Part Fourteen of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. Jackie and Marvin continue to act strange, putting the others on edge. And soon, it's revealed why.]
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A week passed before Jack finally got up the nerve to talk to JJ again. Well at least, talk to him about more serious matters. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about it. Maybe he’d just been busy. After all, things had been different ever since Marvin and Jackie…returned. The apartment felt crowded with six people inside its walls.
Jack woke up that morning, got ready, and immediately started down the hall. Or, not immediately. He had to be quiet, and thus careful. With the lack of sleeping areas in the apartment, Schneep had recently started crashing in Jack’s room. And Schneep didn’t fall asleep easily anymore, so Jack was careful not to disturb him when he was.
He followed the sound of a voice talking down the hall to the living room, peeking his head inside. Everyone else was in here. JJ was sitting in the armchair, reading over one of the magic books. Chase was on the couch, with Jackie on his left and Marvin on his right. He was scrolling through his phone and talking animatedly. “And this is you two when you first moved into your apartment—oh sorry, ‘flat’ as you called it. Ha…you kept correcting me. See, there are all the boxes?” As usual, neither Marvin nor Jackie responded much to hearing this. It was…still kind of creepy, the way they were just staring.
Jack cleared his throat, and Chase looked up at him. “Hey, bro. Good morning, how you doing?”
“Good, I guess.” Jack shrugged. “Um…I wanted to talk to JJ.”
Jameson looked up at that. Catching sight of Jack’s expression, his eyes widened.
“Oh, yeah, sure. Uh, sorry about this.” Chase put his phone in his hoodie pocket. “I just figured that…you know, maybe it was like Gravity Falls or something and I had to jog their memories.”
“Good idea. How’s it going?”
“Uh…” Chase pursed his lips. “Well, I mean…y’know what, maybe it would be better if I worked with one of them at a time. We can give you the room?”
“If you want, yeah.”
“Great.” Chase stood up. “C’mon, bro.” He grabbed Jackie by the hand, pulling him upright as well. And with only a little tugging, he guided him out of the room and into the kitchen.
Jack sat down on the couch, in the now-vacated spot. Jameson sat up straight and closed his book. What is it? he asked.
“Well, uh…” Jack cleared his throat again. “So…you’re the magic man, right?”
'Apart from him, yes.' JJ indicated Marvin, who was still sitting nearby, expression as blank as ever.
“Well…yeah, but he’s not…” Jack trailed off. He waved his hand in front of Marvin’s eyes, getting nothing. “You both have magic, though, right?”
'Yes, but there is a difference,' JJ explained. 'From what you’ve said about him, Marvin was born with magic. I’m still unsure where mine came from, but I certainly didn’t have it my whole life.'
Jack nodded. “I see.” He shifted in his seat. “So my point is…if something weird’s been going on, would you be able to…I don’t know, explain it?”
JJ leaned forward. 'I could try. What “something weird”?'
“Okay. So.” Jack exhaled. “Something’s been going on with me for…a while now. Since we got Chase back, and that’s a couple months ago now, isn’t it?”
JJ said nothing, just gestured for him to continue.
“This is gonna sound completely insane, but…sometimes I see things,” Jack finally said. “That aren’t there, I mean. And that I’ve never seen before, and that nobody else sees.” There. It was out, after all this time.
JJ looked intrigued, and also slightly worried. 'What kind of things?'
“Well, they’re…lights. Inside of people. I can only see them when I close my left eye, but they’re there. All different colors, too.” As if demonstrating, Jack closed his eye, looking downward, where he could now see a ball of green light glowing inside his chest. After a brief moment, he looked up with both eyes again. “Sometimes they’re different. Chase’s has these weird…I don’t know, groove things, like impressions. And yours has tiny circles around it, like sparks, if sparks were donut shaped.”
'That’s…unusual.' JJ’s hands stilled as he thought through his next words. 'You don’t have any idea what it could be?'
“I mean, kinda.” Jack shifted again. “I think…maybe it’s something to do with people’s souls?”
JJ seemed to sharpen. 'You think you’re seeing souls? That’s impossible.'
“It is?”
'Completely!' JJ emphasized. 'I’ve never heard of anyone with magic, learned or born with, that can see souls with the naked eye.' He paused. 'Wait. Didn’t you say that it was only in your right eye?'
“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “Why, what’s that got to do with anything?”
JJ leaned back again. He looked…completely awestruck. Disbelieving.
“What? What is it?” Jack asked insistently.
'Jack…' JJ signed slowly. 'You do realize…that’s not YOUR eye, right?'
“What?!” Jack’s hand flew to his face, feeling his right eye under the lid. “How can it not be mine?!”
'Because Anti took it, remember?' JJ signed gently. 'It’s not the one you’ve always had. I had to…replace it.'
It took a moment for Jack to process the entire statement, his train of thought momentarily hijacked by memories of October before he pushed it back on track. “So…you’re saying it’s your freaky magic that’s the reason I can see shit like this now? How’d you do that?!”
'I don’t know!' JJ threw his hands in the air. 'I just remember wanting you to see again!'
“Well, I can see, alright. I can see a whole bunch that’s apparently new to the whole magical world!” Jack ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus…and you have no idea what happened?”
JJ shook his head. 'Maybe the magic took the command to “see” a bit farther than intended?'
“Maybe.” Jack leaned back into the couch cushions. “Holy shit, dude, how do you not know how your magic works? Doesn’t it, like, belong to you?”
JJ hesitated, then shrugged uncertainly. 'I don’t believe it’s normal magic. All of us are diving into realms of the strange that are rarely explored, if at all.' He paused. 'Like, for example. Did you know Henrik has magic, too?'
Jack stared blankly at JJ for a solid thirty seconds. “I’m sorry, what?!” That statement just—just didn’t compute. Schneep was the logical mind, the one who remained stubbornly skeptical for the longest time. How could he have magic?
'I don’t think he realizes, 'JJ said. 'But…last week. The two of us were stuck in a room in Anti’s lair, the door locked. And then he stepped toward it and it just…it was like the world was sliced up and put back together in a different way. And suddenly we were on the other side.'
“And you saw this?!” Jack said incredulously. “And he didn’t?! I mean, of course he didn’t see it, but he didn’t realize? And you haven’t told him?!”
JJ ducked his head. 'Well…it’s a fairly long story to tell via Morse code.'
Ah. “Well, tell him anyway! No matter how long it takes, he should probably know about that.” Jack sighed. “How on earth did he get magic?”
'I’m unsure,' JJ admitted. 'Maybe something similar happened to him as to what happened to me.'
“But you don’t know what caused that, either.”
'No, I don’t.' For a moment, the two of them sat in silence. And then JJ continued. 'But back to your main point, why are you telling me about your ability now? Did you just think it was worth knowing?'
“I mean, yeah, but also…” Jack pursed his lips. He glanced to his side, where Marvin was sitting. The whole conversation hadn’t elicited as much as a glance from him. “We were talking…last week, about that transference spell. You said it had to do with souls?”
JJ nodded. 'Why, do you think your ability could come in handy?'
“Yeah, in figuring out what happened,” Jack finished. “You know what I saw when I activated this soul vision while looking at…him? I saw that green string, the one we now have in the kitchen. And it was holding a…a bunch of red and blue…light…shards. Like, stitching them together.” That sounded strange, but it was the most accurate way he could think to describe it. “I was wondering if…I-I don’t know. That would be helpful to know.”
'It would, JJ said,' intrigued. 'Odd…if you see most souls as lights, I’m guessing that’s a most unusual spell. Perhaps the side effect of the transference?'
“Maybe.” Jack squirmed in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. He stood up. “Well…good talk.”
JJ looked mildly surprised, but quickly hid it. 'Yes, it was. If you figure anything else out about your vision, or see anything unusual, could you tell me?'
“I will,” Jack promised. “I’m…I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” And without another word, he left.
He wasn’t sure what made him leave. Just that…he didn’t like talking about that black magic transference spell. And he didn’t know why.
He’d considered using his soul vision to look at Jackie and Marvin, to see if something was wrong with them there. But…thinking about it filled him with an uneasy dread. Like he was afraid of what he would see.
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“Okay, you have to remember this one,” Chase said, once more scrolling through pictures on his phone. “This was that time I asked you to come over and watch the girls. Remember them? Anyway, you tried to bake chocolate chip cookies without the recipe, and it all ran together into one big, flimsy, super-chocolatey pastry thing that took up the entire pan.” Chase laughed. “Moira really liked it, but I think Lily was just glad she helped.”
Jackie, sitting next to Chase at the kitchen table, didn’t move at all. He was looking at the phone, but that was only because Chase had forcibly moved his head to look at it. His expression might as well have been carved from stone, and there was absolutely no recognition on it.
“Ooookay.” Chase sighed. This was getting nowhere and he knew it. But who knew? Maybe on the seventy billionth try there would be something. “Let’s try something else, then. Um…”
Turned out, he didn’t have to wait that long.
He turned his attention to the phone’s photo gallery for a bit, looking for something good. When he looked up again, he visibly jumped. Jackie was staring right at him. He had most definitely not been doing that before, and he was still silent, but…he must have moved to look. “H-hey, dude.” Chase gave a lopsided smile. “What’s up?”
Jackie didn’t answer. But after a few seconds, he tilted his head to the side, like he was considering something.
At that moment, Jack walked past the kitchen doorway. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Oh, uh, great, I—” Chase started to say something, but Jack walked right past without waiting for an answer. “Oh. Okay, you do that then.”
Something grabbed his wrist.
Chase yelped, instinctively trying to pull away but finding the grip too tight. He looked down to see Jackie’s hand wrapped around wrist, right on top of his wristband. Looking back up, he saw that Jackie’s expression hadn’t changed at all. He swallowed, suddenly on edge. “Hey, Jackie. So, uh, a lot of things have changed since you last saw me—before this last week, I mean. One being that I would prefer if you didn’t touch me. And especially—” He looked back down, starting to pry at Jackie’s fingers gripping his wrist. “—ESPECIALLY not there.”
Jackie didn’t react as Chase pried away his fingers and pushed his hand away. He just kept…staring at Chase. There was…something in his eyes. Which would’ve been great, if that something wasn’t making shivers crawl along Chase’s skin. It felt like…like HIM. But that was impossible. This was Jackie, who was still his friend, even if so much had happened to the both of them.
Then something crashed in the living room, shattering the moment.
“What the…?” Chase stood up, crossing into the hall and leaving Jackie behind. He entered the living room. “Did something fall in—” And then he froze. And screamed.
The standing lamp had fallen over, causing the crash, but that wasn’t what concerned him. No, it was JJ. He was lying on the ground, on his back, and Marvin…Marvin was kneeling on his chest, hands wrapped around his throat and clearly squeezing. Jameson was thrashing as much as he was able, and clawing at the hands around his neck.
Chase leapt into action. “Marvin, no!” He shouted, lunging towards the pair and trying to pull Marvin’s arms away. But Marvin’s grip was furiously tight, a contrast to the still blank expression on his face. But…there was something in his eyes that Chase wasn’t sure he wanted to identify.
“What’s going—holy fuck!” Suddenly Jack was by Chase’s side, helping to pull Marvin away. Between their efforts, they finally managed to separate the two others. Jameson immediately scrambled away from Marvin, pressing his back against the nearest wall and breathing heavily.
Jack wrapped his arms around Marvin, holding him back. Though it seemed that, once Marvin was pulled away, he’d lost all interest in strangling Jameson. Jack looked at Chase. “What happened? I left for two seconds!”
Chase shook his head, baffled. “I don’t know. I heard a crash, and went to check it out, and they were like this!” He looked at Jameson. “Jays, what happened?”
Jameson didn’t respond for a while, getting his breathing under control and rubbing at the sore spots on his neck. After a while, he signed shakily, 'He started staring at me the moment you left. And then he attacked me! No warning at all!'
“What?! That’s insane!” Jack looked at Marvin warily, as if searching for some sign that he was ready to attack at any minute. “Why would he do that?”
JJ only shook his head, baffled.
And in that brief moment of silence, there was a dull thud from the kitchen.
“Oh, now what?” Chase groaned. He reached down and quickly pulled JJ to his feet before going back into the kitchen to check out the sound.
He walked back in to see Jackie now standing by the counter. Chase briefly glanced down to see a plastic box had fallen to the ground, as if pushed carelessly. Then he looked back up to see Jackie holding something. It took him a moment to recognize it as the glass mason jar that was containing that strange, almost alive, green string that Jack had pulled away from Anti. And then it took him a moment more to realize Jackie was trying to unscrew the lid.
“What are you doing?!” He lunged forward, closing the distance in a short time. Jackie put up no resistance as Chase yanked the jar out of his hands. The lid was looser, but not off. And the string inside was writhing furiously and slamming against the glass with enough force to jolt the jar, even as he was holding tight to it.
JJ appeared in the kitchen doorway, leaning heavily on the doorframe. His ankle still wasn’t healed, it must’ve been difficult to even walk that far. 'What’s happening?'
“I…I don’t know.” Chase found himself taking a few steps away from Jackie, who just stood there. “He was…trying to open the jar? You know, the one with this string inside.” He held the jar up.
JJ tilted his head. 'The string wasn’t…acting like that before, was it?'
“I don’t think so.” Chase looked at Jackie. “What’s the matter with you? A week of nothing, and then you suddenly decide to…interact with this, of all things? Are you and Marvin trying to freak us out?!”
Jack poked his head in the doorway. “You guys okay?”
Chase shook his head. “I guess? I-I don’t know. Jackie was trying to get to the string.” He suddenly scowled. “And by the way, what even is this thing? Where did it come from? Why is it alive, or some shit?”
Jack paused. “Well…it could be part of Anti’s soul, or something like that?” He didn’t sound too certain.
“Oh great, and we’re keeping it in a jam jar. Don’t you have a safe or something?”
Jack just shook his head.
'You have a point,' JJ signed. 'This thing appears to be…more dangerous than we initially thought. Perhaps we could find some way to keep it safe.'
“Or get rid of it altogether,” Chase suggested, glancing at Jackie.
'Or that,' JJ nodded.
Footsteps sounded down the hall, and suddenly Schneep appeared, hair disheveled and wearing the same outfit he’d worn the previous day. “What is all the yelling?” he asked, scowling.
Jack winced. “Sorry, Hen. We just…some stuff happened.”
“What stuff?” Schneep demanded. “I was sleeping!”
“Uh…y-yeah, I…I know,” Jack shifted, folding his arms and curling inward guiltily. “Let’s…sit down and I’ll tell you.”
Schneep grumbled, but turned and headed towards the living room, gesturing for Jack to follow him, which he did. After the two of them left, Chase sighed. He looked at JJ and held up the jar, as if asking what to do with it.
JJ shrugged. 'Seems like it needs to be kept somewhere more secure.'
“Yeah, no doubt. Not a lot of secure places in this apartment, though.”
They ended up placing the jar back inside the plastic box, but then put that box inside one of the cabinets under the counter. And they were so busy talking about whether or not that was safe enough, that they didn’t notice the way Jackie’s eyes tracked their movements, following the string to its new hiding place.
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Later that night, Chase found he was having trouble sleeping. Again. It was a new development, ever since he…came back, those few months ago. He suspected it had something to do with not knowing it was…acceptable to fall asleep, without someone saying so. He’d been doing well over the last month or so, but for whatever reason insomnia decided to return this night.
He sighed, and got up. Maybe a walk around the apartment would calm him down. Though he’d have to be as silent as possible, wouldn’t want to wake up the others.
He made his way down the hall, towards the living room and kitchen. And then he saw something move in the darkness.
Chase immediately froze. He debated turning back and grabbing his gun—in fact, he was leaning toward that—but what was there to hurt him in the house? It was probably just one of the others. He took a deep breath, and walked forward, turning into the kitchen.
Flipping the lights on, he saw mostly nothing was changed. Except Marvin was crouched on the floor, opening one of the bottom cabinets.
“Marv—!” Chase hissed. “What’re you doing?!”
Marvin didn’t so much as turn his head, just reached forward into the cabinet, and pulled out a plastic box.
“Hey!” Chase darted forward as soon as he recognized the box. He got there just in time to slam the lid down a moment after Marvin started to open it. “You can’t do that!”
And then Marvin did look at him. And Chase shivered, for some reason.
“Um…I’m just going to…” He managed to pull the box away, grabbing it and backing up. Marvin stayed where he was. While not taking his eyes off him, Chase pulled one of the dining room chairs over to the counter, climbed on top of it awkwardly, opened a topmost cabinet, shoved the plastic box inside, and slammed the cabinet door closed. “Okay…” He let out a deep breath, and climbed back down. “You should be asleep, you know that? C’mon, let’s go.”
With a little effort, Chase managed to guide Marvin back down the hall to the bedroom where he and Jackie were supposed to sleep—though Chase would be lying if he said he’d seen them ever close their eyes—and lay him down on the bed. And with a sigh, he left the room, closing the door behind him. That whole thing was…odd. Odd in a way that made you look over your shoulder. What really struck him was that he slept in the same room as the two of them—and he hadn’t heard Marvin get up and leave, even though he was lying there awake.
But he still wasn’t tired. So he walked back down the hall, trying to give the pacing another try.
“What was all that about?”
Chase yelped, jumping sideways until he hit the wall. Then when he saw who it was, standing in the entrance to the living room, he sighed. “Doc, what the hell? You can’t just sneak up on someone like that!”
“Sorry,” Schneep said.
“What’re you doing up?”
“What are YOU doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Chase explained. “Now, you?”
“The same,” Schneep said. “I was reading. Sitting in here.”
“Well, why didn’t you turn on the light?”
Schneep blinked. “Did you seriously just ask a man who cannot see to turn on a light? Would that make a difference?”
Chase flinched. “I’m sorry, Schneep. I…I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, now you have. Besides, Jamie is still asleep in here.” Schneep gestured behind him into the living room. “On the sofa. I would not want to wake him up anyway.” He paused. “So what was all that noise in the kitchen?”
Chase sighed. “I…I don’t know what was going on. Marvin was in there. Messing with the cabinets.”
Schneep furrowed his brows. “Why? He and Marvin have been unresponsive for seven, eight days. Now, all of a sudden, this?”
“Yeah…it-it might have something to do with that string,” Chase confided. “Maybe they’re trying to get to it.”
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Schneep growled. “Well, they have been strange since this started anyway. I cannot feel them.”
Chase stared at him for a moment. “You can’t what?”
“That…that feeling you get when someone is nearby. You understand? I do not get that around them.”
“You mean, like, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck?”
“No, no.” Schneep shook his head. “That is the watching feeling. Do you not understand? The feeling you have when someone enters the room, and you just know someone is there now. And how close they are!”
“Yeah, I…I don’t get that, I think,” Chase said, shrugging. “It’s not that hard to sneak up on me.”
“Hmm.” Schneep looked confused at that. “Maybe it is different person by person. Or they say your other senses enhance when you lose one, maybe it is related to that.”
“Maybe.”
The two of them were silent for a moment. After a while, Schneep said, “You really should go to sleep.”
“I will,” Chase said automatically. “I mean—but, uh, so should you.”
“Perhaps.”
“Jesus, dude, you’re a doctor and you don’t know the benefits of sleep?”
“Ha…” Schneep’s expression fell a bit. “Well…that never stopped me when I was one.”
Oh. Chase stepped forward, voice softening. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“Go to sleep, Chase,” Schneep said, turning away.
Chase backed away. “Oh…okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Schneep nodded. Chase turned back, hand trailing over the walls. He still found sleep a while coming.
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Everyone was awake at the same time that morning, all gathered in the kitchen. Jack was messing about in the cabinets, getting out dishes. JJ was sitting at the table, half-reading one of the magic books, holding it open with one hand. Schneep sat next to him, listening to whatever message JJ was tapping on the tabletop with his other hand. Chase was leaning against the wall on the fringes. Even Jackie and Marvin were there, sitting in the remaining chairs at the table, as blank as ever.
“Hey, JJ?” Jack said. “You know, I would’ve been fine bringing you breakfast again.”
JJ finished his statement to Schneep before answering Jack. 'I’m sick to death of being stuck on your sofa with my idiotic injured ankle.'
“Well, then the next three weeks at least are gonna suck for you,” Chase muttered.
JJ glared at him, then returned to tapping Morse code on the table.
Jack raised an eyebrow at Chase, shutting the cupboard he was messing with. “That’s a little snappy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, well…” Chase’s eyes darted around the kitchen. They landed on Marvin and Jackie, hovering on them. He shifted uncomfortably, then suddenly pushed away from the wall. “I…I don’t think I’m hungry.” And with that, he left the room.
“Wh…? Hey, Chase!” Jack ran after him.
Chase stopped halfway down the hall, letting Jack catch up with him. “What?”
Jack skidded to a halt. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s—”
“Don’t pull that shit on me, Chase Brody, I’ve known you longer than anyone else in this apartment,” Jack cut in. “I know when something’s up. I…I want to help, so can you let me?” He tried not to sound too desperate, but his question turned into a plea anyway.
Chase looked away. “It…it sounds crazy.”
“Our lives are crazy. Go on, what’s up?”
After a moment of hesitation, Chase sighed. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but…they’re freaking me out.”
Jack blinked. “Who? Jackie and Marvin? They are acting kind of creepy, I’ll admit, and this whole business yesterday was weird—”
“No, it—it’s different.” Unconsciously, Chase rubbed his wrist, reaching under the band and itching. “It’s like…fuck, it sounds crazy.”
“I don’t care how it sounds, if it’s bothering you, then it matters.”
Chase sighed. “They…they’re kind of reminding me of…him.”
Back in the kitchen, JJ finished tapping out his Morse code message. Schneep leaned back in his chair, confused. “I do not understand,” he said. “I would know if I had magic of some kind, yes?”
'Maybe,' JJ tapped. 'Didn’t you notice it odd when we got out of the room?'
“Well, yes, but I assumed that was you,” Schneep admitted. “Or more strangeness of that place.”
'No, it wasn’t.' JJ insisted. 'It was you, I could tell.'
“Well, what kind of magic would that be, anyway?” Schneep countered. “To get out of locked places? Is kind of…ah, I do not know. Stupid, I suppose. Yours is more useful.”
'For keeping everyone else safe, yes,' JJ admitted. 'But I can’t do simple tasks, or use it to defend myself.'
“Those are strange rules, I—” Schneep stopped. In the silence, he heard the squeak of a chair against the kitchen tile. “Was that you?”
JJ, previously busy with dividing his attention between the conversation with Schneep and the magic book, looked up at the sound. In the few minutes since he’d last glanced over at them, Marvin and Jackie had both stood up. Jackie was dragging his chair over to the counter, while Marvin was staring at JJ and Schneep with a…it was almost a glare. JJ jumped, slamming his book shut. He tried to stand up, only for pain to shoot upward from his ankle. He crumpled back down with a muffled cry.
“What?! What is it?!” Schneep half-stood up, bracing himself.
This message had to be quick. 'J, M,' he tapped. 'Weird.'
Luckily, Schneep caught on quick. “What are they doing? Should I get the others?”
That would probably be a good idea. 'Call,' JJ tapped, trying to stand up again, leaning his weight on the table.
Schneep raised his voice. “Jack?! Chase?! Something is happening?!”
It only took a few seconds for Jack and Chase to reappear in the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. Jackie had managed to drag the chair over to the counter, and was climbing on top. The moment Jack and Chase reappeared, Marvin switched his attention to them, watching.
“What are they doing?!” Jack yelled. He ran forward, only for Marvin’s hand to shoot out and grab him by the back of the hoodie as he passed. Jack cried out in surprise.
“I moved the box with the jar to that cabinet!” Chase, said, pointing. “Last night!”
“What?! Why?” Jack asked. He was trying to pull his hoodie away, but Marvin’s grip was unusually strong.
“Marvin was trying to get into it!” Chase explained.
“Well, we should not let them get to it!” Schneep stood up fully, though he looked unsure about what to do.
JJ reached a hand toward Jackie. A circle of blue runes briefly flickered around his fingers before fading. Jameson looked down at his hand in surprise.
“On it!” Chase dashed forward, giving Marvin a wide birth, and was by Jackie in a couple seconds. Jackie had opened the cupboard, and was pulling out the box. “Hey!” Chase tried to climb up onto the chair, but suddenly Jackie looked down at him, and kicked him away, sending him flying backwards.
“Stop it, both of you!” Jack didn’t think either Marvin or Jackie would listen, but he had to try. He managed to pry Marvin’s hand away from his hoodie, but as soon as he’d done that, Marvin suddenly reached forward and grabbed him, holding both arms behind his back. “Let go of me!” He glared at Marvin, and out of the corner of his vision, he got a glimpse of something…glowing. His soul vision. He’d been hesitant to use it before, but now? Well, what was there left to lose? He wasn’t sure what the two of them wanted with that string of Anti’s, but he just knew it wouldn’t end well. So he closed his left eye, letting the soul vision take over.
And in the center of Marvin’s chest, where Jack would usually see the glowing ball of light that he usually saw someone’s soul as…there was a loose pile of blue and red shards. He looked over at Jackie, climbing down from the chair with the box in his arms, and saw the exact same thing. He…he’d seen something like this before…
Chase climbed to his feet and lunged towards Jackie, grabbing for the box. But Jackie wasn’t as keen to let go of items as he was earlier, and a strange tug-of-war started. “Schneep? Jays? A little help?!” Chase called.
JJ tried to step forward, but once again winced under the pain of his injured ankle. Realizing he couldn’t get to Jackie, he looked over at Marvin, still holding Jack. And suddenly threw himself at him. Marvin stumbled.
“I do not know where they are!” Schneep wailed. “I told you, I cannot tell!”
“Can you tell where I am?” Chase said. “He’s right next to me! Help me get this away from him!”
Schneep scowled a bit, as if angry with himself for not thinking about that. And so he ran to Chase’s side. After a moment, he figured out where the box was and grabbed it, adding his strength to Chase’s side.
For a moment, everyone was locked in a struggle. Marvin tried to shrug JJ away while still keeping hold of a wriggling Jack. Jackie kept resisting Chase and Schneep’s attempts to pull the box away. For a moment, just a moment, they all seemed evenly matched.
And then the lid of the box came loose, and opened wide enough for the jar inside to roll out onto the floor with a heavy thunk!
Chase immediately dropped the struggle for the box, reaching down for the jar. But the string inside seemed to know he was coming. It pushed against the side of the jar, rolling it away from Chase’s grasping hand until it bumped against Jackie’s shoe. Jackie looked down, scooped up the jar, and raised it high above his head.
“No!” Jack shouted.
But it was too late. Jackie threw the jar down on the ground, and it shattered instantly.
The string inside wriggled and stretched, free of its confinement, and it started to grow in size. It shuddered and writhed, splitting in branches like a hydra growing heads. Tendrils reached out, wrapping around Jackie’s legs, and crawling over the ground until they were able to wrap around Marvin’s as well. The green light coming from the string intensified from a slight glow into a blinding glare, and anyone who could see it was forced to shut their eyes.
They opened them again to the sound of laughter. Marvin and Jackie had disappeared, and standing in the middle of the kitchen, static creeping over his skin, was Anti.
“No!” Chase grabbed Schneep’s arm, stepping backwards. “What—where—?”
“S̷u̢͠rpr̕i͏̸͝s̢ed to see me?” Anti waved his fingers. “You shouldn’t be.”
JJ slumped backwards against the kitchen table. He looked around the kitchen, then glared at Anti. 'Where are Jackie and Marvin? What did you do to them?!'
Anti looked over at Jack and grinned. “You’ve figured it out hav̛en'̛t͏ y̴̴o͞͠u̶?”
Jack didn’t want to say he had. But…he closed his eye again, looking at Anti’s “soul.” Just as he’d seen last time he looked at it, he saw red and blue shards, stitched together with that interwoven green string. But now he realized he’d seen the shards elsewhere. “He hasn’t done anything to them,” Jack said, voice almost too quiet to hear. “He is them.”
“No no no no no, that’s impossible. That’s impossible!” Chase laughed hysterically. “Jackie and Marv are—they’re not evil!”
“Everyone has a little bit of ḑa̷̡r̢k͟͠n̛es͢͠s͏ inside.” Anti waved his hand in front of his face, dispelling the mask of shadows and revealing his face for the first time since any of them had known him. He tilted his head to his left, and his features shifted a bit, looking more like Marvin. He tilted it to his right, and they shifted again to resemble Jackie. “What happens when that’s a̷̕l͏l͝ ͏t̡h̴a͏͡t's̵̢ ̡l͠͠ef͞t̡̢͟?͏”
JJ started to shake his head, but then his eyes glanced downward, and he froze. 'The amulets,' he signed shakily. 'The transference did go wrong…just not in the way we imagined…'
“There we go, you have a p̨o̸̴i̶n͞t͢ to existing, a̧͡fte̸ŗ͡ all̶̡!” Anti clapped his hands. “Yes, it went wrong. Neither of them expected that one of them would k̦̙̜̼̞i̱̞̳̬̬͉̞̝ļ͇͞l̶̨̛͖ the other! Seems everything go̕͟ǫ̸̛d̸ got lost in translation!”
“You’re lying!” Chase shrieked. A few tears slipped down his face. “They were best friends! They wouldn’t hurt each other, much l-less—!” He choked, unable to even finish the sentence.
“Hmm, w͏er̸͝e ͏t͠h̡e͟y̨͏?” Anti laughed. “Well, it doesn’t matter. T̡h̷e̷y'r̶̕e̷ go̷ne now. As you saw, there’s nơt̛͏h̡̢i̢n͞͝g̶ left except some empty shells—a̴͞n̶d ̵m̸̵e̡.”
Anti raised a hand. The room filled with the sound of static. Jameson managed to pull Jack close, a blue shield of runes flickering in front of the two of them. Chase backed up, paling.
And then, the air seemed to rip apart.
In between one second and the next, there was suddenly a kitchen knife driven into Anti’s chest. He screamed, staggering backwards. Another second, and then Schneep was in front of him, pulling the knife back out. He was panting, like he’d just sprinted across the room. He blinked, and for a moment, it almost looked like his eyes were black. And then it was gone. “You shut your mouth,” he growled.
Anti seemed to recover from the stab quickly, cracking a grin at Schneep. “That’s a new t̨ŗi̵͠c͠k̨,” he remarked. “Are you going to kil̢͝l̴ ̡̨m̢e͟͢? You, the least u͟sef̢u̶l part of the group?”
“Yes,” Schneep said simply. And he lunged again.
Anti was prepared this time. With a burst of white noise, he disappeared, reappearing behind Jack and Jameson. “No, I don’t t̸h̡i̸n͏k͏ ͝s̶̶o.” Anti’s hand darted forward, and Jameson barely managed to swivel the circular shield around to the other side in time to block him.
There was another rip, and then Schneep was behind Anti, driving the knife forward again, managing to hit his shoulder. Anti shrieked, and spun around before Schneep could pull the blade out again. “Fine. Have it y̴̕͝o̸͢uŗ͠ ͢w͡ay.” With a smile, he reached back and pulled the knife out himself, slashing it forward.
Schneep yelped, leaning backwards, and suddenly he wasn’t there anymore. Anti growled, and in a fit of static, he disappeared too.
The air was still filled with the sound of static. Occasionally the world jumped and fizzled, like it wasn’t sure of its place. Chase looked around. “Wh…what the fuck is happening?” He squeaked. “Did Henrik just—what?”
Jack glanced at JJ. “That would be the magic you told me about yesterday, right?”
JJ nodded.
“Schneep has magic?!” Chase asked, gaping.
“Apparently! Don’t ask how, ‘cause none of us know the answer, not even him!”
The world jumped again, and suddenly the cabinets all flew open in unison. Another jump, and all the dishes shattered into pieces. Another, and cracks shot through sections of the kitchen tile. “And what about this?!” Chase asked.
“I don’t know!” Jack shouted.
'Maybe their magics colliding?' JJ guessed.
The ceiling overhead groaned, and suddenly bits of plaster fell.
“Whatever it is, it’s destroying your apartment!” Chase yelled. “We have to get out of here!”
“But—Henrik!” Jack protested.
Chase hesitated. “We can go look for him, but we have to be quick.”
Jack nodded.
Chase ran across the kitchen floor, joining up with Jack and JJ. Jameson adjusted the shield to cover them from above, as more chunks of plaster started to fall, and the walls started to peel. “C’mon,” he said, throwing one of Jameson’s arms over him to support him. “We gotta go!”
They didn’t have to go far. The living room was crumbling, same as the kitchen. The lamp was broken in two, the upholstered furniture bleeding cotton. Schneep and Anti were jumping in and out of existence, flickering between places in the room. At first, it seemed an evenly matched sort of chase, but after a while it became clear who was winning. Schneep had no weapon, and he didn’t understand his own powers, making his disoriented. It wasn’t long before Schneep was cornered—literally stuck huddling against the room’s corner, Anti looming over him.
JJ threw out his hand, and a circle of blue appeared above Schneep just in time to deflect the blow from Anti’s knife.
Anti scowled, turning his attention to the group who’d just entered. A smile twisted his face. “Someone’s h̵u̵͢ŗ͠ţ͟in̛g͞! Someone’s s͟lo̵̴͞w̧.”
“Leave him alone,” Jack hissed.
“Or…?” Anti pressed his knife deeper into Jameson’s shield. Below him, Schneep was trembling, panting, eyes wide yet seeing nothing. “You can’t do a̴ņy͠ţ͝h͡įn͢g̴̢ about it! The f͞a͟͡ke̶ magician can only defend, my pu͢p͏̸p̡e̷͠ţ has no weapons, and you can only s͟͠e͡e̢̕ what’s wrong and n̛͞oth̷i̷͞ng̢̕ else!” He laughed, and pressed down harder, sparks flying from the shield. It flickered. “In the end, you’re a̵̷̢̹̻̲l̷̵͕͟ļ̯̗̲̘̭͓̳͠l u̸s̷̢e̴l̡es͞͏s͢͝! So why not let me take out the one who does the lȩ̵ąs̨t̷͝ for you?!”
Schneep suddenly screamed and clutched at his head. The world shuddered, and slashed apart, slices of darkness appearing in between broken fragments. When it all settled, Schneep was gone.
Even Anti looked surprised at this, taking a few steps back. But he recovered, shaking his head and smiling at the other three. “Oh well. I can still take care of y͡͏̨o̷͟u̴̷”
Jack, Jameson, and Chase all glanced at each other. And in unison, they sprinted for the door.
The room behind them started to fall apart, wires flying out of the walls, pieces of furniture bursting, the ceiling collapsing right behind their heels. The three of them barely managed to get out the door, Chase and Jack pulling Jameson behind them. Anti screamed. Cracks full of static crawled along the wall, following them. “Keep going!” Chase yelled.
They ran.
.............................................................................................
They didn’t stop until they were at least a block away from the apartment building, and then they all collapsed to the ground in unison, breathing hard.
“What—was—THAT?!” Jack yelled.
Jameson shrugged vaguely.
“That was Anti,” Chase said, staring at nothing. He blinked, and a tear escaped. “A-and Anti was…was…” He buried his face in his hands.
Jack nodded. He felt…nothing. Just a sort of numbness. It didn’t hurt, though maybe it would later. But for now, it was just…empty. “They…they’re…”
“They can’t be.” Chase looked up. “They can’t be gone.”
Jameson looked up. 'Chase…maybe—'
“No!” Chase suddenly shrieked. “They aren’t gone! An—he was lying! He just took them away again! They’re not him! They can’t be! They can’t! They…they…” He slumped, and let the tears flow. “They can’t have…done that to me. To us,” he sobbed.
Jack didn’t say anything. There was nothing he could say. But he reached over and gently picked up Chase’s hand. Chase squeezed it tight as he continued to cry.
They must’ve stayed there for ten minutes at least, sitting on the sidewalk as morning traffic drove by. Briefly, Jack wondered what onlookers would think, but he didn’t care. They needed this.
After a while, they all calmed, staring blankly out at the city. “Where are we supposed to go now?” Jack whispered.
'Where did Henrik go?' JJ asked. 'We have to find him.'
Jack nodded. “But…we can’t just stay on the street. He could find us.”
Chase wiped his eyes. “I…I think I know a place.” He stood up.
Jack stood as well, pulling JJ up and letting him lean on him. “Really? Where?”
“It’s…some way away. We’ll have to walk a while,” Chase admitted. “I just hope she’ll let us stay.”
“Oh.” Jack nodded. “I see.”
“C’mon, let’s hurry,” Chase said. “The sooner we get somewhere safe, the sooner we can figure out what to do next.”
And in silence, they started walking.