests his on top of Alt's. "You're responsible for your actions only, Alt. No one else's."

Alt snorts and rolls his eyes. "Okay, Dr. J."

"He has very good points! That's why he gets paid to say this stuff!" Bro laughs as he nudges Alt. Then, he takes in all the blood on him and gasp. "Holy shit Alt-!"

From the combination of being tossed to the floor like wet garbage and the sound of the siblings bickering, Mag's eyes finally blearily open. He pushes himself up and has a nice purple bruise forming next to his eye on his left side. He notices the fact they're in complete darkness and there's two Antis and blinks super slowly, trying to process. "...the fucking hell is happening...?" He mutters dazedly.

The moment Magnificent is awake, the two Antis snap their attention to him. "So... who the hell is this guy?" Long-sleeve Anti asks. "A Marvin?"

"Yeah, as bad as ours," Short-sleeve Anti growls. "I put him on the list."

"Oh." Whatever that means, it apparently immediately sours Long-sleeve Anti's opinion of Magnificent, and he glares at him.

"...I dunno what the list is but I'm intrigued... maybe I should have a villains list." Bro muses.

Alt laughs, "Why bother? We all know Mag is at the top."

"Not true! ...Overdose is up there too. ...and that King bastard." Chase says with a shudder.

Short-sleeve Anti glitches over to Mag, crouching by him where he's lying on the black 'ground.' "Here's the deal, Mag," he says. "Right now, you're somewhere that only I--or this other version of me--can navigate. We could very easily leave you here, and you wouldn't be able to do shit about it. So, I suggest you play nice. Otherwise we might decide to just take these three with us when we leave. And keep in mind, your mind tricks don't work on me. Either version."

Magnificent stumbles back as short-sleeved Anti appears in front of him and looks between the two with even wider eyes. "T-There's fucking two of you?!" He gasps and tries to back up. He tries to save face by glaring at the Anti in front of him and glances at the other. But, eventually he sighs and frowns at Anti. "... I suppose that's do-able. I can humor you... until you idiots figure out a way out of this mess, I guess."

"Man- can't believe Mag is actually scared of you guys," Jackie grins.

"I am not-!" Magnificent tries to argue.

"Heh." Short-sleeved Anti gives a wicked grin, then glitches back over to the rest. "Well. Clearly, you guys all need to get home. Though I know what you'll say. About that other Anti who's running loose through the multiverse. You'll want to help, won't you? Or... at least you two will." He nods at Bro and Alt. "I'm not as familiar with you, Jackie."

"I'm starting to realize I might not be the... adventuring type," Jackie says quietly, rubbing at his arm. "B-But I'd like to help where I can...?"

Bro smiles sadly at Jackie and brings him into a side hug, "You've been doing amazing, Jackie..."

"They can't exactly help if they don't have a way to go to other worlds, though," Long-sleeve Anti points out.

"Yeah. Which is why we need to ask for Their help. If anyone can figure out something to fix all of this, it's Them."

Alt blinks in confusion and looks between the Antis, "umm... who's them?"

Even Mag's eyes spark curiously.

"Oh... just the most powerful being in this branch of the multiverse," Long-sleeve Anti says, giving a little chuckle.

"They sensed when the rifts started opening up and sent out a call for anyone who might be able to help with that," Short-sleeve Anti adds. "I answered. And it seems like I also answered."

"Sounded urgent," Long-sleeve Anti shrugs. "Especially since They mentioned people were out of place.”

"Hold on a second, They'll probably be coming here any moment," Short-sleeve Anti says.

Jackie notices it first, followed shortly by Alt. The area around them is pitch black, except for a small green dot of light in the distance. It grows bigger, getting closer. Baseball size, then basketball size, then beachball size. It keeps going. The size of a sofa, the size of a room.

Mag senses it more than sees it as it approaches. When he first entered that world with the horror creatures, he felt Cait Coill's power was an ocean. This is like a million oceans... a million oceans of acid. The closer it gets, the more clear it is that he does not want this power in his body. The size of a house, the size of a building, and the green glow just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger until the whole sky above them seems to be glowing green. And then, the green glow rolls. A rim of blue appears, followed by an expanse of black. It is a massive, glowing green eyeball.

Magnificent's jaw drops, shuddering as he feels the power wash over him.

Alt and Jackie gasp loudly. Alt tries to glitch back but realizes soon enough it's futile. They're becoming the very sky themselves.

Bro is confused at first, "...why is the sky glowing green." Then, he sees the rim of blue and black and he makes a pog face then points up at the sky, "GIANT SAM??!"

Alt bursts into awed breathless laughter, "i... I guess so…!"

"Yeah." The two Antis say in unison, nodding identically.

"What the fuckkk??" Jackie breathes.

{I AM SORRY IF I'M FRIGHTENING YOU, BUT I CANNOT CHANGE MY SIZE OUT HERE BEYOND THE WORLDS,} a voice says in all their minds. {I WILL KEEP THIS SHORT. IT IS NOT SAFE TO BE AROUND ME FOR TOO LONG OUT HERE. I KNOW ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED. I'M SORRY THAT IT HAS HAPPENED THIS WAY.}

"..i..it's okay," Alt tries to reply.

"But, the Antis said you could help us, right?" Bro asks hopefully.

{INDEED,} Sam says. {I CAN OPEN A WAY HOME FOR YOU.}

"What about their TRVLR?" Short-sleeve Anti asks.

"And the Anti that's going to fucking 'delete' worlds?" Long-sleeve Anti adds.

{DO NOT WORRY ABOUT HIM YET,} Sam says. {HE HAS GAINED THE POWER TO JUMP THROUGH WORLDS, BUT DESTROYING THEM WILL TAKE MUCH, *MUCH, MUCH* MORE. AS FOR THE DEVICE... THAT WILL TAKE SOME TIME. IT WOULD BE BEST TO FIND THE PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN SCATTERED, AND EVEN I WILL HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH THAT.}

"I-If you could take us back to the world where we found it- we could just grab another one," Alt says, stepping forward. "There were so many more just lying around! All they need to work is my magic!"

{BUT YOU WOULD LOSE ALL THE WORLDS YOU HAVE BEEN TO BEFORE,} Sam says. {AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE MET THERE. UNLESS YOU REMEMBER THE NUMBERS, THE ONLY WAY TO FIND THEM AGAIN WOULD BE THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR.}

"Couldn't you just give them a device with all the worlds marked?" Short-sleeve Anti asks.

{NO. MY POWER IS NOT... PRECISE LIKE THAT. IT IS MUCH MORE BLUNT.}

Alt deflates and sighs, holding his arms, "But then... didn't we already lose them? Our TRVLR was smashed into bits... How can you possibly find every piece and put them back together?" He bites his lips, feeling the pinprick of tears again, "...I don't want to lose our way to them... but.. i...i dunno..."

{IT IS ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE,} Sam says. {I PROMISE YOU, I WILL BE ABLE TO FIND EACH ONE. I SEE EVERYTHING, AFTER ALL. BUT THE PRECISION OF GATHERING AND PUTTING THEM TOGETHER WILL REQUIRE AID. PERHAPS FROM ONE OF THE GLITCHES.}

The two Antis look at each other.

{BUT IF YOU WISH FOR SOME OTHER SOLUTION, I WILL BE ABLE TO HELP WITH WHATEVER YOU COME UP WITH.}

Alt is quiet for a second and Bro comes up and puts a hand on his shoulder. Eventually he sighs and looks up at Sam with a sad smile. "...I guess I'm gonna have to trust you guys... but I think I can do that...."

{VERY GOOD,} Sam says.

"Well?" Long-sleeve Anti asks the other. "You or me? I think I have more free time."

Short-sleeve Anti shakes his head. "I'm already involved in all this multiverse shit. I... have stuff to do back home, but I think I'm more qualified."

"Hmm." Long-sleeve Anti purses his lips. "I guess... I've only really talked to that man who glitched into the In-Between and that young boy. You have these guys, they've visited your world and everything. But are you sure? What about your Jack?"

Short-sleeve Anti hesitates. "I... have people who are helping. And I'm sure I can do both at the same time. Take care of your Jack, okay? I'd... rather that happen."

"If you're sure," Long-sleeve Anti says quietly.

{REMEMBER, ALT BRODY,} Sam says. {YOU CANNOT WORRY ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOU CAN ONLY TRUST YOU'RE CAPABLE OF HANDLING IT.}

Alt's eyes widen and he looks back at Sam with shock. "... You... was that... you? In the world where..." He swallows shakily. "...where i was corrupted...? or was that Sam... merely passing along the message?”

{THAT WAS ME,} Sam says, a smile in Their mental voice. {THAT IS THE WORLD I HAIL FROM. JACK IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE... AND ANTI IS MY MISTAKE. BUT THAT IS A LONG STORY.}

"You're from that world??" Bro asks, "How... does that work? How did you go from a tiny thing back there to this... massive fucking thing?!" He spreads out his arms as wide as he can to emphasize his point.

Alt looks surprised too but does smile hearing about Jack. And shudders thinking about that Anti...

{OH... I CAN BE THIS BIG BACK THERE, TOO,} Sam says. {IN FACT, THIS IS MY NATURAL SIZE. I SHRINK DOWN FOR OTHERS' CONVENIENCE. BUT I CANNOT OUT HERE. IT IS THE TRADEOFF FOR THE POWER I MUST USE TO OPEN A DOOR TO OTHER WORLDS.}

“Whattt???” Bro says, dumbfounded.

“Do the guys back there know about that?” Jackie asks curiously.

{THEY KNOW I AM UNUSUAL,} Sam says. {THOUGH THEY DO NOT KNOW JUST HOW UNUSUAL. JACK DOES, I AM TELLING HIM EVERYTHING SLOWLY NOW THAT HE CAN HEAR MY VOICE NATURALLY. BEFORE THAT, COMMUNICATION WITH HUMANS WAS DIFFICULT. EVEN NOW, IT IS SLIGHTLY UNSAFE THAT YOU HAVE NOT ACCLIMATED, BUT I FEEL THIS WAS AN URGENT CASE.}

"We should get them home then, shouldn't we?" Short-sleeve Anti asks, nodding towards the four others.

{SOON, YES. PERHAPS IF THEY HAVE A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS, BUT KEEP THEM SHORT.}

Alt is quiet for a bit before he looks back up, “…how will you find us again? …none of us can get to here. And now we can’t travel to other universes… unless we use that doorway but… I don’t trust that thing one bit.” He glares at Mag who quickly looks away.

{I CAN OPEN UP A RIFT FOR A SLIGHT MOMENT OF TIME,} Sam says. {I TRUST ANTI TO GO THROUGH AND DELIVER ANY MESSAGES OR ITEMS TO YOU.}

Short-sleeve Anti nods. "And I can get back to my home from anywhere."

“Damn lucky-“ Jackie giggles.

Alt nods, “…alright. Then… I guess we’re all… good.” He still looks sad and uneasy about all this, anxiety about that escaped Anti clawing at his gut.

“Our world is gonna be… safe, right? From that crazy Anti?” Bro asks quietly.

{YOUR WORLD IS FAR FROM HIS,} Sam says. {ON A DIFFERENT BRANCH. IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO REACH IT. ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. IT IS A MIRACLE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REACH THIS BRANCH AND HOP THROUGH AS EASILY HAS YOU HAVE.}

"If you see that crazy guy, I'll be right behind him," Short-sleeve Anti says. "Gonna fucking kick his ass for trying to reach you guys."

Long-sleeve Anti raises an eyebrow. "You'd go that far?"

Short-sleeve Anti pauses. "I guess I would."

“Awww have you grown a soft spot for us Anti~?” Bro taunts playfully.

Alt smiles wide, laughing along. “…it’s good to know we can count on you, Anti.”

Magnificent makes a gagging motion and Jackie kicks at him. Mag hisses at him.

Short-sleeve Anti gives a small smile. And at that, so does the other one. "Well... we should head home, shouldn't we?" he says.

"We should. And you should too." Short-sleeve Anti nods at the four of them.

{THEY WILL HAVE TO GO FIRST,} Sam says. {AFTER ALL, THEY NEED AN ENTRANCE, WHILE YOU TWO CAN GO BACK AS YOU WISH.}

“I guess… this is goodbye for now, then.” Bro says with a sad smile.

Alt looks back at Sam, “thanks then… for all your help.” He smiles back at the Antis, “And you two too.”

Jackie steps up next to his friends and laughs nervously, “Dunno if I’ll be doing another one of these things again anytime soon but… thanks.”

Mag stays quiet and doesn’t look at anyone, rubbing at the bruise on his face.

The Anti in long sleeves nods. "Nice to meet you all. I can see why this other me got attached."

The Anti they know rolls his eye. "You guys stay safe. I hope I'll see you all soon--to give you your TRVLR again." He glances at Mag. "And you." He doesn't say anything, just glares threateningly.

Magnificent still flinches slightly- which have the other swaps giggling.

Then Anti looks back to the others. "Here's to the future."

{WHEN YOU ARE READY...} A bit of green lightning snaps down from the Sam high above. A small tear appears in the pitch-black of the Space In-Between, and through it... a familiar sight. Home. {STEP THROUGH. GOOD LUCK, AND GOODBYE.}

The swaps all watch in awe as the lightning strikes and then perk up at the small glimpse of home. Calling to them.

Bro smiles and offers his hands to the others. “Together?”

Alt rolls his eyes with a chuckle. “Cheesy. But… yeah.” He takes Bro’s hand.

Jackie grins, squeezing Bro’s hand, “One last hold for the road! Just in case it’s bumpy~”

“By the gods your sentimentality makes me sick,” Mag grumbles. “Can we move on?”

“Don’t be bitchy just cuz you’re jealous, Marv.” Jackie says, sticking out his tongue at Mag.

Magnificent snorts but hides his look of anger. He teleports ahead of the others- just long enough to linger in the other side before he disappears from sight.

The other swaps all roll their eyes and laugh- then, they step back through the portal, together.

They find themselves in a familiar place when they walk through the rift. The Brody brothers' apartment, right where they left.

Magnificent is not with the three of them. When he walked through, he appears right where he left as well. In his warehouse.

The boys all look at each other and then collapse into different chairs or places to sit around the living room. They sit together in a long long silence- Their exhaustion palpable in the air.

Finally, Bro speaks up, looking at Jackie. “…did you mean that back there, Jackie? That you don’t think you can… do these trips anymore?”

Jackie doesn’t meet their eyes as he shrugs. He laughs uneasily. “Well… guess we do have a break now but… y-yeah… I think I… I need to step out of these.” Frightened tears come into his eyes. “…in the last world… I… I almost died- if Anti hadn’t found me in time… I… I…” he takes a shaky breath and holds his arms. “….all I could think about was Zara and the kids… never knowing what happened to me. I… I dunno if I can do that again…”

Bro and Alt look at their friend with sadness and understanding.

Then, the door to apartment opens quietly- before there’s a gasp, then an angry female voice yelling, “Jackie Finnigan Mann!! Where the hell have you been?!”

Jackie’s head snaps back to look at who’s at the door- it’s Zara. She looks a mix between angry and relived. “One day at most my ass! Where-?!”

She gets cut off as Jackie clambers to get to her and almost knocks her over by hugging her tightly. “I’m sorry Zara! I’m so so sorry, love…” he whispers, voice breaking as he holds her tightly.

Zara blinks slowly but then quickly hugs him back, “oh… love… you’re trembling…!” She rubs his back and kisses his cheek, “…I’m just glad you’re okay…” She looks to Bro and Alt with confusion, “what… happened?”

Bro shakes his head, “it’s a long story, z… we can catch you up in a bit. I think we all need… some time.”

Zara nods and squeezes Jackie before letting go- “here… you all look terrible and exhausted… come over to our house and I’ll make you all dinner okay?” Then she blinks and gasps, “holy fuck Alt! You’re hurt!”

Alt blinks slowly and looks down, “…oh yeah-“

“Okay- first a trip to Ollie, then I’ll make you all dinner.” Zara says sternly.

Alt laughs hollowly and nods, “okay… guess I can’t argue with that… Ollie has Glitches after all…”

“Isn’t he not supposed to treat you now that you both are dating?” Bro asks with a smirk.

Alt blushes and Zara snorts, “I think he’ll make an exception. Or we’ll see the other dooms I don’t care just-! C’mon you lot.” She leads Jackie out and Bro soon staggers up to follow after. He pats Alt on the shoulder and then walks out the door.

Alt lingers for a second, noticing the empty feeling in his pocket more than ever. But, soon enough he follows after his friends.

None of them had to do this alone.

#SATCV #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #this one is so much shorter than a lot of our chapters but!#it is the wrap up #god i loved being able to share this with yall!!#and dont worry! this is not the end of alt and bro's multiverse travels :)#in facttt might have another story to share very very soon :)#oh oh and as a big cry fan it was so fun to see the multiverse anti merge with canon inverted anti!! so cool!!#and finding out that the big sam in the space in between is bad end sam!!#cry is always throwing me for loops i love it so much aghjak #thank you guys so much for reading along on this crazy journey!!

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 4: Merms

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read MerMay Stories

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Bro lands somewhere completely unexpected, but also, beautiful. He's landed on a beach, looking out over a wide expanse of blue-green water. A bay? A lagoon? Something like that. Behind him are tall trees with vibrant green leaves. A forest. To the left and the right, at the far ends of the beach, are tall dark rocks--tide pools and little alcoves full of water. There are no people around. Or... even any signs of people. Where is he?

Bro blinks and pushes himself up, looking over the landscape with widening eyes. “…what the fuck? This-this isn’t home??” He has to admit it is beautiful but, “Where the fuck is this?!”

Everything is quiet and still, or as quiet and still as a beach and forest can be... until there's a splash over to the left, near the rocks. Bro can see someone grab onto one of the rocks and hoist themself out of the water. They're sort of far away, but it looks like a man with brown hair. He leans down close to the water, like he's looking at something still underneath the surface.

Bro is freaked out, frantically pulling out his phone to see if he can call Alt or Jackie. Something definitely wasn’t right here! He jumps slightly and almost drops his phone but manages to grab it before it slips into the water. He looks at the sound of the splash and sees the man. Not wanting to miss his chance- Bro flies over and lands a bit away so hopefully he can approach without startling them.

“H-Hey! Can I ask ya something?” He shouts out, trying to sound friendly.

The man looks over at him, startled. And now that Bro is close, he realizes that something is off. There are... are those... fins? Poking out from behind his ears? That's definitely a long yellow dorsal fin going down his back. And his forearms are covered in blue and green scales.

Bro skids to stop and stares with wide eyes, his jaw falling open. “W-What the fuuuuckkk….??”

Before the man can respond, something shoots out of the water, grabs him, and pulls him back into the water. It happens too fast for Bro to really see what grabs the guy other than that it's green.

Bro shouts as he sees the man get dragged under water. He skids to the edge of the rocks and looks around frantically. Then, against his better judgment, he kneels down and then shoves his head under the water- trying to find any proof of what he just saw.

Underwater is blurry, of course, but Bro can make out what looks like two creatures fighting, both of them different shades of green. The darker-green one notices him and lunges forward, but the other pushes that one away. This whole time, there's a sound like... dolphin chatter?

Bro blinks past the harsh burning of the water and tries to focus on what he can see-they’re- fighting? Why can’t he understand them??

Suddenly, Bro finds himself pushed back out of the water. While he recovers from this, the man--man?--from before stares at him, head and shoulders out of the water, looking worried.

Bro gasps as he’s pushed out and then blinks comically at the man- merman? That pushed him out. He waves, “uh…. Hi?”

The man waves--showing that there are more fins on his wrists. "H-hiii," he says. And then... then he makes some strange sounds. Random vowels interspersed with clicks, whistles, and chirps--in other words, the dolphin-like noises.

Bro blinks in surprise at the new sounds and then holds up his hands. “Ahhh fuck- I can’t understand you… but- holy shit… you’re a merman…!” He laughs and pushes his bangs out of his face, blinking in disbelief. “I… I don’t know why I can’t believe this- I’ve seen weird shit before but- this!”

Another head pops out of the water behind him. Someone else, with green hair, green-tinted skin, and glowing green eyes. There are fins behind his ears like this first... guy. The new one scowls and glares at Chase.

Chase tilts his head at the other figure. Huh… that green in his eyes almost looks familiar. “Um… you might not be able to understand me but um- I’m Chase! …and I’m so fucking lost.”

"You're not Chase." Now that--perfect English--comes from the green-tinted one in the back.

Chase blinks and then points at himself, "... Yes I am! I'm Chase- Chase Brody! Who the fuck are you-" Then he pauses and looks surprised, "Wait- you spoke English! Oh okay brilliant maybe you can-"

"I don't know what sort of--of ssshhhit you're trying to pull--" The one in front turns around and splashes the other one, chattering in a harsh tone. The green one splutters and responds snappily in the same chatter.

And the two of them have a quick back and forth. Then the green one sinks in the water. "...How did you get here?" he mutters, grudgingly civil.

"Uh... well.. that's... complicated. But um... I came from another.. universe...?" Bro says. ...Why does the grumpy green one kinda remind him of Alt?

"Universe...?" the green one repeats, understanding the word but not the concept.

The other one smiles at him. He points at himself "Dak." And then back at the green one. "Antee."

Chase's eyes widen as he whispers. "...no way-" He stares straight at Antee- now clearly seeing the resemblance in the face- despite the green tint and scales.

The green one protests in the chattery language, but the other one splashes him again and says something that asks like a question.

The green one sighs. "Jack wants to know if that's somewhere far away, and how you got here if that's the case."

Bro slightly shakes out of his surprise and then nods, "Uh... yeah. R-Really far away. And uh- we got here by... magic mostly. A bit of tech- but mostly magic. My brother's a magician."

Jack's eyes light up. He chirps and chatters something, grabbing Anti and shaking him slightly. Anti rolls his eyes. "We know magicians," he mutters. "Didn't know humans could use magic, too."

"Y-Yeah he's really good at magic! Best magician I know at least," Bro grins.

Jack asks something. "He wants to know if your brother came with you." Anti interprets.

Bro quickly nods, "Yeah! He's... probably somewhere around here... we tend to get separated when we come to new places."

Jack and Anti look around. The lagoon is clearly empty of people. "Well. Good luck looking for him," Anti says, and starts to sink underwater.

Jack makes an offended whistling sound--like putting voice behind a gasp--and grabs him, pulling him back up. "Look, if he's human then his brother is human, and probably on land! We can't help!"

Jack slumps, then perks up again, asking something. Anti rolls his eyes. "Alright, Chase Brody. Why don't you use your metal slab to call your brother, then?"

"Fon," Jack adds.

"Your phone."

"Oh! Well... I could try? Wasn't sure it'd work here but- Guess they do exist here! That's handy-" Chase laughs as he pulls out his phone, trying to see if he can reach Alt.

It looks like cell reception doesn't translate between universes, but there is a tiny, tiny bit of WiFi that he can use to send a text.

Anti swims a bit closer as Bro messes with the phone, trying and failing to hide his curiosity.

Chase curses as he takes the phone away from his ear and studies it- trying to send a message: Alt! I'm at a beach near a forest- where are you? Did the TRVLR glitch? Are you okay??? ...probably overkill but- just in case.

The text takes longer than usual to go through, but it does eventually. And now, they wait.

-----------

Alt lands on a solid surface, and Jackie lands right next to him. They've arrived on a... boat? Yes, a boat floating out on the water, with a distant, pier-lined coast in sight. They sky overhead is a bright blue, contrasting against the endless dark blue water all around them. A table (and two chairs) sits on the deck, pushed up against the metal railing, its surface covered in burgers, fried chicken, French fries, ice cream--basically any fast food you can think of.

Alt groans and curls up as he lands on something solid, finding it hard to breathe momentarily.

"Alt!" Jackie cries out and goes to help him up.

Alt blinks at him in confusion. "J-Jackie? Wait... no.. what??" He looks out at their surroundings, his stomach dropping. "T-This isn't-!"

"What the hell?!" a young man, leaning over the boat's railing, jerks backwards. "Where did you two come from?!"

Jackie and Alt both jump as they hear the young man. Jackie scrambles to say something and just blurts out, "Uhhh... from the sky??"

Alt gives him a confused 'are you serious' look.

The young man laughs. "Yeah, right. Okay, where were you guys hiding? There aren't many spots on here. You know that trespassing is still illegal if it's on a boat, right? Cause this is my boat, and I didn't say you could be here." He frowns. "Why are you guys here, anyway?"

“O-Oh fuck uh- sorry sir, we didn’t know!” Jackie tries to say, holding up his hands. “I was trying to make a joke- we uh… god this is gonna sound crazy but we couldn’t actually control where we landed? It’s uh- magic and shit. We uh… came from another universe…?” Jackie grins a wide nervous smile, looking very uncomfortable.

But as they talk, Alt notices something. Some of the fries from the table have fallen onto the ground. And a hand reaches up from the side of the boat and grabs some of them.

Alt gets distracted from trying to diffuse the situation as he sees the hand reach up. His eyes widen and he glances at the man before hurrying over to the side of the boat to look.

"Another universe? Yeah, sure. You can at least try to--hey!" The man tries to grab Alt as he hurries over but barely misses.

Down in the water beneath the boat are three--people? They're clearly not normal. One wearing a cap has orange fins behind his ears and white and black stripes across his chest and arms. One with a bag has blue-green tentacles poking out of the water around him. And one in a sleeveless woven hoodie has a dorsal fin sticking out of his back. That one chokes on the fries he hurriedly shoved in his mouth while the one with the tentacles shoves the other two underwater.

"Uh--don't mind that!" the young man rushes over, pulling Alt back.

Alt’s eyes widen and he wants to shout but he gets dragged away.

"Those are, uh, my friends! We're--practicing for a--a stunt show! R-really real costumes, huh?" The man laughs nervously.

Alt looks back up at the young man and gapes at him. “…mermaids- those were mermaids!”

“What??? Lemme see lemme see!” Jackie says excitedly, running to the railing to look over.

"No! No no no, those weren't mermaids!" the man protests. "They were just--dressed like mermaids!"

As Jackie peers over the side of the railing, some of the spray from the water hits his face, as it's splashing a lot. But there definitely seem to be both human-like limbs and fish-like tails under all that splashing. Briefly, the one in the hoodie breaks away from the struggle and waves at Jackie, allowing him a closer look at him. Long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, sharp teeth bared in a grin, and scars across his eyes. Yet, somehow, he looks familiar. And then a tentacle wraps around his chest and pulls him underwater again.

Jackie stares at the water and then the hoodied man before he pushes away from the railing. “H-Holy shit…!”

Alt whips around at the young man, “Don’t try to trick me! I know what I saw! No costumes are that realistic! And an illusion wouldn’t hold up with all them moving like that-“

"I--uh--uh--" The young man pauses, clearly mentally scrambling for an explanation. Then he suddenly switches tactics. "Did you know this all along?! I-is that why you snuck aboard?! W-well, I'll have you know you have no way of proving it! E-everyone's gonna call the pictures photoshopped if you post them!"

“Hah?!?” Alt says. He glitches slightly in anger and presses up against the young man, “You got sea water in your ears, kid?! We just told you we didn’t mean to come here! I don’t even know where the hell we are! I couldn’t care less about proving anything!”

The young man's eyes widen as Alt glitches. His mouth falls open and he's at a loss for words.

Again, the hoodied mermaid pulls away from the struggle. He grabs the edge of the boat and smiles. "H-h-hayy," he says to Jackie. "Yoo.. luck... layk mmme."

Jackie startles as the hoodied merman pulls himself up towards him. He bends down and cocks his head at him, looking confused for a second. But then it clicks and he gasps, pointing at the merman. “OH MY GOD!! Alt! ALTTT!! ITS ME AS A MERMAN!! I FOUND A MERMAN JACKIE!!!”

Alt glitches again and glares at the man before glitching over by Jackie. His eyes widen. “Yo- what the fuck…?”

The man stands there, stunned, while Alt and Jackie move to talk to the merpeople.

The mer-Jackie makes a startled sound when Alt suddenly glitches next to Jackie, jerking backwards and into the water. Then he looks excited, turning back to the still-splashing part of the water. And he makes some strange sounds, like dolphin speech interspersed with human-made vowels. Whatever he says, it gets the other two to stop fighting. The one with the cap swims over next to Jackie, looking back up at the two guys curiously. The other one stays where he is, just his eyes poking out of the water, darting back and forth between the guys on the boat and the merms in the water.

Jackie shakes Alt’s shoulder excitedly. “Look dude look!! A merman me!!”

“I am looking dude- I still don’t believe it-“ Alt breathes. He kneels down by the edge again, tilting his head at the merms curiously. When he notices their strange way of speaking he knits his eyebrows together and then tries to see if he can cast a translation spell.

The mer-Jackie and the cap merman make an "oooo"ing sound at Alt's magic. They turn to each other and chatter.

"--was--"

"I--was--maybe?"

"I--humans--not--use magic?"

"--don't know that. Maybe they--know magic--forgot?"

"Maybe we should ask Marvin later."

The spell really struggles with this language, even more so than Glasish when they visited that fantasy world before. But it gets there eventually.

"Well go on, Chase!" mer-Jackie says, shoving the other one. "Talk to them in human! Ask them about their magic!"

"It's called 'English,' Jackie. They have a lot of languages."

Alt honestly was afraid it wouldn’t work at all- but he seems to relax as it starts to make sense. He blinks then laughs and waves at them both, “Actually- it’s okay. I can understand you both now.” He grins.

“What??? Alttt why’d you leave me out??? I wanna hear! Your doppelgänger isn’t even here!” Jackie whines.

“Oh yeah- right… sorry Jackie-“ Alt says, quickly casting the spell on Jackie too. Then, Alt studies the capped merman. Is this one really Chase?

"Oh, you can?" mer-Jackie blinks. "Alright, how many fingers am I holding up, then?" He holds up three fingers.

“3!” Jackieboy says excitedly, pointing down. Alt gives him another done look.

The one in the back swims over and smacks the other Jackie in the back of the head. "That makes no sense! Idiot."

"Owww! Don't be mean, Schneep!"

Chase laughs. "Well, um... hi?" He waves. "We don't... usually see humans using magic like that. O-or looking like a broken computer."

Alt blinks back down at Chase and smiles, “Well- 1) cool that you know about computers! Didn’t think a merman would know that- 2) I’m a special case~ not many magicians like me exist! Anddd 3) we’ve never seen real life mermen before!”

“Much less mermen that are us!!” Jackie grins, bouncing on the railing. “This is insane! It’s me and our friends as fucking mermaids, dude!!!”

“Man Jackie you are bringing so much energy into these trips-“ Alt mumbles, rubbing at his ear.

Chase laughs, a sound that's sharper and more chittering than a human laugh. "Most merms don't know about computers, but I'm special. Oh, that's what the general term is, by the way, 'merm.' I-I know you guys tend to default to just mermaids but that's only for women."

“Oh! That’s helpful to know!” Jackie says, “Mermmmm- heh- that’s fun to say! Merm merm merm merm-“

The one in the back--a mer-Schneep, it seems--eyes the two guys suspiciously. "Are you sure they can be trusted, Chase?" he mutters.

"Schneep, they can hear you," Jackie points out.

"It's fine, Schneep, I-I think they're different," Chase says.

Alt hums, trying to ignore Jackie still saying merm over and over, “I know we look strange but- we know other people who look like you, and they’re our friends.”

"Ollie?!" Chase calls.

The young man walks over, looking over the railing. "These guys... are cool?" he asks hesitantly.

"They're cool," Chase agrees in English.

"O-okay." Ollie nods.

At the name, Alt’s eyes widen and he whips around, finally taking in all the features of the young man- he feels his breath get taken away ,a flush coming to his cheeks. “O-Oliver…?” He breathes.

"Uh... yeah? That's what Ollie is usually short for." Ollie laughs a bit.

Alt is just staring at Ollie like he’s looking at a ghost. This is the first time they’ve seen someone else outside their friend group in another universe. He never thought he’d see a copy of his boyfriend?? This was super duper weird- and Alt can’t stop his cheeks from turning red. “U-Uh yeah… right… s-sorry… you just.. l-look like someone I… know.”

"I do, huh?" Ollie smiles a bit. "I-I hope it's someone you like. It, uh, probably is." He doesn't want to comment on the obvious blush.

Alt makes a squeak at this.

"Um... so... h-how'd you get on the boat? I didn't even notice you guys." Ollie asks.

"I think they just appeared," Chase says.

"Appeared?" Ollie glances at Alt, confused. "Uh... sorry, I-I'm still getting used to the merm thing, people appearing and, uh, glitching around... is a bit much."

Alt eventually shakes himself out enough to answer. “Uh yeah we.. just kinda do that… cuz of m-magic! Which I do- and used to get here- w-with this device.” He pulls out the TRVLR to show them. “But uh… we weren’t supposed to be here. I was sure I plugged in the coordinates for home.”

As Alt looks over the TRVLR, he notices something. After tinkering with the settings between adventures, he'd found one that makes the current universe code show up in the top left corner. This... isn't the code for their world. Instead, it reads UA-0501019MM.

He blinks and then narrows his eyes at the universe code. What the heck?? This isn’t even close to their code!

Meanwhile, mer-Jackie is joining in with his human counterpart repeating "merm merm merm merm."

Schneep rolls his eyes at that and looks at Alt. "Who are you, then?" he asks. "Your names?"

Alt looks down and then lightly smacks Jackie to get him to stop. He gestures at Schneep then at Jackie. Jackie blinks then looks back at Schneep and grins, “I’m Jackie! Jackie Mann!”

"Jackie! Like me!" Jackie says.

Jackie beams, “Yeah! Just like you! We’re like- the same person but from different worlds!”

Alt raises his hand, looking timid. “‘M Alt… Alt Brody. But um… I-Im also known as Anti.”

The three merms glance at each other when Alt mentions his name. "We know an Anti," Schneep says. "That is funny. Names are funny."

“Yeah… figured you would,” Alt mutters.

"Different... worlds?" Jackie repeats, uncertain.

"Oh, like another dimension?" Chase asks.

“Uhh yeah! I think that’s the same thing!” Jackieboy says, grinning.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'dee-men-shun'?" Schneep asks.

"Uhhh... it's hard to explain. It took me a while to get it."

"Wait, you mean you guys weren't kidding about being from other universes?!" Ollie gasps.

Alt laughs, “Nope- weren’t kidding at all. Where we’re from- mermaids don’t exist.”

“As far as you know!” Jackie points out, “What if they’re just like- lurking so low we never see them? Like a giant squid! We’ve barely explored the ocean bro!”

“Your wife is rubbing off on you,” Alt chuckles.

“Hey! I have a fascination with the ocean outside of my wife too you know!!!”

And shortly after, Alt's text tone goes off. The glitch then jumps slightly as his phone buzzes. He switches out the TRVLR for his phone, checking the message. Alt! I'm at a beach near a forest- where are you? Did the TRVLR glitch? Are you okay???

“Oh well- texting works here at least… that’s nice.” Alt comments.

"Oh, your phone messages." Schneep nods.

Alt looks back at Jackieboy. “Chase is on a beach somewhere-“

"I'm not on a beach, I'm right here," Chase says. "Or--do you know a Chase like we know a Jackie and Anti?"

Alt blinks at Chase and then laughs shaking his head, “Yeah, we have a Chase too. He’s my older brother.”

"Brother?" Chase repeats. "I have a couple siblings, but we don't really keep in contact. Maybe I should reach out to them. I think they all still live in the school we grew up in."

Alt blinks, “huh- you might be one of the first Chases I met that actually has siblings too.”

"A lot of merms have siblings," Chase says. "But you kind of drift away from them. In the ocean, at least. Everything's so big. It might be different for freshwater merms."

“That’s so interesting…” Alt replies.

"If your friend is on a beach, I can try to take you guys there," Ollie says, still barely grasping the idea of these visitors being from another world. "I mean, I can't really take you anywhere, but if it's nearby."

Alt can’t help but smile at Ollie- even if it feels weird to look at him for too long. Stop trying to heat up cheeks! “Uh- t-that’d be awesome if you could. He’s said he’s one the beach near a forest- does that sound familiar?”

"Oh!" Jackie's eyes light up. "A beach near land with trees? Is it the beach of a lagoon? With big brown rocks at the entrance and some deep tide pools?"

Schneep looks at Jackie and frowns. "Do you think he found where Jack and Anti are?"

"Yeah, I do!"

Jackie and Alt exchange looks. Alt seems uneasy for a second but- it’s not like they’re saying anything bad about this other Anti. He sighs. “If your friends live over there… then that’s probably where he is. We get drawn towards people we know when we drop into these worlds.”

Jackie blinks. "I don't think I'm really understanding this thing about worlds and 'oo-nee-versus' but we can take you there! Ah-lee can follow us in the boat!"

"We are sure about this?" Schneep mutters.

"I'm curious, at least," Chase says.

"Come on, come on!" Jackie dives back underwater, swimming over to the prow of the ship. His dorsal fin sticks out of the water as he goes, highlighting that yes, he is indeed a sharklike merm, as opposed to Schneep's tentacles and Chase's more traditional fishy shape.

Jackie laughs in surprise and delight as he sees mer-Jackie swim. “Oh my god!! He’s a shark!! That’s so cool!!!”

Schneep grins at Jackie's enthusiasm. "Yes, Jackie is a yellow shark. Chase is an anemonefish and I am a great ocean octo."

"Lemon shark, clownfish, great Pacific octopus," Chase says. "You guys have different words for us. Oh, and we're going to Jack and Anti, who are a discus and an electric eel."

“That’s so sick!! You’re all so different!” Jackie says excitedly, “In cartoons and shit- all mermaids look the same!!”

Chase laughs. "Oh yeah, we've seen some of your cartoons. We know. But it's fine, don't worry. I think it's great, actually!"

"Well, if we are going, you should message your brother," Schneep says to Alt. "So he is not waiting and not knowing."

Alt blinks and then nods and texts Bro back: Hang tight bro- we landed on a ship and found help. Coming to find you. All safe

Then Schneep looks at Ollie. "Can you follow us?"

"No problem." Ollie gives him a thumbs up. "Try to stay slow, though. You guys are really fast."

Alt hums in thought, shrugging his backpack off and starting to skim through the pages. He wonders if he has any spells that can help… Because… These guys know about magic- and there’s one other person from their world who’s left unaccounted for.

And with that, he and Schneep go join Jackie at the prow, and the boat heads off across the ocean.

-----------

Magnificent does not appear anywhere familiar. Or even anywhere he would want to be. He lands on a small beach. This is on the edge of a large body of water, surrounded by thin trees. Judging by the lack of salt smell, it's not the ocean, but an especially large lake. And one that people know about, since there's a small area with a picnic table and trash can nearby.

Magnificent rolls onto his stomach, growling against his binds and hoping he can get away from those pesky-! Wait- this… isn’t their universe. As Mag thinks this, Alt’s magic breaks apart, freeing him. He quickly teleports to his feet and dusts himself off. Then he hisses and scrambles back as he sees his close he is to the water. Fucking water- as much as he doesn’t want to lean too heavily into cat stereotypes… he can’t stand large bodies of water. And getting wet. But… new universe… what magic could lie around here..?

Well... there are pros and cons to him reaching out with his magic. Pro, there is a great deal of magic nearby, strong and deep and rippling with power. Con, it's clearly under the lake.

Magnificent starts to brighten as he senses the magic- then his face quickly falls as he sees it’s under the lake. He curses up a storm, kicking at the sand and basically throwing a fit. Once he lets out his rage he breathes and then braces himself before jumping into the water. He casts a quick spell to make sure he can breathe and see, while cursing whoever left this magic down here. He’s not a great swimmer but he pushes forward, aiming to follow the pull of the magic.

As Magnificent sinks through the lake, the light becomes dimmer, but fish become more plentiful--though they all scatter whenever he gets near. And as he starts to reach the floor of the lake, he notices something strange. Some of the plants are glowing. They give off faint magical signatures, but aren't really worth his time. There are also... glowing starfish? But those live in the sea, not lakes. And yet here they are, scattered about, getting closer together as the pull of magic becomes stronger. He comes to a spot clear of any plants, and finds something strange. A structure made of pillars and slabs of stone, most of it having no walls except for a single attached room. What is this? Some sort of ruin?

Magnificent swims past most distractions, eager to get a boost and then get out of this lake. But… the starfish are odd. And so is this… structure. Curiously, Mag swims towards it and tries to peek inside.

But then he runs into something coming out of the structure. It’s not immediately clear what it is, but as it makes some sort of chirping whistling sounds, the details sink in. It’s… a merman. That’s the only word for it. The bottom half is a silver tail with glints of yellow and blue, the upper half is mostly human (wearing a dark green cape) but has silvery fins trailing from the upper arms, and the face… is startlingly familiar. The merman trails off, fully taking in Mag’s appearance as he takes in his. Then his eyes widen in fear and he swims backwards, making a loud whistling noise.

Magnificent’s eyes widen and his jaw falls in disbelief. A merman… he thought those only existed in fairytales! And well, unfortunately, he knew this thing’s face all too well. But, the mad magician tries to put on his most charming smile and tries to back up, looking apologetic. “My apologizes, noble merfolk! I was just… searching the area. Did not mean to intrude~!”

But it doesn't matter how kind or apologetic he seems, the merm turns and darts into the structure, whistling and chattering loudly. Once inside, he grabs something from a shelf carved from rock and puts it on his face--a mask with four bits of orange sea glass embedded in the forehead--and starts rummaging through round stones on the shelves.

Mag’s face goes from cordial to dangerous in an instant. He growls and then darts to follow the merm into the structure. Once he sees him he lashes out to try to grab him by his wrist.

But the merman's wrist slips out of his grasp, the skin less grippy than Mag expected. He looks at the magician with wide eyes and grabs tight to one of the stones. Strange symbols carved on the surface light up with seafoam green light. And that's when Magnificent realizes. The power he'd felt--it wasn't one big source, it was a lot of sources gathered together. One of them being this merman. And many others being the little round rocks he was looking through.

Magnificent growls, his own eyes lighting up with magic. Then, he pauses as he reads the room. Oh… okay. He grins, then tries to grab one of the stones for himself.

The merman notices what he's doing and tries to stop him, going to smack his hand away.

Mag is stopped and he yells out in frustration as he slapped away- but he manages to lash out again and grabs the merm’s hand. He laughs sinisterly, digging claws into his flesh. “Don’t worry, little fish… this won’t hurt a bit~!” And he tries to drain the merm of his magic.

The merm shrieks and manages to backpedal his way out of Mag's grip, tail pumping hard to push him through the water. But not without Mag's claws scraping down his skin--and not without some of his power being stolen. It flows into Magnificent like the water that surrounds them, bubbly as the seafoam its green color is named after. It's only a fraction of what the merm had, but it's something. The merm looks at him in horror, then turns and swims out of the structure.

Magnificent laughs, studying the magic as it flows through his veins. He laughs as the merm runs, going to scoop some of the power stones up for himself. Curious little things… worth studying he thinks. Hmm… should be off that little anomaly of him? Or capture it to see what it could explain about the magic here? …or- he could do both. He grins and then rockets after the merm, quickly trying to see if he can teleport to cut it off.

He’s surprised to see he can but grins menacingly as he appears in front of the merm, reaching out to try to catch him.

The mern shrieks again, ducking down to swim under him. And as it chatters, something happens.

"--the--trying--me!--my magic! Where--you?!" Huh? The sounds are starting to make sense.

Mag yells in rage and tries again, trying this time to throw out strings to catch it.

But the strings alone get pushed away by the currents of the merm moving. He circles around the structure to the more solid part--and something pops up from the other side of it. A person, just their head poking above the ceiling of the structure. He has brown hair and a thick mustache. His eyes widen as he sees Mag, then he looks at the other merm and makes weird gestures. The merm hurries towards him.

Magnificent is getting tired of this chase- he rockets back down and then conjures up a net with his magic, whipping it out towards his look-a-like.

The merm is too focused on reaching his friend to notice the net. It wraps around his body, pulling him to a stop. He shrieks. "No! You--! Let me go!--help!"

Whatever magic Mag absorbed must be translating the chatter.

Magnificent laughs and starts to pull the magic back towards him. “Well! That was a fun chase, Marvin.” He spits out his name. “But I’m afraid playtime is over, little fish~”

The other merm dives forward, hurriedly trying to pull his friend out. This one is very different than the other, with strange wings attached to his arms and sides. A ray of some kind, maybe.

Magnificent finally takes notice of the other merm and he laughs, floating above him. “Now now little one- you can run along~! I’m sure I have no need for you~” He sends out a wave of magic, trying to push the Ray merm away.

The ray clings to the net but the magic pushes him away and he goes flying over the structure. "No! No! Jameson!" Marvin shouts, struggling. He looks back at Magnificent. "Wh-who are you?! How do you know my name?! Can you--can you even understand me?!"

Magnificent laughs, “Yes I can~ and since we can now hold a conversation… I think you will be such a good source of knowledge for me. So- why don’t we get to know each other, Marvin? You can call me Magnificent.”

"Magnificent? S-stupid name for a h-human." Marvin tries to smile smugly, but there is clear fear under the mask."I don't--I don't know what you could want. I just live here, I don't know anything a-about your human stuff."

“Oh my dear child, I am no human~” Magnificent laughs, showing off his fangs, “I am something so much greater.”

"Not human, huh? Th-that would explain how you're down this far and still breathing." He tries for a smile again but doesn't even manage a smirk this time.

Magnificent tightens the net and brings Marvin close to his face, going to use his claws to turn his back and forth by his chin. He chuckles, tilting his head like a curious predator. “Why that’s okay, little fish. I think I will find what you know sooo much more interesting. Like- how these stones work- for instance? Or how you got your magic?”

Marvin swallows a lump in his throat. Tiny slits on either side of his neck open and close in miniscule motions."I--My magic, it--it's something I was born with, a-a lot of merms are, though most don't do anything with it. A-and the stones, they store power. You pour some of yours in and pull it out at later times."

Magnificent tsks, “It’s that trivial? Hm…” He twirls some of the strings of his magic with a thoughtful expression. “You said a lot of …merms- have magic? Where could one find a bigger source of that?”

Marvin opens his mouth to answer--and then realizes that it's probably not a good idea to give this guy what he wants. So he shuts his mouth. "I don't know."

Magnificent’s expression darkens. He grabs Marvin harder by the chin and forces him to look up at him as he whispers, “Are you lying to me, kitten?” His eyes start to spiral with magic as he chuckles, “I don’t think you should lie to me, Marvin. Because- I believe I can actually make use of you~ don’t you want to be useful to me, Marvinnn~?” He tries to pump the mark full of his influence.

Marvin blinks, confusion momentarily snapping him out of fear. "What d'you mean, 'chishin'?" he mutters, terribly mispronouncing 'kitten.' But then the spirals appear, and he gasps, closing his eyes immediately-- And before Mag can do much more, something slams into him from behind.

Magnificent growls, “that doesn’t mat-!” He gets cut off as he’s slammed into, dropping the net with Marvin in it. He growls and whips around to blast magic at whatever hit him.

The magic hits his attacker point-blank--the same ray merm from before, who now gets flung into the ground. A cloud of sand flies into the air from the impact. "Jameson!" Marvin gasps, struggling to break free of the net.

Magnificent is quick to scoop Marvin back up and magic builds up behind him- making an even stronger spiral. “Enough games! You will help me find stronger magic or I’ll find bigger fish to fry after making you dinner! You will obey me!”

Marvin glances from Jameson to Magnificent--and freezes upon seeing the spiral. It flickers in his eyes. "I-I-I... n-no, I-I can't..." he says quietly, his struggles growing weaker and weaker. "I-I... Don't... hurt Jameson... please. I-I'll do... whatever you want, just... don't..."

“Is that all? Then of course, little fish… I won’t harm, Jameson. All you have to do is help me~” Magnificent giggles quietly.

"O... kay..." Marvin slumps entirely. "I'll... help."

Jameson watches this happen in horror, frozen in plaze.

“Very good~” Magnificent grins. He snaps and the net disappears from around Marvin. “Grab whatever you need for the journey, Marvin. Then, you can lead me towards where this power is, hm?”

"Okay." Marvin turns and swims into the structure. "We're going... to the ocean. Magic is stronger in deeper waters." He's grabbing a woven bag and filling it with things: a couple power stones and some kelp packages.

Mag glances at Jameson, his eyes glowing unnaturally in the water.

Jameson tenses, and then abruptly turns and dashes away, keeping close to the sand. With the speckled pattern on his back he quickly blends into the ground.

Magnificent snorts with a smirk. Good. This Jameson was a coward. He wouldn’t get in the way then. Looking over himself he hums in thought. If he’s going to be down here… he needed a better way to swim and also not attract too much attention. He snaps and a burst of magic swirls around his legs and transforms them into a sleek black tail- resembling the tail of a pacific black dragon. He flicked the long eel-like tail and grinned as it lit up slightly green. Perfect. He abandoned his normal attire to have a material like his cape drape over his chest. Now- hopefully he wouldn’t draw too much unwanted attention…

Marvin stops, staring at Magnificent transform with shock. "S-so easy...?" he mutters, sounding in awe. "That tail... like a deep dweller." He shivers at the thought of them, then the hypnotism takes hold again. "Are you ready to go?"

Magnificent grins, “Yes. Lead the way, little fish~” He makes a sweeping motion like a showman, gesturing out towards the rest of the water.

Marvin nods. "Yes. The river to the ocean is this way." And he starts swimming, leading Magnificent there.

#SATCV #SATCV Merms #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #new au!!#this is based on Cry's mermay stories which are very good!#a lot of the aus in SATCV are ones i didnt know so if you don't read these from cry you'll be just as lost as i was ahbk #but!! you should still read them :3c #alsooo ao3 is downnn so i'll have to post it on there lateerr

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 19: The Rift

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| The Rift ARG

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Alt lands on a sofa in what looks like a house's living room. It's a nice sofa, its lavender upholstery soft and gentle. The whole living room is nice, actually, though in a strange way. The furniture looks mildly expensive, but it doesn't really conform to a single style. Nothing clashes, but nothing matches, either. Paintings and posters hang on the blue walls, similarly expensive but unmatching. There's a big flatscreen TV across from the sofa, with a couple video game consoles attached. To the left and right are big windows with silky-looking yellow curtains drawn over them. To the left is the house's front door. Turning around, Alt sees a spiral staircase leading up and an archway to the kitchen. To the right is a closed door. Next to that door is a small table with a single object on it. A white cat mask, with the four card suits drawn on its forehead and mirrored lenses over the eyeholes.

Alt blinks as he lands on the couch. He looks around at the room and whistles quietly. "...this is the nicest place we've ever jumped into oh my god-" He whispers.

Unfortunately, Alt does not land alone. He sees, in the corner of the room, Magnificent land hard, almost knocking over a lamp.

He glitches in surprise behind the couch as Mag stumbles and almost hits the lamp. The mad magician growls and nearly goes to knock it down himself.

Alt groans, "What the fuck!! Why did I end up with you of all fuckin-!"

And then-- EEEEP! EEEEP! EEEEP! The TRVLR makes a shrill noise.

Alt cuts himself off as his stomach drops- hearing the beeping of the TRVLR.

Magnificent looks at him curiously. "... is that coming from the device?"

Alt doesn't answer him as he scrambles to pull back out the TRVLR and look.

A message is displayed on the screen.

WARNING

Current Location: (!)UA-0829020TR is under quarantine. Jump as soon as possible or risk termination from IRIS employment.

"Q-Quarantine?? The fuck does that mean??" Alt hisses in panic. Mag has poofed next to him to try to look at the TRVLR, tilting his head curiously.

As Alt looked at that, the door to his right opens slowly, silently, just big enough of a gap for someone to look out.

Alt flinches and glitches back some more as he notices the door opening. He looks at it with wide eyes.

The door opens fully, and for a second, Magnificent and Alt get the glimpse of a very familiar face--though the freckles mar the resemblance a bit. And then the mask on the small table suddenly flies through the air and into the man's hand, who puts it on so fast that he practically slams it into his face.

Magnificent's head snaps towards the door as the mask flies- then his eyes flash hungrily. Fresh magic?

"Who the fuck are you?!" The man hisses. He is wearing some sort of costume. A black suit jacket partially buttoned up over a translucent pale purple shirt, white gloves with some rings on his fingers over it, a black cape with a purple inside, black pants to match the jacket, and boots. His waist-long brown hair is pulled back in a braid, and there's what looks like some sort of utility belt around his waist.

Alt gasps and then holds up his hands. "N-Not robbers if that's what you're thinking!" He automatically says. Then, he winces. "Okay that's dumb um-"

"You're not good at this Alt, its almost sad to see." Mag snickers.

"S-Shut the fuck up!" Alt snaps back. Then looks back at the man. "I-I"m Alt- you can just pretend this guy's not here-"

"Excuse you-?!"

"We're from... a parallel universe...?" He adds shakily, giving the costumed man a nervous smile.

The man stares at them. "Wh-what the fuck?" he says. "It's gotten to that point?!" He shakes his head. "Wh-whatever. Get out of my house. Now!"

"W-What do you mean it's gotten to that point?" Alt tries to ask.

"Quite rude to just dismiss interdimensional travelers, Marvin." Magnificent smirks with a raised eyebrow.

"Would you stop making things worse?!" Alt screeches at Mag.

The man freezes. "How the fuck—Uh, that's not my name. I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not him. As for how it's gotten to that point, well, um, people regularly break into my house with weird stories. Just leave. Peacefully, please."

Magnificent looks surprised at this. "...you're not?" He narrows his eyes then snorts, "I don't believe you. It takes a lot of balls to lie to someone who shares your face."

"What face? I don't have a face," the man says. "I lost it in an accident at age six, a tragedy really.

Alt blinks and then bursts into laughter, "w-what??"

"...if people regularly break into your house- why don't you have like... an alarm?" Alt asks, " or like- threaten to call the police on us." He then narrows his eyes at Mag and hisses to him, "Do you just- constantly go towards scaring your other selves??"

"Yes- it tends to make things go faster. Also, I like seeing them squirm." Mag giggles.

“I don't have an alarm because—because I can make you leave myself if you refuse to." He straightens, suddenly flashing a smug smile. "You don't want to mess with me, you know, I'm quite powerful~" His whole attitude had shifted suddenly from the near-panic of before to smirking confidence.

Mag's eyes flash wildly as he grins wide. "Is that so?" He giggles. He then teleports to be in front of the man and gets in his personal space. "Oh I do want to see that- I want to see just what you're capable of~!"

"M-Mag! Fucking quit it!" Alt shouts, glitches building up around him- just in case he needs to intervene.

The man jumps in surprise--and Mag immediately feels himself shoved backwards by an invisible force.

Magnificent gets thrown back and he skids slightly against the floor. Then, he bursts into mad laughter, his eyes glowing brightly. "That's how you wanna play then! Alright!! Let's play." He shoots green fire towards the man as a distraction before trying to lunge at him again.

The man ducks the fire. "Hey! Watch the art! Do you know how--" And then Mag immediately tackles him, pinning him to the wall. The man grits his teeth. "You don't scare me," he hisses.

Magnificent laughs madly, "You're braver than most... but you should be, Marvin~!" He then tries to steal some of the man's magic.

"No! Stop!" Alt cries, trying to see if he can glitch over to stop him.

And yet, when he reaches out-- Nothing. Not a single drop of magic or power to be found. But... that's impossible. He felt the man push him, saw him grab the mask without touching it. What the fuck?

The man flashes a smile. "Should I?" And Magnificent feels something sharp against his stomach.

Magnificent's eyes widen, "T-That's not-" He breathes and then he grunts as he's stabbed in the stomach.

Alt hurries over and grabs Mag and glitches them both back. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry-" Alt panics to say. "W-We'll leave- I... fuck! Why do you have to suck so much?!" He shouts at Magnificent.

Mag just glares up at him. "...its not nice to shout at an injured man-"

"WOULD YOU FUCK OFF??"

Mag ignores him with an eye roll then looks at the man. "....how do you not have magic?"

"...he doesn't?" Alt asks in surprise, looking back towards the man. "but- we saw... him grab his mask and- and he pushed you back! ...how the fuck...??"

The man lets out a breath. Something fans out around him. Blades. No--they're playing cards. Made of thin metal, the edges razor-sharp.

"Magic?" The man laughs. "So you have heard of the Magician, then. But I'm sorry to say that my special powers are not actually magic. So sorry to disappoint, but if you actually believe that, you should probably go cash in that reality check you just received. Now... get out."

"...like... like a tarot card?" Alt asks quietly.

Magician flashes a smile. "I didn't make the tarot card connection, actually, but it is fitting."

Alt’s stomach then drops as he processes what he was just told and he glares at Mag before flicking his hand to put a shield around the magician to keep him in place. "Try to get out of that and it'll shock you, bitch." Alt growls.

Mag glares at him but stays put, holding his wound.

Alt then tries to approach the man. "Listen- I'm sorry about him. But i... I'm really lost here. I have no idea where I am or... how this world works." He pulls out the TRVLR and after a moment of hesitating he holds it out to show the warning sign. "...I wasn't lying- we're from another world and... we just want to find a way home. But- we always get separated and... now I gotta find my friends. And now... I just want... anything I can know to find them- to navigate here. Then, I'll leave." He swallows shakily. "Our device is warning us there's a... a quarantine here? Do... do you know what that means? "

Magician sighs, seeming arrogant and annoyed. "I believed you about the other universe part, Michael Vey. I just really don't want you in my house. Unfortunately, I can't give you much to go on. I don't know how to find your friends, or what a quarantine is. I won't be much of help." He hesitates. "But... i-if you see a company called Psyode--they have a logo that's a bit like an atom, and also an eye--stay away from them. They can't be trusted." Then he clears his throat and gives another smile. "Now... if you please. And take your friend with you, if you can."

"He's not my friend." Alt bites back. He glares a bit at Magician but then deflates. "Alright. Thanks... I guess. Sorry for the trouble."

"Not a problem~" Magician says, smiling.

Alt then glares at Mag and glitches over to grab him- getting rid of the shield. He gives one last look to Magician before he glitches him and Mag out of there.

As soon as they're gone Magician lets out a breath of relief, slumping. The razor-sharp cards pile onto one another and slide into a pouch on Magician's belt. He hurries over to the front door and peers through a window in the top half to see Alt and Magnificent glitch out onto the street. It's dark out, but well-lit. After all, this is a nice neighborhood, they don't want their citizens driving around in the dark.

"What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck," Magician whispers, waiting for them to go.

Outside, Magnificent suddenly feels something buzz in his pocket. Oh yeah. His phone. He forgot he had that with him.

Alt throws Mag back onto the sidewalk and then screams into his hands as he paces up and down the sidewalk. "GOD! Why did I get stuck with you of all fucking people! After what you just did to me?! Me and Jack saved your sorry ass from dying you fucking maniac! But noooo you're not humannnn you can just do whatever you want cuz you just- SUCK! FUCK!" Alt yells, glitching in rage.

Magnificent watches his cub throw a temper tantrum with an annoyed expression. Really it was like watching a child... He then blinks in confusion and checks his pocket. ...oh yeah- his mobile. ....why is it vibrating? He curiously takes it out and looks at it.

A text message has come in from an Unknown number. I know you're from another universe. I'd like to speak with you. I have an offer. Meet me at Ravenwing Bridge. It's the bridge to the north with green copper railings. Look for the man in a suit. A

Magnificent's eyebrows raise. Hm... what an interesting proposition... one he shouldn't refuse. But... his one sure fire way of getting magic was bust... and after all that virus nonsense...He's starving. And yet Alt- he's not full up but... he's here. And alone... and surely Mag can't go to this meeting alone, right?

He grins. And then teleports to his feet, grabbing Alt by his wrists and laughing in his face. "Such an attitude, Alt! Did you forget who you belong to?" The mad magician snickers. "And how fortunate for me you've been left here alll alone~"

"W...What?" Alt breathes, dread cold in his veins. He immediately tries to fight out of his grip- trying to glitch but Mag digs his nails into his skin, pumping a bit of corruption to disrupt it.

"You're not going anywhere, kitten." Mag giggles. "In fact- you're going to stay right by my side." He immediately drains a decent chunk of the magic Alt has left, leaving the glitch weak but still able to glitch and do minor things for him. As he does this he swirls his eyes and lets magic spiral behind him.

Alt screams as he's drained and he quickly starts to slump into Mag's grip. The spirals find him quickly, invading his rapidly weakening body and digging into his mind. He doesn't have much energy left in him to struggle, so soon after everything in the last world. Purple and green overtakes his eyes and they glaze over, fight leaving him completely.

"...y... yes Magnificent... i... will stay right by you..."

He breathes.

Magnificent laughs and pushes Alt back down. "That's a good boy. Behave- and I'll even let you stay human~" He giggles. He then starts to walk. "Come now, cub. We're expected somewhere.”

"Yes, Magnificent," Alt answers hollowly and pulls himself up, weakly following after Mag.

Mag smirks then starts to make his way north.

Magician watches from the window in his house, frozen solid. He's not sure what exactly happened there, but he's guessing that the man who looks like him just did something to that electric guy. The same sort of thing he tried to do to him earlier, most likely. And it left the electric one in a zombie-like state. "What the fuuuuuck?" he breathes.

As soon as they're out of sight, he bursts out of his house, pausing for only a moment to lock the door, then bolts down the street in the opposite direction. He has no idea what's happening, but he knows that they need to know.

-----------

Jackie appears in a run-down intersection of hallways. The yellow wallpaper is stained with water damage and there's dust and scuffs on the wooden floor.

Jackie looks around in bewilderment. “…imma take a wild guess this ain’t home… greattt.”

A door down the hall opens and a woman starts walking towards him--

"Whoa!" she jumps, backing up. "Jackie?! When did you get here?! I didn't hear you come in!" She squints at him, walking closer. The woman has darker skin and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She's wearing an old brown jacket and jeans rolled up to the knees... because beneath there, her legs are prosthetics, specifically those curved running-leg models. "When did you cut your hair? Are you wearing makeup or something? Why do you look, like, three years younger, man?"

Jackie jumps at the woman’s voice- and his eyes can’t help but widen once he sees her prosthetics but he tries to recover quickly and not look at them too long. Perfectly normal-

“Those are all such weirdly specific questions-“ Jackie mutters, rubbing at his head. “Just- shush for a second while I process.” He breathes and then starts ticking stuff off while pointing at his fingers. “yes I’m Jackie but not who you’re thinking of- which is why the hair’s different. Why do my other mes all have long hair? Should I grow out my hair?? Zara likes it shorter…” he then shakes his head, “wait off topic- um- do I really look that young?? and also I’m assuming you mean the face paint if it’s the blue stuff on my face- cuz what other makeup are you talking about? And if it is the blue stuff that brings up another question of omg how is that still on my face after this long we were in the ocean what magic face paint did my kids buy???” He shakes his head out again then smiles and waves awkwardly, “but uh yeah- questions… kinda answered? Who are you?”

The woman blinks, stalling for a moment. "...huh. That's... a lot. And it still doesn't explain how I didn't hear you come in?"

“Sorry I talk a lot.” Jackie says matter-of-factly.

She narrows her eyes, looking a bit suspicious as she continues walking over. As she gets closer, Jackie can see a burn mark on her neck--around her neck. "...my name is Xiomara. Call me Xio. And that's all I'm gonna explain until you tell me how you got in here."

He blinks at her and then steps back at bit with wide eyes as he registers her burn. “O-Oh… I’m guessing it’s kinda quiet when we jump then- I thought it did… ripples or whatever.” He laughs nervously. “Um- I’m actually… from a parallel universe? That’s why I… look so different from the Jackie you know. My full name is Jackie Mann. So… nice to meet ya, Xio?” He ruffles the back of his hair with a nervous smile. “So uh- when we jump into new universes- we don’t control where we go so… t-that’s how I got here. Does that help?”

"From... another universe?" Xio repeats. Her eyes flick him over. "So... you just appeared here. That... would make sense. A whole ass person coming through, what the fuck..." She's quiet for a moment. "I do know a Jackie. Jackie Brody. And you do sort of look like him. So... I guess that makes sense? But I'm not into all this science shit, I don't know if a person coming through is possible..." Her musings trail off.

Jackie’s eyes widen even more, “Jackie Brody…? …that’s so weird oh my god that… that’s my friends’ Chase and Alt’s last name…!”

"Chase? Yeah, I know him, too," Xio says. "The Jackie I know is his twin. Dunno who 'Alt' is, though.

“A twin- woahhh… can’t imagine being Chase’s twin but boy do Alt and him act like that sometimes despite being 3 years apart …” Jackie laughs.

Then he shakes his head again and waves a hand, “wait wait- the fuck do you mean ‘a person coming through?’ Like- I know dimensions hopping is not normal- but… that… feels weird. Anddd it must be possible cuz- well I’m here. I’m pretty good proof.” He digs in his pocket for his phone. “I could show you pics of my wife and kids to prove it if you want-“

“Well for dimension hopping, yeah, it's fucking weird, isn't it? But we've got some... it's hard to explain. We've had some people's... minds... arrive here from other worlds?" She shakes her head. "All I know is their voices come from thin air. But yeah, love to see family photos."

Jackie looks excited to actually show off pictures and starts to show Xio his phone then stops- processing her words. “Wait- what?” he looks at her with wide eyes. “People’s minds?! The fu- what kinda creepy place is this?? How does that happen???”

"I don't fucking know!" Xio says. "It just happens! They just suddenly appear sometimes! Voices that say they're from another universe and stuck here without a body!"

“What the fuck!!” Jackie shouts back.

Suddenly, her head snaps to the side. "Oh perfect timing, they can explain it better. Come on. Speaking of Chase and Jackie, I just heard them come in. Follow me." She starts down one of the hallways.

Jackie stops as she looks over and he deflates slightly. “Ah okay- cool. Meeting other mes is always fun-“ He comments lightly as he follows.

Xio quickly leads him down the hallway until they reach a small lobby-like area. There are some old sofas and armchairs making a sitting area and a wall of mailboxes. The front doors are glass, with big windows. Through them is a cityscape at night.

Three people are sitting in the sitting area, with one in the process of standing up. Talking to them are two men. One wears an old blue hoodie and has chin-length hair. The other one is wearing a gray jacket and snapback cap, his hair dyed a faded purple.

The purple-haired one looks over at the sound of Xio's footsteps. "Hey Xio-ohhhh what the fuck?!"

Jackie peeks out from behind Xio and grins, waving. “Hello! I’m Jackie, Jackie Mann.” He blinks at seeing the hair color- “woah- never seen a Chase with that kinda hair before- neat!”

The man in the blue hoodie looks over. He jumps slightly. "Whoa! God it's like looking in a mirror that shows the past!"

“Do I really look that young?” Jackie pouts, “I was always told parenthood makes ya look older!”

"Wha--huh??" Chase looks back and forth between the two Jackies. "Excuse me? How? Is someone here a shapeshifter?"

"Uhhhh nope," says one of the people sitting down. All of those three are staring at Jackieboy with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

Jackie jumps a bit at all the hostility. He holds his hands up. “Not a shape anything! Just a normal guy!”

"Guys, calm down," Xio says to the three of them. "I thiiiink he's cool? Put the lighter down, Longwei. Maeve, nope, mouth closed. Sunny? Sunny, sit down."

"W-well, um, I'm named Jackie, too," the man in the blue hoodie says, laughing. "Who are you? The Ultimate Imposter?"

Jackie blinks at the other him and then laughs, “ayyy danganronpa! Man- I need to play v3. Been waiting on Alt to get that so we can play.” He grins.

Jackie gasps and grabs Chase, shaking him. "Chase! He got it!"

"Hell yeah!" Chase laughs. "We want to play it too, I can't believe another one finally came out!"

Jackie says. "I mean, we were a bit busy in September when it came out--to put it mildly--but next time we get access to a computer or a PlayStation I swear to god!"

Chase laughs again.

Jackie grins and then looks confused. “…just came out? Huh… it’s been out for 3 years for me… I think. Hm…”

“Whoa… someone from another universe that’s in the future,” Jackie says in awe.

Jackieboythen backs up and sticks his hands in his pockets, trying to make him seem more unassuming. “Anyways though- not an imposter but I am from a parallel universe!”

The two of them suddenly sober up when Jackieboy announces that.

"Whoa, wait, really?" Chase asks, eyes wide. "You're like... a whole person and everything? Uh, stupid question, I guess, obviously you're a whole person."

"Yeah, not all of us are," Xio says jokingly.

Jackie holds back a snort of laughter. "Are--are you sure about that joke?"

"I'm allowed to make it."

Jackie giggles at their reaction. “You guys keep saying that! Yup whole person and all. At least I hope I got everything- I feel like I do?” He pats himself down as if to check.

He then snickers at Xio’s joke. “Nice one-“

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Chase says. “I know it’s weird, but we’ve only heard voices from other worlds before.” He looks at Jackie. “Hen is gonna have a field day with this.”

“Oh, for sure.” Jackie nods in agreement.

Jackieboy blinks in surprise and then grins, "Oh! Hen! Henrik! huh- guess my Hen would be pretty excited about this stuff too- but mostly just cuz he gets to meet new people. He's a friendly fellow." He laughs.

Chase laughs. “Our Henrik isn’t that good with people, but he’d be happy to meet you.” The smile drops. “Okay, serious talk. How did you get here? Are you stuck?”

Jackie sighs and nods, ruffling his hair. "That's... probably the best way to put it? My friends wanted to bring me on a trip to this one universe and then our machine we used to get there broke- and now we keep popping up into random universes... and we get separated every time so... we gotta try to find each other. Especially my friend Alt cuz he has magic and the thing we use- and like also a fucking mad man is here too, name's Magnificent. He makes the whole thing harder."

“Magic?” Jackie repeats. “Like Magician?”

“25 doesn’t actually have magic, yknow,” Xio points out. “None of us do.”

“Those are very confusing titles-“ Jackieboy comments.

“No, I know, it was just the first thing that came to mind,” Jackie says. “So… we need to find your friends and this villain, is that what I’m getting at? Do you guys have, like, any way to contact them?”

Jackieboy then hums and pulls out his phone. God… it’s close to being dead. “Uhhh I might be able to text them if the wifi is good- but that’s been hit or miss lately.”

“If you can’t, we can help,” Chase offers. “There’s a whole bunch of us here, we can cover a lot of ground, especially Jackie. We are kinda trying to avoid attention but this seems important enough.”

Jackie pulls a phone out of his hoodie pocket. “Seems fine to me,” he says.

And indeed, the WiFi on Jackieboy’s phone is passable.

“Hm? Avoiding attention? …why?” Jackie asks, looking back up from his phone.

Everyone starts shifting around nervously.

“Well… there’s this company, called Psyode,” Jackie says. “Really, it’s their Experiment Department. They’ve gone rogue and started experimenting on people. A-all of us in this building have escaped from there. And… they’ll probably be looking for us.”

“That’s why we’re squatting in an empty apartment building,” Xio mutters.

“Technically Jackie and I are squatting somewhere else, but yeah, same story,” Chase says.

“Psyode is probably gonna be reeeeally interested in people showing up from other universes,” Jackie says. “We should find your friends fast.”

Jackieboy’s eyes widen. Just like the universe with the facility…! “A-All of you got experimented on??” He squeaks out in shock. He looks even more worried at other Jackie’s statement and he nods, “y-Yeah okay- lemme see who I can get ahold of!” He quickly gets out his phone and tries to call Bro.

“Yyyyeah,” Chase hisses. “I mean. I wasn’t there for long so they didn’t really… succeed? In whatever they were doing? But all these other guys were.”

“There are benefits, tho!” Jackie says. Suddenly he’s on the other side of the room. Suddenly he’s back by the door. Suddenly he’s down the hall. He’s running so fast it’s hard to keep track of! Jackie returns to where he was before. “Anyway. Yeah. See if you can call your guys.”

Jackie jumps then grins wide, “woahhh!! You’re like the flash! What the fuck that’s so cool!” He grumbles slightly as he calls Bro- “all my other mes are so much cooler what the hell…”

—————

Bro lands in a room with pale purple wallpaper and a sturdy dresser, table, and armchair. There’s a bed with white sheets and a window with curtains open to show night over a suburban neighborhood. There’s also a furry pillow on the chair. No. Wait. That’s some kind of animal with dark fur. What is that? It’s not a cat or dog.

Bro blinks and looks around the room. Huh- comfy. He jumps slightly at noticing the animal. He blinks at it then tries to wave. “Uh… hi?”

The animal is too asleep to respond, but stepping close reveals what it is. A ferret, dark except for a bit of white around its nose.

Footsteps rush down the hall.

“No, I’m not gonna!” A voice shouts—and then someone comes into view in the open doorway. A girl, about thirteen years old, with auburn hair, wearing a T-shirt with that Gravity Falls zodiac wheel on it. She stops short, staring at Bro. “Dad? What happened to your hair?”

Bro freezes as the footsteps come and he stares wide eyed at the girl that enters. He flubbers for words- “okay so… this is could like… get me in serious trouble but uh… not your dadddd?” He cringes.

The girl looks him over. “Well you’re not Uncle Jackie, either,” she says. She turns and shouts down the hall. “Mooooom! Schneeeeeeep! There’s a guy in here!”

That’s probably the worst way she could’ve phrased it.

“What?? No don’t say it like that!!” Bro hisses at the girl.

Footsteps come rushing down the hall and a woman bursts into view, long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing a pink sweater. She’s wielding a long ruler like a weapon. “My friend is calling the police!” she shouts. “They’ll be here—huh?” She blinks, confused. “Chase?”

Bro jumps a bit as the woman enters and holds his hands up with a terrified expression on his face. “Uhhh-! Yes and also no??? I’m Chase Brody yes but- n-not the one you know! And I swear I would not have landed here if I could control where I could go!!”

The woman slowly lowers the ruler but still looks wary. “…probably the weirdest thing I’ve seen but not too weird. Who are you, then?” She demands.

Bro sweats nervously, "well uh- t-thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt! I'm... Chase Brody but from another universe- a parallel one.”

More footsteps. A man pokes his head into view, a wild head of brown hair with big round glasses.

“Henrik!” The woman hisses.

“What? I got curious,” he says, leaning more into frame. He’s wearing a dark turquoise sweater and a brown jacket. “…the window is still locked. How did he get in? And it screeches when opened, yes? But Hawking is still fast asleep and that would have woken her even if Veronica shouting did not. So it seems like he walked through walls.”

“Woooow,” the girl—Veronica—whispers in awe. “You’re so smart, Schneep.”

Bro blinks at Schneep's deduction and raises an eyebrow, impressed. "Woah yeah- that's... impressive!" He sighs and messes with his hair, "But anyways- when we jump we end up in random places- usually drawn to people we know in our universe,,, or their parallels at least. Which is why I'm here... I can't control where I go I just-" He opens up his hand and makes a popping noise, "-pop right in. People usually say it's from nowhere."

Henrik's eyes light up. He immediately rushes into the room, despite the noises of protest the woman makes. "You've come here from another world?! Really?! A-and you are here? You are, like, a physical thing?" He pokes Bro in the shoulder. "You are!" He giggles excitedly. "Oh this is so amazing! This must be like--like a one in a trillion chance--or not, since you are implying this 'jumping' is frequent, but still, this is incredible! The amount of energy it must take to break between universal barriers must be incredible, we looked at it in theories but decided that it would be impossible with current technology--but I suppose other worlds must have other technology, but even still, this is--this is incredible, it is a miracle, oh, how how how did you get here? Please, you must let me know!"

Bro blinks in surprise and holds up his hands again. He laughs, "W-Woah hey! You're gonna freak even more when you hear I'm not the only one who jumped from my world- I have two friends- well, a friend and my little brother- and then... a bad guy I gotta track down. But they're here too! But uhhh my brother knows sooo much more about all this- and he has the device we use. Cuz he- like has magic that makes it work."

"You have a device?!" Henrik shouts excitedly. "You have magic?!"

"Henrik, please, the kids," Stacy says, glancing down the hallway. "Op, nevermind, here they come."

"Sorry, Stacy."

Another, identical-looking girl peeks into the doorway, wearing a pair of fake glasses to distinguish her. She's followed by a short, younger boy with curly blonde hair and a sixteen-year-old girl with gray eyes and fair hair pulled into two ponytails.

"Dad?" asks the boy.

"No, it's not Dad, Evan," Veronica says. "It's a guy from another universe who looks like him."

"Huh?" the identical girl blinks in surprise. "A whole guy? Ronnie, are you joking?"

"No, I'm not, Anna." Veronica shakes her head stubbornly.

The teenager waves. "Hey, Mr. Brody. Uh... can I call you that?"

Bro blinks in surprise at all the kids, "Oh my god so many children-" He whispers. He waves awkwardly, "uhhh you don't need to be so formal...! You can call me Bro- that's easier."

"Ha." The teenager smiles. "Bro. That's kinda funny. It's like. Bro. Dude. My main man."

"Oh its actually cuz in my universe I'm a superhero! And my hero name is Bro Fantastic." Bro grins wide.

"I like your jacket," Evan says.

"Okay, that's enough," Stacy announces. "It's bedtime. Or at least go-in-your-bedroom time."

Anna and Veronica let out identical groans.

"Phoebe gets to stay up!" Anna says.

"Phoebe is much older, and she is a guest, I can't tell her what to do the same way I can tell you," Stacy says, ushering Anna, Veronica, and Evan down the hall. "Henrik, take our guest to the living room, would you?"

Henrik nods, grinning. "Of course! Please, Bro, you must tell me about your device and your magic."

"I can certainly try," He responds to Schneep, "I'm not... nearly as good at understanding it as Alt is."

“You’re a superhero? For real?” Phoebe’s eyes go wide. “Like the Scarlet Blur.”

"Oh- that's a much better name than mine!" Bro laughs.

“Anything you can tell me will be fascinating,” Henrik says. “Come come come, tell me all about your universe and your jumping through them.” He starts down the hallway, leading Bro to the living room. Phoebe trails behind them.

Once they reach the living room, the sound of Stacy and the other kids’ voices drift down from an attached staircase.

Bro follows afther Schneep and thinks of what to say. "Welll hm... in my world- I know a Henrik- but he's a deaf actor. And he dyes his hair teal. He's a big ol beam of sunshine. And our doctor is Dr. J- Jameson Jackson. Anddd I have a little brother, Alt or I call him Anti. Anddd we have a Jackie too- he's a dad of 3 kids. Big ol' superhero nerd- Him and Alt are here somewhere!" He grins. "Anndd god... we've jumped through so many worlds now- or me and Alt have. It's... insane- to see how different things can be. But also how the same things are too. Like- You're always german." He laughs. "Jay is always uses sign language- oh and has his mustache. Jackie always wears red. My other mes usually wear hats like mine, but that might just be our good taste!"

“Fascinating, fascinating,” Henrik nods along. His fingers twitch and he starts fidgeting with his sleeves. “Some things are consistent but many are not, of course they are. And you are always finding different you’s and them’s of your friends? You must be sticking to areas that are somewhat close by each other, I am sure the farther you get from home the more strange things will become.”

Phoebe flips down on the sofa. “We know all those people. I mean—Jameson Jackson is Mr. Mustache, right?”

“That is what our research has told us, yes,” Henrik says.

Phoebe laughs. “It’s not a school project.”

Henrik chuckles too. “That is true. Perhaps we can simply call it searching, if research sounds too serious to you.”

“D’you think, like, those two words come from the same root?”

“Hmm, possibly!”

Bro tilts his head in confusion, "Research...? Are you guys not... friends?" He asks.

"Oh, ah... no." Henrik shakes his head. "If anything, it is the opposite."

"It's not Mr. Mustache's fault," Phoebe says. "He just got... stuck with someone."

"Jameson Jackson is a complicated story," Henrik says. "He is a man from the past, somehow brought here. We are pretty sure he was friends with this man who calls himself the Magician, but Magician does not like to talk about himself, so we cannot be sure. And then, eventually, he ran afoul of... something. Or someone. A being who calls himself Anti."

Bro's stomach drops and he then sighs heavily, "Offf course... I swear if I keep meeting motherfuckers who keep giving my Anti a bad name I swear-!" He frowns, "huh... weird though.. usually in these worlds... You guys are all friends. A JJ, a Marvin, A Jackie, A Henrik, A Chase-" He points to himself and then laces his fingers together. "...we're different though cuz we... we're friends with our Anti- even though he seems to be like... a bad guy in all these places. And its weird cuz... we thought we didn't have a Marvin but- that's our bad guy. He calls himself Magnificent. He's bascially our like... bad Anti."

"Marvin? Perhaps that is Magician, he has not told us his name. Hmm. Well, I have been friends with Chase and Jackie for some time," Henrik says cheerfully. "They are great, my good, good friends. Magician and Jameson Jackson have come in later, it seems. Perhaps we will all become friends in time.

Bro smiles warmly, "Heh... yeah. I hope so- from what I've seen in other worlds, they're great lads."

“Right now, Magician is very determined to get Jameson away from Anti, and Jackie is the type who cannot let people be hurt, so he will help Magician and pull the rest of us along."

"He's a hero," Phoebe says, smiling. "He rescued us. I mean, Magician did too, but the news doesn't really call him a hero because of all the things he's stolen--"

Bro smiles at Phoebe and laughs, "Really, huh? I always to like to meet other heroes- ...wait stealing?!"

And then Bro's phone starts to ring.

He gets cut off by the ringtone and he blinks, pulling it out. He sees its Jackieboy and he smiles and answers. "Yo Jackie!"

Henrik gasps. "Let me hear let me hear let me hear!" He rushes forward, practically grabbing Bro's phone before suddenly yanking his hand back. "Ah, if that is okay."

Bro jumps but then laughs, holding out his phone, "It's okay- I'll put it on speaker!"

"Oh! That's a good idea, I should do that too!" Jackieboy says on the other line as Bro puts him on speaker. "Hey guys! I got to my Chase! Chase say hi!"

"Hiii! What's up?" Bro laughs. "I'm here with Henrik- who you heard all excited."

"ohhh! Well- hi Henrik!"

"Hen, are you losing your mind?" The Chase on the other side of the phone asks.

Henrik laughs. "I lost it a while ago, you know that! But yes, I-I am so--it is--do you fucking realize the ramifications of this?!"

"Oh my god, the rammies," this world's Jackie says.

Bro giggles. "The rammies- that's a fun word."

"Wh--hey, don't push!" Chase laughs, having just playfully shoved him. "Wow, so you're me, then? You do sound like it."

"Yeah dude! I found other me and other you!! Dude- we're brothers in this world! Twins actually! Isn't that insane??" Jackieboy says.

Bro's eyes widen, "Oh- that explains something Veronica said then-"

"Jackie, what is it like to see yourself in another world?" Henrik asks. "Is it strange? Did you even recognize yourself when you first saw it?"

"It was pretty bizarre," Jackie says. "Uh, it was this weird half-second of uncanniness where I didn't get it, but then I realized and it was like, what the fuck, why are you me?"

Jackie laughs at other him and shakes his head, "It doesn't stop being weird by the way- and I've been to like- a dozen of these now,"

"It hasn't been that many! ... for you at least." Bro shakes his head and chuckles,

"Where are you two, anyway?" Henrik asks. "At your hideout?"

"We're with the rest of the escapees," Jackie reports.

"I thinkkk we're at other Chase's house? His kids are here. They thought I was their dad. Super not weird." Bro says.

"Sounds like you're at Stacy's house, if Henrik's there," Chase says. "Uh... I don't actually live there? It's a long story. Basically, has to do with the company. Psyode. I need to stay out of their reach, and I'm sure they're looking at Stacy and the kids to see if I show up there."

"Hey- have you heard anything from Alt?" Jackieboy asks.

"Not yet-"

"Well... the guys here think we should probably be fast about finding him. There's a bad company here like... like Sclera or the- facility guys. They think they'll be interested in us- and well... you heard what Sam said about the... the ripples, right?"

Bro pales slightly, "O-Oh shit... yeah- that... that's bad."

Henrik perks up. "The ripples? Yes, I suppose you arriving would create very string dimensional ripples. Psyode would definitely be able to detect such things, we had these devices called RDDs that were made for just that. There has been a larger number of ripples in this city as of late, but I'm sure the arrival of four people from other universes would--well it could very well be in the thousands of palmers--"

"Schneep, these guys are from another world, I don't think they understand all the science terms," Chase says.

"Yeah, I barely understand them!" Jackie adds.

Jackie and Bro blink in confusion. "Those were so many words and I understood none of them-" Bro comments.

"The point is, Psyode will know, and I'm sure the Experiment Department will immediately investigate something so strong," Henrik says. "Can you contact your, ah, Alt friend?"

As Henrik explains more- and mentions the Experiment department, Bro pales. He quickly tries to add Alt to the call, "I'm gonna call him right now-!"

"Wait, you can call people while still being on a call?" Chase says, his voice a bit distant.

"My god, man," says a female voice. "I know you're past thirty, but didn't you use tech for your job?"

"Hey, shut up!" Chase says defensively.

"Oh, that's Xio, by the way," Jackie adds. "She's a friend of ours."

"Phoebe is here, too," Henrik says. "Ah, other Jackie, she is... also a friend? It is difficult to explain."

"Hi!" Phoebe waves at the phone. "I'm sure Stacy is gonna be back down soon."

"Oh well- Hi Phoebe!" Jackieboy laughs.

While they all talk, Bro's phone just keeps ringing and ringing, trying to call Alt. But it doesn't work.

Bro tries to listen to the chatter- but he's focused on watching the call go through to Alt. But... it doesn't. Alt is usually one who answers his phone like right away. He hardly make them wait. Bro feels dread spreading into his chest. "...Alt's not answering."

"...what?? he's- that's not like him at all." Jackie replies. "You don't think he's...?"

"I-I dunno... so we should start looking." Bro stands up and holds his phone in his hand as he looks back at Henrik. "... I'm guessing seeing someone fly isn't a thing around here right?"

"...i dunno- maybe- other me can run like a freaking superhero," Jackie comments.

"..wasn't asking you bro but- he is apparently? Phoebe called him a hero earlier."

"WHAT THE FUCK ANOTHER HERO JACKIE??!" Jackie screeches, "THIS IS BULLSHIT??"

The other Jackie laughs. "Sorry! I can't help it. Trust me. I-I couldn't."

"Don't worry, other J, I get it," Chase adds. "But, uh, you wouldn't want to get powers the way these guys did. Anyway, if it's really a problem, you could probably fly a liiiiittle? People would flip, but urgency is, uh, more urgent."

Henrik nods. "Finding your brother is more important than keeping appearances."

"I can cover ground fast, too," Jackie adds. "It takes me like... half an hour to run from one end of the city to the other."

"Good. You can keep up with me, then." Bro says, determination flaring up in his eyes. "Maybe I'll see you guys out there- I'm gonna go find my brother. Jackie- you can text me updates."

"C-Chase don't just rush int-!" Jackie tries to say.

But, Bro ends the call and starts looking for the front door- or a window to fly out of.

Henrik's eyes widen as Bro hangs up. "Ah, other Chase, are you sure--"

There! The front door, right in front of him.

Bro doesn't even listen- he speeds to the door and hurries out into the hall- rushing to get back out into the night.

"Motherfucker!" Henrik curses, then glances at Phoebe. "You didn't hear shit from me just now."

Phoebe nods seriously. "Of course."

"I-I'm going to go tell Stacy to call Jackie so we can continue that conversation," Henrik says, hurrying upstairs. "I hope we do not need to go searching for both those two."

-----------

They must have appeared in an already north part of the city, because it doesn't take long before Magnificent sees the bridge with green railings that the message mentioned. It seems that a river partially encircles this city. Ravenwing Bridge goes across a wide, slow-moving part of it, holding a couple pedestrian lanes and a pair of car lanes. There are lamps along the sides, lighting it up.

Magnificent can make out a single figure on this bridge, leaning back against the railing. A man in a suit.

Magnificent eyes the rivers and surroundings with intrigue. Until he spots the man. He grins and whispers back to Alt. "Stay out of the way and be quiet, got it, kitten?"

"Yes, Magnificent." Alt nods, staying back.

Mag smiles then strides over to the suited man. "You're the one who messaged me, then?" He calls as he approaches.

The man looks at him, tensing slightly. Dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, with a dark mustache. He's holding a phone, clutching it in both hands. Carefully keeping his expression neutral, he shakes his head and holds the phone speaker-out.

"That was me," says a voice from the speaker. "Don't mind him, I need someone to do things for me sometimes. He did text you, but the message was my words."

Magnificent blinks as he takes in the sight of the man- the mustache giving away his identity. He hums and comes closer to the phone. "I see- so you're A then?"

"Yes. I'm A--short for Anti. Hold on a moment." The air next to the man with the mustache fizzles a bit, and suddenly there's a person there. Or... more like an image of a person. It looks slightly flat, like an artist forgot to do the shading on a drawing. The image is that of a man wearing an oversized green hoodie, wild brown hair sticking up all over the place, a burn scar going around his neck. His eyes show nothing but static, and he smiles at Magnificent. "It's better for you if you have something to look at, right?" he says, voice still coming from the speaker. He leans back against the railing--though he doesn't actually touch it.

Magnificent's eyes widen a bit but then he can't help but laugh, "Ah- I should have guessed. Well- nice to meet and see you then, Anti. I'm called Magnificent." He tilts his head at the image. "You said you had an offer for me? I'm quite intrigued."

"It's quite simple, actually," Anti says. "For as long as you are in this universe, I will help you with whatever you want. I only ask that, when you are done here, you find a way to take me with you to the next world."

Mag's looks surprised. "... I.. have never tried to do that before... I don't exactly control where we go or who to take with us..." Then he grins sharply. "But... I do have who does." He snaps and gestures forward. "Oh Alt~? I think there's someone you should meet."

Alt dazedly walks forward- and at seeing the image of Anti he freezes, the purple in his eyes flickering. "y..you-"

Magnificent grabs his wrist and throws him forward though, pushing more of his influence in.

Alt's brief moment of clarity quickly ends and his eyes glaze over again.

"Apologizes. This is Alt. He powers our universal device." Mag explains. "Though... I am curious... what is in this world? I'm usually after magic but... a source I thought i could grab from ended up being empty." He frowns at Anti and crosses his arms, "I'm wondering what this deal could give me in turn."

Anti doesn't so much glance at Alt. He hums. "Judging from where your ripples happened, you appeared in the Magician--Marvin Kane's house."

The man in the suit flinches slightly, distress crossing his face.

"That's who you tried to take magic from? Well, the experiment specimens don't have 'magic.' Their abilities are a result of their altered physiologies, from an exposure to particles called weltons--“

Mag knits his eyebrows together, "altered... physiologies- huh... interesting."

“—but that's complicated and doesn't really matter. The point is, just because there's nothing to gain from the specimens doesn't mean there's no power to take. There's a source of great power outside the city--in a hidden compound. And they wouldn't be prepared for someone like you. They're good at containing specimens--well 'good.'" Anti makes air quotes. "But they won't be able to deal with magic. Or me. Or us, if we work together."

Magnificent's eyes shine with that mad hunger. He grins wide. "Oh... well- considered my interest piqued again. That sounds like a delightful plan~! I'm more than interested to see what such a compound could hold..."

Anti grins. "Unfortunately we'll need to cross through the city to get there--it's the shortest route. But I could easily guide you there. And I could act as a sort of scout, telling you what's around and where the best things are held."

"Oh well- that shouldn't be an issue, me and my cub are quick well versed in quick travel." Magnificent chuckles.

Anti finally tilts his head towards Alt. "And he could help, too, though if he's low on energy--" And he suddenly stops. And frowns. "You said he had the device that allows you to travel to other universes? But... I can only sense one electrical device on him."

Mag blinks and looks at Alt, "Oh huh- you can sense that? ... perhaps the TRVLR is powered off. Alt, show Anti the machine."

"Y-Yes Magnificent-" Alt responds and starts to dig into his pocket to pull it out but then- he starts to stop himself. He fights the motion- light flickering in his eyes. "n-no...!" He breathes. Alarm bells are ringing loudly in his clouded thoughts. But- his fingers eventually reach into his pocket, despite his fighting and-

Nothing. There’s… just his phone.

Alt's stomach drops so fast it hurts. The purple almost completely dims completely as he starts to glitch wildly in panic. "I-It's gone-"

"What?!" Mag questions.

"It's gone!" Alt answers back, rapidly checking all his pockets but finding nothing. His head is killing him- fighting against Mag's control and the panic that wants to consume him. "W-Where did it- I-I- I've never-! No nonono-!"

Anti's eyes widen. He growls. "Marvin Kane--he's a thief."

The man in the suit glances at him. A good one-- he signs.

"His skill level doesn't matter, Jameson," Anti snaps. "You know he's the type to swipe something that unusual--that valuable."

Alt looks at Jameson and seems to register who he is for a second before he glitches over and grabs his shoulder. There's desperation plain on his face and in his flickering eyes. "D-Do you know where I can find him?! I... I need that device! It's our only way to get home!"

Jameson stumbles back, shocked, into the railing. He hesitates for a moment, then acts on impulse. His address is 44 Sonder Street--

Anti leans close to Jameson, making his and Alt's hair stand on end as static electricity fuzzes against their skin. "You know he's probably left that place by now," he says. "Where is he going? Where would he go?"

Jameson freezes, looking more reluctant now that Anti is asking. He doesn't like to leave other than for business, he signs slowly.

"Agh, fuck it!" Anti leans back. "He's probably going to talk to one of those others, shaken by seeing his own face. That's what most people would do."

"Where are these others then?" Magnificent growls. He grabs Alt by the shoulder and holds him back at the glitch stiffens, purple starting to flare brighter in his eyes.

Anti grits his teeth. "I'm not sure. Only one of them has a cell phone whose electricity I can track. Just give me a few minutes to look for that." He closes his eyes, the image of him losing some details and fading to half-transparency.

While Anti does that Mag turns Alt back towards him and growls at him. "And you- I'm not letting you slip away this easy and warning your friends about this. You are staying with me."

Alt gasps and tries to struggle, "M-Mag-" He chokes out.

Magnificent ignores him and goes to dig his nails into Alt's trigger point on his temple. Alt stiffens like he's been shocked- purple fulling flaring back in his eyes. "You lost your privileges, kitten. Shift."

Alt dazedly nods and then in a flicker of static and glitches- a black calico cat now sits on the sidewalk. One with glowing purple and green eyes.

Jameson gasps, staring at the small cat in horror. Anti doesn't seem to notice, though some white noise squawks from the phone speaker.

Jameson glances at Magnificent, a bit wary, then slowly crouches down and scoops up the cat, petting it gently.

Alt stiffens as he's picked up and tries to hiss at Jameson but... oh... he's being nice. He slowly starts to purr, curling up in his arms.

After a moment, Anti's appearance fills back in again. "Got it," he says. "They're near the center of the city." He looks down at the cat. "Nice trick. See, that's the exact sort of thing these people won't be expecting."

Magnificent giggles. "They're easier to keep under control this way. Less messy human thoughts~ And well, Alt has made that so much easier for me~!" He grins, "Well- we have a thief to track down then? Shall we~?"

"We shall." Anti grins. "Jameson, carry the cat. We can't waste time with those little cat legs."

Jameson hesitates, wanting to ask why he had to come, but nods. He knows that Anti will just drag him along no matter what.

"Now." Anti disappears, reappearing farther down the bridge. "This way."

Magnificent grins and teleports after him.

Alt looks up at Jameson, glitches running along his body. He can at least help him keep up…

#SATCV #SATCV the rift #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #poor alt but like- mag would i gotta play the character XD

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 1: SepticHeroes Revisited

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read Septicheroes

Read SITCV | SITCV SepticHeroes Chapters | AO3 Link

The swapboys have once again found themselves in the Brody Brothers’ apartment. Jackie Mann sits on the edge of their armchair, kicking his feet. He has a backpack next to him as he fastens a bracelet on his wrist. “The kids were so bummed you wouldn’t let them watch this happen at our place, Alt.” He laughs.

Alt rolls his eyes, “Well- I’m not sure they’d react too well to seeing their dad just * pop * out of existence right in front of them. Even if they know about magic.” He goes back to checking over the TRVLR settings.

Jackie holds up his hands with a laugh. “Alright, alright! Fair point!” He smiles, “They’re with their mom anyways~! Since this is a quick visit- I’m sure they’ll hardly miss me at all!”

“Then why did you pack such a big bag, dude?” Chase laughs, pointing at the backpack.

Jackie laughs, “Please! Between all the injuries I sustain and you two? This thing is a necessity- it’s got extra snacks and a med kit- bandages, water, chargers, an extra jacket for me-“

“Oh my god Jackie if you need anything they have stuff there!” Alt says with a laugh.

“You’re taking a bag too, Alt!” Chase points out.

Alt turns red and turns away, “I’m bringing my iPad and my… art and stuff…” He adjusts the headphones around his neck and his usual mask. “So I can you know- have something to do while you all geek out about heroes and junk.” On the subject though Alt does double check that he has what he needs- his spellbooks, iPad, notebook, pens, and… the tracking bracelets he made for all of them. The brown leather bracelet is tight on each of their wrists, with runes inscribed on the inside and a turquoise gem on top.

“Please Alt- don’t act like you’re not gonna join the hero fun!” Bro grins. Alt rolls his eyes but doesn’t respond, readjusting so everything fits right in his backpack.

“See though? Alt gets it! Better safe than sorry! Take it from a dad- it’s better to be prepared for anything!” Jackie says with a grin. “I even have those little plastic ponchos for if it rains!”

“Oh my god-“ Bro bursts into giggles. “Well besides being cautious- are you excited to meet these guys, Jackie?”

Jackie’s eyes light up and he excitedly stims, “Hell fucking yeah!!! I get to meet me! As a hero!! That’s so fucking cool! Ohhh I’m gonna be such a dork I can already tell oh jeez what if I embarrass myself or talk too much or fall off a building trying to look cool and-?!”

Alt turns to the others and laughs, holding up the now powered TRVLR. “You’ll be fine, Jackie. Windstorm is super cool- you’ll get on like a house on fire.”

“Yeah bro! We instantly clicked- he’s just like you! ‘Cept he can fly- and he’s not a dad-“ Bro says.

Jackie laughs, shaking his head. He jumps off the couch and hoists his backpack onto his shoulder. “Well then- l-let’s jet before I lose my nerve! If you’re all ready, Alt.”

Alt grins, “Yup! One superhero universe all locked and loaded!” He then looks to Jackie and Bro, “you guys remember how the tracking bracelets work right?”

“Yeah yeah!” Jackie says, “You touch the gem and say… looney-“

“Loonu, Jackie,” Alt laughs.

“Oh yeah- and then those wisps pop up and tell us where to go!”

Alt grins, “Good, you got it!”

“LessGOOOO!” Chase cheers, wrapping an arm around Jackie’s neck and pulling him tight to his side. Jackie bursts into laughter. Alt laughs too and grabs Jackie’s hand and then presses the jump button- heading to UA-1212021SH.

And for once- Magnificent doesn’t try to stop them. He’s actually home- asleep with his panthers, unaware his usual annoyances were traveling to other worlds without him.

And yet, as the group pressed the jump button, Mag is woken up by a sudden falling sensation and green light. A ripple spreads through the Space In-Between.

--------------

Jackie lands by himself in a room. The falling sensation lingers with him for a bit--strange, did it do that before?

Jackie rubs at his head and groans, “Ugh… how are they used to that…?” He mumbles.

Well, this isn't the time to dwell on it.

"Holy hell!"

He's landed in a bedroom with yellow-painted walls. There's a window with curtains drawn and two doors, one of which is slightly ajar to show a connected bathroom. The room is faily bland. The furniture-- a bed, a dresser, an armchair, and a nightstand--are more functional than decorative. Pretty much the only thing that has any personality is a TV stand across from the bed, with a television and game console that are currently on. Two people are in the room, each holding a video game controller and staring at Jackie in shock. One is a man in a button-down shirt who has a distinct mustache. He is sitting in the armchair. The other is a person with longer hair wearing a pink sweater. They're lying in the bed. Both of these people have identical bright blue eyes.

"Jays, I thought your friend was a flyer, not a teleporter," says the one in the bed.

The other shakes his head and puts the controller down to sign, He isn't. I don't think this is J-hoodie. I think it's something else.

Jackie blinks up at the two people and quickly gets to his feet. He waves awkwardly and stiffy, lifting his hand up really fast almost like a salute. “Um hi! I…I’m Jackie! J-Jackie Mann cuz um- you probably know another Jackie who looks like me but isn’t me uhhhh my f-friends Alt and Chase- well Bro Fantastic-! They wanted me to come visit and- fuck I knew they said we landed in random places but I thought I’d land near other me…!” He then blinks. “…fuck I’m talking too much aren’t I? S-Sorry for interrupting… this-“ He gestures vaguely at the room and the tv.

The two people blink. And then the one in the bed laughs. "Don't worry about it, love. We weren't really doing much anyway. JJ, is that, uh, Bro Fantastic guy the alternate Chase you told me about?"

JJ nods. He smiles at Jackie. So you're their Jackie, are you? It's nice to meet you! I'm Jameson, and this is Dahlia. He spells out all the names so there can be no mistakes. My sister. She wasn't around when your friends fist visited.

"Nice to meet you!" Dahlia says cheerfully.

Jackie blinks in surprise and then grins. “oh sick- my JJ has a half-bro, not a sister! Crazy! S’nice to meet ya too, both of you!”

"Well--I was his brother," Dahlia says, a smile twitching at her lips.

JJ raises an eyebrow. That's surprisingly open of you.

"Well, if he's another Jackie, I think he's a good guy. And maybe like our Jackie, ifyouknowwhatImean."

Jackie blinks and then his eyes widen. He points at Dahlia with a Pog face and goofy stance as he fumbles to spin his bag around. Then he points to a trans patch stitched on the side. “I’m too!! Trans that is!! Female to male!” He grins sillily.

"Yeahhhh!" Dahlia throws her hands up into the air.

Dahlia, careful! JJ says, using her name sign of flower-time for the first time.

"I can put my hands in the air, JJ, I'm not made of glass." But she does lower her hands.

Anyways, Bro and Alt managed to get home, then? Good for them! JJ says.

Jackie rocks on his feet and adjusts his backpack and nods. “yeah! Though I think they said they had a bit of rough go of it after they met you all. But, now Alt’s pretty confident in his jumping so! They thought I’d be nice for me to meet some other mes!” He laughs.

Dahlia grins and JJ can't help but smile back, then he looks at Jackie. Well, our Jackie isn't here. It's just the two of us and another friend in the house. Schneep is staying here too but he's out right now. We can contact him, if you want.

"Are you here by yourself, by the way?" Dahlia asks. "Or do we need to watch out for more of you guys?"

Jackie messes with his hair with a nervous laugh. “Oh well- that makes sense! Uh Alt and Bro are here too! Chase was so excited to see everyone again- and Alt is too but he’s being Alt and trying to act like he’s not.” He laughs. “Oh but! We have a way to find each other this time!” He shows off the bracelet on his wrist. “Tracking spell~!”

"Tracking spell?" Dahlia asks.

That's some of the magic in your world, is it? JJ asks. How does it work?

Jackie grins. “I just gotta say the word and then this magic orb-y stuff shows up and will lead me to the signal of another bracelet!” He raises up his sleeve and whispers to the stone at the top of the bracelet, “Loonu!”

The green-blue trail appears, pointing diagonally across the room and going out the window. JJ stands up and opens the curtains, revealing the cityscape outside.

"Ooo, flashy," Dahlia says, impressed. "We don't have that here. Or if we do, I've never seen it. Where's it going?"

It's pointing to the center of the city, JJ says. Which doesn't mean much. Henrik figured out last time that you all appear near people you're close to. So that COULD be pointing to Jackie, Chase, Henrik, or Marvin.

"What about the, uh... Anti, was it?"

If Anti counts, then Alt and Bro could be anywhere.

"Hmm. True. Well, maybe contact Jackie's flat first, see if either of them are there."

“Yeah- that’s the issue aint it? At least for us we only gotta worry about the two. Alt saidddd blue means close- green means far away. I think-“ Jackie shrugs. “If you guys wanna ring your friend that’d be brilliant! I don’t wanna interrupt anything. But I also… don’t know where I am at all so-“ He laughs.

JJ shakes his head. it looks more blue than green, so that's good. I'll text Jackie.

Jackie grins, rocking on his feet again. “Thanks dude! ‘Perriciate it!”

"I belieeeve we're sort of on the edge of Daindover," Dahlia says slowly. "Near the East SepTech location. Though I suppose that means nothing to you.”

“It does indeed mean Jack shit to me.”

“Uh, we're in JJ's boyfriend's house."

We're not dating, JJ says stubbornly.

"Yet," Dahlia adds with a grin.

I can't believe you of all people are encouraging me to date S-heart.

"Ehhh could be worse."

Jackie’s eyes widen and then he grins, “Oooh a boyfriend~?” He tries to tease- then stops himself. “oh wait. I probably shouldn’t tease you- you aren’t my Jay. I would give him such a hard time if I found out he liked someone.”

"It's okay, I'll tease him for you," Dahlia says jokingly.

Jackie bursts into giggles. “Deal! I like ya, Dahlia!”

"Though to be honest Jays doesn't get teased easily."

I'm just still shocked that you approve, JJ says, then takes his phone out of his pocket and starts texting.

"Like I said, Soren could be worse. And I believe him when he says he's turning over a new leaf. And if he's lying, I can beat his ass."

“Oooh Soren~? That’s a fancy name- must be a fancy dude- someone as sophisticated as J’s mustache!” The father giggles more.

JJ grins a little at the mustache comment.

Dahlia laughs as well--though she stops quickly as it gains a wheezing edge. "I guess you can say that. He had a big, important family--though it's pretty much just him and his niece's family now. I suppose you don't know him in your world. If he's there at all."

“Oh neat! Yeah I don’t think we know a Soren- but that makes sense. S’abig universe out there! Lots of people to meet!” Jackie grins.

Then, after a moment, JJ nods. Jackie, Jackie says that one of your friends is at his apartment, he says, differentiating the two with slightly different name signs (J-hoodie, J-visit).

Jackie beams at JJ and laughs at the sign differences. “Oh neat! Sign name! J-hoodie must be your Jackie! But yay! One mystery solved!”

JJ grins. One mystery solved. Now we just need to figure out how to get you together and figure out where your other friend landed.

Jackie looks up to think and then digs out his phone, “oh yeah- I could just… text them I think. Maybe- …my plan miiight not work across dimensions.”

"You guys can go out, it's fine," Dahlia says.

JJ shakes his head. I don't want to leave you alone.

"Jays, like I said, I'm not glass."

But you are still recovering.

Dahlia shrugs. "Soren is still here. If I need something, I'll ask him.”

That is... SO strange to hear coming from you.

Jackie blinks, looking back at Dahlia, “oh- are you… injured or something?”

Dahlia sighs. "Yeah... I was in an accident a couple of years ago. Got knocked out, and when I woke up it was two years later. As you can expect, that has some lingering side effects." She makes a face. "I started growing facial hair again." It's a joke, but it's clear that there's real sadness beneath it.

Jackie winces at the mention of the accident then, “Nooo! That’s awful!” Jackie says with complete sympathy to Dahlia’s last statement. He gets it. He’d be devastated if any of his features started going backwards!

"Thanks, Jackie." Dahlia smiles gently. "I'm getting used to it. I can heal faster than most people, but this is a lot of damage. It'll be fine, though."

Jackie gives her a sympathetic smile and nods.

JJ walks back over and gives his sister a side hug. Then he looks at Jackie. You can try texting if you want. I know that Alt's phone connected to the Internet last time.

Jackie blinks at Jj then smiles, “Right! Letsss see-“ He texts Alt: Alttt! I’m alive! I’m by this world’s Jj and his sister! :D

Jackie giggles, “This is insane- texting my friend to come find me like we’re meeting up at a shop- but it’s in another universe… fucking wild man.”

Jackie's text doesn't go through right away. But after a while, it does, with a little sent through WiFi notification attached underneath the bubble.

I can imagine it's very strange, JJ says. But it's good to meet you! Strange, but nice. I hope we can spend time together.

Jackie blinks and smiles as his text goes through and he pockets his phone. “Yeah! I hope so too!”

----------

Alt falls through the dark space, feeling it ripple slightly, and then appears somewhere that he--after a moment--recognizes. This is Jackie's place--the hero Jackie's place, the one he shares with this world's Chase. Speaking of whom--

"Whoa!" Chase jumps.

Alt blinks around and smiles as he immediately recognizes the place. Then he jumps and glitches back to hide slightly behind the closest furniture he can find.

Chase is sitting on the sofa with Frosty, who barks when Alt appears but calms down when Chase pats his head. "Who the hell--oh! Oh! Y-y-you're uhhhh--fuck, I'm so bad with names. One of the guys from the other world! Hey!"

Alt blinks up behind it comically and then smiles shyly. “Heyyy! Other Chase hi! Um- Alt. That’s me- um… s-sorry to just- drop in!”

"Alt! Right." Chase nods, giving Alt a bit smile. "It's good to see you again! You, uh, stopping by? Oh, hang on." He twists to the side. "Jackie! The guys from the other world are back!"

Footsteps rush down the hall and Jackie appears. He's wearing a red hoodie and the lower half of his supersuit, either just about to leave or just returning from hero duties.

"Hi!" Jackie waves at Alt excitedly. "Hey! Welcome back! Where's your brother? Oh right, you guys didn't appear in the same place last time, you probably didn't this time, either. Anyway. How are you? Did you guys figure out how to get home?"

Chase laughs. "Give him time to answer, bro."

Alt blinks and glitches a bit in surprise at Jackie's appearance. But then he laughs and glitches closer, grinning wide. "Hey man! Good to see you two again!"

"okay to answer questions- I dunno where Ch- Bro is but I can find him quicker than last time! I'm good- and yes! We got home... relatively okay." He grins, lifting up a finger for each question he answered.

"Oh cool! I'm glad you guys could do that." Jackie grins. "Why are you back, then? Stopping by to visit? Sounds great if you are! We can show you around the city!"

"Yeah, that'd be fun!" Chase says excitedly.

Alt smiles. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and adjusts his mask. "Yeah- to visit! And also, we brought our Jackie along this time! He's dying to meet you all."

Jackie's eyes light up. "Oh! Other me! Cool! I'd love to meet him too--hope he didn't appear too far away. Ooo! Maybe we can get the whole gang together! Do you think Schneep and JJ will want to come? I know they might be busy, but they're more likely to come than Marvin, right?" Jackie laughs.

Alt laughs at the Marvin comment. "If they're up for it- Jackie's pretty excited to see stuff. But, of course we don't wanna get in the way of anything too!"

“uhhh, we've kinda hit a dead end in our investigation. Last we saw you guys we promised to kick Anti's ass but uhhh... That's a bit difficult, turns out." Jackie smiles. "We can use a break. If heroes never take breaks, they collapse."

Alt looks excited at them being free. "Shame about the trail going cold but! That means we can hang!"

"Hell yeah," Chase agrees. "In that case, should we start calling people to see where other-me and other-Jackie are?"

"Mm-hmm." Jackie nods. "Lemme text some people real quick." He takes his phone out of his pocket and starts texting.

Alt grins happily, pixels buzzing in the air around him. "Bro will be so happy. And Jackie!" He then blinks and looks to his phone, checking the screen. He laughs, "Speak of the devil- the timing is insane... My Jackie is with JJ... and his... sister? What??"

"Oh yeah!" Jackie grins. "We didn't get time to tell you last time you were here!"

"Well to be fair we were still adjusting to it, too," Chase says. "Yeah, JJ has a sister that he didn't tell me or Jackie about at all."

"Bit of a complicated story," Jackie says. "She was a hero, too. Not a capital H Hero, just a hero in that she was helping people out. But then she was in an accident. and got put in the hospital for a long time."

Chase nods. "I was there, too. A building collapsed. And, well, that's why I need Frosty." Frosty wags his tail at being mentioned.

"Anyway, we got her back recently, but she's still recovering," Jackie continues. "Her name's Dahlia. She's great."

Alt looks between the both of them in surprise. "Woah- that's... intense." But, then he smiles. "But, I'm glad she's better. That must be making JJ very happy... is he still in hiding? Him and Schneep?"

Jackie sighs. "Unfortunately. I keep pushing the police to review the Puppeteer case but they're so slow. I'm hoping that now that Anti's out and doing stuff they'll move faster."

"We're being a bit less cautious with phones and stuff, though, as you can see," Chase says. "It just got exhausting so we decided they're worth the risk."

"Well that will make stuff easier~" Alt laughs.

"Anyway, if Jackie's there, where's Bro, then?" Jackie asks. "He must've showed up by Schneep or Marvin, right? Assuming Schneep isn't also in Soren's safe house right now."

"Text the doc, maybe he'll answer." Chase shrugs.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Jackie nods and keeps texting. "He's been bad at answering texts lately, though. I wonder what he's doing..."

"In the meantime, feel free to hangout, Alt!" Chase says cheerfully. "We'll figure out how to get everyone together once we're sure where everyone is."

Alt glitches over to an armchair and sits down- not getting comfy, just balancing on the edge. But like- that's kinda big for him.

He texts Jackie back: Sick dude- I'm with other Jackie and Chase, we'll figure out where you are soon, hang tight.

-----------

Bro falls a few feet and lands on the flat roof of a building. No, it's not a roof. The building is still under construction, with beams and scaffolding extending high above. But this is the highest floor that's been completed, so it's basically the roof. Across the street is a glass and concrete triangular building with the words SepTech glowing green across its side. And Bro doesn't land alone. Somehow, there's someone else with him. Magnificent has arrived in this world as well.

Bro pushes himself off and brushes himself off, adjusting his costume so its just so. He had to make a good first hero impression! Yes, he'd been here before but now it was official cuz he's actually in his uniform! He grins and starts to look around and then yelps as magic is thrown at him from behind.

"What the-?!" Bro jolts into the air and then stares at the angry face of Magnificent crouched on the ground. "M-Magnificent?!"

"Why have you brought me here, hero?!" Magnificent snarls, throwing another barrage of magic at him. "Where is that idiotic cub?! Don't you two know better than to bother a villain when he's scheming?!"

"What are you talking about?!" Bro yells, dodging the magic. "Did you hitch a ride with us again?!'

"What are you talking about?! You-" Magnificent's face falls for a second as he looks around. Then, he slowly starts to laugh. "Oh... I see... you and your brother are playing dimension hopper again, are you? And yet it seems... the universe still chose to include me~" He grins at Bro his eyes lighting up bright green as he chuckles. "And how unfortunate for you, hero." He spits.

Bro backs up, looking around for any sign of Alt or Jackie around. Shit shit shit! This was supposed to be a fun adventure! They warded and cast protection spells! Alt was gonna be pissed...

"Now- tell me Hero... where did you bring us this time, hm?"

Before Bro can answer that question, there's the sound of footsteps. The unfinished building has an unfinished staircase leading up to this floor, and the sound seems to be coming from there. But... there's no one in sight. Even as the footsteps sound like they come up onto the floor Bro and Magnificent are on, there's still no one there. ...But Magnificent can hear a faint voice come from that direction. "Schiesse," it curses.

Bro blinks and looks around- the complete opposite way the footsteps are going- thinking he's missing something.

Mag hears the curse and he grins, going to try to teleport behind the invisible super and try to grab him.

There's a yelp, and a person flickers into view. They're wearing an outfit that seems to be shifting colors, disguising most of their features. Magnificent manages to grab him--but not for long, as the person quite literally slips out of his grasp, passing through his arms. "Y-you! What are you doing back here?!" If it wasn't obvious who it was before, the voice gives it away. Schneep.

Magnificent curses as Schneep literally slips from his grasp.

He backs away from Magnificent, then looks at Bro. "Ah! Um, h-hello, ah--What the fuck?!" He points at Mag.

Bro makes an 'i dunno' exggerated shrug then points at Mag with both of his arms. "I dunno bro!! We tried to make sure he wasn't gonna follow us this time!! Alt was so careful!!"

Mag laughs evilly, "And yet~ here I am~!" He giggles and then sends a blast of magic out at both of them.

Schneep doesn't move--not processing the magic as a threat until it slams into him and knocks him down. He yelps, forgetting to concentrate on his intangibility and slamming against the floor. "So that... is an... energy attack," he says as soon as he gets his breath back. "Noted..."

Magnificent laughs loudly and builds up more magic in his hands. "There's more where that came from, Henrik~! I have yet to taste that delightful power of yours~"

"Ew why you gotta say it like that??" Bro makes a face then gets hit out of the air by Mag's magic. He hits the roof and skids before trying to get back on his feet.

Schneep gets to his hands and knees--and then shouts out "SPITIFRE GET UP HERE!"

More footsteps from the staircase, and now someone else joins the fray--the brightly colored costume and cat mask makes him easily recognizable. Marvin's eyes lock on Magnificent. "Motherfucker!"

Mag's eyes light up with delighted manic glee at seeing Marvin. "Well hello again!" He throws out magic his way, "Do me a favor and die-!" He growls out.

Marvin's eyes widen. He conjures up a shield to block the magic but Mag throws it with such force that the attack still knocks Marvin over.

Schneep gasps and scrambles to his feet, rushing over to help Marvin up.

"Why don't--you die?" Marvin says through gritted teeth. Before Schneep even pulls him up, he shoots a beam of orange energy at Magnificent.

Magnificent grins and throws out a shield that shimmers like murky pond water. He throws out his hand and then tries to douse the water on top of Marvin and Schneep.

Schneep looks up and turns intangible, the water going right through him. Marvin gets doused, but all it does is make him annoyed. "Do you think I'm made of fire?! Idiot?!" He makes a blade of yellow energy and throws it at Magnificent, spinning end over end and getting longer as it gets closer.

Magnfiicent cries out as the blade grazes his arm. He glares at Marvin and hisses, "Principles of magic have to apply somewhere here." He bunches up his hand and then sends out a blast of freezing magic at Marvin.

Bro yells out and tries to tackle Mag away.

Mag just teleports out of the way of Bro, making him fly past him and back into the hard floor of the roof.

"Magic doesn't fucking exist here you pri--" Marvin is so busy yelling at Mag that his reflexes aren't quite as sharp as they should be. The magic blasts him before he can finish conjuring his shield and frost coats his skin as he falls down again. Schneep also collapses. The magic blast passed right through him, but he can still feel the temperature change, and the cold is so shocking that his knees buckle right away and turns him tangible again. "J-jesus fuck," Marvin whispers.

"W-we have to retreat!" Schneep gasps. "Get the others!"

"Not yet!" Marvin's skin...glows? and the frost covering him melts away. "We gotta take this fucker down!" And he aims another beam of red energy--but not at Mag. At the floor beneath his feet, cutting through it, aiming to collapse it.

"You're not going anywhere~!" Magnificent cackles and attempts to teleport to try to grab Schneep again- he doesn't notice the floor until it cracks. He yells out and manages to catch himself on the edge, tearing at the floor desperately with his claws. Then, he falls.

Bro hurries up to his feet and back into the air. He rushes over and holds out his hands for Schneep and Marvin. "H-Hurry! I can fly you out of here!"

They glance at each other, clearly a bit nervous, but they both take Bro's hands in unison. "I better not dangle," Marvin mutters. "That's so undignified."

"Take what you can get," Schneep snaps.

Bro laughs, "If you don't wanna dangle I might have to hold you like a baby- I dunno which is worse." He hauls up Marvin and pulls him to his chest and then grabs Schneep and tries to load him on his back. Then, he rockets off into the sky, just trying to get them as far away as possible.

"OHJESUSFUCK--!" Marvin shouts, surprised at how fast Bro goes. Schneep doesn't say anything, just holds on tightly.

The cityscape passes beneath them. Bro is heading deeper into the city, where the buildings get taller and shinier, occasionally interspersed with older-looking townhouses. Soon the construction site--and Magnificent--is out of sight.

"I-I think we can go down now?" Schneep says, voice almost lost in the sound of rushing wind.

Bro laughs and nods, finding the closest place he can. He almost wants to set them on another rooftop but... heroes are common around here! He finds an empty looking park and sets them both down. "Sorry about that, are you two okay???"

Marvin staggers for a bit. "M...my face is cold," he says, sounding mildly surprised at that. He pushes off his mask briefly to wipe his eyes. "I-I didn't realize flying was so cold?"

"The wind makes it so," Schneep says. He fared better than Marvin; between his goggles and his mask most of his face was covered. "But I-I am fine. It was a bit more... tall... than I thought. But I'm fine now."

Bro can't help but laugh, "Yeah it gets kinda chilly. That's why I have my jacket!" He says, lifting up his arms to show off his signature Bro Fantastic jacket.

"Yeah, just... wasn't expecting that." Marvin shakes his head. "Anyway. Hi, other Chase. Why?"

Bro bursts into even more laughter as Marvin's bluntness. "Ha ha! No yeah- It's a fair question!"

"Don't be rude," Schneep mutters. "But Marvin has a good point. We are happy to see you again, but why are you here? With Magnificent?"

Bro straightens back up and then frowns, "....Magnificent wasn't supposed to be here. Alt made sure he couldn't! But... we wanted to come see you guys again... and we brought our Jackie to come meet you- and the other him." He then blinks and then narrows his eyes at the two of them, "...but... what were you two doing at an abandoned construction site? In your super get up?" He raises an eyebrow.

Marvin blanks. "Uhhhhh..."

"We can tell him, he is also a hero where he comes from," Schneep says.

"Right." Marvin nods. "Nice outfit, by the way. Uh, well. We were staking out that building across the street. The East SepTech location. Last time we saw you guys, we talked about that villain who made JJ do all that terrible shit. Anti-Virus." He laughs. "God. What an appropriate name."

"It turns out that Anti-Virus was part of SepTech," Schneep says. "Very... integral to it, in fact. But now, Anti is gone. We are not sure where. Or how to search, in all honesty. But we figure that keeping an eye on SepTech locations is a good place to start."

"In case Anti returns," Marvin agrees. "There's a... long history between them."

"Oh okay- I thought you were maybe trying to steal shit- but considering it was like- abandoned that now seems dumb." Bro laughs. "That bitch Anti is just gone? Fucking coward..." He shakes his head and sighs.

"I'm sure Anti is planning something," Marvin mutters. "Calculating bitch..." He shakes his head. "But we should handle Mag first."

"Back to what you said," Schneep says. "You just came to visit, but Magnificent somehow came along, is that it? So... Alt and your Jackie do not know he's here."

"Yeah... they wouldn't know. It seems like Mag was surprised to be here too... which means... he wasn't planning it." Bro scratches at his head. "... last time we used the TRVLR- he like... messed with it and its power... maybe that had something to do with it?" He looks back at the other two, "The point is though... He wasn't planned. But... I dunno how much trouble he'll be... we all seemed to really kick his ass last time!"

Schneep frowns. "If he messed with your universe traveling device, that is not good. Perhaps he found some way of... attaching himself to it? I don't know. Your world's powers are strange."

"But Bro is right, we can kick his ass!" Marvin agrees. "Well, Jameson was a big part of that, I think. And he does not want to leave the new safe house much. Wh-which, I understand. Now that Dahlia is back, he does not want to leave her in case something happens to her again."

Bro tilts his head to the side, "Dahlia? Who's that?"

Marvin's eyes widen. "Oh shit! Right, we never mentioned her! Schneep, you tell him."

"Dahlia is my cousin, and JJ's sister," Schneep explains. "Anti kidnapped her to force Jameson to do things for him, and Jameson agreed because Dahlia... is a hero. W-we found her, and she is awake from the coma she was in, but she is still quite weak." He takes a deep, shaky breath. This is clearly an emotional subject for him.

Bro's face falls with concern, "Oh... fuck. I... I'm sorry Schneep... I mean... at least she's awake now! That's good!" He tries to smile. "I know I-I heal really fast... maybe its the same for some supers here!"

Schneep laughs. "Th-thank you. Dahlia has said she heals faster. Which I believe. Her powers are strong. And so are Jameson's. Really, their whole side of the family got lucky."

"You're pretty powerful, too, Henrik," Marvin says.

"No, I am not. I have done the research, my powers are not stronger than any other super who can become invisible or pass through things."

"Well you use them really well, so that counts."

Schneep laughs again. "If you say so."

Bro grins. "No I agree! Powers are only as strong as the people who wield them! Anyone can be strong- anyone could have power. But, the people who learn to use them well and for good are the strongest!" He then looks around the city and sighs, "Well... guess its another race to find my brother and now Jackie... i hope they ended up somewhere safe. Sounds like it's all been kinda calm though- before Mag showed his ugly tail."

"Pretty calm, yeah." Marvin nods.

"Oh! We started using phones again, perhaps they have texted me," Schneep says, reaching into a pocket in his outfit.

"How many fucking pouches and pockets do you have?"

"I was a thief before this, they were necessary." Schneep pulls out his phone, then yanks off a glove with his teeth and starts tapping at the screen. He nods. "Yes, they sent messages. Your Jackie is with JJ and Dahlia, and Alt is with our Chase and Jackie."

Bro relaxes slightly, "Oh good- they're safe... that's... that's good."

Marvin raises an eyebrow. "Do you think they could've appeared near Anti? Would've been helpful to know where that center of operations is."

"Probably dangerous for them, though, so let's be happy. I am letting them know Bro is with us. Should I tell them about Magnificent?"

"Ummm... maybe I should tell them- let them... just be happy for a second." Bro says with a wince. "We can... deal with that in a bit. I don't think Mag will find us all right away..."

Schneep nods. "Very well, then. I think we are closer to the safe house than the apartment, so I will ask if we can meet there."

"Can't Alt glitch pretty far distances, too?" Marvin asks. "He can probably bring Jackie and Chase to the safe house. Unless he needs to have been there to do that?"

"Ummmm-" Bro thinks, "It's easier for him to glitch to places he's been to but like... I dunno. He got us to Jackie's apartment building without ever being there last time- I think he can sometimes be pulled places as long as someone has like... a visual or something."

"That is good, then. Jackie definitely knows what the house looks like." Schneep nods, finishing up his text message. "We should make our way there now, then."

"Are we gonna take the train in outfit, have Bro fly us again, ooooor walk the whole way?" Marvin asks. "Honestly, none of those sound ideal to me."

"Is riding the train dressed in uniform so bad?" Bro laughs, "I thought supers were more common around here!"

"Well yeah--but we're wanted supervillains," Marvin says.

"... oh. That... didn't get brought up last time." Bro says, blinking rapidly. But, who is he to talk? Alt was a villain for a bit too.

"Spitfire Cat is pretty recognizable, in particular,"

Schneep adds, gesturing to Marvin. "So, can you change quickly, Marvin?"

"No," he grumbles.

Bro looks at the small bag he brought with him, containing a change of clothes for him in case he needed to be out of uniform. "Uhhh i got... a jacket, shirt and some... jeans? If you'd like?" Then he looks and smirks at them, "Or- flying is faster."

Marvin hesitates, then quietly takes the offered clothes. "We can take the train," he mutters. "I'm putting this on over my clothes." As he does, he continues to talk. "And don't worry, we're not going to attack random pedestrians or anything, Chase. We're not those types of people. Schneep just steals stuff from large businesses and my crimes are more... symbolic. I don't hurt innocents."

"Hey I'm not judging. I already know you two are cool." Bro grins. "I try not to judge without knowing the full story- if i can help it. I learned my lesson about doing that..." He sighs, refluffing his hair under his hat.

Marvin grins. "Heh. Windstorm--Jackie had that same sort of journey, too. Learning not to judge, I mean."

"Learning that two of his friends were criminals helped on that," Schneep says.

"Alright, I'm ready." Marvin takes his mask off and hides it in his jacket. The only weird thing about him now are his gloves, but those can be brushed off. "The nearest train station is that way. Come on. You two will get stares but the ride won't be long."

Schneep abruptly vanishes from view. "What stares?" his disembodied voice says jokingly.

“Cheater." Bro laughs as he takes off his mask and shoves it in his pocket.

"Ha ha." Marvin rolls his eyes. "Just keep up, Schneep, we don't want to lose you."

Bro looks over himself. It's not perfect but, no one in this town knew him. It'd be fine. He follows after the other two towards the train.

-----------

“Hey Alt, your brother ended up with Schneep and Marvin," Jackie says. He's sitting on the sofa with Chase now, still half-wearing his suit. "Schneep wants us to go to the safe house where JJ and your Jackie are. He says that Bro says you can glitch us there?"

Alt looks up at the others and then glitches to his feet, stretching. "Sure thing- I'm decently powered. You all have been there before? That helps~" He grins.

"I have a few times, but Chase has only been there once," Jackie says. "Is that a problem?"

"Nope that should be plenty." Alt shrugs his bag back on.

"I want to come," Chase says, pouting a bit. "All I did last time was talk to you guys on the phone and then get hypnotized."

"Will you have trouble taking Frosty, Alt?" Jackie asks. "Chase needs him."

"Mmmm no I don't think so! I glitch with my cat all the time. That's how she got her name." Alt smiles. "We just need to link up! So like- as long as we all have a connection somehow."

"Ohhh yeah your cat!" Jackie awes. "I wish we could meet her!"

Alt laughs, "I feel like she'd get into trouble on these trips- but I have about a million pictures. Despite the fact she's a little void and i wear mostly black."

"You can show us the pictures of your cat when we get there." Jackie chuckles.

Chase laughs too. "Alright, let's link up, then. Focus on the house. Or, uh, I think we should aim for just outside the house. I don't want Soren to suddenly shoot us for intruding."

"Shoot us? He doesn't have a gun, Chase."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't figure out how to get one."

"... I both like and dislike what I'm learning about this Soren guy-" Alt mutters.

“Soren is a mixed bag," Jackie mutters.

Alt offers his hands out to the others, green-blue magic pulsing in his eyes.

"Whoo!" Chase makes sure to grab Frosty by the scruff. "Let's go!"

Once, the others have linked up and Chase has a good good hold on Frosty, Alt concentrates at they all zip away towards the safe house.

----------

Magnificent falls down one floor, delaying him slightly. But it's enough of a delay. By the time he recovers, that annoying hero and those two infuriating supers are gone.

The world flashed to white as he head hit the floor hard- and for a good long while all he can hear is ringing in his ears. Magnificent springs up once he has his bearings and then teleports back up to the roof- but... its clear that they're all gone by now.

He curses and kicks at the floor and then starts to pace. "Okay... collecting my thoughts... we're back in the world with the supers... which I had a hard time stealing power from... but its possible. And my annoyances are here... so... hmm.... What to do...." He laughs to himself, his eyes glowing bright. "I want to end all those annoying supers. Drain them for every ounce of power in them and lord over their corpses... they will not humiliate me again... I need to find this world's Jameson... he will be the first one I destroy." He looks out over the edge of the unfinished building towards the city, arms behind his back as he searches around. "Now... where would my little kittens be hiding~?"

"How very vicious." The voice comes from behind Magnificent. There's something floating just beyond the other edge of the unfinished building. It's... that black flying robot from last time. It floats closer to Magnificent. "I see you've returned," says that same computerized voice. "Do you remember me?"

Magnificent jumps in the air like a startled cat. He whirls around, magic bright in his hands. But, once he realizes who this is, he slowly grins. "Well Well... Anti, wasn't it~? I do remember you." He glances around and then tilts his head at the robot. "... why are you here?"

"Those supers were staking out SepTech for signs of me, so I was stalking them in turn," Anti says. "They had no idea that what they were looking for was right under their noses all that time." Part of the robot slides open, revealing a small device. Its use is revealed as it projects a life-size hologram of a person. ...Wait. No, it's not exactly a person. It's a 3D animated model, depicting a man wearing black robotic armor and a hood. The man's face is replaced by an LED screen with a simplified face: two red circles for eyes and a curving red mouth. "But then you arrived. And that other one. And now I wish to talk. Face to... not-face, as it is." The model gestures to his LED screen.

Magnificent's eyes widen as he sees the hologram. He prowls around it and studies it with interest. "Impressive... very impressive."

"Thank you. I did work hard on it." Somehow, Anti's robotic voice sounds smugly proud.

Mag stops to stand in his original place and smirks, gesturing at Anti. "Well, let's hear it then~"

"You wish to take out my nuisances. I wish to do so too. So far I have preferred hiding and concentrating on my plan. But this is an opportunity I cannot ignore. What if I aided you once more? More... directly this time."

“Oh? In the flesh?” Magnificent giggles, “How bold of you, Anti!”

"Oh, if only in the flesh. Unfortunately, I am... limited." Anti's model gestures at himself. "This is the best I can do. But I have several of these Semi-Automatic Machines equipped with combat features. They can act as backup for you."

“Ah I see. Well- I can work with that.” Magnificent hums. His face falls to something deadly serious in a blink, his eyes flashing dangerously. “I want those wannabe heroes dead. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The model tilts his head. "I know where they are hiding from the police. And everyone is heading there. All of those from your world, and the supers from mine." He chuckles. "Though it is funny that you call them all 'heroes'. I can promise many of them have less than stellar records."

Mag chuckles and shrugs, “On the rating of heroes to villains- no one tops me in villainy~! I bet those records mean nothing.” He giggles and then tilts his head back at Anti, “do we have a plan, Anti, dear? Or are we charging in, machines blazing~?”

"'Machines blazing' is what I was thinking, in fact," Anti says. "They know I have been laying low. They won't be expecting it. I will gather my Machines while you head to the house. Its address is 78 Ivy Lane. In that direction." The model points to the north.

Magnificent hums and then giggles in manic delight. “Alright. I can do that~” He laughs and tilts his head at Anti, “This will be one hell of a collab~!” Then, in a blink and buzz of static- he teleports off the roof to search for the heroes.

“Indeed.” The hologram of Anti disappears as the Machine flies away, ready to meet up with others of its kind.

#SATCV #swap across the crystalverse #SATCV Septicheroes #Septicheroes au #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #jackie joins the group!!#tbh we had one other multiverse rp before this one but thats not quite ready to share yet!!#so they'll be hints to it here and there but it shouldnt take away from the story! ^^#so excited to be posting more of these for you guys!!#we have written soooo much fun new stuff and i can't wait for you all to see them!

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 15: The Bad End

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| You've reached a Bad End (Also on AO3!)

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Jackie lands by himself. Unlike the isolation of the last location, this time he is in an urban area. It's twilight, with bright light coming from windows and street lamps. He's arrived in a small green location, a closed-in park, if it can be called that when Jackie can see all of the corners from where he's standing in the center. And though he's landed without any of his companions, he is not alone.

"Whoa!" a voice says in surprise. A couple is standing around, under the only big tree in this park-like area. One is a man with brown hair, wearing a jacket and fingerless gloves, and the other is a woman with dyed-blonde hair, wearing an oversized green hoodie. They're both staring at Jackie.

"So," the woman says, identifying herself as the shouter. "They were right, after all."

The man nods. "I mean... of course. They're usually right, even if, uh, this hasn't happened before."

Jackie shakes himself out and then jumps as he hears the shout. He holds his hands up and then blinks at the couple. "uh.... who was... right about what? ...Something about me I'm guessing?" He laughs nervously, messing with his hair.

"Yeah." The man laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Our... friend, Sam. They told us you'd be here. I mean, not you specifically, They actually said that it might be one of four people and one of them might be dangerous, but uh... yeah. We know you're from another universe."

"I'm Stacy," the woman says. "This is Chase."

Jackie blinks more, "Oh... okay well... that makes this a whole lot easier then. That's... a relief." He does looks pretty surprised to see Chase and Stacy but- he really should be getting used to this by now, huh? He points to himself with his thumb, putting his other hand in his jacket. "I'm Jackie. Nice to meet ya both."

Chase laughs again. "Yeah, I can see it. You look like how our Jackie looked."

Stacy glances around. "We shouldn't stay in one place too long," she mutters. "If there's supposed to be four of you, we need to find the other three. I hope Sam was right about where they'd be. I hope that our teams can find them."

"Jack can check on them," Chase says, looking to the side like he's looking at something invisible. "Right? Okay, yeah. No, go on, the sooner the better."

One of the nearby street lamps flickers, a few sparks flying off from the bulb. "Sorry, you're probably really confused," Stacy says to Jackie. "But we can talk while we walk."

"Uh... yeah- massively but, that'd be grand." Jackie says, looking around anxiously. "...I also don't like how you said... 'looked'. But.. I feel like that'll get explained? Hopefully?"

Chase sighs as they start to walk. "Yeah... um. So. I don't know how things work in your universe, Sam didn't explain that, but here we have, uh... someone. We can't say his name, that draws his attention, but he's like--like a living glitch."

"That doesn't really explain much," Stacy points out.

"Look, it's hard to explain. Basically, this guy started out by haunting me and my friends, a-and then, somehow, he learned how to mind control people. We call it corruption. Our Jackie got corrupted, a-and then the rest of us did. And then he started moving on to corrupting other people, too."

"There's a small group of us who know about this," Stacy adds. "We're stuck in hiding, trying to figure out a way to fix this. Recently, though, we did make a breakthrough. We might be able to uncorrupt people, a-and Sam says that if we uncorrupt the rest of Chase's friends, we can go after him directly."

Jackie listens with wide eyes, "...oh... woah. That's... that's like super intense right off the bat." He pushes his hair back and takes a shaky breath. "Okay so... wait-" He looks at Chase, "did you get... corrupted too? you said- the rest of us did. I'm assuming you mean like... me, you, henrik, jj and ...marvin?"

Chase hesitates, then nods. "Y-yeah. I did. I just got freed recently, actually."

"The first time something like that happened," Stacy adds.

"A-and you're right, it was the five of us," Chase says. "Our friend Jack was put in a coma... though, uh, apparently he... broke free of it? I-it's hard to explain."

"Basically his mind is wandering around as a ghost," Stacy explains. "With similar powers to him."

"A-and sorry for all the intensity," Chase adds. "I just... don't know what he would do if the corrupted found you and your friends. So we have to go fast. Wh-where do you guys usually appear? Sam told us possible locations, but They weren't sure."

“Well… I guess now we know it’s possible…” Jackie mumbles, nervously playing with his hoodie strings. “Um… I dunno- usually near… others like us. Which if like- the rest of them are corrupted… that’s really not good-“

Stacy inhales sharply. "Yeah. No. Not good."

"Most of them don't even leave the Place all that often," Chase mutters. "Oh. Uh, that's like... a pocket dimension. Where the corrupted have their main base."

"We'll get you back to our hideout first," Stacy says.

“O-Okay…” Jackie replies quietly, looking pale. God… could these corrupted guys be more powerful then bro and Alt? And maybe even Mag? That’s… terrifying to think about honestly. He sticks close to Stacy and Chase, eyeing the shadows like anything could pop out at them- holding Alt’s pocket knife he still forgot to give back.

The group walks up to an alleyway, walking into it. There's a door tucked away here, one that looks like it hasn't been opened in years. Stacy opens it up, revealing a staircase going downwards.

Jackie blinks at the entrance, looking around. “Woah- okay… gonna ignore how that’s very creepy.” He follows them down.

"You get used to it," Stacy says.

There's a camping lantern hanging on the wall just where it starts to get dark. She grabs it, turning it on. The staircase ends, and a rough stone tunnel leads ahead into the darkness.

"There are tons of caves under the city," Chase explains. "Entrances all over for, like, spelunkers and urban explorers and shit. But not all the caves are mapped, so that's where the group hides out."

Jackie whistles, impressed. “Damn- hope nobody has claustrophobia.” He mutters.

"They open up eventually," Chase says. "But yeah. Marvin would hate it here."

“…Alt might too. He’s been kinda… weird about tight spaces lately. But… if it’s the only safe space I’m sure he’ll understand.” He shakes his head, “Alt’s one of my friends by the way. The other is Chase- like you. But he also goes by Bro Fantastic- he’s a superhero. So… hopefully he’ll be okay…”

Chase laughs. "A superhero? Bro, I'd love to be a superhero. The Jackie here was actually doing some vigilante work before--he didn't have any powers but it's the closest thing to a superhero we had. His day job wasn't that exciting, though, just food delivery. Then Hen was a doctor, a surgeon, Marvin did stage shows, JJ... is a bit complicated, he did some work from home, and Jack made videos on YouTube, let's plays."

"This guy made YouTube stuff too," Stacy says, nudging Chase. "Throwing stuff around the house."

"Trickshots! They were... averagely popular."

“Hey! I’m a YouTuber too! I do parkour- recreating stuff from comics and movies.” Jackie says with a grin. “Man… always so weird to see so many places have stuff similar but… we’re the odd ones out. It’s always hard to imagine my lads the way yours are.” He laughs. “Alt’s a magician- in like the learning magic sense. He also does shows though- illusion shows with like neat lights and stuff. Our Jays is a doctor- a therapist. And Henny, he’s the actor- a damn good one too despite being deaf.”

"Whoa, really? Alt sounds cool," Chase says, grinning. "Marvin does magic too--real magic."

Jackie grins. “Alt is cool. He can be… kinda rough around the edges but he’s a good kid, deep down.”

"Can't picture Henrik being deaf," Stacy comments.

"Yeah, that's a bit weird. So I'm guessing you know BSL then? All of us do, too, since JJ can't talk. That could come in handy."

“Yeah we know it. I sprung to learn it once Henrik came along. I knew some from knowing J is college though. Sometimes he goes non-verbal. …more so recently.” Jackie mutters.

Chase sighs. "Yeah. Marvin did the same thing, sometimes. And since the... well, he doesn't talk much now." He shakes his head. "Anyway. Hopefully that'll be in the past soon."

"Hopefully," Stacy adds. "Oh, careful here, the floor gets a bit steep as it slopes."

“Mmmm…” Jackie hums in worry. “…the other person we’re with… Mag. Or Magnificent… he used to be our Marvin. Or… my Marvin… at least. He got… corrupted in a way. His own fault though… I dunno how he’s gonna hold up against these corrupted guys but… figured you know now.” He nods to Stacy and carefully makes his way down the cave slope.

"Hmm." Chase hums. "Well... when you're corrupted, you don't feel pain, and and you don't get exhausted. You're stronger and faster since you can push your body to the limits. And you get... weird powers." He scratches the back of his hand through the fingerless glove he's wearing. "They're really varied, and a corrupted will only have one or two, but they'll be very good at the powers they have. What about your Magnificent?"

“Mag still kinda feels pain but it’s definitely reduced. And he still gets tired - thank god. Don’t think he needs to eat anymore though? I think he like- lives off magic. So he can steal that from people.” Jackie says, “He also has like- mind magic. Can hypnotize you and shit and… make you a puppet or pet. He has other magic too but he… goes for that first. Trying to break your mind.”

"Well that's the same at least," Chase mutters in response to that last part. "Wonder if he'll be able to affect the corrupted ones or if the corruption, uh, supersizes that."

"Supersedes," Stacy corrects. "It means to take the place of something."

"Really? Oh, uh, I guess the new magic would be the superseder, then."

"Hm... I'm not sure... But I bet Mag would probably try to find out," Jackie grumbles. "He's very proud of his magic. Overconfient, usually. He's a prick."

Chase laughs. "Well... guess we might find out eventually."

They continue down into the depths of the tunnels.

-----------

Bro and Alt land right next to each other, falling hard onto a cement sidewalk. This is a run-down part of a city, with closed shops and some trash bags piled up against the walls. Everything looks closed and empty.

Alt groans and glitches to sit up, rubbing at his face. He blinks when he sees the bright orange of his brother's jacket and glitches over to help him up. "Chase!"

Bro laughs, letting Alt help. "Hey! We ended up together this time!"

Alt smiles and chuckles quietly, "Yeah... a bit of relief, huh?" He looks around as he helps him and Bro up. "...this place is... creepy as fuck."

"Yeah no agreed." Bro mumbles.

The creepy atmosphere is not helped by the shadow of someone moving inside one of the closed-looking shops.

Alt and Bro jump slightly as the shadow moves. "...should we like... go say hi?" Bro asks quietly.

"What? No!" Alt hisses.

“What if its one of us? We land near them more often then not!"

"I think i'd rather not knock on the door of a run down shop in the middle of abandoned nowhere!" Alt emphasizes. He grabs Bro's arm, "C-C'mon Chase- let's just... go! Get out of this place at least..."

Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound comes from the TRVLR.

Alt's stomach drops. He let's go of Chase and slowly pulls the TRVLR out, checking the message.

"Alt? What's wrong?" Bro asks quietly, looking over his shoulder.

The screen displays a message in white letters on black.

WARNING

Current Location: 50.91125, -0.31761 in universe UA-0503019BE is currently undergoing unusual space-time phenomena.

Caution is advised. Please jump at the first sign of danger.

Alt calms down a bit, it's not the same message he got in that horror world. But still... not a good sign.

"What does that mean?" Bro asks.

Alt shakes his head, "Not entirely sure but... means we need to be careful."

And then the door of the closed shop opens, and out steps a man in an old red hoodie and blue boots. He has unkempt brown hair, and his eyes are hidden by black sunglasses. Strange. It's too dark to need them.

"Anti?" the man says. "You found him? You didn't tell me you were going out. Wait, you didn't take Voice? Why, is something wrong with him?"

The brothers jumps again as the door opens. Alt glitches in place and swallows slowly. He tries to speak but he finds his throat closing up.

Bro takes up his silence, squinting at the man. "The fuck are you talking about? Who is Voice? Also- this guy may look like whoever you know as Anti but he's not- his name is Alt. Only I can call him Anti- thank you very much."

The man takes a step backwards. He stares at Alt, confused. "You're... not him. I mean... that would explain why you look like that. I was so confused about who Anti would have been..." He looks back and forth between Bro and Alt. "If you don't know about Voice, then you're not with us. But... he's glitching. Why?"

Alt shakes his head, "...w-we're from another universe... Where I... I'm Anti and he's Chase but we're... different."

"Yeah so- who are you? ... I mean probably Jackie cuz of the red hoodie. Isn't that weird? Always a guy that looks kinda like the rest of us but put him in a red hoodie and woah- it's Jackie." Bro laughs, more at ease then Alt is.

Alt is staring at the man, his paranoia at an all time high.

The man stiffens at the mention of 'Jackie.' "Don't fucking call me that," he snaps. "That's not my name anymore. What the hell are you talking about, from another universe?" He shakes his head, then reaches into his pocket and takes out a phone. He texts something, fingers moving quickly.

Bro's face falls, "...w-what? ...i-if you're not Jackie then... w-who are you?"

"Well, I was Jackie," the man says. "But I changed my name after Anti helped me--"

Alt's eyes narrow and start to spark slightly. "It means what it means. We're not from here. We're from a parallel world." He notices the phone and then flicks his wrist to try to blast the phone out of his wrist with some electricity.

Alt's lightning hits the man's hand, causing it to spasm and the phone to fall out.

"Alt! What are you doing?!" Bro gasps.

"None of this is adding up, Chase- and if he knows an Anti... I don't trust it." Alt growls.

The man looks down at the phone. Then back up at Alt and Bro. "Oh. Okay." Static tinges his voice. "I see how it is. Well, I got my answer, anyway." He takes off the sunglasses, revealing pitch black eyes underneath. And then he lunges at the two of them with surprising speed.

The brothers both shudder as they see the man's black eyes and static voice. Alt tries to flicker up a shield to protect them- but the man easily barrels through it.

He pushes Bro to the side and grabs Alt, knocking him to the ground. Bro shouts as he's thrown.

Squares of blue and red static form around the man. Alt watches as one cuts into his skin like it's a physical thing, and yet the man doesn't even flinch. "Come with me, please," the man says, grinning, and starts dragging Alt down the street.

Alt screeches and tries to fight his way out of the man's grip- and tries to glitch away. Bro quickly pushes himself up and tries to help get Alt away.

Alt manages to glitch out and falls into Bro's arms and both of them go flying back.

Alt is breathing heavily, hurriedly getting to his feet and sparking magic in his hands. "N-No! Don't touch me!" He shouts at the man.

The man blinks, looking surprised at Alt's glitching. Then he laughs. "Nice trick!" He pulls something out of his pocket and rushes them again.

Alt falters and tries to shoot lightning at him but misses wildly.

Bro is pushing himself up, "H-He has to be... posessed or something right?? Jackie! S-Snap out of it!"

"I'm--not--Jackie!" the man shouts, grabbing Alt once more and pressing the item from his pocket to his throat. A knife. "Jackie was weak. Jackie couldn't do anything. But I'm so much better now. Now that Anti has helped me, now that Anti has given me power."

The man bares his teeth in a maniacal grin. "My name is Error, and if you try anything, I'll kill this one."

Alt freezes instantly, his blood roaring his ears as he starts to quietly panic.

Bro tries to reach out but freezes too as he threatens Alt. "P-Please... d-don't do this! Just... let him go please-!" He begs.

"No. Anti wants to see him." Error starts dragging Alt backwards. "But I'm sure he'd understand if something happened in the struggle."

Bro cries out, "No! Y-You can't" He's having vivid flashbacks of Alt getting kidnapped all those years ago. Why can't he get himself to move??

Behind Bro, Alt sees something. One of the street lamp flickers, and a bit of white static shoots down to the ground, becoming an outline of a human, complete with clothes and hair. The static figure sees this happening and freezes, seemingly in fear.

Alt wants to struggle but the knife has him completely stiff. He sees the figure behind Bro and tries to shout out, "H-Help! Please!'

The figure pauses, thinking quickly. And then it runs forward, passing right through Bro--who sees nothing whatsoever--and reaching out for Error and Alt.

Alt feels static rush along him, kind of like--like those times when he fused with other Antis. But this time a fusion does not happen. Instead the static figure disappears and Error's eyes are suddenly filled with white static. He drops the knife and backs away from Alt. The red and blue glitches around him surge, more appearing, tearing the fabric of his hoodie and the skin beneath.

Alt stiffens as the feeling of static rushes through him. As soon as the knife drops Alt glitches over to Bro who grabs him and holds him close- Alt is shaking like a leaf and Bro doesn't look much better.

"You h-have to run," Error's voice says--though the inflections sound nothing like him. "I c-can't keep c-control for long."

Alt stares at the white eyed Error and stutters out to speak. "W-Who are you?"

“My name’s Jack,” the person says. Error’s eyes flicker, turning pure black again for a moment. “Go! Get underground!”

Error’s body collapses.

Bro and Alt’s eyes widen. Then, Bro grabs Alt and half slings him over his shoulder, running away as fast as he can away from Error’s body.

“G-Get underground?! How do we get underground??” Bro asks through pants.

“I-I dunno…!” Alt breathes, too panicked to really protest Bro grabbing him.

Behind them, Error gets to his feet again. "Get back here!" he shouts, running after them. Holy shit, this guy is fast! He's already right on their heels!

"Chaassee!" Alt calls in panic, tugging on him.

Bro looks behind them and then curses, trying to pick up speed. "F-Fucking shit!"

The street lamps over head flicker and Alt sees the static figure again. It--Jack?--gestures to the left at an upcoming intersection.

Alt sees Jack and once they get to the intersection, Alt tugs on Bro and whispers, "Left!" Bro looks at him confused but doesn't question it and he makes a hard left turn.

This street is just as empty as the other one, though there are now cars parked that indicate people are nearby. Error isn't phased by the possibility of being seen. He skids a bit while turning, losing a bit of speed, but quickly makes up for it.

Jack appears and gestures for the two of them to head down an alleyway.

Alt looks around and once he spies Jack he tugs and points where he does, "In there!"

"Bro I have no idea how you know this but I trust you!" Bro mutters as he stumbles and hurries down the alleyway.

The alleyway ends in a wall, with a flimsy wooden door. Jack rushes towards it and gestures for the guys to go through it.

Bro slows down and huffs in panic, seeing the wall. "No! What??"

Alt sees the door and glitches out of Bro's arms and pushes Bro towards the door. "G-Get inside there! I'll hold him back!" He faces the rest of the alleyway and makes a glitching shield to try to cut Error off.

Bro hesitates then nods and opens up the door to try to get inside-

Beyond is a staircase leading down. At the very bottom is a faint light, provided by a camping lantern.

Bro pants and heaves after all that running and glances back at Alt before quickly heading down- he's sure Alt will glitch down to meet him in a second!

The staircase ends in a room with white plaster walls, wired and lightbulbs along the ceiling, and a rough stone floor underfoot. Three tunnel entrances branch off, turning into rough caves. One is blocked off by warning tape.

Error runs past the alleyway entrance at first, but then reappears once he notices the shield. "Oooo, pretty," Error says--and somehow it doesn't sound as mocking as that phrase usually would when coming from a villain's mouth. Then he shakes his head, as if regaining his concentration, and straight-up rushes the shield.

Alt isn't expecting Error to rush the shield and it mildly shocks Error as he hits it. But then it very quickly shatters in an explosive manner. Alt flies back and hits the wall and quickly tries to glitch back to his feet, stumbling over himself as spots dance in his eyes. He notices the door and rushes to shut it- not wanting Error to get in.

Error seems unbothered by the shocks and leaps at Alt, tackling him and pinning him to the wall. "Hi," he grins. "Are you going to come with me by yourself, or do I need to knock you out or something?"

Alt gets tackled and cries out, looking at Error with a bit of fear.

Bro hears the door slam behind him and hurries to try to get to the door, "A-Alt?!"

Alt hears Chase and finds himself more scared of Error finding him- and maybe even Jackie. He glares at Error and then whispers quietly, "...I'll- I'll come with you. Just... just leave my brother alone."

Bro's eyes widen and he tries to open the door but they're both up against it. He hits the door and yells out, "NO! Don't you fucking dare! Anti!" He screams at the end, making Alt wince and then shut his eyes.

"Hmm." Error blinks. "I guess he would be more interested in talking to you..." He pauses. "Alright." And he smiles. "In that case, let's go." He pulls Alt away from the wooden door and opens it up again-- But instead of the staircase from before, it opens up into a strange place. A place with a floor made of corrugated metal and black, featureless walls that stretch up into a high ceiling. Red light fills the space. On the other side of the door, Bro feels as though it's still blocked.

"After you," Error prompts.

Bro desperately tries to burst down the door, tears in his eyes. "Anti!! ANTI!!"

Alt staggers a bit as he's pulled away and looks at the new doorway with its red light with increasing dread. He closes his eyes and swallows shakily, telling himself he's doing the right thing. Bro would be able to find the others... and he can find out more about the threats and hopefully warn him. Then, he sets his face in determination and walks inside.

Error follows him, closing the door behind him. The moment it's shut it flies open again beneath the strength of Bro's fists, back to normal.

Bro falls a bit as the door is burst open and hurries back out into the alleyway, desperately looking around. "A-Alt?! Anti! W-Where are you?! Y-You- you better not have-!"

When he's met with silence, tears fall down his face as he looks around hopelessly. "...A..Anti?"

Silence. Stark, deafening silence.

After another beat, Bro hangs his head and lets out a roar of anger and frustration, punching the nearest wall and then falling against it, breaking down. "No...! No no no! FUCK!" His sobs quickly take over the silence, echoing around the alley as it comes crashing down on him. He was supposed to protect him! Why did he leave him?! He should have been there! He was right there and-!

Moments pass. Bro is alone in the alley. Until, finally, there's sound. Footsteps. Coming from... behind him? Echoing up the stairway that he just came from.

Bro almost doesn't hear it- but he finally starts to bring himself back out and pull himself together when he hears it. He gasps and backs up, holding his fists out in front of him and getting into shaking fighting stance, his eyes glowing blue.

Five people walk up the staircase, a whole group. They stop short upon seeing Bro with his eyes glowing blue. Three women, two men. They... look terrible. Like they'd been wearing the same clothes for a couple days. They also all have weapons. Knives on sheathes around their waists, mostly, but one of the women--one with short dark hair--has a freaking shotgun on her back. Pretty much all of them go for their weapons soon, but the one with the shotgun holds up a hand calmly.

"This... may sound strange," she says in an accented voice. "But are you from another universe?"

Bro's eyes widen and he slowly lowers his fists, taking in the look of all of them. They can see the tear streaks on his face and his red-rimmed eyes. "Um... y-yes... Yes I am... how... how did you know?"

"We were told people from another world would be coming here," the woman says slowly. "Strange, but the source is reliable. We... came here to find you all before something... bad happened..." She trails off.

"Are you okay?" another shorter woman asks.

"You can't just ask that, Rya," a redheaded man says.

"Yeah I can, Kiernan."

Bro blinks in a bit of confusion and then deflates, wiping at his face. He looks away. "...I was h-here with my brother but... this guy- he... he said he was called Error he... he took him. He took him and I couldn't stop them even though I was right there-!" His voice gets choked up at the end and he quickly shuts his mouth and shakes his head.

Every single one of the group immediately softens.

"Hey," a woman with long blonde hair says. "We know how you feel. They've taken a lot of people. I lost my brother, too."

"Error is the worst of them," a man with long black hair says. "It's okay. You did everything you could, I'm sure."

"We... we might be able to help," the woman with the accent says. "We know about them. There is this group of people... they are being controlled. And they keep taking people to control more. Maybe--maybe with our knowledge, we could get him back before anything terrible happens."

Bro's stomach drops heavily as they mention the group is being taken to be controlled. He looks immediately pale. "... fucking Alt...! What did you do?" He whispers to himself. He looks back to the group and nods, "...Yeah... p-please I... I could use your help. I don't want my brother to suffer there..."

The woman nods. "We can hurry back to the place we're hiding. Maybe more of the others from your world are there. Once there, we talk about how to get him back, yes? Time is not consistent between our world and that Place. I'm sure we have enough time to plan."

Bro nods again, "O-Okay... I'll follow your lead."

"Okay. I am Trisha, this is Rya, Jennifer, Kiernan, and Oliver."

Bro quickly follows after them. "Um... I'm Chase. ...good to meet you all."

Trisha turns and heads back down the stairs.

"Down here. The leader of this group, the one controlling them, can see through cameras all over the city. We need to be somewhere away from technology."

Bro’s eyes narrow as he hears about the leader. He grits his teeth and snarls. "... Anti. That's what he's called, isn't he? Fucking... taking my brother's name and tainting it...!"

"Don't say his name!" Rya hurriedly says.

Trisha looks back at him apologetically. "He can hear when people say his name. We do not want to draw his attention. But... you are correct."

Bro's eyes widen and he curses, "Motherfucker-! I just... said his name like a bunch of times!"

"Chase, huh?" Oliver says. "Like Stacy's ex."

Bro sighs and nods, "Um... I'm actually dating a girl named Stacy back home but... I bet you're thinking of Chase Brody, huh? ...that's me. Parallel universes and shit..."

"Parallel worlds," Kiernan mutters. "So fucking weird."

The group reaches the bottom of the staircase and heads straight for the tunnel with the warning tape.

Trisha brushes aside the warning tape. "Rya, you take the lead with the lantern." Rya nods and walks past her. "So... do you have a group of friends? Henrik, Jameson, Jackie, Marvin, and Jack?"

Bro nods, "Yeah... Jackie is here somewhere... and technically Marvin but... he's not our friend. He's a mad magician always using me and my friends for power and shit but... um... Henrik and JJ are back home. And Jack too I guess... I dunno, he's more friends with my brother than me."

"Stacy did say that Sam said one of the visitors would be dangerous," Trisha mutters as the group continues down the tunnel. "Well... in that case, we should tell you. In this world, all but the version of you are being controlled by him."

Bro stops in his tracks, his eyes wide. "...R-Really? ... Everyone?" He pales and then tries to keep going. "...how? How did that happen?"

Trisha shakes her head. "I do not know. Chase does not talk about it much, and Henrik thought it safer to not contact me during the time. Well, he decided to come for me anyway, but it was probably smart at the time. But we do know that Jackie--Error--was the first one."

"that's... that's awful.." Bro breathes, shaking his head. "Jackie's always so... bright and optimistic... it's hard to think he's..." He shuts his mouth and curls his hands into fists.

Trisha nods slowly. "I know..." she says quietly. "A lot of us know." She takes a deep breath. "It's some walk there. I hope you are as athletic as you look. Hopefully your other friend is already in our hideout."

Bro chuckles humorously, "Yeah... I can keep up." He looks out at the long expanse and sighs, "Let's hope..."

-----------

Magnificent appears, falling a short distance and landing in some sort of big box. Nope. Not a box. It's a dumpster. There are a few bags of trash in there, but thankfully, nothing loose. The dumpster is out back behind a building, probably a retail business of some kind but it's hard to tell from the back.

Magnificent yelps as he falls but as soon as he realizes where he is he yells in disgust and teleports out. He shakes himself off and dusts off his clothes, shuddering like a cat with wet fur. "F-Fucking Disgusting!"

Soon after he teleports out, he hears something. A scream. It sounds like it comes from nearby.

Magnificent jumps at the sound and then makes a face, almost like he's disgusted. He decides to start walking the opposite way. "Not dealing with that shit-" He mutters, trying to magic the rest of his outfit clean.

As he walks along this small back street between the backs of buildings... he realizes something. He's not alone. There is someone following him. He can hear their footsteps.

Magnificent stiffens slightly as he hears the footsteps- letting them follow for a bit before he suddenly whips around and holds out a magic filled hand at them, his eyes glowing. He fires a shot of magic their way.

The person sidesteps the blast, watching it go past them and hit the dumpster. Then he turns back to look at Magnificent. It's a man, his coloring completely monochrome, wearing a fancy button-up and vest. His eyes are completely white, almost seeming to glow in the dimness. One hand loosely holds a knife that steadily drips blood to the ground. Around his wrists are red strings.

"Well... that's unusual," he says in a rasping voice.

Magnificent narrows his eyes, building up more magic in his hands as he chuckles. “You’re unusual yourself~.”

"I'm unique. I'm not sure you are. You look very familiar." There's a slight buzzing noise. The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, reading something and then typing quickly one-handedly.

“…quite rude to text when speaking to a stranger, don’t you think?” Magnificent asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Seems this is urgent." The man frowns. He puts the phone away. "You're from another world, then. Aren't you? Aren't you... Marvin?"

Magnificent’s eyes flash with rage as his magic burns brighter and taller in his hands. “Don’t call me that. I’m called Magnificent. Nothing else.” Then he chuckles and tilts his head. “Curious… you lot don’t often know we’re from different worlds right away.”

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Of course you are." The man laughs. "Just as arrogant as you are here. Or... were, I guess. As for how I know... someone I trust just told me there are people from another world here. One like me, one like someone else we know. But I don't know if I believed it until you said it just now."

Magnificent narrows his eyes again. “…and just who are you supposed to be, exactly?”

"Anti." The man says, grinning. "This isn't what I normally look like. But he's needed for things like this. I don't think that's important, though. What are you planning on doing while here, 'Magnificent'?"

Magnificent’s eyes widen slightly. He snorts, “Yeah you’re … not what I was expecting.” He hums in thought and then shrugs. “Depends- I could use some magic so a source of that could be nice. Never opposed to new puppets to find either. Guess it depends on what this world has to offer me.” He looks back to Anti curiously. “…or the people in it.”

"Heh. If you're looking for magic, you're out of luck. There are only two magicians in this city, and one of them is mine. I'm sure there's more outside the limits... but I'm afraid you're stuck here." Anti flips the knife, causing a fan of blood. "Ever since I corrupted this one, there's been no way out of the city. We're all caught in a bubble, repeating six or so months over and over. And unfortunately, I don't know how to get rid of it."

Magnificent looks shocked- glancing around as if he can see the bubble they’re trapped in. “Well… that’s not ideal…” he mutters.

"You're telling me," Anti says. Somehow, despite the completely whited-out-eyes, Magnificent can tell he's rolling them. "But if you can find any more power in here, feel free to it. Unless it's from my people. You'll know them when you see them. The eyes always change, and some change more."

“Mmm… noted, I suppose.” Magnificent says with a hum. “What is your goal here, Anti? Besides getting out of this trap, I guess.”

"I like making more people," Anti says. "What did you call them?" He smiles. "Right. Puppets."

Magnificent raises an eyebrow and grins, “Intriguing! Always a pleasure to meet a fellow puppet master~” he giggles.

"I'll take your word for it. I've never met anyone else who doesn't put up a fuss when they realize what I'm doing." Anti tilts his head. "If you're looking for people to puppet, there's a group that's been giving me trouble. There's about fifty of them, and they've somehow been elluding me for a few of these loops now. Maybe you could find them. Feel free to help yourself if you do. But I ask that if you find a man called Chase Brody, you leave him to me."

“Is that so?” Magnificent chuckles. “I have a Chase Brody that’s been a pain in my side… however if you or any of your crew find him… do what you will with him. He’s a headache to control. His brother however- I think you would find every interesting~” he giggles. “He makes the perfect puppet.”

Anti laughs. "I think we've already found your Chase AND his brother, actually. That's what that message earlier was. I'm going to head back home and see if he managed to bring them back." He flips the knife again. Halfway through the motion, it disappears. "And what about you? What will you do now?"

Magnificent looks intrigued and he laughs, “You know what? I’m quite interested to see how your puppets are made Anti- if you would allow me to see. Maybe it can give me some better ideas for my own~!”

“Really? I’ve never heard anyone say that before.” Anti grins. “I’d be delighted to show you.” He turns to the side, slipping into a gap between buildings.

Magnificent shares his grin and follows after him.

There’s some spray paint on the walls in random looking designs. Anti stops in front of a design that looks vaguely like an archway drawn on the brick. He jerks his head towards it, indicating for Magnificent to follow, and walks straight through the wall in that section.

Mag looks confused as Anti goes through the wall but then heads straight through- must be an illusion.

Beyond the illusory wall is a strange area. The floor is sheet metal and the walls are black and featureless, seeming to extend upwards forever, their heights covered by a red glowing fog. Two hallways of similar design branch off into opposite directions.

Magnificent looks impressed as he enters the space and looks around. “Fascinating…” he mumbles to himself, looking around.

The monochrome man stands in the middle of the room. As Magnificent watches, black static lifts off his skin, forming a humanoid figure to the side. The monochrome man collapses to his knees and the red strings disappear from his wrists. The black static figure shifts, gaining details, turning into a man. He looks a lot like the Anti in the previous world. Black hoodie, slit throat, green sclera on his right eye. But this figure is a bit more translucent, a bit better-kempt, and his hoodie has a diamond with the words PMA in it.

“Great, now you can actually see me,” Anti says, flashing a sharp smile.

Mag blinks as he watches the monochrome man split into Anti and he grins. “Much better. Though- the possession is a nice touch. I’m guessing you can’t physically exist outside of here?”

“Correct.” Anti makes a face; it’s clear that this fact bothers him. “The Place is special. Outside it, I can’t be seen or heard and I can’t interact with anything other than electrical devices. So I need to possess someone. I usually use Voice these days.” He gestures at the monochrome man. Voice, apparently. “Now. You wanted to see the corruption? That’s what I use to make them. I do have something else to do, but I can take a moment to show you.”

Magnificent nods and seems intrigued even more. “How interesting…” He looks at Voice and then waves his hand at Anti, “Ah- please don’t let me get in your way! Do wherever it is you need to do, I’m sure I have time.” He giggles.

Anti nods. “Alright. It will only take a moment. If you want to wander around in the meantime, the Place will always take you where you need to be. If you find hallways with cables all over, that’s where the corruption process happens.” He grabs Voice by the arm and pulls him up, taking him down the right hallway. “See you soon,” he giggles, and disappears.

Magnificent nods with a grin. “See you soon.” He then hums and looks around the place. Well- guess he’ll see where it thinks he needs to go. He starts to wander.

#SATCV #SATCV Bad End #Bad end au #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #ahhh i love creating brotherly drama :)#bro is gonna be so mad at alt and alts gonna be so mad at himself habkjn #im so excited for this one ehehhe

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huffle-dork · 8 months ago

Text

Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 8: PW Timeline

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs | Read the PW Timeline

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

It's an awkward drive to Marvin's house, as Chase and Jackie are still silently digesting the idea of alternate universes, but thankfully, it's a short one. Chase soon pulls to the side of the road in front of an average-looking one-story blue suburban house. "Here we are," he says. "Alright. Out we go."

Marvin is looking out his front window when they arrive. "Hey Alt? Are those your friends getting out of the car? I mean, I hope they are. If Chase and Jackie ended up picking up strangers it'd be fucking weird."

Alt almost glitches over to the window but restrains himself and peeks through it. He relaxes as he sees Bro and Jackie getting out of the car. "Y-Yeah that's them! Thank god..."

"Nice." Marvin walks over to the front door. "JJ, keep the cats distracted."

Marvin doesn't need to tell him twice, as he's already busy dangling a cat toy on a string for Luna to play with. Ragamuffin sits in the chair nearby pretending to not be interested, but his eyes are following the toy.

"Great," Marvin says, and opens the door. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Chase waves. "Fucking crazy, right?!"

"Fucking wild!" Marvin keeps the door open long enough for everyone to come inside and then quickly closes it.

Bro waves once inside, "Yo! How's it going?"

"Thanks for letting us come over, makes this all easier-" Jackieboy says with a timid smile.

"No problem," Marvin says. "Well... I don't usually like people coming over, but when the fuck am I gonna have the chance to talk to people from a parallel universe? This is probably, like, a one in a million years chance. "Also, hey Jackie! Good to be out of the hospital?"

"Oh god yes," Jackie says. "I was losing my mind in there. But I'm all good now!" He notices Alt, then. And he just... stares at him.

Alt blinks at Jackie's reaction and then finds himself glitching a bit around his shoulders. He hunches in his hoodie and then sheepishly waves. "Uh... hi? I'm Alt."

Jackie jumps a little at the glitching. Then he suddenly laughs. "Wow, you don't look anything like Anti. Hi, I'm Jackie." He smiles and holds his hand out for a handshake.

Alt brightens quickly and grins, going to shake Jackie’s hand. Jackie can feel a bit of a buzz underneath Alt’s skin when they shake hands- like touching a recently on LCD TV. “thank god for that…”

"Uh, I dunno if that comes across how you mean it to," Chase mutters.

"Oh, uh..." Jackie’s hand wavers for a second. "I just mean that you're clearly not a bad guy. Does that make sense?"

Alt laughs lightly, “no I got it. That actually… means a lot. Thanks.”

"No problem." Jackie looks at his hand after they're done shaking. "Wow. You're... buzzing? That's weird. That's so weird."

Alt flushes slightly and quickly puts his hands back in his pockets. “Uh… y-yeah I’m… k-kinda electric. Sorry I-it’s weird-“

He's very nice, JJ says from where he's sitting on the sofa. He looks at Bro and Jackieboy. He whistles You really do look just like Chase and Jackie.

"I'm flattered that you think I'm as buff as this guy," Chase says.

Bro laughs, “It’s probably more in the face. I guess!”

Jackieboy grins, “We’d look even more alike if I remembered my glasses.”

“Dr. j is gonna scold you so hard for forgetting again.” Bro snickers.

Jackie rolls his eyes.

Marvin blinks. "Dr. J...?" He looks at JJ. "That... wouldn't happen to be... an alternate version of you, would it?"

I can't imagine being a doctor, JJ says, frowning. Too much pressure. I always wanted to be an actor, actually, but stuff happens.

"Oh, grand, maybe I can put in a good word for you at the theatre," Marvin says excitedly.

“Oh yeah! Dr. J’s our JJ!” Bro grins.

“Henrik’s our actor,” Jackie smiles. “He’s very good too- despite being deaf.”

Chase's eyes widen. "Wait wait wait. You have a Henrik, too?"

JJ blinks. And he's deaf?

Jackie nods, “Yeah! There’s… a reason for that but that might be a bit much to get into.” He smiles nervously.

JJ nods. I understand. I'm similar. Not deaf, but still. The sign language probably gives away some stuff.

“Where’s your Henrik?” Bro asks with a head tilt. “I don’t think I heard you all mention him yet.”

Chase coughs. "Bit of a sensitive subject. He's... in a hospital called Silver Hills. It's, a, um... special hospital..."

"It's a psych ward," Marvin says bluntly.

"Marvin!" Chase gasps.

"What? You were getting nowhere tiptoeing around it! And everyone in the city knows Schneep's there, these guys might as well know, too."

"It's not even a psych ward," Jackie mutters. "That's a department attached to a main hospital. Silver Hills is an... institution all its own."

The swaps eyes all widen slowly.

“…oh…” Bro says quietly. “Is he… okay?”

“…sometimes going to a place like that is a good thing?” Jackie adds.

Alt holds his arms, looking uncomfortable.

"He's, um... getting better," Chase says slowly. "H-he's had some problems for a while, but, uh... a year ago—two years ago now, actually—"

"Seventeen months," Jackie corrected quietly.

"—things got... a bit worse, a-a-and then he got..." Chase is noticably not looking at Alt. "...he disappeared... for a while... People thought he was killing people, b-but he wasn't. When they found him again he was... really out of it. A-and a whole bunch of stuff has happened since then that hasn't... helped with that."

"But it's getting better," Marvin adds firmly. "I'm sure everything will be alright soon. The police just have to do their job." He huffs a little. "Competently, ideally."

“Oh man…” Bro whispers. “I’m… so sorry.”

"Thanks, other me," Chase says. Then laughs. "God, the absurdity of saying that really does undermine the moment for me."

“At least he’s getting better!” Jackie tries to add cheerfully.

"Yeah, he's getting much better," Jackie agrees. "It's great to see, actually." He smiles a little.

Alt, of course, noticed that Chase isnt looking at him. He grips his arms tighter and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to not let this random guilt eat him alive. He didn’t hurt this world’s Schneep- he wouldn’t. So why does it still feel like this…?

JJ notices Alt's expression. He walks over and taps his arm, gently getting his attention. It's not your fault, he says. Aneirin is his own person who makes his own choices. Just because you are related to him does not make you the same. And it does not make you responsible for what he does. There's a fierce light in his eyes as he signs this.

Alt slightly glitches anyway, even if JJ is gentle. He watches his signs and feels his vision get a bit fuzzy as he wipes at his face. "...thanks... It's just hard seeing... so many versions of you do horrible things... universe after universe." He grips at his jacket over his heart and takes a shaky breath, "...but I'm trying to remember... I'm not him. I just... can't help... feeling bad. It's like hearing your twin did a killing spree and now you.. have to live with looking like him. Seeing the... fear in people's eyes." He shakes his head, "S-Sorry... that's probably too much... I..."

JJ smiles gently. No, it's fine. I know exactly what you mean. That's literally what happened to me. I mean, Aneirin is older than me, not my twin, but still. The first time I met Schneep, he thought I was him. But I'm not. And you're not, either.

Alt returns JJ's small smile after a beat. He nods, "... yeah... Thank you JJ... that must be... really hard."

"Oh shit!" Marvin suddenly shouts. He looks around. "Sorry. I just realized. Don't you guys pop up near, uh, parallels of people you know? That's what you said, right? Does, uh, does Schneep count in that list?"

Alt startles slightly and glitches, looking over at Marvin. Bro and Jackie look at each other.

"...uh yeah? Probably-" Jackie says slowly.

Bro goes pale, "...Mag-"

Alt's eyes widen.

"YeahexactlythatswhatIwasworriedabout," Marvin says, voice squeaking.

"What, uh, what sort of stuff does your 'Magnificent' guy do?" Chase asks nervously. "H-how worried should we be?"

"Very worried-" Alt says quickly. "He... He does mind games, hypnotism- he might try to-!"

"Fuckkk that is not something good you should do to a psych ward patient!" Jackie squeaks.

"Jesus fucking christ!" Jackie goes pale. "Yeah, no, other me is right, S-Schneep's not good with that sort of stuff." He shivers at the memories that come to mind. "A-and that's--that's without all the weird magic bullshit you guys have."

Bro starts to race to the door.

"Whoa, hey, Chase!" Marvin shouts. "Other Chase! Do you know where you're even going?!"

"No! But we should hurry! I could fly there and-"

Jackie quickly grabs Bro and pulls him back , "You can't go flying here, Chase! You'll cause a panic!"

"I-I mean, go ahead and fly there if you want to be all over the news!" Marvin stammers. "But I don't think Chase wants to deal with the fallout of that, considering you two look so much alike."

"Oh yeah, no, I don't even want to think about the drama that'd happen from that," Chase says. "I'm a, uh, semi-public figure."

Bro pauses then nods, "Yeah I... I wouldn't want to do that to you... Okay."

Chase, do you think we can all fit in your car? JJ asks.

"Uh--if you all squeeze in, probably. It won't be legal, but fuck it."

Alt then suddenly glitches as his phone starts to ring. He blinks and then looks down at it with surprise.

Jackie and Bro give him a wary glance.

When Alt checks the number- it's just static. He almost feels- drawn to it for a second before he shudders and tosses the phone to Bro. He nods. "...You know who it is."

Bro nods gravelly and answers the call. It's a video call- of course and soon Mag's face appears. He frowns when he sees who's answering it. "Fantastic. Where is my cub?"

"Not here, Mag, so just-"

"Don't~ lie to me hero~! That's not in your moral handbook now, is it?" The mad magician cackles.

As soon as the guys hear Magnificent's voice, they all cluster around Bro, trying to get a look at the screen. "What the fuck?!" Marvin gasps. "What's wrong with your fucking eyes?"

"You have Schneep, don't you?" Bro spits.

Mag gets very quiet at the other end before he sighs dramatically, "Why must you always ruin my fun, Brody?"

"Fuck your fun!" Jackie bites at the camera.

"Oh yes- you're here too." Mag drawls with a bored eye roll.

"Where's Schneep, you motherfucker?!" Jackie demands, pushing his other self aside.

JJ studies the screen, trying to figure out what details he can gain from the background. A warehouse? he says, glancing at the others.

"Yeah that's like- one of his m-o's" Jackie mutters.

"Oh hello, new kittens! Are you worried about your poor doctor? Well don't worry~ He's right here." He shifts the camera to show he's gripping up Schneep by his hair as he dangles entranced between his claws.

Jackie cries out, all his bravado instantly disappearing. "No! Schneep, no!" he screams. "H-hang on! Okay?!" He starts reaching for the phone but Chase pulls him back, knowing that there's nothing grabbing the phone will do.

"What do you want?" Marvin asks. "People like you always want something."

JJ steps out of sight of the camera. There's only one place in the city that has warehouses, he says. We can find him if he won't tell us where he is.

Jackie nods to JJ and Alt seems to pick this up as well- even if he stays away from the screen.

Bro's eyes glow with anger as he yells out, "What the fuck, Mag! The people here have no magic! Nothing! Why are you doing this?"

"Because there’s nothing here, hero! So- I want to leave and I need you goody-two-shoes not to get too chummy with your other selves so my cub can come here and take us somewhere better already!" Magnificent giggles. "As fun as it is to see this one so docile and helpless... there's not much here. It wouldn’t even be fun to kill my other self… way too easy. So- Alt, I know you're listening~ You should hurry on down here quickly... before I get bored of this snack of mine."

Alt pales and curls his hands into fists at his side, shaking slightly.

"Or you know what? This world's Jackie's screams were so delightful just now~! Why don't I get this started early and-"

Alt yells and glitches to be in front of the phone, grabbing it from Bro, "Magnificent let him go or I swear I'll-!"

But, Alt only sees Mag's smug face on the screen for a spilt second before the phone fills with spiralling magic. And Alt is caught right away. His angry expression falls scarily blank as the magic fills his eyes.

"That's it, kitten. Come here."

Alt's shoulders buzz with glitches and his hands start to turn to pixels, sinking into the phone- "NO!" Bro yells and tackles Alt to the ground, making the phone go flying.

The guys from this world all reel back, stunned by what's happening. Chase scoops up the phone, covering the screen with his hand. "Y-you bastard!" he shouts, glaring at the camera. "I-I don't know anything about your magic shit but I know a dirty trick when I see one!"

JJ crouches by Alt, shaking him, trying to snap him out of whatever this is.

"You're gonna get what's fucking coming to you!" Marvin shouts.

Alt is weakly trying to fight Bro off him, trying to break into pixels but Bro keeps grabbing him before he can start to glitch. The static is so loud.

Magnificent laughs loudly from the phone. “You’re only making this harder for Henrik, kittens! Come now, let’s not delay this hm?”

“S-Shut off the phone!” Bro tries to shout, “Break it if you have to!”

Chase nods. He tries turning off the phone but it won't just shut off with the power button so he slams it against the wall until the screen goes black. He stands there, breathing heavily. There's a crack across the screen but it seems intact otherwise.

Mag’s laughter and the accompanying static cuts off and the room falls quiet.

For a scary beat, Alt stares out with another blank expression. But then the magic stutters out and he quietly gasps before breathing heavily, looking around in panic.

Bro slumps and sighs in relief.

“God…” Jackie kneels down by Alt and pats his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah… yeah I… fuck-“ Alt breathes.

JJ sighs once Alt comes back to himself. Take deep breaths. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.

Alt nods dazedly and follows JJ’s encouragement to breathe. His heart starts to calm down.

Marvin stares at the phone in Chase's hand. "Well. That whole thing was uh..." He hisses. "...bad."

Jackie laughs. "Understatement of the year. We have to go get him!"

Chase nods. "Um... Alt?" He holds the phone out to him. "S-sorry."

Alt looks up at Chase and his phone and then he smiles had shakes his head. “No it’s… it’s okay. You helped me- mag would have…he was g-going to-“

“That motherfucker was gonna strand us here in this universe and just take you!” Jackie yells, throwing up his arms. “God he’s such a slimy bastard!!”

Bro gets up and helps Alt up too, “…I guess we gotta drive to the warehouse district now… we gotta help Schneep.”

"Let's not waste any time then!" Jackie snaps.

"No, let's waste some time so we can find stuff to beat that motherfucker to death with," Marvin says.

"Not literally, right?" Chase says.

"Course not."

"Okay, in that case I have a tool kit in the trunk of my car, there's definitely a hammer, a wrench, and a tire iron in there."

Are knives fair game? JJ asks. Can we use the knives from your kitchen, Marvin?

"Hell yeah. Normally I'd be upset with people using my stuff for what it's not supposed to be for, but this is a special case."

"JJ, you sit in the front and give Chase directions," Jackie says. "The rest of us gotta figure out places to fit."

The swaps all look to each other and nod. “We have to be careful though…” Alt says quietly, “Mag isn’t above trying to kill someone if he doesn’t get his way.”

“Well… we’ve faced the threat of death before,” Jackie says. “Unfortunately. So we can deal with that.”

“Who knows… maybe this’ll be over fast,” Bro shrugs, “Seems like he just wants out of here.”

“Let’s just focus on getting to Schneep fast- being controlled like that is not easy on the mind…” Jackie mumbles.

Alt perks up, “Oh- to fit and so… mag can’t get to me right away, I could hide in one of our phones. S’not the most pleasant but probably better than being squished in a car…”

“You can hide in… okay sure, guess this might as well happen,” Marvin says. “This day is already so god damn weird.”

Alt looks almost embarrassed as he hunches in his hoodie.

“Ha- John Malaney nice.” Jackie snickers.

“You can use mine, Alt,” Chase says. “Since I’ll be driving I won’t need to look at it. The other four of you can probably fit in the back seat.”

JJ had briefly disappeared down the hallway and now returns with a pair of chef’s knives from the kitchen, which he shoves in his bag.

Bro watches JJ and hums under his breath, “It’s always the JJs with a knife- maybe we need to teach Dr. j that…”

Ready to go when you guys are.

“Great,” Chase nods. “To the car, everyone. On the way there, tell us everything you know about this guy so we can prepare.”

Alt nods, “We’ll catch you up.”

————

In the warehouse, Magnificent yells in frustration as he loses contact with the others and almost throws his phone but thinks better of it. He sighs dramatically then hangs on the stack of boxes he’s sitting on. “Godddss! It’s so dull here!” He whines. He eyes Schneep and hums in thought then slinks towards him. “Say, Henrik- I saw a most peculiar figure in that head of yours… the man with the dual colored eyes. Why don’t you tell me about him, hm?”

Schneep shudders. He doesn’t want to talk about him, but the hypnotism makes him do it anyway. “A-An… ti,” he whispers. “H-he tricks me, lied to me, pr-pretending to be more powerful than he is. F-forced me to take the blame for him hurting people. Or making me do it. J-Jackie… Jackie was… I-I didn’t want him to hurt Jackie. Or that other man, Jameson. How cruel is it, to hurt your own brother…? Th-they say Anti is gone now, i-is that true? Sometimes I do not remember…”

Magnificent hums in slight interest, “Really? Huh… so my cub is also not extraordinary here… just a delusional killer. Pity.” Mag shrugs, “I don’t know anything about your Anti. Cruelty is often a useful tool against the weak. At least he seems to use that well.” Mag sighs dramatically again. “Maybe I’ll just start taking life forces from sure boredom…”

"Not... extraordinary? S-so many people have died, that is u-unusual." Schneep pauses. "But not like you..."

Magnificent makes a flippant gesture with his hand, “Death means nothing. Human lives are just collateral. Power is the thing that matters most. But, I’m sure I’ve taken more lives than a lowly human has- if we must measure by lives.”

Schneep blinks. "Really? I... only know of the thirteen th-that he made me help with. But I know there were many more. S-Since he was very young." Fear flicker in his eyes. "He told me once he killed Marvin. That was a lie, but Marvin says he did try..."

“Hm- amusing.” Magnificent chuckles, “I’ve lost count. Could be more than that… could be less. Not that many of them mattered. They just got in my way.” He laughs, “The humans at least. Magicians I spare… in a sense, at least.” He eyes Schneep and hums, “I wonder if it would be worth it to kill you- or your friends. Maybe it’ll spare you all this pitiful existence.”

Schneep's eyes flicker, the magic hesitating. "I-I like my existence, I don't want to--please don't--"

Magnificent laughs, and with a quick flick of his finger, magic catches the front of Henrik’s shirt and pulls him closer. “Oh… it is always fun to hear you things beg.” He giggles madly. “But, tell me, Schneeplestein…. What is it that makes you want to continue, hm? You’ll been ostracized, villainized for something you didn’t do. Institutionalized. Deemed crazy. Sure, you might get out soon, but your mind is forever sullied. Is that worth it all?” Magnificent hums with false sympathy.

Schneep breathes heavily. "I-it is not just for me. I don't live just for me. I have friends--and more to do. More to give. I-I don't care what the world thinks, if I know the ones I care about are safe, I-I cannot leave them. If I have hurt them, I must make up for it. I can make a new life. I can make a new life."

Magnificent growls and pushes Schneep away. “Blargh. You’re as bad as my own annoyances. Such human attachments. Disgusting.”

Schneep stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. "Human... attachments? You are not... human?" He shivers. This is all too much. He can't handle this. His mind drifts off and he goes silent.

Magnificent laughs, his burning green eye lingering in Schneep's mind as he drifts.

"Oh no child, I am so much more~"

-----------

"All these warehouses look the same," Chase mutters.

There are about six of them, and he drives down the road dividing them into two rows. "How are we supposed to know which one he's in? Not like this evil fucking magic guy has a car."

"I don't know, do you guys have magic shit to help find him?" Marvin is understandably stressed out by this whole thing. Not only is their friend in danger, but four grown men sitting in the back seat of a car is very crowded, and he doesn't like being close to people.

"Mmm we might...? Honestly we kinda just- stumble into him usually." Jackie mumbles.

"Or I fly around to look for signs of him. Like- green glowy shit-" Bro comments.

Alt is lurking in Chase's phone, the screen buzzing with green and blue glitches as he listens. He tries to feel out for Mag's presence- "Maybe... nearer to the edge." He voices calls out, like he's on the other end of a phone call.

"Alright, got it," Chase says. "Near the edge. Hang on." He pushes the gas down, speeding up. "We'll start there. Other me can look around for stuff. I don't think people come out here that much so flying probably wouldn't attract that much attention."

Soon, the car pulls to a stop and Chase parks it so everyone can get out.

"You said you had a tool box in your trunk?" Jackie asks.

"Yeah, go crazy."

"Ah- I hope someone gets Mag right in the face." Jackie laughs.

Bro chuckles and hurries out of the car, hopping into the air to look around. He seems almost relieved to be back in the air.

Alt buzzes anxiously and then glitches out of Chase's phone, his shoulders hunched as he tenses up in anticipation for danger. Where could Mag be...?

The others all pile out of the car, too.

Does anyone want the second knife? JJ asks.

"I'll take it," Marvin says, and JJ hands it over.

Jackie opens the trunk of Chase's car. "What in here has the most reach?" he mutters, rummaging through the stuff. "Aha!" He grabs the tire iron.

Chase joins him, taking a hammer from the box. "I wish Anti didn't take my gun," he mutters.

"We still need to talk about how the fuck you got that into the country," Marvin calls. "Uhhh anyway let's start looking around."

Alt starts to look around, keeping himself quiet as he prowls forward. Soon enough he shivers and hears static brimming in the air. He points towards the second to last warehouse. “…there. He’s in there-“

Jackieboy whistles for Bro who comes down to join them. He looks at the others and narrows his eyes in determination. “Alright- we out number him but let’s focus on getting Schneep out of there.” He braces himself in front of the door. “Ready?”

The others all quickly gather around.

"Ready," Chase says.

"Beyond ready," Jackie adds.

"Let's kick his ass and get Schneep," Marvin says.

JJ just grips his knife tight and nods.

Bro nods and then goes to burst open the door.

Magnificent quickly grabs Schneep from wherever he was before and goes to grip him by his hair. “Ah! The Calvary arrives~!”

Jackie and Marvin are the first guys from this world to run in.

"Schneep!" Jackie gasps. "I-it's going to be okay! It's going to be okay!"

Schneep's eyes flicker a little. "Ja...ckie?" he croaks out.

"Let him go you bastard!" Marvin shouts. Chase and JJ run up behind him. "I don't care what fucking magic you have, we'll take you out!"

"Whoa, h-hey, don't be hasty, Marvin," Chase says hurriedly. "Just, um... just please put Schneep down, uh, Magnificent..."

Magnificent looks bored as he sees the others file in. He throws Schneep at their feet with a huff of indifference. "I'm not even threatened by your pathetic bravado. Worst universe yet. Is my cub here? I want to leave."

Bro growls and steps forward with burning blue eyes, "Stop calling him that! He's not just some tool you can boss around!"

"Yeah and who died here to make you king, Mag, ya pompous asshole." Jackie snarls.

Alt sees Schneep thrown and quickly glitches over to help him up- and get him away from Magnificent and towards the others. "H-Here- you're okay..."

The guys are not expecting Magnificent to just hand Schneep over, but they're all relieved. "Schneep, over here," Jackie says, reaching out for him.

"J-Jackie...?" Schneep whispers. He blinks. "Chase? Marvin?" His eyes land on JJ and he stiffens slightly. "A-An--" JJ quickly moves out of sight.

"No no, Anti's not here," Chase says quickly. "He's not even in the city. You're fine. This is fine."

Jackie hugs Schneep tightly, glaring at Magnificent. "Yeah, we want you to leave, too," Marvin mutters. "Hurry up and get out of here."

Alt moves back quickly, letting Schneep's friends help him. Then, a hand reaches out and grabs him and he yells out, squirming in Mag's grip. "There you are, kitten! Trying to hide from me~?"

"Hey! Let him go!" Marvin shouts as Mag grabs Alt.

Alt growls and tries to glitch out of Mag's grip but he digs his claws into his skin slightly, canceling them out with his own magical current. Alt shouts in pain and then slumps though he glares at Mag.

Magnificent giggles and brings in Alt close. "Why are you fighting me so hard here, Alt? Can't you see someone like you isn't wanted here? You're only haunting these poor pathetic humans~"

"No-! I...!" Alt tries to argue but quickly deflates. He looks at the crew that's surrounding Schneep and feels his heart clench slightly. The past couple worlds... they all started to feel like friends when they leave. But here... they're all too different, aren't they? He's never felt so detached from people who share the faces of his friends.

"Oh you shut the fuck up," Jackie hisses at Magnificent. "Your fucking bullshit word games and your fucking bullshit power plays. There are people like you everywhere, you're not special because you're magic. All that magic does is give you a chance to act out your worst desires."

"You... i-if you guys want to leave... we won't stop you," Chase says slowly. "But... don't let him get to you, Alt. You're not 'haunting' us, or whatever."

"And we're not pathetic," Marvin adds.

JJ sighs. He rubs his eyes, looking tired. It's clear this man isn't worth our time, or yours. Don't indulge him.

"Yeah Mag! Just because they're human, doesn't mean they're worthless! You are not better than any of us cuz you sold your fucking soul to black magic! You're just a sad lonely loser who uses his power to bully people! Just so you have something to fill that empty void in your chest where your heart used to be!" Jackieboy shouts, and then breathes heavily afterwards.

Bro looks at him with wide eyes. "... that was brewing for a while, wasn't it?"

"Sooo fucking long."

Magnificent growls, looking ready to blast Jackie for daring to speak like that to him but Alt grabs his arm and bites him, making the mad magician scream and let him go.

Alt glitches away and back towards the others. He hesitates then looks to the side, not really wanting to look at their faces. "... I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused. But, thanks for... helping us. Even if it was strange." He says quietly. He looks to Bro and Jackie and tilts his head towards Mag. "...we should go. Before he somehow makes things worse."

The others glance between themselves, feeling vaguely uneasy.

"Did we... do something wrong?" Chase asks.

"I-I think it's just weird for them," Jackie says. "Being in a world without all their magic stuff."

Alt's stomach drops as he looks up and he quickly shakes his head. "No no- you..." He knits his eyebrows together, seeming frustrated. "... I feel... bad. That we exposed all of this to you all. After all the things you went through and not havin' seen it before I... I just hope we... didn't make things worse... for you."

Jackie smiles at Alt, Bro, and Jackieboy. "It's fine. It was nice to meet you. Worth all the strangeness, hah. Once Schneep gets back to himself he's gonna go insa—get really excited about the multiverse being real."

Schneep glances towards the three of them as well. His eyes linger on Alt for a second, confused, but that fades away. "Th-thank you."

Alt looks at Schneep and tries to give him a smile, but it looks sad.

Bro puts his hand on Alt's shoulder and pulls him in,

"Hey bro... we couldn't help it. They'll be okay- they're tough guys, even without all our shit. These guys were ready to beat the ever-loving shit out of Mag! Kinda wish we could have seen that-" He laughs.

"Maybe--maybe you can come back sometime?" Marvin says, laughing a little. "I-I mean, I'd like to hear more about all your magic. But, uh, if you can't, or even don't want to, that's fine, too."

JJ looks at Alt and nods sympathetically. Good luck. For what it's worth, I'm glad to have met you, if only briefly.

Alt is quiet for a second but does look a bit more hopeful at Marvin and JJ's goodbyes. "... it was nice to meet you all too. maybe... maybe one day we can come back. ...maybe."

"We'll have to figure that out another day though cuz Mag is gonna have a conniption-" Jackie grumbles.

"Heh." Chase gives them a small smile. "It's alright. This was... weird, but it's nothing we can't recover from."

"Yeah, we've recovered from a lot." Jackie nods. "Least this time no one almost-died."

"I... don't think I-I understand who you are," Schneep mumbles. "But... thank you for your worry. W-we will be okay. W-we are working on things."

"We'll explain everything to you later, Schneep," Jackie promises. "I think you need to process it first."

He laughs. "That is fair. I-I think I need to go back. They will be so worried where I went."

Alt nods and pulls out the TRVLR. He glares at the screen and whispers, "... let's hope this thing actually works..."

Bro lets go of Alt and goes to grab Mag by the front of his shirt and drags him towards Alt and Jackie. Mag hisses like an offended cat.

Good luck, JJ signs again. And goodbye.

"See you again, maybe," Marvin adds hopefully.

Alt nods and smiles a bit more.

Jackie grins, "Good to meet some normal lads, you all stick in there, alright?"

"Bye!" Bro waves with one hand.

Alt grabs everyone and then, after checking again, presses the jump button.

And they fall, as they always do. But their troubles are not over. The ripple happens again, and their course is diverted. Like a hand reaching out and plucking a feather from the air.

#SATCV #SATCV pw #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #man all the action happens in this part XD #you can really see mag being a brat in this one #shorter universe but like cry said to me #hard to mix a magical universe with a crime thriller universe the tones just kinda clash!#i used to be a bit embarrassed i guess? by the ending?#but i still loved exploring this #and god i need to finish pw its sooo good #go read it if you havent!!

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