#mag whump

[kenziezie]

VILE piece for today (i do not own a blender i apologize if it looks whack)

also i'm editing this, i did not realize this was whump until i was told it was whump, so be aware you will see more of this!! i'm sorry if this is too intense for some people ;v;

[illnessandinjury]

the thought of an injured character hiding their injury until they collapse, and their (suddenly now very) concerned friend scrambles to catch them, ending up pressing right on the infected, poorly bandaged wound which elicits a scream of pain, scaring the fuck out of the other

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 21: Horror Septics

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Horror Septics | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes | Fantasy Masks | Horror

Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

The power Magnificent took from the forest allows him to teleport vast distances. In his rush to get away from there, he ends up in a town on the edge of some body of water. A sea coast, judging by the smell. And it only took a handful of teleports. There's a strange mist that seems to hover around his feet at all times now. Like he's carrying around a fog machine.

Magnificent stumbles across the street, holding his arms and looking around. The power feels- strange in his system. But… very powerful. He thought he’d be drained trying to do go far but.., he’s fine. That’s incredible. Could he just- escape that thing’s watch and run? Find other things to crush? He… had to find this worlds version of him… right? Why did it feel like… he already did? The fog is new and unsettling but- it could be worse. He keeps an eye out- looking for anything in a red hoodie.

There are some people on the street, going about their own business. They don't notice the mist--or if they do, they don't stare. They do look at Magnificent's face and outfit. Clearly, this isn't a normal appearance for this world. But it must not raise too many questions, because, again, no stares.

Except for one.

A man, younger than Mag is, with sandy blonde hair and a lot of freckles. He's standing beneath a shop's awning and not even bothering to hide his stare.

Magnificent feels the stare on him and locks eyes with the young man, stilling in his walk. He narrows his eyes and tilts his head like a cat, his eyes catching light unnaturally.

The man stares back for a moment. Then he glances to either side and gestures for Magnificent to come closer.

Magnificent checks around too and then he teleports over. He just stares down at the man and raises an eyebrow. "... You're staring an awful lot, aren't you?"

The man gasps as he teleports and staggers backwards. "S-sorry, I dinnae mean to pry, I jus--" He straightens. "Did ye come from Faoirise Hollow? Did ye... talk to it?"

Magnificent narrows his eyes, "... is that the name of the forest back some ways? With the... mist?" He purses his lips and then nods, "... if you're referring to what I'm thinking of then... yes. What of it?"

The man goes pale. "Oh. Oh no, did--did ye agree to anyt'ing? Did ye say yes?"

“What does it matter to you?” Mag spits.

"T'at's not a no." The man's eyes widen. "I-I'm sorry, ye can'--maybe if ye get far enough ye'll be able to escape--" And then he stops. And goes quiet.

“What,.. what do you mean?” Mag tries to hide the way his voice tries to shake.

"I'm sorry, I think I've mistaken you for someone else," the man says. "Were you going to go take the ferry? It leaves soon. You should hurry."

Why is it so quiet?

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mag presses, stepping forward, "Why- why do I need to escape?"

"Escape? No, I'm sorry, I think you're not who I was looking for," the man says, smiling. "I'm sorry to bother you." He turns and starts to head inside the store. The awning above shifts. It must have been sturdier than it looked, though, because it doesn't even creak.

Magnificent feels a chill go down his spine- why... why is it so quiet? "W-wait!"

The man does not wait. He goes into the building, the door slowly closing behind him.

Magnificent staggers back, eyes wide. Something's... something's not right here. He backs away more then- he tries to rush back down the street. He said something about escaping- before he started acting even more strange- maybe he should look for a way out!

As he runs, he notices something strange. There were pedestrians on the street, but not anymore. And his footsteps are not there. Even as his feet pound against the pavement, there is no sound.

Magnificent feels panic start to grip at his chest. He tries to run faster.

He keeps running and running until— Something stops him. Not a wall, not a magical forcefield. It gives a little before snapping back. As he stumbles away, he notices a cut on his face. And then he notices the near-invisible string hanging across the narrow street, side to side like some sort of spider web.

Some of his blood stains a strand red.

Magnificent shouts out as he hits the string and when he sees the blood on his hand he staggers back. “What… what is this?!” He yells out in anger and tries to burn the string with green fire.

The string burns easily. But it was never really meant to stop him. Only keep him busy for long enough. He is standing under a lamp post. The light goes out.

Magnificent yells and then whips around, holding a flame out and trying to sound threatening, "W-Who's there?!"

He’s looking in the wrong place. By the time he thinks to look up, it’s too late. Something brushes against his arm. When he finally does look up he can’t even see much, as it’s hiding behind the shattered lamp. There are spiral eyes that stare at him, and jointed wooden hands that reach for him, and then—

Freeze.

In the last two worlds, he found himself under someone else’s control. When JJ managed to put his strings on him, and when the King commanded him. And though that control was strong, maybe he would have struggled out of both of those trances if given enough time.

This is different. It is a crushing weight where the others were merely heavy. There is no way out of this.

Magnificent stiffens and he gasps as his body and mind are completely stolen by the entity pursuing him. He can't fight. He can't even scream.

His own voice speaks. “You weren’t supposed to see me. But you were getting off track. Did you not understand the request? That man was not wearing a red hood, why did you speak to him?” A pause. The thing on the street lamp shifts, joints twisting. “It is not on this island. This town has a ferry to the next. Check there. Do you understand?” Though he cannot use his voice, he somehow knows it will hear him if he tries to answer.

Magnificent wants to fight but he shudders as he hears his voice speak without his say-so. He can't- how could he have been so stupid?

He tries to tell the thing, "Y-Yes."

"Good," his voice says.

And much like when he was in the forest, he feels something loosen. Less like a tight grip, more like unzipping a tight jacket. He can move and talk and do whatever he wishes once again. But he can feel that sensation of control waiting. Resting against his skin.

Magnificent gasps again as the control is lifted, but he feels uneasy and cold. Like the puppeteer has only put down the control bar for a second. And he hates it. How was he supposed to know the thing he's hunting wasn't here? He growls and bares his teeth then stumbles forward to find the ferry. It's pretty clear what he's supposed to do now...

As he makes his way there, the strange man's words drift through his mind. What was it? "If you go far enough maybe you can escape"? Something like that...

Go far enough.... he needs to find his cub. They need to get out of this universe as soon as possible..

-----------

It's definitely night by the time Chase and his new companion make their way into the city, but the presence of street lights does a lot to make it bright in a way that Chase probably wouldn't have appreciated without the last universe. Right now the two of them are in a suburb area, but it can't be that far from somewhere more urban. Cars pass by on the road every minute or two. Jack looks uneasy, but he's not going to leave Chase behind.

Chase isn't looking much better- especially cuz they're walking. He feels like he's about to burst out of his skin, but he's trying to stay calm. Even though his instincts are trying to go crazy. Something is really really wrong here... and he's so worried about Alt. And even Mag-

"Do you know where your brother would go if he was on his own?" Jack asks quietly. "If not... public libraries always have free charging ports for phones. Sometimes they have cables, too. Or you could buy one if you have money. I don't."

"He'd... he'd be trying to find me," Bro admits, shrugging. "That's what he's done in every world before this..." He pats his utility belt and checks to see. "Um- I have money. Not a lot- and... man i should keep a cord in here-"

Jack laughs a little. "Sorry, that's not really that funny. I just--yeah, probably, you should carry one. Cords are pretty cheap, though. If we can find a petrol station or a convenience store they're probably selling them there." They walk for a little while more... and then a few drops of rain begin to fall from the sky.

Chase looks up at the sky and scowls, "Offff course- just our luck!"

Jack looks up as well and goes a bit pale. "Shiiiit. Okay, uh--maybe it'll stop soon, where can we--it's all fucking suburbs, of course it is. I need to get a tent somehow, for fuck's sake."

One of the houses nearby has a For Sale sign up. Jack looks at it and hesitates. Noticeably.

Chase blinks in confusion. "Hey like- rain sucks but... it's just rain. We gotta keep looking... If Alt has been alone then- one of those things might have him! I can't stop cuz of some rain..."

"Chase, I know, but--well, if you're from another universe and don't have that much money, I'm going to assume you don't have a place to stay?" Jack says tentatively. "So you don't have anywhere to... change clothes if they get wet and cold? Trust me when I say that wearing wet cold clothes is an easy way to get sick."

Chase hesitates and then looks at the rain, pulling his jacket closer around him. He hears his friends' voices in his head, reminding him to take care of himself. He can't help Alt if he's sick.

After another moment of hesitation, Jack hurries over to the house with the For Sale sign and starts trying the door.

Bro groans and then hurries after Jack, looking around for any sign of danger. Just in case...

Chase doesn't see anything of note. It's all pretty normal. But there is a car coming so they better hurry. Jack takes something out of his parka pocket--a swiss army knife. He unfolds a couple of the attachments and fumbles with the lock on the door until it clicks. "It's always easier than you think," he whispers, and pushes the door open.

"You know... probably not something I should know-I'm kinda a hero back home..." Chase mutters but- he can't let himself be alone right now. He follows closely after Jack.

"Oh that explains some things," Jack says as he steps into the living room. "I mean--you kinda have that personality, but also... Sangria likes fucking with people who are, uh 'good' the most. You know, like... moral. A 'hero' would be a perfect target."

"...bastard-" Chase mumbles as they head inside.

The house is unfurnished, lines in the carpet like it's been vacuumed or cleaned recently. There's the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the bathroom, and stairs leading up. The kitchen actually has a fridge in addition to the installed counters and cabinets. Maybe it's also built into the room.

Chase looks around and double checks some of the rooms. After he does he finds a wall and then settles against it, sighing and resting his arms on his knees.

Jack looks at him. He sits down across the room so they are facing each other. "This is a dumb question, but... you okay?"

Chase grips at his arms and grits his teeth, "... I'm losing my mind- I... I feel so s-stupid sitting here! But i... I hate that I'm actually scared... to go out there alone. And also cuz you're right- I can't let myself get sick looking for Alt I just... I always had an inkling of where he'd be in the last couple worlds. Or like- we'd find each other kinda quickly. But now I... I don't know- and ... it feels dangerous... there were stakes before but like... nothing felt like this." He laughs quietly and pulls at his hair, "My instincts are going crazy- My like.... h-hero senses- they don't usually steer me wrong... and that means something r-really really bad could be happening to him...!"

"...oh." Jack goes quiet, thoughtfully. "I'm... sorry. I... it looks like it's just a drizzle out there, maybe it won't last that long." He pauses. "It... sucks, yeah. I know. I don't... really know what to say, hah."

There's nothing he can say, really. Chase knows he's wasting time here. But even if he wasn't, could he really protect Alt against anything like this? He wasn't even able to protect him when Magnificent dragged him off in the first place. If he could do that, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. He's not really a good brother.

It's hard to breathe.

Chase feels tears coming into his eyes and he slaps a hand over his mouth as it suddenly feels hard to breathe- what- what was happening? Where were all these thoughts coming from?

"Oh shit. I-I wasn't that bad at comforting you, was I?" Jack sits up straight. Then, as he looks at Chase, his brows furrow. "Did something happen? Chase, do you feel alright?"

The thoughts are coming from his own head, of course. They're just louder now. But does it matter where they're coming from at all? Does it matter when they're true?

Chase is shaking, trying not to panic but his chest is so tight. "S-Something's... s-s-something's wrong...!" He gasps quietly. Yes he gets thoughts like this- all the time actually. But... not so loud. Not so harsh- not lately. He had been doing better...!

Jack scrambles to his feet and starts to hurry over, but stops halfway across the room. "Chase, behind you!"

Behind him? Behind him is just a wall.

Right?

Chase believes Jack more than his thoughts right now- He turns around.

A pair of hands grab his head, preventing it from turning entirely. One covers his mouth, while the other grabs his hair right above where--oh, that's not a good spot, is it?

Chase screams and tries to thrash his way out- until he feels the hand next to his scar.

Chase can see something gray out of the corner of his eyes, and his imagination can fill in the details of a face.

He freezes- Why... why does this remind him so much of Distorter?

"Hey!" Jack breaks into a run, lunging at the wall. Suddenly, the hands disappear. Jack slams against the plaster and looks down at Chase, visible eye so wide he can see the whites around the iris. "Okay. New plan. We get the fuck out of this house and risk hypothermia."

As the hands disappear Chase gasps for breath and pulls himself back up. He grabs Jack's arm and runs for the door. "A-Agreed!"

The door is locked.

Chase fumbles with the handle, "FUCK!" He then lets go of Jack and tries to ram himself against the door.

"It’s locked?! Shit!" Jack looks at the nearby windows and go for that while Chase tries the door. The latter rattles in its hinges, but even the strength of Bro Fantastic can't break it down--even though it should.

The windows are locked too. Jack tries using the handle of his swiss army knife as a pike of some sort to break the glass but it doesn't work. "Is there anything in here we could use?!"

"Bro I literally have super strength! S-Something is wrong here- I....!" Chase is trying so hard not to panic, now trying to kick at the door in desperation.

"You do?! Wait, when you said hero you meant like--"

"Yeah dude I'm a super hero!"

Jack shakes his head. "Okay, this isn't the time. There's always a way out. There's always a way out!" He grabs Chase and pulls him away from his (fruitless) efforts. "Maybe somewhere else in the house!"

Bro runs after Jack. He'd fly to find an exit but flying inside is generally not a good idea! He learned that back at the Stitched guys' apartment! He nods though and runs ahead, trying to look for an exit.

There are various windows throughout the house, but they're all locked and made of strangely sturdy glass. The upper floor of the house--with three empty rooms and a closet--is the same.

"There's always a way out, there's always a way out, there's always a way out," Jack keeps repeating, sounding more frantic with each repetition. "There's always a way out, there's always--is that blood?!"

There's a trapdoor in the ceiling of the upstairs hallway. A red liquid is dripping from around its seams. It's not blood. The smell is wrong... sharp. Intoxicating.

Chase skids to a stop in front of the trapdoor, holding a hand out to stop Jack. His eyes widen as he smells it. "... is that... w-whiskey?"

Jack stops to smell it as well. "Oh fuck, yeah, something like it." He covers his nose. "That's a really strong smell. The question is, do we go up there or avoid it as much as fucking possible? Going up there, bad for obvious reasons, but sometimes when you ignore this stuff it just gets worse to get your attention."

Bro pulls his jacket over his nose. God this... smells too familiar. Like one of his really bad nights. It makes him feel sick. "I-It's an attic though- there wouldn't be a way out there, right?"

"You never know..." Jack mutters.

"...if you think it'll get worse if we ignore it then... f-fuck it I guess." He really doesn't want to but- he braces himself then tries to open the trapdoor.

A splash of liquid pours out from the trapdoor as he opens it, followed soon by a fold-down ladder. The attic is dark. It sounds like... like someone is crying up there.

"... I really don't like that-" Chase whispers.

Jack nods slowly, thoughtfully. "I think... I have an idea," he says slowly. "It disappeared when I went for it. It could've just stayed there but it disappeared. Maybe... confrontation is good in this case." He grabs a rung of the ladder. "I know you're a hero so you're probably going to come up with me, but... I want you to know you don't have to."

Chase looks conflicted but he shakes his head. "I can't let you face whatever this is alone... that'd make me a really shitty hero." He tries to laugh, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "... I'll be right behind you."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that." Jack smiles gratefully. "...thank you." And he climbs on up, Chase right behind him.

The attic is pitch black and dusty. Parts of the floor are exposed insulation. On the ground are crinkly pieces of old papers. Jack picks one up and looks at it in the faint light coming from the open trapdoor. It's some sort of crude drawing. Done by a child? The crying is louder farther in.

Chase picks up one too and looks at it, "...why... why are these here...?" He whispers. He then swallows and shakily starts to go towards the crying.

"Who knows?" Jack mutters, and follows Chase into the darkness.

The sound gets louder as they get closer. Louder. Louder. Someone is sobbing their eyes out. Until, abruptly, they aren't.

Suddenly, Chase feels a presence behind him right before it grabs him--one hand on his shoulder, another on that same spot on his head. All at once memories come slamming into him, one after another, a highlight reel of the worst moments of his life, of his biggest mistakes and failures.

Chase freezes as he's grabbed in that same spot again and gasps as the memories flood. Tears fall rapidly down his face as he tries to shake all the memories off. Alt getting kidnapped- all the mistakes he made as a hero, driving Alt away to become Impulse- all the the people he endangered by being a hero..!

Isn't it terrible, Chase? Isn't it all so awful? Wouldn't it be easier if nobody had to deal with you?

It's almost too much-

No! No, it wouldn't!

But, then he feels that surge- that want to be better. To do better. His promise to never leave his brother alone again. His friends he'd always keep fighting for.

Chase pushes beyond the sudden memories and claws his way back to the current moment, to the fact that there is something solid behind him, with hands and a face, a strange combined smell of alcohol and old, dusty places coming from right behind him.

Isn't he a hero?!

He is!

He's a hero, god damn it! And he will not be pushed around!

He feels the solid force behind him and yells in determination, swiftly turning on his heel to try to deliver a punch right into the entity's face.

As he spins, he catches a glance of a gray face, streaked with dark tears--and then it's immediately blocked by his fist. Contact is made for a split second before the thing disappears into thin air, leaving him a bit off balance.

"Holy shit!" Jack gasps, and then laughs. "That was the most badass thing I've seen in a while! Amazing, Chase!"

Chase stumbles back, still holding out his fists like he'll need to keep punching. He then laughs and wipes at his face, "T-Thanks-! That was... that fucking sucked-!" He laughs a little more unhinged, his emotions pretty much everywhere.

"Yeah... looked like it." Jack's eye flashes with sympathy. "But at least you pulled it off."

The house shakes slightly. Not... a lot. But... worryingly so. Chase can hear whispers on the edge of his hearing, somewhere in between reality and his mind.

"For fuck's sake!" Even though it won't do anything, Jack pulls out the swiss army knife and flips open the blade. "Listen you little shit. I did not last nine months in a technological hellscape for you to kill me in a house! This guy's not even from here! So fucking let us go!" And the shaking and whispers stop. Jack blinks. "If I knew I could threaten it I would've tried that earlier..."

"... how the fuck did that work??" Chase whispers as he presses up close to Jack. Then, he shakes his head and grabs his hand to look around more- there had to be an exit still right. "F-Fuck it- let's go before it decides to try again!"

Wait--how did they not notice it before? There's a small round window in the far wall! Inspecting it reveals a latch; the whole thing swings outward into the rain.

Chase brightens up as he sees the window and pushes it open. He then quickly apologizes, "Sorry if this is weird!" And then picks up Jack in his arms before flying out into the rain.

"Whoa!" Jack is surprised--because of course he is, people don't fly here! He clings to Chase for security as they jump out. "O-okay then! Be careful!"

Outside it is indeed a drizzle, making the night darker. But the street lamps and light from windows is just enough for Chase to see.

Chase is quick to get them back down to the ground and then he sets Jack down gently. He grins at him and laughs, "Told ya I was a super hero~!"

"You did! Can't say I wasn't warned." Jack laughs. He takes a few steps, making sure that he's on solid ground, and holds tight to the strap of his duffel bag. "You know I used to be afraid of heights... but not anymore."

There's so much more to be scared of.

"A-anyway. We gotta get somewhere out of the rain. Ideally, somewhere public. There has to be some sort of petrol station nearby or something."

"Yeah right- we can try there... If you don't mind- I can get us there a little faster. But, I know its not the best feeling either," Chase laughs, rubbing the back of his head.

“No, no, i-it’s fine, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” Jack grins, a bit nervous. Just be careful not to be seen, okay?”

"Yeah of course! I'll be quick- plus it's dark so we're less likely to be seen!" Chase scoops Jack back up and then shoots back into the air, quickly looking for a safer shelter from the rain.

It’s not long until they find a small area with a couple shops, some restaurants, and a gas station, all lit up with colored signs and white lights through the windows.

Chase tries to find a shadowed area and then lands him and Jack there, making sure the other man is set down gently again. He shakes the rain off and he sighs, "Okay- we got some options now! Still wanna do Petrol or- i think think there's food around here... we could get something warm to wait out the rest of the rain..."

"...food would be nice," Jack says hopefully. "But we should get you a charging cord first. So you can... do that while we eat."

"oh yeah! let's hop in and grab one!" Chase laughs and then heads towards the Petrol station.

Jack grins, a bit nervously, and follows Chase to the station. It's open, of course, and it does sell charging cords--as well as the plugs and portable batteries--for pretty cheap. They're probably not high quality but it doesn't need to be. Jack hovers near the doors while Chase takes care of buying those. He glances at the security camera hanging in the corner. These looks become more frequent the longer they're there but he doesn't say anything.

Chase remembers that Jack is trying to stay away from tech so he tries to be very fast- quickly grabbing the first cord he can find for his phone and paying for it right away. As soon as he has he hurries back to Jack and holds it up. "Got it! C'mon lets go get food!" He briefly glances at the security camera, just to check before leading Jack out.

"Great. Thanks." Jack smiles as the two of them leave.

There's nothing weird about the camera when Chase glances at it. But a bit after they leave, it swivels a bit, as if tracking them as they walk past the windows outside.

As for food, there a couple places. Nothing too nice, mostly various fast food places--but they are open and that's what matters. Chase can hear Jack's stomach grumble.

Chase chooses the closest one nearby that has coffee. He needs a pick me up, badly. He points to the one he picks with his thumb. "This one good with you?"

Jack nods. "Yeah. I hope they still sell coffee this late. It's been a while since I've had some good dirty bean water." The two of them head over.

Chase laughs, "That's what I was hoping to get too!" He eagerly takes them inside, the thought of coffee urging him forward.

The inside of the restaurant is warm and, importantly, dry. It smells like food and coffee. There are exactly two employees behind the counter, an older woman and a teenager who looks kind of sleepy. The place is empty except for those two--and Chase and Jack now.

"You go ahead and order," Jack says. "Get me a black coffee and whatever, anything will be good. I'll claim a spot."

"You got it~" Chase replies, going up to the counter. He smiles at the employees, "Hello! Can I get two orders of black coffee and um- two plates of fries? chips? I always forget what I'm supposed to call them!" He laughs.

It's chips here, but the teenage cashier understands what he means as she takes the order. "Just one minute," she says. "Here's your table number. We'll call it." She hands him a plastic card with the number two on it and then goes into the kitchen.

"Thanks!" Chase replies and takes the card and hurries back over to Jack.

Jack chose a table by the front windows, taking his duffel bag off and putting it on the chair next to him, leaving the ones on the other side of the table for Chase.

Bro looks around for an outlet and once he finds one he plugs in the charger and starts to recharge his phone. After that he sits down across from Jack and nervously taps his foot, watching his phone screen.

"Got us some chips-" He tells Jack idly.

"Great." Jack's expression brightens. "Food is good. Food is always good." He leans back in the chair. "Especially after a... fucking crisis, jeez. I did not expect to go right into that. I guess it's for sale because of the horrors." He laughs, a bit hysterically.

Chase laughs too, it feels better to laugh then to dwell on... whatever the hell that was. "Pft yeah. Probably... that thing was... so freaky." He shudders.

"It... kind of seemed to latch onto you," Jack says slowly. "Then again, they tend to avoid me after... what happened. So I guess you were the only available target."

"Yeah..." Chase mutters. "It... it's weird I... I almost felt like... like I... related to it... almost. That whiskey? .... I used to drink something that smelled just like that on my bad nights." He grips at his phone a bit harder.

Then, he blinks up at Jack. "Oh right... you said in the house- and... when we met. What... I mean you don't have to tell me if it's too much since we did just meet but... what happened to you...? What's the thing that targeted you?"

“I… I-I never learned what it’s called,” Jack says quietly. “I used to go online a lot, for my job. One day… I thought it was one of those weird creepypasta videos, you know, ‘ooo this thing happened totally for real,’ but… then things started happening. I started blacking out. Having bad dreams. Weird static on all my devices a-and messages and… I realized it was real. So I tried leaving home to see if that would work but… it just followed me. Hunted me down. And took me to this weird… pocket dimension, I guess.” He pauses.

The only word for his expression is haunted.

“I don’t want… to talk about what happened while in there. But there’s always a way out. I found it. And I’ve been.., like this since.” He pauses. “I wonder… if there’s some silent rule between them not to mess with me. Sometimes it seems like it.”

Chase listens with mounting horror. “Dude I… that’s- that’s awful… and you- you were trapped in that place for 9 months?” He shakes his head, “I… I get it. You don’t have to say anything more just… I’m so sorry, Jack..,”

Jack takes a shaky breath. "Thanks." He wipes at his eye. "It... means a lot to hear it. I-I do think I got one of the worse ones."

“Sounds like it…” Bro mutters. He shakes his head some more before going to check on his phone. Surely it had some battery by now, right?

Just as he checks, the phone buzzes as it turns on. As he examines it, he sees... a couple missed calls from Alt. They went to voice mail while it was off.

Chase stiffens and hurries to click on the oldest one, sitting up straighter in his seat.

Everything sounds muffled. Footsteps, a squeaking sound like old hinges, a clatter of metal. Heavy breathing, sobs catching. Then a loud commotion. Alt yells--then screams. “NO! NO LET ME GO! STOP IT!” he cries.

Chase jerks away from the sound of screaming, his face losing all its color. “No- no no no!”

There's another voice there but Chase can't make out what it is over Alt's panicked breathing and the rustling of cloth. “HELP!! SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!!”

And then, suddenly, it cuts off.

Chase hurries to listen to the next one- please please please be better- be okay please be okay…!

It is not better. It is worse. The message starts with screaming. Wordless, pained screaming. "HELP!" It's unmistakably Alt. "HELP! SOMEONE--CHASE! CHASE!" He shouts for his brother before devolving into sobs. Metal scrapes against something. A stranger laughs.

And then it stops.

Jack leans forward. He can hear the screams on the phone from here.

Terrified panicked tears are in Chase’s eyes as he listens. He holds a shaky hand over his mouth, looking like he’s gonna be sick. He looks at Jack with wide eyes. “S-something- something got- A-Alt…!”

He’s afraid to see if there’s any more messages- but he shakily does. What else can he do?

There is one last message. This one starts with sobbing, heart-wrenching cries. "No! NO PLEASE!" Alt shouts.

A different voice says something--"Nicht bewegen"--and Alt starts screaming again. His voice sounds hoarse and raw. The message stops mid-shriek.

Hilariously enough, this is when the fast food employees say their food is ready. Well, not hilarious. Just absurd. And terrible.

Chase lets the phone fall limply from his hand, tears falling down his face as he stares numbly ahead, unable to take anything in. “G-German-“ He breathes, hardly able to get his voice to work, “There was… German- I know what that sounds like but- w-who?!”

Jack goes pale. "Fuck." He grabs his duffel bag, slinging it around his shoulder again. "Okay, so, these things are worldwide, including Germany, i-in fact there are a lot there. But, from what I'm hearing, I-I think I know which one that was. Do you think you can afford the fare to get there? I-I mean, it'll be a couple train rides and a ferry, but--We could probably sneak on if we had to--"

Chase is still kinda staring out, having difficulty processing all of this. But, slowly he nods and pushes himself up. “y-yeah yeah I… I can. I have enough- h-hero money, you know?” He tries to laugh, but it sounds hollow.

"Okay. Good. I thiiiink I remember where the train station is. They're bound to run a night train at some point. We need to get to the coast for the ferry."

Chase unplugs the charger and stuffs it in his pocket then his phone.

Jack stands up. He runs over and gets their food, bringing it back and practically thrusting the fries and coffee at Chase. "We need energy but we can eat on the way if we have to."

Chase numbly takes the food and nods. “okay… okay…” He breathes, trying not to break down. “we- we gotta go-“

"Don't panic," Jack stresses. "Panic is just going to make the journey worse. I'm not going to tell you not to worry, but don't panic." He takes his own portion of the food. "Now let's go save your brother."

Chase nods and that fire of determination comes back into his eyes. He takes another shaky breath and grips his phone tight in his pocket. “Yeah. Let’s go”

-----------

There's a brief respite when Alt is able to fall into a shallow, fitful sleep. It's not long. Not long at all. But it is a sort of escape.

He's awoken by a pain in his neck. Another injection. Notarzt is not taking any chances that he'll glitch away. Whatever this formula is, it keeps him tired and weak.

Alt whimpers as that now too familiar pain wakes him up. He blearily tries to move again but his limbs are too heavy. Everything is a dizzying blur, mixed with flare ups of pain.

"Hallo," Notarzt says. "Lass uns weitermachen."

At some point, he lost his jacket. No, he didn't lose it. He can see it on a heap on the floor by that rusted sink, right by his ruined shirt. His phone is sticking out of its pocket but it's too far to reach, with his hands or his magic. Not that he can even try, with the injection and the restraints. It's like it's mocking him with how close it is.

Alt’s eyes wander to his ruined shirt and his jacket. His eyes land on his phone and he slurs out quietly, making a grabbing motion with his trapped hand even if he can’t reach. “…Chase…chase…”

Notarzt notices the movement and tilts its head, looking thoughtful. It disappears out of sight for a moment and then returns with some sort of… metal clamps? It slides one onto Alt’s arm just above the wrist restraint and tightens it until Alt can feel its sharp edges digging into his skin. There’s no blood but there could be at any moment. But that’s not all. There are three other clamps, and Notarzt attaches them at regular intervals along Alt’s arm, ending with two on the forearm and two on the upper arm.

Alt stiffens as the clamp is put on and he shifts his eyes to try to look at what’s happening. “Wha… wha’re doin’?” He slurs, panic coming back into his hoarse voice.

Instead of answering, Notarzt takes out a length of metal filament, thin as string. It ties one end to a loop on the clamp near Alt’s wrist, then feeds it through similar loops on the others, connecting them all. It ties the other end to a small metal tool with a hook on the end—and stabs the hook into Alt’s chest just below the collarbone.

Alt screams and thrashes in his binds, “F-Fuck!”

Notarzt laughs and pulls out another syringe—where the fuck does it keep getting those?! They just pop out of nowhere! But this one is slightly different. The liquid inside is green instead of clear or red like it usually is. It injects Alt in the other arm.

Alt grits his teeth against the syringe and pants, trying to glare at Notarzt. But he’s so tired…

It takes a minute for this to take effect. And when it does—it’s strange. Alt feels his magic stir, like it does when he’s getting ready to blast someone with electricity. But he can’t control it. He can’t even glitch properly.

Alt jerks when he feels the power rise and an instinctual noise of pained surprise escapes his lips. What was happening?? How is it accessing his magic??

The power just keeps rising and rising until it suddenly concentrates on the spot where the hook is.

An electric shock centered on that. The metal filament shivers, transmitting the electricity—it’s all along his arm now, muscles spasming in response.

Alt can’t help but scream again, trying to pull away from the arm that’s spasming.

It’s not over yet. Notarzt picks up a long thin blade and slices down the seam of Alt’s jeans on the other side as the clamped arm. Then it grabs—oh no, it’s more clamps. It puts them along his leg in the same manner, including linking them with the string with the hook on the end. Then it stabs this hook into Alt’s stomach just above the hem of his jeans. The effect is instant this time—the power rushes to that hook as well and soon his leg is being shocked too.

Tear are streaming down his face as Alt tries to jerk away from the part of his body that feels on fire. His voice is already cracking from the screams. His other hand digs more rivets into the table as it tries to claw into it. His eyes flash bright green, crackling energy around him. But, it's all being used against him. "S-Stop..!" He tries to wail but his voice jolts and spasms alongside his muscles and he just lays back and sobs and screams- hoping this will end soon.

Notarzt leans over the table, not reacting much to Alt’s screams. It simply stands there, drinking it in.

Three minutes. It lasts three minutes, and then, slowly, his power starts to fizzle out. The pain fades, leaving behind a shadow of itself, and his muscles finally relax.

Alt fully slumps to the table, head lolling as far as it can in the restraints. He gasps and pants, breath coming out ragged and pained. His eyelids flutter and his eyes roll around in dazed pain. He whimpers and tries to find Notarzt. "...wh...wha'did you d-do...?" he croaks.

“Es ist zu kompliziert, es dir zu erklären.” Notarzt shrugs, a human motion that looks out of place when made by it. “Oder vielleicht will ich es einfach nicht.”

Alt's head is swimming- trying to see if he recognizes any of the doctor's words. He doesn't... he wishes Henny was here. But, then, Notarzt would be hurting him too. He chokes on a quiet sob, missing his friends more than ever. Missing glitches- the kids... Oliver... what if he dies here? What if he never sees them again?

It turns away, walking—not to the trays of tools, but to the sink. Even though it should have been too rusted to use, water comes out anyway. Notarzt returns with a… surprisingly normal-looking glass of water. “Normalerweise würde ich das nicht tun...” it says, and reaches out to undo the restraint on Alt’s neck.

Alt quiets as he hears the sink running. He looks confused up at Notarzt and wary, looking between him and the glass as the restraint is removed. Against his better judgment, he feels himself relaxing without that pressure on his scar.

"Trink das." Notarzt lowers the glass to his face, propping one hand behind Alt's head to push him up.

Alt is so thirsty he doesn't even question it, he eagerly drinks the water, closing his eyes to try to focus on not choking.

If Alt wonders that there might be a trick, there isn't. It's just water.

Notarzt makes sure he finishes it before going back to the sink and putting the glass back. "„Nichts Dauerhaftes“ schränkt meine Möglichkeiten wirklich ein..." it mutters, running a single gloved hand along the tools.

Alt falls back to the table, hungrily drinking in air after he's done. He weakly look around the room, his eyes landing on his phone again. Notarzt used his magic against him... but maybe he has some back...? He weakly tries to open his hand, seeing if he can summon his phone to him at all.

At first, nothing happens. But then--then there's a tiny glitch on the screen. The phone shifts slightly, moving out of the pocket.

Notarzt doesn't notice, it's too busy messing with the tools.

Alt's eyes widen and he smiles a bit. Then, he tries to move it more, gritting his teeth and putting as much energy as he can into it. If.. if he can call Chase... he might be able to glitch out of here...! ...if he can find a way to glitch that is...

The phone moves a bit more, falling out of the pocket and onto the clump of fabric that used to be his shirt. Slowly, inch by inch, it moves across the floor, dragging the shirt with it, thankfully muffling the movement. Until suddenly it skids across the floor and gently hits the side of the table.

Alt is straining- sweating as he tries to make the phone respond to him. He freezes as the phone clangs against the table. He holds his breath.

Notarzt stiffens and glances back, but turns back around when it’s satisfied Alt isn’t escaping.

When Notarzt turns back around, he opens up his hand more and tries to get the phone to fly into it. He might not have the strength though…

…

……

Yes! It barely makes it, but he’s got it by his fingertips.

Alt’s heart soars as he scrambles to get a better grip on the phone. Please don’t drop it- please…. He tries to maneuver it so he can unlock it- if he can… he’s memorized the motions needed to call Chase. The only question was… would he be able to glitch away? He hasn’t been able to glitch at all with all the chemicals Notarzt has been pumping into him.

Slowly, painfully slowly, he calls the right number. The other end picks up immediately—and for just a couple seconds he can hear Chase’s panicked voice.

Alt laughs breathlessly as he hears Chase’s voice, “C-Chase!” He desperately tries to glitch-

SKREEEEEKEEKEEKEEKEEKEE— An awful static noise comes from the speaker.

For a split second, Alt thinks he can hear a voice in it.

Notarzt whirls around immediately. “Nein!” it shrieks.

Alt shouts out in surprise and panic and his grip on the phone loosens as he cringes away from the sound.

Notarzt rushes forward. In an instant it snatches Alt’s phone away, stabs a blade through the meaty part of Alt’s hand between the thumb and forefinger, and throws the phone out through the ajar double doors.

Alt screams as his hand is stabbed and then shouts as the phone is thrown away.

“Was haben Sie getan?!” It shouts at Alt. “Was haben Sie getan?!?!” It sounds angry—but, is that… panic beneath the anger?

Alt glares angrily at Notarzt but seeing the doctor’s expression, he loses his bravado. He shrinks back, eyes wide. “I-I… I don’t know…!”

Notarzt screams wordlessly. It grabs the blade in Alt’s hand and pushes it further, driving it into the table beneath.

Alt’s back arches painfully as the blade is pushed further into his hand. He sobs out, “m’sorry! M’sorry!!”

Then it spins around and leaves the room, doors swinging closed behind it.

Alt can’t even bring himself to look at the doctor rushing away, just shutting his eyes and breaking down. He was so close.., so close!! What… what stopped him?

And.. why did it seem to scare Notarzt?

…Why does he feel like he’s being watched?

[lumpsbumpsandwhumps]

Your content is scrumptious.

Can we have Jonas in pain? I like seeing him suffer

Wanna hold hands?

[coffee-bat]

oh worm

[befuddled-calico-whump]

created some new characters for a fantasy story

Haile (he/him, 24) - Half-elf, mage's apprentice nearing the end of his training

Kezkel (he/him, 41) - Human mage, Haile's mentor

Sarasi (she/her, 14) - Human lady, possesses type of magic thought to be long-gone. A bit of a perfectionist, but has a hard time casting

Izri (she/they, 13) - Human peasant, also capable of magic thought to be gone. Has a lot of natural skill at casting, and is generally a friendly and sunshiny person

In this world, magic is fairly rare, and often restricted to trained guild members. The re-emergence of a dead magic is in line with a prophecy of a world-changing cataclysm, and it's assumed the girls will play a key role in it all.

Haile and Kezkel are tasked with safely escorting the pair to a guild where they'll be trained and protected, but the further they go, the more it seems there are enemies at every turn...

[cuubism]

for whumptober this year do i write an unhinged kidnapping your heart sequel or a completely different fic that's unhinged 🤔

[butnobodycame627]

👁👄👁 hiiii blueeee~ glad you’re excited for alts villain arc cuz so am I >:3c *flees*

No get back here so I can compliment your amazing writing >:D

I love villain arcs and I love Alt's character and I love Swap Boys and I love your writing and I'm SO EXCITED

[sarahmadpeople]

I’ve got you, Will

Summary: Connor Rhodes is there for Will after his building apartment fire.

Pairing: platonic Connor Rhodes x Will Halstead

Characters: Connor Rhodes, Will Halstead, Maggie Lockwood, Ethan Choi, April Sexton, Jay Halstead (mentioned)

Tags: hurt will halstead, will halstead whump, worried connor rhodes, hurt/comfort, reunion

Warnings: none

Word count: 2081

Disclaimer: i don’t own any of the characters and this is purely fiction ~~ not a medical professional so any medical scenes/references may not be accurate.

a/n: back with another chicago med fic, this time, it’s all about Will because he just couldn’t catch a break (i doubt that he’s all okay after everything that happened) and i was craving for connor and will crumbs,, sorry for any mistakes and hope you enjoy ~~

Masterlist

~

Connor checked his phone as he went for his break and frowned when he saw 15 missed calls. Said frown went deeper when half of the calls were from an unknown number and half were from Maggie. Conner’s heart raced, knowing that there’s only one reason why Maggie had called him. There’s only person who would make Maggie called Connor.

He thought of the possible scenarios that might’ve happened as he pressed on Maggie’s number and waited for her to pick up. Fortunately for Connor, Maggie answered within 2 rings. It took less than 2 minutes within the phone call for Connor to go to his boss and request for a few days of emergency leave which was granted to him straight away.

Connor rushed home to book a ticket back to Chicago and as soon as he’d gotten the confirmed ticket, he packed whatever essentials he needed and headed to the airport.

Maggie’s words repeated itself in his head. “It’s Will, he was in a building fire and it’s bad. Jay’s unreachable and nobody’s here to take care of him.”

Connor knew that he was Will’s next emergency contact after Jay but he never would’ve thought this day would come. For whatever reason Jay was unreachable, he hoped nothing bad happened to the younger Halstead. Will would be devastated. Speaking of Will, how in the world did he get involved in a building fire?

As Connor was deep in his thoughts, his feet subconsciously brought him up to his gate and for the next 4 hours, he was on his way back to Chicago. Back to someone who he’d never thought he’d get along with let alone care like a brother.

Connor didn’t waste any time getting to Med and when he reached the reception area, he saw April.

“Hey, come on, I’ll bring you in,” April knew why Connor was here. She brought him in to Maggie and went off to do her work.

“Hi Mags,” Connor greeted her, “thanks for calling me. Where’s Will?”

“He’s up in the ICU. He was brought in with severe smoke inhalation and a broken leg. I heard he was pinned after helping to get Hannah out. Doctor Choi is upstairs, he’ll update you more,” Maggie explained.

“What happened Mags? How did it get this bad?” Connor asked.

Maggie looked at him. She sighed. Her eyes were teary, Connor noticed but he was not surprised because of all the staff in this hospital, Maggie was the closest to Will who saw her like a sister.

“You know about the apartment building he purchased?” Connor nodded, Will had told him about it and whatever transpired before that. Then, it clicked in his mind. Connor’s face gave away to Maggie that he had figured it out.

“The entire building?”

Maggie nodded, “That’s what I heard from 51.”

God, just when things were starting to look bright for Will.

Connor was pulled from his thoughts as they stopped in front of a room where Dr Choi was. Their footsteps alerted Ethan, who turned and smiled at the approaching figures. Ethan kept his greetings short, knowing that Connor would want to hear about Will as soon as possible.

“I’m sure Maggie told you about Will’s condition when he was brought in. And I’m sure you know and understand the treatment we’re giving him. We’ve put him under and intubated him to relieve the stress on his lungs and allow them to heal. We’re optimistic that he'll recover with minimal damage, but we’ll continue to monitor. As for his leg, he had surgery to fix it. It’s looking better so far,” Ethan paused, allowing Connor to digest his explanation. It was one thing being a doctor and hearing these information but it was another being a caretaker, a guardian hearing them. Ethan knew Connor understood, but right now he wasn’t here as a doctor, he was here as Will’s emergency contact. Someone personal, and so he needed time.

Connor nodded and asked a few questions which Ethan answered before ultimately asking if he could sit with Will. “Sure, as long as you’re not in the way of any of the nurses or doctors here.”

As he sat down, Connor took in the sight of Will in front of him. It was unnerving to see Will so still and quiet, the guy was talkative and always on the move. Honestly, it scared Connor. Connor and Will started off on the wrong foot but over the years, both of them had formed a tight bond and their friendship was never like the ones Connor had with other people.

“Hey Will, I’m here,” Connor held Will’s cold hand, “you better get better, you hear me? You have to, for Jay, for me, for your patients, for yourself. You’re gonna be okay,” Connor reassured, gripping Will’s hand.

~

It was 5 days after the incident and Connor hoped that Will would wake up soon. The doctors had reduced the sedation as Will’s numbers improved over the days and when Will started breathing on his own, they removed the breathing tube. But Will remained asleep, and he deserved this rest as long as Connor knew Will’s okay.

As Connor sat by Will, for the umpteenth time of the week, Maggie’s words once again rang in his mind.

“Jay left. Nobody knew except for his team and Will only got to know from Voight after he couldn’t reach Jay. God, Connor, the look on his face. People around him kept leaving him and he believed that it was his fault. That it was karma because he left his family a long time ago. He just hasn’t been himself these days and then the fire happened. I tried calling Jay and other methods to contact him but all failed. I checked Will’s details and saw you were listed as his 2nd emergency contact so I crossed my fingers and called you. Thanks for answering and dropping everything, which I know you did, to come here. That man doesn’t deserve to wake up after such a horrific incident alone.”

Connor remembered wincing at the mention of people around Will leaving, knowing that he was one of them and he too left without saying anything, not even a goodbye. And hearing that Will blamed himself made the guilt stabbed deeper. Connor couldn’t think of anything to say so he just settled with thanking her for calling him and updating him with what she felt he needed to know.

Eyes teary, Connor looked up to Will’s face. Time froze as he stared into the brown eyes he’d missed ever since he left Chicago. Apparently as he was deep in his thoughts, Connor missed his friend waking up. Connor could only smile before a nurse, who chanced upon an awake Will, came in.

Then, the next few moments were busy with Will’s doctors and nurses checking in on him and informing him about his injuries and treatment. Connor waited patiently at the corner of the room, not wanting to impose or be in the way. But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t notice how Will’s eyes kept drifting to him. Each time it happened, Connor would smile his way.

Will’s doctor then turned and talked to Connor regarding Will’s care including the next steps now that Will’s awake. It wasn’t long before it’s finally just the two of them in the room again.

Connor sat back in the seat he’s occupied beside Will’s bed. A lap of silence as the two looked at each other. “You-“ Will’s voice cracked, showing how long his throat had been inactive. Connor fetched the glass of water nearby and held it for Will to drink from the straw.

“You’re back?” Will’s sentence sounded like a question. Connor placed the glass on the table and looked back at Will. He smiled as he said, “I came right after hearing what happened, I’m sorry this happened. Good to know you’re gonna be okay.”

“Me too. Sorry to trouble you,” Will managed to say before a coughing bout.

“Easy, Will. You’re still recovering, so save your energy,” Connor patted his back, alternating with running his hand up and down Will���s back, to relieve the cough. “And it’s no trouble, Will, really. I’m just glad that you have someone here to take care of you.”

Will kept quiet. Connor kind of knew what was going on in his friend’s mind.

“I heard about Jay and I’m sorry about that too. It must’ve been hard not having your brother around and even more so for him to leave without saying goodbye. And I know I left too, without saying anything either. But I’m here now and I’m sure if Jay knew, he’d be here in an instant too.”

Connor placed his hand on Will’s arm, “Look at me,” he said and didn’t continue until Will tilted his head up and made eye contact with Connor.

“I know that people around you have been drifting away and unfortunate things keep happening. But it’s not on you, Will. It’s not your fault. So don’t you dare start blaming yourself for the fire.” Connor knew he had to touch this subject as soon as possible before Will could bottle it up and keep everything to himself.

“No matter who was affected, why it happened or how much damage it cost, it’s not your fault. Ya hear me?”

Will nodded. Connor really had a way to convince people.

Connor removed his hand and gave Will the time and space to settle down.

“Thanks for being here,” Will whispered, “I don’t know what to do now,” he said as he looked down and fiddled with the blanket.

Connor’s heart broke a bit seeing Will so dejected. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out together, I’ll be here,” Connor then placed his hand gently on Will’s shoulder. “I still have my old apartment, if you want to stay after you’re discharged. We can sort everything else along the way or once you’ve recovered.”

Will was silent and Connor let him be, not wanting to push Will into anything. It took a while before Will said, “I don’t think I wanna stay here anymore.”

Connor, surprised, couldn’t hold himself from asking what Will meant.

“I wanna leave Chicago. There’s nothing here for me anymore. Dad’s gone, Jay’s gone, you’re not staying here anymore and I’m sure the moment I’m well enough, you’re gonna leave again. And I’m not in any relationship. So there’s nothing tying me here except my parent’s graves and my brother’s wife.” Apparently Will was still not up to long talks as he started coughing again the moment he finished his words.

Connor gave Will water to relieve his cough and soon, it stopped but Will was out of breath.

“Okay, you need to take it easy Will, your lungs are still not that strong yet. Now listen, you wanna leave? I hear you and it’s fine by me. But you have to wait until your doctor gives you the all clear, okay. In the meantime, you need to rest and maybe you could start to think of where you want to go.” Connor patted Will’s arm.

Not even a beat after Connor’s words, Will croaked out, “Is your offer still up?”

Connor widened his eyes. Connor had offered Will to move to where he was if he wanted. It was a spur of the moment thought and he didn’t expect Will to remember. “You remembered?”

He saw Will nodding, “But it’s okay if it’s not. I could think of something else,” Will said.

“No, don’t trouble yourself. My offer still stands. I have an extra room in my apartment and I’m sure there are hospitals that would accept you, especially the one I’m working at. But please, don’t rush to make any decisions. Take your time, don’t worry, I’ll be here. Just focus on getting better first.”

Will nodded and yawned. Connor chuckled and helped Will settle against the pillows.

“Thanks, Connor. I’m really glad you’re here,” Will said before he lost the battle of keeping his eyes open.

“It’s okay, Will. I’ve got you. Sleep, you need the rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Connor patted Will’s arm again and settled against his own seat and closed his eyes. He vowed to take care of Will the way Will had done for everyone else. It was the least he could do but first, Connor’s gonna get some rest too.

~

thanks for reading!! ❤️ lemme know what you think about this ✨

[starksvinyls]

Title: The Raft Rating: Teen+ Pairing: None Tags/Warnings: Post Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Raft Prison, Solitary Confinement, Whump, Hurt No Comfort Summary: The world thinks that Spider-Man killed Quentin Beck. Ross is all too happy to put him in the Raft, where he's in solitary confienment. Notes: for @febuwhump day 2: solitary confinement

AO3 Link

The hiss of the mag-lock engaging echos in Peter’s ears. It’s the only sound in this cell, once Ross and his cronies are cut off. The silence rings, Peter hasn’t known true silence since he was bitten by that spider. It’s unsettling. 

A speaker comes to life overhead, most likely only audible to Peter. This place is too sophisticated for crackling speakers. “Welcome to your new home,” Ross speaks. Peter turns around and sees a slimy grin. “Dinner is at 6pm, so you have some time to settle in.” Settle in, like he just arrived for a vacation. Peter’s jaw clenches, making Secretary Ross’ grin turn into a smirk. He turns and hobbles off, leaning heavily on his cane. Good, Peter didn’t miss when he blindly-aimed that kick, then. 

With nothing else to do, Peter travels the three steps over to his cot and lowers himself to the edge. He takes stock of his new quarters - a cot, a toilet, a sink, and a table too small to do anything on, all surrounded by thick impenetrable clear walls. There is a camera in every corner. Zero privacy. 

Swinging his legs up, Peter lays down on his cot. The pillow is lumpy. He stares up at the sterile white ceiling and thinks about how long it’s been since he was arrested. That had been at 10:30 that morning, and they had spent an hour at the precinct before Ross showed up, and then three hours traveling out to the Raft. About 3pm, then. Still hours until dinner. His stomach growled and Peter sighed. They probably weren’t going to feed him enough for his metabolism. 

He wondered how MJ was doing. They had been at her apartment when the cops showed up. She was yelling at the cops, he was yelling at her, they were yelling at him. It had been a clusterfuck, Peter really hopes that MJ had been able to get to Ned, that the police hadn’t brought her in, too. She was innocent in this. 

May quickly filters into his mind next. God, she must be so worried. Had anyone told her what was going on? Or did she think Peter was just <i>gone</i>? He never wanted to put her through that again, not after the way she lost Ben. Happy told him that he would take care of everything, when he called. The police had been decent enough to give Peter his one phone call, and without a lawyer, Happy had been the only Peter could think to call. The man assured him he would take care of it, he’d make sure May was taken care of and a lawyer called. Peter trusted him. 

—-

At 6 o’clock, the door on the far side of the main room opens and an armed guard walks in carrying a tray. He punches in a code in the touchpad, resulting in a small window to slide open in the wall, where a small table is set up. The tray slides through onto the surface and then it shuts, and the man turns to walk away. No words exchanged, no acknowledgement of Peter at all. He gets up from the cot to see what’s for dinner and finds a bowl of gray sludge, a hunk of bread, and a cup of water. He scoffs, for a high tech max security prison for enhanced people, he thought they’d offer a little more than pig slop. All the utensils and dishware are plastic, too. 

Peter scarfs down his rations, finishing off the water in two gulps, and then leaves the tray on the table. He doesn’t know how they plan to retrieve it, since he’s not going to hand it to them, but he decides he doesn’t care. Laying back down ont he cot, he closes his eyes to avoid staring at the bright fluorescent lighting, and tries not to think about how scared MJ looked when they secured the cuffs around his wrists. They both knew he could have easily broken out of them, but Peter wasn’t going to make it worse for himself, and it didn’t really make seeing it happen any easier, he’s sure. 

—-

It’s been a week. A week of silence, of disgusting slop fed to him twice a day, and the lights on for 18 hours at a time. The six hour reprieve Peter gets from the fluorescents is pure bliss for his eyes, and he spends a few hours after lights out, laying there awake, blinking at the ceiling. During the day, Peter paces the length of his cell - 10 steps back and forth - and completes reps of push ups while reciting the Periodic Table to himself. He never speaks out loud, doesn’t want to give Secretary Ross the satisfaction. 

With no books or music or a television, Peter mentally works through formulas, letting the numbers and figures swirl around in his mind’s eye. He thinks of a new web fluid formula, solves that problem he was having in the nano-tech of his Iron Spider suit, and thinks of the perfect quip he could have said to a mugger two years ago.  

He’s crawling up the walls - literally - when the door to the main room flies open. He assumes there’s an accompanying bang where it slams into the wall, but he can’t hear anything outside of his cell. Secretary Ross strides in, his steps more steady this time; shame. The man is red in the face, angry, and marches over to Peter’s cell. He taps the screen and the speaker clicks on. 

“Are you ready to talk yet, bug?” 

“Arachnid.” Peter drops down from the wall to stand just on the other side of the door from Ross. 

“Don’t sass me, you brat!” Ross spits. “We have footage of you murdering a man, what do you have to say for yourself?” Peter says nothing. “That’s fine, I don’t need you to say anything. The Accords allow me to keep you imprisoned, your enhancements made sure of that.” 

Peter’s heart rate picks up. He never signed the Accords, he wasn’t old enough, and they were falling apart before Thanos showed up anyway. He didn’t think they were still a thing, considering all the scary enhanced people saved the whole universe. But apparently they are, and apparently they give this power hungry psycho enough power to keep Peter locked up in the Raft with no solid evidence, no confession, no trial. Would he even get a lawyer? Would he ever get to speak to May again? To Happy? MJ and Ned? 

Ross laughs, and Peter glares. It is so obvious why Tony had never liked the man. “Enjoy your stay, Mister Parker.” The speaker cuts off and Ross turns to leave, the guards closing the door behind him. 

Peter is once again alone.

[kenziezie]

(he caught you and you're losing consciousness from the hyperventilation <3) anyway!! this is lucas <333 human bean to pair with my borrower mags, has a flat personality to match how apathetic he is about a borrower living in his house despite being aware of his presence since day one he knows mags is there, making tunnels in his walls and stealing his food and overstaying his welcome, but he doesn't much care about any of it beyond the property damage he just likes to... y'know... give him heart palpitations sometimes, as recompense

i really wanted to make him look as unemotive as possible, because as a tiny what could be more terrifying than a giant who shows neither joy nor anger at your presence? a giant who shows nothing at all, so you are completely unaware of your fate :)

[illnessandinjury]

mind reader: “hmm, wonder what that one’s thinking about”

-links to my thoughts-

me: -fantasizing in agonizing clarity the image of a certain character getting his broken rib ripped out from his own side, and the other character immediately using it as a weapon to pierce his shoulder to pin him to ground to keep him from getting up-

the mind reader:

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 20: Horror Septics

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Horror Septics | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch | Stitched | PNPT | Septicheroes | Fantasy Masks

Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

This time after the fall, Alt finds himself in a city. And, despite the slightly older architecture, it is clearly a modern city, with asphalt streets and electric lamps and a group of three people hurriedly walking past wearing jeans and t-shirts. The sky is darker, with just the tinge of orange sunset to the west.

One of the people in the group stops walking and stares at him. "Hallo du! Tourist!" she shouts. "Was machst du? Es ist Nacht! Gehen Sie zurück in Ihr Hotel!" They're speaking a different language, but unlike landing in the last universe, it's a language he at least recognizes.

Alt sways on his feet and shakes out his head. He blinks at the people and then casts his translation spell on himself- but now it feels familiar. He's done this a couple times on Henrik. He asks the woman is shaky German, "Um hi? Can you repeat that please? I don't think I caught it." As he asks he looks around the city, trying to see if there's anything familiar. Though, the fact that they're immedately speaking German to him is not a good sign.

The woman glances him over, then looks back at her two companions. Before she can say anything, though-- EEEEP! EEEEP! EEEEP! The TRVLR starts letting out a loud beeping noise. When Alt turns on the screen, it shows the following message:

WARNING

Lethal ALTRs detected in Current Location: (!)UA-1031019HS. Please jump as soon as possible.

But even if Alt wanted to do that, he can't, because the message and beeping barely lasts long enough for him to read it before it's replaced by the low battery icon.

Alt glitches in surprise as the TRVLR starts to beep and he pulls it out. He goes pale as he reads the message. "No- w-what?!"

The three Germans have decided to have a conversation between themselves while Alt reads the message. The woman from before seems to be insisting something. One of the others, a man, looks concerned, while the second woman stares at the west where the orange light of the sun is fading.

Alt looks desperately at the group and now shouts with more determination, "Please! Where am I?! I-Is there something dangerous around here?"

The three of them jump, surprised, and seem a bit more wary of him. The second woman says in halting English, "Mister, go back to your hotel room, you should not be out on the streets at night in Achmatze." And then, abruptly, they all hurry away, turning the nearest street corner and vanishing from sight.

Alt looks close to panicking as he starts to glitch and run down the street. He pulls out his phone to see if he can message Bro- he needs to warn him!

It seems WiFi and cell signal works in this universe--though he seems to be in a bad reception spot. But before he can do anything, there's something behind him. Footsteps. Approaching rapidly.

How fast can you react, Alt?

Alt almost freezes then he starts to glitch as fast as he can, rushing down the road in a blind panic.

But even glitching, he's not fast enough. Somehow, impossibly, the sound just gets closer and closer, until something grabs him from behind, wrapping an arm around his torso. He feels a pain in his neck.

Alt screams and tries to thrash away, glitching wildly. "N-No! LET ME GO!" He tries to glitch out of their clutches even as his surroundings start to dim and blur.

He does manage to glitch out of the grip holding him back, but he doesn't get far, stumbling down the street and losing his balance. The footsteps behind him approach--not as fast as before, but still quickly--and simply grabs him again, dragging him back towards an open doorway in a nearby building.

Alt stumbles as far as he can before he's grabbed again and now he can feel himself slowing down. His body tries to fizzle and pop with glitches but not enough for him to free himself again. "No! S-Stop...! H-Help...!"

But nobody comes. He's dragged backwards through the doorway. It leads into a hallway with stained white walls and stained white tiles on the floor. And then he blinks. And the doorway leading outside again is gone. Instead there's simply more of the hallway, extending forward, seemingly endless. His vision is starting to waver.

Alt whimpers as the door disappears, terrified tears in his eyes. Is this how he's gonna die? He can't even warn Chase...! He tries to glitch out again, desperate to get away.

His body fizzles for a moment then reappears a little down the hallway. If he was trying to leave by glitching through the walls, it doesn't work. There might as well have been solid rock beyond.

Alt scrambles to try to glitch through the walls but finds himself blocked. Which only makes him panic more.

But as he glitches he turns around, and sees what grabbed him. Stitches mar skin and clothing. One bloodshot blue eye stares at him from above a blue surgical mask. It vaguely looks human, wearing a white coat that is red on the inside, but it is so clearly not.

Then, whatever was injected into him as his legs shaking and then crumpling underneath him.

As he loses his balance, it walks over and crouches down next to him. "Geh ins Bett."

Alt tries to scramble back but he's starting to lose feeling in his limbs. He pleads to the figure. "p-please... d-don't...!"

It simply tilts his head to the side, watching him. Waiting. It knows it won't have to wait long, but this is longer than it expected.

Alt sobs as the darkness threatens to swallow him whole. He whimpers and cries out for his brother. “c-chase…! Chase! H-Help…!”

Darkness soon drags Alt down.

-----------

Bro falls for a second, and lands in a field--no, not just in a field. He's right next to a motorway. Asphalt with cement bounce walls lining it and cars driving quickly down the road. A clearly modern environment. But it is quite isolated. There's nothing but this field of waist-length grass for a while. There's a forest on the edge of the horizon and some sort of building slightly closer than that? It's dark, though. Maybe abandoned. The sun above is dipping near the horizon but not yet touching it. Something rustles in the grass.

Bro startles as he hears the motorway. After a couple days of being in a fantasy land, the sudden noise was a lot. He whirls around to see the field and scratches his head. “Welp… not home again…” He sighs. Then he jumps and hovers in the air for a second as the grass rustles.

A figure pops up. He gasps, then laughs. "H-hey, it's just me!" It's Alt.

Bro relaxes and floats back down to Alt and laughs shakily. “Jesus dude you scared me! Finally we got better luck and actually fell together huh??”

"It's about time, isn't it?" Alt grins and looks around. "Uh... where are we, though?"

“No fucking clue, dude.” Bro answers. He looks out at the horizon and sees the building. “Looks like we got two options, either going to that building or we can try to follow the motorway to see if we can find a town or landmark.”

"Hmm." Alt pauses, thinking. "Well... we could check out that building first." He points. "I-it's not like there's anything stopping us from coming back to the motorway. Besides, haven't we been appearing near, uh, you know... people like us? Maybe someone's in there?"

“Hm! Good point, lil bro!” Bro grins and then takes off into the air. “You wanna race then? The sun is setting and not gonna lie- it’s getting kinda creepy out here!”

Alt grins right back. "You're on!"

Bro laughs and then rockets off towards the house, very briefly checking behind to see if Alt is catching up.

Every time Bro looks back, Alt is a little bit closer. But despite clearly glitching in order to keep up, he's not passing Bro yet. He must still be tired from powering the TRVLR. The building is some ways away, but they steadily approach it.

Bro seems a bit worried but- he also does want to win. Alt’s been beating him a lot lately. So he bursts in a bit of a faster flight and focuses on getting to the house.

--------------

Magnificent appears in a forest--not a good sign for the modernity of this world. But the ropes binding him have disappeared. Since they were made of that world's magic, they must not have been able to last the jump. The forest is full of tall trees with dark bark, a few beams of late-day orange sunlight shining between the rare gaps in the branches. There isn't as much undergrowth as there usually would be in a forest, but there is a lot of fog, curling around the roots of the trees, strands catching around Magnificent's legs.

Magnificent rights himself and then rubs at his wrists. He glares at the forest and then groans, “Another fucking forest- okay…” He sighs and then changes his appearance back to his normal one, scanning the area- is there any magic around here? He’s not lacking… but you know. New world- probably.

It hits him like a truck. Not like the last world, where the magic was everywhere but somewhat distant. Instead, he is standing on the edge of an ocean. Draining power from this source would be like trying to fill a bucket with its water. Even if he can do it without being bowled over by the waves, he would only be able to take a fraction of a percent of a portion of it, and the ocean would not notice its absence.

Magnificent gasps and stumbles against a nearby tree trunk, eyes wide as he registers just how much magic there is. "W-What the hell...? This- this power-!" He pushes himself up to try to look for the source. This- he must try to harness this- control the source! if he did... he'd be unstoppable!

He reaches out. It's all around him, and its power slowly fills him. Around his feet, the fog swirls faster, circling around him like a whirlpool.

Oh.

Oh, he was wrong.

The ocean did notice.

And now it is watching him.

"You're very lost."

Magnificent stiffens and whips around to look for the voice. "Who's there?" He lights green fire in his hand." Show yourself!"

"I think you're just not looking hard enough." As his eyes scan the forest, he suddenly sees it. A tall figure--certainly taller than him--that blends in easily with the trees. Most of its body is hidden even as the light from his fire falls upon it, but the flames dance upon a skull-like mask with two triangular ears. A Chesire grin sits wide beneath the facade. "Where did you come from? And why are you here?"

Magnificent snarls and then he freezes as he sees the figure. He then narrows his eyes at it, "... I come from a world beyond here. And I'm here to gain power." He says plainly. Something feels... off here. "What are you, specter?"

"They call me Cait Coill down in the hollow," it says, taking a step closer, moving so smooth that it almost looks like it's gliding. "You come from the worlds beyond? We haven't had one of those in a long, long, time. And not one so... fragile."

"Fragile?!" Magnificent growls, "You clearly don't know who you're dealing with, Cait Coill..." But- a nagging voice in the back of his head seems to shrink back, wondering if he can even face this thing.

"You have a heart that beats. You have lungs that breathe. You have a liver that filters. You have nerves that sing." Cait Coill raises a hand. The ends of the fingers are sharp. Maybe they're claws. It's hard to tell. "How easy it would be to stop those all." It laughs. Probably. The smiling mouth doesn't open. "But very well. You are... sturdier than most. And you seek power. Is that why you reached out? To take it?"

It is so very quiet in the forest.

Magnificent feels a shiver run down his spine and he staggers back, actual fear flickering in his heart for a second. "Yes..." Magnificent admits. "O-Or perhaps... we could form an alliance?"

"You're not used to offering that, are you?" Cait Coill says quietly. "But if that's what you wish, I can provide."

Magnificent is suddenly very aware of a... loosening. Like he had been held in a tight grip that was now relaxing.

"What can you provide?"

Magnificent falters. "I-I can provide... magical knowledge! Or my unique form of mental magic." He tries not to shudder. He feels like he's making a deal with the devil.

"Why would I need that?" Cait Coill's head tilts to the side. It moves again in that smooth gliding gait. Is it... circling him?

"But... hmm, there is something you may be able to do. I cannot leave my forest, you see. Which is a problem when some of my... not enemies, that is too harsh a word. But we can use it for now. Some of my enemies exist outside my domain. You can leave. Take the power you can carry. If you agree to seek out something in a red hood. You will know it when you see it. Seek it out, and attack when you find it. Intend to kill. Does that work for you?"

"Um... s-sure." Magnificent says slowly. He feels like refusing could get him killed. "I can do that."

Cait Coill nods. The grip disappears entirely. "Take what you will, then." Some of the fog clears, forming a perfectly straight line heading to the left. "Follow that to the road. Once you reach it, you can head wherever you like."

Magnificent breathes and then nods almost reverently. He skids around Cait Coill and starts to walk down the path, taking the power he needs as he walks. His chest feels cold- that distant voice in his head fearfully telling him he's made a grave mistake.

Don't you know Marvin? You never agree with the fae...

Cait Coill stays where it is, watching Magnificent walk away until it feels him step off the forest floor and onto the asphalt of the single road cutting through the trees. "Follow him," it says. The branches above rustle as something moves, skittering limbs and swinging strings. It's the sort of movement that would cause a lot of rustling leaves and creaking branches. But it's so silent in the forest.

Magnificent breaks into a sprint after a second to breathe, using his magic and now this boost to help him teleport away faster.

Why was it so quiet?

-----------

Bro reaches the building first. It's not a house, it's... some kind of concrete box. A radio tower? A cell tower? There's a metal spire sticking out of the roof.

Bro stops in front of the building and stares at it curiously. "Huh."

Alt isn't far behind. "Hah... another win for the great Bro Fantastic, huh?" he says.

Bro turns and grins down at Alt, "Hey! You made good time though~" He lightly teases. He then touches down to the ground and looks around for an entrance. "Whatcha think this place is anyways?"

Alt shrugs. "I don't know. Radio, maybe? They have to have antennas all over the country to broadcast everywhere. People still live in the middle of nowhere and they need to reach others." He walks up to the door, testing it. When it swings easily, he pulls it open. "Come on. Might as well see."

"Oh huh yeah- never really thought of that." Bro admits as he follows after Alt. "... still feels weird though-"

"Yeah, I know." Alt shivers. "It... does give me the creeps a little."

The door opens into a wide room, almost empty. The only real things of note are a desk--reception, of some kind?--and a couple chairs around the edges of the room. There are three doors, all ajar--left wall, right wall, and straight ahead.

"Hello?" Alt calls. There's no answer. "Uh..." He glances at Bro uneasily. "You... want to check out the rooms?"

Stuff might be in there. People might be in there. Might as well.This is creepy, but it's kind of fun to explore with his brother.

"Yeah... might as well," Bro mumbles. "Stick together though... just in case there's like... something bad hiding in here." He starts to go forward, to the door straight ahead of them.

"Right." Alt is suddenly ahead of him. Glitching again, haha. It's good to see after the lack of glitches in the last world. He reaches out and pushes the door fully open. "Hello?" he says, stepping inside.

As Bro starts to follow, someone grabs him. They were hiding behind the desk! And now they pull him back there as well, one hand covering his mouth. "Don't go in there," a voice whispers in his ear.

Bro jerks as he's grabbed and tries to elbow the person holding him.

The person bites back a yelp and immediately lets go of him. When Bro turns to look, he sees an older man--no. Wait. Not older. Despite the streaks of grey in his brown hair, his face isn't actually too much older than Bro himself. He's wearing a couple different layers of shirts and jackets, ending in a green parka with fur around the hood. An eye-patch covers his right eye. Bandages are wrapped around his neck.

"Sorry!" the man whisper-shouts. "But don't go in there! Don't follow it!"

"Chase?" Alt's voice calls.

Bro's eyes widen as he takes in the man's appearance. But, then he growls and starts to push himself up, "It? That's my brother, asshole! What are you playing at? Hiding out back here?" He whispers.

"Yes, I am, actually!" The man hisses back. He gestures around him, and Chase notices that there's a sleeping bag and duffel bag beneath the desk. "I-it was working out, since the tower doesn't work anymore, but it was still freaking me out so I was going to leave--you're so lucky I didn't, oh my god."

"Chase? Is everything alright?" Alt's footsteps turn around and head back into the main room.

The man's eyes widen. He grips Chase's jacket. "Listen, Chase--that's your name right? What color are your brother's eyes? What does he usually wear? Don't go off memory, look at him and think about it!"

Chase takes in the area with widening eyes. Something- something's not right here. He stiffens slightly as he hears Alt coming. "W-What? I... I know what my brother looks like!" He whispers in slight panic.

"Yes, I'm sure you do, that's why I'm telling you to look, and I mean really look," the man insists.

Chase pushes himself away from the man, a feeling of dread heavy in his gut.

"Chase?!" Alt appears in the doorway again, looking worried. "There you are, why--" When he notices the man he stiffens slightly. Why? He was surprised, right? But... why does it feel like there was a split second of something else there. "Did this guy attack you?!"

Bro whips around to look at Alt and then throws up his hands, "N-No! No he... he just startled me- I'm okay."

With the man's warning in mind though, Chase starts to study Alt a bit closer, trying to see if anything is off.

"Are you sure? Did he grab you?" Alt asks.

Nothing much is off. Alt's hair is brown as always and his eyes are blue and he's wearing his jacket.

...

Wait. Alt's eyes are green.

No no no, wait, they're both. He has central heterochromia.

Is that what he's looking at?

Alt has freckles. He usually uses his mask to hide them and his scar. Where are his freckles supposed to be? It's like... as he's staring at this face, it's like they won't... settle?

Imagine talking to someone on the phone. Imagine instinctively picturing them in your mind, and then changing and adjusting that picture as they describe themself to you. That's what Chase is looking at. Except the picture is constantly changing. It's Alt, right? His hair is brown and his eyes are blue and green and he has freckles and a scar and he's wearing his red jacket--

...

Alt's jacket wasn't red when they started jumping through universes.

Why is it red now?

As Chase stares he slowly starts to realize that something is off. But, mostly he's thrown off by the jacket.

Alt's jacket has always... always been blue.

He staggers back, eyes wide. "You're... you're not Alt-"

Alt's face drops. Almost literally, as all of a sudden this human-shaped thing does not look like him at all and Chase isn't sure how he ever could've mistaken it for his brother. It looks at the man with the eye-patch and scowls. "You ruin everything."

The man laughs, a hysterical anxiety-fueled edge to it. "I'm happy to r-ruin things for you! What fucking bad luck, that you decided to go here!"

"I had a plan, I didn't know you were here! It's a radio tower, you know. The spire can still be used even if it's been disconnected."

The man grips Chase's arm. It's unclear if this is for comfort, or if he's trying to pull Chase away from... whatever that is.

Chase staggers back, closer to the man as he watches this thing take away the image of his little brother. Tears gather in his eyes as he suddenly shouts, looking ready to punch this imposter in the face. "W-What did you do with Alt?! Where is he??"

It shrugs. Do shoulders move like that? "I don't know. He wasn't anywhere near you when you popped out of nowhere. I simply... took advantage of the situation."

"You are so lucky," the man is muttering behind him. "You are so fucking lucky. It got you fast, didn't it?"

Chase feels like he can’t breathe. He- he was just willing to believe this thing. But- it looked like Alt! It acted like him- it glitched like him….

Hadn’t it…?

“W-What are you?!”

"That's a good question," it says, and smiles. A moment passes. Then it turns away. "Well. I'll see you later." And it walks right out of the building like nothing had happened at all.

The man lets out a shaky breath. "...maybe you're not so lucky."

“W-Wait! Fucking- Bastard! Get back here!” Bro shouts at the retreating figure, bunching up like he’s ready to go chasing after it.

"Nope!" The man grabs the back of his jacket and pulls him back. "Really think about what you're going to do. Do you want to go after that?!"

Chase oofs as he’s pulled back, then he jerks his arm back and glares at the man. “I… I don’t know! I just- want answers! What’s going on here? What is that thing? Why did it know my brother and I-imitate him so well? Who are you? Why do you know that thing?!” He asks in rapid succession, trying not to panic.

"Yeah well, it isn't going to give you those answers!" The man sighs. "Okay, look. I'll try to explain some. That thing is called Sangria. You know, like the wine, or the shade of red. I-I'm pretty sure it can mildly read minds? Just enough to know what you want. I-I guess you really wanted your brother. And it... does whatever it can to get close to people. As for me, I'm..." He hesitates. "My name is ä±ÞėŎ, but that's... hard for people to remember, so call me whatever you like. I've met Sangria a couple of times... and some others like it." Hard for people to remember indeed. Did he mumble his name?

“Sangira…” Chase repeats, knitting his eyebrows together. “Uh… y-yeah I do… we got separated when coming here… n-now I’m even more worried then I have been. If that t-thing is just walking around, tricking people-!” He then pauses as he tries to process the man’s name. “I’m sorry.., what was your name again?”

"×ķěńĢï," the man says, sounding almost sad. "Look, don't worry about it. Just give me a nickname or whatever, I'm okay with almost anything." He laughs. "As long as you don't call me 'shitface' or something." He quickly becomes serious again. "As for your brother... well, there's no guarantee, but people alone are bigger targets for these things. What... what did you mean by you 'came here'? There's not many places around here."

Chase looks distressed that he can’t understand the man’s name but he nods. He tries to laugh but all he feels is dread. “I… I’m not sure if you’ll believe me but… I’m from- another universe. Usually they’re parallel but I… I have no idea how we relate here… Sangira doesn’t remind me of anyone I know… except you know- when he tried to look like my brother…”

The man blinks. Then laughs. “Sure. Why the fuck not? Other universes.” He shakes his head. “Maybe this is your first one without any parallels. I don’t know. I certainly don’t know a version of you. Chase with a brother named Alt? Doesn’t ring a bell. Or maybe Sangria only vaguely resembles someone you know. Do you know anyone who usually wears red, maybe a hoodie? Its red hood is its most distinct characteristic.”

“I mean… Alt is his preferred name now but… he used to be called Anti. If that helps.” Chase mutters. He pulls out his phone, wondering if he can get a message out to Alt. Though… by now his phone might be dead. When the man mentions the red hoodie, Chase freezes and suddenly pales. “…no- no no no there’s no way… there’s no f-fucking way…!” He whispers in disbelief.

"I don't know anyone named Anti, either--huh?" The man looks down at Chase's phone as he pulls it out. He goes a bit pale and quickly walks away, around the desk. He looks like he wants to go further, but then Chase starts freaking out. "Wait, did you actually find a connection?"

Chase whips his head towards the man and then panics more, “No! Cuz there’s… t-there’s so way that thing is Jackie! There’s no way that m-monster is my best friend! No no no- this… this is fucking—!” He grips at his head and shakes it.

"Oh. Um..." The man hesitates, then reaches across the desk and awkwardly, almost comically, pats Chase on the shoulder. "It's... probably just a coincidence. I mean, there are a bunch of people out there who wear red hoodies. I like hoodies. Maybe I'm your Jackie." He laughs, also awkwardly. "I-I don't mean that, really."

Chase blinks up at the man and tries to breathe, “uh… r-right…” He laughs a little and shakes his head. “…maybe I can call you… not Jackie but similar… Jack, maybe-“

The man’s expression brightens. “Y-yeah! You can do that! N-no problem.”

Chase looks around and furrows his eyebrows, “Hey why… why are you in this radio tower anyways?”

And just as quickly, Jack’s expression darkens again. “Well I uh… I don’t like… being around technology. So this place out in the middle of nowhere seemed perfect. I know, I know, huge radio spire, but everything else in here was stripped away so I thought it was good enough. Like I said earlier, though, it was still kind of freaking me out so I was going to leave soon. Decided to spend one last night here, and… well. You’re so lucky I did.”

"Yeah... i think I am..." Chase hugs himself tightly and then checks his phone again. Definitely dead now. That's what happens when you're in a world without electricity for 3 days. He sighs and shoves his phone in his pocket. "Well you don't have to worry, my phone is dead. But, why are you like- avoiding all that stuff? Usually to do that people like- go off the grid in the woods somewhere."

“God, I’d love to go live in the woods somewhere but I do not have the survival skills for that.” He points to the left, vaguely down the motorway. “There’s a town an hour or two’s walk in that direction, I go there to get food and stuff. As for why… it… has to do with something like Sangria.” He takes a deep breath. “I got targeted by one of them a while ago. I-I escaped, but it… might still be looking for me. It… uses technology. Computers and stuff. So… the less time I can spend around it, the better. Sometimes it can’t be helped though. Like I said, I don’t have the skills to go off grid completely.”

“Oh damn…” Chase mutters, “That’s… terrifying- I can’t imagine trying to… cut myself off from tech. And all alone…“ He sighs and then pushes himself up. “…are- are there a lot of things like Sangria around here? I… i gotta go find my brother…”

“Ha!” Jack laughs, then abruptly covers his mouth to stop himself. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny.” He lowers his hand again, unmuffling his mouth. “To sum it up… yeah? I think so.” He pauses. “If you need help looking for your brother… I’d be happy to join you. I know about a few of them and can probably spot them even if I don’t already know them. I could… be helpful.”

“That’d… that’d be great, Jack.” Bro sighs, “If there’s these bad things around here… I gotta find Alt as soon as possible. He could be in serious trouble…”

Jack nods. “I’m sure your brother can handle himself. You seem tough. I bet he is too.” He walks back around the desk and starts putting away the sleeping bag. “I bet he didn’t pop into this universe—god that sounds ridiculous but why not? Anyway he probably isn’t too far from here. I think the best bet is to walk to that town I mentioned. Even if he’s not there, you can… find somewhere to charge your phone. A-and call him.”

Bro slowly nods and makes sure he has all his stuff. “Yeah… I hope… I hope he’s okay… he’s tough but- he’s been having the worst luck in these worlds…” He holds his arm and grips it right, worry churning in his gut.

Jack pauses. He takes a deep breath. “Well, better hurry then.” He attaches the rolled sleeping bag to the duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder as he stands. “Come on. Better get moving while there’s still light.”

Chase nods, “Yeah I’ll… I’ll follow your lead.”

—————-

Alt awakens slowly, finding himself in a room with white stained walls and a single wooden door. He’s lying down. But when he tries to stand he can’t. He’s strapped to a bed with leather restraints on his wrist, ankles, chest, and waist. Besides the bed, the only other furniture in the room are two large lights, like are used in hospital operating rooms. They’re not on. But somehow the room is evenly lit.

Alt wakes up and when he tries to move- when he feels the tension of the straps- he immediately starts to panic. He starts to hyperventilate as he yanks and writhes, trying to break out of the straps. “No! No no no no! Fuck!!”

The restraints are very secure… but there’s no magic on them. If he could just calm down maybe he could—was that screaming in the distance?

Alt pauses in his panicking to hear the screaming and his blood turns cold. He tries to glitch out of the straps- hopefully whatever he got drugged with didn’t mess with his powers! Please- he needs to get out of here!

It takes a couple tries—he still feels a bit off—but eventually he reappears next to the bed in a flurry of pixels.

Alt gasps as he gets out and then feels his knees shake and he has to lean on the table. He whimpers in fear, he’s shaking so much. But- he needs to get out of here! He stumbles forward and tries to glitch outside of the room.

Again, it takes a minute. Not as long, but longer than he wants. But he soon glitches through the room’s one door and ends up in the hallway outside— And leaning against the wall with folded arms is that same… thing that dragged him in here. One hand holds a bone saw in a loose grip. The other raises, a short wave. “Guten Tag.”

Alt glitches out and stumbles against the wall, holding himself up. He stiffens as he sees the thing- there. He staggers back, heart threatening to beat out of his chest. “no- no no! G-get away from me…!” He yells and tries to push himself away from the wall, stumbling back. He-He should have grabbed a weapon or-can he reach his magic? It feels so- fuzzy. Hard to reach. Electricity crackles around him in small sparks.

It laughs, an amused chuckle like a parent watching a child try to grab something they can’t possibly reach. It doesn’t move. Just watches Alt stagger and scramble. The hallway extends to the left and the right. Left ends in a T intersection. Right ends in a pair of doors.

Alt heaves in panic. He looks between the two options in the hallway. He makes a quick decision and rushes down the right in a clumsy sprint, nearly running into the walls or tripping over his own feet. He rushes through the doors and then tries to look for something to jam against them.

Now this is an operating room. Or… is it called an operating theatre when it’s this old fashioned? The room is circular, with a table in the middle that has the same restraints as the bed Alt woke up on. Around the edges are more lights and trays of sharp instruments. There’s a sink built into the wall but it’s so rusted that it doesn’t look like the knobs will turn. A couple old fashioned wheelchairs are pushed to the side. They also have restraints. If he’s trying to jam the door, maybe… maybe the lights? Or the chairs? The trays are on wheels. Nothing looks too heavy in here…

Alt chokes on a terrified sob as he scrambles to find anything that can help him. He hurries and grabs some of the sharp instruments and then tries to push the wheelchairs up against the door.

As he does that, the doors start to open, pushing into the room. There are locks on the chairs’ wheels that prevent them from rolling, so the doors are blocked for the moment. There’s muttering on the other side. It sounds annoyed. He doesn’t have that long to prepare—!

Alt staggers back and he presses up against the farthest wall. He shakily holds out the tool he found, trying to spark it up with electricity.

The doors burst open, pushing aside Alt’s crude barricade. The stitched up thing stands there. What little Alt can see of its face is irritated, and it’s exchanged the bone saw for a syringe with a long needle. “Du kannst dich hier nicht verstecken,” it growls, approaching him.

Alt yells and then throws the electric charged scalpel at the thing. A distraction. He doesn’t even see if it hits, he then closes his eyes and tries to glitch into the overhead lights. When it doesn’t work though he jolts and looks around. There’s- there’s no overhead lights?? no no fuck-!

The scalpel leaves a small cut in the thing's chest, but that just annoys it more. As Alt stands there trying to find lights that don't exist, it lunges forward, plunging the syringe into Alt's arm. This feels different than the last time. He doesn't feel darkness pulling at him, but his body becomes more and more tired...

Alt screams out in pain and tries to push the thing away. But, his body- he’s losing strength. His knees shake and waver, threatening to give out. His head feels heavy. He chokes on a sob.

“Fuck no-! W-What do you want with me?!” He wails, clumsily hands trying to pry the creature off of him.

"Du bist so faszinierend," it says in a quiet voice, a strange note of awe in its words. It clutches tighter at Alt, dragging him over to the table in the middle of the room. "Dein Schmerz wird köstlich sein." And it pushes him onto its surface.

Alt recognizes two of those words: fascinating and pain. He yells out and tries to fight the thing as it pushes him down, even as his heavy body tries to work against him. “NO! NO LET ME GO! STOP IT!”

But his struggles are of no use. He's too weak and this creature isn't even bothered by him as it applies the straps, keeping Alt's arms spread to either side. There's even one that goes over his neck, preventing him from lifting his head without choking. The creature hums, satisfied, and then starts searching through the sharp implements around the edges of the room—

Alt sobs in terror and tries to struggle but he can barely lift his weak muscles now. He feels like his heart is gonna leap out of his chest. His lungs are working overtime, making him heave breath after terrified breath.

There's... a knock. Like a knock on a door on some other floor of a building. Where did that come from?

Alt hears the knock and tries to turn towards it but he chokes on the strap. So he shuts his eyes and screams out, “HELP!! SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!!”

The creature raises its head, looking confused and annoyed. It stares at Alt for a long moment...... Then it sighs, disappointed, and quickly leaves the room. The double doors remain ajar but there's nothing Alt can do to reach them right now. Whatever was in that injection is making it hard to glitch.

Alt quietly cries, hating how his body won’t fight anymore. Everything is too heavy. But he’s still awake- he can’t glitch. “C-Chase… chase please w-where are you…?” He whispers to the quiet air.

Not long later, it returns. And there's someone with him. At first, Alt thinks it looks like Jackie--his friend, his friend--but there's something... off about his appearance. The doctor creature from before folds its arms and leans against the wall, while this new person walks up to Alt, looking less and less like Jackie the closer... he... gets.

Alt’s eyes flit to look at the door, and he breathes out in surprise. “J-Jackie?” But then he cuts him off with a gasp and tries to shrink away as the new figure approaches. “…w-who are you…?” He whimpers.

He--it crouches down next to the table so that it's at eye level with Alt. "Who do you want me to be?" it says. "Jackie, you said? Do you want to call me that?"

The thing by the door sighs, irritated. "Dies ist nicht die Zeit für Ihre Spiele!"

"Right, right. Sorry." It flashes a smile. "By now your brother probably knows what I'm called these days, so I'll tell you. Sangria. That's the color your blood is. I assume. I haven't seen it." Its head jerks to the side. "That's Notarzt, if you're curious."

"Hey!" The other one--Notarzt protests. "Ich habe nicht gesagt, dass du es ihm sagen darfst!"

"I-I don't... y-you're not..." Alt stammers in confusion. Then, his eyes widen as this thing- Sangria- mentions his brother. He yells and tries to push against the straps, the air around him trying to glitch. But, he can hardly move. "W-Where is he?! Did you- did you hurt Chase?!"

"I didn't get the chance to, if I'm being honest." Sangria glances back at Notarzt. "£©¥Ĩ was there. He snapped him out of it."

Notarzt stiffens slightly but says nothing.

"But here's the strange thing, Alt," Sangria continues, looking back at him. "I saw him appear out of nowhere. Notarzt said it saw you do the same thing. Why?" It lowers its voice to a whisper. "And you should probably answer. The longer I talk to you, the less time Notarzt gets with you."

Alt shudders and swallows shakily. "I...! W-we're from a-another world-! We... we jumped here- u-using a... a device and- w-we just pop up..! We were trying to go home- we didn't mean to come here-"

"Another world? Fascinating. That would explain why he could fly. You people aren't supposed to be able to do that." Sangria grins. "Let me guess... coming here was an accident? Or... you didn't know what you'd find? I don't think you'd come here if you knew. Unless you were very confident."

"Yeah I... I don't know how- how I picked this one but I... I didn't mean to-! And if.. if you let me find my brother... we- we can get out of here!" Alt pleads, weakly trying to push against the straps, "We didn't know... w-we didn't know...!"

"Do you think we want you to leave here?" Sangria gestures at Notarzt again. "It'd be perfectly happy to keep you here forever... or as long as you last." It sighs. "But it doesn't really make any difference to me. There's already billions of you. And I got bored of death a while ago. This could be something new. Do you think it'll be fun to help you leave?"

Terrified tears still fall off Alt's face as he stammers, "I...I-" He closes his eyes then whimpers out desperately, "I-I can make it fun...!" He shoulders glitch and fizzle and pop, reacting to his emotions.

It's hard to read Sangria's expression as it tilts its head.

But Notarzt seems unhappy with this whole thing. "Das hilft mir nicht, wissen Sie," it grumbles.

"Oh shush, think of this as repayment," Sangria says. "Alright. Alt, did anyone else come here besides you and your brother?"

"M-Mag... A m-magician named Magnificent...! He's here too- I.. I don't know where he is though-" He whispers, eyeing Notarzt and trying to control his shaking.

"Hmm... you don't seem to like him," Sangria says thoughtfully. It grins. "But if you're going back, then he has to go back, doesn't he? Alright." It stands up. "I can make this work. Don't worry. You and your brother and that magician will be going home."

Notarzt cries out, and Sangria hurries over to it. It says something in a quiet voice that Alt can't make out from here. Whatever it is seems to calm Notarzt, which nods.

"This won't take long," Sangria says to Alt. And without another word, it leaves the room through the double doors.

"W-WAIT!" Alt shouts after him, fighting against the straps with a new burst of terror. "I-I thought-! D-D- DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!" He screams- and a burst of sound waves comes off him, pushing some of the medical trays and equipment back. But- it doesn't do much besides that as Alt sobs, absolutely petrified with fear.

But Sangria is already gone. Notarzt takes a moment to straighten out the equipment, then picks something up and walks over. "Sind Sie bereit?" it asks, holding up a long, thin blade.

Alt stares with wide eyes, breathing rapidly and shaking like a leaf. “n-no… no please-“

Notarzt laughs. It slowly lowers the blade, slicing through Alt's shirt. It pushes the fabric aside and takes a moment to examine things. And then it lowers the blade again and slices a pair of clean lines, tracing the shape of Alt's collarbone.

Alt bites back a scream, clawing fingers into the table below him.

It follows it up with a long line tracing down his sternum, then two more at the bottom where his ribcage ends.

Notarzt exchanges the long blade for a smaller scalpel and some sort of long needle-like object. It leans close and pokes the needle into the cuts it made, occasionally using the scalpel to... hold it open. The needle goes deep. Is it poking against the bone?

Alt does scream now, attempting to kick his feet and claws deeper into the table as he feels something poking his bones! it feels fucking awful. “S-stop- Stop!”

"Hör auf?" Notarzt looks at him, blue eye alight. "Das ist erst der Anfang." But after a while--too long of a while--it does stop, exchanging these tools for a smaller needle and some black thread. "Sie werden dafür stillhalten wollen."

Alt sobs, closing his eyes and trying to calm his breathing but all he can feel is searing pain in his numb body. He can’t help but panic.

And it doesn't end. It's a small piercing at first, and then it goes deeper, beneath the skin into the flesh and muscle. And then comes the pulling, the feeling of something passing through. This is going to take a while. And there will be more after.

Alt screams himself hoarse, screaming and writhing and crying out for his brother. “Help- HELLPPP!!” His screams echo down the hall, sometimes vibrating the walls and shaking the ceiling.

[tanninbalm]

Chapter 11!

“All right,” Jon said, “there we are. I think that should balance.”

The phone leaned against the wall where Jon set it on the counter, a video of Martin nestled safely inside. Martin turned to the camera and grinned.

“The lighting in your kitchen is appalling, you know,” he said.

“Everything about this kitchen is appalling. The size, the shape, the cabinetry.” Jon rapped his knuckles against one of the plain, white monstrosities that didn’t have so much as a drawer pull among them.

“You really know how to pick them.”

“The kitchen wasn’t a priority, at the time,” Jon mumbled, as he rummaged through his cabinet of disorganized spices - jars of cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and cardamom.

A package of ground chicken sat thawing on his thin strip of counter space; a skillet balanced on the scrawny stove; his grandmother’s mortar and pestle still needed unearthing from the bowels of his cabinetry. His rice cooker at least saw regular use, and waited in its usual spot for a worthy job.

“What was your priority, exactly? Apartment hunting speed-run? Guinness record for fastest leased flat? Oh - that’s a bit of a tongue twister. Can you say that?”

“Fastest leased flat. Not that difficult. And no, I just -” Jon let out a grunt of frustration, jumping up to jut his arm into the cabinet, patting around awkwardly for his equipment. “I had larger concerns.”

“All you do is complain about this flat, Jon. I’ve heard nothing but bad things.”

“Yes, well, I’m a known contrarian. Anyone would tell you that.”

Keep reading

[ao3feed-jonmartin]

Apologies for the Inconvenience

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/QubAGJc by Kristine_Angela_Booth During MAG 160, Martin realizes he's going to need an umbrella. He returns to the safehouse and stops Jon from finishing Jonah's statement.   Whumptober 2023 Day 23 - Alternate Prompt: Aftermath of Failure Words: 3762, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Series: Part 19 of Whumptober 2023 Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Additional Tags: Whumptober 2023, Whump, Blood, Eyes, Set in Episodes 159-160 | Scottish Safehouse Period (The Magnus Archives), If MAG 160 Failed, Martin Blackwood saves the world, Martin Blackwood Needs a Hug, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Needs a Hug read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/QubAGJc

[whumperstorm]

Blood Donor

They were going to have visitors, Elias said, looking down on Jon where he kneeled on the floor of his cell. He nodded in understanding. He’d be on his best behavior then. He wasn’t expecting his master to shoot out a clawed hand and grasp his hair, yanking him off the floor. His eyes stung with the pain as Elias snarled.

“So don’t try anything funny, got it? You’re mine. You will not ruin this.”

“Y-yes sir, I’m sorry sir!”

Elias dropped him and he landed painfully on his knees. “Good.” He smiled a dangerous, fanged smile, before placing Jon’s dinner on the floor and stepping out. The door locked with a screech behind him.

Jon sat back from his kneel and leaned against the wall to eat. Not all that more comfortable, he’d rather be sitting on the tiny cot he was provided by his master, but he’d also like to avoid spilling anything on it and angering Elias’ especially short temper he seemed to have today. He sighed and picked up his plate.

At least his meals were filling and sometimes considered delicious to Jon. “We need to keep you nice and healthy.” Elias had said, “Makes your blood all the sweeter.” Of course, Elias cared not for Jon’s preferences and the comfort of a hot meal was lost the moment he tried to be picky or “ungrateful”. Leaving anything on the plate was unacceptable and called for punishment apparently.

Tonight’s meal was well-seasoned curry, one of Jon’s favorites. He wondered if Elias was attempting to bribe him a bit. What visitors could be so important to put Elias this on edge? He’d brought plenty of visitors before, The Lucas family for one, (who Jon disliked quite a lot. Such a cold, condescending family) and sometimes just Peter himself. On those nights he was left mostly alone. The two of them would eat dinner and feed, then retreat to the lounge to indulge in one too many wine refills. On those nights Elias sometimes allowed Jon to pick out a new book from the library before returning to his cell. Reading was a rare luxury, and Peter always left Elias in a good mood where he was willing to allow it.

Maybe Elias thought that tonight’s guests would cause Jon to consider an escape attempt. Well, he needn't worry, he’d tried that a couple of times already and had been punished mercilessly for it. He had learned quickly that no one cared that he was here against his will. Blood donors were meant to be signed on through legal contracts. Provide fresh blood in exchange for housing and care and the freedom to move around as you wish. Lots of human newly grads or retirees signed contracts and after Jon lost his grandmother, he didn’t have anywhere to go and decided to take on the job. He was unaware that Elias had no intention of treating him like a guest. Locked up within the first week with no one on the outside who would know or care that he was missing. Well, maybe Georgie, if Jon hadn’t royally fucked that up.

The first time Elias had brought guests, he threatened Jon into obedience, but the moment one of the visitors approached him to feed he urgently whispered his current predicament in hope that they would call the cops on his kidnapper. Instead, they laughed. Laughed and fed anyway, before walking right up to Elias and warning him that he had “a chatty one”. Elias had laughed too, but when the guest walked away his eyes locked onto Jon’s from where he sat and the fury and darkness in his eyes sent Jon’s heart dropping to his stomach. That night, Jon learned exactly how the sting of a whip felt on bare skin.

“A shame to waste such delicious blood.” Elias sighed, between lashes. “However you disobeyed me tonight and embarrassed me in front of my guests. I have a reputation to withhold. This little outburst has made it clear I’ve been far too soft with you.” 

There was a pause and footsteps from behind. Jon was sure that his back must be in ribbons at this point. Through his own ragged breathing he distantly heard the sound of something metal being picked up before fire exploded across his back and he screamed. Salt water rolled down his abused skin, washing away the red and leaving agony in its wake. The chains on his wrists kept him from curling in on himself.

 Elias leaned down to whisper in Jon’s ear. “This will not happen again, understand?”

Jon could do nothing but sob as he shakily nodded his head. He was thrown back into his cell after that, lying still on the floor and unable to move through his pain to get onto the cot. At some point a maid entered and bandaged his wounds. It made sense, Elias wanted to punish him, not kill him through an infection.

He tried again, after that. How could he not? He was stubborn, and now he knew he couldn’t trust anyone to help him. He’d have to do it himself. He waited weeks, letting himself heal and obeying Elias as best he could against his own pride. Then when a servant arrived with his dinner one night, he knocked them out with the leg of the table he was provided. He noticed it had been loose and worked at it for days until it snapped. He felt a bit bad for attacking the man, he was probably in a similar situation to him. But he needed to get out of here. He could feel guilty when he was far far away from Elias’ estate.

Unfortunately, he was caught. Of course he was caught. Elias found him right outside the kitchen doors no more than 5 minutes after his escape. Jon had no idea how he would have known, but he did, and Jon only had a moment to glimpse the night sky before he was grabbed in the vampire’s iron grip and yanked inside. He was dragged kicking and screaming back to his cell. Elias’ eyes held the same fury as the last time and Jon’s back twinged. But then Elias took a deep breath and steeled his expression.

“I was unaware that my dinner selections were so unacceptable for you that you’d resort to assault.”

Jon blinked in confusion. “What do y-”

Elias continued over his interruption. “In that case, you can go hungry until you decide to be grateful for what I provide for you.” Elias swept out of the room, taking Jon’s uneaten dinner with him. Jon was left on the floor of his cell, scared, confused, and so disappointed. He had been so close. Yet somehow Elias was waiting for him.

It was two weeks before he was given anything more to eat.

___

Elias came to collect him a few hours after his dinner. He was given a loose-fitting olive green shirt with see-through lace arms and a bronze pair of dress pants. The outfit left his neck and shoulders free to make feeding as easy as possible. A servant braided his hair and tied it up into a bun with a golden pin to keep it in place. Elias always made sure he looked his best for company. The tip of the pin was shaped like an eye, the Bouchard family crest, with an emerald in the center as the pupil. He was then given golden earrings to match.

“Master…”

Elias looked up from admiring his work. “Yes, Jon?”

Jon glanced at him before looking back at the ground. “May I- may I ask who is visiting?”

Elias chuckled softly. “Always so curious, aren’t you? Yes you may ask. After all, you should be prepared to serve them to the best of your ability.” Elias reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of Jon’s face. “I’ve decided to expand my coven; tonight I’ve invited five possible candidates into my home to discuss matters. Quite a curious bunch. I’m sure they will be valuable additions should they choose to join.”

Elias moved away and snapped his fingers. The servant dressing Jon stepped back with a bow and Jon followed Elias out the door of his cell. He was led up the stairs and down the hall to the dining room. Elias gestured for Jon to take his place against the right hand wall. He was to kneel on the floor cushioned by a pillow. Behind him was a simple couch where those who wished to feed would sit. Jon noticed that a book was sitting on the side table within reach. After settling down he read the title on the spine. It was the next in a series he was currently enjoying. Oh Elias was definitely trying to get on Jon’s good side tonight. He would take what he could get while Elias was feeling so generous. Perhaps he was anxious that these visitors would decide not to join. Jon wasn’t about to mess things up and ruin the comfort he was being offered.

Once the night began, Elias would welcome the guests, they would exchange pleasantries before eating their meal, (which included multiple courses and a dessert) then Elias would offer his donor for any who wished to feed. Jon hoped only a few would take him up on the offer. Five visitors meant a max of six feedings and a killer headache in the morning. Jon got comfortable in his place and picked up the book. Either way, he had a while to wait before he was needed. 

When the guests arrived, Jon mostly ignored them at first and kept his nose in his book. There were two men and three women. They all looked pretty different and were most likely not related. The two men and one of the women seemed already familiar with each other while the other two women were attached at the hip. Jon could already see two sets of teeth. One poked out past the hijabi woman’s lips and he saw the other set when the bigger of the men smiled brightly in greeting. Two of the guests in particular,  however, caught Jon’s eye. The second of the men, a slim, toned man with colored hair, and the tallest of the women with short blonde hair and multiple scars. They seemed... scruffier than the rest, and their eyes didn't pierce like most vampires’ did. They were deep and full in a way Jon could just about recognise.

The group talked politely over drinks until the kitchen staff arrived with their meals. From Jon’s place he couldn’t tell what was being served, but it smelled delicious. He realized what was different about the two when their food was served with sterling silver cutlery. It was designed differently to not get confused with the rest. Two of the guests were  werewolves, not vampires. This took Jon by surprise. Elias said he was trying to expand his coven, why would he invite wolves? He had always been stingy about “purity of blood” or whatever.

Jon noticed Elias’ gaze boring into him from the head of the tabe. Caught. Jon quickly looked back down at the floor. The night’s proceedings were none of his business. He let the rest of the conversation roll over him after that. However, he couldn’t help but notice one of the women kept glancing his way. She had arrived with the men and sat between them at the table. Her hair was long and dark, curling past her dark, freckled shoulders. Big, round glasses framed her face and her eyes caught Jon’s attention every time she looked over at him. He couldn’t parse out her expression but he tensed under her gaze. Perhaps she was excited to feed. Elias had said Jon had exceptionally sweet-smelling blood. He tried his best to ignore her, focusing on his book and waiting for dessert to be served.

___

A long wait and four courses later, Elias finally stood. He smiled over his glass of wine as he addressed his guests.

“Now that we’ve properly eaten, I’d like to offer my Donor, for those who wish to feed.” He gestured towards Jon with a sweep of his arm. “Of course, I’ve also prepared a delicious pastry selection for those who don’t have the palate for blood.” He smirked like he was in on some inside joke. Of course, there were two  wolves at the table so Jon supposed it made sense. 

The hijabi woman stood first and Jon set his book down on the table. Elias looked towards the larger man with the dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He shook his head politely. “I’ve recently fed, thank you. Though, I’ll take one of the pastries.”

“Of course.” Elias said. He gestured to the kitchen staff in waiting. “Please prepare four dessert servings.” They nodded and retreated through the kitchen doors.

Wait, four? Jon counted the guests in his head. Two werewolves and one vampire who didn’t want to use him. That left the vamp headed towards him and the lady who kept staring at him and who Jon noticed was now looking at him with a look of… Surprise? Disgust? Maybe she was angry that Elias hadn’t invited her to feed as well. Well, that was his mistake, not Jon’s.

His view was then blocked by the hijabi woman as she went to stand in front of him. She leaned down and… held out a hand? Jon blinked in surprise.

“Basira Hussain.” She introduced bluntly.

Jon stared dumbly at her offered hand before awkwardly taking it. “Uh, J-Jonathan Sims?” He stammered.

They shook briefly before “Basira” smirked slightly and sat down on the couch. “Ah, you must be new, then. Don’t worry, you get used to it.” She then gently grasped his chin to better expose his neck. “May I?”

Jon could do nothing but sit dumbfounded. He certainly wasn’t new, and no one had ever asked permission before. They always took what they wanted at Elias’ request.

Basira must have noticed his reluctance, because she paused, letting go of his chin and resting her hand on his shoulder instead.

“Sims? Are you-” She froze mid-sentence, her eyes locked onto Jon’s back with an expression like ice. What was…

Oh.

His back. 

The whip scars.

“Y-yes!” Jon stammered a bit too loud. “Go ahead!”

Basira jumped slightly at his outburst, glancing between his face and back, before her expression went carefully blank and she sank her teeth into his throat. Jon winced at the sharp pain but it quickly dulled as her vampire’s venom took effect. She didn’t feed for long at all, only long enough to be respectful, before she pulled back and licked her fangs clean. Jon slumped back as the wave of dizziness passed.

Then she was gone, headed back towards the group at the table. The kitchen staff had just returned and were bustling around, setting down dessert options. Jon noted that Basira went the long way back to her seat, passing the group of three. Elias’ angry eyes were currently focused on one servant who missed spilling his drink by a millimeter and Basira leaned down to whisper something in the freckled woman’s ear before sliding past. Her round eyes went wide and she looked over at Jon again.

Jon was getting pretty sick of being stared at in all honesty. He was so confused at this point and his knees were getting sore. If this woman was so horrified by the thought of feeding on him, and now this “Basira” was talking shit about him, could he please just go back to his cell?

But then, the woman did something strange that Jon couldn’t ignore. She looked him straight in the eyes; she made sure he was paying attention to her. Then raised a hand to her face and lifted her upper lip to reveal….

Teeth. Normal teeth. Not the sharp fangs of a vampire or the large canines of a wolf, but blunt, normal, human teeth.

Suddenly the night’s proceedings were very much Jon’s business.