Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 12: The Facility
Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| JSEFacility
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Alt lands hard on the ground. He's in front of a row of doors with numbers on them--a motel, one of the ones where the room doors open directly into the outside. It's really run-down looking, with peeling paint and stains on the ground. A cracked asphalt car lot holds only a couple cars. The sky is alight, pink and orange with either sunset or sunrise. Distant traffic noises come from somewhere. It's not clear where, as the only sign of other civilization is a road heading left and right.
Alt pushes himself up and groans, rubbing at his head. He looks around the area and cringes a bit. He recognizes a place like this… cheap motel for a quick rest on a dirty bed that probably smelt like cigarettes. He glitches to his feet and glances around the area, trying to see what else is around. He’s not eager to stay in a place like this.
Suddenly, someone leans through the nearest door. Leans through is the right way of putting it, as the door doesn't open at all and the figure passes straight through it. The figure is transparent, reminiscent of the ghost Chase they just saw, but completely monochrome instead of that strange white-tinted coloring. Even though the figure is a bit blurry and flickering, some details can be made out. The man has a thick mustache and is wearing a T-shirt over a button-up shirt.
Alt screeches in surprise and slight fear as he glitches back, away from the figure. He stares with wide eyes at him and blinks rapidly, trying to process what he’s seeing. That’s- JJ.
The monochrome man’s eyes land on Alt and he smiles in a friendly way, giving a little wave before pulling back into the room.
But then he just- disappears back into the room. Alt just kinda stares at the door- wondering if that was an… invitation or just a coincidence.
After a moment passes, the door opens a little bit, just wide enough for a person to appear in the gap. It's a guy, with brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail, wearing a baggy red hoodie and a blue bandanna around his neck. His eyes are green. And there seems to be a slight green glow coming from the room, too.
"Uh..." he says. "Where'd you come from?"
Alt glitches a bit in place and waves stiffly. “Uh- hi! I uh… kinda just… fell here. It’s a long story… sorry though, didnt mean to uh… loiter.” He blinks at the green light behind him and slightly points. “…I’m assuming you know your room is glowing-“
The man tenses a little. "Y-yeah, yeah, I know. Uh... hi. Hi. Um..." He looks back into the room for a moment, and then turns back to Alt. "My friend is saying you should come inside. So... come inside?"
Alt looks around and turn slowly nods. “Um.. alright.” He gingerly steps through the door, smiling awkwardly.
"Alright." The man steps aside.
The room beyond is small, with just a little bit of walking space in between the two beds, the night stand, and a small table. At the back are two ajar doors, one leading to a closet and one to a bathroom. The patterned wallpaper looks like it's from the 70s or earlier, and has some water stains on it.
The ghostly JJ is still there, and he waves at Alt again. Along with him and the man in the red hoodie, there are two others. A man with square glasses, wearing a blue turtleneck and a pair of gloves. And a man wearing a snapback cap and red scarf, the ends of his brown hair holding the remains of yellow-green eye. That man is holding a toy dart gun in both hands. He also has... scars all over his arms. Straight and regular. There's also one crossing his eye and one crossing his neck. Wait a minute? Where's the green glow coming from? ...Oh. It's coming from the guy in the red hoodie, who hurriedly closes the door.
Alt’s eyes widen as he takes in all the people in here. JJ, Jackie he’s guessing opened the door and… that looks like Chase. So many scars… does he have as many as Bro? Or even more?
"So," says the man in the turtleneck, fidgeting with his gloves. "Who are you, then?"
“Oh um… I’m Alt. Alt Brody? I’m a magician… from another world.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and fidgets nervously.
"Another world?" the man in the hoodie repeats. "You mean like in comic books? So that's real?"
The man in the turtleneck frowns. "Does that make sense?"
"I mean... we've seen weirder stuff," the man in the cap says slowly.
It's true, the ghostly man says. He and his friends appeared out of nowhere and they'll disappear just as suddenly.
"I trust J3 on this," the man in the hoodie says.
"It is just a bit hard to believe," the man in the turtleneck says, doubt clear in his voice. "What if this is a trick?"
"I don't think it's any harder to believe than the rest of our lives," the man in the cap mutters.
Alt looks at the man in the turtleneck. “I mean… it’s not a trick. I’m from a parallel world… one where… I’m friends with people who look a lot like all of you.”
Alt looks between everyone as they talk, getting more and more confused. “Wait… how do you know we’ll … do that?” He asks the ghostly man. Then he looks to the hoodied man, “J…3?”
"That's J3," the hoodied man points at the ghostly man.
The ghostly man waves. He reaches up to his neck, grabbing the collar of his shirt--
"J3!" The man in the cap hurriedly steps in front of him. "We can't just--"
J3 steps right through the man and shows Alt something. A tattoo on either side of his neck. A series of letters and numbers.
J3110.
And I know it will happen because I'll be there when it does, J3 says.
The man in the turtleneck sighs. "You are just confusing him more."
Alt staggers back, eyes wide as he sees J3 step through the other man and show his neck. He’s at a loss for words. It’s like… a brand. “C-Can… can you see the future…?” He asks quietly.
J3 nods. In a way. I don't exist in just one time at once. I know it's hard to understand.
"You just have to accept that he knows things sometimes," the man in the cap says.
Alt blinks a lot more at this, “…woah. That’s… insane.” He says to J3.
"You said We're friends in another world?" The hoodied man smiles and looks around at the others. "Do you guys hear that? We're all friends in another world!" His excitement is almost contagious.
Alt’s head whips to the hoodied man and he blinks almost comically at his enthusiasm. He laughs quietly. “Y-Yeah… you are. Are you… not friends now…?”
"Well, I think we are!" the man in the hoodie says. "I mean--we're sort of new to it. We didn't have that much time to get to know each other."
The man in the turtleneck chuckles. "I think we are friends, yes. Even if M is being a bitch right now."
"I'm just so happy to hear that we're still friends in other places," the hoodied man says, beaming. "We don't know an 'Alt' right now, but maybe we'll meet you someday!"
Alt can’t help but smile. “Well… that’s good to hear… I mean to be fair… I’ve only known my friends for like… a year or so? Maybe two? So… I get it.”
Alt does seem to cringe a bit at them not knowing an Alt and grips at his arm. “I mean… do you … know an Anti…?” He asks quietly.
"Anti?" the hoodied man repeats. "That's a weird name. I mean--no offense."
Alt laughs and shakes his head, “None taken. I made it up when I was like 4.”
The man in the cap blinks. "That's... what A called himself... one time."
The man in the turtleneck looks back at him. "What? When did you hear him say that, C?"
"While we were leaving. Wh-when me and J were alone with him for a while." C swallows a lump in his throat. A moment passes.
"Well that doesn't mean anything," the hoodied man says firmly. "Alt here is clearly different. He's not trying to stab us."
Alt listens to the others and sighs, “that’s what I was afraid of… my parallels in other places seem to be very… stabby. And fucked up.” He tries to process all of this and then looks up at everyone. “Wait.. do you all… just go by letters? All of you?”
"Heh. Unfortunately." C pulls away the scarf he's wearing, revealing tattoos reading C1104. "This is all we really have to go off."
The man in the hoodie removes his bandanna next. J1007.
Then, reluctantly, the man in the turtleneck pulls down his shirt, revealing H1509.
"I'm J1, by the way," says the one in the hoodie. "J is someone else."
Alt seems to pale slightly, looking at all their tattoos. “N…no way. You guys don’t… even know your names?? Just a letter? H…how? How did that happen?”
"Well if we knew that we'd be calling each other our names," C mutters.
J3 sighs. There is... a company in this world. A corporation. They like to control unusual things. Including people. But people prove hard to work with, so they remove their memories.
"J3 was only a partial success, though," H says. "Due to his... state."
But even though I know more about the world and what happened, I don't know any personal details of who I was before, J3 clarifies.
Alt looks heartbroken for them, his chest aching. Seeing versions of his friends reduced to just… letters and numbers. Things to control and… experiment with. Just like how SCLERA saw him and chase…!
He’s quiet for a couple beats before he softly says, “…I could tell you… I could tell you your names. If… if you wanna know…”
The group falls silent, their eyes going wide in shock. None of them were expecting this. Even J3 seems a little surprised.
"I... are you sure they are the same?" H asks.
“Pretty sure…” Alt says. “I’ve been… to a lot of parallel worlds. I know all your faces. Every name has been pretty much the same…”
C fidgets. "Um... s-someone called me... something once. It might... be true... So... I don't think it's fair that I might know and you guys don't."
J1 takes a step back. "Um... I-I don't... I..." He shakes his head. "We should all be here when you do that. M and J aren't here, a-and only J3's shadow is."
"And... it is strange, but... it feels like cheating," H says. "Perhaps... you can offer again, later. Perhaps things will be different then."
Alt nods but he looks… uncomfortable. It’s so strange to be around people who just… don’t even have names. “‘Course- wherever you guys want.”
Alt does knit his eyebrows together though, “Okay then… random question. If this is J3 and you’re J1 … who’s J2?”
"Oh, there's not one," J1 says. "There's just J, J1, and J3."
"They are nicknames derived from our subject identifications," H says, indicating the neck tattoos again. "There was never one starting with J2 at the facility."
"Which is weird," C says.
No, because the numbers are dates, J3 say. It just means they didn't pair up a J with someone they brought in on a 20th of a month.
"Ohhh. Still weird. But less weird."
"Ohhh okay.... that makes sense," Alt says. He looks around the room again and then asks, "...so... why are you all just- holed up in a motel room? and you said that ...M and J weren't here? Any idea where they are?"
The group exchanges uneasy glances. J3 leans against the wall, waiting for others to do the talking.
Finally, C sighs and sets the toy gun down on the night stand. “We… escaped from somewhere. A facility run by this corporation J3 mentioned. Th-they’re still looking for us, so we’re hiding from them. And running. We… needed somewhere to sleep, so…” He gestures around at the room.
"Oh..." Alt mumbles quietly. "I'm... so sorry. I... kinda know the feeling but... not as bad as you guys have it."
“J got left behind,” J1 says quietly. “He’s still back there. W-we we’re talking about going back for him. But, uh, when we brought it up…”
“M started acting like a little bitch baby and left,” H grumbles. “He took the van we were using, too. J3 went with him—which I know is confusing considering J3 is right here—” J3 waves. “—but think of him as a version from the future, and our current J3 left.”
“I mean… I don’t blame M for freaking out,” C says. “But still. Did he have to take the van?”
Alt sighs and rubs his head. "Well... it was nice meeting you all but... if you're in hiding I don't want to expose you all... I need to find my brother and my friend... and a dangerous man who's been brought with us here."
“A dangerous man…?” J1 says. “Ooo! We can help! We’re like—we can be superheroes, yknow?!”
J3 nods. I know where your friends appeared.
“Of course you do,” J1 laughs. “Where?”
With M.
“Of fucking course,” H mutters.
Alt blinks in surprise. "...that is like- super freaky. But... helpful!" He laughs. "If you guys wanna help... I'm all for it. Hey- maybe we can get you your van back."
“Love to get the van back,” C mutters. “I don’t think M knows how to drive. I think I’m the only one.”
He then turns to J1 and studies him. "You said you're... like superheroes? What can all of you do?"
“Ooo! Well I am super strong!” J1 bends over and easily lifts up the end on the bed.
“Careful, do not make too much noise,” H says.
“I’m careful!… these days.” J1 gently sets the bed down. “I can also be pretty fast but I have to build up to that speed. And I glow, obviously, and I make people less sad! And then H can heal people while touching them, and C can’t die, and you know about J3’s time thing, and M, when we find him, can do a ton of stuff, he can move stuff without touching and make things suddenly appear and disappear and heat up things—well I guess it’s just those three things when you boil down to it—”
“Jeez, J1, give him some space to talk,” C laughs.
Alt looks impressed and he laughs shaking his head. "Don't worry I'm used to that. Ch- My brother and... my friend are just like that. But, awesome! That'll all be really helpful. The dangerous man- his name is Magnificent... he's a dark magician from my world that is constantly looking for power and he doesn't care who he hurts to get it. Though hm... I dunno if what you guys can do counts for what he's looking for..."
"Ooooo, a magician," J1 repeats, looking excited. "It's really like in the comic books!"
"Well, uh, if we don't count, then we might be helpful," C says. "It means he wouldn't be targeting us? Maybe?"
Alt chuckles at J1's excitement. So much like Jackie... "Yeah... he uh... also goes after his parallels... which I'm pretty sure is M so... best we find them." Alt says quietly.
"In any case, if your friends appeared near M, we need to find him," H says. "J3? Where did you guys go?"
Turn right when leaving the motel and head straight that way, J3 says. And then, abruptly, he disappears.
C blinks. "Just when the shadows start giving you good information, they fade away every time. Well. At least we know where to head."
Alt blinks too as J3 disappears and then laughs, "Guess that happens a lot then."
"Yeah, they don't tend to stick around," J1 says. "The actual guy does, who we'll meet soon if we're finding M."
"Great. Let's go, then." H heads into the bathroom, reappearing with a small black bag slung over one shoulder. "We don't have much to take with us."
"Yeah." C walks over to the closet and grabs a backpack from the floor inside. "Do you think we should be worried about M? If this Magnificent guy is going after him, I mean."
"M can take care of himself," J1 says. "I think he can handle his own. Not sure if he'd win, though... so that's why we're going."
"Hope you do not mind walking," H says to Alt.
Alt chuckles, "I mean... I can try to glitch us- but I dunno how close I can get if we don't know exactly where he is..."
J1 looks confused. "Glitch...?"
"Do you... appear and disappear?" C asks. "Like--teleporting? And it looks all, uh, pixelly and stuff?"
Alt laughs and then glitches from one side of the room back to where he was, "Pretty much yeah~!" He smirks.
"Ooooo!" J1 gasps.
"That can come in very handy," H agrees.
C tilts his head. "A could do that too... but I think it mostly traveled through, like, electrical systems and stuff. And you can... take other people? Huh."
"I can... kinda do that too. But, I try not to do it too often... messes with my brain and shit." Alt says, hunching up in his hoodie.
"But we do not know where he is, so I do not think we could go right there," H says.
C sighs. "You're right. We're gonna have to walk."
"It's gonna be a nice day, though!" J1 says cheerfully. "So let's get to it!"
Alt chuckles, "Walking's fine. Let's get going then."
-----------
Bro and Jackie fall together, landing in a patch of tall grass. It looks like it's around sunrise. On one side of them are some scraggly trees forming a rough forest. On the other side of them is a long single-lane road. A van has pulled off the side of this road, parked directly on a dirt spot by it. It's a white van that looks like it had a logo once, but which was covered up by household off-white paint.
Bro groans and rubs at his head, blearily looking around at the surroundings.
Jackie lays on the ground for a minute, sighing. "Dude... I'm so tired. I think after this I'm gonna sleep for like ... a week."
Bro chuckles, "Maybe you'll actually fix your sleep schedule this time."
"Doubtful." Jackie smirks and then pushes himself up. He looks around, squinting. "Why the fuck are we in the middle of nowhere?"
"Near a freaking- creepy van too..." Bro comments, pointing it out.
"... I hope they don't offer us candy- or a puppy." Jackie tries to joke.
The doors at the back of the van open up, and a man hops out. He’s wearing a white button up shirt underneath a blue T shirt, and has a thick mustache. His eyes land on the two of them, and he freezes.
Then immediately climbs back into the van and closes the doors again.
Bro and Jackie blink at the sight of the man and watch him climb back into the van. They're silent for a second.
"...that looked like Jay." Jackie says.
"No yeah 100%." Bro replies.
"...should we... I dunno... knock?"
"I dunno- what's proper etiquette for trying to enter someone's van?" Bro makes a face, "...Now I sound like Jays."
Jackie giggles.
The man doesn’t appear again. Nothing else moves.
After a bit of waiting, Bro finally sighs and gets up, moving towards the van. Jackie trails nervously behind him.
Bro hesitates, then knocks on the van door. "Uh- hello?" Bro tries to call.
Suddenly, the van door bursts open again. A different person stands there, a man with shoulder-length hair wearing a loose long-sleeved shirt. He glares at Chase and Jackie. His eyes are strange. Normal blue, but with strands of white light dancing across the surface, like sunlight through water.
“Don’t fucking talk to me C, J1!” he snaps. “I don’t care what you say! I’m not coming with you! I’m not going back! Sorry that you wasted the trip out here, but fuck off!”
Bro and Jackie both step back with wide eyes.
Bro puts up his hands in a calming gesture. "Woahhh! Hey I uh- dunno who those... guys are? But- not them! I'm Chase- and this is my friend Jackie? We uh... saw someone we thought we recognize go into that van and so we uh... wanted to see?"
The man pauses. His eyes flick over the two of them, taking in the details. And he starts to look confused. He turns over his shoulder and looks back into the van. “It’s not them,” he whispers, too quietly for Jackie’s non-super ears to pick out. “I don’t know. Are they going to hurt us? Well go check!”
Bro tilts his head. He calls, "We're not gonna hurt you! We just... wanna know where we are. And uh... well- see if you guys can help us? We need to find some people but we're kinda lost?"
The man tenses, looking back at Bro. “Wha—no, you didn’t hear that! You didn’t hear that!” He suddenly closes the van doors.
Bro balks as the door gets slammed in his face.
"...I think these guys might be a tad bit paranoid-" Jackie whispers. Bro tries to hide a laugh.
Then, a moment later, the doors open again, and now the man from before is in front while the second one lingers in the background.
Can you understand me? he asks in sign language.
Bro perks up as the first man pops back in. He nods, "Yeah I can! We both can understand sign language." He gestures to Jackie who is still lurking behind him, almost like a shy child.
The first man sighs. I’m sorry about my friend’s reaction. He’s not good with people, and you look like some guys we know who he argued with. If we can help, I’d like to. You’re looking for someone?
Bro deflates in relief and he smiles. "Yeah... we're looking for my little brother. Andddd someone... not so great. A villain. Tho we did just drop in so... I don't think he's gotten into too much trouble yet." He sticks his hands in his pockets. "We just... need to know where we can go to start looking for them. Cuz- I dunno where the hell we are."
We’re sort of isolated right now, the man says. But there’s a town back there. He points down the road.
“The town’s called Mooridge, I think,” the other guy mutters. He brushes back his hair absentmindedly, and for a moment, the guys catch a glimpse of some sort of black mark on his neck. A tattoo of some kind.
We haven’t seen anyone else, the first one says. But it is early in the day. We were asleep for a while. We could have missed someone.
"Ah, that makes sense." Bro nods. "Well- sorry to disturb you both. I guess we'll head that way."
Jackie looks at Bro and then tugs on his jacket pulling him back to whisper to him, "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be... I dunno- sticking with these two? They're... kinda our friends. And they know how this world works!"
"They clearly don't want to be around anyone, Jackie! I'm sure we can manage on our own..."
The two in the van stare at Bro, and the first looks at the second.
“Can you check?” the second asks. “They’ve already seen my eyes.”
The first one nods. And something flickers. It looks like a copy of him, monochrome and blurry, walks away from him and fades into nothing. Then another one of those copies comes back and walks over to him.
Bro and Jackie stop their conversation to stare wide eyed at the blurry copies coming and going off the first man.
"...am I hallucinating?" Jackie breathes.
"Nooo I see it too. W-What the hell?" Bro whispers. "Uh... w-what are you... checking, exactly?"
I hope you’re not offended by this, but I was checking to see if you were telling the truth when you said you wouldn’t hurt us, the first man says.
“And?” The other prompts.
They’re not.
The other man breathes a sigh of relief.
The first one sits down, legs dangling out of the open doorway. Are you two really from another universe?
“Wha—” the other man chokes in surprise.
The swaps exchange confused glances but kinda just shrug it off- until the first one asks his question. Bro and Jackie also choke slightly- eyes wide.
"How... How did you know that??" Jackie asks, flabbergasted.
You’ll talk about it a lot in the future, the first man says.
“J3, are you sure this is safe to talk about?” The second man asks.
Yes, I trust the three of them.
"You can see the future??" Bro gasps, then smiles, "Just like Jair! Oh- that's really cool! ... I don't think you're an oracle though-"
"Ohhh yeah!" Jackie blinks at the first man and then sheepishly smiles. "Well... since you seem to know so much about us and trust us now... can we get your names?"
J3 smiles sadly. Unfortunately, we don’t know our names. Our memories were lost. So we call each other nicknames.
Bro and Jackie look shocked. “You don’t even know your names…?” Bro whispers in sympathetic horror.
The second man sighs. “I’m M. This is J3. You are Chase and Jackie. Glad we’re all introduced.”
“Oh… well… n-nice to meet you then, M… J3…. Why the 3?” Jackie asks.
Because we know two others who also started with a J, J3 says.
“You know even more people who don’t know their names?! And they- they look like us??” Bro looks absolutely flabbergasted. This whole situation… it’s making him feel… weird. And uncomfy. And he’s not sure why…
Unfortunately, J3 says. Four others, to be exact.
“I… thought you were one of them…one of the Js,” M mutters, glancing at Jackie and then looking away. “Thought him and someone else we know had come here to try and… talk to me. Convince me to do something.”
“Ah- that explains the yelling then,” Jackie says, crossing his arms. “Immm guessing you all split off?”
M fold his arms. “They wanted to do something stupid. Well if they want to do that, fine, I’m not going with though and they can’t fucking make me.”
They might be mad that we took the van, though, J3 says.
“I mean- I’d be mad if someone took my car.” Jackie comments.
Bro knits his eyebrows together, “…what did they want to do?”
"They wanted to go back to that place!" M snaps. "Back to the place we came from! The place where they--where we were--" He shudders, looking to the side. "We were... stuck in this... this facility. A-and the people there, they--they--" And he stops again.
It was not a kind place, J3 signs slowly. But one of us got left behind in the confusion when we escaped. The others wanted to go back for him.
Bro's eyes widen. That... sounds like what Alt told him about... about that place- SCLERA. He shudders and holds his arm. Then, after a beat he says, "...M-Maybe... we could help. We could help you get him back?"
Jackie looks at Bro like he's crazy.
"What?! No! We're not going back there!" M shouts. "I-I don't want to--I really don't want to--I--" He turns around and walks farther into the van, disappearing after sight.
J3 watches him go with a sad expression. Then he sighs and turns back to the other two. I do think we should go get our friend, but... M's experience there was... terrible. I don't blame him for not wanting to go back. But I don't want him to be out here by himself, so I'm staying with him. But... we may be able to help you find YOUR friend, maybe?
Jackie nods, “That’s a good idea. We’d really appreciate that. We don’t wanna get too much into things that don’t involve us.” He slightly nudges Bro.
Bro glares at bit at Jackie but then slowly nods. “Yeah… okay. We need to find my brother, Alt. …god I hope he didn’t end up in this- facility place…”
Hold on, I can check where he appeared, J3 says. Another one of those monochrome shadows stands up and disappears. He nods. You said his name was A-L-T? He didn't appear there. He showed up with our other friends.
M comes back just in time to see this. "You're fucking kidding."
“Heyyy that’s handy!” Jackie grins.
Bro sighs in relief. “Okay… at least he’s safe. Can you… help us get to them? Even if… you don’t wanna see them. Sorry, M.”
M groans for a long time, staring up at the sky. "Fine," he finally says, shortly. "Get in. I'm driving. We can meet them halfway." He climbs out of the van and walks around towards the driver's side door.
Thank you! J3 says. That's so kind!
"Yeah, yeah."
Jackie laughs. That was such a Marvin-ism. Takes him back.
“Thank you!” Bro calls too. Then him and Jackie climb into the van.
The area in the van is mostly empty. There's a pile of clothes in the corner and a handful of blankets and pillows in the center. Clearly a crude sleeping area. Sitting on top of one of the pillows are three plush animals. A purple llama, a rainbow elephant, and a black and white seal. Part of the llama's fur is a bit burned.
As soon as the two guys are in, J3 closes the van doors, leaving the area dimly lit.
M pushes open a window that connects the main body of the van to the part where the driver sits. "J3, can you hand me Lia?"
J3 nods. He picks up the llama plush and passes it to M though the window.
"Thanks." M takes it. A moment later, the engine starts up.
Bro and Jackie look around and then try to find a place to get comfy. Bro sits up against the wall of the van. Jackie sticks close by.
Jackie smiles when he sees the stuffed animals and M grabbing one. “aw those are cute. Remind me of one’s my daughters have. Do the other two have names?”
"Yeah well I'm not a child!" M snaps. Then he pauses. "Sorry. That was... you weren't implying anything. Didn't mean to shout."
Another pause. "Ella and Seth. That's the other two. They're... very important to me."
Jackie blinks in surprise then laughs nervously. “Oh.. well- those are nice names! I’m… um- glad you have them.”
“They’re very cute.” Bro adds with a smile.
"Thanks. I think so, too." M slowly turns the van around and starts driving down the road.
Slowly. J3 knocks on the window. You can go a bit faster, you know.
"Oh, but last night you were complaining about me going to fast."
There has to be a middle ground.
Jackie laughs, “yeah- that middle ground is usually called the speed limit.”
"You know, I don't think I drove a lot before this," M says. "This all feels new. C was driving us before, he said that driving felt familiar. I don't feel that."
C came from somewhere else, like H did, maybe people over there drive more than here, J3 says.
“…are you saying you haven’t driven before??” Jackie asks, suddenly nervous. “I-I have my license if you’d like! I could drive just steer me in the right direction!!”
Bro chuckles, “Hey they’ve gotten this far- seems like he’s at least decent.”
"I-it's just a straight line, it'll be fine," M says. "But, uh. You could come up to the passenger seat if you want. And tell me how I'm doing."
“…yeah sure why not. Practice for when my kids get older I guess.” Jackie mumbles.
Once the car stops he makes his way over to the passenger side and hops in. Bro tries his best to hide his laughter.
M nods at Jackie as he climbs in . "Good to h-have you here," he says, suddenly a bit nervous. Lia the llama is sitting on the drink tray between the two seats. The driver's cabin is pretty generic... except for the world 'AMBREL' stamped across the dashboard. "Now let's keep going." He puts the van in gear again and keeps going.
Still a bit slow.
Jackie smiles encouragingly. He watches for a while before leaning over, “You can step on the gas a little bit more. Try to press with just the front of your foot instead of putting your whole weight.”
"Just the front... okay." The van lurches forward for a moment before M figures out a good speed.
Jackie clings to his seat in slight for a second before he gives M a shaky thumbs up. “That’s good!”
There's someone else who came from your universe with you besides your friend Alt, right? J3 asks. I heard him talking about someone else, and you mentioned someone earlier.
Bro blinks at J3’s signs and then nods. “Yeah… there’s also a… a dangerous guy here. His name is Magnificent. He’s a seriously messed up dude- who can do all sorts of messed up mental magic and like control people.”
J3 shudders. We know something like that. They called it A1010. It can put people in a trance or make them see things. But it prefers to be more... direct.
"Do you think A1010 is still at the facility?" M asks J3.
J3 nods.
"Well in that case, at least we won't have to worry about him as well as this Magnificent guy."
Bro shudders, "Yeah,,, I'd hate to have to deal with two people like that... Mag is bad enough." He can't help thinking about the King and Mag working together. Yeah he'd really like to avoid that if he can.
-----------
Magnificent appears in a room that's entirely white. Walls, floors, ceiling, all white. But the lighting is red, so it's all bathed in crimson. A single door leads into the room, made of metal and halfway slid open. The main feature of the room is a glass wall. Or, three, actually, making a room within a room. Inside the glass is a set of furniture, like you'd find a bedroom, all generic and metal. Cameras are scattered across the area outside of the glass, on the ground and on tripods, cables connecting them all to a corner of the room where the plaster has been torn away, with the cables feeding into the resulting hole.
Magnificent awoke as they fell and so he falls into the room and has to push himself up, his face aching. He growls and bares his teeth, "Fucking... Brodys- both of them! I'm gonna rip that hero into fucking shred-!" He pauses as he realizes where he is and his stomach slowly drops as he pushes himself up to his feet. "W-What... what is this...?" He breathes. Then, his anger spikes and he throws himself at the glass, trying to break out of it.
The glass is surprisingly--unnaturally, in fact--sturdy.
"Um..." A man pokes his head out from around one of the furniture pieces--the free-standing wardrobe. He's wearing a black hoodie, and the sclera of his right eye is bright green. "Who... are you?" he asks timidly. "How did you get in here?"
Magnificent screams in rage, ready to strike again when the voice gives him pause. He straightens up to look back at the other man and tilts his head. He narrows his eyes. "...You can call me Magnificent. As for how I got here... I have no earthly idea. Usually the device doesn't put us in such... situations." He glares up at the ceiling and crosses his arms, trying to hide how unnerved he really is. "... suppose the universe is having a laugh at me." He then sighs and looks back at the man. "Who are you? What is this place?"
"I'm, um... J? J0702. That's what they call me." The man pulls aside the edge of his hoodie, showing that sequence tattooed on his neck. "This is... a facility, I guess? The location is called JSE2012. I-I don't know where it is. Sorry." J gives a small, nervous laugh. "You... got in here with a... device?"
Magnificent makes a face seeing the man's tattoo. "Huh... a facility." He then snorts and waves his hand, "Yes- some device my cub picked up. It takes us from our own world into others. Appearing in a new world is random... hence... my being... here."
"You're from another universe?" J asks. "I... guess I've heard weirder. There are probably things to help you travel to other worlds here."
Suddenly, the sound of static fills the room. Red lights start blinking on all the cameras.
J tenses, staring in horror. "Oh god." He scrambles backwards, glancing around wildly for somewhere to hide. The closet isn't deep enough for him to fit. There's a chest, but it's also not big enough for a grown man to fit. The only real option is the attached bathroom, which is just big enough for a toilet.
"I--If you can get out of here, you should. Or--if you can hide somehow, you should."
Magnificent raises an eyebrow, looking back at J. "And... why is that?" He glances at the cameras and bares his teeth at them. He could always try teleporting out of here.... how did he forget that? He blames Fantastic for scrambling his brain.
A mass of black stuff pours out on the lens of a camera, something grisly. It glitches, breaking into green pixels and broken static.
“Because of that!” J says, running into the bathroom and sliding the door closed. The mass pours onto the ground and then rises again, forming a humanoid shape. And then the figure shifts, turning into… a perfect image of Magnificent himself. Well, almost perfect. The right eye is dangling from the socket.
Magnificent still looks confused then watches the camera thing glitch and- "What the hell?!' He growls at the copy and lights magic in his hands, baring his teeth. "What kind of joke is this?!"
"You see your own face and think it's a joke?" The other him laughs and tilts his head. "That's not a good way to think of yourself." He walks up to the glass, pressing his forehead against it. "Have you trapped yourself in there? Are you too afraid to try and get out?"
Magnificent snarls at the copy. "I can get out just fine!" He tries to teleport out of the glass to attack this cheap imitation!
He can teleport out just fine but- he ends up barreling past the copy and skids on the floor. He seems temporary relived there was no magic barrier or anything keeping him in.
The copy laughs, twisting around to look at Magnificent--first the head, then the torso, then the legs. "You're not that smart, are you?" it says. "Never have been. And not as powerful as you think. Otherwise you wouldn't keep getting knocked out every time you fight someone in these worlds. Maybe you're just a bit... o̴u̕t̴ ͟o̢f̶ ̀y̢o̕ur͠ ̨dep̛th̶.̕"
A knife appears in the copy's hand and it rushes for him.
Magnificent makes a disgusted face and staggers back. Then, he yells out in rage and tries to block the copy's attack but he gets sliced across the arm. He grunts then whips out to blast fire its way.
The copy screeches as the fire burns him. He loses concentration, dropping Magnificent's appearance and returning to a black skeletal look. He crouches close to the ground and shifts again--now looking just like that man from before, J0702. Still with that dangling eye, and with the addition of a slit throat weeping blood. He looks up at Magnificent and laughs. "Always so blunt. Except for when you're not, and even then, you are."
The air behind him flickers, glitches and colored static running together, forming... a spiral.
Magnificent backs up more, watching this thing with wide eyes. "W-What are you?!" He cries. He then watches at the spiral forms- but soon enough he growls, not being pulled into its thrall. He starts to laugh madly, "Fine! You wanna copy each other?! I can do that too!" He spreads out his hands and an array of magic knives appears above him in an arc. He shouts and sends them all flying at the creature.
The creature glitches wildly, avoiding most of the knives--however, a couple hit him, and he screeches again. He disappears and reappears inside the glass wall. And, smiling, he gives a smug little wave. "You ask me what I am? I am ▒A░n░t░i▒, and I am the only one like me in this world."
Magnificent hisses at the creature then laughs, "You call yourself that then? Pity- I know far greater Antis then you. Ones that don't cower behind glass."
"Cower...? Do you think it matters to me where this body is?" All at once, the cameras in the room turn towards Magnificent. Electricity sparks along the cables, turning the floor into a minefield. "This facility is mine now," A hisses. "You will not escape it."
He reaches up towards the lights in the ceiling. His form becomes electric and disappears up into it. The half-open entrance to the room shuts and clicks, sealing itself closed.
"What?!" Magnificent gasps, he tries to run towards the door- seeing if he can try to teleport out of it-! He can't be trapped here, he can't!
He appears on the other side of the sealed door in a long hallway, all with equally sealed doors. There's a hole in the ceiling, through which dangle wires and metal parts sparking with electricity. The ceiling creaks, like something heavy is moving on top of it.
Magnificent tries to keep his panic back as he rushes forward, trying to look for another way out.
Every single door is sealed shut. The only ones that aren't are ones that aren't all that important, leading to janitor closets or electrical rooms that are so full of loose electricity that he can't step inside at all.
"No no no!" Magnificent hisses. Okay... maybe there's... power around here? Something he can use? He tries to look around for any source of magic or power nearby.
Yes, there's power all around, though it feels slightly different than what he's expecting. It's hard to describe. Like someone was recreating a recipe but got the ingredients slightly wrong. It's mostly... above him? On the higher floors of this facility.
Magnificent purses his lips at this. But, at least it gives him a goal. He stops his running and tries to teleport up higher.
The next floor up is exactly the same as the one below--though some of the walls are knocked down, revealing large, featureless rooms beyond.
And inside one of those rooms, a large creature is moving...
Magnificent tries to focus but... what is that thing? He... He's too curious not to get a closer look. He approaches the creature with a tilted head.
That thing turns out to be a giant animal. A raccoon, to be specific, The thing is about ten feet tall, sniffing along the edge . There's a collar wrapped around its neck, on which is written, in massive letters, S1707. It raises its head, looks at Mag, and growls.
Magnificent is startled by the raccoon. "What is the world??" He asks and then shakes his head and looks around for that source of power.
There are several sources around... and the closest is, indeed, the raccoon. But the second closest comes from some way down the hall. It seems like it's actually two sources close together.
...he doesn't want to chance being mauled by a raccoon. He heads towards the other two sources.
In one of the smaller rooms with the walls broken, there's... a cat. A cat right in the middle of the room. It's a very fluffy white one, and it's batting at a ball of purple string. Seems like the power is coming from both the cat and the yarn ball. Oh... it's such a pretty cat, too.
Magnificent inherit love of cats has him softening slightly at the sight. He chuckles and starts to approach the cat, kneeling down close to it and offering it his hand. "Well.. hello there beautiful!"
The cat looks up at him with big green eyes. There's a collar around its neck with the ID W3012 on it, along with a small black box. It meows gently and bats the yarn ball towards him. It misses, and just keeps rolling. It's unraveling... and unraveling... and unraveling... the ball doesn't look any smaller but the string trailing from it is now about ten feet long. Heh. How funny.
Magnificent watches the ball roll with increasing concern. "What... the fuck...?" He shakes his head then tries to pet the cat.
The cat sniffs his hand, then flicks her tail and sits down, purring, allowing herself to be pet. For some reason, Magnificent is reminded of something... Some time when he last felt... content...
How long ago was that...?
...too long. It's been far too long.
Since he became... this- he always yearned for something more. For power... for magic.. for souls. Contentment isn't something he's used to anymore.
So... the last memory that comes up into his head is... uni. He's sitting in the living room, excitedly telling Jackie about a new spell he learned as he works on a costume for class. Jackie is laughing, his cheeks red and Mag feels his own cheeks flushed, having an easy relaxed smile. ...how long has it been since he smiled like that?
He gasps and pulls away from the cat, feeling a... wetness in his eyes. He trembles back from her, his voice caught in his throat.
"Aw... isn't that s̀w̕eet̛?"
The cat's head snaps to the side. It yowls and suddenly bolts. Away from the figure who suddenly appeared.
The black, skeletal figure that soon transforms into... Jackie, just as he looked in that memory.
Magnificent stiffens and then scrambles away from the creature- but his breath is taken away as he sees Jackie. Just how he remembered him.
But that cruel smile ruins it.
"You know you can't go back there," A whispers. Blood starts to leak from his eyes as they roll back in his head.
A choked noise comes from Mag’s mouth at A's words. But, then he growls and shoots a bolt of magic at him. "I know I can't! I-I don't need to!"
The bolt hits Jackie square in the chest and he screams, falling backwards. He lands hard on his back, the front of his shirt burned and smoking from the impact. "M...Marvin...?" he breathes. "Wh-why...?"
And then he breathes out and stops moving.
Magnificent stands there, frozen, his hand still outstretched. He feels like he can't breathe. Part of him knows- knows this isn't Jackie- but the other part of him, that part of his heart that still beats- still convinces him he's human- its screaming.
He backs up, another choked noise of confusion and suppressed pain escaping his lips.
Moments pass in silence. Jackie lies there, unmoving.
Until... "Fascinating," a voice whispers behind him. "I thought you were heartless."
Magnificent shudders and then moves to slash behind him, breathing heavily. "S-Shut up! S-Stop messing with me!"
His claws scrape across A's chest--once again in the form of Magnificent himself--and he falls backwards, laughing. "But it's so fun, isn't it?!" he shouts, still laughing. "And you'd better get used to it! Because you'll be here for a while."
And then his body disperses into pixels and disappears.
Magnificent huffs, a mix of rage and sudden exhaustion. He takes a second to compose himself, breathing deeply. Then, he rubs at his eyes, growling to himself. He shakes his head and goes to move forward... he needs to find a way out of here.