#SBTCV PT

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Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 4: Paranormal Teens

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

Alt, JJ, and Marvin appear on a sidewalk. Across the street is an old-looking building with columns in front. No doubt that’s city hall. It used to have a lawn, a sort of courtyard type area, but now there’s just a wide pit marked off by posts with yellow tape around it. The front door of city hall is still accessible, but you’d have to walk a wide berth around it.

Can’t believe they still haven’t fixed that, JJ comments.

Alt blinks in surprise at the pit and glitches closer, crouching down next to it. “What caused this?”

“…Anti did? Kind of?” Marvin says slowly. “I mean, he didn’t mean to, but uh… yeah. There was a bunch of greenlight, it was crazy.”

“Oh yeah- guess that makes sense based on last time.” Alt comments as he stands back up.

“Anyway, we can wait for the others in here.” Marvin turns around and indicates the building behind him: a restaurant called Brenda’s that looks to be part of a fast food chain.

Jackie and the others are getting snacks, we don’t need food, JJ says.

“Whaaaat? I wasn’t suggesting that at all!”

Alt blinks then smirks, “Are you hungry then, Marvin? We can get food if you’d like- or like… a coffee.”

"I prefer tea, honestly," Marvin says. "Oooo, especially ones with strong flavors. You ever had mint tea? It's great. But, uh... I mean... we can get food if we want."

JJ rolls his eyes and laughs. Okay, we'll do that. But you're paying for the nuggets. He opens the front door and goes inside.

“Oh mint tea’s actually my favorite!” Alt laughs, “I could do either or- Bro’s more partial to coffee so we drink that more.” He follows after JJ, looking around the restaurant with curiosity.

The inside of this place looks exactly like the inside of a Wendy's. Even the logo is kind of similar, but with the word Brenda instead.

"Welcome to Brenda's, what can I--oh! Hey, it's the twins!" The worker behind the counter waves.

Marvin grins...somewhat mischievously. He glances at JJ, then back at the worker and waves. "Hey River! I didn't know you worked here!" JJ inhales sharply. Is his face turning a bit red?

"Yeah, it's just for the summer," the guy--a blonde kid around the twins' age--says, smiling. "Well, what can I get for you guys?"

Alt blinks a bit in confusion as he looks around then notices Marvin’s smirk and JJ’s flush. He hides a laugh behind his hand. “You guys get whatever you want, my treat.”

"Great!" Marvin says. "I'd like a ten-piece nuggets and a lemonade. JJ? What do you want?" JJ coughs a bit.

"Hey, I've been practicing BSL for an elective!" River says cheerfully. "Go on, hit me with something, I want to see if I can get it."

JJ nods and signs slowly. I would like a C-H-I-L-L-Y. A 'Chilly' seems to be the name of a chocolate shake-like thing... like a Frosty.

"Ooo, we'll get a small fries, too, then, to dip," Marvin says.

"Great, what size?" River asks.

Medium.

"Medium?" JJ nods.

"Sweet. And you, mister?"

Alt chuckles, “I’ll take a black coffee. And uh- a medium chilly and fries.” He says as he slings off his backpack and digs around for his wallet. He soon enough finds it and gives River his card.

"Awesome." River swipes the card, presses some buttons, and hands the card back along with a receipt. "I'll call out your name when it's time, Mr. uh..." He glances at the card. "Brody? You related to Chase Brody?"

Alt blinks and flushes a bit, “oh yeah uh- we’re… cousins. I’m visiting but he was uh- busy.” He grins sheepishly as he takes back his card.

Marvin leans forward. "He's on a date," he whispers.

"Oooo, with that Stacy girl? Stacy Seigel?"

"Yep!"

"Gotcha." River smiles. "Sit down wherever you guys like, I'll call your name."

JJ hurries over to a booth by the front door.

Alt laughs, “Thanks!” He goes after JJ and sits across from him. “…you good little dude?” He asks gently.

JJ kicks his feet a little. I... like River, he says. He then glares at Marvin as he sits down next to him. You knew, didn't you?

"That he works here? No, but like, it's a great coincidence, isn't it?"

Bastard.

Alt smiles, “Oh okay good I thought Marvin’s teasing got to you-“ He chuckles.

"Heh." Marvin grins. "You don't know he doesn't like guys. You've never talked to him about it. C'mon, man, it's been years, you gotta resolve this sometime."

Alt then leans forward and smiles knowingly at JJ. “…I like guys too, you know. Well and girls- anyone- but also not like… anyone it’s… weird. But, I have a boyfriend. It’s… really scary to like… let yourself out there. But… it’s also really great…” he holds his necklace fondly. “The scary part gets over quickly- then it’s just… amazing. I-If they feel the same way that is.”

JJ's eyes widen slightly. He nods slowly, not saying anything.

Marvin nudges his shoulder. "Yeah. He's right."

Oh, you've never liked anyone before, JJ comments. How do you know he's right?

"Cause I'm fucking smart."

JJ laughs a little. I guess... Mam and Dad won't let us date, anyway.

"Fuck them, though."

JJ laughs louder.

Alt laughs too, “It’s what makes you happy, dude. There’s lots of ways to go around your parents~” he says with a mischievous grin. “But seeing as you’re Marvin’s brother, seems like you might be well versed in that already.”

"Dude, I'm so fucking happy that JJ started going around them some more," Marvin says. "Fucking... grew some balls." JJ laughs again.

Alt grins, “Good! Every teenager needs a bit of rebellion I say~!” He then blinks and his smile drops. He sighs and touches his neck briefly. “Just… be careful. Don’t try to do… dangerous stuff, you know?”

JJ nods. Don't worry, I think we're being careful. It probably helps that Schneep and Jackie would get so mad at us if we got involved in something.

"Mad in a caring way," Marvin adds. "Y'know?"

Alt nods with a chuckle, “Oh I know- my friends are the same way.”

Marvin laughs. "Honestly I think the most exciting things we get up to are Caverns and Creatures games."

"Order for Mr. Brody!" River calls out.

Alt looks interested in that, “Oh? Is that like- Dungeons and Dragons?” He gets cut off before he can get his answer and he almost glitches before stopping himself. He quickly gets up to grab their food and bring it over.

When Alt comes back, Marvin immediately starts talking. "Uh, I've never heard of Dungeons and Dragons, but like, that might be a thing about other worlds, y'know? But yeah it's a tabletop roleplaying game that Jackie introduced us to! The whole group's been doing it since then, but don't ask Chase or Stacy about it they'll get all embarrassed about doing nerdy shit. It doesn't fit their images, yknow? But they really like it. Chase keeps making new characters but Stacy's been sticking with her one girl as often as possible, though it does make levels and balancing difficult, yknow?"

Meanwhile, JJ is enjoying dipping the fries in the chocolate chilly.

Alt laughs, “That’s just like dnd! I haven’t gotten to play yet but- Chase, my Chase, really wants to get a group together. I’ve always thought it looked fun but never really got a chance to play it, you know?” He says, following JJ’d lead.

"It's really fun!" Marvin says excitedly. "Oh, but the first time we played, some greenlight shit happened and we all got actually sucked into the game--Jackie had to GM to get us out but Anti kept trying to throw monsters at us--it was fucking insane! Kind of fun, but yknow, you don't want to do that all the time."

“Oh dude- not gonna lie that sounds insanely fun,” Alt giggles, “Then again one of mine and Chase’s favorite worlds we ever went to was a medieval one so… guess I’m biased!”

You went to a medieval world?! JJ gasps.

"Oh, that sounds so cool! Like going into a book!" Marvin's eyes light up.

Alt grins wide and nods, “Dude it was just like a book! It was a land called Glasúil and it’s kinda like an older Ireland but with magic and the camp we went to the first time was made out of dragon skeleton! We learned to sword fight and archery and fought a corrupt King! Last time was… hard but honestly? I can’t wait to go back and just have fun there- it’s really really cool.”

"Ohhhh that sounds so fucking fun," Marvin whispers.

And that's why you need your traveler fixed, so you can go back whenever you want. JJ nods. I hope we can help with that.

Alt laughs, “Yeah- and you know… to help other people and… well- to go on those other adventures you all remember that we don’t!” He grins. “…I’m glad we get to do more with you all… I wanted to visit so so bad-“

Not much time passes--just long enough for them to finish eating--when a silver car pulls up outside. "Oh! Hey, that's Jackie's car!" Marvin says. "You probably don't recognize it, he got it before going off to uni a couple years ago, but that's it!"

Alt blinks and looks outside and then grins, “Oh nice! Yeah he had a… green car before right?”

"He still does, it's his dad's," Marvin says. "The silver car is his though." He waves through the windows at the car. The door opens and Jack gets out, then Schneep. And then, suddely, Aodhan is sitting next to Alt. "Hi."

"Oh fucking hell!" Marvin jumps. JJ presses a hand to his chest, surprised.

Alt jumps a bit too, “Jesus man! You gotta be careful with that dude- you’ll scare the normal people around…!” He tries to whisper.

Aodhan looks around. "There's no one in the restaurant, though."

"It's the principle," Marvin says.

Alt chuckles, “Yeah dude- just in case- you don’t wanna accidentally glitch into a bad scene, you know?”

"Hmmm." Aodhan nods.

Outside, Bro hops out of the car, chewing on a long piece of gummy like it’s a piece of hay. He blinks at the windows then waves excitedly at the other boys.

"Oh! There's Bro! C'mon, let's go!" He gets up and heads out, the rest of the guys behind him.

"Anti, you gotta stop that," Jack says, mostly jokingly.

"Hello!" Schneep waves.

Jackie gets out of the car. "You guys got Brenda's? No fair!... Well, I guess we got a lot of snacks."

Bro grins wide as he sees Marvin and Jj, “Grown up twins!! Look at you two!!”

"Wow! You really look exactly the same!" Marvin laughs. "Alright, that settles it, weird time shit."

“Must be!” Bro laughs, “It’s been at least less than a year for us since we saw you last!”

It's so good to see you again! JJ beams.

Alt makes sure to take his fries and chilly and offers some of the fries to Bro then Jackie once they’re out.

Bro blinks then grins eagerly, taking some fries and leaning over to dip them in Alt’s Chilly.

Alt glares at him and pulls it away. “you could at least ask, asshole!”

“It’s big brother privilege!” Bro grins cheekily.

Schneep grins watching Alt and Bro. "Hah. Chase would do something like that with me all the time. So I suppose it is older cousin privilege too." He nods at Alt. "Frustrating, ja?"

Alt grumbles at Schneep, sipping the rest of his chilly.

"Alright, so where's your piece thing?" Jackie asks. "Somewhere around here, right?" He looks around. "You guys see anything weird?"

The guys all look around--and JJ suddenly gasps. He points across the street, where there's a van parked. A black van with a picture of an eye on it...just like the one on the card he got from the man.

Alt is about to reach in his pocket to check his tracker, but he freezes as he sees the van. He finds Aodhan’s shoulder and leans by Marvin too- “…alright guys- try your best to look normal while we search, got it? We can’t give them any reason to suspect us.” As he says this, he reaches into his pocket to properly check the tracker. The sooner they can find this other piece the better.

Meanwhile Bro is confused. “Huh? What’s wrong with a weird black van?”

"That's the symbol of the guy who stopped us," Aodhan says.

JJ reaches into his pocket and pulls out the card, handing it out to Bro.

"The... Department of Impossible Sciences, you said?" Jackie says.

Jack frowns. He takes a phone out of his pocket. "I'll stay back here and keep an eye on the van."

"Aw, you don't want to come?" Aodhan asks, sad. Jack laughs.

"Don't worry, I'll call you if anything happens."

The tracker tells Alt that the piece fell into the pit in front of city hall.

“Good idea, Jack-“ Alt says, then inhales sharply as he looks towards the city hall. “…we may have a problem though…”

“…what’s that?” Bro asks.

“…the piece fell into the giant fucking hole-“

“…ah.” Schneep says. “Well… the sides are not so steep. We should be able to climb in.”

“How deep is the pit again?” Jackie wonders. “It’s like… two stories or something, right? That’s not too deep.”

“But it’s gonna be a tiny little thing!” Marvin points out. “There’s probably a million rocks to look at!”

Aodhan blinks slowly. “Maybe… I can find it? I know where electrical stuff is. I like… feel it.”

“I mean… I can try too-“ Alt says, “I’m just worried about creepy van over there catching us. That suit guy got onto us for possibly stealing coins- they’re not gonna react well to us trying to scale the hole.”

Well... at least it's only the van, JJ says. It's in the city hall car lot, so maybe the person who drove it is inside?

"I'm gonna check if there's a person in the front," Aodhan says. He disappears for a moment, and then reappears a minute later. "I didn't see anyone."

"But that doesn't mean they're not gonna come out of city hall and bother us,"Jackie says.

Alt hums in thought, “Maybe…”

"We'll just have to be careful," Marvin says. "And fa--" He stops. "Hang on a moment... is that...?" A black car is driving down the street. It pulls to the side, parking right next to Jackie's... and out steps Chase and Stacy.

"Hey guys!" Chase waves.

Alt blinks in surprise though then smiles and waves, “Little Chase!”

Bro grins and waves wildly, “Little me!! Did you guys finish your date already??”

"Hey!" Chase waves at Alt--and then immediately becomes flustered upon hearing Bro's comment. "I, uh--yeah, we did."

"W-we could've stayed a bit longer, maybe, but we didn't want to be left out," Stacy says. She looks at Alt. "Hey, Alt! Apparently there's some weird time stuff going on so you don't know me. I'm Stacy!"

Alt blinks, “Oh uh- hi? Yeah we… haven’t met yet- nice to meet you?” He smiles sheepishly.

"You guys didn't have to stop for us," Jackie says.

"It's Schneep's fault for texting me everything you guys were doing!" Chase says.

"Wh--that did not mean you had to stop," Schneep says.

"No, it's chill," Chase shrugs.

Bro chuckles, “Well- this will make a great story for later regardless-“

"Uh, what're you guys doing?" Chase asks.

"The TRVLR part is in the pit somewhere," Marvin says, pointing. "But that van over there is suspicious. Jack's gonna keep an eye on it while the rest of us check out the pit."

Bro turns to look at the pit and hums. “Okay so… we need a good excuse for why we’re looking at the pit if we get caught… Alt and Aodhan could glitch down and the rest of us could just like- look around it to draw attention to us instead? Could that work? We could say you all are.. researching it for school or something-“

JJ nods. A school project is a good cover. It could be some sort of... environment thing. Or maybe about construction? Or city planning?

"Something like city planning, that'll make us look like goody-two-shoes," Marvin says.

"So you guys will have to be our, like, supervisors or something," Stacy says, looking at Bro and Jackie. "Cuz you're older, y'know? You wouldn't be in school."

"Hey, I mean... I'm uni age," Jackie says. "But yeah, I get where you're coming from."

“Yeah I’m like here to make sure you don’t get in trouble and shit!” Bro grins.

"We should go fast, then." Chase glances around. "The coast is clear now, we need to, uh, use that while it's like that."

Alt nods, “Okay good plan- Chase I’m using you for cover-“ He slips behind Bro and uses him to cover up as he glitches down in the pit. Bro hardly reacts- like he’s used to this.

Aodhan sees this and copies him, hiding behind Jack while he disappears.

Once that's done, the others all hurry across the street towards the edge of the pit. The pit is twenty feet deep at its lowest, fifteen feet deep on average. The walls slope downward. They and the floor of the pit are mostly dirt, with chunks of concrete and asphalt and lots of small rocks and pebbles. Some pipes and cables stick out of the side in places, but they're all deactivated. The pipes don't leak water, the wires don't spark, they're completely safe except for the tripping hazard they present.

Alt looks around the pit and whistles, “Damn- this is some impressive pit.” He whispers to Aodhan.

Aodhan blinks. "Thanks? I didn't expect it would, y'know... happen." He starts looking around, crouching close to the ground. "How do your powers work? I can just kinda... feel stuff when it's nearby. Like static electricity. I can also feel it when cameras look at me."

“Oh- that’s handy,” Alt says, “Uh- I could try that… learned a trick once about like- pulsing out my electricity to try to feel around me… but that might only work underwater… I can sometimes just sense magic too- you’re probably more useful here, dude.”

Aodhan grins proudly. "Yay!" He slowly walks around. "Does your magic thing help at all right now?"

Alt hums and tries to feel any magic lingering in the air, “Not sure… lemme see-“ He also starts walking around.

It's a big pit, so they're not having much luck at first. The group around the top isn't, either. But then...as Alt puts his hand in his pocket once, his hand brushes the pupil of the glass eye tracker, and he gets a vague sense that it's in the north part of the pit, closer to city hall. That divides the area to search by about four.

Alt startles a bit- and doesn’t expect to get the info. But he laughs and glitches over to the northern part, calling out to Aodhan, “It should be over here!”

"Oh cool!" Aodhan hadn't had much luck, so he quickly appears over there as well.

Alt grins and starts to feel around more for anything he can sense- or even see. It’s gotta be shiny right?

Up on the surface, the doors of city hall open, and out walk a man and a woman in grey suits, talking to each other. Marvin notices them first. He hurries over to Bro, nudging him. "Those guys are wearing the same thing the guy in the park was," he whispers.

Bro briefly glances at the man and woman as Marvin points them out and very subtly nods.

The two walk over to the van with the eye decal on it, disappearing from view for most of the guys.

But Jack, watching from the car, is able to see. He texts the others: Two guys are standing by the car now. Not getting in. Then a second later, The girl is walking towards the pit.

Bro reads over Marvin’s shoulder and nods, then calls out as he claps his hands. “alright kids! It’s hot so let’s get your research done quick! Get all the pictures and notes you need, alright?” He grins.

"All the smart guys get over here," Chase whispers. Schneep, JJ, and Stacy all cluster together as the woman in a gray suit walks over. Marvin takes out his phone and starts taking pictures. Jackie digs into his backpack and pulls out a digital camera, and Marvin mutters something about him being a show-off. Jackie chuckles.

"Oh, research?" The woman asks. "What is this? A school project?"

"Yes, ma'am," Stacy says.

Bro looks to the woman and smiles charmingly, “Sure is, ma’am! Keeping an eye on them while they get this done, you know! Researching city planning and all that-“

"Oooo, fascinating," the woman says. "City planning? How's the pit related?"

"Well, ah, you can see the infrastructure and such," Schneep says quickly. "So we are getting pictures for examples."

Tell her that we're doing research on how cities do a big project like filling this in, JJ says.

"Oh, I know sign language, young man, don't worry," the woman says. "How interesting. Though I hear there's been some difficulties filling this particular pit in? Has your research found anything about that?"

"Uh... not yet! But we might hear about it later!" Chase says.

Back in the pit, Aodhan picks up a couple objects from the ground. "Any of these look like your thing?" They all look vaguely techy.

Alt glitches to him and looks then over. He hums in thought then touches his tracker again- The tracker tells him that one of the objects, a long black bar made out of some matte material, is the piece they're looking for.

Alt looks over the objects then picks out the long black bar and grins, “this is it!”

Aodhan nods. "Alright, then!" He puts the rest of the stuff in his pocket, finding it cool enough to keep. Then he looks up. "Oh shit! They're talking with someone."

Alt blinks up and then sighs. “lucky you saw- I almost just glitched straight back up…”

Bro chuckles, “All part of their studies! I don’t know too much about it- just supervising, you know? Can’t have them around a big pit like this without a careful eye.” He smiles.

"Oh yes, I hear it's quite dangerous." The woman nods. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a card. "Say, I work for an organization that's helping out with this pit, as well as other things around town. So if you all need any help, here's our phone number." She holds out a card like the one the man from the park gave JJ.

Stacy takes it. "Thanks, ma'am. Now we have to get back to work."

"Of course, of course, I'll leave you to it." The woman smiles, and turns around, heading back to the van.

Bro smiles and waves after her. But he lets his smile drops as soon as she’s gone. “Phew…! Good acting there, team!” He grins at the kids.

Thank you! JJ beams.

"Acting is his passion," Schneep chuckles.

Alt glitches up towards the top of the hole and whispers out, “Coast clear yet??”

"Hold on," Jackie warns, looking back towards the van. Then a couple different text tones ring out, and everyone checks their phones.

"Jack says they're getting in the van," Chase reports. "So it's probably fine now."

Alt grins and glitches up all the way, showing off the piece, “Got it!”

Bro shares his grin and pats him on the back, “Nice!”

"Fuck yeah!" Marvin grins. "Man... these TRVLR parts look really ordinary. I can't believe this stuff lets you travel through worlds."

Alt blinks then laughs, “Well- it’s all like… bunch of tech stuff- then my magic! So I think that helps the normal parts work.”

"You should probably clean that off," Schneep says. "Here." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of cloth. "I use this for my glasses."

"You use an ordinary cloth for your glasses?" Stacy gasps.

"What am I supposed to use?"

"Something like this." Stacy pulls a bit of silky cloth out of her pocket. "It's designed for glasses!"

"Ah. Well, I think I had one like that, but I lost it."

Alt takes the cloth from Schneep and starts to clean it off, “you know, I used to think it only worked cuz I was giving it electricity but I think it works because I’m also like… a Glitch you know? Broke the rules of my world somehow so now- I can use that to fuel the TRVLR.”

Aodhan appears next to Alt, fading in slowly to be more considerate. "D'you think I'm a Glitch?" he asks. "D'you think any of the anomalies were glitches?"

"I think that you'd count, yeah," Marvin says.

Alt blinks then smiles at Aodhan, “Mmmm maybe? Usually other mes are to be honest- there’s a few exceptions though, like our friend Schneep we just saw.”

“He doesn’t glitch like Alt does- he kinda does like this worm-holey thingy- but he got told by another Glitch he was one so like- probably something others Glitches can sense or some shit.” Bro adds.

Alt's phone lets out some static. "I'm pretty sure that this kid would count," Anti says slowly. "At the very least, he's something very strange. Now, you have both parts?"

Alt very slightly jumps- getting more used to hearing Anti, “Yup-“ He says as he puts the now clean part in the bag.

"Oh... do you guys need to go now, then?" Chase asks. "I mean--seems like this is important, so go ahead, but like... sucks that it was so short, y'know?"

Bro looks super sad and looks towards Alt to talk towards Anti, “Yeah Anti! We can hang out for just a bit longer can’t we?? We’re just breezing through these worlds with all our friends!”

"Well, once you have your TRVLR back you can come back whenever you want," Anti says.

"Booooo," Marvin says. "Fuck offfff."

"Wha--" Anti doesn't seem to know how to respond to teenage rebellion.

"Yeah, it's been forever since we've seen these guys," Jackie agrees. "It'd be nice to hang out a little while longer. Hell, Chase and Stacy were gone for most of the time."

"We, uh, had a nice time, though," Stacy says.

"Y-yeah." Chase nods. "But like... you know. Been a while."

Anti pauses. "Once we leave this world, all the rest of them will be new to you two. So... if you want to stay... it's understandable. But--I'll just repeat what I said. You can come back whenever once you have your TRVLR."

“I mean… they did say that we come back in… our future, their past-“ Alt says quietly. “Even if I wanna stay… I’m sure you guys have some much to tell us- Marvin hadn’t even showed me his magic yet!”

"Oh, there's so much I could show you, it's almost too much." Marvin grins. He crouches low to the ground, then jumps into the air, and streaks and fireworks of green appear around him.

Alt’s eyes sparkle with excitement, “Dude!! That’s sick as hell!!”

Hey, we're in the middle of the street! JJ points out. People could see!

Bro pouts, “Mmmm… this is hard!! I know we gotta fix this but… we missed you guys… and you’re all growing up and-! Jack and Anti are here too and we barely got to meet them! Well, Anti of course before but- you know what I mean!!”

Schneep sighs. "It is very sad, isn't it? But... your thing is important, yes?"

Anti coughs for attention. "Also, I'll remind you that the other me is still looking for us. Do you want him to appear in this world?"

Bro and Alt stiffen as Anti mentions the other Anti. Bro sighs loudly, like a child who’s mom just made a good point to ruin their fun, “Noooo- of course not… I guess that… decides it. I don’t want you guys to be in danger.”

Alt sighs too and crosses his arms, “Yeah… l-longer we stay here… the more likely he is to find us…”

Aodhan blinks. "I guess that Anti is a really bad Anti, then."

"We're a lot more capable than we were three years ago, yknow," Chase says.

Jackie shakes his head. "No, I know we are, but still... just that tone of voice, it sounds like this guy is really bad news."

Alt smiles sadly at Chase, “I’m sure you guys are! You were already little badasses last time… but we don’t even know how to fight this guy. He’s not physical and scarily strong… plus he’s trying to delete other universes so… don’t want that happening here.”

Aodhan laughs a little. "You can't delete universes! There are so many!"

"I am not sure how those two things connect," Schneep mutters. "I mean... does seem really hard, to get rid of a whole universe," Chase says, frowning. "Like... think of how big the galaxy is. And there are like... billions of galaxies in the universe."

"I'm sure you guys will figure something out!" Marvin says, beaming at the Brody brothers. "You two are amazing."

Bro beams back at Marvin and lightly punches his arm with affection. “Thanks lil dude!”

Jackie smiles at Alt and Bro. "Well... it sucks, then, but sounds like you have to go. But hey, you can look forward to more visits with us! I mean, we'll be younger, but maybe you'll see us again when we're this old some time in the future."

Bro sighs, “Yeah I guess… though like- through all this time weirdness- we at least know now that we have more adventures! That’s a plus!”

JJ nods. Exactly! They were really fun... but no spoilers.

"I can't wait until you guys meet me for real," Stacy says. "Uh... I was probably a bit annoying at thirteen, though. Just ignore that."

Alt smiles warmly, “I can’t wait- it’ll be awesome for sure.”

"So... are you two ready?" Anti asks. "Should I contact Sam?"Alt brings out his phone officially to nod at Anti. “yeah… guess we are. Into uncharted waters now, huh?”

"Indeed." Anti nods back. "Though I think this first world will be kind of similar to what you're used to." The phone screen is briefly overcome with colored static. Then green lightning unzips a rift in midair.

"Oh, is that how you guys get around now?" Aodhan asks, fascinated. "Kinda looks like a Fissure."

Alt blinks and looks at the rift, “Huh? Really?” He grins, “Guess we can use that our advantage next time.”

Bro smiles sadly, “You lads take care of each other, okay?”

Alt nods then grabs Bro before he starts to cry cuz he knows he might. Bro yelps a bit then waves wildly as they walk through the rift. “Bye!! We’ll visit soon!!”

"Goodbye!" Aodhan waves.

"We'll see you again," Chase promises.

Jackie, JJ, Marvin, Schneep, and Stacy all wave as the two of them disappear.