Modern Fantasy
Chapter 20: Goodbye for Now
Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Read the second FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3
They all appear in a small-ish apartment. There’s an orange couch pushed up against the wall next to a sliding door, across from a tv and a low table. There’s an open concept kitchen in front of them, a long marble counter top cutting the room in half, a few tall chairs stacked up under the lip of the table. Then there’s a long hallway leading to the door. There’s a door right next to where the tv is and another hallway past the couch to the right. A familiar jacket lays on one of the chairs by the counter- bright orange with Bro Fantastic’s logo on it.
And- they don’t arrive alone.
Bro is laid up on the couch, seemingly knocked out, cuts and bruises on his arms and face.
Dr. J is kneeled down next to him, looking him over.
Henny and Jackieboy are in the kitchen- Henny on a chair and Jackieboy grabbing water from the fridge. They all gasp as the others crash in.
“My friends!” Henny shouts, tears in his eyes as he scrambles to get to his feet.
"H-Henny!" Chase shouts. "Jackieboy! JJ! Oh, it's so good to see you all!"
Jackie runs to the nearest person--who turns out to be Dr. J--and gives him a big hug from behind. The he quickly stops and pulls back. "Sorry, sorry, you're probably busy right now.”
Dr. J startles a bit and then laughs, patting Jackie’s arm, “No no it’s quite alright!”
Alt then sways, the green white light of his magic fading. Once gone, he lets out an exhausted pained breath then crashes to the floor, eyes rolling up into his head.
“What happened to Br--" Henrik starts to ask, and then Alt collapses and his head snaps towards him. "Alt!"
Marvin also falls to his knees, clutching his focus. Draco is normal-size again, and he flops down on his side, also looking tired.
The other swaps all jump as Alt collapses, then Marvin.
"What is with you magic-wielders and using all your magic?!" Jackie gasps. Henrik glances back and forth between Alt, Marvin, and Jameson, then decides to hurry over to Alt. "I-is there a bed somewhere?!"
Henny hurries to help up Marvin, “Yes uh- we can show you to Alt’s room and… Juwel we can put down Marvin and Jamie in Chase’s, yes?”
“Yes he does have the bigger bed…” Dr. J says, getting to his feet.
A black furry shadow darts out and cautiously goes to sniff at Draco. Glitches mewls at the other cat in distress, trying to nudge him up with her nose.
Draco lifts his head and sniffs Glitches in turn. His tail waves in greeting.
Jackie goes over and scoops him up. "He'll be fine, Glitches, don't worry," he says. "He's magic."
Glitches mewls and trails after Jackie for a second- before realizing they’re taking Alt the opposite direction and heading that way.
Dr. J goes to open the door by the TV- revealing the master bedroom and Bro’s messy but comfy looking queen sized bed. There’s clothes on the floor and a punching bag tucked in the corner, and boxes of what looks like fan merch around it.
“…good god Chase-“ Dr. J sighs, shaking his head.
Chase follows the others to Chase's room, taking Jameson with him, who was leaning his head heavily against his shoulder.
Henny hurries in to help Marvin onto the bed. “Here Marvin… rest please?” He says quietly.
"Mm-hmm," Marvin mumbles. "I'll rest." Normally he might have protested, but it had been a long, long day. He stumbles towards the bed and collapses without any more words.
"Make sure he has his focus!" Henrik calls as he helps Alt to the other room. "That will help him!”
“He has it, Hen, don't worry," Chase reassures him, helping Jameson onto the bed as well. "How do you feel, Jamie?"
Jameson blinks. A bit better... he says slowly.
"You should still rest," Chase insists. "Who knows what that magic does to a body?"
Jameson lets out a breath that might've been a little laugh. He lays down and looks up at the ceiling.
Jackie walks into the room, carrying Draco with him. He sets the cat down next to Marvin, and he curls up next to his chest. Marvin puts a hand on him, fingers digging into his fluffy fur as Draco starts to purr. "I think that'll help them both," Jackie explains.
Dr. J gives them a tight worried smile. “T-There’s research that says a cat’s purring can actually assist in healing the body so…”
Jackie nods. "That, and Draco is made of magic, sooo..." He shrugs. "Feel better soon, you two," he says.
“…how did Draco get here?!” Henny asks, scratching his head. “A-and what happened to you all? Jackie and me heard that SCLERA was coming but… then we heard nothing!”
Dr. J sighs, “Yes… after that all we got was a location from Alt telling us to come over… and then finding Bro on the couch…”
Chase shakes his head. "I don't know how Draco got here. It was like... like the air opened up, and out came a bunch of light and Draco. He fell onto that horrible doctor, though, so I won't complain.”
“As for what happened..." Jackie sighs. "There was... a strange woman and a bunch of colored smoke in the clinic. The smoke put us to sleep, and we woke up somewhere else. It must have been a lair for Sclera."
Chase shudders. "They were... really interested... in our memories. And in... Jameson.”
Dr. J looks a bit pale and Henny gasps and holds a hand over his mouth. “Overdose..! T-Those bastards-!” He snaps at the end.
Dr. J looks at the two of them with worry before sighing, “They look… physically okay… but if they’re magically hurt… we may need to see if we call someone to come help…”
"Will that be difficult?" Chase asks. "Um... since magic isn't a known thing here?”
“Oh I meant you could contact Alt’s mentor… they would be the most knowledgeable about all of this.” Dr. J says.
“I wish we hadn't left those magic cookies-with-cream in the clinic," Jackie mutters. "But that would've been difficult with the whole... sleeping smoke thing."
“Oh! Maybe Oli can see if they’re still there! He will want to know that Alt is safe now…” Henny says, pulling out his phone to tap on the screen rapidly.
"Alt's mentor? That'd be helpful!" Jackie says. "And yes--we'll want to let Oliver know."
“Let me see if I can contact them,” Dr. J chuckles and pulls out his own phone.
Henny beams and then turns to the others, “Oli is gonna come meet us!”
“Oh dear- it might get crowded in here then,” Dr. J says.
"Thank you, JJ," Chase says. "Great!" Jackie says. "We'll make room. Ohhh he's gonna be so worried about Alt, isn't he?”
Henny sighs, “Very… he and his brothers managed to hunker down away from Overdose when she came to the hospital… but that means he was very worried when he just suddenly wasn’t there.”
“Yes… I do hope Alt or Bro can help us fill in the gaps on what happened…” Dr. J says.
Meanwhile, on the bed, Marvin and Jameson have fallen asleep. Draco might be asleep, or he might just have his eyes closed, it's hard to tell with cats.
On the other side of the house, Jackieboy goes to help Henrik. “c’mon hen- Alt’s room is this way.” He leads them down the hallway to the right and towards one of the farthest doors. Inside is a twin sized bed pushed against the wall, green binary print on the blankets and pillows. Posters for bands and podcasts line his walls and a desk is hidden amongst a triangular dip in the ceiling. The desk is piled up high with magic books and objects and a box of jumbled up tech pieces sits next to the chair. A TV on a small dresser sits across from the bed. And on the bed… there’s two books open. One filled with ‘power runes’ the other filled with a passage about blood magic… next to Alt’s pocket knife that is stained with old blood.
Jackieboy’s eyes widen as he sees this and then he curses, “…goddamnit Alt-“ He pushes those books and the knife off his bed then helps Henrik to lay him down.
Henrik's eyes glance to the books and knife. "Sisters damn it, Alt," he mutters. "I think we are all grateful for you help, but... Sisters."
Alt wheezes a bit and clutches at his chest with his bleeding hand. He dazedly tries to look at Jackieboy and Henrik and smiles shakily at them.
Jackieboy scowls. “…I wanna be so mad at you right now…! But… Christ- let’s at least get that hand bandaged…” He sighs, hurrying across the hall to the bathroom and pulling out a med kit. “Does anyone else need patching up, Hen?”
“Physically?" Henrik asks, following Jackieboy. "No, I think we were all taken care of at the hospital before being captured. But they did something strange to us while we were captured... They... h-had these magical devices that looked at our memories, and..." He trails off.
“M-Memories?” Jackieboy asks, “that’s… new. I think…”
"I think it drained our energy as well. But Jameson... I think they used some dark magic on him."
Jackieboy looks a bit pale, “Ah shit… ‘course they did… that’s what SCLERA prides themselves in… their ‘black magic core’… god that’s… that’s not good though…”
Henrik nods. "Yes, I can tell..." He glances back towards where Jameson and Marvin are resting.
Jackieboy walks back into Alt’s room and sits down on the bed next to him, going to wrap up his hand.
Alt sleepily blinks up at Jackieboy before letting his eyes drift back shut.
Henrik follows Jackieboy back into Alt's room. "Do you need something to stave off infection? Hm, well... I suppose if it was not an open wound for too long, and Alt's knife was clean..."
“Oh uh- yeah I should clean it…” Jackieboy says, pulling out some hydrogen peroxide and pulling out some gauze then carefully putting it on top of Alt’s hand.
Alt hisses and almost jerks his hand away but Jackieboy holds it still, “jeez Alt! This is kinda what you get for cutting into your own hand!”
Alt tiredly glares at Jackieboy.
"You put that directly on the cuts?" Henrik asks, intrigued. "Back home we put cleaning salves on the bandage and then wrap it around the cut."
“Hm? Oh yeah it uh- bubbles up and cleans out all the… germs and stuff,” Jackieboy says as he pats the wound dry then starts to wrap up Alt’s hand.
“...germs?" Henrik repeats, confused.
Glitches bounds into the room and leaps up on Alt’s bed, going to rub her face against his cheek.
“Oh! That’s uh- what causes infections… right?” Jackieboy says as he knits his eyebrows in confusion. “…at least that’s what I know.”
"...ah! So, ah... are these 'jermz'," Henrik gives it an exaggerated pronunciation, to be sure that he's getting it right. "They are... in dirt and dust?"
Jackieboy hums and thinks, “Uh… I think?… but germs are like… also associated with humans and animals and… things you can like catch from other things?” He sighs and shakes his dead, “I dunno! I’m not the doctor, Jay is!”
Henrik blinks. "Very well. I suppose I can ask him about these invisible infectors called germs." He looks down at Alt and smiles. "Get some rest, yes?" Then he heads out of the room to go ask Dr. J about germs.
Alt blinks open his eyes and tries to smile back, “mhm…”
Jackieboy finishes wrapping up Alt’s hand and goes to put away the supplies, sighing heavily. “…never a dull day.” He mumbles to himself. He passes Alt and ruffles his hair slightly before following after Henrik to find the others.
Meanwhile, back in Bro’s room Someone stumbles to the door, rubbing at his head as he blinks at the people in there. “…why is everyone in my room…?” Bro asks groggily.
"Bro!" Jackie gasps, whirling to look at him. "Um--we needed a place for Marvin and Jameson to rest. Anyway. What happened to you? Why are you beat down the road?”
“You weren't this injured before, were you?" Chase adds.
Bro blinks blearily out at everyone and looks confused. “Um… I don’t… remember… coming here-“ He says slowly, his eyebrows knitting together. Then he blinks more in surprise and touches his face, recoiling back as it hurts. “Ow,..! …uh??? I don’t- know???” He looks at Jackie and Chase with wide eyes. “…what the hell happened?!”
"What is the last thing you remember?" Chase asks. "Do you remember that woman with the colorful smoke? Or you and Alt freaking out about Sclera?”
“I think that woman said something about not needing you or Alt...?" Jackie recalls. "And... told you to... keep him out of the way...?" He rubs his head. "I was falling asleep at the time, from the smoke, so I don't remember much."
“I…. I remember…” Bro looks more confused. “The… the hospital- yeah w-we were trying to get away! I remember rolling out the window with Alt…! But then… I… I don’t remember anything else…”
Henny and Dr. J exchange worried glances.
Jameson raises his head. That sounds like enchantment, he signs weakly.
"She enchanted Bro?" Jackie repeats. "I guess that makes sense."
Bro’s eyes widen and he seems to pale. “Oh… oh fuck-“ He holds out his arm then grips at his wrist, gritting his teeth. “…they used this fucking thing again! Those motherfuckers!” He looks at the others with desperation, “so they… they got you guys…? S-SCLERA…?”
Chase and Jackie nod in unison. "Yeah..." Chase whispers. "I-it could have been worse... Alt and Draco came to get us, probably just before things went really, really bad.”
“…Draco?” Bro asks then notices the fluffy mound in between Marvin and Jameson. “…huh- we can… come back to that, I guess.”
“They used some strange spells and talismans to look into our memories," Jackie says, rubbing his head as he recalled the feeling of the circlet digging into his skull. "It was... exhausting. B-but Jameson had it worse."
Jameson raises a hand into the air, then drops it and continues staring at the ceiling.
The hero leans against the door heavily and crosses his arms. He looks extremely guilty. “…I-I’m so sorry you guys I… we all promised to keep you safe and…” He blinks frustrated tears out of his eyes.
Jackie put a hand on Bro's shoulder. "I know," he says softly. "I want to protect the others too. And I take it seriously when I don't. We have to remember that we can't see everything coming. Hard as it is to move past that."
“I feel like I… I should have seen this coming but…” Bro sighs, “You’re right…”
"Does that enchantment happen to you... often... Bro?" Chase asks, concerned.
Bro looks back at his other self and shakes his head, “…not often thankfully but… w-when they want something it…” He shuts his eyes in regret. “… I was an idiot… and now they can just… use me. B-But we’re gonna find a way to stop it just… n-not sure how yet…” He looks over to Marvin and Jameson with concern. “…what did they do to Jameson…?”
Chase glances back at Jameson. "They were trying to make him have a vision. I think it... worked? Maybe? But the method they used it..." He swallows a lump in his throat. "Th-they said something about increasing the magic in his body, and I think they did that with dark magic...”
Henny gasps, “They tried to force him to have a vision! That is not how that works!!”
"I know! It is not at all how it works!" Jackie shakes his head. "But something happened. I don't know if they were visions or just things not there, though..."
Bro looks pale again, “B-black magic..!” He hurries over to lean down by Jameson and waves a hand at him. “Uh hi? Jamie? You’re not feeling uh… chaotic orr murderous right now, are you?”
Jameson blinks up at Bro sleepily. He shakes his head. Why? he asked slowly. Does dark magic... make you evil?
Bro sits on the edge of the bed and sighs, “…I dunno to be honest… I… think so? Alt knows better… I think it uh… twists how you normally would act. So if you’re a good person… it’d make you act bad. But… maybe… it all got burned out of you from the visions…?” He shudders- remembering seeing the JJ from the switch world and how he acted when exposed to black magic… and then Marvin and Alt today.
Jameson blinks. Well I... didn't feel... murderous at any point, he says. I think... the magic wasn't... intended to do that.
“Hm… that’s good then I guess… I mean not good they used it on you but… glad it didn’t change you.” Bro sighs.
I did see some strange things, though...
Chase nods. "Yeah... they showed what you saw on those, uh, TVs. Those things were strange and disturbing... until those 'visions' happened."
Bro leans back and looks between Jameson and Chase, “…so what kind of visions did he get?”
Jameson blinks. His eyes go a bit distant, and he gestures at Jackie and Chase to explain, then closes his eyes and tries to sleep some more.
"Very bizarre things at first," Jackie mutters. "His surroundings were shifting and became... completely unrecognizable. There were all these shapes and colors and then... hmm... Chase, how do we explain this?”
“I think he had a vision about Jack first?" Chase says hesitantly. "Just a single image, really, of him with some foreign-looking people. Then there was something else with some younger kids, the older one handing the younger one a necklace of some kind... uh, there was a man who looked like Jameson and a woman who resembled him a bit, holding hands, I think they were in an environment that was a bit closer to your world than ours. Uh... there was a different man who looked like Jameson, and some others--”
“Other men who looked like us," Jackie adds.
"Oh!" Chase's eyes widen. "They did sort of look like us. Anyway, that group was facing down some sort of electric storm, with this glowing figure with strange... what is that word you used? S-static? Static in his eyes.”
Bro listens to all of this with wide eyes. All of those… sound vaguely familiar…! Like… the didn't little Jay have a necklace? A watch right? And a sister with another Jamie in a big city… that could be hero Jay! “…he saw into multiple worlds…!” Bro breathes.
Henny blinks in surprise. “That is possible? To see the futures of other worlds?”
“I-I guess so…?” Bro whispers.
Jackie and Chase's eyes widen. "He did?!" Jackie shouts.
Jameson opens his eyes again, interested in this.
"I--maybe all the magic--caused something...?" Chase wonders. "Something sort of similar happened in the Wyldwood... And there was so much magic there, too. Jameson didn't see the future of other worlds, though, I think... unless he didn't tell us." He glances back at Jameson, who shakes his head. Then Chase sighs. “But these were just, uh... flashes. Flashes of visions. The real vision was..." He trails off.
"Alt was fighting Magnificent," Jackie says. "But they both looked different. Alt was older, and he had these markings on his hands and arms, and his magic was so strong... Magnificent's magic was darker, almost black, and he looked even less stable than he does now. They were fighting, and I think... I think Alt had the upper hand? The vision ended before the fight did.”
Bro gapes a bit at the mention of the vision of Alt and Mag. “R-Really…? An… an older Alt…? Fighting mag? A-And winning?” He ends up laughing dazedly at this, holding a hand over his mouth. If Jameson sees the most likely future then… they’re not heading towards that awful one they all saw before! Tears are brimming in his eyes.
"Can all'a ye shush up?" Marvin suddenly mumbles.
"Oh! Sorry, Marvin, we didn't mean to wake you," Jackie says, embarrassed.
Bro blinks back at Marvin and quickly wipes at his eyes with the heel of his hand, “Oh- s-sorry Marv… I-it’s a bit more crowded but we can talk in the living room-”
“Yeah, let’s let them rest,” Jackie says. He gives Marvin and Jameson a little wave before leaving again. Chase does the same.
Jameson returns the wave, and Marvin just closes his eyes and pulls Draco a bit closer to himself.
Bro smiles at Jameson and Marvin then gets up to leave too, “Hope my bed is comfy enough, you two.”
Henny follows quickly after, also waving. He gently shuts the door.
Meanwhile, while the others talk about visions and dark magic, Henrik walks up to Dr. J, who was very quickly overwhelmed by the crowded room and left early. "JJ, are you busy? Because I have a question that is completely unrelated to any of the things that just happened with Sclera and such. Jackieboy said I could ask you."
Dr. J blinks at Henrik and then hides a small laugh and smiles at him. “Well I’m assuming it’s some kind of medical thing then? Jackie doesn’t really know those types of things-”
“I know enough to get by, know-it-all!” Jackieboy calls out.
Dr. J rolls his eyes, “What would you like to know, Henrik?”
“What are 'germs'?" Henrik asks bluntly. The absurdity of a doctor asking that question is lost on him, even though it sounds really, really strange to the guys from this world.
Dr. J blinks rapidly and can’t stop himself from laughing. “Is that a serious question?” He snickers.
Henrik bristles defensively.
Then Dr. J slowly blinks and covers his mouth. “Oh…! Right you- wouldn’t know the principle of it yet! Okay yes I can explain. Germs are microscopic organisms that are all around us- and they can invade the body and cause illness. They’re in the air, soil, water- pretty much every surface and also on and within us and animals.”
Henrik just looks confused. "'My-crow-stop-ick' living things...? That are everywhere? Are they invisible? Why do they want to cause illnesses?"
Dr. J chuckles. “Mircoscopic. It means so small we cannot see them with our eyes. You need very special tools to see them. So not quite invisible but they are to us. And um- I guess it is just in their nature. They are not living creatures that behave like animals… they just- cause fevers or infections and the like.”
Henrik gave a little laugh. "That is... ah... very strange." He looks down at his hand, like he's expecting to see tiny animals on them now. This is a little hard for him to buy right away. "Though if they are everywhere, why are you all not getting sick all the time?"
Dr. J smiles, “There’s many different way to uh- defeat them I guess.” He laughs, “Washing your hands, medicine, vaccines… going to see the doctor regularly. Making sure wounds are clean to stave off infections is a good example of that. If the wound is clean, it kills off all the germs that mean to invade and cause us harm.”
“Oh! So, ah, normal doctor procedures, then," Henrik says, nodding.
Dr. J nods and laughs, “The very same.”
"We wash and clean things all the time back home. Not to mention our medicines... they are probably qualified to kill these germs.” Henrik frowns in thought, “ What is a... vakseen, though?"
“Oh! A vaccine is…” Dr. J hums, trying to think. “It's a way to train the body to protect and fight against future illnesses. It’s a fascinating process but- also very much outside of my expertise.”
"Hmm?" Henrik tilts his head to the side. "Wait. Is it... is it like how when people catch an illness once, they are less likely to get it again? Even if they catch a less powerful sickness?"
“Yes it’s the same principle I believe!” Dr. J smiles, “the process takes some of the sickness and safely injects itself into our bodies so they’ll know how to fight against the sickness if it comes back. They’re very effective!”
“Oh! I see!” Henrik nods. “Yes, yes… that seems very smart! But difficult to do. At least, back home. At least, on purpose.”
By now, Chase and Jackie walk back into the living room.
“How’s Alt?” Chase asks.
“I think he will be okay,” Henrik says. “But those cuts on his hand may take a while to heal.”
Bro walks over to everyone and blinks, “…what’s wrong with Alt?? Cuts on his hand??”
“Oh yes Chase you were still knocked out…” Dr. J says, shaking his head. “Alt was the one who managed to get the others out of SCLERA…”
“Yeah- and he used blood magic to do it…” Jackieboy mumbles. “Which I dunno much about but my mam used to tell me that blood is powerful but extremely dangerous to use in magic if you ain’t careful…”
"...was Alt careful?" Chase asks, in the tone of someone who already knows the answer and doesn't like it.
"Well, I-I think he really rushed to rescue us," Henrik says. "It is a good thing he did, I think, but he has to be more careful. Something like this should be an exception, not a rule.”
“How do we know it isn't already an exception, not a rule?" Jackie points out. "We've spent, what, ten days total with Alt? We don't know him as well as these guys do."
Henrik looks at the others--Bro, Jackieboy, Dr. J, and Henny. "Well? Is this something Alt would normally do?"
The swaps all exchange looks then either sigh heavily or shake their heads. “Yes- this is completely something Alt would do…” Jackieboy grumbles, “for someone who lived on the streets as long as he did- he’s got so little self preservation skills….”
“O-Only when it comes to his friends!” Henny tries to defend, “He would do anything for someone he cares about!”
“yes… but at the expense of his own body and well-being…” Dr. J sighs. “
I mean… he was desperate it sounds like-“ Bro says sheepishly but Jackieboy hits him with the back of his hand. “Shush up Chase you’re no better!”
“W-What does that mean?! At least I heal fast when I put myself in danger! And that’s part of being a hero!”
Henrik shakes his head. “It is great that you two care so much about your friends, but seriously. You need to slow down for a bit and think about yourself. This time was—was a situation where it was necessary. But sometimes you need to think about things before rushing in.” His eyes flick towards Jackie.
“What?” Jackie says.
“Nothing.” Henrik shakes his head.
Bro looks away, rubbing at his arm. “Yeah uh… I-I’m trying to… work on that…”
“But please- give that lecture to Alt when he wakes up.” Jackieboy says bluntly.
“Oh, I will,” Henrik says.
“Well uh… what do the rest of us do while they rest?” Chase asks. “I put in my voice for also resting. We might not have used up magic but… I’m still pretty tired.”
“That’s understandable… SCLERA isn’t necessary… kind to their ‘subjects’.” Dr. J says.
Bro looks around then flushes and scratches at his face. “Uhhh our… apartment is kinda small… we’ve been trying to make the spare room into a guest room- but we don’t… have a bed yet-”
“Truly the house of two unmarried men,” Jackieboy snorts.
Bro elbows him.
“It’s not that small,” Chase says.
“We’ve spent the last five years or so living in tents,” Jackie says. “Anything is better than that.”
“If need be, can we always drive you all back to your hotel?” Dr. J suggests. “We have both our cars.”
“I do not want to leave Marvin or Jameson here alone…” Henrik says slowly.
“We do need to get our things from the hotel, though,” Jackie says. “My other sword, Chase’s bow and stuff, our clothes from home… maybe Chase and I could go while you stay here, Henrik? We’ll be able to call you on the phone.”
“Oh yes… this was supposed to be your last day here…” Henny says sadly. “I suppose after all of this… you would want to be home.”
"We had a great time!" Jackie reassures Henny. "It's just that--well, it's probably safer if we leave before things get bad.”
Bro sighs heavily, “It’s not usually this bad! I dunno why both mag and SCLERA decided to just… gang up on you all… I mean probably just cuz they’re dicks-“
“We can come back in the future when we're more prepared," Chase says, smiling.
“Well I can help you all get your things. I need to be there to check you all out, anyways.” Dr. J says, adjusting his glasses.
“We won’t let them be alone, Hen,” Jackieboy says softly.
“Yes I will stay here to watch over all our friends!” Henny exclaims. “But other me is welcome to stay too!”
Henrik smiles at Jackieboy. "Thank you... but I think I would feel best if I stayed as well.”
“Don't worry, Schneep, we'll be right back!" Jackie says, patting his shoulder.
Dr. J chuckles, “Then I suppose we can just take my car if it’s just you two. Come along now-“
“We’ll see you later!” Jackie says.
“Have a nice rest,” Chase says. Dr. J gestures for the two of them to follow and they head out the door to his car.
Bro watches them go then sighs and goes to flop down onto the couch. “…todays been exhausting…” Henny looks at the sun outside- starting to set. “Indeed…”
“I cannot believe that it was all day,” Henrik mutters.
Henny looks around then looks to see there’s an armchair next to the couch… covered by a box of merch. He frowns then takes the box off and gestures towards his other self. “Here other me! Comfy chair to rest in-“
Henrik nods at Henny. “Thank you.” He walks over to the chair and falls back into the cushions. He looks at the box with idle interest. “You have a lot of things, Bro. You and Alt both do.”
“Hm?” Bro asks, lifting up his head. Then he laughs and shakes his head, “Oh I know… too many things and not enough room. Though to be honest- this place felt too big before Alt moved in.” He massages some of the bruises on his face thoughtfully. “Uh- those are um… stuff for my fans though. Being a big super hero means… people like to have stuff with your name on it, I guess?” He laughs shaking his head, “…I never really would have thought I’d get to that kinda place. Before I started being a hero… I used to just deliver food.”
“Oh! That is for you?” Henrik takes another look at the box, now noticing the letters that spell out Bro’s hero name. “That is fascinating. I cannot imagine someone selling things with their name on it back home. Well… I suppose there is a market for things related to legendary figures in Glasúil. King Samuel is quite popular. But those are almost always tapestries and books and such, I have never seen someone wearing something meant to pay respects to a person.”
“I think the King’s crest sorta counts as that though. That would mean his guards were his biggesttt fans!” Bro laughs.
Henrik chuckles. “A royal crest or nation’s flag feels different, though.”
“It might also seem like a lot of things because these two do not clean as often as they should,” Henny points out teasingly.
“Heyyy-!” Bro pouts, “I’m a hero! I’m busy! At least I remember to do the washing up and laundry!”
“Except for the clothes on the floor in your room-”
“…it’s not laundry day yet-“
Henrik chuckles. “I can imagine the laundry gets overwhelming when you have many clothes. This is why nobility often employ people to do the laundry for them. And all the other folk may only have three or four changes of clothes, plus an outfit for nice occasions. You all have so many clothes, every day I see you, you have had something new.”
Bro blinks in confusion at Henrik. “…you guys only have 3 or 4 outfits?!”
Henny chuckles, “I had more growing up but I was also an actor! During the war though- that seems about right for what we had. And our school uniforms.”
“That’s so crazy- honestly I feel like I wear the same thing all the time-“ Bro mumbles, rubbing the back of his head. “But yeah- around here… being seen in the same thing might have people thinking you’re lazy- or poor… huh- never realized how strange that was…”
“Well, yes, clothing is difficult to make,” Henrik says. “Clearly you have ways to make them fast here, but back home you have to weave the cloth, dye the cloth, cut it, stitch it together, add decoration if you want—it takes time.” He glances towards the closed door of Bro’s room. “Though I have no doubt that Marvin and Jameson had more clothes growing up than the rest of us. Or perhaps just fancier clothing… though Marvin was often not a fan of the popular fashions. He has such issues with certain cloths’ textures.”
“Hmm that makes sense. Nobles and stuff.” Bro says, crossing his arms. “…I think Alt is like that with clothes too. S’why he’s always wearing his jacket and mask. Said they’re textures he can trust and stuff.”
“So many fabrics can be stiff and itchy!” Henny agrees, “Especially fancier things! I swear so many of my costumes are too itchy!!”
Henrik nods. “Marvin says that it is a feytouched quality, but many people have texture problems even if they are not feytouched.” He chuckles and looks at Henny. “Fancier things especially. Sometimes I wonder if nobility wear uncomfortable clothes to show off how much they can endure.”
“Surely it must be some kind of test!” Henny giggles.
There’s then a knock on the door. Bro looks up and then starts to push himself up only for Henny to spring up, “Oh I’ll get it!” He hurries over to the door and opens it. “Oliver! Hello!”
Oliver smiles, holding the boxes from the bakery. Man- that felt like it was ages ago now. “hi Henrik, I brought those cookies you all left? Is… is everyone okay?”
“Most of them are resting- come in come in!” Henny ushers Oliver inside, even if the nurse looks a bit wary. He sees Henrik and waves, “Hi again! Good to see you’re okay…” Then he looks over to Bro and blinks, “…what happened to you?”
“No ides actually but the bruises are healing already!” Bro grins and gives him a thumbs up.
“Ah, hello Oliver!” Henrik sits up straight and smiles. “Thank you, thank you, good to see you! Glad to see you are okay, too. Alt will be so relieved.”
“Yeah… luckily Rhett, uh another one of my older brothers, noticed something was happening and managed to grab me and the rest of our family and we hid in a supply closet… then we stuck around to help everyone who got hurt.” Oliver sighs.
He stands up and goes over to take the boxes. Opening up the top one, he takes a deep breath. “They still smell delicious. Perhaps I should wake the others to ask if they want one…”
Oliver smiles, “I’m glad they’re still okay. Jayden said they’re… magic right?”
“Yes, indeed.” Henrik nods. “They should help give them some energy and healing.”
Meanwhile, the door to Bro’s room slowly inched open… and a tiny furry face poked through the gap.
Oliver blinks and looks towards the door. Then absolutely melts at the sight, “awww! Hello pretty kitty!” He bends down and makes a Pspspsps noise and offers his fingers towards Draco.
Draco squeezes out through the gap in the door and walks over to Ollie and Henrik. He sniffs Ollie’s hand and then arches his back, ready for pets.
“This is Draco, he is Marvin’s familiar,” Henrik explains. “We are not sure how he got here, since Marvin left him behind in our world.”
Oliver’s eye sparkle as he pets Draco , “oh! Hello Draco- you are so very pretty! And softttt~” He giggles. Then he blinks up at Henrik and his eyes widen, “…he came on his own??? That’s- woah…”
“He’s magic though so- could be weirder- if just a normal cat crossed dimensions.” Bro chuckles.
After a bit, Draco walks over to Henrik. He sets the boxes of macarons down on a chair so he can bend down and pet him— And Draco immediately leaps onto the chair and starts sniffing the macarons.
Bro full blown laughs now.
“Hey! Draco!” Henrik picks him up around the middle and moves him to the floor again.
“Awww no Draco! That was so mean!” Henny giggles, “He must smell the magics!”
Henriklooks at Henny. “Do you think so? He is made of magic. But he could also just want to eat them. Are these safe for animals?”
Draco jumps onto the chair again, and Henrik fully scoops him up.
“Uhhh- probably not… they have lots of sugar.” Bro says, leaning on his legs.
“Yes- and Alt tells us cream is not good for kitty bellies!” Henny adds.
Henrik looks down at Draco. “Do you hear that? Even if you are magic, you still have a kitty body, so you cannot have any.” Draco looks up at him with round, pleading eyes. But Henrik just sighs and looks away. Marvin would kill him if he got Draco sick.
Bro gets to his feet, “We should probably go check on the others… these have purification so they should help Jameson feel much better.”
Oliver gets to his feet as well, “Oh yeah I meant to ask- is anyone seriously hurt? I-I can try to help-“
“I do not think so?” Henrik says slowly. “I think all our serious injuries were taken care of at the clinic. But, ah, Alt’s hand has been… cut. It is not serious, though.”
“Alt’s hand is cut??” Oliver asks in worry, “What happened?”
“Not sure really- he said something about… blood magic?” Bro shrugs while rubbing his head. “He’s resting in his room if you wanna see him.”
Oliver nods then hurries down the hallway. Then, a little black streak hurries down the hall and tries to get to the other box but- Henny quickly scoops her up, “Nonono glitches! Not for kitties!”
Glitches lets out a long meow and baps at Henny’s nose.
Henrik chuckles and walks towards Bro’s room, carefully pulling open the door. He walks in and drops Draco on the bed between Marvin and Jameson, causing Jameson to open his eyes.
What is it? he asks.
Henrik doesn’t say anything right away, instead leaving and coming back with one of the macaron boxes. “Here. Remember these? They should help.”
Jameson’s expression brightens and he sits up, immediately taking one of the cookies and eating it.
The cookie alleviates any lingering aches and pain from the black magic in Jameson’s systems, like a bruise being healed. He feels his energy coming back with a flourish.
Jameson’s eyes widen. He immediately leans over to shake Marvin.
“Hrrrm, what?” Marvin groans, opening his eyes a crack.
Magic cookies! Make you fee better! Jameson says.
Henrik helpfully holds out the box.
Marvin glares at the two of them for a moment. He’s not in the mood to eat, only to sleep. But one cookie couldn’t hurt, could it? He grabs one from the box—Henrik quickly pulls it back before Draco can succeed in putting his paw in—and eats it. His grumpy expression clears as he experiences the same energy boost that Jameson did. “Oh.”
“How do you two feel?” Henrik asks.
Much better, Jameson says.
“Still a bit off,” Marvin says. “But that might be because of there being less magic in this world.”
Henny peeks in then grins at the others, “Hallo!” He softly whispers in case they’re still tired. “Did the cookies help? I had no idea macarons could be magic!”
“Hello Henny,” Marvin says with a faint smile. “Yea, they helped.”
Jameson stands up. How is everyone else? “Chase and Jackie went back to the hotel to get our things,” Henrik reports. “And Oli is here now.”
“Alt is also resting,” Henny says, “But he will probably be up now that Oli is here!” He smiles. Then he blinks, “Oh! Oli should give some cookies to Alt too!”
"Oh! He should." Henrik nods. He goes back into the living room. "Oli! You can take the other cookie box to give to Alt!"
Meanwhile, Marvin stretches, wincing slightly as the motion causes his stitches to dig at his skin. Next to him, Draco also stretches, yawning.
Jameson sees the two of them stretch in unison and grins. You know they say pets and owners grow more alike over time, he says.
Marvin rolls his eyes. "Ha ha." He scoops up Draco, then stands and walks back into the living room. Jameson follows him.
Oliver is helping Alt out to the living room- he still looks pretty tired and he’s holding a blanket over his shoulders- but he smiles as he sees Marvin and Jameson. “H-Hey guys-”
“Here Alt, Henrik said these will help,” Oliver says as he helps sit Alt down on the couch and hands him the box Henrik just gave him.
Alt takes a cookie and pops it in his mouth. Immedately the exhaustion under his eyes seems to lift and he breathes a bit easier. “Phew… t-thanks Oli…” he smiles at him.
Bro smiles up at Marvin and Jameson, “I take it you two are feeling better?”
Fit as fresh fruit! Jameson says.
"Yep." Marvin nods. "I'm not feeling fully well again, but much better. I really do think this world's, uh... this world having less magic does affect me. Just... not as much as I was worried about."
Henrik smiles at him. "We told you."
Draco probably helps as well, Jameson says, then reaches out to pet him.
Glitches bounds out of Henny’s arms and goes to dig under Alt’s blanket- popping out her head next to him with a meow. She looks like she’s wearing a blanket around her shoulders like he is.
Draco dodges the attempted pets and wriggles out of Marvin's arms. He lands on the ground and trots over to Glitches, crouching and staring at her.
Glitches’s eyes dilate and she crouches down to stare back at Draco. She reaches out and tries to bap at his head.
Draco shakes his head and baps Glitches back.
Glitches excitedly wiggles her butt in the air, the blanket following her motion. Then she tries to pounce on Draco.
Draco mrowls as Glitches pounces and the two of them go wriggling across the floor.
Marvin looks at the cats and grins. "Cuuute.”
Alt meanwhile grabs another cookie, then unwraps his hand to look at it, staring with fascination as he watches how the magic closes up the cuts.
Jackieboy, who’s been looking for snacks and drinks and stuff and placing them on the counter, sees this then points at Alt accusingly. “Hey bitch what the fuck! I worked hard on those bandages!”
Alt just looks back at him, a bit of macaron still sticking out of his mouth, blinking innocently.
“Alt! Even if they are magical, you should not undo bandages, just in case!" Henrik scolds.
Thank you, Jackieboy, Jameson says and walks over. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I ate that cookie.
Jackieboy blinks then smiles, “No problem! Hope you two don’t mind,” He calls to Bro.
The hero waves his hand flippantly. “yeah go ahead- we’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
There’s crisps, a couple protein bars, bags of cookies, strange fish shaped crackers and rice cakes. And a couple cans of soda, coffees, energy drinks and bottles of water.
Jameson picks up one of the crisps in an open bowl, turns it over in curiosity, and then starts to eat.
"Oh! Look at how cute that is!" Marvin picks up one of the fish-shaped crackers and starts to eat.
Alt finishes up his cookie and grins sheepishly up at Henrik, who still looms nearby, “Oops uh… sorry- but look! It’s pretty much healed!” He shows off the barest hints of the cuts on his hand.
"Hmm." Henrik narrows his eyes a bit. "Also, that was quite dangerous of you to do in the first place. Thank you, of course. I understand why you did it, and this was a situation where something like that was necessary. But I think that in general... you should take care of yourself some more." His voice is soft.
Alt shrinks back a bit and goes to hold his hand against his chest. “…i-I know… I’m sorry- I just… I had to do something…! I… I know just how awful SCLERA can be…” He curls up his legs to his chest.
Oliver pats his shoulder and sits on the arm of the couch next to him. “I think he just wants you to remember… you have a lot of people who care about you… so you gotta take care of yourself for them too, just as much as you try to protect them.”
"Yes, exactly." Henrik nods. "I am not mad at you, Alt. You did do the right thing this time." He smiles softly.
Alt looks up sheepishly at Schneep at the mention of him not being mad, “…honestly I expected a lecture-“ He laughs.
"Well, I think you have been lectured enough on this," Henrik says. "Sometimes, a person needs something else." He smiles, "Besides, Sisters know there are times when I should have taken a risk but was too cautious." The smile falls. "But sometimes caution is a good thing. You want to keep yourself safe for the ones who care about you, yes?"
Alt nods and gives Henrik more of a smile, “Yeah… I do. I-I’ll try to be more careful.” He looks over his hand and rubs the mostly healed cuts. “…I can’t deny though… that was scarily strong…”
“At the point of giving you blood loss symptoms-“ Oliver points out, giving his partner a look. “Way more than you should have for cuts like that…”
Henrik glances down at the cuts. "It was, hmm? Perhaps if you could find some way to make it more controllable--though if the hurting yourself is necessary, you should stay away from that. We don't want that blood loss.”
“Mmm… yeah… maybe.., like a tattoo or something?” Alt muses, “I’ve always wanted one. Maybe I can ask Blaise… I dunno if these symbols are good though… felt kinda hard to control.”
"Tattoo...? Oh, putting ink on your skin! Yes, of course." Henrik nods. "Well, perhaps you should do some more research, then?"
Jameson glances over at Henrik and Alt, overhearing them talking. He smiles. I think the ink is a great idea, Alt, he says. That strange vision he'd had... Alt had tattoos. Perhaps that future will become more certain.
Alt blinks at the two of them then grins and nods, “Yeah! I’ll do some research! I bet… it’s the same kinda principle right? Oh I wonder if anyone in the magic district does magic tattoos!” He’s rambling to himself excitedly.
Oliver chuckles and watches him fondly.
That's the spirit! Jameson says, grinning. Now, do you want any of the snacks? He picks up a bag of cookies.
Alt blinks then smiles, “Uh sure- cookies would be nice… and maybe some goldfish?”
Goldfish? Oh, the fish crackers?
“You should get some juice too- for the blood loss.” Oliver comments lightly as he gets to his feet. “I’ll grab that for you. There’s some in the fridge right?”
“Oh yeah- thanks Ols.”
Then, as Jameson and Oli get up, there’s a polite knock on the door before Dr. J enters, “Hello all, we’ve returned~”
"Heyyy!" Jackie enters after JJ, grinning. "We have all our stuff! I can't believe we almost forgot about our prizes from the arcade! Jameson, Henrik, Marvin?”
“Oh right!" Marvin hurries over, taking his deck of cards from Jackie. He also grabs Jameson's and Henrik's plushies and passes them out.
Chase comes in after Jackie. "I have all our clothes, too."
“Oh yeah!” Bro perks up and grins. “It would’ve been a bummer if you all left those!”
Henrik glances at Marvin as he walks over. "Yes, thank you," he says, taking the dragon plushie he'd won at the arcade.
Jackieboy laughs, “Feel free to grab some snacks, lads!”
"Oh thank you, Jackieboy!" Chase says, hurrying over. He picks up a soda and drinks it.
Meanwhile, it seems the play fighting between the cats has calmed down. Glitches won. Glitches is sat on top of Draco, licking her paw and basking in her win.
Marvin laughs. "Come on, Draco, you're bigger than her! You can do it! Try again!" Draco just stares at him, almost visibly giving him an 'are you kidding? No way' look.
Glitches makes biscuits briefly on Draco’s back then flops on top of him, purring and flicking her tail. Bro smiles at everyone being back together again.
Jackie goes and grabs one of the energy drinks, looking it over. After a moment, he assumes it's soda and takes two and some rice cakes.
Jackieboy yelps and grabs one of the energy drinks from his double and grins nervously, “Ohhh you don’t want two of those mate- trust me! That’ll make you sick-“
“Huh?" Jackie looks down at the can in his hand. "Uh... alright?" Now curious, he opens it up--taking a moment to figure out how the tab works--then takes a sip. His lips pucker. "That is... so sour. But not in a bad way..."
Jackieboy laughs. “Yeah it’s kinda fun huh? But those are for energy- but if you drink too many it’ll make your heart go all crazy and make you sick. I once drank 3 in one day with little food…” He shudders. “Do not recommend.”
"Oh." Jackie looks at the can with some more consideration. And also some curiosity. He turns to Chase. "Do you dare me to drink all of this?"
Chase almost chokes on his soda. "What? Didn't you hear what Jackieboy just said?”
“But one is probably fine, right?" Jackie doesn't wait for a dare and just walks away, drinking.
Jackieboy looks at Chase then bursts into giggles, “That’s not how a dare works!”
Chase laughs. "I know--and Jackie knows, too. I think he was going to do it anyway.”
“Do what?" Marvin asks, coming back for more fish-shaped crackers.
"Drink all of one of these." Chase picks up the energy drink. "Apparently they give you energy, but too much will make you sick."
Marvin looks at the drink curiously, then takes the can from Chase's hand. "I could use some energy.”
“They’re a bit weird tasting so be cautious Marv,” Jackieboy laughs. “And I- wouldn’t recommend drinking it all at once. It’s like.. a sipping wine- or you know- drinking all at once makes my stomach hurt.”
Jameson now wanders over and looks down at the snack platter, searching for the goldfish. Then he notices Marvin has some. Marvin? How are the goldfish?
Marvin is too busy drinking the energy drink to answer right away, following Jackieboy's advice to sip it slowly. He glances back at Jameson. "They taste like crunchy, salty cheese. And I mean that in the best way."
Jameson nods, scooping up some goldfish for Alt.
Alt takes the goldfish thankfully from Jameson. Oliver comes back over to sit by him and gives him a cup of red juice and a bag of cookies. Alt hungrily digs into both the snacks.
"Oooo, snacks!" Henrik picks up some more cookies as well as a bottle of water. "Have I mentioned yet how even your water tastes so different? It is very strange."
“Does it?” Bro asks, looking at a water bottle. “…it just tastes like water to me!”
“Ours is filtered, Chase,” Dr. J chuckles.
“Ohhh-”
"Filtered..." Henrik repeats, taking a drink from the water bottle. "Hmm. Perhaps that would explain why it is a bit flat. Though this one, from the bottle has an interesting aftertaste. Was something added in?”
“A bit flat?” Jackieboy asks with a laugh. “I don’t remember your water being carbonated!”
“Why are your questions so boring, Schneep?" Jackie groans. He takes a swig of the energy drink--apparently not following Jackieboy's 'drink it slowly' advice.
Bro giggles at Jackie then starts to chant, “chug, chug, chug, chug!!”
Jackie gives Bro a thumbs up and tilts his head farther back. Marvin scoots over and pushes his head back upright from behind, and Jackie sticks his tongue out at him.
"No no no, I mean... ugh, I do not know how to describe it." Henrik shakes his head, then gets distracted by what Jackie is doing. "Ah..."
Alt watches Jackie then laughs, “He’s gonna give himself a headache-“
“He's surprisingly resilient," Marvin comments.
Jackie grins. "Thank you, Marvin! Also, I feel fine so far!”
“We'll ask you again in an hour to see if the energy effect is delayed," Marvin says.
Dr. J rolls his eyes at their antics then addresses Henrik, “yes, sometimes they add something in the water to give it a fresher taste.”
"Fresher? I do not think that is a good word for it," Henrik says.
"Well, clearly our standards are different," Chase says. "Now I have to agree with Jackie. The water talk is boring.”
“Don't you like learning more about these little differences between worlds?”
“Yes... but water is boring. Water is water is water."
Henny giggles, “I think I have to agree other me, surely there are more interesting questions on your mind!”
Dr. J shakes his head and shrugs with a smile. “I suppose the small differences could seem dull- I think Henrik is perfectly fine in wanting to know the intricacies-”
“Booo! Boring!!” Bro shouts.
Dr. J gives him a withering look.
Henrik rolls his eyes. "Well, I could ask what these are, is this less boring to all of you?" He grabs one of the chips.
Oh! They're potatoes, Jameson says. Salty potatoes.
"You all love your salt here," Chase says. "Though, uh... can't say I blame you. Maybe you just have more salt here.”
“Most likely,” Dr. J chuckles, “Salt is hardly a luxury here.”
“Is true!! One of my favorite things about the future!! So much flavor!!” Henny beams.
Alt and Jackieboy laugh.
Bro starts to laugh too then falls quiet, “…it’s… probably time we get you all ready to go home though…”
Chase sighs. "Yeah... you're probably right.”
“Aw... we can't even watch one last movie?" Jackie says.
"Those are long," Marvin says. "Are we comfortable staying here for at least another two hours?"
Silence.
Henrik sighs. "That would just be delaying things, and we know it."
The other swaps all exchange sad looks. “I wish we could,” Bro says, hiding how much he doesn’t want eveyone to leave, “but… n-now it’s dangerous… we have no idea if mag is out o-or if sclera-“
Chase sighs. "Yeah... that's fair.”
Do you all have your traveling device here? Jameson asks. You will probably have to drop us off.
Alt nods. He looks down at the floor then sighs heavily, “Next time… you all come- I’m gonna get even stronger. So none of us will have to worry about those fucks again, okay?!” He looks up at his friends, eyes burning with determination. The other swaps smile at Alt with a bit of pride.
“'Hell' yeah, Alt!" Jackie says. "Beat them up!"
Marvin grins. "Teach them a lesson they'll never forget." Draco manages to climb out from under Glitches and runs over to Marvin. He scoops him up quickly.
“I am so sorry your last day had to end this way…” Henny whines.
“But! That just means next time- we’ll need to make it even more awesome, huh?” Jackieboy grins, trying to stay positive.
“Just- give me a bit of advance so I can ask off work,” Dr. J chuckles.
We'll look everywhere for a way to speak between worlds, Jameson says. If we find one, we'll definitely let you all know we're coming ahead of time.
“It was so cool to meet you all!” Oliver grins, “N-Next time- I’ll try to be around more too!”
"It was lovely to meet you, Oliver!" Henrik says, beaming. He makes sure that he has everything he needs, including the box of macarons.
Alt smiles and ruffles Oliver’s hair as he stands up and then glitches to his room. Once he’s back he holds up the TRVLR. “…okay- I’m ready when you guys are.”
The visitors look at each other. It's clear that they don't want to leave. But they have to return home eventually, don't they? Their friends and family are there. Not to mention everything they have to do, still, to get the kingdom back in working order.
"We're ready," Jackie says.
Alright, everyone, maybe if we link up we won't spread out when we land this time, Jameson says.
"Oh! Good point." Chase links his elbow through Jameson's and Jameson laughs silently.
"It was so good to visit you all." Henrik links up with Chase. "And it was so fascinating to visit your world!”
“Thank you for everything," Marvin says, linking with Henrik.
“Please be careful, and give Jack our good wishes!” Dr. J smiles.
“Come back soon!!” Henny calls, waving wildly.
“Or we’ll come back to you!! To see the kingdom the way it’s supposed to be!” Jackieboy grins.
"We'll see you again! In some way!" Jackie beams. He links up to Marvin and reaches out for Alt.
Bro smiles warmly and waves, “Bye all… see you again.”
Alt grabs Jackie’s hand and then closes his eyes and channel his magic into the TRVLR. Hey- first time using it since it got fixed! He desperately hopes it works like new again. He looks through the names and smiles as he sees the familiar screen and favorites of the worlds they’ve visited. He finds the right address and nods to everyone. “Alright everyone, hang on!”
The guys all hold tight, gathering closer around Alt.
Alt presses the jump button, channeling his magic into the TRVLR. And then- they all begin to fall- falling out of sight as the Swaps wave goodbye.
ᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅᚅ
They land on the ground hard. For once, they haven't been flung across space when traveling--though the jump did make them let go of each other.
They're immediately greeted by shouts of surprise. It seems they've landed in the middle of a camp, scattered around a clear area with some cooking fires dotted around, surrounded by large tents.
Alt has never been here before, but the others know where they are immediately. This is the camp on the Cliffs of Feall. This is home.
"Elders!" Chase says, getting to his feet first. "That was a fall, alright!"
Jackie gets up next. He looks around and laughs. "We look so out of place now!"
Alt shakes himself off then groans. Ugh… he forgot that takes a lot of magic. He staggers to his feet then laughs. “Oh yeah your clothes- now you know how me and Bro felt when we first fell here!”
There are several people gathered around, many of them wearing the white animal masks characteristic of the Phantoms. Some of them reach for weapons at the group's sudden appearance but they all relax when they recognize who it is.
Alt shrinks back at all the eyes- even if he’s very curious about this place. He pulls his mask over his face and hides his hand in his pocket. “…what is this place? This… must be your other camp right? Near the Wyldwoods?”
"Hello, everyone!" Henrik waves. "We are back!"
Someone shouts in Glasish and rushes forward--a woman with dark skin and darker curly hair. She runs up to Henrik, helping him up, and that causes the other Phantoms to all gather around as well.
The flap of a nearby tent opens from the inside, someone looking out. Not much can be seen of them aside from their blue eyes.
As he sees the others approaching Alt casts a translation spell on himself so he can understand, even if he probably won’t stick around long. Though he holds off on saying hi… he’s pretty self conscious right now- considering he still looks like he was in a massive fight- though it’s healing decently from the cookie’s magic.
Once Alt casts the translation spell, it becomes clear that the other Phantoms are asking how everyone is and what they saw in the new world.
"You have been gone for seven days!" says that dark-skinned woman to Henrik.
"Seven?! It was only three in that world!" Henrik gasps. "I am so sorry Nemet, but I did tell you time would not pass the same there.”
“That is fair." Nemet nods. "Anyway--Vsevna is out on his ship, we should let him know you came back.”
“We should!" Henrik nods excitedly. "I brought things back! He would love to see them!"
How has everything been here? Jameson asks.
A redheaded woman responds--Alt vaguely recognizes her from the very first trip to this world. "It has been uneventful. Mostly busy sending messages to the other camps. Marvin's cat disappeared--but it looks like you found him."
Marvin grins. "Clever boy found his own way across worlds! I wish he could speak to tell us about it."
Alt chuckles at hearing about Draco, “He’s a pretty special cat-“
Then, The figure in the open tent leans out. "Um..." He's... looking at Alt. And though his face looks familiar, the eyes are different--no longer green. Now blue. "You are... Alt, right?"
Alt blinks at the figure in the tent. And for a second, he panics, glitching back with wide eyes. Then- he registers the stranger’s blue eyes- not green. Not that horrid, horrid green. “U-Uh yeah-“ He lowers his mask, to properly address the figure. “that’s me.”
"Y-yes, I thought so." The figure smiles gently. "Do you remember me? I'm Jack. You... talked to me once."
Jack isn't wearing the golden circlet that designates him the King. He isn't wearing the fine green clothes that the spirit dressed him in. His clothes are dull-colored, with the most interesting piece being the brown poncho-like garment.
Alt looks at the figure with a bit of confusion. Then his eyes widen- and he breaks into a big smile. “Jack! Y-Yes of course I remember you!”
"I, um... You probably have to return to your own world soon. I just wanted to say thank you again. You wanted to help me so much, and that meant a lot." Jack says.
Alt flushes a bit then fidgets with his mask and looks away, “I-It was nothing… I’m just… glad you’re- you again. That spirit didn’t deserve to be king…” He finally looks back and gives him a gentle smile. “I hope- things get easier for you from now on.”
"It's... it's required some... adjustment," Jack says slowly. "But it's a lot fucking better than what it was before.”
Alt chuckles, “Anything is probably better than being stuck in your own… body-“ he shudders.
“Jack!" Chase separates himself from the rest of the Phantoms and rushes over to him. "Has everything been okay? Are you alright?"
Jack laughs. "I'm fine, Chase. I stayed in the tent most of the time while you were gone, honestly."
Alt glitches back as Chase rushes over. He smiles then shakes himself off. “alright all- I should probably head back…”
Jackie separates himself from the rest of the Phantoms and comes over to join Alt, Chase and Jack. The other three soon follow.
Alt turns to the others and grins sheepishly. “it’s been… it was fun until… you know- but it was… a great time.”
"It was amazing!" Jackie says excitedly. "I hope we'll be able to visit again sometime!"
Or that you can visit us, now that it's safe here, whichever you would like, Jameson says.
"We'll see you!" Chase says.
Jack frowns. "You all are talking very strangely now..."
The guys laugh. "I guess you absorb some of the language while being there," Jackie says.
"The same is true for any language," Henrik says.
Alt laughs and nods to Jack, “Yeah sorry- infected them with our modernism~” He grins.
"Get some rest once you get home, yes?" Henrik says.
"Yeah, using the traveler burns a lot of energy, doesn't it?" Marvin adds.
Alt snorts to Henrik and Marvin, “Yeah it’s a big energy drain but don’t worry. Everyone will bully me back into bed.” He laughs.
"Again, it was a great time," Marvin adds, beaming. "We'll see you again, I'm sure."
Alt looks at the others and does a two finger salute, “Next time! We’ll come here! I have a lot to make up for from last time! So make it nice for us, yeah?”
"We'll take care of it!" Jackie says cheerfully. "We're already making plans!”
“There's still some things to do, but it'll be easy compared to defeating that spirit," Marvin says.
I think our future is looking bright, Jameson says.
"Goodbye, Alt!" Chase waves.
"Take care of yourself!" Henrik adds.
Alt gives a cheeky grin and waves before powering up the TRVLR again and clicking jump- falling back towards his own world.
"Well..." Jackie looks around. "It feels so strange to be back here now." He takes a deep breath. "Even the air feels different.”
“Everyone is asking us a thousand questions, we need to arrange some sort of meeting where we can tell everyone who's interested what happened," Chase says.
“Not... everything, though," Marvin adds.
"We will keep some things to ourselves," Henrik agrees. "For now... I need to get out to the Wake to say hello to Vsevna. I promised him I would see him soon once I was back."
We should probably change clothes, first, Jameson says, looking down at himself.
"I don't know, I think Vsevna might think Henrik looks quite handsome," Jackie says, grinning.
Henrik blushes a bit. "Oh, shut up.”
“We should take good care of these things," Marvin says, messing with his shawl. "Even though we can travel to another world, there's no promise that we will find the same things."
Jameson nods, squeezing his plushie tight.
Jack looks back and forth between them all, a bit befuddled but still glad to have them back. "So... you all should probably rest. Sounds like a lot happened.”
“Oh, so much," Chase says. "We'll tell you about it later. For now... let's go around camp again. I missed this place."
The group smiles at each other, and then break off from each other. It felt like so long since they'd seen home.
Though Alt and Bro's world was a wonder, there was comfort in being back to the familiar.
Soon, they would have to return to business. Stabilizing a kingdom isn't easy, after all.
But for now, it was time to rest.