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huffle-dork · 6 months

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Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 9: Shadow City

Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs

Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link

Bro lands somewhere unfamiliar yet again. This time, it's the living room of a suburban house. There's a hallway extending to the left and an archway leading to a kitchen in front. Behind him is the front door, and a wide window showing a nighttime cityscape. The walls are covered in pale blue wallpaper and the furniture is all generic shades of brown. Something about it screams 'rented, not owned.' But there are little personal touches all over. There's a TV stand with a flatscreen TV and a couple video game consoles attached. An old-looking mirror in a coppery frame hangs on the wall. And there's a laptop on the coffee table, connected to a set of speakers. It's playing music. "🎵 Come and breathe the air into my lungs, I just wanna be your skeleton... 🎵"

Bro looks around and scratches at his head. "What the hell...? Again? Fuck... that doesn't look like Brighton at all..." He blinks at the music coming from the laptop and points at it. "OH! I know this song! Alt loves this band!"

As if responding to him, the music abruptly shuts off.

"Oh- well- oops?" Bro whispers, looking around the place some more. "Um... helllooo?"

Quiet for a moment. Then--it sounds like footsteps behind him. Close behind him. But there's nothing there. Even as a cold breeze passes right by him, like someone brushing past.

Bro whips around, trying to figure out where that breeze is coming from or the footsteps. "Um-! I-If someone's there I'm sorry for technically breaking in but if it helps I didn't mean to!"

The TV turns on, but it only shows static. And, directly in his ear, a voice whispers, "Get out."

Bro lets out a loud-pitched scream of terror and ducks down, covering his head.

And then the front door opens and a man walks in. "I'm home!" he announces. "What--" And then he notices Bro, ducking down in the middle of the floor. He blinks, clearly confused. "Uh..."

Bro comically peeks his head out from under his arms and then hops up to his feet. He waves stiffly to the man and smiles nervously. "Hiiii! Sorry uh- didn't mean to intrude just- ... bro i think your house is fucking haunted-!"

The man laughs. "Uh--okay." He has brown hair pulled back in a small manbun and a thicker beard. Over his button-up shirt is a blue jacket with the letters SPDFI on the lapel. "Yeah, I know it's--hold on." He looks away from Bro and towards the TV--not at it, but at some point near it. Then back to Bro. "Um... so... that's a very impressive shapechange, but the guy you're pretending to be doesn't live here anymore, so it's kind of obvious you're not him. How'd you get in? I thought the place was warded."

Bro blinks rapidly, "...those are a lot of words I'm only vaguely familiar with-" He says plainly. "I'm... not a shapeshifter though... but I'm guessing you know a Chase Brody? Cuz I'm him- but from another world." He grins nervously, "Tah-da?"

The man blinks. "Another world...? Well that would explain why I can't see through it. Yeah, I know a Chase, he's--"

And then he abruptly stops, looking back towards that spot near the TV. "Well, it's not the craziest thing," he says. "Did you turn the TV on? Can you turn it off?"

A pause.

He chuckles. "Alright, I'll do it." And he walks over, picking up a remote from the coffee table and turning the television off. "Whatever's happening here, I think it'll help if he could see you, you know."

Bro looks back and forth over his shoulder and knits his eyebrows together in confusion. "Ummm.... who are you talking to??"

"Ya see?" the man says, glancing at that spot again. "I look like a fucking lunatic."

Pause.

"It'll be good practice, at least."

Pause.

"Okay." He looks back at Bro. "Something's about to happen. Promise not to freak out."

"I can try my hardest not to!" Bro laughs nervously. "As long as I don't get like- jumpscared again."

The man laughs. "Alright. Ready."

And then someone... appears next to him. A man who's not entirely there. He's translucent and his coloring is pale, like someone put a layer of white over a digital drawing and then lowered the opacity. Parts of him are more transparent than the others, mostly parts of his stomach and upper arms, and his legs fade away entirely. But most startling is his head. His eyes are empty, black sockets, and dark near-black blood drips down one side of his head from a hole just under the cap he's wearing.

Bro can't help it- he screams and ends up hovering up in the air, hitting the ceiling in his attempt to get away. He curls up on it and then blinks comically at the man and the see-through man. "Ah... s-sorry- wasn't expecting the... the blood and eyes and- ... yeah-"

"Whoa!" The man jumps in surprise, looking up at Bro. "Um... okay, then?" He glances at the transparent man.

"Chase, the eyes, you're forgetting the eyes again."

"Sorry," the transparent man says. He blinks, and now there are normal gray-blue eyes where the empty sockets were. "Um... I can't do anything about the blood, though." His voice is quiet and whispery. It almost sounds like someone is repeating what he says a half second after he says it.

Bro's eyes widen. "Oh y-you're... you're..."

It feels like his breath gets knocked out of him as he looks down and sees... a ghost of himself. He slowly floats back down but can't take his eyes off the ghost. "... t-that's what you meant by he doesn't live here anymore... huh-" He breathes, looking freaked out and pale.

The ghost him rubs the back of his neck. "This is probably pretty shocking for you, huh?" He laughs awkwardly. "I-it was shocking to me when it happened. Sorry for... trying to scare you off. You just... appeared. It freaked me out."

The hero swallows shakily, trying to push back some hard hitting memories before they make him spiral. "I-It's fine I'm sorry for- f-freaking you out."

A moment passes in silence.

"I'm Jack, by the way," the man says. "I see ghosts and stuff. And... you're not... a witch, are you? You're... really some other version of Chase?"

Bro looks back at Jack and slowly smiles. "Oh- hi, nice to meet you. No, not a witch. I'm... a super hero actually? But yeah I'm... Chase Brody. Even got my ID if that helps-"

Jack shakes his head. "No, that's fine. Just hearing you offer that, uh, helps. It's just... really weird." He laughs. "A superhero. Can't fucking believe it."

"Can't believe it?" the ghost Chase repeats. "Magic is fucking real, and the superhero thing is what you can't believe?"

"Well, it's a different kind of thing, y'know?"

Bro laughs and shakes his head. "No I get it- far as I know in my world, ghosts don't exist so..." He glances at Ghost Chase and then quickly looks away again.

Jack looks at Bro. "So, uh... what're you doing here, then? On some sort of hero mission across universes?"

"Um... no we just got... lost.” Bro says, “This was supposed to be a fun trip for our friend but now our device we use to travel is... broken, I guess. We were supposed to be home by now..."

"Oh. That... sucks." Chase says. "Sorry it's not working." He notices Bro avoiding looking in his direction and glances down at himself. He becomes just a bit more transparent.

"Wait, 'we'?" Jack repeats. "There's more of you?"

"Yeah... I got my little brother, Alt and my best mate, Jackie," Bro says, "And... a villain named Magnificent. God- I'm guessing there's magic again here... He's gonna be hot on the trail for that." The hero groans, rubbing at his head.

Chase blinks. "You have a brother? And a Jackie?" He smiles. "That's great."

"Not so great about the, uh 'villain,'" Jack says. "Magnificent? Huh. I'm guessing he's a witch if he's going after magic, then. I can call some friends and ask them to keep an eye out for him. In the meantime, can you, like, call your friends? Or do you not have a phone? Or, uh, do they not work between dimensions?"

"Didn't you say something about interference, Jack?" Chase asks. "Tell him about that."

"...fuck, you're right." Jack sighs. "Ghosts and magic interfere with radio waves, including cell calls and WiFi. It's not normally that big a problem, but it might be worse for you? For some reason? I don't know, just thought I'd better warn you."

Bro digs out his phone and then sighs, "Aw- we had such a good streak going of places with wifi... shit." He shakes his head. "But, don't worry. I can at least find my brother and Jackie. My brother is... a witch too. I guess that's what they're called here! But, he made us these tracking bracelets so we can find each other." He shows the bracelet off for them to see.

"Whoa, really?" Jack walks closer to see it, and Chase does too--though it's more like he glides along. "Weird runes. Then again, I don't really know much about magic in the first place. How does it work? D'you need to activate it?"

"Yeah, I just need to speak the phrase and it'll show me where to go!" Bro says proudly. He touches the gem on the bracelet and whispers 'loonu' to it. And soon enough will of the wisp type magic blossoms into the air. creating a trail. "Blue means they're close and green means they're farther away!"

Two trails drift diagonally across the room, heading out the front door. They're similar in shade, but one is a bit more blue.

Jack walks across the room and looks out the window. "Huh. Looks like they're heading downtown."

"Oh cool!" Bro says, looking like he's ready to follow after Jack.

Meanwhile, Chase stays where he is. "Um..." he says quietly to Bro. "Hey. I, uh, noticed you were uncomfortable earlier. Can I ask a, uh... blunt question? Does this... bother you?" He gestures to the blood. "I mean... the location?"

Bro stiffens ever so slightly as Chase speaks up. Bro is quiet for a second before he looks back towards Chase with a somewhat haunted expression. He meets Chase's eyes- looks at the wound and then quickly looks away, "um... y-yeah. Sorry I just..." He touches his own scar on his head quietly.

Chase nods. "Yeah... if you're me, I thought it would be like that. I-if it makes you feel better... I didn't do it. I-I don't remember what really happened, but I know it wasn't me. Someone just... made it look that way."

Bro looks back towards Chase with a bit of surprise. "...o-oh." He pauses and then laughs a bit sheepishly, messing with his hair. "...that's... a bit of a relief. Still... hard to see a version of you that's... a ghost."

"Yeah. I can imagine it would be really disturbing." Chase nods, and gives him a small smile.

Bro looks at Chase with sympathy, "...I'm sorry that... that you died. I hope you can find out what happened..."

"Thanks. I-it's... very different, as a ghost. But I'm adjusting. And me and Jack are working on figuring that out."

Bro nods with more of a smile, "Hey... at least you're still around somewhat. That's good- you can give whoever did this to you some hell."

"Heh. Yeah." Chase grins. "I'm gonna stick around until I'm ready."

Jack has been waiting quietly while the Chases talked. Then he clears his throat. "So. Uh. D'you need me to drive you after these trails? I mean, I know you can fly, but that's not normal here, so unless you can turn invisible now you might not want to attract attention."

Bro blinks back at Jack and then deflates with a slight pout, "Awww man, I can't fly again! This is bullshitttt." He playfully whines. Then he refluffs his hair and sighs but smiles at Jack gratefully. "If you wouldn't mind, that'd be great."

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Jack says. "I mean... gotta be honest, I'm new to driving, but not too new!" He looks at Chase. "Do you want to come, too? Could be good practice leaving the house."

"Everything is practice for me with you," Chase says, rolling his eyes.

"Well you need it."

"Alright, if you and other-me are fine with me coming, I will. I want to meet this, uh, Alt? And the other Jackie."

Bro smiles, "Yeah, Alt. Also goes by Anti but- only I call him that." He shrugs, "I don't mind! We'll just- need to make sure to keep them informed about the ... head thing."

"Anti?" Jack frowns. "I think I've heard that name floating around somewhere... rumors or something." He shakes his head. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing."

Chase self-consciously raises a hand to the side of his head. "Yeah... it tends to freak people out if you don't see a lot of ghosts around."

"Which most people don't," Jack says. He grins. "I'm special. Anyway, we better head out fast, then." He takes off the jacket he's wearing and throws it over the back of the couch. "Out of my work clothes and ready to go. Let's find your friends."

Bro laughs and nods, “Let’s go!”

-----------

Alt appears on a strange city street. Tall, narrow buildings surround him, most of them shops of some kind. Street lights provide puddles of yellow light to see by. No cars are passing by. Next to him is a shop with a sign identifying it as 'Magnificent Magics'. And there's a man in the shop window staring at him.

Alt blinks as he appears in this new city. Then he curses loudly and takes out the TRVLR again, almost wanting to rip it apart as he whisper-shouts, “what is wrong with you, you piece of shit?!” He then realizes he’s being watched and he meets the man’s eyes with a bewildered expression. Especially once he sees the name of the shop.

The TRVLR briefly displays the universe as UA-1313025SC before the low battery icon appears.

The man raises a hand in greeting. Then he walks over to the front door of the shop and opens it, still looking at Alt. His hair is chin-length in a half-up style, and he's wearing one of those sleeveless black turtlenecks underneath an open button-up shirt. The shirt has elaborate flower designs on it, like they're growing from the bottom upwards. What's the name of that style? Art noveau, right. "So... are you going to come in, or did you teleport directly outside my shop by coincidence?" he asks.

Alt freezes as the man approaches and almost starts to glitch away but stops himself. Even if pixels pop and fizzle around him. “Um… y-yeah sure…?” He says quietly as he approaches the door.

"Alright, come on in then." The man laughs a bit. "Cool magic. I haven't seen anything like that." He stands aside so Alt can walk into the shop.

Inside is... a bit strange. It's like a bookstore, a witch's hut, and a cat cafe all got merged together. Bookcases line the walls, filled with all sorts of books. Paper cover, hard cover, leather cover. There are also various trinkets on the shelves. Candles and crystals and bottles and incense and more. There's a counter at the back of the room with more of these trinkets, and a cash register for purchases. Two doors behind it lead deeper into the building. Bundles of plants dangle from the ceiling. There's a cat tree in each corner of the room. The air smells like pine needles and mint. The main body of the shop is filled with small round tables, all covered with silky tablecloths in various jewel tones. Some of them have more books or trinkets, but some are empty. At the very back of the room, near the counter, a man sits at one of these tables.

Alt looks around the shop with wide eyes and awe. This place is amazing- it almost puts Blaise’s shop to shame.

As soon as Alt comes into the shop, he's swarmed by cats. Wow, that's a lot of them. A black-and-orange tortoiseshell cat, a white cat with gray patches, a fluffly black one and fluffy white one that look like a pair, a small black one, a ragdoll one, a fluffy brown one with only three legs, an off-white one with darker ears and tail and stripes on its legs and face--wait a minute. Some of these seem familiar.

Alt’s eyes widen and sparkle as he bends down to look at the cats, looking beyond happy to see so many. “Oh!! Hello babies!!” He then blinks as he realizes. He’s… he’s seen cats like a lot of these before. That’s… weird.

"Hey! Give him space!" the man nudges the cats out of the way with his foot. "Sorry about that. They're not usually that clingy... I think. Most of them aren't mine. But they are up for adoption, if you're looking. Except for Sam and Higgins."

“It’s okay I don’t mind!” Alt laughs, “Unfortunately I don’t think our apartment, or my brother, can handle another cat. As much as I want one.”

"That's fair. They need a good, safe home," the man says. "Alright. Well, I'm Marvin, I'm the owner. What're you looking for? I have just about everything. Though, hmm, what are you, a chaos witch? You guys need some weird shit sometimes so that might be the exception. And if you're looking for a reading, I have to tell you I don't work with the French or Thoth arcana, only crystaleye and traditional cards."

Back in the back of the room, the other man in the shop watches. Is he... staring at Alt?

Alt gets to his feet after petting a couple cats. He blinks as Marvin explains about the shop- curious how he knew about Alt’s chaos magic. He seems excited about the tarot. “Oh! I was learning about those from my mentor! Still don’t really know how to do a reading but- god it’d be cool to get one…” He blinks and looks out at the other man. …why is he looking at him? He tilts his head slightly.

"Really? Were they teaching you traditional arcana? Because like I just said, I don't work with those decks..." Marvin trails off as he realizes where Alt is looking. "Oh. That's JJ, he's a friend of mine."

JJ waves at Alt. Now that Alt is really looking, he can see the identifiers of Jamesons across universes. The mustache, the neat hair and clothes. This JJ is wearing a blue vest over a white button-up, the style old-fashioned, maybe from the early 1900s. He's also very pale, wit a slight gray tinge to his skin that looks kind of unhealthy. "We were hanging out, but don't worry, I'm still open," Marvin continues.

Alt blinks and then smiles and waves at JJ. “Oh no worries! Sorry get kinda- paranoid with stares.”

Sorry, you just look like someone I know, JJ says, absentmindedly.

"Oh, JJ just said you remind him of someone," Marvin translates.

Alt seems to freeze a bit at this- looking back at JJ. “…I look like someone you know?” He asks quietly.

JJ blinks. That was my exact wording. Oh! Do you know sign language?! he asks, looking excited. "I guess he must, cause I didn't translate that directly." Marvin grins.

Alt grins too, “Yeah I do! One of my friends is deaf.”

Alt is practically buzzing with energy - this shop is like a candy store to him. “About the tarot though!! We do traditional like the standard 78 deck, but they were telling me about the variants! But god I also want to know what you have for Chaos magic! I haven’t met anyone who can just openly say they do chaos magic!”

"And what're you talking about? I mean, chaos magic is rare, but it's not like it's taboo or anything. I mean, some witches are gonna be assholes about it, but they're probably just jealous that they can't figure it out." Marvin chuckles. "As for what I have, there are some grimoires with chaos spells over here—usually the ones with bright covers—and I got some mantras and mandelas and dice, and of course the generic supplies like candles and shit."

Alt flushes at Marvin’s statement and he messes with his mask. “Oh well- it… kinda is where I’m from? But man… magic is so accepted here!” He beams.

Marvin leans back against one of the tables. "Well I mean... don't go doing magic out in front of the everydays, or the Night Council will have your head, but yeah. There are witches all over Scuabyrg. There are more vamps and wolves, though, I think. Where're you from, then? You don't sound like you're from too far away. Oh, uh... I'm also realizing I didn't get your name."

Alt blinks at the new phrases but easy enough to gain the meaning… Everydays must be normal people and the Night Council must be like the magic circle back home. He can’t help but balk at the casual mention of vampires and werewolves though. But he tries to shake that off as he laughs nervously. “Oh! My name is Alt, Alt Brody. Umm I’m from a place called Brighton but… alsoimfromanotheruniverse?” He says really quickly, ears turning red.

"Brighton? I've never heard of--wait a minute." Marvin stares at him. "How'd you get here, then?"

JJ, who had paused to take a drink from a glass sitting on the table, makes a choking sound. He sets the glass down again and quickly signs, You can't just take him at face value! That's ridiculous!

"I mean, he could be fucking with me," Marvin says slowly. "But I prefer to be optimistic about people."

Alt laughs, “T-That’s a good trait to have- but um…” He takes out the TRVLR. “I have this device that I can power with my magic- and it can take us in between universes. Parallel ones, actually.” He looks down at some of the cats and laughs. “It’s funny- even some of the cats here look like ones I’ve seen in other worlds.”

JJ stares at him with obvious doubt, but Marvin's eyes light up excitedly. He grins. "I knew it. I knew someone would figure out a way to travel between worlds eventually. You know, I know there are other places beyond this one, but no one ever fucking believes me. Like, they think I believe in the theory of it, no, I know. I mean... I've never personally seen any, but I know. Cause of magic. Fuck yeah." He looks at the cats, who are all busy getting underfoot or climbing the cat trees. "Hmm... if these are cats who exist in other worlds too, maybe that's why they keep showing up here. Maybe they know a 'me' in these other worlds."

Alt looks excited too, buzzing with glitches as he grins, “Fuck yes! Someone who believes us right away!” He looks down at the cats again and laughs, “Yeah maybe! Other yous had cats like these! Like- the white and gray striped one was called Draco and he lived in a fantasy world. And the 3 legged one is called Mister- well, Mr. Fluffington-“

"No way, that's what I called them!" Marvin laughs. "Okay, that has to be it, then. Fucking whims of the universe."

JJ sighs. He reaches over and grabs a bottle sitting on the table. A wine bottle, specifically. There are two on the table, the same brand of red wine, but one has the letter B written on it in red marker. JJ grabs that one, pours it into his cup, and takes a long drink.

Alt stops his recounting of cats to watch JJ take a drink. He sees the B written on the bottle and knits his eyebrows together- before his eyes slowly widen. …Marvin did mention there were vampires here.

JJ notices Alt's expression. He puts the cup down, looking almost embarrassed.

Marvin looks back and forth between Alt and JJ. "Uh... something wrong?"

I don't think Alt has... met... someone like me before, JJ says delicately.

"Oh! Oh." Marvin inhales sharply. "Okay, Alt? Don't worry. Vampires don't hunt people down here. Well, most of them don't, the good ones don't, and JJ's one of those. We have blood banks and stuff and the Night Council makes sure no one dies. It's fine."

People aren't going to just relax immediately when you say it's fine, JJ points out. Especially about something like this!

Alt is quick to raise his hands and shake his head, “H-Hey! It’s okay! The JJ I know wouldn’t hurt a fly… unless provoked so. I believe you. You don��t seem like a bad vampire. Just- something I’m not used to seeing.” Alt does look very excited though, “it’s fucking wicked… vampires! And werewolves! Fucking! Supernatural shit!” He pops and fizzles some more, hardly able to contain himself. “And all this magic!! So cool!!”

JJ sighs in relief--which does have the unfortunate side effect of drawing attention to the fact that he wasn't breathing until he took a breath to do that, but that uncanny fact is counterbalanced by his gentle smile. Thank you. I try to be as kind as I can.

Marvin laughs. "Fucking great to see someone excited about this. You kinda get used to it over time. But yeah, we have all sorts of stuff in this universe. Scuabyrg--this city--is mostly home to vamps, wolves, and witches, with the occasional weirder creature. Oh, and ghosts, of course. There are ghosts wherever people die."

We actually met a really nice ghost recently, JJ says.

"Yep, you and him are the newest members of our little gang," Marvin says. "We also have another vamp in our circle, and a wolf, and a meddie--uh, that's a nickname for a human who can naturally see through illusions and talk to ghosts and stuff. Comes from the word 'medium.'"

“Ghosts huh? That’s… that’s wild.” Alt laughs, pushing back his hair. “This is stuff you always hear about and wish were real even if it’d be scary because like?? How cool would it be?? I- I wanna meet them maybe Chase or Jackie have-!” Then Alt stops himself and then curses. “Ah fuck right! I… I gotta go find my brother and Jackie…! And god if magic is here then Mag is gonna be even more desperate-!” He hisses to himself.

"Chase and Jackie? Heh,those are some of the 'gang' I was just talking about," Marvin says. "I guess you brought some alternate versions of them with you? And... Mag? Who's that?"

Maybe it's short for Magnificent and that's an alternate you, JJ says, half-jokingly.

Alt makes a wide eyed tight lipped face and looks away for a second. “…you’re actually spot on. Except Mag is… bad news.”

JJ and Marvin stare at him, blinking. Then Marvin looks at JJ. "Are you fucking serious?"

So I was right, JJ says.

"Don't say that like you were making a serious claim!"

I was. Don't get mad that you didn't put it together, maybe by the time you're my age you'll be just as smart. JJ smiles smugly, keeping his lips closed.

"You were joking and we both know it you sack of--" Marvin clears his throat. "Anyway. Bad news, huh? I'm gonna guess he's a witch. And... I can imagine a lot of ways a 'bad news' witch could go. What's his deal?"

Alt nods, “Basically… he’s a mental magician. He uses mental magic… mind control. Hypnotism- he makes people… puppets or pets. And he’s obsessed with getting new magic- and destroying alternative versions of himself. If he can kill two birds with one stone… he just might.” Alt hutches himself with his hands in his pockets. “But honestly? The last place we were in had no magic so.. he might be super desperate for the first source he can find.”

Marvin hisses. "Well... that sounds bad. Especially for me. I mean, I'm probably the strongest witch in the city."

JJ rolls his eyes. Braggart. He spells out the word so there can be no mistaking it.

"I brag because it's true." Now it's Marvin's turn to smile smugly, though it's quickly replaced by a serious expression. "Well, if he's already appeared, he's probably already caused disaster. Like I said, there are a lot of witches in the city. We can call our friends and see if any of them have seen anything. Meanwhile, can you contact your friends?"

Alt smiles nervously at Marvin. Maybe that confidence could help them with Mag. “Oh- lemme see.” Alt tries to turn on his phone and see if he can message the others.

The cell and WiFi is terrible here. On the verge of being nonexistent.

Marvin leans over his shoulder. "Oh yeah... magic here tends to interfere with wireless stuff. But normally I get fine service. I guess being in a different universe makes it worse for you."

But you're a witch, surely you have some other way, JJ says.

Alt makes a face but sighs. “Yeah felt like it was about time our phones wouldn’t be of use.” He shrugs then beams at JJ when he calls Alt a witch. He doesn’t know why- but it makes him feel proud almost. “Uh yeah actually! I made a tracking talisman- it can lead me to where they are.” He shows off his bracelet and then whispers to word to show the trails of magic.

The magic branches off to the left and the right, with the one to the right being definitely more blue than the other.

"Niiiice," Marvin grins. "We have tracking spells here, too, but they usually need something of the person's. So. Which one are we heading after?"

“Blue mean they’re closer so let’s head to that one first!” Alt grins back. “Oh- if you want to come that is… if you guys want to stay away I.. I understand-“

"Of course we're coming!" Marvin says. "How often do you get the chance to talk with people from another world? Besides, you'll need help navigating the city."

And if we're confronting mental magic eventually, I should come, JJ says. Vampires are immune to magical compulsion and hypnotism. He pauses. Except for the power of other vampires.

"I mean, it's from a different world, but it's worth trying," Marvin adds.

Alt brightens and can’t help but glitch in excitement as he nods. “That could very helpful! Alright then- let’s go!”

Marvin smiles excitedly. "Alright! Let's go." He stands up, grabbing some things from the counter.

You're not bringing your cards, are you? JJ asks.

"Just in case we have downtime. I'd love to do a reading for Alt. And of course, I need this." Marvin picks up a cat-shaped mask, white with black and green designs on it. "This focuses my power. Sounds like we'll need it."

JJ nods and stands up. It's a good thing the sun just set. We'll have all night.

"Mm-hmm." Marvin heads for the shop's front door, stopping only briefly to bet the tortoiseshell cat as he passes a table. "Now let's go."

Alt’s eyes glow green-blue as he glitches to the door with a determined smile.

-----------

Jackie lands in a small hallway with wood-paneled walls. At one end of the hallway is a set of bathrooms, at the other is a T-intersection, with noise and chatter drifting in from the left branch. One of the wood panels has writing on it in various-colored markers. This is clearly some sort of public area. A restaurant? Or a pub? Unfortunately, he doesn't land alone. Magnificent appears nearby. And Jackie is blocking his way out of the hallway.

Jackie blinks and looks around, trying to figure out where they are.

Magnificent groans and then sees Jackie in front of him. Huh… and none of his friends are around…

In a flash, Mag is grabbing Jackie and slamming him into one of the walls of the hallway.

Jackie screams in surprise and pain and scrambles to get Mag off him. “M-Mag-?!”

Magnificent crackles, eyes alight with mad rage. “You didn’t think I’d let those comments about me go unnoticed, did you, old friend~?” He laughs and then takes one hand and grabs Jackie’s throat- choking him as he digs his nails into his flesh.

Jackie gasps and flails desperately, trying to pry Mag’s hands off him.

And at that moment, a group of people comes in from the left branch of the T-intersection. Three college-age guys, who all stop and stare at Magnificent as he does this.

"H-hey!" one shouts. "Hey!" he turns back to the branch. "Someone's attacking someone down here!"

The other two go for their pockets, one grabbing a phone and another grabbing--what is that, a bottle of something? Its contents sparkle strangely.

Jackie looks towards the new guys with desperate eyes, trying to choke out a plea for help.

Mag looks and glares at the newcomers, growling lowly. “This is a private matter, gentleman. You’ll leave if you know what’s good for you.” His eyes glow bright toxic green as he bares his fangs at them.

“Whoa, holy shit!” The shouting one backs away but the other two, though they look shocked, stand their ground. The one it’s the phone is clearly filming him now, and the other one—the other one’s eyes start to glow white.

And that’s when Magnificent realizes it. These three are magic. It’s bright, like distilled starlight—definitely light magic so it’s of no use to him, but… is there more nearby?

Magnificent's eyes lock onto the glowing hungrily but he quickly grows more angry as he senses the light polluting it. But, he's distracted enough for Jackie to at least gasp and get some more air, prying Mag's hand away from him slightly.

“What’s going on down here?!” A man joins the group, around thirty, wearing a red hoodie and ripped jeans. He suddenly gags and covers his nose, like he smells something terrible. “Wh-what the fuck?!”

And then someone else appears, too. He looks around the same age as the hoodie one, wearing a black coat over what looks like hospital scrubs. His skin is pale with a slight gray tint. His eyes land on the sight, confused. “Marvin?”

“That’s not fucking Marvin!” The one in the hoodie says. “You kids get out of here!” He practically shoved the three college guys back down the hallway.

The mad magician growls and lets go of Jackie and then flares out green fire to cut him and Jackie off from the newcomers. "I said- Back off! This doesn't concern the likes of you-!"

The two men back away from the fire. “Jesus fucking hell, dude!” The hoodie one gasps. “Of course this concerns us you fucking idiot! You can’t kill someone! Especially not an every—” Then the hoodie one looks directly at Jackie, and stops, confused. “…huh?”

Jackie crashes to the ground, coughing. He almost doesn’t see man in the hoodie but manages to look up in time, his eyes widening.

“Fire!” The other one is shouting down the hallway. “Fire! Magical fire!”

A woman runs down the hall, dark-skinned and with a head of curly hair. She grabs an amulet around her neck and flings out a hand. Water bursts forth, putting out the flames that had quickly attached to the wooden panels on the walls.

Magnificent tumbles back and hisses at the magician. He teleports back and picks up Jackie by his hair then flares out his claws underneath his neck, causing him to freeze in fear. Magnificent snarls, “One more false move, magicians, and I spill this human’s blood- and you’ll be to blame for his death.”

The three of them back up. "Dolores, go call the police," the man in the coat whispers to the woman. She nods and hurries down the hallway.

The man in the hoodie growls--and then laughs. "Magicians? What are you, a newb or an idiot?" And, surprisingly fast, he lunges forward-- --and halfway through the lunge, he turns into a massive wolf.

“Wha- the fuck did you just call me?!” Magnificent hisses, bristling like a cat. His eyes widen as he sees the man turn into a wolf. He yells out and soon he’s being tackled to the floor, arms pinned by its claws, leaving Jackie heaving for breath, looking at the belly of the giant wild.

“H-Holy shit…!” He breathes.

The other man hurriedly rushes forward, grabbing Jackie and pulling him out from under it. "Process all this later," he says. "We're getting out of here now!"

And he runs down the hallway, dragging Jackie behind him.

Jackie stumbles to his feet and hurries to catch up with the black coated man. “T-Thanks!” He calls as he nervously looks behind them.

The wolf growls in Magnificent's face.

Magnificent glares at the wolf and bares his teeth back, struggling underneath him.

The wolf waits until Jackie and the man are out of sight before getting off Mag and running after them.

The hallway joins up with a main dining area, taken up with long tables and a bar pressed up against the nearest wall. Directly across from the hallway is a glass door, through which is a stairway leading up. Weirdly enough, there are no windows in this pub area. There are about ten patrons scattered about, who are all looking towards the hallway in confusion and worry.

"Everyone out!" the man in the coat snaps. "Black magic!"

The reaction is instant. Anyone sitting down stands up. About three of them disappear into thin air. Half of the remaining ones turn into wolves and start sheparding people to the glass door.

Jackie’s eyes widen as he sees the pub erupt into activity and… wolves?! Are these-?? “W-Werewolves..???”

"Yes, please process quickly," the man in the coat says, pushing Jackie over to the glass door. "They won't hurt you."

Meanwhile, a white wolf gently nudges Jackie and the man in the coat out of the glass door. They are now in a stairwell, which leads up to another door, this one wood.

“R-Right- uh- okay!” Jackie squeaks and lets himself get nudged and pushed through the door and up the stairs. He rushes to the wooden door, pushing it open.

Outside is a city street at night, bright street lamps light it up as the occasional car passes by. The other patrons of the underground pub are scattering, many of them taking out phones to call people. The man in the coat turns around, staring back down the stairs they came from, worry drawing his features close.

Once he’s free, Magnificent pushes himself to his feet and then starts to laugh wildly. He grins and teleports to be in the pub area to hear the warning. He laughs even harder, building up black magic flames in his hands. “Oh? Are you all scared of black magic?! Good!” He looks around for that wolf and tries to send flames his way, snarling in crazed anger.

The wolf snarls and leaps out of the way of the fire and onto a table. It swipes one of the chairs with its paws, sending it towards Magnificent. Some of the wolves bark and snarl aggressively towards Mag, and a red one and a gray one run over from the rest of the group to give the other wolf--a brown one--protection.

Magnificent laughs madly and burns the chair with his magic. “You really think you mutts can stand up against me?!” He blasts fire at the floor around them, the black magic fire burning hot but somehow seems to make the room darker- casting it in an eerie purple hue.

“I’ve always wanted a nice fur coat~!” Magnificent giggles, opening up his hands and controlling the flames to close in on the wolves in a ring.

The wolves all yelp in surprise, the fire getting close and burning some of their fur and skin. The red one nudges the brown and gray one towards the center, suffering the worst of the burns.

Suddenly, the woman from before pops up from under the bar. "Hey!" She throws a bottle at the back of Mag's head.

The bottle distracts Mag at the very least as he throws out more flames to crack the bottle before it reaches him. He grins, eyeing her down. Is she light based? These flames are not efficient enough to keep running when he was drained from the other world. He keeps one hand out to keep the wolves trapped.

The woman's magic is something heavy, deep and rich like freshly tilled earth. She grabs her amulet and another bottle, pouring out its contents on the ground. Instead of liquid, out comes a pale blue mist, cool to the touch, spreading across the floor and filling the room.

And while Mag is distracted, the white wolf leaps forward onto his back.

Magnificent doesn’t even pay attention to the mist- he stares at the magician like a predator stalking its prey. Moving like he’s possessed by his hunger. He seems to feel the rush of the wolf right before it pounces and he lashes to slam it into the flood by its neck. He grins wide, eyes sparking as he tries to drain magic from its body. “Aren’t you a pretty thing? Why don’t you just die for me? Hm?”

Though there's a hint of magic in the wolf, it's inaccessible. Like trying to pull a thread from the middle of a tapestry.

Mag’s eyes widen, “What?!” He curses ready to tear his claws across this wolf’s throat for being useless to him.

"Leave her alone!" the woman--Dolores, she was called earlier--shouts. She runs around the bar and flings out both hands. A bolt of sparkling green magic whizzes right by Magnificent's head, drawing his attention to her again. And drawing his attention away from the circle of flames, where the mist is gathering around it. The flames flicker, being smothered by the moisture and the magic in the mist. And the three wolves trapped inside lunge for Mag again.

Dolores’s magic draws Mag’s attention again and he teleports up to look at her, grinning wide. He giggles and tries to lash out to grab Dolores- But the flames die down and the red wolf breaks through and chomps down on his outstretched arm. Magnificent screams bloody murder and claws and pushes to try to get it off him. “Fucking-!! Unhand you fucking beast!!”

While Mag is distracted by the wolf, Dolores grabs the amulet around her neck and disappears in a shower of green sparkles.

The red wolf lets go easily enough, running back to the white wolf, sniffing her and nudging her back to her feet. The white wolf shakes herself off and immediately starts herding the other wolves towards the door. They all run there.

Magnificent staggers and grips at his arm, the limb shaking from the bite. He turns to see Dolores is gone and then screams in rage- fire rocketing out and eating up what’s left of the pub. He then snarls and teleports out of the pub, going to find a place to lick his wounds… and to begin his next hunt.

"Jackie?" The man in the coat runs over to the doorway. "Scarlet? Lily? Bryson? Jackie?! Get up here!"

Jackieboy anxiously tries to get his phone to work outside and curses over and over as nothing connects. “C’mon!! The one time I need to call you guys!! God-!” He keeps anxiously watching the door, afraid Mag will be back out to kill him at any second.

The man in the coat is about to head down there after the people left in the pub, but then he sees the wolves running up the stairs and hurriedly moves to the side as they burst out onto the street.

The white wolf quickly transforms, now suddenly a woman with long brown hair wearing a white scarf. "Lily!" the man gasps. "I-is everything alright?!"

"H-he hit these guys with some fire," the woman--Lily--says in between panting breaths. Her voice sounds hoarse. "Smelled like black magic. Went after Dolores but she teleported away. Still a fire down there."

The brown wolf shifts back to the man from before. Parts of his hoodie are burned through now. "I liked this hoodie," he mutters.

The man in the coat laughs. "You have two others just like it, Jackie." Then he becomes serious again. "We must get those treated. And, ah..." He looks over at Jackieboy. "Do something about him."

Jackieboy jumps and nearly drops his phone as the wolves burst through. He watches them change back with awe. Especially as he sees the other him. He waves timidly at the two men, “uh… hi-“

The man in the hoodie--clearly another Jackie--smiles. "Hi. You're... probably really freaking out, huh? Um... Well. Turns out, werewolves and magic and stuff are real... but that shit down there doesn't happen normally, I promise." He waves. "I'm Jackie. This is Henrik--" gesturing at the man in the coat. "--and these are Lily, Scarlet, and Bryson."

The red and the gray wolf shift back, becoming a woman with a red pixie cut and a young man with long blonde hair. The redheaded woman stumbles, and Lily catches her. There's a resemblance between the two of them. Relatives?

Jackie stares at the two of them, looking in between them while rapidly blinking. God- this Henrik looks nothing like Henny. It’s blowing his mind. He coughs to clear his throat. “I’m.. also Jackie. J-Jackie Mann. And uh- usually I’d be scared to say this for fear of looking insane but it… feels less crazy then the fact werewolves are here. I’m… a-actually… you. From another universe.”

The group just stares at him.

Jackie grumbles wordlessly. "You're not on about that same shit Marvin's on about, are you?" He sniffs. "No, you don't have any magic."

"He does look a lot like you, Jackie," Schneep says. "Don't say you didn't notice it."

"Smells like you, too," Scarlet adds, a bit weakly. "Just human instead."

Jackieboy blinks at himself and then while the others are talking, experimentally sniffs himself to see if he can smell what they can. …then he realizes that’s dumb they’re literally wolves and he quickly stops, looking embarrassed.

"Save your strength, Scar," Lily says gently. "I'm taking you and Bryce to the hospital. Jackie? You too."

Jackie hesitates. "Sorry, but... I-I think I need to wait a minute. To... talk about this."

Lily raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You never know how black magic will react. We need to get it purified soon."

"I'm fine for a little," Jackie says slowly.

"Alright, if you're sure. Promise to call an ambulance if it gets too hard."

"Yeah, of course." And then Lily and the other two walk off.

Jackieboy watches Lily, Scarlet and Bryson walk off with concern. He then looks back at Jackie sheepishly and pats his legs, “I uh… d-dunno how else to prove it cuz I’m just… human. Can’t do anything cool like you do.”

"Well, uh... I guess we could go with this for a while," Jackie says slowly. "We have this friend, Marvin, he talks about how other universes exist all the time. It's actually kind of annoying. So... I guess it's possible?"

"I mean... I'm one of those nerds I guess- but only cuz it's in comic books." Jackieboy mutters, ears turning red.

"If you are from another world, what are you doing here?" Schneep asks. "Are you looking for something? Or are you lost?"

"And how bad is your luck to get immediately attacked by a witch like that?" Jackie shudders. "His magic smelled... rotten."

Jackieboylooks at Schneep and messes with his hair. "...lost I guess is the right word? I still don't really get how it works- my friends are the experienced world hoppers- they keep saying we should be home by now so... I think our ride is broken."

He laughs bitterly at Jackie's last question, "Unfortunately... me and him go wayyy back. He's from my universe. Goes back and forth between wanting to kill me and wanting to just.. torture me. It's... complicated. His name is Mar- ...Magnificent."

“So he’s ALSO from another world…” Schneep repeats, muttering.

Jackie narrows his eyes. “Were you about to say Marvin? Is this Magnificent guy Marvin from another universe?” He suddenly barks out a laugh. “So he’s not perfect in every world.”

Jackie sheepishly nods, "Yeah... he used to be Marvin... he's not anymore." He says with a slight tinge of sadness in his voice. Mixed with... anger.

“This is not the time for your weird grudge against Marvin,” Schneep snaps. “No matter what you think about his magic, do you think he’s the type to torture and kill?”

Jackie’s smile falls. “No. Of course I don’t.”

Schneep shakes his head. “This Magnificent is clearly dangerous. What did you say, other Jackie? You have friends who are better at this? Are they here, too?”

Jackieboy nods to Schneep, "Yeah... my mates- Alt and Chase. I uh... I was trying to call them but the service here sucks ass."

Schneep takes his phone out. “My service is fine,” he says. “Something about you being from another world must be making it worse. Magic and ghost activity does tend to make it worse.”

“Chase…? Is he Chase Brody?” Jackie asks.

Jackie nods, "Yeah! Chase Brody- better known in our world as Bro Fantastic!" His eyes sparkle with pride as he talks about his friend, "Back home, he's a superhero! Strongest one I've ever seen! And- Alt, he's a magician so... they're probably already looking for me... cuz you know- I can't do what they do. Alt can like- glitch and stuff. Oh and Chase can fly."

"Ooooo," Jackie says, grinning. "Superheroes are real in your world?!" He balls his hands into fists and shakes them, stimming excitedly. "And Chase is one?! And he can fly there?!"

"Chase here can fly, too," Schneep points out.

"He floats. It's not the same thing, especially since it's just cause he's a... uh..." Jackie looks a bit awkward for a moment. "W-well, uh, that's a natural part of being that."

"What if I learn to fly one day?" Schneep asks. "Will you be just as excited?"

"I'm excited about your Spiderman stuff now."

"Wh--no, th-that's--I look ridiculous doing that," Schneep stammers.

Jackieboy's eyes sparkle with excitement, "Spiderman things?! Dude that's my favorite superhero! Don't tell Bro- but!! What!!"

Jackie grins. "Schneep here can walk on walls."

"It is not wall walking, it is wall crawling, and I look ridiculous!" Schneep insists.

"Oh come on, be proud of your ability!" Jackie says, nudging Schneep.

"I would rather be proud of the skill I spent fifteen years perfecting instead of the random bullshit powers I suddenly had one day." Schneep folds his arms. "Do you know how few vampires can identify toxins and sicknesses in blood?"

Jackieboy's eyes widen now, "Woahhh- You're a vampire, Hen??" He grins wide, "Dude what!! That's sick!!" He then laughs and grips at his arm, "Guess a lot of you here are... special, huh?"

Schneep blinks. Then he laughs, and Jackieboy can see the sharp edge of fangs. "People don't usually react that way! They are either scared or way too enthusiastic."

Jackie nudges Jackieboy. "Hey. Don't let it get you down, other me. We may be 'special' here, but the shadow city couldn't run without the help of everydays--uh, normal people--who know the truth and help us out. People like us need to stay hidden. There are those out there who wouldn't react well if they knew werewolves and vampires and witches were out there."

Jackieboy blinks and then tries to smile and nods, "Heh... guess that's pretty cool then." He blinks and looks down at his wrist and then looks excited. "Oh! I forgot! Alt made us bracelets that can track each other! It won't help us find Mag but- it can find them! ...fuck though I.. I don't remember the word I'm supposed to use! Something with an L? Loooney… something-“

"Ah shit." Jackie mutters. "I'm not good with magic. Schneep?"

Schneep leans forward. "I do not recognize these runes."

And then, suddenly, a soundclip comes from Jackie's pocket. "Shadow Wizard Money Gang: we love casting spells..." He jumps. "Oh! Wait, hang on, this might be perfect!" He takes his phone out of the pocket. "Marvin just texted me asking me if he could call. Hang on."

Schneep raises an eyebrow. "When did you change your text tone?"

"It's a personalized one for Marv. I have one for you, too, and Jack and Lily." Jackie dials a number, putting the call on speakerphone. As soon as the other end picks up, Jackie starts talking. "Marvin, you're not gonna believe this. Or, you are, but you're gonna be so fucking insufferable about it."

"Oh?" Marvin's voice comes from the other end. "Did you find someone from another universe?"

Jackie blinks. "Y-yeah, actually. How the fuck did you guess?"

"I have someone here who's exactly the same," Marvin says smugly. "Hang on, I'm putting this on speaker. Say hi, Alt."

"Yoooo!" Alt's voice comes from the speaker.

Jackieboy perks up and laughs, "Alt! Hey!"

"Hey Jackie! Glad you're okay- ... you are okay right?"

"Oh you know- Mag tried to kill me. Same ol' same ol'-"

Alt hides a laugh, "Seems like you found your other you! We're hopefully on your trail- or Chase's... dunno really. Where are you guys?"

Jackieboy looks to the other him and Schneep to explain.

"We are at the Harvest Moon," Schneep says. "Ah, I suppose that wouldn't mean anything to you, Alt."

"It's a pub downtown," Jackie adds. "A secret one, for people like us. Your Magnificent guy set it on fire. I think. I dunno, that magic mist might've cooled it by now."

"Ohhh, yeah, I think we are heading in that direction," Marvin says. "We're walking down Shelley, if you guys want to meet up with us. Oh, or JJ's with us, too, so we can all teleport there. I think. Alt, how far can you teleport?"

"Mmm a decent bit- especially if you guys are familiar with the location." Alt replies.

"You doing okay on magic, dude?" Jackie asks.

"I mean- I'm not a full power but I'm not like dangerously low either. Should be fine- especially if Mag is near..."

"I mean... he hasn't come out of the pub entrance, so I'm assuming he 'ported away," Jackie says.

"Alright, that works out," Marvin says. "Alt, I'll help you along with your teleporting, JJ can meet us there. If you're drained after that I can transfer some of my magic to you for a boost."

"So we just stay here?" Schneep asks.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Once we're all together we need to find these guys's other friend. It's Chase, apparently."

"Yes, the other Jackie told us," Schneep says.

"He's a superhero!" Jackie adds excitedly.

Alt laughs, "I mean- thank god we don't need to hide his identity here, huh, Jackie?"

Jackieboy flushes and laughs nervously.

"We'll be there in a second then!" Alt says.

"And we mean that literally!" Marvin adds.

"Alright, see you guys in a minute, then," Jackie says, and hangs up.

And a few seconds later--

There's the smell of metal and the crackling of electricity as Marvin and Alt appear right next to the pub in a flurry of glitches. Alt looks a bit dizzy for a second but then shakes out of it grinning. "Hello!"

Jackieboy grins and hurries over to Alt, giving him a big high five. "Wicked, dude!"

Jackie jumps slightly, then grins as well. "Nice, dude! I haven't seen magic with that effect before."

Alt grins more and shakes himself out, letting himself glitch a bit more. "I'm called a glitch back home~ cuz that's what I do. Glitch!"

"Whoo." Marvin shakes himself out. "That definitely felt different than normal teleporting."

Alt looks at Marvin apologetically, "Yeah it takes a bit to get used to."

"Feels like pop rocks in your blood, doesn't it?" Jackie laughs.

"...huh- I guess that's a way to describe it-" Alt ponders.

"It is nice to meet you, Alt," Schneep says, giving him a decidedly closed-lip smile.

"Oh, he knows, Schneep," Marvin says. "JJ was with us, remember?"

"Ahhh." Schneep nods. "Where is he, by the way?"

And perfectly on cue, JJ steps out of the shadows behind Schneep and taps him on the shoulder.

Schneep yelps and spins around, then groans. "You need to stop scaring me like that!"

But it's fun, JJ says.

Jackieboy also jumps when JJ pops out but quickly waves, "Oh! Other Dr.J!"

Alt's eyes light up as he watches JJ step from the shadows, "Woahhh! Shadow Travel! That's so cool!"

JJ waves, smiling. Sorry if I scared you.

"Not sorry that you scared me, though," Schneep grumbles.

"Vampires tend to develop a grab bag of powers," Jackie explains. "JJ's a shadow walker. They can move from one shadow to another. Can't you do something else, too, JJ?"

They call it 'stillness,' which isn't the most interesting name, JJ says. It's basically the ability to go unnaturally still and quiet, to the point where sometimes people don't even know you're there. Everything seems like it fast forwards, from my perspective.

Alt stims a bit, glitching a bit more, "That's so cool-" He whispers.

Jackieboy laughs, "Dude- I hardly see you get this excited!" “There's so much cool magic shit here dude!! And powers and-!" Alt glitches from side to side and then breathes, "Okay okay I'm normal now-"

Marvin is thinking to himself as JJ explains this. "Glitch... Y'know there's a crystaleye card like that."

"Ah, your man's special interest has cropped up," Jackie says. "We can't get started on tarot arcana now, Marv. We have to find the last one of this group."

Marvin stares at him. "Did you get... burned?"

"Um... yeah, but it's fine."

Schneep shakes his head as Jackie says that.

Alt does seem to calm down as Marvin mentions Jackie is burned. He glitches over and looks at him, "... was it green fire or... purple fire? Cuz the purple fire is... bad. Sometimes the effects don't show up right away- but it can leave behind something Mag calls corruption. It's like- a mark of black magic. It can mess with your magic or your body if you're not careful..."

"...purple..." Jackie admits.

Marvin stands to attention. "Here, can I see?"

"Fine," Jackie says reluctantly.

Marvin joins Alt by Jackie's side. Jackie holds out an arm for him to look at, with a burn on it. Marvin carefully rolls up the sleeve to get a better look at it. "I'm not the best at purification, but I can try. Alt, do you know anything that can help?"

"Light magic is the best cure..." Alt mumbles. "... I'm not really good at purification spells either, though."

"You should really start to learn those Alt, considering how often we face Mag." Jackie says with a raised eyebrow.

"Healing spells are really hard for me! I don't know why!" Alt replies shortly, "Believe me I'd like to be able to use them more regularly! It's just... hard. I dunno..."

Marvin frowns. "My source isn't a light source, you'd need a celestial witch for that. But I can try a little bit. If Jackie's okay with that."

"Better than being corrupted or shit," Jackie mutters.

"Okay." Marvin pulls his mask down over his face. The markings on it start to glow green... and so do his hands? Yes, he has tattoos on his hands. On the back of his left is some sort of spell circle, on the back of his right is an eye surrounded by swirls, and around each wrist is a Celtic-knot-like design encircling it like a bracelet. All of this glows for a while, but then Marvin shakes his head. "Sorry."

Alt looks hopeful for a second, especially at seeing Marvin's magic. Damn those tattoos were cool... But he deflates a bit and then shakes his head. "We can take a better look at it in a bit... I have a spellbook but I'd need to set up a spell circle or something to make sure it works. I can't do that out here... but maybe once we find Chase we can find a safer place for me to try."

"Right. Yeah." Jackie nods, giving Alt a smile. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure we can get this taken care of eventually. But finding the rest of your group and stopping this Magnificent guy seems more important."

Alt gives Jackie a worried smile and nods, "Yeah... who knows- It could be okay..."

"If you do anything that will make your health worse on purpose while we're doing this, I swear I will drink you like a Dr. Pepper," Schneep says threateningly.

"Never heard a soda be used in a threat before-" Jackieboy comments with a laugh.

Jackie laughs. "Oh c'mon, you wouldn't do that. We both know you guys can't handle wolf blood."

Well, Alt, can you use that magic bracelet to find your last friend? JJ asks.

Alt blinks at JJ and then nods, touching the gem and whispering 'loonu' again and a new trail of light appears.

"Ohh right! That was the spell word!" Jackie points.

Alt gives him a look, "You forgot the word?? ...you ADHD bastard I told you it before we left!”

The trail points down the street, more blue than green.

You said that more blue in the color meant they were close by, yes? JJ says. So this is good, then.

"Alright, more walking," Marvin says. "Maybe running, if we can keep up with these guys." He gestures at Schneep, JJ, and Jackie.

Jackie grins. "Better hurry up!" He starts running down the street after the trail, shifting shape--but it's strange, it's slower than it was the last two times he tried. And when he's fully turned into a wolf he stops for a moment, shaking himself like he's trying to shake off water. He looks back at the others.

"For fuck's sake, Jackie," Schneep grumbles. "You better hope nobody sees you."

Alt still looks impressed and awed as he sees Jackie shift. "Awesome...!" Then, he smirks at Marvin and glitches ahead to be back Jackie. "I dunno about you! But I'm pretty speedy!"

"You're such a show off cheater!" Jackieboy yells after him.

Marvin laughs. "Don't worry, other Jackie, you're not gonna be the last one. There's no magic for speeding up, and I don't exactly get out much."

"We should hurry," Schneep says. "I hope your Chase has not gotten into trouble."

Jackie the wolf is already running after the trail. The others have to hurry to keep up.

Jackieboy grumbles. “Fucking magic bullshit…”

Alt laughs and hurriedly glitches after Jackie.

#SATCV #SATCV SC #Shadow City #alt anti #swap magnificent #bro fantastic #jackie mann #IM SO PUMPED FOR YALL TO READ THIS #this is an idea that cry wants to write in the future but hasnt yet and I LOVE IT SOOO MUCH #there's already so much fantastic world building GOD #i hope you guys enjoy!!

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