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huffle-dork · 6 months

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Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 11: Shadow City

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Back upstairs, Jackie, Schneep, and Marvin all have their phones go off at the same time. Schneep is the first to check the message he's got. His eyes widen as he shows it to JJ, Chase, Bro, and Jackieboy.

I think that Magnificent guy is here now. Someone else is with him too but idk who its too dark.

Jackieboy and Chases's eyes widen too and Bro quickly pushes Jackie behind him as he looks around, eyes glowing with power. "We beat him... I guess that's good... no casualties here."

Marvin checks the message next. He gasps, leaning across the desk to get up in the librarian's face. "Look, this guy is here right now, you have to act now!"

Meanwhile, Jackie shows Alt the message, too.

Alt blinks and then pales as he sees the message.

"Okay, okay, a-alright, sirs," the librarian says.

He picks up a landline phone from the desk, presses a button, and speaks into the reciever as the loud BRAP! BRAP! of an alarm starts to play. "Attention all library patrons, please evacuate immediately. If you cannot evacuate, a staff member will show you to our hidden area."

Immediately, there's a scramble. About half of the patrons disappear into thin air while the other half hurriedly run out of sight. Some of them leave their books behind, some of them take them with.

Jackie frowns. "I thought the library was warded against teleporting," he says.

"Teleporting in, yeah," Marvin says.

Alt whips around, trying to see if he can feel Magnificent's presence. "Fuck...!" He looks to the others, and nervously tells them, "O-Okay uh... for Mag be prepared for more black magic but also hypnotism! He usually goes for that first..."

"Hypnotism?" Schneep repeats, then glances at JJ. "Do you think that would work on us?"

Only one way to find out, JJ says.

Chase leans over to the elevator and sticks his head through the closed doors. Then he comes back. "The elevator is moving," he reports. "Either someone else has the worst timing or your Magnificent guy had to use it."

"Heh. Kinda funny, actually," Marvin says. He pulls his mask down and the tattoos on his hands start to glow. "Okay, let's make our stand."

Jackie turns into a wolf. He stumbles a bit, making a small whining sound, and licks the burns on his side before turning back to the elevator and growling.

Alt looks back towards the door with determination. He just hopes he has enough magic... it's been a while since he refueled. He then blinks and digs something out of his pocket and calls out to Jackieboy, "Jackie! Catch!"

Jackieboy pops out from behind Bro and fumbles to catch Alt's pocket knife.

Alt grins. "You said you were getting better with knives, right?"

Jackieboy smiles and nods, flicking the blade open.

Bro eases into a fighting stance, watching the door like a hawk.

And then... the doors open.

The metal doors go flying off as purple and green electricity blast them off. Magnificent emerges from the debris with a shit eating grin, his eyes reflective in the low light. "Well well well~! The annoyances beat us here it seems!" He tilts his head back with a sick grin, power radiating off him as he laughs, "Perfect."

In a burst of static, he suddenly appears behind Marvin and tries to grab him.

Marvin spins around but is too slow to avoid Mag. He yelps in surprise and squirms against him.

"What the--hey!" Schneep shouts, turning around. Jackie also turns, growling, and the two of them rush at Magnificent at the same time.

Magnificent grabs Marvin by his arm and holds him tightly, giggling as he digs his claws into his skin. "Hello there, Marvin~! So nice to meet you!" He sees Jackie and Schneep attempting to get to him and wipes out a hand to send a blast of magic at them, driving them back. He then laughs and focuses on Marvin, trying to drain his magic.

Jackie and Schneep fall backwards, skidding across the floor.

“N-no! Marvin!” Schneep gasps.

Meanwhile, Anti strolls casually out through the broken elevator doors and scans the library. And his eyes land on one person in particular. He grins. "Oh hey, JJ! Are these the fucks you keep ditching me for?!"

JJ backs away, fear and shock taking over his face. He unconsciously reaches up for his neck, checking that the high collar of his shirt is in place. As he adjusts it, he briefly reveals the scars on his neck he was hiding behind it. Some sort of terrible tearing happened there.

Alt stiffens as he hears the new voice and takes in his appearance. Jesus- this Anti really looked like him! Even his eyes! He shudders and trembles back and sees the scar of Jameson's neck. His eyes widen.

Bro also seems disturbed by the sight of Anti but he steps in front of the others and growls, "Listen- I dunno who you think you are! But- Back off!"

“And I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care.” Anti bares his fangs. “But you look tough. Are you?” And he lunges for Bro.

Bro bares his teeth and quickly manages to grab Anti's blow and throw him back. "The name's Bro Fantastic, you best remember it!"

Anti staggers backwards, laughing. "Wow--that's fucking ridiculous. But okay." His eyes drift over to Jackieboy. He grins and lunges for him next.

Bro growls and then shouts as he sees Anti sprint around him to grab Jackieboy.

Jackieboy shouts and tries to hold out the knife to defend himself but he quickly gets tackled to the ground. He tries to kick Anti off him. "H-Hey! Let go!!"

Marvin gasps as Magnificent starts draining his magic. It flows freely, a sour power that burns slightly—but is strong and vivid. Marvin slumps, eyes rolling back in his head…

Magnificent hisses slightly as he drains some of the magic but soon laughs as he feels it merge with his own.

"No!" Alt shouts, trying to glitch over to help. But, then he stops and his eyes widen.

Marvin’s tattoos start to glow brightly, so bright that the ones on his arms and torso can be seen through the fabric of his clothes.

“I w o n ‘ t l e t y o u,” says a voice from his mouth—and suddenly a wave of green light bursts outward, a wave of concussive force.

Magnificent looks confused but then cries out and gets blasted back as the force hits him. He skips across the floor and is momentarily disoriented.

Alt now glitches over to help, "M-Marvin?!"

Marvin's head lolls, eyelids fluttering. He's not unconscious, but he's on the very edge of it.

Schneep also rushes over, checking him over. "H-his skin is hot," he gasps.

Jackie growls and jumps for Magnificent, planning to pin him to the ground.

Alt looks over Marvin with worry. Is there anything he can do to help? He stiffens though as Magnificent staggers to his feet behind them and laughs loudly. "What incredible power!" He licks his lips like a hungry cat and then lunges to try to grab Marvin again, just narrowly dodging Jackie's jaws.

Alt glitches in front of him and tries to keep Mag back. He manages to make an electric bubble around him, Marvin and Schneep.

Jackie misses attacking Magnificent and turns around, growling, getting in between him and Alt's electric bubble.

"Jackie no you are still injured!" Schneep asks. "Damn it! Alt, let me out of here so I can kick this man's ass!"

Anti laughs, grabbing Jackieboy tightly. Then, suddenly, he bites down on Jackieboy's shoulder, fangs passing right through his clothes. Blood is drawn. It feels so wrong.

Jackieboy gasps and lets out a strangled scream as he's bitten, his back arching. He kicks weakly with his feet and tries to pull away but- his body is freezing up, feeling weak.

Anti! No! JJ rushes forward, trying to pull Jackieboy free. Anti stops biting and smiles a blood-stained smile at JJ. "Oh? Why don't you help me instead?"

JJ stops, quickly backing up, looking suddenly terrified.

Bro screams in rage and tries to tackle Anti off of Jackieboy.

Anti yelps as Bro knocks him away, but then laughs some more. "Alright then! Let's try again!" And he tries to bite Bro's arm.

Bro has arm holding Anti down, the other reaching up to punch his lights out as power blooms in his eyes. He then screams and nearly crashes to the floor as Anti's teeth sink into his arm.

Jackieboy curls up on the ground, gripping where Anti bit him as his vision swims.

Alt feels panic rising up in his chest as he breathes and tries to keep the shield up. At Schneep's shout, Alt grits his teeth and drops it for just a second. "F-Fine! I'll protect Marvin!"

"Oh.. will you now, pet?" Magnificent grins sinisterly. But, the mutt is in his way. He sees his injuries and laughs, building up more purple fire in his hands, "Awww... is the puppy dog hurting? Here... lemme help~!" He lunges to attack him.

Jackie the wolf quickly dodges by jumping to the side. As soon as the shield flickers down for a moment Schneep runs out, reaching into the pocket of the coat he's wearing and pulling out something thin and made of metal--a scalpel. He slashes it towards Mag.

Magnificent laughs more, his eyes filled with madness. He hardly takes notice of Schneep until the scalpel is cutting down his arm. He staggers back then growls, throwing purple fire towards him.

Alt's head whips over to the sound of his friends and he hesitates- then glitches out of the shield and leaves it in tact, going to try to grab Anti and glitch him away.

Schneep ducks and dodges, going faster than humanly possible in order to avoid the near-point-black blast of magic. He laughs. "They said you were powerful! They must have overestimated you!"

While Schneep distracts Mag, Jackie jumps for him from behind.

Magnificent roars in anger and tries to lash out his claws at Schneep. He doesn’t see Jackie until he’s tackled face first to the floor by the heavy weight. He growls and lashes out to find one of Jackie’s burns, trying to pump it full of even more black magic.

Anti's eyes light up with sadistic delight as he drains Bro's blood. He doesn't even notice Alt grabbing him until it's too late. "Whoa!" he shouts after the glitching. "Fucking lightning magic!"

Bro slumps to the floor, disoriented and dizzy.

Anti twists around to look at Alt, grinning. "So? Now what?" And then he looks at JJ. "Come on, don't you want to help me?"

JJ covers his ears, as if that can help. "Come on." Anti's eyes turn red. "Help me."

Alt breathes heavily, looking at his other self with wide eyes. His friends’ blood was dripping from his lips. Anger burns bright around him as his magic reacts to his rage, bright arcs of electricity sparking. But, his stomach drops as he sees Anti’s eyes turn red.

It turns out covering his ears doesn't work at all. JJ suddenly lunges towards Alt.

Alt glitches away, crouching down on the ground as he looks at JJ with slight fear. He then roars in rage and gathers up electricity to shoot at Anti.

Jackie yelps, jerking backwards, falling to the side as Magnificent pushes more black magic into his system.

"No!" Schneep rushes forward, pulling Jackie back--

And then suddenly a face appears in front of Magnificent, a pale face without any eyes. "I've never done this before, but I think you deserve it," Chase says, and leans forward, disapeparing. Suddenly, Magnificent feels cold all over, down to his very core.

Magnificent shouts out in surprise as Chase appears in front of him. He gasps as he enters his body and shudders. He grips at his head and yells out, “F-Fucking specter! Get out of me!”

Anti dodges the blast Alt shoots at him, laughing. "Vamps are faster than you think," he says. "For example--" And his eyes turn red again. JJ suddenly attacks Alt from behind.

Alt staggers back, his fear evident on his face. He feels JJ behind him and manages to glitch away again. But, spots are starting to dance in his eyes. Still- he’s not out yet. His eyes burn green-white and then glitches over take his body- and out pops a black fox that snarls and rushes at Anti with a burst of electricity.

"Holy fucking shit!" Anti is not expecting the transformation, and immediately gets tackled by the fox, raising his arms to defend his face from the teeth and claws. After a struggle, he manages to throw the fox Alt off, and scrambles backwards.

Alt snarls and claws and bites as much as he can before he gets thrown off. He barks at Anti, electricity snapping around him like live wires.

{Sorry,} Chase's voice says in Magnificent's head. {But I can't let you hurt my friends.} The cold gets heavier, and it's hard for him to move. But he feels himself get to his feet anyway.

"I can do this for a little while, I think," Chase says through Mag's voice.

Magnificent tries to scream and claw his way back to control- but he can’t.

Schneep looks at Mag--Chase--impressed. "Nice!" he says, and Jackie barks and wags his tail.

Jackieboy and Bro push themselves up and looks at Chase possessing Mag with wide eyes. “W-Well… that’s one way to stop him.” Bro says, trying to push himself up to his feet.

Jackieboy can’t really seem to keep his eyes on Mag like this, gripping at his shoulder.

Anti glances towards Magnificent, currently being possessed. And for a moment, he looks impressed. Then he shakes his head. "Fuck this." He gets to his feet, bleeding from various wounds, and walks around the circulation desk. "JJ, come home when the sun rises, we'll talk more then," he says. Then he ducks down and disappears into a shadow.

Alt yells out as Anti leaves and tries to stop him, transforming back and skidding in a collection of electricity and glitches right at the shadow’s edge. He looks at it and then yells out in anger, hitting his fist against the floor.

JJ sighs in relief as soon as Anti is gone. He still looks a bit nervous, but with Mag also temporarily taken care of, the situation is a lot better.

Sorry, Alt, he says.

Alt doesn't see JJ's apology as he's focused on the shadow.

"It won't last long," Chase says. "Is there any way you could knock him out or something?"

Bro blinks and then grins, "Oh I could do that! I love doing that." He gets up and grabs Mag and starts to wind up a punch. But then he stops, "...wait this wont hurt you will it?" He asks Chase.

"I mean... I can't really feel all that much, actually." Chase looks down and flexes Mag's fingers. "It's all weirdly numb. I could feel more as a ghost. So, it probably won't hurt." He smiles--such a sincere expression is strange to see on Mag's face. "So go ahead."

Bro does look weirded out by seeing such a soft expression on Mag's face. So- he doesn't hesitate to knock the mad magician's lights out. Mag's body crashes to ground with little resistance.

After Mag collapses, Chase's form lifts away from it, stretching. "Huh. It's weird, being in a body feels so... heavy."

JJ turns his attention to Bro and Jackieboy and hurries over. It shouldn't be bleeding too much. Do you have bandages?

Meanwhile, Marvin groans, lifting his head gently.

"Everyone wounded over here," Schneep says. "I can look at you all." He drags Jackie, still in wolf form, over by Marvin.

Jackieboy looks Schneep nervously as he comes over. "... t-this isn't gonna turn us into vampires, is it??"

As Schneep drags the injured into one place,

The shield around Marvin flickers in and out before disappearing completely and Alt sways dazedly and then slumps to the ground.

Schneep shakes his head. "No, there is a whole process to become a vampire. You must first lose most of your blood, then drink a vampire's blood, then spend a full day enclosed--Alt?!"

Jackieboy starts to look relieved at Schneep's explanation then jumps as he hears Alt fall. "Alt!"

JJ hurries over and helps Alt up, guiding him over to the rest of the group.

Alt dazedly blinks up at JJ and bonelessly lets himself be lead to the others, more spots dancing in his eyes.

Bro hurries over and guides Alt to sit down, worriedly checking his temperature. "... I think he just used too much magic..." He mumbles.

Alt slumps onto Bro's shoulder and mumbles quietly, "...'dun like vamp're me... s'aprick..."

He really is a prick, isn't he? JJ agrees.

Alt laughs loopily at JJ's signs and nods.

Bro pushes back his hair with a bit of worry.

Marvin raises his head. "...d' we w'n?" he mumbles.

Jackieboy looks down at Marvin and then laughs, patting his shoulder. "Yeah we did... you okay, mate?"

"Head hurts," Marvin groans. His eyes flicker over to Alt. And he reaches out and grabs Alt's wrist. "Schn'p, put my mask back on."

Schneep nods, and does so. Marvin's tattoos flicker with light, and Alt suddenly feels a jolt of energy.

"Wait a--Marvin you fucking idiot!!!" Schneep grabs Marvin's wrist and snatches back.

"'m fine," he mumbles. "Th' mask helps. I stored some spare in there. Worry 'bout Jackie."

Jackie lies where he is, ears drooping. "Oh... Jackie, we are getting you to the hospital right away," Schneep says softly.

Alt blinks blearily and then jolts slightly as he gets a burst of energy. He looks down at his hands and then back at Marvin in disbelief. "W-Why?"

Marvin smiles weakly at Alt. "Looked like you needed it."

YOU needed it, you dumbass, JJ says.

"Yeah. But Alt's a visitor... Seemed, uh... right."

Alt smiles gratefully at Marvin then quickly drags his bag out and digs through it, "I-I...! I can try a purification spell...! To help Jackie..."

Schneep looks at Alt. "That would be great, Alt. Anything would help." Jackie inches closer to Alt, putting his big wolf head on his lap.

Jackieboy looks at everyone and then swallows, "Should we all just... go to the hospital? T-Try to rest?"

"I dunno... Mag not be out for long..." Bro mumbles.

Schneep looks at the unconscious Mag. "Yes, people do not tend to stay knocked out for long when you hit them. Maybe we can find something to tie him up."

Bro looks around the area, trying to think of something to tie up Mag.

Behind the circulation counter are some stretchy belts, similar to seatbelts. Most of them are binding stacks of books but in this situation it's probably fine to take them.

Alt jumps slightly as Jackie lays on his lap. Then, he laughs. He gently pats his head and hurries to look for a purification spell.

After a bit he finds the spell and starts to trace sigils over Jackie's burns, runes of light left hovering over them. He then finds Jackie's heart and holds his hand over it, pushing some magic into it with a whispered spell word. Light races from his heart towards the burns and the sigils pulse with magic then the light rushes over the wound like a wave, taking any sign of corruption away.

Alt sways a bit again, a little dizzy but manages to shake it off. He smiles down at Jackie, "...I think that just takes care of the black magic... you might still need to get some things for the burns..."

Jackie nods at him. He backs away, sitting up... and transforms back into a human. He sighs. "Oh thank god. I was having difficulty changing for a while there. Thought I might be stuck. You don't want to spend too long in one form as a werewolf. Thanks so much, Alt."

Alt smiles and nods, "Glad I could help."

"Good to see you better." Schneep smiles. "We can pick up burn ointment on the way to the hospital for Marvin."

"I don' need the hospital," Marvin mutters. "Jus' some rest." He closes his eyes--then opens them again when Schneep shakes him. "Jeez, Schneep. I promise I'm fine."

"Better safe than sorry," Chase says.

Bro makes an ah-ha noise as he finds the stretchy belts and then grabs one. He hurries over to Mag and ties his arms behind his back. "There! that should hold him for a bit."

"...I still think we should try to rest-" Jackieboy mumbles, "The TRVLR hasnt exactly had the greatest track record getting us home..."

“Well… if you all wish to rest, and if Marvin is sure he doesn’t need a hospital,” Schneep says slowly, “I think my flat is the closest to the library. I assume. I do not know where JJ lives.”

Anti is probably going to be there, anyway, JJ says. And I’m sure none of you want to see him.

Alt narrows his eyes at this. He looks at JJ, "... what's his deal with you? He... he was... was controlling you."

JJ sighs. He looks tired. Anti is the vampire who made me.

"Ohhh, that bitch was here?" Marvin says. "Man, wish I hadn't fucking... passed out. I would've punched him."

"Alt beat him up on your behalf, don't worry," Chase says.

Alt beams and looks proud and Bro ruffles up his hair, much to his displeasure.

JJ chuckles a little. He does deserve it. As for how he was controlling me... there's a ritual a vampire can do while making another. In the period where their body is enclosed. It binds the new vampire to them, meaning that they have to follow commands given by them and can't go too far away from them.

"Which is super fucking illegal, by the way," Jackie says. "Every Night Council in the country has forbidden it."

Funny enough, that law went into effect the year after I was made, JJ says. Which makes me think Anti planned it that way. He shakes his head. He's not the worst vampire out there, I think. He has moments of humanity. But still... He gestures vaguely around them.

The swaps then look horrified.

“T-That’s… that’s awful…” Alt says quietly, shivering just thinking of having to follow every order given- never being to stray from the one who hurts you. He glances at Mag. “Sounds absolutely like something Mag would do…”

Jackieboy mutters. “Even if he’s not that bad- he still bit the shit out of us. Let’s head over to Schneep’s flat and rest up. …at least for as long as we can before cat face wakes up.”

JJ sighs. It was worse in the beginning. I’m just glad that I have these guys now, as friends.

Marvin nods. “We’re tryin’ ev’rything we can to help.”

Schneep leans over and pats JJ on the shoulder. “Very well. Let’s go. I am sure Jack is waiting for us anxiously. Those who can teleport should meet us there once again.”

—————

Schneep’s apartment is on the second floor of a well-off apartment complex. The inside is neat, with mostly dark furniture that looks about a decade old. The living area has a comfy-looking sofa and a couple chairs, along with a coffee table, a TV stand, and some bookshelves, all tied together with a circular purple rug. A modest kitchenette is attached, with a couple stools and a counter. A hallway to the left leads to a set of closed doors, probably a bathroom and a bedroom. The front and right walls have windows, all covered in thick blackout curtains.

“I do not have any food, but you may help yourselves to the drinks in the fridge,” Schneep says. “All of you are welcome in my flat.”

The group piles in. Marvin has to summon Chase again, but everyone else walks in normally.

“Bit crowded with everyone in here,” Jack comments.

“We’ll make do, your flat is really nice, Schneep!” Bro says, hoisting the still passed out Mag on his shoulder yet again. “…though man- getting real sick of carrying this guy.”

“Maybe he’ll get brain damage from being knocked out so much.” Jackieboy snickers.

"You can dump him on the sofa or that chair," Schneep says. "Or even on the floor, I don't really care."

Bro unceremoniously dumps Mag on the floor and dusts off his hands. Then, he flops into a chair and checks over his bite wound. “…he bite me through my jacket! Fucking prick-“

"Vampire fangs are pretty sharp," Schneep says, smiling to show off his in turn. "Unless you wear something as thick as leather or very tightly woven, they tend to pierce through the smallest openings."

Marvin and JJ crowd around the fridge, opening it up. After a moment, Marvin grabs a bottle of purple soda and passes a plastic bottle of red liquid to JJ (it's obvious what that is).

Chase looks around. He drifts down the hallway, and back. "So you do have a mirror in your bathroom."

"It has an aluminum back, I can see myself in it," Schneep says.

Alt goes to glitch into a corner and digs around in his bag- finding some snacks and starting to tear into them. Jackieboy notices this and goes to hand him some more, just in case.

Jackie flops down in the nearest chair with the attitude of someone who's been here often and always sits in the same place. "Oh hey, you guys have snacks?" he asks Jackieboy. "D'you mind if I have something? I'm starving."

Jackieboy laughs and nods, tossing him a protein bar. “See? You guys were making fun of me for taking a big backpack!”

Alt huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes. “We thank you for your Sage dad wisdom, Jackie.”

I'm truly very sorry for Anti, JJ says.

"That fucker was acting more wild than me when I was a literal wolf," Jackie says. He accepts the protein bar. with a "thanks" and tears it open.

Bro waves JJ off, “S’not your fault dude. He decided to be a motherfucking menace.” He tests his arm and nods as he can feel the punctures already starting to heal.

Jackieboy takes out some of his first aid and starts wiping at his shoulder so at least it won’t look too bloody. Damn.. his white shirt though-

JJ watches Jackieboy struggle with the shirt and walks over. He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small test-tube-sized bottle of pale blue-green liquid, which he hands to them.

When you next get some soap and water, wash the shirt with that. A quarter of it should be fine for that amount.

"You sure, JJ?" Marvin asks.

You'll just have to sell me some more, JJ says, grinning.

Marvin rolls his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

"Ah, Marvin, I need some more blood remover too," Schneep says.

"Neither of you are getting discounts, by the way." The two vamps laugh.

Jackieboy blinks and then grins, taking the bottle. “Hey thanks! I was really bummed this shirt was ruined. It’s one of my wife’s favorites.” He laughs.

"It's a very nice shirt," Jackie agrees, grinning. "Schneep, if I got this shirt for you would you wear it?"

"Maybe on my nights off," Schneep says.

"It'd look good on you," Jack agrees.

"So... now what?" Marvin asks, glancing at Mag. "We can't keep him in here forever."

“Don’t worry,” Alt says as he hurries to finish his snacks. “I’m just fueling back up so I can get us out of here.” He shakes himself out and glitches easily over to grab a soda from the fridge and down that too. He starts to buzz with more glitches. “I need a decent amount to power the TRVLR.”

"The traveler?" Chase asks. "That's how you got here, then?"

Alt nods, pulling the device out of his pocket. “Yup- this thing is programmed to help take us to other worlds. It should be taking us home… but…” Alt’s mind wanders to his reading before and he pauses.

“But…? Do you think you know why it’s not working?” Bro asks.

Alt shakes his head, “no I… I still don’t know why… malfunctioning I guess but… Marvin and I read some cards earlier and… I think we still have a bit of a journey ahead…”

Jackieboy scoffs slightly, “you got that from a card reading? Those things can’t actually tell the future…”

Marvin raises an eyebrow. "Not normally, no. Do I need to remind you you're in a world with fucking witches and ghosts and supernatural creatures? And you think cards telling the future is absurd?" He grins. "Though I will say they're not always right."

Jackieboy opens his mouth to argue but then quickly shuts it, turning red.

"Maybe something's happening... when you're traveling?" Chase guesses. "Like... I-I don't know what, actually. But if you can't figure out what's wrong with the thing, maybe it's something else."

Maybe if you try heading somewhere with fancy technology they can fix it for you, JJ says.

Alt looks the TRVLR over, “I mean… it was damaged before… but it seemed to work just fine. Now it just… doesn’t. It’s not going where we want it to go.” He lets out a huff of a laugh. “…if we get lucky enough to find a place with good tech then… yeah. But… I don’t know…”

Bro is quiet for a second before he gets up and smiles. “Well- now it’s kinda like our first trip again, huh, Alt? We don’t know where we’re gonna go next so- let’s just hope for the best!”

Alt tries to give his brother a soft smile back. Then he sighs and glitches over, grabbing his bag and slipping it on. “…in that case though… I guess we… gotta leave.”

"Don't forget your evil version of me," Marvin says, gesturing at Magnificent. "I think leaving him here is kind of like leaving a vampire in a blood bank."

Stealing from everyday blood banks is illegal by the Council, though, JJ says.

"And other people need that blood," Schneep says.

"Okay, it's like leaving a vampire with no morals in a blood bank."

The swaps laugh. “Nah, we wouldn’t do that to you guys. He’s bad enough in our universe.” Bro shakes his head and loads Mag back onto his shoulder. Mag starts to stir, groaning, his face aching.

Jack laughs. He looks at the group and grins. "It was nice to meet you all."

Jackieboy knocks Jack lightly on his arm, “You too! Nice to see a normal lad like me around~ keep these crazies in line, won’t you?” He teases.

"It's practically my job at this point," Jack chuckles. "You too with your guys."

"Yeah." Chase nods. "Nice to meet you, Bro. I know this is probably strange to see, but... you're cool. If that makes sense."

Bro blinks at Chase and then smiles warmly. “It was nice to meet you too. It was weird at first but- you’re cool too. I hope you’ll figure all this out. Seems like you got a great team.” He smiles at the others too.

"Thanks." Chase grins at him.

"Maybe we can hang out more if your thing gets fixed," Jackie says, smiling.

Alt looks reluctant but then grips the TRVLR tighter, “I’m gonna come back- someday! I- I need to read things in that library! And properly look at Marvin’s shop! So… this isn’t goodbye.” He smiles, “We’ll see you all again.”

"I'm looking forward to it!" Marvin says, eyes alight with excitement. "We can exchange all the knowledge."

"Good luck getting home," Schneep says.

I'm glad to have met you for a while, JJ adds.

"I hope we'll meet again," Jackie waves goodbye to them.

Alt nods with a grin and goes to grab the others. Jackieboy and Bro wave as Alt opens up the TRVLR and hits the jump button, bracing for their next jump.

They fall into nothing, and--it's almost expected by now what will happen. Their course shifts, like a swimmer caught in the rip tide and being pulled out to sea.

#SATCV #SATCV SC #alt anti #bro fantastic #jackie mann #swap magnificent #god this fight was sooo cool!!#and like- i love that mag was too impatient to wait for the elevator to open so he was just like BOOM BITCH AHGVJ #slightly more familiar territory tomorrow!!#i hope you guys like these previews/tastes of other worlds :)#or other worlds that havent been written yet at least ahgva

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