#septic ego fanfiction

[graphic-hawk]

Chase Brody

“Do you have any regrets?”

Reblogs welcome

Don’t repost or steal

[crystalninjaphoenix]

To Speak the Unspeakable

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Forty-One

A JSE Fanfic

This is a real doozy of a chapter guys XD A 9000-word whopper. I could have cut it in half, I guess, but I think it's more effective if it's all together. Anyway. Who's ready for Lore?! :D I am! :D I've been sitting on this twist since the start of the series! Alright alright alright. Summary time. The group finally reaches their destination in the Wyldwood. A strange circle where nothing grows. When they reach the center, they realize the true nature of the spirit possessing the King. And yeah! Excited! :D Enjoy reading, everyone!

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

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“We’re getting close.”

The group had been walking through the Wyldwood for most of the day when Marvin suddenly spoke up near noon. “Hmm?” Jackie glanced at him. “You recognize this area?”

“I do.” Marvin nodded. “It would be hard to forget it even if I wasn’t trying to remember every little detail.”

The trees nearby had dark blue leaves, their trunks being either white or brown so dark it was almost black. The long, thin grass was a similar, though lighter shade. Draco’s tail was sticking up from the grass as he trotted along. This was an incredibly amazing place, even by the Wyldwood standards. Henrik had stopped to pluck some of the leaves from the branches when they first entered it, and even now Chase was looking around, taking in the depths of the unnatural colors.

Another day longer, then? Jameson asked. You said that it was a week’s walk and this is our sixth day.

Marvin nodded. “Yes, exactly. One more night... and then we’ll be there.”

Chase took a deep breath. His stomach was twisting in knots, knowing how close they were to their destination. To... whatever he needed to see. “I hope...” He trailed off. “I don’t know. I just hope.”

“I think we all understand,” Jackie said quietly. The rest of the group nodded.

They walked for a while more, continuing in silence until the Wyldwood started to grow dim at night again. They were still in that blue-leaf section when they settled down for the night.

Then the next morning, they woke up, packed up their stuff, and started walking again. All in complete silence. It wasn’t clear if they were excited or nervous or just all feeling the pressure of what they would find now that their journey was drawing close.

They left the section with the blue leaves and came into a new section that was almost... normal. The flowers were glowing, of course, but other than that, it could have been the depths of any forest with a thick canopy. Draco looked irritated as he walked, his muscles tense, and Marvin mirrored him. He was nodding slowly.

The trees were starting to thin out for the first time since they entered the Wyldwood, when suddenly—

“Do you all hear a thumping noise or is it just me?” Henrik asked.

 The group paused, listening. There was, indeed, a thumping sound. It was fairly distant, but as they stood there silently, it started getting louder. It sounded like—“Is that a horse?” Chase asked, confused. “Why’s there a horse in the Wyldwood?”

“It’s probably not actually a horse,” Marvin said nervously. “Hurry! But be quiet.”

The group ran forward, going as fast as they could while not making noise. But within just a few seconds, there was something in the distance running at them. A black horse with a cape-wearing rider, galloping right at them! A blade flashed in the air—was that an axe?!

“Run!” Jackie shouted, drawing his swords. He shoved the nearest person—Henrik—forward with his shoulder.

The horse and rider were upon them! And there was something wrong with the rider. The shape of him was—too short? Not like the person themselves was short but—like they were missing something—something from the top—

“Dullahan!” Chase gasped. “Go go go!” He grabbed Jameson by the hand and pulled him along as he lagged behind. These creatures were deadly! He’d heard stories and they never ended well!

CLANG! The dullahan swiped with its axe as it passed by, aiming to lop off Jackie’s head. Jackie quickly raised one sword to defend himself, pushing the axe away, but in the process—“Holy flame!” Jackie gasped, looking down at his sword. The blade had been broken, the upper half of it now glinting in the grass. 

“W-what kind of axe can do that?!” Henrik stammered, looking back at Jackie.

“It had a lot of force behind it,” Jackie said, still shocked. But then his expression hardened and he looked up. “The dullahan is circling back around. It’s going to keep attacking. Keep running! Go! Don’t look back!”

“Come on!” Marvin shouted, already pulling ahead. “We’re so close!”

Chase ran after him, still pulling Jameson along. He caught a glimpse of Henrik running next to him before he started to lag and disappeared out of his eyesight. Marvin said they were close! And Chase knew they were on the edge of something! There were less and less trees around them, their trunks thinner than they used to be. But even so, the hoofbeats were approaching once again. Chase put all his effort into running, pulling ahead of Marvin, his pulse pounding in his neck—

And then he broke out into open air, right on the edge of a sudden drop.

Chase yelped. He wasn’t able to stop his movement in time, so he prepared to roll, ducking his head and protecting it with his arms. He fell to the ground, vision rattling with the impact, and immediately began tumbling down the steep incline. Rocks bit into his back and limbs as he rolled but he made sure to keep himself pulled in tight. Until the ground suddenly leveled out. His movement carried him a bit farther before he finally stopped. He unrolled slowly, groaning as his whole body ached, and looked up.

Jameson and Marvin had also fallen down here with him, their clothes and hair now covered in gray dirt. Marvin was grabbing his knee, hissing in pain, and Jameson stared up blankly at the sky as he lied on his back. Henrik was at the back, so he was able to learn from the mistakes of the others, but even so the slope was so steep that he was practically crawling backwards down it. He reached the bottom and immediately sat down, eyes going distant.

Draco jumped down from the top of the slope—making an incredible leap—and landed on his feet. He walked over to Marvin and looked up at him. Then after a moment started purring and rubbing against his side. Marvin patted him and took a shaky breath. “Is everyone alright?”

“I’m, uh... I’m going to have bruises and scrapes but nothing is broken,” Chase said.

Jameson pushed himself upright. The same, he said. The cloth on his sleeves had been scraped away over his elbows, revealing they got scraped up.

Henrik said nothing.

“Schneep?” Marvin looked at him. When there was no answer, he sighed. “I think Henrik’s untethered. B-but he managed to actually walk down the slope, so... he should be fine. My knee feels strange, I might’ve twisted it wrong. But I think I can still walk. Jackie?” Marvin looked around. “Where... where’s Jackie?”

Everyone immediately looked up the slope again. There was still the sound of hoofbeats, and then another CLANG!

“He—D-did he decide to hold it off?” Chase asked, stomach sinking. “H-he said to—to not look back.” He scrambled to his feet, limbs still aching from the impact of rolling. “D-dullahans are very dangerous! And that one cut his sword in half with its axe! We have to help!”

“No, we can’t all go!” Marvin also stood up, wincing. “Henrik’s untethered, someone needs to stay with him. You two stay here, I’ll get Jackie!”

Your knee, though! Jameson protested.

“Here, I’ll go,” Chase said.

Jameson looked at him. No, you continue forward. I’ll go get him.

“You’re still learning combat,” Marvin said. “My magic can help more.” As if to demonstrate, he leaned over and drew a magic doorway on the steep slope, tracing it with magic from an amulet. Then he leapt through the moment it was finished, leaving it to vanish once he’d disappeared to the other side.

Chase and Jameson looked at each other. “Well... I-I... guess we... trust them?” Chase stammered.

I suppose... Jameson said. He glanced around. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you and Henrik alone here. This place is... eerie.

Chase had been too distracted by the fall and the realization that Jackie was missing to properly look around. He did so now, scanning the environment they’d fallen into. There were no trees around. The sky above was unblocked by branches or anything else, but despite the lack of obstacles, the sunlight seemed... weaker here. Odd. Maybe it was just because of how colorless everything was. Everywhere Chase looked, all he saw were shades of dead gray and black.

They’d fallen down a slope that was about twice Chase’s height, covered in dark gray and black rocks. Around them was an empty, flat field of gray dirt, pebbles, and stone. Nothing was growing here. Not even stubborn weeds. The space was big enough for all of Hilltown to fit comfortably, but there was nothing in it... nothing except for something at the center. A building. The cabin that Marvin had described, surrounded by a ring of gray, dead-looking trees.

“You’re right... very eerie.” Chase shivered. “It feels like... something bad happened here.”

Jameson nodded in agreement. He reached down and helped Henrik to his feet. Henrik didn’t respond but allowed himself to be pulled up. Let’s hurry. I don’t want to spend more time than necessary here.

The two of them glanced back at the forest, back towards where Jackie and Marvin still were. Then they started walking. Draco didn’t come with them. He was too busy picking his way up the slope, going to meet up with Marvin.

The pebbles on the ground crunched beneath their feet. Chase and Jameson were silent as they walked, both their eyes constantly darting around for any signs of threats. After the cover of the Wyldwood, this open heath left them feeling exposed. Henrik didn’t say anything either, but that was to be expected when he was untethering. Jameson tried to gently shake him out of it, but when it didn’t work, he left him alone and continued to guide him along.

Slowly, they got closer to the circle of trees around the cabin, and as they did, Chase realized that something was wrong with them. Besides the gray color. They were... shiny. And... smooth. Were... were these trees... made of metal? But... why? And how? They were so intricate that he didn’t think they were sculptures. It was like... they’d grown out of the ground as metal.

...There was a figure leaning against one of these trees. A figure in green. The figure became clearer as they got closer, but never fully clear. Because after all, they could see through the figure to the tree and sky behind them. The figure raised his head—and Chase gasped.

Marvin had said they’d meet the ghost of King Samuel. He had been very clear on that. It was shocking, but Chase had gotten used to it by now.

But he hadn’t expected King Samuel to look exactly like the spirit.

His mind flashed to the last draísling he had, the one he had right before leaving to go to the Wyldwood. The spirit had shown itself there—as much as someone could “show themself” while in a dream, of course. Chase had seen how its features were slightly different from Jack’s. He’d thought that the spirit had chosen that form to make it clear that it was different from Jack, than the body it had been possessing for years. But... this couldn’t be a coincidence.

King Samuel bore a strong resemblance to Jack—which made sense, he was his ancestor. But why did the spirit look identical to Samuel?

...Chase was getting an idea. But... it didn’t make any sense. So... he couldn’t be right.

{It’s nice to meet you, Chase,} Samuel said, his voice echoing in Chase’s thoughts despite his mouth not moving. His green eyes looked to Jameson. {And Jameson Jairsolas, nice to meet you too.} Then to Henrik. {I think... you’re Henrik Schneeple, right?}

Henrik flinched slightly.

“Um... m-maybe don’t—maybe don’t make a voice in Henrik’s head?” Chase said, stammering slightly. “H-he—he doesn’t like... doesn’t like that.”

{Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t—I’m sorry.} Samuel gave a small bow. 

Chase laughed nervously. A legendary king’s ghost was apologizing and bowing to him and his friends. This was more dreamlike than any draísling he’d had so far. “Um... it’s an honor to meet you, King Samuel.” He bowed deeply, and next to him he saw Jameson do the same.

{You can just call me Sam,} the ghost said, smiling. {Everyone did when I was alive. It’s only now that the legend has spread that everyone speaks of me with this... reverence. Though, I guess there was some legendary status while I was alive, too. Hard for there not to be when you set out to unite the island.}

“...I see,” Chase said slowly. This was... very strange. He didn’t even have words for it, that’s how strange it was. And judging by Jameson’s wide-eyed expression, he felt the same. “Well... I’m here now. I’m... supposed to learn something here, aren’t I?”

King Samuel—Sam nodded. {Did Marvin tell you that something unspeakable happened here?}

“He did... He said that nobody could speak of whatever happened here because there’s some... magic preventing it?”

{Good, he remembered what I told him. Yes, that’s true. The only way to figure out what happened here is to put the puzzle together yourself.} Sam stood up straight and folded his arms behind his back, looking around. {So... what do you see, Chase?}

Chase blinked. “I see... strange metal trees.” He reached out and lightly knocked on one with his knuckles, listening to the sound. “Solid metal trees. They look... they look like real trees, except that they’re metal.”

Sam nodded. {What else?}

“Well...” The only other thing of note was the cabin. It was small, clearly only one room. The walls were essentially logs stacked on top of each other, some of them still with small branches attached, giving the whole building a strange... thorny appearance. Even the roof was the same, branches and logs piled up to form a slope. And all of the logs that had formed the cabin... they were also metal. Similar to the trees, they looked natural, but they were gray and shiny. There were no windows, but there was a chimney on one side, made of stacked stones. The door was an empty square opening. Inside, it was dark. “Do I... need to go inside?” Chase asked nervously.

{If you want to know more,} Sam said. {It’s dark in there. Do you have a lantern?} He glanced around. {I’d have thought that Marvin would be able to light the way with you—though magic does work strangely in the heath.}

“Marvin and Jackie—o-our other friend, Jackie, they... they stayed back,” Chase explained. “Th-there was a dullahan, it attacked us—”

Sam’s eyes widened. {Oh no. I’ll go help them out.}

“Help them out? You’re a ghost.”

{That doesn’t mean I’m powerless.} Sam walked past the three of them, and Chase noticed his feet weren’t actually touching the ground. {You go explore on your own. I’ll answer any questions I’m able to when I get back.} He took a few steps away, then faded from view.

Chase stared at the spot where he vanished. Then he looked at Jameson and Henrik. Jameson looked shocked, still trying to understand that they’d just spoken with a ghost. Henrik’s eyes were still distant. “Well... into the creepy dark cabin, then?” Chase asked.

Jameson nodded. Of course. Hold on, there’s a lantern attached to my pack, I brought it just in case.

The two of them removed the lantern and lit the wick. Chase carried it in one hand and held onto Henrik with the other, since Jameson needed his hands to speak. The two of them peered into the doorway, and Chase took a deep breath. He stepped forward. Something crunched under his boots, and he looked down. It looked like some sort of woven cloth that had fallen down... woven from thick plants of some sort. Except for the fact that, judging by the crunch, it had also been transformed into something inorganic. Strange. Either way, it had once been hanging up in the doorway to block it off, but was now on the ground, where it had been transmuted.

The interior of the cabin was, just as Chase thought, only one room. The walls were undecorated, the bare logs that built the cabin still exposed here. In one corner there was a square that might’ve once been a mattress with blankets, but was now a lump of stonelike material. Around the edges of the room were... words? They looked like words scratched into the ground, concentric circles of them all surrounding some lump in the center of the cabin. But Chase couldn’t read them. He looked down, squinting at them. Maybe he just didn’t know these words? “Jameson, do you know what these are for?”

Jameson didn’t answer. He was staring at the center of the cabin.

“Jameson. Jair!” Chase nudged him. “What is it?”

He gasped and looked back over at Chase. Isn’t it... That’s a... He trailed off, looking back at the center.

Chase glanced at the lump. And... then he realized what it was. The lump was something partially hidden underneath a blanket. Unlike the cloth by the door and the blankets by the mattress, the blanket in the center was still flexible, though it seemed to be covered in gray dirt and dust. Beneath the blanket... was a familiar shape.

“...a person,” Chase whispered. “No... a body.” Because the person’s chest wasn’t moving. Of course it wasn’t. With how much dust was on the blanket, there was a clear way that the body hadn’t moved for a long time.

Jameson shuddered. I think this is a good time to use that potion Henrik decided to give you.

“Right. The... shialeora. That’s... that’s in my bag. Hold on a moment.” Chase slowly set the lantern on the ground and let go of Henrik’s hand, taking his bag off and rummaging through it. The whole time, he stared at the body in the center of the cabin.

It took him a while to find the bottle Henrik had given him. It had sunk to the bottom of his pack over the journey, and he really didn’t want to look away from the body even to find it. Luckily, the bottle was a distinct square shape so it was easy to find by touch. He quickly pulled it out, looking at the liquid inside. The leaves or petals were still suspended inside, unchanged. 

What did Henrik say it would do, again? Jameson asked. He looked at Henrik, then reached out and shook him slightly, but Henrik still didn’t react.

“I think I remember,” Chase said. “This shialeora potion is supposed to... sharpen my senses. And speed up my thoughts?” He hesitated. “But I can only use it once... And Henrik didn’t mention how long it will last...” He looked at Henrik. “Do you think we should... try harder to bring him back? No, no. He said he didn’t want us to do that. So... maybe we wait?”

Jameson nodded slowly. I suppose we can, for a bit. We should wait for Jackie and Marvin, too.

Chase tucked the potion into his belt. “In the meantime... what do you think this writing is?”

I’m not sure. Jameson stared at the markings on the ground. I don’t think these are words. Maybe it’s another language? Or... maybe it’s an old version of our language. Words change over time, you know.

“Hm... And what do you think it’s for?”

Clearly nothing good, Jameson said. But I think it has to be some sort of witchcraft ritual, doesn’t it? Something... involving the body...

The two of them fell quiet for a while, not wanting to move, not wanting to get closer to the body in the center of the room. But eventually, they heard a sound. Footsteps approaching. They quickly spun around to look—and Jameson gasped and ran forward. Jackie and Marvin were alright! There was a tear in Marvin’s shirt and Jackie was missing his swords, but other than that, they were alright! Jameson rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Marvin in a tight hug. Chase was quick behind to do the same to Jackie. “Whoa!” Jackie laughed. “You missed us? We weren’t gone for that long!”

“You were gone fighting a dullahan!” Chase said, pulling away. “Do you know what that thing can do to you?! There’s a reason they’re omens of death!”

“Well, I just thought that was because they showed up in graveyards,” Jackie said awkwardly. “And, uh... had no head. I didn’t realize the fight would be so... difficult.”

“It sliced your sword in half! Your sword!”

“I just... wanted to make sure the rest of you made it,” Jackie said quietly.

Chase sighed. He leaned in and squeezed Jackie in another short hug. “Thank you. But don’t do that again.”

“So... this place is... odd,” Marvin said, looking at the metal trees.

Jameson, having pulled away from the hug, nodded. Wait until you see what’s inside the cabin. And it looks like Draco doesn’t like this place. He pointed at Draco; the cat’s fur was standing up along his back, tail puffed and raised straight in the air.

“I think... I think something’s different here.” Marvin pulled out his focus. The amulet had been constantly glowing the whole time they were in the Wyldwood. But now it was dark again. “The magic of the world feels... distant. Where’s Henrik?”

“Inside,” Chase said. “Come on.”

They went back into the cabin. Henrik noticed Jackie and Marvin, eyes focusing on them for a moment before drifting away again. Jackie quickly walked to his side, gently grabbing his hand and squeezing it. Marvin stared at the interior of the cabin and quickly noticed the body. “What the fuck?!”

“I-I was going to use the shialeora potion Henrik gave me to find out more about this,” Chase swiftly said. “To find out... why that’s here.”

Jackie stared at the body. His hand went to his hip, but there was no sword there. “I don’t like this place. But... I think this is what the shialeora is meant for. This is where you’re supposed to use it.”

Chase nodded and took it out, unstoppering it but still hesitating. “Do you know how long it’s supposed to last?”

“No, sorry,” Jackie said. “I don’t think Schneep ever said that. Right?” He looked at Henrik, but received no response.

A figure formed in the doorway. The ghost of King Sam, lingering on the threshold but not stepping inside. {A shialeora will be perfect for here,} he said. {Go on.}

Chase jumped in surprise a bit as Sam appeared, but quickly recovered. He looked at the potion bottle and steeled his resolve. “Bottoms up,” he said, then tilted back the potion and tried to drink it all in one gulp.

The liquid was viscous. Not quite a syrup, but clearly not just water. It would have been hard to swallow down if it didn’t taste surprisingly sweet. Chase closed his eyes, focusing on drinking as quickly as possible. His throat tickled as the leaves brushed against the inside, but he kept going until there was nothing left. Then he lowered the bottle, straightened, and looked around.

The cabin was dark. But as he stared, he heard a rushing sound in his ears, and the room seemed to get... brighter? No, it wasn’t actually getting brighter. His eyes were just adjusting to the dimness until he could see as clear as day in here. He could hear some thumping noises—heartbeats?! Everyone’s heartbeats?! And their breathing, too. Those were the only sounds in the nearby area. Chase could smell the dust and metal all around them as strongly as if he put his nose right up to them. And his clothes were rough against his skin, his belts and packs heavy on his body. This all should have been overwhelming, but somehow, it wasn’t.

“Whoa,” Jackie said. “Your eyes... They’re really—”

“Wide?” Chase interrupted.

“Well, yeah.”

“Of course they are, your pupils widen in the dark, that makes sense. I think it’s to take everything in.” Chase looked around the cabin. His eyes were immediately drawn to the floor. Not just to the writing, but to the rocks. They weren’t actually rocks. He walked over to the nearest one and bent over to pick it up. This had been some sort of plant once. A fruit, maybe, though not one Chase had ever seen before. These not-rocks were piled up around the edge of the cabin, and Chase quickly circled around to examine them. All of them had been plants of some sort. “Marvin? Can wizardry change one thing to another thing? I mean—change the material it’s made out of?”

“Um... I don’t think so,” Marvin said, looking around.

“Could sorcery do it?”

“Maybe? But I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Chase’s mind leaped to something else. He was suddenly remembering the huge doorway that opened up while he, Jameson, and Marvin were in the town of Miryfern. The one that let Thalia and all the soldiers suddenly travel to Wyvernlair. Marvin had reacted similarly to that, saying it seemed impossible.

And then he remembered something else, too. At Marvin’s execution. The perfectly placed lightning bolts that had destroyed the house he was hiding in, as well as the houses the other archers were in as well. That hadn’t been natural. And that huge doorway had been created by lightning.

“There are... impossible acts of magic here,” Chase said slowly, trying to put words to his rushing thoughts. “This circle of words, the metal and stone plants, the lightning, the possession—it’s connected. The spirit—it’s magic.”

Well, all spirits are magic, Jameson said.

“Unnatural magic. The spirit also looks like Sam,” Chase added, pointing at Sam’s ghost. 

“It does?” Jackie was clearly confused.

“It showed itself in some form in the last dream I had,” Chase said. “And that form looked like Sam. That’s not a coincidence. It can’t be.”

Marvin frowned. He looked over at Sam. “Is that... important?”

Sam pursed his lips. {It’s important,} he said slowly. {You have an idea, Chase, don’t you?}

“I... I do, but... I’m not sure how it could be possible,” Chase said. His eyes drifted to the blanket-covered body in the center of the room. There was no use putting it off, was there? He took a deep breath and walked towards it, carefully stepping over the words scratched into the earth floor.

The blanket did not fully hide the body. As Chase circled around it, he saw one hand extending from underneath. One hand that he expected to be just bone, but which instead looked like the person had been dead no more than half a day. Its fingers were still curled around a weapon. A seax. Beneath the gray dust, its copper blade was stained red.

Part of the person’s head was also exposed, hair poking out from under the blanket. Brown hair. But that... didn’t mean anything. Brown hair was the most common shade in Glasúil. Still, Chase was getting a sinking feeling. He crouched down and reached out. It felt like ages before his hand met the edge of the dust-covered blanket. He heard the others all cluster closer together, heard his own heartbeat pounding faster, but he couldn’t stop now. He lifted up the blanket and pulled it away from the body’s face.

A face with bright green eyes.

A face identical to the face of King Samuel’s ghost.

Chase stared at it. This man was clearly dead. But even though he must have been dead for hundreds of years, the body was not decayed. Everything was perfectly preserved. Those bright green eyes stared up at nothing. Chase’s thoughts whirled as he put the pieces together, but he forced himself to keep looking at the corpse for a bit longer. 

The cause of death was clear. The man’s throat was slit. Dried blood trickled down the neck to the ground, but surprisingly, there was not a pool of dried blood beneath him. Had the blood been absorbed directly into the ground? Like water into dry earth? 

The man’s other hand was near the edge of the blanket. Like the last thing he’d done had been to pull the blanket over his head.

Jackie edged forward. He inhaled sharply. “S-Samuel? Is this... you?”

“What?” Marvin also walked over, and Jameson and Henrik followed close behind. “Wait—what?!”

Jameson gasped. Is this what happened to our first King?

“No, that’s impossible!” Marvin insisted. “There are records of King Samuel living a long life! This body—it’s barely thirty, if that. And they say King Samuel is buried in Suilthair...” He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“...I think I do,” Chase whispered. “Or... I have an idea.” He looked over at Sam, still hovering by the threshold of the cabin. 

“What is it?” Jackie asked. “There can’t be any explanation for this!”

“They were twins,” Chase said softly.

The other four all stared at him. Even Henrik stared, latching onto the statement as he started to come out of his untethered state. But over in the doorway, Sam smiled proudly... and a bit sadly.

That... doesn’t make sense, Jameson signed shakily. The stories have never said anything about King Sam having a brother.

“They wouldn’t... if the brother was unspeakable,” Chase said. “If this strange magic that Sam’s told us about prevented anyone from speaking about him.” He paused, looking at Sam, who just made a ‘keep going’ gesture. “I think something very bad happened here.” Chase looked back down at the body. “Look, this man is holding a bloody seax. His throat’s been cut. The body is surrounded by witchcraft and unnatural metal and stone plants, in the middle of a blasted heath, a place where Marvin said that the magic was farther away despite us being in the Wyldwood, the most magical place in the kingdom.”

“Whoa, slow down, Chase, remember to breathe,” Jackie said.

“The man... did it himself,” Henrik whispered. “And it... caused everything to die? Or... change?”

“That’s what I think.” Chase nodded.

“But—but—” Marvin stammered. “What happened?!”

“I don’t know! No, wait, I think I do.” Chase hit the side of his head. His thoughts were moving so fast. “King Sam’s brother—I think he became the possessive spirit. Jack’s eyes were blue, but now they’re royal green, just like this body—just like the man’s eyes would’ve been while he was alive.”

“You can’t just become a spiolash!” Marvin shouted. “That’s not—that’s not natural!”

“Well none of this is fucking natural, is it?!” Chase snapped. “Also—that spirit has powers that normal spiolash do not! Remember, the lightning?”

“Ah... that is the name for possessing spirits, yes?” Henrik asked, still mildly confused from missing some things.

“Spiolash? Yes, sorry. We don’t use it often, remember?” Chase shook his head. “In any case... I think this is what happened. King Sam had a brother. He killed himself as some sort of ritual to become a spirit. That spirit is now possessing Jack. But... the only thing I don’t understand is why.”

“Does it matter why?!” Marvin’s face slowly dawned with horror as he began to accept the truth Chase had discovered. “This man—he’s the cause of all the suffering in the kingdom! The reason we’ve been fighting for years! He’s using the King’s enchanter powers to control people.”

“And he might be planning something more,” Jackie muttered. “There are rumors that he’s trying to build a navy.”

Marvin trembled. Not with fear. With rage. He clutched his focus in a white-knuckled grip. Light flickered around it, but steadily grew as Marvin forcibly drew more magic forward. He pulled the light away and raised his hands as the light transformed into bright blue flames—and then he threw the fire at the body. Chase quickly leapt away as the blue flames grew brighter, consuming the blanket and the body... but then it faded away. The edges of the blanket were a bit charred, but other than that, everything was undamaged. Marvin stumbled back, shocked and confused.

{It’s hard for things to change in this circle,} King Sam says. {And the magic of the world shies away from it.}

Jameson shook his head, at a loss. What happened here? What was so horrible that fire wouldn’t dare to burn?

And then, Chase heard noises outside. Faint, distant. Definitely too quiet for him to hear normally, but with the shialeora potion still affecting him, he not only heard it, but was instantly able to identify the sound. Cloven hooves stepping on the rocky ground.

Chase immediately spun around and ran outside, passing by King Sam as he did—maybe partially passing through the ghost as well. But he didn’t stop. “Chase?!” Jackie gasped, but he didn’t turn to look or stop at all.

There was something in the distance, something getting close. Chase ran towards it, and he heard the others running behind him as well. They got closer to each other, until Chase could make out the details of the form. He knew who it was immediately. He skidded to a halt, and the others did too. He heard someone inhale sharply.

A deer was walking towards them. A tall deer, its fur dark, and its antlers gilded, reflecting the sunlight. Everywhere its hooves landed, small green plants sprouted, struggling up from the rocky ground. But only a few steps later, the stone curse of this heath would consume the new plants, turning them gray as well. “E-Elder!” Jackie gasped. He fell to his knees, and Jameson knelt down as well, but Henrik and Marvin stayed standing, though they were still shocked.

“You’re... here...” Chase breathed. “A-are you... are you here to help?”

The deer—the Elder tilted their head to the side.

<Curiosity. A request.>

Chase inhaled sharply. That feeling—that’s what it was, a feeling. Not a voice, not spoken out loud or in his head, it was an emotion that he felt, but knew came from elsewhere. The Elder was asking him something. Asking if... they could... do something? “Y-yes. Of course.” Chase nodded. “G-go ahead.”

The Elder stepped forward. Their head lowered towards his. Chase felt the urge to back away. Not because he was threatened—well, the antlers were pointed, that made him a bit wary—but because it was too much. Like staring into a bright light. Still, he held his ground. The Elder’s snout tapped against the center of his forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two young men were sparring on a small beach. They were dressed almost identically, in loose tunics with narrow sleeves, beneath dark leather armor. Behind them, there were buildings in the distance, closer to the center of the island. Because yes, this was an island, out in the middle of the Emerald Lake. The buildings were small, made of mud brick and light wood.

They fought over and over again, one with a sword, another with a seax, several bouts. Each one ended quickly, as the two young men were really familiar with each other’s moves by now. After all, they’d been sparring with each other for years now.  The one with the seax was better, though, winning most of the matches. Until the other one narrowed his eyes in concentration—and the knife wielder suddenly dropped his blade.

“Ha!” The swordsman pointed the blade at the other.

“Hey, no fair, Sam!” the knife wielder said, laughing. “Improper use of magic!”

The swordsman—Sam sheathed his weapon. “Well I need to practice using it as well. I thought it would even the odds. And if anyone would understand that, it would be my own brother, wouldn’t it?”

Sam’s brother bent over and picked up his seax. “That’s true, that’s true.” He spun it, then also sheathed it. “Part of me says it’s not honorable to enchant someone in the middle of a bout, but a greater part of me says to do what you can. Especially if this was really a life or death battle.”

“Yes, that’s a good point. Well. Let’s get some supper, why don’t we?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You are challenging me?”

It was another day. Sam and his brother stood in the middle of town, on a square paved with mud bricks. Surrounding them was a group of people—familiar people, people they had grown up with. And before Sam, looking at him with a mix of amusement and shock, is an older man: the clan chief.

“Yes,” Sam said calmly. His green eyes glinted in the light from the high sun.

The chief looked at the others around. “Do you all hear that? The older faeborn thinks he could run the clan better than me!” Some of the onlookers chuckled, but most seemed curious, interested. “Very well, boy. I assume your brother will speak for you once the duel is done?”

“Yes,” Sam said. But there was a barely-perceptible tensing in his muscles. Duels like this ended with one participant at the other’s mercy. If the chief so chose, he would be well within his rights to kill Sam. And the chief had just implied he would be doing that if he won. There would be no room for error. He was risking his life.

His brother reached out, gently taking his hand and squeezing it supportively. He nodded, showing his belief in him. Sam took a deep breath.

“When will you be doing this, then, boy?” the chief asked.

“Immediately,” Sam said, and the onlookers stirred as the chief’s eyes widened. “Unless, of course, you need time to prepare against me.”

The chief’s eyes narrowed again. “I need no time.” He drew his sword. The onlookers and Sam’s brother backed away, leaving the two of them in a circle of empty space. “No mind tricks in a duel, boy. The others will know.”

Sam nodded as he drew his sword. He would be honorable. The two of them stared at each other, then at once, lunged forward—

But the outcome didn’t need to be shared. It had already been recorded in history. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day, another time of year. Sam and his brother were surrounded by trees, their leaves orange and red with autumn. They were not alone in the forest. Sam sat on one side of a crude table, made by balancing a stone slab on four stone bricks. On the other side of the table—another clan’s chief, as well as her various advisors and attendants. There was only Sam’s brother on his side of the table, standing next to him with one hand on the seax blade at his belt.

“And why would we agree to such an alliance?” the chief asked. “It sounds to me as though you want to set yourself up as some sort of leader.”

Sam shook his head. His hair had grown longer in the time that had passed. “On the contrary, I don’t want to be a leader,” he said. “But I don’t believe the separation of the clans helps any of us. We are more similar than we are different, and it does no good to have so many skirmishes on such a small island. Of course, those differences are still there. Which is why you will still be there to lead your people. You know them better than I ever could. I only ask that we cooperate with each other. We could trade goods. For example, here in the mountains you are known for your witchcraft talismans. Our island can provide you with fish or animal pelts that you couldn’t get up here.”

The chief tilted her head, interested, but one of the advisors stepped up. “Remember, this man has the magic of the mind,” he whispered. “He could be making you in favor.”

“I can hear your whispers,” Sam said. “And I promise, there is no magic at work here. I am coming to you with—”

Suddenly, something moved  in the trees. Sam’s brother dove at him, knocking him to the side as an arrow embedded itself in the ground right where he’d been sitting. The chief shot to her feet and the advisors shouted in surprise, but Sam’s brother moved quickly, leaping to his feet and throwing a blade through the air towards the movement.

Thunk! A person fell out of the tree, painfully getting to their feet. “Death to the mind magicker!” they shouted, reaching into a quiver for another arrow.

Sam’s brother ran forward, moving incredibly quickly, forcing the assassin to drop the bow and draw a knife. The blades clashed one, two, three times—and then the assassin fell, leaving Sam’s brother still standing, breathing heavily. He spun around and quickly ran back over, helping Sam up. “Are you unhurt?” he asked.

Sam nodded. “Thank you,” he breathed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two brothers walked through a field, packs of supplies on their backs, leather armor over their clothes. The sun was setting, but they had to keep walking if they were to reach their destination at the promised time. Or... did they? “We need to rest,” Sam said quietly. “It’ll be no use if we arrive there too tired to stand.”

His brother’s eyes darted around, taking in the details around them. “Sam,” he said. “I was... wondering something.”

“Yes?”

“You... you have your magic. It’s strong magic, very strong magic. But you... rarely use it.”

“What do you mean?” Sam looked at him. “I use my magic all the time. I’m using it right now, expanding my senses to make sure that there are no human minds approaching.”

“That’s not what I—” His brother shook his head, sighing. “You... you wanted to do great things with your magic. And I agree, uniting the clans is a great thing. But... you don’t really use your magic to do it.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying... would it not be easier if you made them listen to you?” His brother suggested. “With your power—you could do that. They would listen, they would do as you say, and they would be happy about it.”

Sam stopped walking. “That’s not... that’s not...” He paused, trying to find a way to put his thoughts into word. “Yes, I could do that, in theory. But I won’t. For several reasons. Doing something like that would make me feel... make me feel like I am as tricky as they say. And I do not want that.”

“They will say it anyway,” his brother whispered.

“Perhaps that will change with time. And also, making them do what I want is not my goal. Not really. It’s not true unity, if it’s forced.”

“Why not? The results are the same, aren’t they? We could do great things. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t want to speak about this. Not right now. Let’s focus our energy on finding a place to stop for the night.”

His brother dropped the conversation, but as they continued to walk, he stared at Sam’s back with narrowed eyes. The seed of a bitter flower began to take root in his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is this true?!” Sam pushed open the tent flap, heading into the round tent without so much as a greeting.

His brother looked up from where he was sitting sharpening his seax. “Is what true?”

“This.” Sam threw something down on the ground. A bit of animal skin, writing dyed onto its surface. “You sent a threat to the people of the Fíornear clan before our arrival.”

“What? I’m hurt, Sam.” His brother stood. “You don’t even know that this is my handwriting. And my choice of weapon is not the bow and arrow.”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t mention that the message was tied around the shaft of an arrow. Are you... even trying to hide it at all?”

“Samuel,” his brother said. “Let me speak plainly. The Fíornear clan is the most powerful one we’ll face. They need to know that we are powerful as well, or else they won’t listen to us at all.”

“And you think that leading five other clans isn’t a sign of power? You think it’s a better sign of strength to challenge them? I was going to negotiate! You know my approach by now, that is always how I start this. We only challenge them if negotiations fail. But you—you go behind my back to—you go behind my back?!” Sam shook his head, stunned. Betrayed.

“They were not going to listen to negotiations,” his brother said stubbornly. “I was saving us the time.” His green eyes lit up with excitement. “If you’re so opposed to it, I could go in your stead. We do look the same, after all.”

“No.” Sam shook his head. “I have to do this myself.” He stared at his brother, unsure what to say in his anger. Then he spun around, cape flying, and stormed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were on the beach again. Time had passed. Their beards were longer, and Sam’s hair had grown to chin length. But they still looked so much the same in their green capes. Behind them, the buildings of the village were being built up, made of stone now. A tower was beginning to pierce the sky. A palace.

“Can you believe this is where it started?” Sam asked, looking up into the clear sky. “Us sparring on this stretch of sand for so long, telling each other we’d do incredible things? And now... now look where we are. The Green-Eyed twins, Kings of the Island.” He laughed. “It’s hard to believe.” Then he looked at his brother. “But things worked out, didn’t they?” He couldn’t keep the last two words from being pointed. 

His brother stared at the lake waters. “Samuel,” he said quietly. “I was wondering something. You know of the lands beyond the island.”

“Of course I do. The Trábh i Dte clan spoke highly of their visitors and their boats.”

“What if we united them under us as well?”

Sam looked away from the sky, staring at his brother in shock. “You mean... leave the island?”

“We have done great things already,” his brother said steadily. “But you know we could be greater. If we could do this, what else could we do? Of course, they won’t speak the same language off there, so we must make them listen to us through means other than words.”

“You... want to...” Invade. Sam couldn’t say it out loud. “Have your senses taken leave of you?! No!”

“What do you mean ‘no’?!” His brother asked. “With our power—”

“No! I do not want to unite the lands outside the island. The clans here are similar to each other, but outside—outside they have their own ways of doing things. They wouldn’t be happy with us trying to make everyone like this island. We need to leave them be. Perhaps in the future we could come to some trade arrangements, but—”

“You could make them be happy with us,” his brother interrupted.

Sam put a hand on the sword dangling from his belt. “I don’t want to see you right now. Go.”

“But—”

“Go!”

His brother’s face twisted, and he stormed off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were cliffs at the south of the island. Sam remembered them well. They’d made camp here once while on their journey around the island. But now, there was trouble gathering here.

...or so he thought. He and his brother had traveled here, along with a small group of warriors, but they found nothing. And yet, one of their messengers had delivered a strange report.

Perhaps it was magic. Sam told the warriors to camp far away, out of the range of his magical sense for minds. They were also far, far out of earshot. And too distant to be seen.

“Sam?” His brother called, peering over the edge of the cliffs. “I see something down there! Come, tell me if that’s a person.”

Sam hurried to join him. He leaned over the edge—

And in an instant, he caught a glimpse of his brother’s thoughts and intentions.

Quickly, Sam leapt back, avoiding the flash of movement as his brother lunged at him. His brother recovered, hurrying away from the edge of the cliffs, and drew his seax. “Aneirin!” he gasped. “You would betray me?!”

His brother, Aneirin, said nothing and swiped at him with the blade. But Sam drew his sword to block the strike. They dueled on the edge of the cliff, dancing closer and drawing away. Aneirin was still the superior fighter, but Sam knew that he couldn’t hold back his magic any more. He tried every mind trick in the book, distracting his brother, trying to make him drop the blade, and gradually, their fight moved away from the edge.

“Tell me why!” Sam demanded, putting some magic behind the command.

“You’re wasting your power!” Aneirin shouted. “You could be so much more! But you’ve squandered your strength away, and now you are weak. But I’m stronger.”

“So you push me off and take my place?!”

“We look the same, don’t we?!”

“What of the message of discontent? Of people gathering at the cliffs who are not happy with our reign?”

Aneirin laughed. “Not untrue, is it? I am at the cliffs now, and I am very discontent. You have no idea how much I had to threaten that messenger’s partner to get her to deliver that false message to you.”

Anger surged in Sam’s heart. They fought fiercely, sword swinging wildly as his magic dug into Aneirin’s mind, trying to make him surrender. Against all odds, he still did not want to kill this brother who’d betrayed him.

Their fight reached the edge of the forest, and Aneirin began to lose ground rapidly. Sam sliced through the armor on his arm, and then the armor on his legs, and then the leather covering his chest, leaving long bleeding scratches behind. Aneirin’s eyes widened with fear. His energy was draining. Sam wanted to push him down, to make him collapse. But he would not surrender. Instead of continuing to fight, he used the last of his energy to turn and run.

Sam pursued, but Aneirin lost him. So he was forced to return to his camp. He had a duty to his new kingdom, he couldn’t run into the forest... or into the Wyldwood beyond.

When he returned, he let the whole kingdom know of what his brother had done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aneirin wandered through the forest and into the Wyldwood beyond. There was great danger here. Creatures and living plants that attacked him. But he fought. He grew strong, learning and living off the land. Several times, though, he came close to death. And every time, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to hang on. He would not let Sam win. He would not let his legacy be Sam’s weakness.

But time would claim everyone eventually. Even the trees of the Wyldwood fell on occasion.

No. No no no, he would not die out here. Not unknown, not scorned, not without the position he deserved.

And so, a thought came to him. Magic was plentiful in the Wyldwood. There were fruits that healed wounds, and creatures that lived for many hundreds of years. Magic could keep one alive.

He began to plan. He tried several things, using plants and small animals for things he didn’t want to test on himself. A body would always fail eventually. But what if there was no body? Spirits were said to roam the land. How long could these spirits live? Forever, maybe? But spirits couldn’t do much on their own. He needed form. He needed magic. He needed a perfect vessel, and he needed to last long enough until one came along.

As he delved deeper into this darkness, the plants around his makeshift home began to wither. More creatures tried to attack him, but others ran at the sight of him. The roots of the Wyldwood seemed to rise up and trip him wherever he went.

But he would not be denied.

He would not be denied.

Until, finally, it was time to leave this body behind for his new form.

Aneirin clutched his seax in his hand, staring up at the ceiling of the cabin, glaring as the bitter flower consumed him.

And...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chase gasped and fell to his knees. What had that been? Visions? Knowledge? He’d felt as though he’d been there, as though he’d seen it all.

“Chase?!” Henrik called.

Jameson and Jackie hurried over, helping him to his feet again. Chase waved them away. “I’m fine,” he breathed. “I’m fine.”

The Elder looked at him, their black eyes reflecting his face.

“I... I understand,” Chase said. “The spirit... Aneirin. He did something that defied nature. And you Elders, you’re the guardians of the natural world. That’s why you’ve been involved in trying to stop him.”

“Aneirin?” Marvin asked. “That’s the spirit’s true name?”

Chase nodded. His eyes were still locked on the Elder. “But... What I don’t understand is... W-why me?” He whispered those last words, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I’m a normal man. Any one of these four would be better suited to defeating the spirit, I’m sure. So... why?”

The Elder bowed their head. <Compassion. To reach out to a stranger.>

“H-huh?” Chase blinked. “I... I still don’t... H-how is that... going to help?”

<Reassurance. Belief in your strength.>

“You... trust me?” Chase’s eyes welled with tears. He didn’t know why. “I... I-I... Th-thank you. I... I won’t let you down.”

<Warning. Time is of the essence.>

<Reassurance. Belief in your strength.>

<Hope.>

And then, between one second and the next, the Elder was gone. In their place on the ground was Chase’s Phantom mask. He blinked, confused, then reached up. He’d been wearing it pushed back on his forehead the whole time, but now it was gone. On the ground. So he bent down to pick it up again.

...Something was slightly different. There were markings on it now. Little yellow circles in lines along the left and right edges, and the nose and inside of the ears were filled in with orange. And the antlers... as he tilted the mask back and forth, they glinted, faint golden sparkles catching the sunlight.

Chase looked at the other four. They stared back at him. All of them were speechless.

“What... just happened?” Jackie asked weakly.

“Let’s... let’s get out of this circle of dead earth,” Chase said. “Then I’ll tell you everything I saw.”

[break-between-the-walls]

The sun is setting over the river. Jackie leans back against the railing of the bridge, staring out at it. The south bridge of the city is empty, despite it being around rush hour. There should have been cars and traffic everywhere. But no. It's just him. He can't help but wonder if there's a reason for that.

A set of footsteps ring out. Jackie tenses, and turns to the side... but it's only Magician, not the other person he's waiting for. "You're cutting it a bit close, aren't you?" Jackie says.

"Maybe," Magician says slowly. "I just... wasn't sure if the meeting would still be on. With... everything that happened."

Jackie shrugs. "Who knows? It's worth a shot."

The two of them lean on the railing and look out at the river.

It feels like it's been forever, doesn't it?

[huffle-dork]

Curiosity Killed the Cat: Chapter 13

A Magnificent Encore Chapter 12 | Masterpost | AO3 Link

(AN: I can't believe I'm finally finishing this after 5 years- and one such a momentous fandom day! Did not expect that happen GVJBH but!! It feels so freaking surreal! i hope you guys have enjoyed this journey as much as I have! Look forward to one last chapter! Also parts of this that i wrote literally yesterday have been confirmed for marvin's backstory in the comics so?? I WINNNN!!!)

Marvin was trapped in a dream. Or… more like a memory. Guess this was like dying for real…. His life flashing before his eyes. That thought always scared him but… not now.

He searched through the haze- finding something to latch onto. A memory that reminded him over and over of what he was fighting for. Maybe… it could bring him comfort… one last time.

Even if this now felt like it was a different life…

Marvin was running, glancing behind him as a group of hooded figures gave chase. Blasts of magic tried to grab at him, pulling his tattered cape and clothes. To dodge the blasts he would shift and change into a small white cat, its back mimicking the look of his cape in black blotches of fur. The transitions looked as easy to him as breathing as he skidded and dodged the magic. But his chest burned, he couldn’t keep this up for long.

“Marvin the Magnificent! Stop this instant! You’re under arrest for stolen AIMC goods and using magic against AIMC guidelines!” One of the figures shouted with authority.

Marvin grit his teeth, “You got the wrong guy! I ain’t that asshole! Leave me alone!” ….Guess the splashes of paint he threw on his signature mask weren’t enough to throw them off…

“C’mon Marvin don’t do this!” Another figure pleaded, “We can help you! You don’t have to keep doing this! Running away isn’t gonna fix any of this!”

Marvin’s chest ached. That voice was familiar… a friend. Someone who tried to help him get on his feet after killing Phantom. But, even after joining the circle… he never felt like he could belong. Even though he was magic like them- he was far too different. They could never understand the pain of being a figment.

Of being human, but not at all. Of being solid, being able to live on his own. But constantly feeling like that could be taken away from him at any minute. Of trying to find out who he was, but never fully being able to know. Not unless he fell to the whims of a creator that had done nothing but abandon him in this dark and confusing world.

He could never go back… he’s heard nothing from his so-called creator since his hastily given name. Why go back to someone who doesn’t even care?

And besides… creators, family, friends… they all meant nothing, in the end. His last friend tried to steal his soul, after all.

The books he stole were weighing him down. But he was determined to not get caught. It had been a hard time trying to get out of their sights… he was exhausted, tired, filthy. He hardly even looked like he did when he was first made anymore. His beard was ragged, the green in his hair overgrown and faded.

But still, he was stubborn and determined. He had to get away…

To do… what exactly? He wasn’t sure. He just knew that he couldn’t stay with others. They’d only hurt him in the end… or he’d wind up hurting them.

He allowed himself to screech to a stop, then skid to face the charging magicians. He yelled out and held out both his hands, charging magic and then firing out a wall of blue-green flames to cut them off. The hooded figures all scrambled to stop before hitting the flames. Marvin caught the eye of his former friend, their face pleading under the shadow of their hood.

Marvin bared his teeth ferally, “Marvin the Magnificent doesn’t exist anymore! And if you continue to chase me, I’ll make you disappear too.”

Then, Marvin’s speech gets cut off as he’s suddenly grabbed from behind by his hood, dangling in the air like a kitten caught by its scruff.

“Okay hey now- enough of that!” A light voice seemed to joke, but he also had a type of power behind his charismatic tone.

One of the magicians gasped as they looked at the new figure. “J-Jackieboy Man!”

Marvin’s blood went cold and he paled. He… knew that name. It was one of the other figments Jack made. That- that hero guy. The first one.

Fucking shit! His heart was racing with panic- he didn’t want to be brought back to Jack! He was sure he’d gone way off the path of whatever joke Jack made him for. Going back… what if Jack decided he was too wild to keep around? Too dangerous?

He wouldn’t let himself fade- he wouldn’t become like Phantom!

Acting quickly, Marvin shifted into cat form and wriggled out of the hero’s grip. Jackieboy yelped and tried to grab the cat, only for Marvin to hiss and swat at his face, claws catching flesh. Jackieboy hissed through his teeth and stumbled back.

Marvin trembled back on shaky legs then ran as fast as those little legs could take him. He was bound to outrun the hero being this small!

Jackieboy shouted after him. “Hey wait!”

The shopping center they were running through was almost empty where he left the hero and magicians. But now the disguised figment could hear the roar of the crowd ahead. He surged forward as fast as he could, determined if he could reach them he could lose the hero for good.

But, he knew nothing of what Jack blessed the other figments with. With a burst of speed, Jackie had leaped into the air, then landed in front of Marvin, eyes glowing silver-blue.

The hero wiped at the blood on his face. “…that wasn’t very nice, you know.”

Marvin hissed, the card symbols on his forward glowing with magic. At this sight, Jackie’s eyes widened.

“Wait…! I… I know you- I’ve seen you! You’re… you’re one of us! …Marvin! Marvin, right?” The hero breathed, smiling brightly.

The cat trembled back and then shifted in a bit of light back into his human form. He glared at the hero and bared slightly fanged teeth. “…what of it? You here to turn me in?”

Jackieboy looked confused, “What? No! I mean- unless those magic guys were like… actually trying to arrest you for a crime…”

Marvin looked away, a distant flicker of guilt crossing his face.

The hero’s face fell. “…oh-“ He said quietly. But then he shook his head and tried to step forward, spreading out his hands. “But I mean… hey! We can… we can figure that out! It’s just… no one has heard hide or tail of you! You were all over the telly with your shows and then… you were just gone…”

Marvin looks at Jackieboy with a surprised expression, though he tried to keep himself guarded. … they… noticed that?

Jackie’s face creased in sympathy, “I don’t see Jack much… but I know he’s been worried. And- that means you haven’t even met the others yet! God dude… we’d all would love to meet you… we’ve heard so much about you! I used to watch your shows all the time!”

The magician-turned-thief’s guard lowered as he stared at Jackie in shock. Was… all of that true?

Though… new figments huh? His eyes darkened as he spat. “I see… Jack realized I was a failure and is already setting up replacements, Huh?”

The hero looked even more bewildered. “What?! No way that’s- that isn’t it at all! Dude, you needa take a massive chill pill!”

This made Marvin’s anger even stronger. Magic sparked around him as he growled out. “I can’t afford to ‘take a chill pill’! My life hasn’t been easy like yours, Hero! You have no idea what I’ve fucking been through, what darkness I’ve had to run from. Don’t you dare try to brush it off with your fucking jokes!”

There’s a beat of silence as Jackie just stares at Marvin.

“….damn- you’re like a massive edge lord-“ Jackie deadpans.

Marvin’s magic flickers for a second before coming back stronger. “What?! Did you- did you even listen to what I-?”

“Yeah- and it was like- straight out of the edge lord handbook, dude. Super cringe-“

The magician yells in rage and tries to throw a punch at Jackie. But, the hero just catches it and looks down at Marvin with a raised eyebrow. Marvin huffs and glares at Jackie, but he can easily see how exhausted this guy looks… and how scared.

Jackie laughs nervously and then lets Marvin go, anxiously messing with his hair. “Okay you’re right- not the time for jokes… just thought they’d- I dunno… help to make you a little less intense.”

Marvin’s lip rose in a tiny snarl, glaring daggers at the hero.

The red clad man sighs and rubs his neck. “Look- you’re right. I don’t know what you’ve been through. But… I do know- Jack wouldn’t want you out here… running and struggling to survive. And- I don’t want to see that either- I mean… in my head… all of us are pretty much… brothers, you know? I couldn’t let my lil bro suffer out here.”

Marvin felt his heart flutter, a warm feeling spreading. He tries to hide his surprise at Jackie’s gentleness.

But, the hero continues, attempting to step forward. “Listen man- whatever you’re going through… you don’t have to do it alone. It’s confusing and lonely out there- and… if you come with me- I can take you to see that you aren’t alone… all of us are dealing with being figments too.”

He slowly offered his hand to Marvin.

"Us figments gotta stick together, don't you think?" Jackie grinned down at him, his smile so kind it threatened to blind Marvin.

The magician looked at Jackie’s hand with hesitation. He’d been running for so long… could he actually have a second chance? A chance to try again…?

Eventually with a shaky hand, Marvin took Jackie’s. “…alright… I… I guess I can give it a shot.”

Jackie beamed so brightly he could rival the sun.

He quickly took the magician to meet the others. Their brothers, he told Marvin excitedly. Marvin frowned at the thought. He… never thought he could ever really have a family.

Though he wasn’t holding his breath- knowing Jack these guys could all be complete fucking weirdos.

And that was his first impression as he took in the ragtag group of Jack look-a likes, mingling around a cabin at the edge of the city’s limits.

Marvin’s eyes wandered to the sight of a yellow-green haired dude in a jinx hat, whooping and hollering as he managed to shoot a nerf dart into an open box of Lyons tea. He winced as he saw the man dab. …okay-

On the couch was a teal-haired man who looked like he stepped straight out of a silent movie, preened mustache and all. Oh- of course he was also looking at a pocket watch, checking the time. He looked up at Marvin’s arrival and cocked his head silently but waved exaggeratedly at the sight of Jackie behind him.

And in the corner at a desk was a man in a white doctor’s coat and mint green scrubs. His light green hair hung over his glasses as he studied a book, mumbling to himself in German.

…yup- bunch of fucking weirdos.

“Hey nerds!” Jackie called out, shocking Marvin out of his thoughts as the hero pressed the shorter ego tight to his side. “Look who I found! Marvin!!”

Jackie turned to Marvin and then gestured out, “Marvin! These are the Septic egos! That’s what Jack calls us instead of figments- cuz we’re like, alter-egos in a way! Cool, huh?”

Three pairs of identical colored eyes all look up at him and Marvin feels his insides squirming. He must look so rough- so different to how they pictured him. How Jack pictured him…

He waved nervously, attempting a smile. But, it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The figment in the ball cap bounded up to Marvin with sparkling eyes and explosive energy right away. “Oh no way! Suh dude!! Super awesome to meet ya!” He pointed to himself with his thumb, “I’m Chase! Chase Brody! Though~ you might know me better from my YouTube channel, Bro Average!”

Marvin staggered back, overwhelmed by the energy. He blinked at Chase, “uh… n-no sorry… I uh…. haven’t had much of a chance to… browse the web lately.”

For a second, the bright ego’s expression seemed to fall. But it just as quickly lit back up as he laughed. “Not a problem, bro! Maybe sometime I can catch ya up! Over a good cup of Lyons~!”

The magician pondered this and then felt a reaction to the thought of tea. Something he hadn’t really thought of. “…mint.” He looked back at Chase and smiled shyly. “…I like uh… mint tea… so maybe over a cup of that…?”

Chase made a face close to a grimace. “Mint??” Marvin wanted to shrink back in shame. But then the youtuber chuckled and shrugged. “Hey, not my cuppa! But like- we can hang over whoever type of tea you want, my dude!” He grinned mischievously, “Hell, I can show you allll the pics I got of my kids!”

Marvin’s eyebrows rose. “…you’re a dad?”

“That’s- complicated,” Jackie coughed close to Marvin. He patted Chase on the shoulder quickly and tried to distract the younger ego. “Yo Chase, bet you can’t make a trickshot into that trash can!”

The father’s eyes lit up at the challenge. “Oh fuck yeah dude! you’re on!”

He quickly busies himself grabbing supplies and a camera to film his attempt.

Jackie gathers Marvin up lightly and whispers. “I’ll uh… catch you up on that. Sensitive subject.”

He leads Marvin over to the doctor. The light hit his glasses just right as he turned to set the book down and studied the new ego quietly. He then nods, “Ah yes- you are the uh… magic one. Do not expect me to believe any of that shit, okay?”

Marvin bristled like an angry cat. “What?”

The doctor smirked and pushed up his glasses, sitting taller and more refined. “I am a man of science, Mr. Kätzchen. So, your little voodoo shite will not work on zhe good doctor, Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestien, ja?”

The magician growled and looked ready to jump the doctor. Jackie quickly grabbed Marvin underneath his arms and scooped him up like he weighed nothing. He laughed nervously and carted Marvin away, “Okay! No more of that! Bye Schneep, love you!”

The doctor rolled his eyes and went back to his book and mumbled, chewing on his pen cap.

Marvin is plopped down in front of the last ego, the mustached gentleman. The small magician glared at Jackie, then turned to face the teal-haired ego.

He smiled brightly at Marvin and tipped his hat. Then a screen flickered into view in front of him, showing words like an old-timey silent film still. Marvin blinked in surprise. This one had magic too?

The screen read. “Hello, good chap! I’m Jameson Jackson! Ever so glad to make your acquaintance!”

Marvin found himself smiling, “Hey… that’s a pretty cool spell…” He then sits down on the couch next to Jameson and took off his hood. ”… think you can show me how you did it?” He smiled shyly at the other ego. But, Jameson’s smile could light up the whole room as he eagerly nodded.

And soon… Marvin became one of them. He found his brothers- and finally had people who could truly understand him.

Marvin felt himself relax as the memory faded. He let the darkness take him… he knew his brothers were safe now. They could figure out the rest without him…

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

The boys all watch in stunned disbelief as Marvin falls.

Jameson acts quick and throws out a hand, desperately mouthing, “NO!”

A wash of teal races across the room, freezing everything as if it was paused. The heart monitor stops, the zipping electricity of the broken computer stops mid arc, the doll that tumbled out of Marvin’s hand stops mid motion, core still lit with his magic.

The boys all rush in- not frozen by Jamie’s spell. Jackie crashes to Marvin’s side and picks him up. “No! No nono no! Marvin! C’mon Marvin t-this isn’t funny! Fuck! what did you do?!”

Marvin lays limp in Jackie’s arms, eyes milky and unseeing. His open mouth leaks black smoke like a dying campfire. His limbs are caught halfway in the act of disappearing, looking see through.

“H-He’s…!” Schneep whispers in fear.

“Fading.” Anti answers gravelly, trying to push himself up using the wall.

“What does that mean?! D-Does that mean he’s dying- he’s dead?!” Chase cries out in panic, “ A-Are we next? Is it too late?”

“I-I do not know…!” Henrik whimpers.

Jackie curls up over his baby brother and watches his tears fall on his slack face. He holds him tight, his body trembling. “I’m so sorry Marvin… I-I should’ve been there for you sooner…!” He hangs his head over him and breaks down.

Then, there’s a cough that interrupts their sorrows.

Anti had managed to glitch across the room and leans against Jack’s bed. He tiredly glares at the others. “...w-whatever Jameson just cast… it paused what Kit kat did… so he’s not gone yet.”

They all look to Jameson in slight disbelief and JJ looks confused as he nods to Anti.

Anti rolls his eyes and gestures at the gentleman. “... you still have that watch, don’t ya? … I think you know what to do.”

Jameson’s eyes widen and he fumbles into his pocket to fish out his pocket watch. He touches it lightly and then clicks it open. He feels the pulse of magic within its gears- and a power he hardly remembered he had comes flooding back to him. He looks at the others excitedly and hops a bit before starting to turn the pin back. As he does, his eyes flood with teal power.

And- the room starts to move in reverse.

The heart monitor beeps backwards, the doll rolls back into Marvin’s hands- the magician himself slumps back up- out of Jackie’s arms. The hero backs away in confusion and the others move to as to not impede the magician.

They see the life force spell work in reverse, hear him seemingly talking to himself, though they can’t understand what he’s saying. They watch as he rises from the ground and crawls backwards, away from Jack’s bed after reaching for it desperately.

It seems like Jamie is trying to reverse as much as he can- but he can’t reverse far enough to undo the livestream spell- or even stop Marvin’s corruption. The teal light flickers and then dies down right as Marvin hangs his head hopelessly, mumbling something to himself. Jameson suddenly looks white as a sheet as he pitches backwards, eyes rolling up in the back of his head.

The stopwatch’s pin clicks back into place on its own, restarting the flow of time.

The others can understand Marvin again- hear him whispering. “...i-i’m so sorry… Jackie… j-Jamie… Hen… C-chase… i… I never wanted to hurt you… I… I just wanted to keep us safe…”

He’s startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Jamie falling and his head snaps up, flicking a glowing hand out to stop Jameson before he falls completely to the ground.

“J-Jamie?!” Marvin whispers in disbelief. He then takes in the others and his jaw drops. “Y-You guys?! How did you…? How did you get here?!”

The quiet sound of glitches sounds off behind them- Anti disappearing back into Jack’s head before Marvin notices him.

Chase smiles with tears in his eyes, laughing quietly. “I don’t think you’d believe us bro…!”

Jackie looks ready to tackle Marvin, looking relieved. “We’re just so glad you’re okay-!” The hero says, opening up his arms.

Marvin startles back and seems to trip over himself, lightly dropping Jamie to the floor and out of his magic as he holds out a hand towards Jackie. “N-No! D-don’t come near me..!”

He’s met with confused faces and Marvin swallows shakily as he tries to explain. “S-Something bad is happening…! I-Inside me- something is trying to t-take my body and I… I don’t want it to hurt you…!”

“The black magic inside you… right?” Henrik asks quietly.

Marvin looks surprised and almost dumbfounded. “Uh… y-yeah… I think so? H-How did you…?”

A hand grabs onto his pant leg and Marvin panics for a second before realizing its… it’s Jameson.

The gentleman pushes himself up but it looks like he’s hardly holding on. Still, he shakily pulls something out of his vest and hands it to Marvin. It’s an ornate blue hand mirror… so delicate it looks like it’s made of ice.

Marvin takes it with knit eyebrows, studying the surface. “Jays… what is this?”

Jameson smiles and shakily signs to Marvin, “Dark, trap.” He then gently touches over his heart.

Marvin looks more confused but looks back to study the mirror. Did… Jamie find a way to trap all this dark magic…? It… it was worth a shot, wasn’t it?

The magician breathes in and then tries to touch the mirror's surface. But- then his other hand lashes out and grabs his wrist, dropping the mirror.

Marvin’s eyes flare purple as a darker version of his voice snarls through his lips. “ℕ𝕠! 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤! 𝕎𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞!” Blue flickers back in his irises and Marvin panics, trying to fight back for control. “N-No stop it! I…I don’t want this power anymore…! I-I want to be good…!”

He looks back at the others desperately- but Jamie redirects his attention and smiles warmly, signing, “Your light is strong Marvin, you are good! Just believe in it, like we all believe in you!” The other boys cheer and smile, agreeing with Jamie.

Magic still flickers in Marvin’s eyes, tears threatening to cloud his vision. But, he tries to hold onto Jamie’s advice… imagining the light within him.

The voice seems to shriek as Marvin pushes back some of its control- just enough to grab the mirror again and touch the surface, finding the runes of the spell. He acts quickly, reciting it as fast as he can.

Each word he stumbles over makes him wince, white light cracking in the purple veins on his skin. Still he keeps going- even though it hurts. The purple magic seems fo be bubbling up to the surface, pushed out by the light. As Marvin recites the last word of power, he suddenly screams, his arms falling back as something seems to burst from his chest. No actually- it’s like the dark magic is peeling off of him- and slowly… it seems to make a perfect copy of the magician, one made of pulsing black and purple shadow with piercing purple eyes.

Marvin almost collapses into the ground, gasping. He looks more like himself again- though his hair is still long and brown, matching the dark copy. As he looks down at himself he realizes… he’s not in the clothes he was just wearing- no the copy has those. He’s in… the outfit he was born in. His canon outfit. It’s been so long since he’s seen it but… it brings him a sense of comfort, even if it's just for a moment. His eyes shine with that familiar bright blue, an echo of Jack. Though the corruption still marks his skin like scars, they look far more faint now. He threatens to sway but Jameson catches him and keeps him steady. The pale magician looks up at the shadowy figure and feels his stomach drop. “T-That was inside me??”

The shadow bares its teeth at Marvin. “ℕ𝕠, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕟! 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦.”

“Bullshit!” Jackie spits at the copy, eyes flaring with blue silver magic.

The copy chuckles and addresses the red clad man, cocking its head with a smooth motion. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜, 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕠. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕗𝕦𝕝, 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕚𝕣~!”

Chase has to hold back Jackie from lunging at the shadow.

It laughs and shakes his head, spreading out its hands. “𝔸𝕤 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘- 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖.” It hums and snaps, bringing something out of Marvin’s pocket that shoots into his hand. A book with a cover blacker than black with purple trim.

“…𝕀 𝕘𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕒𝕪… 𝕀’𝕞 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪~!”

“Well… curiosity killed the cat-“ Henrik mutters.

“ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟’𝕥~!” The shadow laughs, turning back to Marvin. It lifts up its hand and Marvin is brought up in a bubble of purple magic, clawing at his neck like he can’t breathe.

The others all jump to their feet- trying to figure out how to help. But as Jackie tries to charge at the shadow, he’s suddenly blown back by a giant arc of purple electricity. He slides across the floor, dazed, things in his backpack flying across the floor. He groggily sees the white of Marvin’s old mask in front of him.

Phantom’s words echo in his head: “You know… there’s one thing I know about light magic… why you heroes and goody-two-shoes always best us in the end.” “...it’s your ability to be positive. To believe in each other. To have things and memories that… keep the darkness away. ...perhaps that can help you.”

Jackie looks to make sure the shadow isn’t looking before taking the mask and studying it. He narrows his eyes and then turns it over, finding a message written in blue ink.

It’s… some kind of spell. A couple runes follow after the message of “For the grey days.”

Grey days… Jackie remembers Marvin would often have days where his confidence was shot, the days he needed kind words and encouragement. He called them grey days. He used to rub the inside of his mask when he was anxious, saying it had its own kind of magic in it.

Jackie knows he’s no magician… he barely understands how his powers work, let alone Marvin’s. But, this mask was from when he was first born… maybe-

He copies the gesture he’s seen Marvin do a thousand times- and the runes on the mask glow a light blue.

Jackie’s eyes snap back to his brother squirming in the shadow’s grip.

The shadow laughs cruelly, increasing the pressure. The book it stole back hovers next to it in a purple glow, staying close to its side. “𝕀’𝕞 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟- 𝕓𝕪 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤- 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝����𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙! 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖!”

Marvin chokes on a sob, his eyes threatening to get taken over by purple again. The shadow pushes into his face, grinning wolfishly as it whispers. “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦… 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦…! 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥-!”

“You’re wrong!” Jackie shouts, using his power to send out a blast with his voice, monetarily throwing off the shadow as it loosens some of its grip on Marvin. Marvin looks back at Jackie with tears running down his face, looking lost.

“You say he doesn’t know who he is? Well I know!” Jackie says proudly, “He’s a big cry baby! He cries at Disney movies! He’s spent so much of his life afraid and scared but… he has come out better- despite everything he’s been through!” Jackie looks and meets Marvin’s eyes, pride beaming up within him as he smiles softly.``…he’s my baby brother… and I love him.”

Marvin sniffles, his eyes filling with more tears as his lip quivers. The shadow seems to roll its eyes at Jackie,“…𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕠𝕣?”

The hero does seem to hesitate for a second- just enough to look back down at the mask he’s holding. His eyes widen slightly as he sees red energy blooming on the white surface. He then grins and looks smugly back at the shadow.

“You know, for a copy of Marvin- you are forgetting a very powerful magic we all have!”

The shadow looks confused, raising an eyebrow as its eyes display a quiet bit of hunger.

The hero beams, bright as a sun as he shouts, “The power of PMA! Nothing can keep us all down- because we have each other! And I believe in Marvin’s ability to kick your sorry shadow-y ass!”

The mask glows more, and Jackie looks to the other egos, sharing a look that says ‘follow my lead and trust me.’ He holds up the mask, making sure to flash the energy growing on it. Slowly, they all smile and nod.

The copy bares its teeth in anger and shoots out magic towards the hero, a tendril of dark magic lashing out… and then spearing Jackie straight through the stomach.

“NO!” Marvin screams, trying to get out of the shadow’s grasp better, clawing at its magic.

“𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙, 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕪. 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕞- 𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗~!” It laughs cruelly, squeezing Marvin’s throat tighter.

Jackie halts his momentum using his feet to skid against the floor. He wheezes in pain and coughs up some blood, but he smiles. Even as dark veins start to crawl up where the magic hit. He looks up with blue glowing eyes as he smirks. “You won’t kill us- you need M-Marvin alive…!”

“𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕖- 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕪-!” The shadow smirks knowingly, “I𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜. 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 ℙ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕞! 𝔸𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 ‘𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕖’ 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜. 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝… 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤- 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜~”

The copy looks over to Chase and seems to smirk, making the father shiver, the scar on his temple aching.

“W-What?!” Henrik gasps out, looking at the shadow with wide eyes. “What do you mean we can just… die? Die and… and reform??”

“Yeah what are we, Crystal gems?” Chase mutters.

The shadow looks confused and throws back its head and laughs. “𝕆𝕙𝕙𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟’𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕕𝕖! ℍ𝕒 𝕙𝕒! 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕕𝕠𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣, 𝕊𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕡! 𝔸𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖… 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

Henrik pales, a look of confusion and uncertainty crashing against his mind.

“𝔽𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕪…” The shadow continues, “𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

Marvin clenches his eyes shut, “I… I didn’t like t-thinking about it…! I just- I did everything to make sure they never would!” The magician admits through tears.

“𝕄𝕙𝕞… 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕡! ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝!” The shadow explains with a showman-like flare, much like how Marvin would address his crowds.

It then clenches its fist and the tendril still in Jackie rips upwards, making the hero scream in pain and get lifted off his feet.

“𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝𝕪~! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣!” The dark copy giggles, eyes bright with madness.

Jackie’s body ripples and for a second seems to flicker, like he could fade out of existence. But Jackie grits his teeth with determination. He shakes as he grips onto the tendril and Marvin’s old mask. His vision blurs. He needs to act fast…

He pushes down the dread pooling in his stomach, his fear. He believes in Marvin… He throws the mask towards Chase, “Chase! Catch!”

Chase startles and fumbles to catch it but just manages to. He looks at it with wide eyes.

Jackie smiles and then slumps in the tendrils hold, breathing heavily and raggedly as branches of corruption eat up his skin. Then, the hero falls very very still.

The shadow whips to look at the mask flying in confusion. “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥?!” Its eyes land on Chase then it thrusts out a hand to hover a tendril just against his neck. Ready to pierce it. It narrows its eyes as it growls. “ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕪.”

Chase looks terrified- but then he sees the brave body of Jackie… and similar determination flares in his eyes. He stands tall, gripping the mask as he shouts out. “I-I’m not afraid to die!” He then hesitates and adds on.

“…no actually I… I am afraid of dying now…” He laughs quietly with a distant look in his eyes. Funny…. He never thought he could think something like that.

“because I…. I have something to live for again! Because… because of… of my brothers.”

He looks to meet Marvin’s eyes as the older brother looks at him with fear and concern. He tries to shake his head at him, encouraging him to stop this. But Chase just smiles.

“…and especially cuz of Marv. He… he helps me to be a better dad… he cares for my kids, he helped me to find my confidence again. He… he makes me want to keep trying, to keep living.”

A tear falls down the father’s face but he laughs at the shadow as the mask starts to branch more with light, orange joining red. “And now… I know I can come back! So… do your fucking worse, ya cheap knockoff! I’m not letting you take my big bro away from us!”

Marvin chokes on a sob, trying to reach out for Chase. Just as the shadow growls and whips the tendril to spear itself higher, through the side of Chase’s head. Chase doesn’t even get a chance to scream- his body immediately falling limp and hanging grotesquely in the tendril’s hold, dangling like Jackie’s. His head lolls lifelessly back, staring wide eyed and blankly at the ceiling. The magic eats away at him like rot.

The mask slips from Chase’s fingers and falls to the ground dully. Schneep hesitates, looking beyond terrified. But he sees a flick of black magic and he quickly crashes to the ground to swipe it before the shadow can grab it. The copy screams in frustration, acting already in anger and spearing into Henrik like the others, straight into his chest.

“NO NO STOP IT!!” Marvin screams, thrashing in the shadow’s grip. “I-I’m not worth this! STOP!”

Then, Henrik seems to laugh as he coughs up what looks like black sludge. He stubbornly has managed to hold onto the mask, even as his hand shakes. He claws to grip at the magic better, trying to stay awake. The magic burns, making it hard to think. He looks scared as he gazes back at Marvin but he also smiles warmly, despite the dark veins crawling scarily fast across his skin.

“Shut up, Marvin… e-even if you and I have not gotten along before… even if I do not get your magic and you do not get my science…! You are… so passionate and determined and…”

He shuts his eyes as the words struggle to come, a wave of pain rushing over him. But he then opens tearful eyes to meet Marvin’s as he chuckles quietly. “I… I want to share that… I want to study and learn with you…! I want to understand my big brother better!” His eyes flare with determination as he grips tighter onto the mask, greenish white light joining the red and orange. “So… y-you must live, Marvin…! You have to win!”

For some reason, whenever the Septics start to talk to Marvin, the shadow also seems to freeze, held in whatever power this is. Much to its anger. The second Henrik stops, it rips another tendril messily through his neck and throws him down, growling darkly. “𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕤! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!” But it almost sounded… afraid, under all that anger.

The mask flies out of Henrik’s limp hand as he crumbles to the ground, blood pooling around him as he struggles to take in any full breaths, faint gurgling bubbling from his throat. Then… his gaze turns cloudy and unseeing, his chest no longer rising.

The mask spins and then manages to hit Jameson’s foot, the youngest septic looking at his defeated brothers in horror.

The shadow sees this and then throws its head back to laugh. “𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖! 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕦𝕥𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕖?”

A tendril comes out and wraps around Marvin’s teary eyes, blocking off his view. Marvin whimpers and shakes, muttering out apologizes… to Jamie, to the others.

Jameson’s eyes glow teal with anger at the shadow’s taunts. He picks up the mask and stands tall, despite his fatigue. If this was to be his last stand, he’d give it everything he’s got.

There’s an almost painful spear of foreign magic in Marvin’s head- that gets echoed in the shadow’s as it shouts out in pain. Jameson’s voice is clear in their heads- just like when he broke through to Marvin during the livestream.

“Marvin, you are brave and you are strong… even though you have felt so lost for so long- you never stopped trying. Despite our lack of direction from Jack… you haven’t stopped trying to write your own story.

No one else knows how sad our stories will be. I don’t want this to become another tragedy! So, let’s rewrite this dark tale, and become more than we were forced to be, Marvin! We are by your side… and always will be.

You have not, and will never be, alone.”

Marvin sobs loudly, a mix of being overwhelmingly touched and heart-broken. Because he knows now what’ll happen next. “No… p-please…!”

Teal light joins the other colors, creating an intricate beautiful pattern across the white mask, imitating celtic knots. Jameson’s eyes widened and he smiled wide, ready to try to throw it to Marvin.

As soon as he lifted up his hand, the tendril came and speared through Jameson’s heart. He choked and the mask fell, clattering to the floor. The black magic made quick work of the tiny ego, the darkness rushing to consume him before he could even take another ragged breath. Then, the gentleman fell, limp like a puppet without its strings. The shadow made sure Marvin could see it all happen, dropping the tendril that blinded him.

Marvin felt frozen, his breath stolen as he takes in the destroyed bodies of his brothers, some of them looking like they were starting to disappear. But, instead of hopelessness… righteous fury burned hot in his chest, spreading throughout his whole body. He could hardly hear the shadow as it tried to taunt him, break him down even more. His brothers’ voices rang louder and truer in his head now, strong and solid against the whispered corruption.

Summoning any magic he could possibly have left, Marvin shot out a hand and in a quick burst of telekinesis, grabbed the glowing mask. It flew by too fast for the copy to stop and Marvin caught it expertly in his outstretched hand.

A burst of light rocketed out of him as he caught it, blasting the shadow apart. But only for a moment as it reformed a few meters back. Any tendrils still stuck in the boys burst into shards, dropping their bodies into still heaps. It growled angrily and glared at the forming sun spot that was his host. “𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝?!”

Marvin slowly looked at his body as it glowed brightly and then at the mask. He followed his usual gesture against the back and smiled, feeling that positive energy fueling him even more. When he looked up at the shadow, he looked confident, as the light that danced on the mask's surface marbled in his eyes alongside his strong green-blue magic.

Then, two fiery wings of light unfurled from his back, power radiating from him like…

Like a Phoenix.

But his wings, shimmering brightly with light, aren’t the color you’d normally associate with the mythical bird. No, they burn with flickers of green and blue fire.

The shadow for a second actually seems scared, scrambling back. He tried to redirect his magic to find the book- maybe he can get another boost to combat this-! But, his magic doesn’t respond.

Because the book is stuck floating in a teal bubble of magic. Jameson’s last stand.

The dark copy screams in rage, purple electricity radiating off him in dangerous arcs.

But, Marvin steps forward, anger burning in his eyes. Light branches from his footsteps as he walks, covering up parts of the room that was charred by corruption. And white glowing tears are falling down his face, despite his furious expression.

The tears seem to float in the air after him, some lingering like stardust, some hovering then darting to sink into the bodies of the fallen septics. Their wounds fill with light, then start to close. They start to become solid again. They start to breathe.

“All this time… you tried to make me feel like I was alone.” Marvin spoke quietly, but his voice echoed almost ethereally. “That no one cared for me, that my creator had abandoned me, that I was doomed to keep running forever…

You made me think I was forging my own path! That I was rewriting my story… but no- I just fell into more fucking puppet strings! From one puppet master to another…”

He grips the mask at his side and grits his teeth. “You made me forget that I had my family! That I had people who could help me! Because you know deep down… that’s a magic that you can’t possibly control.”

The shadow trembles back, “𝕋-𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤! 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥- 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤- 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤! 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘-!”

“They mean everything!” Marvin yells, wings flaring out. “I would still be lost and scared, convinced I was a killer until Jackie found me! Convinced I could never be enough… for Jack, for myself… for… anyone. Until they all took me in… and showed me what love actually feels like.

Though I guess… you can’t feel that can you?” He sneers down at the trembling mass of darkness.

The shadow glares at Marvin and then chuckles darkly. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨. 𝕀’𝕞 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦- 𝕀’𝕞 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝. 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥.”

Marvin’s expression softens slightly, almost turning empathetic. “…you said you were my darkness, right? …as much as I want to deny you- to forget you exist… I can’t. You’re right, you’re a part of me.”

He glances down at the floor, catching a glimpse of the mirror. An idea sparked in his head.

The Phoenix ego glared at the shadow as he adjusted the glowing mask to sit on his face. The flames on his wings glowed with his brothers’ colors.

“But that part of me… isn’t who I want to be anymore. I… I don’t want to rely on anger and despair anymore! And I’m sick of things like you trying to tell me who I am!”

Without even flicking his hand, the mirror flew up into his palm where he gripped it right.

He stepped forward again and the shadow trembled back.

“I’m sick of Jack, sick of the fandom, sick of fucking puppet masters trying to make me something I’m not! I’m going to figure that out on my own… from the ashes of all the shit you’ve put me through!”

“𝕄-𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕔’𝕞𝕠𝕟!” The shadow tries to plead, nervously smiling. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥-“

“I never needed you! I never wanted you! All this time! No one has given a fucking damn about what I want! How I wanted to do things! Who I want to be!”

His eyes filled completely with rainbow light as he stood proud and tall, the mirror vibrating with power at his side.

“I’m fucking Marvin the Magnificent! I’m my own fucking person- and you-!”

He holds out the mirror, showing the dark copy his own terrified reflection.

“You are nothing more than a reflection of something I will never be!”

He channeled magic into the mirror and it shot off a beam of hot burning light. The shadow shouted out and turned into a wisp to dodge before reforming shakily.

Marvin shouts in rage and blasts out bright magic fire at the creature. It hisses and screeches in pain as the magic singes it, carving holes in its form like acid burning through wood.

The shadow seems weaker, focusing on the searing pain in its body. It doesn’t see the flaming form barrel into it and slam it into the floor. Marvin growls as he pushes the mirror against the shadow. They struggle- parts of the shadow’s body being pulled towards the mirror.

Then, with a feral scream and a burst of magic, a ring of white overtaking a weak purple ring- the two figures are blasted apart.

The mirror drops with a tinny ring as it hits the ground. A black shadowy figure pounds against the glass inside- but no one can hear its screams.

The septics all start to rise, blinking out in confusion to the lingering magic in the air, floating and falling like ethereal fireflies.

Chase panics and touches where his wounds were then sighs in relief, slumping to the floor in an almost comical way.

Jameson pushes himself up, expecting to still feel weak but- he feels… fine? Great, even! He looks to see if that damned book was still trapped- and then gasps at seeing it on the ground as bright magic fire lapped at its contents.

Henrik is looking down at his body in marveled awe, shakily touching a hand to the faint scars around his neck.

Jackie recovers and shakes out his confusion, gripping over his chest as he confirms he’s okay. Only to pale as he sees the other side of the room.

“Marvin!”

The final blast had shot Marvin back. His body left skid marks on the floor- the path of his wings marked on the ground. The only evidence they were ever there. The light on his white mask pulses softly then fades altogether.

But the passed out magician looks… peaceful. Despite his still beaten and black-magic-scarred body. Next to his limp hand- by some miracle… is Jack’s doll.

———

Marvin opens his eyes to see he’s… not in the waking world. That’s really the only way to describe this feeling. It felt like… something in the mind, like when you’re concentrating on a thought and trying to visualize it. He seemed to be floating in a void of constantly shifting colors. But one color was more consistent than the others- veining, pulsing cracks of purple. Marvin winced at the sight.

“…alright- love how things just keep getting weirder-“ The magician mumbles to himself.

Then, Marvin’s ears twitched a bit as he sensed another presence near him. He blinked, then turned to look behind him.

And saw… Jack. Smiling warmly at him. The creator waved.

“… Hi, Marvin.”

Marvin didn’t know why tears were almost immediately in his eyes. Why he surged forward, why he wrapped his arms around the other brunette, why he dug his face in his shoulder, clutched at the back of his shirt and started crying like a baby.

“J-Jack…! Jack I- I-I…!” He choked on a sob and gasped desperate breaths before breaking down, howling. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry- I’m so fucking sorry!!!”

“Hey…” The creator’s voice is gentle. “It’s okay… it’s all gonna be okay….”

Marvin shifts to hide his face more, biting out, “But I…! I helped to put you in a fucking coma….! I hurt you- I tried to hurt the others…! I…!”

He then pushes himself away from the youtuber and goes to hold his arms against him, trembling. He looks down at his scarred hands and then clenches them with a choked whimper. He meets Jack’s eyes and shakes his head slowly.

“Jack I… I’m dangerous…”

Jack tilts his head. “So is Anti. And Jackie- and hell any of the others could be too. Have you seen Jameson with a knife? Kid could be fucking brutal.”

Marvin shakes his head more, insisting. “Jack, I almost killed you! I… I’m too unstable I- I’m not sure if…” He looks down and then clenches his arm, biting back more tears.

“… I’m not getting rid of you, Marvin.” Jack quietly reassured. “ ‘fraid you’re stuck with all of us.” He tries to laugh, desperately trying to lighten the mood.

It doesn’t work on Marvin. He can’t look back at Jack as he mutters. “…you never meant to make me… all I’ve done is caused problems…”

“That’s not true,” Jack presses, trying to bridge the gap between them. “To be honest… a lot of you I didn’t mean to make! It just… happened.” He then smiles brightly, looking like the sun. Guess that’s where Jackie gets it from. “But…. Believe me, I wouldn’t change any of that. I’m glad I made you all. And I love you, just as much as I love the others.”

Marvin hesitates then looks back up to catch Jack’s smile. It’s… infectious, and Marvin can’t help but try to smile weakly back.

But it very quickly falls as Marvin mutters.

“…I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“I know you didn’t, Marvin.”

“I didn’t want to drag the others into this…! I just… I wanted them to be safe-“

“…I know.” For a second, Jack seemed to look… almost guilty. Like that was his fault.

Marvin shuts his eyes then cries out, “then why!? If you know this about me- why did any of this happen? Shouldn’t you have been able to stop it? Rewrite things?? Why did Anti target me? Why did this magic consume me? Why am I so easily changeable?”

For once, Jack is quiet. He seems to be thinking of how to respond as Marvin pants to catch his breath.

Finally, Jack speaks up.

“…because I’m not like Anti. Or the people who hurt you. I don’t want to control you… I want you to still figure out who you are, without needing me.”

Marvin’s eyes widened. Jack met his with steely determination.

“… me and Anti. We are connected- but we are not the same. Two sides of the same coin… but that means- I’m not a puppet master, like he is.

And this isn’t all me… sometimes the fans are just- curious. But… that doesn’t mean you can’t make your own choices. Before all this… you kept letting others decide for you. And even if it’s true that I didn’t put much thought in you at first… you have so much potential, Marvin. And I can’t wait to see where your story takes you. Eventually, I might have a hand in it again… but until then, it seems like you have a lot you gotta learn about yourself, Phoenix guy.” Jack smirked.

“But- when the story does continue- believe me, it’s gonna be one hell of a collab!”

Marvin slowly started to smile, finally feeling warmth bloom back in his chest.

He sighs and then looks at the purple magic around them. He looks down in his hand- and seems to find that doll again. He looks back up to Jack with glowing eyes, smiling with determination.

“You know what? … I think I actually like the sound of that. Let’s get you the hell out of here!”

Marvin then closed his eyes and curled both his hands around the doll. His body started to glow with blue-green magic, white stardust shimmering inside it as well. That same light started to bloom on the purple veins, eating up the magic and making it disappear.

Jack laughed in disbelief as he watched. The egos would always amaze him in ways he never even expected…

For a second- everything seems alright- it seems like Jack could actually wake up as all the purple fades completely.

But then, Marvin shouts out and curls up in pain, gripping at either side of his head.

Jack lashed out, trying to reach him. “Marvin! What’s wrong?”

Marvin looked back up to Jack with glowing green eyes, his sclera black, just as the void around them turned dark and started to glitch.

Familiar terrifying laughter echoed around the space as the veins Marvin just destroyed bloomed back, but this time pulsing with sickly green light.

“F-Fucking ANTI!!” Marvin screamed, digging fingers into his scalp. He meets Jack’s eyes with desperation, “I… I undid my spell! But it seems like he- he took it over…!”

But, Jack doesn’t seem surprised by this. He smiles sadly.

“Yeah… I guess that figures.”

Marvin shouts as his body starts to glitch and then flickers in and out like he could disappear.

He reaches a hand back out towards Jack, sobbing out. Something is pulling him back from reaching him, even as he fights desperately to get back to him. “Jack! I… I promise! We’ll find a way to save you…!”

Jack smiles a bit more and nods.

“…I know you will.” His voice echoed, a slight finality in it that left Marvin’s chest aching.

Then, the space floods with darkness, growing like ink overtaking water as glitching laughter continues to echo in their ears. Swallowing the light completely.

——

Marvin’s eyelids fluttered. He groaned lightly and then blearily looked out. He saw four very concerned faces leaning over him. But the sight of them filled his whole body with relief.

The magician sunk more against Jackie, who had him propped up on his knee. “Y…you guys are s..safe…” he quietly slurred.

Jackie smiled. “Yeah… all thanks to you, baby bro.”

“Dude! That must have been one hell of a fight!” Chase exclaimed excitedly, his eyes practically sparkling. “The marks on the floor made it look like you had like- fucking wings or something!”

Marvin chuckled weakly. “I uh… I did, actually.”

“No fucking way??!!”

The others laughed at Chase’s reaction.

“…you must be very tired, Bruderherz,” Schneep commented gently. “We should probably get you checked at the hospital…”

Jameson nodded and added in sign, “yes! Magic exhaustion is no joke!”

Marvin nodded absentmindedly, turning his head to look towards the other side of the room. Where Jack lay sleeping.

The room fell quiet for a couple painful beats.

“…do you think Jack will wake up…? Now that all of this is over?” Chase asked quietly.

Marvin closed his eyes with a grimace and then slowly shook his head. “No… I… I had a vision. Anti found a way to keep him asleep…”

The sadness that bloomed in the air was thick enough to feel as it weighed down on the 5 boys.

But, Marvin shuffled to weakly sit up better and then held out a hand. His eyes glowed with passion and a bit of magic. “But… I know we can all find some way to wake him… together.”

Jackie’s eyes shined as he grinned and clasped Marvin’s hand with his own. “Hell yeah!”

Chase was quick to join his hand with theirs. Henrik rolled his eyes with a smile but soon joined as well. Jameson bounced slightly before placing his hand on top.

Marvin smiled. As long as they stuck together… they could take on anything.

The clasping of hands soon turned itself into a dog pile on top of Marvin, multiple pairs of arms hugging him softly where they could reach. Marvin tried to hold back tears but then slowly and quietly broke down, letting himself be weak. He didn’t feel scared anymore, he felt nothing but bone aching relief. He was with his family again… that was all that mattered.

[ardenwritesegos]

The Entity Comes Out to Play

Intro

Every once in a while, the entity gets antsy. It has, after all, been confined to a single manor for centuries. A spell ensured the epicenter of it could never fully escape. It didn't, however, prevent the thing from spreading its madness to the outside world. That much was proven over 100 years ago. But we don’t need to get into the details now. What’s the fun in giving everything away? No, the readers want to see the good stuff; to see the pain, whether it be physical or emotional. And it so happens that the entity can do just that. Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started. And who better to start with than a certain guilty engineer.

Chapter 1

It was just another night of work for engineer mark. The googles needed yet another addition to their devices, forcing him–at least, in his eyes–to pull another all-nighter. Chase tried his very best to get him away from his desk, but nothing would do it. Sometimes, not even the threat of carrying him to bed would sway Gin’s stubbornness. The desk was strewn with blueprint paper and coffee mugs. Still, even all that caffeine couldn’t stop his eyes from desperately trying to close. He shook his head in an attempt to keep himself awake. Regardless, his lids were feeling heavy, heavier than they ever were during an all-nighter. Well, there’s a first for everything. Another cup of coffee would surely do the trick. The instant Gin stood up, everything seemed to spin for a moment, before weighing down on him. The weight pushed him back into his chair. He tried again to get out of his chair. The slightest movement up triggered yet another bout of dizziness. What the fuck was happening? Whatever it was, there was no way he was getting out of his chair. If anything, he could probably call for Chase–

No voice.

No noise.

The engineer tried to open his mouth, but found it was bound shut by…something. Certainly nothing he could feel. He was stuck in his chair, slightly lower than one would usually sit. And now, he couldn’t even call for help. This had to be a dream. It had to be. Otherwise, he was going insane. Gin knew nobody with powers in the house would mess with him like this. There was no other explanation than him not being awake.

So quick to think it’s a dream.

So quick to think it’s not real.

You’re wide awake.

Do you know what’s real?

The whispering voices were quick to overwhelm him.

You are here.

We are here.

We can help you.

Let us in.

He felt as if they were burrowing into his brain from his ears.

It’s weighing on you.

The Guilt.

You’ve hurt so many.

You want to forget.

He…he did want to forget. It always lingered in the back of his mind, all of the actions that lead him here. He can hear the crystal powering up.

You can forget.

You can be happy.

Let us help you.

Let us in.

This was insane, he was going nuts. What-? Why did he almost consider it? Why…why wouldn’t he? He wanted to be happy. He wanted to forget. He could open his mouth again.

Your voice is returned.

Say the words.

“I let you in.”

Repeat.

The engineer opened his mouth, speech still a struggle.

“I…I…”

“I let you in.”

Repeat.

The voices increased in volume, but only by a hair.

“I..” He breathed.

“I let..I let you–”

“How’s everything in here?” Chase came in through the open door, making Gin’s soul jump from his body for a moment. Within seconds, every sensation from seconds ago was gone. He turned around, giving Chase a look at him.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Chase could see the pure fear radiating off Gin’s face

“Uh..” Gin hesitated to say what happened, not sure himself what it was.

“I’m..I’m fine. Just a bad dream,” due to exhaustion, and overall fright, he wasn’t trying his best, in terms of lying. Luckily, Chase bought it right away.

“Must have been a really bad one,” Chase replied, quickly making his way to the engineer’s desk.

“You haven’t looked like this for a good bit,” he leaned on the chair.

“Do ya wanna go to bed?” Engineer looked at the analog clock across from him. It read 3:00 am from his bedside table.

“I don’t…I don’t know…” he looked down, resisting the urge to word vomit about whatever the fuck just happened to him. For all he knew, it could’ve just been a–

(So quick to think it’s a dream.)

He shook his head, trying to erase it like an etch-a-sketch.

“Maybe you just need some company right now,” Chase suggested.

“Like, I don’t know, some snacks and a game of ‘who wakes up next’?” he added, trying to lighten the mood. Well, it worked causing a small smile to form on the engineer’s face.

“It’s not that hard,” Gin began.

“It’s always doctor german or doctor ‘you’re dying.’”

“You never know, it could change up,” Chase replied.

[jacksepticeye-simp]

Gratitude (Jackieboy Man x GN! Reader x Darkiplier) -Part 1

(Semi-inspired by this fic)

You sat at your desk, fingers tapping against the keyboard. Your mind wasn't focused on your work in the slightest. Your phone buzzed with a notification from instagram, bored out of your mind and curious you picked it up and unlocked it, tapping the notification. What you saw caused you to drop your phone onto the ground, cracking the screen protector. In the livestream was Jackie, or his hero persona 'Jackieboy Man' at some swanky party. Now you understood why he never showed up like he'd promised.

Usually you'd brush it off as part of his 'hero duties' but this time was unacceptable. Just a few days before, you'd been nominated for a prize after submitting some of your art into a competition and Jackie had promised to celebrate with you at your favorite coffee shop, but evidently being a fuckboy was more important to him. You frowned, a sting of hurt rising up in your chest. You stood up and grabbed your coat, deciding against locking the door to your apartment while leaving for the coffee shop nearby.

You were mad at Jackie sure, but that didn't mean he should sit out in the cold. You were still friends. Right? God how you hated how you felt whenever Jackie called you his friend. You felt so much more for him than he would ever for you, and it hurt.

You sighed, sitting down at a table while you waited for your drink to cool down. You felt so ignored by him. Nowadays it was like he cared more about being famous than he did about your friendship, it made you miss the earlier days of his heroing career when he'd actually make time to hang out. It wasn't like that anymore though, was it? The only time you really got to spend any time with him was for healing his wounds and fixing his costume if it got ripped.

"My apologies for bothering you, but is this seat taken?"

[spooky-draws-stuff]

Chapter 4 full ego story

Summary: Anyway Marvin is depressed because he was kinda mean to Jackie and refuses to talk to him, and the egos get together for a meeting to figure out how they're going to attempt to save Chase and Jackie. It is about 2,000 words long.

There is a brief torture scene in this between Anti and Jackie

Here is the link where you can read it

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50788906

@n-anon @septicwriters

[thechaosqueenishere]

Sooooooo, did I just post about one fanfic I wanna write and am now posting a different one? Absolutely! Let me introduced to you:

The wizard and the infant

An (jse) ego fanfic inspired by Epic! The musical, specifically the first two songs, that is very oc-centric. I don't wanna spoil too much, and I'm tired and don't know what else I'm supposed to write. So for now, enjoy the beginning!

Chapter one (part one)- brace for a storm

Marvin was not having a good week.

A few days ago, a new guy had shown up at their doorstep. That would not have been a problem, if not for Anti deciding that guy was his new favourite puppet and showing up almost every day to attack them and get to him. And yesterday he'd finally managed to kidnap Jameson (or as they started calling him, JJ). He'd not slept all night, neither of them had, really, which really didn't help with them trying to come up with a plan now.

Currently Jackie and Henrik were in the middle of a screaming match. Marvin could feel a migraine coming on. "No! We have to get him out of there, now!" Jackie yelled at Henrik, who slammed his hands on the table. "We can't! We need to recover! If we go now, Anti. Will. Kill. Us. Why can't you get that through your thick skull?" He spat back.

"So what? We should just go to bed? Maybe have a nice breakfast in the morning? Some eggs and bacon maybe? All while Anti is doing god knows what to JJ! Well I'm sorry, but that's bullshit!" Jackie turned towards Marvin. "You agree, right? We need to get him. Right. Now."

Marvin knew Jackie would ask him to agree sooner or later. He sighed.

"Jackie look, I really want to get him back too, but Hen is right. We are in no shape to face Anti right now. I'm not even sure I'll be able to use my magic by the time we find him if I don't rest. I really don't like it, but we have no other choice. We can't help JJ like this." Jackie looked at Marvin in disbelief.

They agreed on most things, and Marvin knew this wasn't what Jackie wanted to hear, but it was what he needed. He was stubborn, and if he refused to listen to Henrik, Marvin telling him might at the very least make him think.

"I can't believe you guys." Jackie got up and walked towards the door. Henrik looked like he was about to say something, but Marvin stopped him.

Jackie slammed the door.

"Give him some time. We're all not doing well right now." Marvin told Henrik. "I know, but I wish he wasn't this much of a thick-head sometimes." Henrik ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Marvin chuckled weakly. "I don't think that's a saying in english, Hen."

Henrik smiled at the comment. Marvin rested his head on his arm. The ringing in his head was not getting better. He was about to ask Henrik for something so the migraine wouldn't get too bad, when he noticed movement on the other side of the table. He realised he'd completely forgotten about Chase, who was sitting on the other side of the table. He felt bad. The poor kid looked awful.

Chase, like Jackie, was just 15. It was shit that he had to spend his teenage years trying to get away from a murderous demon. "How are you doing, Chase?" Marvin asked. Chase winced at the mention of his name. The screaming match had clearly made him anxious.

"I'm- uhm, I dunno"he finally said, quietly. Marvin smiled at him. "That's ok."

"Yeah, like Marvin said, were all not doing well right now." Henrik added and put a hand on Chase's arm. Chase smiled weakly. "I'm really tired" he finally said. "Well, we should all go to bed now." Henrik lightly clapped a hand on the table twice and got up, a little habit Marvin had noticed him doing regularly.

Marvin got up too. He looked at the clock. It was 7 in the morning now. He was absolutely exhausted and while walking to his room, he could feel the ringing in his head grow louder with every step. He considered turning around to get painkillers, but he reeaally wanted to get to his room.

That confused him a bit. It felt like something told him that getting to his room was better than getting the painkillers, as if it wasn't his own feeling.

As soon as he closed the door to his room behind him, Marvin felt like someone hit him over the head with a baseball bat. He heard a scream. His own scream. Pictures of his friends and him being attacked by something flooded his mind. A dark shape… Anti.. no, there was another one… who?…

Just as he felt like his legs couldn't carry him anymore, his head cleared. The ringing remained, not as violent as before, and finally he recognised it. He let go of the door handle he hadn't even noticed he was clinging onto and turned around. Standing in front of him was Darkiplier.

[youvereachedthebadend]

((HEY GUYS :D))

((I've decided to try to copy all the writing I've done for this blog over to AO3. Emphasis on try, because this blog is five years old and 5000 posts long. So far I've got all of the standalone writing I did for the events before the blog started, as well as the first two weeks of Jack's rambling posts. I'm hoping to update daily until it's done, but you know, life gets in the way and I have other writing to do, too.))

((Anyway, if you're a newer reader, or someone who's stumbling across this blog, the AO3 will be a good place to check stuff out, as I'm hoping to make it more organized than the continuous plot that goes on here :) ))

((ALSO! I won't be including askers' names unless they want to--or if they were an anon who identified with a nickname. Everyone else will be turned anon and given a letter to identify them from the others ^-^ ))

[kormenhq]

Fan Fiction Requests!

I am bored! Help me write stuff to post on Ao3!

Request Rules & Characters

Rules::

- DON’T JUDGE MY WRITING, if you don’t think i’m a good writer, that’s your opinion. I may not be the best writer but I am trying my best.

- I will write about any gender! If you do not specify, I will write it as gender neutral (I also write trans ftm reader (not mtf as I am not mtf)

- Want some polyamourus stuff? Go ahead and I ask! I am happy to write about it!

- Please no Teacher x student or anything of the sorts I don’t want to write illegal stuff.

- I write emotional/romantic/platonic relationships (this includes smut though that’s very rare for me to write, you can still ask if you would like though.)

- Hurt/Comfort fics are welcome and encouraged!! I put trigger warnings anywhere I think it is needed, so please be sure to read the warnings under each title/on each post.

- I have every right to disapprove or not take your request.

- I will NOT write characters being abusive whether it be physical, emotional or anything like that. (lying to fulfill a scheme doesn’t count), but I would be more than happy to write about them helping you get OUT of an abusive relationship.

-I only write for the characters not real people.

Characters I write for::

- Any Markiplier ego (I MEAN IT I LOVE THESE GUYS)

- Any Jacksepticeye ego (Love these guys as well)

- Loki (Marvel)

- Gillion Tidestrider (Just roll with it)

- Chip (Just roll with it)

- Jay Ferin (Just roll with it)

- Spider man/Peter parker

- Oliver Swift (Dialtown)

- Randy Jade (Dialtown)

- Karen Dunn (Dialtown)

- Norm (Dialtown)

- Phonegingi (Dialtown)

- Ranboo (DSMP)

- Slimecicle (DSMP)

- Jack Manifold (DSMP)

- Jschlatt (DSMP)

- Philza (DSMP)

- Quackity (DSMP)

- Tommy innit (DSMP)

- Wilbur soot (DSMP)

- Red Guy (DHMIS)

- Duck (DHMIS)

- Yellow Guy (DHMIS)

- Nagito (Danganronpa)

- Kokichi (Danganronpa)

- Any fanon Creepypasta (I will refuse canon (they are murderers)

- Janus (Sanders sides)

- Virgil (Sanders sides)

- Remus (Sanders sides)

- Roman (Sanders sides)

- Patton (Sanders sides)

- Logan (Sanders sides)

[graphic-hawk]

Chase Brody’s at his limit

Don’t repost/steal/plagiarize

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Deeper Through the Wylderness

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Forty

A JSE Fanfic

Who's ready for more Wyldwood? :D The guys continue their journey, encountering a few strange things. Unusual animals, unusual fruits and plants, unusual beings, even. They're making progress, but this strange place might wear on them over time. Yeah this chapter, much like the last, is basically an anthology of weird things that the guys encounter in this magical forest. But next chapter, if all goes according to plan, will be VERY important to the plot :3 Hope you guys enjoy reading!

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marvin was woken up by the familiar feeling of something fuzzy against his face. He stayed totally still. The best way to get Draco to stop doing something was to ignore him. But the fuzzy thing persisted, pushing against him. He couldn’t help but groan. “Draco, nooo.” He rolled over, but the fuzziness climbed over him, sniffing at his face. Keeping his eyes closed, he reached out, trying to push Draco away... but felt something odd. The texture—that wasn’t fur. It was more like... feathers?

Mrow. And that was Draco’s meow—coming not from right in front of his face, like he expected, but instead from over by his feet. Draco wasn’t here?!

His eyes flew open. Instead of seeing Draco’s blue eyes and off-white stripes fur, he was staring into a pair of Hazel animal eyes surrounded by orangish-red, its black snout longer than a cat’s—

“What the fuck?!” Marvin shouted, scrambling backwards.

“Huhwhatdanger?!” Next to him, Jackie sat bolt upright, lunging for his swords.

Henrik yelped awake, blinking wildly. Chase was next, lifting his head from the ground. JJ was already awake, though he was blinking blearily.

“Fox!” Marvin said. “There’s a fox!”

Indeed, a fox had wandered into their camp in the Wyldwood... but not an ordinary fox. Its front legs were more in line with bird legs, tough-skinned and taloned, feathers sprouting along the upper length. On its back were a pair of large wings, brown and black striped. It leaned forward, trying to sniff Marvin some more, and Marvin quickly scooted backwards.

“Oh! I know what that is!” Chase sat up, wriggling out of his bedroll. “That’s an enfield!”

“Enfield?” Marvin repeated, puzzled. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“Is it safe?” Jackie asked, raising one sword in preparation.

“Um... as safe as foxes are normally, I think. Don’t bother it and it won’t bother you.”

The enfield stepped forward again, and Marvin continued to crawl backwards away from it. “Why does it want to sniff me?!” He hissed.

“Maybe you smell interesting?” Chase guessed.

Henrik frowned. “How did it get close? Jamie, I thought you were on guard.”

Jameson rubbed his face. I was... I remember hearing this strange flute music. And seeing something... small? Out there? He gestured at the woods around them. The music was trying to put me to sleep, I think, but I threw a rock at the small thing and it stopped. But I still felt really sleepy... He shook his head. I don’t think I actually fell asleep but I must have been really close if I let a fox with wings through. Sorry, everyone.

Jackie sighed. “It’s fine. There was no harm done, I guess. But in the future, we should wake someone else up if something like that happens.

Jameson nodded slowly... his head drooping...

“Jair! Wake up.” Marvin grabbed some magic from his amulet and flicked it at him. He only intended for it to be a shower of sparks. But instead, clouds of bright light slammed into the side of Jameson’s head. He shot straight up, eyes wide, immediately not tired anymore. “Oh—sorry. That was supposed to be a simple wake-up spell, like the one I sometimes use. I suppose it came out a bit stronger than I wanted.”

It’s fine, Jameson said, hands shaking slightly as he spoke. The spell must have shit him full of energy.

The enfield trotted over to Jameson and started sniffing him instead, licking the fading magical light around his head. Jameson looked at it warily. “I think it must be interested in your magic, Marvin!” Henrik chuckled.

“Great. Great.” Marvin clutched at his focus. “Good to know. Be interested in something else.”

Jackie looked around. The group had made camp in a slight clearing in the Wyldwoods. Trees surrounded them—of course—these ones with bark that was so dark brown they were nearly black, which contrasted with the leaves that were a pale pink color. The pink leaves covered the ground in a soft layer, so soft that Chase had inched out of the bedroll over the course of the night and hadn’t even realized that he was on the ground. Large flowers with purple petals and centers the size of dinner plates also dotted the ground, glowing softly. “We should probably start moving, shouldn’t we?” Jackie said. “We don’t want to waste any time.”

Henrik sighed. “I suppose. Though this is a beautiful area. I am reluctant to leave. Where else will you see pink trees like this?”

“Well there’s going to be more amazing things to see as we go deeper,” Marvin said, still eyeing the enfield suspiciously. “I promise you.”

“I know, I know. I am not saying we get lost in the pretty landscape. I am just saying it’s a shame.” Henrik stood up. “Let’s go.”

The group packed up their supplies into bags and headed off, Marvin and Draco leading the way. The enfield trotted after them for a while before some smaller enfields with little fuzzy wings ran up to it—Its children?! Adorable!—and then it diverted its attention to herding them, letting the group leave them behind. This was the morning of their third day into their journey, and if everything went well, they’d only have four to five days left. Almost halfway there! Chase wasn’t sure if he was excited about that, or nervous. Both, probably. No, definitely both.

Just as the last couple days, the Wyldwood was silent, the undergrowth mysteriously moving out of their way as they walked. Two days straight of this meant they were starting to get used to it—which meant some of them were starting to get restless. Jackie constantly wove back and forth through the group, taking up a position on the left before moving to the right a few minutes later, his hand always on the hilt of his sword as he glanced around uneasily. Henrik’s eyes also darted back and forth, and he couldn't help but occasionally reach back to check that Vsevna’s axe was still there. He occasionally muttered something under his breath in Alterdan. Were his symptoms bothering him again?

Jameson kept practicing his fighting skills as they walked, slashing with his knife for a while before reaching back to grab the bow he’d packed and practicing firing it. Chase watched him do that, smiling a bit. “I don’t think practicing without an arrow is all that helpful.”

I suppose, Jameson said, awkwardly gesturing while still holding his bow. But it’s probably not a good idea to shoot wildly in a magical forest. Remember the screaming flowers?

“Ah. Riiiiight.” Chase winced. “The trees might not take kindly to being shot. Well, at least let me help you with your technique. Here, hold the string like this...”

They soon left the section of the Wyldwood with pink trees, and the colors of the trees slowly shifted. The branches began to droop downwards, their dark green leaves becoming long and skinny. For once, it became difficult to walk through the area, as the tree branches didn’t move out of the way like the undergrowth did. Jackie quickly got frustrated with this. After one too many times of being hit in the face with leaves, he growled and pulled out his sword, swinging it wildly. “Out of the way! Out of the way!”

“Whoa!” Marvin’s head whipped back around to look at Jackie. “Hey, calm down!”

Jameson grabbed onto Jackie’s shoulder, trying to stop him. Once he’d gotten Jackie’s attention, he signed, We don’t want to hurt the trees!

“Well what if the trees want to hurt us?” Jackie asked.

THEN we can do something! But we shouldn’t make the first move!

Jackie growled, glaring at the branches around them. “Fine. But still, we’re losing progress.” He gave his sword one final, frustrated swing—

Smack!

Jackie went still. “I, uh... I hit something... solid.”

Frowning, Henrik walked over, grabbing the branches and sorting through them. His eyes went wide. “Oh! Look at this!” He turned the branch around. There was something shiny attached to it. A fruit of some kind. It looked like a plum, but its purple skin was reflective and crystalline, like it was a jewel.

Chase gasped. “Oooo!” He looked around. “Are there any more of them?”

“Let us see!” Henrik continued to search through the branches, and the others joined him, curious about these strange crystal plums. There weren’t many of them, maybe three for each tree, but they stood out for how strange they were. “So fascinating!” Henrik said, eyes lit up. “Can we pluck these? Eat them, maybe?”

“Hmm.” Marvin narrowed his eyes. Then he bent down and picked up Draco, holding him up to one of the crystal plums. Draco sniffed it, then turned away, uninterested. “Well I don’t think they’re dangerous, at least.”

Jackie sighed. “Alright... we can take a break to look at these.”

“Come on, don’t tell me you’re not curious!” Chase said, grinning. “When are we going to get another chance like this?”

“I just... I-I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Jackie shook his head. “Alright. What are these things?”

Jameson is trying to pull the plum off the droopy branch, but its stem is really strong. He pulled out his knife to slice through it, but even that took a minute. Once the plum was free, though, he turned it over in his hands, tapping it. This is practically stone, he said.

“Well plums are stone fruit,” Chase said jokingly.

Marvin blinked. “They’re what?”

“Huh? You’ve never heard that phrase before?” Chase grabbed one of the plums; Jameson was right, the fruit’s skin felt more like glass than fruit. “A stone fruit is a fruit that has a pit in the center instead of seeds.”

“Really? Interesting.” Marvin looked at one of the plums still on the branch. “So these are... literally stone fruit. Or, more like crystal fruit.”

“How do we eat them, if they’re made of crystal?” Jackie asked.

“Maybe we do not?” Henrik said. “Or maybe it is like nuts. They must be cracked open. Here, Jackie. Since you are so concerned about moving, we can take some off the trees and examine them while we walk.” He took his bag off, reaching inside. “Let us put some in my potion supply box for safekeeping.”

They continued walking, pushing aside some of the drooping branches. Occasionally one of their hands would hit a solid crystalline plum. Chase took out his hunting knife and tried to find a weak spot in the solid skin. He was pretty sure there was something inside. He could feel it when he shook the plum. But the whole thing was solid, deflecting his knife like a regular bauble made from jewels. 

When they walked out of the grove of droopy-branched trees, Henrik immediately started looking around for a rock or something else to smash the plum with. But... “Huh. I am seeing something unusual. There... are no rocks anywhere.”

“Oh! That’s right!” Marvin nodded. “I didn’t notice the first time I was here. But there aren’t any random rocks or stones anywhere like there would be in regular forests. The undergrowth is all plant life.”

“Aw. But then how will we open these?” Henrik asked, disappointed. “If they can be opened at all.”

“Use Vsevna’s axe,” Jackie suggested. “It has that spike on the end, maybe it could pierce the skin?”

“Hmmm... perhaps.” Henrik stopped walking and bent over, placing the plum on a spot clear of long grass. Then he pulled Vsevna’s axe off his back. He aimed the spike on the back at the plum, a hand’s width above it, and narrowed his eyes as he concentrated—then brought it down.

Crack! There was a loud sound and the plum went spinning off to the side. A spray of bright red juice covered the ground—and Henrik’s legs. He yelped in surprise and backed up. Jackie laughed. “Well I don’t think any of us expected that!” He said.

“We probably should have,” Henrik grumbled. He walked over to the plum and picked it up. There was a crack in its crystal side, through which dripped that bright red juice. Unnaturally bright red, almost pink even. “Do you think this is safe to eat?”

“Who knows?” Chase said. “I’d be cautious.”

What does Draco say? JJ asked.

Marvin picked up the cat and held him up to the plum again. Draco leaned forward to sniff the juice. His nose wrinkled up and his eyes narrowed. “That’s not a guarantee of anything,” Marvin said. “He makes the same face when smelling that linseed oil Jackie and other warriors clean their weapons with. I think he just thinks it’s a strong smell.”

Henrik sniffed curiously. “It is very sweet. Almost like candy. Hmm... Perhaps we should not eat it.”

“Why were you so insistent on getting it open, then?” Jackie asked, exasperated.

“Just to see if I could, honestly.”

Jackie sighed. “Well now it’s probably going to leak juice everywhere. And maybe it will rot. We don’t want to carry rotten fruit around, even if it’s magical. “Here, just... Give it to me.”

Henrik did so, though he was a bit reluctant. “Are you going to do something foolish?”

“Possibly.” Jackie swiped up some of the juice with his finger and stuck it in his mouth.

“Wait Jackie no—!” Chase lunged over, grabbing Jackie’s wrist and yanking his hand away from his face. But it was too late. “What if it’s poison?!”

“Draco would’ve stopped me,” Jackie said. “Marvin said he would stop him from eating dangerous... um... stuff. Like... fruit and... stuff.” Jackie’s eyes slowly widened. Not as a response to how he was feeling or anything. It was almost like they were being pulled wide by invisible hands. A pink film glazed over his irises. 

“Oh no,” Chase whispered.

How do you... feel, Jackie? Jameson asked hesitantly.

Jackie looked at him. “You’re glowing,” he said slowly. He looked at Marvin. “And you’re like... like really bright. Like really glowing. And whoaaaa, Draco looks strange.” He giggled. “He’s a ghost. Ghooost cat. Glowing ghost cat.”

“Oh elders, it’s like he took amarita blossoms,” Marvin muttered.

You’ve met someone who took amarita? Jameson raises an eyebrow.

“Not anyone who took them regularly, but I’ve been on the run for the last year, practically, I’ve met a lot of people.”

“Guys guys guys, it’s not a problem.” Jackie kept looking around. “It’s all good, it’s like—so good. I feel great, and whoaaaa... pretty.”

Henrik sighed. “Damn it. If only I had my medicine I could snap him out of this really quickly. I suppose we will just have to wait for him to come down normally. He had a small sample, surely this won’t last long.” He took the plum out of Jackie’s hand. Jackie didn’t react at all, spinning in a circle so he could look at everything. “Let’s keep walking.”

Luckily, the effect of the crystal plum didn’t hinder Jackie’s ability to walk—though he did slow the group down a bit because he kept stopping to stare at random spots in the air. But after about two hours, the pink film faded from his eyes, and he stopped looking at stuff. He mumbled some apologies to everyone, but they all assured him that it was okay—though Henrik and Chase did point out how foolish it was to try juice from a magical fruit. Even if Draco didn’t intervene, that didn’t mean they were safe!

Nothing else of note happened on that day. They continued to walk through the Wyldwoods, occasionally swapping stories and memories to pass the time, always listening for sounds that would break the silence. Sounds like rustling, like distant voices, like footsteps that seemed to pass right by the group but without any sign of a person or animal. All of those happened at least once during this day. When they did, the whole group went dead silent for a minute before continuing to talk.

They made camp near a lone hill in the middle of the forest. Though it might have been an advantage to camp on top, where those on guard would have a good view of the surrounding area, none of them dared to get too close. The Fair Folk were said to live under hills. Not always literally. Some stories said that the hills were merely an entrance to a Faerilynd, the world where the Folk gathered. Either way, a lone hill in a magical forest probably wasn’t safe to get close to. Who knew what it could be? They settled down between two tall trees nearby, keeping an eye on the hill but not approaching.

“Maybe we should have two people keep guard,” Jackie suggested as they set everything up.

But then if we keep going in our shifts of three, eventually someone will be woken up again, JJ pointed out. Everyone will have only one shift, but someone will have to have two.

“I’ll take two, it’s fine.”

“No, nobody is taking two shifts at night,” Marvin said firmly. “We all need to be in the best shape possible in case something happens.”

“But—but there was that incident with the party!” Jackie protested. “And this morning, the enfield was able to just walk right in! We need to take precautions!”

“We do, but we need to take care of ourselves too,” Henrik said.

Chase frowned. “Is this because of the fruit thing? Jackie, it’s okay. I know me and Henrik already gave you shit for it, but it’s in the past. And hey, now we know what those plums do, don’t we? You don’t need to make up for an impulsive decision.”

Jackie slumped. “I... I just...” He looked to the side. “I thought that... we’d need to see what they do, didn’t we? Because what if they were harmful?”

If they were harmful then it was even more foolish to taste one, Jameson said. You could have gotten hurt.

“Well—better than losing our doctor or our guide or our oracle or the guy who needs to make it to the end of this journey!”

“Jackie,” Henrik snapped. “Are you implying you are expendable?”

“No,” Jackie said. “Honestly, no. I know I’m not. I’m a Masked Phantom leader and the best physical fighter here. But I...” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Marvin stared at him silently. “Just remember that we don’t want you to get hurt.”

Jackie nodded. “I will. I’ll be more careful, promise.”

“Please do be,” Henrik said quietly. “Now... Let us all get some rest.”

Little did the others know, but Jackie stayed awake as long as he possibly could, one hand out of his bedroll, clutching the hilt of his sword.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the group woke up in the morning, the hill was gone.

“Well that is worrying,” Henrik muttered. “Marvin? You had last watch, what happened?”

“It just sort of...” Marvin held up a hand parallel to the ground, then slowly lowered it, like he was pushing something down. “Sank.”

“When???” Chase asked, concerned.

“Not too long ago, actually. It was surprisingly silent.”

The whole group looked at the space where the hill was, unnerved. We should walk around that spot, JJ said.

“Agreed,” Chase said. 

They started walking again. This section of the Wyldwood had trees with reddish bark, occasionally streaked with lighter, almost yellow stripes. Tall bluebell-like flowers sprouted from between their roots, their soft glow joined by specks of light that floated through the air. As the group brushed past them, the flowers made ringing sounds, like the bells their shapes were named for.

“Do you remember all of this, Marvin?” Henrik asked, fascinated with the flowers.

“I remember it when I see it,” Marvin replied. “Honestly, the whole first journey I had was so strange that it all sort of... blended together into an overall oddness. But now that I’m back in here, I do know where to go and recognize some of this. I didn’t recognize those crystal plums yesterday. But maybe I just didn’t see them. They were pretty hidden in those branches.”

“And... there are truly no records of the Wyldwood at all?” Henrik asked.

“None in recent memory, and no records of anyone going this deep,” Jackie said. “You should know this, Henrik. I know you’re from another kingdom, but you’ve lived here for years now. You know that the Wyldwood is dangerous.”

“Yes, but people make records of going into dangerous places all the time,” Henrik said. “And this is half the island!”

I suppose having the Dragon’s Teeth mountains as a barrier dissuaded exploration, Jameson mused. I’ve heard of other Wyldlands in the world that are more explored. Wyldsands, Wyldmounts, Wyldmarshes... I can see why you’re surprised that there aren’t any records.

“I think that part of the reason people avoid the Wyldwood is because of the Fair Folk,” Chase said. “After all, people say that those who didn’t retreat to their own world live here now.”

“You know a lot of stories, right, Chase?” Jackie asked. “Do you know any about the Fair Folk or the Wyldwood?”

“Hmm... well there are a few,” Chase said. “For example, the story of Lasta and Caba is said to take place in the Wyldwood. Supposedly, when most of the Fair Folk decided they wanted to leave this world for their own, two of them, a leprechaun and a bodacha, refused to stop playing their card game to help the others move. So they were cursed to keep playing forever, never finishing the game. Supposedly, if you join in, you have a chance to win some sort of prize. But be careful, because time outside of the game will pass faster than time around you and them.”

“Fascinating,” Marvin said. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one.”

I think I’ve vaguely heard something like that, Jameson said. I remember the bit about time passing differently very distinctly.

“Well, time being different around the Fair Folk is common in stories,” Chase said. “There’s also the one where a man falls in love with a beautiful Fair One. A princess or prince.”

“There are two versions of the story?” Henrik asked. “So... does that mean it is not true?”

“No, it could be that it happened a long time ago and the details of the Fair One got lost over time. Or maybe the Fair One was both. Who knows? The point is, the Fair One invited the man to their palace for a night of partying, but when the man returned after one night, a year had passed.”

Jackie glanced around nervously. “Do you think that... that same time strangeness affects the Wyldwood?”

Marvin shook his head. “No. I walked through the woods for a week, and when I was out again, a week had passed for everyone else.”

“Oh right. I forgot about—” He paused. “Do you all hear that?”

The group stopped walking, listening for strange sounds. In the otherwise silence of the Wyldwood, it stuck out easily. A thundering sound. But not actual thunder. Was it... hooves? From a horse? Chase frowned and looked at the others, noticing as they all came to the same conclusion around the same time. “Strange...” Henrik muttered. “Where is it coming from?”

“Get to the side,” Marvin hissed. “Out of the way of any open paths!”

They all scrambled to get close to a tree, away from the open parts of the Wyldwood. In the distance, something dark was forming, quickly approaching—

Jameson gasped and fell forward, sprawling across the ground. Jackie spun around. Without hesitating, he ran towards Jameson. The dark thing was suddenly much closer, streams of orange-red light streaming from it as it got closer—within a second it was bearing down on them—

“Jackie!” Chase gasped.

Jackie dove at Jameson and the two of them went rolling across the ground. The dark thing galloped past them, inches from their bodies, smoke and light following it in a trail. It looked like a horse and rider but something was wrong with the rider: he was missing something. By the time Chase realized what it was, the creature was already galloping into the distance.

“Elders!” Jackie breathed, visibly shaken.

Henrik ran forward, and Marvin and Chase were right behind him. “Are you two okay?!” Henrik asked.

“I-I’m fine,” Jackie said. “Jameson?”

Jameson raised his head. His eyes were wide enough to see the white all around his irises, but he nodded. Shaken, he said weakly.

“Wh-what happened?” Marvin asked. “Did you trip on something? What was that thing?!”

“I-I think that was a dullahan,” Chase said.

“A what?! Aren’t those an omen of death?!”

“Huh? No, th-that’s not what I’ve heard about them. Though they are often linked to it... h-having no head, and all. And they, uh, often show up where people died, I-I think?”

Henrik shuddered. “So... someone died here?”

“I have no doubt that a lot of people died in the Wyldwood,” Chase muttered.

Jackie sat up, one arm wrapped around Jameson, bringing him upright as well. “Are you sure you’re okay, Jameson?” he asked gently. “What about your foot? Did you twist your ankle when you tripped?”

“Hmm... I thought the plants were making way for us,” Henrik said, frowning.

Jameson laughed silently, darkly. It wasn’t a plant or root or anything. I just... tripped on... my own foot.

“...ah.” Henrik blinked. “...well that is... unfortunate.”

I suppose I was thinking too much about moving, if that makes sense? Jameson sighed. I’m not hurt, though.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Jackie stood up, and reached down to help Jameson up. “Are you good to keep walking?”

Are you? Jameson asked.

Jackie laughed. “Of course I am. Come on. We have to keep going. Ideally, away from where that dullahan went.”

And so, with nothing else to do and nobody hurt, they just... kept walking. Until, eventually, it was time to settle down for the night once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day passed normally—or as normally as things could be in the Wyldwood. They continued to pass through vibrant trees and grass, surrounded by glowing flowers, glowing mushrooms, and occasionally glowing insects. Henrik was quickly getting overwhelmed with the variety of plants, and quickly running out of room for samples in his potion ingredient box and other bags. He soon learned that he couldn’t take all of the glowing plants. Some of the samples from the first day had stopped glowing—though not all of them—so he exchanged those for others.

Draco kept walking steadily through the forest, occasionally waiting for the humans to catch up. Chase still wasn’t used to him acting so... smart. But it wasn’t like he was acting oddly human. He was still clearly a cat, with the same mannerisms and behaviors. When some glowing blue dragonflies showed up, he chased them, tail wagging, just like any other cat would. But still... it was odd that a cat was leading them.

Chase’s thoughts started to swirl, thinking about what was waiting at the end of this journey. At this blasted heath that Marvin mentioned. He asked Marvin to tell him everything about what he saw there again, and Marvin told him all he remembered. There was a building in the circle of dead earth, along with some strange trees. The ghost of King Samuel said that this was related to something unspeakable—something that literally couldn’t be spoken of. Something that Chase needed to find out for himself, something that would help them defeat the King. It was frustratingly vague.

He wasn’t sure if anything he’d find in the Wyldwood could help him defeat the spirit possessing the King... but he had to try, didn’t he? He had to help Jack. And so, he kept going on, despite the doubts trying to worm their way in.

Another day of walking passed. Their fifth day. They were almost there now. Just two more days of walking... or was it only one and a half? Maybe a little more than that? Would they have to walk for two days, rest for the night, and then walk a bit more in the morning?

“Hey... Marvin.” Jackie glanced around as the Wyldwood around them started to grow dark. “Maybe we should walk through the night. Or... a little bit into the night, I should say.”

“Huh?” Marvin glanced back at him. “We never walk through the night when traveling.”

“I know, but that’s because it gets too dark to see where we’re putting our feet,” Jackie explained. “With all the glowing things in here, it never gets darker than what would be evening outside the Wyldwood. We could probably keep walking.”

Henrik frowned. “I... wonder if... if there are creatures that come out at night, here. A-after all... that strange party happened at night. The music that Jameson heard, too. And the hill disappeared during the dark. It may be dangerous.”

“It... i-it may be,” Jackie agreed slowly. “But we could protect each other. I... I think the faster we get there, the better, right?”

The others all glanced at each other. Perhaps we can walk a bit more? Jameson asked.

“I really think it is not a good idea,” Henrik insisted.

Marvin looked down at Draco, who was stretching and yawning. “I agree. I think we’re supposed to stop for the night.”

“Just a bit farther couldn’t hurt,” Jackie said. “Chase? What do you think?”

Chase hesitated. “Um... just a bit farther, maybe? Ten or twenty more minutes?”

Henrik and Marvin looked at each other and sighed. “Fine,” Marvin said. “If all three of you want to keep walking for a bit, you take the majority. But... let’s be careful.”

Jackie nodded. “We will be. I’ll lead the way.”

They kept walking. Draco didn’t want to continue, so Marvin reached down and scooped him up, carrying him as they went along. The trees around them rustled, and Chase glanced up into them uneasily, instinctively searching for animals that weren’t there.

After the twenty more minutes of walking that Chase suggested, the group came across something... unusual. A... path. The sort that was worn into the ground from people or animals walking in the same place over and over. It dipped into the earth slightly, the dirt a bit muddy.

Marvin frowned. “I remember this. It was daytime when I came across it the first time. I didn’t want to cross it, but Draco had no problem, so I walked from one side to the other easily enough.” He looked down at Draco in his arms, whose eyes were currently closed. “Hmm... don’t know if I’m comfortable walking across it when he’s not there to make sure it’s safe.”

Chase looked back and forth, tracing the path to the left and right. Then he crouched down to look at the dirt, trying to figure out if there were any tracks in there. No good. Despite the mud, he couldn’t make out anything clearly. “I don’t know if this is a deer trail or a wolf pack or something magical,” he reported.

Jameson blinked. Is it just me or is the air... shimmering?

Chase stood up, and he and the other three guys all stared at the air in front of them. Yes... it was shimmering slightly. Like the air above a heated rock. As they stared, things became clearer. The air was moving. No, not the air. They were... people? Translucent at first, becoming more and more solid, glowing slightly. Jackie backed up, holding his arms out in front of the others as if to push them back as well. But there was no need for that, as everyone was scrambling backwards away from the glowing strangers.

“Wh-what is this?” Henrik whispered. “Are you all seeing this as well?”

“Yes, Henrik, we are,” Marvin confirmed. “Who are these people? What are they?”

They watched silently for a while, tense and waiting. But the glowing people didn’t bother them. They looked at the group, a few waved, but they didn’t stop their procession to attack, or even to speak.They just kept walking. And just as the group started to relax—

Jameson inhaled sharply. He ran forward, running along the path, eyes locked onto something. “Jair!” Marvin gasped, running after him.

“Wait you two!” Jackie rushed after them, and Chase and Henrik glanced at each other and followed.

Jameson came to a stop, staring at some of the people. A man, looking to be in his forties, walking with a woman of the same age, their arms linked together. The woman was smiling and laughing at something, and the man nodded.

“What is it?” Marvin asked, shifting Draco into just one arm and putting a hand on Jameson’s shoulder. But Jameson didn’t even bother to look at him. He just kept staring at the man and woman. What was so special about—

The realization hit Chase all at once. The brown shade of the man’s hair, the shape of the woman’s face, the blue of both their eyes... they both looked a bit like Jameson. And as the man and woman noticed them, the man raised his hand. There was a ring on his finger. A signet ring of some kind. “...oh,” Chase breathed.

Jameson was shaking slightly, trembling beneath Marvin’s hand. Behind the couple walked three others. Young women, all around the same age. The eldest walked in front, auburn hair shorn short. Behind her was a woman with her hair pulled back in a tight braid, a pair of fancy riding pants, the sorts nobles wore for long horse rides. And behind her in turn was the youngest, her light hair curling, smiling as she skipped along. She looked at Jameson and waved.

“Oh... oh no,” Henrik whispered.

Jameson’s mouth formed words, but of course, no voice came out.

And then Jackie’s eyes widened. “G-Grandmam?” An older woman was walking along the couple, using a cane to support herself, bent over with deep lines on her face. 

“Oh!” Marvin started. “There! Isn’t that Miarch? H-he was—we lost him s-so early on... A-and there’s Kieron, and Ilsa, and...” The people he was pointing out all had white plaster masks with them, on their face or hanging from their belts.

Chase tore his eyes away from the procession. It was clear now who these people were, and he didn’t want to see anyone he’d known.

But Jameson... he started to step forward.

“No!” Henrik lunged forward, grabbing the back of Jameson’s shirt. “Do not get too close!”

Jameson spun on him. Why not?! he demanded, eyes welling with tears.

“We do not know what will happen if we touch them,” Henrik reasoned. “What if we... what if we join them? Jamie, please tell me you do not want to join them.”

That seemed to get through to Jameson. He blinked, then shook his head. Of course not. I just... He turned back to the procession. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them. Mam and Dad... Emer, Orla, Mairead... those are their names. He spelled them out in handspeak so that the others would know what to call them. I never got to...

Chase took a deep breath. He walked over to Jameson and put an arm around his shoulders. “Well... this is the time to do it, isn’t it?”

Jackie and Marvin were also staring at the people they recognized in the procession. Henrik, like Chase, is trying not to look, though his eyes can’t help but glance back every so often at the ones with white masks. But they all hear what Chase said. “Y-yes... th-this is the time... to say goodbye,” Jackie whispered.

“I-I don’t think we should actually say anything,” Marvin said quietly. “Just in case... that starts a conversation we... don’t want. W-we don’t know how they’ll... react to us.”

Jameson shuddered. As much as I don’t want to stay silent... you’re right. Best to be cautious. We don’t know what effect the Wyldwood would have. He looked after his family. They seemed... happy. As they waved at him again, he waved back, a slow, sad farewell.

And after a moment, Jackie, Marvin, and Henrik all waved as well. Chase saw no one he recognized... and he didn’t seek them out.

After a while, the friendly faces disappeared down the path. But the procession didn’t stop. They watched them continue appearing, walking left to right, an endless parade. “We... we shouldn’t interrupt them,” Marvin whispered. “Let’s... go back and make camp.”

Jackie nodded. “I-I’m sorry I made us keep walking.”

Don’t be, Jameson said. You didn’t know this would happen. And... maybe it was a good thing, in the end.

“...maybe,” Jackie said quietly. “Let’s... go.”

The group turned and walked back the way they came, setting up their bedrolls around a large tree. The procession was a slight glow in the distance, a line of light. They went to bed, said their good nights... but none of them fell asleep. They all knew they were watching the procession. Watching it until exhaustion caught up to them.

As Chase drifted off, he reflected on who he saw in the procession. The Masked Phantoms. Jameson’s family. Were others in the procession... because of the King as well? Or... because of the spirit possessing Jack?

...He would remember them. Remember why the King must be defeated.

There would be no more of them. Not if there was anything they could do about it.

[v-septiceye]

Day 28: Ghost Stories

I'm finally feeling much better after being sick! So that means more egotober fics :D The next few days I will be busy so if this turns out to be my last fic for egotober: Thank you to those who liked my stories and gave me the motivation to write more frequently again^^ Can't wait to write way more again!

Overview: The egos are on a camping trip sharing ghost stories and playing harmless pranks.

The autumn night air was cozy alongside the fire that crackled and warmed all five septics- The group had talked about going on a trip for months, but between jobs, YouTube, and busy weekends with the kids, it was always “maybe next time.” So when they all finally had a chance to spend a few nights camping, they seized the opportunity. The entire day was spent driving to the site, setting up shop, and exploring until night came. Five tents surrounded a campfire, along with some lawn chairs, and a small cooler sat between Schneep and JJ, who were both drinking hot chocolate. While Chase and Marvin, both on their second cup, were trading ghost stories as Jackie went to get more firewood.

“Then BAM! They were never found again, and the scariest part... is that this all really happened." Chase grinned as he finished his scary stories, trying to get a reaction from his older brother. However, based on Marvin’s unfazed expression, he knew he hadn’t accomplished that. "Isn't that just the plot from the original Blaire Witch project?" Marvin quipped with a raised eyebrow as he sat across from Chase. "All similarities are by coincidence-" The dad professed with all the masked confidence in the world, but Marvin could see right through it. "Well, let's just hope you didn't piss off any of the ghosts in your story since it's true, correct?" The magician teased with a smirk as Chase just chuckled nervously. "Th-They won't mind- I'm brave anyway! It'll take much more than a few ghosts to scare me!" Marvin rolled his eyes playfully, then smirked, realizing it would be better not to tell him that Jackie was standing behind him about to scare him.

[dancing-heart-pony]

I’m upset about not finishing my fics

I really want other people to see them, to know the AUs and to think about them like I do other peoples’ stories. But I haven’t been writing. I haven’t written anything in like 2 years. None of them are finished.

Some of them, like Bro Average & Cool Patrol, actually have a LOT of stuff already written. They are already half a story, missing a few translational scenes, but they actually have substance.

Others, like the dreaded Supernatural AU (which I ALREADY wrote a bunch for and then scrapped because it was GARBAGE), Space Alien AU, or Medieval AU are mostly just a collection of ideas and exchanges that have no chronology and I have no real proof of it being anything more than my brainchild.

Some are so bare bones. Not even a fully thought-out plan. I have a lot that are just fucking… bullet points of events, ramblings about what the characters should be doing/thinking at certain moments, paragraphs of dialogue that sound good, but with no exposition whatsoever.

Hospital AU is just pure concept. Writing for it was never really in the cards, even though I do have a general vibe about it.

I would say I don’t care, and post what I’ve got of some of these, but it doesn’t feel right. Zombie AU never got an ending because idk HOW to end it. For those who don’t know, I usually finish my stories before posting them anywhere. I would never be able to do scheduled updates, because I can only write well when I get a massive surge of inspiration. I don’t want to post unfinished stories, because I’d feel guilty about leaving them hanging.

My writing process is such a mess. I’m sad about it. 😞

[ardenwritesegos]

Emotions are High: Chapter 2

AU based on @iamvegorott 's version of the egos.

Anti didn’t usually like to be the one to interrupt Dark during their work. They got very…cranky whenever someone did that (though that’s an understatement). Still, while food was no longer necessary for them, the being enjoyed partaking in food and drinks. And they took any chance to be with their husband. However, they often, like Gin, had to be woken up from “work mode.” Tonight was apparently no exception. 

“Hey, Mr. businessman,” Anti called teasingly after knocking on the office door. There was no answer. For a creature like Dark, this silence wasn’t unusual. They must have been absorbed in their work. He knocked again. 

“It’s food time,” the glitch called one more time, hoping that would get them to look up. Out of the quiet came a quick clearing of the throat.

“One moment,” a voice responded. It sounded like Dark, but different; a bit more prim and proper than usual (Anti didn’t think that was possible). Then, Anti started hearing a female-sounding voice whispering. He leaned his ear against the door to hear better. 

“He’s not going to go away, you know that,” the woman whispered aggravatedly. 

“Yes,” the Dark-not Dark voice started quietly. 

“But he’s never seen us before, and–”

“But he knows, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” the other voice replied. Wait, what was it Dark said about their past? Right, they were some mish-mash of twins. Which means…

“The Dark twins?” Anti asked from behind the door. There was a pause–likely the female twin giving her brother an ‘I told you so’ look–before the Dark-not Dark voice broke the silence. 

“Come in,” the voice said, the door unlatching and opening itself. What the glitch found was just as he thought; a set of twins, one a woman in a dark dress, the other a man in a black suit. The man was the first one to speak again. 

“Hello, Antisepticeye.” 

[Meanwhile]

“So, you’re…Gin’s anxiety?” Chase asked, guiding the nervous wreck through the house.

“I-I’m worry…actually,” the copy responded. 

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Chase asked, confused more than he already was. 

“Uh…a lot of people think that, but there’s actually…actually a bit of a difference,” purple Gin replied with a nervous smile that quickly went down.The more Chase looked at the copy’s jumpsuit, he noticed that it wasn’t just regular purple. It was more of a violet than a regular purple. He only knew the difference because Schneep liked to info dump on colors (he wanted to be an artist, after all). But that wasn’t important at the moment. 

“And do you know where…regular Gin is?” Chase let out a sigh, frustrated but still trying to be careful. He didn’t know what would cause this emotion to break. 

“Unfortunately, um…” Violet Gin hesitated. He knew this statement would deeply upset Chase and was, well…worried about the repercussions. 

“He’s gone while we’re, uh…separated,” the copy fidgeted with his hands. Chase took another breath, trying to compose himself. 

“But he’ll come back if we find all of you guys,” Chase predicted hopefully. 

“Yeah, the only problem is…getting them back together,” Violet Gin moved his fingers like a child playing the piano for the first time, tapping against his legs. 

“It’s possible, we just gotta get some help. And I know exactly where to get it,” Chase stopped at a dark blue door, knocking four times with a silver cat knocker.

“MARVIN!” he used the signature scream he got from his creator, this time put to good use. With a click and a creak, the door opened. 

“Hello…” Marvin greeted awkwardly. 

“What can I do for you?”

“I think you know,” Chase replied, gesturing towards the copy of Gin. 

“Hi,” Violet Gin waved shyly. 

[Meanwhile]

“We didn’t think we’d be meeting you like this,” Damien said, squeezing his own hands. In the past, he would have his cane, but he was…well…forced to do away with that. 

“For a while, I thought we wouldn’t meet you at all,” Celine retorted. 

“Is now really the time for this?” Damien raised his voice; slightly, but just enough to show frustration. 

“To think I used to be the serious one,” his sister let out a puff of laughter from her nose. 

“One of us has to-”

“Excuse me, would ya quit bein’ siblings for a second and say hi?” Anti glitches in between them, interrupting Damien. 

“Hello, honey,” she gave the glitch a warm, but gentle hug, kissing the top of his head. 

“Well, now I see where Dark got their mommy energy from,” Anti joked. 

“Hey, Damien pitches in as well,” Celine replied, breaking off the hug and facing Damien with a smirk. 

“Someone has to make sure everyone is in order,” Damien straightened up his suit, adjusting to having his own form again. Celine just snickered. Those kinds of statements always did go over her dear brother’s head. 

“Hold on a second,” Anti took a confused look at the former Mayor. 

“I thought he was the ‘warm and gentle one.’” 

“That’s a long story,” Celine explained. 

“Yes, one we don’t have time to tell,” Damien spat flatly. 

��Now, we need to find Dark and rejoin them,” he moved his neck out of habit, before realizing he didn’t have to crack it in this form. Anti just barely held in a laugh at the sight. 

“If we are out, that means the entity is roaming around, and who knows what damage it could cause.”

“But I thought Darky was the entity,” clearly, he misunderstood when his partner told him the story. 

“We’ll explain on the way to Wil.”

“Why are we going to him?” Anti asked. 

“Our division happened after that blasted drink he gave us,” Damien sifted through a closet, until he found his old cane. Luckily for him, it looked to be kept intact and polished.

“He couldn’t have known what it did,” Celine followed behind, trying to calm Damien down, at least slightly. The former mayor has been furious at Wil ever since he shot the District Attorney. Further proof that his old self was pushed down by a layer of darkness. But that wasn’t the point of this endeavor. 

“Yes,” Damien sighed, seeming to humor his sister. 

“But he does know where he got it.” 

“Would he, though?” Anti commented. Wilford didn’t always have the best memory, considering his powers. 

“At the moment, it’s the only thing we have,” the former mayor explained, being somewhat more careful with the glitch. 

“Come along,” Anti and Celine followed behind to the door. Unbeknownst to them, a wisp of shadow hid itself behind Dark’s desk. 

[Meanwhile]

“You just let the most chaotic man in the house run away with your potions?!” Chase screamed.

“No one can stop Wilford, you know that!” Marvin yelled back. 

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” Chase shouted in reply. 

“My teleportation fucked up on me, okay?!” Marvin belted out. 

“You had legs! The dining room was literally seconds away!” Chase shrilled. 

“Okay, clearly this isn’t doing anything,” the magician took a calming breath. 

“We’re just acting like bickering parents with their kid in the room.” Both of them stopped to check on Worry Gin. He was still sitting, listening to music on noise canceling headphones. At least he was occupied. Couldn’t have the embodiment of worry getting overwhelmed, after all. 

“Alright, how do we do this?” Chase took a deep breath as well, shaking out his emotions in the air with his hands. 

“Let me find it,” Marvin to a bookshelf behind him, skimming the book titles until he found just what he needed; a thick, black and orange book called Stupe’s Empirical Lyrical Guide to Magic.

“Aha!” The magician pulled it out. The cover featured the outline of a person with a mustache, sideburns, and glasses. Marvin opened the book where the silk orange bookmark was, carefully speed reading for the solution. 

“Well?” The magician continued scanning the pages until he found a part titled Reversal Rehearsal. 

“You have to give me a moment, all the directions rhyme,” Marvin briefly looks up from the book. 

“Didn’t Phantom tell you not to get that version?” Chase reminded the magician. The author of this book was known for their extensive vocabulary, so their book was never recommended for either beginners or people in an emergency. It just so happens that they are dealing with the latter. After a few minutes, Marvin looked to be finally understanding the words. 

“Alright, so each emotion should be in a place the person associates with that feeling,” the magician explained. 

“But where would we even start?” Chase eyebrows strained down in confusion. 

“It says to start with the basic ones,” Marvin began. 

“So happiness, maybe?” he suggested. Chase’s eyes widened immediately after. 

“I think I know where to find that one.” 

Thanks for reading! If you would like to be tagged in my stories, please let me know. Also, there may or may not be more short stories coming, as I have gained more creative inspiration recently.

[katies3pticeye]

Hey JSE Tumblr! So, I’ve been working on an ego fanfiction for awhile now, and I’d really like to hear your thoughts on it!

By now, Chase, Jackie, Marvin, and Henrik have been in it, and Jack, JJ, and Anti have been mentioned.

It’s told from Chase’s POV, but it’s intentional for the reader to feel closer to Chase throughout the story.

Please check it out if this interests you! (Also, sorry for all the tags. I don’t have much of a following, so I kind of rely on them.)