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huffle-dork · 4 months ago

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Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 9: Zombie Apocalypse

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

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

Bro and Alt fall in a way they hadn't fallen in a while, freefalling through the space in-between. And when they land, they are, for once, in the same place. Outside, on a sidewalk in some suburban area. The houses are spread out, with wide lawns, and in the distances there are tall buildings rising into the cloudy gray sky. Trash is piled up on the corners. Many of the houses are rundown, windows boarded up and shingles missing from the rooftops.

Bro curls up around Alt as they fall and keeps around him once they’ve landed. Eventually he lets go and blinks, getting up to look around.

Anti's voice chimes in from Alt's phone. "Where the fuck are we?!"

Alt groans and rubs his head and gets out his phone again to look at Anti, “I-I don’t know… I-i couldn’t let the pieces get lost though!”

“…I don’t like this…” Bro mumbles, eyeing the run down buildings around them.

"Alright. Alright. Hold on." Anti rubs his eyes. Alt's phone camera opens up, showing the environment to him. "This place... isn't lived in. Either we're in a bad area... or maybe... maybe we're in a bad world."

“Red Anti said we wouldn’t like this world…” Bro sighs, “So most likely the latter.”

Anti frowns. "Do you see anyone around? Or the bag with the parts?"

Alt glitches up and holds the phone out and shows the camera around. “I… I don’t think I see anyone… here lemme see if the tracker works…?” Alt takes out the orb and touches the pupil.

The tracker tells him that the bag landed farther away, in those distant buildings. It also tells him that this place is called Marsing City.

"Yeah... I thought so," Anti says. "The worst world in the area is one IRIS called UA-1002009ZA. It's--" Then he stops. "Do you hear that?" They're standing right next to one of these suburban houses. And there are muffled shouted voices coming from inside.

Alt is about to tell the others where the bag is, then freezes. Bro anxiously looks towards the house. “Uhh- m-maybe it’s uh… domestic? We should just go-“ Bro whispers to Alt and Anti.

Just as Bro says that, the front door of the house bursts open. "Well fine then! See if you guys can last a week without your fucking mechanic!" a man shouts back into the doorway. He spins around and stomps out into the street, over to the telephone pole at the base of the driveway. He takes out a knife and starts stabbing the pole, not even noticing Alt and Bro.

Bro grabs Alt’s shoulder and pulls him back as the two of them stare at the guy hacking at the pole. Bro starts to pull Alt across the street. “Okay let’s go go go-“ he hisses. Alt hurriedly stuffs his phone back in his pocket.

The man takes a deep breath, calming himself down. He runs a hand through his hair--and then finally notices the two of them. He whirls to look at them. This man--he looks like Alt, but a couple years older. Even his eyes are the same, though he doesn't have any freckles. He's wearing a dusy black leather jacket and thick dark blue jeans. "Hey! What're you two doing out here?!"

Alt glitches a bit in surprise. Bro turns around and grins wide, even if it’s nervous. “Uh!! We’re just passing through! Don’t mind us!”

The man stares at Alt with wide eyes. "Did you just--was I--oh fuck I'm hallucinating. I've finally cracked." He rubs his eyes. "Look, you two stay right here. You look completely unprepared for anything."

Alt and Bro exchange wary glances. “I-It’s okay, man! W-We should be okay! Thanks though!” Bro shouts back, waving his hands.

The man turns back to the house. "Hey! Actually, there are some guys here!"

One of the windows gets pushed open. "What type of guys?!"

"Normal guys!"

"Do not shout you two are you crazy?!" A third voice... shouts.

Bro claps his hands over his mouth as the third voice shouts. Alt looks around warily, “Why shouldn’t we shout?” He tries to ask.

The man looks around. "Well... there's none in sight right now," he mutters. "That's good, at least. But there could be some around to hear us. In which case... we shouldn't have done that." He scans Alt and Bro. "Okay, if you don't know what's going on, that's weird."

A face appears in the window. A face that looks like Bro's. "What are you doing?" The man says, talking just loud enough to be heard. "Get in here!"

The brothers again look at each other. Bro eventually shrugs, “…if this is as bad as everyone keeps saying… this is probably our best bet.”

Alt groans, “…I hate this already.” Then the two of them hurry back across the street to the man and the house.

The man leads the two of them into the house, and they're immediately greeted by a group staring at them with wide eyes. A group of familiar faces. A man wearing a snapback cap, a man with a thick mustache, a man with cloudy glasses, a man in a red hoodie, and a man with chin-length hair and yarn jewelry. Strange... all of them are wearing patched, worn clothes. The man with the cap has a shoulder holster with a handgun. And the one in the hoodie is holding a metal baseball bat like he's waiting for Alt or Bro to snap at any moment.

"What the fuck?" The man with jewelry whispers, staring at Alt. "Anti, do you have another brother?"

No, we do not, the man with the mustache says.

Alt shrinks back at all the eyes on them, pulling up his mask self consciously.

Bro, however, steps up and waves, “Uh hi! Actually he’s my brother- he’s Alt and I’m Chase- but uh guys can call me Bro cuz that’s probably easier!” He takes in all the patched up appearances and the guy in the hoodie’s hostile posture and points, “uh… we’re kinda lost sooo- if you all could explain like… what’s the deal here- that’d be great?”

"You must be really fucking lost, then," the man in the hoodie mutters, lowering the bat. "Alright. I'm Jackie. This is Chase, Marvin, Henrik--we call him Schneep--JJ, and Aodhan--we call him Anti. We've been camping here for a while, but uh... I guess you guys could stay for a while? Or, um... the coast seems to be clear for now, if you want to head out. D'you need anything? We don't have that much to spare, but maybe--"

"We don't have anything to spare!" The man from outside--Anti--snaps.

"Bro, shut the fuck up," Chase says. "Don't be like that."

Alt grumbles, “We don’t need anything- we just wanna know what’s going on.”

“Yeah like- when we mean lost we mean… we’re not from here. At all… we’re from another world.” Bro says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s why Alt looks like Anti and I look like you-“ He points at Chase. “So we genuinely have no clue what’s going on…”

The others all stare at them. Silently.

"They've cracked!" Anti said, throwing a hand into the air. "Fucking great!"

“What does that mean?!” Alt growls.

"Ah, no offense, but do you have proof?" Marvin asks.

Schneep frowns. "The fact that they seem really clueless... it would be hard to act that way."

“Uh- well I’m guessing being look-a-likes doesn’t count. Okay well one, I’m Chase Brody so like- you.” He gestures at Chase again, “Same names. Alt’s also called Anti but only I call him that.” He then nods to Alt. “Two- …guess we gotta bring out the big guns, baby bro.” The hero mutters.

Alt sighs and then glitches across the room in a quick flash before appearing back in his place, pixels coming off his shoulders, his eyes electric. Bro then hops up to just gently float in the air. He raises an eyebrow down at the others. “…does that prove it orrr do you need something more?” He asks.

"Magic?!" Marvin gasps. "I haven't seen another magician since the Circle!"

How likely is it that he also made it out? JJ asks.

Marvin shakes his head. "No, I-I would've seen him there. And I definitely would've remembered someone with distinct magic like that. So... I guess it's likely."

"And we didn't tell them my last name," Chase adds. "So... if they're really from another universe, then... they don't know anything."

"Ohhh shit." Jackie's eyes widen. "Okay. Time to rip off the band-aid then. Uh. Zombies. They're real and they're everywhere."

Bro hits the ground with a hard thud and stares at the others with mouth agape, “ZOMBIES?!!?”

“Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me…” Alt snarls. “That fucking red bitch! Of course he’d put us somewhere like this!”

"Red bitch?" Anti laughs. "What are you, 1950s guys against communism or something?"

Alt snorts out something that could be a laugh towards Anti.

"I think we're missing context for that," Chase mutters.

"Look, they're not zombies like in the movies," Marvin quickly corrects. "They're more like...necromantic accidents. Some spell must've gone wrong. A lot of magicians quarantined themselves, so... I'm not really the best person to ask about specifics."

"Basically, avoid being scratched or bitten by them," Jackie says. "You're both wearing long sleeves and pants, so that's good."

Bro blinks and tilts his head, “…so they’re magic zombies? How does that work??”

Chase shrugs and glances towards Marvin. "Explain?"

"Okay, so in movies zombies are slow and decaying monsters, right?" Marvin says. "Not like that here. Zombies look like normal people, just with all-white eyes. They're slow, but not shuffling. And a lot of them can run. They don't make any sound at all."

I promise I'm not a zombie, JJ says jokingly.

"And like Jackie says, you don't want to get scratched or bitten," Marvin says. "The spell must have been some sort of blood magic, because it spreads through contact with it."

“Oh so it’s even more terrifying…” Bro mutters nervously.

Alt makes a thinking face, “…we’re here to look for something. Something really important. I know it’s fallen near those taller buildings we saw. The main city- which I’m guessing is.. bad.”

Anti laughs. "Uh--yeah. The more populated area, the more of them there are."

Alt's phone crackles. "It's worth noting that IRIS has this universe under a quarantine," adds their Anti.

"Wait, do you have a walkie-talkie of some sort in there?" Schneep asks.

Alt glitches a bit before growling to himself, “Why does that keep spooking me?” He pulls out his phone and shows Anti to the others. “Uh- more complicated than that. This is our friend Anti- he’s also from another universe and he’s helping us get to new ones.”

Bro leans over to talk to Anti, “sooo- we can’t let whatever is in here out… like red bitch. Greatttt- I don’t like these quarantine universes…”

Anti waves at the others from the phone screen, then turns to Bro. "I think it's more like 'don't get infected and take it with you out of the world', you know?"

“Ahhh-right.” Bro nods.

"Oh!" Marvin's eyes widen. "You could've just shown your phone if you wanted to prove you were from another world! None of them work here anymore. Cell towers down, y'know, and a lot of power grids, too."

That explains why the house is so dim; none of the lights are on.

Alt blinks. “Oh- …that makes sense. Our powers are usually the fastest way to show that though.” He laughs.

"So... you guys need to get downtown, then?" Chase asks. "Uh... we could... maybe... help."

Bro blinks and looks at his other self, “I mean.. we’d appreciate it since we’re out of our depth… but not if it puts all of you in danger.”

Alt nods, “I can glitch us pretty far… probably. Or… I guess Bro can fly us.”

Chase blinks. "I was just thinking I could drive you... You can fly?"

“Did you guys miss me hovering earlier? I guess Alt’s glitching overshadowed me,” Bro laughs.

"Glitching is that teleport you just did, I'm assuming," Marvin mutters.

"Okay, you two, there's a problem with that," Anti says from the phone. "If you leave right after, these guys will be stuck in the middle of the city. I'm assuming."

"That me in the phone is right," Anti confirms. "Pretty much all the cars in there have been taken or scavenged. And while we've been able to go there briefly in groups of two, all of us will have a harder time moving around.”

"If I give you a boost, could you glitch the car, too?" Marvin asks. He raises up his hand, and fiery orange magic swirls around his fingers. "I'm a good power source."

JJ winces. Don't call yourself that. You're more than that.

Alt blinks, “oh I was.. talking about me and Bro but.. if you guys really wanna come… I could try… if you’re willing to lend some power, Marvin.”

Marvin nods. "It's not a problem."

"I think you'll need our help if things go south," Jackie says, resting his bat on his shoulders.

I'm sure you two are quite powerful, JJ says. But you could still be overwhelmed. Me and Anti have had a lot of close calls going into the city.

"I wish you two would be more careful," Schneep mutters.

Chase walks over to a bag sitting by a wall, reaching in and taking out a whole bunch of weapons. He hands a pair of knives to JJ, a shotgun to Schneep, and a second handgun to Marvin. Schneep also walks over and grabs a duffel bag with a blue cross on it--a first aid kit of some kind. "You guys need anything?" Chase asks.

Alt and Bro exchange looks. “I don’t really use weapons,” Bro says. “Except these guys!” He punches at the air with a cheeky grin.

Alt rolls his eyes. “…usually I just need my magic… but I guess if you guys have anything to spare…”

"Here, you can have one of Anti's knives," Chase says.

"What the hell?!" Anti says defensively.

"Shhh. He's just another version of you, essentially." Chase hands a knife out to Alt, a big hunting blade.

"Don't give him Cernunnos, at least!" Anti protests, hurrying over. He takes the knife for himself. "Here, he can have Artemis." He holds out the knife he was using to stab the telephone pole earlier, which is a bit smaller than the one Chase was offering.

Alt blinks and looks between Chase and Anti. He slowly takes the new knife, “…you name your knives?”

"You don't?" Anti tosses the big knife--Cernunnos, he'd called it--back and forth between his hands. "Naming them helps you use them more efficiently, I believe."

Alt chuckles, “I just usually keep one on me. Never thought of a name for it though.”

JJ chuckles. He's tried to get me to name them, too. I don't understand it.

"Alright, if everyone's ready, let's head on out," Jackie says, pulling up the hood of his hoodie. "To the car."

Bro stretches then grins, “Alright! Zombie adventure go!”

"Adventure?" Chase laughs drily. "Yep, guess you can call it that. Let's go."

“We’ll follow your lead,” Alt says.

Chase leads the whole group outside, to the only car in sight. A van--not unlike the one that Marvin drove two universes ago. "If we all get in, I can link up with Alt and give him a boost to transport everyone," Marvin says, sliding open a back door and climbing in.

"Who wants shotgun?" Chase asks, climbing into the driver's seat. "I mean--Schneep has the shotgun, but he doesn't have to have it."

Alt nods and glitches into the back with Marvin.

Bro blinks then shrugs and climbs into the passenger seat. “I’ll join you other me!”

"Hah! Great." Chase grins. Once everyone is in, Marvin grabs onto Alt. "I'm told this feels weird," he mutters, his eyes lighting up orange. Alt suddenly feels a jolt, fiery and hot. The energy is quickly converted to his own electrical type of magic, and for a brief moment, it feels like he can do anything. "Also it doesn't last long," Marvin adds, bringing down the mood.

Alt shivers and then green electricity zips around him as he looks down at his hand as firey energy pulses in his veins. “Woah-!” He nods and closes his eyes, setting both his hands on the seat. “okay- just imagine a good spot in the city!” He tells the others. Then, the van walls and seats glitch and flicker- then the others feel a sharp electric energy jolt through their systems- then they all glitch in a quick zip into the city.

The whole van disappears, and reappears in the middle of an intersection, surrounded by tall buildings. It's the middle of a city, but it's dead silent. And empty.

Eerie.

Some of the buildings have vines crawling up the side. Some have been graffittied with phrases about the end of the world or warnings about places to avoid. Most of them have broken windows on the ground floor. There are cars parked around randomly, both on the sides of the street and in the middle, but all of them are extremely dusty, clearly not having moved in a while.

"Whoa." Chase shakes his head. "That was... weird."

Alt feels momentarily faint after they glitch and falls back slightly in the seat.

"Uh, Chase?" Anti is twisted around in his seat, looking out the back window. "Behind us."

There's a crowd of people walking across the street. About six of them. Only... the way they move is strange. Stiff, limbs bending jerkily.

"Shit!" Chase hisses. "Did they hear us?!" ...

...evidently not, as they soon cross the street and disappear into an alley between two buildings.

Bro eeps quietly and ducks down under the window. Then he very slowly looks out. “My god… that’s creepy as fuck-“ Bro shudders.

"Yeah, fucking freaky," Jackie agrees.

I don't see any others around, though, JJ says. Quick, do you know where that thing you're looking for is?

Alt shakes himself back up and pulls out the tracker, “L-Lemme see if I can see something more specific…”

The tracker tells him the bag of TRVLR parts is in the AllCo building near the center of the city.

“It’s in the AllCo building… in the center,” Alt says looking out at the others. “do you guys know of it?”

“Oh yeah, we’ve been there a lot,” Anti says. “It’s a grocery shop. A giant one. Guess you don’t have them in your world.”

“That’s some ways away,” Chase says. “Good thing I started the car beforehand.”

“Oh sick-“ Bro says, leaning up to watch the street with Chase. He puts it into drive and starts slowly heading through the streets, glancing around anxiously.

“Soooo… different universe, huh?” Jackie says. “What’s it like there? I mean, obviously you don’t have all this.” He gestures vaguely at the abandoned city.

Alt glances at Jackie and shrugs, “It’s… normal mostly. We got magic and superheroes obviously and I pretty fucked up villain that hunts us but…” he plays with his necklace and smiles a bit, “We also got our friends and partners and… I dunno. It’s peaceful right now. Hasn’t always been granted but… it is now.”

“All of you guys are different there too!” Bro adds with a grin, “Our Jackie is a dad but also does parkour videos on YouTube! Our JJ is a hypnotherapist- and our Henrik is an actor! And deaf but he makes it work!”

“We don’t have superheroes,” Jackie mutters, sounding a bit jealous. “That would’ve come in handy.”

Schneep laughs. “An actor, hmm? Interesting. I do not think I’d have been very good at that. And being a doctor has come in much more handy.”

“Hypnotherapy?” Anti raises an eyebrow. Then looks at JJ. “Think you could’ve done that?”

JJ shrugs. Perhaps. The voice thing probably prevents that now, though. He runs a hand across his throat, where a red scar can be seen. Come to think of it, there’s a similar scar on Anti’s throat, but a bit lighter. I’ll guess the other me isn’t related to you two.

“Seems the brotherly bonds have been switched around,” Chase comments.

“No- not unless he’s some secret cousin of ours, but I doubt it.” Bro laughs.

“Hmm… I think we’ve met a couple other Jamesons and Antis that were siblings… not a one where me and Bro are still siblings though. Interesting…” alt mutters. He glances at JJ and Anti’s throat, lightly touching his own then pulling up his mask.

“Weird,” Chase says. “I can’t imagine the Jackson twins being separated.”

“I could make it on my own if I wanted to!” Anti protests.

“Yes, of course you could, Anti,” Schneep says.

“I’m serious! I’m a mechanic, I know close quarters stuff, and I’m very sneaky.”

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”

“Do you guys have the Magic Circle?” Marvin asks. “Are they bastards there too?”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Alt grumbles. “Ours tried to hunt me down when I was younger. S’why I didn’t use my magic much for a while.”

“…is the magic circle the ones who started all this?” Bro asks quietly.

Marvin shakes his head. "Nope. But it was probably a magician or group of magicians of some kind. But you know what the Magic Circle did do? The moment shit started going down they were like 'alright, we're gonna leave town with all our followers and make a little base. Fuck those non-magic guys, right?'" He sighs. "I, uh... didn't see any problem with it... at the time. But then again, I didn't know any non-magic guys."

"That place was horrible," Jackie says, shaking his head. "The Circle just got more and more tight-ass about stuff in their base. I wouldn't be surprised to hear others escaped after we got you out of there."

"Yeah. Hope Sunday made it out. Maybe I'll find him again some time."

“Damn, what a bunch of assholes…” Bro mutters, “Can’t believe people would do that…”

"...yeah," Marvin says quietly.

"Not everyone took the whole apocalypse thing well," Anti mutters, absentmindedly touching his throat.

Bro shakes his head, “I guess that makes sense but I just… can’t wrap my head around that. I’d be like… helping as many people as I could.”

Alt is quiet, looking over Anti’s knife. …would he do the same if he was in this situation? ..he’s not sure.

"Bro, honestly? Safety in numbers, if you ask me," Chase says. "We've gotten this far cause all of us have different skills that help each other, yknow?"

Bro frowns making a face, “I guess…”

"Yeah, for example, you can drive," Jackie says jokingly.

"Ha ha." Chase turns the car around a corner--and his eyes widen. "Oh shit!" There's a huge crowd of people blocking the road. Just standing around, maybe walking absentmindedly. As some of them turn to look at the van, Bro in the front seat can see the pure whiteness of their eyes.

"That's a lot of them!" Marvin gasps.

Bro stiffens as he sees the large crowd. “Oh shit- w-what do we do??”

Alt glitches a bit closer to look, “Fuck.. how far are we from AllCo?”

"We have to keep down this street for a while and then turn left," Chase says. "The turn is uh--out of sight right now but just barely."

"Floor it!" Anti suggests. "There can't be that many runners in there."

We don't want to be too loud, though! JJ protests.

Many of the zombies are walking towards the van now, moving in that strange jerky way.

Alt looks nervous and then grips the seats, “I-I could glitch onto the roof and keep them off the car?? T-That won’t help with the noise though… I-I could try to glitch us to AllCo but I… I dunno if I’ll have much magic after…”

"That's probably our best bet, to have you on the top," Marvin says. "Chase, d'you think you could be careful enough to keep him up there?"

"Yeah, if he's confident he could keep his balance." Chase hesitates. "Okay. Go. I don't know how much sound your magic makes but it won't be as much as the car speeding along."

Alt nods, “I think I can stay on.”

Bro looks back at Alt with worried eyes, “Pleasee be careful!”

Alt smiles, “I will. Alright- get going then!” He glitches up onto the roof, carefully crouching on the top and eyeing down the crowd in front of them. Electricity crackles around him as he builds up magic in one of his hands.

Chase takes a deep breath and speeds up the car a little, leading into the crowd. Schneep moves into Alt's seat from the back, and he and Marvin stare out the side windows, ready to attack in case something goes wrong.

The zombies immediately crowd around the van as it moves forward. Some paw at it loosely, but some are smarter and try grabbing onto the door handles. A few try getting onto the hood, partially blocking the windshield.

Alt sends out a blast of electricity, shooting out a ring around the car to try to push most of the zombies off.

Though they don't feel pain, the electricity definitely affects the zombies, sending them back, muscles jittering from the shock.

"Handy spell," Marvin comments. "Gotta try and mimic that sometime."

Chase looks around nervously. They've passed through the original spot where the crowd was, but the zombies are getting up and following them. He rolls down the window a crack. "Speeding up a little, Alt!" he calls. "Be careful!"

Alt crouches down more, “Got it!”

A zombie then immediately tries to shove their hand through the bit that's open and Chase yelps, pushing them back and quickly rolling the window up again.

Alt quickly sends out blasts to any zombies that get too close. Hopefully he’ll have enough magic to last them till they get to AllCo…

They quickly get through most of the group, but some of the zombies run after them, arms swinging wildly.

"Fucking hell, that never stops looking freaky," Anti comments, looking out the back window. One of them manages to grab onto the door handle. Schneep quickly checks that the door is locked so it doesn't slide open.

Alt sends a blast out towards the one by the door, “Damn these things are persistent!”

But even though this one's arms judder from the blast, its grip holds tight, white eyes looking up at Alt.

"Schneep, open it up!" Marvin says, eyes glowing orange. Schneep hesitates, then unlocks the door. It immediately slides open and Marvin sends out a fireball that curves, looking like a comet, and hits the zombie's wrist. It finally lets go and goes tumbling down the street. Schneep quickly pulls the door shut again.

Alt jolts then grins wide, “Yeah nice one!” He calls down to Marvin.

"Thanks!" Marving shouts back up at him.

Chase rolls down the window a little again. "Okay, we're almost there, so get back in so I can speed up!"

Alt blinks then grins wide and glitches back in. He sighs a bit in relief, “God- that was intense…”

"God, yeah." Anti nods. "Me and JJ don't take a car usually when we come here to scavenge. It's easier to sneak around that way--but the speed can be an advantage."

"Hold on everyone." Chase turns a corner and presses down on the gas, speeding the rest of the way. They reach a car lot outside a wide, low building. The AllCo logo is displayed proudly on the side in blue and red, though it looks like the O is missing. There are a few lone zombies wandering around, but Chase is very careful as he pulls right up next to the door. "Nobody talk once outside," he whispers. "We're gonna have to pry the sliding doors open. Where's the crowbar?"

"Got it." Jackie pulls said crowbar out from under his seat.

Bro and Alt nod, Alt getting out the knife and getting it ready.

"Alright... out." Chase takes the car keys and puts them in his pocket. Everyone climbs out of the van, and the group seems to fall into a practiced formation. Jackie and Anti are in front, Schneep is in the middle with JJ and Marvin on either side, and Chase takes up the rear. Jackie wedges the end of the crowbar into the gap between sliding doors and pries them open.

Alt and Bro try to stick in the middle with Schneep. Alt tries his best to not glitch as he anxiously watches their surroundings. They both quickly slip in with the others as the doors are opened.

While heading in, Alt checks the tracker again.

The tracker tells him that the bag landed in the meat section near the back.

This supermarket is dim, but it looks like it gets darker the further in you go. Which makes sense, as the power is out and there are no windows. To the left is a bakery section that's mostly empty of food, the remaining food being old and molded. Ahead are aisles. To the right is the checkout area.

"Do you think we could grab some stuff while we're here?" Chase asks, whispering.

We'll see, JJ says.

“God this place is creepy as hell…” Bro whispers.

Alt looks to the others, “The bag we’re looking for is in the meat section.”

Anti frowns. "That's all the way in the back..." Schneep opens up the bag he'd brough and takes out a couple small flashlights, only about three inches long. He hands one to Jackie. Marvin conjures up a ball of orange light to help light up the area as well.

"JJ, Anti, you have been here most often," Schneep whispers. "What's the quickest way?"

"Beeline through the middle," Anti says. "Right through the pasta."

Alt also makes a ball of green light to help. “Okay- sounds doable. It’s a black satin bag so keep an eye out for that-“

Bro looks around, “I could always fly over real quick! Or do you think that’ll draw their attention?”

"You don't make any sound while flying, right?" Chase says. "It should be fine. Scout out the area."

Schneep waves his flashlight. "I will keep an eye on you. You know sign language, yes? Judging by how you understand Jamie. Tell us in sign if you see something."

“I can do that!” Bro grins. He quickly hurries into the air and follows Anti’s advice to go through the pasta aisle, cruising above it to look for the meat section.

The rest of the group hurries forward, going as fast and stealthily as possible.

From above, Bro can see a lot of the supermarket, including the occasional movement in the aisles. But the place is dark. Really dark. So it's hard to see details. At least the pasta aisle is clear.

Bro notices the movement and keeps an eye on it but focuses on moving forward as carefully as he can.

As they walk past, JJ grabs a box of spaghetti from the shelf and stuffs it into his backpack.

"Careful," Jackie mutters. "We don't want our bags to rattle."

I'm careful, JJ says defensively.

"Can't believe people left the pasta behind but took all the bread," Chase whispers.

“Bread is easier to eat fast- you gotta cook the pasta usually.” Alt whispers. “Gotta go with the non-perishables.”

"Yeah well... by now the perishables have perished," Chase says. "So people can come get this stuff."

"Risky to go back into the city for the food with longer shelf lives, though," Anti mutters.

"You and JJ do it. Sometimes Jackie."

"And we're very careful while doing it."

The aisle opens up into the back, where there are sections of freezer shelves--shelves that have lost power by now, of course. Luckily, it looks like it was also mostly raided, so the food is gone, sparing them the smell of spoiled meat.

"A black bag, you said?" Marvin asks, sending his ball of light forward--and the light lands on a big blue backpack, its contents spilled out across the floor. "...that's not it, then. What is that?"

Wasn't here last time, JJ comments.

Alt carefully prowls forward, crouching down by the backpack to get a look at it.

Meanwhile Bro starts to scan the meat aisle quickly, looking for the bag.

The bag seems to have been full of food. Freeze-dried stuff, or things that just need water to work. There were also some papers crowded into the bottom. And... prominently on its front pocket, there's a logo that looks like an eye. A curved symbol with a circle inside. And inside that circle is written "IRIS."

Alt freezes, eyes wide as he sees the logo. He scrambles back and huffs. “I-I probably wouldn’t touch that stuff-“ he whispers to the others.

"Hmm? Why?" Chase walks forward. "IRIS?"

"IRIS?" Marvin repeats. "I've heard of those guys. The Circle didn't like them."

"They made technology and such," Schneep says, nodding. "I think they have since collapsed. Why is a bag of theirs here?"

“… the IRIS we know… they’re not to be trusted. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing started because of them.” Alt mutters.

Marvin blinks. He tilts his head. "That... Well, if the Magic Circle was right about them trying to combine tech with magic... That's entirely possible."

"Food is food, though," Anti says, scooping up everything and pushing it back into the bag, which he then pulls onto his back.

A zombie stalks towards the group. Jackie inhales sharply. "Move move move!" he whisper-shouts.

Alt turns around in surprise and glitches forward on instinct, holding out Anti’s knife to try to keep it back.

The zombie is not deterred by the threat of the knife and keeps going forward until Jackie rushes forward and pushes it back with the end of his baseball bat. It falls down onto its back. "Go!" The others back away, and Chase reaches out to grab Alt and pull him back as well. Alt lets himself get pulled, unnerved by the zombie and he quickly falls in line with the others.

Meanwhile, Bro has not spotted the TRVLR bag. But... some of the zombies have noticed him. Luckily, they can't reach him. But they are reaching up towards him, hands grasping vaguely.

“Agh!” Bro whispers as he sees the zombies and tries to stay up high. He tried to search faster- it has to be here somewhere.

But then, finally, Bro sees a small black rectangle on the ground. Is that it?

Bro darts down towards the shape without even thinking.

"Where did Bro go?!" Schneep hisses. "He dove down over there!" He points with the flashlight. There are about four zombies in between their group and him.

Yes! It's the bag. But just as Bro scoops it up, a shape lunges for him.And Bro is so preoccupied by getting the bag and grabbing it he’s completely thrown off guard by the lunging shape-The zombie tackles Bro, fingers digging into his skin. It's completely silent as it bites onto the sleeve of his jacket, not breaking the fabric. Bro can’t help it- he screams in terror and tries to kick the zombie off him. “No no no!! Let go let go fucking freak!!”

Alt’s head snaps to the sound of Bro’s scream- “Chase!” he yells and quickly tries to glitch over to him.

The zombie tightens its grip, pulling itself closer to Bro. Alt appears right next to his brother as this happens.

"What the--?! Okay go!" Marvin hisses. "Hurry!"

The group speeds after Alt. Jackie knocks away some of the zombies as they lunge forward, and as one grabs Anti he stabs it and throws it off him.

Bro is panicking and hyperventilating but Alt quickly tries to grab the zombie and stab it in through its neck.

The knife goes into the neck, causing the zombie's head to snap to the side and its grip to loosen.

The rest of the group hurries over. "Did it break skin?" Schneep asks, eyes wide.

Bro scrambles back fearfully as checks his skin. “I-I think I’m okay-!” He stammers.

Jackie smacks the zombie to the side with his bat, knocking it into a display of candy at the end of an aisle. Other zombies turn towards the sound the collision makes.

Alt shakes off the knife and pants looking around in fear. “Did you get the bag?”

“Y-Yeah! Here-“ Bro hands it to Alt and Alt hurries to toss it in his backpack and zip it back up. “O-Okay everyone link up I can get us back to the car!”

"Right, I-I forgot you could do that," Chase says. "Good--we won't have to fight our way out of here."

"Hurry!" Anti grabs onto JJ and and then Alt. The rest of them link up from there.

Once eveyone is linked up Alt concentrates on getting them all back to the van. They all appear outside of it in a quick flash and Alt’s knees buckle for a second as Bro fumbles to catch him. “In in in!” Bro calls.

Chase unlocks the door and rushes in, and everyone else piles into the van as soon as he unlocks the rest of the doors.

"Time to fuck subltey!" Anti shouts. "Go go go!"

"Yep!" Chase hits the gas and the van peels away.

Bro hurries into a seat and checks over Alt who blinks slowly exhaustion out of his eyes. Bro digs into the backpack on Alt’s back and quickly offers him a protein bar which Alt tiredly takes. He then looks around at the others, “Y-You all okay?”

"Y-yeah." Chase nods, swerving around a group of zombies on the road.

"That went surprisingly well, actually," Anti says.

Yes, we've had much closer calls, JJ adds.

"I didn't even have to use any spells." Marvin lets out a breath.

"We're not out of the city yet," Jackie says darkly. The van speeds through the streets as Chase takes a couple extra turns to lose some of the runners that are coming after them.

Alt blinks and looks ready to try to sit back up, weak pixels vibrating around him. “I-I could-“

“Alt no- c’mon we’ll be okay! You’re gonna drain yourself dude…” Bro true to tell him gently. “Focus on getting some fuel into you…”

"Don't push yourself, man, we'll get out of here," Jackie says. "Cars are much faster than zombies."

"Here." Schneep reaches into his bag and pulls out a couple granola bars. "For your energy."

Alt looks touched as Schneep hands him the food. “Oh… uh- thanks man…” he hurries to eat them.

The buildings become smaller and smaller, spreading farther and farther apart. Chase slows down as the zombies become less frequent, though some of them still occasionally try to grab onto the car as it passes. Soon, they are out of the city proper and into the suburb...

Bro chuckles quietly before focusing on the ride. He starts to relax as they see the suburbs again.

The van slows and slows and slows until it eventually stops.

Chase looks around. "I don't see any nearby," he says. "And there's the house." He points down the street.

"So? Keep going." Anti prompts.

"I'm just making sure," Chase says, and continues driving down the street.

Alt's phone crackles. "Check the tracker, make sure that everything's together," Anti's voice suggests.

Alt blinks and takes out the tracker, a pit of worry suddenly in his stomach. Did they miss something? Or leave something behind?

Nope, all the TRVLR parts in this world are in the bag.

Alt sighs in relief. He pulls out his phone to tell Anti, “we’re okay… all the parts are here. We’re back on track.”

The van continues back to the house, pulling into the driveway. Anti gets out first, then Chase.

"Marv, check the house?" Chase asks.

"Mm-hmm." Marvin closes his eyes, reaching his hand forward, orange sparks trailing around his fingers. "Nothing. But it's not entirely reliable, remember?"

"Still, better safe than sorry," Chase says.

Bro hums, looking around, grabbing at his arm where he got bit to make sure it’s still okay. “Could just be where we are but mmm I got a bad feeling still…”

Schneep leans forward, eyes narrowing as he notices the way Bro grabs his arm. "I can look you over, if you want. If we catch it early, Marvin can get rid of traces."

Bro blinks at Schneep then grins nervously, “I-I don’t think they broke through my jacket though but… b-better safe than sorry I guess…”

Schneep smiles, and quickly rolls up Bro's sleeve, checking the skin. "Hmm... I see nothing."

Bro sighs so heavily in relief. “God- that’s so nerve-wracking… fuck those bitches.”

Anti on the phone sighs. "Well, it's good that we got everything. But this means that the other me is still looking for us. He might catch up with us in any other world.

Alt nods with a worried frown. “Yeah… we gotta find some way to d-defend against him! The fact that he got the bag that easily,.. how are we supposed to stop him at all?”

Chase shook his head. "I'm sorry. I wish we could help, but uh... shit's crazy here, as you can tell."

"Alt, he can't control your magic," Anti on the phone recalls. "That's the key, I just know it. If... if he somehow..." He pauses, shaking his head. "There's something there. Maybe another one of these worlds has something that could help."

Alt slowly nods. Then he smiles at Chase, “you guys helped us plenty. I just wish we could help you guys out more too.” He gives Anti his knife back. “But… we gotta move on…”

Anti takes the knife, flipping it over. "Yeah. Not sure what you could do about a whole fucking apocalypse, but we appreciate it."

"'We' appreciate it?" Marvin repeats, raising an eyebrow. "So... you're not going out on your own, then?"

Anti purses his lips.

JJ smiles. You all know he was never going to do that.

"Oh shut up, James," Anti says, nudging him. JJ laughs silently. "I... was maybe... a bit harsh in my wording."

"A bit?" Jackie mutters incredulously. "I still think we need to talk about the supplies situation, but... we can do so more calmly," Anti continues.

Chase grins. "Good to hear that, bro."

Alt and Bro smiles. Bro nudges Alt a bit, “Hey- maybe we helped more than we thought!” He whispers to him. Alt laughs. He looks back at his phone, “…can Sam reach us here so we can get back to the next universe?”

"Yeah, give me a moment." The screen becomes static for a minute, then Anti reappears. "They're ready when you guys are. Again, don't do it in the car. Oh, and uh... I suggest you put your phones and any other tech into the waterproof bag for this next world. Just in case."

“…that’s reassuring-“ Alt mutters as he glitches out of the car. He starts to fumble with his bag and starts putting his valuables into the bag.

Bro grins wide at the others, “Thanks so much for helping us guys. We’d probably be like.. actual zombies now if it weren’t for you all so- thanks a lot!”

He hops out the car and hands his phone to Alt, who puts it in with the rest. Alt grumbles that he’s glad he carries his iPad in a secure case.

The group climbs out of the van. "Anything we can do to help," Chase says.

"Yeah, nice to hear about a word that hasn't gone to shit," Marvin adds.

"Good luck with your guy and your thing!" Jackie says cheerfully. JJ gave a little salute.

"Oh, here." Anti reached into his boot and took out a small stiletto knife in a sheath. "Take this. Neith has served me well, maybe she'll help you. And if not, well, think of it as a souvenir."

Alt blinks a bit in surprise. Then he gives his other self a fond smile and nods, putting the knife in his hoodie. “thanks… that means a lot.” Then, he calls out, “Alright, Anti- we’re ready.”

Alt's phone turns into static again and a bit of green lightning cuts a rift in the air.

Schneep whistles. "Interesting. You both be careful, yes?"

Bro grins, “We’ll try out best! You guys stay safe too! And stick together!”

Alt smiles and nods- and then the brothers jump into the rift.

The group all watch them go. Jackie waves and smiles. Chase shouts out a "Good luck!" and then they, and the world, fade from sight.

#SBTCV #swap beyond the crystalverse #SBTCV ZA #i was so nervous for this one cuz i dont really like zombies and cry didnt know!#but the magic thing made it easier for me ajhbka #i just dont like gore so i was worried but i trust cry!! and it was fun! :D #def a short little detour!#im excited about tomorrows au agjbha its my fav from this batch!

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