CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Hi, I'm Crystal!

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


Part Three 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. Jack and Chase may have been attacked by Anti, but Schneep still refuses to believe in magic and the supernatural. But soon, that changes.]
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Head fuzzy, eyes burning from being open for too long, Dr. Schneeplestein turned off his computer monitor and leaned back in his office chair. It had been a long day at work. With the first snowfall of the season came a multitude of ice- and cold-related injuries. Anything from falls off the roof to getting impaled by icicles. That last one wasn’t a joke, it was actually the reason he’d pulled such a late night. Luckily the patient would pull through with no permanent damage.

But the emergency in the—well, the emergency room—hadn’t been the sole cause of Schneep’s exhaustion. He was also behind on paperwork, by far the most boring part of the job. But that wasn’t ENTIRELY his fault. It was Jack and Chase.

Schneep stood up, exchanged his doctor coat for a normal black one, and as he made his way through the halls of the hospital, he thought about his friends’ latest delusion. It’d started back in Halloween, when Jack accidentally cut himself while carving pumpkins. He’d claimed he’d seen some kind of…demon, or something, and that it had controlled his actions. Schneep had recommended a good therapist, but then Chase had bought into it, connecting this hallucination to what had happened to Marvin and Jackie a year ago. They went to some kind of magic shop and came back 100% believing there was a thing hunting them. They also acquired a new…friend, who goes by the name Jameson Jackson. He was nice, but as a believer in magic he was absolutely NOT helping the two of them get over this ridiculous idea. And these three kept dragging Schneep along on their little adventures to find this thing, keeping him away from important matters.

It was sad, actually. That the two of them missed their friends so much that they made up some creature to explain their deaths. And MAYBE Jack really did see something that Halloween night, but that was a whole other issue that needed to be addressed, and this contrived explanation would not help at all. Poor JJ was honestly trying to help, but…well, to put it simply, magic didn’t exist, so it couldn’t do anything.

Schneep pushed against the door leading outside, fully expecting it to open like it usually does and get blasted by the chill outside. But instead, his efforts fell flat as the door didn’t budge. Frowning, Schneep pushed harder, then checked the handle to see if it was stuck somehow. Looking through the glass, there wasn’t anything outside blocking the door from opening. He tried the other half of the double door set, with the same result. Sighing, he turned back around to ask Shelly, the receptionist, what was wrong with the entrance. That seemed a serious problem for a hospital.

Bu the reception desk was empty.

That in and of itself was such a rare sight that it took Schneep a moment to process it. And Shelly took her job extremely seriously, too, so that was even more strange. What if someone came in and needed help? But…looking around the hospital lobby, there was nobody waiting, no patients, family, nurses, or anyone.

Schneep frowned. “Hello? Is anyone there?” He called out. “The door is fucking stuck. That is a problem, isn’t it?” His voice seemed to echo for longer than it normally would.

Whatever. He’d just find a different door. Any competent hospital had more than one entrance. He sped up a bit, walking quickly. Even so, it took a long time to get to a different door…longer than it should have.

This one was also stuck. Glaring outside, Schneep saw there was also nothing blocking the door. Or maybe there was. It was an unusually dark night, and it just kept getting darker, encroaching on the safe haven of the hospital.

He was starting to get nervous. In addition to the exits not acting like exits, there hadn’t been a single person in the halls, neither doctor nor patient. No signs of life whatsoever, just unnaturally bright florescent light reflecting off unnaturally clean white surfaces. Actually, there might be something wrong with the lights. They were humming louder than they normally did.

Part of Schneep thought he was overreacting. But most of him was getting really freaked out. Despite his common sense, he broke into a run. Were the halls stretching out in front of him? Extending impossibly? Or was it just his imagination?

All the doors were stuck. There was no reason why they should be. Looking outside, Schneep saw nothing but darkness, like the windows were monitors that had been switched off. Looking inside, there was nobody. Nothing except for the empty nurses’ stations and rooms with doors ajar. All the lights were on. Was the hum getting louder?

Seriously convinced something was wrong, Schneep fought down a shiver of fear. He was a highly intelligent doctor, he should be able to find a way out. And then an explanation. Forcing himself to be calm, he walked at a totally normal pace into the nearest room and over to the window. They could be opened…he thought. Apparently not, because this window might as well have been a wall. Okay. Okay. No problem. There were lots of windows. And if they were all stuck, then…then…he had his cell phone. He could call someone and ask what the hell was going on.

He turned around. The door to the room was closed.

“What?!” He dashed forward, frantically trying to turn the doorknob. To no avail. Letting out a cry of frustration, he kicked the door near the handle. It didn’t even jiggle. “This is not funny anymore!” he shouted. “Who closed the door?!”

As if in response, the lights overhead made a strange sound—vahfshazahaha—and flickered. Directly above Schneep, a bulb burst, showering him in sparks. He instinctively threw up his hands to protect himself and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the lights had gone out. With outside being pitch-black, the window wasn’t letting in anything. Schneep was totally blind. The humming was gone. Somehow that was worse.

Schneep swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried to steady his breathing. He reached into his coat pocket for his phone, fumbled, then took it out with shaking hands. Before he could call, there was a cheerful ding! and a text popped up on screen. 'Unknown Number: Hello.'

Schneep frowned. He unlocked the phone and replied, 'Who is this?'

Immediate reply, accompanied by the same text alert. 'Unknown Number: The reason you’re stuck alone in dark silence.'

The doctor’s mind raced. He was the target? Why? And how had this person managed to make everyone leave the hospital but him? Cautiously, he texted, 'Where are my coworkers? My patients? What do you want from me?'

This time, the text alert noise was different. It was distorted. Like the sound a computer program makes when it breaks down. 'Unknown Number: They’re gone :) And what I want from you? Simple. Go through the door.'

Just as Schneep was texting that he’d tried the door and it was stuck, it swung open. A blue-white light poured through the crack, accompanied by a new humming. But this one wasn’t electric. It was electronic. The sound of static filled the air. It sounded like there were words inside. Schneep hesitated. How…where was this coming from?

The glitched text alert sounded again. 'Unknown Number: What are you waiting for? You want answers, don’t you? G̕o ͢t͏h͏ro̷ug̴h ̡t̨he d̛oo͠r.̷ 'Something was odd with the text on that last part.

The need for an explanation got the better of him. Schneep crept out of one dark room, and ended up in another one. That shouldn’t have been possible. The hall was supposed to be here. But clearly this place didn’t care about object permanence anymore, because Schneep found himself in a smaller room, illuminated by the glow coming from a set of computer monitors on a desk. They were the only things in the room, aside from a wooden chair.

Text alert. Even more glitched sounding. 'Unknown Number: Sit down, doctor.'

Slowly, Schneep did just that. He studied the monitors. They looked like feeds from security cameras. Nine areas, each labelled. They weren’t places in the hospital. He didn’t recognize them at all.

'Unknown Number: Watch c̨ar̕eful͢ly, Schneeplestein.'

'Why?' Schneep was starting to get less scared and more frustrated, mostly stemming from his confusion. 'None of this will tell me anything! You still haven’t told me who you are!'

The alert was angrily distorted. 'Unknown Number: That’s n̵o ͝way ̕t̴o talk to the one who holds your l̸i̷f͡e͏ in his hands. A simple twi҉st, and it could be go͟ne ̢for̢e̵ve͡r̢. Now be good and watc͢h t͡he ̶fu̵c͏kin̶g s͢cr͟͠e̢͠͠e͢ņs̡͝ .'

Genuine chills ran down Schneep’s spine. He was pretty sure that, whoever this was, he could see him. He didn’t want to take a gamble when his life was the bet. And something about the messed-up text was disturbing him…So he set his phone on the desk and stared intently at the monitors.

For a long time, nothing happened. He was on edge, but he didn’t dare look behind him in case the texter would make good on his threat. After what seemed like an hour, something flickered in one of the monitors. A crackle of static, and a glimmer of somebody in one of the rooms. Then nothing more.

The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. Schneep turned around. Was somebody behind—

“D͟o̴̡n̸'͞t҉ ̛͞ţu҉̧ŗ͞ņ͢ a̕̕r̵͠oun͏d̡!”

Schneep jumped, immediately facing the monitors again. He didn’t know where the voice had come from. It sounded like someone talking through a broken intercom.

Time passed. He wasn’t sure how much. Every so often something would change on the screens. A flicker of white noise. A change in the scenery. A silhouette walking down the halls. Gradually, they increased in frequency. The feeling of somebody standing behind him, watching him, never went away. But when he tried to look away, a broken, glitchy shriek would sound, closer every time. So the doctor stared intensely, gripping the edge of the desk, waiting waiting waiting for something to happen.

Something did.

Another flicker, just like any other, happened in the lower left, drawing Schneep’s eye. Another silhouette had appeared in the hallway, walking toward the camera. But as it approached, it cleared, until it revealed who exactly it was.

“Jack?!” Schneep gasped.

Something was wrong with his friend. His eyes were blank, like the eyes of a dead thing. On his neck, where the scar from Halloween was supposed to be, bled a gaping wound, a red smile from ear to ear. Through the monitors came the sound of strained, wet breathing.

Static crackled in the air. It almost sounded like laughter. The text alert, now distorted to the point where it sounded like a screech, broke through the terrible breathing. Schneep glanced at it, then slowly turned it over to reveal the message. 'Unknown Number: Do you like it? :)'

“What have you done?” Schneep breathed.

The texter heard him, and replied. 'Unknown Number: Not as much as I wanted. The pathetic one with the hat interrupted me before I could continue. Then you, ze g̡o͞o̸d͠ ͏dơc͝ta҉̢h͞͠, undid all my hard work. Are you p̦̝̣̪̜̳̰̼r̸̪̻̖o̤͕͇̗̯̖͖u̷͍̹͢d̴̸̪͔̦̱͞ of yourself?'

“You…” Schneep looked up. The Jack on the monitor had disappeared, but the image was seared into his mind, along with that horrible sound. “On Halloween…you did that?”

'Unknown Number: Of course. Jack even told you what happened, and you decided to ignore him. Not a very good friend, are you?'

“I…” He didn’t want to admit that some of the pieces were falling into place. The way everyone in the hospital had disappeared. The mysterious darkness outside and jammed doors. The way he’d entered a room, then exited and ended up in a different area. The way Jack claimed he’d been attacked by something not…natural.

He didn’t want to admit that maybe Jack had been right all along.

Another glitched screech. 'Unknown Number: Ever the logical doctor, arencha? Come on, it’s right there. Oh, and you should look back to the monitors around this point.'

Schneep glanced back up. Another flicker, this time in the upper middle. The room with all the creepy fake heads. One of them was wearing a very familiar hat all of a sudden. As Schneep watched, blood dripped from it. Static, and then they were all the same, red leaking from the ends of their necks. A song was playing…a familiar carol in the background, slowed and broken.

“What do you want?” Schneep asked, almost crying out.

There was no answer. The carol was growing louder. On the monitors, Jack and Chase kept appearing and disappearing, with wounds of increasing severity. Blood dripped down limbs, oozing from gashes. The breathing returned. It grew more and more strained, like a dying patient. At one point the new one, Jameson, appeared, hands clamped over his mouth with blood dripping between his fingers. Suddenly, they all disappeared. The carol cut off.

Then, right behind him…

“I ͡wan͟t͡ ̡ yo̕͢͡u̕ ̧a͠͝͝l̴̷l̷̸ ̵̶ to s̶̥̣̘u҉̰̖̥͖͍̣̻͟f̬̮̤f̳͔̦̣̬͈͢͟ͅe̴͔͈͈̹̱͓͔̼ŗ̷̮̹͍̻̙͔͠.”

Schneep jumped upright and spun around. There was a man there. Or what should’ve been a man, but more resembled a computer glitch trying to imitate a man. He looked eerily like Jack, but his body was glitchy and fuzzy around the edges, crackling with distortion and white noise. The upper half of his face was covered by a nest of shadows, glowing green strands of light twisting in the center of his forehead. And his neck wound…even as a doctor, who’d seen many horrible injuries in his career, Schneep couldn’t help but cringe. The throat was practically ripped open, showing the red flesh beneath the skin. Blood flowed freely. Glowing green strings were stitched over the wound, stretched taunt and pulling apart as they tried to keep it shut.

The man smiled too widely. “Hello, doct͞o҉r͡. Do you k̢no̕w ͞w̸ho̕ ̸I̢ ͠am̸?” His voice, impossibly, sounded digitally broken. Glitchy.

“You—you’re the one who attacked Jack,” Schneep said, breathless. He backed away. “They call you Anti.”

Anti laughed. “Oh, I l̵̛o̧v͏͡e͏ that name. It’s so…f̛̛i̡t̶͡tį̨ng.”

They’d been right. All along, Jack and Chase had been right. Schneep could feel the foundation, the building blocks of his world toppling underneath him. But in the collapse, he latched onto one solid fact. “You killed Jackie and Marvin.”

Anti’s smile twisted. “Wh̨o̡ s̶ai͡d ̵I k͢͝i̕͢l̡̕l̵̡e̢͟͡d̵͡ thęm͡?”

Schneep could feel his heart stop. “I—I saw the bodies myself.”

“Ye͝s҉, the bod̨i̴e͟s̕…” Suddenly, Anti was right in front of him. Schneep started, stepping backward, but Anti grabbed him by the arms, holding him in place. His hands were cold and his grip was too strong. Schneep nearly bit his tongue trying to keep from crying out. “…but you ņev͡e̛r̶ t͞h̕ou̷gh͠t̷ about their s̶̨͝o̸ư͏ļ͢s͏͡, didja?”

“I…” Of course he hadn’t. He’d always thought souls were an abstract concept, made up by humans to assure themselves of their inherent goodness. But in the face of this three-dimensional computer virus…

A small giggle escaped from between the clenched teeth of Anti’s smile, accompanied by a bubble of blood bursting in the neck wound. “ Lo̸ok̴ a͝t͏ ̢t̨hįs…” Anti spun the doctor around, so that he was facing the monitors again. On the glitching screens, images of Marvin and Jackie appeared and disappeared. They looked like the corpses Schneep had seen a year ago: dead and gray and empty.

“What did you do?” Schneep asked. When Anti didn’t answer, he repeated the question louder. “What did you do?!”

“Oh, you̵'͢d͢ j҉ust̕ ̡ l̷͢ơ̛v̸̨̕͢e͟͏͡ to ̧k̶n̶ow ̴th͞at͏ ͞w͏o̵u̷ldn̵'͡ţ y̵ou?” Anti snapped, the static in his voice cracking, growing stronger. “Yǫu'ḑ l̷̨o͝͞v̧̧͢͡ę̡ t͢o s̷o͏l͠v̡e͢ ̷t̴he mys҉t͠ery ͏ơf ̨y̛o͝ur ͠dea͡r̶ d̶e͟a̢d fr̨i͏end͠s͟.͠ To̕o͝ ͢ba͠d,͟ ͡so̷ ͢s̸ad. N̴o͡͡w̴̨ ̕t̛͡h̶e̵͝y̢̡'̕͡r̵̛e͏͢ ̧go̡͟n̴̸e͢ ̨͟f͢o͟r̷e͞҉͞v͟ȩ̴ŗ̵̧.”

Schneep felt Anti let go of him, and he stumbled a step forward. There was static in the air; he could practically taste it. The carol had started up again, strains of music bursting through the white noise. His heart was pounding. He was gasping for air.

“Ģ̴ơ̡̕od̵̸b͏yę̶̛,̧̡͞ d҉̴̡o̴͝c̕to̴̸r͝.”

A violent push from behind, and Schneep fell forward. Instead of hitting the monitors or falling onto the desk, he passed through the screens, into a world of black and white light. The static was screaming in his ears he had to leave but he couldn’t feel his body where was he where was he where was he the noise was in his head where was he—
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“Doc! Doc wake up!”

Schneep was suddenly aware of the fact that he had eyes. He blinked, and the static slowly faded away, the electronic humming dying out. There were three people standing in front of him. Gradually, he could make them out. Chase was standing directly in front of him, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide in worry and fear. Jack was standing to one side, also looking afraid. Their new friend, Jameson, was on Chase’s other side, dangling a pocket watch in front of him.

“What…?” Schneep shook his head. It felt very fuzzy, full of static. “What happened? Why are you three here?”

“Oh thank fucking god.” Chase exhaled, letting out a breath he’d clearly been holding for a long time. “We thought we’d lost you, dude.”

“Lost me? What—”

“What do you remember?” Jack interrupted.

“I—” Schneep hesitated. He remembered it all. The empty hospital, the security cameras…Anti. “I think that you three were right.”

“You saw him, didn’t you?” Jack asked.

“Yes, yes I did. But—but I do not understand!” The doctor looked around. He was in his office, sitting on the floor and propped up against the wall near the door. “How did I get back here? Where is everyone? Where did he go?”

“Back here?” Chase frowned. “Bro, you never left this room.”

“I—what?” Impossible. His memories were clear.

“If I may…” Jameson said politely. He stuffed his pocket watch into his vest pocket, then pointed back towards Schneep’s desk. The computer monitor there was covered with someone’s winter coat, but Schneep could hear an electric hissing sound coming from under it. “We found you collapsed right here. And your computer was showing static of some kind, but in…hypnotic patterns, if that makes any sense. When we tried to wake you up, your eyes were open, but there was a—a layer of static over them.”

“Chase and I tried to call you earlier, around the time you should’ve gotten home,” Jack explained. “But you didn’t pick up. And we thought, well, maybe you were working late, so we called a bit later, but you still weren’t there. And we started to get really worried, so we called JJ and went to go check on you because better safe than sorry, y’know? And you were just—just here, on the floor, all—all fucking, in a trance. God, we were so worried.”

“It was all in my head…” Schneep muttered, mostly to himself. Somehow, that made sense. This thing, Anti, didn’t seem very physical.

“So, uh, you gotta believe us now, dontcha bro?” Chase gave a strained laugh. It was his way of relieving tension.

“Yes, well, you are not wrong.” Schneep slowly got to his feet, the other three rising from the crouched positions with him. “This Anti, he is truly dangerous. He talked to me, told me…he told me that he wanted us to suffer.”

“That lines up with what we’ve seen of him, yeah,” Jack muttered.

“But…” Schneep hesitated, then rushed forward. “But there is more. He said he didn’t kill Jackie and Marvin.”

There was a deafening silence as Jack and Chase looked at him in shock. “But…we saw their…” Chase said weakly.

“He said he killed their bodies, but not the souls. I think he’s doing something to them.”

“Yes…” Jameson nodded slowly. “Yes, that makes sense. Your friends messed with some magic beyond them, and somehow summoned Anti. If he wants suffering, if he…FEEDS off this pain, like so many demons do…then he would draw their pain out for as long as possible. And now, he’s been unleashed. You three were close to them, so you’re his next targets…”

Jack straightened. “Well, we’re not just gonna let that happen. We’ll find some way to defeat him, and we’ll get Marvin and Jackie back in the process. We WILL.”

The others nodded. Even Jameson, who hadn’t known the Marvin or Jackie, was loathe to leave two people suffering. Jack retrieved his coat from where it was left on the computer, making sure to not look at the screen, then they all left, closing the door behind them.

The static intensified, leaving the computer and becoming a solid mass. It cleared to reveal Anti, crouched on the edge of the desk, glitching and holographic. He glared at the door. They thought they were so smart, didn’t they? Thought they had him all figured out? Thought defeating him and saving their friends was SO easy?

The joke was on them. Anti laughed softly. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told that doctor they were gone forever.

He fizzled out of existence once more. So that foolish magic man had rescued the doctor at the last minute. His plan would continue nevertheless.

They’d all be sorry.



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.]
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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.”



A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Eight: Wahnvorstellung
[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. Bottling up your problems never leads to anything good. A familiar environment, now changed, sets off a series of severe flashbacks.]
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“Henrik! Wait!”

“Doc, please!”

Schneep heard their cries and didn’t stop running. He didn’t want to hear any of their excuses. He didn’t want to calm down and go back to Marvin and that—that OTHER man, who was supposed to be named Jameson but how could that be possible how could it be when he’d seen him that night with the glitch himself what was happening he didn’t know—

It took him a while to start seeing his surroundings again. He’d been running on adrenaline and a basic need to get somewhere safe, so he’d followed his instincts and fled to his hospital office. Or at least, what had been his office. The nameplate next to the door had been changed. Now it belonged to some doctor with an even more ridiculous name. Schneep glanced around. He’d managed to lose Jackie and Chase, but he didn’t want to risk seeing them. On impulse, he reached for the door and turned the handle. Surprisingly, the door opened without resistance.

The office inside could’ve been a movie set, it was so plain and bland. No, not even that. It was like a display in a furniture store. All the necessary items were there: desk, chairs, filing cabinets. But there was nothing personal. No coats draped over the coat hanger. No picture frames on the desks. No…nothing.

Schneep wandered over to the desk. It was so surreal to see this room stripped and empty. He wondered what they’d done with all his things. He knew he’d left a jacket on one of the chairs. And he’d had photos of his wife and kids, from before…what happened to them? Did the police take them as evidence? Did one of the others decide to keep them safe? Or did they just get thrown away? Logically, that was the least likely, but the doctor couldn’t shake the feeling that was exactly what happened.

The desk’s surface was clear. There wasn’t even any paperwork. There was a laptop computer open, its screen off. Instinctively, Schneep slammed it shut. Static screen…watching from the webcam…he didn’t want that.

It was only when he backed away from the computer that he realized his hands were shaking.

Nothing was safe. HE was always there, always watching. Schneep had hoped that once he got away he wouldn’t have to think about it ever again. That he’d just have to wake up Jack and then everything could go back to normal. Never mind that he knew this hope would never come to fruition. You can’t simply forget about everything that’s happened. But he wanted, at least, to be safe around his friends. But that just wasn’t happening, with Chase’s kids gone and that stranger here.

Maybe this whole thing wasn’t even real. Maybe it was just another illusion. Maybe Schneep would wake up any minute and be there, and he’d be laughing at him and the foolish dreams he’d fallen prey to—

No. Stop it.

But it didn’t work.

Maybe he’d really gotten away, but the others still weren’t there, and he’d been running around talking to himself, and when he tried to get help people wouldn’t even look his way because they thought he was crazy. Maybe the others had all been captured and he could hear them but their cries were being filtered through the hallucination. Maybe he was the one in the coma instead of Jack and this was all a dream caused by him.

Maybe Jack was already—

“I think he’s in here.”

“But the door is locked.”

“He could’ve locked it behind him.”

“Doc! Are you in there?”

Somehow, Schneep realized he’d fallen to the floor. He didn’t know how or when it happened, and he couldn’t think clearly enough through the whirling in his mind. He didn’t bother answering the call.

“Actually, would he even answer? He’s kinda pissed off at us.”

“Well, okay, maybe not. You sure the door is locked?”

“Yeah. D’you think we should break it—”

BAM!

The door flew open. Jackie stumbled into the room, propelled by the force of the blow he’d used to break it down. Chase hurried forward to catch him before he fell. “Thanks,” Jackie mumbled. “Now…Henrik? Are you in here?”

There was no answer, but Chase nudged Jackie and pointed to an arm peeking out from behind the desk. The two of them exchanged worried look. “Trap?” Chase mouthed. Jackie shrugged, and jerked his head toward the desk. The two of them crept forward. On the other side of the desk, Schneep was curled up into a ball, one hand protecting his head like he was waiting for an attack that would never come, the other flung out like he was reaching for something.

“Doc? You okay?” Chase asked nervously.

There was no answer. Jackie hovered, unsure of what to do. He’d never seen his friend like this before. Mentally, he thought of all the various victims of crimes he’d met in his hero career. Was Schneep in some sort of shock? The behavior seemed to match a bit. Okay, what to do with people in shock? He wasn’t a professional in these matters, but maybe he could get Schneep at least mostly functional again. He knelt on the ground beside him and said in a quiet voice “Henrik? Henrik, we need you to answer.” Still no response. Chase gave Jackie another worried look.

Jackie made a small shush sound in Chase’s direction. He could handle this. Probably. Then he turned his attention back to Schneep. “Hey, Henrik? Schneep? Doctor Schneeplestein? We need to get out of here.” When there was still no response, Jackie leaned back and thought a bit more. Maybe there was something physically wrong. It wouldn’t hurt to check. “Henrik, I’m just gonna see if you’re alright, okay?” Jackie reached toward the doctor’s wrist, intending to start by taking a pulse.

The moment his hand touched Schneep’s, it was batted away. With a sudden lurch, Schneep sat straight up and forcibly pushed Jackie hard enough to knock him over. The hero hit his head against the floor with a loud CLUNK!

“Jackie! Are you okay?” Chase rushed to the aid of his friend.

“’M fine,” Jackie grunted, rubbing the back of his head where it impacted the hard wooden floor.

Chase turned to Schneep. “Dude, what’s up with you? We’re here to help!”

That only seemed to make it worse. Schneep’s eyes widened, and he froze. Only for a moment though, which was broken by a sudden shriek that Chase didn’t immediately register as coming from Schneep. Partly because the shriek was followed by a frantic attempt to scramble away from Chase as Schneep crawled under the desk.

“Doc?” Chase leaned past Jackie and looked into the recess under the desk. “What’re you doing?”

“GET AWAY!”

Chase’s head whipped backward and a sickening crack shot through the air. He felt warm liquid trickling down his face, and a second later came the pain. “He hit me!” Chase said, astonished.

Jackie sat up. “I don’t think—I think something’s very wrong right now. With him. You okay?”

Chase touched the site of injury, causing a flare of pain. “I think he broke my nose.”

Jackie gritted his teeth. “Okay, normally I’m all for letting people work out their issues at their own pace, but we should at least get him out of this place. It might be making whatever this is worse. I know I’d be freaking out if I got stuck in my old office after so long away. So, as much as I hate to do this, I think force is an appropriate response. Nothing else’s worked. So on the count of three, you and I are gonna have to pull him out of there. Got it?”

Chase nodded, trying his best to wipe away the blood. They’d both hate to do it, but Schneep wasn’t making it any easier. “Alright.” Jackie took a deep, steadying breath. “One…two…” A brief moment of hesitation. “Three!”

They moved together, grabbing Schneep and desperately trying to get him out into the open. The doctor tried equally desperately to stay hidden, one minute trying to brace against the sides of the desk and stay rooted in place, the next flailing wildly, hitting every inch of the other two. Eventually, with determination and a fair amount of bruising, Chase and Jackie pulled Schneep away from his hiding place.

“LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!”

One solid hit landed against the side of Jackie’s head, jolting him enough to get him to let go. Chase had enough common sense to get in between Schneep and the desk before he could dart back underneath. Again, Schneep froze. There were tears in his eyes.

“Doc, come on, you gotta listen to reason here,” Chase pleaded.

“NO! No more your reason!” He pushed and pounded at Chase. “I do not—you will not—I cannot do anymore!”

“Henrik, stop!” Jackie, having recovered his wits, acted quickly, wrapping Schneep up in a hug of death that pinned his arms to his sides. “Leave Chase alone!”

Schneep shook his head, looking from side to side. “Is not here. Is not here. Is you, do not lie.”

“Me?” Jackie frowned, confused. “Who…? I’m Jackie, Henrik.”

“Is not. Is not. You are liar.”

“Who do you think…” Jackie trailed off as realization dawned. They DID all look similar, didn’t they? “Henrik, no, he’s not here! You’re not stuck with him anymore!”

“STOP LYING TO ME!” Schneep wailed. “I do not—I do not want—do not make me, please—”

“Don’t make you…what?”

“I do not want—they are my friends, I will not—I am doctor, I do not hurt—please do not—bitte nicht—”

Oh god. “No, Hen, this—I’m not gonna make you—” Jackie looked to Chase for help, but he looked just as shocked. “We’re just gonna…get out of here,” Jackie muttered.

Schneep had no protest to that. He’d shut down, not moving, vaguely muttering things, switching back and forth between his two languages. In retrospect, Jackie realized it probably wasn’t the best idea to wrap up someone having a panic attack. But they had to fix that later. He wasn’t sure how thick the walls of the hospital were, but there was a chance that people had heard the shouting and were coming to check it out. With Chase being a suspect in a kidnapping, Jackie didn’t even want to think what this would look like.

“Chase, we’re going back to the apartment,” Jackie said. He stood up, bringing Schneep with him.

“I…okay.” Chase winced. A few of the doctor’s desperate punches had hit pretty hard. But he stood up without difficulty. “Why not my house?”

“Police may be watching. Probably already weird that you two left so suddenly, and then you come back and one of you’s catatonic. Also it’s closer. Can you just…” Jackie shifted his weight. “I mean, I’m pretty strong, but it might be good for him to have physical contact that’s not quite as…constricting.”

“Oh. Yeah bro, I’ll help.” Chase took one of Schneep’s arms and threw it around his shoulders. “God, what…is this our fault?”

“Maybe a little bit…” Jackie didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. “But I think…I think a lot of it is his fault. He did…whatever it was that made Schneep this way.”

Chase nodded. “Is he gonna be okay.”

Jackie honestly didn’t know. But he couldn’t say that in front of Chase, who already had a hard time seeing the bright side. “Eventually.” He forced himself to put a touch of optimism into his voice. “Let’s go.”

As they left, Chase brought up a fair point: “Hey, how’d the door get locked? I don’t think he has keys anymore.”

“I…don’t know. But there’s no good explanation.”

Indeed, it felt like they were being watched the whole way home.



A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Seven: A Change of Perspective
[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. Taking a break from the drama with the main characters, the detectives start digging around, and find there’s some weird things in the boys’ varied pasts. Could it all be connected?]
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It was definitely a strange case. When Detective Lydia Bowman decided to take it on, she thought it would be open-and-shut, easy. The kids said they were playing with their dad when he came to visit, and then they disappear in the night. The mother, Stacy Davidson, had no grudges, nobody who hated her, and loved her kids. Clearly, that meant the dad had gone crazy with grief and taken them. There was even precedence: the father had previously tried to off himself, back at the beginning of the divorce, because he couldn’t stand to be away from his kids and wife. History of mental instability was usually a warning sign when considering someone a suspect for a crime.

But then, Lydia and Malcolm had gone to actually question the father (Chase Brody, what a ridiculous name), and he hadn’t seemed…unstable. Okay, maybe he wasn’t in complete control of his life, judging by the state of his living room, but Lydia didn’t think he was a criminal. Her instincts said he was just kind of sad. And when you’ve been a detective for as long as she had, you learn to trust your instincts.

The police station was bustling, as usual. The city was in the middle of a crime wave, and that crazy vigilante in red wasn’t helping, despite their good intentions. Massaging her temple where a headache was blooming, Lydia slid into her desk chair with a sigh. She pushed aside a pile of paperwork and stared at her partner, sitting at his own desk across from her. Malcolm was staring very intently at his computer screen. “So, there’s no sign of the kids,” Lydia said without preamble. “And I don’t think Brody took them. Call me crazy, but it won’t change my mind. Have we reached a dead end or have you found something?”

Malcolm glanced at her. “Actually, maybe,” he said. “That doctor dude? The one who was arguing with you?”

“Mm-hmm, yes,” Lydia’s tone was calm, but her expression darkened. “That doctor dude” had been very disrespectful when the detectives were only trying to do their job. Lydia absolutely hated people like that.

“So, naturally, upon being told his name was ‘von Schneeplestein,’” Malcolm rolled his eyes, “I had to check to see if that was even a real name. Just for shits and giggles, I plugged it into our database, and, well…” Malcolm turned his computer monitor around so his partner could see. The words “MISSING PERSON REPORT” were clearly visible across the top of the page.

Intrigued, Lydia leaned closer. “August 3rd of last year,” she muttered as she read, working through her thoughts.”Reported by one Jackie Parker. Vanished after an unsuccessful operation left patient in a coma. Unsolved…” She frowned. “But…we just saw him. He certainly didn’t look missing.”

“That’s what I thought!” Malcolm nodded vigorously. “And look—” he clicked over to the picture included with the report. “Same person, only wearing glasses and healthier-looking.”

“Okay…” Lydia leaned back. “So, are you saying Brody had something to do with this guy’s disappearance, and that’s why he was with him? But why? And how?”

“I dunno.” Malcolm turned the monitor back around. “Obviously, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There could be a very reasonable explanation, and we could be turning into conspiracy nuts. Still…I’m gonna run a facial recognition search. Just one. ‘Cause these guys are doppelgangers of each other, so things should come up for both.”

At that moment, a uniformed cop poked his head around the corner. “Sorry, Bowman, Akela,” he said. “But there’s a lady here demanding answers for her case. Name of Davis, I think.”

“Davidson,” Lydia sighed. “What perfect timing!” She pushed away from the desk and stood up. “I’ll go talk to her. When I come back, fill me in on the results of the search.” Malcolm gave her a thumbs up as she left.

Ms. Stacy Davidson was sitting on a bench in the foyer of the police station. Her curling, white-blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she still wore the red vest and skirt that was the uniform at the diner where she worked. She was clutching her purse tightly and tapping her feet, brown eyes darting left and right. She shot to her feet upon catching sight of Lydia. “Detective Bowman,” she trilled.

“Ms. Davidson,” Lydia nodded. “I was told you wanted to see me.”

“Yes, yes, you heard right.” Stacy was trying very hard to keep cool, but Lydia could hear the strain in her voice. “I just wanted to know if there are any updates. After all, this is a very important case, children don’t go missing often. It makes sense that, as the mother—”

Lydia cut off Stacy’s clearly well-rehearsed speech. “There hasn’t been any breakthroughs. We talked to your ex-husband, and we found nothing suspicious.”

“Really?” Stacy drawled disbelievingly. Then, catching herself, she rushed to say “I-I mean, I thought the evidence would tell the story.”

“What a child says usually isn’t very reliable. They’re very imaginative,” Lydia pointed out. “If Mr. Brody is hiding something, he’s unusually well-practiced at lying.” He had been rather nervous, but he just discovered his children were missing and the police had their eye on him. Even as a cop herself, Lydia could understand where the nerves were coming from.

“Maybe you should do some digging? Isn’t that what detectives do?” Stacy said desperately.

“That’s what we’re doing, but nothing’s turned up.” Lydia considered asking Stacy about the strange doctor who shared her ex’s face. “You don’t think that somebody who merely LOOKS like your husband could’ve taken your children, masquerading as him?” She tried to ask the question as discreetly as possible.

“Oh.” Stacy scowled. “Well, there ARE those weird friends of his. They all kind of look the same.”

“Really? How many of them are there?”

“Hard to say. I think there are…four? No…” Stacy bit her lip in thought. “No, a couple of them are gone, I think. Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know. There’s tw—no, three. Another one popped up a while ago. You’re saying one of them could’ve taken Bobby and Trevor?”

“We need to take everything into consideration. And we’re doing everything in our power to find your children. Now, if you would please, we have work to do…” Lydia tried to be as gentle as possible. Still Stacy huffed, before correcting herself with a smile and a nod. She turned and left, and Lydia sighed in relief. She was sure Stacy was a lovely lady, and she certainly cared for her kids, but she had a bit of an unpleasant streak covered by politeness, and she seemed determined to hate her ex. What did he even do?

“Please tell me you have a good solid lead,” Lydia muttered as she sat back down at her desk.

“Um…no?” Malcolm sounded very unsure.

“What d’you mean ‘um, no?’ How can you have an ‘um’ in this situation? You either have a lead or you don’t.”

“Well, I mean—okay, look, there were way more results than I thought there would be.” Malcolm gave Lydia a confused and exasperated look. “So, the first things that came up were YouTube videos. Apparently Chase Brody runs a channel called ‘Bro Average.’”

“Lame,” Lydia rolled her eyes.

“You don’t even know anything about it.”

“The name’s stupid. I can see why Ms. Davidson doesn’t like his job. What came up next?”

“I’m not done talking about YouTube yet. Because the next results were for a channel called ‘jacksepticeye.’ A gaming channel, as opposed to Brody’s trick shots. Run by a man named Jack McLoughlin. Nineteen million subscribers and counting. Seems like a nice guy, he’s donated to charity. Oh yeah, and he also looks eerily similar to Chase Brody. And knows him.” Malcolm turned the monitor around once again, showing Lydia a picture of two guys, both with brown hair dyed green, laughing at the camera. The did look really, really similar. Could’ve been twins.

“So, I just asked Ms. Davidson if her ex has any friends who look just like him,” Lydia said slowly. “And she said yes, there were quite a few. Two apparently disappeared, though. And now there are three. Maybe one of them was the doctor. By any chance, has this Jack guy vanished mysteriously?”

“No, he’s still uploading YouTube videos and doing other stuff. But there’s more.” Malcolm clicked to the next page of results. “This comes from our own database. Recognize the name?”

Lydia squinted. “Jackie Parker? Wait…didn’t they report the doctor missing?”

“Yep. Apparently, Mr. Parker went to the police academy, but dropped out in his final year. See?” Malcolm clicked over to the academy’s enrollment form, filled out. Then over to the next page, highlighting a lack of a diploma. “Shame, too, he was near the top of his class.”

“And this guy also looks like…well, all the others!” Lydia half-shouted. “How many of them are there?!”

“At least one,” Malcolm said with a slight grin. “Next page is just medical news about the doctor, confirming that yes, his real name is actually Schneeplestein, but after that—you’re gonna love this.” Two more clicks brought the detectives to a screenshot from an online news site. The headline read “Magician Gone Mad! Misfire at Marvin the Magnificent’s Latest Performance.” Beneath the bold letters was a picture of a man in a tuxedo and a mask shaped like a cat, with bright green hair. Farther down in the article was another picture of him, revealing that he also looked like…well, everyone else in this godforsaken case.

“Hmm, drama.” Lydia tilted her head. “Nothing better than tabloids picking at celebrity’s reputations.”

“Actually, this is a credible source, has a printed paper and everything. Checked it.” Malcolm leaned forward. “This guy, this famous magician guy, had some sort of psychotic break when the effects at his latest show went awry. Security had to wrestle him to the ground. And then he went in for a psych eval, and you’ll never guess who did it.” Malcolm highlighted one line of the article.

“No way. No way.” Lydia gaped. “It’s the same dude. Nobody else has that name.”

“Yep.” Malcolm grinned triumphantly.

“…okay, I know it’s literally our job to put the pieces together, but I have no idea what this could mean. They must all know each other, but is that important to the case?”

“Haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Anymore carbon copies?”

“Nah, the next few pages are all from some conspiracy website. Apparently there’s a time traveler from the 1920′s who shows up every time there’s an unsolved murder. Interesting, but complete bullshit.”

“Now now, I thought we were supposed to be open-minded to every option,” Lydia teased.

“Not to time travel!” Malcolm threw his hands up in exasperation. “I mean, yeah, theoretically we could go forward in time, but that requires a shitload of energy that we don’t have right now, and certainly didn’t have in the 1920′s!”

“Alright, I’m just messing with ya,” Lydia laughed.

“I know, I know. It’s working, too.” He scowled, then sighed. “So…should we go talk to the father again? Maybe ask if any of his clone friends were hanging around the wife’s house the day of the kids’ disappearance?”

“Maybe we could head back to the house ourselves,” Lydia suggests. “Ask the neighbors again. I know none of them saw anything, but maybe time has jogged their memories.”

“Yeah…we could try out a few new questions.” Malcolm nodded, looking thoughtful. “And I’d like to find out more about this collection of look-alikes. I get the feeling they have something to do with this whole thing. Come on, let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Do you have anything better to do?”

“…no.”

“Then yes, now.”

As the two detectives gathered up their things, Lydia couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody—or something—was watching them. And she got the impression that the source of that feeling was the computer screen…which was now glitching between the results of the search like it was reading through the information all on its own…