Hey guys! It's me Thaum!!! Thank you all for voting! We are almost at 3k!!! In the meantime, here's another chapter! Also, thank you to @synkono for the art!!! It's so awesome!!! Go follow them!!!!
Jon lied awake in his bed, staring at his ceiling. It had been about 2 weeks since they had left the basement, and he hadn't slept since. The odd time he did fall asleep-
Jonathan please! Don't do it-!
The nightmares seemed to be getting worse each night.
@nayengal : Jon, maybe get some medication for your nightmares.
Jon thought about it for a moment. "I guess that might work... but I just wish I could figure out why I have these nightmares! Or if they even mean anything! They seem so real though..."
He looked over at his clock. "Ugh... 3 o'clock? The Professor makes staying up look so easy..." He sat up and frowned. "Maybe I should go for a quick walk; maybe that will clear my head."
Jon pulled open the door to his new house and stepped outside. Since Jon and Nick's houses were taken down, Ashlie was able to get her building crew to build each Jon a small house. And while everyone questioned how they were able to build 5 houses in the span of 2 weeks, no one was complaining.
Each of them had gotten an identical house with a fence in between them, however each had been given a few personal touches.
Jon's house was the farthest to the left and had the least amount of changes. In the front lawn was a small pond, where Herbert now lived, with a sign that read: 'This Pond is in Memory of Water Duck: July 14th-August 3rd'.
The house beside his was Don's. In its front was a small flower garden he had made filled with a wide range of flowers he had received from the askers. In fact, his house was almost overgrown with vines and other plants as well.
As Jon strolled by Don's house, he could hear something strange coming from it. "Hm? What the gosh darn heck is going on in there?" He walked over to the door and gave a little knock. "Don? You okay in there bud?" No response.
Jon knocked a little harder. "Don? Don are you okay?!"
The sound of glass breaking made Jon jump back. "DON!" he cried barging into the house. Don was standing over a broken table, breathing heavily. One of his crystal roses had fallen onto the ground.
"...Don?" Don lunged at Jon, startling him. Don pointed his sword at Jon's neck.
"GET OUT! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY YOU INCORPOREAL-!" Don's eyes widened at the sight of his friend. He lowered his sword. ".........Jon?" He loosened his grip, and the sword fell to the ground with a small 'clang'.
Jon stood there horrified. "Wha- What the heck was that about?!" he stammered backing against the door.
Don looked ashamed. "...I apologize. I've just been kind of on edge ever since I got this amulet." He pulled a small blue amulet out from his shirt. Jon looked at it curiously. "Why? What's wrong with it? Where'd you get that anyway?"
Don sighed. "...Promise you won't call me crazy?" Jon nodded slowly before laughing. "At this point, I'd be surprised if one of us wasn't a little bit crazy."
They sat down at the broken table (which they later fixed with some duct tape) and had some tea. Don stared into his cup in silence. He took another deep breath, and handed the amulet over to Jon.
"Ever since the day we've left the basement, I've had this strange feeling; like I was being watched by... something. At first I thought it was just superstition or paranoia. After all, the askers who gave me the amulet gave me a vague warning of sorts. But went I fell asleep with it, I saw something. At first, I only saw quick glimpses of it and I had no idea what it was. A few nights later, I saw it more clearly. Then I thought it was you."
Jon was taken aback. "Me? Is that why you wouldn't talk to me during all last week?" Don nodded, taking back the amulet and putting it back on. "Wait," Jon said. "Have I been sleepwalking?! I mean whenever I was sleeping that is."
Don laughed. "No... no you haven't been sleepwalking." He took a sip of his tea. "4 days ago, I fell asleep in my bed thinking you or Locket were just pulling a prank on me... But I was oh so wrong. It spoke to me Jon. This thing... It spoke with a voice even more unsettling than Beasty's. And it wouldn't stop smiling at me, like if there was some joke I wasn't getting. It asking me to play with it... I'm honestly scared."
"...and you think the amulet is causing this thing to appear?" Jon asked. Don set down his tea cup onto the floor. "I think so... but I tried putting it away for a night, and it still showed up. I don't know what to do Jon..."
Jon walked over and pulled the amulet off of Don, before shoving into his pocket. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Come with me."
Don reluctantly followed Jon back to his house. Inside, Jon set a small sleeping bag beside his bed and hung up the amulet onto the wall. "There we go! Now hopefully, this should work."
Don looked curiously at Jon's set up, before realizing what he was doing. "No! No, Jon! You really don't want to see this thing! Just let me go home and we can talk in the morning!"
Jon sat down in his bed. "Look, trust me. I've had worse dreams. Let me help you, okay?" Don stared at Jon for a moment, and lied down in his sleeping bag. "If you say so Jon... sleep well..." Don instantly fell asleep. "Heh," Jon said turning out his light. "I'll try... I just have to try... not... to dream..."
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Jon opened his eyes and saw nothing. He was floating through inky blackness. Where was he? "Okay," he thought as he drifted along. "So this is new... hopefully I can find Don in here... wherever this is."
Jon drifted through this nothingness for what seemed like an eternity. The silence was killing him. "C'mon Don... where are you?"
"Heh heh heh..."
Jon suddenly heard laughter from behind him. He spun around and saw them. The creature.
Don was right for mistaking this as Jon. This thing almost looked exactly like him, jester outfit and all, but it was gray scale and transparent. And it's face... It's face was the thing of nightmares. It's mouth was in a permanent grin, showing off it's sharp teeth. It's eyes were blood red, with purple pupils; the only color on this thing. It's voice was menacing, yet it was also playful. It was the audio equivalent of a serial killer toying with it's victim.
This thing was circling Don, taunting him. Laughing at him and asking him "Wanna play?" Don held his hands over his ears muttering something to himself.
Don opened his eyes and met eyes with his friend. "...Jon?" he whispered. "Don!!!" Jon gasped as he tried to drift towards towards him.
The ghostly jester made a loud cracking sound as it suddenly turned it's head towards Jon. "Is that a new playmate I see?" It spoke without opening it's mouth or changing expression. Don's eyes widened as he looked back at the creature and then Jon. "No! No, no ,no!!! Jon get out of here!!!" The ghost began to lunge at Jon.
@Destroyer0p: Here, take this!
Don looked down at his hands and saw he was holding a gun. It was black, and had quite a bit of ammo. It was marked "AK's AK-47". Don had no idea who AK was, let alone why an asker would give him a gun.
But he had no time to think about it. Adrenaline kicked in as he pulled the trigger, unloading almost all of the gun's ammo into the ghost. He screamed as the ghost seemed to adsorb all the bullets. But the last shot went right through it's head, causing it to poof into clouds, before disappearing.
As Don began to hyperventilate, Jon realized he was starting to drift off. "Wha-! Don! Don help me!" He tried to pull himself towards Don, but to no avail. Don suddenly snapped back into reality and saw Jon begin to float away.
"Don't worry Jon! I'll...I'll think of something!" He looked back down at gun. One bullet was left. "Hang on, I'm coming!" Don pointed the gun behind him, and fired.
The shot exploded into a colorful explosion of flowers. Roses, lilacs, daises and other flowers sent Don flying back towards Jon. "Grab my hand!!!" he shouted as he realized he was going to over shoot it. He dropped his gun and reached out a hand.
Jon reached out his hand, barely grabbing onto Don's. They pulled themselves towards each other and sighed in relief. "You okay?" Jon asked Don, looking him over for any injuries. Don smiled. "Yeah, I'm good... god that thing was nightmare fuel."
Jon couldn't contain it anymore. "You just shot a ghost to death." he laughed harder than he had ever laughed before. "You literally shot a ghost to death! How is that even possible!?" Don let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess when you say it like that it doesn't make much sense does it! Oh my god, we could've died! That was insane!!!"
And for a whole minute, the two of them just laughed and laughed; laughing as they drifted through this endless void until their stomachs hurt.
"Awe man... this has been the best dream I've had in like a month. Should we tell the guys about this when we wake up?" Jon asked after they had calmed down. "What do we even say?" Don asked. " 'Oh yeah, me and Jon just fought a magic ghost in an amulet using astral projection and an assault riffle! You know, the usual!' "
This caused Jon to laugh even more, but Don quickly shushed him. "Wait," he said looking around. "Wait a second. Why haven't we woken up yet? Usually when the ghost leaves or attacks, I wake up... but we're still here Jon."
"What makes you think I left?"
Jon felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He instantly spun around and hid behind Don. The ghost was back, an even bigger grin on its face.
"Wha-What are you!?" Jon shouted, still cowering behind Don. The ghost laughed. "My name's Fon. It has been awhile since I've seen a proper Jon in the mindscape!" Fon laughed.
Jon was startled. "How do you know my name?" Fon shrugged. "Oh I know lots of things. LOTS OF THINGS. But that doesn't matter. Anyways, do you want to play?"
Don frowned. "Why do you wanna play so much?" he asked curiously. "Being dead is boooorring!" Fon replied. "Besides, a guy has got to eat something!"
"E-eat?" Jon whimpered. Fon laughed. "Well sure! I may be dead, but if I wanna stick around I need substance. Fashlie feeds off of laughter, Funi feeds off of anger, etcetera. I myself feed on fear. Negativity. And boy does this carrot man have a LOT of it!"
Jon actually let out a small laugh, much to Don's displeasure. "Is now really the best time to be laughing?!" he whispered. Jon covered his mouth. "Sorry, sorry! But he called you a carrot. And that's funny."
"However," Fon continued, pointing at Don. "it's harder for me to feed off of people other than Jons. And technically, you're just a copy aren't you? But now-"
Fon flew behind Jon. "-now I've gotten an even greater food source!" Don smirked. "Hah! You can't feed off of him! You said it yourself; you feed off of negativity. And Jon here is the most positive person I have ever met!"
Fon laughed; an hollow empty laugh. "Sure... he may not have the negativity. But the fear? Let's put it this way Mr. Carrot man! If you were merely a light snack, then he would be a 3 course meal!"
"F-fear?" Jon asked, his voice cracking a bit. He coughed and faked a brave smile. "I'm... I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of anything! I don't have to be! I've got my friends to support me, right?" Don nodded, standing (or I guess floating) proudly beside him.
Fon seemed taken aback by Jon's statement and for a split second Fon wasn't smiling. For half a second, Fon looked pissed. Then it began to laugh, its smile wider than ever. All the bravery Jon and Don had instantly drained from them at the sound of its laughter.
"You think your friends will protect you?" Fon chuckled. "How can they?! How can they protect you, if they're the thing your afraid of?"
Fon flew at Jon and grabbed his head with a single ghostly hand. Suddenly he disappeared, and the void around Jon and Don changed from inky blackness into a large field of grass surrounded by trees.
Jon immediately recognized where they were. "No..." He walked backwards slowly, tears streaming down his face. "No... not here! Please ! Not again!" Jon fell to his knees and covered his head.
Don ran over and tried to comfort him. "What's wrong?! Where are we Jon?!" The ground began to open beneath them, revealing an starry void beneath them. Don's eyes widened. "Jon!" He grabbed his now petrified friend and got away from the tear just in time.
"Huh?" Don looked down at himself. His clothes seemed to be different. He his hair was longer, tied up in a ponytail almost reaching all the way down his back. The ponytail had a long green streak in it as well.
Don was also wearing Locket's locket. He held it up; the entire locket was now fully red.
"Jon! You have to tell me what's happening!" He shook Jon slightly, but he just kept staring at the sky in fear. "...What are you looking at?" Don looked over at the sky and saw them.
Jonathan and Beasty.
Beasty was all torn up, scars covering him, the X shaped cut across his face. Don took it back; Beasty's smile is way more terrifying than Fon's.
He looked over at Jonathan and saw he had a small stack of blocks in his purple inky hands. Don's heart dropped, and it felt like the world froze around them. "Runes." was all he could say. Jon was still trembling.
Beasty said the same thing as last time. "-Now; DROWN IN DARKNESS!!!"
Jonathan's runes began to glow.
"W̴͓̎͜h̸̛͍̍a̵͕͐t̶͕̗͒ ̶̥̙̍m̵̲͍̄̓a̸̬̹͐k̶̞̒ͅë̴͙̼́s̷̠̥̒ ̴͇̫͒̀y̴̯͌o̵̟̦͗u̵̢̿ ̵͚͕̍͊t̴̖̓ḫ̴͛͑ǐ̴̙̻ṅ̷͙̆ķ̴͑ͅ ̷̫̑I̷̊͜ ̴̬́h̸̘͊a̴̠̾v̶̘̍e̶͓̚̚n̴͕̳͑'̵̰̒͘t̸͙̖̎?̴̯̿̒"
And then everything went white, with only the sound of Fon laughing lingering.
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Jon and Don jolted awake, their hearts pounding. Don looked down at himself. He was back in his regular clothes and his hair was back to it's shorter length.
He looked over at his panicked friend, who was on the brink of tears. "What was that?!?"
"That... that was the dream I've been having ever since Beasty came. Well, it's not really a dream, more so a nightmare. Or is it a vision? The point is, every time I close my eyes, I see that field. And every time Beasty and Jonathan are there, floating above me. I'm just happy you got to wake up before they started attacking each other."
Don thought for a moment. "That's the dream where you were telling me and Locket about, isn't it?" Jon nodded, hugging his knees. "You were right," Don continued. "about Jonathan and the runes. If he has them, then we are all in danger!" "Should we tell Locket?" Jon inquired.
@Kitcat11640 : Jon, your nightmare about Beasty and Jonathan is about to come true! And Don stay safe! Don't let Locket learn blood magic it's evil!!!!
They both sat in silence. "....What are we going to do?" Jon finally asked. Don sighed. "I...I don't know... But I do know that we can't trust Beasty or Jonathan that's for sure."
"What if," Jon asked, sitting down next to Don. "we can reform them? They're our friends, right? I don't want to hurt anyone..."
Don thought back to his conversation with Jonathan. "I mean, Jonathan seems okay... he's just as scared and traumatized as the rest of us. Knowing you, I'm positive that you can talk him out of whatever he's doing. You reformed me from being evil; I'm sure you can help him as well."
Jon smiled softly. "You weren't really all that evil. You were more edgy than anything. But I realized that you actually weren't angsty, you were just sort of... broken. Under all of that angst you were a softy who never knew what love is."
"I mean, I guess you're right. I really do have to thank you Jon, for showing me." Don replied. Jon smirked. "For showing you what Don?" Don was confused. "What is love..?"
"BABY DON'T HURT ME! DON'T HURT ME! NO MORE!~" Jon sang as Don just stared at him un-amused. "...riiiight." Don stood up and grabbed the amulet off the wall. "Well I believe you could maybe talk to the Professor, but Beasty? I think he might be to far gone Jon."
Jon frowned. "We can still try, right?" He stared at Don with puppy dog eyes.
Don didn't know what to say. He knew that Beasty was a monster, but he didn't want to crush Jon's spirit. "....sure Jon." Don sighed. "You can try to make him better."
"Well, it's almost 9, I better get ready." Said Jon, packing a bag. "Wait where are you going?" Don rolled up his sleeping bag. Jon laughed. "Oh, me and Jonathan are going to go into town. Just to do some shopping, maybe show him around the part of this universe that isn't in the middle of nowhere! We'll probably be gone for a day or two."
Don thought about this for a moment. "That's... actually perfect! You'll be able to keep an eye on him; see if you're able to get some information about whatever he's planning, or maybe find out how many runes he has! That'll allow me to keep an eye on Beasty and make sure Locket is okay."
Jon smiled. "Sounds good friend! Anyways, you should probably head home, fix that table of yours with the duct tape I gave ya." Don shoved the amulet in his pocket. 'Yeah, I gotta go water my flowers. It's not going to rain for a couple of days, and I usually water them around this time anyways."
And with one final wave, Don headed back to his house and Jon began to get himself ready.
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Jonathan sat at his new desk, reading a book. He felt really good now that he could study the runes anytime in the privacy of his new house. The Professor's house was the one beside Locket's house at the end of the row. It had a few key differences to the others. For one, it was the only house with a study. On the exterior all the windows were all tinted purple ("To match your glasses!" Ashlie said) and the grass around his house strangely was slowly turning purple ("The painter's must've spilled a paint can" Jonathan had lied).
The book he was reading was his Thaumonomicon. Most of the pages had been deciphered ever since he had received his second rune, however some were still written in those strange runic symbols. As he read, he fiddled with the two pulsating runes in his left hand.
"Now let's see here..." The Professor flipped a few pages. "Hm... maybe I could try-"
A portal opened on the ceiling, dropping a very formal looking letter onto The Professor's book. It was addressed to him from both @Destroyer0P and @CrystalNoteSkies. He set down his runes and flipped it over, tearing off the wax seal. Inside was a small note.
The only thing written on it was the word Disappointed.
Jonathan glared at the note for a moment. He looked back down at his book and picked up the runes in one hand. He muttered a few words and they began to glow.
And with the flick of his wrist, his hand was engulfed in a bright purple flame. Jonathan stared at it with a piercing stare and with evil intent. He watched as the letter in his hands burned to ash. He crushed the remaining ash in his fist, causing the flame to go out.
"Perfect... another power mastered over these runes. Soon everything we've planned will come to fruition!"
@kittypop2003 : Jonathan!!! Please just let it go before the rune finally uses you as puppet!
Jonathan frowned. "Oh. You guys are back. Well I have no idea what you're talking about; I'm in complete and utter control. Sure these runes are the ones guiding me, telling me what to do, using me as a way to regain power...."
Jonathan paused for a moment, almost as if he had a moment of realization. But he soon shook his head and snapped out of it. "No... no I'm not their puppet. I'm the one holding the strings here. Trust me. I'm completely fine."
The runes in his hands glowed brighter. "I'll do whatever it takes to gain all the knowledge of the multiverse and become more powerful. And nobody can stand in my way. Not even you askers."
@emberflamez : Uh, Professor? Have you maybe considered maybe not killing all your friends in pursuit of power? You might regret it later on....
"Whatever it takes-" Jonathan stopped himself. "What? N-no, I'd never hurt them! Why would I....? I know I'd do anything to achieve my goals, but killing my friends? I don't want to hurt them! Unless of course they get in my way, in which case t̯͍̹̼͎̺̯h̯e̤̰̯͙y̬̗̳̙̦̹̜'̮͚̗̠̺l̛͉̥̩l̮̩̯̖̩̠͢ͅ ͕̣̗̬ẖ͟a̶͓̮͔̦v̹̤̩̱̘͇̹e͔̗̟̗̦̙̱ ҉̫ṯo̷̻̳̱͕͈ͅ b̪̲͇̝e̗̤͕̝̟ ͙͚̣͇̲t̶̤̞̟a̹͖ḱ̳͇͉̮é̦̤͕̰̻̺̯n̴̲̟͓̹ ̭͚̭̹͝c̤̰͚͢a͏̯̦͎͖̲̩r̷͖̤e͙̪̺͓̱͇ ͙̩͔ͅo̡̰͍̺f̩͠.̝̰͚̖͔͙."
Jonathan froze up. "What? What am I saying! I don't want to kill anybody!" He looked back down at his runes. "....killing my friends isn't what you want me to do is it? No... no that can't be part of the plan, right? I don't want this!"
@CrystalNoteSkies : Jonathan, please reconsider what you're doing! The Jons, they're your right? You doing this could hurt them or worse.... kill them! You don't want to hurt them right? Right???
"I-" The purple of his arms began to grow more upwards; it now covered most of his forearm. The Professor looked at himself in the mirror on his desk. He felt like he was going to puke.
"Ugh..." he said, the purple tint of his glasses drained to reveal their original red color. "Ẉ̕h̷̺a͈̝̭̝̜̳̝͠t͇͙'̵̬̘s̵̠̬̖ h̥̙͉̝̥a̘̮̮p̶͖̫̦̟̮ͅp̣e̶̬͕ǹ̤̙̯̤i̟͈n̵̪̠̟̜̯̖̯g͕̝̼ ̺̪̝̬̭͓͘t̞̦͇o̫̻̜̻͖ͅ ̮͘m̭̦̘͚̠͓̦͘e̴?̟͎̫̝͖͘"
Professor Jonathan held his head. He was starting to get a killer migraine. "I-I should put these away for a bit." He opened one of the drawers from his desk and put the runes in under some random junk. He slammed it shut, a faint glow coming from the cracks in his desk.
Suddenly there was a loud knocking sound, and the Professor jumped in alarm.
"Jonathan? You ready to go bud?"
Jonathan let out a sigh of relief. It was only Jon knocking on his door. Or Locket. Or Beasty. They all technically had pretty much the same voice, aside from minor differences. But he figured it was Jon, since he had made plans with him to go out a couple of days prior.
"Y-yeah! I'll be out in a second! Just gotta grab some things!" Jonathan yelled back through the door. He quickly pulled on his gloves and grabbed his bag before heading out the door.
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"Hey Don!" Jon waved as he and the Professor walked over to his front lawn. Don was busy watering and tending to his flowers. He looked up at the two of them and smiled. "Good morning Jon and.... Professor." He still felt a bit uneasy after that dream last night.
Jon smiled cheerfully. "We just wanted to check on you before we head out to town!" Don trimmed a bit off of his white rose bush. "Wait," he asked. "Are you guys going to walk there? None of us have cars, or any means of transportation."
Jonathan pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "Well we have that map @CrystalNoteSkies gave us! We just have to point where we want to go and we should be there!" Jon nodded. "Yeah, but we'll probably have to take the bus back since it only works once a week. Heck, we might even stay the week!"
Jonathan was confused. "Stay the week? But I've got research-" Jon shushed him. "You've been cooped up in your house for almost 2 weeks now doing research! It's time you saw the rest of this universe and get some fresh air! Let's just have fun and talk, sound good?"
Don faked a smile. "Good idea Jon... keep him there a week and I have to time to search his house and keep an eye on Beasty..." he thought.
"I mean... I guess you're right." The Professor said. "I really need a break from everything. And I am curious to see what else about this universe has to offer." Jon grinned. "That's the spirit!"
"Morning everyone~!" Locket stepped out of his house with a smile. He had his new puppy Lefty on a little leash. Lefty wore a small red collar with a bow-tie on it and a starry print on it.
Locket's house was beside Jonathan and Beasty's houses the closest to Jon's appearance wise. It was painted in more pastel colors than the rest of them, and the chimney on top was always billowing; not smoke, but multicolored bubbles came out of it. No one really questioned it. This was Locket after all.
Jon instantly ran over to pet Lefty. "Hi Locket! How you doing?"
"I feel great today! Oh, by the way! I have a list of stuff I want you to get while you're out!" Locket handed Jon very long list. This list had items on it such as sponges, dog food, a cool pair of shades, candy (candy was listed 4 different times) and baking supplies among other things.
Jonathan looked at the list and laughed. "We'll see what we can do, but I don't think we need-" He squinted at the paper. "-helicopter fuel?" Locket shrugged. "Hey, you never know! Maybe one day someone will send us a helicopter!"
"What's this about a helicopter?" Suddenly, Beasty flew down and landed beside Don. "Hey Beasty!" said Locket waving. "I was just saying that if the askers send us a helicopter, we ought to have fuel for it! You gotta be prepared for that!"
Don face palmed. "I don't think a helicopter could even fit through the portals that send us stuff." Jonathan thought about this for moment. "I mean, I guess aside from the portal Beasty came through, they've all been about the same size. And we don't know where these portals come from... have we tried going through one?"
Beasty slapped his head and laughed. "Oh, yeah! I totally forgot!" He handed the Professor a rolled up piece of paper. "Here's the blueprints you wanted."
Jonathan unrolled them and looked them over. They were label Portal Gun Prototype 4.0. "Now," Beasty continued. "it can't take you across dimensions like your fancy fishing rod things. But it can take you anywhere, as long as you put a portal down, you should be able to go through using the other portal. It was a great way of transportation in my world. Everyone had one; well everyone but my Nick."
"These designs are brilliant!" Jonathan said rolling them back up and putting them in his bag. "You'll have to assist me in building this when I get back!" Beasty gave a cocky smile and shrugged. "Hey man, there's more where that came from. I wasn't just the most powerful mage you know! I was also the 2nd most scientifically advanced, the first being Dawn of course."
Locket clapped his hands together in excitement. "I didn't know you guys have been hanging out together! That's awesome!"
"Well yeah," said Jonathan. "We've been discussing our findings about the multiverse, designing new contraptions and occasionally just chat for a bit! We've become really good friends I guess!" Beasty gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Yeah, if you don't count the times you almost blew up your house! But in all seriousness, we really have a lot in common! It's been great!"
Don and Jon exchanged a look. "...right. Well you and Jon better go before it gets to dark out." Jonathan looked up at the sky. "Yeah, that's a good point. You ready Jon? ...Jon?"
Jon rubbed his eyes. For a spilt second he saw the sun was an unusual color, but only for a moment. He could have sworn that the sun was a bright red ball of light. Jon thought his eyes must be playing tricks on him.
"Huh?" he said snapping out of it. "Oh! Sorry! Yeah I'm ready go! Bye everyone!"
Everyone waved goodbye to Jonathan and Jon. Jon pointed at the map, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Well, now that they're gone," said Beasty to Locket. "You ready to start?" Locket instantly lit up. "Heck yeah!!!" Don set down his gardening equipment and walked over. "Ready to start what exactly?"
Beasty lifted his hat, and the small green orb rolled down into his hand. "Why I'm finally teaching him blood magic of course! It's been so long since I've shown off what I can do! And it'll be nice to finally have an apprentice!" Locket nodded excitedly in agreement.
Don was really suspicious of everything Beasty did and he didn't want Locket to get caught up in all of this. But if learning about blood magic helped him and Jon learn Beasty's weaknesses and exact power, he was willing to let Beasty show Locket the basics. "....may I join you? Just to watch that is."
Locket began to bounce up and down. "Really?! Earlier you were all like 'Duuurrr! Don't do blood magic Locket! It's evil Locket! Look at me I like flowers!'"
Beasty burst into laughter while Don just grit his teeth. "I do not sound like that." Beasty wiped a tear from his eyes. "Ah man, that's good! Anyways, we should get started! Follow me!"
Beasty's house was the house in the middle. The front of the house seemed completely normal, aside from the 2 turrets beside his door. "Don't worry," said Beasty when asked about them. "They don't actually fire bullets...yet."
However, if you looked close, you could see a large structure in his backyard. This was his blood altar. Beasty led Locket and Don to the back of his house. "Now while I have the basic structure," he said opening up his back gate. "I only am able to have a tier 3 altar at the moment. I don't see myself upgrading any time soon, what with the lack of constant blood. But, I work with what I get!"
The main altar is a basin like altar with strange markings on it's sides. This altar was surrounded by 4 large pillars with glow-stone on top. Beasty flew into his house for a moment, before coming back out with a small dagger.
"Alright Locket, so first off-" Beasty held up his green orb. "We need to get you one of these. Well, a lesser version of this. These are called blood orbs. They store something called life points. Basically, everything has a cost. By learning this magic, you're going to need life points not only to use all the tools and magic, but to kinda keep you alive as well."
"Okay then. I guess that makes sense." Locket said, looking at the orb. "It's like HP in a video game, right?" Beasty nodded. "Exactly! Now you'll need this to get started." Beasty held out his dagger to Locket.
Don grabbed Beasty's arm and gripped it tightly. "Why would he need that?" Don scowled. Beasty eye twitched and he gave an unsettling smile. "Why my dear friend; you've got to give something to get something. It's the basic rule of alchemy, equivalent exchange and whatnot. And this is blood magic after all."
Locket nudged Don. "It's okay." Locket murmured. "Let go Don. He knows what he's doing." Don looked at Locket before loosening his grip. "...fine." Locket put his hands on his hips. "Good. Now apologize to Beasty!"
Don crossed his arms. "Seriously?!" Beasty laughed and shook his head. "It's all good Locket, I'm sure he didn't mean it!"
Locket took the knife from Beasty and stood by the altar. "So I just-" he made a slicing motion over his arm. "-like that?"
"I mean, pretty much." Beasty rolled up his sleeve to show multiple scars on his arm. "We need blood in the altar. And since I don't have my old set up, we're going to have to use our own. Do it the old fashioned way. Unless of course the askers would be willing to donate some blood bags to us?" He fluttered his eyelashes towards the sky, presumably to you askers reading this.
Locket looked back at Don. He was biting his nails nervously. Locket looked over at Beasty, who seemed proud of him. He slowly rolled up his sleeve. "....Locket no...." Don whispered to himself.
Locket winced, and soon the altar had a fair amount of blood in it.
Beasty clapped his hands. "Perfect! That should be enough for the most basic blood orb. Hang on one moment!" Beasty flew back into his house. Locket leaned against the altar, almost out of breath.
"Locket, you alright?" Don ran over and pulled some bandages from his back pocket. "Y-yeah... that took quite a bit out of me! But, this isn't the worst pain I've felt." Locket said with an exasperated sigh. As Don wrapped up Locket's arms, a small portal opened from the ceiling and dropped a package.
It was from @Destroyer0P, and was labeled for everybody. Beasty ran back out with a large diamond in his hand, but dropped it at the sight of the package. "Oh hey! When did this come?" he asked. "Just now I guess." Locket said standing up. "Let's open it! Maybe there will be more cake!"
Suddenly from the box came what can only be described as a small floating white dragon skull. "Um..." Beasty asked. "What is that?" He held up his dagger and poked it.
A burst a white energy shot out of its mouth, barely missing Beasty's head and whizzing past Locket and Don. The 3 of them just stood in silence. Locket was the first to speak. "OKAY SO THAT'S COOL."
The skull flew over Beasty's shoulder. "Well it's certainly better than my old demons. This thing is sooooo much better than them!" He pat it on the head like a dog. Don pulled a letter out of the box. "Well it's called a 'Gaster Blaster' apparently." he said reading the letter.
"Well that's another thing to worry about." Don thought to himself. Suddenly 2 holograms appeared. One pat Don on the head, which Don was not happy about. "What's with these things? Why do they all want to hug or pat or do something embarrassing to me?!"
Locket was to distracted by the hologram giving him a massive hug. Don sighed as the holograms disappeared back into the letter. There was a P.S at the bottom.
Also, I give Ashlie the power to hear us!
"Huh." Don said. "Do the askers even have the power to do that? I just assumed that you guys would try and send her asks through letters. I guess we'll have to test that out later."
Beasty knelt down and picked up the diamond he had retrieved from his house. "Well, now that that's done with, you ready to make your first blood orb Locket?" Beasty handed Locket the diamond and instructed him to place it gently into the pool of blood.
As soon as Locket's fingers left the diamond, it began to rise. The blood in the altar swirled around it before being absorbed by the diamond. And in a brilliant flash of crimson light, a blood orb dropped into the altar.
Beasty nudged Locket. "Nice job my apprentice. That's a fine looking blood orb! Now go; pick it up! I can't, otherwise it'll be bound to me instead of you." Locket excitedly picked it up and it flashed red a few times, signaling it had been bound successfully. Locket stared at it with childlike wonder.
However Don noticed that not only the blood orb flashed color, but the red side of Locket's locket did as well. "That's... peculiar." Don mumbled.
"Well I think that's a good start for now!" Beasty laughed, patting Locket on the back. "Let's continue this tomorrow! By then, I'll be able to show off some of the benefits of blood magic!"
Locket snapped his finger. "Hey! Why not tomorrow you tell us all about your old world? We've told everyone our stories! Why don't you tell us yours?" Beasty chuckled nervously. "Sure, if the askers want to hear it, I'll tell my story!"
Don grabbed Locket's arm. "Well while this has been great, we should be off." Beasty frowned. "If you say so. Bye Locket!" He pulled Locket out the back gate towards the front of the house.
Locket still held his orb close to his chest. "Wow... this thing feels kinda weird." Don sighed. "Look, I'll tolerate you learning this blood magic stuff. But I need you to promise you won't go over there without me, got it?"
Locket was confused. "Huh? Why? Beasty's a good guy!"
"He is not a good guy. I don't trust him at all Locket... there's something seriously wrong about this whole thing! I want to you to be careful around him!" Don explained. "What, do you think he's some sort of corrupt villain hellbent on conquering the multiverse? Pfft!!!" Locket laughed. "What proof do you have?"
@SeaBelleStories : OH CRAP! Don! Locket! Duni's alive and the Professor has two runes! He's completely corrupt, worse than Duni ever was! Keep everyone away from him, but you need to find Uni; he's trapped in his closet! Get him out and go hide somewhere. Get weapons and use them if he they find you! Stay safe! Whatever you do don't let Beasty go near the runes!
"See you can't trust-" Don and Locket froze. "Did...did they just say Duni-?"
Don covered his head. "Oh god... no... no he can't be here! There's no way! He died in the lava!" Locket began to panic. "Don, if he has a rune, we are so screwed! I-I don't want to be his prisoner again! I don't want to die!"
Don held his shoulders. "Calm down. No one is being imprisoned. No one is going to die. I'm sure that if we find Uni, he'll be fine. Duni died, remember? There is no way he's here..." he tried to reassure Locket. But in all reality, Don was panicking as well.
@randombushgirl : Don! Duni is alive, he's here and he's causing trouble!
"We have to get Uni!" Locket and Don ran over to the large circus tent. "UNI!" Don cried. "UNI GET OUT HERE NOW!!!"
They went quiet at the sound of footsteps. The curtain-like door opened to reveal a very exhausted looking pug. "Ugh...bloody hell. I had the strangest dream the other night-"
"Uni! Where have you been! We haven't seen you in like 2 weeks!" Locket interrupted him. "2 weeks...?" Uni said. "No, I just saw you guys. Wait, are you the hyper one or my Jon? I only just met you yesterday."
"Yesterday?! That doesn't make any sense! Anyways, have you seen yourself lately? Like an edgy looking version of you with horrible fashion sense?"
"Another me? I beg your pardon? No I haven't seen anyone like that!" Uni yelled back. "Wait! Was he handsomer than me or no?"
"Does it matter?!" Locket was fuming.
While the 2 of them argued, something caught Don's eye. "Hey Uni?" He asked walking around the tent. "Did you take some of my flowers?" Don came upon a small mount of dirt, with a few purple flowers growing out of it. "No," said Uni as he walked over with Locket. "I've told you that I only met you yesterday. I didn't even know you grew flowers."
Locket poked them. "What kind are they?" Don pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and flipped through it. "I-I never seen this kind before. It looks like some of my orchids, but they don't come in this color in this area."
Don stepped over to dig them up, and heard a small cracking sound under his feet. "....what was that? Locket, come here and help me dig this up."
The two of them only had to dig for a few seconds before they found something horrific.
A mutilated and decaying corpse was buried not to far below the dirt, almost as if they had been buried in a hurry. Its remaining flesh had bits of black fur, with a bit of red on its head. It wore bits of tattered red clothing. Its face was frozen with an expression of fear. One of the purple flowers was growing out of an empty eye socket. The strangest ting however was that the eye that still remained was completely purple and glowed.
Locket buried his face into Don's shoulder. Don just had no words.
"Oh. My god."
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Hmm... It seems you guys wanna see how Nick is doing. I would show you, but I think this chapter has gone on long enough (seriously it's like 7000 words).
But I have been wanting to show you what they've been up to....
So stay tuned for the Ask The Jons spin-off book thing:
Multiverse Mayhem
Coming Soon!!!!!!