#he's so fun to write aghjab

[huffle-dork]

Glitch into the Hufflverse Chapter 16: Swapboys Bad End

Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs | Read One Villain falls Another One Rises

Read SITCV | Read SATCV | GITHV Masterpost

On the other side of the ring they’re in another destroyed part of town. This time it seems more like apartment buildings and a mix of businesses. Henny moves right along, Sahne following at his side.

Schneep walks along slowly, sweeping wide space with his cane in front of him, trying to sense anyone nearby.

Bro sees Alt and goes to walk beside him. “…you okay?”

Alt stays quiet, gripping his arms. “A…l-little better… I guess.”

“Hey let’s… try to look on the bright side! The doorway… if we can get it to work then… maybe it’ll take us back to JJ’s world so we can get another TRVLR! Or… maybe it’ll take us to Jackie’s world like the first time and we can find Anti… it’s gonna be okay, lil bro….”

JJ overhears Bro and Alt's conversation. He nods in agreement. I'm sure that anything will help. It's definitely going to be okay.

Jackie looks around at the buildings. "Wow... really... did a number on things, huh?" he mutters to himself.

“Yes… every day something new is destroyed…” Henny says quietly to Jackie. “I am glad I was able to get many people out before it got worse. Luckily it seems the Glitch is more interested in trying to find a way out of this universe than in making puppets like Magnificent. That could be the reason for his… insanity. We know Magnificent sustained himself by stealing magic or life from others… I do not think Glitch does the same.”

Alt nods a bit to JJ and listens quietly to Henny. His eyes dart around though- jumping at every glitchy sound and too dark shadow. 

"Really? Then I suppose this could be worse?" Schneep wonders.

"Doesn't mean it's not bad," Jackie mutters, tightening his grip on his staff. "Why is it that all of these powerful black magic guys eventually start looking for the multiverse?"

"Mine did not," Schneep says. "Our Anti was focused on us."

"Yeah, well, maybe if you gave him enough time he'd have turned his sights there."

“…selfishly I like to believe it is because… Alt is still somewhere in there… and he remembers what it was like to be under Magnificent’s power. And he does not want to inflict that on others… but it is… complicated. He still has his victims…“ Henny quietly explains.

Well... there's nothing to prove it's NOT that, JJ says. Even if he hurts others...

"Victims, huh?" Jackie mutters. "Um... I don't think... We might need, uh, information on what to watch out for. What do you think Al—the Glitch would do if he found us? Obviously he'd try to fucking... kidnap Bro or something, but what about the rest of us?"

"... I do not know..." Henny admits, " We managed to get Jackie and Jewel out of harm's way once... once Chase was..." He swallows shakily. "So I... I do not know how he will react to... people who share their faces."

Alt shudders at this, holding his arms. Bro tries to keep a positive vibe though, "M-Maybe that means he'll leave us alone?"

Jackie frowns. "...maybe." But he doesn't believe it. That other Alt already tried to glitch out the ground beneath him and Schneep.

"We should prepare for the worst just in case," Schneep says.

JJ shakes his head. I don't know if I could fight any version of Alt, though...

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Jackie says. "You might surprise yourself."

JJ looks troubled. That's quite grim.

"S...sorry," Jackie mumbles. "I guess I'm not an optimistic person."

A glitchy laugh echoes around them before a voice giggles in Jackie's ear, "Well~ Isn't that perfect? Cuz optimism is dead here. I could use someone like you, Jackie~!"

Henny freezes and whips around, "No! Jackie!"

Glitch Alt laughs madly and tries to whip out green strings to capture Jackie. Jackie whirls around, swinging his staff, but he's not fast enough. The strings wrap around his torso, forcibly pinning his arms to his sides. "Fuck!"

Meanwhile- several big cat bodies slink out and try to tackle the others. Schneep and JJ start running for Jackie, focused on him—and therefore not noticing the cats. JJ yelps as one pins him to the ground, and Schneep cries out as the same happens to him. "Motherfucker!" He tries to leap out of its grip, and JJ struggles to push the cat who tackled him away with magic. Alt dodges the cat going after him in a quick glitch then hurries over to try to help JJ. Bro almost yells but thinks better of it and tries to stagger back. 

Glitch laughs and glitches up onto a building and lets Jackie dangle off the edge. The copy kicks his feet almost like a child excited by an insect he captured, that same mad gleeful expression on his face. And looking at his boots up this close…  those look very familiar. The same kind Bro wears- just dirty and faded by time. But before Jackie can dwell on that further- Glitch brings up the strings so he can look the trapped vigilante in the face. "Come on Jackie! We're f̷̪̓r̴͍̽i̴̪͆ḛ̶͒n̴̤̈́d̶͔͗s̷̖͌~ aren't we? No need to be scared of me~" He giggles.

Jackie yelps and kicks his legs wildly, trying to find purchase that doesn't exist. "Have you lost your fucking mind?!" he shouts. "You tell me not to be scared of you while you dangle me fucking a hundred feet off the ground?!"

"Well I know you can handle it-" Glitch says matter-of-factly, tilting his head with a grin. "And you know-a bit of danger means you'll probably listen to me more... you can tell me where Chase is, right?" 

"No, I can't actually," Jackie says through gritted teeth. "I haven't seen him in a while. We knew we had to hide him from you."

“Hmm I’m not sure I believe you,” Glitch hums in amusement. He rocks Jackie back and forth with a giggle. “But if that’s what you wanna tell me maybe I’ll just use you to help me look instead!” His eyes start to swirl as he laughs, “Cmon Jackie… don’t you wanna help your old pal, A̸͚̓ļ̴̈́ţ̸͝?” 

JJ quickly grabs onto Alt as he gets close, still trying to struggle against the cat, but the cat just growls and pushes him further into the ground. Schneep yelps as the claws of the cat dig into his shoulder, breaking his concentration. "Where did he go?! Where did he take Jackie?!" He can't sense his soul nearby! Gritting his teeth, he pulls out his scissors and slashes at the cat.

Schneep manages to slash the cat off as it roars in pain and lets him go. Alt yells and tries to shoot lightning magic to get the cat off JJ. Bro looks conflicted up towards where Glitch has Jackie.

"Do not even think about it Chase!" Henny warns.

"But he needs help!" Bro tries to argue.

"Yes- but Glitch wants you!" Henny yells and then whips around and freezes two of the cats in time, holding out his hand.

Schneep leaps out of the way of the cat as soon as he's free. JJ scrambles away and staggers to his feet. "Seriously, where is Jackie?!" Schneep asks.

JJ looks up. On top of a building!

"Which one?! Point me in that direction."

JJ runs over to him and physically turns him towards the building in question, moving his head so he'd be looking at Glitch and Jackie if he could see.

"A bit forceful, but thank you!" Schneep says. "Let's go! Alt, grab Henrik!" Schneep latches onto JJ and leaps out of sight, heading towards the roof.

Alt startles and then nods and grabs Henny. He looks back towards Bro and narrows his eyes, “Stay here! We’ll be back.” Bro tries to open his mouth to protest but then Alt glitches away with Henny.

Schneep and JJ appear on top of the roof, on the opposite side where Glitch is dangling Jackie. JJ shudders, holding back the nausea of Schneep's teleportation, and looks at the two of them. He gasps and starts rushing forward, but Schneep grabs him and whispers, "Be subtle. He might drop Jackie."

Right. JJ nods and the two of them go forward as quickly and quietly as possible. They just need to get within range of JJ's long-range spells!

Alt appears with Henny next to the others. Henny pulls out his watch, watching the two of them cautiously. Alt feels himself wanting to glitch angrily but tries to hold back.

Jackie glances down at the air beneath his feet and tries to hide his fear. Then he looks up at Glitch—only to see his eyes swirling. He quickly tries to look away. "You're not my 'old pal.' Some version of you might be, but we have no history."

Glitch frowns and tilts his head at Jackie. “Damn… don’t have loyalty to anyone huh? No wonder you lost your Schneep.” 

Jackie stiffens, going a bit pale. "Y-you—you don't know anything! I-it's not—I tried to go back for him, they tried to get him out, they have a tight hold on his—on his fucking mind! W-we—we'll need to—you shut the fuck up! H-how do you even know about that?!"

"Cuz I was there," Glitch says matter-of-factly, grinning sinisterly, "I was the same Alt that went on adventures with all of you~! I know a lot more than you think, Jackie Parker..." He tilts his head to try to catch his attention again, eyes glowing and swirling even more, "Which is why you should be able to trust me~!" 

As they walk forward, Schneep hits the end of his cane against a metal vent of some kind, making a small ding! sound. He winces. Alt glitches a bit in surprise and Glitch's gaze flickers for just a second to notice the others. He twitches his head and a glitchy shield appears in front of Glitch and Jackie- cutting the others off. Alt tries to glitch through it and gets blown back, skidding across the roof with a cry of pain.

JJ rushes forward, throwing magic at the shield, trying to break it down. Schneep also leaps the rest of the way forward and slashes his scissors across the shield to cut them. Schneep’s scissors manage to break through, making a rip in the shield.

Jackie's stomach sinks as he stares at Glitch in horror. Then he quickly looks down again as his eyes start to swirl. "No, you're not him," he says quietly. "Maybe you were him once, but it's clear that something happened to change you. I don't even recognize you. You're not my friend anymore."

Glitch’s face falls and then flares with anger. “F̶̣̓i̵̳͛n̸̠̉e̵̥͌,” he snarls and opens up his hand- letting Jackie fall.

“NO!” Alt cries out.

Jackie screams as he falls, wind rushing past him.

"Jackie!" Schneep shouts.

JJ throws his hand out, blue magic shooting out. It forms into the shape of a big hand and grabs Jackie before he can get too far. JJ's arm trembles with the effort of the spell—he put as much power as possible in this to be sure that he got him, maybe too much. But it works, as he manages to pull him back onto the roof. Jackie breathes heavily, visibly shaking.

Bro screams at seeing Jackie fall, ready to get up and fly towards him. He quiets once he sees JJ manage to save him… but if Glitch is throwing his friends off buildings- he can’t just sit here! He flies up, trying to stay away but being close by. Sahne, who was left on the ground, barks after him in distress. 

Schneep hurries over. He feels the strings that Glitch wrapped Jackie up in and starts cutting through them.

Glitch glitches to his feet and growls in anger. “Hey! Let me play with my toys how I please!”

“Fuck that!” Alt snarls, glitching so he’s in between Glitch, Jackie and Schneep.

Glitch stands taller and narrows his eyes, “hmm… okay. I guess I can play with all of you too.” He glances at JJ then glitches to try to grab him. JJ gasps and barely manages to dodge, Glitch's hands an inch from him.

"We are not your fucking toys!" Schneep snarls, and throws his scissors past Alt and towards Glitch as Jackie shakes off the rest of the strings. JJ conjures a shield around Schneep and Jackie, leaving himself, Alt, and Henny exposed.

Glitch yells as he’s struck and then growls and glitches to try to grab Schneep but gets stopped by the shield. He glitches back, giggling unstably. “That’s some pretty strong magic there J…. Let me have a taste-!” he lashes out to grab JJ again.

Henny tries to whip out his hand to stop him but Glitch dodges it easily.

JJ yelps as Glitch grabs him and squirms against his grip. Glitch laughs and digs claws into JJ’s arm, trying to drain some of his magic… just like Magnificent.

"Jamie!" Schneep gasps, and leaps out from the bubble shield, pulling out another pair of scissors and going to stab Glitch.

He easily dodged Schneep’s scissors and laughs wildly. “Gonna have to try harder than that Schneep!”

Alt hesitates and then tries to see if he can glitch over and grab JJ.

JJ gasps in horror. He recognizes the feeling of his magic being pulled away from him and squirms in discomfort. As his magic is drained, the shield around Jackie flickers and dies. Jackie gets to his feet shakily. He dropped his staff earlier but he has to do something! He jumps at the Glitch, planning to tackle him.

Glitch easily skirts his way out of Alt’s path- but ends up being barreled into by Jackie, getting tackled away from JJ. JJ staggers backwards, away from the Glitch, staring in shock. Schneep rushes to his side and helps support him as he sways tiredly. 

Glitch laughs wildly though, grabbing onto Jackie’s face and spiraling his eyes to try to capture his gaze again. “Hehehe! I wanna see you fight, Jackie! I wanna see alll the damage you won’t let yourself do! Show me!”

Jackie is expecting Glitch to fight back, not try more hypnotism. He tries to jerk back from his grip, but he looks into Glitch's eyes at just the wrong time. He stops, slumping, as the spirals draw him in. "You... want... to see that?"

"Jackie, no!" Schneep gasps. "Don't listen to him!" JJ tries to grab Jackie with magic again but his power flickers and fails.

“Yes! Yes!” Glitch giggles, grinning sharply. “Show me how brutal you can beee~! Then all of you can help me find Chase! It’ll be so fun!”

Bro eeps slightly and goes to hide at the edge of the building- trying to stay close in case they need help.

“No!” Alt calls, pushing himself up, “Jackie! Wake up!”

Henny yells out in anger and tries to grab Glitch in his magic but Glitch twitches his head and Henny’s magic gets sent back at him and sends him skidding back, trapped in his own magic.

Glitch lets go and helps Jackie up. “Go on Jackie~ give us a good show!”

Jackie gets to his feet, staring at the others with spirals in his eyes. He bends over and grabs the scissors that Schneep had thrown and missed, then rushes forward, bringing the scissors down towards Schneep. He cries out as his own scissors pierce his shoulder and leaps back. Jackie keeps hold of the weapon and whirls on JJ instead. JJ's eyes widen and he runs, not wanting to face Jackie. But Jackie chases after him.

"You bastard!" Schneep hisses, whirling on Glitch. He leaps forward, grabbing him.

Glitch laughs wildly and lets Schneep grab him. He studies him then frowns. “Aw you’re no fun- I can’t hypnotize you… fine-“ He grabs onto Schneep’s arm and lets sparks crackle across his jacket sleeve but not letting it shock him yet. “Will you tell me where Chase is?”

Schneep feels the electricity crawling across his arm. His eyes widen but he grits his teeth and glares. "You cannot torture me into giving you information! I've lived through enough pain already!" Then he tries to wrest his arms free.

“Wrong answer, Henrik.” Glitch cackles as he shocks Schneep heavily. 

Alt panics slightly at seeing Jackie get caught. He glitches over to try to tackle him away from JJ. Jackie yelps as Alt tackles him. He immediately twists around to stab him in the back with the scissors. Alt grabs Jackie’s hand to stop him and bares his teeth, “Jackie! C’mon! Cut it out!” He tries his best to keep Jackie down.

Jackie snarls, glaring at Alt with those spiral eyes. He does everything he can to fight against Alt, kicking and writhing and trying to headbutt him. Jackie manages to head butt Alt hard enough that he sees stars, crying out as he lets go of Jackie. He doesn't hesitate. As soon as he's free he tries to stab Alt again.

Schneep cries out, collapsing to the ground as pain wracks his body. JJ's head snaps towards him and he throws a ball of icy magic at Glitch.

Glitch manages to dodge JJ’s magic with a giggle then glitches over to try to grab JJ too, eyes spiraling again. “You need an upgrade on your magic, J~! Let me help you!” JJ shuts his eyes immediately. He pulls an arm free and presses a hand to Glitch's chest, trying to freeze him in place. Glitch grabs his hand and snarls, “Nice try-“ He tries to shock him too. 

JJ's eyes widen and he screams hoarsely. The sound snaps Schneep out of the trance he was in after being shocked himself. He leaps over and attacks Glitch from behind with yet another pair of scissors. Glitch senses Schneep coming behind him and throws JJ at Schneep with a wild laugh. “Too slow!” 

Schneep stumbles and he and JJ fall to the ground as JJ gets thrown into him. JJ scrambles up first and aims another magic blast at Glitch. Glitch grins and does the same trick he did with Henny, forcing JJ’s spell to backfire and blast into himself. JJ cries out, skidding back against the roof. He pounds against the bubble that's now formed around him, trying to break free. But while Glitch is distracted, Schneep leaps forward and tries to slash at him.

Glitch glitches away and giggles, “You guys are really bad at this! It’s almost fun to watch! But we don’t have to dooo this, you know! Just let me know where Chase is!” 

"Fuck off!" Schneep snaps. "Nothing about you tells me he will be safe with you!" He attacks again.

Bro notices that Henny is still struggling to get out of his magic and carefully tries to fly over, seeing if he can help. 

Alt tries to dodge Jackie but gets stabbed in the shoulder. He yells out then tries to blast Jackie back with his magic. Jackie gets pushed back but leaps forward immediately, making to stab again. Alt gasps and grabs Jackie’s wrist again, trying to keep him from stabbing him before trying to punch him in the face. Jackie's head snaps back, and for a moment the spirals in his eyes flicker as he gasps in pain. Then they return in full force and he tries to punch Alt right back in turn. Alt’s eyes widen a bit- then narrow in determination. He dodges the punch then tries to grab Jackie’s arm to shock him.

Jackie cries out, his body shuddering as the electricity jolts through his body. The spirals in his eyes disappear. "H-holy shit, Alt!" he gasps out. "I—" He shakes his head. "Th-the magic—h-hypnosis—it's trying to come back—"

Alt looks apologetic but he grabs Jackie’s shoulders and shakes him, “Fight it, Jackie! I know you can!”

"I... I-I..." Jackie's eyelids flutter. The magic in his head is trying to sink in again, telling him to listen to the Glitch, to do as he said--And then, suddenly, there's a SNAP in his mind. He cries out and suddenly, the magic is completely gone. "Wha—what the—?" He presses a hand to his head. "What was that?" He takes a deep breath and gets to his feet. "I-I'm good. I'm good! We—we have to help Schneep!"

Alt seems to relax at getting Jackie back and he nods. “JJ too… then maybe we can get out of here-!”

Glitch gets slashed and he bares his teeth at him but tries to laugh, “c’mon Schneep~! He’s my brother! You’re not gonna keep me from my own family are you~?” He tries to slash claws at Schneep.

Bro shudders at this and then gets up on the roof to try to see if he can untie Henny. …how do you untie magic??

Henny stiffens and looks back with a sinking stomach. “C-Chase? What are you doing??” He whispers. “You were not supposed to come up here!”

“You need help! I can’t just sit around!” Bro hisses.

“I am fine! You will not be!!”

JJ notices the strange distortion in the air by Henny. His eyes widen. Get out of here! he signs.

Bro hesitates- then scrambles to try to pull Henny free.

“Chase!” Henny hisses quietly, “You must go now!”

Schneep leaps out of the way. "He is not your brother!" He snarls. "He is our Alt's brother! Just because you are similar does not mean that you are entitled to his life!"

"Schneep!" Jackie shouts. "My staff!"

Hearing this, Schneep reaches out and grabs Jackie's staff, tossing it back in Jackie's direction. Jackie grabs it, extending it to its full length, and lunges forward. Schneep does too, both of them attacking Glitch at the same time.

Glitch growls and starts to spark dangerously with purple lightning. Alt notices this and tries to warn the others- but then Glitch sends out a shockwave of electricity, sending all 3 of them off their feet and skidding back. 

JJ's eyes widen at the lightning and Chase's refusal to leave. He takes a deep breath. What did that Marvin in the last world say? Remember who you're fighting for? He's fighting for not just the ability to get home and see all his friends, but also to protect the friends he's made here—-his friends who are now in danger. His eyes start to glow, the blue entirely consuming it. He slams his hands against the bubble—

And it shatters like glass.

JJ lunges for Glitch, closing the distance remarkably quickly, and grabs him. Magic swirls around him, trailing, a blizzard, extending from his back—in a way that almost resembles wings. The magic around him swirls around Glitch as well, the temperature noticeably lowering as he tries, again, to freeze him.

Alt gapes at seeing JJ break from his magic and then form- wings?? Just like his own lightning bird form! He laughs breathlessly then calls out, “Yeahh JJ!! Kick his ass!!”

Glitch jolts back- not expecting this and is completely caught off guard. His whole body gets encased in ice except for his head and Glitch tries his best to struggle and pull himself out, “W-what the fuck?! Since when could you do something like that?!” He snarls.

JJ backs away, looking down at himself, surprised. This feels familiar... but he can't remember ever doing anything like this before. He looks around at the others. We're getting out of here! he says. He dashes over to Jackie, Schneep, and Alt, making contact with all of them. There's a puff of blue smoke and all of them reappear near Henny—and the invisible Bro. Another puff of smoke surrounds them all, and they are gone—

Reappearing back on the street, right by Sahne who was left behind.

Sahne barks in surprise and Henny finally manages to break out of his own magic. He looks at JJ with awe, “Jamie… that was incredible!”

“Yeah!! Way to go man!!” Bro exclaims happily. Henny takes a second to find where Bro is then hits him. “Ow!! Hen!?”

“That was incredibly stupid Chase! You are so lucky you were not caught!” Henny scolds.

Alt nervously watches the building they left Glitch on. “We should hurry- who knows how long that will hold… how much farther, Hen?”

“Yes… not too much farther. Come-“ Henny says and starts to hurry back down the street.

I'm not sure how I did that... JJ says slowly, and the magic around his splutters out. He falls to his knees, and Jackie and Schneep rush to his side. He waves them off and stands up again. Not sure I can do that again, though. At least not easily.

"That's fine," Jackie says. "Do you need any help?"

JJ shakes his head. He starts to stumble, and Schneep reaches out to help him. JJ insists.

"Yes, but you may not be able to run," Schneep says. "So let us help you."

JJ hesitates, then nods. He leans on Jackie and the three of them rush after Henny.

Alt slows down to look at JJ with worry,  “You okay dude? …it’s crazy huh? Suddenly using power like that-“ 

Henny notices JJ’s struggle and slows down too, but keeps an eye out for anything coming their way.

JJ nods. I'm fine. It's strange, but that felt... familiar somehow. But I know I've never done anything like that.

"Maybe you have, but you forgot?" Schneep asks. "Is that possible?"

For a moment, JJ just frowns thoughtfully. Maybe... I'm not sure, though. I'll have to do some research once I get home.

Alt nods, “Yeah… I get that. I hardly remember the first time I did something like that. Chase said it was kinda freaky though.”

“Yeah! You damn near gave all of us a heart attack!” Bro grumbles.

JJ chuckles, but then pauses thoughtfully. After... after me and my friends escaped IRIS, I was very exhausted. Most of the escape is a blur to me. Perhaps... then...?

"You think you did something like that back then?" Jackie asks.

Maybe...

“Damn right.. you mentioned that… that makes sense though. I think that kinda power can be brought up through… desperation more often than not? I’m still learning how mine works too..” Alt says.

I was thinking a lot about saving the rest of you, JJ says.

"Daww," Jackie grins.

JJ laughs slightly. And getting home to see my friends again, of course.

"Hmm... you know, in my world, my Jamie was able to gain magic," Schneep says. "What did you say he might be, Jamie?"

A warlock, JJ says. That is indeed someone who gains magic through desperation. Though they also need to be exposed to a lot of magic beforehand.

"So perhaps desperation plays a part in many types of magic."

Alt smiles warmly. “Yeah… I think my J would say… it deals with just how much power the mind and body have that we don’t even know about… even if he doesn’t get magic I think that principle is there.”

“Very true! We often don’t know what we’re really capable of until we’re pushed to a certain point.” Bro adds.

Jackie nods slowly. "Though... I'm not sure how much I like the idea that desperation is a sort of power."

It's not the desperation itself, I think, JJ says. It is the desperation FOR something, wanting to do something so much that you break through your limits.

“Kinda Like… determination! In Undertale!” Bro grins.

Alt laughs, “It does kinda feel like that, huh?”

Schneep hums the game over theme, Determination, a bit.

Jackie laughs. "You a fan of that game? In my world, it came out on your birthday."

"Oh yes, it did in my world, too." Schneep grins. "Jack insisted that I play it for that reason, even though I am not a game player usually."

“It’s such a good game!! Shame it got meme’d to death- me and the lads all love it!” Bro laughs.

"Ah, lots of good games get meme'd to death," Jackie says. "Doesn't make them less good."

Alt chuckles, “It has a good message… I guess its mechanics can be applied to magic! Who knew?”

"Who knew?" Schneep repeats. "I suppose it shows how great stories hit at the heart of life."

How deep of you, JJ says, smiling.

Alt and Bro laugh. “So true!” Bro grins.

Henny slows completely in front of them. Sahne’s fur bristles as they stand in front of a large building with the name of Hope Water hospital barely visible through the destroyed concrete and rubble. “We’re here.”

Jackie stops walking. "Wow... this place really has gone to shit, hasn't it?" he mutters. "Destroyed hospital. Real apocalyptic."

Hope Water Hospital... JJ repeats. There's a SCLERA thing here?

“Yes… SCLERA had a habit of using hospitals as fronts for their underground operations. Real sneaky shady way of getting subjects for their experiments…” Henny says darkly.

Alt shudders, looking at the familiar logo.

“Come,” Henny says as he starts to make his way through the rubble, searching for a way down.

"That would explain everything that happened in the first world," Schneep mutters.

"They disgust me," Jackie says darkly. "If the IRIS in my world is anything like this, no wonder my Anti hates them so much." He sighs. "Anyway. We're gonna have to sift through this rubble, Schneep."

"Oh joy," Schneep says drily.

Can you just glitch down there? JJ asks.

"I can try—but I don't want to risk it if there is this much rubble."

"Old-fashioned way, then," Jackie says, and the three of them start looking through the destroyed area.

Alt looks around, “…this is the same SCLERA we’ve been to… I… I think I can glitch us down to the right room.” He suppresses another shudder. “I remember it very clearly.”

Bro laughs, his invisible form a bit higher than the others as he hovers. “Good idea then Alt- I was starting to feel bad for everyone!”

Alt rolls his eyes.

Henny looks back and then smiles, “Ah yes I almost forgot Alt… I am so used to uh… dealing without your glitching. We link up, yes?”

Alt nods.

"Right, yeah." Jackie backs away and grabs onto Schneep and JJ. Then JJ walks over and holds out a hand for Alt to take.

Alt grabs JJ’s hand and Bro floats down and grabs Henny and Sahne. Henny laughs, “it is very strange to be grabbed by something you cannot see.”

“Oh right- sorry!” Bro chuckles.

Alt glitches them all down.