Magnificently Malcontent

Chapter 9

JJ shoved his hands into his pockets and kept his head down as he made his way toward the abandoned part of town. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention that might tip Anti off about his whereabouts. As he got closer to his and Marvin's old hideout, JJ made sure to stick closer to the shadows. He only had one shot at this, only one chance to save them all, and he couldn't afford to give up the element of surprise.

His breath hitched when the building came into view. It was still hard for JJ to believe that this place which used to house some of his best memories now harbored the one man who had caused his worst. He steadied himself before sneaking around to the back of the structure. Thankfully the thick vines that lead to the second story were still intact.

JJ carefully made his way up the vine, and silently slipped in through the window. In all of his pranks with Marvin, JJ had mastered the art of moving silently and without trace. He had never been more grateful for that trait than he was as he worked his way towards the room his brothers were in.

At the end of the hall, a room emanated a mixture of purple, blue, and green light. JJ's heart started racing when he saw it, knowing that it meant that Marvin was using more of his magic towards Anti's twisted plan. JJ quickly but quietly darted to the side of the door before poking his head in.

JJ peered into the room and took stock of everything he saw. Marvin was in the middle of the room standing with his back to the doorway. He had a book in one hand while his other was hovered over a large sigil on the floor. The light was coming from his hand. Marvin's hair was whipping around wildly as if there was a wind that was solely focused on the young magician. JJ focused back on the sigil. It depicted an intricate design that he had seen earlier in Marvin's books. It could only mean that Anti was already having Marvin prepare the spell-binding ritual.

JJ looked to the left wall and found his three brothers. They were each chained by their wrists to a pipe on the wall. JJ felt his heart break at the sight. Their eyes were still glazed over with the purple haze JJ had seen before. Their faces contained no emotion, and the way they sagged against the wall resembled the posture of a ragdoll. They looked so helpless. If he wasn't careful, JJ could end up the exact same way.

He shook the thought from his head. The only way he was going to get through this is if he keeps his mind clear. He scanned the room again, but couldn't seem to find any trace of the glitch. The more JJ thought about it, the more unsurprising it was. Anti was most likely off recording a video about how he had taken down the rest of them and gloating about his victory.

Sticking to the wall, JJ tiptoed to his brothers. His heart sunk to the floor as JJ realized once he got to them that he had no plan for how to actually get them all out of there. He wasn't strong enough to carry all three of his brothers, and he certainly didn't have the time to be able to get them out one by one. He looked at each of their faces in turn. JJ wished that he could trade places with any of the three. They would know what to do better than he did.

JJ hadn't noticed that he'd lost focus until he heard static slowly build in the room. He hesitantly turned around to where he had seen Marvin last and found that both he and Anti were staring straight at him.

" Well, well, well. What did I tell you, my puppet? I knew it wouldn't be long before the man out of time found his way here. " Anti's broken voice rang out in the quiet. JJ nearly tripped over himself. Did Anti tell Marvin to leave that hint? No. That wasn't possible. Only he and Marvin knew what it meant. JJ's eyes shifted from the glitch over to Marvin who was kneeling in front of Anti. His expression was hard to see from behind his mask, but JJ could tell that it was one of anger. It was the same look he gave Chase right before Anti had ordered him to attack.

" Why so quiet, little one? Cat got your tongue? " he laughed hysterically at his own joke as he placed his hand back onto Marvin's head. " It was noble of you to try and rescue them, but surely you understand that I can't have you messing with my plans for them. However, in the spirit of compromise, I'll meet you halfway. I'll have my pet here let you join your brothers. " Marvin rose to his feet as Anti gave him the command to cast the same spell on JJ.

As soon as he saw Marvin's hand begin to glow purple, JJ sprang into action. He had come too far to let himself be taken now. He didn't want to do this, but his best bet at that point was to take Marvin out of commission. JJ ducked beneath the spell Marvin shot at him and dashed toward the middle of the room.

Anti barked out a crazed laugh as he glitched around the room to see his pet fight from different angles. " Run, little one! Go ahead and put on a show for me. The stage is set and my performer is ready. Let's see how long you can keep up with his act. "

JJ bobbed and weaved just how Jackie had once taught him. He was able to dodge most of his attacks, but every so often a stray playing card would cut into him. Even so, JJ kept gaining ground until he was right in front of the magician.

Before Marvin could even react, JJ dropped low to the ground and used his legs to sweep Marvin's from underneath him. Marvin fell to the ground hard. JJ took advantage of his lack of balance and,after signing a quick apology, punched his face with a right hook that even the mighty Jackieboy Man would've been proud of.

Behind him, the purple haze gradually vanished from Henrik, Jackie, and Chase's eyes. JJ's hit was just powerful enough to break Marvin's concentration on keeping them in their hallucinations. All three were disoriented as they came out of their trances, but they quickly got their bearings as they heard scuffle occurring before them.

Jackie was the first to get to his feet. Impulsively he rushed over to go help JJ fight. However, he was stopped halfway as Anti glitched right in front of him. " And just where do you think you're going, hero? I'm not finished with you yet. " Jackie sneered at the glitch with a downright murderous glare. Sparks of lightning sprung forth from Jackie's hands in an instant, and suddenly arched toward Anti. He was able to glitch away in time, but it left an opening for the hero to get to his little brother.

Chase and Henrik weren't too far behind. They all raced over to help JJ in his fight, but JJ was losing steam rapidly. He didn't want to fight Marvin. Each time he looked into his furious eyes, JJ felt another piece of him shatter. It caused JJ to keep getting sloppier and sloppier in his attacks, while Marvin was getting sharper and stronger in his after getting over the initial shock of the fight.

Soon enough Marvin had turned the tides on JJ. It was all the little ego could do just to keep dodging his spells and curses. Between each assault, he desperately tried to get through to his best friend. His hands flew as they spelled out apologies and pleas for him to snap out of it. Tears streamed down his face which only made it harder for him to hold his own.

Jackie arrived just in time to pull JJ out of the way of a large, blue fireball. JJ's sleeve sizzled from the heat of the fire that had barely swiped his arm. Jackie held his little brother close as he frantically searched for the exit. He was about to dash over there when JJ squirmed right out of his arms. His littlest brother sprinted back toward Marvin. He couldn't leave without him!

Chase caught him by the elbow and kept an iron grip on the ego. "I know you want to save him, but we can't stay here. We have to go. I'm sorry." Chase picked up JJ and tossed him over his shoulder. Then he began to run toward the exit where Henrik and Jackie were waiting. JJ fought him the whole way, pounding away at his back, but it didn't do any good. The last thing JJ saw as they escaped was Marvin tied with strings that led back to Anti and identical smirks on both of their faces.

" You better keep running, little one. You're almost out of time. "