The Wound He Left was Unmistakable
A small fic I wrote based off of the old DSaF āTwisted Timelinesā series
TW: Gore, Mentioned Rape, Major Character Death, Whump
ā ļøRead at Your Own Discretionā ļø
Word Count: 2,177
Dave sat in the void gently petting BlackJack who fell asleep in his arms. The silence of the void constricted him, only allowing him to think of the certain Hell so many versions of Jack had been subjected to. He couldn't take the silence anymore, blinking away tears, Dave gently shook BlackJack awake. The small shadow dog looked up at Dave āDave. How was your break?ā Dave gave the dogo a smile, still absent mindedly petting him, āCalming. Couldnāt sleep sadlyā¦ā BlackJack leaned into Dave's pet, earning a small scratch on the neck, āWe could rest a little longer if youād like? I can assure you Jack wouldnāt notice.ā āNo. I- I can't rest any longer, the silence is deafeningā āWe could just talk? Rest doesnāt have to mean sleep.ā
Dave remained silent for a second āYa sure Jack wouldnāt notice?ā BlackJack murmured a confirmation leaning his fluffy head onto Daveās chest, āTheyāre all in a place outside of time, they will be unaware of any change, Itāll be like they were suddenly teleported to your locationā āDo you think weāll ever save them all?ā Dave asked, messing with BlackJackās floating tophat as a small fidget. BlackJack whimpered, filling Dave with a dread to what his answer would be āI donāt know, though with infinite Jacks broken in infinite ways, I can't help but think that maybe weāll never be done. The task is noble, don't be mistaken, but it isnāt fair to you. And I canāt help but be angry about that.ā āMaybe I deserve that?ā Dave thought aloud. āNO.ā BlackJack growled āYou earned your absolution. You deserve your rest, even if you canāt have it.ā Dave started petting with a little more force, attempting to calm the hound down.
āYou deserve rest too, y'know?ā Dave whispered āI never said I didnāt?ā BlackJack questioned. āI know. But youāre still thinking it. That's the one thing all Jacks share, you hate yourselves, even if you know you donāt deserve it.ā āI do deserve it though, because of my actions those worlds will never be rid of Henry, because of my poor prudence. Those souls will never be freed, and itās because of me.ā The dog was shaking, unable to form tears due to his form, instead shaking and letting out high whines. Dave held onto BlackJack allowing the soul to cry into him. Eventually BlackJack calmed down, āIām sorry.ā the small dog apologised for seemingly no reason, āFor what?ā Dave asked cradling BlackJack āThis was supposed to be about you, and I made it about me.ā āIt's not your fault Jack, I brought it up. I wouldnāt have if I didnāt want you to talk about it, which, to be clear, is never. Old Sport asked us to take care of each other, and I won't let him downā BlackJack gave him a small grin, āI always forget that itās not all on me I suppose.ā āAnother Jack specialty!ā Dave laughed as BlackJack hopped out of his lap.
āI should get the next Jack shouldnāt I?ā āYeah! Get on it, hound!ā BlackJack left his gaze on Dave a little longer, before settling down again, much to Dave's confusion. Noticing this, BlackJack decided to start talking again, āThis next Jack is, hard. He was killed by youā Daveās mouth hung agape āI- I, would never kill him.ā BlackJack nodded āI know you wouldnāt. He did though. Iām unsure if itāll make you feel better but, it wasnāt on purpose.ā āWh-What happened then?ā Dave asked, losing all sense of confidence. The soul shifted uncomfortably āAre you sure?ā Dave nodded āYes. I am.ā The dog sighed, āIām sure youāre aware of one of the worst atrocity the alternate youās have committed?ā Dave paled and waited for the small dog to continue. āThis time it lasted longer, about three days to be exact.ā Dave felt bile rising in his throat, how? How could he be the same person as this monster? āThree days.ā BlackJack continued, āNo stops. No breaks. Eventually he broke, bled to death, and you didnāt even notice till the end.ā
Dave raked his long nails against his bare arms drawing small beads of blood, āHow could I? How could I do that?ā BlackJack cast his eyes down in response, āThat's not you. Not really. Have you ever heard the phrase āOur experiences shape usā David?ā Dave nodded. āThat Dave lived through different things, heās not you.ā āWe had lived through the same things! We are the same.ā āNo you arenāt, he didnāt get torn in half, nor did he work to fight Henry.ā āYeah! Because I never let Jack leave.ā BlackJack set his paws on Dave's knees in a grounding gesture āWilliam.ā Dave turned to face the dogo at the use of his old name. āYou are not the same as him, sure maybe it was just luck that you didnāt kidnap Jack. But you worked to get better when you had the chance, he didnāt, that's why you're different.ā Dave held out his arms and BlackJack crawled in for a hug. āThanks mutt, youāre the best.ā āGlad to help.ā BlackJack whispered before leaving to retrieve Jack.
Jack lay asleep on the floor. Dave had met many Jacks, some were hostile, while others blamed themselves. Each time however Jack looked hurt, his usual orange makeup washed off, his skin rotting, Dave didnāt care, he also rotted on earth. What concerned him however were the bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Sometimes Jack told Dave about them, about what Dave did, about what Jack had done to himself. Each time Jack told him about them Dave would listen, it was the least Jack deserved after what heād been subjected to. Sometimes Jack would crave physical connection, other times heād just talk to Dave till he could finally rest. But even talking to and helping thousands of Jacks couldnāt prepare him for this.
Considering how Jack died, Dave was worried he would be nude. Thankfully some angel was looking out for Dave, and Jack had come in a small pair of red shorts that hung loosely to his starved body. But being dangerously thin wasnāt the only thing that stood out about this iteration of Jack, he was dirty, very dirty. Various marks covered Jack's skin, fluids were dried to his hair and skin, and that was excluding the dried blood that stuck between his thighs. Dave wanted to scream, wasn't the bleeding internal? How hadnāt he noticed? Still he remained quiet allowing Jack to doze a little longer before finally being put to rest. Jack deserved it afterall, three days of fun, as many Jacks put it, would be exhausting. Dave genuinely wondered how his psychotic version had done it. Sure he was a monster, but even he couldnāt go that long.
Jack started shifting, grumbling at sore pain that spread throughout his body. Slowly Jack pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes to purge the fog that clouded his brain. That fog disappeared quickly when he realized Dave was watching him. āDave!ā Jack yelped, āI- I promise you I didnāt mean to fall asleep! I wa- was tired, and I- my body gave out! I promise I didnāt mean to, Iām sorry, just, please donāt. Don't hurt me. Please.ā Dave moved away from Jack, not wanting to scare him, āJack-ā āDave please!ā āJack. He canāt hurt you anymore.ā āDave, this isnāt funny! Where are we? What happened?ā āJack. Iāma need you to listen to me for a bit.ā Immediately Jack quieted looking at Dave with apprehension and fear. āDid BlackJack, your soul, ever tell you about his Dave?ā Jack nodded. āWell, Iām that Dave!ā āHow am I here then? Did BlackJack pull me out? Did he figure out a way to stop him?ā Jack asked, he was still shaking, no doubt because of what he went through, but Jack didnāt seem to scared. Dave hissed through his teeth, this part was always hard. āYouāre dead Jack.ā āWhat! No. I canāt be dead! I still needed to save them!ā āJack. It isnāt your fault. It's his, never think itās yoursā āShe didnāt get her happiest day! Neither did you! I canāt rest!ā āTheres nothing you can do Jack , Your soul, he doesnāt have enough energy to do a reset. The best you can do is let me help you rest.ā āI canāt pass on though.ā Jack mumbled āThink of it as a nap. Itās not Heaven nor Hell, itās not your happiest day, but itās the best we can do. Even if you deserve better.ā āBut they didnāt get to rest! Why do I!ā āYou did your best Jack. What happened to you isnāt your fault.ā
Silence, neither of the two men liked it, but it persisted in bleeding through their ālivesā anyways. It was horrible, Jack couldnāt take it anymore, after years (was it years?) of living with Dave, his voice and noise filling his life. Jack had grown afraid of silence, it was unfamiliar and unnerving. So Jack finally broke it, filling the void with the question that had been bothering him āWhy are you so different from my Dave?ā Dave remained silent thinking through the question in a way Jack hadnāt expected from someone like Dave. āWell in my timeline you and Peter were able to springtrap me. After that my soul split in two, my feral side roaming the earth, and my reasonable side, me, went to the flipside. This is the flipside by the way. The final layer actually, where Henry resided, until we killed him. Which I feel youāll be happy to know.ā Jack nodded āGlad I could succeed in one timeline atleast.ā Jack mused sadly to himself āMany more than one actually! There are next to infinite timelines where you succeed!ā āAnd just as many, if not more, where I fail.ā Jack interrupted.
āBut that still doesnāt really answer my question.ā Dave looked surprised, āReally? I thought I explained it pretty well.ā āNo! No, you explained well, I shouldāve phrased my question better. Iām sorry Dave.ā Jack looked at the nonexistent ground in shame. āSportsy. Itās okay I was jusā teasing you.ā Dave reassured, often Dave forgot how scared the poor man truly was in the moment, he was good at hiding it. Not to mention many of them couldnāt handle his usual small teases, not after what many had been through.
āWhy donāt you tell me your question again Jack?ā Dave offered, attempting to get Jack to open up again. ā---ā āIām sorry Jack, I didnāt catch that. Could you repeat that a little louder?ā āwhy didnāt you hurt me?ā Dave bit his lip, tearing the top layer of skin that covered the inside of his mouth, grounding himself as the taste of his blood polluted his senses. āI suppose I just didnāt think of it. Nor did I expect you or Peter to try to kill me.ā āIām sorry about that Dave.ā Jack mumbled, finding another thing to tear himself up about. āItās okay Jack, I needed stopping.ā āI couldāve tried something else though!ā Jack shouted, momentarily startling Dave. āPerhaps, though Iām not angry. In fact Iām happy about it! It was needed for me to redeem myself.ā āNo. No it wasnāt. It was me being selfish, and being lazy. There was another way I just never tried to find it.ā āJack. This isnāt about me. It's about you. Iāve already been fixed, it's your turn to be fixed.ā
āWhy donāt I hate him?ā āThis isnāt the first time youāve asked that yāknow?ā Jack looked at Dave quizzically. āYouāre not the first nor the last Jack to ask me that.ā āHow long have you been here Dave?ā āA long time.ā āthats not fair.ā āNeither was what happened to you.ā ā...ā ā...ā āI should hate him.ā āI do.ā Jack looked at Dave with a face of surprise. āIs that so surprising?ā Dave chuckled. āNo, I suppose not.ā The two just looked at each other for a moment before Jack continued, āI donāt think I could ever hate him. Am I stupid for that?ā āJack, Iāve never met a Jack that hated his Dave, Iāve seen ones afraid of him,even ones that killed him. But never one that hated him. I donāt think it's in your nature to hate anyone.ā āBecause of the soul thing?ā Jack mused. āThat probably plays a part but, I think that's just you.ā āBut BlackJack hated Henry?ā āWe both know damn well that you and BlackJack are not the same person anymore.ā āWeāre both Jack Kennedy.ā āNot the same Jack though.ā āThat's true I suppose.ā
Jack gestured for Dave to come over to his side, Jack was too sore to move anymore. āWas there anything I could have done?ā Jack asked, leaning the back of his head on Dave's chest. āI donāt know.ā Dave answered, wrapping his arms around Jack, āThis okay Jack?ā āItās perfect.ā āThats good.ā Dave smiled, rubbing Jack's arms. āI think I can move on now.ā āThen fall asleep.ā āBye Dave.ā āBye Jack.ā Jack started fading out of existence, finally getting his rest.
And then Dave was alone again.




















