Part Five of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. Chase disappears. While Jack, Schneep, and JJ try to find him, to no avail, he's alone with Anti.]
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Chase couldn’t remember how he got here. He couldn’t remember where “here” was. He’d been home alone late one night, when he’d gotten a text from Jack, explaining that he was outside and needed Chase to open the door for him. The text said it was an emergency. He was expecting something like this. After what happened to JJ two months ago, the boys were constantly on edge. None of them went anywhere without a way to contact the others, usually their phones. So when Chase got that text, he didn’t think anything was odd. He rushed to his front door, only to see nobody there. He remembered going back inside, feeling uneasy, then hearing a low whine coming from…somewhere. He’d gone off to find it, and as it increased in volume his vision began growing dimmer…and dimmer…until he passed out, and the last thing he saw was the glitching outline of a man with glowing eyes.

He’d woken up in a room of red light. His feet dangled a few inches above the floor, and strings were wrapped around his wrists, suspending his arms above him. He’d lost his hat. The room didn’t have windows, or even a door, and was completely void of decoration or furniture. There was no place the red light could’ve been coming from.

At first, he called for help, with no answer, or even indication that anyone heard him. Then he struggled, pulling against the strings, feet flailing, but nothing changed there either. Nothing changed ever. The red light never faded, never flared, never stopped its strange glow. It was low enough to make the empty room seem dark in the corners, but bright enough so that when Chase closed his eyes he could still see it through his eyelids. Nothing he did made any difference to the rest of the room, and that made him want to scream. So he did. And still, everything was the same.

Time must’ve passed. There was no way it couldn’t have. But there were no clocks and nothing he could use as an indication of time. Eventually, he got tired, as humans do, and started to fall asleep. When that happened, something finally changed. The same low whine he’d heard in his house started up again, growing loud for a while, then fading away again. And, after a period of silence, it reappeared and disappeared once more. Then this repeated again. And again. Every time he started to doze off the electric drone would start up, startling him awake, until his eyes were running with tears from deprivation.

It was a while before something finally happened. The strings were digging into his arms, rubbing his skin raw and bruised, and he’d stopped fighting against them long ago. His head hung low, and his neck hurt from not moving it in a long time, but he didn’t care anymore.

The whine returned. It grew more intense then ever before, crackling and breaking. Then it lowered in volume, but didn’t go away completely. Chase didn’t look up as the sound circled around him, slowly. It came closer, stopping in front of him. He still didn’t look up. “Don’t have anything to say, C͞ha̧s̸e͏?” A voice hissed, sounding more like white noise than anything human. “I thought you were the one who n̕e̴ver̴ sh̕ųt ͠u͏p͞.”

Chase twitched a bit, but refused to look at him. He knew who it was, of course. Who else would do something like this?

“ Co͡me ̡no̕w̶, I know this isn’t as e̴a̶͢s̷y͢ as you’re m̵ak̸i̢̡n͡͡g͢͝ ͝m̷e believe,” the static cajoled. “I can f̤̣̮e̛͎̞͉͇̪e̮̣̣̳̠l̞͎̱ it. You just want to m̨a͟k̵e͞ this̛ di͝fficul̶t for me, d͝on’t y̷o̢u?”

Chase didn’t say anything; even if he had the energy, he wouldn’t. A distorted sigh came from the static. Then a hand, not entirely there but not entirely not there, reached out and grabbed his head, forcing it upward. Chase winced and gasped as the sudden movement caused a jolt of pain down his neck. He was staring into the eyes of the demon.

Anti looked the same as ever. Blue eyes and brown hair, just like Chase’s own, mask of shadows covering the upper half of his face, flayed neck with a series of green stitches barely holding him together. “ Th̡at'̴s͡ be͠t̢ter̴,” he smiled. “How are you, C͡h̸ase͡? It’s been a while. Your p̶r͝ett̡y ͡l͝i̧tt͡le̸ neck hasn’t had any more kn̡i̸v͠es held to it?”

“Shut…up,” Chase muttered. It was the best he could manage.

“Ouch, C͢ha͏s͡ȩ. You wound me. And here I was, hoping to have a n̶ice,͡ p͝l͠e͏asant cha̵t̸.” Anti disappeared for a moment, breaking apart and fading away. Chase felt a hand in his hair, fingers gently grabbing strands and then pulling hard, yanking his head backwards. A small sound escaped his throat before he could stop it. “We have plenty of time to… c͓at̟̹c͉͍̜̰̜h̥̱͖̪͢ ͎up̖. Ask me anything, I̸'̴l̷l a̢n͞sw̷e͏r͏.” The hand let go, and Chase’s head flopped back into position.

Chase gritted his teeth. There had to be a trick here. Anti fed off pain and misery, he wouldn’t hand out answers without a price. But the question was, would the answers be worth the cost? Maybe one wouldn’t hurt… “Where’re Jackie and Marvin?” Chase rasped, voice hoarse from non-use.

“Oh, they’re close.” Anti sounded amused. “Even clo͢se̡r͢ t̷ha̷n̕ ̶yo̢u t͝h̨in̶k.”

He reappeared in front of Chase, a slight smile on his face. “Do you hate me, C͝h̨a̴sȩ?” he asked sweetly.

“Wh-what?” The question took him by surprise.

“I said…” Anti leaned forward and lightly grasped Chase’s face. “Do you. Ḩa͝t̵͟͝e̶. M͠e̛?”

“Yeah, course I do.” It only occurred to him that lying was an option after he’d let the truth fall out of his mouth.

“I see.” Anti backed away again. “And wh̴y͟ is that?”

“I…who wouldn’t?” Chase said. His words were a bit slurred. His mouth was moving faster than his tired mind and everything came pouring out before he could think it was a bad idea. “You…first you—first we thought you killed Jackie an’ Marvin, instead you’re doing worse…and you almost killed Jack…and then you tried to—hypnotize Doc, or somethin’…and then you…you fucking maimed JJ and he hasn’t talked to us since—no’ that he can, anymore, but…”

“Oh, C͞ha̸s̛e,” Anti shook his head. “Chase, Chase, you only think this because you can’t see the ͞bi͢g͠g͟er pictu͝re.” A knife appeared in his hand. Chase’s breathing hitched, but Anti merely began playing with it. “Let’s relate this to something you know. Your wife decides to l͢eavę ̶y̴ou͟ and take the kids. The day after the divorce, you burst into your friends’ apartment and begin crying. ‘I’ve l̵ost̸ he͡r,’ you say. ‘I’ve l̕oşt ͟t̵he̛m̢. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do li͢͝͞fe̴̛ ̸ ͠w͏it͟hout them.’ And your friend does his best to comfort you.”

Chase blinked, confused. He…remembered that. It actually happened. After his first night officially alone, he’d broken down. The next morning he’d gone to the apartment Jackie and Marvin shared. Marvin had let him in, and Chase started crying. He remembered saying that exact phrase…

'“I can’t do it anymore,” he had said, voice choked by tears. “I can’t do it without them.”'

'“Do what, Chase?” Marvin had asked gently.'

'Chase had paused. “Life. I can’t do life without them.”'

'“Oh, Chase, no…” Marvin had pulled him into a hug at that point. “Don’t say shit like that. It…worries me, and I know the others would feel the same way. If you think you can’t do it, then we’ll help you out. That’s what we’re here for.”'

“But what if your friend was also married?” Anti asked. “In fact, what if all your friends were? What if, instead of seeing their marriages crash and burn around them, they continued on with them, h̛a̡p̵py ̨as ̶can ̵be̡? You lost eve̴r̕y̴th̡ing, and they lost n̕o̴̡t̕h̷i͠n̶̨g͡. Wouldn’t that just eat a͢wa̴y̴ at you? Wouldn’t you want them to f͏ee̷l͟ wh͡at y͠ou ͡fe̡lt?” The world cracked and broke. Anti smiled a too-wide smile. “Wouldn’t you want to find your h̷ap͏p͠i̴nes̵s͏ in ̷th͞e͢i͝r s̕͠u̢͞ff̸̴eri̛͡ng̡?”

Anti stopped playing with the knife. He held it tight in his hand, and with a single swipe he cut the strings holding Chase up. With the strings severed, Chase fell to the ground and immediately collapsed, his legs too weak to support him. He wheezed faintly and tried to stand up. But the strings, still wound around his arms, took on a life of their own, the loose ends burying themselves in the solid ground like snakes burrowing through sand. He was stuck.

“Not yet, Ch̛a̷s̛e͏͠.” Anti crouched on the ground next to him. “I’m not done t̛a͡l͏kin͢g ̛to ̵y̸o͝u. I know something you don’t, and I’m sure you’d l͢͝o͟v̷e̸͢ to hear this.”

Chase shook his head. “I’m not…’m not listening to you.”

“ Yo̢͡͡u̶ w̴͝i̷͞l̛̕l̶.” Anti reached out and grabbed the side of Chase’s head. His hand dissolved into pixels, into red and blue and green, and the pixels sank into Chase’s head. Chase blinked and gasped as the electric whining grew, but only within him. It was buzzing in his head, piercing his mind, clouding behind his eyes. At first he wanted to recoil from the sensation, but the longer it went on…

“ Do yo͡ų w̡ant ͝t̴o̵ ̡se͝e y̨o̡u̸r f͎ṛ̗̜͇͖̳͍͠i̙̯̯̗̖̩̙e̳̼̥ͅṋ͝d̤̲̹̦̫s̲̰̻̥̮͎, C̨h̨a̢se̷?” Anti asked, his voice sounding almost layered.

Chase mumbled an affirmative answer.

“Do you want to kn͠o̶w wha̶t h̸a̡pp̵e͟n͡ed to̡ ̛th̛e̷m?”

Chase nodded. The sound of the static, which before had kept him awake, was starting to sound peaceful and calming. His eyelids were so heavy…

“Don’t fall asleep just ̕y̧e̢t̕.” A loud, electric snapping sound brought Chase back out of his own head. He stared dully at Anti, who was grinning. “I want to sh̸ow ̕y̡o̡u ͟some͡t͠h̕in͡g.”

Anti disappeared, turning into fractured shapes for a mere moment. And then he reappeared, but…different. His shirt was more red than black in color, and the slit across his throat had closed a bit. The shadows that usually hid his face were gone, and the blue of his eyes seemed to be a different shade. He smiled, but it wasn’t HIS smile. “Hey there, Chase,” he said. There was no distortion in his voice anymore.

Chase gaped for a moment. Then, he started to cry. “J-Jackie?” he choked out.

Jackie—Anti— Ja͝ckie nodded. “Hi dude. You look terrible.”

“N-not funny.”Chase reached out, patting Jac͢k͡i͠e’s shoulder, then his chest, just to make sure he was there. He wasn’t paying attention to the strings pulling at his arms anymore, or to the static in his mind whispering 'It’s him…it’s your friend…he’s right there…he’s come back to you…you can trust him…'

“Chase, what happened to you? You’re acting a bit strange.”

Without another word, Chase threw himself at Jackie, wrapping his arms around his friend. “Jackie…” he sobbed. “I m-missed you…we thought you and Marv died, and-and then we found out you didn’t and it-it was worse, because-cause we didn’t know…we didn’t know what was hap-happening…Jackie, you’re alright…”

Ja̡c̡ki̕e hushed him. “It’s okay, Chase. I’m alright. Marvin is alright. You are alright. But, you know, it’s not gonna stay that way for long.”

“It-it’s not?” The thought terrified him. Why couldn’t he have his friends back? Why couldn’t everything go back to the way it was?

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry, Chase, but we’re in danger. The world is fucked and upside-down, and we have to fix it. Marvin and I have a plan, but it involves you. You need to help us. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is,” Chase said eagerly. “Anything you need.” He would do it. He would do anything for his friends. He always did.

“Chase, you’re going to have to listen to us no matter what. You’re going to have to do exactly what we say. We know what we’re doing, and if you don’t do as we say, terrible things will happen. Do you understand? Do you agree?”

“Yes̷͢s̨s̢.” The word that came out of his mouth was laced with static, echoing the empty drone inside his mind.

Jackie smiled. “ V̡er̕y g̢ooḑ.” A wave of shadows cloaked the upper part of his face, but that was fine, that was his mask that he always wore. His neck was fine too, it couldn’t have been too serious an injury if he was still walking and talking normally. And his voice was fine, it just sounded like that because he was hearing it through the buzzing inside him. Everything was good. His friend was back. Everything was good. His friend was back.

Anti pulled away from Chase’s embrace, and smiled as he tried to cling to him for as long as possible. The plan had worked. A few days of isolation and sleep deprivation to break down the mental walls, then pulling on Chase’s desperate desire to have the people he cared for return. It may have taken him months to practice his puppeteering and mental tricks, but it was worth it. “Now C̸h͟a͟s̸e͠, there are just a few̨ ̵mo̕re thi̷n͢g̢s to take care of,” he purred. “And then we can get started on the plan. Ǫk̵ay͞?”

Chase nodded, empty eyes never looking away from his “friend.” Anti reached out and grabbed hold of the strings still wrapped around Chase’s arms and wrists. He showed no reaction when Anti pulled on them. Perfect. A tingle of glitches wound around Anti’s fingers, turning into a sewing needle, blood staining its silvery metal. “That’s great. Now, if you would just h͞ol̡d ̨st͡ill…”
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“Where the fuck is he?!”

“Schneep, calm down!”

Jack and Schneep were meeting in the doctor’s apartment. The living room had become a sort of conspiracy hub, sofas pushed to the side to make room for an enormous city map sprawled on the floor, pictures pinned up on the walls with random sticky notes everywhere in between. Schneep was currently anxiously walking around the perimeter of them map, while Jack was standing to the side, equally anxiously watching his friend pace.

“Calm down?! I think the fuck not!” Schneep ranted. “It has been a week. A week, Jack! None of the other times has Anti attacked one of us and we disappeared for a week! Something bad is happening, I just know it.”

“Well, that’s kind of a given,” Jack pointed out. “But if you’re panicking then your mind isn’t working right. You may overlook something. Not to mention, yesterday I walked in to see you crashed on the floor. I know it’s cliche to say, but you’re no use to Chase if you die of sleep deprivation.”

“Do not be ridiculous. It takes ten days or so to die without sleep. Although hallucinations start in after three or four…” Schneep paused, thinking for a moment before resuming his pacing. “Has JJ said anything about—I mean, has he found anything yet?”

Jack shook his head. “He hasn’t gone back to the shop since…you know. And he won’t let me go get his supplies. So he can’t do anything big. But he’s done some scrying, and hasn’t found anything. It’s…really affecting him.” Jack hesitated, then quietly continued. “He’s getting worse, Schneep. He barely comes out of the guest room in my house anymore. And you’re not sleeping, or eating…we’re falling apart, and Anti knows it.”

Before Schneep could reply, a cheerful ding! chimed from his pocket. Innocent enough, but the doctor stiffened. Carefully, he took out his phone and looks at the text on the screen. His face paled.

“What? What happened?” Jack asked, confused. Then his text alert went off. Jack dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone as well. “It-it’s Chase,” he said shakily.

“I have gotten the same message I believe.” Schneep showed Jack his phone. The message in question was an address, followed by the words Come now :). “And I do not think it is Chase. I think—I think he is in our phones.”

Jack swallowed nervously. “Can he do that?”

“Apparently. That time in the hospital, when he made me dream…in the dream he talked to me through my phone. We all assumed that was part of it, and not real, but maybe it was. Or, the concept was real.”

“So, then…” Jack glanced back at the message. “We’re gonna go, then?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“…I guess we don’t have one at all. Let’s go.”

The address led them to an empty house. It was in the middle of a busy, normal neighborhood, but it looked abandoned. The windows were boarded up and the yard was overgrown. There was a For Sale sign out front that looked like it had been there for a while. Jack and Schneep took a moment to gather their bearings, then pushed open the warped door and went inside.

The front door led to a hallway that didn’t lead away from the front like it was supposed to, but instead turned immediately to the right. Several old TV sets and a few computer monitors were stacked in piles along the way. Every one was on and showing blank static. The hall lights were off, but the screens provided adequate, if eerie, light. The two of them exchanged wary glances, then started cautiously down the hall.

Eventually the hall opened up into a living room. The furniture was faded in color and the hardwood floor was dusty, save for a few footprints and a long, clean strip that looked like something had been dragged. A single, broken ceiling lamp gave off a flickering yellow light. That pale illumination let Jack and Schneep see Chase, sitting lifelessly on the couch.

Jack made a strangled kind of sound. “Chase?” he called. When there was no answer, he turned to Schneep. “Is he…?” He couldn’t bear to finish that sentence.

Schneep looked at Chase. He wasn’t moving at all, and he looked sick. Thin, off-color. His hat was pulled low over his eyes. “I do not know…” Schneep muttered. “Chase? Can you show us you can hear us?” No response.

Jack took a step forward. When that didn’t elicit a response, he took another, then slowly walked to Chase. Schneep followed after a moment. The floorboards creaked with every step.

Jack sat on the couch next to Chase. “Hello? Chase? Buddy?” he said softly. “We’re here to come get you. Are you ready to go?” No response. “Chase, please.” Jack grabbed Chase’s hand. His fingers brushed something…strange. Frowning, Jack pulled Chase’s hand further into the light—and he gasped, horrified. Green string was stitched around Chase’s wrist, bleeding a bit from the puncture wounds. He checked his other wrist, and saw the same thing.

“Schneep…” Jack whimpered. “Are you…is this…”

Schneep was keeping his distance. He could see the stitching well enough from where he was standing, and he hated it. “It is, Jack,” he said, voice choked. “Anti…seems to like stitching things together.”

Jack could feel the hot sting of tears in his eyes. “Chase, man, c’mon. it’s us.” He took hold of Chase’s shoulders and shook him gently. “It’s us.” The movement dislodged Chase’s cap, shedding a bit more light on his face and neck. The green stitching wrapped around Chase’s neck as well, and his eyes were covered in a film of static. For a moment, Jack just stared. Then the first of the tears came pouring out. He could only hold Chase tight and mutter “Please…please…” trying and failing to get a response. Schneep hovered close, hand covering his mouth in utter shock. His eyes were watering as well.

After a bit, Jack looked at the doctor. “We have to get him…I don’t even know, somewhere safe. Away.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course. Here, I will help.” The two of them supported Chase between them, one arm flung over each of their shoulders. They staggered back down the hall. The static on the screens hissed.

Chase blinked. And shuddered a bit. Then with a single movement that was way too powerful for his slight build, he pushed Jack away and threw himself at Schneep. Jack crashed against the nearest pile of screens. For a moment the sound of the static whispered in his mind, dazing him. Then he forcefully shook himself out of it. He sat up and saw that Chase had knocked Schneep to the ground. His hands were wrapped around the doctor’s neck, strangling him. Schneep was doing his best to push Chase off of him, but he was unusually strong. A twisted sort of smile was pasted on his face.

“No!” Jack scrambled to his feet and pulled Chase away. He received an elbow to the face for his troubles. He stumbled back, warm blood trickling from his nose. But Chase didn’t stop there. He continued to attack Jack, punches landing much harder than they should have. Jack panicked, and ran back down the down the hall in an effort to get away. He made it back to the living room and skidded to a halt.

Anti was there, standing in the middle of the room with a grin on his face to match Chase’s. “Hello, J̧ack͝ab͟oy̴,” he said. “It’s been t͞oo ̧l͢on̵g͝.”

“Anti,” Jack breathed. “What did you do to Chase?”

“Nothing much.” Anti took a step closer. Jack looked over his shoulder, only to see this twisted version of Chase blocking his exit route. “I just gave him wh̢at he ̛w͞a͟n̢te͝d̶. I made him h̷a͠pp̡͡y̷ ̴ąg͡a̢͟in. Didn’t I, m̡y͢ ̕frie̸n̕d?”

Chase nodded. “ Y͢es..̢.̕I͟’m̴ ̸so͟ ̷h͞ap̨p̡y͠.̕..͠” Jack shuddered to hear the distortion in his voice.

“No,” Jack shook his head. “No, Chase, bro, this isn’t—he—you’re not alright. We’re your friends, dude. You need to snap out of it!”

His pleas had no effect. Chase merely tilted his head to the side. “ Y̡o͠u’r͞e̶ ͞no̕t ̴th̶e̡m..̶.my f͞r͡ien͝ḑs a͡re ̧her͟e̸.͟..̛”

“Isn’t it a̢m̡a̵zi͞n̛g̸ what a week of training can do?” Anti laughed. “Just three days of preparation was all it took, then four more days to get every͝t̢hi͠n̵ģ pe̕rf͢e̕ct once he s̶a͟w t̡he ͠t͢rut͞h. Now we’re reąd͏y̶ ͏f̧o̶r ̴th͢e ne͡x̢t p͏h͢as͞e.”

“Over my dead body.” Schneep had reappeared, standing in the hallway behind Chase. He looked ready to fight, and he stared at Anti with a furious fire in his eyes.

“Don’t be r͟i̴d͢icu̵l̡ous͏, doctor,” Anti said, unbothered. “I wouldn’t give you t͢h̸e ̨sat̷isfac͝tio͝n̕.”

Schneep growled. He grabbed Chase by the arm and tried to pull him away, but Chase shook him off without even looking in his direction.

“ Th͢is̛ ͏demonstr̕aţi̕o͝n͢ ͠is͟ ̸over.” For a moment, reality broke into shadows of red and green, lagging and glitching in a nausea-inducing way. When the world righted itself, Jack and Schneep were standing next to each other, facing Anti and Chase. Anti’s arms were wrapped around Chase, as were a few green glowing strings. Chase’s expression was blank and unconcerned.

“You cannot—!” Schneep lunged forward, but he was too late. Anti and Chase disappeared in a flurry of pixels tied together by red strings. Schneep stumbled forward a few more steps before stopping. “No…” It was amazing how much despair was contained in that single syllable.

“Schneep?” Jack said quietly. “Are you…going to be okay?”

The doctor rounded on him. “No, I am not going to be fucking okay! That is our friend! Anti has—has broken him! Become corrupt! Like he is a puppet master who sees us as—as his to take. How can you stand this?! How are you so fucking calm?!”

Jack didn’t say anything, just wiped his eyes. “I’m not, Schneep.” His voice broke. “I’m not. But you can’t let him win. You can’t let him get to you. If you just…give up now, we lose Chase forever. If you go crazy with revenge, he’s gonna use that against you. I know he will. Please, Schneep…we can’t…we can’t…” He trailed off, unable to find the words. “We’ll get him back. We will.”

Schneep was shaking, his teeth clenched, but he forced himself to close his eyes and take several deep breaths. “Yes, we will get him back,” he said. “And we will get the others back, and make sure Anti can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“That’s the spirit.” Jack smiled weakly. “Now…we need to tell JJ about all this and start figuring out what to do. Let’s head to my place.”

The two of them left the abandoned house. The static in the screens continued to hiss and whine long after they were gone, crying out, calling the names of the ones who were lost.