A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Nine: The Witching Hour
[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. JJ and Marvin have a serious talk in the middle of the night.]
.............................................................................................
Jameson bolted upright, gasping silently. It took him a moment to remember where—and when—he was. He reached over, grabbing blindly in the dark until he was able to turn on his bedside lamp. With a simple click, yellow light flooded the bedroom. He looked at the clock: 12:10 a.m. He looked at the calendar: May 2018.
When was the last time he’d had one of those nightmares? It had to be at least a month since a bad dream had woken him up. Or, not a dream exactly. A memory he’d rather forget. What happened with the doctor must’ve triggered a relapse. He could still hear his words… He works for him! And you all are just letting him be here! You have been fooled, my friends, so dangerously fooled!
JJ shivered, then got out of bed. He found that, on nights like these, it helped to walk around, just to be alone with his thoughts. To reassure himself that they are his thoughts.
As he left the bedroom and entered the hall, he turned on all the lights. They were modern, electric lights, the sort of which that had only been mildly common back in his day. Their artificial glow, while helpful in ridding the house of shadows, made Jameson feel a vague sadness. He loved his new friends, of course, but he’d left so much behind. What ever happened to his old partner, who’d helped him behind the scenes? Or that kid who made toys, and wanted to be a part of the film business? Or his mother and father? They hadn’t been on the best of terms, but he still missed them.
He was halfway down the stairs when he realized there was a light already on. He stopped. He didn’t think it would be Anti. He was a creature of darkness. Still, that could leave any number of more conventional threats. JJ considered retreating back upstairs, but curiosity got the better of him. And there was no guarantee to be any danger. So he crept silently down the hall. The door to the parlor was ajar, and JJ peeked inside.
Marvin was there, slumped in one of the armchairs with his portable computer on his lap, eyes glued to the screen. His mask and wand were on a nearby table. All the lamps in the room were on, artificial illumination flooding their surroundings.
Relieved, JJ knocked on the door frame to announce his arrival. Marvin jumped, halfway to closing his computer when he spotted JJ standing in the doorway. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said, relieved. “Fuck, dude, don’t scare me like that. I didn’t even hear you coming down the hall.”
'My apologies,' JJ signed. He opened the door fully, entering the room. 'If I may ask, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay at a hotel tonight.'
“I thought about it, but…I dunno man, I just didn’t want any of us to be alone right now.” Marvin shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. The worry in his eyes gave him away. “You’re not gonna, like, kick me out, are you?”
'Of course not!' JJ reassured him. He didn’t want to admit it, but it would be kind of nice to know he wasn’t alone. 'But why are you still up so late?' Marvin was still wearing the same clothes he was yesterday, showing that he either hadn’t had the foresight to pack a pair of pajamas, or he hadn’t gone to sleep at all. Possibly both.
Marvin raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”
JJ hesitated. His first instinct was to not bother his friend with his troubles, but Marvin—actually, all of the others—had repeatedly told him that if there was a problem they’d be happy to help. So he braced himself and signed, 'I had another nightmare.'
“Oh.” Marvin slumped. “I’m…sorry. Do you…want to talk about it?”
Jameson shook his head. 'Not tonight. But I don’t want to go back to sleep. Do you mind if I stay in here for a time?'
“Not at all. It’s your fucking house, after all. Take a seat.”
JJ let out a sigh of relief, then sat down in the armchair next to Marvin’s. The magician stared at him for a bit. “You’re absolutely sure you don’t want to talk about it? I’ll listen.”
'I know you will,' JJ signed. 'But this is…a difficult subject for me to talk about. It’s nice that you are open to it, but I don’t think…' he trailed off, hands frozen in the air.
“I get it.” Marvin nodded. “I really do. Just making sure you know I’m here for you.” He glanced back down at the computer, presumably checking for glitches, before looking back up. “It’s been a while since you had one, huh. Do you think yesterday…set you off, or something?”
Jameson nodded. 'The doctor. He seems like a kind enough person, but…he said some things to me.'
“Schneep’s not kind,” Marvin muttered. “Or, well, okay, let me explain. He’s nice, and he really wants to help people, but to me, ‘kind’ implies being polite and doin’ good things in everyday life. And in that area, he’s sorta lacking. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if it might hurt others. Also he yells a lot.” Marvin shook his head. “I’m getting off topic. The point is, you shouldn’t let his words get to you. He’s been through hell, and he was just…I dunno, projecting his frustration onto you. It’s nothing to do with you.”
'But it is, Marvin.' The sign Jameson used for Marvin’s name was rather simple, just the BSL “M” followed by the sign for cat. But using a name sign in personal conversation made the whole thing sound much more serious. 'I was there that night, when the doctor failed. I did help…him. And I know it was not my fault, that I was just a puppet, but I can’t help but feel guilty.'
Marvin remained silent for a long time, long enough to make Jameson nervous. But then he spoke. “That’s understandable. It’s probably like survivor’s guilt. You felt you should have done something, even if you couldn’t. And I…well, I can’t imagine going through what you did, feeling like that, for ninety years. But for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re…a bad person, or whatever your trauma is calling you, for not being able to stand up to him. And neither do Chase or Jackie. You did all you could, and you got fucked over for your trouble. That sucks. But you’re not the bad guy.”
Jameson folded his arms, hugging himself tight. He did feel a little better. Not completely one hundred percent better, but better. The doctor’s words still upset him, and he had the feeling he’d have to confront Schneeplestein directly to get over that. But for what it was…this was good.
'Thank you, Marvin,' he signed.
The magician smiled reassuringly. “No problem, dude. You ready to go to bed again?”
JJ shook his head. Marvin nodded, and returned to his computer. What was he doing anyway? What were any of them doing when they were logged onto the Interwebs? On an impulse, he leaned over and looked at Marvin’s screen.
“Wh—no!” Marvin slammed the computer closed, but not before Jameson had time to see what exactly was on display. His eyes widened. Anyone else wouldn’t have recognized them, wouldn’t have known what type of spells those were. But Jameson did. He looked at Marvin, hoping for an explanation.
“You know what, I think I’ll go to bed myself,” Marvin laughed nervously. He stood up, holding the computer close to his chest, and made his way over to the room’s exit. Quickly, Jameson scrambled to his feet and ran in front of Marvin, blocking him. “Uh—JJ, dude, I know I’m usually a night owl but I’m pretty tired right now, y’know?” He sidestepped, only for Jameson to block him again. A second time, the same result. “Jameson, really, leave. Please.”
JJ shook his head, then made two simple signs. 'Black magic?'
Marvin froze. “I…”
'Marvin, why are you looking up spells like that?'
“I—I mean, th-there’s—” he scrambled for an explanation. “With An—with him out there, I-I thought that we could, ah, use some more—some firepower, and these are really powerful spells, and—”
'You’re better than that, Marvin,' JJ signed sadly.
“I…no, I’m not.” The words were almost too quiet to hear. Marvin looked down. He didn’t want to see the look on JJ’s face when he explained. “I’m really not. I know that to you and Jackie and Chase I’m—I’m the magic man, the expert, the-the good to balance out his evil magic—but I’m not, JJ. I’m not a good person.”
JJ waved his hand in front of Marvin’s face, making him look up. Jameson wasn’t disappointed at all, but somehow that made it worse. He didn’t understand what Marvin was trying to tell him. Jameson raised an eyebrow, and signed,' What was that you were saying earlier, about me not being the bad guy? I’d hate to throw your own words back at you, but that’s exactly what needs to be done here.'
Marvin was already shaking his head. “No, it’s not the same thing, JJ. You were forced to do terrible things. And even when you sought out the dangerous kind of magick, you never really wanted to use it, you just wanted to know. I—I’m not like that.” He swallowed nervously. He knew this would come out eventually—he didn’t want it to, but he knew—so it would be better to rip the bandage off. “Back when I first discovered magic, I wanted to know more. I wanted to be more. And I didn’t have any noble reason for it, I wasn’t even simply curious. I wanted to be the most powerful, most famous magician out there. And when I found those spells, I read the warnings and everything, and I didn’t care. As long as it got me where I wanted. And I just kept going down, and down, and down, until I almost—I almost did something terrible, JJ. And I almost didn’t regret it. Do you—” he took a deep breath. “Do you honestly think that somebody like that could be a good person?”
There was no hesitation. JJ nodded.
Marvin blinked. “Did—did you even hear a word I said?”
He nodded again. 'Look Marvin, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can’t change what you’ve done in the past. And the fact that you acknowledge your mistakes and want to improve means you are better than you think you are. And if I’m not allowed to berate myself, you aren’t either.'
“I—” Marvin realized he was clutching his computer so tight that it was leaving imprints in his hands. He relaxed his grip a bit, and somehow that was the cue to start the breakdown. Suddenly there were tears coming from his eyes and his shoulders were shaking and JJ was hugging him gently. All he could do was bury his face in his shoulder and dully repeat through the sobs“I’m not—I’m not—” even though every time he tried to say the words he could feel JJ shake his head.
They stayed like that for a while, before Marvin finally pulled away. He blinked away the remains of the tears. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
JJ smiled brightly. 'It’s no problem, Mr. Magician. I owe you for rescuing me in the first place, not to mention everything since then.'
Marvin laughed. “By that logic, I still owe you for letting me stay in your house for free. And since when have you called me—what was that? Magician?”
'M-I-S-T-E-R Magician,' JJ corrected, spelling out the word.
“Well, that’s even stranger then.” Marvin looked down and realized he was still holding his computer. “I think…I think I’m gonna put this away. I, uh, brought a duffel bag of my stuff and left in in your guest room. I’ll go put this there.”
JJ nodded, standing aside so Marvin could get past. He was going to go back to bed himself. It had been a long night, but they both came out of it feeling alright. It wasn’t perfect; JJ had the sneaking suspicion there was more to Marvin’s problem. But a start was better than nothing.
Bang!
JJ jumped. What was that? It sounded like it came from the front. He walked out into the hall and looked toward the entrance. There was the creak of the door opening.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!!”
He didn’t waste time in running down the hall and toward Marvin’s shout. He rounded a corner into the entrance, only to see Marvin staring, shocked, out the front door. He was holding something in his hand. He must’ve heard JJ’s footsteps, because he immediately turned around upon his arrival in the entrance. “Dude…” the magician said. “You’re not gonna fucking believe this…”
'What? It’s not anything bad, is it?'
“To the contrary, I think.” Marvin held out his hand, showing the thing nestled in his palm to JJ.
JJ, meanwhile, stumbled back in shock. 'That’s not…?'
“It is,” Marvin nodded.
'We have to tell the others. Right now.'
“Fuck that, we have to SHOW the others right now. Get dressed. They’re at Jackie’s apartment, so that’s where we’re going.”