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ghozt1ng-blog · 7 years

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Mysteries of the Q Files

Chapter 4: Arriving

The trick had been for Trick to play on Naomi’s sensibilities. Once he knew that she favored brains over brawn, he only had to speak about uncovering whether or not the impossible was actually possible. Could there be such things as werewolves? She had opened up about everything she knew about ancient lore on werewolves, including the fun fact that Odysseus from greek myth supposed to be descended from werewolves, which was supposedly what made him super smart in the first place.

She is a mega bookworm, too, apparently, Trick thought with amusement.

Naomi had said that it was remarkable that cultures all over the world had legends about intelligent wolves or men becoming wolves. She figured that was because wolves played such a major role as a threat to pastoral and hunting communities. Also, dogs and wolves are incredibly intelligent and when men became more bestial, a good likeness was to compare them to a wolf. While this was all fascinating and whatnot for Trick, the big prize was getting them out to Hardinsburg.

Towards that end, he played on the question that it was weird that this would be the first “credible” sighting of werewolf in a long time. The Q Files, while ridiculous in concept, was actually very practical in execution. The Sphinx did not raise Trick’s mother and Agent Miles out of the office just to chase fancies, whatever else the other other agents might say. If Agent Conturbatio thought that this was a case worthy of leaving Washington for, it most likely had some real credibility as a case. If that were the case, wouldn’t naomi want to be there to see these claims either confirmed or debunked.

“That would be really cool and educational,” Naomi had conceded. “But this does not convince me that we should just pack up and leave without our parents knowing and get involved in a potentially dangerous case.”

Those were the words Trick had wanted to hear. So long as he knew that she was willing to give, he knew he could win her over. But why do I want her to come? Trick had asked himself. He had figured it was because she appeared to be the package deal as far as adventuring companions went. You didn’t get an athletic build by not trying; Naomi was probably pretty strong and capable. She was also very intelligent. Combine that with his knowledge of teenagers, and he thought that they could infiltrate the school and get some nuggets of important information from the other students.

He had reasoned this to her, “Look, the police are only letting the FBI in on the case, because they are stumped! The FBI will have greater access to technological resources. I think they will be able to confirm that ‘yes, this is a monster!’ But other than that, it could take them weeks or months, if ever, to determine who actually took the girl. Who knows who else could be attacked in the meantime? The kids will be scared and they won’t open up to adults. But they will talk with other teenagers. My guess is that the girl-”

“Samantha Haymore,” Naomi had interjected.

“Yes, Sam,” Trick breezed on, “She most likely knew her attacker. In a small town everyone knows everyone!”

“What makes you think it’s a small town?”

“Ever heard of Hardinsburg, Kentucky before?”

“No,” Naomi had answered with a frown.

“Exactly! Guaranteed backwater part of the state,” Trick had said with a wave of the hand. “The important thing is the makeup of the town and its social structures. Those structures will be played out to the max at the local high school. This means that there is a wealth of helpful gossip and knowledge among the students. We just have to get it out of them, and we can then pass on the information to the FBI.”

“And they can’t get it themselves because they are adults, right,” Naomi had then confirmed.

“Yes. But you and I can blend in.”

“In a small town,” she had laughed skeptically.

“All it takes are some reasonably fake names and a poker face, and total strangers will lap up just about anything you say,” Trick had maintained.

“Okay, you might be right about all of that, but then how are we supposed to get there?”

“That’s simple, really. We take the second most available flight out of here towards Kentucky and then we grab a bus. Both of them will be modes of transportation, both in style and in timing, that the agents will not suspect that we’d use them. Not even my mom,” Trick had added gleefully. “And I can pay, too! I work for my uncle at a farm out of state over the summer breaks, and he pays me good money. Plus, a key to concocting great pranks is to keep them cheap and manageable. So, with all of my summer earning and saved up allowance,we can afford the trip!”

Naomi had given the beaming Trick a flat stare and asked, “Your parents still give a troublemaker like yourself an allowance?”

“Yup! My dad is impressed with my savings, and he thinks it keeps me somewhat responsible.”

“Your dad is a moron,” Naomi had summed up.

“Maybe so,” Trick had agreed. “But his odd tendencies are about to pay off! What do you say?”

Naomi had still not given in entirely to the idea. She looked willing, but there was something warring inside her. Trick wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but he needed a partner in crime, and so he took a big gamble with his next words.

“Look Naomi, you know a lot of things and I bet you are very accomplished. But life is not just meant to be lived out in a room crammed with fun things or in front of a computer screen. It’s out there!” Trick gestured vaguely in front of himself. “We all need an adventure once in while, otherwise we never truly live. I know we just met and all, but this could be an experience unlike any other. It might be one that you could use to find that answer for your mom. I can’t guarantee that, of course, but you’ll never know and you’ll never live if you don’t try!”

After a long pause, and Trick worrying that he might have overdone it, Naomi finally responded, “You are right Trick, in a very odd way you are right. “ She had then rounded on him. “But don’t ever again dine to believe that you really know anything about me! Especially since we just met! But I’ll come along with you on this adventure of yours, this stupid idea of an adventure. I have four days to kill and it might just give me a laugh at the very least, and get my mom out of my hair.”

“So you’ll be able to ditch your mom pretty handily? I know that as far as my dad is concerned, if I say that I am going to be hanging out a friend’s in the evening, he’ll believe it. He’s so scattered brained most of the time!”

Naomi grunted, “Yes. I get such good grades that no one cares if I skip home or classes. My mom’s counselor told her long ago that she needed to stop being a control freak and let people do what they want. She took that to heart in maybe the wrong way. But it’ll be just fine, so long as we are back in four days!”

Trick had nodded happily. “Sure thing! What’s happening in four days though.”

“Midterms.”

Trick had winced. “I hate those.”

Naomi had then raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? They are the best thing ever for preparing for finals! They always give away what it will be like at the end of the semester. And I always get my teachers to give me the extra hard versions. It’s a lot of fun.”

You need a different kind of fun in your life, Trick thought to himself, but instead he said out loud, “This will be perfect then! And, we can actually get well acquainted on this trip so i won’t have to assume anything about you anymore. I think it’s a win-win all around.”

They had exchanged contact information and Trick dropped her off where the computer labs were. He then made his way back to the Q Files, cementing his plans firmly in his mind. It had not taken long for his mother to bring him back home and get packed herself. Trick promised that he would tell his father what was going on before Susan left for the airport. He had then texted his dad the details and then went straight to booking his own flight and getting the bus schedules down to get him and Naomi to Hardinsburg.

Trick could have danced around the house with excitement. What had started off as an abysmally boring day had turned into a real adventure. It would be one with a new friend, going somewhere new, tracking down something that shouldn’t exist, and finally using his skills on a new group of unsuspecting teens. He could barely wait to get underway. His father had bought the whole cock and bull story of going to hang out with a friend for a little while so that his dad could bring work home and get ahead. His dad always loved that. Honestly, Trick’s father did that so he could have a real vacation at some point with his wife and son. Trick did appreciate that, but it was even better for supporting Trick’s habits of planning big pranks and escapades.

Naomi and Trick had stayed in touch via text and before Trick could believe it they were finally at the airport and boarding a plane. He got the feeling that some people thought the two of them were off on some kind of romantic getaway. Young love and all that.

Ew, no. None of that, Trick thought. He was not that kind of guy at all.

Once they were in the air Trick talked with Naomi about her life and ambitions, trying to get a better understanding of her. She went to a private technical institution that specialized in giving its student two legs up in going to college. Naomi was well ahead of anyone else Trick knew in terms of academics. She also loved to read when not fidgeting and tinkering with a computer. Once again, Trick had surmised some things. He figured from her body type that she probably listened to a lot of e-books since she seemed built like a runner. The advantages of multi-tasking!

Naomi also gleaned from him that Trick was not dumb either, though employed most of his brains to tormenting others. He was actually a top student as far as grades went, and he was very good with complex thinking. Though she could not understand the “game” he kept playing. He told her about how he just so good at reading people it got boring. He was wise to lie and say that Naomi had been unreadable to him. That made her pretty happy.

It startle him to realize that both Naomi and himself were kind of outsiders. She was too brilliant and detached for her own good. Trick had just made himself too many enemies and was considered to be untrustworthy. That was why he was excited to get involved in this Q Files case. Once they landed they boarded a bus, and soon their miraculous plan was underway. They took a rest on the bus before they got to the town, knowing that there would be a lot to do once they got there.

When they arrived at Hardinsburg, Trick was surprised at just how behind the town was. It felt like he had stepped back at least thirty years in time. The cars were all old and the town looked like it had been used to shoot Stranger Things. They got themselves a hotel room for cheap and shared the bed with a rolled up blanket to separate them. He was happy that Naomi didn’t make him sleep on the floor. They were up bright and early to go to school and get started with their day of sleuthing.

“This is so weird,” Naomi said. “But it is also exciting! We’d better find something out around here, Trick, or I’m going to knock you about the head hard.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be bad. We’ll find something,” he soothed.

If Trick thought that the town was weird, the teens were even more so! In the morning he saw the boys sporting their lettered jock jackets. And everyone looked like they were just stepping out of or into Footloose.

“What!? People actually wear those things,” Trick pointed out the jackets to Naomi indignantly.

“Oh just shut up and follow them! We have to get to school.”

“Right,” Trick agreed, a grin coming to his lips. “This is where the fun truly begins!”

#q files #mysteries of the q files #My writing #my stories #had to edit #ooops

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whitelion484 · 5 years

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“BE A MAN!!!” Sounds like a headline for a self help book or a magazine. Does this phrase sound familiar, men? Maybe “Grow a pair.” Or “man up.” Many use these expressions and don’t actually stop to think about what they just said. It’s just part of The Guy Code, this list of things one must be to be a man. Perhaps a few women have heard about this not-so-complicated string of rules it allegedly takes to be a man. Why does everyone assume that being a man makes you the biggest thing to come around since Hurricane Katrina? And what does it truly mean to be a man? There is this idea that a man has every girl pining after him, he can bench 200 pounds, and knows all the rules for every sport there is. He knows all about the local sports team and watches every game. He needs no help, is always ok, and has a big pocket book. This image is wrong. A man can be whatever he wants to be for each is unique in his skills and story. But no matter his story or background, a man must have four basic traits above all others in order to be his own man and not society’s man. A man must be wise, loving, caring, and willing.

So let’s start with the history. How did this idea of a man come around? Let’s take a look back into the fairy tales and lore of the “old days.” Ancient Greece: Odysseus was a great warrior, lover, and scholar. He bested monsters with his cunning and strength. He lived through a siren’s song. He returned home to beat all other suitors who were fighting to marry his wife. End of that story, so let’s begin another. A grand hero of the Bible named Samson. He had the strength of legends, slew many enemies, and was cunning above others. In one battle, he slaughtered 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. In his final stand, he toppled a sacred temple and killed 3,000. End of that story. Here is a third: Romeo. His life is the symbol of love and passion. He faced death just to show his affection to his love, Juliet. He was a reader of poetry and a wise scholar. He was a gallant swordfighter who slew his enemy to avenge his fallen comrade. Unable to live without his beloved, he opened death’s door and stepped forward. What do all these men have in common? All shared a passion for someone or something. They all were men of the sword. They fought and died by it; gained a treasure of some kind. All of them were brash and bold, never fearing death even in the lowest of places. They all shared in some kind of adventure that seems to live only in dreams or fairy tales.

So what does this mean for your Average Joe? Well, Michal Kimmel, a teacher and sociologist at the State University of New York did a study. Kimmel asked guys from every corner of the county what came to mind when someone said, “Be a man.” The responses were predictable as I have heard and repeated many times.

Here is a “‘Real Guy’s Top Ten List:’

1. Boys Don’t Cry

2. It’s Better to be Mad than Sad

3. Don’t Get Mad – Get Even

4. Take It Like a Man

5. He Who has the Most Toys When he Dies, Wins

6. Just Do It (or) Ride or Die

7. Size Matters

8. I Don’t Stop to Ask for Directions

9. Nice Guys Finish Last

10. It’s All Good” (Colombo 609).

So to become a man, do I have to go and slay a dragon? No. While all of these characteristics can be good, they do not make the man.

A man doesn’t always have to fight with his fists. Brains have won many battles where strength could not succeed. While it is good to have a fighting spirit, it is also just as wise to turn and retreat from a situation that you can’t win. A wise man heeds warnings, but a foolish man ignores wise council. Allowing your pride to be the motivator of your behavior doesn’t help you back away from situations when you are “called up” to fight. But one’s pride comes before one’s destruction. Pride is a great motivator, but must be kept in check with wisdom and courage. Why do I say courage? Because it takes a great deal of courage to stand up for what you believe, especially standing up against your own mind and body.

A man doesn’t have to be stone-hearted either. He must be open to emotion and must be willing, not just to accept it, but also to show it. Writer Brian Jaques, known most for his series Redwall, said, “Even the strongest and bravest must sometimes weep. It shows they have a great heart, one that can feel compassion for others.” Jaques is saying that it takes a good heart to be strong, but a greater heart to show this caring and love of others. You may think that this means that you cannot fight. This idea is also a misconception. While fighting doesn’t always involve a sword and a shield, being a man can mean you are tenacious, passionate, and always sticking up for what you believe in. It means you care.

None of the above will make you a man if you are not willing to work, sweat, fail, and hurt in order to be who you want. Don’t just say, “Yeah, sure.” Be willing to make a change. But don’t expect to be changed overnight. Time plays a great role in change. For a river doesn’t change its course in a day, rather it takes years to carve out its path in solid stone.

Finally a man must love. First thoughts are probably women; this is expected as society has hammered that a man must be a great “lover.” That is Éros kind of love. While it is good, it’s not part of being a true man. This is about Agápe love. The unconditional and ever-forgiving love that binds spouse to spouse, parent to child, and God to man. A man must always be ready to love someone, whether they are a lover or a stranger. This love is what separates the characteristics of men from that of boys.

Society has tried to persuade us what a man should be like: A hunk, rough and tough, eat-nails-for-breakfast American man. There is no such thing as a Guy Code, and no man should ever be defined by it. A man is who you make yourself to be. You can be Mr. Muscles or the Scientist. You can be as creative or unbending as you wish. But above all else, a man must show four traits in order to be a man. He must be wise, caring, willing, and loving.

Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. ""Bros Before Hos": The Guy Code." Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 608-17. Print.

#my stuff #my writing #it was an essay #idk #just cuz

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crystalninjaphoenix · 5 years

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The Second Crossover Episode

Septics Inverted

A JSE Fanfic

People seemed to really like the first one, so I wrote another! Because there are a lot more boys that can meet each other across worlds, and a lot of these encounters are going to be...not so good. But some of them could be positive! Be optimistic, despite how most of my AU is just...villains

Again, you can find Swap Boys content on @huffle-dork‘s blog!

Read the intro story: Part One | Part Two

Various other AU-related stuff found here

Still not sure about adding the taglist to not normal AU material, but here I go anyways | Taglist: @evyptids @awkward-bullshit @watermelonsinmyattic @asunachinadoll @a-humble-narcissus @metautske @odysseus-is-best-boi @acuriousquail @beerecordings

Alt spent what felt like an hour wandering the streets before he finally admitted it: not only was he lost, but he wasn’t even in his city anymore. He recognized absolutely nothing. Every street turned where it was supposed to be straight, and every twist was actually a crossroad. He didn’t know where he was, or even how he got here. Alt stopped running right under a street lamp, looking around at low, dim buildings he’d never seen before.

He sat down hard on the curb and put his head in his hands. Why did this happen to him? Why couldn’t he just go home, see his cat, and be left alone? He wanted to blame Magnificent, but the magician had been seemed just as confused as he was back in that museum-type place. So he didn’t even have that explanation. He could feel tears prickling at the back of his eyes. He didn’t belong here. And he didn’t know how to get back, or if anyone would bother to come look. Nobody looked the last time. His shoulders started shaking as he let the tears fall.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?”

Alt looked up, hurriedly wiping his eyes on his jacket sleeve. There was a man staring down at him with concern. He wore a dark red hoodie and black jeans, and he...almost looked like Jackie. But less tired, and with longer hair, long enough to be held back in a ponytail that peeked out from inside the jacket’s hood. “Wh—yeah, yeah I’m...fine,” Alt said, pulling up his bandanna.

“Most people don’t cry when they’re fine,” the man remarked. “What’re you doin’ out here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?”

Alt laughed. “You’re out here.”

“Well, I can take care of myself. Not everyone can. Not that I’m saying you can’t,” he hurried to add, seeing Alt’s eyes start to darken. “I just want to make sure you’re not in trouble. Or, you know, causing trouble.”

“I’m fine,” Alt insisted, resolutely turning away. “I’m just...lost. I’m new here.”

“Well, do you know where you need to go?”

Alt could feel the tears again. But he blinked them away. “I can figure it out.”

The man gave him a peculiar look. It wasn’t pity, thank god, but it was something similar. Sympathy, maybe. “Look, I’m still worried about you, not gonna lie. I’m out here with a friend of mine. If you want, you can just...hang around with us? It’s better to travel in a group.”

His instinct was to deny help again. But he forced himself to take a step back. He was alone in a strange city, Magnificent was on the loose along with what must’ve been some sort of evil duplicate of himself, and he had no idea what to do. And this guy wasn’t being a bossy ass about going with him, just giving him an option. “...fine,” Alt grumbled, standing up. “Maybe for a little while.”

The man practically melted with relief, smiling. “Great! I left him over on the corner, he was texting a friend. C’mon, I’ll show you.” He started to walk away, making sure Alt was following him. “Oh, my name’s Jackie, by the way.”

Alt faltered in his steps. “Wait, really?” He’d just been thinking about how this guy reminded him of Jackie. Was this...?

“Yeah. You, uh...okay?” the other Jackie asked. “You got really pale all of a sudden.”

“I just—I have a friend named Jackie, too,” Alt explained. “You, uh, kind of...remind me of him.”

The other Jackie laughed. “Cool. Good to know we’ve got another doppelganger out there. Besides you, I mean.”

“We?”

“Yeah, me and my housemates. We all sorta look alike. Some differences, but in general we’re, like, clones.” Jackie looked ahead. “Oh hey, I can show you. Chase!”

They’d reached the street corner, where a man was leaning against the pole of the traffic light. He was wearing a red snap-back cap pulled down, and was absorbed in his phone. The man looked up at the sound of the name ‘Chase.’ “Oh hey, you finally decided to come back. Find out what that noise was?”

Alt stopped, staring with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure his heart was beating. “Ch-Chase?” he asked in a strangled voice.

This other Chase gave him a weird look. “Yeah, that’s my name. Why, you heard it before? And also, you okay, dude? You look like you’re having a heart attack.”

Alt took a few steps back, reexamining what he was seeing. There was a lack of toned muscles that came with a life of fighting crime, and no freckles in sight. But there was absolutely no doubt. He’d know Chase’s face anywhere, and this was him, but he was so different. And wrong. Alt found he was breathing very quickly but he just couldn’t stop. “Th-this isn’t how it’s s-supposed to be,” he said, gasping. “I just want—I just want to go home. Why can’t I go home?!” When he shouted that last question, a glitch slipped in, vibrant pixels blinking into existence and fading away again.

The two others immediately snapped into action. The other Chase dropped his phone, letting it fall to the ground, and his hand went to his belt, where he pulled out a gun that had been belted there. The other Jackie jumped back, reaching into his hoodie pocket and pulling a large pocket knife out, flipping open the blade. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Chase demanded, pointing the gun at Alt.

Alt, for his part, was just even more confused, but that confusion was now mixed with fear. That caused his glitching to intensify. “I—I d-don’t know what—what are you—”

“What, did you think you could fool us like that, Anti?” Jackie demanded.

“Anti...?” For a moment, Alt panicked, thinking these bizarro versions of his friends somehow found out his real name when he’d never even told the real ones. But then he remembered. “W-wait—do you think I’m that—that other glitch? Black clothes? Eye-patch and scarf?”

“Well who else—?!”

“Jackie, wait.” Chase reached over and slowly lowered Jackie’s arm so that the blade of the knife wasn’t pointing at Alt anymore. He did the same thing with his gun. “I think we should hear him out.”

“Hear him—” Jackie glared at Chase, clearly exasperated. “C’mon, this is clearly a trick.”

“Well, I think maybe it’s not,” Chase snapped back. “I mean...look at the effects. They look...different.” He made a vague sort of gesture to the glitches surrounding Alt. “Anti has always had the same ones, why change now?”

“Uh, how about to fool us?”

“Jackie, just...trust me on this.” Chase looked back at Alt. “So, you’re saying you saw Anti?”

“Y-yeah,” Alt stuttered. This rapid turn of events was making his head spin. “He found me, and he offered to help me because apparently I don’t know what I’m doing, and I told him to fuck off and ran away.”

“Good idea,” Chase grinned. “If you hadn’t done that, there’s a good chance you’d be dead right about now.”

“I—what?” Alt stared incredulously at Chase. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” Chase nodded sadly. “The whole bunch of us have been targeted by him multiple times. He’s serious bad news. People around him disappear, and if they’re lucky they’ll reappear needing therapy. He’s been after a friend of ours for a while now, and eventually he’s gone after the rest of us. That’s why we all live together, safety in numbers, you know?”

Alt’s glitching had completely subsided, but he hadn’t even noticed. He knew there’d been something off about that guy. The way he laughed, the way he never blinked, the way he referred to Alt as “human” as if he wasn’t. And why he’d been so insistent on helping Alt mere moments after acting all pissy towards him. It must’ve been a trap.

“Look, dude.” Chase put the gun back into his belt. After a moment of reluctance, Jackie folded the blade back into the handle of the pocket knife, but didn’t put it away. “If Anti’s got his eye on you...you’re in trouble. You need to get somewhere safe.”

Alt looked around. “I don’t...know where safe is. I’m not from here.”

Chase and Jackie glanced at each other. “Well, I think it would be better if you...stayed with us, then?” Chase suggested hesitantly. “Not permanently if you don’t want to, but...we have some protection set up at our house. It...might help?”

Alt considered it, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he thought. It would be pretty nice to have a place to stay in this new city. And, well, it was Chase. Maybe not the same Chase, however that worked, but Chase nonetheless. He was a good guy. “Okay,” Alt breathed, nodding. “Maybe for a little.”

Chase smiled. “That’s great dude! We can head home now, cut the night short. This is a bit more important.” He laughed. “Oh, hey we, uh, never caught your name. What was it?”

“I’m Alt,” Alt said immediately.

“Alt? Cool name. C’mon, we can show you the way.”

“No,” Anti whispered, eye locked on the feed from the street’s CCTV camera. “Nò,̢ ͝n̵o,̧ no!̡” He rammed his fist into a nearby metal shelf, hard enough to scrape the skin off the knuckles. As always, he felt nothing. “You fucking i̷d͞io̵t̸!”

Sam flew over from their perch on top of one of the CPUs, gently rubbing against the curve of Anti’s neck, catlike. He absentmindedly reached up to stroke them with one finger. “I guess it’s not really his fault. He’s not from here, he doesn’t know. Not even the people who live here know. But...who trusts a total stranger just like that?!” Sometimes, despite his ability to step into the deep recesses of their minds, Anti felt he would never understand humans.

He leaned closer to the screen, debating whether or not it was a good idea to swoop in and get the kid out of there. It would certainly get him out of immediate danger, but then again, he might go running back into it afterwards, still refusing to accept Anti’s help. Not to mention it might paint him as even more of a bad guy. “What’s this guy’s deal anyway?” Anti muttered. “Where did he come from? Why can he glitch? You wouldn’t happen to know, would you, Sam?”

Despite the throwaway nature of the question, Sam zoomed up in front of Anti’s face, swishing their tail once. They’d agreed early on that that gesture meant yes. “Wait, you do? How? What’re the answers?”

Sam, of course, didn’t answer, though their iris squished flat in an are you kidding me? look. “Right, right, can’t talk.” Anti watched the kid and the two freaks on the screen for a moment. “Alright, guess it’s time to play the guessing game. You know the drill, Sam, I spit out random ideas and you confirm yes or no. Let’s make this one quick.”

By the time they reached the house, Alt had managed to fill in the other Jackie and Chase about everything that happened, all the way from the colorful lights that had taken him and Magnificent to the museum, to seeing that weird other almost-Magnificent in the black mask, to his encounter with Anti. They listened carefully, taking every detail. Or at least, Jackie did. Chase took a slight detour to text someone on his phone shortly after Alt mentioned the black-masked magician. But he listened after that.

“Here, we are, home sweet home,” Chase said, pulling open the door. “After you, new dude.”

Alt ducked inside, taking in the spacious living room with an archway leading to what looked like a dining room, and an open hallway ending in a flight of stairs. It looked friendly enough. But instinctively, his eyes darted about, taking in the entrances and the windows. There was a man sitting in one of the armchairs, wearing a red vest and a derby hat, face hidden behind a book. Alt glared at him. He seemed familiar.

“Hey, Jameson?” Jackie said, entering the house after Alt. “Put the book down, buddy. I think you should meet someone.”

The man put the book down, and Alt gasped. He looked like Dr. J. What was the deal with the lookalikes?! For his part, this Jameson looked just as shocked. But he smiled, and gave a gentle wave. {Hello, there.}

Alt shrieked, backing up quickly and running into the now-closed door. He scrambled for the doorknob. He couldn’t—not this again—

“Alt! What’s wrong?” Chase waved his hand in front of Alt’s panicked face. “What happened?”

“He’s in my head!” Alt cried. “I can’t—I c-can’t—”

“Whoa, dude, it’s fine!” Jackie placed a reassuring hand on Alt’s shoulder. “Jameson can’t talk, but he can project—you know, in a telepathic sense. He’s just saying hi.”

Jameson had closed his book and stood up by this point. He walked over to the coffee table and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. He flipped through it until he found a blank page, and started writing.

“Look, I promise you it’s fine,” Chase said to Alt, his tone reassuring. “If he could mess about in there, he would’ve done it by now.”

“How do you know he hasn’t?!” Alt demanded.

Chase hesitated. “I guess we don’t. But that’s what trust is.” He paused, and looked back over to Jameson. “You sure?” he asked. Jameson nodded.

“What’s happening?!” The question came out sounding more panicked than he would’ve liked.

“It’s okay, Alt,” Jackie said. “Jameson just told us that since you’re uncomfortable with the whole...mind situation, then he won’t project to you. That’s what the paper is for.”

Jameson smiled again, a bit smaller this time. He held up the paper for Alt to see. Unfortunately, he was still across the room. Alt’s eyes narrowed. He glitched closer, causing Jameson to jump, and grabbed the pad straight out of his hands, reading what he’d written. I’m terribly sorry. If I’d known how you felt about it, I never would have tried in the first place.

Alt glared at Jameson. “Fine. Fucking fine, whatever.” He shoved the paper back at him, then glitched onto the couch, ending up curled into the side.

Jameson blinked, looking back and forth between Alt and Jackie and Chase. “It’s a long story,” Jackie sighed. “We should wait until everyone’s home to explain it.”

“Lemme guess,” Alt piped up. “You have another housemate who’s German? Goes by the nickname Schneep?”

“Yeah, actually,” Chase said, visibly surprised. “That’s the doc. He usually works late at the clinic. How did you know?”

Alt laughed. “Well, sounds like I didn’t know everything. Never would’ve pictured Schneep as the doctor. God, this is—this is fucked, dude.” He shivered. “I—I don’t know what’s going on. Everything is switched around and I don’t...I don’t know why.”

“I actually have a theory,” Jackie said, flopping down on the opposite end of the sofa than Alt. “But I should probably wait until at least Schneep is home.”

“What makes you think I am not already?”

Alt jumped at the sound, twisting in his spot to see a version of Schneep, wearing a white coat that was torn at the cuffs over a blue sweater, leaning against the arch to the dining room. There was a steaming coffee mug in one hand, and his blue eyes were rather intense through the pair of glasses. Alt just stared at him. He couldn’t have heard Jackie, could he?

“When did you get home?” Jackie asked. “I expected you to be—be working for some time now.”

“It was a slow day.” Schneep walked over and plopped into the other armchair. Jameson also sat, reclaiming his seat and leaving Chase the only one standing. “I decided to come home early. And it seems I was a good idea, because I would have missed that.” Schneep took a sip of the coffee, staring at Alt over the top of the rim. “You are not Anti. But I saw what you did, and that is what Anti does. I wonder why this could be.”

“Uh...I don’t know,” Alt said, honestly bewildered at this point by all the differences, yet all the similarities as well.

“Alright, time for my theory,” Jackie said, sitting up straight. “I think you’re from another dimension. A parallel universe.”

Everyone seemed to sharpen at that. “That’s possible?” Chase asked. “I thought that was science fiction.”

“So did I!” Jackie said excitedly. “But I can’t think of anything else. Alt seems to know who we are, but things are different, and he has the same powers as Anti but is also clearly not the same—even that Magnif-who cares could be explained. He kinda sounded like a different version of Marvin.”

“Marvin?” Alt asked.

“He’s...one of the housemates,” Chase admitted. “But look! He’s not the same as your version. He’s a bit of a bitch sometimes, but not, like, evil.”

Alt frowned. He hadn’t stuck around to see much beyond the first confrontation between the magicians, but that didn’t seem right. But...as he thought back on those memories, he started to wonder if he was wrong. The images were spiraling in front of his vision, and...maybe he’d been {wrong}? Maybe he’d been wrong. This Marvin dude was fighting Magnificent, after all. “Fine, whatever,” Alt grumbled, slumping further into the couch. “Just don’t make me look at his ugly face.”

“I doubt you’ll ever even see it,” Chase chuckled. “First of all, never takes that mask off, he’s a bit sensitive about it. Second of all, he’s pretty much a hermit, goes back and forth between the basement and his room and only comes out for food. Pretty easy to avoid the guy.”

Alt rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you guys say you had another one beside him?”

“Jack,” Jackie explained. “He’s asleep right now. Plays video games for a living on YouTube. Also kinda reclusive, doubt you’ll see him at all.”

Alt checked his bandanna, it had started to slip and needed readjusting. He didn’t like how these guys were talking like he’d already moved in. He was just staying with them for a little while, that was all. Just long enough to figure out what the deal with Anti was, how to get him off his trail, and how to get home. That was it. {But who knows how long that would take?} Could be a while...

“Do you guys...have an extra bedroom?” he asked. “I’m...kind of tired.” It was all of a sudden, too. The long night of adrenaline must’ve been wearing on him.

“You can use mine,” Chase offered. “I can crash on the couch while you’re staying.”

“Oh. Uh, thanks, man.”

“No problem, dude,” Chase gave a thumbs-up, accompanied by a cheesy grin. Alt couldn’t help but smile at that, not that they could see it under the bandanna. Guess some things were universal constants.

“Oh, before you go upstairs,” Schneep said. “Jameson is wondering if there are any others from your universe who came over, if that is indeed what happened. And I am as well, frankly.”

Alt thought back on it. “I don’t think so. Other than”—he made a face while simultaneously shuddering—”Magnificent. I haven’t been able to find any if they did come through. And...I think the two of us were the only ones in range? So...no, the answer’s no.”

Chase had no idea where he was, or how he’d gotten here. One moment, he and the others had been looking for Alt, after that stupid magician had gone after him again. They’d been getting close, he was sure of it, but then the next moment there had been a noise and a rush of colored light, and Chase had found himself standing in a park, completely alone.

This wasn’t the same city. He’d been patrolling it for years, he knew his city, and this wasn’t it. But the question was, where was he then? And where were the others?

After a while of wandering, he came across a drug store. It looked abandoned, or more accurately that surreal sort of empty that only came late at night when the white lights of the store showed off how few people there actually were. There was only one car in the parking lot, an old minivan. A woman with shoulder-length blonde curls was walking towards it, clutching a white paper bag in one hand and her keys in the other. Chase was hesitant to approach her, since it could easily come off the wrong way, but after a moment of silent thought, he decided it would be for the best. He’d just make sure to keep his distance.

He approached her slowly, staying a few feet away when he called out, “Excuse me?”

The woman dropped her paper bag in shock, two bottles of over-the-counter medicine falling out. She spun around, eyes wide. “Chase?!”

Chase gaped in turn. “Stacy?” He hadn’t recognized her. She looked...different. In tons of minute ways, but what he noticed was what he called the “tired parent look.” He’d seen it enough on Jackie, but never Stacy. She didn’t have kids, that’s why Jackie asked her to babysit for him. Did she? “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”

Stacy didn’t say anything, just took a few steps toward her car. She adjusted her grip on her keys while also fumbling about with the clasp of her purse. She seemed...on edge. Scared, even. “Uh...” Chase glanced around. The parking lot was as empty as before. He pulled off his mask, thinking maybe that was the problem. “You okay there?”

“Fine!” Stacy squeaked. She’d managed to open the purse, and was now looking for something inside without taking her eyes away from Chase. “I was just—ah, Trev got sick and we were out of cold medicine, so I went to pick some up and I left them with a sitter—told the sitter to expect me back in twenty minutes, it’s already been twelve, I think—”

He had no idea what she was talking about. But he was picking up that she was...scared of him? Of him? That couldn’t be possible. Something must’ve been up. “Well, you dropped the bag of medicine,” he pointed out helpfully. “Here, I can help you pick it up—”

“No!” The word was more like an instinctive shriek. Stacy had pulled her phone out of her purse at this point. “I mean, thank you but I’m fine, I’m good, you don’t need to come any closer.”

“Stacy, is something wrong?” Chase asked, eyes lined with worry. “You’re acting strange.”

“No, I’m not! You—you—you know that.” There was a small flash from her phone’s camera, and Stacy immediately paled. “I-I-I-I didn’t mean to take a picture. You know how this works, new camera so confusing!” She laughed nervously. Her thumb was moving across the screen, tapping in very specific places.

“Stacy, if you’re in trouble, you know I can help you out.” Chase was starting to get desperate at this point. There was no way he could be misinterpreting this. She was scared. Of him. All he could think of was that maybe being seen with him was a risk of some sort. But what could she have gotten mixed up with for that to be a problem?

“I highly doubt that, Chase.” She made eye contact with him, and Chase realized she had been vaguely watching his hands the whole time. Her thumb had stopped. “Not when you know what the trouble is.”

“When I know what—?”

The question was cut off when Stacy suddenly dropped her phone with a small gasp. It landed screen-up on the asphalt of the parking lot. The phone was showing nothing but blank static. And then, with a fizz and a hiss, the static spread out from the phone, until it was a solid mass on the pavement. Chase gaped at it. The mass glitched, and morphed, and suddenly in a blink there was a man standing in front of Chase, dressed in dark colors except for the green scarf around his neck and the white eye-patch covering his right eye.

He looked familiar. But...it couldn’t be. “Alt?” Chase asked hesitantly.

The man looked at him and shook his head. “Not the one you know.” He turned to Stacy. “This is going to take some explaining, but basically this guy’s safe.”

“I’m safe?!” Chase repeated, bewildered. “Alt, what’s happening?”

“You shouldn’t c̛all̛ ̀me̷ ̶that ,” the other Alt said, his voice gaining an electronic filter. “It’ll probably just confuse you.”

Chase folded his arms. “I can’t possibly be more confused than I am right now.”

Stacy looked at the other Alt. “Anti? I’m...actually with him on that.”

Chase blinked. “An-Anti?” he repeated.

“My name,” the other Alt—Anti—confirmed. “The real name of your Alt, too, though I got the impression it wasn’t something he gave away easily—and now you’re staring at nothing like you’re having an existential crisis, great.”

It couldn’t be possible, could it? Alt couldn’t have been hiding that this entire time, right? Why? Chase turned around and put his head in his hands as he took this new fact in.

“Hey!” Anti pixillated into existence in front of him, glaring. “Crises later! We got more important shit to worry about!”

Stacy sighed. “He always does this.”

“Because it’s true! God, how can you get a̢n̶yt͏hin͝g̛ done like this?!” Anti grumbled indistinctively for a few more seconds, then fixed Chase with his best dead-eyed stare. It worked; Chase immediately stiffened. “Look, my fr—acquain—compan—fuck, I don’t know how we relate to each other, but their name is Sam and they told me you, and this Alt I met earlier, are from a parallel universe.”

Chase had to laugh at that.

“What are you...? I'͝m seŗi̴òus, Vlog-Man.”

“I know, I know you are, but...” Chase forced himself to stop “It’s just...god, that sounds so absurd. My life has truly become a comic book.”

“Well, you got the outfit for it, hero-type,” Anti said, giving Chase a once-over. “I hope you’re at least better than the one we have now.”

Stacy shuddered at that, just straightening up from where she’d bent over to pick up the bag she’d dropped. “Anti...if-if he’s alright, then I didn’t need to text you?”

“Not really. But it’s good practice for if the other one shows up.”

Chase looked between them, head turning rapidly. “Okay, so lemme get this straight. I am in...an alternate dimension. Alt is also here. You are not the Stacy I know, and you’re not...Alt. I’m assuming there’s another me here? Is that what got you so on edge, am I, like, a supervillain here?” He asked the last question with a crooked grin, but it slid off his face when Anti and Stacy still looked dead serious.

“Not exactly a supervillain, but not a shining example of a good person, either,” Anti drawled.

“Oh.” Chase fell silent for a moment, then started up again with what he thought was the most important topic. “You said you saw Alt? Was he okay?”

“He was,” Anti said grimly. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Alt’s gotten himself into some real serious shit. He’s in danger.”

The five of them sat around the kitchen table. Jack was still asleep, and would be for a while, and this Alt person had just stopped moving around upstairs. “So, to get to the point of this,” Jackie opened up the meeting. “What’re we going to do about him?”

Marvin scowled, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t fucking know. The other me was an asshole, you think this other him is one too?”

“Actually I think he’s the good twin,” Chase laughed.

“I do not think he functions on the same rules,” Schneep said, staring at the ceiling like he could see through it to where Alt was sleeping. “For one thing, I do not think he needs to take the naptimes. And I thought that he was very immune to whatever it is Jamie does.”

{He is,} Jameson confirms. {Or at least, his mind is a beast to get through, walls made of titanium. This one, however...most unusual. His mind is like an open door, but surrounded by traps. Easy to get into, provided you don’t set any of them off.}

“You didn’t seem to have much trouble,” Marvin said, a smile ghosting around his lips.

{Well, I have a lot of practice,} Jameson replied with the same phantom smile. {And it seems someone left the door open in the first place.}

“Y’know, we still haven’t answered Jackie’s original question,” Chase said. “What are we going to do with him?”

Schneep shrugged. “Well, I was thinking that since last time we did not learn the hows and whys of the glitching, we could try again?”

“Henrik...” Jackie warned. “You know that Alt can probably die, right? Not like him.”

“I know, I know,” Schneep sighed. “But I think it would be worth a try.”

“I’m just gonna say that I’m still pissed you didn’t share like you were supposed to,” Marvin muttered.

“I was going to! It was a two-week arrangement! Is not my fault it started to fall apart and got out.”

“We’re not going to go full operating-room-magic-basement on Alt,” Chase said firmly. “Not when there’s a chance he could just tell us.”

{I agree with Chase,} Jameson said. {We will not resort to that until we have no other way.}

Jackie sighed. “Well, that’s better than nothing, I guess. And we’re not going to kill him.”

The others all murmured agreements. The real question was, why would they get rid of their one possible chance to figure out how Anti worked? Why would they pass up an opportunity to get rid of him forever?

In the corner of the dining room, a hidden camera buzzed, the sound too quiet for the human ear. Usually it didn’t do that. But a spark of dark green electricity had just invaded its systems, and it was reacting badly.

At least three from the parallel universe had made it over. But where had the third gone? And more importantly, were there any more? Only time would tell.

#ayyyy cliffhanger ending because im thinking this is just gonna be a thing now that sometimes happens #just like whenever i have inspiration motivation and time #because honestly there are so many potential relationships to explore and its like the possibilities!!!!!!#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #antisepticeye #jackieboy man #chase brody #jameson jackson #dr schneeplestein #septic eye sam #brigid writes fanfiction #septics inverted au #invertedau

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