Well, my plans for this week didn't quite work out as I hoped. I am so sorry that it has taken this long to get this chapter up.
So, I had it all set out to write this chapter on the Sunday, but then I got side-lined by making my wedding invitations when everything finally came in. Still can't believe I'm getting married in 3 months! And as this chapter is so intense (and I hate stopping a chapter midway, it always takes me ages to get back into the same headspace), I needed several hours to dedicate to it.
The invitations are now done, and I've finally had the opportunity to get this beast written. I just hope it comes out well for all of you!
Special thanks for reviews: sarahlucylu, Subtle Shenanigans, Tifflinck, Starlight Nightmare and Glixbitch.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Markiplier, JackSepticEye or Matthias/Hi5 Universe. If you wish to use anything relating to my own universe, please ask first.
Chapter 10: …You're Going To Get Burned
Their journey upwards in the elevator sped past in no time at all, and when the trio emerged on the 86th floor, all of their stomachs leapt into their throats. There was a definite…energy to the area. An overwhelming sense of tension, though none of them knew how that was possible. They were in a world inhabited solely by machines, there wasn't anything remotely organic or living around them. So how could they be affected like that?
Mark knew the answer, and he was sure the other two had a pretty big suspicion. It just had to be Damien's power, there was no other explanation. Even in a world such as this, with no mechanics for magic or anything the like, he could still manipulate it.
His urge to turn and run grew infinitely stronger. This is a fucking trap, and we're walking right into it.
Jack was the first of the trio to step forward, eyes taking in their scenery. This was an area of Mesmeria which obviously incomplete: blue grid lines over empty depths were scattered across the floor and walls. Even the areas of the building which were completely coded were evidently unstable, with broken panels and sparking wires poking out from every surface. "Jesus," Jack muttered, "this place is a wreck. You'd think there was a battle up here or something."
All three of them jumped when there was a large thump against the sealed door dead ahead. It didn't sound like a solid object, but it was certainly potent. "I've got a really bad feeling about this," Mark admitted as they all approached, looking for any clues. The door was badly dented, in multiple places, and there were evident scorch marks across the join, as well as around the power panelling. Mark and Alix worked together to peel it away, only to find the inside blackened and useless, the port for Mark to insert a battery destroyed. "Great, so how the hell do we get in now?"
Alix started staring at the door in more detail, or more specifically the frame. Her eyes landed on a small hole above the left-hand door, barely a centimetre across. "Mark, look," she directed with an outstretched hand, both Mark and Jack's eyes following her lead. "Is it me, or does that look a little out of place?"
Mark's mind began to tingle and he began digging around in his kit, retrieving the bent pieces of metal from within. He finally understood what these were meant for. "Hang on, I've got an idea," he said while standing right below it, analysing the metal in his hands in more detail. They were all different sizes and lengths, and he replaced all but the two which matched the size of the hole above. Jack and Alix watched curiously as he reached up with the longer of the two pieces and slid it inside the gap, feeling around inside the cavity. Mark's face was scrunched in concentration as he slid the metal upwards, looking for anything which would confirm his suspicions. The motion came to an abrupt stop as Mark made contact with a switch.
All of them heard a mechanical release as Mark shoved upwards and they saw the left door judder, opening a gap of about an inch. Jack and Alix watched in awe as Mark began looking on the other side of the opening, searching for the slot to disengage the second door. He found it along the bottom, swiftly using his tool to release the door. "So that's how the manual override works…" Alix said in fascination as Mark stood again, replacing everything.
"Yeah, although the slots are always going to be in random places, sadly," Mark sighed in irritation. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised seeing as this place is essentially a giant puzzle. Come on, let's get this door open." Mark and Alix pulled apart a side each, slowly, giving time for Jack to scout the room beyond. He peered through the gap and couldn't see anything, nodding his head to indicate they were clear. Thanks to Mark's fiddling with the door controls, the sides now slid away easily, and they could advance unhindered.
Their breath caught when they saw a window at the end of their next corridor, and their eyes widened as they stared at what lay beyond. "Fucking hell…" Jack whispered, a sentiment the other two agreed with.
It was an assembly line for the machines, though it was currently shut down. Half-assembled constructions in various states of completion could be seen on conveyor belts throughout the room. Torsos hung from hooks along the top of the vast hall, while appendages and heads were suspended by mechanical arms at multiple locations. They could now get a close-up of the machines' inner workings, and they shared a look. Learning where their vulnerabilities lay could end up being pivotal.
With great trepidation they entered the room through a door further down to their left, each ready with their weapon of choice. Mark and Alix both clutched tightly to their pistols while Jack kept a firm grip on his rifle. It was like something out of a nightmare, seeing so many death machines in varying states of construction in the towering space. Jack momentarily froze as his eyes clocked on to the sentries which were standing inert in docking stations along the far wall. He fought to get his thundering heartbeat back under control, realising they weren't a threat.
For now.
Alix climbed up on to one of the last sections of the assembly line, seemingly unbothered at being in such close proximity to the machines. The other two wondered just how much of it was due to her technician nature, or whether it was due to fact she was a programmer at heart. Machines were probably the thing she understood the most. She studied it at length for a minute, before a pained gasp from Mark all but brought him to his knees. "Mark!" Jack exclaimed as he reached out to steady his friend.
"They're starting a new cycle," Mark hissed through gritted teeth. They were now very close, he could feel it. Damien's presence was like a red-hot poker, searing through his stomach and leaving a horrific phantom burn inside. The echoes were causing him to go nauseous, and it took a great effort to refocus as it lessened. Following the feeling, his eyes drifted up to the top left of the assembly room, and he spied dull flashes coming from the window of the room. "Up there," he directed the other two.
Alix and Jack both followed his outstretched hand and saw what had caught his attention. "Probably a control room of some sort…" Alix theorized before turned her attention back to the machine in front of her. Without its armoured plating she could see a great deal of the inner construction; and she'd soon found a weak point. "I've got something," she said while pointing to a point just around the human stomach. "This is where their power source is kept. A well-aimed strike here would at the very least stun one of these things, if not disable it. If we ever end up in close combat, go for this." Following a hunch, she pulled out her knife and plunged it into the core, watching the weapon slid inside effortlessly. With a satisfied nod she the knife back. "Pretty vulnerable to any attack it seems. Let's keep that in mind if we can."
Mark nodded at her. "Anything else of note?"
"Not really, it is a machine after all. Enough damage will cause it to go into shutdown, but that'll take some doing. You'd have to hit some pretty vital systems. I'd recommend just going for the head and power source."
With that, the trio turned their gazes back towards their path. All of them were nervous, and Mark couldn't help but switch his stare to Jack. The Irishman was focusing hard, and Mark could see the tension throughout his body. "Sean?" The soft calling of his name caught Jack's attention, and he turned to look at Mark steadily. The older man drew in a deep breath. "We can find another way, I'm sure of it. We don't have to do this."
Jack shook his head minutely before looking away again. He was ready for this – or at least as ready as he thought he could be. "Let's get this over with," he answered emotionlessly, marching on ahead. Mark turned to stare at Alix helplessly and could see she was just as worried.
Something was going to go wrong, they could just feel it.
They climbed a set of stairs at the far end of the room, reaching the control room quickly. All three of them had their guns raised as they burst inside, not willing to take any chances at this stage. It was Mark who finally spied what they were looking for, and his breath caught. "Oh my god…" the other two caught his soft exclamation and turned to follow his gaze, their own breath stopping at what lay within.
The room behind the control room was what appeared to be a testing chamber, but due to the incomplete nature of the building, only half of it was fully generated. The whole of the back wall was open to the elements, a wind rushing through the area and chilling them to the bone, while showing them just how high they were. On the central pad stood Matt – or at least, it was partially Matt. The body was restrained by mechanical holdings at the wrists and thighs, while a large metal binding held the chest. What caused all of them to freeze was how the body was glitching in and out of existence: for a second it would be Matt, then the next it would appear to be Damien, while sometimes it was a horrific mix of the two. Two minds, wrestling for control of the same body, and the struggle was evident in the fact that the Dreamscape couldn't even decide which appearance to give them.
They all choked back screams as they saw the body vanish abruptly, and Mark then felt the sharp burn race through his core before they reappeared in the same place, stuck in the endless loop. Mark could feel the strain within his own body, he could tell just how draining it was. He had been right – Damien was badly weakened, and in this limbo state, Matt had the advantage. Damien had established the connection with him in sheer desperation for another way out.
Now they just had to free Matt.
Knowing that time was of the essence, the trio raced into the room, Mark and Jack running towards Matt as Alix sprinted to the computer console at the right-hand side of the room. The two YouTubers stared in shock at seeing the almost collision of two minds play out before them, unsure of how to proceed. "Alix, any ideas?" Jack shouted over to her.
The programmer had quickly started analysing the data in front of her, watching the streams of numbers play out in detail. On another screen she hacked into the game codes and brought up the player statuses again, seeing for anything that might give them an idea of how to proceed. It didn't take long for her to spy a major anomaly in the streams being generated from being in the centre of the room and her eyes widened. "I've got one, but I'm not sure how effective it is going to be," she yelled back.
"Anything is a start!"
"There is one point where there is a massive spike in the power output, as if the Dreamscape is finally deciding which body to generate, but that's when Anti is stepping in and messing things up again. He's momentarily distracting Matt and allowing Damien to seize a firmer hold, which is when Matt is triggering the reboot. It's kicking Anti out and restarting the whole process."
"So how does that help us?"
She turned to stare at them harshly. "It means I know when you can get his attention, Jack," she answered solemnly. "When the reboot cycle starts, Anti isn't actively involved. If you can distract him for long enough to allow Matt and Damien back to that point where the body is generated, it will hopefully be them separated. We'll just have to wait for the next cycle to start."
Jack sighed resignedly. "How long?"
"About forty seconds, I think."
The Irishman nodded slowly. "Right…guess I better go make some noise then."
Just as he was about to race away, Mark clamped firmly on to his left forearm, drawing Jack's attention to him. Mark held his gaze steadily as he spoke. "Be careful, Sean," he urged.
Jack gave him a small smile and nod in return. "You too." He then turned to give Alix a warm smile at her obvious concern. "See you both soon," he reassured before running back through to the assembly room.
Alix watched him go in distress. "Mark, are we really doing this?" she asked desperately, not hiding the tremor in her voice.
He didn't answer, instead turning his focus back to the shimmering form in the room with them. The pit in his stomach grew as he stared as the fragments of Damien and Matt's faces meshed together, wishing they could say with any certainty how things were going to go.
Fuck, I really hope this works.
Jack sprinted back through to the assembly room, rifle primed as he looked around for anything which would catch Anti's attention. Well, anything else apart from the obvious. He flicked a switch on his headset, opening the channel which both Mark and Alix were on. "How we looking?" he asked while jumping on to one of the conveyor belts, pushing over all the machinery partially constructed lying on it. He needed a good hiding spot.
"Around ten seconds before they finish this cycle, Jack," Alix answered back.
He sighed as he found a point where three conveyor belts crossed, making it difficult for him to be easily spied from the floor. It was going to have to do. With shaking hands he checked over the rifle, standing as open as he dared. This was a stupid idea, but they didn't have much other choice.
Fuck it, it's time to take the fight back to this asshole.
He spoke back into his headset, steadying his voice as best he could. "Guys, this is going to get pretty fucking loud, okay? Just…be careful."
"Sean, what are you planning?" Mark asked in trepidation.
Jack didn't answer him, waiting for a signal as to the start of the next loop. He closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath.
"Jack, it's happening!"
With determination in his eyes and posture, Jack shouted around the room at the top of his voice. "Anti!" he bellowed, hoping this would be enough to catch the glitch's attention. "Come on you piece of shit, come and get me!"
Nothing. "I know you're watching, you fucktard," he spat venomously. "You wanted a chance to take a shot at me, well here it is! You gonna let me go when you've got ten sentries down below who can shoot me? Come on, stop messing around and face me, or are you going to hide in the shadows where you belong?!"
That did the trick. Jack barely dodged as three machines emerged from the docking stations and fired at him, the Irishman ducking down as he shot back. It wouldn't be long before they climbed to a position which would leave him vulnerable, and he needed to stay at least one step ahead. If they caught him, he was finished.
In the lab, Mark and Alix's eyes widened as they heard Jack's taunts, not realising before then that Jack was intentionally leaving himself vulnerable to the machines in the assembly room. "Fuck!" Mark swore, right before they heard the first shots. The sounds echoed through to their room and their chests constricted at hearing the steady stream, both fighting the instinct to go and help Jack. Except they knew it would blow their whole plan – Anti needed to feel like he had the upper hand, that Jack was vulnerable. If either of them ran through and joined, then the glitch would possibly abandon the attempt: and with it, they wouldn't have the first clue on how to save Matt.
No, they were just going to have to trust in Jack to keep himself safe.
Both Mark and Alix turned their attention back to their own situation, eyes widening when the screens started to change. The lines of code started flashing past at a higher speed and Alix's eyes went frantic as she realised what was happening. "Shit, no!" she screamed, starting to frenziedly type at the screen before her.
Mark watched in horror as the amalgamation of Matt and Damien began flickering violently, his attention switching at Alix's cry. "Alix, what's happening?"
"The reboot cycle is changing! It's being triggered every few seconds now, I've got to disable it if we're going to have any chance of getting Matt out!" she shouted back in a panic.
The half-Korean's breath caught painfully as he realised what was going on. Damien knew Anti wasn't there anymore, this was his final play to not lose control. "How can I help?" Mark asked desperately.
"Keep an eye on them, tell me if either one of them become more obvious than the other! I'll need some time to block the command sequence."
He did so, but the combination was so unstable and warping in such a way that Mark really couldn't tell anything anymore. The flashes of each of them were so brief that by the time Mark really could tell either way, it had already vanished into the corrupted mixture again.
Shouts from the assembly room snatched their attention and Mark spun back to stare at in fear. The shots were increasing in frequency and he knew Jack couldn't hold out forever. He heard another scream, of pain this time, through their headsets, but then Jack was yelling again in defiance. Whatever was happening, he was still in the fight. "Hurry, Alix," he urged.
In the assembly room, Jack was kneeling on the belt as he shot back at the sentries, his abilities as a marksman helping in keeping the machines back. He quickly glanced down at his weapon and his stomach dropped: along the top was a gauge showing the remaining power, and it was barely visible anymore. He maybe had a handful of shots before it was useless. "Fuck!"
Knowing he needed to find another weapon, he stopped his barrage, waiting until the sentries which were chasing him advanced more. He could now see that eight of the ten machines were active in the room, six of them were advancing up towards his position while the other two were looking for clear shots below. He dove to the edge of the conveyor as one of the two on the floor finally found an advantageous angle and Jack had to swallow hard as he came face-to-face with the six-foot drop to the next belt. It was nothing compared to the five metres he was above ground, but it still made his stomach churn. "Oh, I'm a fucking idiot!" he shouted as he rolled off the belt, dropping to the one below in a painful crunch. His breath caught but he didn't have time to pause before pulling his pistol and shooting at the sentry on his new level, the laser landing straight in the power core. That was one less to worry about.
Unfortunately, it fell in way too open a position for Jack to even think about running for its weapons. He instead jumped down to another line below him, leaving the five sentries which were still above him with awkward angles as Jack ran down the slope towards the floor. He retrieved his rifle and unloaded its final four shots in the machine at the corner of the room, bringing it down. This one was still relatively sheltered, and Jack quickly exchanged both his guns before sprinting away into more cover.
He saw that four of the machines above were now situated on the belt which he had originally taken shelter upon. A screech of pain tore from his throat as a laser skimmed across the length of his upper back, badly singing his skin. His attention snapped to one of the final two sentries which had activated, not realising it had reached a position where it could strike at him. Firing purely on instinct as he crumbled, Jack managed to hit it in the head and disable it. "Fuck you, you asshole!" he roared back before ducking away behind some of the bodies he had disposed of earlier.
A flash of green within the mask of the sentry which had caught him out caused Jack's chest to freeze in fear, but also thunder in triumph. Anti had taken the bait, he was in the room. He just hoped it was enough for the other two to get Matt free.
Up above, in the lab, Alix stopped typing as they heard a tremendous crash from the opposite room. Jack's triumphant scream echoed through the room and their headsets, reassuring them that he was indeed keeping ahead of Anti. With that confirmation Alix spun back, finishing her typing. Mark felt like an age had passed as he saw the image continuing to flicker and begin to phase out – he didn't dare think what that meant for Matt. "Alix, something's happening!"
She swore under her breath as she made a few mistakes and had to correct errors from the speed at which she was inputting commands while in a mild state of panic. Finally, though, she stepped back with a determined final click. "Done!" she declared. "Worm your way out of that one you bastard!"
The pair watched as the image began to steady, their attention drifting back to the game codes as they waited to see another reboot sequence start. It didn't. Jack started shouting down their headsets in anger, but neither of them heard it clearly as they froze at seeing the text which had appeared on the screen.
WARNING
Command sequences disabled, reboot course refused. Data corruption imminent.
They both stared in terror, suddenly hoping they hadn't made a fatal mistake when everything changed.
A soul-wrenching shriek tore through both their headsets, turning both their stomachs to lead. It was sustained and agonised, and oh so terrifyingly familiar. They'd heard it once before in Glaysha, and it was even more horrifying this time.
Without another thought Alix grabbed her pistol from next to the console and sprinted through to the other room. Mark was about to shout after her when his voice suddenly died in his throat, the sound choked out by the hand which had locked around his neck and was compressing his airway. His eyes met with the screen before he turned back and the dread which had settled in his heart grew tenfold.
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
The words repeatedly endlessly, and Mark suddenly realised they had got everything wrong. So wrong. His gaze drifted to meet the body attached to the outstretched hand and he wanted to spit straight at the red eyes which locked with his own, and the sickening smirk which met Mark's furious gaze.
"Pathetic, Mark," Damien remarked, now free of the restraints and standing there in his own body. "I thought you would have at least acknowledged the possibility of a trap," he sneered victoriously. "This is all too easy." Mark stretched down for the knife attached to his thigh and swung desperately, but Damien knocked it away with his other hand, the weapon landing far behind him, before pushing Mark back and hurling him into the wall behind. Mark screeched as he landed on a piece of broken metal, the shard impaling his left hip and the sudden pain stole away what little breath remained in his lungs. He reached for his other thigh and froze when he realised the gun which had been holstered there was now held in Damien's hands, and pointed straight at him. He couldn't reach for the rifle attached to his back, he'd be shot far too quickly.
The shadow smiled sinisterly, striding toward Mark slowly. Red eyes locked on to Mark's injured form and Damien's smile grew. "It is all too easy to play you, Mark," he commented idly. "First you bring Matt's body back so that we can seamlessly trap you all here, and now you even present yourselves on silver platters for Anti and I." His expression changed to downright cruel as his eyes flickered black briefly. "Killing you is not all I am after, however. Let's see how quickly you destroy yourself in guilt and grief when we make you watch Anti torture and kill the remnant from with Jack's body. I'm sure that will break both of you in the most delightful way possible."
Mark's heart thundered in defiance. "Fuck you," he spat darkly. Knowing he had nothing to lose, and possibly giving himself a much less painful death in the process, Mark reached back and screeched as he gained a grip of his rifle.
Before he could even shoot, however, his attention fell to the flash of silver which emerged from Damien's chest, right where his heart would have been. The shadow looked down in shock at the weapon sticking through his chest and both Damien and Mark heard the venomous snarl from the holder of the knife.
"That's for what you did to our families."
With an enraged shout from the other figure, Mark watched in shock as Damien was hurled toward the deconstructed wall and tumbled out through the opening. Just like Anti, he had none of the power he had in Glaysha. Without that power, he could do nothing to stop his tumble into the abyss below, vanishing into the empty and unprogrammed space of Mesmeria.
Damien was gone.
Mark's eyes fell to the panting and shaking form which had watched Damien's demise, shoulders slumping in relief as he turned around and made eye contact. A familiar blue reflected back at him and the tension in Mark's body melted away. "Matt…"
The older man didn't pause and ran over to him, seeing where Mark was impaled. He could hear gunshots from the other room, but he was sure Mark was too injured at this stage to realise fully what was going on. Matt knew all too well, had been forced to watch as Anti and Damien played the group right into the trap as soon as they had spoken aloud their plan to use Jack as bait. He'd been an unwilling spectator for far too long.
Not anymore. His time spent trapped in the data of Mesmeria with Damien had given him enough knowledge to give their group the only fighting chance they had.
Matt sprinted over to the console at the end of the room and quickly typed into the screens, bringing up the main power output of the building. He turned to the pouch on his hip, similar to Mark's, and pulled out what looked like a futuristic version of a flash drive. He slammed it into a slot on the wall and watched with a dark joy as he saw the screens all flicker as red code invaded.
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The green text caused his smirk to grow as he hit two more keys, at which the screens all locked out with red lines of commands and Anti's screech of fury echoed through the area. "Burn in hell, Anti," Matt snarled angrily before turning and running back towards Mark. The half-Korean was staring at him in shock, but Matt gave him a friendly smile. "I'll explain everything as soon as we are out of here, Mark. We need to move."
In the assembly room, Jack's eyes had met with the connectors keeping the conveyor belt aloft, and he suddenly realised how he could turn the situation back to his favour. He fired frantically at the metalwork, hoping that the lasers were going to be powerful enough to destroy the joints holding everything together. He smiled at he saw the metal cave under the assault and all four machines tumbled to the ground, crushed under the debris. "Take that you sons of bitches!" he crowed gleefully. That only left two more, and the one other inactive machine.
Following a surge of confidence, Jack charged out and raced towards one which had gotten itself into cover, seeing the green flash within its mask. Rage coursed through his veins and Jack soon slid into a position to fire straight into its power core, rendering it inert. He rolled into more cover as the last one began shooting at him and Jack's gaze dropped to his rifle. Once again, it was almost out of power. His eyes rolled in frustration and he tossed it away, knowing it maybe had two shots left. He was much better off with the fully powered pistol now in his possession.
Jack waited as he saw the machine advancing, ready to shoot; but it unexpected charged, keeping an arm over its face and another in front of its power core. He swore as it got too close and was forced to draw his knife to keep it back. "Fuck off, you piece of shit!" he snarled while kicking away a reaching arm, knocking away its rifle, as he rolled back to his feet, jumping back to keep it at a safe distance. He shot with his pistol again, but couldn't inflict enough damage. He was forced backwards in an effort to dodge continual swings for him. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't using its knife and pistol as he kept looking for an opening.
He didn't understand until it was too late.
A mechanical arm swung over Jack's head and constricted around his airway as his knees were kicked out from behind. He crumpled to his knees, unable to draw a breath as he saw the green flash in the machine in front of him jumped to the one behind. Terror coursed through his veins as he realised the last one had come active and trapped him.
"That was fun, Jack-a-boy. You showed some real fight there." Jack tried to struggle against the grips holding him there, reaching up with his knife but it was quickly shot out of his hand. His hand ached from a small residual burn, the laser having hit the knife and not his hand luckily, but he was out of options as the machine holding him wrenched his pistol away.
He was unarmed and immobile. Anti had him cornered.
"Now…let's try this again, shall we?" Anti's voice echoed through his ears in a sickening tone and Jack's arms raised to try and desperately break the grip holding his airway. It wasn't going to be long before he choked completely. "Can you fight back when you can't breathe? Shame I can't kill you, or that would make my life so much easier. Then again…" His tone changed to much more of a sing-song voice as he continued, "breaking your mind has always sounded fun."
Jack barely had time to think on the implications of Anti's statement before the machine's other hand clamped painfully on the back of his head. He felt as four small spikes protruded out and embedded themselves just before the searing burn invaded.
He screamed inhumanly as he felt Anti tearing his way into his mind and body, refusing to give the glitch what he wanted.
The grip on Jack's airway increased and he fought with everything he had to stay awake – he dared not think what would happen if he passed out. Could he even still fight? The voice began to whisper in his mind and Jack could feel control being torn away. Anti was starting to break him down.
So pathetic.
Stop!
I'm going to enjoy the screams as you can only watch me destroy everything you love.
No!
Will you feel the pain I inflict, or will you feel my glee?
Get out of my mind, you sick fuck!
What shall I do first with your body, I wonder? So much to choose from.
I'll never stop fighting you!
Your despair is going to be a delight as I tear them apart.
I won't let you hurt them!
Will I keep you alive once I have my freedom, I wonder? The idea of you watching the whole life you have built be burned by your own hands is…enthralling.
Jack's eyes flickered between his own electric blue and the fierce green of Anti as the two duelled for control. Desperation began to creep into Jack's mental voice, his determination crumbling at the terror of what Anti would do.
Stop this, Anti, stop! I'll kill us both if I have to!
Oh Jack-a-boy, you say that as if you have any control. You're mine now.
The lack of oxygen became too much and Jack's arms fell limply to his side but the struggle continued, blue and green flickering in open eyes. As Jack's body became limp from the suffocation, the battle became more intense, Jack giving everything he had mentally to stop his worst nightmare becoming a reality.
He'd never stop fighting, never stop struggling. He meant what he'd said: he'd sooner die than let the glitch have control.
A gunshot echoed through the area as the machine standing guard was brought down by a precise shot to the head. It crumbled to the ground as Alix's whole froze body at seeing Jack. He was completely limp, eyes fixed open as the machine was clamped on to his head. Seeing red, she ran towards the machine and shot it at point-blank range execution style. It let go instantly and Alix shoved it away as Jack's form crumpled to the ground. She turned him over, breathing erratic, as she looked for any sign of life. His fixed eyes flickered briefly between green and blue again before finally settling back to Jack's own blue, Anti not yet having a strong enough hold to keep control without the physical interface.
As the glitch's presence faded away Jack's eyes slid shut in exhausted relief as he passed out having regained control, barely acknowledging the pain spearing through his oxygen-deprived body.
Alix shook him desperately, willing him to awake. "Jack! Jack!" she shrieked, but it made no difference. Her fingers flew to his neck and she all but collapsed in relief as she felt a pulse. He was alive at least.
Time would only tell how much damage their gamble had wrought.
…..
Well that didn't fucking work, did it?
We both miscalculated, but it matters not.
Ha! As fucking if! Matt has managed to change things, he's a Hacker. I can't fucking get near them now! And you're going to be as useful as a toothpick in a knife fight now that you've fallen into the abyss.
Indeed, I am out of play in Mesmeria, but I now have power again. I can change the Dreamscape from outside that world, as you well know, and we already have another plan in motion.
Fan-fucking-tastic. What the fuck does that mean?
I cannot affect them in Mesmeria, but we can still destroy them.
...
Are you saying what I think you are, you mad fuck?
You left that place unstable on purpose, now use that power.
Bring Mesmeria crashing down, Anti.
Zalgo translation:
No! No, you fucking bastard! How did you get free?!
I'm…going to apologise now. Yes, this is a deliberate cliffhanger, and I am sorry! *hides under duvet*
I'm really happy with how the Mark/Damien/Matt and Jack/Anti fights came out, though this chapter turned into a much bigger beast than I intended. This took me 8 hours! My butt is more than a little numb now after doing this in one sitting.
I hope you all liked this chapter, I'm so sorry it took so long but I'm hoping the wait was worth it! Let me know what you thought. I'll be back soon!
*Smooch*