#septic writing

[fankayart]

“ An electronic, visceral scream. Then his body shattered, the fragments left behind began squirming in an unfathomable pain as each piece aggressively fought to be whole again. ”

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Six

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You've made your decision. Wonder what you'll see? You all are being so incredibly reasonable this whole run fdhjakslh None of you are like "hmm, what if I saw the bad choices?" Or, well, some of you might be, idk, I can't see into your heads. Wonder how you'll deal with this choice, then... :)c

The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 20th at 12:00pm PST. Part Seven will be up the next day, April 21st, at the same time.

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“Bro, it’s not gonna be that hard to tell us what you’re talking about,” Chase says.

Marvin raises an eyebrow. “It’s also not gonna be that hard to walk three meters from where you’re standing to the room.”

It’s farther than that, JJ says.

“Semantics.”

“Marvin, I think what we are trying to say is that... you have been acting a bit unusual,” Schneep says delicately. “We need some trust.”

“Yeah, maybe when we walk in you’ll lock us in the room or something,” Jackie adds.

“What the fuck? No!” Marvin folds his arms. “Okay, fine, if you guys are being so weird about it. The room is pretty much empty except for some chairs. But there’s a pattern burned into the floor that I know is a ritual circle for spells.”

Jackie blinks. “What?”

Marvin throws his hands in the air. “See? You have no idea what that means! My explanation is fucking useless to you!”

Even that is better than going in completely blind, JJ says. Thank you, Marvin. We’ll check it out now.

“Finally. You guys are being weird.”

“No, you’re being weird!” Chase insists. “You’ve been weird since we came down to see what you were doing!”

Marvin starts to snap back, but stops. He frowns, like he’s considering something. For a moment, he looks worried. Then he pushes past it. “Well... I’ll try to stop being weird, then. Come on. I’ll go in first, if you’re so worried about me locking you in.” And he turns around and walks back into the room he came from. The other four glance at each other, a bit concerned, but follow him.

The room is exactly as Marvin described, empty except for four wooden chairs. A single dim bulb lights it up, though there are still shadows around the edges. And on the floor—wooden boards instead of the blank concrete in the basement hallway—is a design. Chase traces the lines with his eyes. A circle. With lines crisscrossing back and forth, and six strange symbols burned into the empty space in the center. The four chairs sit on the edge of this circle, evenly spaced between each other.

“So... you said this was a ritual circle?” Schneep asked. “For what?”

“I don’t really know, actually,” Marvin says slowly. “I don’t recognize the pattern. And actually, patterns aren’t really used that much, it’s usually just the circle, maybe with some runes around the edges if you want to be fancy.”

“What about these?” Jackie points at the symbols in the center. “They seem important. Do you recognize them?”

“I... kind of?” Marvin says. “It’s weird. I don’t know how I know this, but it’s something about... life? And... change? Transformation, o-or maybe transference, I don’t know.”

“Why’s it burned into the ground?” Chase mutters, tapping one of the lines with the tip of his shoe. “Seems like a lot of effort.”

“I’m guessing whoever did it was planning on using it a lot.”

JJ frowns. Why is this in Jack’s cabin? Along with all those magic books in the other room? I didn’t think he was into that sort of stuff.

“Maybe it belonged to some other family member,” Jackie suggests.

Chase gives the room a second look, as if he could find something new. And, surprisingly, he does. “Hey, these chairs were in the other room,” Chase says. “With the table. Marvin, did you move them in here?”

Marvin stares at Chase for a moment. Then at the chairs. He blinks, confusion clouding his face. “I... don’t know. Maybe? I—ow!” Marvin flinches a bit, pressing a hand to the side of his head.

“Are you okay?” Schneep asks.

“Yeah, I just... my head... started... hurt...” Marvin’s words trail off. He slowly lowers his hand. And he steps further into the room, going right up to the symbols in the center, looking down as he stands on them.

“Marvin?” Jackie asks, concerned.

Marvin looks up. “I remember what one of these means,” he says in a slow, almost monotone voice. “It means ‘blood.’ And I found something else in this room.” He puts his hand behind his back and then takes it out again. A knife is clasped in his hand. A thin blade, almost a dagger.

“Whoa!” Jackie steps forward, holding his arms out protectively in front of the others. “Okay, uh, cool? Th-that makes sense, I guess. Now, uh, can you put it down?”

Marvin grins. “Does it make you nervous?”

“No!” Jackie protests.

“I-it does a little,” Schneep says quietly.

“Really? What are you afraid of? That I’ll hurt you? I’m hurt that you’d think that.” Marvin flips the knife in his hand. “I’ll show you how hurt I am.” Slowly, he raises the shaking knife to his throat.

Chase gasps. He pushes past Jackie. “Marvin, no!”

JJ also tries to push past him, but Schneep grabs him and pulls him back. “Be careful!” Schneep hisses.

“Be careful?! Be careful?! Are you seeing this?!” Chase takes a couple steps forward. “Marvin, put the knife down.”

Marvin just laughs. The blade presses against his neck.

[th3w00ds]

Welcome to the City of the Dead, Where the Lost Are Found

@nwtbobsessedemo @colourfulmes

Title From: City of the Dead by Hollywood Undead

Fandom: Youtuber Egos

AU: None

Content Warnings: Not proofread

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Marvin was waiting patiently for his boyfriend and fellow amateur magician, Zach Universe, to get back from his show. 

Marvin hadn’t gone as he needed to practice for his- he was planning on doing a show at the same place that Zach was, if all went for his friend.

Marvin checked his phone. 12 AM. Zach should’ve been back by now… he had told Marvin earlier that he’d be back by 11. What was taking him so long? 

Marvin brushed his hair out of his eyes, and went back to focusing on the trick he was practicing. 

It was something that involved rings, making connect when all of them were separate and had no openings to connect them and hook them together, or so an audience was led to believe.

Something like this required Marvin to have an audience so that he could tell if he was making progress. Ah well, he’d ask Zach if he could watch when he got back. 

Suddenly, the door to their shared apartment flung open. Marvin flinched, and dropped the rings. 

He turned his head and saw Zach. He looked more disheveled than when he left, and was holding some… book? Did he go to the library? 

“Hey Zach! What took you so long? And what’s that?” Marvin mused, looking at the book again. 

It was relatively small, and seemed to be bound with black leather or something, and had a bunch of weird symbols on it. 

“I found the best thing, Marvin! It’s a book of spells! Real spells! I tried it, and it- I did REAL magic!” Zach replied, running a hand through his hair and rushing into the room, closing the door behind him.

Marvin scoffed, “Real magic? Zach, that doesn’t exist, you know that!” Was Zach pranking him? 

“Marv, no, this was real magic! I mean, really real! Look at this!” Zach held out his right hand, and a small fire suddenly burst out on it. 

“OH SHIT!!!” Marvin said, running to grab water, but then Zach went in front of him and showed him is hands. 

His right hand had no blisters, burns or anything. Being that close to fire that looked that hot, especially with it being on his skin… 

Zach should’ve had a second or even third degree burn. But he didn’t. How the FUCK was that possible?!

“ZACH WHAT THE SHIT WAS THAT?!” Marvin shouted, “HOW- YOU- YOU SHOULD BE-“ 

“MARVIN!” Zach shouted, getting Marvin to shut up temporarily, “I’m not burned, I’m not even hurt! It’s REAL MAGIC! I told you, real magic, and did you listen? Nooo, no you didn’t! I needed to show you so you’d believe me it’s real!” 

Marvin was pretty much hyperventilating in excitement and was pacing around. “Real magic?! So that means- that means that we don’t need to do fake magic tricks anymore! HOLY SHIT, YOUR SHOW! How did that go?!”

Zach’s face fell, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I uh… it didn’t go well, Marv.” 

Marvin’s excitement for his partner slightly dulled. “Oh. Do you wanna talk about it?” The Irishman offered. 

“Not really. Thanks though,” Zach said, “All that matters is that I found this book after the show went to Hell!” 

“Let me see it!” Marvin then exclaimed, trying to grab the book out of Zach’s hands. 

“Hey! Sit down and I’ll show you!” Zach said, sitting down on their couch. Marvin sat down next to him, and Zach opened the book.

The first page said it was the Book of Phantom, whatever the fuck that meant. Was this… Phantom person the one who made it? Marvin watched as Zach flipped through the pages. 

Indeed, the book was full of spells. Elemental magic, teleportation magic, foresight magic, pretty much anything someone obsessed with fantasy magic systems could imagine was in there. 

For such a small looking book, it managed to cram all that information into its pages. Marvin was shocked, and his right leg was bouncing without his input. Zach then turned to one of the pages at the very back of the book. 

“This spell is the one I want to try out the most,” he said. Marvin read the page: a spell to summon Phantom. Or, well, from what Marvin understood, to take the one who performed the spell to Phantom. The more he read, the more he was intrigued.

The description of the spell was what you needed to get to wherever Phantom was, and what he offered. 

Which was anything. Yep. Anything someone wanted, they could have it. According to the book, the only cost was one’s soul. Sounded like some stereotypical demon shit to Marvin. 

“Zach… this sounds like one of those stereotypical demon deals, y’know, like from Supernatural or something. If this… Phantom really is a demon, then maybe you shouldn’t jump to make a deal with him,” He said.

“Is the great Marvin the Magnificent scared of some demon?” Zach said, poking Marvin in the side. 

“What?! No!” Marvin replied, “Okay… maybe a little,” Zach laughed, and poked him once more. “Stop!” Marvin said, laughing. 

Zach laughed as well, and then stopped poking Marvin. “Oh shit. See that?” Zach pointed at a place on the page. It was an address. “That’s the address of the place my show was at! That means Phantom is there!” 

“How the fuck did you not notice that before? The address, I mean. I think you would’ve noticed if a demon was in that club.” Marvin pointed out. Zach nodded.

“I didn’t see anything… demony,” Zach said. 

“Other than the book?” Marvin asked. 

“Yeah. But the book didn’t even seem that off, other than what it looked like.” Zach answered. Huh. Marvin sighed, and looked at Zach.

“You’re gonna go back for another show, aren’t you?” Marvin said.

“Of course! I know real magic now, why wouldn’t I go back to show how much I’ve improved?” Zach said in response.

“I’m not going to stop you, but if anything goes wrong, Zach,” Marvin put his hands on Zach’s shoulders, “You come straight home. Do not, and I repeat, do not make any sort of deal with Phantom. Don’t even talk to the fucker if he shows up.” 

Zach put his hands on Marvin’s, and took them off his shoulders, holding them both in his hands. 

“I will. I swear I will,” Zach promised. Marvin smiled softly, and hugged Zach. 

“Okay. Let’s go to bed, alright? I’m so fuckin’ tired,” Marvin said. He got up and crawled into his bed, and drifted off to sleep.

The sunlight pouring through the windows woke Marvin up, along with the chirping birds. Marvin say up slowly, rubbing his eyes and fixing his green hair slightly, grabbing his hairbrush and brushing through it before tying it up in a ponytail. 

“Zach?? Hello?” Marvin called out. He got no reply. Marvin checked his phone to see the time, and it said 3 PM. Damn, guess Marvin really was tired as fuck. 

He sat down on the couch, and noticed that the book he and Zach had looked through was still there. On it was a sticky note, and it read: Hey Marv, sorry I didn’t wake you up, I tried to but you were sleeping like a rock. I’ll be out all day at the club to practice my magic and then for the show. Maybe read the book more so you can see what I’m talking about with all this? - Z.

“God damn it Zach..” Marvin muttered. How reckless was he? It made Marvin scared, how eager Zach was to literally sell his soul away for… whatever he wanted. Zach had never actually said what he was planning to ask Phantom for.

So, for the next 5 or so hours, Marvin had taken to reading the Book of Phantom. He had managed to read all of it one time cover to cover, but there was so much in it he just couldn’t wrap his head around it all in one reading, so he started to read it for a second time through. 

Around 10 PM, Marvin’s phone buzzed with his text ringtone. He immediately reached for it and unlocked it, and it was a new text from Zach. The text was only two words.

Perfect show. 

No no no no… Zach! Fear and adrenaline came over Marvin like a vice grip, and sprang up, the book in one hand, phone in the other. He put his phone in one of his pockets, and grabbed his car keys. 

Marvin ran out of the apartment and frantically opened the door to his car, getting in and slamming the door. He put in his keys and tossed the book onto the passenger seat. 

He was sure he drove above the speed limit for most of his drive, and around five minutes after he got the text, Marvin arrived at the club. He parked the car, grabbed the book and walked inside. 

Marvin very much wanted to run in and look for Zach, but that would make him look crazy. 

He took a second to take in the place. The inside of the building was bathed in harsh red lighting, and Marvin noted that a band was playing some rock song. 

The singer was some emo looking guy, wearing all black and having some sort of purple makeup on his face. Marvin swore he made eye contact with him, and the guy started to sing louder. 

Welcome to the city of the dead!

Where the lost are found, in peace we rest! 

The song almost made him forget what he was there for. 

Welcome to the city of the dead!

Almost. 

WHERE WE ALL WEAR CROWNS UPON OUR HEAD!!

SO WHY IS MY SOUL SO HUNGRY FOR A BROKEN HEART?! 

WELCOME TO THE CITY OF THE DEAD!

WHERE THE LOST ARE FOUND, IN PEACE WE REST!!! 

He looked around again, tuning out the song. No Zach. God fucking damn it! Where was he?! 

There goes the sun…

Marvin was frantically searching for any place that Zach could be. What if he never found him?!

I’ve come undone!

Okay, okay, okay! He could do this! Marvin, you can do it! He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. His mind cleared, and the singer looked very irritated for some reason. That was weird. 

Marvin saw a door suddenly sort of… appear? It wasn’t there before, and that was very, very weird. What the hell was happening?! 

He ran over to the door, and opened it, getting into wherever it led to and slamming it shut. Marvin pressed his back against the door, breathing in and out, trying to calm down.

Then he finally noticed where he was. 

It was some… office? It had a long desk, and a bunch of strange artifacts were in the room. He looked around, and then he heard someone clearing their throat. Marvin flinched. 

He looked over at the desk, and noticed a man sitting there. He was very well put together, wearing a red shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest, as well as black shoes and pants. The man was holding some sort of cane in his left hand, a black one, which silver talons holding an orb. 

“I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight,” The man said, “You look lost, are you okay, kid? Don’t mind my brother, he can be a bit intimidating to new people,” 

What the fuck was this guy doing calling Marvin kid? He barely looked older than Marvin himself. Maybe 28 or 29 at most. 

“W-Who the fuck are you?! What is this?!” Marvin blurted out. “Have you seen a man around my age, magician’s outfit? He’s my boyfriend, I need to find him!” 

The man chuckled. “Looks like you’ve come to the right guy for that, kid. Take a seat,” Marvin didn’t sit. “Take a seat,” the man repeated, his voice growing more colder than the friendly tone it had been. Marvin sat down. 

“My name is Phantom, and I think I might know who you’re talking about. New kid, failed his last magic show, yeah?” Phantom said, “I know where he is.” 

Wait. Hold the fuck on. That was Phantom?! Marvin had expected something more… demon-like. This guy just looked… normal. Attractive, but normal. 

Phantom suddenly laughed. “Well that’s the point, isn’t it? I wouldn’t make any deals if I looked like a monster, would I? No, no I wouldn’t. Humans trust..” he gestured to himself, “this a lot more.” 

“Did you just-“ Marvin began. Now he was starting to freak out again. 

“Read your mind? Yeah. Freaky, right? Haha! Holy shit you’re so clueless, it’s adorable!” Phantom said. Marvin inhaled deeply.

“…Where is Zach?” He asked. “I need to know. You said you knew where he was?” 

Phantom grinned widely. “Oh yeah, I know exactly where he is. I can get him for you if you want, Marvin,” Marvin hated the sound of the demon saying his name. It sounded so… wrong. Phantom snapped his fingers, and suddenly Zach was in the room.

Marvin leapt up out of his seat and ran to tackle Zach in a hug, expecting Zach to do the same and wonder where Marvin was for so long.

“Who are you? Do I know you?” Zach said. His voice… it was wrong. No, not just that- everything about him was wrong. He was so… pale, his voice was monotone, and his eyes were completely dead. 

“Z-Zach? It’s me, it’s Marvin!” Marvin said, shaking Zach. What the fuck happened to him?! What did Phantom do?! 

“I know of nobody by that name.” Zach said. That hurt. Marvin nearly physically recoiled when what-used-to-be-Zach said that. Marvin’s face dropped, and he sat back down, staring at the wood of the desk. Phantom’s deranged sounding laughter rang throughout the room. 

“Kid, what are you so sad about? I gave you your boyfriend! What, do you wanna see Zach? Cheer him up, why don’t you?” Phantom teased, motioning towards the husk of Zach.

Marvin grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Then he got up and ran at Phantom.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ZACH?!” He shouted. Phantom stood up just before Marvin landed his punch, and held out his hand. Marvin was stopped in his tracks. 

Marvin was so stunned that he didn’t notice that Phantom’s eyes were glowing a crimson red and that he now had wings. Those wings surprised him most- they were like an angel’s, but darker. They were red, gold and black. 

Marvin couldn’t move, no matter what he tried, nor how much he willed his body to move. 

“I’m not usually one of those ‘be not afraid’ types, kid, I’m the one telling you humans to be scared- but this is just insulting to me. You should be trembling in fear, not… trying to punch me,” Phantom said. Marvin noticed that his tone was different now, more confused, and that his head was tilted slightly. Had he seriously never seen someone like this before? 

Phantom lowered his hand, and then Marvin could move again. But he didn’t try to punch the demon- angel? Being. He didn’t try to punch the being, who knows what Phantom could do. 

“Tell you what. I’m feeling… generous, shall I say, tonight, and luckily for you I’ve already gotten a soul,” Phantom pointed over at the husk of Zach, “Don’t worry, his soul is safe in my collection. Just his body is gonna be working here now. That reminds me, you probably wanna know what he asked for. Zach asked for a perfect show.. and I gave him one, I gave him a show that the audience will never forget.” Phantom stopped talking for a moment.

“Marvin, let’s make a deal,” He suddenly said.

Marvin stepped back, processing what Phantom just said to him. A deal? For his soul, right? But he just said that he already got Zach’s soul! For a… for a stupid perfect show. It really meant that much to Zach? Damn it, why wasn’t Marvin there?! 

“Oh no no no, not for your soul. In exchange for me letting you go with no harm done to you by me, my brother or employees, you will need to repay me with a favor in the future at a time of my choosing,” Phantom paused, “I’ll throw in you getting to do magic without my book as well. You get to live and do real magic, I get a favor later.” 

That… sounded like a good deal. Marvin could get out of this.

“Clock’s ticking, kid. I don’t have all night, you know.” Phantom said, holding out his hand. 

Marvin shook it. 

Red energy connected their hands for a moment, and then Marvin felt… powerful. He felt power running through his veins, his blood. Almost instinctively, Marvin grabbed the book from his pocket and handed it to Phantom, who took it and placed it on his side of the desk. 

Phantom smiled. “Go, you’re fine. Nothing bad happened, I’m not a liar,” 

“I never said you were,” Marvin said as he turned to leave, then walking out of Phantom’s office. He entered into the club again, and the band was no longer on stage. 

Marvin was just about to exit that cursed club when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around. It was the same singer from before.

“So… what’d you ask Phantom for? I’m Natemare, by the way, and I’m awfully curious as to how the fuck you broke out of my song earlier. It should’ve put you in a complete trance. Not many people I’ve met have been able to break out of my songs..” Natemare smiled and leaned closer to Marvin. Yep, that guy was definitely unhinged. 

“Oh, uh… I don’t know?” Marvin replied. Natemare’s face went blank for a moment, and then he grinned in a somehow even more insane way. 

“You don’t know..? You don’t know?” He repeated. “That is bullshit, you can’t just fucking-“ 

“NATEMARE! Stop bothering our guest!” Phantom suddenly shouted. The man was walking towards them, and Natemare groaned. 

“I wasn’t bothering him! I was just asking how in hell’s name he managed to escape my song!” Natemare said. His mannerisms were a bit more.. childish now?

“Well, let him go. He cannot be harmed in here until after he leaves.” Phantom said, glaring at both Natemare and Marvin. Marvin took his change, and ran out the door.

He quickly got in his car, and drove off to his apartment. Marvin wished he had stopped Zach from even going to his first show, because then he’d never have found the book and would never have made a deal with Phantom!

But there wasn’t really anything Marvin could’ve done. Hell, even Marvin had made a deal. 

He just hoped that the favor he owed Phantom wasn’t anything bad.

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 22: Horror Septics

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix 

Read Swapboys | Read Horror Septics | AO3 Link

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

Taglist: @brokentimewatch @di-diwata  

  Magnificent feels like a child being supervised. It’s almost demeaning, but given what is supervising, he probably shouldn’t complain out loud. It’s definitely night by now. He needs to sleep. Maybe if he gets on a night train, it will satisfy the creature that he’s making progress while also allowing him to rest? It’s worth a shot.

Magnificent has been cursing his hubris and stupidity as his journey went on. Especially now that he felt constant eyes on him. He was exhausted… all this power and he still had to sleep. Fucking bullshit.

The train is quiet, the lighting kept low for people who want to sleep in their seats. Mag is just drifting off as the train pulls into another station. A couple people get on, looking harried. One of them seems familiar…

As the train stops the magician blinks his tired eyes and looks at the people coming on. His eyes widen- is that…?

Bro yawns as him and Jack sleepily enter the train. He blearily blinks around and then mumbles to Jack. “How many more trains do we need to take again…?”

“This should be the last one,” Jack says, staring at a map on the wall. “But then we have to take the ferry to France and I don’t remember if the run that at night. I don’t know if you can fly across they English Channel, but even if you can I don’t want to be carried across the English Channel.”

“I don’t want to carry anyone over the English Channel…” Chase mumbles, rubbing his eyes. “Even if it’s faster… I gotta save up my strength…” He looks like he’s ready to fall over, yawning again as he shakes out his head. “I hope there’s another outlet here…”

Magnificent feels his breath hitch and before he can really think about it, he pushes himself out of his seat and stumbles towards Chase. He grabs Chase by the jacket and pulls him close, desperation in his eyes. “Chase Brody-!”

Chase startles and tries to push Mag away before realizing. “M-Magnificent?!”

Mag looks actually scared and desperate as he whispers to Bro. “Where he is? Where’s Alt?!”

"Whoa!" Jack reacts fast, pushing Magnificent backwards. "Who are you?! What do you want?" He looks at Chase. "You know him?"

“H-He’s the other guy that came with us- fuck i… I totally forgot…!” Chase says, pushing back his hair.

Then Jack looks back at Magnificent. His eyes flick down to the strange mist around Mag's legs and his eye widens. "Oh."

Chase also looks at the strange mist around Mag and how tired and ragged he looks. “Jesus dude- what happened to you?”

“Answer my fucking question, hero!” Magnificent spits with urgency. “Where is that fucking useless brother of yours and the device?!”

Chase’s face loses color again as he grips his phone in his pocket. “…he’s gone. S-Something… something has him. We’re trying to find him.”

Magnificent’s face falls, starting to look pale himself. If he got into trouble with the denizens here… then there’s no telling what could have Alt. “…do you have any leads-“

“Shut the fuck up acting like you actually care, Mag!” Bro snarls, suddenly angry. “Looks like you fucked up and you want Alt to clean up your fucking mess?! Well maybe now you should actually live with the consequences of your shitty actions that got us all here, you fucker!”

If they hadn’t already drawn attention to themselves- they have now. Bro’s voice echoes in the train car, his anger palpable in the air, like lightning is about to strike.

"Jesus christ, Chase, calm down!" Jack holds his hands up patiently. "People are staring. We don't want people to stare." He glances around the train car.

There aren't many other passengers, but the handful sitting around are all definitely watching, annoyed. It's the night train, after all. You're supposed to be quiet.

Magnificent actually seems to shrink away from the hero’s anger- which has Chase quieting down quickly. Something has Magnificent actually scared. Which… isn’t good.

"Listen. Magnificent, was it? Weird name, but whatever. Why are you asking?" Jack’s eyes flick to the mist again.

Magnificent’s gaze flickers around the train before he looks to the both of them with wide eyes and whispers, almost too quiet to hear. “We need to leave here… as soon as possible.” He then looks around some more before gesturing for the two of them to follow him.

Chase looks down at Jack and raises an eyebrow. He looks wary but he finally sighs and decides to follow.

Mag sits back down into the chair he had claimed, curling his fingers into the arm rests as his eyes dart around, high on alert.

Chase hesitates before sitting in the seat across from him. “…okay you’re usually a freaky bastard but- this… this is weird even for you, Mag.”

Jack sits down next to Chase. "I think I can guess what's wrong," he mutters. "I'm assuming that fog doesn't usually follow this guy around. Let me guess... you found a forest in Ireland with a bunch of fog. Ran into a really tall person-like thing with a mask and a smile. It offered you something and you said yes."

The train is eerily silent. But they can hear the sounds of the wheels on the tracks.

Mag’s eyes snap to Jack’s and stares at him with wide eyes. His hands just barely tremble on the armrests, claws digging into the fabric. He seems to wait a beat- as if checking he can still hear sounds before he whispers. “…yes.”

Chase scowls, “You motherfucker- you were looking for more power weren’t you? We’ll look what happened… ya finally got a taste of your own bitter medicine, didn’t ya?”

Mag doesn’t even reply or look up at Chase. He’s quiet before he speaks up again. “…there’s something else. Following me… making sure I do the task it gave me.”

"A task?" Jack raises an eyebrow. "That's not normal... I guess maybe it thought you'd be too smart to just take an offer."

The truth of that assumption is up for debate.

He leans back in the chair. "Cait Coill can't leave the forest, so I'm guessing it sent another one to watch you. Hm... maybe Ragdoll. They seem to work together a lot." Jack looks up to the ceiling. This train has luggage racks... maybe keep an eye on those. "Have you seen any weird strings? Or had all noise stop all of a sudden? Maybe a little bit of music?"

“Yes.” Magnificent says in a hollow voice. His eyes are wide and distant and his muscles are taunt- like he’s expecting to loose control of them. “… Cat Coill… it- it wants me to find a man in a red hoodie. It… it wants me to kill it.”

Chase watches with a furrowed brow. When Chase hears the part about the red hoodie he looks at Jack with wide eyes. Then he mouths out, “Sangria?”

Jack looks back at Chase, thinking the same thing. Then he bursts out laughing. "Oh, you're fucked. You're so fucked."

Magnificent glares and then bares his teeth at Jack, snapping. “What do you mean?! I- I’m a powerful magician! I can take down a simple man! Easily!”

Chase shakes his head, he can’t help but laugh too, “Mag… we’re completely out of our fucking depth here… did you really think this- this cat thing was sending you to just kill some guy?” Chase shudders and looks into Mag’s eyes. “…the thing in the red hood- I met it. It tried to convince me it was Alt. ….I think it was going to kill me.”

Magnificent looks even more pale. “…oh.” Is all he can bring himself to say.

"No, it wasn't going to kill you," Jack says. "It was going to get you to ruin your own life. Probably make you kill someone else. Multiple someones, if it could keep you influenced for long enough."

Chase’s face turns more pale now, “oh… fuck. That’s… that’s even more awful I think…”

Jack pauses. "But. Yeah. If Cait Coill sent you to kill Sangria, it was fucking with you. You can't kill them. They can't even kill each other. Did you piss it off or something?"

Magnificent bares his teeth and looks away, cursing in Irish. “I should have known… i…”

“Yeah you must have pissed this cat thing off trying to get more freaky power! Now it’s finally bit you in the ass!” Chase bites out, quietly.

Magnificent closes his mouth and bunch his hands into fists, but doesn’t say anything for a while. “….I was a fool. I can admit it… but- we… we need to find Alt and the device as soon as possible.”

“To save your skin?” Chase glares.

“…to save all of us, Chase.” Mag breathes. “We shouldn’t have come here.”

"To be fair... you've only been here for about six hours and you've already run into one of them twice," Jack says slowly. "Not to mention Alt did, too. I... I think he's right. You guys need to get out of here. You're not used to all of this."

The two other-worlders share a glance with each other, seeming to agree.

Suddenly, Jack tenses. "Listen."

The sound of the train tracks has faded away.

Chase looks confused as he tries to listen. “I… I don’t hear anything.”

Magnificent stiffens, all the color draining from his face.

Jack looks up at the luggage rack above their heads. He jumps to his feet. "Hey!"

Something scrambles along, partially hidden by the luggage.

Magnificent feels a pulling sensation, like something's trying to drag him away.

Chase jumps to his feet, readying his fists and looking around for the threat.

Magnificent let’s out a terrified squeak and quickly digs his claws completely into the seat, trying to anchor himself. “no no- nonono!”

"Yeah, that's Ragdoll," Jack mutters. "It went that way, towards the other car." He glances back at Magnificent. "You... try to stay here. Chase, I-I'm going to follow, see what it's trying to do. You can stay with him or come, I guess?"

Magnificent nods, trying to keep himself rooted to the spot- then using magic to tie himself to the chair.

Chase shudders, “Ragdoll is a freaky name… and no way I’m leaving you dude! Mag can handle himself.” He glares at the dark magician who refuses to look at the hero.

"Okay, then." Jack nods. "C'mon. I think it left this car."

They hurry down the aisle to the doors to the other train car, which is just swinging shut. Chase, in front, bursts through--

This car is empty. Well, not completely empty. Someone is sitting in an aisle seat, looking relaxed. They're wearing a red hoodie. "I thought you'd be on one of these eventually."

Chase hurries down the car and then freezes when he sees that red hoodie and that voice. “y-You!”

"Me." Sangria smiles, and any resemblance to personhood fades away as it bears its teeth. "I said I'd see you later. Seems like you've been busy. Misery says it saw you in its house, and now this?" It jerks its head upwards. On the luggage rack above crouches something with spiral eyes, strings tangled around wooden limbs. It tilts its head a little, and there's a faint strain of distorted ragtime. "You and your brother have really bad luck."

Misery? Was that the name of the thing in the house? Chase stumbles back at the ragtime, looking at the wooden thing with wide eyes. Then, at the mention of his brother Chase’s eyes snap to Sangria’s with hatred, eyes turning bright blue with power. “How did you- Where is he?! Do you know?!”

"I do." Sangria's smile widens. "Do you want to get there sooner?"

Back in his seat, Magnificent feels something tighten around him. In a snap, he's just a passenger again. His body stands up without him and walks after Chase and Jack.

Magnificent wordlessly gasps as his body is taken over again and silently follows after the others. He actually wants to warn them- but he can’t.

“I don’t want to play your fucking games!” Chase roars, charging at Sangria like he’s ready to punch him.

Sangria doesn't move as Chase rushes at him. Jack cries out and tries to grab him but he's a split second too slow. As Chase throws a punch, Sangria t w i s t s to the side, an odd crackling sound breaking through the unnatural quiet. Its smile disappears and it stands up. Chase is suddenly aware that it is taller than him. "You're going there anyway," it says. "I'm offering to help cut the journey time. You could be there right now."

Chase shouts in fear as Sangria twists and he stumbles back, settling back by Jack. He takes a second to breathe before growling. "Why would you want to help me?"

Magnificent walks into the car and sees all this. Ragdoll turns to look at him with the spiraling eyes. The control loosens, almost disappearing but ready to pounce again.

Magnificent gasps as he's freed and looks up at Ragdoll in fear. His stomach drops as he sees the thing in the red hood. The thing Cait Coill wanted him to find-

"Might be fun," Sangria says plainly. "Besides--now that I've been thinking about it, you humans with powers might fuck some stuff up for--hello." It turns to look at Mag. "Who are you?"

"Fun?!" Chase spits, "My brother's life is in danger because of you fucks and you just-!" He pauses in his yelling to look back- and pales at seeing how.... scared Mag looks, standing in the door.

"...M-Magnificent." He answers, fists tightly at his sides. That thing... that thing will kill him. He knows it. If he attacks- it's gonna kill him.

Cait Coill sent him here to die.

"Unusual thing to be called." Sangria looks him over, then glances up at the luggage rack. "Did you grab him?"

A few strains of music fill the unnatural silence.

Magnificent hears himself speak. "Consider it a gift."

"I don't have any interest in gifts. They're hard to work with."

"Not from me."

"Not from--" Sangria stops. It looks at Magnificent again... and looks irritated. "Oh for the love of--Δεν κάνω τη βρώμικη δουλειά του--"

And then Magnificent feels the compulsion to attack.

Magnificent's eyes widen as power surges through his hands, lighting them on fire. Then, he lunges at Sangria.

"M-Mag! What are you doing?!" Chase shouts.

"Look out!" Jack pushes Chase to the side as Magnificent attacks. Sangria does not move. Magnificent's fire hits it with a dry hiss and it does not flinch. Instead, in an instant, it lunges forward and grabs him, wrapping one arm around Mag's neck and the other around his torso, pinning his arms. It looks up to Ragdoll. "You're going to make this happen?"

Ragdoll's head nods jerkily.

"Fine."

Suddenly, Magnificent feels a cold dead feeling sink into him. First at the hands and feet, then creeping up his arms and legs, leaving numbness behind. It feels like winter. It feels like dead trees and gray ground and a killing chill.

Mag can't fight the pull- he can't struggle as Sangria grabs him. He whimpers as the dead feeling sinks into his body. He looks at Chase with clear fear and desperation in his eyes. A call that Chase can't ignore if he wants to call himself a hero. He grits his teeth, then powers up a bolt of lightning in his finger and tries to shoots it out into Sangria's shoulder. "Hey! Let him go!"

The lightning hisses as it hits, and Sangria stumbles a bit. It looks back at Chase with clear surprise.

A distraction that stops the dead feeling; Mag's limbs tingle as sensation returns. Sangria doesn't let go of him entirely, but the arm around his neck unwraps and reaches for Chase--

Instinctively, maybe foolishly, Jack shoves Chase behind him. Sangria stops. "You fucking ruin everything," it growls at Jack.

"Because that's your job, right?" Jack says with a small laugh. "Look, are you really going to do what Cait Coill wants you to?"

Sangria tilts its head, considering. Ragdoll shifts position slightly, a few strings dropping down from the luggage rack as if getting ready for... something.

Chase stumbles and is about to push himself back out but stops when he realizes... Jack actually stopped Sangria completely. Chase eyes Ragdoll warily, eyes glowing with power.

Magnificent pants, heart threatening to beat out of his chest. "P-Please-" He tries to whimper out.

Sangria looks up at Ragdoll. “What would you want?”

Ragdoll tilts its head. Then holds up a hand with five fingers splayed.

“That’s a lot for you.”

The faint music in the background stalls for a moment, sounding almost angry.

“Okay okay.” Sangria looks at Chase and Jack and smiles. “Congratulations. You brought up a good point. I hate Cait Coill more than this man has annoyed me.” And it shoved Magnificent at Chase.

Magnificent stumbles forward and almost falls to the ground but Chase hurries to catch him and help him up. He stares down at the mad magician as he seems to shake violently, eyes wide. Chase swallows thickly then looks back at Sangria and Ragdoll, bunching up his muscles in case they try anything more.

The two of them are not even concerned with the humans in the train car. Sangria and Ragdoll stare at one another silently. Then, abruptly, Ragdoll scrambles down from the luggage racks, dangling upside down from the strings attached to it. It swings over and opens a window, squeezing through the small opening and out into the countryside beyond.

Magnificent sags as soon as Ragdoll leaves and then pushes himself away from Chase to lean on the seats in the car.

As if that didn’t just happen, Sangria turns to the group and asks, “Do you want to reach Alt sooner or later?”

Chase tries not to roll his eyes at Mag then stands tall to address Sangria. “…are you going to trick me? Is this some plan to like… steal my soul or something?”

“What would I do with that?” Sangria’s mouth curls in disgust. “I don’t want power like the cat. I need something else. But I don’t have to get it from you. There’s enough of you already.” Its attention shifts to Jack. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to step in on something else’s territory.” And back to Chase. “The train is stopping soon. You have to make a decision by then.”

Chase glances back at Jack and then looks back to Sangria with determined desperate eyes. “…yes- yes whatever you can do to get us to Alt-!”

Sangria grins. "Alright. In that case..." Its head gestures back at the door they came from. "Close that and reopen it. Head right through, I understand it's hard to maintain an entrance so far away and on a moving vehicle."

Chase looks at Sangria like its crazy- and it is. But... he can't afford to waste anymore time. He nods and heads back towards the door, stopping for a second to grab Mag and make sure he's coming too. Mag hardly protests. Chase closes the door and then reopens it-

Instead of the next train car, a hallway extends from the door. It’s walls are white plaster stained with rusty streaks, and the floor is white tile with similar stains. The hall goes forward until it eventually ends in a T-intersection.

Jack’s eye widens. “So I was right,” he mutters darkly. “Okay. Go!”

Chase hardly hesitates, running through the door and dragging Mag with him. He sprints down the hall- looking and listening for any sign of Alt.

Jack follows. He glances back though the door once he’s in the hall. Sangria smiles and waves. And then the door shuts on its own.

Jack turns around and hurries after Chase.

There is no sign of Alt. There’s not much sign of anything except the extending hallway. Chase reaches the intersection quickly. To the left is a seemingly endless hallway lined with doors. To the right is a seemingly endless hallway lined with old medical equipment, like IVs and wheelchairs.

Chase is trying not to panic now- he's so close- where is he?? "ALT!!" He shouts as he just picks a direction and runs, "ALT??!"

Somewhere else, Alt hears shouting, distant and muffled like it’s on another floor in a house. There’s a lot of shouting and screaming in here but this sounds different.

Alt blearily opens his eyes- confused on why he hasn't been stabbed a couple more times by now. He furrows his eyebrows in confusion at the shouting- but it sounds so far away...

Notarzt returns. It looks at Alt and sighs, sounding strangely disappointed.

He weakly looks at Notarzt and chuckles quietly, "... you sure got spooked by somethin', huh?" He slurs.

"Halt deine Fresse," Notarzt snaps. It walks forward and sharply pulls out the hooks in Alt's chest and stomach, each sharp motion accompanied by a shriek of pain. It removes the clamps as well, leaving behind red marks lined with blood. Alt didn't even realize his limbs had gone numb until the blood starts flowing back into them.

Alt bites back a scream at first but is soon yelling again. He glances at his arm and leg at the places the clamps were with wide eyes. He looks up at Notartz, "m sorry-" he quickly tries to apologize, afraid the monster is about to do so much worse to him,

Notarzt rolls its eye--why did it move like that?!--and reaches into its pocket, pulling something out. It roughly jams some cloth into Alt's mouth and ties it around his head. Tastes like blood. Then it pulls one of the wheelchairs over and quickly undoes Alt's restraints, pulling him off the table and towards the chair.

Alt yells against the rag and then- even if his heavy muscles protest, tries his best to fight against being moved, shouting against the cloth.

His struggles only make his wounds hurt more. Notarzt doesn't even flinch as it shoves him into the wheelchair, using the attached leather straps to fasten his wrists to the arms, his ankles to the footrest, and his torso to the back. Then it grabs Alt's jacket and ruined shirt from the floor and drops them on his lap. "Lass uns eine Fahrt machen," it says, pulling the chair out of the operating theatre.

Alt's vision blurs and dips as the pain flares up from all his different wounds. His head lolls to the back of the chair as he's rolled forward. He makes some noises of protest but he's so so so tired...

Chase, running through the hallways, is starting to get very lost. Everything looks the same, with branches happening at random. Maybe the hallways even loop. He could swear he's seen that cluster of three IVs before. Occasionally there are wooden doors in the walls, but beyond them are just empty rooms. Mostly empty. Every single one has a bed with leather restraints.

Jack is breathing heavily. "Chase! I think... we're not... getting anywhere..."

"No! No there- there has to be something!" Chase shouts, trying to keep running.

Magnificent is still letting himself be dragged but he speaks up, "Eyepatch is right, hero- you're just getting us all lost!"

Chase ignores him, "ALT!! ALT!!"

Chase turns a corner--and runs straight into a dead end. There is no door. There is no hallway. There is only a wall.

Chase runs into the dead end and screams in frustration. He punches the wall with enough force to dent the plaster then quickly turns to go back the other way.

When he turns the corner again, there is another wall. The hallway they came down is gone.

"What?!" Chase yells out in surprise and anger- he tries to turn back around.

"F-Fantastic, stop!" Mag tries to warn him.

The wall is closer.

"Chase, just stop!" Jack shouts.

Chase backs up, letting go of Mag and staring at the wall with wide eyes. Then he yells and throws punch after punch at the wall, frantic tears in his eyes as he yells, "NO! NONONO! FUCK YOU! GIVE ME MY BROTHER! ALT! ANTI!!"

Chase punches the wall over and over, until-- Suddenly, there is blood on his knuckle. When he looks at the wall closer, some of the plaster cracks away, a stream of blood coming from the wall. There is... there is an eye there. With a black iris and green sclera--

Chase stumbles back and looks at the wall with confusion- and then dread.

Jack screams and lunges forward, pushing by Chase to the side.

He falls back slightly as Jack pushes him and then looks quickly back at him.

He doesn't quite see what happens, but when Jack steps back, breathing heavily, he has his swiss army knife out with blood on the handle, and the eye is gone.

"D-Dude- what the fuck was that?!"

Jack doesn't respond immediately, staring at the spot where the eye was and breathing heavily. His hand presses to his face--to his eye-patch. Then turns and looks at Chase. "It... i-it was only a matter of time," he says, and laughs. Then he abruptly stops."The wall is gone."

Indeed, the wall behind them has disappeared again, replaced by a hallway that slowly slopes upwards out of sight.

"What do you mean? ... is that part of the thing that’s hunting you?" Chase asks, and then looks back towards the new hallway. He hesitates and looks at Jack with concern but then he's hurrying to run down the hall again.

Magnificent groans slightly then disappears after him.

Jack takes a deep breath, then follows.

The hallway slopes up, gradually, but at a steep enough angle that they can't make out what happens when it levels out at the top. Until, of course, they reach it. There is a stretch of level hallway, about fifty feet of flat tile. Until, at the other end, it starts sloping again. Standing near that downward slope, hands behinds its back, is Notarzt.

"Hallo," it says cheerfully. "Schön dich--" And then it stops. Its eye narrows as it looks at Jack. "You."

Chase pants and steps closer, eyes bright with power and electricity crackling around his fists. "Hey asshole! Don't look at him- look at me- the guy who's gonna punch your lights out if you don't give me back my brother RIGHT NOW!"

Notarzt blinks and refocuses its attention on Chase. "Oh, du willst deinen Bruder?" It steps to the side. "Hier ist er."

Alt is still bound tightly to the wheelchair, the cloth still in his mouth. From here Chase can see a myriad of cuts, bruises, and other injuries, including a set of stitches tracing his collarbone, sternum, and ribs. Notarzt keeps one hand on the chair, which is only a few inches from the sudden downward slope behind it.

Chase's bravado fades as he sees his broken brother, slumped over in the chair. "A-Anti...?"

Alt weakly lifts up his head and tries to focus. Everything sounds like its underwater. He blinks a couple times and then seems to straighten. His eyes widen. He shouts something against the cloth and tries to fight the straps again, tears in his eyes.

Now- Chase is angry. The tile beneath him cracks in a sudden burst of power. He pushes off from there and rushes at the doctor, eye alight with electric blue power and electricity crackling in his hands.

"Chase, wait--!" Jack starts to say, but it's too late.

Notarzt waits until Chase is right in front of it, then just before the moment of contact--it pushes the wheelchair back towards the downward slope of the hallway. Alt quickly disappears from sight.

"Ups!" it says--and then Chase slams it into the hallway ceiling, cracking the plaster and sending electricity sparking along its limbs. It simply laughs, blood staining the surgical mask it wears.

Magnificent watches as Notarzt tries to push Alt down the slope and he yells out and tries to summon some strings to stop him from going too far.

Chase yells as he sees Alt go out of view- sees as Alt tries to yell for him past his gag. Then, he slams the doctor even more into the wall, looking ready to put this thing out of its misery. "What the FUCK did you do?!"

Notarzt laughs harder, completely unthreatened by Chase's anger. It finds this whole thing delightful.

The strings barely manage to stretch far enough. They wrap around the wheels and stop the chair with a jolt. Jack sprints forward--right past the scene with Chase and Notarzt--and grabs the chair, pulling him back up. Good. It looks like a long way down, ending in a blank wall.

Chase roars in anger, punching and slamming Notarzt into the wall over and over and over, yelling in animistic rage.

Alt breathes heavily, confused tears in his eyes as he's stopped. He looks back at Jack as he helps him and then weakly tries to fight against the bindings again. To his surprise, Magnificent appears next to them and starts to cut Alt out with his claws.

"You're going to be okay, okay?" Jack says gently. "You're going to be okay now."

Alt nods numbly to Jack as he shakes in the chair. Magnificent gets through the straps and helps Alt up. Alt can hardly stand, the wounds on his legs flaring up in agony. He starts to fall and Mag manages to catch him, though he doesn't say anything.

Notarzt eventually stops laughing, realizing that it's only goading Chase on. It goes limp, letting this happen. With every slam blood starts to leak from the stitches on Notarzt's body and clothing.

"Fucking hell, Chase!" Jack shouts. "Stop trying to hurt the thing that doesn't feel pain and come help your brother!"

Chase finally lets go when he stops getting a reaction, letting the thing fall to the ground. He breathes heavily and then wipes his face off before rocketing down to the others. He takes Alt from Mag and looks him over, helping to remove the gag and running shaking fingers over the wounds on Alt and pushing his sweat soaked bangs away from his face. "Alt... Anti- o-oh my god... I'm so sorry- I'm so so sorry..!" He's crying now too, both relieved that he's got to Alt but terrified of the shape he's in.

Alt sways and then falls against Chase, whimpers of pain escaping his lips. Chase hurries to throw Alt's jacket over his shoulders and holds him tight, quickly going to pick him up in his arms.

"c..chase..." Alt slurs weakly, as if he can't believe he's actually here.

"I'm here baby bro... it's all gonna be okay..." Chase reassures quietly.

Magnificent hurries up to the two and lightly touches Alt's arm, "Alt- where the device? The TRVLR?"

Alt looks like he's having trouble keeping his eyes open as he slurs, "...dunno... dunno if i... i can glitch...s'mthin'stopped me..."

"That'd be this asshole, somehow," Jack says, gesturing at Notarzt.

"s'not just it..." Alt whispers, " m'phone... i tried to glitch through- but it just made so much n-noise- even scared it..." He blinks rapidly and leans against Bro.

Notarzt stands. It takes a needle and thread out of its pocket and starts touching up the stitches that Chase loosened. "Ja, ja, natürlich war ich es," it says dismissively. It looks at Jack again, its second eye opening partially, another bloodshot iris visible through stretched strings. "Und jetzt verschwinde aus meinem Haus. Raus aus meiner Stadt!"

"I'd love to get out of your city, but un-fucking-fortunately this guy probably needs real medical attention and new clothes as soon as possible," Jack says. "I guess you'll have to drop us off somewhere else."

What follows is rapid-fire angry German that not even a translation spell could have helped with. Notarzt turns to the side and--and was there always a door there? It points at it and says something in that same fast German, glaring at Jack the whole time.

"Thank you." Jack nods sharply. He looks at the others. "It really wants me out of here, so when we go through that door we'll leave this place."

Chase looks worried but he's not about to waste an opportunity like this. He picks up all of Alt's stuff and quietly reassures him, "We'll figure it out, Alt just- stay with us okay?" Chase glares at Notarzt as he readjusts Alt and then heads out the door, pausing to make sure Jack and Mag are behind him.

Mag looks annoyed- but he always does. He follows closely behind.

Jack stiffens a bit when Alt mentions the phone making noise. He glances around at the walls. Nothing. He takes a deep breath and walks through the door with the others.

They appear in an alleyway, scattered trash on the ground. Leaving the alleyway takes them to a street full of cars. The building on either side turns out to be a grocery store and some sort of haircutting business. But across the street is a hospital building--a small one, but recognizable because of the sign reading "St. Mark's Hospital." In English--so at least Notarzt didn't dump them in the middle of Germany.

There's also a phone on the sidewalk. Alt's phone. Evidently when Notarzt took it, it threw the phone out into the real world and it landed here.

Chase steps forward and almost steps on Alt's phone- but luckily he recognizes it. He frowns and picks it up and lays it down on top of Alt's chest with his ruined shirt. He checks on everyone then makes his way towards the hospital.

"Jesus- Are we really doing this? Risking staying longer here??" Magnificent whines, following after Chase.

"I don't know what that psycho did to Alt, Mag! I'm not risking him getting worse just cuz you made some bad fucking decisions-so if you wanna leave with us, Deal with it." The hero bites back with finality, enough to make Magnificent shut up at least.

Alt seems to be relaxing against Chase- but is also succumbing to the pain of all his injuries, eyes barely open as he pants against Chase's chest.

There's a crosswalk nearby. They have to wait a few seconds for the light to change, but after that they can hurry across and right into the hospital. There are a couple people in the waiting room, and a nurse in casual clothes behind a rounded reception desk. She looks up. "Hello there, will you be--oh my god!" Her spiel, neat and practiced in a posh British accent--is broken when she sees Alt in Chase's arms.

Chase hurries up to the desk, a wild desperate look in his eyes. "I need help for my brother, please! Anything you can give us!"

"A-alright." The nurse nods. She presses a button and speaks into an intercom. "Emergency team to the reception. Now, please."

Surprisingly quickly, a group of nurses and doctors appear from deeper in the hospital, bringing a gurney with them. "Sirs, if you would please follow us," one of them says, while another carefully takes Alt from Chase and lays him on the gurney.

Alt freaks out as the nurses try to take him, suddenly shouting out and trying to fight them, his eyes darting around in terror. "No nO! D-Don't touch me!!" He croaks desperately.

Chase hurries to his side and holds down his arm, helping him to lay down. "Alt please- they're going to help! I'll be right here next to you, okay?"

This seems to get Alt to calm down and Bro is quick to take Alt's hand as they hurry down the hall.

They begin going down the hall, with the same nurse asking Chase questions as they go, noting the answers on a clipboard. "What is the patient's name and gender? Do you know what happened? What is your relation--and you too, sirs? Do they have any allergies or medical conditions you know of?"

"S-Sorry uh... his name is Alt, male. He was taken by... by something. It hurt him but I don't know how. They're were in a hospital I think... he's my brother." Chase glances back at Jack and Mag, "These guys are... our friends. N-No allergies or medical conditions no... none that I can think of right now at least..."

The nurse looks confused when Chase mentions 'something,' but a couple of the doctors exchange glances. "We'll take good care of him, sir," one says. "Since you're family and the patient is reacting this way, would you like to be in the room for the examination? You'll need to wear gloves and a mask."

Chase quickly nods, "Y-Yes. I can do that, I just want to stay by him if I can."

"Great. Don't worry sir, you're all in good hands."

[sardonic-the-writer]

could I have "when i say run, i need you to do as i say and don’t even think about me." For a anti x male or gn reader as a promt from the protective protective list?

of course!!! love it when people request things from characters I have written for in a while <3

You couldn't move.

Dozens of sleek black barrels pointed at you both like a silent death sentence. Harsh red lights washed over everyones face, giving the impression that the hallways was bathed from head to toe with blood. Which wasn't too far from the truth.

Buzzers both distant and near blared into the air. The sound covered up the painful moans of scientists turned blobs of deformed flesh on the ground. Something that you would have been thankful for if the circumstances were different.

"Alter 114209!" Someone yelled somewhat fearfully from the semi circle of armed gaurds. "Stand down or we'll shoot!"

You slowly turned to look at the person, er, thing, that they were speaking to. You could feel your eyes darting around his rigid face with fear. Gaze uncertain.

Anti bared his teeth with a harsh cackle.

"If you don't put your hands in the air in the next ten seconds, my men will fire!!"

His fingers twitched. Itching to latch around someone's neck you supposed. It was funny, really, how little you knew about this demon despite spending the past thirty six hours of your life dedicated to helping him and a few other people escape this madhouse.

"When I say run (Y/n)—" He growled, white pupils burning with hatred. "—I need you to do as I say and don't even think about me. Got it?" His gaze was petrifying. It reminded you of a story you had been forced to read and over analyze in class years ago. An ancient greek myth about a hideous monster that could turn people to stone.

Swallowing at that moment felt like you were trying to force a wad of dry cotten down your throat, but you managed a small nod. Anti gave a curt one back to you in return.

"Just don't do anything to Chase." Was all you managed to wisper back before the first bullet cracked through the air.

And Anti let hell loose.

[effloradox]

i've a nagging fear someone else is pulling at the strings

Chase Brody x IRIS!reader

"The date is October 20th 2019. Good morning Chase. How are you feeling today?" The man watches you as you take a seat across the table from him and place all your folders down. You're not a scientist he recognises, and yet something about you seems familiar. Weird.

"Fucking fantastic. Where's the other guy?"

"Today's his day off. Even scientists get a break every now and then Chase. I'll be filling in for him today to check up on your wellbeing if you're okay with that?" He considers you for a moment. The other scientist always looks so frustrated with him but you seem so earnest for him to want to speak to you. It's almost endearing. On the outside it would be flattering to have someone like you so invested in his wellbeing.

"S'fine. Not like I have a choice anyway." He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. He briefly glances at the camera that's been directed at him since he got here. It's almost like it follows him. IRIS certainly have the whole surveillance state thing down to a tee. The light remains off for now, he’s still not sure if that’s good or bad though.

"You always have a choice, Chase. Remember that." You smile at him, like you want to reassure him. The more he looks at you, the more he’s sure he’s seen you before. Fleeting images of you and a weird looking man drift through his mind but there’s nothing concrete attached to them, they feel like dreams rather than memories.

"Sorry but have we met before? You seem really familiar." He watches you closely as the gentle smile you'd been sporting quickly disappears as you press your lips into a thin line. Shit he didn't mean to upset you.

"Not as far as I'm aware. Is that sense of deja vu something you experience often?" You sound so concerned that Chase almost forgets that you're asking him in a professional capacity. You're a scientist, he needs to remember that and be careful what he says. Who knows how what he says could be used against him. You don't care about him, you care about what his answers mean for your research.

“Not that often. I felt it here when I first came in and just then when I saw you, that’s it. It’s not that interesting.” He waits for the rehearsed speech of “we’ll decide what’s important” and is mildly surprised when you don’t push him. You just make a short note on your clipboard and that’s that. He immediately likes you more than the usual guy.

“So, how are you feeling? What’s your emotional state where 1 is the worst and 10 is the best?”

“5? Maybe a 4? ‘M not too sure. Been getting bored waiting around with only a tennis ball to entertain myself.”

“We could provide you with some reading material if that would alleviate some of the boredom? I can’t promise it’ll be a New York Times bestseller but if it’s something that you would like, I can arrange to have something brought in for you.”

“That would be great, yeah. Could I have had stuff all this time? Why did the other guy not offer me anything?”

“Honestly, Chase, I’m not sure. He should have offered you something, it’s not like we want you getting cabin fever from being here. I promise after this I’ll look into it for you.” You're so different from the usual guy, he keeps almost forgetting what the symbol on your lab coat represents. He's been treated with suspicion and disdain since he was brought here, and then you come along and show him actual human decency. You're different from everyone else he's interacted with, part of him is hoping you'll visit him again. There's a prickling of suspicion about your behaviour in the back of his mind though.

"Why're you being so nice to me?"

"Believe it or not, we all just want to help you Chase. It's for your protection that you were brought here. We just need to make sure that you're okay and then you'll be free to go. The least we can do is help to make your stay here feel less like you're in prison."

"Wait, protection from what? I don't remember what happened to me, are you saying I was attacked or something?"

"No, nothing like that. We just need to try and build a better picture of what happened to you and the best way to do that is to keep you under observation. I just need to ask you a few more questions, okay?" He makes a noise of agreement and the next few minutes are spent going over the usual questions he gets asked during these sessions.

He senses the presence before he sees it. It's when you bend your head to make another note that he sees out of the corner of his eye a figure move through the room. When he turns his head it seems to vanish and then appear directly behind you. He wants to speak up, to warn you, but finds his voice is failing him and the figure moves to rest its hands on your shoulders. Chase expects you to react to the touch but when you give no indication that anything is amiss, he starts to worry that he genuinely is going crazy.

The sudden flashing light on the camera next to you makes you look up to see Chase looking at you with such fear in his eyes. "Is everything okay?" He nods but doesn't look certain. It seems like he's staring at something behind you but there's no one there, nobody else is in the room with you. He blinks his eyes rapidly, then flicks back to yours and he seems to relax ever so slightly. Interesting.

"Yeah 'm fine. What's the next question?"

"Actually I think we're done with questions for this session. Is there anything else you want to discuss other than what you've already raised?" He shakes his head in response to your question and he notes that you frown slightly at the lack of verbal response. "Well in that case, I hope to see you again soon. I'll get that reading material sorted for you, hopefully we'll be able to provide you with something within the next day or so."

Closing the door behind you, you make your way to the break room, but not before looking up and making eye contact with the WATCHR camera overhead. "114209 he's ready. It's time to begin." You end your sentence with a wink in the direction of the camera before making your way out of the building. Your job here is done. Now all that's left is to let Anti do what he does best. It's going to be a busy few days at the IRIS Institute and you can't wait to see it.

Notes: I really liked the idea of someone inside IRIS working with Anti and couldn't get this concept out of my head so here's my first dabble into writing Chase :)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Sick

"I can’t stand living here. When do I get to go home?”

“Chase, listen..I know you don’t wanna be here, just as much as I don’t want you to be here. But you’ll have to cooperate with us-”

“How much longer do I need to “cooperate”, huh?! I’ve been as obedient as a goddamn dog ever since I got here.” The father at the opposite end of the table scowled at you, glaring at the IRIS logo on your lab coat. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to yet another scientist. But it’s not like he had any choice in the matter.

He could always stay silent, though it wouldn’t make you leave him alone. You were too damn determined to talk to him.

“I do literally everything you ask of me..and it’s never enough! When will I know what’s really going on?!” He continued to rant.

Despite his increasingly aggressive attitude, you had to remain calm and remind him of the camera stationed nearby. Its light glowed an eerie red, indicating its detection of heightened negative emotion. 

"I understand your confusion, but please do not shout.” You gently urged. “If the camera detects too much negativity, we’ll have to cut this conversation short. And I'd hate to leave without telling you anything important."

“I don’t give a shit about--!! Wait..what did you wanna tell me? Something I don’t already know?” Calming down only slightly, Chase blinked in bewilderment.

This was certainly a turn of events. Usually he just repeated the same old shit to the other scientists; telling them what they likely already knew. But you were different--you wanted to tell him something important instead.

“A lot of it’s confidential, but I’m able to tell you this much about why we need you here..” Pausing, you opened the folder beside you, gazing at the files contained within it. “A few years back, you’ve openly admitted to a YouTube audience about your depression and your friend’s coma. You would say both are..terrible occurrences that have impacted you significantly, no?”

“Well..I mean, sure. But how did you-”

"We’ve had a WTCHR camera installed in the recording studio for the past five years. It picks up all visual and audio stimuli. And due to unusual activity on the computer itself, our systems were able to tap into it as well.”

“What the hell..” You could barely hear Chase muttering under his breath. “So IRIS was stalking me this whole time?”

“..it was for safety, Chase. Believe me, I know you value your privacy. But given the paranormal circumstances leading up to your friend’s coma-”

“Jack.”

“Pardon?”

“His name..is Jack.” He spoke through gritted teeth, hands balling themselves into fists. “All along you knew something was wrong. Everyone I ever talked to before this thought I lost my fucking mind. They thought I was crazy! But you guys knew, and did nothing. You all just watched as this happened to us!! As he tormented us!! YOU’RE SICK, YOU KNOW THAT?!!”

The slamming of fists made you tense, although your gaze quickly flickered to the guard stationed near the door. He seemed ready to sedate Chase at a moment’s notice, but then again he was always on-edge...or just annoyed it was getting close to his lunch break.

Looking back at your patient, it broke your heart a little to see him start to cry. Clearly, all of this had taken such a heavy toll on him--you couldn’t blame the poor guy who used to have a loving family and a decent career..all gone up in smoke.

He had his snark with the other scientists and guards, though this seemed to be his breaking point.

If you were held captive for months in a facility studying paranormal sciences with little to no answers on what was going on..you’d eventually crack, too.

"Doctor..I just want to understand..” Chase clutched at his cap, eyes closed and cheeks streaked with tears. “Is it him? Is it because I’ve made contact with him?!”

“Yes.” You sighed softly, leaning over the table to rest your arms, opting for a more casual posture. “We believe the events you spoke of are connected to this singular entity. We’ve been tracking him since 2016, but he’s tried sabotaging our systems so..it’s difficult to know his next move. Even IRIS doesn’t fully understand what he is or what he wants.”

“Wow, that’s reassuring..” He remarked sarcastically, sniffling as he opened his eyes. “All you need to know is that he’s some weird...virus demon who wants to hurt people and take over my life. I don’t know why he chose me, but..h-he’ll do anything to get his way. Even if it means killing everyone here.”

“Are you threatening us?” The guard’s voice suddenly boomed, startling you slightly--and especially Chase. You scowled at him for speaking without permission and intentionally aggravating the father, but the latter seemed more frightened than angered.

“No, I’m..I’m telling you the truth! I’m trying to warn you guys! He could be watching us right now!!” His increasing paranoia was captured by the camera, its red light brightening once more.

“Chase, even if he is..you’re much safer in this facility than in your own home." You attempted to defuse the situation. "We’ll be here to intervene should he try anything. He's not gonna hurt you. You have my word."

That didn’t do much to calm him down, as he just looked back at you with a scoff, although he did lean back in his chair. He then removed his hat to rub the side of his head, groaning in pain. “God, I got a fuckin’ headache...this is a lot to take in..”

“I’ll send a nurse to deliver Tylenol. But I think we can stop here for today. I’ll let you rest and give you time to process all of this.” Closing the file, you stood up and glanced at him with a twinge of pity. “I promise we’ll get you out of here soon. See you next time, Chase.”

Eventually he decided to climb into his bed, turning away from the camera’s light and staring at the wall.

“Yeah..see ya.” With a huff, he took the tennis ball on the table and held it in his hands, nails digging into the shedding lime green fabric.

He heard your footsteps, along with the guard’s as you both exited his cell, once again leaving him alone with his thoughts.

As much as he despised being here against his will, you were a genuinely nice scientist who actually gave him clarity on some things. You spoke in a way that made sense--without all the technical jargon that your colleagues spewed (and somehow expected him to understand).

He only hopes you can keep him at bay.

[southerndragontamer]

Egotober Day 16: Cards

Tarot reading might not have been the most flashy kind of magic he knew, but it was still powerful. Plus the cards came in handy for other reasons, though ordinary people wouldn’t know that. It was also simultaneously one of the sweetest and most terrifying forms of magic.

He could easily help bring couples, families together. He could help someone figure out their path in life that would bring them happiness. But he could also see who was dangerous, or in danger and didn’t know it or want to believe it. But the magician couldn’t force people to believe him, so their fate was ultimately their choice. The cards they were dealt could be ignored, for good or ill.

Marvin went around his shop to do a quick restock while things were slow. He’d had a group of tabletop gamers come in and they’d spent almost two hours gathering things for cosplay or the next game. It had been a bit hectic, but in the end everyone had been happy with their purchases.

His shop was only part of his business, he performed magic shows at least three times a week. Let the everyday population enjoy acts of impossibility and wonder under the illusion it was fake. It was a beautiful thing that the human mind was so quick to dismiss the obvious.

Marvin looked up from a shelf as the bell on the door rang. He finished stocking the dice and turned, cape swirling around his ankles. He gave the customer a smile. He got out his deck and began to shuffle it.

“Welcome to my shop, Mystical Magics, what can I do for you?”

What he didn’t expect was the tingle of warning from his magic and the sound of a gun being cocked. His cat like smile didn’t waver as he chuckled. He twirled a card between his fingers as he purred.

“Oh you really don’t want to do that~”

The second he saw the hint of gunmetal he threw the card. The magically sharpened edge sliced clean through as if the weapon was paper. There was a pained, surprised yelp as the attacker dropped it and then was shoved to the floor as Marvin quickly kicked him in the chest.

He set a boot on his chest and leant down, another sharpened card against the robbers throat. The magician’s eyes glowed threateningly as he loomed over the man, fangs bared in a wild snarl like a jungle cat. His power hummed under his skin that blazed with runic tattoos. It danced in the air in swirls of color and licks of ethereal flame around him and almost formed wings like a phoenix had.

“You picked the wrong shop to try to rob. You wanted fortune didn’t you? To try to take what you wanted from someone you thought weaker. Don’t lie to me, I know those like you. Well…let’s see what the cards hold for you, maybe you’ll get out of this alive.”

[writtengalaxies]

Captive Audience

Characters: Anti, GN!Reader

Word Count: 487

Spicy Rating: Brief/vague descriptions of (fake) injury with a knife!

You writhed against the chains, trying to get free. You needed to get out, who knew how much time you had left alone in this barely lit room. The chains rattled each time you hauled on them, creating an echoing cacophony as you tested them again and again, just in case. The abandoned surgery room was creepy to start with, but the dark splotches all around hinted at far more sinister things afoot.

The door in the other room creaked open, and your head shot up, your whole body pulling against the restraints holding you to the chair. The eyes of these newcomers were so wide, even if they were on the other side of the broken glass window. You stared right back, watching them. Your chair faced them, perfectly centered with the window frame, like you were meant to be seen. You licked your lips, taking a quick breath in.

"Hey, hi-- look, I don't know how long I've got. You...you gotta get me out of here. He's...I don't know when he's going to be back. You...c'mon, help a person out? I...I can help you get out too! I know some ways out--"

"Trying to leave so soon?" The voice crooned from behind you, solid footsteps echoing softly as you tried to twist in your chair. "But you just got here~"

The kitchen knife trailed up your arm, bright crimson blooming where it didn't skip over the chains. You screamed, barely drowning out his laughter. From behind, his hand gripped your chin, forcing you to look straight at your audience.

"Aren't the screams just so lovely~? The fight is so much fun, but I've already wasted my time with this one..." The knife trailed over your throat, your eyes wide as you gurgled and gasped, before your head lolled forward with the dripping blood as your captor laughed high and manic. "Now, which of you is next~?"

You always had to fight a smile at this part, hearing the screams from the guests. It was always the men who screamed the loudest, sprinting as fast as they could away. You waited until you couldn't hear the footsteps any more, and someone popped in from the back room.

"Alright you two, time to reset and stretch."

Anti chuckled as you freed yourself from the fake chains, spinning his fake knife in hand. "I like this fake blood powder. It's fun."

"Bonus side effect of me still being alive."

You were so glad you convinced your demon boyfriend that a haunted house was a great side-gig. The fear of him kept enough people thinking about him that he was fed constantly, and the attraction was more likely to hire you both again for your acting as well as the bonus creepy static effects the room of fake monitors had.

"I like you being alive too," he added softly, clearly not meant for you to hear. You smiled anyway.

[kormenhq]

Have some fic dialogue prompts

All of these prompts are from Pinterest and other tumblr posts. If you want to use any of these in your requests, just tell me which section and what number it is!

FLUFF PROMPTS

1. "I think I might be falling in love with you."

2. "Your lips are so soft. I could kiss them all day."

3. "Mmm... You're warm."

4. "You're so cute when you're half asleep like this."

5. "I've had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with."

6. "No, you can't get up! You're my prisoner for today."

7. “Your hair is really soft after you wash it.”

8. “Shh. Stop fussing. I’m just braiding your hair.”

9. “You smell really nice.”

10. “Would it be alright if I borrowed your sweater? It smells like you.”

11. “If you steal the blankets, I am going to put my cold feet on you.”

12. “Here, let’s share the blanket.”

13. “You are my new pillow.”

14. “But I want to hear you sing.”

15. “We can talk over dinner.”

16. “Star-gazing was a good idea.”

17. “I think I love you.”

18. “It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

19. “Shush and go back to bed.”

20. “How about a kiss?”

21. “I’ve missed this.”

22. “It’s too cold! Come back!”

23. “No, I’m not letting you go. It’s too early to get out of bed.”

24. “C’mere, you can sit in my lap until I’m done working.”

25. “I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”

26. "I wanted to see you again."

27. "I thought 'If I just follow the rules, everything's gonna be fine.' And then you came along and pushed me off that path."

28. "You never cease to amaze me."

29. "I have to hand it to you, you certainly know how to make a statement."

30. "I plan to get to know you."

31. "You have something in your hair, umm... Do you want me to get it out?"

32. "No, like... It's just, I can't believe you're actually wearing my clothes."

33. "Would it be too cliche if we matched clothes a little?"

34. "I really love holding you, darling."

35. "Wanna, like- I mean, if you're not busy... We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don't have a lot of time?"

-

FUNNY PROMPTS

1. “Where are you going?” “Hell, most likely.”

2. “Where’s your crazy boyfriend?” “Probably doing crazy things.”

3. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!” “And I’m trying to subtly avoid it!”

4. “Are you decent?” “Not morally, but I’m wearing pants, if that’s what you’re asking.”

5. “Why aren’t you dating him?” “Because I’d destroy him.” “He’d be into that.”

6. “Are you SURE I can’t punch him in the face?” “Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”

7. “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

8. “You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”

9. “Are you drunk?”

10. “Excuse me for freaking out, I only thought you were dead!”

11. “You’re gonna have to limp faster than that…”

12. “You whine about scratches but you don’t let out a peep when you’ve got a gaping wound! The hell is wrong with you?”

13. “I wouldn’t have done that if I knew you were hurt!”

14. “Is the fever getting to you or what?”

15. “Surprise! I’m back from the dead! Isn’t that exciting?”

16. “Can you hold this for me?” “No, I can’t. In case you didn’t know, not everybody has super strength.”

17. “I can’t believe you dragged me into this.”

18. “You think I’m dumb enough to fall for that stupid move?”

19. “It’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion.”

20. “Go buy a personality.”

21. “Go to Hell.” “And leave you here all alone?”

22. “Are you sober?” “I’m moderately functional.” “I’ll take that as a no.”

23. “What do you know about it?” “More than you, apparently.”

24. “You’re not my favorite person today.” “I’m not your favorite person on any day.”

25. “You’re insane!” “I know! Isn’t it great?”

26. “Is it still murder if I give them a heads up?” “That’s called a threat.” “Damn.”

27. “You interrupt my reading once more, and this book will become a lethal weapon.”

28. “Kiss me, you twat.”

29. “Take my hand.” “No!” “Look, I’m not trying to ask you to marry me, I’m trying to save your life!”

30. “Just pretend to be my date.”

31. “They did it.” “No, they did.”

32. “It’s not a double date. We’re just third and fourth wheeling.”

33. “Shit, we’re gonna die.” “Now, I don’t wanna hear that negative attitude. Look on the bright side!” “Yay, we’re gonna die! Wooo!”

34. “If you do that again, I’ll throw you out that fucking window you- what are you doing?” “Checking how high the drop is, see if it’s worth it.”

35. "It's cute that you tried to protect me and all, but you're like a foot shorter than me, you know?"

36. "You can touch my hair, but don't mess it up!"

-

HURT/COMFORT PROMPTS

1. "Look, I know we don't know each other that well, but I'm still worried about you. No one deserves to be alone."

2. "If I could, I would kiss away all of your scars."

3. "It's not bad to cry. In fact, I think it makes a person stronger."

4. "Shhh, it was just a bad dream. Just a dream, okay? None of it was real."

5. “You know I’m/we’re always here for you, right?”

6. “Please talk to me about it.”

7. “Do the universe a favor: don’t hide your magic.”

8. “You’re trembling.”

9. “You’ve got to calm down before I can fix you up, okay?”

10. “I don’t know what’s wrong, okay? I’m just… really tired.”

11. “Shh, you’re safe. I won’t let you go.”

12. “No, no - it’s alright, come here.”

13. “I’m not going to leave you. You’re never going to have to suffer by yourself again, I promise.”

14. "There's nothing to be ashamed of."

15. "May I? Free of charge."

16. "If anything were to happen to you..."

17. "I thought I'd see how you were doing."

18. "I'll leave if you ask me to."

19. "You watch the people you care about age and die."

20. "When things get crazy, don't push me away."

21. "No, don't do that it's not safe."

22. "You're scared of that, aren't you?"

23. "I will always step in between you and something like that."

24. "Why? Because I don't want you to get hurt, that's why!"

25. "You can tell me whatever you want... Even if you don't have a reason to."

26. "Please stay. I'd like some company."

27. "Would you pet my hair?"

28. "I just want to be close to someone for a little bit. Is that okay?"

29. "Can I lay my head in your lap?"

30. "Here, lay down in my lap."

31. "You can't keep it all inside, you know? Bottling it up won't do any good."

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Finale

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You have reached the end of your path. Will you be happy with what you’ve found?

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event! It was amazing to see everyone still chip in to a second run of this fic. And if you guys are wondering, yes, the full thing is currently up on AO3! Whoo! I'll include a link at the bottom of this part beneath a Keep Reading, but basically, the name is "Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - An Interactive Story" and my username is CrystalNinjaPhoenix! So basically the same as here XD There are about 300k worth of more routes to explore! I'd love to see you all there ^-^

<><><><><><><><><><><>

“Wait a minute.” Chase’s eyes go wide. “JJ, you didn’t just get blood all over your hands. You got it on your sleeves, too. Your white sleeves.” He tugs on one of JJ’s cuffs. “Even if you wiped your hands off, there should still be a stain!”

“Wait, wait!” Schneep grabs JJ’s other arm, and JJ promptly yanks both his hands free. “Gah! Sorry, Jamie, I was just checking to see. You are right, Chase. There is no sign that there was ever any blood.”

“And... why does this matter?” Jackie asks, frowning. “I-I know it’s weird, but... what does it mean?”

The others are silent for a moment. Then JJ raises his hands to speak. Maybe... maybe I was right. Maybe Marvin isn’t dead.

“But—but we all saw that, right?” Chase says. He shudders just remembering the sight—the sounds—all of it. “He definitely slit his own throat.”

“And JJ definitely got his hands and sleeves covered in that blood,” Schneep says. “And yet...” He trails off, looking thoughtful. “What if... what if it was not real?”

“How the hell would it be ‘not real’?” Jackie demands. “There was no pulse!”

“I know! But if we are dealing with the supernatural, we have to account for perhaps—perhaps some sort of elaborate trick,” Schneep says. “Some sort of magical illusion that could also feel real as well as look real.”

“I-I guess it’s possible,” Chase says. “Meaning... Marvin isn’t dead? But then... Look, he’s the only one of us who would be able to make a magic illusion. And why would he do that?”

Unless it wasn’t him. JJ taps the book Chase is still holding open. Specifically, the illustration.

“You mean—you mean some sort of spirit possessed him?” Jackie asks in a hushed voice.

“In that case... where is it now?” Schneep wonders.

JJ suddenly stiffens. He turns and runs back down the hallway.

“JJ! Hey!” Chase drops the book as he tries to reach out and grab JJ, but he’s moving too fast and his grip just barely closes on empty air instead of JJ’s arm. So instead he runs after him, leaving Schneep to pick up the book again. “Where are you going?!”

He was going to the room with the ritual circle. Chase catches up with him as he hesitates outside the open door. JJ glances at him—and at Schneep and Jackie, who are running down the hallway after them. Once everyone is there, he reaches into the dark room and turns on the lights.

A figure is crouched in the center of the ritual circle, one hand pressed against the burned lines making it up. Somehow, the four wooden chairs from the other room are in here now, spaced evenly around the edge of the circle. A rope is coiled on the seat of one. The figure looks up. It’s Marvin. It’s definitely him. But his eyes... They’re all black, no whites or irises to be seen. A smile stretches across Marvin’s face. It is not his smile. “So... you figured it out?” he asks. Or, rather, the creature using his body asks. “No matter.” It raises Marvin’s other hand, and—

Suddenly, Chase feels something push against him, shoving him forwards into the room. He cries out as he falls to the floor—and then again as Jackie falls on top of them. All four of them had been pushed forward by some mysterious force and are now in the room, lying on the floor. And behind them, the door slams shut. “Y-you!” Jackie gasps, standing up first. “What are you?!”

“So much more than you. That’s all you need to know.” The creature gets to its feet in one smooth motion. “Now. Are you our first volunteer?” That smile stretches Marvin’s face again—and suddenly there is a knife in his hands, a thin silver dagger, and he rushes towards Jackie.

Jackie cries out and dodges to the side. The creature starts to lunge for him again—but Chase, thinking fast, reaches out and grabs Marvin’s ankle, now nearby. The creature gasps in surprise and stumbles, almost falling but catching itself against the wall. “Guys?! What do we do?!” Chase asks.

JJ gets to his knees. He points at Schneep—no, he points at the book that Schneep is still holding. Schneep looks at him. Read! JJ says.

“O-okay.” Schneep nods. “You all keep him distracted!” He opens the book up to the marked page and starts scanning it.

“What is that?” the creature asks in Marvin’s voice. Is that surprise in its words? “Where did you get that?!” Marvin’s body spins around and runs for Schneep—but Chase launches himself from the ground and right towards Marvin, knocking him back. The creature screams in frustration. There’s a flash of silver—but then Jackie grabs Marvin’s arm right before he’s able to plunge the dagger into Chase’s back.

“I-I just have to read what’s written out loud,” Schneep stammers. “I-if we—if we do it right his body will seize, r-remember not to hold him when that happens.”

“You motherfucker!” The creature growls. With one arm being held by Jackie, it moves Marvin’s other hand, wrapping it around Chase’s throat and squeezing. JJ gasps and hurries over, prying his fingers free. Chase gasps as his airflow resumes.

“Do it, Schneep!” Jackie shouts.

Schneep nods. He looks down at the page, hesitating, and starts reciting the words. “Sp—spiorad gan i-iarraidh, a... ordú againn... duit im-imeacht.” He goes slowly, unsure how to pronounce the words.

“No!” The creature shouts. Suddenly, Jackie, JJ, and Chase are all thrown away. Marvin’s body scrambles upwards again and he lunges towards Schneep again, But, yelling in rage, Jackie gets to his feet and tackles Marvin to the ground. The dagger falls from Marvin’s hand and skitters across the ground. JJ quickly scoops it up again. The creature notices this and growls. “Do you think I need that to kill you?!” it threatens.

 JJ nods. He looks at Chase and points towards Marvin and Jackie. The two of them are struggling on the ground as Jackie tries to keep Marvin’s body pinned. Normally Jackie would have been easily stronger than Marvin, but the creature is fighting with all of Marvin’s strength, not caring if it hurts Jackie or Marvin in the process. Chase nods back to JJ and hurries over, arriving just in time to stop Marvin from punching Jackie in the face. The creature screams wordlessly and thrashes against Chase and Jackie’s grip.

Suddenly, the lights go out, plunging the room into total darkness. Schneep’s voice, slowly chanting the words, falters. Then JJ pulls out his phone and turns on the flashlight feature, shining it towards Schneep, who continues.

The creature growls and flings Marvin’s hand out. The book jerks forward, like someone is trying to pull it from Schneep’s grip, but he holds it steady—though he glances at the others with a panicked expression.

JJ glances back at the struggle. Marvin, he signs, causing the light to waver, but not enough to deter Schneep. Fight.

“H-he’s right!” Chase gasps. “Marvin, you have to be in there somewhere! You have to fight this!”

“Fuck off!” the creature snaps.

“Ní l-leatsa an corp a... ghlacadh,” Schneep continues. “Ní leatsa an ai-aigne a... úsáid. Ní leatsa an t-anam a... a-adh-adhlacadh.” He still stutters a bit, but it’s clearly not affecting the spell. 

Jackie grabs Marvin’s hand and pulls it back. “If you can hear us, Marv,” he says, “we need your help! C-can you hold it back? Please! Try, at least!”

“You don’t have to do it forever!” Chase adds. “Just long enough for Schneep to finish!”

Marvin’s body shudders. The creature starts to snarl something—and then abruptly stops. The black in his eyes flicker back to normal for a moment. “T-try...” Marvin whispers. His limbs jerk, but overall he stops fighting. Jackie still holds him, though, arms wrapped tight around Marvin’s torso. Chase watches, tense, waiting.

And then, suddenly, Marvin’s muscles tense again. He screams, head throwing itself backwards and arms and legs starting to shake. “I-it’s the seizing!” Chase gasps. “Like Schneep said! Let go of him!”

Jackie abruptly does so, scooting backwards across the ground. He watches Marvin with wide eyes. As do Chase and JJ. They all stay where they are, looking and feeling helpless as Marvin convulses and screams on the floor. “W-we have to do something,” Jackie says desperately.

“Maybe we can hold his head still.” Chase reaches out—

“No! Th-that’s gotta be as bad as holding him!”

“I don’t want him to hit his head, though!”

Jackie hesitates. “I got it!” He takes his jacket off, bunching it up and placing it under Marvin’s head. “B-better than nothing.”

Schneep glances at this and nods approvingly as he continues to chant. He’s getting a hold of the words. Soon his voice rises, more confident. “Díbrím thú! Fág an corp, aigne agus anam seo. Díbrím thú! Téigh go dtí an domhan eile atá ag fanacht leat. Díbrím thú!”

All at once, Marvin goes still. His screams end abruptly, but his mouth stays open as a thick black smoke pours out. It rises into the air, and there is the shape of a person in the cloud, a writhing mess of limbs struggling to reach back in. Glowing green eyes appear, glaring at the others with unmistakable malice... and then they wink out as the smoke disperses. Marvin goes limp against the floor. The lights turn on again.

CRACK!

All of them jump in surprise at the sound—and look down at its source. The wooden floor has splintered, a large divide going across the ritual circle burned into the ground. A red liquid pools in the new crack and spills out over the floor.

But they have more to be concerned with. JJ drops his phone and rushes to Marvin’s side, falling to his knees next to him. He grabs him by the shoulder and starts to shake. Schneep runs over as well, and Jackie and Chase crowd around Marvin in turn. “Marvin?!” Chase says. “Marvin! A-are you okay?!” 

Marvin groans and opens his eyes. They are back to normal again. “All of you... get... the fuck away from me.”

They all abruptly jerk backwards. JJ laughs, a sound of relief. “Well sorry for being concerned,” Jackie says, sounding irritated but smiling nonetheless.

“No, he is right, he needs his space,” Schneep says, gently pushing the others back. There are tears in his eyes. “Marvin, I-I... I am so glad you are okay.”

“Yeah...” Marvin breathes. “You.. y-you did great, Schneep. Mispronounced a few things, but I don’t blame you. And it worked. Th-thank you.”

How do you feel? JJ asks.

“...tired,” Marvin mumbles. “That sort of tired where it’s on the edge of everything hurting.”

“Are you okay to move?” Jackie asks. “I... don’t really want to be in a room where the floor is bleeding.”

“Th’what?” Marvin turns his head to the side, seeing the red liquid bleeding across the floor. He frowns. “I think... I think that means whatever spell it’s about is... broken? Whatever. Blood isn’t good. I dunno if I can move, but... if you guys wanna get out of here... I can try.”

Jackie shakes his head. “No, don’t make yourself. Uh, I can carry you, if you want?”

“That’s fine.”

“Okay.” Jackie stands up, taking Marvin with him. The other three stand up too and follow them out of the room.

Are you really okay, Marvin? JJ asks. That must have been terrible.

“I-it was... more confusing at first,” Marvin says quietly. “Things were... I saw... I-I don’t really remember some of this night. Then I woke up again, and I... saw him. And he... was using my body...” He shudders.

“It’s fine, Marvin,” Chase whispers. “It’s over now. We can get out of here.”

“Is that what we do now?” Schneep asks. “Just... leave?”

“I think so. I don’t want to stay in the cabin with a weird evil ritual circle in the basement. And I want to ask Jack what the hell this was all about. It’s his cabin, he has to know.”

“I don’t think we can ask Jack...” Marvin says. “He... th-that spirit, he made a comment... something about getting Jack out of the way...”

Fear jolts through Chase’s heart. “Then we definitely have to get out of here.”

Maybe we should rest first? JJ asks. Marvin’s not in great shape. All of us are exhausted.

“I’m fine with leaving soon,” Marvin says. “I can... can lie on the couch while you all pack your stuff.”

Jackie nods. “Sounds good to me. What about the rest of you?” 

“I can drive in the dark,” Chase says.

“I do not think we should stay here,” Schneep mutters.

Whatever you all think, JJ adds.

“Then we’ll do it. Come on.” And Jackie heads for the stairs. The rest of them follow.

It doesn’t take them long to re-pack their stuff. They didn’t really have time to unpack fully before everything went terribly. Marvin lies on the sofa, and the others take turns waiting by him, not wanting to leave him alone. He keeps muttering things that don’t make sense. Things about blood being life, and life being power, and what the symbols in the circle meant. When someone asks, he says he doesn’t know what he’s saying. That there is just knowledge in his head now. Knowledge he doesn’t want.

They load the car with their stuff, then head on out. Marvin claims the passenger seat, saying he doesn’t want to be crowded by the others right now. The others let him have it. It’s the least they can do. As Chase starts the car and heads out, they debate calling someone. But in the end, who could they call? Who would believe them?

As the cabin disappears into the woods, Marvin leans his head against the cool window. “Guys...?” he says. “Th... thanks. I-I lov... I really appreciate it. Thanks.”

They all know what he almost said. And they all feel the same.

Ending Reached: Banishment

(Congratulations for reaching the best ending on the Marvin route! :D And here's the link for the full version now uploaded to AO3!)

[quixoticall]

Hiiiii! I just popped in here to tell everyone that I have not forgotten This Could Get Ugly but instead have had an absolutely apocalyptic week and hope to be posting again soon.

[wisteria-whump]

make your whumper throw your whumpee into water that has no buoyancy and watch them sink straight to the bottom <3

[sardonic-the-writer]

───── ❝ a list of things im working on. a star means it's just an idea! ❞ ─────

FICS & BLURBS ->

• [TOTAL DRAMA] Of Monsters And Men: You had signed up for the newest season of Total Drama. Why someone such as yourself would audition for a show as evil as this, you still don't know. Nonetheless, you caught the attention of the one and only Chris McLean. So here you are now. Hovering in a plane over an island. Surrounded by both friend and foe. Oh no.

• [DOCTOR WHO] Four Times The Doctor Saved You and the One Time He Couldn't: You'd had each other's backs through thick and thin since the very beginning

• [GOOD OMENS] Following The Recipe: In which Aziraphale wants you and Crowley to cook with him

• ☆ [SCU] 100 Days, Chapter Three (Surviors Log³): They had a lot to think about. And not a lot of time.

HEADCANONS ->

• The Doctor Watching Shakespeare Flirt With You Would Include (Doctor Who)

• Din Comforting You (The Mandalorian)

• ☆ Being Cherik's Wife (XMen)

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆ ☆

[southerndragontamer]

Egotober Day 5: Jar

His existence was thought to be simple, after all he was a sentient eye that lived in a jar. But for Sam it wasn’t that easy. He was an All-Seeing Eye, when it came to the Septics at least.

He saw the good and the bad, saw the pain and laughter. He saw what could be, what would be and what had been. He saw how the stories branched and twisted and looped. He saw parallels to his own world through their own Sam.

All from his little jar in the clinic.

He only wished that he was able to warn his Septics of what could come, but he wasn’t meant to. It would have to be enough in the end, to be their guardian and friend. And there was this gut feeling, despite his lack of such a thing, that it would be. That all would be as it should be.

[youvereachedthebadend]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Everyone else adds their own vote of support.

“Alright.” Stacy nods. “So let’s start discussing specifics. Who wants to come and who wants to go?”

This discussion is going to take a while.