#chaseanswers

[youvereachedthebadend]

See you later, enjoy the rest of the party!

"See you guys!" Chase waves, beaming. "Thanks for coming."

And with the cards dealt, the group begins to play their game.

[youvereachedthebadend]

The timeloop definitely makes age weird… maybe you need to have a party for every birthday you missed!

"Oh no, that would be too many parties!" Stacy laughs. "I think we'd all get overwhelmed pretty quickly."

"Maybe we can have one big celebration for everyone when their next birthdays come up," Marvin says. "Jackie's is pretty soon, actually."

Jackie blinks, then gasps. "Oh yeah it is! Fuck, dude, I completely forgot."

We all need to write this stuff down on a calendar, I think, JJ says, chuckling.

Chase's phone buzzes. He pauses the movie, then reaches in to take it out. "Oh, Jack says he's only a couple minutes away now!" He grins. "Where's that bag of confetti you guys were mentioning? I have an idea."

"Oh?" Schneep tilts his head.

"Is it really messy?" Stacy asks.

"It shouldn't be too messy," Chase says. "We can just put the confetti in a bucket and make it so that it falls down from the door when Jack opens it. Like that prank with water."

"...I don't think I have a bucket," Marvin whispers.

"Aw." Chase sighs. "Well, we'll figure something else out, then."

[youvereachedthebadend]

What prompted that?

"Shut up, I can say nice things unprompted," Anti snaps.

"Well, that tone doesn't help inspire that idea," Chase mutters.

"...I didn't think of that." Anti goes quiet. He looks down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers. "I... just... You're still here. You don't leave when I switch. And I... like that. When Jackie stays, too."

"JJ doesn't leave," Chase says.

"I don't like the way he looks at me, though. Like he's guarding me. Keeping watch. Which I suppose I deserve, but... just... I like that you don't do that."

Chase nods idly. "Well... you're welcome, I guess." He pauses. "You know that... that nobody has to stay in the room when you take over. They don't have to see you."

"I know," Anti says quietly.

[youvereachedthebadend]

Do you think there are other physical effects?

I'M NOT SURE, Sam says. I WASN'T WATCHING FOR THEM.

"Well I guess we'll find out, then," Anti mumbles. He glances at Chase. "Hey. Um... th... thanks."

Chase blinks in surprise. "For what?"

Anti shrugs.

[youvereachedthebadend]

Will they stop, since you’ve just been uncorrupted and they were following you? Or will they keep attacking?

You find the answer back in reality. Marvin, Chase, and Jackie have been backed down to the floor. The shield has collapsed, so Marvin circled their group in a ring of fire, also including the bed with the body inside. Jackie is kneeling on the ground, shaking slightly as the black color starts to consume him. Chase is shooting through the flames, aiming for legs. Marvin is concentrating on maintaining the fire.

And then... all the shadows stop. They freeze right where they are. And then they all collapse. Jackie gasps, and you see the black patches on his skin recede, pushed back by colorful glitches. Marvin's fire slowly dies down. Beyond the fading flames, you see the green light in the shadow eyes fading, and the color returning to their skin.

"Thank fucking god," Chase mutters. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm... fine... now..." Jackie says slowly.

Marvin doesn't answer. He looks a bit sick.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

One of the machines around the bed is making a noise.

Chase turns back to it. He glances at Marvin and Jackie, but neither of them want to move, so he slowly walks towards the bed. "I don't know how to work this," he says quietly. "God, maybe Henrik should have come after all. Uh..." He starts to reach out, then withdraws his hand.

The body in the bed opens its eyes.

[youvereachedthebadend]

I knew I was forgetting someone!

Chase laughs. "So I guess that's a no, then. Yeah. That's fine. Just tell him I haven't seen him and ask if he's alright and stuff."

[youvereachedthebadend]

Hey Chase, what are you up to?

"Hmm? Oh, we're just chatting." Chase is back where you left him, sitting in Jack's room in the clinic. Henrik is there too, as are Jack—obviously—and Sam. "Hey, can I ask you something? Have you guys talked to Jackie yet? I haven't seen him all day."

"Don't worry Chase, I'm sure he is fine," Henrik says.

"Well..." Chase trails off. He seems concerned.

[youvereachedthebadend]

You said you guys have been switching every time you go to sleep, but your body’s like, still getting rest, right?

“Been feeling rested,” Anti says. “Usual amount of energy.”

“That could be the RF, though,” Chase points out.

“Ha. Hey did you voices know about this shit? It’s crazy what magic can do.” Anti plucks at the IV tube leading to the bag of blue liquid. “They call this Restoration Fluid, and it was made for exactly this type of situation. You know, when your body is suffering malnutrition and atrophy and all that stuff that happens when you don’t use it for a while. Helps get you back on your feet quickly.”

“Fern says it’s really hard to make, though,” Chase adds. “She said it was lucky that the new Council magicians had some.”

“But this isn’t because of the RF,” Anti says, getting back on track. “It was like this for the month where we were still sharing a body at first. We’d be well-rested with every switch. Strange, isn’t it?” He glances at Sam.