#magic writes

A small sigh escaped your lips.. This was the third time this week.. Quickly dismissing the alert on your tablet screen, you brought up the video feed to 88’s containment room to see that he was once again gone. Just as you expected. Quickly you brought up more video feed of the surrounding area, including the six other’s containment. As soon as you did you saw him. 88 appeared on one of the cameras before disappearing once again just to appear on another. 

What you didn’t understand was why he didn’t start heading for an exit as easily as he could with his teleporting ability. Instead every time he got out it was like he was looking for something, and it puzzled you as to what exactly. You wanted to know what he was looking for… but every time you had run this test he never seemed to find it before the guards managed to contain him once again. 

As much as you wanted to let him free for as long as possible til he could find whatever he was looking for, you couldn’t. The higher ups always refused and said that the chance for escape was too great if 88 wasn’t contained again after the amount of time provided. Though a bad feeling was creeping up on you about this test.. Well more exactly you didn’t know how much longer you would be able to run it before 88 would just no longer take his chance at getting out of his containment. 

You stood silently in the observation deck of subject 4’s containment. The white haired male seemingly unbothered by the noises going on around him. Even as the lights flashed and changed in intensity he didn’t budge. Your eyes flicked back and forth between the screen on your tablet and watching the male in the room just below you. The first time he killed the lights the second the alarm when off as he had so previously done before 88 had arrived at your facility. The second escape attempt he let the lights go for a while longer before he killed them once again. This time though.. It was well past the previous time period and it didn’t seem like he was going to make any move to stop the light. 

The radio at your hip buzzed to life, pulling you from your observations on the white haired male below you. “Y/N! Look at the feed! 88 finally stopped!” The familiar voice of your partner had you scrambling to look at your tablet, scanning through the different feeds until you finally spotted the familiar dark haired male. 

He was standing in front of a door. A door that was all too familiar to you. You refreshed the feed just in case that it was wrong or if he moved on but no.. He was standing right in front of 4’s door. Standing at the entrance to the room that you and subject number 4 were in. Was he after you, or was he after 4? You didn’t understand. 

You felt your heart rate pick up, knowing that a potentially dangerous subject was standing just down the stairs from you. Were you really about to do this? You swallowed harshly before returning your gaze to the tablet held in your now shaky hands. Quickly you went to 4’s containment controls and released the lock down, opening the doors up for 88 to get inside. 

“Y/N? Why is 4’s containment open? What are you doing? Aren’t you in there?” You could tell your partner was getting panicked about you opening the doors, but you didn’t want to respond to him. You didn’t want to make a noise that would alert 88 just in case he was coming for you. 

As quietly as you could muster you opened both doors to 4’s containment. Both to get inside the room and then the actual containment itself. Your eyes flicked over to 4, watching as he perked up when he heard the door slide open, but he made no move to exit. Instead his eyes watched the door, probably expecting some sort of staff member to step aside. 

Your eyes went back to the stairwell, holding your breath as you watched 88 step inside. Fear coursed through you as he looked around for a moment before moving forward once again, either not noticing that you were here or not caring. 

Swiftly you turned your attention back to the containment room. Watching as 88 stopped just inside the door. His eyes falling on the other figure that sat against his bed on the floor. 

Questions filled your mind. What was going to happen now? Were they going to fight? Is 4 the thing that 88 had been looking for so long? Did they know each other? 

You stepped forward closer to the glass of the observation room. Watching as the two studied each other for a long moment. You couldn’t see 88’s face for his back was to you, but you could see 4 clearly. His face held confusion, recognition, fear, but also relief? Maybe? You watched as 4 spoke, words too quiet for you to hear even with the audio system in place. Then in just a second 88 was over there hugging the other. Not what you were expecting, but you more so weren’t expecting the beautiful smile that graced 4’s features. A smile you haven’t seen in the longest time. 

You observed for a small moment before you realized that you needed to get 88 contained before he was dragged back to his own containment. Quickly you pulled up the controls for 4’s containment agan closing the door to the room the two were in. Their gazes snapping to the door before looking at each other. They were confused maybe even scared but you wanted them to remain together so you could study what was going on, to figure out how the two knew each other. 

You reached for your radio pulling it to your mouth to speak. “88 has been contained. Test 14 has come to a close.” You could deal with your higher up’s reaction to this new move later. You weren’t going to let this chance slip by. You certainly were going to get an earful from Mark, your partner, here shortly. You were more afraid of the man that was supposed to be your equal than you were of your bosses. 

Quietly you stepped out of 4’s containment area, letting out a breath of relief as the door slide home behind you. The lock down from the breach just a moment ago was lifted as the locks that required a manual override were released. You tucked the tablet under your arm as you moved back to your office just at the end of the sector. 

As soon as you stepped inside two familiar faces greeted you. Mark’s eyes narrowed into a glare, while Ten was smiling brightly as ever. Ten was the first to speak breaking the silence that had settled between the three of you. 

“So how did the test go?” He asked, the curiosity clear in his tone. 

“Ten you know you aren’t supposed to know the findings on other subjects seeing how you are a subject yourself.” You reminded him. As you moved around to your desk, setting the tablet down on top of some papers. “What are you doing in my office anyway?”

As your gaze found subject 10 again, you could see the pout on his face. “Well I was already here waiting on you when the lock down occurred so I couldn’t go back. Plus I have been curious about 88 and 4 for the longest time. Besides you guys will tell me anyway. I have free roam so I hear pretty much everything.”

You rubbed your forehead letting out a small sigh before shooting Mark a glare knowing that the other researcher probably already let some things slip to the older male. 

“88 and 4’s status is not something you should be concerned with.” You answered firmly trying to get it through his stubborn nature but you knew he would ignore you anyway. 

“Speaking of which,” Mark interrupted the conversation before this turned into more of a deal than it needed to be. “What were you thinking back there? Letting 88 in the room with you inside, he could have killed you!”

You let out another sigh, not really wanting to deal with this. “I was doing what I needed to do to get answers. 88 has never stopped before. We couldn’t risk him not stopping again just to make sure I was safe.” You would do anything to get answers about your research subjects, even if it meant harming yourself but 88 has never shown any violent behavior. 

“But he could have stopped again. Seeing what I already saw between him and 4 it was a most likely occurrence! You need to be alive to answer the questions you have!” Mark retorted, coming at you with a point that you knew you couldn’t argue against. 

You waved your hand brushing him off, ignoring the smug look on Ten’s face as he was getting what he wanted. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter at this point. What is done is done, and I am safe.”

Mark let out a sigh. “You can’t keep brushing it off. If you don’t listen then one day you won’t be safe. What if that had been 109?”

Of course he would bring up 109.. If it had been 109 you wouldn’t have done what you did. Probably.. 

“Look, I know you care Mark but at this point we have made progress. More progress than we have ever made with 88, and he is connected somehow to 4 so we might end up making progress with both of them at this rate. It has been a long long time since 4 has done anything or even showed remote interest in other things!” This time he wasn’t able to argue with you. You were right, it was like the two of you had hit a brick wall when it came to progress with 4. Nothing seemed to work until now, until 88 got into his room.  

“If it takes others for 4 to make some progress then maybe I can go in there?” Ten asked after a moment of silence between you and mark. 

Both you and the other researcher looked over at him. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

The two of you said it at the same time causing a confused expression to cross over Ten’s features. “Okay what is the answer here?” 

“Ten you know the rules, you aren’t supposed to be near other test subjects without proper clearance, and that is clearance I already have denied you many times.” You stated, looking at the subject in your office. 

“Oh come on Y/N! You already broke the rules, so why not him? We can see if more progress is made with Ten and besides he already wanders around our sector might as well give him something more to do than just bug us in our offices.” Mark stated doing a hand gesture while he spoke to emphasize his point. 

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at his words, but he had just as much authority as you. If you didn’t agree Mark would probably do it on your day off. “Fine.. In a few days from now after we are done picking up data between 4 and 88 we can try it.” You fixed a heavy stare to Ten. “Just don’t try anything funny you got that?”

It had been five years since Nicholas had died, and Johnny felt a bitter sadness bubble in his chest knowing that he’d soon be the same age his elder brother would be when he passed. He huffed, gently patting at Slow Dancer’s neck as she settled beside him from where he sat besides the bank of the lake. He chose not to tell his father where he was going, which he knew would earn him an argument the second he arrived home, but right then he didn’t care. The mare snorted softly beside him, ears flicking back briefly, and Johnny withdrew his hand to lay down and bask in the sun.

Even if it had happened five years ago, he recalled the events so vividly in his head. They replayed like a broken record, and he closed his eyes with a harsh sigh. Nicholas wouldn’t want him to dwell on it, but his own father's disdain towards him served as a constant reminder that he would simply never be Nick. And whilst his father chose to shut himself off from the rest of the world, and his only other son, Johnny decided he wouldn’t do the same. 

Not this time. 

The lake was sacred to Nicholas. He always cherished how secluded it was, surrounded by thick forestry and brush, the sun peaking through the leaves and lightly warming the grass below. A small stream ran right into the lake, which acted as white noise as Johnny relaxed. It had been a struggle, getting over Nicholas’s death, and the date still haunted him. It didn’t even feel like he was truly ‘over it’. More like he was just getting used to the dull ache that grief left him with, a void that would never be filled. 

A soft sigh escaped his lungs, eyes sliding closed as he bathed under the sun that filtered through the leaves. He always found himself wondering… why Nicholas enjoyed this place so much. It was pretty, sure. But not very interesting, or at least, Johnny didn’t think so. Nick had taken him there a handful of times, but they’d always end up heading back early because Johnny would quickly grow bored of just sitting around. Now he was older, he could understand a little better; he could see the beauty in nature, how nice it was to just lay down and forget about the rest of the world.

Johnny never really got it. He was kind to all the stable boys, he had a lot of friends at school, the maids liked him, but he always chose to… Come here. To be alone. Because, in Johnny’s experience, that was one of the worst things that could happen to him. To be left all alone. He couldn’t imagine why someone like Nick would want to escape what he had. Johnny didn’t really get along with anyone at school, in fact he’d go out of his way to avoid people, which only got worse after his elder brother’s passing.

His brow twitched a little, trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. He could feel his eyes sting under their lids as they watered, but he couldn’t bring himself to cry. Or, rather, he wouldn’t let himself cry. Nick wouldn’t want him to cry. And it wasn’t like anyone was there to comfort him, if he did. He focused on breathing, softly, his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. 

He would have fallen asleep if he hadn’t heard Slow Dancer snort lightly beside him. His hand idly reached out to pet at her flank where she lay next to him, careful not to startle her. He didn’t open his eyes until he heard someone… Laughing? It was more like a strange trill. When she snorted again, making a noise that sounded annoyed, his eyes opened lazily. He assumed it was just a bug or something pestering her.

He wasn’t expecting to find a pair of eyes meeting his own. 

Johnny jolted upright, which was enough to scare them back into the water. They moved so fast that he almost thought he was imagining it, a blur of gold and blue flashed before him. Slow Dancer’s ears were pinned back, now, in obvious annoyance, beginning to rise to her feet to step away from the lake’s edge. He was about to dismiss it as his mind playing tricks on him, or the mare just being irritable about something (as usual). But he couldn’t stop himself from edging closer to the water, as if his body was running on autopilot.

He peered over the edge, the mud forming a slight overhang, hands braced either side of him as he awkwardly crawled forward. He stared down into the water, only to find his reflection. But the surface wobbled lightly like something had disturbed it’s calmness. His ginger hair fell into his face when he stared down, squinting as if that would help him see further into the murky darkness of the lake.

He dismissed it as nothing after his brief investigation. But when an icy cold hand darted out and grappled his wrist, he couldn’t help but let out a shriek. A long string of curses that would surely get him a lashing if his father ever heard them escaped him as he fought, finally managing to yank himself back from where it had tried to get him under the water. He let out a few gasps for air as he shimmied away from the water’s edge, but whatever he had pissed off quickly clambered onto land right after him.

That’s when he finally got a good look at them. A mop of golden hair, with the most piercing blue eyes he’d ever seen staring right into his soul. Their facial features were all sharp, pointed, with deep blue spots dotting up and down their neck and ears fanning out. It took him another second to realise what he was staring at was inhuman, but another howl wrenched from his throat as their hand grabbed for his ankle now, trying to crawl away from their grasp. They let go after a brief struggle, letting Johnny shift himself back onto land, panting from exertion.

“W- What the hell? What the hell?!” Was all he could manage when he was freed, panic gripping his chest. They stared at him, wide-eyed, but didn’t move. That only struck a chord of annoyance in him. “H-Hey, aren’t you gonna answer me?!” He growled out, voice cracking a little. 

Their expression was unreadable, and Johnny didn’t know how long they just stared one another down. It was tempting to throw something at them, to force them to do something, but he grit his teeth and held his gaze. After a while, they blinked, before shaking their head. They made a sound of annoyance, pushing themselves back towards the water.

“I thought you were someone else.” Their voice was hard to describe, but somehow their accent shone through as distinctly English. But it was as if they were struggling to speak, almost. Johnny’s eyes squinted into a questioning glare, which was quickly returned. They made a move as if they were going to dive back under the water, but they seemed to hesitate. There was another stare-down, this time Johnny was trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at, but the other growled which made him jump a little.

“Did anyone teach you any manners? It’s rude to stare.”

Johnny let out a noise of exasperation. “You just- just grabbed me!”

“I thought you were someone else.” They snarled, now, sharp claws digging into the bank they were propped up on. Johnny braced himself to reach for his knife just in case they made any sudden movements. “You smelt like him, I saw your horse, and I got ahead of myself.”

Their fanned out ears- now Johnny was realising they were probably fins, or something- lowered slightly. Before he could speak up again, they were army crawling onto land, to which Johnny quickly grabbed his knife to point at them in threat. 

“What are you doing?!” He questioned, but only received a rumbled snarl back. He found himself distracted by their lack of legs, replaced by one long muscular tail that was so long that the end didn’t even poke out of the water. Before he could find himself too enraptured by this creature, they grabbed for his bag, sniffing at it, and Johnny waved his knife again. “H-Hey, you can’t just dig through my stuff--”

“You don’t have any food...” They muttered out, tossing it towards him. Johnny was dumbfounded by that, mouth hung open like a fish, before they were attempting to turn to slide back into the water. “I can’t believe I mistook you for him. Nick was never so impolite.”

“Nick?! Hey- Hey!” Johnny couldn’t stop himself from lunging himself forward, earning a loud hiss from them. But the mention of his brother’s name caused a surge of something inside him- anger, confidence, he didn’t know what, but the other was simply too fast. Just like that, they’d disappeared under the water’s surface, the bright blues and golds lost to the murkiness again.

This time, he growled in frustration. He moved towards the bank, grass and mud staining his jodhpurs, but he paid no mind to it as he reached into the water after them, like he could pull them out like a catfish. He felt nothing, however, just water rolled through his fingers as he waved his hand about under the surface. 

That same trilling noise from earlier echoed through the empty air, his head snapping up towards it. The bastard’s head bobbed up out of the water nearer the middle of the lake, and whatever they were, they were certainly laughing, a lop-sided grin on their face. It was creepy, the way they smirked, all fangs and jagged teeth. But that only seemed to further rub salt in the wound that had been reopened that day.

“What the hell are you?” He yelled out at them, mostly in frustration. They dived down again, tail splashing out of the water as he presumed they were coming closer. He clenched his knife hard in his hands, darting his eyes over the surface of the lake to try and find them again. They resurfaced near him, shoulders out in the shallower depths, still grinning maniacally. How… How could something look so human, but so- so not human? How were they breathing beneath the water?

“You don’t know what a mermaid is?” They sounded mocking. Johnny pulled a somewhat confused look for a split second, which earned another weird laugh. “I shall take that as a no.”

“I never said- I never said I ain’t know what a mermaid is!”

“But you looked it. You do that face.” They mimicked him, exaggerating his confused expression, to which Johnny scoffed, which they also mimicked. “Humans make all sorts of funny faces and make funny sounds, too.”

“I don’t need this right now.” Johnny finally announced with another scoff. He clicked his tongue for Slow Dancer to come over, who was lightly chomping at the grass nearby, raising her head when she was called. If this thing wanted to make fun of him, well, he just wasn’t going to deal with it. He’d be the bigger man and just… Leave. As she slowly trotted over, he heard the water slosh a little, and they perched with their arms crossed onto the lip of the lake.

“What’s up with you?” Their brow raised, smirking still, hair stuck to their forehead. When Johnny didn’t answer and instead reached for his horse, they let out a long whine. “Hey, not yet! I was just messing with you. Hey! Come ooooon! Don’t leave me here! I was just starting to have fun!”

Johnny shot another glare their way, at this ‘mermaid’ thing, and their head tilted a little in response. Their eyes were so large, almost catlike in how their pupils dilated, it was… A bit entrancing. He let go of Slow Dancer, instead, rolling his eyes with a tut to himself. What was he going to do once he got home, anyway? Pretend his father wasn’t alone in his room wishing it was him that was dead, and not Nicholas? That caused a pang of pain to shoot through his chest. 

“How did… How did you know Nick?” He brought himself to ask. Based on their interactions so far, he didn’t know whether or not he’d receive a genuine answer. Their smile disappeared, though, head lowering somewhat into their arms. They eventually shrugged, though.

“Somebody that I used to know.”

“How?” A feeling of desperation bubbled in the pit of his stomach. “Tell me how.”

“...He came here a lot, and he was nice to me, and he gave me food. Then I never saw him again.” They didn’t seem sad, moreso confused. But the way their head lowered pitifully made sympathy stab in his chest. At least that answers some of my questions, he supposed, but certainly didn’t make him feel much better. “Are you his friend?”

“I’m… H- His brother.” He glanced down to avoid their unblinking stare. He let out a hard sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. It felt almost wrong, to call himself his brother, guilt and shame ebbing away at him as feelings he hadn’t addressed since that day welled over inside of his chest. “N- Nick died, um, some… A while ago.” 

“Oh.”

“...Mmm.” 

It was a fight, to not start crying, hot tears brimming his eyes and sticking to his lashes. A cold hand reached out to touch his shoulder. He jolted at the sensation, eyes widening, glancing down at them, a few tears spilling out in surprise. The claws he’d seen earlier were gone, retracted into their skin, and despite grief coming to bite him like a snake in the grass, he found himself fascinated again. Their hand came to fully rest there, head tilting to gauge the reaction. 

“What’s your name?” They finally asked. Johnny reached up to wipe away the stray tears, forcing down his emotions all over again. It didn’t even occur to him that they hadn’t even properly introduced themselves to one another in his emotional rollercoaster. He shrugged their hand away before answering, however. 

“J… Johnny. Johnny Joestar.”

They nodded back. “My name is--” There was a weird noise that ruptured from the back of their throat, which Johnny thought sounded like a gurgled choking noise, only frowning in surprise at the sound. “But Nick used to call me ‘Diego’ though. Or ‘Dio’, for short. I don’t know where he got Diego from, but I like it.”

Johnny couldn’t help but give an awkward laugh. His brain hadn’t really come to terms with what was going on, but- but he couldn’t say he entirely disliked their weird company. And it was weird. Trust Nick to make friends with… a ‘mermaid’? He’d already forgotten what they said they were...

“So, since we’re friends now, I guess you won’t need this anymore.” Diego broke the silence by grabbing for the knife that had been discarded in the grass. Before he could make an argument, the knife had already been launched far into the lake, a gentle ‘plop’ following it. 

Johnny quickly found himself in a state of dumbfoundedness again, glancing between the water and Diego. “W- W-- That was-- my knife! I need that!”

“For what, threatening to stab me again?” They purred, and their lips curled up playfully. Johnny felt a blush of embarrassment cloud his face. “I can get it back for you if you promise one thing.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position t’ be makin’ demands, but--”

“Come back tomorrow. Same time. But bring food. I’m hungry as all hell.” Diego spoke, as if they owned the world. Though Johnny wrinkled his nose, he could really only wish he had that kind of confidence. They took hold of his hand, as if to emphasise the promise he hadn’t even agreed to yet. “You will do this for me. Because, well, we are friends, aren’t we?”

He hesitated, and he found himself subject to those entrancing eyes again. This time he couldn’t find it in him to look away. Maybe he would have said no if he could have. Like he would let this guy walk all over him- they didn’t even have any legs to do so! But Johnny meekly grunted in response, and clearly that was taken as a yes answer, even if he hadn’t opened his mouth.

They grinned all over again, throwing their arms around him with a noise that could only be described as a squeal, and Johnny was almost tackled to the floor with the force of it. He was stunned briefly, even as Diego moved away, tail curled up near them, flicking up and down in… Excitement? Were mermaids like dogs? He was still too taken aback to really give any verbal response. 

“I didn’t-- I didn’t even say yes--” He held a hand out to keep them at an arm’s distance away, all this sudden contact overwhelming him. But they were quick to shove his hand aside, moving far too close for comfort with those teeth he knew were in their mouth.

“Don’t keep me waiting.” Their voice lowered almost dangerously. He knew it was probably an empty threat, they definitely weren’t as agile on land, it seemed. But he only nodded back, out of fear or the need for company, he wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, they let out another purring sound. 

“Good.” They spoke, softly, and there was a moment where they were both still. There was still an aura of unease, and he could feel it. Certainly not as much as before, perhaps, but Johnny was taken entirely off-guard when they suddenly leaned in and left a gentle peck on his cheek. 

And- as it seemed, was tradition for them- they quickly disappeared all over again. Johnny stilled, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, before his brain finally caught onto what happened. Just like before, he shouted after them, and there was that noisy trilling mocking laughter that was becoming less and less insufferable by the second.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday uncle Jack, happy birthday to you!" Chase's kids sang right before blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. They had demanded to see him in his hospital room on his birthday, despite Chase's protests.

The three of them sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Chase spoke up. "Do you want to cut the cake?". Nodding enthusiastically, his son reached for the knife, only for Chase to grab it first. "Nuh uh, buddy. You know the rules." The pieces weren't even, but Chase didn't care. As soon as he was done, his son took a piece and set it on the tray beside Jack's bed. Chase had to hold back tears as he handed a piece to his daughter.

He sighed as he finished cleaning up, and handed his kids their jackets. "Go on out to the waiting room, mom's here to pick you up.". He crouched down to hug them. "See you guys next weekend.". And just like that, they were out the door. He turned and grabbed his own jacket, then headed towards the door. Casting one last quick glance towards the bed, he turned the handle and stepped out. "Happy birthday, Jack."