Jake slowly sat up. The ringing in his ears and the heavy, pressing feeling on his head made him groan, pressing a hand against his forehead. Needless to say, the hard bench he was resting on made him realise he wasn't just waking up in the morning from his soft bed like usual.

A sudden nausea washed over him, making him gag, and for a moment he wondered if this was a hangover, until he turned and realised he had an audience. Peter and Justin glared at him from… The other side of the metal bars?

His eyes widened when he glanced around the cell he was in, eyes still adjusting to the light,

"W-What am I doing here?"

"You know exactly what you did." Justin spat, scaring the man with how fierce he was. "Now tell us why you hurt Sportacusster and where he is, or you're in for it."

Breath hitching, Jake shakily got to his feet and moved over to the bars, gripping onto them to hold himself stable,

"P-Sportacus is hurt? I would never do such a thing!" He replied boldly, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Liar. Everyone saw you selling us out."

"I just- I just can't believe you would do such a thing, traitor!" Peter shouted, making him flinch.

Jake watched them in devastation. He felt utterly sick. Something was very wrong here.

(Two hours ago.)

Constant faint scratching sounds filled Jake's ears as he sluggishly filled out yet another form with his pen. With the hours carrying on and despite his non-stop work, it felt like the stack of papers wasn't getting any smaller. He desperately wanted to call it a day and go back to bed.

A small flicker in the corner of his eye made him glance up wearily. He slowly blinked and looked back over at the papers with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes gently.

Everything was silent for a moment, until that moment passed and stiff air rapidly shifted and became a lot hotter. It made his eyes crack open slightly, especially when several shivers were sent down his spine, making him tense up. Hot weather shouldn't do that.

His face scrunched up in thought, eyebrows pushed together and his lips forming a thin line. That was odd. The thermostat hadn't been changed at all. And the only thing that made him react like this was…

His chair was abruptly knocked backwards, and through his shock he managed to avoid slamming his head on the ground. Yet the action still shook him enough so that when a certain flaring fire ghost burst through his table, he could only stare with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

"How- W-What are you doing here?!" The poor president tried to sit up, only to be shoved back down by Nicholas Biscuit, who grinned.

This wasn't right. Nicholas Biscuit would never come here by himself, what was he doing?

"I've decided to take matters into my own hand, you fool. No one will like you by the time I'm through with you." He spat.

Jake crawled backwards, only to have his back hit the wall,

"What- What are you going to do?!" He quivered, chest tightening.

"Telling you would be too kind." Nicholas Biscuit chuckled, shooting forward towards him.

Not being able to do anything, Jake gave a muffled shout as his brother suddenly took control of his body. It was an odd feeling to explain, his eyes rolled backwards and he felt his vision slip, as if his soul was being replaced by another and was shoved to the back somewhere. It was dark and suddenly he couldn't feel anything anymore.

The man promptly fell lifelessly to the ground, the room going quiet.

Scattered papers surrounded him on the floor, and he would've been devastated at the mess, if only he had been awake to see it.

And yet in one swift movement without hesitation, his eyes shot open. His glowing blue pupils sharply gleamed against the ground, and he grinned.

"I promise to you that I have no idea what happened!" Jake's grip tightened on the bars. The twisting feeling in his stomach was not getting any better, and he couldn't help but gag as the nausea rose once more. "I can't… I can't remember anything…" His eyes squeezed shut as he tried to pull anything from his mind, but it was no use.

All he could think about was the paperwork. There were hours of it. A-And something about a broken thermostat? No, that wasn't right, it- it was just really hot and…

It was no use, nothing came to mind.

Peter crossed her arms,

"And why should we believe you? After that monstrous stunt you pulled…" Her breath hitched. It was just so difficult to believe someone so kind could do such a horrible thing. Someone they thought they knew for so long.

"He must've hit his head really hard, if he can't remember anything." Justin rolled his eyes.

Despite their words, the two couldn't help but notice the crumpled demeanour of the man. They had witnessed themselves what he had mercilessly done to Sportacus, and it had been so out of character, it was terrifying. But this? This was back to the president they knew.

Jake's voice came in a cracked whisper,

"Did… Did I really hurt Sportacus…?"

The kids exchanged glances for a second,

"Well… Yeah. Are you seriously telling us you actually don't remember anything?" Their voices were much softer now, as they could tell the poor man was fighting tears.

Admittedly, they had reacted so harshly before because they feared the man they would confront now would be the same as before, yet… Well, Jake seemed to be different again, but they couldn't put their finger on what was wrong.

He sniffed softly and shook his head, using the back of his hand to wipe his eye. How could he do something so awful and not remember anything? Sportacus meant so much to him, and to find out from others that he had hurt him…?

Maybe he really was a monster.

Slowly exhaling, Peter scrunched her hand into a fist and looked over at her friend,

"You know as well as I do that this is all strange. Perhaps we should go over everything that happened and try to figure out what's wrong."

Justin nodded and gave her a thumbs up, while Jake slowly looked up at them. For a moment his tears slowed and he had never felt so grateful for someone giving him a second shot… Even though he couldn't remember what he did in the first place.

"So it all started when you called us to your office..."

"Is everything alright sir?"

Jake looked up at Sportacus, who had just ran into his office in the Round House, and smiled,

"Oh, yes, nothing to worry about." He waved his hand reassuringly. "I called you because I was wondering if you'd like to join me on a walk?"

Sportacus faltered, and at that moment Peter and Justin entered.

"What's wrong, Mr. President?" Justin questioned.

Instead of responding, Sportacus moved forward, face brightening,

"You want me to spend time with you…? Of course! I'd love to! S-Sir." He quickly added in at the end, hands flapping happily. Jake's schedule was usually so Sportacusked, it just meant so much to him that he would make room despite that to hang out together.

His friends relaxed at the fact that there was no threat, and watched as Sportacus dashed forward to quickly hug the man, like he normally did. Sportacus and Jake had quickly gotten close, with Sportacus looking up to the other and the other doing his best to protect him from dangers, it was sweet to see how much they cared about each other.

That was why when Jake immediately tensed up at the action and moved backwards, the three teens were shocked.

"What are you doing?" The president hissed, pushing the teen's hand away.

Brows furrowing, Sportacus stared at him,

"Sorry, we just… We usually…"

"I don't care, just don't let it happen again." Jake pointed at him, watching as he scrunched up and moved away.

"Sorry sir…" The teen whispered, feeling horrible. It wasn't often that Jake disapproved of him, so rare that it literally never happened. So now that it did… Well, it stung.

Peter glared at the president, not understanding why he would be so rude. Other than her firm stare, she didn't dare say anything against him. Perhaps he was just in a bad mood. But even then he would politely tell the others that he wasn't feeling very well.

Eyes trailing away from the two, she stopped at the messy floor behind Jake's desk. It caused her to raise an eyebrow as she moved to the desk,

"What happened over here?" The papers all over the floor were crumpled, looking like they had been stamped on repeatedly and carelessly.

Jake glanced over and quickly resumed his friendly appearance,

"Oh, that was just an accident! I uh… Fell. And then… I didn't have time to clean everything up? Whatever, paperwork sucks anyways, which is exactly why I want to go on a walk! To get away from this."

Peter studied it for a bit longer and frowned. She knew the president didn't like paperwork, but he never complained about it. He would often say that he wished he could have some time off, but he knew all his work was important. Maybe she was being too critical. If he was stressed, it was obvious he was going to act differently.

"We can accompany you as well, Mr. Prez. For extra protection." Justin grinned.

Jake groaned, staring at him,

"I already have a large detail following me, as if I need a child to protect me…" He paused for a moment, thinking, leaving the others in shock. Then again, a larger audience would suit his plan better, even if they might put a wrench in his plans. "Fine, you two can accompany me. But at a distance."

They nodded, but couldn't help but feel insulted. Since when did the president think that they weren't able to protect him?

"So you're telling me I had papers all over the floor and didn't bother to pick it up?" Jake raised an eyebrow from behind the bars of his cell. "Why would I do that?"

Peter and Justin leaned against the wall, growing tired of standing around,

"We assumed you were tired and needed some fresh air, that's why you were going on your walk." They shrugged, although they both admittedly felt rather silly.

"But… I never go on walks." The man shuffled over to the bench and slowly sat down, hand hovering over his stomach for a moment before he held down on it. "They're a waste of time with all the work I have to do."

"We didn't want to upset Sportacusster…" Justin watched him closely.

"Is everything alright sir?" Peter questioned.

He closed his eyes and offered a smile,

"Oh, I'm just… Not feeling that well. I'm sure it's alright though, nothing to worry about of course."

Peter raised an eyebrow. It was just like she had thought before, here was the polite man who told the others to excuse his behaviour because he felt sick,

"Did you by any chance, I don't know… Encounter a ghost any time today?" It would make sense. The sudden change of behaviour. The lack of memory. Maybe even the fact that he felt sick, but that would've been normal in his situation even if her 'theory' wasn't true.

Jake carefully shook his head, opening his eyes,

"... No, I'm pretty sure I would remember a thing like that." No matter how much he racked his brain, nothing turned up. It was so irritating to have a small part of your life be locked away. He needed to know more about what happened.

"Tell me more," the president said. "Maybe I'll remember."

Jake scowled as several passersby waved to him, and he glanced back over at Sportacus instead as if making sure he was still there. All these Sportacusworlders were too cheerful, it was as if they didn't care at all about what dangers lurked in the Netherworld.

"Are you alright?" Sportacus seemed to snap him out of his state, making his face relax.

"Sorry, what? I wasn't- I wasn't paying attention." Blinking, he looked behind him to see a few of his security guards, plus the lemon-head's two pals. He needed an audience, but with this many people he wondered if he would still be able to pull off the plan.

"You were staring at me. Did I do something wrong?" The teen's eyebrows furrowed together while he looked up at him with soft eyes.

Jake's breath hitched, words caught in his mouth. The first thing he wanted to do was lie and relax the little brat, but at the same time he felt the urge to scream at him at every single thing he did that bothered him. Of course the kid did something wrong, he wouldn't stop defending the stupid city!

"Listen, Mr. President… I don't think I want to go on this walk anymore." Whispering, Sportacus stopped walking and gazed down at his shoes, feet tapping repetitively. "I- I thought maybe you wanted to hang out or something, but… I don't know anymore." He listened to the tapping, hoping that the man wouldn't be too mad.

"No!" Jake shouted, startling the poor kid. "You are staying right here, understood?" He hissed.

Sportacus whipped his head up,

"But- but I just-"

This annoying kid was just getting on his nerves now. Jake suddenly shoved him to the ground, shouting aloud for everyone to hear,

"I have had enough of you, you hear me?! All of this is your fault, if you had just not done anything and let Nicholas Biscuit rule, I, President Jake , wouldn't be forced to help my brilliant brother!" He emphasised on several words that made everyone stop and stare.

Sportacus stared up at him in horror, as Jake grinned and snapped his fingers. A slugcam from nearby squinted, and a portal hastily opened up beside them.

The guards behind the two pointed their PSCs up in the air as dozens of ghosts shot out, swarming the area. They were torn up between protecting the president, who had just admitted aloud he was working for Nicholas Biscuit, or helping capture the ghosts.

Peter and Justin tried to reach their friend, only to be blinded by slime, tossed in their eyes by several spectres.

"W-What are you doing?!" Sportacus shouted as Jake reached out and picked him up by his collar. The kid didn't actually realise how strong the other was until this moment, where he had tears in his eyes and his feet had been lifted from the ground.

"Stupid Sportacus-pest." He spat in a low voice. "Don't you get it by now? I've never liked you. You've always bothered me, but I won't take it anymore." He carefully slipped the berry dispenser out of the boy's pocket and into his own. "Now I strongly suggest you tell me- I mean- tell Lord Nicholas Biscuit where the Repository is, or suffer his punishments. Your choice." He grinned, tossing the boy into the portal. The yellow orb's devastated face was the last thing he saw as he disappeared.

The ghosts noted that Sportacus had been taken and quickly dashed back through the portal. All part of the plan Nicholas Biscuit had come up with and instructed them with.

"Traitor!"

"How could you…?"

"That was Sportacus-man!"

Jake spun around to face the fuming Sportacusworlders, face dropping as he resumed his act of the scared man. To be honest, he actually felt a little intimidated at how many furious people there were around. Who knew so many people would be mad at him for selling out their little hero.

Several security guards turned to glare at him,

"President Jake, you are under arrest for treason towards Sportacusworld and-" A guard was cut off as he tried to reach out and grab him, but he was effortlessly knocked to the side.

Jake paused for a moment, looking down at his own fists. It kind of made his face drop in realisation of how strong he was. It was just a massive relief to him that the green man was normally too scared to fight, or he was pretty sure he would be able to destroy all of his plans.

"Resisting arrest! Get him!"

Jake didn't get the opportunity to say anything as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a few people. As he hit the ground, he slipped into unconsciousness as a certain ghost decided to leave the place, unknown to anyone else.

Justin and Peter simply watched in disbelief. It made no sense at all, since when had Jake felt that his brother should take over? Perhaps all the stress of keeping the world safe had finally gotten to him and he decided it was easier to surrender than to continue trying…

And they couldn't do anything about it.

"No, no, I would never do that!" Jake pressed, a terrified look on his face. "I would never give up, not after all I've been through, especially not for the sake of Sportacus!"

"And that's what I've been thinking about," Peter sighed. "It just doesn't make any sense. But everyone saw you! Everyone saw how anguished Sportacus was…" She closed her eyes as she recalled her friend's face during the time. Never had any of them seen the teen suffer this much about anything before.

The girl picked her head up as Jake started gagging,

"I can't-" He tried to breathe through his nose, but it didn't seem to work.

Peter's nose scrunched up in disgust at the slimy white goo that splattered onto his hands as he hurled. The poor man tried to apologise through shaky breaths and managed to cough what he hoped was the last of it out. It was awful to touch and even worse to smell.

Justin's eyes widened,

"Woah," he muttered after he was sure the other was done. "I'll go grab some towels."

"I… I'm sorry, I tried holding it…" Jake groaned, glad the queasy feeling had died down a lot.

"No, no, don't apologise, it's not your fault…" As much as it was gross to look at, her eyes stopped at the slime and her face dropped. "It's- it's not your fault!" She repeated, face brightening.

He slowly looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed,

"P-Pardon?"

"Sir, don't you see? It means you were possessed! The memory loss, the slime, the change of attitude! And the white slime…" She frowned. "Nicholas Biscuit. That's where Sportacus must be, the castle."

Justin walked in and handed the man a towel through the bars,

"So Nicholas Biscuit possessed his own brother? Nasty."

"As much as I want to say it's shocking…" Spheros exhaled, cleaning up the slime down with the towel. "It doesn't surprise me. But how are we supposed to save Sportacus?"

They thought for a moment before Peter's face brightened,

"Check your pocket."

"Pardon?"

"Just do it." Justin nodded, understanding what she was going for.

Awkwardly patting himself down, the president's eyes widened as he pressed on something that stuck out. His eyes widened as he pulled out Sportacus's berry dispenser, while the other two teens grinned.

"What is this doing in my pocket?" His face dropped at the realisation Sportacus was defenceless.

"I saw you-" Peter's voice hitched and she shook her head. "I saw Nicholas Biscuit slip it into your pocket. He must've thought you wouldn't know it was there, or at least done his best to get it away from Sportacus without anyone else realising."

"We- We have to get this to him!" He held it out, and Justin took it, before sighing.

The two slowly exchanged looks,

"Sorry sir, but as much as we would like for you to join us… It would probably be best if it's just us who go."

"But I need to get to Sportacus and explain everything to him!" He leaned against the bars again, pleading with the other two.

"Don't worry, we'll tell him it wasn't you, but you know as well as we do that you can just leave from jail." Peter winced, trying to avoid the fact that the other times they had brought the president along he had been a large crying, screaming mess. "P-Plus we wouldn't want to put the president in danger."

Jake's gaze softened, and he sighed, closing his eyes. He just wanted to be there in person for Sportacus, because from all that he had heard, the teen was feeling especially vulnerable right now. But another part of him told him it was irrational to jump into danger without any help.

"You're right." He muttered. "... Promise me you'll bring him back safe?"

The two nodded,

"Count on it." No way were they going to let themselves, the president, and the entirety of Sportacusworld down. They only had one chance at this, so they had to give it all they had.

Sportacus couldn't deal with Nicholas Biscuit's insistent nagging for much longer. He placed two hands over his ears and closed his eyes, hoping that by some miracle it would be able to drown out his shrieking voice.

The muffled yelling still gnawed at him, but now his thoughts seemed to trail back to the events of not even an hour ago. He wanted everything to be silent, he didn't want to think about the president anymore. He wanted to be alone.

How could someone he thought he knew so well just decide to give him up? He had thought he finally found someone to care for him like a… Like a father , and he just abandoned him.

Maybe he should just give up.

What was the point if his parents hadn't stuck around, and the president had thought he was too much of a burden? Maybe it was a sign telling him that all this was pointless.

Nicholas Biscuit flew up to the cage where Sportacus was sitting, knees held up to his chest, and scowled,

"Do you hear me?! Tell me where the Repository is, or I'll make you suffer! I'll make you all suffer! If you don't say anything, I'll send ghost troops up there to take over Sportacusworld because it's not like my snivelling sibling or you can do anything to stop it!" He yelled childishly, tossing miscellaneous items to the ground in a rage, followed by Buttler, who let out an 'oof' as he splattered onto the floor.

"No." Sportacus shot, hands still over his ears. That ghost was just the worst.

"Why you- After everything I did to plan this; the possessing, the portal, the ghosts, and you stubbornly refuse?! Ugh, and to think I even possessed my sickening kin." He shuddered at the thought.

"I'm not the stubborn one." He called out, then unblocked his ears. There was no point in trying if it didn't work. Wait, but what was he talking about possessing his kin? As in his…

His brother.

The ghost screeched and spun around, tossing fireballs from his burning hands, hitting everything but the cage.

Sportacus watched with wide eyes, feeling his heart pounding. Jake had been possessed.

He had been possessed !

His excited mind couldn't stop going over the word his legs quickly bounced as he couldn't control the grin spreading over his face.

But wait, that wouldn't matter if he couldn't escape. He needed to get to him because he wanted to apologise for even believing that act for one second. Once his mind went over it, he wanted to curse himself for being so silly and not realising how obvious it was.

There was no way Nicholas Biscuit could ever match up to Jake.

"Hey hot head!" Sportacus whistled, waving his arm.

This caused Betryaus to whip around and in his haste, slam a fireball straight into the cage. Face dropping, the raging ghost suddenly came to a full stop as the teen stepped out of the wrecked cage.

"Don't- Don't you dare!" The cowardly ghost squealed, flying backwards.

"I can't believe you did this. You tricked me!" Sportacus's fist clenched. He just felt something snap inside as he glared at the other.

"And I would do it again!" Nicholas Biscuit frowned, giving a small firm nod. "It was all worth ruining his reputation as a goody two shoes, and making your life miserable! Now tell me where the Repository is!"

"No, I don't think so." He leapt forward, mouth open in an attempt to gulp down Nicholas Biscuit.

The spectre dashed out of the way and grinned,

"Think again, lemon head. Without your power berries, you can't do anything." Rapidly tossing a fireball directly at him, Sportacus couldn't dodge out of the way in time to be struck by the blow.

He tumbled to the ground and groaned tiredly. His heavy arms tried to push himself back up, but it was no use. Perhaps Nicholas Biscuit was right.

"And we think you should think again!" Another voice called out.

Sportacus turned his head and his face brightened at the sight of his friends. It was reassuring to know that they would risk themselves to come and help him.

"Catch Sportacusster!" Justin tossed the berry dispenser over, and Sportacus caught it, quickly gulping down a berry.

The teen floated up and smirked at how instantly Nicholas Biscuit shrivelled up. He had to admit, the berry made it a lot easier to breathe down here, and it boosted his confidence.

"No!" The man screeched, moving backwards slowly. "Fine, leave! I- I won't let you gobble me up and spit out my eyeballs!" He cried aloud and quickly dashed into a wall, wiggling away.

Sportacus quickly turned to his two friends and beamed,

"Guys! Thank you so much for those, I'm so glad you came to help! Where'd you find my berries?" He flew forward and wrapped them in a tight hug, taking in a slow deep breath to savour the moment.

"Always Sportacus." Peter smiled. "The president actually gave them to us. I'm glad we got to you just in time with them, Nicholas Biscuit seemed to be gaining the upper hand since you didn't have your berries."

"He was wrong, I don't just need my power berries, I need my friends." Sportacus offered a toothy grin, which the other two smiled warmly at.

"Oh, speaking of the prez," Justin added. "We really need to tell you, that wasn't really him you were talking with before! It was Nicholas Biscuit, he possessed him!"

The yellow teen nodded,

"Yeah, I just found that out. I feel so bad I didn't realise…"

"You really shouldn't." Peter spoke. "We didn't notice either until it was too late, but it's not our fault. It can be really difficult to tell!"

"Yeah, don't be so harsh on yourself!" Justin nudged him with his elbow. "In fact, the prez was really torn up about it, even if it wasn't his fault either. C'mon, we have to show him that you're alright!"

It made Sportacus feel his chest tighten. Jake was worried about him? He needed to get there as quickly as possible to show him that he was alright! No time to waste!

Sportacus gave a firm nod and the three rushed out of the castle.

"Really sir, look, Sportacus is fine!" Justin gestured to his friend for the guard at the jail to see.

"Yeah and besides, it wasn't actually the president who had given him to the ghosts, it was really Nicholas Biscuit who had possessed him!" Peter added.

"So could you please, please, please let him go?" Sportacus clasped his hands together and looked up at them with the roundest eyes he could muster.

They slowly blinked, staring down at the shorter teens and rubbed the back of their neck,

"I- I can't…"

"What? B-But please, it wasn't his fault!" Sportacus exclaimed, now worried that he would be trapped in jail forever.

"No, I mean, I can't let him out because he was already released." They explained, lowering their arm.

It went quiet for a moment as the three exchanged looks. Well, they weren't complaining that Jake was let out of jail, but Sportacus had only just arrived back in the city, so how did they know to release the man?

"On whose authority?" Peter questioned.

The guard shrugged,

"That's above my pay grade. B-But I can tell you that he left for the Round House." They offered a small smile. It was difficult being helpful when they truly didn't know what was going on.

Sportacus nodded,

"Thank you so much! C'mon guys!"

The three began sprinting towards the Round House. There were no tubes that took them directly there, so sprinting on barefoot was probably their quickest method to getting there.

The yellow teen was so excited to go and see him, that it was getting difficult for Peter and Justin to keep up.

By the time they had made it, the security guards allowed them to enter, and they started zipping through the corridors. His friends had never seen Sportacus go quite as fast as he did now without power berries, not even when there was food.

The office doors were already wide open, looking as if they had been slapped open, when they reached it and the place had been completely trashed. Sportacus almost tripped over his feet when he saw the state of the room, wondering if Jake was alright.

The man stood in the centre of the room with his back turned to them, hunched over in anger,

"Why isn't it in here, you idiot?!" He shouted at himself, flipping the desk over with ease.

"What's going on?" Sportacus called out, making the man tense up.

Head slowly turning over his shoulder, a wide grin spread across Jake's face and his eyes glowed a bright blue. This time he would get what he wanted. He wasn't going to pretend to be that coward anymore.

"Nicholas Biscuit." The two glared at him, while Sportacus stared at him in horror. Not again.

This is why Jake was gone, it was why Nicholas Biscuit had slipped away. The ghost had taken him and was now tearing up his office. He couldn't see Jake doing those awful things again. It wasn't him, he knew that, but it just… It was hard to tell himself that because it was him

"Where is the Repository?" Not sparing any time, Jake's voice shouted, but it was mixed with the furious yell of Nicholas Biscuit. Their bodies had to be in here somewhere.

"Like we'd tell you." Justin scoffed, crossing his arms.

The man turned to glare at Sportacus, nose scrunched,

"You had better tell me. You have to, I'm your president!" He hissed. "But I'm more than that to you, aren't I?"

Sportacus's hand curled up into a fist, but he couldn't say anything. His voice was caught in his throat again.

His two friends glanced down at him, prepared to defend the little guy who seemed stuck to his spot in fear.

But the yellow teen frowned, and his chest tightened,

"No. You're not him, and you'll never be anything like him. I just want you to leave my dad alone!" He shouted, slamming his foot on the ground.

Jake's face seemed to drop for a moment as he stared at the kid, and it went quiet inside the room. Sportacus glared right back at him, before he recalled a certain memory, and he dashed forward.

The president's eyes widened and he stumbled back,

"You- You can't eat me! I'm possessing someone!"

The teen didn't say anything, because he wasn't stupid, he knew that he couldn't eat the ghost in this form.

Jake's eyes widened as Sportacus's arms tightly wrapped around his waist, holding him close for a warm hug. He wanted to get away, but with his back pressed against a wall, he couldn't move.

This wasn't right, why couldn't he push the child away, what was wrong with him? It was like this body wasn't listening to him anymore, he was stuck in this spot.

No way did he want to hug his enemy, the one stopping him from achieving his goals, it was revolting. But as much as he wanted to fight, he couldn't do anything, it was as if he was also being pushed away.

Sportacus's face scrunched up as he stayed in his spot, feeling how tense the man was. He couldn't help but think back to all those times he had hung out with Jake and how happy they had been together. This was extremely risky, who even knew if it would work?

Justin and Peter watched in wonder as the ghost suddenly burst out of the man in a fit of anger, hissing in disgust. He couldn't take it any longer, it wasn't like his plan was getting him anywhere any longer.

Just when he was about to open his mouth to start screeching, Sportacus's tongue snatched him in a scoop and he didn't get to squeeze in a word as he was chomped down. Sportacus didn't even open his eyes the entire time, he was too focused on how Jake seemed to relax limply to care about the other.

A small burp sent Nicholas Biscuit's hovering eyes floating away. They were angry, but this plan was as good as ruined so there was no more use trying.

The teen listened to the silence, and a smile spread across his face as he felt two arms slowly wrap around him. Their hug was warm and it felt like it lasted for a few full minutes, but neither of them wanted to pull apart.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry." Jake whispered.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault. None of it was."

"Are you alright?"

"Now that you're okay, yeah."

Jake paused for a moment, breath hitching,

"... I was wondering if you'd like to… Well, maybe go on a walk sometime? Like, a real one."

"But all your work…"

"I would do anything to spend time with you."

Sportacus smiled cheerfully and Jake could feel him shaking out of pure joy. That was probably a yes.

It fell peacefully quiet again until Jake's eyes shot open,

"Sportacus- I need to- I…" He gagged.

"You don't need to apologise, it should be Nicholas Biscuit that apologises." Sportacus mumbled.

"No, Sportacus, I need- I'm gonna-" He quickly let go of Sportacus and rushed over to the upturned bin, adjusting it just in time to retch the slime into it. His poor room was completely trashed, it would take days to fix it. Luckily the Repository wasn't in the room, but it still hurt.

Sportacus listened to his heaving awkwardly, then glanced over at his friends,

"Oh. S-Sorry sir."

He waved a dismissive hand with a small chuckle. Oh, he was never going to get this awful taste out of his mouth.