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sheepheadfred · 23 days ago

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Ectoberhaunt Day 24- Time Loop

Summary: Jazz came back home after being away for some time, but something feels wrong. Her hair is down and she lost her glasses and seems more serious and sullen. And why does she look so sad when she looks at him?

dp magia au

Ao3 link

Jazz came home.

Danny was excited that he didn't care if his parents would now gush about her achievements to her face instead of just comparing them. He got good marks but not as good so he understands, he missed her, too.

He put on his trusty space themed headband he got once to match her, she helped him pick it out before she left for that exchange program. He was practically vibrating with excitement to see her again. Being an exchange student for so long, he hopes she wasn't lonely like he was. He has Sam and Tucker but it's not the same, they don't live here for starters. He hopes she made friends there, even if she wasn't going to stay.

But now, he's concerned.

She looks different, that can be expected after being away, but why is she so cold?

Like she has been through heartbreak many times and has become numb to it.

She looks like the version of herself from his dream. The one from last night.

What happened?

Who hurt you?

He tries not to think about it too much, for now. He just wants to spend time with her, his big sister.

Mom and dad already went back to the lab, doing who knows what, allowing them to catch up. Danny found a cool space exhibit and wanted to show her! And tell her about all she missed! And maybe she will do the same! And-!

"It's so nice that you're back, Jazz! It's been quiet without you around to drag mom and dad out of the lab. Well, I guess the lab might have been noisy but that doesn't count. Don't worry, when we didn't have much Tucker had me over. But it's mainly been Nasty Burger honestly. It became kind of embarrassing getting food from them all the time when his parents aren't that much more well off. Sam offered, but we both know her parents hate me just for being related to our parents. You know how it is."

Jazz's hands clench into fists. Not the first time this has happened for either of them.

"I mean," Danny continues, wanting to tell someone who'd understand, "They must have been caught up in some project again. They still believe that things like missing person reports to suicide are linked to some supernatural phenomenon making them do it!"

Danny laughs it off for how unbelievable that idea is, trying to get Jazz to join in.

(Maybe she would have long ago.)

Instead, all it did seemed to make her more upset. This was not how he wanted today to go at all.

"But! Now it can just be us for now! You can even tell me all about whatever you did during the exchange program. You must have helped other people quite a lot over there, right? Betcha got some new, nerdy friends, right?" Danny tries to nudge her, giving a smug smile and pulling out all his 'obnoxious younger sibling' energy into it.

That was enough to get a reaction. Though, not the one he was hoping for.

She turns to look Danny dead in his bright, hopeful eyes. Halfway to whatever destination her brother wanted to show her. Bright and enthused and so full of life.

"My dearest brother, do you treasure the life you currently live? Do you consider your family and friends precious?"

"Jazz, what are you talking about," Danny is taken aback. What has gotten into her to make her this cryptic and cold? "Of course I do! You should know this!"

His sister somehow managed to look more serious, "Then don't change who you are. You must stay as you have been or everything will be lost." She sounded so desperate for him to agree.

She then just walked off, as if looking for something.

Something that has caught her ire.

Leaving him there, excitement extinguished and replaced by confusion.

"Man, that is wack! Not even back for a day and she says some weird stuff and jets?! What the hell, man?"

Tucker voiced Danny's thoughts without needing to read his mind. He and Sam met up with Danny to hang after Jazz decided to be cryptic and ghost him. All Danny could do was shrug in response.

"I don't know, Tuck. What's crazier is that I've seen this version of Jazz before. Being all cool and weird, not her usual psycho babble weird. I saw her in a dream, or something. Last night's dream, actually."

"Maybe that dream just meant you missed her. It's been a while and you have been thinking about her a lot, right? On top of your parents saying all that stuff about otherworldly creatures." Sam offered. It wasn't an unreasonable suggestion, after all.

"Oh! Or maybe it was some kind of premonition. That she traveled across time and space to see you again after some kind of tragic fate!"

"Tucker, you buffoon! that doesn't make any sense! If that was true, why'd she ditch? Be serious!"

Danny, not wanting to deal with another argument between them on top of Jazz's odd behavior, snaps at them. Tucker was joking, he knows that, but that cryptic warning and her sad eyes makes him concerned his friend had a point. He needed a subject change.

"Shut up! Just- Can we not... for one day?"

"Sure, man. Sorry." Tucker apologized, "I was just... trying to lighten the mood. Didn't realize I crossed the line."

"Hey," Sam started, "let's go to the music store in the mall! Something nicer to think on and the new Dumpty Humpty album is probably out by now."

"Don't your parents want you home for something today?" Danny doesn't want to be the reason she gets in trouble. Her parents already hate him for his parents and encouraging her true goth-y self as it is.

"Pssh! I don't care," she replies with a devious smirk, "Besides, my friend needs me more than whatever they want to force on me this time."

With no other objections, the trio heads out from Nasty Burger. Eager for a new topic and distraction.

Finding some tunes to try, they all separate and spread throughout the store. Danny tries to listen when he hears a cry for help echo in his head.

It sounded frantic.

Desperately calling for him.

Danny assumes so as he seems to be the only one reacting to this voice.

This scared voice.

Something inside him told him that he had to find whoever this voice belonged to. Had to make sure they're alright.

Making up his mind, he left the music store by himself and headed to where the voice seemed to originate from. Mentally apologizing to his friends for ditching.

A shady looking back alley feeling a darkness settle around him. An almost unnatural darkness.

He continued on into it, looking even when common sense screamed at him to turn around and find his friends. He was drawn to the voice and he needed to know why.

It wasn't until something shifted and fell in front of him that he found the source.

A small, cat-like creature of green, gold, black, and white with a large singular eye on its head above a cute, cat-like mouth. It's ears twitched and its tail shifted, it limped to him before collapsing.

Danny can't believe something this odd would exist! Its hurt, though, covered in scrapes and burns and open wounds and struggling to breathe.

So naturally, Danny scoops it up. He's not sure how it can speak in his head but something in him knows that this thing is where the voice came from. And something out there wants to hurt it!

Danny holds the creature close as an unknown person approaches him, realizing just how much danger he is in right now.

And out comes... Jazz?!

What?

She seems to be wearing the strange clothes she had on in his dream. Serious and scholarly but still a bit childish with long flow-y garments and small bows adding in for flair.

In her hand is... a weapon?!

A bow with energy where the arrows would go that turned into some kind of staff, a bo staff like his mom uses maybe, as she noticed him. Possibly it's inactive form, he thinks.

"Jazz... What's going on? Why are you attacking this poor creature?"

She looked hurt but determined as she tried to approach when Tucker unleashed a fire extinguisher on her, clearly still irritated at how she treated his best bro, and pulled Danny away.

Sam met up with them on their way out, having followed but lagged behind for one reason or another as Tucker ran ahead with the fire extinguisher.

The three run further into the alley, deeper and deeper into the dark as the world distorts around them.

None of them knowing just what they were walking into.

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

Again!

She failed to stop first contact again!

Jazz doesn't know how long she's been at this, having long since lost count, but nothing will stop her. Not now. It can't.

She refuses to stop until she can find a timeline that allows him to grow up away from this wretched life style.

So he can live. Whether they live in it together is something she tries to tell herself that she doesn't care about. Trying to convince herself and failing.

He's always so quick to throw his life away. Making a wish for someone else when he could so easily use it selfishly, like against bullies or to get more attention from their parents.

Danny, her baby brother, for him she will loop this same cursed month again and again to protect him. Like she always has.

She barely remembers a time when she didn't try to warn him. Where she just stayed and listened to his excited rambles from space to their parents' usual neglect. When she stayed and they had a blast together. Before the horrors.

It's been a while since she paid attention to what they were up to at the beginning. She really hates that they were right now that it finally registered what they were doing and theorizing about. One thing she's grateful they don't know the whole story about.

They wouldn't be able to see it, anyway.

She almost wishes they could.

Not like it would come true, she already used her one wish. No regrets, can't afford them, but it has still made her bitter in some aspects she misses about her past self.

She's been doing so well these first few days back at the beginning of her loop, keeping that creature from contacting and contracting her brother. Not saying much, the first days back tend to be the simplest.

How she hates them. Those creatures who grant wishes promising miracles and purposefully neglecting the cruel truths paired with said miracles.

Calling for his help, her kind baby brother of course would check it out. Whenever this happens, that's the exact path he chose no matter the other variables.

Those damn Observii and their sinister cute act! Their stupid manipulations! Their honeyed words and misleading wording! Always keen to take full advantage of any and every little weakness and vulnerability!

Jazz can feel tears prick at her eyes thinking about it.

She must stay strong, be strong, for Danny.

To keep him safe from that horrible fate that befell him time and time again.

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