Magnificently Malcontent

Chapter 13

Jameson shot up in his bed. His breath hitched and quickly became hyperventilation. The sheets beneath him twisted and crumpled within his clenched fists as JJ curled in on himself. The image of Marvin turning his back on the gentleman replayed over and over again in his mind. It was the only thing he could really see and process with his wide, all too bright eyes. His faded teal hair was a mess and fell into his face, but JJ couldn't bring himself to fix it.

All of a sudden, a pair of arms found their way around his torso. JJ's trembling immediately stopped and all thought ceased except for one particularly instinctive reflex. Anti found him. Marvin told the glitch what he tried to do and now he's come to kill JJ. That must be it. What else could-

"Shhhhh. JJ, stop please. It's just us. We're right here," a familiar voice cooed. JJ slowly turned his head to the side. Recognition sluggishly made its way to the forefront of Jameson's mind. Chase, not Anti, was embracing him with a fierce kind of concern. JJ relaxed only slightly and let himself be held for a little while longer. It was a comfort that had been missing in his life for some time, and he couldn't help but indulge in the temporary bliss it contained.

The two brothers stayed in that position until reality came crashing back down on them. JJ wrangled himself out of Chase's grasp and looked him in the eye. "I saw him. I found Marvin, but then- then I..." JJ drew into himself and signed in small, timid motions, "I lost him. He looked like he was finally himself again, but I couldn't get him to come with me. I really thought that this would work. Why? Why didn't it work?" JJ's signing crescendoed.

Chase sighed resignedly and looked back to where the other two egos stood. They had all been watching over JJ while he undertook his risky mission. Jackie stared daggers at his shoes. Chase could practically hear him berating himself for getting his hopes up. Henrik was at the opposite end of the spectrum. The grief lining every inch of his face was almost palpable. Neither of them seemed to be in a state to say what needed to be said.

Chase stood up and stepped away from JJ. His eyes wandered everywhere but where his little brother sat, tear tracks still painfully visible. "I'm sorry J, but it was a longshot anyway." Chase paused and listened to everyone in the room gasp at his bluntness. "Marv... Mav's not coming back. We have to just accept that and move on. Wasting time on hopes that he'll come sauntering back through the front door is getting us nowhere, all while a real threat keeps growing stronger."

Chase finally found the courage to look Jameson in the eyes and immediately regretted that decision. The pure look of grief and anguish laced in his expression nearly made him want to take back everything he just said, to give him hope back and tell him that everything would be alright. Nearly. "It's time we face the facts. Marvin is working for Anti and we have to take them both down. And I'm not gonna lose another little brother while you all figure that out." With that, Chase turned on his heel and walked out of the room leaving three brothers paralyzed with shock.

He truly didn't want to give up on their lost brother, but after years of hoping for the best only to be met with disappointment and more loss Chase realized that sometimes the best course of action is to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Jackie was the first to break the suffocating silence left in the young father's wake. "Damnit, Chase," he huffed under his breath, "I... he's right. Fuck, he's right. We need to stop Anti, but I can't... I have to save him!" Jackie looked over to Henrik, and the doctor could immediately decode his real meaning. 'I have to save my little brother. I failed Anti. I can't fail Marvin.'

Henrik nodded to Jackie and walked over to JJ. "I'm sorry, mein Liebling. You did your best, but we can't keep risking you. You have something Anti wants. If you keep going after Marvin like this, we might lose you to him." Henrik left a lingering hand on his shoulder and then led Jackie out of the room to go prepare for their inevitable upcoming battle.