CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Hi, I'm Crystal!

24 years old. I'm trying this out. Mostly a fanfiction writer. Pretty much only for jacksepticeye egos haha.


A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Six: Magic Solves Everything
[This is part of an INCOMPLETE SERIES that I wrote in about 2018-2019. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, but I still think there's good stuff in it, and merit in reposting it here. Marvin undertakes the task of finding Chase’s kids, but that’s interrupted when he’s called to help at the hospital. Magic backfires, and everything ends with a sudden realization.]
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The dining room clock read 1:08. It was hard for Marvin to believe it was still so early in the day. In the space of about an hour, Schneep had returned, they’d discovered that Anti had taken Chase’s kids, and the whole group had attracted the police’s attention in the bad way. Now they had to find the kids and wake up Jack before anything bad could happen to either of them. It was pretty overwhelming, actually.

He still found it weird how JJ’s house had two separate rooms for the kitchen and the dining room, instead of the combination-type thing most modern houses had. But whatever. It worked. Currently, Marvin and Jackie were sitting at the wooden dining table, waiting for JJ to come back. Jackie was leaning back in his chair, peering through the doorway into the kitchen, hoping to keep an eye on their silent friend. Marvin was staring aimlessly at the pale blue wallpaper, tracing the pattern with his eyes.

Bang! Marvin jumped, already reaching for his wand, only to see that Jackie had tilted his chair back too far and fallen over. “Ugh. Ow,” the hero groaned.

“You asked for it, you fucking moron,” Marvin muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Shut up and help me up.”

As Marvin pulled Jackie to his feet, JJ poked his head through the doorway. Observing the scene, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Jackie’s an idiot, but he’s okay,” Marvin explained. “You ready yet?”

JJ stepped into the dining room in answer. He was holding a ceramic bowl out in front of him with both hands, a leather-bound book tucked beneath one arm. Carefully, he walked over and set the bowl on the table’s surface.

Jackie leaned over and looked into the bowl. “Water?” he frowned. “I don’t get it. Is it, like, special magic water?”

JJ placed the book next to the bowl and signed, 'You need liquid or crystal in order to scry. Seeing as how we don’t have the time to go out and purchase a crystal ball, water is our best shot.'

“Okay…” Marvin pulled the book toward him. “What about this? Instructions?”

JJ nodded. 'Page 239.'

Marvin flipped through the old, yellowed paper until her reached the page mentioned. The spell looked simple enough. It wouldn’t even take that much energy. But he still spotted a problem…

“You do realize we’re on a time crunch, right?” Jackie asked, breaking Marvin’s concentration.

The magician scowled. “You can’t rush spells. Things could go very fucking wrong very fucking quickly if anything gets messed up.”

'I like being thorough as much as the next person,' JJ signed, 'but Jackie is right. We need to hurry. Just start and I’ll correct you if you stray off the beaten path.'

He hated skipping out on instructions, but Marvin had to admit they were right. “Okay, but there’s a catch. It says we need something that belongs to the person we’re scrying for. And I dunno ‘bout you guys, but I don’t feel like breaking into Chase’s ex’s house to steal his kids’ things. That probably wouldn’t look good to the police.”

'It’s recommended that we use something like that, but from what I know the spell can work just fine without it,' JJ explained. 'It just won’t be as powerful.'

“You sure?” Marvin asked. When JJ nodded, he sighed. “Okay. Here goes nothing.” Glancing at the book once more, he pulled on his mask and grabbed the bowl, moving it closer to him. He stared into the rippling water, taking slow, deep breaths. This wasn’t the kind of magic he was used to. There wasn’t any incantation-speaking or wand-waving. Just concentration and power of will, shaped by magic.

Marvin felt a slight tingle in his fingertips and a pressure behind his eyes. The liquid in the bowl started swirling of its own accord, slowly turning green like dye spreading through a glass of water. Marvin inhaled deeply, letting the breath out slowly. This was the part where he was supposed to focus on the person he was trying to find. It was lucky that he’d met Chase’s kids before, otherwise they’d have to find another way to do this. He brought up memories of times when he’d been staying at Chase’s house the same time as the kids. Bobby was seven. She took after Chase in looks, but not in temperament. She was a bit grumpy and prickly, but she cared deeply about her family, especially her little brother. Trevor was only five years old. Very hyperactive. He was never able to sit still, always needing to fiddle with something in order to concentrate.

At this point, Marvin couldn’t have looked away from the bowl if he tried. His eyes remained fixed in place, unable to even blink. The water was completely green, glowing bright and whirling furiously in a downward spiral, but never spilling over the edge despite the violent swirling. He was dimly aware of JJ and Jackie leaning closer, peering over his shoulders, but he couldn’t afford to break concentration. He felt the magic pulsing up and down his arms, connecting his mind to the scrying bowl.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The water turned unnaturally still, unnaturally quickly. It seemed to clear, and Marvin saw his reflection, JJ on one side and Jackie on the other. Then, the reflection changed and warped, transforming into a scene that faded into a glowing green background like an old-fashioned vignette. The three stared down at a black-and-white image of a narrow alleyway, trash piled against dirty walls. The picture kept flickering, changing focus, glitching. Two small figures were stumbling through the small gap, the taller one leading the shorter one by the hand. They seemed to be in a hurry, but didn’t have the energy to run. They kept looking behind them. There was a shadow on the wall behind them, the silhouette of a man following them.

The image broke, splintering into many pixels. Marvin lurched backwards as something seemed to force him away. The bowl shattered, ceramic pieces and water flying outward. Fortunately, all of them were fast enough to protect their faces from the sharp projectiles.

“What the fuck was that?” Jackie asked, stunned.

“I don’t know Jackie, what else could it have been?” Marvin snapped.

“But are they safe? I mean, they weren’t in, like prison or anything.”

'Maybe they gave him the slip,' JJ suggested hopefully.

“I doubt that somehow.” Marvin chewed his lip in thought. “This is part of a plan.”

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted their speculating. Jackie dug into his hoodie pocket and checked the caller ID. “It’s Chase.” Surprised, he accepted the call. “What’s up?”

Marvin could actually hear Chase’s frantic voice on the other side. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down,” Jackie said. “Do we need to meet up with you?” More panic on the other end. “Okay, okay, we’ll be there. See you.” Jackie hung up.

“So…what’s the problem?” Marvin asked.
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“He won’t wake up!?”

“That is what I said!”

The hospital room was crowded with five people crammed inside with a bunch of medical equipment. The equipment wasn’t originally in the room, but Chase and Schneep had sneaked all the necessary items for reviving a person in a coma. After all, it’s not like they could tell the hospital staff that they needed to wake up one of the patients. They would ask why, and if they explained that he was possibly in danger because a creature that looked exactly like him wanted him dead…well, it wouldn’t be good.

“Schneep, are…are you one hundred percent sure that you’re doing this right? “Jackie asked tentatively. “I mean, if hospitals could wake up people in comas, there’d be a lot less comas around.”

The doctor shook his head. “This is different, Jackie. Back—” he broke off, cleared his throat, and continued, “Back when it was clear to me that Jack was not going to make it out of the surgery alive, I induced this myself, to keep him out of his hands. That is sometimes done on the operating table under normal circumstances. I am aware of the steps needed to undo it. But n-nothing is wor-working.”

Chase, nervously twisting his hands as he stood by the be, jumped in. “Why did he want Jack dead anyway? I thought he wanted a new host.”

'A physically weak host is easier to control,' JJ explained. 'He might be able to force his way in for a brief time, but he can’t maintain that for long. He needs some sort of weakness to get in, the more severe, the better.' A pause. 'Or, he could have changed his mind and decided to get rid of him.'

Schneep frowned. “What are you talking about? How do you know these things?”

“So, what do you need us to do?” Marvin said hastily. “We’re not doctors.”

“No, but you have magic, Marvin,” Schneep said. “I think it might succeed where I have failed.”

“I…I’m flattered, Schneep, but I have no idea how to wake someone up,” Marvin couldn’t mask the shock in his voice.

“You can figure something out,” Schneep shrugged. “Is not too difficult to do.”

“Maybe winging it is good for some things, but not magic,” Marvin said through gritted teeth. “I’ve already said this today, but making up shit as you go can have serious consequences.”

“Well, do we really have a choice, Marvin?!” Chase yelled in an uncharacteristic burst of anger. “Yeah, we could wait for you to go find a coma-waking-up spell, but by the time you’ve done that Jack could be dead! Bobby and Trevor could—” he stopped, hands clenched in fists by his sides. “Just—you gotta just try.” His voice was choked with sadness and trembling with fear.

Jackie and JJ gave Marvin identical imploring looks. The magician sighed deeply. “Okay, okay, I see your point.” He walked over to the side of the hospital bed, pulling on his mask again. “But don’ say I didn’t warn you.”

Sometimes, Marvin hated that he was the only one of the group with magic. It meant he was constantly being called on for things like this. Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse. But he’d like some sort of help sometimes.

Looking down at Jack, he took a deep, steadying breath. Maybe…maybe if he modified some sort of psychic spell. He wasn’t too good at those, but seeing as how a coma was mostly a mental thing, it seemed like the best shot. “Vityo qoid tuer vid ies…” he muttered. “Ego tuer psyk uto…”

The words called to the magic, no wand needed. Marvin felt the familiar snap of sparks between his fingers, and saw green at the edge of his vision. Normally, you’d need eye contact for psychic spells, but that was impossible when one of the participants was in a coma. So instead, he placed his hand on Jack’s forehead, pushing the spell out through his fingers into Jack’s mind.

flashes of a strange place…

terror and horror in equal measure…

running from monsters in a maze of corridors…

Marvin shuddered at the images. Was Jack having nightmares? No matter, he had to continue. He could feel the others’ eyes on him. But…now what to do? There were spells to put someone to sleep…maybe he could reverse them… “Imreud, niam e vijel aoré facsi’atys…”

Go ahead… tr̛y to fall asleep̶…

Go ahead…try to w̵ake͢ hi̴̷͞m҉͏̕ up͢…

This was wrong this was wrong this was wrong. Static was crackling an overlay in front of his vision and there was an awful frantic beeping coming from somewhere. Somebody was laughing laughing laughing at him. The spell was being turned against him but he couldn’t stop it he could see the swathes of green and purple magic leaking from his hands but he couldn’t stop them—

Somebody grabbed his wrist, trying to break contact with Jack. Marvin looked away from his comatose friend to see who it was but there was only a vague outline made of static. Then, with a sudden, electric snap! his hand was wrenched away. Magic sprayed across the hotel room, painting the walls in dark green and purple. Marvin collapsed. He would’ve fallen to the floor if he wasn’t being held upright by whoever managed to stop the corrupted spell.

“No! No!” Three others were running around the room, but Marvin saw them only as shadowy figures. Someone was yelling something about vitals as if through a long tunnel. Someone else responded, saying something about blood…

As the scene became more clear, Marvin pushed away from whoever was holding him. He blinked away the darkness. Jackie was standing in the room’s doorway, peering outside, frantically looking left and right to see if anyone had noticed what went down. Schneep was standing nearby, reading the green text on a heart monitor. Chase was on the other side of the bed, looking like he very much wanted to grab Jack and shake him awake but was also scared he would break him apart if he did. Marvin looked down at the comatose man; Jack’s eyes were bleeding, red flowing like tears. He turned around and saw JJ staring at him, half-reaching out in case he collapsed again.

“Thanks,” Marvin mumbled. JJ smiled and wiggled his mustache.

Jackie closed the door to the room, turning to the others. “I don’t think anyone noticed.”

“Wh-what was that?” Chase asked. “Was that him?”

“Yeah, no fucking shit, Chase,” Marvin growled.

“But, I-I mean how’d he do that?”

“I think…” Marvin hesitated, getting his thoughts together. “I think he hijacked the coma somehow.”

“This isn’t time for puns, Marvin!” Jackie yelled, frustrated.

“I didn’t—” the magician sighed. “Look, it’s the best word for it. I saw into Jack’s mind when I was trying to wake him up. He was-was having terrible nightmares. And I heard his voice…he wanted Jack to stay in the coma.”

With a cry of frustration, Schneep pushed over the heart monitor. It crashed to the floor. “Is nothing safe anymore?!” he shouted, voice cracking. “Why must we always fall to An—to him and his…his sadistic tendencies?! One time I try and do something right and he takes it and ruins it an-and poisons it!”

“Henrik, no…” Jackie said in a soft voice. “This isn’t your fault.”

“You do not know that, my friend.” Schneep’s voice was raw. “If-if someone else had been there…if I had been able to fight him off…this wouldn’t be happening!”

“Doc, you can’t seriously be blaming yourself,” Chase said, shocked. “You’re not the same as him. You never tried to hurt Jack.”

Schneep was silent at that. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned heavily against the wall. Marvin, Jackie, and Chase all exchanged looks. They’d seen their friend despair before…they’d even seen him blame himself before, when a patient on the operating table was lost. But this? This was something else, a whole new level.

JJ, perhaps being the only stranger in the group when it came to Schneep, stepped forward. He put a hand on the doctor’s shoulder, intending to comfort him.

It had the opposite effect.

Schneep stiffened, then staggered away with a strange, strangled cry. He turned and faced Jameson. There was a burning in his eyes. A look of horror, betrayal…and recognition. “You,” he said breathlessly.

Jameson looked shocked. But not in a surprised way. More in a I-didn’t-expect-to-face-this way. But he wasn’t confused. Marvin shifted, hand straying towards his wand. “Schneep, what do you—”

“You!” Schneep scrambled away from Jameson, knocking over an IV and another monitor in the process. He looked around, frenzied, searching for something to defend himself as he continued to back away. “Did you not think I would remember!? Did you not think you would be discovered!?”

Jackie hurried to Schneep’s side. “Henrik, I don’t know what you’re—”

“It’s him!” Schneep practically screamed the words. “The silent man! He works for Ant—for him! And you all are just letting him be here! Oh, you have been fooled, my friends, so dangerously fooled!”

“What? No, doc, you’ve got it all wrong,” Chase came over too, stepping between Schneep and JJ. “He’s not what you think he is.”

“Is he not? Or has he tricked you?” Schneep hissed. “I remember. I saw him that day we lost Jack. He was in the hospital, and he was in the observing room. He came after me.” The doctor looked nothing short of murderous. There wasn’t anything even remotely resembling a weapon in the hospital room, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t about to try and fight against this perceived threat. He steadied himself, and took a step forward.

Marvin drew his wand and pointed it at him.

Everyone froze.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend you don’t have a reason for this,” the magician said slowly. “I actually think you’re kind of justified. But you don’t know everything. So we’re all going to calm down and talk about this like reasonable people, damn it.”

Schneep said nothing, staring at the wand with wide eyes. He glanced over at Jameson, who looked away. “…fine,” he grumbled.

Then he bolted for the door.

Taken by surprise, Marvin barely had time to shoot a immobilize spell and miss before Schneep was out the door. “Shit!” Jackie cried. Chase probably would’ve said something along the same lines, but he was already on his way out. Jackie hesitated, looking over at Marvin and JJ to see if they were alright. JJ nodded, then gestured for Jackie to follow Chase. He did so, sprinting out of the room.

Silence.

“JJ…” Marvin said quietly. “Are you okay?”

Jameson glanced at him. He crossed his arms, looked down at his feet, and blinked rapidly. Then he signed, 'I want to go home.'

Marvin hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll go with you. I think…” Deep breath. “I think we need to leave this part to them.”


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