#jse facility
Text
Swap Across the CrystalVerse Chapter 12: The Facility
Read Swapboys | Crystal’s AUs| JSEFacility
Read SITCV | SATCV Masterpost | AO3 Link
Alt lands hard on the ground. He's in front of a row of doors with numbers on them--a motel, one of the ones where the room doors open directly into the outside. It's really run-down looking, with peeling paint and stains on the ground. A cracked asphalt car lot holds only a couple cars. The sky is alight, pink and orange with either sunset or sunrise. Distant traffic noises come from somewhere. It's not clear where, as the only sign of other civilization is a road heading left and right.
Alt pushes himself up and groans, rubbing at his head. He looks around the area and cringes a bit. He recognizes a place like this… cheap motel for a quick rest on a dirty bed that probably smelt like cigarettes. He glitches to his feet and glances around the area, trying to see what else is around. He’s not eager to stay in a place like this.
Suddenly, someone leans through the nearest door. Leans through is the right way of putting it, as the door doesn't open at all and the figure passes straight through it. The figure is transparent, reminiscent of the ghost Chase they just saw, but completely monochrome instead of that strange white-tinted coloring. Even though the figure is a bit blurry and flickering, some details can be made out. The man has a thick mustache and is wearing a T-shirt over a button-up shirt.
Alt screeches in surprise and slight fear as he glitches back, away from the figure. He stares with wide eyes at him and blinks rapidly, trying to process what he’s seeing. That’s- JJ.
The monochrome man’s eyes land on Alt and he smiles in a friendly way, giving a little wave before pulling back into the room.
But then he just- disappears back into the room. Alt just kinda stares at the door- wondering if that was an… invitation or just a coincidence.
After a moment passes, the door opens a little bit, just wide enough for a person to appear in the gap. It's a guy, with brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail, wearing a baggy red hoodie and a blue bandanna around his neck. His eyes are green. And there seems to be a slight green glow coming from the room, too.
"Uh..." he says. "Where'd you come from?"
Alt glitches a bit in place and waves stiffly. “Uh- hi! I uh… kinda just… fell here. It’s a long story… sorry though, didnt mean to uh… loiter.” He blinks at the green light behind him and slightly points. “…I’m assuming you know your room is glowing-“
The man tenses a little. "Y-yeah, yeah, I know. Uh... hi. Hi. Um..." He looks back into the room for a moment, and then turns back to Alt. "My friend is saying you should come inside. So... come inside?"
Alt looks around and turn slowly nods. “Um.. alright.” He gingerly steps through the door, smiling awkwardly.
"Alright." The man steps aside.
The room beyond is small, with just a little bit of walking space in between the two beds, the night stand, and a small table. At the back are two ajar doors, one leading to a closet and one to a bathroom. The patterned wallpaper looks like it's from the 70s or earlier, and has some water stains on it.
The ghostly JJ is still there, and he waves at Alt again. Along with him and the man in the red hoodie, there are two others. A man with square glasses, wearing a blue turtleneck and a pair of gloves. And a man wearing a snapback cap and red scarf, the ends of his brown hair holding the remains of yellow-green eye. That man is holding a toy dart gun in both hands. He also has... scars all over his arms. Straight and regular. There's also one crossing his eye and one crossing his neck. Wait a minute? Where's the green glow coming from? ...Oh. It's coming from the guy in the red hoodie, who hurriedly closes the door.
Alt’s eyes widen as he takes in all the people in here. JJ, Jackie he’s guessing opened the door and… that looks like Chase. So many scars… does he have as many as Bro? Or even more?
"So," says the man in the turtleneck, fidgeting with his gloves. "Who are you, then?"
“Oh um… I’m Alt. Alt Brody? I’m a magician… from another world.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and fidgets nervously.
"Another world?" the man in the hoodie repeats. "You mean like in comic books? So that's real?"
The man in the turtleneck frowns. "Does that make sense?"
"I mean... we've seen weirder stuff," the man in the cap says slowly.
It's true, the ghostly man says. He and his friends appeared out of nowhere and they'll disappear just as suddenly.
"I trust J3 on this," the man in the hoodie says.
"It is just a bit hard to believe," the man in the turtleneck says, doubt clear in his voice. "What if this is a trick?"
"I don't think it's any harder to believe than the rest of our lives," the man in the cap mutters.
Alt looks at the man in the turtleneck. “I mean… it’s not a trick. I’m from a parallel world… one where… I’m friends with people who look a lot like all of you.”
Alt looks between everyone as they talk, getting more and more confused. “Wait… how do you know we’ll … do that?” He asks the ghostly man. Then he looks to the hoodied man, “J…3?”
"That's J3," the hoodied man points at the ghostly man.
The ghostly man waves. He reaches up to his neck, grabbing the collar of his shirt--
"J3!" The man in the cap hurriedly steps in front of him. "We can't just--"
J3 steps right through the man and shows Alt something. A tattoo on either side of his neck. A series of letters and numbers.
J3110.
And I know it will happen because I'll be there when it does, J3 says.
The man in the turtleneck sighs. "You are just confusing him more."
Alt staggers back, eyes wide as he sees J3 step through the other man and show his neck. He’s at a loss for words. It’s like… a brand. “C-Can… can you see the future…?” He asks quietly.
J3 nods. In a way. I don't exist in just one time at once. I know it's hard to understand.
"You just have to accept that he knows things sometimes," the man in the cap says.
Alt blinks a lot more at this, “…woah. That’s… insane.” He says to J3.
"You said We're friends in another world?" The hoodied man smiles and looks around at the others. "Do you guys hear that? We're all friends in another world!" His excitement is almost contagious.
Alt’s head whips to the hoodied man and he blinks almost comically at his enthusiasm. He laughs quietly. “Y-Yeah… you are. Are you… not friends now…?”
"Well, I think we are!" the man in the hoodie says. "I mean--we're sort of new to it. We didn't have that much time to get to know each other."
The man in the turtleneck chuckles. "I think we are friends, yes. Even if M is being a bitch right now."
"I'm just so happy to hear that we're still friends in other places," the hoodied man says, beaming. "We don't know an 'Alt' right now, but maybe we'll meet you someday!"
Alt can’t help but smile. “Well… that’s good to hear… I mean to be fair… I’ve only known my friends for like… a year or so? Maybe two? So… I get it.”
Alt does seem to cringe a bit at them not knowing an Alt and grips at his arm. “I mean… do you … know an Anti…?” He asks quietly.
"Anti?" the hoodied man repeats. "That's a weird name. I mean--no offense."
Alt laughs and shakes his head, “None taken. I made it up when I was like 4.”
The man in the cap blinks. "That's... what A called himself... one time."
The man in the turtleneck looks back at him. "What? When did you hear him say that, C?"
"While we were leaving. Wh-when me and J were alone with him for a while." C swallows a lump in his throat. A moment passes.
"Well that doesn't mean anything," the hoodied man says firmly. "Alt here is clearly different. He's not trying to stab us."
Alt listens to the others and sighs, “that’s what I was afraid of… my parallels in other places seem to be very… stabby. And fucked up.” He tries to process all of this and then looks up at everyone. “Wait.. do you all… just go by letters? All of you?”
"Heh. Unfortunately." C pulls away the scarf he's wearing, revealing tattoos reading C1104. "This is all we really have to go off."
The man in the hoodie removes his bandanna next. J1007.
Then, reluctantly, the man in the turtleneck pulls down his shirt, revealing H1509.
"I'm J1, by the way," says the one in the hoodie. "J is someone else."
Alt seems to pale slightly, looking at all their tattoos. “N…no way. You guys don’t… even know your names?? Just a letter? H…how? How did that happen?”
"Well if we knew that we'd be calling each other our names," C mutters.
J3 sighs. There is... a company in this world. A corporation. They like to control unusual things. Including people. But people prove hard to work with, so they remove their memories.
"J3 was only a partial success, though," H says. "Due to his... state."
But even though I know more about the world and what happened, I don't know any personal details of who I was before, J3 clarifies.
Alt looks heartbroken for them, his chest aching. Seeing versions of his friends reduced to just… letters and numbers. Things to control and… experiment with. Just like how SCLERA saw him and chase…!
He’s quiet for a couple beats before he softly says, “…I could tell you… I could tell you your names. If… if you wanna know…”
The group falls silent, their eyes going wide in shock. None of them were expecting this. Even J3 seems a little surprised.
"I... are you sure they are the same?" H asks.
“Pretty sure…” Alt says. “I’ve been… to a lot of parallel worlds. I know all your faces. Every name has been pretty much the same…”
C fidgets. "Um... s-someone called me... something once. It might... be true... So... I don't think it's fair that I might know and you guys don't."
J1 takes a step back. "Um... I-I don't... I..." He shakes his head. "We should all be here when you do that. M and J aren't here, a-and only J3's shadow is."
"And... it is strange, but... it feels like cheating," H says. "Perhaps... you can offer again, later. Perhaps things will be different then."
Alt nods but he looks… uncomfortable. It’s so strange to be around people who just… don’t even have names. “‘Course- wherever you guys want.”
Alt does knit his eyebrows together though, “Okay then… random question. If this is J3 and you’re J1 … who’s J2?”
"Oh, there's not one," J1 says. "There's just J, J1, and J3."
"They are nicknames derived from our subject identifications," H says, indicating the neck tattoos again. "There was never one starting with J2 at the facility."
"Which is weird," C says.
No, because the numbers are dates, J3 say. It just means they didn't pair up a J with someone they brought in on a 20th of a month.
"Ohhh. Still weird. But less weird."
"Ohhh okay.... that makes sense," Alt says. He looks around the room again and then asks, "...so... why are you all just- holed up in a motel room? and you said that ...M and J weren't here? Any idea where they are?"
The group exchanges uneasy glances. J3 leans against the wall, waiting for others to do the talking.
Finally, C sighs and sets the toy gun down on the night stand. “We… escaped from somewhere. A facility run by this corporation J3 mentioned. Th-they’re still looking for us, so we’re hiding from them. And running. We… needed somewhere to sleep, so…” He gestures around at the room.
"Oh..." Alt mumbles quietly. "I'm... so sorry. I... kinda know the feeling but... not as bad as you guys have it."
“J got left behind,” J1 says quietly. “He’s still back there. W-we we’re talking about going back for him. But, uh, when we brought it up…”
“M started acting like a little bitch baby and left,” H grumbles. “He took the van we were using, too. J3 went with him—which I know is confusing considering J3 is right here—” J3 waves. “—but think of him as a version from the future, and our current J3 left.”
“I mean… I don’t blame M for freaking out,” C says. “But still. Did he have to take the van?”
Alt sighs and rubs his head. "Well... it was nice meeting you all but... if you're in hiding I don't want to expose you all... I need to find my brother and my friend... and a dangerous man who's been brought with us here."
“A dangerous man…?” J1 says. “Ooo! We can help! We’re like—we can be superheroes, yknow?!”
J3 nods. I know where your friends appeared.
“Of course you do,” J1 laughs. “Where?”
With M.
“Of fucking course,” H mutters.
Alt blinks in surprise. "...that is like- super freaky. But... helpful!" He laughs. "If you guys wanna help... I'm all for it. Hey- maybe we can get you your van back."
“Love to get the van back,” C mutters. “I don’t think M knows how to drive. I think I’m the only one.”
He then turns to J1 and studies him. "You said you're... like superheroes? What can all of you do?"
“Ooo! Well I am super strong!” J1 bends over and easily lifts up the end on the bed.
“Careful, do not make too much noise,” H says.
“I’m careful!… these days.” J1 gently sets the bed down. “I can also be pretty fast but I have to build up to that speed. And I glow, obviously, and I make people less sad! And then H can heal people while touching them, and C can’t die, and you know about J3’s time thing, and M, when we find him, can do a ton of stuff, he can move stuff without touching and make things suddenly appear and disappear and heat up things—well I guess it’s just those three things when you boil down to it—”
“Jeez, J1, give him some space to talk,” C laughs.
Alt looks impressed and he laughs shaking his head. "Don't worry I'm used to that. Ch- My brother and... my friend are just like that. But, awesome! That'll all be really helpful. The dangerous man- his name is Magnificent... he's a dark magician from my world that is constantly looking for power and he doesn't care who he hurts to get it. Though hm... I dunno if what you guys can do counts for what he's looking for..."
"Ooooo, a magician," J1 repeats, looking excited. "It's really like in the comic books!"
"Well, uh, if we don't count, then we might be helpful," C says. "It means he wouldn't be targeting us? Maybe?"
Alt chuckles at J1's excitement. So much like Jackie... "Yeah... he uh... also goes after his parallels... which I'm pretty sure is M so... best we find them." Alt says quietly.
"In any case, if your friends appeared near M, we need to find him," H says. "J3? Where did you guys go?"
Turn right when leaving the motel and head straight that way, J3 says. And then, abruptly, he disappears.
C blinks. "Just when the shadows start giving you good information, they fade away every time. Well. At least we know where to head."
Alt blinks too as J3 disappears and then laughs, "Guess that happens a lot then."
"Yeah, they don't tend to stick around," J1 says. "The actual guy does, who we'll meet soon if we're finding M."
"Great. Let's go, then." H heads into the bathroom, reappearing with a small black bag slung over one shoulder. "We don't have much to take with us."
"Yeah." C walks over to the closet and grabs a backpack from the floor inside. "Do you think we should be worried about M? If this Magnificent guy is going after him, I mean."
"M can take care of himself," J1 says. "I think he can handle his own. Not sure if he'd win, though... so that's why we're going."
"Hope you do not mind walking," H says to Alt.
Alt chuckles, "I mean... I can try to glitch us- but I dunno how close I can get if we don't know exactly where he is..."
J1 looks confused. "Glitch...?"
"Do you... appear and disappear?" C asks. "Like--teleporting? And it looks all, uh, pixelly and stuff?"
Alt laughs and then glitches from one side of the room back to where he was, "Pretty much yeah~!" He smirks.
"Ooooo!" J1 gasps.
"That can come in very handy," H agrees.
C tilts his head. "A could do that too... but I think it mostly traveled through, like, electrical systems and stuff. And you can... take other people? Huh."
"I can... kinda do that too. But, I try not to do it too often... messes with my brain and shit." Alt says, hunching up in his hoodie.
"But we do not know where he is, so I do not think we could go right there," H says.
C sighs. "You're right. We're gonna have to walk."
"It's gonna be a nice day, though!" J1 says cheerfully. "So let's get to it!"
Alt chuckles, "Walking's fine. Let's get going then."
-----------
Bro and Jackie fall together, landing in a patch of tall grass. It looks like it's around sunrise. On one side of them are some scraggly trees forming a rough forest. On the other side of them is a long single-lane road. A van has pulled off the side of this road, parked directly on a dirt spot by it. It's a white van that looks like it had a logo once, but which was covered up by household off-white paint.
Bro groans and rubs at his head, blearily looking around at the surroundings.
Jackie lays on the ground for a minute, sighing. "Dude... I'm so tired. I think after this I'm gonna sleep for like ... a week."
Bro chuckles, "Maybe you'll actually fix your sleep schedule this time."
"Doubtful." Jackie smirks and then pushes himself up. He looks around, squinting. "Why the fuck are we in the middle of nowhere?"
"Near a freaking- creepy van too..." Bro comments, pointing it out.
"... I hope they don't offer us candy- or a puppy." Jackie tries to joke.
The doors at the back of the van open up, and a man hops out. He’s wearing a white button up shirt underneath a blue T shirt, and has a thick mustache. His eyes land on the two of them, and he freezes.
Then immediately climbs back into the van and closes the doors again.
Bro and Jackie blink at the sight of the man and watch him climb back into the van. They're silent for a second.
"...that looked like Jay." Jackie says.
"No yeah 100%." Bro replies.
"...should we... I dunno... knock?"
"I dunno- what's proper etiquette for trying to enter someone's van?" Bro makes a face, "...Now I sound like Jays."
Jackie giggles.
The man doesn’t appear again. Nothing else moves.
After a bit of waiting, Bro finally sighs and gets up, moving towards the van. Jackie trails nervously behind him.
Bro hesitates, then knocks on the van door. "Uh- hello?" Bro tries to call.
Suddenly, the van door bursts open again. A different person stands there, a man with shoulder-length hair wearing a loose long-sleeved shirt. He glares at Chase and Jackie. His eyes are strange. Normal blue, but with strands of white light dancing across the surface, like sunlight through water.
“Don’t fucking talk to me C, J1!” he snaps. “I don’t care what you say! I’m not coming with you! I’m not going back! Sorry that you wasted the trip out here, but fuck off!”
Bro and Jackie both step back with wide eyes.
Bro puts up his hands in a calming gesture. "Woahhh! Hey I uh- dunno who those... guys are? But- not them! I'm Chase- and this is my friend Jackie? We uh... saw someone we thought we recognize go into that van and so we uh... wanted to see?"
The man pauses. His eyes flick over the two of them, taking in the details. And he starts to look confused. He turns over his shoulder and looks back into the van. “It’s not them,” he whispers, too quietly for Jackie’s non-super ears to pick out. “I don’t know. Are they going to hurt us? Well go check!”
Bro tilts his head. He calls, "We're not gonna hurt you! We just... wanna know where we are. And uh... well- see if you guys can help us? We need to find some people but we're kinda lost?"
The man tenses, looking back at Bro. “Wha—no, you didn’t hear that! You didn’t hear that!” He suddenly closes the van doors.
Bro balks as the door gets slammed in his face.
"...I think these guys might be a tad bit paranoid-" Jackie whispers. Bro tries to hide a laugh.
Then, a moment later, the doors open again, and now the man from before is in front while the second one lingers in the background.
Can you understand me? he asks in sign language.
Bro perks up as the first man pops back in. He nods, "Yeah I can! We both can understand sign language." He gestures to Jackie who is still lurking behind him, almost like a shy child.
The first man sighs. I’m sorry about my friend’s reaction. He’s not good with people, and you look like some guys we know who he argued with. If we can help, I’d like to. You’re looking for someone?
Bro deflates in relief and he smiles. "Yeah... we're looking for my little brother. Andddd someone... not so great. A villain. Tho we did just drop in so... I don't think he's gotten into too much trouble yet." He sticks his hands in his pockets. "We just... need to know where we can go to start looking for them. Cuz- I dunno where the hell we are."
We’re sort of isolated right now, the man says. But there’s a town back there. He points down the road.
“The town’s called Mooridge, I think,” the other guy mutters. He brushes back his hair absentmindedly, and for a moment, the guys catch a glimpse of some sort of black mark on his neck. A tattoo of some kind.
We haven’t seen anyone else, the first one says. But it is early in the day. We were asleep for a while. We could have missed someone.
"Ah, that makes sense." Bro nods. "Well- sorry to disturb you both. I guess we'll head that way."
Jackie looks at Bro and then tugs on his jacket pulling him back to whisper to him, "What are you doing? Shouldn't we be... I dunno- sticking with these two? They're... kinda our friends. And they know how this world works!"
"They clearly don't want to be around anyone, Jackie! I'm sure we can manage on our own..."
The two in the van stare at Bro, and the first looks at the second.
“Can you check?” the second asks. “They’ve already seen my eyes.”
The first one nods. And something flickers. It looks like a copy of him, monochrome and blurry, walks away from him and fades into nothing. Then another one of those copies comes back and walks over to him.
Bro and Jackie stop their conversation to stare wide eyed at the blurry copies coming and going off the first man.
"...am I hallucinating?" Jackie breathes.
"Nooo I see it too. W-What the hell?" Bro whispers. "Uh... w-what are you... checking, exactly?"
I hope you’re not offended by this, but I was checking to see if you were telling the truth when you said you wouldn’t hurt us, the first man says.
“And?” The other prompts.
They’re not.
The other man breathes a sigh of relief.
The first one sits down, legs dangling out of the open doorway. Are you two really from another universe?
“Wha—” the other man chokes in surprise.
The swaps exchange confused glances but kinda just shrug it off- until the first one asks his question. Bro and Jackie also choke slightly- eyes wide.
"How... How did you know that??" Jackie asks, flabbergasted.
You’ll talk about it a lot in the future, the first man says.
“J3, are you sure this is safe to talk about?” The second man asks.
Yes, I trust the three of them.
"You can see the future??" Bro gasps, then smiles, "Just like Jair! Oh- that's really cool! ... I don't think you're an oracle though-"
"Ohhh yeah!" Jackie blinks at the first man and then sheepishly smiles. "Well... since you seem to know so much about us and trust us now... can we get your names?"
J3 smiles sadly. Unfortunately, we don’t know our names. Our memories were lost. So we call each other nicknames.
Bro and Jackie look shocked. “You don’t even know your names…?” Bro whispers in sympathetic horror.
The second man sighs. “I’m M. This is J3. You are Chase and Jackie. Glad we’re all introduced.”
“Oh… well… n-nice to meet you then, M… J3…. Why the 3?” Jackie asks.
Because we know two others who also started with a J, J3 says.
“You know even more people who don’t know their names?! And they- they look like us??” Bro looks absolutely flabbergasted. This whole situation… it’s making him feel… weird. And uncomfy. And he’s not sure why…
Unfortunately, J3 says. Four others, to be exact.
“I… thought you were one of them…one of the Js,” M mutters, glancing at Jackie and then looking away. “Thought him and someone else we know had come here to try and… talk to me. Convince me to do something.”
“Ah- that explains the yelling then,” Jackie says, crossing his arms. “Immm guessing you all split off?”
M fold his arms. “They wanted to do something stupid. Well if they want to do that, fine, I’m not going with though and they can’t fucking make me.”
They might be mad that we took the van, though, J3 says.
“I mean- I’d be mad if someone took my car.” Jackie comments.
Bro knits his eyebrows together, “…what did they want to do?”
"They wanted to go back to that place!" M snaps. "Back to the place we came from! The place where they--where we were--" He shudders, looking to the side. "We were... stuck in this... this facility. A-and the people there, they--they--" And he stops again.
It was not a kind place, J3 signs slowly. But one of us got left behind in the confusion when we escaped. The others wanted to go back for him.
Bro's eyes widen. That... sounds like what Alt told him about... about that place- SCLERA. He shudders and holds his arm. Then, after a beat he says, "...M-Maybe... we could help. We could help you get him back?"
Jackie looks at Bro like he's crazy.
"What?! No! We're not going back there!" M shouts. "I-I don't want to--I really don't want to--I--" He turns around and walks farther into the van, disappearing after sight.
J3 watches him go with a sad expression. Then he sighs and turns back to the other two. I do think we should go get our friend, but... M's experience there was... terrible. I don't blame him for not wanting to go back. But I don't want him to be out here by himself, so I'm staying with him. But... we may be able to help you find YOUR friend, maybe?
Jackie nods, “That’s a good idea. We’d really appreciate that. We don’t wanna get too much into things that don’t involve us.” He slightly nudges Bro.
Bro glares at bit at Jackie but then slowly nods. “Yeah… okay. We need to find my brother, Alt. …god I hope he didn’t end up in this- facility place…”
Hold on, I can check where he appeared, J3 says. Another one of those monochrome shadows stands up and disappears. He nods. You said his name was A-L-T? He didn't appear there. He showed up with our other friends.
M comes back just in time to see this. "You're fucking kidding."
“Heyyy that’s handy!” Jackie grins.
Bro sighs in relief. “Okay… at least he’s safe. Can you… help us get to them? Even if… you don’t wanna see them. Sorry, M.”
M groans for a long time, staring up at the sky. "Fine," he finally says, shortly. "Get in. I'm driving. We can meet them halfway." He climbs out of the van and walks around towards the driver's side door.
Thank you! J3 says. That's so kind!
"Yeah, yeah."
Jackie laughs. That was such a Marvin-ism. Takes him back.
“Thank you!” Bro calls too. Then him and Jackie climb into the van.
The area in the van is mostly empty. There's a pile of clothes in the corner and a handful of blankets and pillows in the center. Clearly a crude sleeping area. Sitting on top of one of the pillows are three plush animals. A purple llama, a rainbow elephant, and a black and white seal. Part of the llama's fur is a bit burned.
As soon as the two guys are in, J3 closes the van doors, leaving the area dimly lit.
M pushes open a window that connects the main body of the van to the part where the driver sits. "J3, can you hand me Lia?"
J3 nods. He picks up the llama plush and passes it to M though the window.
"Thanks." M takes it. A moment later, the engine starts up.
Bro and Jackie look around and then try to find a place to get comfy. Bro sits up against the wall of the van. Jackie sticks close by.
Jackie smiles when he sees the stuffed animals and M grabbing one. “aw those are cute. Remind me of one’s my daughters have. Do the other two have names?”
"Yeah well I'm not a child!" M snaps. Then he pauses. "Sorry. That was... you weren't implying anything. Didn't mean to shout."
Another pause. "Ella and Seth. That's the other two. They're... very important to me."
Jackie blinks in surprise then laughs nervously. “Oh.. well- those are nice names! I’m… um- glad you have them.”
“They’re very cute.” Bro adds with a smile.
"Thanks. I think so, too." M slowly turns the van around and starts driving down the road.
Slowly. J3 knocks on the window. You can go a bit faster, you know.
"Oh, but last night you were complaining about me going to fast."
There has to be a middle ground.
Jackie laughs, “yeah- that middle ground is usually called the speed limit.”
"You know, I don't think I drove a lot before this," M says. "This all feels new. C was driving us before, he said that driving felt familiar. I don't feel that."
C came from somewhere else, like H did, maybe people over there drive more than here, J3 says.
“…are you saying you haven’t driven before??” Jackie asks, suddenly nervous. “I-I have my license if you’d like! I could drive just steer me in the right direction!!”
Bro chuckles, “Hey they’ve gotten this far- seems like he’s at least decent.”
"I-it's just a straight line, it'll be fine," M says. "But, uh. You could come up to the passenger seat if you want. And tell me how I'm doing."
“…yeah sure why not. Practice for when my kids get older I guess.” Jackie mumbles.
Once the car stops he makes his way over to the passenger side and hops in. Bro tries his best to hide his laughter.
M nods at Jackie as he climbs in . "Good to h-have you here," he says, suddenly a bit nervous. Lia the llama is sitting on the drink tray between the two seats. The driver's cabin is pretty generic... except for the world 'AMBREL' stamped across the dashboard. "Now let's keep going." He puts the van in gear again and keeps going.
Still a bit slow.
Jackie smiles encouragingly. He watches for a while before leaning over, “You can step on the gas a little bit more. Try to press with just the front of your foot instead of putting your whole weight.”
"Just the front... okay." The van lurches forward for a moment before M figures out a good speed.
Jackie clings to his seat in slight for a second before he gives M a shaky thumbs up. “That’s good!”
There's someone else who came from your universe with you besides your friend Alt, right? J3 asks. I heard him talking about someone else, and you mentioned someone earlier.
Bro blinks at J3’s signs and then nods. “Yeah… there’s also a… a dangerous guy here. His name is Magnificent. He’s a seriously messed up dude- who can do all sorts of messed up mental magic and like control people.”
J3 shudders. We know something like that. They called it A1010. It can put people in a trance or make them see things. But it prefers to be more... direct.
"Do you think A1010 is still at the facility?" M asks J3.
J3 nods.
"Well in that case, at least we won't have to worry about him as well as this Magnificent guy."
Bro shudders, "Yeah,,, I'd hate to have to deal with two people like that... Mag is bad enough." He can't help thinking about the King and Mag working together. Yeah he'd really like to avoid that if he can.
-----------
Magnificent appears in a room that's entirely white. Walls, floors, ceiling, all white. But the lighting is red, so it's all bathed in crimson. A single door leads into the room, made of metal and halfway slid open. The main feature of the room is a glass wall. Or, three, actually, making a room within a room. Inside the glass is a set of furniture, like you'd find a bedroom, all generic and metal. Cameras are scattered across the area outside of the glass, on the ground and on tripods, cables connecting them all to a corner of the room where the plaster has been torn away, with the cables feeding into the resulting hole.
Magnificent awoke as they fell and so he falls into the room and has to push himself up, his face aching. He growls and bares his teeth, "Fucking... Brodys- both of them! I'm gonna rip that hero into fucking shred-!" He pauses as he realizes where he is and his stomach slowly drops as he pushes himself up to his feet. "W-What... what is this...?" He breathes. Then, his anger spikes and he throws himself at the glass, trying to break out of it.
The glass is surprisingly--unnaturally, in fact--sturdy.
"Um..." A man pokes his head out from around one of the furniture pieces--the free-standing wardrobe. He's wearing a black hoodie, and the sclera of his right eye is bright green. "Who... are you?" he asks timidly. "How did you get in here?"
Magnificent screams in rage, ready to strike again when the voice gives him pause. He straightens up to look back at the other man and tilts his head. He narrows his eyes. "...You can call me Magnificent. As for how I got here... I have no earthly idea. Usually the device doesn't put us in such... situations." He glares up at the ceiling and crosses his arms, trying to hide how unnerved he really is. "... suppose the universe is having a laugh at me." He then sighs and looks back at the man. "Who are you? What is this place?"
"I'm, um... J? J0702. That's what they call me." The man pulls aside the edge of his hoodie, showing that sequence tattooed on his neck. "This is... a facility, I guess? The location is called JSE2012. I-I don't know where it is. Sorry." J gives a small, nervous laugh. "You... got in here with a... device?"
Magnificent makes a face seeing the man's tattoo. "Huh... a facility." He then snorts and waves his hand, "Yes- some device my cub picked up. It takes us from our own world into others. Appearing in a new world is random... hence... my being... here."
"You're from another universe?" J asks. "I... guess I've heard weirder. There are probably things to help you travel to other worlds here."
Suddenly, the sound of static fills the room. Red lights start blinking on all the cameras.
J tenses, staring in horror. "Oh god." He scrambles backwards, glancing around wildly for somewhere to hide. The closet isn't deep enough for him to fit. There's a chest, but it's also not big enough for a grown man to fit. The only real option is the attached bathroom, which is just big enough for a toilet.
"I--If you can get out of here, you should. Or--if you can hide somehow, you should."
Magnificent raises an eyebrow, looking back at J. "And... why is that?" He glances at the cameras and bares his teeth at them. He could always try teleporting out of here.... how did he forget that? He blames Fantastic for scrambling his brain.
A mass of black stuff pours out on the lens of a camera, something grisly. It glitches, breaking into green pixels and broken static.
“Because of that!” J says, running into the bathroom and sliding the door closed. The mass pours onto the ground and then rises again, forming a humanoid shape. And then the figure shifts, turning into… a perfect image of Magnificent himself. Well, almost perfect. The right eye is dangling from the socket.
Magnificent still looks confused then watches the camera thing glitch and- "What the hell?!' He growls at the copy and lights magic in his hands, baring his teeth. "What kind of joke is this?!"
"You see your own face and think it's a joke?" The other him laughs and tilts his head. "That's not a good way to think of yourself." He walks up to the glass, pressing his forehead against it. "Have you trapped yourself in there? Are you too afraid to try and get out?"
Magnificent snarls at the copy. "I can get out just fine!" He tries to teleport out of the glass to attack this cheap imitation!
He can teleport out just fine but- he ends up barreling past the copy and skids on the floor. He seems temporary relived there was no magic barrier or anything keeping him in.
The copy laughs, twisting around to look at Magnificent--first the head, then the torso, then the legs. "You're not that smart, are you?" it says. "Never have been. And not as powerful as you think. Otherwise you wouldn't keep getting knocked out every time you fight someone in these worlds. Maybe you're just a bit... o̴u̕t̴ ͟o̢f̶ ̀y̢o̕ur͠ ̨dep̛th̶.̕"
A knife appears in the copy's hand and it rushes for him.
Magnificent makes a disgusted face and staggers back. Then, he yells out in rage and tries to block the copy's attack but he gets sliced across the arm. He grunts then whips out to blast fire its way.
The copy screeches as the fire burns him. He loses concentration, dropping Magnificent's appearance and returning to a black skeletal look. He crouches close to the ground and shifts again--now looking just like that man from before, J0702. Still with that dangling eye, and with the addition of a slit throat weeping blood. He looks up at Magnificent and laughs. "Always so blunt. Except for when you're not, and even then, you are."
The air behind him flickers, glitches and colored static running together, forming... a spiral.
Magnificent backs up more, watching this thing with wide eyes. "W-What are you?!" He cries. He then watches at the spiral forms- but soon enough he growls, not being pulled into its thrall. He starts to laugh madly, "Fine! You wanna copy each other?! I can do that too!" He spreads out his hands and an array of magic knives appears above him in an arc. He shouts and sends them all flying at the creature.
The creature glitches wildly, avoiding most of the knives--however, a couple hit him, and he screeches again. He disappears and reappears inside the glass wall. And, smiling, he gives a smug little wave. "You ask me what I am? I am ▒A░n░t░i▒, and I am the only one like me in this world."
Magnificent hisses at the creature then laughs, "You call yourself that then? Pity- I know far greater Antis then you. Ones that don't cower behind glass."
"Cower...? Do you think it matters to me where this body is?" All at once, the cameras in the room turn towards Magnificent. Electricity sparks along the cables, turning the floor into a minefield. "This facility is mine now," A hisses. "You will not escape it."
He reaches up towards the lights in the ceiling. His form becomes electric and disappears up into it. The half-open entrance to the room shuts and clicks, sealing itself closed.
"What?!" Magnificent gasps, he tries to run towards the door- seeing if he can try to teleport out of it-! He can't be trapped here, he can't!
He appears on the other side of the sealed door in a long hallway, all with equally sealed doors. There's a hole in the ceiling, through which dangle wires and metal parts sparking with electricity. The ceiling creaks, like something heavy is moving on top of it.
Magnificent tries to keep his panic back as he rushes forward, trying to look for another way out.
Every single door is sealed shut. The only ones that aren't are ones that aren't all that important, leading to janitor closets or electrical rooms that are so full of loose electricity that he can't step inside at all.
"No no no!" Magnificent hisses. Okay... maybe there's... power around here? Something he can use? He tries to look around for any source of magic or power nearby.
Yes, there's power all around, though it feels slightly different than what he's expecting. It's hard to describe. Like someone was recreating a recipe but got the ingredients slightly wrong. It's mostly... above him? On the higher floors of this facility.
Magnificent purses his lips at this. But, at least it gives him a goal. He stops his running and tries to teleport up higher.
The next floor up is exactly the same as the one below--though some of the walls are knocked down, revealing large, featureless rooms beyond.
And inside one of those rooms, a large creature is moving...
Magnificent tries to focus but... what is that thing? He... He's too curious not to get a closer look. He approaches the creature with a tilted head.
That thing turns out to be a giant animal. A raccoon, to be specific, The thing is about ten feet tall, sniffing along the edge . There's a collar wrapped around its neck, on which is written, in massive letters, S1707. It raises its head, looks at Mag, and growls.
Magnificent is startled by the raccoon. "What is the world??" He asks and then shakes his head and looks around for that source of power.
There are several sources around... and the closest is, indeed, the raccoon. But the second closest comes from some way down the hall. It seems like it's actually two sources close together.
...he doesn't want to chance being mauled by a raccoon. He heads towards the other two sources.
In one of the smaller rooms with the walls broken, there's... a cat. A cat right in the middle of the room. It's a very fluffy white one, and it's batting at a ball of purple string. Seems like the power is coming from both the cat and the yarn ball. Oh... it's such a pretty cat, too.
Magnificent inherit love of cats has him softening slightly at the sight. He chuckles and starts to approach the cat, kneeling down close to it and offering it his hand. "Well.. hello there beautiful!"
The cat looks up at him with big green eyes. There's a collar around its neck with the ID W3012 on it, along with a small black box. It meows gently and bats the yarn ball towards him. It misses, and just keeps rolling. It's unraveling... and unraveling... and unraveling... the ball doesn't look any smaller but the string trailing from it is now about ten feet long. Heh. How funny.
Magnificent watches the ball roll with increasing concern. "What... the fuck...?" He shakes his head then tries to pet the cat.
The cat sniffs his hand, then flicks her tail and sits down, purring, allowing herself to be pet. For some reason, Magnificent is reminded of something... Some time when he last felt... content...
How long ago was that...?
...too long. It's been far too long.
Since he became... this- he always yearned for something more. For power... for magic.. for souls. Contentment isn't something he's used to anymore.
So... the last memory that comes up into his head is... uni. He's sitting in the living room, excitedly telling Jackie about a new spell he learned as he works on a costume for class. Jackie is laughing, his cheeks red and Mag feels his own cheeks flushed, having an easy relaxed smile. ...how long has it been since he smiled like that?
He gasps and pulls away from the cat, feeling a... wetness in his eyes. He trembles back from her, his voice caught in his throat.
"Aw... isn't that s̀w̕eet̛?"
The cat's head snaps to the side. It yowls and suddenly bolts. Away from the figure who suddenly appeared.
The black, skeletal figure that soon transforms into... Jackie, just as he looked in that memory.
Magnificent stiffens and then scrambles away from the creature- but his breath is taken away as he sees Jackie. Just how he remembered him.
But that cruel smile ruins it.
"You know you can't go back there," A whispers. Blood starts to leak from his eyes as they roll back in his head.
A choked noise comes from Mag’s mouth at A's words. But, then he growls and shoots a bolt of magic at him. "I know I can't! I-I don't need to!"
The bolt hits Jackie square in the chest and he screams, falling backwards. He lands hard on his back, the front of his shirt burned and smoking from the impact. "M...Marvin...?" he breathes. "Wh-why...?"
And then he breathes out and stops moving.
Magnificent stands there, frozen, his hand still outstretched. He feels like he can't breathe. Part of him knows- knows this isn't Jackie- but the other part of him, that part of his heart that still beats- still convinces him he's human- its screaming.
He backs up, another choked noise of confusion and suppressed pain escaping his lips.
Moments pass in silence. Jackie lies there, unmoving.
Until... "Fascinating," a voice whispers behind him. "I thought you were heartless."
Magnificent shudders and then moves to slash behind him, breathing heavily. "S-Shut up! S-Stop messing with me!"
His claws scrape across A's chest--once again in the form of Magnificent himself--and he falls backwards, laughing. "But it's so fun, isn't it?!" he shouts, still laughing. "And you'd better get used to it! Because you'll be here for a while."
And then his body disperses into pixels and disappears.
Magnificent huffs, a mix of rage and sudden exhaustion. He takes a second to compose himself, breathing deeply. Then, he rubs at his eyes, growling to himself. He shakes his head and goes to move forward... he needs to find a way out of here.
#SATCV#SATCV Facility#alt anti#swap magnificent#jackie mann#bro fantastic#jse facility#this one was sooo fun#i love playing with bro and jackie's friendship#and showing mag's vulnerable side too!#oh- and some stuff is gonna be revealed about the swaps in this section so- that'll be fun :)
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Food for thought:
Chase said that c!Jack's in a coma -> c!Jack died -> Anti is currently in charge of his body-
-> The absolute dread that Chase has to feel knowing that there's a motherfucking demon that has taken hold of his "comatose" (dead) best-friend, and has murdered who-knows-how many people while wearing his skin.
#jacksepticeye#antisepticeye#chase brody#extra angst: HIS FRIEND IS FUCKING DEAD#extra extra angst: THE IMPLICATION THAT “JACK” MURDERED CHASE'S FAMILY#a teeny weeny hc-angst: HIS CHILD DIED THINKING ANTI WAS THEIR UNCLE (since you know parents' friends are considered “uncles/aunts” by kids#(lil' addition above since its maxed out: YEAH STACY PROBS ALSO THOUGHT JACK PULLED UP TO THEIR HOUSE)#man I swear every single shit Anti's done to the egos/Chase hits harder when you remember he's using c!Jack's body#mf just massacred an entire facility-traumatizing Chase- and then pulls up to him to be like "Hiii <3#jse iris#iris project
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Infiltration
Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
Totally forgot to queue this last night, but an hour late isn't too bad XD Anyway, it's time. Schneep and JJ try to infiltrate IRIS to find Jackie, along with some help from Rama. And yeah. They find him, but does everything go well? I don't know. You'll have to read to find out :)c This is 7000 words of stuff happening, so have fun!
More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter
“I am still surprised Marvin didn’t want to come,” Schneep muttered, staring out the car window at the fields passing by.
JJ turned around in the passenger seat so he could sign for Schneep in the back. I know. He was so insistent on being included when we thought we’d need to rescue Anti. But I think he’s discovered something new with his cards.
“Ah. That is probably a good thing to explore then. Besides, his leg is still broken, yes?”
JJ grinned. It wasn’t going to stop him before.
“I’m going off-road now,” Rama said. Even though it was JJ’s car, they were driving so Jameson could concentrate on the tracking spell. “There is a chance IRIS will have people on the road, it is better to deal with the grass.”
If my tires get popped I’m billing you, JJ said jokingly.
Rama laughed, and then turned off the small road and onto the grass. The shift was immediate, from mostly-smooth to increasingly bumpy.
“We should probably stop out of view of the facility,” Schneep suggested. “One person walking up is much less noticeable than a car.”
Jameson nodded slowly. Are you sure about going in alone? I can help, and I’m sure Rama would like to, as well.
“I very much would like to help, but I know that I probably won’t be able to,” Rama admitted. “You two have magic and weird electricity powers. Meanwhile, I don’t remember the last time I picked up anything heavier than Michelle’s backpack. The most I can do is wait out here to drive you away once you’ve found Jackie. But I still think Jameson should go in, too.”
Schneep shook his head. “We need to be fast. I know what to expect, and Jameson does not. That little bit of delay could be deadly.”
If you insist, JJ said. But I do have something that might help. I’ll wait until we park to get it out.
It didn’t take long. Sparse trees were starting to show up on the fields, getting closer together. Until the car dipped over the crest of a slight hill and the IRIS facility came into view, right on the edge of a larger forest. Schneep leaned forward to get a better look at it. All he could really see from this distance was the high wall, stone brick with a couple guard towers. “Looks like a prison,” Rama muttered.
I think it was, once, JJ said. IRIS must have repurposed it.
“Alright, what is the thing you wanted to show me?” Schneep asked.
JJ reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass ball. Not his black crystal ball, this one was clear, and a bit smaller than his fist. He passed it back to Schneep, who turned it over in his hands. When I went to the Magic Circle for help finding the facility, Persephone gave me this, JJ explained.
“What is it?” Schneep asked, examining it. There was some masking tape on its surface, with black marker reading BREAK ME. “I am supposed to break it? That will be difficult.”
It breaks easier than it should, JJ said. Magic and all that. This is a signal glass. Magician groups use them a lot, especially the Circle and the ABIM. When you break it, it sends out a pulse of magic attuned to one magician, telling them your location. Persephone helped me attune it to my magic. So if you get into trouble, smash the glass and I’ll be able to teleport right to you.
Rama raised an eyebrow. “You can teleport?”
JJ grimaced. I haven’t had too much practice... but if I know your location, it’ll help.
“Why did this friend of yours give it to you?” Schneep asked.
She knew what we were planning. JJ looked at Rama. If I teleport away, you need to drive right up to the wall. Save time on the escape.
Rama nodded. “We should agree on a place to break in, then.”
“Around the back,” Schneep said, pointing. “It is not blocked off by trees, so the car can get there easily. And there is bound to be a back entrance of some sort.”
“Well, I suppose that’s the best we can do from this distance,” Rama said. They turned back to look at Schneep. “And you’re sure about being on your own?”
“Yes, I am completely sure,” Schneep said, irritated. He looked down at the signal glass and softened a bit. “But... if I need help, I will call you. Please come quickly.”
Of course, JJ said, nodding firmly. Good luck. Try finding an office area. I... think he might be there...
“Bring Jackie back to us,” Rama added.
“I will.” Schneep opened the car door and stepped out. He closed it behind him and started towards the facility.
It was a fairly long walk. Gave him plenty of time to think about what to expect. Though he’d already been thinking about that on the drive out. Really, it just gave him more time to wonder what the hell he was doing. He was walking straight into the lions’ den! And the lions inside probably knew that he’d escaped once before and would be all too eager to pounce the second they noticed him. The fear of that had been driving him crazy all morning, a sick, jittery feeling in every one of his nerves. But he wasn’t about to leave someone else to the lions. Especially not his friend, and especially not when his friend didn’t even know they were lions in the first place.
He circled around the facility through the forest, getting a good look at the wall. It really did look like something out of the prison. The facility up north was the same way. Maybe JJ was right and they’d been converted from abandoned prisons. That probably meant it would be hard getting in or out.
But, as he expected, IRIS had a back way in. They were too careful to have only one entrance to a place. It was on the corner of the back wall, sort of near the forest but not close enough that the trees would be a problem. It looked like a simple metal door in the stone wall. But Schneep knew better. There would be cameras everywhere. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any defense against said cameras. So speed was key here. Get in, find Jackie, and get out before IRIS could mobilize. This was a big facility, surely it would take a while for them to coordinate all the guards they surely had.
There wasn’t much cover to speak of, so Schneep took a deep breath and ran right up to the metal door. Locked, of course. But Schneep was familiar with IRIS’s locks—and their fatal flaw. Though it was a flaw that only he could exploit. He reached up past the top of the doorframe and pushed his hand against the stone above the middle of the door. It felt like normal stone. Schneep took a deep breath and sent a shock into the cold surface. Instantly, the surface warmed, and a light above the door’s handle went from red to green.
Electronic locks—and the batteries were always above the door. Disconnected from the main power grid so they could still lock in case of a breach. A good idea... if the intruder trying to breach the facility didn’t control electricity. Schneep grinned a bit as he slipped through the door. Funny that IRIS had created something that could exploit this weakness of theirs.
Through the door was a short hallway—with two people inside. They wore black uniforms with the IRIS logo on the sleeve in white. Guards. They were relaxed until they noticed them. “Hey!” One shouted, while the other reached for their belt.
Schneep leapt forward, grabbing each of their arms. He sent an electric shock through their systems. Both of them cried out and then fell to the ground.
He continued down the short hallway and out a door, arriving in an open green space. The wall wasn’t right up against the actual buildings. He glanced around, seeing no one, and then bolted, sprinting across the grass for the nearest door. It was about 20 meters of stress, and then he was there. He did the same unlocking trick and hurried inside the building.
Inside was... surprisingly normal. It looked like any other office building out there, with undecorated white walls and cheap carpet. The fluorescent lights in the ceiling were a bit dim, but that was all, really.
Office building... Offices. JJ said that Jackie might be in the office area. Well, looked like he lucked out, then. Schneep’s eyes darted around—then dropped as he noticed a camera dangling from the ceiling.
They knew.
He made sure that his cloth mask was sure, and then ran down the hall.
There were doors on either side of the corridor. Most of them were locked, and Schneep didn’t have the time to try and open them. Some of them were labeled with little plaques on the door—boring stuff, like ‘Janitor’ or ‘Computer Storage’—but most of them simply had a little black number stamped on the wood. As Schneep ran, turning corners at random, going deeper and deeper into the facility, the numbers decreased. They’d been in the 120s back near the entrance. Now he was seeing 116, 115, 114, etc. Some of these were unlocked. And through each of the numbered doors was an identical office space. This was what he was looking for.
He kept going, luckily not seeing any guards as he ran. That did make him a bit uneasy. But that feeling changed when he tried door 107. It was unlocked. But unlike the other unlocked doors, it was not empty.
The office was dark, but Schneep could see inside well enough. Filing cabinets lined the wall, and there was a trash bin in the corner overflowing with crumpled paper, but the main furniture was the desk with the computer. The only light in the room came from the pair of monitors on its surface. Their blue and orange glow lit up the face of the man sitting there. A face that Schneep almost didn’t recognize. Until the man looked up from the monitors and saw him. He blinked. “Wh... what the hell?”
“Jackie,” Schneep breathed. He couldn’t say anything else; the wave of relief he felt was too overwhelming. So he simply hurried over.
“H-hey.” Jackie stood up—causing some more crumpled paper to fall to the floor—and reached into his pocket. “Don’t come any closer.”
Schneep stopped, taken aback. Was it the mask? He quickly pulled it down. “Jackie, i-it is me. I’m here to—”
“Is it really you?” Jackie’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. His hair was a bit longer than it had been when Schneep last saw him, but not quite as long as it was before his disappearance. It just reached his chin, and was pulled into a half-up bun style.
“O-of course it is.” Schneep glanced back through the open doorway into the hallway. He quickly walked back over and started to close the door.
“Leave it,” Jackie said.
Schneep stopped. “Sorry.” He stepped away from the half-closed door. Jackie didn’t ask him to close it further. “I... I think I understand. The others—I-I was not there, of course, a-and I am so sorry for that, but the others said... you were worried about Distorter. Jackie, I promise you this is no trick. I am really here.”
“Why?” Jackie demanded. “If you’re really here, then why? A-and I can tell if you’re lying.”
Schneep didn’t doubt that. IRIS probably had that technology. He glanced around the room uneasily. There were no cameras in sight. But that didn’t make him feel better. “I... I came to see you,” he said slowly. “To... convince you to come back home.”
Jackie stared at him for a moment. He looked down. Schneep saw him take something out of his pocket and fiddle with it. He was tempted to step closer—the less time he spent here, the better—but he didn’t want to upset Jackie. After a moment, Jackie took a deep breath and looked back up at him. “Okay,” he said, nodding. “I believe you. And... you’re not Distorter?”
“No, I promise you, I am not,” Schneep said.
Jackie glanced down again. Back up. “What are you doing here?”
“I—Jackie, I just told you.” Schneep glanced back at the door. He really didn’t like being in sight of it, so he walked up to the desk. Jackie tensed but didn’t move away. “I need you to leave this place. W-we need to go now. There is not much time before they realize I am here—”
“Wait, did you break in?” Jackie laughed. “Why did I expect anything different? You know you can apply for a visitor’s pass, right? Or you could’ve called me. Anyone could have—”
“No, we could not,” Schneep interrupted. “Again, I was not there for this, but the others have been trying to reach you since you left. Rama has been trying to reach you!”
Jackie blinked. His faint smile disappeared. “They... have?”
“Of course they have!” Schneep said, exasperated. “You mean to say you haven’t heard from your friends—from your spouse—in weeks? And you did not think that was odd? Rama and Jameson are outside right now! They are so worried about you!”
“I’ve been busy...” Jackie said slowly. He put the item in his hands on the desk and started digging in the pockets of his coat. A white coat, with IRIS’s logo on the sleeve. It made Schneep sick to see his friend wearing the same uniform as the people who’d tormented him. He walked a bit closer, circling around the desk. “Hang on,” Jackie said, holding up his hand. Schneep stopped, waiting, as Jackie took out his cell phone and started looking through things. “I don’t see any missed calls or texts. Huh. Weird. Y’know, I’ve been wondering if we’re in a bit of a dead zone out here, the WiFi is surprisingly bad—”
“Jackie, can you shut the fuck up?!” Schneep suddenly snapped. “Why are you—Y-you are being so—Do you not realize—”
Jackie took a step back from Schneep, looking at him with both concern and wariness. “Calm down, Volt. It was a mistake. A misunderstanding. I’m fine, see?” He gave him a reassuring smile. “These guys are alright. They’re a bit intense with their security, but it’s understandable, really.” The smile disappeared. “I... should’ve tried to call everyone earlier. But when I got here, I wasn’t... good, mentally, not really in a state to even think about that. And the longer this has gone on the more I’ve wondered what I could even say. They made me sign this pretty intense NDA a-and I didn’t want to slip up and...” He let out a breath. “I was just scared. I... didn’t want anyone to think I was... abandoning them.”
“That... deserves a conversation,” Schneep said, “but this is not the time for one! Jackie, their cameras here are—They will know I’m here soon! If they don’t already! We have to go!”
“What? No!” Jackie shook his head. “Look, I’ll call C&C and explain everything to them, you’re not going to be in trouble—”
Schneep laughed hysterically. “Oh, Jackie, you do not even know!”
“What the fuck do you mean? Did you assault someone getting in here?”
“No, and that is not what I am speaking about!” Schneep walked closer to Jackie, who once again tensed but didn’t move away. His hand drifted to one of his pockets. “Jackie! Jackie, you say these people are ‘alright.’ They are not. They are the farthest thing from ‘alright.’ If you get security in here, it will not end well. Definitely not for me, and maybe not for you, either.”
Jackie didn’t say anything. He glanced at the computer monitors. Schneep followed his gaze, hoping that there wasn’t some ‘Call Security’ option on the screen. There wasn’t. Instead, both of the monitors displayed a strange, shifting spiral of blue, orange, and yellow light, an angular tunnel constantly coming closer to the screen. Some sort of screen saver, maybe. Jackie looked away from it and back at Schneep. “I... don’t know what you—”
“They are evil, Jackie,” Schneep said vehemently.
“Jeez. Schneep, no corporation is gonna be truly good, per se, but IRIS isn’t evil.” Jackie reached out slowly, gently pushing Schneep away from him.
“They are, Jackie.” Schneep grabbed Jackie’s wrist. Jackie’s eyes widened and he tried to tug his arm free. Only then did Schneep realize how tight he was squeezing. He immediately let go. “I-I am sorry. Did that... hurt?”
“Not too much,” Jackie said, flexing his hand. “Heh. Were you always that strong?”
“No.” Schneep took a deep breath. “And it is because of IRIS.”
Jackie looked at him, confused. “What? Wait, have you been here, too? But didn’t you break in—”
“I did not want to be here, Jackie!” Schneep grabbed Jackie by the shoulders—then backed away, remembering what just happened. “Jackie, I—They have done things to me, Jackie, things that cannot be undone.”
“I... what?” Jackie whispered. “Schneep, I’m sorry, I... don’t understand. IRIS wasn’t even in the area until a couple weeks ago, how could you have—”
“Jackie,” Schneep interrupted. He was shaking slightly, but he forced himself to be still. “Do you know about their office in Henshilling?”
“Huh? They don’t have a—”
“Of course you don’t.” Schneep laughed. “They would not tell you. Not too long after I left the city, I went there. I found them. People were going in that building, they were not coming out. I watched. Until I noticed two of their soldiers—because that is what they are, really—carrying out a long black bag in the dead of night, moving it to the incinerator. I knew I had to go in, then. So I did. A-and they saw me, Jackie. They saw me right away. They knew who I was. They said I-I had seen ALTR 53815, I did not know what that was, but they did not care.”
“What? No, you’ve never been in the house,” Jackie said. “They wouldn’t—even if this is true, they wouldn’t—”
“‘Even if this is true’?!” Schneep repeated incredulously. “Jackie, are you saying I am lying to you?!”
“No, I just—”
“I have never lied to you once, Jackie, you were the first I told about Von Voltage, you know I would tell you everything. And I assure you, I was on my medication.”
“I didn’t mean to say you weren’t,” Jackie said. “I just—If you were trespassing, of course they would interrogate you, and—and now that I’m thinking about it, with how much Distorter’s fucked with you, they would probably pick up traces of 53815 on you. But... you must’ve misunderstood what you saw. It probably looked like a body bag, but I bet it was something el—”
“You don’t know what they’ve done to me, Jackie!” Schneep screamed. He grabbed Jackie by the coat, pulling him closer. “Don’t you understand?! They cut me open, Jackie! They put things in there! I-I don’t even know what they were! I don’t know what is inside me, Jackie, a-and it’s—it’s fucking—I-I am sick just thinking about it! In my brain, Jackie! My hands, they—I-I could not control it for so long, I was hurting myself, and then they put something else in there and it no longer hurt at all.” Schneep gripped Jackie tighter. His vision was starting to blur as hot tears filled his eyes. “I-I do not—I remember it happening, once. Do you know what it is to lie there, when you cannot move, you cannot speak, you can only breathe and try to endure it a-as strangers tear the flesh above your spine and go poking around in there? No! Of course you don’t! A-and no one should, but I know—I know I was not the only one, there were other rooms down there, Jackie, a-and I had to leave them o-or I wouldn’t get out at all—Jackie, Jackie. Please, you cannot be one of them.” His knees felt weak. He let them collapse, falling to the floor, clinging tight to Jackie. “Please. Y-you are still my friend, right? You... I know you would not... do this. Right?”
Jackie was silent. Schneep didn’t look up at his face. Partly because he didn’t want to see his expression, partly because he didn’t want Jackie to see the tears flowing down his face. He closed his eyes, trying and failing to stifle the sobs that shook his body.
“...Henrik.” Jackie’s voice was quiet. He gently pulled Schneep’s hands away from him and knelt down so the two of them were level. “Are... you... okay?”
Schneep finally looked up. Jackie was... horrified. There was no other word for it. “No,” he whispered. “And it is because of IRIS. Please, Jackie, I-I am not lying to you. This is not a trick, this is not a mistake. They have made me into something else. They could do the same to you. Even if you think you are safe now.”
Jackie stared at him. He wrapped Schneep’s hands in both of his. “Can you... show me?”
“H-huh?”
“I believe you,” Jackie said gently. “But... i-it’s hard for me to... IRIS has been so... helpful. I can’t imagine... but I believe you. I just... I can’t... Those two things don’t work in my brain. So... can you show me?”
Schneep took a breath, slow and shuddering. “This may hurt.”
“Wha—ow!” Jackie jumped, instinctively yanking his hands away from Schneep’s. “You—oh.” He realized it quickly. Schneep was not wearing his gloves. That shock came from his bare hands. “Oh. Oh.” He covered his mouth, eyes wide, face pale. “Oh god. I—They—f-fucking hell, I—oh, god. Oh god.”
Schneep wiped his eyes. “Th-there is no time,” he said. And, unfortunately, he was right. As much as he wanted to sit on the floor and break down, he couldn’t. Somehow he knew they were coming. “Jackie, will you leave with me?”
“Y-yeah. Yeah, holy shit, o-of course!” Jackie scrambled to his feet. He reached down and pulled Schneep up, too.
“Good. Let’s—”
“Hang on, i-if I’m leaving—I’m probably not going to be allowed back here anyway, so—” Jackie began picking up things from the desk surface—mostly pieces of paper, but there was also that thing that was in his pocket earlier—and shoving them into the various pockets on his coat. “Volt, open this bottom drawer and grab the headsets inside.” He kicked the side of the desk, indicating a drawer.
“Okay.” This was no time to ask what Jackie meant. Schneep pulled open the heavy drawer. It was one of those large drawers meant for files, but inside this one there were only two things. He first thought they were a pair of sleeping masks—one white, the other black—but then realized they were more like VR headsets. Just much smaller and thinner than the ones he’d seen before. The part that went over the eyes was no thicker than a phone case, curved to fit the average shape of someone’s face. Schneep stopped only long enough to take in these basic details before scooping them up. “What are these?”
“They’re—uh—it’s like—So you know how sometimes in scifi movies or shows there are things that can view other people’s memories?”
Before Schneep could respond to that, the half-closed door to the office swung open, slamming against the opposite wall. A figure in a black uniform stood there, the IRIS logo in white on their sleeve, their face hidden by a helmet with a reflective visor. They raised their hand to the side of their head. “Intruder found in—”
“No!” Schneep lunged forward, vaulting straight over the desk, knocking down one of the monitors, and was in front of the figure in seconds. He grabbed their wrist in one hand and their shoulder in the other. An electric snap! sounded off and the person dropped to the floor.
“Holy shit!” Jackie stared at Schneep, mouth open in shock. “What just—Are they—”
“They’re fine,” Schneep said curtly, pulling his mask up again. He was experienced with electricity by now and knew how much would stun a person. “But they’re not alone.” Outside the room were two other black-uniformed security guards. They were turning towards the sound. “Let’s go!”
Jackie nodded. He scooped up the headsets from where Schneep dropped them and ran after him. “Guess we’re doing this now, then!”
“Of course we are,” Schneep said. “Stay behind me!”
“Hey!” The two guards ran towards Schneep and Jackie the moment they entered the hallway.
Schneep pushed Jackie back a little and ran right at the guards. Each of them took something from their belt, a long baton-like object, but Schneep wasn’t worried. He jumped out of the way as one swung a baton and then ducked as the other did the same. Then he grabbed their hand as it flew past him and shocked them. That guard dropped immediately. The other one smacked him in the shoulder, causing a similar snap! sound as Schneep’s electricity. It hurt, but didn’t do much else. Schneep grabbed the guard’s arm and stunned them as well.
“Holy shit,” Jackie breathed. “Th-that was—How did you—fast???”
“No time to talk,” Schneep said. “Remember that I am different. Now let’s go!”
“R-right.” Jackie nodded.
The two of them broke into a run. Schneep had to force himself from blazing down the hallway so that Jackie wouldn’t be left behind. He’d been athletic before, but now, it was so easy to move quickly, to lift and push heavy things. No, this wasn’t the time to reflect on this! He had to be sure he wasn’t losing Jackie!
The two of them ran down the halls of IRIS. Schneep remembered the way he’d come in and was heading back there. Jackie didn’t question his sense of direction, just following. As they turned a corner, they ran right into a group of more of those guards—C&C, as Jackie had called them. There were four. “Here!” one of them barked, pulling out another baton.
Jackie slowed down. Good. Schneep didn’t want him to get caught up in the fight. He kept running right at the guards, throwing a punch at the nearest one and knocking them down. Two others hit him with those batons, causing more electric snap!s, but he simply kept moving. He ducked down and swept one’s legs, stunning them after they landed. Then he rolled out of the way of the other three attacking and yanked one of them down to the ground. Another stun. He quickly stood before the last two could hit him while he was down and briefly backed up before jumping forward again, launching himself at the last two. As soon as they made contact, he stunned them.
“Holy shit,” Jackie whispered. He crouched down and checked on one of the stunned guards. Then, reluctantly, he took their baton. “I should probably take this, just in case, right?”
“Good idea.” Schneep nodded. “But do not stop!”
They continued to run. Two more squads of guards tried to stop them—five people, then seven—but neither of the fights lasted longer than a minute. Schneep wondered if he should be worried about that. If he should take a moment and see if he was killing any of them, like how Jackie was doing. But there was no time. They had to get out. There would be so many more guards in a facility of this size. If he had to fight twenty people, or even ten people... well, he doubted those odds. The frantic fear of thinking about what would happen if they got caught spurred him onward. He wasn’t going to go back, and he wasn’t going to drag Jackie down with him.
They were almost to the door where Schneep had broken in, when another group of guards came out of a door on the side of the hallway. Only three, but one of them was wearing a slightly different uniform, with white highlights against the black, and the two others were holding strange guns with long, square barrels. Almost like a taser. “The EX subject is taking a staff member with him,” said the one in the different uniform, putting his hand to the side of his head. “Permissions?”
Schneep growled. “Get out of our way!” He jumped at the two guards. One of them fired their strange gun, but Schneep dodged the projectile and went for the other one, stunning them. It looked as though these strange guns were similar to tasers in what they fired, too. A long, thin metal string trailed from the end of the projectile, connecting it back to the barrel of the gun. But unlike tasers, the projectile more resembled some sort of thin dart. The guard who’d fired the gun pressed a different button and the string disconnected from the barrel.
“Understood,” the man in the different uniform said, and reached for his belt.
Schneep glanced at him, but then noticed the remaining guard’s posture tense. He whirled back around and darted forward, wrapping his hand around their wrist and shocking them just as they fired the gun again. They gasped and dropped to the floor. Schneep turned back to the remaining guard and—
AAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAIIEEE!
—he screamed, clapping his hands over his ears. What was that sound?! Where was it—AAIIEEE!—coming from?! It sounded like it was right next to—AAIIEEE!—him. He could feel it in his teeth, in his eyes, in—AAIIEEE!—his very bones.
“Schneep!” Jackie gasped.
“Ja—” AAIIEEE! Schneep cried out, staggering backwards. He soon lost his balance and collapsed to—AAIIEEE!—the floor, feeling suddenly weak and shivery. Tears came to—AAIIEEE!—his eyes. He couldn’t think! He couldn’t move! That sound was—AAIIEEE!
“Don’t worry, sir,” the guard said, clearly looking at Jackie. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
“I-I-I didn’t think he—”
AAIIEEE! Schneep twitched, wanting to scream. The sound was still going. A continuous screech. He wanted to shout—AAIIEEE!—at the guard, demand to know what happened, but he couldn’t move. All—AAIIEEE!—he could manage was a weak whimper.
“Schneep, are you okay?!” Jackie started for Schneep, but the guard stepped in front of him, stopping him. “What—What did you do?”
“It’s a disabling signal.” The guard held up the device he’d taken from his belt. Schneep could only catch a glance of it from here, and bizarrely, he was reminded of a Gameboy. “All of the EX subjects are built with them.”
Schneep tried to get to his hands and knee—AAIIEEE!—s, but collapsed. ‘Built’? He wasn’t built. Fuck these g—AAIIEEE!—uys. The guard was still saying som—AAIIEEE!—ething to Jackie,, but Schneep couldn’t focus enough to hear it. It—AAIIEEE!—... it hurt... It hurt... so much...
Jackie’s eyes kept darting between Schneep and the guard. The guard finished talking, and he stood there, looking unsure. Then he slowly nodded. The guard relaxed slightly, saying something more as he turned around—and Jackie immediately shoved the point of the baton he’d grabbed into the guard’s back. SNAP! The guard instantly collapsed, a soot-black circle on the white of his uniform. Jackie let go of the baton and grabbed the strange device from the floor where the guard dropped it. He fumbled with it for a moment.
AAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAIIEEEAAI—The sound wasn’t stopping. The only thought passing through Schneep’s head was a directionless plea for it to stop hurting.
“Shit!” Jackie cursed. These buttons weren’t labeled! For all he knew, he was making it worse for Schneep, who was still lying on the ground. His eyes were rolling back in his head, tears flowing down his face. His body twitched occasionally, but other than that he was completely still. “Schneep, d-don’t worry, I-I’ll get you out of here!” Jackie stood up, grabbing Schneep. If he had to drag him out of here, he would!
Something rolled out of Schneep’s pocket and onto the floor. Jackie glanced down and saw a glass orb bump into his foot. He hesitated, then reached down and picked it up. There was some tape across its surface with black marker writing: BREAK ME.
...worth a shot, right?
Jackie threw the orb to the ground. It smashed immediately, even the tape disappearing, and a wave of bright blue light rippled out from the spot of impact. He’d know that shade of blue anywhere. Magic.
Suddenly, the hall was filled with blue smoke. Jackie coughed—more out of surprise than anything. And when the smoke disappeared, he saw JJ standing there, wearing his stage mask and looking ready to fight anything. He saw Jackie and Schneep immediately. His eyes flicked around the hall really fast to be sure no one was coming, then signed, What happened?
“I-I don’t—Sch-Schneep collapsed, they—there was a—something about a disabling signal?” Jackie stammered, just as shocked to see JJ as he was to see Schneep. But, thankfully, a lot more trusting. “Th-there’s this thing to control it, but I don’t—I don’t know how to—”
JJ nodded. You work on that, he signed, hands moving almost too fast to interpret. I’ll carry him. If we run into anyone I’m sure I can take care of them.
“Okay.” Jackie passed Schneep to JJ. He was still twitching slightly, breathing shakily. “Can you—how did you—”
Been practicing teleporting, JJ signed awkwardly. Don’t know if I can do it with others. So run!
“Right!” Jackie nodded. “I-I think Schneep was taking me to the side entrance. This way!” He started to run, trying to fumble with the device as he did.
They sprinted down the halls. Jackie knew them well by this point, so he didn’t need to fully concentrate on navigating them. What the hell was this device? Why was there a screen that wasn’t working? Why weren’t any of the buttons labeled? He was so focused on it that he almost didn’t notice when they turned the corner to the side entrance hallway. Almost.
The small space was absolutely crowded with C&C members. Most of them wore the standard black uniform, though Jackie could see a handful with that white-highlight outfit that the guard with the disabling signal had been wearing. He’d never seen that uniform before. Had there been people here with those outfits all this time? Why had he never seen them?
One of these new-uniformed guards raised a hand. “You are outnumbered,” she said. “Surrender peacefully and no harm will come to you.”
“Bullshit,” JJ spat, and Jackie’s head snapped to look at him. He’d never heard Jameson so angry before. He rarely heard JJ be angry at all, but the rage in his voice now... was only outmatched by the increasingly bright glow coming from his eyes.
Jackie’s own eyes widened and he scrambled backwards, giving Jameson space. Just in time, too. Jameson whistled sharply, and a flurry of bright blue magic burst outwards, shards of power flying forward. The C&C guards shouted, some of them aimed weapons, but they were too slow. The magical storm only lasted for a few seconds, but by the time it was done, every single guard was covered in a thin layer of crystalline blue magic. “Jesus fucking christ,” Jackie whispered. “Since when could you do that?”
Jameson shook his head, the glow from his eyes slowly fading. His hands were full, carrying Schneep, so he whispered in his hoarse voice, “Since... now, apparently. Move! It won’t last long.”
“Right!” Jackie nodded, and the two of them edged around the frozen C&C squads to the side entrance. Jackie reached into his pocket and pulled out a keycard in a plastic sleeve. He pressed it against the sensor... but nothing happened. Confused, he tried the door. It opened. Right, Schneep had broken in. Those efforts must’ve included breaking the door somehow. “Let’s go,” he said.
They stepped out into the courtyard and were immediately met by more C&C guards. So many more of them. A few raised gun-like objects and fired, but a crystalline shield weakly flickered into being just in time to stop the various projectiles. Jameson blinked. He was swaying a bit on his feet.
“What now?” Jackie whispered. They were completely surrounded! There had to be at least fifty guards between them and the outside wall. He didn’t know there were so many C&C members in this facility!
“...Run when I say run,” JJ rasped.
Jackie nodded slowly.
JJ took a deep breath. The shield expanded, surrounding the two of them and Schneep in a dome. Outside of their small safe haven, the guards were reloading weapons. One of them was shouting on a megaphone, but the magic shield muffled the sound. “Run!” JJ shouted.
They both broke into a sprint. And the magical dome came with them. Some of the C&C guards instinctively leapt out of the way of the rapidly-approaching glowing sphere. The ones that didn’t were forcibly pushed to the side. Jackie couldn’t help but be a bit worried... until he noticed that they were all recovering quickly and immediately attacking the dome with weapons. Mostly dart-like projectiles, but as they dashed towards the wall, a few real bullets ricocheted against the dome, causing small, inch-long cracks. Then, as they got closer, the darts stopped, leaving just the bullets.
Jameson was showing no sign of stopping as they approached the solid stone wall. Jackie glanced at him, concerned, but didn’t stop either. The wall was ten feet away—five feet—Jackie stumbled for a bit, balking, but then closed his eyes and forced himself to trust Jameson. He braced himself to smack against the wall in a most painful way—but he didn’t. Instead, everything went dark for a moment. He felt pressure in his ears, like elevation changing in the mountains—and then everything was light again. He opened his eyes and saw them on the other side of the wall.
Parked on the grass nearby was a car. Jameson’s car. They ran for it. The passenger side door was thrown open, and Jackie looked inside and saw Rama had leaned over to open it. The two of them held eye contact for a silent moment. And then Jameson’s shield died and he stumbled to the side, falling against Jackie for a second before righting himself. Rama looked at Jackie. “Open the door for them, corazon.”
Jackie’s heart leapt. He nodded, and opened the door for the back seat. JJ climbed in, taking Schneep with him, and Jackie got into the passenger seat.
As soon as everyone was inside Rama hit the gas, not even waiting for the doors to close. The tires skidded on the grass and then the car was off, the ground jolting beneath them.
Nobody said a word until they were back to the main road. While they were driving, Jackie continued trying to figure out the device, but it was like it wasn’t on at all. In frustration, he flipped the device over, found the battery compartment on the back, and opened it. IRIS didn’t use regular batteries, but the device still died when Jackie pulled out the power source: a pair of flat squares made out of green metal. They were glowing very slightly, angular patterns shifting on their surface. Jackie put them in his pocket.
In the backseat, Schneep gasped, bolting upright.
“Schneep!” Jackie gasped. “I-I’m sorry, I couldn’t figure it out! I-it might’ve been Locked, I’m—How do you feel?”
He didn’t answer. His wide eyes darted around the car. JJ, concerned, asked, Do you need any healing? I know some spells.
“N... nein, I mean no, I-I...” Schneep’s voice was quiet. “I think... it was just... in my head...”
“In your head? Y-you were clearly in pain,” Jackie said. “Is it... do you still feel?”
“No, i-it’s stopped,” he said. “J-Jamie, do not worry about me. You must be low on magic after all that you just did.”
Jameson nodded slowly. I think I’m just about out, he admitted. Once I’m sure we’re not being pursued... I’m going to sleep the rest of the way.
Schneep laughed.
“You are all safe, then?” Rama asked. “Besides... that?”
“Safe, yes.” Schneep nodded. “It did hurt, whatever that was, but it stopped the moment you broke that thing, Jackie. Thank you.” He paused. “And... thank you for coming with me.”
Jackie gave him and Jamie a nervous smile. Then he turned to look at Rama. They couldn’t fully look at him, needing their eyes on the road, but they were glancing at him as often as they could. “R... Rama, I...”
Rama shook their head. “Not now. They may be coming after us. We should wait until we are safe.” They paused. “But... know that I don’t blame you, Jackieboy. For anything.”
Jackie blinked. That felt like more than he deserved, honestly. But he nodded. “Alright. We can wait. A-are we going to meet up with the others?”
If by that you mean Marvin and Anti... you’re half right, JJ said.
“Huh?” Jackie blinked. “Wh-what do you mean? What happened?! Does Distorter still have Marvin?!” He shouldn’t have run out like that! He never should have—what the fuck was he thinking?! Well, he wasn’t thinking much, to be honest, but that wasn’t a fucking excuse—
“Calm down, Jackieboy,” Rama said. “Don’t panic. Things are... not good, but they’re not as bad as you’re thinking.”
Schneep sighed. “I suppose we must explain, Jamie. No nap for you yet.”
That’s fine, this is more important, JJ said, sitting up straight. Hold tight, Jackie. This is a long story.
#jacksepticeye#jacksepticeye fanfiction#jacksepticegos#septic egos#septic egos au#jacksepticeye au#dr schneeplestein#jameson jackson#von voltage#the jaunty jackson#jackieboy man#dr jackie parker#brigid writes fanfiction#septicswitchau
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
Version... 3 of the audio... like in my edits in the previous post, it has come to my attention that the audio could more likely be saying "No one's gonna help me"...
Which hindsight sounds far more likely to be the saying, so I am thanking these two lovely individuals for making that more clear, in the official JSE server,
You'd think after years of dealing with such things, I'd be more careful, but excitement still does get to me. XD Still, at least I am happy someone else is also taking a look at the audio because I am still not confident in my skills with it.
(And if its still too quiet to you, please raise your volumes gradually, I don't want you damaging your ears please.)
But with the context of Anti's giggle and the whisper of "No one's gonna help me"... Does make me think that it's Chase. Given how things ended in AF: CB that Anti may have Chase now... Or at least the last seconds in which Chase is looking up at the man that had been haunting him for gods know how long and the one likely to be responsible for the deaths of his wife and child.
STILL, there maybe some hope here. Chase and Anti may not be the only ones in the facility, we still have Echo around there, 'trapped' like Chase was in the building, and then the other two voices that are around. Could they be in the facility? Or are they peeking into this moment from their lane and one of them may be wanting to throw themselves in to stop what could be happening to Chase.
As far as we know, we haven't found everything in AF: CB... so let's get to cracking, yeah?
Edit : Though to make it more clear, those two above in the image, made what the whisper said clear. But it was @n-anon That brought up the giggle and whisper to attention in the first place. XD We both tried to guess is in the server. I heard the word 'help' which prompted me to use Audacity to see if I could make it clear.
#jse community#jse egos#jse anti#jse chase#antisepticeye#chase brody#anomaly found chase brody#jse project iris#project iris#Chase we are trying to help I swear#someone will help you chase
46 notes
·
View notes
Note
I know cannon Jack in the lore was like the only thing that could make the convoluted mess of a story make sense. But it seems like there's going to be a slight re-write of the lore. I was actually disappointed with the whole "oh lets just do a supernatural research and containment place is evil(or not evil, just selfish in the pursuit of knowledge/curiosity that causes catastrophe) and thats why bad thing happen" as I writer I understand this kind of horror trope is popular, but I'm also tired of seeing it.
It feels so overdone at this point. But I understand it's just something he likes and I respect that.
The only possible writing solution is to put Chase in cannon Jack's position, of course this leads to a wall of "how we gonna write ourselves outta this one in a way that makes sense?"
Anyway on the question of what is Anti, it's definitely moved on from "oh he's just a demon or something" but I hope they do keep it interesting.
Now for your writing, is definitely so far removed and so unique no one else could come up with the most depressing, distressing thing I have ever seen. The danger feels more real. The fact that there was this guy who created things without a sense of care, just abandoned them. I kinda cried not lying about that.
Now for the comics....I'm not sure if I'm going to buy a digital copy. It does seem like these versions of marvin and jackie are going to cater towards the fannon side of things, with slight changes. Now if this is going to be a multiverse thing...(another trope trending in fiction media lately) I can only hope it's not complicated.
Please keep creating.
I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO ANSWER THIS SOOOOORRRYYYYYY
but yeahhhhh idk how i feel about the whole iris thing! ive seen the whole mysterious facility thing before and i feel that its such a different direction than the original lore.......and jack being put in a coma by anti and EVERYTHING ABOUT THE ORIGINAL ANTI VIDEO was super cool in my option AND CHASE MASQUERADING AS JACK CAUSE THEY LOOK IDENTICAL ughhhh it was a neat narrative. not that im a Hater of what sean does creatively but i do prefer the original lore ya know? maybe thats nostalgia talkin but yeah. i actually have not bought the comics yet because i genuinely kinda dont care, which seems mean to say! maybe i will read them eventually but for now im not super interested. anyways. sean can do what he wants forever and i have my own opinions and complicated thoughts about the years of the jse ego hayday. but im glad i can talk about what i think about the 'modern' ego stuff without much backlash and we can have discussions 👍
also im sorry my ego lore made you cry omg 😭 i mostly just daydream at work and come up with wild shit that i think is fucked up and cool and i sometimes post about. its crazy to me that my ideas are impactful and make people feel things 🥺 thank u all for interacting and enjoying what i make, i genuinely hope i can find the time to work on more ego stuff soon (like the iceberg. i keep re-writing the script over and over and cant make up my mind about certain things. IM SORRY ITLL COME OUT SOMEDAY)
2 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hiya! I know you're favorite ego is Robbie, but which of your drawings of him is your favorite?
Ooooo thats really really hard!!!!!
I have a few ones of robbie that I'm particularly proud of, firstly, the one that's currently my banner. I just think its really cute and I'm really happy with how simple and cosy it feels, as well as the way I dove into a little lighting, which I dont normally do.
Now I've also got this one of Robbie in an experimental Iris facility. This one, despite me really liking the color scheme and pose, has a special place in my heart because someone wrote a whole little fanfic based on it, which was absolutely amazing!!! I always like using glass to make texture and in general I liked the concept of this drawing and the background is all eerie. It's one of my slightly more serious ones, which are far and few between with my cartoonish art style.
But there's also these delightful little things, which are not only special because I think the poses in general of everyone in the frame are quite good, but because theyre drawings of an actual event! When I went to Comic-Con October, I met up with a few really cool jse creators and we spent the day cosplaying the egos. The photos we took that day were so fun that I just had to make them into drawings, so they are very personal to me and remind me of a good memory!!
These 2 are also really cute for no reason other than I felt really confident about them and I think they were just really good drawings and presentations on how much I love the character! They both just show him being who he is, a soft, sweet, baby zombie boy, and I love that a lot! Thats all I ever want out of a robbie drawing.
So there's a lot of stuff for me to decide when figuring out my favourites, mostly because I draw him so often!!! But yeah, these are my personal highlights, top two are probably my banner brick wall graveyard drawing and the doodling drawing where i drew multiple robbies, which one was your favourite? Id love to hear what peoples favourites were with my drawings of this character, whos so important now to my personal brand on this blog!
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
Mass Produced
⚠️INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES VIEWER DISCRESSION IS ADVISED⚠️
This blog may contain heavy subjects such as...
*Emotional Abuse
*Child abuse
*Domestic violence
*Mentions of S/A
*Graphic depictions of violence and gore
If any of these topics are potentially triggering to you, please consider your mental health first and foremost when deciding whether or not to proceed.
Please stay safe.
About:
"Mass Produced" is a remastered version of an old blog I had named "Manufractured" (circa 2019) which essentially, was an interactable version on my personal ego lore which is now deleted.
Being older, and more experienced with story telling and the handling of heavy subjects, I have decided to revise my old ego lore to include some recent lore developments in the JSE community.
On this blog, you will be able to interact with the main characters, and help him along their journey.
Though their life has a set path, your words, your actions, and even decisions you will be given, will affect the characters, and their attitude towards you and their environment.
Sound interesting?
Then lets proceed.
Summary:
Deep down in the depths of a secluded research facility, born are three prototypes which will change the world...
One such prototype, Jacklynn B. Addison, refuses to see the world in anything other than rose tinted glasses.
Can you help her traverse the troubles that await her?
RULES:
* Absolutely NO bigotry will be tolerated Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, etc.
* Treat the characters however you'd like.
*Treat each other, and all real human beings with respect.
* You cannot touch the characters. You are merely a voice in their head.
*Though this is a mature blog, no nsfw asks allowed.
STORY STATUS:
Current Arc:
Chapter One - The Research Facility
_____________________
Current Characters:
* Jacklynn
_____________________
Characters open for asks:
*Jacklynn
_____________________
Current Objectives:
*Communicate with Jacklynn
Actions:
To observe your surroundings, send "[Survey Area]"
To investigate an item of interest, send "[Examine <Item Name>]"
To talk with a character, send "[Interview <Character Name(s)>]"
Have fun - Arrow.
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
"overnight watch was the iris facility, no I wont take constructive criticism"
Ok but Sean kind of confirmed this on stream today from what I heard. You're right. You are the jse oracle and should keep going (if you want to)
AYYYY I KNEW IT
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
/JSE EGO JUNK, IRIS PROJECT/
I feel kinda bad for anyone who followed jack after the whole ego thing as they must have no fucking clue what's going on or who anyone is.
All I'm hoping for is to see all the egos, not just Chase. He can work as our main character but god I hope we see the others. It makes sense to at least see JJ in this facility dedicated to protecting the time space continuim. A heist/break out video between unlikely duo Chase Brody and JJ!
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Oando Plc has released its FY 2022 financial statements, posting a loss after tax of N81.2 billon during the year. This marks a significant decline from the N32.9 billion profit after tax recorded in FY2021.
In the financial result, Oando Plc also posted a negative equity of N197.2 billion in 2022, reflecting a 34.6% increase from the N129 billion negative equity posted in 2021.
The release marks the first time since 2022 that Oando has made public its financial statements, despite being listed on two exchanges, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Key Highlights FY 2022 vs FY 2021
+ Revenue: N1.99 trillion, 147.7% YoY
+ Cost of sales: N1.92 trillion, 151.4% YoY
+ Gross profit: N78.6 billion, 83.4% YoY
+ Operating profit: N20.6 billion, -73.9% YoY
Net finance costs: N81.6 billion, 136.5% YoY
+ Profit/(loss) before tax: (N61.8 billion), -239.0% YoY
+ Profit/(loss) for the year: (N81.2 billion), -347.2% YoY
+ Total assets: N1.25 trillion, +25.7% YoY
+ Total equity: -N197.2 billion, -34.6% YoY
+ Retained losses: -N568 billion, -15.4% YoY
Analysis: Oando’s books are in the red
A look at the books of Oando Plc reflects the financial struggles of the group as its losses in 2022 drove its retained losses to N568 billion, from N480.6 billion in 2021.
With its negative equity consistently declining from N129 billion in 2021 to N197 billion in 2022, coupled with a current liability of N1.19 trillion, Oando’s situation tells the tale of a company in a financial challenge.
The group as of December 31, 2022, had current borrowings of N396.9 billion, with its non-current borrowings at about N110.5 billion.
A summary of the current loans shows that the group’s obligation on a 6-year corporate finance facility taken in 2014 was about N100.6 billion in 2022. The purpose of the facility was to acquire ConocoPhilips’s Nigerian business back in 2014.
What you should know
Since March 2021, Oando Plc has been in a legal debacle, when its minority shareholders petitioned the Federal High Court in Lagos for either the majority shareholder, Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP) or Oando to buyout their shareholding.
OODP then filed a cross-petition noting that it would buy out all the minority shareholders of Oando via a court-ordered Scheme of Arrangement. This case was readjourned again on February 6, 2024, to April 17, 2024.
The decision to delist from the NGX depends on the resolution of the legal dispute, as the court order, dated June 7, 2022, mandating Oando to submit its scheme of arrangement to the SEC, is currently under challenge in court.
Recall that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange had on March 27, 2024, suspended the listing of Oando Plc on its exchange due to the inability to meet the extended deadline for releasing its 2022 accounts.
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
F-35 Lightning II approaches production at full rate after successful JSE tests
Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/30/2023 - 08:48 in Military
The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center has finalized the accreditation of the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE). The last of the 64 missions was completed on September 21, allowing the Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team (JOTT) to complete the F-35 Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E).
“The event was truly a multinational success, with members from Australia and the United Kingdom occupying key leadership positions, said WGCDR Leigh Wrighton-Jones of the Royal Australian Air Force, who serves as the IOT&E and JSE leader of JOTT's F-35. “The imminent F-35 follow-up test and evaluation agreement between the US, the UK and Australia will continue this level of collaboration.”
JSE simulates a complex system of sensors and platforms within a virtual battle space. It is a scalable, expandable, high-fidelity, government-owned and non-proprietary modeling and simulation environment to perform tests on fifth-generation aircraft and systems or more, accredited for testing as a complement to outdoor testing.
"There is a balance between test and training execution in a real flight environment versus what can only be performed in the joint simulation environment," said Brig. General Trey Rawls, Commander of AFOTEC. "The JSE is a collection of networked simulators that allows pilots of different aircraft to train together virtually. It is the only place to perform very high-fidelity and cutting-edge training, as well as complex tests in a safe and realistic environment."
“JSE offers a place for realistic testing and training,” Rawls said. “The platform was designed for F-35 IOT&E, but demonstrated a tremendous ability to support future testing and training of all future procurement programs. JSE is expanding to incorporate relevant platforms for high-level opponent testing and training. Expanding the compatibility of the JSE environment for current and future weapon systems will give fighters a common synthetic environment to fill training gaps and better prepare future aviators for combat."
JSE's detailed Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) was a critical precursor to the final F-35 IOT&E missions. Delays in the schedule continued to affect the program until the end of 2022, when JOTT recommended a non-traditional VV&A approach.
“JOTT not only became part of the VV&A team, providing discipline and experience in the flight testing program, but also provided overall management of the JSE program,” Wrighton-Jones said. "This allowed the acceleration of the accreditation process, with the F-35 IOT&E Executive Committee accrediting the JSE on September 1º."
The final F-35 IOT&E test event was supported by several units of the F-35 fleet, providing them with significant exposure to a high-density advanced threat environment, not available at any other training site.
“JSE offers the most advanced training facilities, giving the combatant access to cutting-edge training, tactics development and validation,” Rawls said. "The DoD and its closest allies will be able to take advantage of the current JSE technical baseline to fully assess the capabilities of other advanced aircraft against close opponents in the dense threat environment expected in high-level combat."
The analysis of the final F-35 IOT&E results in the JSE, together with the outdoor tests, will provide a complete assessment of the effectiveness of the F-35 mission, in terms of lethality, survivability and overall mission success. This will inform the decision to authorize the full production of the F-35.
"The JSE has become its own registered program and, given the scope, complexity and importance of testing and training, AFOTEC will guide and defend the continuous development of JSE with the Navy, the Air Combat Command and our allies and partners," said Rawls.
“As the scope of JSE expands and the direction of JSE evolves, AFOTEC must remain engaged to ensure that JSE realizes its full potential,” Rawls said. "It is a key component to the operational imperative of readiness of the Secretary of the Air Force to unfold and fight."
Tags: Military AviationF-35 Lightning IILockheed Martin
Sharing
tweet
Fernando Valduga
Fernando Valduga
Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.
Related news
The F-15EX "EX-3", the first in the final operational configuration. (Photo: Jerry McGrath/cryonic_photography)
MILITARY
The third F-15EX flies and the unit value of the fighter comes close to $94 million
29/10/2023 - 17:20
MILITARY
VIDEO: NATO completes Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise
28/10/2023 - 18:49
EMBRAER
Zeus Squadron conducts training in the KC-390 Flight Simulator
28/10/2023 - 17:41
MILITARY
Kazakhstan Air Force auctions 117 Soviet-era combat aircraft
28/10/2023 - 17:13
MILITARY
Kuwait Air Force receives four more Typhoons
27/10/2023 - 19:23
MILITARY
IMAGES: B-1B bombers conduct mission with Gripens from three countries during deployment in Europe
27/10/2023 - 16:00
0 notes
Text
JSE Project Management Advisors Launched a website to cater customers' need
Olive Branch, MS, August 17th, 2022: JSE Program Management Advisors are pleased to announce program and grant management consulting services to help solve challenges, minimize risk and maximize outcomes.
The company provides leadership and strategic assistance for the framework and program design for both new and existing projects, drawing on expertise in a broad range of competencies and product types, allowing clients to make well-informed choices in order to accomplish or exceed organizational objectives.
Management Services can be used to improve any aspect or function of a business. Its traditional roles include cost reduction, increased productivity, and method modernization.
Management Services is becoming increasingly concerned about providing facilities that will allow management to be more effective. Companies adapt to changing environments by modifying their systems and leveraging personal motivation.
Top management must choose a specific strategy from among the many options available, and system development and personnel development must work in tandem to ensure continuous adaptation.
Hence, since Management Services is of utmost importance, it makes sense to hire professionals for the same. JSE Program Management Advisors provide excellence, grit, and grind in consultancy services by assisting people, programs, and organizations in improving operational and fiscal sustainability. Here are the key services that JSE Program Management Advisors provide:
Grant management services: Grant management encompasses all of the administration and work needed in utilizing and meeting the specifications of a grant. Grant management involves both nonprofits that accept grants and organizations that distribute grants.
Fiscal management services: A financial management system is the software and procedures that a company employs to manage its assets, income, and expenditure. An FMS serves several purposes, including reducing accounting errors, keeping audit trails, and working to ensure compliance with the applicable accounting standards.
Consulting Management services: Management consulting, also known as business consulting, is described as oversight and/or implementation services provided to organizations' (senior) management with the objective of enhancing the successfulness of their corporate strategy, organizational effectiveness, and operating procedures.
Program Management advisors: A project management consultant helps bring professional expertise to businesses, allowing them to make educated choices throughout the project's lifecycle, right from the planning stage to the completion stage.
Know more details, visit here: https://jseadvisors.org/services/
#Fiscal Management Consultant in Tennessee#Program Management Advisors memphis#grant management consultant in memphis#project management consulting services memphis#grant management consulting services in memphis#Program Management Advisors in olive branch#fiscal management
1 note
·
View note
Text
Why do I imagine all the contained Subject-ALTRs (even the malicious ones/ones that are planning to escape) and anomalies all going (chuckles nervously) "what is going on?" when the sirens start blaring and Anti pulls up and hops out at the after party
#jacksepticeye#jse iris#antisepticeye#like they're all just doing their own thing and suddenly the entire facility is undergoing mayhem#surely none of them knew that something was about to happen#like- its been so long since an attack even they're surprised
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
Eye of the Storm
Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
Almost forgot to queue this because I was having so much fun with my friends haha. Anyway I'm very tired as I write this author's note so I'll be brief. This is mostly setup for the next chapter, and some exposition. JJ and Marvin look into some magic stuff, once again investigating that strange crystal ball. Meanwhile, Schneep thinks he's found where Jackie is. And yeah. A buncha stuff happens. Enjoy haha.
More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter
Hey JJ. Those sound like some pretty serious issues. Do you want to meet up to talk about it in person?
JJ read the text from Persephone again, then looked up and scanned the restaurant. He was in the Waffle Cone, the same place where Aoife first introduced him to Persephone, the head of the Magic Circle. He was even sitting at the same table against the left wall. The waiter had been over a couple times to ask for his order, but he explained through writing that he wanted to wait for someone.
After what felt like forever, Persephone finally walked in. She noticed JJ right away and hurried over. “I am so sorry, I got caught up at work,” she said, sitting down.
Magic Circle things?
“No, I mean my actual job. What, d’you think running a magician coven pays the bills?” She laughed, then became serious once more. “Okay. But let’s get to this right away. This sounds like a complicated mess you’re in. Where do you want to start?”
JJ thought about it. Do you remember what I told you about Anti?
“The mind-control, right?” Persephone nodded. “That’s... pretty bad. Any magician who put someone under a spell like that would be immediately locked up for using strong black magic. This Distorter thing was able to just... do that?”
Well, Anti had been isolated for a couple days, JJ said. By that group I was looking for. IRIS. I think Distorter took advantage of that to... break him down.
“Hmm.” Persephone pursed her lips. “It’s... hard to know where to stand on Distorter. Aoife and I have done some research. He might be a Void, but I’ve never heard of a Void being so proficient in mental powers.”
What is a Void?
“Someone who has been consumed by a dark power.”
JJ sighed. That would make sense.
“But if Distorter is a Void, he’s not a normal one,” Persephone emphasized. “And honestly, a Void status would not help us to figure out Anti’s situation.” She paused. “Do you guys have any ideas at all?”
Our friend Stacy seemed to distract Distorter before, JJ recalled. Anti came out of the trance for a time while he was concerned with her.
“So you can distract him for a minute. That’s good. I did bring a list of counterspells.” Persephone reached into her purse and pulled out a few pieces of paper stapled together. “Maybe you could cast one while Distorter is distracted and it’ll dispel the power keeping Anti under his control.”
JJ raised an eyebrow at the list. Each page was covered in handwriting, on both sides. That’s a lot.
“There’s a lot of counterspells. And they’re always very long, which, by the way, have I ever mentioned how impressive it is that you can cast magic without spell words or some sort of implement like a wand?”
Practice, JJ said. My stage mask IS an implement, though, so if you see me wearing it casually, it’s because it makes things easier. But back to the topic at hand. What if the Circle helped with these counterspells? We both know multiple magicians makes magic stronger. Everyone couldn’t fit in the hospital, but surely we could bring Anti to the meeting house.
“Counterspells don’t work like that,” Persephone muttered sadly. “They’re sort of... they run opposite to all the usual rules. It’s why most magicians don’t even try to learn them. And I don’t think there’s a spell spell that could help your friend Anti.”
JJ sighed. He expected that, honestly. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t disappointed. What about IRIS? he asked.
“Oh yeah, we can totally help you find another one of their facilities if you need to,” Persephone said. “But remember. It was very tiring for us.”
Of course I remember that. He could vividly feel the lurch as their spells slammed into IRIS’s strange artificial power over and over again.
“So you have to be sure where this facility is,” she said. “And be sure that your friend is there. We probably won’t be able to do that two nights in a row. Hell, maybe not even two weeks in a row.”
That complicated things. It meant that JJ would have to rely on Schneep to find where Jackie was. But he nodded understandingly anyway. We’ll be sure. Now. Is there anything you want to tell me?
“Found anything else out about that crystal ball with the time magic in it?”
JJ shook his head. Not at all. I haven’t seen any more strange images in it. He’d tried a couple times, late at night mostly, staring into his own reflection in the hope that he could somehow divine a solution to this... this calamity they were in. Can you help with that?
“I can’t, but Aoife can. She’s the diviner, remember?” Persephone gave a little chuckle. “Call her sometime. Or... text her. Or you could FaceTime her, then she could see your signs.”
JJ groaned a little. How have I never thought about video calls for sign communication?
Persephone laughed. “Everyone has a blind spot. Don’t worry about it. Call her sometime, okay?”
I certainly will after realizing that.
“Great. Did you order food?”
JJ was a bit surprised at the sudden change in subject, but he rolled with it. No, I figured I should wait for you. I’m not too hungry anyway.
“Well I am. So let’s get something. We can talk about more magic while we do. I’m sure you have more questions about the Circle.”
And so they ordered.
———————
True to his word, Jameson called Aoife almost as soon as he got home, pausing only to tell Marvin everything Persephone had told him. Marvin was just as disappointed as he was to hear the Circle couldn’t help with Anti. “It woul’ve been awkward, anyway,” he said, covering up said disappointment. “We woul’ be jus’ standin’ around as you and all your magician friends did t’at.” And when JJ mentioned he was going to go up to the workroom and call Aoife about the crystal ball, Marvin said he would come, too. “I’m jus’ as curious about the t’ing as you are, y’know.” JJ pointed out that the wheelchair couldn’t go upstairs. But Marvin insisted. So JJ gave in and helped him up.
So now the two of them were there. Marvin sat in the room’s one chair—a swivel chair paired with the desk—while JJ propped his phone up using the pop socket and a scarf, and called Aoife through FaceTime.
It took a while before she picked up. When she did, it looked like she was somewhere... old? An old library? The reference section of an old library? JJ could see bookshelves of binders behind her. “Jameson? What’s up?” she asked in a quiet voice.
Is this a bad time? JJ asked.
“No, it’s fine, I was just doing paperwork for an old case. It can wait. What is it?”
I wanted to ask more about this. JJ held up the black crystal ball, careful not to touch it with his hands and instead using another scarf as a barrier.
“Have you seen anything else in there?”
JJ shook his head, put the crystal ball down again, and signed, The opposite, actually. I’ve been trying but nothing happens.
“What have you been doing to try?”
JJ paused. Last time it activated when I just touched it, so... that? And pouring magic into it.
Aoife shook her head. “I don’t think that would do anything.”
Why not? It did last time.
“How do I put this... sometimes old magic items will randomly become super sensitive. I’m not sure how old the crystal ball is, but I know I had it for years, and the Circle had it for years before me.”
JJ frowned. Somehow, that explanation sounded... wrong. Like it wasn’t what was happening. What about me pouring magic into it?
“Raw power?” Aoife asked. When JJ nodded, she continued. “Yeah no, that wouldn’t work. Divination is very specific magic, very tricky to wield. Most people can’t do it on their own, they need special tools. And before you say the crystal ball could be a tool, I’ll remind you it isn’t even supposed to have time magic in the first place. It’s not the right kind of crystal.”
“T’is is all very fascinatin’, and I do mean t’at,” Marvin said. “But can we get it t’work at all, t’en?”
“Oh! God, Marvin, you scared the bejeezus out of me.”
“Sorry! Forgot I was out of frame.” Marvin wheeled the desk chair into view of the phone with his good leg and cane. “Hello, Aoife. Nice t’see ye.”
“Nice t’see ye too,” Aoife repeated, her Irish accent briefly becoming stronger. “Anyway. You want it to work again?”
JJ nodded.
“Well, check first that it still has magic in it. Do you know how to do a Revelation?”
Another nod. JJ learned it after seeing Persephone do it one time.
“Do it, then.”
JJ held a hand over the crystal ball. He pulled his stage mask down over his face and concentrated. A light blue mist curled around his fingers and fell onto the crystal.
The black crystal surface changed immediately, the reflections on it disappearing. Instead, a tunnel appeared. It seemed to disappear into the crystal, a vortex of blue and orange swirling into infinity. It only appeared for a second, and then it was gone, and the ordinary reflections were back.
Aoife started to say something, but was interrupted when Marvin shouted. He wheeled closer to the table where the crystal was. “T’at—! T’at was—! T’at—!”
Marvin? JJ signed, confused. Calm down.
“Spiral!” Marvin shouted. “The spiral tunnel!”
What’s the spiral tunnel? JJ asked, confused.
“I... I-I don’ remember!” Marvin clutched his head. “I don’ remember, but t’at’s it!”
“Have you seen that before?” Aoife asked from the phone screen.
“Yes!” Marvin’s head shot up again and he pointed at her insistently. “Yes, I’ve seen it before!”
When? JJ asked, curious.
“I... I don’ remember!” Marvin slumped in his seat. “But I know I have. I know I have.”
“Well, that spiral tunnel also appeared when Persephone Revealed the crystal’s magic to us a couple weeks ago, so it must be a sign of that time magic,” Aoife said. “You’re JJ’s man-out-of-time friend. Maybe... you saw it when you arrived here. Or, now.”
We never figured out where that time magic came from, either, JJ recalled.
“Do you t’ink...” Marvin paused, swallowing a lump in his throat. “Is t’ere any way I caused it?”
“Did you ever come into contact with the crystal?” Aoife asked.
“Yes... one day, the day Distorter... used Anti to take me to...” Marvin’s voice got steadily quieter, until eventually it faded away entirely.
JJ’s eyes widened. Marvin, didn’t you see Anti in the reflection of the crystal? And then he attacked you?
“From behind...” Marvin whispered, revelation dawning on his face. “The way he got me t’at day. From behind. A-and I saw him behind me in the crystal.”
“Alright, forget what I said about old magic items being sensitive,” Aoife dismissed. “The reason Jameson saw visions while simply touching it is probably because the crystal was recently imbued with the magic at that point. By now it’s settled so it will be harder to activate.”
“You agree, t’en?” Marvin pressed. “T’at magic came from me?”
“Most likely. From what I know, the timeline seems to add up. Marvin, you’re a witch, aren’t you?”
“I’m—e-excuse me?”
“Someone who uses magickal items and rituals on a regular basis,” Aoife explained.
“I... do have my magickal cards,” Marvin said slowly. “But how do you know t’at?”
Aoife blinked. “I’m... not sure. It must have been one of my feelings.”
We always trust Aoife’s feelings, JJ said to Marvin. She did think something was wrong about those IRIS cameras, remember?
“Alrigh’, alrigh’.” Marvin decided to move on. “But what does me bein’ a... witch... have t’do with t’is whole mess?”
“That’s the question,” Aoife mused. “As a witch you don’t have magic of your own, you shouldn’t be able to imbue objects with power by yourself. Did you have your cards at that point?”
“...no.” Marvin slowly shook his head.
This is all very confusing, JJ said. But, I called you for a purpose, Aoife. How do I use the crystal ball’s magic again? To see the visions?
“Hmm.” Aoife thought about it. “Marvin. Can you touch it first? Maybe it needs... a refresh?”
“I s’pose it’s worth a try,” Marvin said, shrugging. He pushed his chair right up to the table and reached out. “Do I... pick it up?” JJ nodded, so Marvin took a deep breath and grabbed the crystal ball in both hands. He stared at his reflection on its surface.
“Do you see anything unusual?” Aoife asked quietly.
“I t’ink...” Marvin paused. “I t’ink the room behind me is diff’rent? T’ere are no bookshelves, and the walls are lighter in color.” He laughed. “T’at’s not as big a clue for the future as Anti bein’ behind me. All t’is means is I’ll be in a different room eventually.”
That’s still proof that there’s some time magic still in there, Jameson said. Aoife? Do you think I can activate it now?
“Touch it and see if you see anything,” Aoife suggested.
JJ nodded slowly. He reached out to take the crystal ball from Marvin—
An image flashed before his eyes. A single vision, one of the many he’d seen that day. Jackie, sitting at a computer screen in a dark room. Only now... now the image was clearer. Crisper. He could see more of the room, though its plain office-like appearance told him nothing. What mattered more... was the image he could see on the sleeve of the white coat Jackie was wearing. It resembled an eye, with three circles for irises.
And then it was gone.
“You saw somet’ing, didn’ you?” Marvin asked. “Your expression... went all shocked... all of a sudden.”
JJ took a deep breath, and raised his hands to sign shakily. I saw Jackie sitting in an office, at a computer. He was wearing a white coat... with IRIS’s logo on it.
“...oh,” Marvin whispered.
Well, that’s not very helpful, JJ said, trying to dismiss the shock of what he’d seen. We know Jackie is working for IRIS now.
“Sometimes it helps to think of visions as guidance, or as confirmation,” Aoife said.
“So... it’s tellin’ us t’at we shoul’ definitely find Jackie before we deal with Anti’s situation?” Marvin guessed.
Or it’s confirming that Jackie really is working for them like we thought, JJ said. Then he paused. I saw that same vision before... just less clear. Was it... always trying to tell us this...?
“It must have,” Aoife confirmed.
“If it was tellin’ us the same t’ing weeks ago... does t’at mean our future is locked...?” The expression on Marvin’s face could only be described as ‘overwhelmed by gloom.’
“Now boys,” Aoife said firmly. “That’s not true. The whole reason divination is hard for those who don’t have the natural talent is because the future is so uncertain. Having the same vision twice in a row just means it hasn’t changed yet. Or, it has, but that particular event isn’t what changed. Or it has but the meaning of the event is different now. It’s all very complicated. Don’t worry too much about the future.”
JJ blinked, as if that concept was completely foreign to him.
“We’ll work on t’at,” Marvin said hurriedly.
“In any case, it’s possible that the crystal ball won’t be able to show you visions frequently,” Aoife said. “Okay? So don’t put all your hopes on that, either.”
We’ll try, JJ said. But if we do want to see a vision, Marvin has to do it first?
“Seems like it. But really.” Aoife brought her phone close to her face and narrowed her eyes. “Try not to worry. It’s not good for you, JJ.”
JJ laughed. I’ll try. I’ll talk to you again some other time, okay?
“Okay.” Aoife leaned back again. “Goodbye, then.”
Goodbye. And with that, JJ ended the call.
———————
Schneep’s eyes were really starting to hurt. He’d been doing nothing but stare at a computer screen ever since they decided to focus their efforts on finding Jackie. Had he... gone to sleep last night? He couldn’t remember. And honestly, he didn’t feel too worse for wear if he didn’t. That scared him a little. Sure, it was helpful, but he didn’t ask for that.
He would have taken the chance to be immune to Distorter’s tricks if it was offered. But it was not offered.
“Hör auf darüber nachzudenken,” he muttered to himself. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. But he couldn’t help it. How could he not think about it?
By continuing to look through IRIS’s files. That’s how.
He lied to himself earlier when he said he’d done nothing but stare at the computer screen. In truth, he snuck up north yesterday to try and download more of IRIS’s database. He got some. Would it be enough? Would it be...
...
Yes. It was enough.
Schneep reread what he’d found over and over again. This was up to date, right? It was accurate, right?
Yes. Yes!
He had to call the others. He had to talk to them. Who first? Hah. He wondered that, but there was only really one option. And so he picked up his phone and dialed Rama’s number.
It rang for a long time before the other end picked up. “Who is this?” Rama asked.
Right. He’d gotten another new phone. “Rama? It is me, Henrik,” he said. “I found him.”
Rama’s attitude instantly shifted. “You did?! Where? Where is Jackie?!”
“He is stationed at an IRIS facility east of Mirygale,” Schneep said quietly. “It was converted from an old prison, like the one to the north. Recently, yes, too. I have the coordinates. For, ah, ah... for the GPS. I mean.”
“Can you text them to me?”
“Now? Yes, hold onto your... hat.” Schneep pulled the phone away from his ear and sent a text to Rama, making sure to carefully copy down the coordinates on his computer screen. “There. Did you get that?”
A moment of silence. “Yes, I did.”
“Good. We must act as soon as possible. We must act to find him and, ahhh... get him out of there. Or, stop him? He’s doing nothing, I’m sure, but IRIS has goals, and they might be... something he is helping with... not knowingly.”
“Henrik? Are you... okay?” Rama asked, sounding concerned.
“What are you meaning? Of course I am.”
“You sound, uh... really fucking weird.”
“Am I? I mean, do I?” Schneep leaned back in his chair and stared at the motel ceiling. “I do not feel weird.”
“Well, maybe you do but you don’t realize it. How much sleep did you get last night?”
He didn’t remember. “I’m sure it was enough, I feel full of energy.”
“Yeah, ‘I’m sure it was enough’ is not how well-rested people respond to that question. Take a moment to actually look at yourself.”
“In the mirror?” Schneep asked, and giggled.
“I meant metaphorically,” Rama said seriously. “Look inward. Think about how you feel. You may think you’re full of energy, but that could just be your body running on adrenaline.”
“I don’t want to look inward, there are things there now,” Schneep whispered. “The Distorter was here. I saw him when he did not want me to. It’s because there are things there now. I have a scar on... I have them all over.”
“Henrik,” Rama said softly.
“This is not the time. We have to go get Jackie.” Schneep stood up, stumbling for a moment before something in his legs naturally corrected him. No, wait. That was just him. He did that. By himself. “I will be right where you want to meet me, and I will be there right away.”
“We can’t go get Jackie right away,” Rama said, pain in their voice. “I fucking want to, but... but apparently the IRIS facilities have themselves some strange shield around them that makes it impossible for you to see anything even when you know it’s there. Last time, when they went looking for Anti, JJ had to get a lot of other magicians to help him break that shield. So even if we go there, we can’t do anything.”
“I don’t want to do nothing.” Why did his eyes feel wet? Why did they feel... weak? He’d thought about this recently, he wondered if they were a different shade of blue. Or maybe only one? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to look into the mirror to check for sure. “I-I don’t want to do nothing,” he said again, voice breaking.
“You won’t be doing nothing. Waiting isn’t nothing.” Rama was clearly trying to reassure him, but he didn’t think it was working.
“I wait for everything,” Schneep muttered. He stood in the center of the room, one arm dangling loosely as the other pressed the phone close to his face. “I waited for so much. I wait, I wait, I wait, the only thing there was the worry, the... more than worry, the... Furcht. I cannot remember what the word is. But it was just me and it, and the wait, the wait, the wait for them to come... And then when the wait is over they take you back and it starts again, and you look at yourself, and you think... you think there is something in there that was not before... I was asleep. I was asleep. Except for the mistake. I was asleep. But I knew even before the mistake...”
“Henrik!” Rama’s shout snapped Schneep out of whatever trance he’d just slipped into. “You need to rest.”
“I don’t want to fall asleep.” Schneep’s own voice was so quiet he wasn’t sure Rama could hear him. “Even if it was better than the mistake where I was not. I don’t want to fall asleep.”
“You have to try. You cannot function without it. As I can tell just over the phone.” Rama paused. “Nothing... nothing will happen to you, okay? There won’t be anything new when you wake up.”
“...do you promise?” Schneep hated that he just asked that. Like a child looking to their parents for reassurance that there was nothing in the closet. But he... he had to. He had to have that reassurance, real or imagined.
“I promise,” Rama said. “And when we break through IRIS’s shield, I will call you to tell you. And then we can go get Jackie. Okay?”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you, Rama. I am sorry I’m being so... foolish.”
“You’re the least foolish person I know, Henrik.”
“...Thank you,” Schneep said again, and hung up.
So maybe he did still need sleep. And as he laid down on the bed and drifted off, that fact brought him a strange comfort.
———————
Do you think we could try tonight?
Tonight? I guess we could call an urgent meeting like we did last time. Are you sure tho? Thats really soon.
Yes. I’m sure.
“So you’ll be tryin’ t’at same spell with the Circle now, t’en?” Marvin asked, looking over at JJ in the entrance hall from his spot in the living room.
JJ nodded. I really don’t think we should waste any time.
“Because of the crystal ball visions?”
No, but they certainly didn’t help, JJ said. Will you be okay with me gone? If I recall, last time you were home alone while I was out at this, you left the house late at night on sketchy instructions from Schneep.
“I did, but t’at’s how I got my cards bask, isn’ it?” Marvin shuffled said cards on his lap. Mr. Flufflington, lying on the sofa nearby, suddenly raised his head in surprise at the shuffle sound. “Oh, sorry, Mister. Didn’ mean to wake you up. Anyway, don’ worry about me, Jems, I’m not plannin’ on goin’ anywhere.”
You weren’t planning on going anywhere last time, either, JJ pointed out.
“Well, I’m even less so now.”
JJ stared at him for a moment, then nodded. I’ll be back late again. Don’t wait for me.
“Good night, t’en. And good luck.”
Good night. JJ said that, then left, the front door locking behind him.
Well, with Marvin alone he had to figure out how to spend the rest of the night. Normally he’d read a book and then head to bed... but after earlier, he wanted to look at his cards some more. He was trying to form new patterns with them, balancing a tray across his wheelchair arms for a flat surface.
The two unknowns were bothering him. The jokers. He didn’t know why he had this nagging feeling that they were important. Was it simply because they didn’t know what their symbols meant?
Curious, he separated the two of them from the rest, lying them face-down on the tray so he could examine the runes on the back. An angled spiral with an X over it. That was a much more complicated symbol than any of the others. Did that mean it was powerful? The higher-value cards did seem to have broader concepts—and maybe more powerful runes. Jokers were wild. They could be anything. That was a sort of power.
What would happen if he tried to make a pattern with them?
Marvin debated that for a second, and then decided that nothing ventured, nothing gained. All of the successful patterns he’d found so far had needed at least one of the aces, so he grabbed the Ace of Hearts, with its rune meaning “mark” or “creation.” He placed it in between the two jokers, trying to find an arrangement where the lines on the back designs of the cards matched up. But nothing worked. Maybe he needed more cards?
He searched through the deck and found the King of Hearts. The rune on its back meant, funny enough, “heart” or “life.” Then he grabbed the Five of Hearts (“leaf” or “growth”) as well, because why not make this a heart suit party? Idly, he started messing with the five cards, shifting their positions relative to the others, bending close over—
Marvin screamed. His leg—his broken leg, it—it hurt again! “Fuck!” It was piercing, burning, sharp pain—
Instinctively, he swept a hand over the five cards, dislodging the formation they’d been in. And the pain instantly stopped. He sat there, breathing, for a moment, getting over the sudden agony and its even more sudden disappearance. Then, tentatively, he reached down and gently prodded the injury. It didn’t feel like it had rebroken. Good. Good.
“What the fucking hell was that about?” Marvin asked himself. He looked down at the cards. What pattern had they been in...? Right. The two jokers vertical on either side, with the other three horizontal and stacked on top of each other. Though he was morbidly curious to try it again, he resisted; he didn’t really feel like experiencing his leg breaking all over again. That wasn’t what happened, of course... but it certainly felt like it.
And though that probably should have warned him off from experimenting with his cards for the night, it didn’t. He merely put the jokers to the side once more and resumed. Their angled spirals seemed to shift in the corner of his eyes. Getting smaller and bigger, closing and opening.
———————
Schneep was awoken by a ringing sound. He started up, panic rushing into his heart—then realized it was his phone. Quickly he reached over to the nightstand and picked it up to check the caller ID. It was Rama again. So soon?
Wait... it wasn’t soon at all. The clock on the nightstand read 7:01... am, not pm. And there was early gray sunlight coming through the curtains. And his stomach was rumbling. When was the last time he’d eaten something?
The phone was still ringing. Sitting up, Schneep answered the call. “Hello?”
“Henrik? It’s Rama. Good morning.”
“It is morning, isn’t it?” he muttered, then laughed. “I have been asleep since you last called me.”
“Good,” they said firmly, sincerely. “It sounded like you needed it.”
“I did, I did.” Schneep nodded. “But to serious business. I can only guess you’re calling me because of Jackie.”
“Yes. Jameson and his magicians did that same spell, they found a second IRIS facility right where you said it would be. Well, it was a bit complicated, we had to actually drive out to the location first and that took a while—but after all that, it was there. We are planning on going there today. In only a couple hours if possible.”
“Good.” Schneep nodded. “Give me time to get ready and eat something.”
“You’re coming?!” Rama didn’t bother to hide their surprise. “But... your history...”
“I know,” Schneep said quietly. “But that is why I must go with you. Together we can provide Jackie with enough reasons to see sense. You can tell him why it was such a bad idea to leave... and I can tell him what IRIS is truly doing.”
Rama was silent for a moment. Then they sighed. “It’s up to you. What time would be okay with you? Nine o’clock?”
“That sounds good. Let’s meet at the park again. Will it be just the two of us?”
“No, Jameson is coming too.”
“Not Marvin, though?” Strange, Schneep would’ve thought Marvin would insist on coming even with a broken leg.
“No, he said he wanted to work on things with those magick cards of his. As for Jack and Stacy, well, Jack says someone should stay behind with Anti in case there are any developments. And Stacy has work again. She really wants to help, though. But I do not think this moment is her calling, you know?”
“I understand.” Schneep took a deep breath and stood up. “Nine o’clock at the park. I will see you there. We will finish this.”
“We will finish this,” Rama agreed. “See you then.” And they hung up.
Schneep lowered the phone. His hands were shaking. But he would do this. He would go get Jackie back.
#jacksepticeye#jacksepticeye fanfiction#jacksepticegos#septic egos#septic egos au#jacksepticeye au#jameson jackson#marvin the magnificent#dr schneeplestein#brigid writes fanfiction#septicswitchau
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Who sent these messages?
So I was just looking back on the stream... well the latter half of it. Since I'm talking about the section of time (ha) of where this appears:
Mostly due to the importance of why it's there. This was Sean's failsafe loop to play in case the stream went tits up for some reason or another. But not only was it a failsafe for that situation but it served for another purpose that didn't get to be played out as planned since Sean decided to play then entire thing in one day.
As we all know, the IRIS Project was originally going to play out over the course of about a week, 5 days, if I recall correctly. Each day the stream would appear at some time, have us all play a mini-game to earn a Chase clip. (No joke the minigames were fun. Challenging since we're talking about thousands of people entering commands all at once but still fun IMO) But then IRIS's systems will be alerted to our meddling and kicks us back out as IRIS does a maintenance on their servers in attempt to keep us out. And we're 'locked out' for the day and have to wait the next day to try hacking again. Thus the above image appears.
BUT there is something else within that little Server Maintenance Required loop that I just noticed a couple of days ago, that I did share on the official JSE discord. I'm sure others caught onto it waaaay before I have but I haven't seen it be discussed so I'll share it.
In that loop, four words appear.
I can imagine that these words only are suppose to show up during the four days we get locked out of the camera systems before the final day in which Anti breaks into the facility in order to apprehend Chase for himself.
So my question is...
Who the hell sent those?
Like someone on the inside of IRIS, giving us a warning before locking us out for the day then reopen it for us to pop back in to hack? Like, I dunno? Arin? Henrik?
Or could it be out mystery team that had broken into the facility ahead of Anti? Perhaps Echo?
Not sure... but notice how the words get a bit more frantic as it goes. 'Patience' is very clear and easy to read and smaller. But the words 'Wait', 'Don't Look' and 'Hide' get more fuzzy, somewhat harder to read and larger, as if someone is panicking and yelling at us to stop what we're doing.
Granted, we don't listen, too curious and stubborn to see what happens to Chase next. And determined to free him somehow. (Honestly, not sure how big of a part we play in the story, if at all, in the way it affects the story. Or we're in another POV of another character trying to help Chase and the others are yelling at them to stop because they just allowed Anti pass through the defenses? Or it's just meta fun for lulz?) I'm not sure myself, but either case, someone on the other side of the line was panicking for good reason.
Anti did tear through the IRIS facility with terrifying speed. (Which brings me to go off topic for a moment. I think the reason why there's no huge pool of blood for Anti to step in and leave footprints as he approaches Chase in that hallway; is because I believe Anti was alternating between walking and floating through the facility and killing people. And the last room he killed in, probably had a pool of blood to step in and he just decided to float in Chase's direction to intimidate and showcase his power to him; before setting himself down to walk closer to him in the end.
-snerk- Now imagine finding several spots of the facility with bloody footprints. Kinda funny, but also clever if he wants to confuse anyone from IRIS following him or investigating what happened of where he was going in the building. If he cared about hiding that at all.)
Anyway, back on topic, the question still stands. Who left those messages in the server maintenance clip? I'm curious to hear your thoughts! Who do you think did that? And were those messages meant for us, the viewers? The 'character' (if there is one)? Or... perhaps meant for Chase?
Perhaps the messages were for Chase...
After all, Anti is the one seeking him out... Chase the one losing his patience... and the one who shouldn't look and must hide from Anti...
EDIT:
I also figured something about the words too. 'Patience' is the only word written in black, while the other words are in white or a mix of both but static. Maybe 'Patience' is more of something of Anti being the one to say it to us viewers to be patient for his arrival or someone telling Anti to be patient so that things will be easier for him.
Either way, its fun! :D
#jacksepticeye#jse community#jseprojectiris#jse iris#jse iris project#antisepticeye#chase brody#jse egos#jse anti#jse chase#jse fandom#jse theories#jsegos#jse project iris clues
76 notes
·
View notes
Text
ABSA Bank Uganda Jobs 2022 – No Experience FacilitiesManagement Apprentice
Job Title: Facilities Management Apprentice – ABSA Bank Uganda Jobs 2022
Organization: ABSA Bank Limited
Job Location: Kampala, Uganda
ABSA Bank Limited Profile:
Absa Group Limited (formerly Barclays Bank UK) is a diversified standalone African financial services group, delivering an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth, investment management and insurance. Absa Group Limited is listed on the JSE and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups with a presence in 12 countries across the continent and around 41 000 employees.
Job Summary:
The Facilities Management Apprentice will participate in an internship programme in order to maximise individual and organisational development, through the execution of predefined internship objectives.
Minimum Qualifications
- The ideal applicant for the Absa Group Limited Facilities Management Apprentice should hold relevant qualifications
- Higher Certificates and Advanced National (Vocational) Certificates: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)
How To Apply for ABSA Bank Uganda Jobs 2022
All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join ABSA Group in the aforementioned capacity should apply online at the link below.
Click Here
Deadline: Open until filled
For similar Jobs in Uganda today and great Uganda jobs, please remember to subscribe using the form below:
NOTE:
No employer should ask you for money in return for advancement in the recruitment process or for being offered a position. Please contact Fresher Jobs Uganda if it ever happens with any of the jobs that we advertise.
Facebook
WhatsApp
Twitter
LinkedIn
Read the full article
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
danimurillo12
Daniel Murillo
meczyki
Untitled
ujuro
Unofficial GG Content Aggregate Blog
airnews-arngbad
All India Radio News Aurangabad
