#and show alt and oli being cute <3

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 22: Space Inbetween/Epilogue

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

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

The space in between worlds is the same as it's ever been. Empty blackness, lit by glowing green orbs of varying sizes. 

Crystal gasps as they appear here. "Oh! It looks just like I imagined it would! Well... maybe not exactly. Huh. I guess no accounting for what other people picture, too. Collective... shaping." They shake their head. "Anyway. I don't know what I'm talking about. I-is everyone okay?"

“I’m okay- are you?” Huffle asks Crystal as she looks around. “…wow- it’s like… strangely beautiful here. You know- if you ignore the fact it’s like… a void.” 

Bro keeps looking around in anticipation. “I’m good… but don’t relax yet.” 

Alt glitches over to them and pants, “He’s coming-“

Suddenly, a wave of light and heat and electricity surges forward, a concentrated blast of bright power. But before it reaches any of them, it suddenly disappears, and falling to the ground instead is the figure of a man, buzzing and glitching but certainly solidly there. The man lifts his head up, blinking in confusion. He can't be any more than 26 or 27, brown hair sticking up wildly, brown eyes darting around, a bit of a beard on his face and an angry red burn scar around his neck. He's wearing a gray jumpsuit of some kind, with a label on the chest. 001--Before anyone can read further than that he yelps in surprise and his appearance suddenly shifts, brown eyes being overtaken by static, the jumpsuit replaced by a green hoodie and ripped black jeans. "What did you do?!" he shouts angrily, glaring at Alt.

Alt staggers back, eyes wide. He’s- He’s his age? That jumpsuit… right. the rift world had that organization… Psyode. That means he’s… he’s like Alt that way too. Like him and Bro. Alt swallows shakily. Bro also looks a bit uneasy- coming to the same conclusion as Alt. 

Alt steps in front of the others, close to Anti as he stares down at him with bright glowing eyes. “Apparently, we evened the playing field, bitch. You can’t hide from us anymore.” 

"I wasn't fucking hiding from you, you idiots!" Rift Anti says, clumsily getting to his feet. "I wasn't there! I'm not--I haven't been--" He looks down at his hands, opening and closing his fingers. "I... h-have a body again?" His eyes go wide. "I... I, uh..." His body is shaking slightly. 

Alt blinks in surprise, “what…?” For a second, he almost looks sorry for Rift Anti. 

Inverted Anti forms nearby. "It's overwhelming to be physical after so long, isn't it?" 

"Sh-shut up!" Rift Anti snaps. "I-I-I--I have to--" He looks at Huffle and Crystal and suddenly lunges for them.

Alt shouts as he goes after Huffle and Crystal again. Huffle screams and throws out a hand in front of her- and a chaotic beam of teal-ish magic shoots out to push him back. She shakily looks out and tries to shout. “L-Leave us alone! T-trust us- getting rid of us won’t help you!”

Rift Anti staggers and falls backwards, down to the ground of the black space. "Shut up shut up shut up!" he shouts, climbing to his feet again. "It--it has to! I have to do this!" He growls, the air around him glitching and buzzing, and he tries again. 

"Whoa, there." Inverted Anti grabs him by his hood, yanking him back. Rift Anti chokes and grabs his neck in response. "It really, really won't help you. Do you really think everything will suddenly disappear if you kill them and take their creativity?" 

"Yes!" Rift Anti shouts.

Huffle looks terrified. “…I-I don’t… I don’t think that will happen- …I h-hope that doesn’t happen…” she whispers in fear. 

"It won't," Inverted Anti says, looking at Huffle. "Killing you doesn't mean he gets your creativity. And the worlds don't just disappear when you do, if you know what I mean." 

"Y-yeah." Crystal nods. "They still exist when we're not... looking at them." 

“I-I… I suppose so…” Huffle says quietly. She looks… unnerved by that fact. 

“Besides,” Alt says, glaring at Rift Anti, “Just because you were hurt in the past doesn’t mean you get to decide the fate of other universes!” He stands up tall, but his expression softens ever so slightly. “…I’m sorry you got left alone… I did too. I… I remember being so so angry at the world… at everything. I wanted to destroy my life and run back to the past where I thought things would be better… but that doesn’t do anything beside hurt yourself.” 

Bro looks proudly at Alt, feeling a little misty eyed. 

Then, Alt’s eyes slowly widen as he looks back at Rift Anti, “ …are you so desperate to destroy worlds… because you hope it’ll take you away with them…?”

Rift Anti continued to struggle against Inverted Anti as Alt talked, but the moment he says that last thing he freezes. "I--I don't--I--" He shakes his head. "You don't know anything a-about me! You don't! I-I wasn't alone. I wasn't." 

“You weren’t… alone?” Alt asks quietly. 

Rift Anti laughs. "But I am now! And if we all disappeared--if no one was hurt again--would that be so bad?! Would it?!"

“Yes it would!” Alt cries, “hurt is… j-just a fact of life! We can’t stop people from being hurt- but we can learn from it! We can grow from it! There’s some hurt that… shouldn’t happen- but that doesn’t mean not existing is better!”

"Oh don't tell me you've never thought about it, Sparky!" Rift Anti snaps. 

"Most people haven't, actually," Inverted Anti mutters. 

Rift Anti shrieks and turns around to lunge at him. The other Anti disappears before he can reach him, so he spins back around and lunges at Alt, grabbing hold of his hoodie.

Alt yelps in surprise, but he tries to stand his ground. He gives an even stare at Rift Anti before he whispers, “…of course I have…” He goes to put a hand over his. “…but if I did… if I had chosen to give up… t-there’s so much I would have missed… yes- maybe I wouldn’t have been hurt. But… I also wouldn’t have reunited with my brother- made friends… explored worlds I never would have thought of. I never would have found out I can do magic- I never would have found out that I can be… happy again.” He looks sincerely into Anti’s eyes, “…there’s a bit of human still in you, isn’t there? There has to be hope inside you somewhere, right? Maybe… things can still get better? Maybe you can make things better…!”

For a moment, the static in his eyes fade, becoming their normal brown again. Alt perks up a bit as he sees that shift. Something seems to hit... until that last statement. And then Anti starts to laugh. Slowly and quietly at first, and then louder and faster. Alt’s face drops. 

"Better? You--you think that I can just fix being a disembodied mind?! You think that's something that can be undone?! I don't know why I'm solid again here! But I don't think it will last! And I don't want to live in this black space for the rest of my life! I might as well not exist then!" His grip tightens and he pulls Alt closer, a wide grin on his face. Alt yells, trying and failing to hide the fear clear on his face. "You don't know anything about me. About what I've been through! About what my world did to us! A world like that--it doesn't deserve to exist! And I've seen the others, too! They're not much better, Anti! They're not much better!" 

Alt’s expression hardens, “D-Don’t call me that!” He tries to argue, his eyes flashing a brighter green. 

Rift Anti laughs again, the sound somehow sharper, angrier.  “if you don't get it--you'll try to stop me! And I can't let you!" His body starts to emit heat. 

Inverted Anti suddenly lunges for Huffle and Crystal, protecting them as Rift Anti suddenly turns to static and a concentric circle of electricity blasts away from him. 

There’s a flicker of fear in Alt’s eyes right before he’s blasted backwards by the electricity, skidding across the ground before slumping into a crumpled heap. 

As the electricity passes over Inverted Anti he grits his teeth and diverts the lightning to either side.

Bro manages to jump out of the way, then screams as Alt gets hit, “ALT!” He then growls and dives to try to grab Anti. Though- can he even grab him like this?! He’s too angry to be thinking clearly. 

Rift Anti yelps as Bro knocks into him, tackling him to the ground. He immediately starts squirming. His body is hot, like a man with a fever. 

"W-we have to get him back to his world," Crystal gasps out. "I-I don't know what will happen if he's missing from there for too long!" 

"As long as he has the energy from the TRVLR and Magnificent, he can leave again!" Inverted Anti protests. 

"Shit! Uh--c-can you take that out of him or something?!"

Huffle shakes, “…M-Mag could maybe do that but he’s not here! I-i dunno if that’s something Alt can do!”

Crystal's eyes dart around. "Maybe not alone?" 

Anti raises his eyebrows. "You know about Amp? You want us to try that again?" 

"Again?" 

"We did it yesterday."

Huffle looks between Inverted Anti and Alt, “t-that seems dangerous… w-what if it’s too much?”

Bro pins Rift Anti down to the ground and bares his teeth at him in feral rage, “You piece of shit! Alt was trying to give you fucking mercy- which might be more than you deserve!” He grabs him by his hoodie now, snarling in his face, “I always try to see bits and pieces of my brother in other Antis- but you-! Maybe you’re beyond fucking saving!” 

Alt shakily tries to push himself up and hears this, croaking out, “C-Chase…! No-!” He tries to glitch closer then cries out a bit- his body still aching from being hit with that blast. 

Rift Anti glares up at Bro, static filling his eyes again. The heat coming from him increases, burning to the point where it's starting to hurt. "I don't need mercy! I've never needed it!" His voice cracks a bit. "Don't you fucking lie to me about your mercy!" 

Inverted Anti glances over at Bro and Rift Anti. "It might be our only choice. No matter this guy's motivations, we can't let him do this. And we won't be able to hold him off forever." He looks over at Alt. "I'll only agree if you're okay with it, Alt."

Alt looks over at Inverted Anti with wide eyes. He hesitates, “I-I… I-“ Why is he hesitating? 

Bro winces but tries to keep holding on. “Clearly you need something! Something you’re not letting yourself admit! What do you want, Anti?!” 

"I want the people who hurt my brother to die!" Rift Anti suddenly screams. His body glitches and distorts, static hiding his face, and arcs of electricity fly from his body. 

Bro’s angry expression falls, “…y-your what? Y-you have a brother?!” He starts to let go from his shock- then jumps back as power rockets off Anti with a yelp. 

"Not anymore!" Rift Anti shrieks. "Not anymore!" He grabs Bro, holding him as the electricity continues to arc from him, shocking Bro. 

Bro screams in pain as he’s shocked, his body and arms jerking painfully in Anti’s hold. 

"I can try to do it myself, then," Inverted Anti says when Alt doesn’t answer, turning away and glitching towards Rift Anti. 

Alt panics then whips his head towards Rift Anti and Bro as he screams, “CHASE!” He clumsily glitches to try to get to Rift Anti.

Their glitches collide, and Amp reforms, grabbing onto Anti and pulling him away from Bro. "Get the fuck away from him!" he shouts, unharmed by the lightning Anti is giving off.

Anti is shaking slightly, his form still overcome with static. "You get the fuck away from me!" his voice says, crackling on every syllable.

Bro slumps to the ground, groaning in pain as his body still continues to jerk and jitter with sparse electricity. 

Amp’s eyes glow with anger, “I think not! We can’t let you have your way- you need to return to your own world and stay there-!” They shout. They go to hold out Anti by his throat while the other hand vibrates and glitches with building magic. Then they thrust their hand into Anti’s chest in a burst of multicolor glitches, trying to find the foreign energy in his veins and yank it back out.

Anti's body shudders and jolts, and he lets out a strangled noise. 

Amp feels a variety of power in Anti's newly physical body. Mostly electricity, but there's heat and energy of all kind that they have to sift through. But at the core of it--magic. Familiar, dark magic. And around it, something that's not magic at all. Red strands entangled with everything else. Gritting their teeth, they grab the dark magic and yank it out, throwing it across the dark floor of the space in between. A buzzing, swirling mess of dark purple splashes onto the ground. That's that done--but this red energy will take more. And something tells them that's more important. 

"L-l-let g-g-g-g-go!" Anti says, feet kicking. He grabs onto Amp's arm, trying to push him away.

Amp stays firm, even as his arm tries to jerk and glitch into pixels and tries to turn incorporeal without their say so. He grits his teeth and charges up the magic again, trying to shift their hands into claws to grab at those red strands of energy. They put all their power into trying to tear those to shreds, stabbing their arm back into Anti’s chest. 

Anti lets out another one of those strangled sounds, louder than before. Part of them feels bad for him. But they remind themself that this is important. The strands of power seem eager to slip away. Anti tries to hold onto them, a desperation in the way he does, but they persist. Until slowly, achingly, they withdraw their hand, the strands clinging to the claws, pulling out, longer and longer. Amp braces his foot against Anti's chest and pushes, and the strands finally let go. 

They pounce on the strands the moment they're free, glitches and electricity tearing into them, turning them into tinier and tinier pieces. Then they ball them up and throw the remains, scattering them to the winds of the space in between.

 Anti slumps to the ground, falling to his hands and knees. A wailing cry comes from his throat, and his expression can only be described as shellshocked. 

Amp shakily steps back, panting and heaving as they look down at Anti. They’re quiet for a long time- wondering if there’s anything they can even say. 

“…I’m sorry it had to be this way…” They finally say, quietly. 

Bro stares at the two of them with wide eyes, shakily trying to get up to his knees. “Is… is it… over?” 

"It should be soon," Amp mutters. "Sam?" 

One of the green lights on the horizon grows bigger. It doesn't get close enough to take up the whole sky, but it grows to the size of the sun. Maybe a bit bigger. "We need a rift." 

{OF COURSE.} A line of green lightning opens up a rift in midair. Through it, the group can see a city street. And standing on it, a man in a mirrored-eyed cat mask and another in a red and blue outfit. 

Bro stares at the rift then smiles a bit at the sight of the other two. 

Huffle gasps as she sees the rift. “That’s… h-his world? The rift world?” She asks quietly. 

"Y-yeah," Crystal says, nodding. "I recognize those two. The Magician and the Scarlet Blur. Uh, Marvin and Jackie in that world." 

Amp seems to hesitate then grabs Anti by his hoodie and holds him in front of his face. Their eyes burn with magic as they growl, “If you know what’s good for you, Y̵o̸u̵ ̸w̷o̵n̶’̷t̸ ̷t̷r̸y̸ ̶t̴h̷a̶t̷ ̵a̸g̸a̵i̴n̸.” Then they throw Rift Anti through the rift onto the street. 

The moment Rift Anti passes through the entrance the other two on the street turn and stare at him. His form shifts back to that green-hoodie-wearing version, and then the form loses its solidity, becoming just an image again. He looks over at the other two, and then disappears. In an instant, the one in red and blue is at the rift. He stares through at the others, noticing Bro and Amp. "Um--thanks!" He waves, and then the rift closes. 

Bro smiles and waves back at Jackie. 

Amp nods, waving back slightly awkwardly. His body twitches, static shivering along his limbs. 

{YOU SHOULD ALL GET HOME SOON,} Sam's voice says in their mind. {IT SEEMS THE CREATORS CAN GET BACK ON THEIR OWN. BUT LET ME GIVE YOU A WAY BACK HOME, CHASE, ALT... IF YOU'RE READY.} 

Amp suddenly cries out in pain and grips over their chest again. Their arms try to phase out completely, turning into pixels. Then their own body glitches wildly in place before snapping back painfully. 

“A-Amp?!” Huffle shouts out in worry. 

Amp doesn’t answer, breathing heavily before their eyes fill with white and electricity goes to forcibly break them apart, pushing them back from each other in a pixely bright mess. 

Alt skids across the floor, body sparking but- once he stops he… doesn’t move. …it doesn’t seem like he’s breathing. 

Inverted Anti forms again, still partially static. "A-Alt!" he gasps out. "What happened?! Oh! O-oh, he's--he used a lot of energy." Anti glitches to his side. "Maybe--too much energy." He puts his head down to his head to check his breath, putting one hand on his chest to check his heartbeat.

Bro scrambles to his feet and rushes towards his side, “ALT! No no no no!! c-c’mon…! W-Wake up!” 

Huffle gasps in horror, throwing hands over her mouth as terrified tears come to her eyes. 

Alt’s head lolls back as Anti nudges him to a better position, his eyes rolled up into his head. His heart is beating, Anti can hear it clearly, but it’s slow. At first… Anti doesn’t feel any breath… but then it comes- pained and shallow but it’s there. Now that they’re up close, Alt’s skin is very pale, even worse bags under his eyes. Glitches run across his veins but the magic that usually shows up after something like this is somewhat dull. 

Bro is panicking, “I-I don’t think I’ve seen him t-this bad before…!” He whispers.

Anti's eye widens. "We need to get him somewhere they can take care of him! Sam, open a rift to their home world! Now!" 

Sam doesn't even answer, they just cause another rift to appear. Through it is a clinic waiting room. Anti nods. He presses his hand against Alt's chest and sends a bit of electricity into his body, hoping that will give him a boost. 

Alt jerks and gasps, his body reacting to the shock, back arching. His heart starts up a bit more and his breathing picks up a bit more. But he’s still in pretty bad shape. 

"Bro, you get him through. Me and these two will follow." Anti says. 

"I-is he going to be okay?" Crystal whispers, an expression of horror on their face. Huffle is crying, watching all this with fear and panic. 

"He will if we get him somewhere safe!" Anti says. "Bro! Chase!"

Bro snaps out of his panic as Anti shouts at him. “R-Right, Yeah!” He scoops up Alt and with a burst of speed he rushes through the rift and into the waiting room. 

Crystal stares at Huffle with wide eyes, rimmed with tears as well. They won't cry. They won't cry. "I-it'll be okay," they say, grabbing Huffle's hand and squeezing it. "Let's go!" Huffle nods hurriedly and wipes at her face before following after Crystal, holding onto their hand tight.

As soon as the Brody brothers and the two creators are through, Anti glitches through the rift as well. It closes behind them, and the space between worlds is empty.

-------------

Bro stumbles into the waiting room, breathing heavily. He looks an absolute mess. But he recognizes this place- it’s the Doom Clinic. 

Crystal and Huffle run in. Crystal stops short, looking around. "H-huh. So... this is what it's like," they mutter. 

Dr. Iplier stands up so fast he almost knocks over his chair. “Chase?!” 

Bro almost breaks down seeing his face, his voice breaking, “H-Help- we need help- A-Alt is…!” 

Alt is slumped in Chase’s arms, too limp and gasping for breath. 

Dr. Iplier pales and then immediately fumbles for the intercom. “I need all available personnel stat!” 

The double doors to the waiting room burst open as someone with yellow scrubs hurries in. “Dad what’s-?!” Oliver breathes then his eyes widen as he sees Bro, the rift and, “A-Alt?!” Oliver cries, holding shaky hands to his face. 

Dr. Iplier tries to grab him by the elbow and lead him away, “O-Oliver you… you can’t-“ 

“No-! No I-I have to help! W-what the hell happened?!” Oliver shouts, a mix between angry and scared out of his mind. 

Anti appears shortly behind them. "He used too much magical energy," he says. "It was an emergency. Probably the only way to take care of that motherfucker." He looks down at Alt worriedly. Then back up. "Can you get him a room? Some sort of--of IV infusion, maybe?"

“Yeah c’mon-“ Oliver says quickly and disappears back through the doors, despite Dr. Iplier’s protests. Bro and the others rush after him. They go into the first available room. 

“Chase, set him down then back up,” Oliver says sternly. Bro does what he says, gently putting Alt on the table then backing up. Oliver hurries over, slipping on a stethoscope and putting it against Alt’s chest and leaning his head down to test his breathing. His eyes widen as he looks back towards the others, “d-did he get shocked?” 

“…technically yeah, w-why?” Bro asks quietly, “H-he usually can handle shocks alright…” 

“He’s showing symptoms of cardiac arrest-!” Oliver says, fumbling towards supplies. “Chase, tell the others we need the AED!” 

Bro straightens then hangs out of the door, calling down the hallway, “Oli says we need an AED!”

“Cardiac arr—he’s having a heart attack?!” Crystal gasps, immediately going white as a sheet. 

Huffle gasps and also pales, “no-!” Bro whips around, looking shell shocked. 

“No, he’s healthy, he shouldn’t be having one of those!” Anti responds, glitching to Alt’s side. “And it was Amp who got shocked, I—I-I should have protected him against that!” He looks more worried than anyone has seen him before.

“It’s not a heart attack-!” Oliver says quickly, “he’d still be conscious otherwise!” He pushes to Alt and starts to give him CPR, pressing down on his chest as he explains. “I-It’ll be okay- I-I think you guys got here quickly enough! We just need the AED and we’ll give him a-an IV with Antiarrhythmics..! He’ll be okay… h-he’ll be okay…!” He says the last part shakily, looking down at Alt’s face with clear fear. 

Soon enough, two other men rush into the room, Dr. Jayden and Rhett Doom. 

Rhett pulls Oliver away then hurries to Alt’s side, “Move Ols!” He pushes up Alt’s shirt to apply the AED pads and starts up the machine. 

Jayden goes to hold Oliver as he gently shushes him. The younger nurse is obviously shaking and trying to hold back tears, “it’s okay Oli- it’s okay… what is it? Cardiac arrest? Okay help me set up the IV, okay?” Jayden leads Oliver to the back of the room to look for supplies. 

Bro shakily goes to sit down in one of the chairs, eyes wide as he hunches over and holds trembling hands against his mouth.

Anti glitches back as the doctors approach. The worried expression stays on his face, but he puts a hand on Bro's shoulder, trying to reassure him.

Bro looks up at Anti with tearful eyes. He laughs shakily, “I-I don’t think I’ve ever s-seen you like this…” 

"I haven't felt like this for a long time," Anti says quietly. "About anyone other than Jack, I mean. Even so..." 

Huffle goes to sit by Bro too, staring out at Alt with worry. She wipes at her face then looks at the other two. “…I think… I-I get what’s happening…? Alt used up so m-much magic that… h-his protection against electricity was… cut off I guess. So when Amp… spilt- that shock h-hurt him more than it usually would…” She looks back at Alt sadly, “…. I’ve uh… seen in my own uh, scrying… that when he’s drained… his magic can’t funnel the electricity and -“ She looks guilty again, “…t-that’s one of the tests SCLERA did on him…”

Crystal can't sit down. They stand nearby, shifting from foot to foot nervously. "R-really?" they say in response to Huffle, watching the doctors work around Alt. "Th-that's uh... not 'interesting,' but uh... good to know."

Huffle shrugs, “…magic is… interesting. That’s why I… study it- you know?” She anxiously plays with her hands. 

Crystal glances at Anti. "I-I didn't know you got so... close to these guys." 

"I didn't realize it either," Anti says.

Bro chuckles quietly and goes to squeeze Anti’s hand. “…I mean to be fair- I-I think fusing with Alt probably made you… closer than you’d think, you know?” He looks back at Rhett working on him. “…he really admires you, you know. …ever since you saved us from your world the first time. To know you care… I think he’d like that.” He squeezes his hand again, “ …and I’m glad you’re here too. And that you’ve helped us so much…” He goes to smile tightly up at Anti, “…hopefully soon we can return the favor…”

Anti stares down at Bro. He blinks, unsure what to say for a while. Then he smiles hesitantly and nods. "That's... yes. Maybe you can. Buy you all don't owe me anything." 

"They don't want to return a favor just because they owe you," Crystal says. 

"No, I... know. But... I wanted to put that out there. I-I've been happy to help." He pauses. "And... I'd be happy to... have help too. From Alt and you." He gives a little laugh and shakes his head. "I'm not good with these sorts of things. But... I do care."

Bro laughs too, “It’s okay… I know you do. You wouldn’t have gone on this crazy journey with us if you didn’t.” 

Suddenly, they hear Alt gasp for breath, his eyes flying open. Then he starts to heave and breathe heavily, eyes darting around in confusion. 

Rhett slumps slightly against the table in relief. 

Bro scrambles out of his chair, “Alt?!” 

The others can see Alt’s eyes drift over to them- he looks very dazed and confused. 

"Alt!" Anti gasps, glitching over to the other side of the bed.

There’s the sound of something dropping as Oliver rushes over to Alt’s side, holding his cheek to get the glitch to look at him. “Alt? C-Can you hear us?”

A dazed smile blooms on Alt’s face, “Oli…” he reaches up to clumsily try to hold his hand, even though it’s shaking. “…told you… g-got home…” 

“You were supposed to get home safe, you idiot-!” Oliver says with tears in his eyes, trying to sound angry but his voice is breaking. 

“…m’sorry… sorry…” Alt slurs, eyelids fluttering. 

Anti looks up at Oliver. "It's my fault, I pushed too hard." Oliver looks at Anti with wide eyes. 

"I-I don't think it's your fault, Anti," Crystal says quietly. 

"I... don't know what else... there was to do there." Anti shakes his head. "Alt didn't have to join." 

Alt looks up blearily and tries to shake his head. 

"W-well, Bro was in danger, he would have joined no matter what." Crystal adds. 

Bro looks away guilty, “T-Then it’s my fault- I-if I hadn’t tried to hurt the other Anti then…” 

“Don’t say that Chase,” Huffle says gently, “You were trying to protect him- and he was trying to protect you.” 

“S’okay Anti…” Alt says quietly, “m’okay…”

“E-everyone always blames themselves for a thing,” Crystal says, voice shaking slightly. “A-and no one blames the guy who really deserves it. You know, the guy who wants to destroy the multiverse? If he hadn’t tried to do that, none of this would have happened! A-and, uh, everyone meant well except him, and that’s what counts.” 

Anti looks at them and laughs slightly. “You’re right. You’re so very right. I can see where I get it from.” He shakes his head. “Everything went as well as it could have. We have to remember that, and not regret. I don’t think any of us want the others drowning in regret.”

Bro laughs too, “Yeah… you’re right Crystal… thanks. N-Now that Alt is awake we… we should be celebrating…! cuz we did it!” He grins. “We got the TRVLR back and we saved the multiverse!” 

Huffle smiles, “You guys did…! I… I’m so proud of you guys-“ 

Anti nods, “In any case. Some of those wild rifts might still appear occasionally. But they won’t pose a threat to the structure of a world. They’ll seal up eventually on their own and this will pass.” 

Bro slumps back into a chair, “that’s good about the rifts… those things were so stressful when we dealt with them last time…” 

“Well, there still might be a couple,” Anti says. “But the likelihood of them sucking people in is very rare.”

Alt smiles dazedly and nods, going to hold Oli’s hand. 

Oliver sighs, “I wish saving the multiverse didn’t involve giving me a fucking heart attack…”

Anti nods. “Uh… sorry?” He says to Oliver, unsure if this is something he should apologize for. 

Oliver shakes his head, “It’s okay. Not your fault, remember?” He tries to smile. 

Rhett starts putting away the AED, “Don’t mind Oliver, he’s just being dramatic. S’not we don’t deal with this all the time.” 

“I-It’s different when it’s your boyfriend!” Oliver gasps defensively. 

“You’re the one who decided to date the hero wannabe-“ 

“Rhett!” Jayden gasps as he walks over, “That’s so rude!” 

“Hah?? No wait- Alt’s called himself that before when I’ve patched him up! I swear!” Rhett says, turning a bit red. 

Jayden snort laughs at his twin before feeling around for Alt’s vein and getting his IV set up. “Google should be stopping by soon to make sure you’re okay, Alt,” he says gently. 

Rhett looks back at Anti and gestures, “…by the way uh- hi? Oli told us about you but uh- different to meet in person… guess it’s lucky it’s like really late at night so there’s not too many other patients around.” 

“Hi,” Anti states, looking at Rhett and Jayden. “Yeah, that’s good.” He keeps staring. Unblinking. 

Rhett shivers a bit. “Well uh- I’m Jayden, that’s Rhett- wait no fuck-“ Anti’s staring is unnerving him. “I’m Rhett- that’s Jayden- we’re the PNTs here and Oliver’s older brothers.” 

Oliver laughs. 

“Um, s-sorry for… everything about him,” Crystal says. “He’s not good at being human.” 

“Not really,” Anti agrees. “I was just thinking how you all remind me of others in my own world.” 

Jayden blinks at Crystal with wide eyes, “wait …not human? …you mean he’s not magic like Alt is?” 

“And there’s other us-es??” Rhett says, dumbfounded. “I find that hard to believe. I’m one of a kind!” 

“Says the identical twin-“ Oliver giggles and Rhett elbows him.

“Uhhhh…” Crystal stalls. 

“Not human,” Anti confirms. “Not really magic, either. Long story. And yes, you exist in my world too. But you’re… very… different.”

Rhett and Jayden blink at Anti almost comically. “Fucking hell man- you guys can’t throw all this magic but not-magic shit at a bunch of STEM guys! My brain ain’t equipped for this.” Rhett whines. Jayden pats him on the back. 

Bro blinks and leans forward, “You have the Dooms in your world?! I don’t think I’ve heard you talk about them! What are they like?”

“Well they’re not called the Dooms there,” Anti says. “They’re the Googles. They live with a friend of mine in America and help out with his organization. Charity and shit. It was just the blue one for the longest time. But uh… I suppose you could say he found the other three recently.”

“What?? We’re all called Google there? That’s fucking weird-“ Rhett says. 

Bro blinks then smiles, “Huh- that’s neat! Glad they all found each other then.” 

Huffle gives Crystal a look, hiding a smile. Crystal smirks back. 

“Think of it as your last name,” Anti says. “I don’t know much about them in my world, to be honest. Been a while since I visited my friend. We both have a lot going on in our lives. He’s looking for a magic box, or something…”

Huffle smirks a bit more and covers her mouth. 

“Ohhh okay… still weird but okay.” Rhett nods. 

“Ohh magic box- that feels like a YouTube series I’ve watched…” Bro muses.

Anti raises an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t be surprised to hear that. They have a friend who runs a YouTube channel. Something like that might carry on between worlds.” 

“Heh, that’d be cool! I wanna figure out how to watch stuff from other world’s… I gotta watch Anti’s YouTube stuff- the anti from uh- JJ’s world… that doesn’t narrow it down.” Bro says. 

Anti glances over at Bro. “Sam might be able to help with that. The big one. I’ll talk to Them about it.”

Bro perks up with a big grin, “Dude! That’d be Pog!” 

A cheerful ringtone sings through the room. Crystal reaches into their pocket and pulls out that phone from earlier. “Oh, that means that the way back is unlocked, now,” they says. “Me and Huffle can leave when we want. I uh… might be rethinking this timer on the multiverse travel thing. I mean… what if I want to leave early in an emergency?”

Huffle blinks then laughs a little, “yeah… that might be smart… you gotta show me how you did this though!” She says with sparkling eyes. 

“I-I’m not sure how I did it myself to be honest, but yeah, we can talk about it!” Crystal smiles.

Alt tries to sit up but Oliver quickly tells him to stay lying down. Still, he blinks up at the buds, “…I… I guess you guys should probably leave… y-you went through a-a lot back there…”

Crystal looks over at Alt. “Oh… feels rude to leave while you’re in the hospital, though… are you sure that’d be okay?”

Alt shakes his head with a smile, “S’okay… don’t want you guys trapped in here all bored. Knowing these guys… imma be here for a bit.” 

“Damn right you are,” Oliver huffs, crossing his arms. 

Alt winces but tries to laugh. “It’s fine, Crystal… you guys have your own stuff to get back to, right?” 

Huffle hurries over to Alt and goes to take his hand, leaning down by him. “Y-You’ll message me, right? Lemme know when you’re out and okay?” 

Alt chuckles and squeezes her hand, “ ‘course. I’ll keep in touch more, promise…”

"Y-yeah, message Huffle," Crystal says. "And Huffle, tell me. I mean, you better." 

Huffle looks back at Crystal and smiles, “Of course- you’ll be the first to know!” 

"You guys really should get out of here," Anti agrees. "No doubt you'll be expected back home, if Huffle went looking for Crystal." 

"We, uh... we should keep in contact more," Crystal says. "You and me." 

"That might be weird." 

"Yeah. It might."

Bro laughs then puts an arm around Anti, “c’mon dude! Nothing wrong with keeping in contact with friends! “ 

Huffle gets up and laughs, giving Alt’s hand one last squeeze. “Y-Yeah Anti! Maybe you could give it a shot?”

"Hmm." Anti and Crystal glance at each other. They both shift around on their feet. 

"We've already met a couple times," Anti says. "Might be good to at least keep in contact. In case something... happens. To affect us both." 

"Y-yeah." Crystal nods slowly. "Uh... we can figure some way out. Sam can help with that, maybe? Y-you're talking about Sam from the Bad End, right?" 

"Not so much of a bad end anymore." 

"Hah. Yeah. Things are really looking up there... or, uh... I don't know what time the world is at now... they will be looking up?" Crystal shakes their head. "I dunno, man." 

"Either way. Sam can do it." Anti nods. "They're experienced with sending voices through universes." 

Crystal laughs. They take out their phone. "Um... okay. This is gonna stick around for a bit after we leave." They wave the phone. "So, uh. Put it somewhere safe. And I think it'll disappear eventually."

“Dude what? That’s so cool!” Huffle says, looking at the phone. 

Bro goes over and opens up his arms to Huffle and Crystal, “Well… if you two are gonna go, want a super hug for the road?” He grins.

Crystal laughs. "I-I'm uh, not really a hug person, but this is a special moment, so sure. Just this one."

Huffle bounces, “I’m a hug person!” 

Bro beams and then scoops both of the buds up and gives them a tight hug, lifting them off the ground a bit. 

Huffle giggles wildly, “Bro!” 

"Whoa!" Crystal's eyes widen. "Tall guy!" 

He sets them down then backs up, “Thanks for all your help guys… hope we’ll see you again sometime!!” 

“Y-You can visit anytime,”Alt says, smiling tiredly.

Crystal smiles. "That's good to hear. I, uh... I'll see if I can stop by occasionally. I want to visit other worlds, too." They take a deep breath and put the phone down on the ground. Its screen is glowing a bluish white. 

"You go first, Huffle. You just kinda... step forward and will yourself through."

“Oh! Okay- neat~” Huffle grins. She waves to everyone, “Bye guys! Feel better soon Alt!” 

Alt and Bro wave her off. She steps forward and follows Cry’s instructions, focusing on getting home.

The light from the phone flares, covering Huffle's body, and she disappears. 

Crystal looks back at the others and smiles. "It was nice meeting you! Goodbye! Get well soon!" And then they turn around and walk into the light as well, disappearing. 

Anti scoops up the phone from the ground, putting it on the table next to the hospital bed.

The others all stare at the light as the two of them disappear. 

Rhett turns to walk out the door. “I need a strong coffee-“ he mutters. Jayden snorts then follows after him. 

Bro, Alt and Oliver burst into giggles. Then, Bro straightens out and smiles at Anti. “So… guess you should probably get going too, huh?” 

Anti looks back at Bro. "You sure? I can stay if you want." He glances at Oliver and Alt. "Or not, of course."

Oliver laughs, blushing a bit. “You can do whatever you like… Alt is probably gonna be pretty out of it for a bit…”

"Heh." A hint of a smile traces Anti's mouth. "What about you, Alt? Would you be okay if I left right now?"

Alt blinks sleepily up at Anti, “Mmm? …y-yeah you gotta.. get home and try to find Jack right…? Just…. Try to contact us soon… wanna help…” he slurs a bit near the end, trying to force his eyes to stay open.

Anti laughs. "He wasn't kidding about out of it, was he? Alright, I'll leave you to get some rest." He gently grabs Alt's hand and squeezes it. "I'll reach out to you guys about Jack. I'd like your help, too. See you then?"

Alt looks up dazedly then smiles and nods, squeezing back Anti’s hand. “Definitely.” 

Bro claps his hand on Anti’s shoulder, “We got your back, dude! Whenever you need us!”

Anti jumps a bit in surprise as Bro claps his shoulder like that, and then smiles back at him. "I'm glad to hear that. See you soon." He walks across the room. "Sam?" 

Lightning appears on the opposite wall, opening up a black rift. Anti spins around and gives Bro and Alt a nod goodbye, then heads through. 

The rift seals up again, and he is gone.

Bro, Alt and Oliver wave goodbye. Once Anti is gone, Bro goes to slump into a chair and yawns. “…what time is it? I should let the lads know we’re home.” 

“It’s like 3 am… maybe wait until morning?” Oliver giggles. Then, he looks around, “Actually, let me go set up a comfier room for you too.” He hesitates then goes to kiss Alt on the cheek then hurries out of the room. 

Alt blinks after him then smiles in a love sick sorta way. 

Bro chuckles and goes to sit on the edge of Alt’s bed with him while they wait. “…crazy adventure,” He laughs, smiling down at Alt. He brushes back Alt’s sweaty bangs, feeling a bit of heat come off. Ah… course- fever usually came when he got like this. 

Alt giggles and smiles at Bro, “Yeah…” he then pulls the fixed TRVLR out of his pocket and grins, shaking it at him. “But at least it’s not our last~!” 

Bro laughs and ruffles Alt’s hair. “We’ll think about that later, dork. Get some rest… adventures can wait.” 

Alt snorts but then nods and curls up on the bed. “Mkay…” He holds the TRVLR close to his chest as he lets his eyes fall shut.