Part Twenty of the Inverted AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a fic series I wrote from December 2018 to August 2021. Jack finds himself staying in a strange house, full of people who are also strange, but seem friendly and willing to help. Still, he's not sure he belongs there.]
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Waking up was a slow process. Jack first became aware of the soft, heavy blanket and the pillows his head was sinking into. Then the quiet silence, accompanied by the creaking you’d find in an old house. And the minute he registered that, Jack realized he didn’t know where he was.
His eyes shot open and he bolted upright. The movement was accompanied by a piercing pain in his abdomen and a sudden rush of wooziness. He doubled over briefly, but then immediately started flailing as he tried to get out of the bed.
“Wḩoa͝, calm down, Jack.” A familiar hand reached out, making like it’s about to push him back down but instead stopping just before hitting his chest. “It’s okay. You’re fine.”
Jack stops, feeling his heart pounding. “Anti.” He looks over to see the glitch sitting in a chair next to the bed, his eye wide. Then he looks around the room. “Wh’re…where’re we?” It looked like a bedroom, but quite fancy. Sunlight filtered through wide windows with gauzy white curtains. Jack saw a clock—not an analog clock, but still rather old-fashioned—on the nightstand nearby reading 6:18pm. His hoodie was folded on top of the stand, with Sam resting on top of that, a pink bandaid wrapped around their nerve-tail.
“You know that address your friend Mark gave you? For the place called the House?” Anti shrugged. “Well. Here we are. It was the closest place that could offer help after you got stabbed.”
“…oh.” Jack fell back into the pillows as he remembered the incident at the bus station. “…how long’ve I been ‘sleep?”
“Four hours and six minutes,” Anti said immediately. “Blood loss combined with panic attack leads to bad things.”
Jack hummed and blinked slowly. Blood loss would explain the swimming feeling in his head. And why he was kinda chilly. “So…how—who fixed the—”
At that moment, a man opened the room to the door and poked his head through the gap. His eyes landed on Jack and he smiled, coming all the way into the room. “Oh, glad to see you’re awake. You’re Jack, right? Welcome to the House.”
Jack stared at the man for a moment. There was no way… “Mark?”
“My name is Edward, actually,” the man said. “But I know Mark, and I can see why you’d be confused. It’s nice to meet you.”
Upon looking closer, there were notable differences between him and Mark. Edward’s hair was shorter, and he was a bit thinner as well. His eyes seemed to be a darker shade of brown. “Yeah…nice t’meet you too,” Jack said. He tried to sit up further in the bed, only to lie back down as another head rush overcame him. He pressed a hand to his forehead. “You…you fixed the stab thing?”
“Yeah, I’m a doc—” Edward cut off when he saw the death glare Anti was giving him. “I mean, it’s what I do.” He rolled his eyes. “These guys get into all sorts of shit, I’m used to it.”
“Well…thanks.” Jack said.
“No problem. But I advise against making any sudden movements or standing up quickly. You still lost a lot of blood. I wanted to give you an IV with supplements but your, uh, friend advised against it. Also I had to stitch it shut, so try not to exert yourself too much or you might tear through the stitches, and that would REALLY hurt.”
Jack nodded. “Got it.” He was starting to relax a bit when he realized three things. One, Sam was out in plain view. Two, Anti was out in plain view, and he was also glitching, just slightly, enough to be noticeable. Three. Edward could one hundred percent see these things. He bolted upright. “I have an explanation for—aaah…” He started tilting sideways as the dizziness decided to assault him again. Anti pushed him back into position.
“I JUST said—” Edward sighed and shook his head. “If you’re worried about your eye friend and the…effects this guy has, don’t be. I’ve seen stuff just as weird.”
Jack’s brows furrowed. “Really.” It came out more as a disbelieving statement than a question.
“Really,” Edward confirmed. “If you’re going to stay here—which obviously, you don’t have to, but I really fucking think you should until your stab wound heals—then you’ll see.”
“I’ve already seen,” Anti mumbled. He turned to Jack. “These guys knew we were coming even before I̡͠ knew we were coming. The…person who first talked to me when I arrived had a really w͟e̶i͏rd͠ electric signature, and acted fucking strange. And there’s a mirror in the entrance that’s freaking me out.”
Jack laughed. “You? Freaked out? Normally people are freaked out by you.”
“E͠x͝ąctly̸.” Anti scowled and looked away. “I break the rules. I don’t like it when other things do too.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Edward said. “And G’s really not that bad once you get to know him.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Anti said. He looked back over to Jack. “I’m going to look around this place. Text me if you want anything.”
Jack’s eyes widened slightly. Anti was going to leave, while he was alone in a strange house with a strange man? Jack trampled down the rising anxiety. It was going to be fine, Anti was just a text away. And he really should get used to being on his own, he’s been doing good with that lately. “Alright,” he said. It came out a bit strangled. “While you do that, I…” Jack shook his head slowly. It felt like soup inside was swirling about. Just that simple motion was enough to make him fall back down into the pillow. “…’m gonna pass out again.”
Anti cracked a smile. “You do that. I’ll see you later.”
Jack might’ve mumbled a reply. He wasn’t sure, because inky darkness was already overcoming his vision and soon he was unconscious again.
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Jack ended up staying in the bedroom in the House for the rest of the day, slowly recovering from the blood loss. He didn’t leave the bed, but Edward was very helpful in bringing him anything he needed. At one point Sam stopped resting, only to float over and curl up on the pillow next to his head. Anti showed up once more late at night, mumbling about the weirdness of this place. He stayed until Jack fell asleep for the night.
By the next day, he thought he felt well enough to get up and explore the House. Edward advised against it, but said, “I can’t really stop you. If you have to, be sure to take rests every so often and for the love of god, don’t do anything more than a walk, otherwise you’ll reopen the wound, which would be like being stabbed again and that’s gonna suck. So don’t do that.” Jack was starting to like this guy.
The bedroom was on the second floor. Jack knew this because he saw a pair of stairs leading down, but he never actually went down them. He explored the upper floor first. It was mostly bedrooms, and when he peeked inside the ones with open doors he saw most of them looked well-lived in. He…wasn’t actually sure how many there were. More than expected. They just kept popping up.
He started to understand why this place was so “weird” when he walked out onto a second-story balcony, looked over the view of the grounds and the small forest beyond, then came back inside to a hallway that he had most definitely not been the one he’d left from. He stared, spun around to look behind him, then said, “Sam? What just happened?”
Sam, hiding in his hoodie pocket, replied that they had no idea. This was a strange place, but maybe they needed to be here.
“…okay, guess we’re looking around this area now,” Jack mumbled. “Anti was right. This isn’t a normal place.” Anti, meanwhile, was gone for the day. Jack wasn’t sure where he was, but it wasn’t his business. Maybe he had glitch stuff to attend to.
Jack turned a corner and found a wide archway serving as a kitchen entrance. Two people were inside talking to each other. The taller one was a woman with her red hair in an undercut, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The shorter one also had red hair, but theirs was clearly dyed, and they wore a short pleated skirt.
“I just want to go for a walk on the grounds!” The shorter one was saying. “I don’t get why I need it!”
“Yan, trust me, you will thank me later,” the taller one said sternly. Jack frowned. Her voice sounded…somehow familiar… “Now.” The woman opened the nearest cupboard and pulled something out. She shoved it toward the shorter one—Yan, apparently. “Take it, and leave for your walk.” She smiled to soften the harsh tone of her voice. “I hope you do have fun.”
Yan seemed to lighten up at that. “Thank you, Voight-san. I’m looking forward to staying here.”
“We are looking forward to having you! There is a glass sliding door you can use right here, see?” The woman pointed toward said glass door.
“Oh thank you again! I’ll be back to help with dinner!” Yan smiled, then pulled open the door and left.
The woman laughed quietly, in that way you do when you’re fond of someone. She then turned around, and caught sight of Jack. Her face paled. Before Jack could say anything, she lunged over to the counter, grabbed the nearest item, a cutting board, and threw it at him.
“Whoa!” Jack ducked behind the archway, watching the cutting board fly past where he’d just been. “Hey! I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did, but I didn’t mean it!” He closed his eyes, covered his head, and braced himself for something else to be thrown.
Instead, there was silence. Jack opened his eyes just in time to catch the woman poking her head around the archway to look at him. She seemed…confused, but also relieved. “Oh, I am sorry, I thought you were someone else,” she explained. “I did not hit you?”
Jack relaxed. “No, it missed.” Her voice was REALLY familiar.
“Good, good.” She walked over to him. “I have not seen you before. Are you staying here, or are you a volunteer?”
“Uh…guess I’m staying here. I don’t know for how long, though.”
“I see. That is fine, many people come and go.” She stuck out her hand. “I am Gretchen Voight, I am a volunteer here. I do cleaning and work with their computer department.”
Jack didn’t shake her hand. The moment she said her name, he realized why her voice—her accent—sounded familiar. “I’m Jack,” he said. “And, uh, I think I know who you were confusing me for.”
Gretchen’s expression soured, and she lowered her hand. “Oh, you do?”
“Yeah, uh…” Jack coughed awkwardly. “I used to live with him. He, uh, mentioned you. A lot. Your ex-husband, right?”
He didn’t think Gretchen’s expression could get any more unpleasant. He was proven wrong when it started to resemble a storm cloud. “We did not officially divorce,” she said, folding her arms. “But I think leaving the country after he was arrested gets the same point across.” She stared him down. “You…knew him? Lived with him?”
“Yeah…” Jack nodded. “I didn’t…actually know about any of the things he did for the longest time. Thought he was just a regular doctor. I…left…the minute I found out.” That was sort of the truth.
“It seems we have similar stories then.” Gretchen smiled slightly, but it faded away. “I am so sorry.”
Jack couldn’t stop the surprise from crossing his face. “Th-thanks, I guess.” Why did that…why were his eyes tearing up?
“Well, we can discuss this at a later time, if you want to,” Gretchen continued. “Do you need any help with anything? I would offer to give you a tour, but that is not so applicable in the House.”
“Yeah, I,uh,” Jack turned around, looking behind him before turning back. “I was just on the upper floor. And I didn’t go down the stairs.”
“The House takes you where you need to be,” Gretchen said cryptically. “I have been volunteering here for a year now, and things get even stranger. You have not met the owners yet, I think?”
“No. Why, what’s up with them?”
“They are very…unusual.” Gretchen said the word like she wasn’t sure of a nicer one.
“I’m used to unusual,” Jack assured her. Of course he was, he literally had a living eyeball in his pocket right now. Sam peeked out, but Gretchen didn’t seem to notice.
“That is fantastic!” Gretchen grinned. “I hope you will enjoy your stay here, Jack. If you need anything, I am always available to talk. I can give you my phone, if you wish.”
“Uh…maybe later. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, it is fine.” Gretchen’s response honestly surprised Jack. He realized he’d been expecting her to insist. “You do not need anything else?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Jack smiled waveringly. “I’m just going to keep looking around. This place is interesting.”
“Oh! If you plan to go out on the grounds, you need to come back here first.” Gretchen gestured toward the sliding glass door. “There are some animals that live in the surrounding trees, and sometimes they come into the grounds. You need to pick up food to make sure they do not bother you.”
Jack narrowed his eyes warily. “What kind of animals?”
Gretchen chewed her lip. “I forget the word in English. Many Eichhörnchen. Small, brown, with big teeth and bush tails. They like nuts.”
“…squirrels?”
“Yes, that is it!” Gretchen clapped her hands. “I know they sound tiny and harmless, but these ones are very ready to fight. They like peanut butter, so if you see some, give some to them and they will leave you alone.”
Well. Even though everyone had been telling him how weird this place was, he wasn’t expecting…that. Jack had to take a moment to process this, understand it, and accept it before he could talk again. “Okay then. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Make sure you do. I will see you around, Jack?”
“Yeah…for a while, at least.” Jack tried not to shift uncomfortably. He turned to go. “Well. Goodbye, then.”
“Goodbye!” Gretchen waved at him as he left.
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As the week progressed, Jack grew familiar with the House. Or, as familiar as someone could be when the layout seemed to change at will. As his wound healed, he ventured out more and more. Anti stuck around, appearing and disappearing at will just as he always had. He seemed…busy, somehow. But Jack didn’t ask about it.
The House seemed to run on a simple system. There were people who stayed here, and then there were people who worked here. The staff was mostly volunteers, who worked for little or no pay, and a small subsection of full-time workers. They kept the house in order, ran the business parts of the organization, provided food and tended the grounds, and generally helped out the people visiting. The residents would stay here for any number of days, from a single night to indefinitely. Edward, apparently one of the full-time workers, mentioned they had a couple people who stayed in the House permanently. He also explained that the House was owned and headed by a pair of men, who Jack had yet to see. In fact, he wasn’t even sure how many people worked or stayed here. The number seemed to shift as often as the House’s layout.
It was…a nice place. The residents were friendly, or at least civil, and the staff were happy to help with anything. Nobody asked any questions beyond how long he would stay, and they didn’t make any suggestions about how long that should be when he replied that he didn’t know. They always asked him if he needed anything, and always said they were available to talk.
It was so nice, that Jack wasn’t sure why he was uncomfortable here.
He kept telling himself that he really shouldn’t be. If anything, this was an upgrade from the hotel he’d been staying in. And apparently safer too, as everyone kept repeating the place couldn’t be found without the address. Maybe because of more weirdness. But…well, he didn’t know. All he knew was that the idea of everyone being so eager to help…the idea of help itself…didn’t quite sit well with him.
Seven days passed, and Jack was starting to think he should leave. He could do it at any moment. All he had to do was wear the same outfit he wore the day he got here instead of any of the clothes the House had been providing him, grab his phone and Sam, and walk right out. No one would stop him, or ask him where he was going, which…he was honestly still getting used to. Maybe he should.
That morning, while sitting in the bedroom he’d almost started to consider his, Jack texted Anti. "Where are you?"
The reply was immediate. "Som̸e͞wher̢e͟ ͞i͠n̨ ̢t̕h͏i͟s͢ f͝u̢c͝ki͡nģ ͢ma͏ze o̷f a h͏ou͞se. Why,͞ ̨you nee͢d somethi̢ng?"
That’s right, Anti had been hanging around today. He was still endlessly frustrated with the strangeness of the House, and doing his best to learn how it works. Honestly? Jack was half-convinced that the House liked to mess with Anti, and would purposefully mix up the rooms just for him. "I’m thinking about leaving today," Jack texted.
"Is̵ ͏tha͡t͝ ̛what͢ y̵o̶u̸ want?"
Jack hesitated. "I don’t know."
"T̶ry lea͡ving ̧for ͢a͝ l͏i̢t͠tle, s̢e͟e̡ if͞ y̕o̡u̴ w͠an͞t ţo come̸ ̧back.̷ ̛I'l͢l͢ ̡mee͟t u̢p ̸with y̵o̕u in̴ a ͢bit."
That seemed like a good idea. Jack put his phone away, let Sam know he was about to leave so they could fly over and perch on his shoulder, and walked out the bedroom door and into a hallway. Not the hallway the bedroom was attached to. He sighed. Looked like he’d have to wander for the entrance today.
A few moments of trying to find the entrance later, Jack stopped. He could hear…he could hear piano music. Notes drifting through the air, sounding a bit muffled. He’d never heard music before. Was there even a piano here? Apparently there was. But maybe the House hadn’t wanted him to find it yet.
He turned toward the nearest door and creaked it open, peering inside. The room beyond looked a bit like a lounge, or maybe a parlor, he wasn’t sure what the difference was. In the center of this room was a piano. And at the piano, a woman was playing.
Jack stepped fully into the room. The notes filled the air, dancing around and across every surface. The woman playing had short dark hair and dark eyes as well, and she wore a simple black suit. Her delicate fingers drifted across the ivory keys with ease. The song was beautiful, a melancholy melody. Though there was a ring of hope buried in there somewhere.
The woman played for a couple minutes more, and Jack stood in the doorway and listened until it slowed to a stop and the last note faded, leaving just a faint feeling behind. Without looking away from the piano, the woman said, “Did you enjoy it?”
Jack jumped. “Oh, sorry, it’s just—just the door was open, and it was very pretty, but I-I should’ve realized you wanted to be alone, I’ll just—”
“I didn’t say that.” The woman looked toward him. “I asked you if you enjoyed it.”
Jack hesitated. “…yeah. I did.”
She chuckled, standing up. “If I didn’t want anyone to listen to it, I would’ve played in my room. It’s open for anyone who happens to pass by.” She began folding up the sheet music on the stand. Maybe it was the dull lighting in the room, but her skin looked oddly gray… “I think I know you. You’re a friend of Mark’s, correct?”
“Yeah.” Jack nodded.
“He’s a good man,” she mused. Then she turned to face Jack fully for the first time. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Jack tensed at that phrase. He’d been hearing it everywhere, all the time from the House’s staff. “No, I’m fine—I mean, I’m okay.”
She stared at him. Her eyes really were very dark. “Do you mind if I talk with you?”
“I-I mean, I guess not.”
“Perfect.” She leaned over to the side of the piano and grabbed a cane that leaned there. Black, with a silver topper. “Come on, follow me.” She spun around and walked over to the perimeter of the room, where a glass door could be seen set in the wall. She swung it open, and went outside. Jack followed.
The light blinded him at first, and when he blinked it out of his eyes he saw they were out on the back patio of the House. He looked around for the woman, but couldn’t see her. Instead, he saw a man leaning on the wall dividing the patio from the grounds, looking out over the gardens. He had dark hair and dark eyes as well, and he wore a simple black suit. His skin looked oddly gray, and he held a black cane with a silver topper in one hand. The man looked back over his shoulder toward Jack, and said, “Well?”
Jack walked right up next to the man, leaning on the wall as well. “So, uh…” he said awkwardly. “You were that woman, huh? And…now you look like…”
“Like your friend Mark, I’m aware.” The man nodded. “He’s a friend of mine as well. He told me about you, you know. Not too much, just mentioned in passing that he gave you the address for the House.”
“Ah, I get it,” said Jack, only really sort of getting it. He turned to face the gardens. They were quite nice. Empty, as of right now. “So…this might be a little rude, but…you’re not human?”
“I was, a long time ago,” the man said, looking up towards the sky. For a moment, his eyes seemed to catch the light, bits of red and blue skimming along the edge of his dark iris. “But not anymore, due to one night a long, long time ago. This doesn’t seem strange to you?”
“Well, yeah, but I’ve seen a lot of weird things,” Jack shrugged. “My two best friends aren’t human either, and my housemates—” He stopped.
“Do you want to talk about your housemates, Jack?” The man asked gently.
Jack didn’t say anything, just shook his head.
“I see.” He paused. “Then, perhaps you would like to explain why you were planning on leaving.”
Jack jumped, looking over at him. “How did you—”
“The House told me. They’re an old friend of mine. And we’ve been…connected ever since that night I mentioned. If you ever wish to talk to them yourself, you only need to visit the mirror in the foyer.” Another pause. A breeze has started up, gently swaying the trees and flowers of the gardens. “So? Would you like to talk about it?”
Jack watched the movement of the trees for a while. Sam, sitting on his shoulder, edged a bit closer to his neck, offering silent support. “I…I guess. But I can’t. Can’t explain, I mean. Because I…I don’t know why. I hadn’t even really decided…I might’ve, though.”
“Hmm…” The man’s fingers tapped a pattern on the top of the cane. “Do you not like it here? Has anyone been unkind?”
“No! No, that’s not what I mean at all,” Jack hurried to say. “Everyone’s great. The people are nice, the workers—not that they’re not people, but you know, the ones who aren’t staying here, they’re…they’re so helpful.” He fell silent for a moment. “And…and I think that’s what’s wrong.”
“That we wish to help?”
“I guess. Sort of. It’s just…” He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Everyone wants to help, you’re right. But…I don’t think you can help some things.”
The man said nothing, but made a small gesture as if asking Jack to continue.
“I…I’ve seen some things,” Jack said softly. “I know that sounds like a cliche line from a movie, but I have. And I…I forgot those things. People made me forget those things. They tried to control me, and I thought they were my friends for—for so long, but—” He took a deep breath. “And I’ve been trying to go back to normal. To how I was before. But…I don’t know if I remember how it was before. I’ve been doing as good as I can but…” There were warm tears welling in his eyes. “…but I think maybe a part of me will always be—”
“Broken.”
Jack looked over at the man, blinking away the tears. The man, in turn, looked at him.
“That may not be the exact word you were going to say, but it conveys the idea, doesn’t it?” The man nodded. “It’s a reasonable fear, Jack. After anything that has hurt you as deeply as you are describing, how can you pick up the pieces and continue on as usual? How can you put yourself back together? It may seem impossible.”
Jack wiped at his eyes. “But it’s all going to work out, isn’t it? All going to go back to usual?”
“Oh, no. Not exactly.”
Jack looked back up, startled.
“A vase that’s been shattered will never look the same, even if all the shards are found and glued back together. But it is still a beautiful vase. It is still a functional vase worthy of being cared for. It’s been changed. There are marks left, some invisible to the naked eye. And that doesn’t make it any less of what it is.” The man paused. “Some things can’t be fixed,” he said softly. “And that’s okay.”
For a long moment, Jack couldn’t say anything. He noticed the tears slowly falling down his face, but he paid them no mind. “So…is it going to be alright?”
“Of course it is. You say you don’t know if you can go back to normal. But the normal you had before has now changed. You can make a new normal, one that embraces the changes and pain you’ve gone through. And it will be just as good, as beautiful, as life was before.” The man tilted his head. “Of course…you can’t remake a whole without trying to place the pieces together again.”
“No…no, you can’t.” Jack looked up at the sky. The sky that had been there for so long, that had seen so much change and disaster. The saying was that time healed all wounds. There might be a scar, but who said that was a bad thing? “Thanks,” he said. “I needed that, uh…” His face turned a bit red. “I just realized I never got your name.”
The man chuckled. “You can call me Dark. Most people do.”
“Dark…” Jack tried out the name. It was sort of fitting, with the man’s appearance, but…also not, in other ways. “Thanks, Dark.”
“You’re welcome.” Dark then frowned. “I have the strangest feeling…” He turned around.
Jack did too. “Oh. Hi, Anti. How long have you been standing there?”
Anti was standing in the middle of the patio, arms folded. “Not long,” he said. “I just heard that thing about remaking a whole.” His form shimmered like he was about to glitch, but then he stopped and simply walked up to Jack. “You…still want to leave?”
Jack thought about it. “No, I…I think I’ll stay. You, uh, you wouldn’t mind getting my stuff from the hotel over to here, would you?”
“Sure. I’ll check you out too, probably for the best.” Anti then looked over to Dark. “So, you’re the guy who runs this place?”
“I am one of them, yes,” Dark said.
“Ah. So the other one’s your boyfriend, then?”
“Wil is NOT my boyfriend,” Dark said firmly. “And he never was.”
Anti raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“Yes, I am sure.” He sighed. “Why do I expect you to know the difference between romance and close friendship? When you’ve never felt the former, as far as I know?”
“Wait.” Jack took a step back, looking in between the two of them. “You guys know each other?!”
“Yes,” Anti said bluntly.
“We’ve had a few encounters over the years…” Dark mused. “You’re still as inelegant and irreverent as always.”
“Thank you.” Anti grinned. “You’re still as fancy and oh-so-clever as always.”
Dark smiled, and tipped his head.
Jack looked at Anti. “You are going to explain this to me later.”
“Alright, alright, but I make no promises to go into detail.” Anti glitched back over to the patio entrance. “You coming inside?” he called.
Jack took a slight step backwards, looking over the silhouette of the House. It felt like it was watching him. But with a fond eye. “Yeah, I’m coming.” And he hurried to catch up as Anti went back into the house, Sam still perched on his shoulder happily.