He's Probably Fine - Jacksepticeye Egos Fanfic

Chapter 8 - You'll Never Believe Me

There was a long silence on the phone.

"What the hell do you mean, Chase?" Jackie demanded.

"Ah, hah- I don't know!" Chase replied. He was panicked-laughing, the kind of shrill, breathy giggling that usually dissolves into sobbing.

"Tell me what happened, please," Jackie said, more gently. But then another thought hit him, and he sprang up from his chair. "Oh my god, was the Overnightwatch thing real?"

"Overnightwhat?" Chase shouted into the phone. 

"No, no, I'm sorry- " Jackie corrected himself. "Just tell me what happened."

Chase recounted his nightmare to Jackie in a trembling voice, from the beginning to the bitter end. He was obviously terribly shaken. When he had finished his story, the rattling noise of his breathing echoed loudly through the phone for a few moments.

Jackie planted his hands on the windowsill and looked out over the dreary city streets. His London apartment was nearly 12 hours away from Chase's house in LA. Somehow, Anti had gotten to him, when they had been a whole hemisphere apart.

"Do you..." Jackie started to speak, but uncertainty cut him off. He had so many questions... and no answers to speak of. "Anti's in LA," Jackie murmured.

Chase didn't say anything for a few moments. Then, in a quiet voice, he added, "Yeah. I guess so."

"Ok," Jackie said. He glanced at his hero's costume, which was hanging on the coat-rack by the door. "I'm coming to meet you there."

"Jackie, no," Chase insisted. Frustration was building in his voice with every sentence. "You can't. You can't leave Jack alone, you understand me? If you come here, who's going to look after him? Fucking... what, Marvin?"

"Chase-"

"Jackie, you're the only one holding this thing afloat," Chase said. He laughed bitterly. "Hey, with that livestream out of the way, Anti's done more for this channel than I have, at this point."

"Chase, that's not true-"

Click.

"Chase?" No response. "Chase!" But Chase had hung up the phone.

Jackie groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead. Anti had torn their team down to just two people, now scattered across the globe like... like...

Jackie didn't have a word for it. He let his head thump quietly against the windowpane. Drizzling rain was thrumming on the outside, washing dust off of the bleary streets. Jackie could hear the vitals monitor beeping down the hallway; he was in Jack's apartment, after all. Just a few doors away, Jacksepticeye was lying on his bed, quiet and perfectly still.

Jackie pulled himself away from the window and turned back toward the living room - and cried out in alarm. His heart leapt into his throat.

"Marvin!" he yelped, flinching violently.

The magician was seated on Jack's couch, peering at Jackie with an inquisitive eye. His cape was pulled around him like the wings of a sleeping bat, and his pearly white mask obscured most of his face. How had he gotten there?!

"That's the name, yes," Marvin said coolly.

"Goddamn it!" Jackie shouted. He pulled himself away from Marvin and lowered his hands into a boxer's stance. He growled, "I swear to god, I'll judo kick you so fucking hard you'll- you'll-"

Marvin raised his eyebrows as Jackie's threatening momentum fell apart.

"...point is, I'll kick you," he repeated.

"Mm," Marvin nodded sarcastically. "Right."

"What the hell do you want, anyway?" Jackie demanded, lowering his hands.

"You'll never believe me," Marvin said, as his sarcastic smile faded into a frown. "But I need your help."

Jackie was caught off-guard. There was a strangely serious edge to his words, something Jackie had never seen before. Nothing snarky or extra. Marvin seemed... tired.

"Marvin, what's wrong?" Jackie asked suddenly. He knelt on the floor in front of Marvin to look up into his guarded eyes.

"I think you know already," Marvin said, with a gloomy smile. "Anti got out." He tossed a strand of long, emerald hair out of his face dismissively, but the gesture was hollow. Jackie could tell that Marvin was worried.

"Got out? Got out of where?"

"Got out of when, you mean?" Marvin continued. "I used a spell back at Halloween to keep him and that kid with the tophat out of our hair for a while."

Jackie felt a twinge of resentment. "His name is Jameson Jackson."

"God, what is it with these J names?" Marvin scoffed.

Jackie frowned. "Go on."

"Jameson took the pair of them back in time. Anti couldn't have done that himself," Marvin explained. "I know enough tricks to keep them there. But Anti broke out... predictably. And now I'm worried about what he's going to do with little mister J's party trick."

"Oh... no," Jackie sighed. "How long have you been working on this, Marvin?"

"Not long enough, apparently," Marvin replied with a huff. He stuck his tongue out at Jackie. "I've been looking into our next move," he continued. "And... well, I guess I could use a little extra manpower. Some superhero panache." He wiggled his shoulders for dramatic effect, but Jackie could still see the tiredness behind his eyes, under his mask.

Marvin never worked with the other egos. Just talking to him was a rare event. Chase and Jackie often doubted whether Marvin was even on their team. He was acting relaxed, but showing up at Jack's apartment? This was a desperate hour. It had to be.

Jackie sighed. He felt as though he didn't have a choice. "Whatever you need, Marvin. I'll help you."