#like him and bro switched places- where alt was trying to understand and bro was ready to fight ahvjhba

[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.

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

][All questions for otp meme for Pascal + Rhys][

@blind-mutant

Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop?

Pascal is the man who knows everyone's order before they get there. Rhys is no different and perhaps Pascal slips a cookie or two for Rhys. The man just seems so skinny and cute...how could Pascal not bleed his heart out all over the place when looking into his little face?

Rhys meanwhile, is smitten with the weirdo who gives him free coffee and extra snacks at the price of hearing terrible jokes. There's some worry when some nights Pascal is incredibly clumsy and seems to shake and stare off into the distance...which only draws Rhys in more at knowing that the barista isn't perfect. Which only makes him MORE perfect and hit-onable.

Highschool/College AU: Who is the straight-A student, and who’s the backrow slacker?

Rhys tries hard in school, he has to if he wants to prove himself and actually stay at the institute. He works hard but things are harder for him, what with being a gay disabled albino mutant. A bigger shit could not hit the fan...that is, until blind rich boy Pascal Solberg arrives and he's brought a big fucking fan.

Pascal is thrilled to be at a school with actual people. Everyone adores Korra and he seems to have an answer for everything! But Rhys sees through this shit and he's determined to find out why Pascal knows far too many things than he should...definitely not because Korra is very cute and so is Pascal!

Rivals to loves AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons? 

In the institute, Pascal loves teasing and bullying Rhys. It gets him more attention and even without his future sight, Pascal knows that Rhys will be safer, that other patients will be better off if he's paying for actual mistakes rather than letting anyone else suffer. It hurts, but Pascal would take this paik in stride...if not for how annoying Rhys could be.

Rhys??? Oh he's onto Pascal. Knows that he's with a dumbass who wants to hurt himself and is only going to end up dead. It isn't often that a fancy prick ends up in such a place like this...and yet Pascal is here. He doesn't talk about why he ended up at the institute, but he seems to have something up his sleeve and Rhys wants in on it.

Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides? 

Its...certainly a thing for Pascal church to join up with an anti-mutant church, but he has some...worries about the fact that he is essentially similar to a mutant, as well as the fact that Pascal's mother seems to be inclined on keeping it a secret to the rest of the church as well as the mutants that the church frequently attacks. He doesn't like it. He doesn't enjoy being used to hurt people. But Pascal does like the pretty mutant that called him a shitbag before swearing when Beast tells him that Pascal is the target.

So now...he lives at the X-Mansion? X-house? Pascal is there and things are awkward, especially when Rhys gets put on his shift of watching Pascal. But the seer is secretive with the full extent of his powers and seeing everyone happy at the mansion as well as Rhys getting kinder when he learns that Pascal was unwilling in hurting people...it makes the seer certain in what he has to do. He needs to protect the Institution and all of its inhabitants.

Especially Rhys, who still calls him a shitbag, but now laces it with teasing affection as well as 'Scal and Firefly. Who sounds so happy and sents Pascal's heart reeling when he coos over Korra. Murder is easy depending on who it's for.

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate? 

Of course Pascal wants to meet his soulmate. Who wouldn't? They'll be the only other person who really understands him now that Cassandra is gone. He doesn't care what category his soulmate is, whether he'll get a partner, a friend or family member, Pascal just wants to stop feeling so alone in this world, even if he has two beautiful children who meow and bark at him. His soulmate is perfect, no matter what.

Rhys however, jesus fucking christ he can't have a soulmate. He's a shitty person, next is the fact that Rhys is homeless and a mutant. He isn't what anyone would want honestly, especially when Pascal is the leader of a whole fucking church. That definitely sends Rhys reeling and now Pascal needs to try and take on the mission of wooing Rhys and letting the smaller man know that Pascal won't hurt him. He wants to only make Rhys happy.

Single parent AU: Which one is the single parent? (Alt. if they’re both single parents: Which one is open to starting a new relationship from the start? Which one is never planning on finding love again… Until they meet the other and are instantly smitten?)

Rhys and Pascal are both messes of fathers but they try and they love their kids. Rhys's kid is the last he has of Blue while Pascal had no choice but to try and be there for his kid after he killed their mother. It's hard to provide for them but our idiots do try...and it gets harder, maybe easier when Pascal's kid starts to declare that Rhys's kid is their best friend. Well...Pascal and Rhys being dilf friends forever??

Its certainly easier when you have someone to support you and knows what you're going through. Rhys is always reassured by Pascal's visions and Pascal definitely needs to emotionally and maybe lean on Rhys's for support when he convinces him to not helicopter parent his kid. And perhaps there's nights of crying over people they've lost, what they've done. But there are also nights where the kids giggle and gag as Rhys and Pascal stare at each other a little too long and accidentally refer to reach other as dad. Sometimes a family is two bros, their kids from traumatic stories and extra hairy and hairless kids.

Doctor AU: Which one is the longsuffering doctor? Which one is the patient? 

Rhys needs hospital for the first time in a long time and FUCK does it feel terrible. He almost wants to leave and throw up before his attention gets caught to the weird guy with a guide dog arguing with a blind 12 year old about whether or not telling the script of ratatouille counts as telling a story. Well. Rhys is blind. That means he counts and gets to join in on listening to "stories for the blind" while waiting for his name to be called out.

He does eventually, and much to Rhys's surprise, Pascal actually offers to stand with him. He cuts his story short and leans in close to give Rhys a run through of what will happen in his appointment and if it's that bad, Pascal is happy to make sure a doctor keeps their hands strictly professional. Rhys is...actually really happy, especially when Pascal asks if Rhys can have a lollipop and then if he could have a lollipop. Hospital trips suddenly seem better when Pascal is there being a goof and wanting to help out with more in his life.

Bodyguard AU: Who is the bodyguard? Who are they protecting? Which one is secretly pining for the other? 

The obvious answer is "Rhys gets hired to guard prophet man" bUT. Pascal guarding Rhys while he's on a recruitment mission for the mansion? Could be cute of Pascal admiring Rhys's dedication to wanting to help out a child and to get them to a safe space, but could also be incredibly funny if Rhys assumed he was being guarded by a human and uh. Wasn't the nicest.

Unfortunately, Pascal's greatest sexual fantasy is being someone's doormat so he takes in in stride. And perhaps a part of Pascal doesn't actually want to tell Rhys what he is...mostly because it's funny and it'll be even funnier when they go back to the mansion and Pascal can have a lased beam battle with Cyclops.

Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this? 

Rhys is a captain that is always pleased to have non-human and capable crew members. The new boy is clumsy and soft, but he's cute and a hard worker so Rhys is a kind man who will let him stay. Especially when the boat rocks and Rhys gets pressed into a warm chest, gets to feel Pascal awkwardly laughing deeply and a comforting hand on the small of his back. Oh, he definitely needs to keep such a pretty boy that smokes so nicely when Rhys teases him.

Pascal knows he should tell Rhys he's a prince. The heir to the very seas they sail on. But it's hard and the Irish Phantom is so beautiful, much more beautiful than any suitor Pascal may be destined for. It isn't a hard choice to lie about who he is and to swallow nervously when his captain smiles and flirts in a low voice, feeling rough hands squeeze instinctively when they almost fall over. He'll tell Rhys soon. Soon.

Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

Pascal is smitten by Rhys. His family comes to the church every week, not exactly aware of what the people of the last light worship, but Pascal is smitten by Rhys. Cassandra gags, winking her many eyes before they shut and hide away when Pascal blushes and tells her on mom. Rhys is nice and one of the only children of the church, which is why Pascal is addicted to knowing more about Ireland, about Rhys and to feel the little shadows dance around his fingers. He loves hearing what darkness is supposed to sound like.

Rhys loves the other odd boy too. It's easy to when Pacal adores his powers and actually asks more about him. Rhys has his very first friend for years until he doesn't and he's alone in an institute, reeling and a part of him wishing that he could be back at the church, laughing himself silly at Pascal and Cassandra having a real life pokemon battle (that ended with Cass using a rock type love by throwing a rock into Pascal's face). He still thinks about Pascal every day and what else can he do but cry when he hears the sheer awful jokes that could only come from Pascal when he walks through a park one day?

[thelifetimechannel]

It’s time for another week of catching up with the alt-Caliborn story line. As always, this is a draft subject to change (I don’t think Gill even got around to looking Dirk’s lines over). See you next week with a regular story update, which will have more Karkat since we sorta ditched the dude for the entirety of Cherubquest.

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 13: Fantasy Masks

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Fantasy Masks | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

Bro is used to falling by now, and used to landing in strange places. But this is the strangest yet. It's a wide open room, filled with boxes and trunks and racks of medieval-looking clothes. The roof above is canvas, stretched over large white support beams that curve gently. This room must be large, but his vision of it is obscured because of all the stuff around. It's cool, but not winter-cold like that world with the kids.

"Hwaet!"

That's... a word? Definitely a voice. Where did it come from?

Bro pushes himself up and looks around in confusion. The fuck is he now? ... a theater maybe? Cuz those look like costumes....

"umm.. hello??" He calls out.

As Bro stands up, one of the racks of clothing is pushed to the side and he is immediately confronted with the tip of a sword. Not a fake plastic sword. Not a metal replica found at a fair or convention. This is a heavy-looking, razor-sharp, thirty-five-inch-long knightly sword.

Bro pushes back as much as he can to get away from the- sword?? A FUCKING SWORD?? "H-Holy shit-"

It's being wielded by a man wearing a waist-length red cloak and a wolf mask... and the rest of the man's clothes are similarly medieval.

"Tshais?" the man says, eyes widening behind the mask. Then he shakes his head. "Ní he, ní é thusa é."

"Dyaki?" Another voice calls, and someone else appears. A man wearing a white tunic-thing and--and the first man covers the other's face before Bro can get a good look. "Gah! Dyaki, cadé aan saolile?!"

"Caor uir tho aghaidh," the first man says. "Níl sé dó Tshais."

The second man quickly pulls on a mask shaped like an owl. "Cadatá aer sil?"

"Níl a fhiasagim! Dheial raigh sé!"

...What the fuck is going on?

Bro can barely tell what's going on as he looks between the two men, "f-fuck I... I can't tell what you're saying- ummm hi? I.. I'm Chase! can you not... point that very sharp and real sword at me please?"

The two men blink in almost comical unison. It's hard to tell what their expressions are under the masks, but it's clear they're just as confused as he is. They look at each other.

"A bhfuil an fies agatcén te anga a bían?" asks the wolf-masked one.

The owl-masked one shakes his head. "Ní aith ním aer shor aer bithé."

The wolf-masked man stares at Bro for a moment more. Then lowers the sword, but does not sheathe it.

"Tá brón yom," he says.

"Dyaki, cén f--"

"Is léir ghaer de mhuentor ann FhaoNaigh é," the wolf insists. "Caith fimid bhaifh measeil. Agus gan ainmneasha, ceimhni?"

The owl winced. "Diar mé oer ash 'Dyaki.'"

"...Foc."

Bro backs up more and keeping ping-ponging between the two men talking, though he doesn't understand anything. It kinda sounds like when his aunts would curse in irish but- also way different. It feels... older. God he wished Alt was here... maybe he knew a translation spell or something.

The wolf-masked one notices his growing confusion. "Tá brón yom," he repeats. He leans closer to the owl and murmurs something that Bro can't hear, then looks back at him. "Iss féid irlaet 'Dyaki' a laoch yom." The man gestured at himself. "'Dyaki.'"

He points at the owl-masked man. "Iss féid irlaet 'Henrik' a thabh aetaer. 'Henrik." The owl inclines his head.

"Cad Iss féid irlinn laoch oer?" The wolf points at Bro.

"Dyaki..." Bro repeats with a slow nod. Then, his eyes light up, "Oh! Henrik!" He smiles, relived. At least they found someone who he... sort of recognized.

The owl--Henrik's eyes widen.

Dyaki looks at him. "A bhfuil aithme oer? Cén shoi a bhfuil aithme aer FhaoNaigh?!"

"Níl aithme!" Henrik protests.

Oh- maybe they know sign? ... it could be worth a try.

Bro tries to sign I'm sorry, I can't understand you. Do you know sign? even if he's a bit clumsy with it.

Then Henrik’s eyes widen further as he sees Bro sign. "An labh raíon sé i láemhi?"

"Ní labh raíon i láemhi é sin a aithmím." Dyaki shakes his head. He finally sheaths his sword... and begins making gestures. It's clearly sing language of some sort, but it's not BSL.

Bro grins bashfully and holds up his hands, "ah okay.... that doesn't work either... shit- ...doesn't my phone have real time translation?” He pulls out his phone and tries to see if it even works.

Bro's phone does indeed work. But in the upper left corner where it usually provides cell bars and WiFi, it simply says No Service.

Bro tsks under his breath, "Of fucking course.. just my luck..."

"Cadé aan saolile?" Henrik steps forward, right up to Bro, and stares at his phone. He reaches out. "An féidi lom yeamháil...?"

"Henrik!" Dyaki looks stunned at the fact that Henrik is reaching for Bro's phone, as if he's committed some social faux pas.

"Féash aer," Henrik says quietly. "Táse shomh ai teash, caithfi mé iarash."

Bro looks at Henrik reaching for the phone and he looks confused but he offers it to him. "Uh- maybe you know where to get some service? Are we just in a bad spot? ... im realizing you can't understand me either but talking gives me comfort-"

Henrik takes the phone gently, like it's made of porcelain, and turns it over in his hands. He seems interested in the buttons and charging port at first, but then notices that the screen responds to touch and eagerly begins swiping back and forth between the home screens.

"Dyaki, féash aer!" he says excitedly. "Is motael aus gloena a lashonn! Aus frea raíonn sé, féash! Ní fhaka mé draíosht marse riam."

"Isé draíosht aan FhaoNaigh," Dyaki mutters. "Tabhair aisdó é."

"Tá, tá." Henrik nods and gives the phone back to Bro. "Rai moith a ghat."

Bro watches them look at his phone with increasing confusion. It’s like… they’ve never seen one before. That’s… really weird. But- technically with the kids they went into the past… What if they went even further?

Bro panics a bit at this thought and stumbles to stand up. “Uh- you all keep saying… FhaoNaigh- I don’t think.., I’m that? I- where is this?” He tries to look around more to see if he can get more hints, taking off his mask and shoving it in his pocket in the meantime. His hair fades back to his regular brown. “I’m not a FhaoNaigh- my name is Chase! I need to- god where’s alt??”

The two men step back, looking surprised and worried at Bro's distress. "FhaoNaigh?" Dyaki repeats, pointing at Bro with confusion.

Bro shakes his head at being called that again.

"Fuaimean séosil o bhfuil sé ará 'Tshais,'" Henrik mutters.

"Is cumalei ndáiríre," Dyaki emphasizes. "Ommm... Lasmuigh?" He points to the side and starts walking in that direction. "Téi lasmuigh?" He gestures for Bro to follow him.

As Dyaki points and directs Bro to follow, he slowly does, really trying to look at everything as they walk.

Henrik and Dyaki murmur to each other as they walk, allowing Bro ample time to look at the stuff. All these trunks and boxes and various containers... he doesn't see anything made of cardboard or plastic. These clothes... they're more than medieval-looking, the stitches look hand-done. And sometimes they come across weapons. They all look real. And there is not a firearm in sight.

“What the fuck….” Bro breathes, “please tell me this is just some really convincing re-enactors… or a ren faire… those are fun I like those-“

"Hwaet!"

They've reached the edge of the room. It looks like this place is a massive... dome? The white stone rafters curve down to meet the floor. Dyaki pushes aside a flap in the canvas and again gestures for Bro to follow.

Bro looks around at the dome and squints at it before following after Dyaki again.

Outside is a camp, pitched of tents. Not colorful tents with mesh and fabric. Strong, sturdy tents made of canvas. The sky above is bright blue, and the air is somehow crisper, fresher than Bro has ever breathed before. People wander past, wearing the same medieval clothing and masks as Henrik and Dyaki. There is a rising smoke from a fire in the distance. And surrounding all this are massive white stones. ... No, not stones. Bones. This camp is surrounded by the skeleton of some massive creature.

Bro’s jaw drops as he sees the camp- breathes the crisp air. Okay… this might actually be real. As soon as he registers the camp is surrounded by bones- Bro can’t take it anymore. He has to see. He leaps into the air and flies above the camp to see the skeleton in full. Not even considering what he could have done would backfire on him or scare anyone. The adhd has taken hold and he’s definitely off his medicine by now with how many jumps they’ve done.

"CADE AAN SAOLILE?!" he hears someone shout from below, followed by various cries of panic and awe.

As he goes up, up, up, the skeleton comes into view. First, the reptilian head, topped with horns. Then the extending lines of wingbones confirm it. This is a creature that does not exist in his world. A dragon.

Bro feels his breath puff out of his mouth as it falls open in awe. “That’s… that’s a fucking dragon-“ He laughs breathlessly and pushes back his hair. “Holy fucking shit…! This is the craziest place yet! What the fuck!”

By now he’s registering the sounds of panic/awe below and he curses. “Ah fuck… right- Jesus okay-“ he quickly zooms back down and makes sure he finds where Dyaki and Henrik are. He at least has the decency to look embarrassed. “S-Sorry! I got curious!”

The two of them are staring at him in utter shock. "Aan... bhfuil tú... Sinse?" Dyaki asks slowly.

Henrik shakes his head. "Fiú tá a fhies ayam go bhfuil mísheart." He takes a step forward. "...Tshais? Aan tufuil Tshais?"

"Níl sé Tshais!" Dyaki shouts. "Tshais ní fédie lais eithil!" Oh. 'Tshais.' It's the name Chase but spoken with slightly softer sounds.

“Tshais-“ Bro starts trying to say and then brightens as he realizes. “Oh Chase! That’s me, yes! I’m Chase! Chase Brody!” He points to himself and nods eagerly. As if he just forgotten that he just blew these guys’ minds.

This does not help with the blown minds. If anything, it looks like Dyaki's brain is melting. He takes a deep breath, turns to the side... and shouts, "Foc! Foc foc foc foc foc!" The meaning of that seems pretty clear.

Bro points at Jackie having a meltdown, “…well I know that word for sure-“

Henrik laughs.

He then looks at Bro thoughtfully. "Tshais mak Brodi." And he nods. "Credine thú. Ash cén... tshai?"

Bro blinks at Henrik attempting to talk to him and just politely nods.

Dyaki rejoins the other two. "Aan bhfuil a fies cá bhfuil Maerfin?" he asks Henrik.

"Aran mbhea lach." Henrik starts walking through the camp. Dyaki follows, and gestures for Bro to follow to.

Once Bro’s led to follow he does. “Man… this is really really weird…”

The three of them head through camp, the other people parting around them, not even bothering to disguise their stares.

Bro waves at some of the people before he thinks better of it and just follows behind Dyaki and Henrik.

-----------

Alt appears in a forest. It's a very lovely forest, the trees taller, wider, and bigger than he's ever seen before. The branches above are thick, and the only reason there's sunlight is because it's autumn and the vibrant leaves are thinning. Bushes and other undergrowth practically hide the forest floor beneath him. He barely has the chance to notice all this when--

Something goes whizzing right by him. If he turns around, he sees an arrow embedded in a tree, shaft and fletching vibrating.

Alt breathes for a second, confused by the air and trees when- He yelps in surprise and glitches away.

He then glitches back and pulls it out of the tree with wide confused eyes. “…a fucking arrow?? Who shot an arrow at me?!”

The forest is quiet except for the rustling of leaves. And then there is a louder rustling coming from a bush on the opposite direction of the arrow. And then there is a thunk, the sound of someone falling, and a hissed voice that says, "Dyamison!" Whatever that means.

Alt crouches down into a defensive stance, building up electricity in his hand. He carefully walks forward and then tries to glitch to where he heard the sound- hoping to get the upper hand.

The glitch is successful. He pushes aside a bush to see--a rabbit? No, it's someone wearing a rabbit mask, staring up with him with wide eyes...eyes that immediately shoot to the lingering glitch effects around him.

"Dyamison!" Suddenly another bush gets pushed aside and a man stands up, wearing a hat, a deer mask--and armed with a bow and a quiver by his side. His eyes also shoot to the lingering glitches.

"Tá brón yom, tá brón yom!" The man says, raising his hands. "Shílmé fur fiana thú, mé mionn é! Rinne mé! Dhírash--dhírash a fhákáil leis éin!" He sounds... panicked.

Alt backs up with his hands up and feels himself panicking too. “W-woah hey! You’re- you’re speaking a whole other language what the fuck…”

Strangely enough, Alt's panic seems to calm the man down slightly. He lowers his own hands, now simply wary instead of afraid. "Tá brón yom, níl a fhies aya cadatá thú ag rá."

The man in the rabbit mask stands up and steps backwards, almost tripping over some hidden roots. He looks at the other and raises his hands and--that's a sign language of some kind, definitely. But Alt doesn't recognize it.

"Cadatá igh seis aya?" The first man asks.

More sign language.

"Cén fáth nachrai tú dhírash taréis sin a rá?" The man sounds exasperated. He looks at Alt, and gives an awkward little bow. "Aan duine de FhaoNaigh thú?" he asks slowly, as if the speed was the issue and not the whole other language.

Alt looks between the two with widening eyes.

This- this was insane. God- didn’t Blaise give him a translation spell? …oh oh yes! Okay he knows this- he’s used it on Henny when he’s been really sick!

He breathes and closes his eyes. He places a hand on his temple, “thuiscint” then he places a hand on his throat, “labhairt nua.” When he’s done he opens his eyes back up and they’re glowing blue green. But- he should be able to understand them now…? Hopefully.

“Ah sorry… I didn’t understand before, could you say that again?”

Both of the men look impressed--but honestly, not as impressed as most everyday people would be when seeing magic.

"Are duine of FhaoNaigh you?" the man in the deer mask says. That makes no sense. The spell is struggling with this language. But thankfully, the man realizes something is up. "Om... say I aríse. Are being of FhaoNaigh you? Are you one of the FhaoNaigh?"

Alt knits his eyebrows together. Huh- this must be a tricky language… could it be old? Judging by these guys outfits and the fact that they tried to shoot him with a bow is very much convincing him of that.

“One of the… FhaoNaigh? Uhhh who are those?” Alt asks delicately.

"You don't know who the Fair Folk are?" the man in the deer mask says, sounding shocked. "Well, I guess that shows that you're not one of them. Where are you from, then? Why are you..." He pauses, searching for the words. "...made of... harsh light? And smell like... lightning?"

The man in the rabbit mask rolls his eyes and signs something.

"You describe it, then, Jameson!" the first man says, annoyed.

Alt’s eyebrows rise. Jameson. Okay that,.. that explains the sign. God he wished he could understand that too… feels rude to not know his side of things.

“Fair Folk… no can’t say I have… unless you’re talking about my complexion.” Alt tries to laugh. “I’m from- …really far away I’m guessing. A city called Brighton. And uh- I’m not… made of light- it’s just my magic. I can… hm- just sort of move around really fast. But with my whole body.” He glitches back and forth across the clearing before settling back in front of them. “We call it ‘glitching’ but if I’m right about this.. you wouldn’t know what that was.”

"Braiton?" The man in the deer mask shakes his head. "I've never heard of it. But I haven't traveled much. Jameson?"

Jameson shakes his head. He signs something else.

"Oh, Jameson thinks your magic is fascinating," the man in the deer mask says. "And I do too. You're right, I've never heard of... ghlishing." He pauses. "What are you doing out here, then? You appeared out of nowhere, i-it startled me. Sorry about the arrow, I thought you were a deer, I swear it."

Alt shakes his head, “it’s okay! I’m sure it was scary seeing someone appear out of nowhere. As for why I’m here… that’s a really long story I’m not sure you’d believe…”

Alt laughs, “And, uh, thanks. You guys are the ones who are fascinating to me… uh- where is this exactly?”

Strangely, the men hesitate when he asks where this is. "You're in the Dragon's Greatwoods," the man in the deer mask says slowly. "And you may as well tell us. I wouldn't believe that you showed up out of thin air if we hadn't seen it ourselves. Oh, I should introduce myself to you first. Call me Chase, son of Brody. And call him Jameson... Jameson, do you want me to...?" He waits for him to nod. "Okay. Jameson Jairsolas. What are you called?"

“Um…” Both of his names are out of place here. Guess it can’t be helped. “I’m Alt. Alt… Brody.”

He studies Chase closely. This is this world's version of his brother… he guesses he could see it? Weird to see Chase not in bright almost blinding colors.

“Okay well… I’m from- another world. One that’s like this one, but different. It’s Another world that is… probably in the future? If not just… something different entirely… not sure yet… but something feels distinctly more magical here…”

"Another world?" Chase repeats. "Oh. Okay. Nice to meet you, Alt Brody." He pauses. "That would explain the harsh light--the ghlishing. Strange to think of a world with less magic, though. You must be even more out of place at home. Sorry about that."

Alt blinks. Wow he accepted that a lot faster then he thought he would. Alt stuffs his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “It’s alright. I got my brother- he’s …magic too. Somewhat.”

Jameson signs something.

"Really?"

He repeats it insistently.

"...Fine, I guess." Chase sighs. "Jameson wants to take you back to our camp. He insists that nothing bad will happen, which--I suppose I'm more inclined to believe coming from him, but I'm still not entirely sure." Another pause. "If you're from another world, why did you come here?"

Alt tilts his head at this and then nods, “your camp… yeah that’s probably a good idea.” The glitch laughs at Chase’s last question. “We can’t really… control it at this point I guess. We’re trying to get home but… we keep picking the wrong places. We’re uh- kinda hunting down a dangerous person too.”

“Hmm.” Chase hums. “Well maybe we could help with that search. We’re very prepared to… protect people from dangerous people. I could’ve said that better, but you get what I mean.” He looks at Jameson. “If this turns out to be a bad idea you’re taking the blame.”

Jameson nods, as if he expected that.

“Alright, Alt Brody, follow us.” Chase turns and starts heading through the trees. “Anything else we should know before we get there? Like about your brother? Where is he, if not with you?”

"Hopefully close by," Alt mutters, "If not just- if you see someone is a stupidly bright orange jacket, it's probably him. ... oh or if you see anyone in the sky." He walks after them, afraid of scaring them more with his glitches. Even if it pains him.

Chase momentarily stops walking. "...In the sky? Does he have wings?"

Alt laughs, "Uh- no. That would be sick, though. His powers means he can fly. Amongst other things. And... knowing Chase- he's gonna be zipping around without much thought."

"That must be strong magic," Chase whispers. He's so in awe that he almost misses Alt mentioning his brother's name. "Wait... oh! So your brother is also called Chase. Good to know, that'll be helpful if the flying and bright orange isn't. There aren't many people named that in Glasúil. That's... where you are by the way. I'm not sure if you'd know that."

"Oh- huh, that's weird. It's a common name where we're from." Alt comments. ".. Glasúil- ... I've never heard of that. So, i guess we're not in the past past... just- somewhere... fantasy, I guess?" he shakes this head muttering, "This is the weirdest place yet..."

"Fantisey? You mean like... a story?" Chase considers that. "I suppose if your world is different enough, this one would seem like a story." He laughs. "It gets stranger. Wait until we reach camp. Which won't take too long, don't worry. Only about ten minutes. Come on, we can hurry." He starts walking again, he and Jameson picking up the pace.

Alt laughs, “Yeah… this is one crazy story.” He tries to keep pace with the others, though he looks over his shoulder quite a bit. As if worried about what could be lurking in the shadows.

-----------

As expected, the string snap as soon as Magnificent leaves the last universe. He falls for a moment, then winds up on... a wooden surface, of some kind. Like a dock for boats. He hears voices. Though he can't recognize what they're saying, they sound alarmed. When he looks around he finds himself in some place very strange indeed. It's a town of some sort but... incredibly, the whole thing is floating on water. The buildings, the wooden street, the poles that hold lanterns. But if he looks in the distance, he can see stone buildings. They must not be too far from land.

This is the most crowded landing yet. People are staring at him, all wide-eyed shock. He popped out of nowhere in the middle of a street and now there are about... twenty, thirty people staring at him--though they aren't too keen to get close, so he has a wide circle of space around himself.

Magnificent is enraged as he lands, pushing himself up with anger and looking around to see where that annoying hero and his disobedient cub are. But he pauses as he realizes he’s surrounded. He backs up, eyes wide as he takes in the look of the people. …why do they look old-timey? And not even… Henrik old-timey… these people look medieval. And so does the buildings around him on this strange floating dock,

“What the fuck-“ he whispers. He then glares and disappears from in front of them and slinks into nearby shadow.

The crowd gasps and cries out in surprise as Magnificent disappears. They look around, as if expecting him to be nearby, but of course, he is not.

Mag should probably stay out of sight until he can glean where this is… maybe he should disguise himself to fit in. Though… it could be fun to show off his magic and let these simpletons heed him as a god. Hm… maybe later. Right now, he needs more information…

Magnificent has found himself in a vast city, all clearly medieval in setting and yet impossibly incredible. The city starts on an island, where there are narrow buildings and winding streets and fenced-off gardens, all surrounding an enormous walled castle. But the city expands beyond the island as well, floating out onto the lake that surrounds it. This is where the maze of wooden walkways and houses come in. You would think that houses floating on a lake would be dangerous, but everything is remarkably sturdy. And there is something... something in the air.

"Goddess Almighty..." Magnificent breathes out in wonder. When he was human- this kind of place would have been his fantasy. And... maybe it is, still. A fantasy... so fantastical in how its structured. And even more so- he can sense something in the air. Magic? By now, he's yearning for anything. The power of the last world wasn't nearly enough...

Yes, it is indeed magic. And there is so… so… much of it. When he reaches out to detect it, it’s as if everything gives off a faint glow. In fact, he can feel this magic already sustaining him, slowly, like rain dripping into a bucket. But when he tries to reach out to take more or make it go faster, he can’t. This film of magic feels strangely distant. It will not give him more than he can hold naturally, and he cannot make it go faster.

Magnificent feels magic already in his veins and its incredible. Oh he likes this very much... but as always- he needed more.

But if he seeks magic to take, he can find it easily. There are so many magicians here. Granted, many of them have weak signatures, but in this city of thousands there are a smattering of powerhouses. The strongest of which is located in the castle in the center of the city.

Weak signatures cloud his vision but he can feel the strongest near... oh- a castle. Perfect... The dark magician grins to himself and then shifts into his cat form, slithering across the shadows to make his way towards the castle.

There is, of course, a wall around the castle, and there are, of course, guards patrolling it. But the gaps in the main portcullis are wide enough that a cat, liquid as they are, can slip through easily. And once inside the castle grounds nobody pays attention to a cat. Strays are not uncommon here. The castle is a collection of buildings, but the magic signature is within the main palace. The doors and windows are closed, but that won’t be a problem, will it? Even if Magnificent was an ordinary cat, he would simply need to wait for an opportunity.

Magnificent takes his time to study the people and this place as best as he can. When he reaches the windows he plops himself down in a place to wait... he can't draw too much attention just yet. It was already well guarded here. He can't afford to get caught. So he waits... he can be patient.

It's not long before a woman with a broom comes walking down the hallway inside, sweeping dirt into the corners. Not bothering with a dustpan. Magnificent has seen many people wearinggreen tunics like hers, it must be a uniform. She notices the cat sitting outside and her eyes light up. Discreetly, she glances to either side and then hurries over and slides the window open. It's a good thing he chose this spot, not all the windows will slide like that.

"Nash bhfuil tú gleoti?" she coos. "Teash tar, teash tar." It's a language Magnificent doesn't recognize, sounding like bastardized Irish, but judging by her tone she wants him to get close. Probably for petting.

Magnificent is quick to jump on the windowsill, letting himself be pet. But, as the woman makes contact, he floods his power into her. Attempting to decipher and learn the language while searching through her mind. And make it malleable to him as well- Could be useful...

The woman gasps. Her mind is surprisingly weak already, like a piece of cloth worn thin. She does not even try to fight against him. Deciphering the language is tricky, since it's not one Magnificent is familiar with, but he gets there eventually. And learns some about this new world.

This city is Suilthair, the capital of the island kingdom Glasúil. Glasúil is ruled by "aan Rith"--the Royal, the King. This woman is convinced the King is a good man, a kind and just ruler. But Magnificent knows the signs of manipulation when he sees them.

Magnificent shakes himself out as the information comes flooding. Ah- interesting. His eyes glow as he looks at the woman and he asks in her head. {Fair Maiden, can you direct me to where the Royal is?}

The woman smiles faintly, flattered at being called fair. She says something that Magnificent understands to mean, “He’s in the Great Hall at this time of day. Follow me.” And she stands up straight and starts down the wide hallways.

He chuckles and follows right after her. He makes sure to study the castle as the walk- this almost feels too easy. Not that he's complaining...

The palace corridors are wide and grand, but feel somewhat empty and dark, even with the many windows. The woman leads him down hall after hall until they reach a set of grand wooden doors. There are two guards on either side, but one of the doors is propped open so that kind of defeats the purpose of them, really.

"Through there," the woman says. "I'm not allowed in."

Magnificent giggles and in a quick burst of static he returns to his proper form. He pats her shoulder and strides forward, grinning wide. "Thank you, my dear. Now- run along~, I have business to attend to."

The two guards cry out when Magnificent shifts form, grabbing their pole arms while the woman calmly walks away.

Mag meets the guards' eyes and cocks his head at them, sending out a mental blast of obedience. "Excuse me gentlemen~ Let me through."

He attacks, and at once—maybe even faster than normal—the guards relax. They lower their weapons and step aside, letting Mag access the open doorway.

Magnificent chuckles and dramatically flares his cape to walk by and into the room. "Much obliged!"

The Royal... must be the most powerful person in this realm. And if all these fools kept falling so easily... either the king would be easy prey. Or... a worthy opponent. Either option had the mad magician excited.

This was going to be so much fun~

The Great Hall is indeed great, a wide open space with a peaked roof above and old tapestries hanging on the walls. There is also a fireplace with a roaring fire on the other end of the room, but its warmth doesn't reach the door. A long wooden table takes up most of the space. There's room for many people to sit but there is only one. A man sitting at the head of the table by the fireplace, drinking from a goblet and staring at one of the tapestries thoughtfully. He wears a green cape, a golden circlet sitting on his brown hair. From this distance, he almost looks like Alt. But then he looks at Magnificent and he sees that his eyes are an unnatural emerald green color.

"You wasted no time," he says, putting the goblet down and standing up.

Magnificent can't help but smirk. Clever already... and so much like his cub. "Ah, you expected me, then?"

“I felt a stranger coming ever since you entered the castle grounds.” The King clasps his hands behind him. “I’ve never seen such strange garb. A mask, but you’re not one of those rebels. Where are you from?”

"mmm incredible reach~!" Magnificent's blood is roaring in his ears, hungry for the power just a few feet from him. He laughs a bit madly and repeats the king's gesture, but tilts his head like a curious cat. "From a world beyond your comprehension~ I'm merely... visiting. Trying to see what a world like this has to offer~"

“And you think you can take my power?” The King chuckles. “You can try. Perhaps this world will have things beyond your comprehension. Magic may exist on your Earth, but do you think the magic here will be so easily taken and converted to yours? You already had trouble in the last world, I see.”

Magnificent's confidence wavers and he stumbles back just slightly. He's- unnerved. He didn't even feel a presence inside his head at all. His eyes darken and spark with power as he growls. "How the fuck did you do that?"

The King grins. “Already surprised? You may not last long here, Marvin. Strange, I knew a man with close to that name once. He escaped his fate.”

Oh- now he's done it. Magnificent roars in anger and lashes out to attack the King with his claws.

The King reacts swiftly. Mag didn’t even notice the sheathe by his side. In the second before Mag reaches him he pulls out a large knife, and Magnificent’s claws glance off the coppery metal.

“Rashness will get you killed, magician,” the King says, spinning the large knife. Lightning traces the blade.

Magnificent's eyes glow with rage and he summons green fire in his hands, "How did you get in my mind?! I didn't even detect you! What are you?!" He spits.

“I am what you seek to become.” The King smiles. “And there can only be one of us in this world. I’ll offer you mercy. You have three days to leave this world.” He raises the blade, not pointing it at Magnificent, instead tracing an outline around him. Ozone fills the air. “If you don’t, I will kill you. If you cause too much trouble, this offer is forfeit and I will kill you. Do you understand?”

"Don't patronize me!" Magnificent shrieks, "I won't stoop so low to take pity from the likes of you!" He teleports to be right in front of the King and tries to grab him by his cloak.

But as Magnificent teleports in front of him, he feels a sharp pain in his gut and hears a hissing sound. That electrified blade went right into his stomach. And the King doesn't so much as flinch.

Magnificent cries out and then moves to try to shove himself away from the blade- but the shocks have his muscles trying to spasm.

"This is not condensation, Marvin," the King says. "Nor is it pity. It's a shame to end a life so ambitious. But your anger will leave me no choice." He smiles drily. "Learn to abandon it."

The mad magician grits his teeth in rage. "You're underestimating me too quickly, Your majesty." He spits the title out like its poison.

A spiral of green and purple magic blooms behind the magician, trying to ensnare the king's senses.

The King glances at it, and... and for a moment, it feels like Mag has control. His eyes even glaze over. But he doesn't respond to commands like he should.

"You are very powerful," the King says, tilting his head like he's admiring the spirals the way someone would a work of art. "But I think you're misunderstanding this situation. This sort of trick won't work." He grabs Magnificent by the shoulders and spins him around. When he traced an outline around him earlier, when the air had smelled of ozone, a doorway had opened up in the middle of the air, edges lined with snapping green power. On the other side is somewhere lined with trees. "See if you can make your way back here to try again," the King says, and pushes Mag forward.

Magnificent gasps as he's grabbed and tries to spin around to reach for the king as he's pushed through the doorway, spitting curses. "NO!"

The King is not expecting to be grabbed--in his experience, people are usually pretty weak after being stabbed with lightning. He cries out, surprised, and the two of them tumble forward through the doorway, which abruptly disappears.

"Ageless fucking Elders!" The King curses, scrambling to his feet. He spins around, clenching his fists in frustration, then forces himself to take some deep breaths. They're now outside of the city in a completely different location. A copse of autumn trees, surrounded by fields for as far as the eye can see.

"Congratulations, Marvin, you've managed to change my mind," the King mutters. "You get to live so it'll be easier to get back to somewhere with people instead of the middle of thrice-damned nowhere."

Magnificent spits dirt out of his mouth and pushes himself up, gripping at his wound. "Oh how generous of you, your kinglyness" He spits. He looks around the landscape and bares his teeth in a snarl. "... also stop calling me that, before I claw your innards out and frame it on a wolf."

"Very creative," the King mutters. "Fine, Magnificent. You are aware you're not bleeding, right? You know what sealing a wound is, right? Unfortunately I didn't think to bring medical supplies or health potions so you'll have to live with that."

Magnificent blinks and looks down at his hand, revealing that there is, in fact, no blood. He scowls and rubs at the area and mutters, "... still hurts like a bitch." He shakes himself off, much like a cat would and observes the woods. ...what can they do now? He hasn't felt any presence of his cub or his idiot brother...

"Right, those two who have been hunting you through your travels," the King says, picking up on Magnificent wondering about those two. "I suppose if they have the talisman that lets you travel you would've needed to find them. Hmm... and if they could be anywhere in the kingdom, you might not have found them within three days. My limit was perhaps a bit unfair."

Magnificent jumps at the king just casually saying his thoughts out loud. "Jesus christ! Can you like- not?? For a second?" He hisses, bristling like a startled cat.

The King looks at him, confused. “Jesus…? Oh, one of your world’s gods, I see.”

"what? oh yeah- uh... right. I suppose he is." Mag makes a face at this.

The King pauses. “I suppose if we are forced to work together for a time I could offer you that trust.” He is clearly reluctant. “I’ll swear on my family line to not hear your thoughts until we find our way out of the wild. Happy?”

Mag studies the king's expression and then sighs and slowly nods. "Alright. And I'll try not to do the same. I have... no idea how to navigate this so... I guess a truce is in order."

The King nods slowly. "A truce." He looks around and starts carefully walking deeper into the trees, away from the fields. "It's been a while since I walked in the wilds. Especially so unprepared. We'll have to use our magics to their fullest. The first order of business is food and water. I see no water, and only small animals will run across the fields. We must look elsewhere."

Magnificent makes a face, "Fuck... i haven't gone camping in the woods since I was a boy..." He mutters. "Jackie always loved this shit- fucking- god." He nods to the king and realizes his appearance will probably scare off anything coming towards them. He grunts and then changes his appearance to fit in. Getting rid of his mask and letting his hair get long and brown and curled up in a bun. His shirt changes to a billowy sleeved tunic with dark green patches and a small capelet over his shoulder. His classy dress shoes turn to hunting boots. It feels... strange. But at least they can keep a lower profile now. After much thought he puts back on his mask though. He needs to be able to... somewhat see. Or see the magic around them. Maybe he can sense some life around here... ugh. Hunting. All this is leaving a bad taste in his mouth, reminding him of days he long since wanted to forget.

The King watches as Magnificent uses magic to change his appearance. He raises an eyebrow. "Clever," he says quietly. "May I suggest the addition of some piece of jewelry? Wizards here need a focus to channel their magic, and as you are clearly magical, it would look strange to see you without one."

"Ah would I be considered a wizard here then?" Magnificent mused, "My father always called us sorcerers."

After a moment of thought, the King also reluctantly removes the circlet from his head, stringing it along his belt. "Be discreet about it, though, too much shine will attract magpies."

Mag shrugs and tries to think of an easy focus. He looks around then finds a rock on the ground, perfectly round. He pumps it full of black magic and its shape shifts into one of a simple gold focus with a black opal in the center, though it seems cracked with various colors underneath. He smirks and puts the trinket on, letting it dangle around his neck. "I'm fairly interested in how our magic systems may differ-" He pauses and then briefly glances at the King. "Though... you know my name, but I only know your title. What exactly should I call you? or do you prefer to only be referred to in royal terms."

The King grins, looking almost mischievous. "Aodhan will work, if you must. Though it is not... hmm... common to use a monarch's first name here.”

"Well, where I'm from the monarchy is nothing more than a figure head that distracts the populace with its extravagance." Magnificent replies with clear distain. "So, Aodhan will do fine until we're around others I suppose. I'm not referring to you by title if I can help it. Though... I guess you can refer to me as... that name- if you must... or the simpletons who stalk me call me ‘Mag’. That could work too."

“As for the matter of magic, yes, wizard would be the closest thing you are, though what you just did with that rock would be more akin to sorcery, which is the manipulation of the natural world. Wizardry is other flashy magic, such as summoning things or shapeshifting... but enchantment is the magic of the mind. Out of all the options, wizardy would best explain the variety of power you have." The King continues.

Mag chuckles at the explanation of magic and shakes his head. "So limiting... the divisions here. How quaint."

"Hmm... it is quite frustrating, isn't it?" the King agrees. "I know others who would say the division is the price to pay for the abundance of power in the land. But... well, it's as you said, rather limiting, isn't it? Luckily, we don't have to abide by those limits." He smiles darkly. "We have some walking to do yet. I hope you're prepared."

Magnificent chuckles and shares that dark smile with the King. "As I'll ever be."