Part Twenty-Four of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. As everyone meets to discuss the investigation on how to find JJ and Schneep, an unexpected guest shows up. Later, Chase and some of the others follow up on a possible lead.]
.............................................................................................

“Okay, testing, testing…” Chase backed away from the laptop he’d just set up, pausing for a moment to wave his hand in front of the attached webcam. “Can you guys see alright?”

“Yeah, you just waved at us,” Jackie said from the other end of the video call. The laptop screen showed him…and Jack, too. The two of them were still in the hospital, but they’d managed to get a meeting together, and were currently sitting in Jack’s room. “Why’re you so freaked out? You’ve set up video chats before.”

“Yeah, well…not on this computer.” Chase turned around, facing the rest of the room at large. Everyone involved in this case had gathered in his house. In his living room, specifically. The laptop was on his coffee table, while Dr. Laurens sat on the sofa, her posture stiff from nerves, and Marvin took the armchair to the side. “Thanks again, doc.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Laurens said, a faint smile crossing her face.

“Jackie, if you break my iPad I’m gonna kill you,” Marvin said, leaning to the side to get a better view at the laptop screen.

“Hey, Jack’s holding it, not me,” Jackie said defensively. “What, you think he’s gonna drop it?”

“I got it,” Jack assured him.

“Ah, no I—I didn’t mean to accuse you guys of anything,” Marvin stammered. “I just—it’s technically my grandma’s, so…be careful.”

Jackie made an OK sign with his hand. “Got it. So, who opens up the meeting?”

“Uh…I guess I could,” Chase said. “Hang on, I’ll go get the stuff me and Marvin put together a few days ago.” He briefly left the room, grabbed the piles of paper he’d stored in his bedroom, then returned and put everything down on the coffee table next to the laptop. “Okay, so me and Marv already pooled everything we know about Anti. Let’s, uh, let’s go over that so we’re all on the same page.”

The review was short. Most of this was common knowledge to all of them by this point. Anti was a serial-killer-slash-assassin-for-hire who’d been meddling in all their lives for over a year now. He’d abducted Schneep last August and Jackie last December. JJ was his younger brother, though Jameson wasn’t happy about this fact. Anti currently had Jameson and Schneep captive in an unknown location, hence the investigation and the meeting today.

There were a few surprises, though. Mostly on the part of Dr. Laurens. “Anti STABBED you?!” she gasped, looking at Marvin. “When was that?!”

“Uhhh March,” Marvin recalled. “It wasn’t personal. The place I was working for was a cover for some shady people and they thought I knew too much, so they paid him to…” He drew his finger across his throat, then leaned against the arm of the chair. “Huh…y’know, maybe I should tell the police about that.”

“I dunno if you can, dude,” Chase said. “The boutique closed sometime in summer. I don’t think there’s any proof of shady dealings there anymore.”

“Ah, shit. Well…probably for the best. I’d just get on their bad side again.”

Laurens still looked shocked at this information. “That…doesn’t seem like the best idea. Th-they might—”

“We’re getting off topic here,” Marvin interrupted. “Maybe once the police catch Anti, they can figure out what happened on their own. Anyway, any other questions?”

“Um…yes,” Laurens said, raising her hand as if sitting in school. “Jack, I’m sorry if this is too personal, but…how did you know how to find Jackie and Schneep, again?”

“Well…” Jack furrowed his brow, thinking. “He…Anti…would…sshhow up. Sometimes. When I was…asleep.” It was unclear if his slow explanation was due to his difficulty speaking, or due to not wanting to talk about it. “I was…sometimes I remeb—rememer—sometimes I knew what was…happening. Aanti would…talk about things. He mensh—mentioned…that place.”

“Oh,” Laurens said quietly. “Why…why would he do that?”

Jack shook his head. “I tink—I think he…had a lot of things to…talk about. But…nobody to…to listen to him. Maybe ihwas—it was like…venting? Or something.”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “It was because he’s an evil TV show character who had to monologue to somebody about his eeevil plans. Clearly.” That got a chuckle from everyone.

“I don’t know if the WHY matters that much,” Jackie added. “Sorry, Rya. I know your whole livelihood is based on figuring people out, but it’s not really important right now.”

“Right, right.” Marvin nodded in agreement. “What’s important is figuring out where Anti is now.”

“What if he just…left?” Chase said. “Like, the police are looking for him here. Why not go to a different city? Or even leave the country? I don’t think it’d be hard to take JJ and Schneep with him, if he’s capable of having multiple safe houses in one town. He’s got the skill and connections.”

“No, I don’t think he would,” Laurens said. “From what we know about how Anti feels about Jameson, he tends to get…attached to things. Unhealthily so, even to his own detriment. It might be because he wants to stay in control, or maybe because it reminds him of a more positive time, or something else. But in any case, he’s probably just as attached to this city, since we think he’s been here for at least a few years. Long enough to build up those safe houses.”

“Huh.” Jackie whistled. “Well, I stand corrected. Getting into the criminal mind is really helpful.”

“Ha. Thanks.” Laurens smiled softly. “But keep in mind we don’t know this for sure. I’m just basing this on our current observations.”

“No, no, it makes sense,” Marvin said. “Anti has all his shit in the city, and he probably has lots of connections here, it would be hard to just leave.”

Chase let out a breath of relief. “Okay. Well, since that’s decided, let me show you what I learned from Detective Nix on Monday.” He pulled something out of the pile of papers. Unfolding it, he revealed it to be a street map, with some shapes drawn on it. “This is my best recreation of the map he showed me, of places where Anti’s hideouts are or might be.” He held it up, making sure Jackie and Jack could see it through the video call. “It’s not perfect, but I think it’s pretty good.”

“Shay—Chase?” Jack said. “Is…is that crayon?” He let out a breathless sort of laugh.

“Hey, give me a break, bro,” Chase said defensively. “I had to draw it quick before my memory faded, and all I had nearby were crayons for the kids.”

“It’s very good, Chase,” Jackie said, giving him a thumbs-up.

“What do these circles mean?” Marvin asked. “Why are some of them crossed out?”

“Oh yeah So the circles are places where the police think a hideout could be. If it’s crossed out, that means they raided it and found Anti’s stuff there, but no Anti. Those scribbled ones are ones where they couldn’t find anything. I thought I’d include them just in case.”

“So we’d want to focus on the ones that are still un-crossed,” Laurens summarized.

“Wait, Chase, can you bring it closer to the camera for a sec?” Jackie asked.

“Uhh sure.” Chase stood up, taking the map with him. He held the map in front of the laptop, waiting for it to focus before slowly moving it around so Jackie could get a good look at all the circled locations.

“…huh.” Jackie bit his lip. “None of the circles are in areas with flats.”

“Fla—? Oh, apartments, right,” Chase said, stepping back and looking over the map himself.

Marvin leaned over to look at the map as well. “How can you tell there are no apartment buildings near the circles?”

“I have a great idea of the city layout,” Jackie explained. “Comes with the job.”

Jack nodded. “‘T’s true. That’s why…you always ask Jackie for…for directions.”

“Well, this is only a rough recreation,” Chase said, somewhat embarrassed. “My memory isn’t perfect. I could’ve gotten some stuff totally wrong. I…I tried to remember the shape it made up, though. Like…connect the dots.”

“Okay, but the circles aren’t even close,” Jackie explained. “There are only a few designated flat neighborhoods in the city. Unless you totally guessed on some of the circles, which I’m guessing you didn’t because you said you remembered the shape, then the flat where I was kept twice isn’t on that map.”

“How did the police figure out these locations, anyway?” Laurens asked.

“Oh, that’s because Anti has this symbol that he puts up. Hang on, I have a drawing of it.” Chase folded up the map—not doing the best job of it, honestly—and set it down so he could look through the papers. He’s just found the drawing he was talking about when…

Ding-dong.

Everyone looked towards the sound of the doorbell. “Uh…were we expecting anyone else?” Jackie asked.

“No,” Chase said. He put the drawing back down, now on top of all the other papers. “Hang on, I’ll see who it is. Probably just some salesman or something, but just in case.” He walked over to the front door and, not bothering to look through the peephole, opened it.

“Ah..h-hello, Chase.”

“Mina?” Chase stared at her in blatant surprise. He hadn’t expected to see her again. After the way Marvin had spoken to her, he thought she’d avoid any of Schneep’s friends. But here she was. Shifting from side to side, and holding something in both hands. Was that her wallet?

Marvin immediately got to his feet. “Mina?! What is SHE doing here?”

Mina glanced past Chase into the living room. Her eyes widened. “I-I did not—I didn’t expect you to have company.”

“Yeah, uh, sorry,” Chase said. “We’re in the middle of something.”

For a moment, Mina leaned back, as if starting to step away. But then she hesitated, straightened her shoulders, and stayed where she was. “Well. I am sorry, but I really must talk to you about something. I suppose it is good that Marvin is here, too, actually. And is that…is that Henrik’s doctor?”

Laurens raised a hand and waved absentmindedly.

“No, no, we are NOT doing this,” Marvin said. “Not again.”

“I am sorry, but we have to,” Mina said firmly. “May I come inside?”

“No!” Marvin protested.

“Marvin, it’s MY house,” Chase said pointedly. He stepped to the side. “Come on in, Mina.”

Mina nodded, stepping in.

“Chase!” Marvin spun to face him. “After what she’s done?!”

“I’m confused, what has she done?” Jackie said from the laptop screen.

“Oh!” Mina gasped a bit, walking up to the laptop. “You two, as well. You are…the Jacks, right?”

Jackie chuckled. “Yeah, I’m Jackie, this is Jack.” Jack raised a hand.

“No, don’t laugh,” Marvin said. “Jackie, maybe you don’t understand. She LEFT. Up and left the country when Schneep was missing; she thought he was a killer because of his 'condition'.”

“I see now that was a wrong assumption to make,” Mina said. Her voice was steady, but she kept glancing back at the front door. “It was based on unfair stereotypes, and I should not have buyed them.”

“But you did! Did it not matter that you KNEW Schneep? You should have realized!” Marvin started to walk up to Mina, but Chase held out an arm, physically stopping him from getting in her face.

“Marvin, you really shouldn’t, um, chastise her for this,” Laurens said gently. “We know that Schneep is innocent, but imagine seeing the news that he’d killed people without the context we have now. Wouldn’t you have thought the same?”

“No, because I stick by the people I care about!” Marvin continued. “Instead of just leaving them alone! I have faith that they’re good!”

“Well…sometimes that can get you killed,” Mina muttered. She’d opened up her wallet and was looking through it.

“Yeah, uh, Marvin?” Chase said. “Can you uh…think about it for a moment? It actually makes sense that—”

“Okay, fine, but that doesn’t explain why she didn’t come back once they figured out Schneep was being framed!” Marvin continued. “She threw away all the attempts to contact her, remember? It’s like she deliberately avoided him! This all could have been resolved sooner, if she hadn’t kept—”

“Here!” Mina pulled something out of her wallet, holding it up in front of her the same way someone might hold up a crucifix to ward off an angry vampire. “This is the reason I couldn’t return! This!”

For a moment, there was quiet. The three standing in the living room all leaned closer to see what Mina was holding, while the two still on the video call tried to get a good look. Chase broke the silence by saying, in a quiet voice, “Is…is that an ultrasound?”

Taking a deep breath, Mina pushed the picture at him. “Not just that,” she said quietly.

Chase carefully took the photo…no, photos. There were three. The ultrasound, a picture of a small, wrinkly baby swaddled in a pink blanket, and a picture of that same baby, now a few months older, wearing a yellow onesie and sitting on Mina’s lap.

“That is my daughter,” Mina said, her voice choked and near tears. “She was born this February, the 22nd. Her name is Elise. Henrik is the father.”

Marvin and Chase were too shocked to say anything. An equally stunned silence came from the laptop speakers. Laurens shot to her feet, immediately joining the others to look at the baby pictures. Finally, Marvin stuttered out, “That—thi-this doesn’t make sense. You and Henrik were—when did you—there was no time for you to—”

“Last July,” Mina explained softly. “We were starting to try again. I-it was his idea, he wanted to…he thought that, now that he was better, that we could try. We started seeing each other a couple times, starting in June, and in July we…I-it was an accident. We were using—but failure does happen, that statistics say so.” She paused. “We kept seeing each other, but he was acting a bit strange. I worried he had changed his mind. Then I found out, but before I could tell him, he…well. You remember what happened in August.”

“Why…why wouldn’t he tell us?” Marvin said, his voice distant.

“He said he wanted to be sure it would work before he did,” Mina said. “Maybe he was worried about your reactions. Still, I would think that after…after we…that he would—”

“Wait.” The voice came from the laptop, which everyone turned their attention towards. Jack was sitting up straight. “Wait wait wait,” he said, “I-I th-think he…I think he was…going to. I r’member, he said…something…something about big news, he…he was nervous, and then he…said that Mina and him…the two of you were meeting.”

“What?” Jackie stared at him. “And you just forgot about that?”

“It was…that same day.” Jack looked down at his lap. “I…fell asleep. And when I woke up, it slipped my mind. I r’memb’red a few times but I…I wondered if it was just his head. I mean…he did act…he…did that to me. He wasn’t…all there.” His voice trembled.

“I realize now,” Mina said, “that he was growing distant because his medication was failing. I recognize some of the same behavior.”

Laurens nodded. “That would line up,” she muttered.

“You…you had a kid.” Chase covered his mouth. “That’s why. You couldn’t risk it.”

Mina nodded slowly. “I did not leave the country until December, when there were those videos of him claiming to be behind the deaths. I know now that the…that awful man made him say that. But at the time, I was seven months along, and I was…I was scared. I panicked. I had to keep her safe. I…I still do. She is ten months old now. Almost a year.” She blinked back tears, but let out a short laugh. “When I finally learned the truth, I had to find Henrik again. So he could know about Elise. So he could meet her.”

Another moment of silence passed, as everyone processed this big news. Eventually, Marvin let out a long sigh. “I’m such a dick,” he muttered.

“Hey, bro, don’t talk about yourself that way—” Chase started.

“No, no, really, I’ve just been mean. I-I guess I was a bit defensive, and I let that one comment about Schneep’s condition get under my skin. Maybe I was even projecting a bit. Not a fan of people who just—who just abandon people.” Marvin laughed a bit, shakily. He looked Mina in the eyes. “I’m…sorry. I shouldn’t have gone off like that.”

Mina nodded. “Is fine. You…you care about Henrik a lot, and you were worried I would hurt him somehow. I understand.” Though she tried to keep steady, her posture loosened, clearly relieved. “Perhaps I should not have left.”

“No, are you kidding?” Chase jumped in. “You did the right thing. For your safety, and Elise’s.”

Marvin nodded. “Yeah.”

“Th…thank you for understanding,” Mina said tentatively.

“Hey,” Jackie said from the laptop speakers. “Can we see the pictures?”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Ah, Chase?” Mina held out her hand, and Chase returned the photos to her. She walked up to the laptop and, crouching down to be level, showed Jackie and Jack the pictures.

“Awww,” Jackie cooed.

“She’s fecking cute,” Jack added.

Mina laughed. “Thank you.”

“And Elise is such a pretty name!” Jackie said. “Good choice.”

“Thank you,” Mina said again, putting the photos away in her wallet. “I always liked it.” She stood up. As she did, she glanced at the papers strewn across the coffee table. “Ah…sorry for interrupting…whatever this is.” Her brows slowly drew together as she took in what exactly was on the papers. “What…is this?”

“Oh, we were…” Chase paused, glancing around at the others. Nobody raised an objection, so he coughed to clear his throat and continued. “Well, I guess you should know. We’re trying to find out where…where Schneep and our friend JJ are being kept.”

“…ah.” Mina said. “You have not gone to the police?”

“Of course we have!” Rya hurried to say.

“But we’re not gonna just sit around and wait,” Marvin said, folding his arms. “It took them forever to find Anti before, we need to help!”

“Yeah, we’re tired of waiting,” Jackie added.

Mina nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. What is this?” She picked up one of the papers, the one with the drawing. “I do not understand how this is related.”

“Oh, I was just talking about that, actually,” Chase said, stepping forward and gently taking the drawing from her. “This is Anti’s symbol. It’s uh, sort of like a calling card? He uses it to mark places that are his. Like, storage and safe houses and shit. It lets other criminals know who they’re messing with if they try to snoop around there. Or if they want to find him. Either, really.” He held the drawing in front of the laptop camera. “It’s been near all the hideouts the police have found so far. They’re looking for more places with this nearby.”

Mina nodded again, slowly. “So…it would look like…like graffiti, perhaps?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Chase looked over at her. “Why?”

“Wait a minute.” Marvin stared at Mina. “Have you…seen it before or something?”

“Well, I have not,” Mina said. “But I think I know someone who could have.”
.............................................................................................

Someone was at the door again. That was twice in so many days. Newson was tempted to ignore it, but she couldn’t convince her curiosity that it wasn’t worth it. She peered through the door’s peephole, making sure that this was someone she actually wanted to talk to. And, surprisingly, she actually recognized the people at the door. In front was Mina—Henrik’s wife, the very same one who’d come over to visit on Monday—and behind her were Rya Laurens and one of Henrik’s friends. Not the ponytail one, the other one. What was his name? Chad, or something.

It was an unusual group to show up. Wondering what was going on, Newson opened the door just wide enough to show her face. “Uh…hi, Mina. Rya. What’s…what’re you doing here?”

“Hi, Jennifer,” Rya said, giving a little wave. “I, uh—we have a question for you.”

“If you do not mind, of course,” Mina added.

“Um…sure, I guess. Shoot.” Newson fully opened the door.

“Right. Chase, d’you have the thing?” Rya asked, looking at the last member of the group.

“Yeah, hang on.” The man—Chase, that was his name—dug through his jacket pockets, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and held it up for Newson to see. “Uh…do you recognize this symbol?”

“Huh?” Jennifer stared at the strange symbol. It looked a bit like an eye, but not quite. “I don’t think so, why?”

“Oh, well, we were thinking—or, I was thinking, really,” Mina said, “that you might have seen it before.”

“Why?”

“Because do you remember what you said when I was over a few days ago? Something about how your brother would complain about graffiti in his building?” Mina prompted.

“Yeah?” Newson tilted her head to the side. “Where are you going with this?”

“Maybe this was part of that graffiti?” Mina said, tapping the paper that Chase was still holding up (and causing him to pull it back.) “This symbol?”

“How would I…wait.” Newson narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the paper in Chase’s hand. “I…maybe? Maybe that was one of them?” She bit her lip, diving deep into her memory.

“Are you sure?” Rya asked. “I mean, you know how remembering is.”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not one hundred percent sure. But…maybe.” Newson looked up towards the ceiling. “Hang on, I’m gonna talk out loud for a sec. I think I remember, like, going to visit Jeremy or pick him up or something. For some reason, I was in the stairwell, on the landing outside his floor. There were all these doodles on the wall by the door…he came out and said something like ‘Yeah, I hate these. Look at these eyeball ones, it’s like they’re staring at you,” and he, like, pointed them out. That…might have been one of the designs? I’m not sure.”

Rya and Chase glanced at each other. “Do you think we should check it out?” she asked.

Chase shrugged. “Better safe than sorry, I guess.”

“What’s all this about, anyway?” Newson asked. “Why do you need to know?”

Again, Rya and Chase exchanged glances. But Mina went on ahead. “That man, the one who kidnapped Henrik and killed many people? That is his symbol. He puts it up around places he’s been.”

Newson’s eyes widened as she snapped to attention. “What?! You mean—you mean he might’ve been living in the same place as my brother?!”

“We don’t know that!” Rya hastily said. “You said you aren’t sure—”

“Oh my god.” Newson covered her face with her hands, dragging them downward until her eyes showed. “Jeremy always said he wanted to find who kept vandalizing the walls. If he figured it out, and it was that crazy guy behind it all, that explains—tha-that explains why—”

“We don’t know for sure,” Rya said, trying to reassure her. “I-it could be just a case of a false memory—”

“No, I need to know this for sure.” Newson shook her head. “You said you wanted to check out the building?”

“Uhh…yeah, I guess, if you’re okay with that,” Chase said slowly.

“Well you don’t really need my permission, but you do need the address. It’s—no, wait. Let me get my boots on and I’ll drive you guys there.”

“Oh, that is fine,” Mina said. “I drove everyone here, you do not have to—”

“No, I do. I…really, really do.” Newson turned around, heading back into her house. “Give me a moment. We can go there right now.”
.............................................................................................

The drive to the apartment building wasn’t too long. Long enough for Chase to text Marvin and explain where they were going, as well as ask him if he wanted to come. Marvin turned him down immediately. "Mina mightve turned out to be alright, but I still dont like that doctor lady," he messaged. "Theres no doubt that SHE was awful to Schneep."

"Fair enough. Ill tell u what we find," Chase replied. He wasn’t sure why he expected differently. After all, Marvin had turned down going to Newson’s house to ask her about the symbol specifically because he didn’t like her. He should have known Marvin would turn down doing anything with her involved.

Mina drove, following Newson’s car along the streets until it stopped on the side of the street in front of an apartment complex. The building wasn’t…nice. This wasn’t exactly a nice part of the city. Mina parked the car, everyone got out, and Laurens asked, “Hey, Jennifer? Why would your brother live in this area? I mean, your house is, uh…cleaner.”

“Less shady, you mean?” Newson asked, slamming her car door closed. “Yeah, I know. I offered to let him move in multiple times, but he was stubborn. He, uh, did some volunteer work around here. Said it was better to be closer to the problem.”

“Huh.” Laurens folded her arms. “Why…why didn’t you talk about him? At work, I mean?”

Newson paused. “I…I did. I guess you forgot? I mean, you did have that couple-year gap where you left Silver Hills to do private therapy. That’s probably enough time for you to forget most of the work chatter.”

“But…when I came back…” Laurens trailed off. “Oh. I came back after he was…gone.”

“Yeah,” Newson muttered. “I…I didn’t really want to talk about it. Probably a bad idea, in hindsight. A bit hypocritical. I should’ve expected that bottle to blow, eventually.” She paused. Then, pulling her coat tighter, she said, “Anyway, let’s go inside. If I remember correctly, the graffiti was in the stairwell.”

The inside of the apartment building was about what Chase expected. Worn carpet, stains from water damage on the walls and ceiling, dim lightbulbs. Newson led the three others to the building’s stairwell, and the group marched up the metal stairs until they reached the landing for the third floor.

“Ah, this is it, then?” Mina gestured at the door that led onto the third floor. Or, more specifically, the wall where it was set. All around the door were scribbles and symbols, done in various shades of black, blue, brown, and green, with the occasional splash of other colors. Most of it was in pen or permanent marker, but there were a few large designs done in spray paint. In addition to various writings—most of it rude—there were also little pictures drawn.

“Yeah. I think there’s more of it.” Newson stood in front of the door, taking it all in.

“Man, some of this is just sad,” Chase muttered. He was staring at a bit near the edge of the graffiti that simply read 'Jennifer dumped me.' “Heh. Hey, is that you?”

Newson glanced at the phrase. “No, I don’t think so. Who added the L-O-L after it? That’s not a joke.”

Mina chuckled a bit. The others looked at her. “Ah, sorry. I was thinking of this thing from an online video—a-anyway, we are looking for the symbol, yes?”

“Yeah.” Chase pulled out the paper with the drawing and started scanning the mess of writing and drawing. There were a few designs that looked like eyes, but nothing like the ‘sideways eye inside a square’ symbol. Well…it sucked that this was a dead end, but at least they eliminated one possibility—

“Is…is this it?” Laurens reached out and tapped a bit of graffiti drawn in green marker. It was near the doorframe, and a bit smaller than expected, only about the size of someone’s palm. If that someone had smaller than average hands. But, unmistakably, it was the sideways eye symbol. The circle in a diamond in a square that Schneep had seen from a distance, that had led them to find Jackie.

“Holy shit,” Chase breathed.

“So…that’s really how it happened,” Newson muttered. “I-it wasn’t just…random. It was planned.” She paused. And then, she chuckled. “Somehow…that feels better.”

“We call the police now, yes?” Mina asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid someone would overhear her.

“Yeah, yeah we do.” Chase took his phone out of his pocket. “Wh-what do I even say? Hey, I just so happened to stumble upon a place where I think—where I think two of my best friends are being held?” His voice cracked a bit on that last part.

“Just tell them the truth,” Laurens suggested. “We haven’t done anything illegal.”

“I…yeah. That makes sense.” Chase took a deep breath. He was still a bit nervous. He wasn’t sure why; as Laurens said, they hadn’t broken any laws. Maybe he was afraid of getting in trouble somehow, anyway.

But at that moment, his nerves were overtaken by a stronger feeling. Worry. For all he knew, Schneep and JJ could be just a couple rooms away. He couldn’t leave them there. He had to take the opportunity to get them out of there. So, he started to dial. 9-9-—

Before he could enter the final 9, a text message popped up on his screen. The sender was labeled as ‘Unknown.’ It simply read, "I can see you."

Chase stopped. “What the fuck…?” he whispered. Mina and Laurens leaned over his shoulders to look at the text.

A second message arrived." Don’t you dare call the police."

“What the fuck?!” Chase repeated, louder. Newson also turned around to look at the message.

“How did they know what we were doing?” Mina said in a low, worried voice.

“Can they see us?” Laurens speculated. “Is there a camera somewhere?” Everyone glanced around. There wasn’t a camera visible, but that didn’t do much good, considering how small modern video cameras could be.

Chase’s phone started ringing. The unknown number was calling him. He glanced around at the others. “What do I do? Do I answer it?!”

“Do it,” Newson urged him. “We gotta know what’s going on.”

“R-right.” Chase hesitated, then picked up the call. He pressed his phone to his ear and said, “Um…hello?”

“Hello, Chase,” a voice said. Chase had never heard this voice before, but somehow, it seemed familiar. It belonged to a man, a bit high and hoarse, with a strange accent that Chase recognized as being a mix of Irish and British. “We’ve never spoken, but I think you know who I am.”

Chase shivered. “You’re…you’re Anti.”

“Exactly.”

“H-how’d you get this number?” Chase asked, glancing around at Laurens, Mina, and Newson, all of whom looked suddenly fearful, yet intrigued.

“It’s not that hard to find, really. You just have to do a little digging online. That’s especially easy for you, Mr. BroAverage. Or should I call you Mr.jacksepticeye? Last I checked, you were running both channels, even if that second one belongs to your comatose friend.”

“Wh…” Chase’s words were stuck in his throat. But, after a minute, he managed to push them out. “Wh-what do you want?”

“I want you to walk away,” Anti’s words were steady. Unbothered, but firm. “Turn around, walk away, forget what you found. Don’t call the police. Don’t even think about it. Same goes for your gaggle of girlfriends, there.”

“I…y-yeah.” Chase nodded, glancing around. “I’ll do that.”

“You can say that. But that’s no guarantee,” Anti said in a low voice. “Unless there are consequences.”

“Consequences?” Chase repeated quietly.

“You know what I mean. I have two people with me right now. Two people you know and care about. And while I would really prefer not to do this, I can and will punish them for any actions of yours.”

Chase couldn’t say anything. He felt like he’d just been punched in the gut. Schneep. JJ. They could…they could be hurt.

“Do you understand?” Anti hissed.

“Y…yeah,” Chase said.

“Good. Tell your girlfriends too.” Anti laughed. “Well, I know that’s not what you are. You’re already married. Or, you were, at least. No, they’re different. There’s the fair Miss Rya again, and that’s the Dr. Newson who was so mean to Henrik. And if I’m not mistaken, that last one is his ex-wife. Is it Nina?”

“I-I-I’m not gonna tell—”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Make sure they know the consequences as well.” Anti’s voice dropped. “Don’t disappoint me, Chase. Or your friends.” And with that, the call dropped.

Chase lowered the phone, staring at the others. Though they could only hear half of the conversation, the general tone was well understood. “What…what happened?” Laurens asked in a trembling voice.

“Let’s…let’s get out of here,” Chase muttered.

It pained him to turn his back on the building. He didn’t want to leave. Not when he was sure JJ and Schneep were here. So close…but he couldn’t reach them. He couldn’t do anything. Not if he wanted to keep them safe.

But was THIS safe? Wasn’t he basically ensuring that no one would find them? That they’d be trapped with that—that monster of a man? How could he do that? He’d said he wanted to do something, but in the end, he was doing nothing.

No. No, there had to be something he could do. He had to have some way of helping them. He just…didn’t know it yet.

He would figure it out. THEY would. All of them involved. They’d get their friends back, one way or another.

They couldn’t stand by any longer.

Part Twenty-Four of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is the FINAL part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. After working out the last of their problems, everyone starts to settle down.]
.............................................................................................

It was surprisingly sunny, for an autumn day. Busy, too. Cars rushed through the streets, and pedestrians populated the pavement. Jameson shielded his eyes from the sun’s glare as he peered around a street corner and saw their destination. We’re almost there. One more block, he said, tapping the message out in Morse code on a nearby lamppost.

“Good, I hope we are not late,” Schneep replied. “What time is it?”

JJ checked the clock on his phone. '1:25. Do you think it’s already over?'

“Possibly. In any case, it would be better to be early.” Schneep turned the corner, speeding up, running his cane over the sidewalk to check for cracks. JJ hurried to catch up. “Chase would be upset if we are not there.”

'He’ll be fine,' JJ said reassuringly, now tapping the message on Schneep’s arm. 'But I suppose we can make haste.'

The two of them soon arrived at their destination, turning into the hospital parking lot and walking towards the building’s front entrance. “Oh! I think he is here, yes?” Schneep said.

'Yes, I can see him.' JJ waved. Chase was standing outside the glass doors, bouncing on his feet and scanning the area. He had his usual bandanna and cap, but was wearing a new sweater, one that the others had given him as a group birthday present to make up for missing it a few months ago, and an old backpack Stacy had lent him. Once he saw JJ waving he smiled, and waved back.

“Ha! Knew it. I am getting good at this,” Schneep said proudly. “If only sensing souls could help with telling apart the toothpaste and burn cream.”

JJ laughed, muffled as usual, and the two of them hurried across the parking lot. Chase ran up to meet them at the edge of the sidewalk. “Hey guys!” he said. “Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” Schneep said lightheartedly. “Well, well? Did everything go fine?”

“Oh, uh, mostly.” Chase rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. He wasn’t wearing his wristbands. Instead, there were white bandages. “She managed to get the ones on my wrists off, but said she didn’t want to risk messing with the one on my neck. It’s close to an artery or something? I don’t know, it was some complicated medical stuff.”

“Ah. That is too bad,” Schneep said sadly. Jameson shook his head sympathetically. “But it is glad to hear some of the stitches are gone. I told you that Darla was good. Trustworthy, too. She will not tell anyone.”

“If you say so, doc.” Pulling his sleeves down, Chase turned to JJ. “Are you sure you don’t want to try? I mean, it’s a lot more inconvenient for you than it is for me.”

JJ hesitated, then nodded. 'I am fine,' he signed. 'I’ve gotten used to it, and yes, there are many downsides, but considering what happened last week, I think it is good enough.'

“Man. If you’re really sure,” Chase said reluctantly. “They’re already a bit looser, right? Maybe whatever magic’s making them hard to cut through will fade over time.”

“Wait, Jameson, did you bring up last week?” Schneep whacked JJ’s legs with his cane. “I said that you should not try yourself! Things could go wrong!” He paused. “But everything is fine, right?”

'Yes, it was a shallow cut,' JJ said. 'Your scissors are pretty sharp.'

“I know. They are not normal, and I am starting to think they were always supposed to be weapons.” Schneep sighed. “Well, I am putting them away soon.”

JJ and Chase exchanged a significant look. “You’re gonna put them away?” Chase repeated.

Schneep nodded. “If I need them again, it won’t be hard to pull them out.”

In the month since they’d finally gotten rid of the strings, Schneep had kept carrying the scissors around. Just in case, he’d said. Just in case those glowing green strands of black magic managed to worm their way back into the world. But the past month had been quiet. Busy in other ways, but nothing had appeared to attack any of them. So maybe ‘just in case’ wasn’t going to come. Maybe it would be fine to leave them at home. Or, well, in whatever pocket dimension they came from.

“If you’re sure, doc,” Chase said. “A-anyway, it’s a bit past 1:30. We should hurry, or we’ll be late to meet up with the others. You guys walked here? C’mon, there’s a bus stop across the street.”

'We’d definitely be on time if you drove us,' JJ said teasingly.

“Hey, I can’t be blamed for not having a car.”

'Ask Stacy.'

“Nah, it’s fine. I should practice a bit before I do any serious driving, anyway. It’s been a while.”

“You took the bus here?” Schneep asked, puzzled. “But what about people sitting next to you?”

“It’s okay, I just put the backpack next to me. And it’s alright if it’s you guys.” Chase stepped off the sidewalk curb and onto the parking lot asphalt. “Now let’s go.”

The bus ride was short, and soon the three of them were getting off at a stop outside a small restaurant—or, more of a cafe, really. Despite being near lunchtime, the place was almost empty when they walked in. Soft piano music was playing over a speaker system, and a chalk signboard near the front entrance read “Please Seat Yourselves” with a hand-drawn smiley face. Chase read the sign out loud, and the three of them spotted the rest of the group, sitting at a table in the corner of the dining area, right by a window.

Jack had looked up at the sound of the bell chiming when the door opened. “Hey, they’re here,” he said to the other two sitting at the table.

“Huh? Oh, good.” Jackie was turning the menu over and over, listening to the sound of the laminated paper against the air. Marvin didn’t say anything. His head was leaning against the glass of the window, eyes closed, a pair of earbuds blocking out most sound. But he did make a small sound of acknowledgement.

“Hey guys.” Chase arrived first, taking the chair across from Marvin, next to the wall. Schneep and JJ took the next two. “Did you already order?”

“No, I told the waiter that we were waiting for people,” Jack explained. “But, more importantly, how’d it go? Are they gone?”

“Wrists are.” Chase once again pulled back his sleeves. For a moment, Jackie glanced at the bandages on his wrists, then bit his lip and looked away. “Apparently the neck stitches are too close to an artery or something. She didn’t want to mess with it.”

“Shit. Well, two out of three’s not bad,” Jack said.

“Jack, my friend, how are the repairs going?” Schneep asked.

“Pretty good, I think. The walls just got repainted, and the living room has new chairs and stuff. Still a long way to go.” Jack laughed. “Honestly I’m just glad that the water and Internet didn’t go out.”

'Are the police still talking to you?' JJ asked.

“No, not really. You guys?”

The other three all shook their heads. Dealing with the police had been…complicated. They had to, of course. They couldn’t just go back to their old lives without people asking “what the hell happened to you?!”JJ had it the easiest, in a way. Nobody had reported him missing, which was a bit sad when he thought about it, and all the regular patrons of his shop had assumed it closed down. Jack and Chase had more difficulty, since they were pretty public figures. The moment Jack had uploaded a video explaining he was back, the Internet had gone up in flames wondering where he’d been.

In the end, they all decided on the same story. It was pretty lame, as Chase often said, but it worked. They all just lied and said they didn’t remember anything. Weird stitches on Chase’s wrists and neck? Nope. Scars all over Jack’s body? Don’t know what happened there. Schneep losing an entire sense and gaining weird scars that looked like tears dripping from his eyes? No idea, officer. The police had prodded them, but eventually given up, essentially leaving the case unsolved and concluding it was a strange psychological phenomenon. The case would go down in history, but nobody would know the truth.

Of course, when it came to Marvin and Jackie coming back to life, things were going to be a bit difficult. Fortunately, they had magic on their side.

“Have any of you heard from Yvonne?” Jack asked, sliding each of them a menu.

“Dude, why would she talk to me? I’m the least magical person here,” Chase said.

'Not since she offered to help,' JJ added.

Schneep merely shook his head and picked up the menu. “Oh! They actually have—”

“Yeah, I explained the situation when the waiter came over and he gave me a Braille copy,” Jack explained. “Anyway, she called me the other day. Says that the records should be all fixed now.”

“I still say that can’t be legal,” Chase muttered.

“It’s not.” Everyone jumped, a bit surprised to hear Marvin talk. He didn’t move from his position against the window or open his eyes, but he did continue. “She’s not really into stuff being legal, you know. Normal laws or magic laws. Always thought they got in the way, that…that…her. That…name.”

“Yvonne.” Jackie gently bumped Marvin’s shoulder with his own.

“Right.”

Jack gave the others a meaningful look. Memory issues. One of the lingering side effects Marvin and Jackie were dealing with. They could forget something in seconds. Jackie had taken to writing things down, if not with an actual pen and paper, then by finger-spelling it on his hand over and over. Marvin just sort of let it happen, only writing down the really important stuff. “Anyway, it’s all fixed,” Jack continued, looking back over at the other two. “You guys can…y’know, start doing stuff again. When you want. Move out, if you feel like it.”

“Thanks,” Jackie said. He sounded oddly reluctant. Marvin didn’t even bother to answer.

Chase cleared his throat. “Speaking of moving out, Schneep, did you get your apartment back yet?”

Schneep scowled. “I am so close. The stupid building owner is still insisting on keeping it all preserved, and I say, ‘for what?!’ You are clearly not going to sell it, if everything is still how it is when I was living there. So just let me live in! The police do not care anymore, anyway, so there is no crime scene!”

'He probably liked the idea of having a flat where someone who disappeared lived,' JJ suggested. 'It lends a bit of mystery and gives the building a reputation. People might want to move in because of that.'

“Well he will still have it! I will just be actually there!” Schneep folded his arms and leaned back in the chair. “Ugh. Jamie, I like you, but your guest room is tiny.”

JJ gave a huff of a laugh. 'Sorry, Hen. I’d never really needed one before so I didn’t hear any complaints.'

“Oh, Chase, what about you? How’s the house search coming?” Jack asked.

“Fine.” Chase shrugged. “I got a few to look at. Y’know Stacy doesn’t seem to mind me staying over. I was surprised, given how she, um…wanted to move out so much a few years ago.”

“Well, things change,” Jack said cheerfully.

“Yeah. I guess that’s an upside of this, we’re, like…friends.” Chase said the word in a tone of bewildered, but welcomed, happiness. The way someone would react to hearing good news that they’d thought was no longer an option. “Again, I mean. A-and I don’t think it’s gonna go further, but…still.”

“That’s great, my friend.” Schneep patted the back of Chase’s hand.

“Yeah, that’s great!” Jackie repeated, suddenly enthusiastic. “So, like, we should order food, right?”

“Oh right.” Jack nodded. “Hang on.” He stood up, looking towards the back of the restaurant where the door to the kitchen was. A waiter was walking out at that moment, and caught sight of the group, quickly indicating he’d be right there. “Oh, nice. I was confused, really, if like this was the type of place where people would come over or if we had to go up there.” Jack sat back down and picked up the menu. “We should go all out. This is a celebration.”

'I think I can get a drink,' JJ signed slowly.

“Really?” Jack asked, surprised.

'Yes, I think the stitches have loosened up enough for that,' JJ said more confidently. 'A small straw or a bit of liquid. Just so long as nobody’s looking when I take off my mask.'

“Awesome, man,” Chase said cheerfully. “Honestly, this place looked good on the website. We should get a lot.”

“Celebration,” Schneep repeated, then nodded. “Yes. Yes, that sounds wonderful. Celebration lunch.”

And for most of them, it was just that, wonderful. They were meeting up again, the last of their troubles were ending. Things were looking up.

But a corner of the table was a bit gloomier. Jackie and Marvin were pretty quiet all throughout the lunch. Neither of them ate that much. Marvin kept his eyes closed or looking down at his plate, and Jackie paid more attention to the salt and pepper shakers than anything else. Once the lunch was over and after everyone said their goodbyes, they followed Jack back to his apartment, where they were staying, and drifted off to separate activities. A book for Marvin, an old laptop for Jackie.

They never once said anything to each other.
.............................................................................................

'Ignisa: a spell to conjure fire.'

Marvin read the simple command word over and over, repeating it mentally. Ignisa. Ignisa. It was one of the simplest spells out there, and one of the first ones he learned. He could visualize the page of the book he read it in. He remembered it. Really, he did. Most of the time. For the occasions that he didn’t he’d written down the command and what it did on a spare bit of paper.

“Ignisa,” he whispered, staring down at his hands, cupped as if to hold water. He sat in the center of the floor in the spare bedroom, as far away from furniture as possible. “Ignisa. Ig-NI-sa. IG-ni-sa. Ig-ni-SA.” Yet, no matter how many times he repeated it, no matter how he pronounced it or how loud he spoke it, no matter how much he concentrated on the feeling of fire bursting forth in his hands…there wasn’t even a spark.

“Fuck.” Marvin gave up, burying his face in his hands. He squeezed his eyes to contain tears of frustration, but he still let one or two sobs slip out. Why couldn’t he do ANYTHING? No fire, no lights, no telekinesis. All the magic he remembered was useless. The only spell that sort of worked was teleportation, in fact he actually found it easier now than it used to be, but he couldn’t quite control it. If he was lucky, he’d end up close to where he wanted to be, and if he was unlucky, he teleported to the middle of the sky twenty miles away. That…hadn’t been a fun evening.

There were only a few spells that worked perfectly for him. Taking a few deep breaths, Marvin lifted his head up, and pressed his hands close together, palm to palm. Slowly, he pulled them away from each other. In the space between them were blue glowing threads of magic, which got longer the farther apart his hands got. If he wanted, he could use these strings like a weapon, grabbing things, pinning them to the wall, and maybe with practice he could use them to swing, like some sort of discount magical Spider-Man. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want anything to do with these. Scowling, Marvin brushed his hands together, and the strings disappeared.

Someone knocked on the door, and Marvin yelped in surprise. He quickly got to his feet. “Wh-who is it?”

“It’s Jack,” a voice said. “Can I come in?”

“Um…sure.”

Jack opened the door, poking his head in through the gap. “Hey Jackie’s making noodles for dinner. Do you want any?”

Did he? Marvin wasn’t really hungry. He didn’t really feel hungry that often anymore. Or maybe he did, and just couldn’t recognize the feeling. Jackie was the same way, but that didn’t stop him from TRYING to eat. After a bit, Marvin decided it would probably be better safe than sorry. “…Sure.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him.” Jack hesitated. “Do you…want anything? Need anything?”

Marvin hesitated. He glanced over at Jack before looking away. Wait, why was one of Jack’s eyes a slightly different shade of blue? When had that—oh. Right. “No.”

“Alright…if you’re sure,” Jack said reluctantly. “Come out whenever you’re ready.” And with that, he left.

Just in time, too. Marvin backed up until his legs hit the edge of the bed. Immediately, he fell back onto the mattress, pressing his hands against his eyes. “Stop thinking about it,” he said to himself. “Stop thinking about it, stop it, stop.” That only seemed to make it worse. Images flashed in his head, leftover memories that weren’t his, but also were, and were also Jackie’s and someone else’s. The others called him Anti. Anti’s memories. They would pop up whenever something triggered them, and that ‘something’ was usually one of the others. Right now, the memories were about Jack, about what happened to his eye. Marvin could hear himself—no, Anti—laughing.

Shaking, Marvin slowly stood up again, staggering across the room to the door. Why was it that sometimes, his balance just didn’t work? Why was he so clumsy now? He grabbed the doorknob but didn’t open it, just pressing his forehead into the wood. These were the consequences for his actions. The memories, the problems with his magic, the lack of balance. It was all his fault. If he hadn’t gotten into his head that trying the transference spell would be fine, that not telling Jackie wouldn’t cause any problems…It hadn’t even been about helping people, like how Jackie probably wanted to, he just wanted to see if he could do it, to see if he could increase his power. And he caused everything. So this was his punishment. Served him right.
.............................................................................................

“Marvin says he wants dinner,” Jack said, leaning into the kitchen/dining room.

“Okay,” Jackie said cheerfully, grabbing another bowl from the cabinet. It was easy, since that particular cabinet was missing its door. It would probably stay that way for a while, too, since with all the other repairs the apartment required it wasn’t a high enough priority. Jackie set the bowl on the counter next to two others, then looked over at the pot of water. It wasn’t steaming or boiling. Did he forget to turn the heat on? He tapped the edge of the burner under the pot.

“Jackie!” Jack gasped.

“Oh, it’s fine, it’s not on,” Jackie assured him. “I was just checking.”

“You mean you didn’t KNOW if it was on?!”

“It probably wasn’t.” Jackie looked up to see the dial hadn’t been turned. Oh. He probably could have looked at the dial before touching the burner. Well, whatever. He reached over and turned the dial to the 7 mark.

“Please be careful,” Jack said, looking nervous. “You could get hurt.”

“I am being careful,” Jackie said. It didn’t really matter, anyway. He was having trouble feeling pain lately. Or…most things, actually. It was weird, he was a bit numb. Not by too much, but enough to be noticeable, to know that he hadn’t been like that before. Marvin was just the opposite, nowadays he was constantly being overwhelmed with the texture and feel of things. But he was always more sensitive to sensations than the rest of them.

“Well, be even MORE careful,” Jack insisted. He backed out of the kitchen. “I’m gonna, uh, hang out in the living room. Tell me if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Jackie nodded. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright.” Jack hesitated for a second before turning away and leaving.

Everything was fine. Jack really didn’t need to worry, Jackie had everything covered. Making food was easy, really. It was something that he did all the time. The process was automatic, especially for making pasta. Just wait for a bit, occasionally stirring, then drain the water. It was all good. This was a normal thing that normal people did. Things were normal.

Of course, Jackie knew that every single thing he’d just thought to himself was a lie. But it was easier to pretend. Sometimes he pretended so hard that it felt like he was watching a movie filmed in the first-person, instead of actually existing in this body.

Oh, it was happening now, actually. Jackie watched as his hand pulled open the cutlery drawer and took out a long spoon. Then the hand started stirring the pasta in the pot. It was starting to get hot now. There was steam. How hot was it? The other hand reached forward and—

“Shit!” Jackie snapped back to reality, pulling his hand away from the side of the metal pot. “Ah. Fuck.” He looked down. The skin of his fingers was a bit red and tender. He opened and closed his fist a few times to help the leftover burning feeling fade away.

“Is everything okay?” Jack was back, apparently having heard Jackie shout. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just brushed against the side,” Jackie explained.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Well…okay, then.” Jack reluctantly backed out of view.

Everything was fine. Oh look, the pasta was suddenly done. Time had just flown past. Jackie poured the pasta into the strainer and then scooped it into the bowls. Marvin showed up, and then Jack, and they all ate in silence, after which Jack excused himself to go back to his recording room to do some editing. The moment he’d replaced all the broken computer parts, he’d gone back to making videos, though not nearly as frequently as before. That was…nice. Nice that he could do that.

Jackie wondered what he was supposed to do now. Not just for the rest of the day, but…for the rest of ever. He wanted things to be fine, to be normal, and he was pretty good at pretending they were. But they. Just. Weren’t. He couldn’t find the energy to start looking for a job, or for a new apartment, or even for new clothes. But at the same time, he didn’t want to keep borrowing from Jack. He didn’t want to just stay in place, but he couldn’t move forward.

At one point, he’d thought about going back out onto the streets. He didn’t know what happened to his old super suit, but he could make a new one. Then that train of thought had immediately crashed to a halt with a flash of memory. Not his, but also his. Anti’s. A memory with so much pain in it, and feeling GLAD at that pain. Somehow triumphantly vindicated to see suffering. No. Someone like that couldn’t be a hero.

So things continued. The same things. Every day.

Everything was fine.
.............................................................................................

Time passed. Autumn progressed, and it became cooler as September blended into October. Jack kept fixing up the apartment, and it was beginning to look good as new. Schneep finally convinced the building owner to let him back into his place, and so he moved out of JJ’s building. Chase was still having trouble finding a house, but he was glad to spend more time with Lily and Moira, absolutely doting on the two of them. Business at JJ’s shop started to pick up again, though he had to get used to carrying around a notepad since most customers didn’t know sign language.

Jackie and Marvin stayed where they were.

One night, a storm rolled over the city. Rain pounded the ground, thunder rumbled in the distance, and nobody went out of their houses. That night, Marvin went into the apartment’s bathroom and pressed his face against the small window to watch the storm. There wasn’t much to see. The glass was cloudy for privacy. But there was water running down the other side, droplets racing each other to the bottom.

Then there was a flash, and a fork of lightning split the window in half. A second later came the thunder. Marvin heard someone gasp, and jumped, spinning around to see Jackie standing in the open bathroom doorway. “Oh. Sorry,” Jackie muttered. “I just saw the lights on in here and—nevermind.”

Marvin just looked at him for a bit, then turned back to the window. Jackie stood there for a moment, then started to turn away.

“Jackie?”

He stopped at the sound of Marvin’s quiet voice. “Yeah?”

“Are we…bad people?”

Jackie didn’t answer, and that was an answer on its own.

“Should we…be here?”

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.

Marvin started pulling at his fingers. “Just…what if something…happens?”

Jackie paled. “I-it’ll be okay. It’s all okay.”

“Okay.”

Neither of them moved. Then, quietly, Jackie admitted something. “I don’t want to be here.”

“You don’t?” Marvin finally turned around.

“I don’t think I should,” Jackie whispered. “Just…everyone is nice to us. But we…hurt them. Or, kind of us. I mean, he was still us, right?”

Marvin nodded. “I remember doing it.”

“Me too.”

“He can’t come back, though. Right?”

“I mean…no,” Jackie said slowly. “But what if we…what if something happens?” He echoed Marvin’s own words back at him.

Marvin was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to be here, either.”

“Should we leave?”

“What would we do?”

“I don’t know.” Jackie glanced down the hall, towards Jack’s bedroom. “But they’re…good people. And we’re…. We don’t…” He trailed off.

Another crack of thunder.

“Should we leave a note?” Marvin asked.

“No. They can figure it out. Should we stay together?”

“Maybe at first.”

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, the power in the apartment building went out. Jack left his bedroom, holding a flashlight. “Hey guys? The storm knocked the lights out. You okay?”

No answer. Not surprising, Jackie and Marvin could be pretty quiet. So Jack went to look for them.

But…they weren’t there. Not in the spare bedroom, not in the bathroom, not in the kitchen, not in the living room. “Guys?” he called, voice rising in worry. “Guys?!”

Still no answer. Swearing under his breath, Jack went back to his bedroom and picked up his phone from where he’d left it. He opened up the group chat and sent a message.

"Jackie and Marvin are gone. I think they’ve left."
.............................................................................................

It was still storming when they got off the bus to look around. With the rain pouring down, it was hard to make out details of anything. There were the vague, tall shapes of buildings, the long stretches of clear roads and sidewalks…but everything else was a bit cloudy. “We should’ve brought an umbrella,” Marvin said, trying to shield himself from the rain by covering his head with his arms. It didn’t work.

“I didn’t think he had one,” Jackie said, peering through the falling water. “Do you want my jacket?”

“No, I’m fine.” Marvin shivered.

“I…okay, if you’re sure you’re alright,” Jackie said reluctantly. “Here, there’s a street sign over on that corner.” He walked up to the sign, Marvin trailing after him. “Uh…Everwood Lane. I…I don’t remember where that is. Do you?”

“No,” Marvin admitted. They hadn’t really had much of a plan, had they? Just up and left, trusting they’d figure it out in the moment. Saw a bus stopping at a nearby station, and hopped aboard, pretending to swipe bus passes so the driver, who wasn’t really paying any attention, wouldn’t notice. Then they’d gotten off at random, once they realized they’d been sitting in the bus for a while and they had to be far away by then. Why had they thought any of that would be a good idea? Why had he just gone along with it?

“Well, uh. Let’s get inside.” Jackie pressed on, now walking up to the entrance of the nearest building. “Maybe we can ask someone in there, and it’ll be dry.” See? This would work out.

Luckily, that building turned out to be open, and they stepped into a front hall. It looked nice, but was completely empty. The only things of note were the pair of elevators, the door labelled ‘Stairwell,’ another unlabelled door, and a directory on a sign attached to the wall.

“No one’s here,” Marvin muttered.

“Someone has to be here, everything’s on.” Jackie scanned the directory. The building was nine floors tall, plus the ground floor, and every floor was listed as belonging to some business, each with operating hours attached. “Uh…what time is it?”

“…I don’t remember,” Marvin said. “And there’s no clock here. And we don’t have phones.”

“It’s fine, we’ll—we’ll just check around,” Jackie said optimistically. He walked over to the unmarked door and grabbed the handle, starting to push it open. Only to stop short when the door wouldn’t budge. Locked. Okay. That was fine. There were more options. Jackie turned around. “C’mon, we’ll take the lifts.”

“Mm-hmm.” Marvin nodded, following him to the elevators.

The elevator arrived, doors sliding open, and the two of them stepped in. “Right, we’ll just start with the first floor,” Jackie said, pressing the button. He waited for a few seconds, but the elevator wasn’t moving. The button hadn’t lit up. “Um…” He pressed it again. Then a couple more times. Then he tried the other buttons, pushing them hard.

“There’s a card reader attached,” Marvin pointed out, nodding towards a black box mounted on the elevator’s panel. “I don’t think it’ll work without the right card.”

“Oh.” Jackie was momentarily at a loss, but then he recovered. They just had to keep moving. That’s all. “I guess we’ll take the stairs, then.”

The stairwell was tall, white, and empty, metal stairs spiralling upwards with only a railing keeping the people walking up and down from falling off. Jackie led the way, climbing up the stairs quickly with Marvin a bit behind. But there was no luck. All the doors that led into the floors were blocked by the same card readers as in the elevators. Just in case, Jackie still tried to open them, both pushing and pulling, but to no avail. So they just kept climbing, stopping at every story so Jackie could try the doors with increasing desperation, while Marvin watched him with increasing annoyance.

Until finally, they reached the last door, this one labelled ‘Roof Access.’ Surprisingly, this one didn’t have a card reader. Jackie hesitated, then pushed it open, letting in a spray of rain from the storm outside.

“Okay, this was useless,” Marvin said. “Let’s—”

“Well, maybe there’s someone outside,” Jackie suggested.

“In the rain?”

But Jackie was already heading out, pulling on his hood as he stepped into the storm.

Of course there wasn’t anyone there. Disregarding the misery of the weather, it was hard to see anything, including the railing that marked the edge of the roof. It would be dangerous to be up there. But Jackie still walked forward, looking around, until he eventually found that railing along the edge, grabbing the rain-slicked metal to orient himself.

“No one’s here!” Marvin shouted over a clap of thunder. He’d followed Jackie out onto the roof and was now standing about an arm’s length behind him, looking extremely unhappy about the whole situation. “Let’s go!”

“Right.” Jackie nodded. “We’ll just—just try another building, and ask where we are.”

“Then what?”

“Then we’ll—we’ll get a hotel.”

“How will we pay for it?”

“Uh…okay, not a hotel. We’ll…find our way to someone’s house, o-or something, and ask if we can stay.”

“What if no one lets us in?”

“We’ll—we’ll find an empty building.” Jackie grasped desperately at a way to salvage this situation, a way that wouldn’t involve them going back. He wasn’t even sure he could find his way back; he’d forgotten Jack’s address somewhere on the way. “Yeah. And then we’ll go to sleep, and in the morning, figure out a better plan. Yeah! It’s fine. Everything will be fi—”

“Everything will not be fucking fine, Jackie!” Marvin suddenly burst out. “This was a terrible idea! Why did we think to do this?! Why did I go along with it?! It’s raining, there’s lightning, we’re lost, my clothes are wet which I hate more than murder, and you’re being delusional!”

“I—I am being optimistic!” Jackie spluttered, letting go of the railing so he could face Marvin head-on. “I am trying to make the best of a difficult situation—”

“We shouldn’t even be out here!” Marvin interrupted. Another crack of thunder rang throughout the sky, even louder than before. “You suggested this! Why’d you suggest it?”

“Well, why did you ask if we should’ve been staying with the others if you weren’t prepared to leave?” Jackie countered. “You didn’t have to come with me! You didn’t have to go out at all!”

“Oh yeah, what was I going to do, tell Jack and the others, ‘sorry, I don’t know where they went, they said they were leaving and I thought that was alright’? No!”

“You could’ve convinced me to stay!” Jackie shouted. “You could’ve shot it down when I said it! But you went along, so you must have wanted to leave, too!”

“I—yeah, but it was more of a vague thing!” Marvin protested. “A what-if! I didn’t expect us to go right then!”

Jackie grabbed Marvin by the shirt. “Then why did you leave?! Why did we leave?! Why did we want to leave?!”

The sky lit up a brilliant white, electricity crashing. A bolt of lightning had hit a lightning rod attached to the building’s roof, only a room’s width away from the two of them. Sparks flew. Marvin screamed. Jackie instinctively covered him, hugging him tight to his chest and bending over. The sound was deafening, thunder right next to their heads, and even after it faded their ears echoed with the remains of it.

“Holy shit!” Jackie gasped, blinking the brilliant light from his eyes. His eyes…which were now glowing. The left was bright green, the right an equally bright red. Marvin’s were also glowing, though his right eye was the green one, and the other one was blue. “That was—oh my god. Marvin, are you okay?”

Marvin didn’t answer for a moment. He just stared at the lightning rod, still faintly glowing from being struck. And then…he let out a quiet sob.

“M…Marvin?” Jackie took a closer look at him, and realized his face wasn’t just wet from the rain. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s fucking not,” Marvin cried. “All I could think about while we were walking up those stairs—all I could think about were the memories, the—you know the ones, the—I wasn’t even there, I was somewhere else. I hate this. I hate this! I hate what’s happened to me! I hate that it’s my fault!”

“Your fault?!” Jackie repeated.

“My stupid fucking selfish spell,” Marvin sobbed. “It’s all because of that! Everything happened because of that! Of course I should’ve realized, if the things I did after the spell were—were like THAT, then of course! Of course I’m a horrible fucking person that wouldn’t care about what that spell might do!”

“Marvin—”

“And you’re just going around acting like everything is alright!” Marvin said, jabbing a finger into Jackie’s chest. “You just like—like nothing happened, you keep saying everything is fine, it might be for you, but it’s not for me! No it’s fine, it doesn’t matter!”

“I just want everything to move on, Marvin!” Jackie said, grasping Marvin’s upper arms and pulling him close. “Everything has to be fine, but it’s not, so I have to pretend it is! Because if I stop pretending, all I can think about is what I’ve done. Every time I look at the others, I remember how I hurt them! Every time I look at you, I remember how I KILLED you!”

Silence, and the sound of rain.

“I didn’t…didn’t know you felt that way,” Marvin said, barely audible.

“I didn’t know you did, either,” Jackie whispered.

“That’s ironic, isn’t it?” Marvin commented dully. “Aren’t we connected now? Aren’t our souls all…mixed up with each other?”

“Yeah…” Jackie nodded. “Yeah.”

The two of them stared at each other. Eyes wide, hearts pounding, breathing heavy. Letting themselves be rained on. Until—

The door to the rooftop burst open, and a couple flashlight beams fell onto the two of them.

“Marv!”

“Jackie!”

“My friends!”

It was the others. All of them. Chase was in front with Jack close behind, then Schneep in the back holding onto Jameson’s arm for extra support. “Are you two okay?!” Chase asked.

“What happened?!” Jack added.

'Is everything alright?' JJ signed.

“Why did you go?” Schneep said.

Jackie took a step backwards, letting go of Marvin, who was too in shock to even notice. “You guys…h-how’d you find us?”

“JJ did,” Chase explained.

'Luckily the tracking spell still works,' JJ said. 'How did you two even get here? It’s the other side of town!'

“I…we took the bus,” Jackie said numbly. “How—why are you here?”

“We came to find you, of course!” Schneep said, as if it was obvious.

“Why?” Marvin asked quietly.

“What?! Because you’re our friends!” Chase said, gaping. “If you leave to go out with no note, no anything, in the middle of a thunderstorm—” Thunder rumbled in the distance as if to prove his point. “—and without any way for anyone to contact you, anything could have happened! We were so fucking worried!”

“…why?” Marvin repeated.

“You’re our friends,” Jack reiterated. “We care about you. What if you got hurt? That would be—fuck. I-I don’t even want to think about it.”

Jackie felt tears in his eyes, and he let them slip out, hidden by the rain. “But—but it was going to be better this way.”

“Better? Better?!” Schneep repeated incredulously. “No no no no no no, we went through so much to see you again. You cannot just disappear! And less expect us to be fine with it!”

“But…w-we—I—I hurt you!” Jackie blurted out. “So much! I mean, look at yourselves! You still have the scars!”

“That wasn’t you,” Chase said gently, slowly approaching. “That was Anti.”

“Well, Anti was us.”

“Anti was two parts you guys and, like, seventeen parts black magic,” Chase said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“It feels like it,” Marvin muttered. “You’d say the same if you remembered doing it.”

“What if something happens?” Jackie said, his voice hushed. “What if we…while we’re around you guys, what if we…hurt you? Th-there’s a possibility, right? As long as we’re around.”

Jack’s next question was soft, almost unheard through the rain. “You don’t want to hurt anyone, right?”

“No!” Jackie said, aghast. Marvin shook his head furiously.

“Then you won’t,” Jack said firmly. “I mean, sure, there will be accidents. But you can’t run from everyone because you’re afraid you might hurt them. A life like that would be so lonely. We trust you. Both of you. And you trust us. That’s what friendship’s built on, isn’t it? Trust.”

Jackie fell silent. The four of them stood firm, agreeing with Jack’s sentiment. Did they…really want them to stay?

“We don’t—” Marvin stammered. “I-I-I don’t—we’re—I’m—not…the type of person…who should have friends.”

“What?” Jack asked, shocked.

“You’re all so nice, a-and good,” Marvin said. “We…I don’t…deserve you.”

“That is ridiculous,” Schneep said. “Marvin, and Jackie, you are both some of the best friends I ever had, and the same goes for everyone else.”

“We’re not…good people,” Marvin said desperately. “If we were Anti, we can’t have been. Good people wouldn’t become…that. A-and you’re all just saying it ‘cause you’re friends.”

'Can I say something?' JJ, who’d been waiting on the sidelines, finally spoke up. 'Look, I barely know either of you. I’m new to all this. But I can tell that neither of you are bad people. Flawed, yes, but so is everyone. Chase said that Anti was mostly black magic, and he’s right. You can’t be blamed for what that entity did; its perception was warped and broken. You two are nice, you seem smart, you’re friendly to others. You are not bad people.'

“Look, I know, it’s hard to accept that you deserve nice things,” Chase jumped in. “But you do. You want to step away from friends and good things because you think you’re not worthy. It’s gonna be hard to accept that you are. But that’s why we’re here, okay? To help you accept that.”

“And to point out when you need something,” Schneep added. “Something that you think is above you. I swear, I will fight every single bad thought you have, anything that tells you that you do not deserve all the care and love that you do.”

Jack laughed a bit. “Yeah. We all will.”

Both of them were crying, and despite the falling rain, it was quite obvious. Marvin reached over and grabbed Jackie’s hand, pulling him close. “I…I’m sorry,” he choked out.

Jackie nodded. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice rasping. “I…we should…I’m going to go back. Are you going to?”

“Yeah. I’m going back, too.”

Jackie nodded again, then let go of Marvin’s hand. He took a deep breath, and walked over to join the others.

Marvin shivered. The rain was starting to feel even colder than it had before. But as he carefully stepped towards the group, it felt a bit warmer.

The moment the two were close, the remaining four huddled around them. Hands were held and tears were shed, slowly joining together in a tight group hug. Everyone kept saying how proud they were of them, how happy they were to have them back, how much they loved them. And more tears leaked out, though of a different sort of emotion altogether. They were so caught up in the moment that they didn’t even notice the rain until they headed back down the stairs.

And as the six headed home, the storm started to lessen.
.............................................................................................

“Can’t believe it’s actually snowing,” Jack muttered, brushing white flakes off his coat. “It never snows here.”

“I like it.” Jackie looked around, taking in the white blanket covering the park, then up at the sky. “Everything looks all clean. I like how the snow is all smooth.”

“Mm. Won’t be for long.” Jack pointed. The two of them were content to sit at a picnic table, sheltered from the snowfall by a nearby tree. But some ways away, two girls were running through the snow, pelting their dad with snowballs. Chase was laughing. It was good to see. Lily tripped over something in the snow, and he bent over to help her up. “There’s gonna be so many footprints when they’re done with it.”

“Aw.” Jackie frowned, pulling his coat closer. He didn’t really feel the cold, but it still affected him, so he had to make sure to dress appropriately for any weather. “Hey…when will the others be here? Do you think they forgot we were going to meet up?”

“I don’t—wait.” Jack paused. “Nope, there they are.”

A car pulled into the nearby lot, and three people stepped out. JJ recently got his license, so he and Chase had become the chauffeurs of the group. He looked around, then waved at the others, turning back to point them out to Marvin and Schneep. The three headed over, and Jack and Jackie made room for them at the table.

“It is so cold!” Schneep immediately started complaining. “There is going to be so much ice later, it is awful!”

“Oh shush, you like having cold weather so you can have warm drinks and stuff,” Marvin said.

“Okay, yes, but that is inside, where I cannot risk the chance of slipping,” Schneep griped.

JJ laughed. 'Speaking of warm drinks.' He pulled his backpack off and rifled through it, taking out a couple thermoses. 'I thought if we were going to be meeting up out here, we should keep hot.'

“Oh nice!” Jack grabbed one with his name written on the side in sharpie. “What’s this?”

'Tea and coffee. And hot chocolate for the kids,' JJ explained.

“Sweet,” Jackie said, leaning over to grab one as well.

“So, uh…” Jack cleared his throat, and turned to Marvin. “How’d it go?”

Marvin leaned back, rocking slightly on the picnic bench. “Good, I think. I mean, it’s just the first session, but…it was a good sign, I guess.”

“Hey, uh, Marv?” Jackie said. “I…forgot the address.”

“Oh. Right. It’s uh…Hang on a moment.” Marvin pulled out his phone, opening up the notes. “547 Norwich, on the east side. You can’t miss it, there’s a big sign with ‘Riverwood Counseling” on the front. You’re, uh…going soon?”

“Next week.” Jackie copied the address into his own phone. “‘M a bit nervous,” he mumbled.

“Nothing to be afraid of,” Schneep said encouragingly. “They are very good, very reputable. And if things are not working, they will transfer you to someone new without any charge.”

Jackie smiled a bit. “Well, I guess if you guys trust them.”

At that moment, Chase and the girls got tired of their snowball fight and came over to the table. “Hi!” Lily said brightly. “Ooooh, what’s that?”

“It’s a thermos,” Moira explained to her sister. “They’re for hot things like soup. And hot chocolate.”

“Well, would you look at that? There are two with your names on them,” Chase said brightly. “Here you go. JJ, you brought them, right?”

JJ nodded. 'Cocoa for them. And this one has some tea for you.'

“Oh sweet! Thanks, Jays.”

It had been a few months, and the group had decided to meet up for some casual catching up. Chase had finally gotten a new house, just a rental but he hoped to find one for himself eventually. Schneep had started taking online classes. Since he couldn’t exactly continue his surgeon profession he decided to go back and find something else to do. He was particularly interested in physics, and he was convinced that it could explain how his new magic worked. Jack’s apartment was almost entirely repaired, and the Internet had finally settled down about his disappearance. JJ’s shop was picking up business again.

And Marvin and Jackie? Well, they’d found themselves a new place. A small townhouse, just big enough for both of them, part of a row of houses with connected walls. At first, they’d debated whether or not to continue living together or to live separately, but eventually decided on the former. After all, they still had problems, with memory and movement, and more, and decided it would be easier to live with someone who could help out. They were still working on finding new jobs. Jackie wanted something active, and Marvin wanted something quiet. The search was slow going, but they were making do. Jackie had been particularly bored at night, but didn’t want to go out and try being a vigilante again. Maybe eventually. Marvin was still relearning how to use his magic, and was teaching Jackie how to, as well, given Jackie’s new abilities.

The group had been talking for about half an hour when suddenly Moira tugged on the edge of Chase’s coat. “Dad? Who’s that? She’s been staring at us.”

Chase looked over towards where Moira was pointing, and his eyes widened. “Guys. Look who it is,” he said quietly.

The others all glanced in the same direction. “Shi—oh no,” Jack muttered. “It’s that—that magician. Delyth.”

JJ sighed. 'Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time.'

“Who?” Marvin asked.

“She’s with the, uh, the magic police,” Jack explained.

“Oh fu—” Marvin quickly ducked his head, deliberately not looking over to where Delyth was standing, casually leaning against a tree.

“Should we talk to her?” Chase asked.

“I think so,” Schneep said. He paused, then stood up. “I will.”

“Wait, no, she’s coming over here!” Jackie gasped.

There was a sudden flurry of activity as the group tried to act casually, pretending they hadn’t seen her and weren’t keeping an eye on her as she walked over. Until eventually, they couldn’t pretend any longer.

Delyth stopped next to the table. “So…it is you,” she said slowly. “You know, you gave us one hell of a scare when you disappeared.”

“Hey, language,” Chase said, indicating the two small girls sitting next to him.

“Oh. Sorry.” Delyth paused. “We were looking for you, but it was like you all just…disappeared. Correct me if I’m wrong, but was a certain other magician helping with that?” Nobody answered. They weren’t about to throw Yvonne under the bus. Delyth shook her head. “Never should’ve given her access to ABIM systems,” she muttered.

“Did you want something?” Schneep asked.

“Hmm…well, no, not really.” Delyth looked them over, making eye contact with each. “You know, the ABIM is pretty busy. If a case hasn’t been active for two months, it’s deemed low priority, provided there’s no significant danger. If four months pass, we have to permanently shelve it, until there’s evidence for it becoming active again. Marked as unsolved, and people tend to forget about it.” She looked down at her watch. “Well, I have to go. It’s been nice seeing you all again. It’s been, what, five months?” After a moment, she nodded towards Jackie and Marvin. “Glad to see it all worked out. Goodbye.”

The group remained mostly silent as she left, though Jack muttered a quiet “goodbye” and JJ waved as Delyth disappeared into a car in the parking lot and drove away. Then, once she was gone, Chase turned to the others. “What was that about?”

'I think that was her saying the magicians won’t bother us,' JJ signed, a bit in awe.

“Oh thank god,” Marvin breathed. “I don’t want to be on their bad side anymore. No more magic police, thank you very much.”

“She could have been a bit more direct with it, though,” Jackie added.

Jack just laughed. “Wow. So, I guess that’s the last we’ll see of her, then?”

“Provided nothing else strange happens to us,” Schneep pointed out.

“Well, I hope it doesn’t. I’ve had enough strangeness for my entire life.”

'So…is it over, then?' JJ asked slowly.

“Dad, what was that about?” Lily asked. “Who was that? What did she mean?” Moira nodded, agreeing with all the questions.

“Oh, it’s a bit complicated.” Chase pulled his daughter close and gave her a quick hug. “But it’s nothing to worry about anymore. I’ll explain when you’re older.”

“I guess it’s over,” Jackie repeated.

“Yeah…guess so,” Jack agreed.

Time went on, as it always does. The group ended their get-together shortly after, parting ways for a short while. After a few more months, the strange disappearances faded into local legend, with people speculating what happened but nobody getting close to the truth that was only known to a small group of six friends. Magic remained, side effects lingered, but they settled back into their place, becoming the new normal.

Still, none of them forgot what happened to them for those three years. It would be hard not to. They had scars to prove it, and some memories would never fade. But the past was the past. And together, they moved on, looking forward to the future.

Part Nine of the Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of an ongoing fic series I started in April 2019. Marvin feels that someone is watching him, and it probably has something to do with the fact that he's starting to remember things. Luckily, others are noticing he's acting a bit odd.]
.............................................................................................

Anti didn’t get a lot of visitors. Even the people he considered friends didn’t stop by that often, and when they did, they usually called or texted to let him know. Which is why, when his doorbell rang on Saturday morning, he elected to ignore it and continue editing the video for tomorrow.

And then it rang again. And again. And again. And by that point Will had knocked on the door to his recording room and said “Dad, I think someone’s at the door” and Anti realized that this person wasn’t going to go away. He sighed, saved the project, and stood up. Before he went to answer the door, he grabbed a switchblade from the nearest shelf and shoved it in his pocket. Just in case. You never could tell with people, sometimes.

Luckily, he opened the front door to a familiar face. Though an unexpected one. He blinked. “Marvin, what’re you doing here?”

“Well, nice t’see you too,” Marvin commented. “Fancy seein’ you here.”

“This is my apartment.”

“I know. T’at was a joke.”

“What are you doing here?” Anti repeated.

Marvin sighed, shifting position. “T’is may sound odd.”

“Just say it, dude.”

“I need a knife.”

Well, that was certainly unexpected. Anti leaned against the doorway. “Um. Why? If you’re gonna go mug someone, I don’t want my knife at the scene of the crime.”

“I’m not goin’ t’mug someone,” Marvin said, rolling his eyes. “I jus’…need to borrow one. For some time.”

Anti narrowed his eyes. Marvin was being weirdly evasive about this. But he wasn’t the type of person to go out and stab someone, so the evasion probably wasn’t one of suspicion. Maybe the best course of action would be to let him in, and then try to get the reasoning out of him. “Alright, fine. Come on in.” Anti leaned back and stepped aside, letting Marvin come into the apartment.

“Hi Mr. Marvin,” Will said, sitting at the coffee table with his DS.

“Hello, William.” Marvin smiled. “How’re you?”

“Good. It’s the weekend!” Will looked up briefly. “I think Dad wants to hurry with whatever you’re doing.”

Anti, standing next to the door to his recording room with his hand on the knob, coughed awkwardly. “Don’t call me out like this, kid,” he laughed.

“Well, it’s true,” Will said.

“I’d hate t’keep you from what’s it you were doing,” Marvin said. “We can hurry.”

“Thanks,” Anti said. “C’mon, follow me.”

Anti’s recording room had a lot of stuff on the shelves mounted on the walls, but there was one shelf in particular that he was interested in. It was surrounded by a glass case that he kept locked. This was his knife shelf. He kept it locked because one could never be too sure, having knives and a nine-year-old kid in the same apartment. “Here we are,” Anti muttered, unlocking the case.

Marvin stared at the shelf. “I…was not expectin’ t’at. Why d’you have so many?”

Anti shrugged. “Knives are cool. And you never know what sort of situation will arise. What’re you looking for? I can help you figure out which one you want.”

“Ah…” Marvin looked a little lost. “I don’ know…”

Well, this might take a while then. Anti sighed quietly, picking up one of the knives at random. “Look, the shape of the knife determines its purpose. This one’s a needle-point blade, which means it’s good for fighting, particularly stabbing. A lot of stiletto blades have a form like this.” He picked up a different one. “Or there’s a clip-point, which is good for cutting, but not so much for piercing, unless you sharpen the other side. It depends what you need the knife for.”

“You know quite a lot about t’is, don’ you?” Marvin whistled.

“I do.” Anti wasn’t able to keep a tinge of pride out of his voice. “Which is why I’ll be able to get you the best knife you need, but I need to know what you want it for.”

“Well, I…” Marvin took a step backwards. “I’m not quite…sure. I was just t’inkin’ t’at…I needed somet’ing for defense.”

Anti set down the knife. “Wait. You mean, like, to keep?”

“Not necessar—”

“No, if you want a knife for self-defense, you need your own,” Anti insisted. “Because you’ll need to carry it on you.”

Marvin squirmed a bit. “I didn’—didn’ mean t’at I wanted to keep one of yours for meself. I didn’…I suppose I didn’ t’ink I would need…I t’ought I could just borrow one of yours.”

“Yeah, well.” Anti took his phone out of his pocket and opened up his browser. “You will. I know a couple websites, I can get you something.”

“You don’ have t’do t’at,” Marvin muttered. “Jus’ forget everyt’in’.”

“Shut up, I’m doing this. I can get you a simple style, the sort of thing for beginners.” Anti scrolled through the options on his phone. “Some of them have designs or colors, you want anything like that?”

“Anti, if you’re so insistent, you can give me the website name and I’ll do it on my own,” Marvin said. “I have my own money, wouldn’ want you t’spend yours.”

“Yeah, but you’re an old man who doesn’t know how to navigate anything online,” Anti joked. “Trust me, I can spare it. Why the sudden interest in defense, anyway? You’ve been here for, what, at least a year and a half now. Seems kind of out of the blue.”

“…oh.” Marvin hesitated, looking reluctant. “Well…since Jackie…y’know, disappeared—”

Anti squeezed his phone so tightly he could’ve sworn the case cracked. “Oh.”

Marvin was quiet for a while, feeling the shift in the atmosphere. “I jus’ t’ought it would be a good idea,” he finally mumbled.

“It is,” Anti said shortly. All of a sudden, he wanted Marvin out of his apartment even more than he did earlier. “I’ll get you something, send it to you and Jackson’s house.”

Marvin nodded. “T’ank you.”

“Welcome. Now, if that’ll be all—”

“I-I’ll be goin’,” Marvin said. “See myself out.”

“Yeah, go on.”

Without another word, Marvin turned and strolled out of the room, and then the apartment, saying nothing more than a brief goodbye. Anti sighed deeply. He put all the knives back in their places on the shelf, locking the case. He probably should’ve returned to editing, but…he suddenly didn’t feel like it. With nothing else to do, he left the recording room and ended up in the living room again, sitting down on the sofa.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Anti looked over at Will, who was staring at them. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“You’re rubbing your neck,” Will pointed out. “You do that when you’re upset.”

Anti froze, and lowered his hand, just then realizing that he had, indeed, been rubbing his throat. “You’re an observant kid, you know that, Will?”

“Yeah,” Will nodded solemnly. “So what’s wrong?”

“…it’s nothing,” Anti said, turning his head to stare out the window. “Nothing that you need to worry about, anyway.”

Will set his DS down on the coffee table. “Is this about Uncle Jackie?”

“No,” Anti lied.

“You miss him, huh Dad?”

Anti didn’t say anything.

“I think I get it,” Will said, kicking his feet. “I’d miss Taylor if he went away.”

“You would,” Anti agreed. “I know that.”

“So that’s how you’re doing.” Will paused. “Dad, aren’t you always saying it’s good to talk about your problems?”

“It is,” Anti said, turning away from the window. “And you know I’d listen if you wanted to talk about your problems. But this is different. This is grown-up stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I understand a lot,” Will said defensively. “Like, I know that you say Uncle Jackie saved your life, and that’s why you’re friends with him. And that people sometimes don’t talk a lot when they get upset, and that’s what you’re doing.”

Anti smiled a bit. “Yeah, you got those parts right. But it’s a little more complicated than just that. Will, I don’t mean to say that you’re not smart for not understanding. You just haven’t been around as long, so you haven’t seen as much as I have. It’s like you and Michelle. You’ve been in second year, but she hasn’t, so you know a little bit more. You get that?”

Will nodded, slowly. “Then maybe you should talk to people who’ve been around as long as you.”

“Maybe,” Anti admitted. Silence fell for a moment. “Hey, don’t you have homework?”

Will squirmed. “I have all day, Dad. And Sunday!”

“If you get it done early, then you won’t have to worry about it!”

“I know what I’m doing!”

Anti laughed. “If you insist, bud.”
.............................................................................................

Two months.

That was how long Jackie had been gone.

And that was how long Marvin had been having nightmares for.

He wasn’t exactly sure they were nightmares, per se. Nightmares implied dreaming, which implied that nothing in them was actually real or had actually happened. But Marvin was dead sure that these nightmares were more than just figments of his sleeping brain’s imagination.

It started maybe three days after Jackie had been taken. Marvin went to bed as usual, and he dreamed that he was trapped in a tiny room. No more than a closet, really, completely dark and with a door that wouldn’t open when he pulled and pushed on it. His vision wavered, and the ground swayed beneath his feet. The walls felt like they were getting closer, sucking the air out of his lungs. He wasn’t sure how long he was stuck in the darkness, but eventually the door opened, and he fell out, landing hard on the floor outside. He felt dizzy, and his thoughts wouldn’t stay in one direction. But when something grabbed his arm, he had the presence of mind to shout and try to pull away. That movement resulted in a long line of pain running down his forearm, pain so real that it woke him up.

And getting ready that morning, he screamed when he saw a long, thin scar along his left forearm, in the exact spot he’d been cut in the dream.

Jameson had heard him, of course, and come running, barging into the bathroom where he was. “Marvin?! What happened?! Are you hurt?!”

Marvin could only shake his head, and hold out his arm for Jameson to see. “When was t’is? H-how did it happen?!”

“I…Marvin?” Jameson had been confused. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?!”

“Because you’ve had that longer than I’ve known you,” Jameson said patiently. “I remember seeing it that first night you stayed over.”

Marvin stared at him, then looked back down at the scar. “T'en…how come I’m only noticing it now?” He whispered.

Jameson could only shake his head.

And the nightmares—the memories—only got worse from there. Marvin didn’t know what to do about them. Jameson had made every member of the group a small charm meant to ward off any…mental intrusions during sleep, but his didn’t seem to be working. He wasn’t about to go bother JJ about it; the magician was busy with an approaching show, and when he wasn’t practicing for that, he was trying to learn a scrying spell to find Jackie. He had a lot on his plate, and Marvin didn’t want to add to that.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was approaching. He found he was constantly looking over his shoulder, tensing at every little creek in the house. He’d recently found a job, at a nice little bookstore that he could take the bus to, and on his way there and back every day, he found his head was on a swivel, looking around for anything that could be causing this terrible feeling. That was why he’d made the impulsive decision to go over to Anti’s apartment and ask for a knife. So that when the terrible something arrived, he’d be at least a little prepared.

Coming back from that little outing in the morning, Marvin found the house quiet. He wasn’t sure what time JJ’s rehearsal started. Maybe he’d left already. Marvin sighed, and went into the living room. Immediately, Mr. Fluffington the cat appeared, winding around his ankles. “Hello, Mister,” Marvin said, bending over to pet the fluff. “How’re you today?”

Mr. Fluffington looked up at him with big green eyes, and mewed exactly once.

“T’at’s good to hear. Tell me if y’need anyt’ing.” Marvin carefully untangled his legs from the wandering kitty and walked over to his usual armchair, sitting down. He’d left a book on the nearby table last night, and was delighted to see that it hadn’t been moved at all. Jameson was trying to get him into more modern books, and it was working, Marvin was interested in many of these stories. Maybe he could finish this one today! There was apparently a sequel.

But about ten minutes later, a strange hissing sound interrupted his reading. Marvin looked up. Mr. Fluffington was standing on the windowsill, staring outside. The fur on his tail was standing up, his ears flat against his head. As Marvin watched, the cat hissed again, and briefly batted at the glass of the window with his front paw.

“What’s wrong?” Marvin marked the place in his book and stood up, walking over to the window. “Somet’ing bothering you?”

He looked through the glass to the outside. The street was empty, so there was nothing to be freaking Mr. Fluffington out. Yet, here he was. Looking…maybe scared, maybe angry? Marvin couldn’t quite remember what these signs meant. He searched the outside, scanning the street with his eyes.

And then he saw someone standing on the sidewalk across the house. Someone wearing all gray and smiling—

Marvin shrieked, scrambling backwards. He tripped over a wrinkle in the rug and landed hard on his backside. Even after falling, he kept backing up until he hit the opposite wall. “What the hell? What the hell?!” Marvin shook his head, holding his cane out in front of him like it was some kind of shield. “Leave me alone! Haven’ you done enough?!”

There was a small mrow? next to his elbow. Marvin looked down to see Fluffington nearby. The cat butted his head against Marvin’s arm.

Marvin stared at him for a while longer, then scooped Fluffington up in his arms and managed to stand up. Nope. Leave his cat out of this, thank you very much. “C’mon, we’re goin’ t’stay in my room today,” Marvin muttered. He grabbed the book off the nearby table as well. And without turning his back to the window once, he left the living room.
.............................................................................................

A little under a week later, Anti received a phone call. That was just as unusual as having someone knock on his apartment door, but at least this one came with caller ID so he could see who it was. Didn’t make it any less weird, though, especially when he saw who it was. “Why’re you calling me?” He said immediately upon picking up the call. “I thought you got phone anxiety and couldn’t talk on the phone.”

“Charming way to start a conversation,” JJ muttered. “And no, I don’t have phone anxiety. Going silent when talking to people I don’t know is entirely different. Anyway, are you busy?”

Anti paused. “That depends on what you’re about to say.” He wasn’t, really. It was Friday so Will was at school, and he hadn’t started recording yet.

“This may sound odd, but…do you mind checking on Marvin for me?”

“That does sound odd,” Anti said flatly. “First, where are you? Second, why me? Third, Marvin is a grown man, why are you asking me to check on him? Is he sick again?”

“I’m at a rehearsal,” JJ explained. “I wanted to cancel, but Darla wouldn’t let me. Said we’re getting too close to the show to skip rehearsals now. And I need you to check on him because…well, he’s not sick. At least, I don’t think so. But he’s been acting…strange.”

“Hmm. How so?”

“Well, I don’t think he’s been sleeping well,” Jameson confided. “Sometimes, if I stay up late, I can…hear him. And he hasn’t left his room unless he needs to for work. He even takes his food in there, which is something he DEFINITELY doesn’t do. I think he’s worried about something, but won’t tell me. So maybe you could check on him? See if he’s…I don’t know, just alright?”

“Okay, back to my second question, then,” Anti said flatly. “Why me?”

“Well, normally I’d ask Jac—” Jameson cut off. Then when he spoke again, it was a bit slower, more cautious. “I tried calling Henrik, but he’s not picking up. Not responding to texts either. So it has to be you.”

Anti was silent for a while. If Marvin was worried about something, maybe that had to do with his knife-themed visit last week? Maybe it was a bigger problem than he’d let on. “Alright, fine, I can check on him,” he finally said.

JJ exhaled a breath of relief. “Thanks, Anti.”

“I’m going to bill you for my bus fare, Jackson.”

“That’s fine, just make sure everything’s okay.”

Anti hung up. Guess it was time to travel across town. Before he left, he grabbed one of his knives, and, after a little bit of hesitation, his gun as well. Just in case.

Travelling by bus, it was a little over thirty minutes to get from Anti’s apartment to Marvin and JJ’s house. Anti arrived at a little past midday, and found the door locked. Made sense, but he couldn’t exactly check on someone inside if he was stuck outside. Anti looked around to make sure the street was empty, then pulled a pair of paperclips out of his pocket, straightened them, and after a little bit of fiddling with the lock he was inside.

“Hello?” Anti slowly shut the door behind him. “Marvin? Jackson told me to check on you.” His calls received no answer. Didn’t Jameson say Marvin was staying in his room all the time? He was probably still there, then. Anti walked down the hall until he found the door to Marvin’s room, and he knocked. “Marvin? Are you in there?”

After a moment of silence, footsteps approached the door. It opened a crack, through which Anti could see a familiar turquoise-blue eye staring, wide, and then it opened all the way and Marvin was there. “Anti? What’re ye doin’ here?” he asked, surprised.

“Jackson told me to check on you,” Anti explained.

Marvin frowned. “Well, consider me checked on. T’ank you.” He started to close the door again, only to find Anti’s foot in the way. He sighed. “Really, I apprec’ate Jems’ concern, but I am fine.”

“If you’re fine, can I come inside?” Anti asked.

Marvin blinked. “Ahm…sure.” He stepped aside, letting Anti push the door open.

Marvin’s room looked the same as ever. Just a little messier than usual. Mr. Fluffington was sitting on the bed, in a loaf formation. “Please tell me you’ve been letting that cat out to eat and do his business,” Anti muttered.

“Well, of course. What am I, an animal?”

“I don’t know, if Jackson’s right and you’ve been staying in your room all day, then I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been keeping the cat in there with you all the time.”

Marvin bristled. “I haven’ been staying in my room all day. I go to work.”

“And apparently that’s about it.” Anti turned on Marvin. “Look, as someone whose job doesn’t give me an excuse to leave the house, I can tell you from experience that staying in one place all day is bad for you. It’ll bring you down.”

“I…I know,” Marvin stuttered. “But…t’is is…isn’ what you t’ink it is. Or what Jems t’inks it is, it sounds like.”

“Alright, then what is it?”

Before Marvin could answer, Mr. Fluffington hissed. Both men looked over at the cat in unison as he stood up, fur on end and ears flattened, and stared out the room’s door.

Marvin paled. He spun around and backed away from the doorway, eyes wide. “Close the door,” he said.

Anti blinked. “What?”

“Close the door!” Marvin yelled. He turned and ran until he was as far from the door as possible, gripping his cane tight. “Why are you jus’ standin’ there?! Close it!”

“Why are you freaking out so much?” Anti said, exasperated. “What, ‘cause the cat’s freaked out?”

“Jus’ close it! Do it!” Marvin closed his eyes, covering his ears with his hands. His cane clattered to the floor.

“I don’t under—alright, fine.” Anti huffed. He turned, and reached for the doorknob. And then he stopped. His eyes lost focus for a moment, staring into nothing. Thoughts got lost inside a gray fog.

And then Marvin screamed.

Anti had his knife drawn and his gun halfway out before he knew what was happening. He spun around to see Marvin had fallen to his knees, burying his face in his hands. “Hey!” Anti ran across the room to stand next to him. “What happened?”

Marvin didn’t move for a long moment. And then he raised his head. Two thin streams of blood were leaking from his eyes.

Anti stumbled back. He remembered this. It had happened before, a few months ago, and it had happened when—

His head whipped around the room, scanning the surroundings. “I know you’re there,” he growled. “Scared to show yourself?”

Silence. Anti backed up, pulling his gun from its holster. He turned his head left, and then when he turned it back to the right there was a grinning face inches from his own. Anti cried out and started to raise his gun, but then a blackened hand snapped out, fingers wrapping around his throat. The hand smacked his head against the wall once, twice, three times, then let go, letting him sink, dazed, to the floor.

He stayed there, slumped, for a while, until he heard a loud meow. Anti shook his head, looking down to see the cat next to him, resting his front paw on his leg. Fluffington butted his head against Anti’s arm, then darted towards the door and back again. “Wh…?” It was only then that Anti realized Marvin was gone. “Oh, I think the fuck not.” He climbed to his feet. His gun was missing, possibly dropped by him, but he didn’t have time to look for it. “Kitty, stay here, I’ll get him back.” And he ran.

The front door was wide open. Running outside, Anti looked around. He caught the tail end of a brown jacket—Marvin’s jacket—disappearing around the corner. He growled, slammed the door behind him, and broke into a sprint.

He turned the corner and saw Marvin right away, walking down the empty street as if in a daze. “Hey! Get back here!” Anti ran, catching up to Marvin easily. He grabbed him by the back of the jacket and spun him around, staring into wide, blank, bleeding eyes. “Marvin, snap the fuck out of it! You’re stronger than this!”

Marvin’s head slowly tilted to the side, as if trying to hear the words but finding it difficult. Laughter came from somewhere, and the sound of whispering. Marvin’s eyes suddenly narrowed. Anti saw what was coming a moment before it happened, throwing himself backwards in time to avoid the sudden swing of Marvin’s cane. When had he picked that back up? Anti shook his head. Not important. “I’m not your enemy! Put that down!”

Another swing. Anti couldn’t quite avoid this one, but managed to cover his head, so the topper of the cane hit his arms and not his temple. He backed up, eyes searching the street. “Where’s your gray friend now?” He half-yelled. “What, he’s gonna make you do all the fighting? Come on, Marvin! It’s Distorter! Remember what he is!”

The blank expression on Marvin’s face shifted a little, but then the blood streams from his eyes thickened. A small sound of pain came from his throat, and he swung again. Sloppily this time, and Anti dodged easily.

“He tried to kill Henrik!” Anti shouted. “He tried to kill me! He probably would’ve killed Jameson—your best friend Jems, remember?! Hey, remember how he kidnapped Jackie and we haven’t seen him in months?! Or how he’s probably done something awful to you that you that you’ve forgotten?!” His voice dropped to a low tone. “Or are you too afraid to remember?”

Marvin froze, eyes flickering. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed his head with one hand. His expression became pained. His breathing started speeding up, and for a moment, his eyes settled solidly on a spot next to Anti.

A message. Anti lunged to the side, towards the spot Marvin was looking at. He connected with something solid, which cried out as both of them fell to the ground.

Anti blinked, and it was like a curtain had been lifted. Distorter was there, clearly visible now that whatever mental trick he’d been using to filter out his presence had been lifted. Anti had him pinned to the ground, practically kneeling on his chest. Yet he was still smiling. “/Oh, nice job,/” he said, tone cold. “/Maybe you’re smarter than you look./”

“What,” Anti growled, “the fuck are you doing to him?”

“/Maybe he’s just remembering who his friends are./” Distorter shrugged awkwardly. “/You should be worried about what the fuck I’m gonna do to you./”

There was movement in the corner of Anti’s vision. He glanced toward it, seeing Distorter’s arm was moving, slithering across the sidewalk pavement. He was holding something—

Anti yelped, scrambling sideways, just in time to avoid—

BANG!

The sound of the gunshot left ringing in his ears. He shook his head, climbing to his feet. Distorter stood up, too. His left shoulder twisted awkwardly, arm dangling., but he showed no reaction. In his right hand, he was holding Anti’s gun. “/Hmm…that’s a bit too quick, huh?/” Distorter dropped the gun, kicking it away. “/For the likes of you, at least/.”

“What is your deal with me?!” Anti suddenly screamed, snapping completely. “I get it, Volt and Jackson got in your way, what did I do?!”

“/Well, you did shoot at me that one time,/” Distorter drawled. “/Do you even remember that?/ Eh. /It’s also the fact that you EXIST, you know?/”

“Oh really? Maybe I have a problem with you existing, too!” Anti reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife again. “Maybe you should just get out of here and leave us all alone!”

Distorter laughed. “/Not the best comebacks you can come up with, huh? /Or is it just that you don’t want to voice your actual thoughts where they can be heard?/”

Something inside Anti’s chest froze, beating ice through his veins. “Wh…what do you mean…?” He asked, voice hushed.

Distorter’s head lolled to the side. /“Oh, I’ve seen inside your head, remember? /All the sordid details of your past are there for me to see! /All those bloody thoughts are broadcast clearly, brainwaves more like radio waves./ Wow, they let you have a kid with you, when you think the things you do?/ Unbelievable! /Does he know how often his dad thinks about drawing strangers’ blood, or—/”

Anti screamed, and lunged. He was holding a knife in his hand. Next thing he knew the blade was covered in red, and Distorter was laughing, laughing, laughing, as the same red soaked through his gray shirt in five different places. Anti staggered back, breathing hard. He looked down at his hand. And the knife fell from his shaking fingers as horror dawned on him.

“/Are you trying to prove my point?!/” Distorter was bent over with laughter. “/God, I couldn’t have planned that better if I tried!/ Seriously!/ You—/”

BANG!

Distorter staggered sideways, a sixth red stain blossoming on the side of his shirt. Anti stared at it, then followed the path the bullet would’ve taken…over to Marvin, pointing the gun with trembling hands.

“I t’ink it’s a little diff’rent when it’s you,” Marvin said. He sounded a little shocked, but his voice didn’t waver. “How many of these do you t’ink you can survive?”

Distorter’s smile never wavered, but something changed in his black eyes. Somehow, he now looked distinctively…displeased. “/Marvin… /Marvin, I can’t believe you would do this./”

“Don’ sound so betrayed!” Marvin shrieked. “I remember what you did to me!”

Tension filled the moment, each pause waiting for something to happen as all three remained frozen. Then, without another word, Distorter turned on his heel and started walking away. Only a few steps later, and anyone watching had their vision fuzz over, and he was gone.

Marvin let out a breath he’d been holding. He turned to look at Anti, still standing frozen, and walked toward him. As soon as he got close enough, Marvin leaned down and picked up the blood-covered knife from where it had fallen on the ground. “Do you…want this back?” he asked.

“Don’t give that to me,” Anti whispered.

Marvin seemed a little surprised at the response, but he nodded, flipping it closed and stuffing it in his pocket. He looked a little unsure about what to do with the gun, and ended up just holding it. “We should…should go back, right?”

Anti didn’t say anything. But he nodded. And when Marvin started walking, he followed.

They arrived back at the house, finding that nothing inside had changed. Anti settled down on the sofa in the living room, staring into nothing while Marvin made sure the cat was alright. When Marvin returned, holding Mr. Fluffington in his arms, Anti was still in the same place.

Marvin sat in his usual chair, letting Fluffington loaf on his lap. “Anti…” He cleared his throat. “You seem kind of…shaken. Do you…want to talk abou’ it?”

“No.”

Marvin watched Anti for a while more. Then nodded. He set the gun and the knife on the nearest table, then picked up a book and started to read.

A few minutes passed in silence.

“It’s not my fault,” Anti suddenly blurted out.

Marvin looked up. “Of course not.”

“It happens sometimes. You know, your thoughts get kind of carried away?”

“Of course.”

“And you don’t really even want them.”

“No, not at all.”

“But sometimes you just keep thinking the same thing, just kind of going in circles and feeling the same thing and it’s like you can’t let go of it like some kind of fucking obsession and you know it’s not—” Anti broke off, taking a deep shaky breath.

Marvin nodded. “It’s not good, is it?”

“No.”

More silence.

For a while, they just stayed there. After a few minutes passed, Anti shifted position on the sofa, ending up closer to Marvin. After ten more minutes, he relaxed a bit, curling into the couch cushions. Twenty minutes after that, and Anti had closed his eyes. He wasn’t asleep. But he felt like he could’ve fallen asleep, if he wanted. The silence was as warm and soft as being wrapped in a blanket.

Marvin didn’t say anything. Sometimes you needed words. Sometimes you’d already said all you could. And that was fine. You’re allowed to take your time.

Part Thirteen of the Inverted AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a fic series I wrote from December 2018 to August 2021. Chase is determined to talk to Stacy again, despite her obvious avoidance. They finally confront each other about what's been happening, and it doesn't exactly go in Chase's favor.]
.............................................................................................

He’d given her a phone number after their last meeting, telling her to call or text him if she ever got in trouble. Stacy wondered exactly how the number worked, if it led to an actual phone or if it connected to somewhere in digital space that only Anti could access. Either way, she hadn’t expected to use it so soon. It was May 20th, three days after he last showed up. She was sitting in the front room, having just dropped off the kids at school. In one hand, she clutched the letter. In the other, she typed out a one-handed text on her phone, and sent it.

And just a few minutes later, the lights overhead flickered, and Anti appeared, leaning against the television. Where he made contact with the screen, it flickered with colors. “So what’s the problem?” he asked.

Stacy didn’t say anything, just held out the letter. Anti stared at it. Then all of a sudden she wasn’t holding it anymore, he was, and he was reading it intently. His eye got narrower the longer he read. “When did this happen?”

“That same night after you told me they could be tracking me,” she said quietly. “I—I think they were.”

Anti looked up. “Do you want to keep this?” he asked, holding up the letter.

Stacy bit her lip. “I…don’t know.” She really didn’t. Obviously, it would be better to get rid of it, to move on. But it was hard. Mostly because it had actually been a really sweet letter. For a moment, she could almost forget everything that happened between the two of them, and pretend they were back in university, having the time of their lives swept up in the early years of young love. Before the stress of working two jobs to provide for the kids, before the financial problems, before the alcohol and the fights and everything else. She knew it was impossible to go back, but she liked the reminder of happier days.

“How about…I keep it for you, and you can text me if you ever want to read it again?” Anti proposed. When Stacy nodded, the letter disappeared, falling apart into fading pixels.

She took a deep breath. “I…I’m sorry for calling you over something so little. But…I just needed to talk to someone about that. Figure out what to do.” She laughed. “And also, I-I guess it would be good for you to-to get an update on the stalking situation.”

He shook his head. “Come on. It’s fine. It’s just how humans work, talking about a situation makes it less big and scary. Though I do wonder if you don’t have other people to talk to.”

“I have some friends,” she said defensively. “A lot of them I know from work now, or they’re parents to the kids’ friends. But…I don’t th-think they could help, um, with this.” She folded her arms, shrinking into the couch cushions. “Not only would it be weird to tell them I think my ex is magically stalking me, but they don’t…they don’t even know everything that happened. Just that I’m divorced and it’s a sore subject. I think Shelly assumed there was an affair somewhere. Dunno if that’s better or worse.”

Anti shrugged. “If you’re asking me for romance advice, you’re absolutely talking to the wrong person. I don’t much care for it.”

“Do you care for any sort of connection?” Stacy asked impulsively. Then she regretted it when she saw how much his expression darkened. He looked over his shoulder at the television screen. Colors flashed wildly on it. “S-sorry,” she mumbled.

“Accepted,” he said, voice blank. “You can keep talking if you want.”

Stacy looked down, face getting red. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything for a while, and the room was silent except for a low electric whine. “It…it was a nice letter,” she finally said, voice so quiet she wasn’t sure he could hear her. “That’s why I didn’t know if I wanted to get rid of it. I th-thi-think the only thing that was…you know…was that there was a moment he said he couldn’t live without me. That might be…you know, a reference. Or it could just be trying to be romantic. Worked for both, the way it was written.” She sighed. “I don’t know when it happened for him. I know when it happened for me, but I don’t know when…when he stopped loving me. If he ever did in the first place.”

He was quiet, for long enough that she started wondering if she’d somehow upset him. Until he spoke again. “I think he still loves you,” he said. “Sure, it’s a dysfunctional kind of love, and his way of showing it is pretty fucked, but in his mind, he still loves you. I don’t know if that makes any of this better or worse, but I think it’s true.”

“…maybe,” she sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know.” She blinked rapidly. “Thanks, by the way. For just…listening. I know it must be interrupting something important, so I…I really appreciate it.”

“I can always catch up on security footage,” Anti shrugged. “And I can check the city’s cameras at the same time I listen to you.”

“You can?”

“Of course. I can be in multiple places at once.” He said this casually, as if he wasn’t currently breaking the laws of physics. “And so far, nothing’s happened. I don’t have anywhere to be until I need to try another dream contact tonight.”

Stacy hesitated before asking, “Dream…contact?”

The TV screen flickered with colors again. The overhead light switched off and on again. “Yes,” Anti said shortly. “It’s just…an attempt to jog some memories.”

She dropped the subject. Clearly, whatever this was, it was a bit too close to home for Anti. “Alright.” She turned around, looking out the window. “What…what are we gonna do about this? They’ve found me, and…I don’t want to…” She couldn’t find the words.

Anti was quiet, thinking. “I already gave you the phone number. That was what I planned to do about this. I could go out and confront him, but it could go badly for you if word got back to the others that I’m helping you out. If you want, I could put some cameras around your house. Or even inside.”

“Maybe outside,” she said. She briefly wondered where, exactly, he got the cameras, but if he could hack bank accounts just by thinking, she figured he didn’t have any problem with breaking in to more…material places. “Just around. So you can keep a closer eye on things. Doesn’t the neighborhood have cameras by itself?”

“A few, but this is one of the safer areas so there’s some blind spots that someone could easily use to sneak around undetected.”

Well, that was worrying. “Yeah, I think just around the house cameras would be helpful,” she said, standing up. “While you do that I-I’m going to go to the shop, get some food. Is that okay?”

“Hey, it’s your house. Your groceries. I don’t care.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll…I’ll see you later, then.”
.............................................................................................

The grocery run to the shop should’ve been easy. But as soon as she left the house, Stacy once again felt like she was being watched. She assumed that this feeling was the result of being tracked, and since she couldn’t do much about that, she forced herself to ignore it. It faded as soon as she got to the grocery store. But she didn’t quite relax.

And it turned out she was right not to.

She was in the cereal aisle, picking up her son’s favorite sugary excuse for breakfast food. She glanced to the side for a mere moment, and saw a head duck away at the end of the aisle. It looked like someone had been peering down the stacks towards her. And she knew who it was. She’d recognize that hat anywhere.

For a moment, she stared, her feet frozen to the ground. She forced herself to take deep, even breaths. She knew it was happening. But that didn’t stop the squirmy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her first instinct was to turn and run, but…maybe it was getting rid of the letter, maybe it was her brief conversation with Anti, it didn’t matter which. All that matters was that she realized she had a chance, right here, right now, to put a stop to this. She took a deep breath, then pushed her cart down the aisle toward the spot where she’d seen him. He wasn’t at the end, but when she turned into the next aisle, she spotted him. “Hello, Chase.”

He looked as shocked to see her as she’d been to see him. Maybe he hadn’t been expecting her to confront him. She hadn’t even been expecting that. “H-hi, Stacy,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” she asked tiredly.

“Oh, uh, y’know, just getting groceries. It’s a weekly chore in—in the house.”

“You don’t have a cart,” she pointed out.

“I left it back at the beginning of the aisle. It gets heavy.”

“Chase. No more excuses.”

His mouth opened, perhaps to deliver a pre-prepared denial, but then it snapped close again. “I…wanted to see you.”

“You’ve been wanting to see me for a while, then, haven’t you?” Stacy said, staring. “Chase, I’m not blind. I know you’ve been following me.”

“I…yeah.” He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “I know it’s creepy, but I just —I needed to make sure you were…okay. I needed to see you.”

“Have you been following the kids too?” she asked.

Chase shook his head. “No, I didn’t—they’re always around someone who would freak out. And, well, a grown man hanging around the elementary school would seem a little suspicious.” He paused. “Are they…doing okay? Physically and, like, mentally? Do they…miss me?”

They did. They’d been quieter ever since the separation. “They’re fine,” Stacy said simply. “Healthy, in both ways. And emotionally too, as far as I’m aware.”

“That’s good.” He took a deep breath. “Stacy—”

“No.” She was surprised at how firm her voice was. “Chase, I don’t want to listen to you. Last time I did, you managed to convince me to stay, and another year passed with no change at all. And if you’re—if you’re fucking stalking me instead of showing up at my house like a normal person would, I think that’s a sign that everything’s still the same.” Her voice softened a little. “It’s better this way, Chase. I can’t—can’t help you the way you think I can. I can’t make everything alright just by being there and telling you it’s going to be okay. And the kids are in a better environment now, one where we don’t have to worry about them overhearing raised voices or finding empty bottles. So just…just leave, okay? Find a better way.”

Chase’s eyes widened. His hands, now out of his pockets, were shaking. “No, no you can’t—Stacy, you can’t just—everything was better when we were together. We were all happy. A family.”

“At first, yeah. But things change. You changed. And I stopped being happy the way you were.” Stacy sighed. “Let’s just leave it here, please?”

He was speechless, wide-eyed. “You can’t…just leave again. At least listen to me.”

“I can’t, Chase,” she said softly. “Every time I listen to you, you convince me to stick with these…these bad habits.” She took a few steps back. “I’m…going to check out now. Don’t follow me.”

“Stacy?” He reached out, but then froze, hand dropping back to his side. “I…I love you.”

Stacy stared at him, her eyes pools of sadness. “I loved the person you were.” And with that, she turned and left. Something…something had changed. She breathed more easily now. There was still a tight knot inside her, one she’d have to work to unravel, but…it had loosened, just enough. She didn’t look behind her as she walked away.
.............................................................................................

Chase remained rooted to the ground. She…she hadn’t even heard him out. He hadn’t even been ready to talk to her yet, despite all this time trying to find the words to say. He could feel the hot tears coming, so he squeezed his eyes shut until they went away. Why…why did everyone leave? Well, it might have something to do with him. Him and the hot pile of garbage that was his personality. But she…she stayed before. What changed? Why couldn’t everything go back to the way it was before? He needed this. He needed it to be like that.

An inkling of an idea dripped down into his mind. For a moment, he recoiled. But then, thinking about it further…he’d already done it, hadn’t he?

Chase pulled out his phone, opening up his messages. He typed out a simple text: "Hey do you remember that idea you had a while ago?"

The reply was almost instantaneous. "Of course I do! Did you something happen to change your mind?"

"I guess you could say that. Not exactly tho. Im still sure i can do it, i just need her to sit down and listen to me. But shes not gonna do it shes gonna keep walking away. She just needs to stop doing that."

"I see your problem. I’m sure I can get her to come down for a visit. You can have your chance to convince her, and if that fails, well. My original offer still stands."

"No. This is different. I can do it on my own."

"If you insist, Chase. I’ll swing by tonight, if that works for you."

"Yeah, thats fine."

Chase took a deep breath. He was really going to go through with this, wasn’t he? God, this was like something you heard on the news, not something you ever thought about doing.

But…he’d already done worse, hadn’t he? What was one more sin, as long as it was in the name of love? And if that didn’t excuse it…well, he’d long ago accepted that he was the villain.