Well that took a while! Glad to know people are liking my fanfics!
Prinn: In the end, it really is, isn't it? But while it's not that special for Marco and Star that had 3 seasons worth of content, this is something out of a pilot for Jackie. The first time is always the most special!
Guest: That will be answered here!
Alright, let's go to the story!
QuestBuy™. It's...really like, y'know, the department stores on Earth. But, dimension wide...really really big, it's said that there are employees that reasonably won't see each other in their lifetimes, and entire bloodlines of people have worked here. A dimension wide store, to the likes the multiverse has never seen...nor will since they trademarked dimension wide stores. A common misconception some people tend to have is asking which Quest Buy™ people go, the one by the vortex or the one with the big parking lot; the truth is, both are in fact the proverbial "sides" of the Quest Buy™ people try to go.
Scholars from outside have been trying for centuries to understand the cryptic organization writing and "questspeak" from the native sloths, but the more it's studied the stronger the theory that only the natives possess the necessary brain structure to truly understand the writing of the ancient questbuy natives, that built the store from the deepest pits of the multiverse, all the way to the surface maze. It is said, in whispered legends, that the bottom level, the areas where the store started, are lost, the accesses to it long built on top by more store areas, and that the person that can find the bottom of it will find the vintage, classical Quest Buy™ items, even the legendary and...furtive, no expiration date 75% off Quest Buy™ products.
Every day some people try to decipher the maze-like structure, to find the hidden, forbidden sectors of the store, many of them wisening up and instead buying some chocolate and going on their way, but a very few of them give in to the insanity, to the whispers one can hear from department store gods coming from the ancient barcodes, and delve in the event horizon that is known...as the employee only doors. Without the proper preparation, and ID, one can be forever be lost and if they're lucky, found by one of the employees and guided back to the real world, where they will count their blessings, and swear never to lay a single step back in the store...until they return the next day, because there is no competition whatsoever and their explorer pickaxe need the QuestBuy™ Shine Lubricant™ for Maximum Shineness™.
And...to the poor folk, that in their arrogance, in their delusion, actually pick up the fire exit stairs...well, no one knows. Not even the employees. No one knows what sheer madness, horror, and expired products are within those ancient, unused sectors, except that every once in a while, one can hear the screams…
And, coincidentally, the Mystery Meat™ Stock is resupplied. QuestBuy™ guarantees anyone, Mystery Meat™ is not, by any means, made from People™.
How do I know all of this then? Well, it's from the employee's handbook, but anyway, let's start from the top! From...some moments after getting on it, that is.
- O -
Now, Jackie will always consider that adventure on the museum a taste of what is to come for her. Thrill, weirdness, weird people, thinking about her friends...payoffs and anticlimaxes. Especially the last, considering the context she is now; the...hub she was looking for was definitely not some sort of...department store. Jackie looks on the roof, a white medieval-fashioned brand proudly waving, the name probably wrote: Quest...buy?
Oh, she gets it! It's like a best buy, but with marginally spikier things. And people in armor, and...tentacles...and…
Okay, she now gets it. Department Store, dimensional, all paths of life go to a department store for something. Hub.
Life isn't a video game as she's very prone to say, the more things change the more they stay the same, great! Stars gather in her eyes, and she puts an effort to conceal a squeal of excitement, before cold reality grounds her..
That being said, however...she's the interdimensional hobo. Y'know, the kind of person that security tends to block by the entrance...she's not smelling bad, is she? A quick smell alleviates her worries, well that's one aspect crossed off...for now. Anyway, what is she to do here then?
I guess...look around? Wait for something...again? Well...might as well. Ignoring the odd stares of passing customers at the human blankly staring at a wall for minutes, she adjusts the straps of her belongings and heads inside the store per see.
Like last time, Jackie took the random method, looking around the shelves and silently wondering if this is some sort of LARP Paradise: On the walls, it's nothing but weapons, armors, some sort of potions like...substance things, as well as normal products like pills, but having that medieval twist. Huh, knowing here would be really useful when the next LARP Circle comes to Echo Creek Park this Sunday! Not...that she does LARP, of course. And...well, she won't be coming anyway, so the point is moot!
...look, she likes History. She is secretly trying not to squeal at the sight of actual, medieval-like swords that doesn't look complete video-game nonsense, thank you- "Oooh, a Gladius!" She gasps as she grasps one of the swords in the display, giving it some swings. Woah, heavier than she thought! She says, lifting it to eye level, getting a good look on it. You see, the reason the likes the gladius the most is because it's the most practical of swords, being used by the Roman Empire, cheap to produce yet sturdy and reliable, with a strong grip and base-
"Hey, you know, you shouldn't just blind swing a sword around!" A tomboyish voice passes by, carrying a cart...a red-haired, freckled girl passes by, stopping her cart and looking at Jackie. She raises her eyebrow at the...pile of things, but shrugs, giving a pleasant grin
"Just you know...checking the weight! It's...hmm, important to know how heavy a sword weights, it's taken into consideration it's...stabbing prowess?" Jackie does stabbing motions with an awkward smile; admittedly, knew better words than the ones she used there, but it's...kind of a habit. "A sword's components and heights are taken into consideration for the intensity of the swing, it's piercing capacities too, as well as the sharpness of the blade! A sharp sword doesn't need overly strong materials because a good cut doesn't require a lot of strength, just momentum and a soft enough material, while other swords like the ritualistic zweihander uses from the weight and the momentum of the user and the weapon for an intense cleavin-"
"...wow, you do talk a lot about swords." She mutters a bit, looking Jackie up a down in a new light.
Pause. "I just talked out loud, didn't I." She facepalms hard, rubbing the tip of her nose in frustration "Well yeah. Like...nerd talk, but actual cool. How do ya know so much, you're a squire too?" The redhead asks, some of the people around her looking at her a little hurriedly. She whispers to them something, and they shrug, giving thumbs up and dashing on their way.
"Today is Squire Blowout Sale, so we're really y'know, rushing to get the good stuff before the other squires. My friends there will cover me, get the stuff, so we get a little time y'know, talking. I'm really curious because you...don't really look like a squire. Or a warrior, really." The girl looks, analyzing Jackie, who just looks at her clothing with a small grimace.
"I'm...not. I'm...kind of a wanderer, you know. Going on the wind, seeing new sights, and...you know...discovering secret-"
"You ran away from home didn't you."
"I ran away from home, yeah."
The silence between the both of them is palpable...before Higgs herself starts giggling, and Jackie follows...soon enough, both of them are laughing loudly, holding on each other for support. It's...liberating, after her struggle of some hours ago, to simply have someone to laugh off at the absurdity of your situation, even if they lack the full context.
Whoever she is...she's a good person, Jackie can feel it. And Jackie has never been wrong about someone so far!
- X -
Marco looks entirely unamused, the polar opposite of Jackie. She's half amused, as Marco pierces pretty quick she ought to be aware of his less friendly terms with Higgs, and embarrassed over a simple revelation.
"So you were around...back when I was STARTING as a squire."
"In my defense, I didn't know you were even around!" She raises one finger, giggling awkwardly
"And you're friends with that...jerk!" He exclamates, and Jackie can't help but laugh...man, was Marco always this energetic?
Actually yeah, he was. She really did miss him.
"Higgs isn't so bad...she's just, y'know...passionate…" She tries to defend her, Marco's glare piercing through her "Okay, she's a bit of a jerk, but y'know...she never really meant any harm?" Her nervous grin gets bigger, as Marco looks more and more unamused.
"She consistently sabotaged, and called me a fake squire pretty much!"
"...okay she's a jerk but we went along."
Marco grumble and waving his hand told her she could continue the story
- X -
"So...why do you like this oversized knife so much?" She asks, pointing at it, with Jackie shrugs, looking at her., disengaging from their side support
"First of all...name?" She asks of her, friendly smile on her expression
"Higgs. You?"
"Jackie." She spins the blade on her hand...before letting it fall, thankfully on the floor, with a loud clang. Higgs give a small snort, and Jackie looks on the side, giggling " Anyway, you...know television?" She turns to Higgs, who just shakes her head "I've...read quite a bit, on history. Especially weapons that are old in my world...I personally prefer a halberd, range, and arc of swing, but a good strength of the Gladius, if you see…" She hands it over to Higgs, who also test swings it, humming in approval.
"That sword was used by an army of my homeworld that was like...tightly packed together, their shield formations were legendary! So they would, like, need to have shorter swords so they wouldn't be poking each other, as well as to carry on wide travels. Not only that but the nature of their shields, which were wide blocks!" She goes into full rambling mode, her inner history buff basically screaming with joy at the thought of someone actually being interested in this stuff and listening to her without knowing her..popularity before"Not only that, but longer swords were thinner, while the base of the Gladius is wider, so the chances of bending, even against armored adversaries!" She finishes her ramble, taking a huge breath…
"Yeah," She waves her hand, looking non-puzzled at her charade "but the range is absolute garbage...like I said, oversized knife." She scratches her head, doing the same flip that Jackie tried to do, but clearly successfully. The smirk she gives Jackie doesn't go unnoticed, the girl just laughing it up.
"Yeah, but if you're traveling and carrying a lot of things, carrying a weapon that doesn't weight a lot is quite good, isn't it?"
Higgs thinks, before shrugging "Just screams to be the person can't handle some weight, if you ask me. But year, I can see the...thing about bending. Not my thing though, I'm more of an...axe person, you know?" Jackie nods, letting the weapon back on the shelf, and shrugging again
They keep silent for a while, before Higgs nods, and turns to the direction in concentration "You're a nerd, but I met a way worse nerd today, so as far as I know you're ok in my list. If I see ya later today, we can talk more about weapons!"
Jackie blinks a bit...she's not a nerd!
Nonetheless, she waves as Higgs dashes off...blinking at the sheer speed. Huh, how unusual...nonetheless, it's nice to meet someone else that at least looks like a person! With a renewed for the third time spirit, Jackie heads up to the maze with a purpose in her stride, she's certain she'll find something!
- O -
She's lost.
This place is really, really like one of those mega department stores on Earth, but so, so much worse. The guiding boards are in a language she can't understand, cleaning products are paired up with "dirtying" products, products like dragon shampoo, invisible carriages, and many, many other products.
She knows she's not walking in circles because to her faint horror, every shelf has a different product...so she's walking in circles, but not the same circles. There's no pattern, there's no sense! She swears that, by the camping products, she actually saw a small community…
Jackie even tried to approach, but they were wearing tribal costumes and masks, and when she got closer, they started screaming, and throwing toy tomahawks at her, so she ran away; not that it stopped there, she heard the war cries as the natives ran after her with their improvised spears that were more like brooms really, insanity and bloodlust in her eyes.
She was considerably more afraid of them than the Yarn creature. Anyway, her blind running finally took her...somewhere. Some sort of...bulletin board. Or at least she thinks because they didn't use pins for the boards, but arrows. And the back of the board is actually an arrow target. Nonetheless, it's the first source of information around here that Jackie ever had so far, and…
Are that English symbols! Even better!
She approaches it eagerly, freezing for a moment as she hears the faint, distant battle cries of the tribals of clean, sighing in relief as they disperse. She's safe...for now.
She tears off the paper and wastes no time in reading the contents...even if it's useless, it's at least stimulant for the brain you know?
"Help wanted…"
Welp, she's already interested.
"Help wanted: Questbuy Delivery Service looking for body able, scissor owning individuals for delivery of packages across the Multiverse. Must be between one month and three millennia old, no sloths nor individuals with less than two limbs allowed. Method of transportation preferable. Payment to be discussed.
Septarians need not apply. Please don't."
Perhaps at a point, Jackie would consider and rationalize that hey, this is simply a glorified Department Store; that she frankly ran away from home, from the normalcy and low expectations of Echo Creek to do like any low-income teenager do, and get a part-time at a department store! The only difference being that, hey, it's low wage part-time job in another dimension, but she doesn't have any scholarship back home. Or a home really.
Is...this her adventure really? Going from a reality...to the same reality?
She would probably keep in this spiraling line of thoughts weren't the fact that her stomach is rumbling quite hard, she has no money, or a roof to sleep under. Everyone needs somewhere to start, right? No shame in that. Taking off the wanted poster from the arrow, she pockets it, and returns her aimless walk with a renewed purpose...no to find an employee of this department store, and be directed for the interview…
She isn't dressed sharply, she is still a bit sweaty from the running in the museum, she's carrying her stuff around and give her some days, she'll probably be looking like a hobo.
Dressed for Success! Now, she just needs to find how the employees of this store look...her blind wanderings are finally rewarded, by seeing a sloth mopping up some goo from the floor. She ignores the fact the goo clearly has eyes, out of sight out of m- did she just make a pun-
"Good...hmm...Afternoon! I think" She approaches, winning smile and relaxed expression, waving...mentally, going through all the checks she ever did to approach someone: Smile, Wave, relaxed posture, after all the first impression is the most important one!
The Janitor turns to Jackie...and her smile simply drops. Yet again her charm fails is her thought as she keeps staring at the employee, and Jackie feels cold...but for once, not from herself. This man looks like he's seen death itself, and it voided all of its inner yards; she quickly stops looking into his eyes, for she feared to glance at the abyss itself...it's slouch position, head tilted downwards, and complete silence. She lets her arms hang, and even by his sheer presence she already feels the sweet...sweet embrace of death.
"Hello, welcome to QuestBuy, how may I help you" His eye twitches, his voice a silent monotone, of a veteran whose mind isn't even there anymore. Jackie...feels limp. She's putting actual effort to even stand up, the pressure of the Janitor's Depression such that it's actively hard to even bother speaking…
Why would she, there's no intrinsic point in life, we'll all die rotting in this carcass, life is meaningless, she-
"Who...do I talk...to get the...job…?" Her teeth is gritting against itself, her knees shaking...she wants to get away, her legs won't move...she falls on the side of the product shelf, gripping it with all her strength, the anchor to reality.
"I don't know. I guess...left. You'll find someone...even if there's not a point. This job sucks so much…" He continues, to Jackie's horror. She could feel the sweet nothings, her legs stretching as if devoured by an unseen entity, as her thoughts faded more and more. She needs to find a way to escape, to breathe...it's blacking out, she feels the embrace...she needs to escape, she needs to escape!
With a loud groan, she pushes the products off the shelves, not caring whatever it is that she just damaged, but it must be something! The oppressive aura around Jackie lets up for a moment, undoubtedly because of the surprise the Janitor felt...for a moment, Jackie's legs work again and she doesn't waste time before running on the opposite direction, as far as she could, not looking back for even a moment…
It's official, she'll never be a Janitor. She never felt such a dense, black hole of any positive emotion as that individual!
Were she to look back, she would see the Janitor simply slowly shake his head before starting to clean the remains of the jar of pickles that rude customer threw on the ground...before the formless eyed dirt tackled on him, it's unholy screeches only making Jackie run faster and faster. Maybe it's for the better if she thinks that this is the janitor's screams of rage, at least it would make her feel he felt anything besides sadness.
- O -
Truth be told, Jackie didn't knew where she was going. The last minute felt like a blur of shoving people on the side, corridors, intercom callings and odd shapes and odder people..it seems to be a trend for her, isn't it? Running away from things...can't even face them like a proper person should.
Then again...he was roaring really loud. You never know with these beasts around!
By the time Jackie finally calmed down, her surroundings have changed quite a bit...gone were the damp, cavernous feeling of the shop, the sounds of intercoms...instead there is an oppressive, light grey corridor with grey brick paths, something akin to a dungeon; the paths are illuminated by lamps, although some of these lamp spots seem to have been replaced by actual torches...the jarring transition wasn't lost on her, who simply blinks, and paps her lips
"...eh?" She runs her hand around the walls of the corridor, feeling the dampness of the walls...it's really bizarre as if she suddenly crossed through a portal with her dimensional scissors...she didn't do that, did she? Her hand reaches to the back, where she tied up her scissors and brings it up to her eye level…
Now, thinking calmly...that's impossible. She doesn't know any place besides this store and the museum, and if it was the museum, she's pretty sure she would be dead by now, the thoughts of remembering what became of the yarn monster as quickly pushed to the back of her head as she humanly can; so...this is still QuestBuy. She rubs the moisture with her fingers, frowning a bit…
"It's warm…" She stretches a bit, rubbing her hand on the walls again, quizzical expression on her face...well, exploration. Adventure. Isn't that kind of what she's looking for, anyway?
Even if it, so far, has ended kinda disastrously for her, also every single time? Nonetheless, she perseveres, going down the hallway...the more she walks, however, the more this...foreboding feeling climbs up the back of her neck, and the darker the walls seem to be...are they closing?
She hears a growl...coming from the distance, freezing her steps. "Another beast?" She raises her torch in the direction of the darkness, squinting her eyes...and blinking. There is, at least as far as she sees, some sort of white orb, floating...like a small lamp, amidst the dark. No...not the dark, well dark but some sort of...waves? Like an orb, floating amongst the dark...enticing, really. She can hear the sound of waves, crashing softly against the walls, as if the corridor was flooded...maybe it is, maybe that is the why of the moisture…
A faint, salty breeze hits her face, the call of the waves almost intoxicating...she starts moving towards it, hypnotically so...she can even hear a faint whisper, a claw at her back, rubbing her shoulder and pulling...until a pull on the opposite direction breaks completely her momentum, leaving her spread on the floor. A single sloth, one of the workers...no, the same one that she tried to escape earlier is still holding to her left arm, looking at jack completely terrified. But, for once, she doesn't feel the same aura…
She's also terrified. She doesn't express that outwardly much, but internally, as she regains her senses, she really tries to comprehend what really happened...there. What was there...a sea? Why did she think the wall was moist, the walls are very much dry. The sound of the sea and waves are completely gone, only the faint cracking of the flame distinguishable from the corridor's silence…
"What...what was that…?" She finally asks, her voice heavy, but for different reasons besides the Janitor's presence...he keeps silent, simply pulling her over, a hand over her shoulder, and shakily both of them move away…
"In this store...in this place, there are secrets...monsters...discounted products that are beyond the scope of us, mere mortals, to truly comprehend. It's better to let it go, leave it to the Janitors."
"I...just want a job. This place is crazy…" She finally finishes, being able to walk on her own, chuckling. The sloth shrugs, and walks "If you go to the otherside, looking for a door of management...just...y'know, don't blame me if you get the job...it's really rough." He finishes. Jackie nods and starts going the other way, thankful for the now dry, moisture-less air inside this corridor...maybe the sloth tried to act cool and walk away, but she's still a person and easily catch up and goes past him. He looks at her, and she just shrugs, before continuing her path…
This place is...creepy. Scary really... a perfect place to start. Her parents would be so upset she would "lower" herself to department store duty...well, this place has eldritch nightmares and violent tribes! You don't get it at Walmart!
As the fear fades, the tiredness begins to seep...wow, that was a lot of action for a day, huh...she's starting to feel her legs burning a but, she really should find a place to sleep.
...you kind of do, in retrospect. Black Fridays are scary. Oh well, parallels, now where's the management…
- O -
Yet again, the scenario changed quite a bit for Jackie: Brickstone walls and existential dread gave way to dull greys, slowly spinning fans, uncomfortable chairs, the faint smell of...eucalyptus? Nonetheless, she transitioned from medieval-modern to medieval-medieval and now...modern-modern. But not the modern really modern, because this felt more akin to those eighties waiting rooms, with posters, and complete blandness. She tries picking up one of the magazines to pass the time, but they collapse into dust the moment she even touched them...she would have looked surprised, but frankly, the past experiences made her a bit numb out of oddities overall. Instead, she decides to simply look at the roof, count the ants moving on it and wait for her to be called. She hasn't been waiting long really, maybe five to seven minutes. But it's...so...so dull. The adrenaline from the other calls on the day finally run out, leaving her exhausted...maybe if she closes her eyes for one moment, they will wake her up. Yes, a little nap.
As Jackie gets ready to finally lay down, however, she hears her name being called by the front receptionist. Her view is slightly hazy, but she pushes herself off of the chair, heading towards her, yawning. The sloth looks at her, up and down, and then points to the left, a corridor with many doors, the final one being PR. She gets the clue, and nods wordlessly. How many hours has it been since she left home? Pulling the sleeve of the jacket, she checks her wrist clock, Justin from Love Sentence's face staring at her with a dreamy expression.
5:37 pm. It's been, like, 9 hours since she left home. She shouldn't be this tired, how weird…
Pushing the PR's door open, she faces what is another sloth...this one looking older, the brown fur being a silvery white, an even more tired expression and a suit. They trade a stare off for a while, Jackie suppressing another yawn, and trying to straighten out her sleeves, before sitting on the chair. The boss, she presumes, pulls up some papers...which she's pretty sure it isn't hers because she gave no papers. Like, at all.
She's pretty sure that's not how interviews work on Earth.
He clears his throat…"Alright, you're hired." And gets up, and moves to leave, Jackie still having a blank expression on her face, the information slowly processing on her brain…
That's...not how interviews work.
Whatever. She's tired. Getting up, she drags herself to the receptionist, the sloth female again, staring at her emotionlessly. Jackie gives a grin, trying her hardest to not fall asleep here and there, the struggle of the day clearly taking a weight out of her…
"Hmm...do you...know a...place where I can sleep. Y'know, my home-"
She doesn't even finish the sentence before a key is slammed on the table in front of Jackie, waking her up lightly...the sloth stares deep in her soul, before shaking her head, looking at her with a pitiful gaze. Jackie takes the keys and the Sloth points this time to the right, a corridor written "Employee's Resting Rooms.". Well…
I guess they're used to her situation. She would silently wonder about the employee's rights if that was the case, but whatever. Dragging herself, opening the door of her room. There's definitely some details, but she'll look to them later. Identifying the closest thing that looks like a bed, Jackie throws herself to it, her body almost immediately shutting down
- X -
"That was kind of anti-climatic" Marco points out, both of them walking side by side, each one holding a Cotton Candy. She takes a small bite out of hers, humming in pleasure…
"You get used to it, really...anti-climaxes. Life just likes to throw you off in loops and hoops and joops and…" She pauses a bit, laughing. "You get the deal" She turns to him, grinning before that grin slowly morphs into a frown, Marco's expression having a smile, but there was...something else.
"You're...kind of upset I didn't talk to you back then, huh"Jackie's voice lowers a bit, taking another bite of her cotton candy.
"...Kind of. Like, I...understand! Of course, you were busy and...didn't really know I was around. But, at the same time...I did hurt you. I swore I wouldn't be the croissant boy, but you did the same thing I did mostly because I would just flaunt and flaunt without ever considering what you thought of it!" He finally vents, taking a breathe as he words it all in one go. Jackie keeps silent for a bit, patting him on the back with a small smile.
"You couldn't know, I couldn't know. You were always kind of dense, dude" Jackie jokingly adds, taking another bite of her sugary treat.
"You're not any better…" He adds without thinking, before biting his tongue, and readying an apology to Jackie, who just laughs it off.
"I'm not, I'm really not any better. We both screwed it up, what can we do?" She shrugs amicably
"I guess…" He says, half-heartedly...Jackie bites her lips, trying to think of a way to defuse the awkward situation.
"Hey, whyyy...don't you tell me about how was your day there?" Before I continue mine?" She smiles, punching his shoulder, another wince coming from him...but at least he smiles, and starts telling his own side of the day.
On the other side of the Arcade, a portal opens, a green-haired girl passing through it, smiling in nostalgically, before calling…
"Marcoooo...Marcoooo?" She starts walking around, trying to find the red-hooded teen.
And that's a chapter! Don't forget to rate 'n review!