[FRAG] House of Liars

Magnotris, frankly, couldn't believe he'd agreed to this.

The adrenaline running through his system reminded him that it was foolish. This was stupid. He was a moron for agreeing. But was he, really? Was he really so stupid, to just want a little bit of revenge? The idea of having Juice's neck in his hands, choking the other... maybe he was a monster for letting his anger get the best of him, this time. But, really, it was fine. Juice deserved it. It was fine, just the once, to take it out on the right criminals.

And the mere thought made his heart race and his fingers twitch.

Of course, it wasn't like he could bring any of that up, still half-clutching Quantum's arm as they overlooked Divinity together, the city sprawled out before them like a sleeping animal, unaware of its predators currently perched on a high-rise. Magnotris glanced over his shoulder again, frowning at the guard that Quantum had unceremoniously snapped the neck of.

"He's in the big building?" Quantum prompted, voice a little hoarse. 

Magnotris glanced up, towards Juice's... castle? Mansion? Base? Whatever the fuck he lived in - the weird mirror structure, the tallest building in the city. There were a few guards at its entrance, but they seemed more occupied with playing a card game. It was friendly, casual enough to give him slight pause.

His fingers tightened in Quantum's sleeve. "He might not even be in there, you know."

And if he wasn't? Stars knew where he was, instead. For all they knew, Juice could be at headquarters, already causing havoc and disaster. Maybe enslaving everyone. Maybe killing people. Who knew the limits the other had, if any? Stupid fucking gods. Power went right to their heads, and they started thinking they could fix everything in some asinine, elaborate plots.

Well, not this time. They'd step in before any more bullshit came through. They'd stop Juice's stupid ideas, free everyone trapped in Divinity, and end the underground once and for all. Fuck Jubilee's plan. Fuck all of that. They were going to fix it, and Magnotris was going to atone for everything cruel and heartless he'd done, along with the victim he'd rescued. How poetic.

"If he's not, then we'll find him," Quantum replied, staring intensely at the guards, as if he could will them to pieces. "And we'll kill him."

If he was honest with himself, Magnotris knew the plan was bunk. There was no real way they, two normal Frags, could take on the likes of Juice and Proximity - Magnitude Fragments. It was stupid to try, even - they'd likely end up dead or injured, minds melted by that egomaniac. But every time Quantum's quiet, resentful "I want you to help me kill Juice," rose from his memories, he believed in it a little more.

Maybe, just maybe, things would be on his side for once. They'd catch a lucky break. He wouldn't be stuck in the back seat for once. He'd be back right in the action, in the middle of this stupid magical conspiracy, and he'd unravel it right at its core. Fuck Jubilee. Fuck Juice! Fuck everyone who thought he needed to wait in the wings, needed to just hold back and let everyone else figure it out. He was going to show them all. Stupid fucking assholes, never believed in him. 

And, fuck, Quantum was a fighter in a class all his own. He'd seen how easily the other had shrugged off the assault of the other Frags, and how hard his hits had been. Maybe, just maybe, it'd be enough to incapacitate Juice enough for Magnotris to get the killing blow in. His fingers curled around the hilt of the gold dagger, the talc soft against his palm.

"Right," he said firmly, squeezing Quantum's arm. "Right. We could even lay there in wait."

Quantum glanced back, towards Divinity's gates. "He already knows we're here. He felt my teleport."

In other words, a timer was clicking away. Magnotris' fingers tightened again as he leaned forwards. From the height of the skyscraper they were perched on, he could barely make out people on the road below, milling about, discussing. This was going to be difficult... but he'd never been one to turn up his nose at a challenge.

Quantum shifted, leaning back and pointing at one of the guards, lining up the shot. Appropriately, Magnotris let go of him, backing away slightly. There was a tense, brief moment of silence, before the tiny shot of magic cleanly sliced through the air and through both of the building's guards. After a second, they both faceplanted, cards scattered.

Magnotris breathed in. They were doing this. They were going to do this. Adrenaline and excitement both were the only things he could feel, in his shaking hands. 

This was bigger than he was. This was bigger than they both were. They were going to dismantle the worst of the worst, the most disgusting undercurrent their world held. There would be no waiting around for Jubilee or Morning Star or any of that. They'd resolve it, here, now. 

"You only need to distract him for a few minutes," Quantum said, "that's all."

His voice was a bit shaky, too. Magnotris spared a glance Quantum's way. The other wasn't quite as visibly trembling, but he was staring at Juice's building with a kind of intense desperation that, if he was being honest, Magnotris had no concept of. He wasn't a desperation person, and though he was grateful for the opportunity to beat Juice's face in, he knew he couldn't fathom the depth of meaning this had for Quantum.

All the more reason to try, right?

Deftly, Magnotris slipped off the building, alighting on the road below with little trouble. Nobody bothered to look his way; he silently thanked the stars. Juice had implied he'd brainwashed the entire city... but that was unfeasible, right? He couldn't actually be brainwashing the entire underground markets and trades? That was just absurd.

So no, he hadn't been caught, and he wasn't walking right into a trap. He was fine. Keep his head held high, and trot up to the building, like he belonged. Nobody would question him. 

The throne room was as he remembered - high ceilings, surrounded by pillars with strung fairy-lights, with banners complimenting the darkness. At the far end sat the throne, carved from rough marble, Proximity curled on a cushion that softened its seat. Juice was nowhere in sight.

Magnotris hid his grimace. Of course. Just their luck.

Proximity didn't glanced up at his arrival, only looked between his magazine (propped up against the armrest) and comparing it with the nail polish he was currently applying. Magnotris knew better than to question it. Stupid gods would do whatever the fuck they wanted. A cellie and several other sheets of paper were scattered around.

"Good to see you're back already, Jems," Proximity said, still not looking up, "did you bring the documentation? And the publications I asked for?"

Silently, Magnotris crossed the room. They needed Juice, not Proximity - though, really, would it be so bad to kill off Prox, though? To take out one of the two pillars? Surely it wouldn't. But could he formulate that to Quantum in time? Telepathy was out of the question, and he couldn't back out of the room now. Best to hope for the best. That was all he could do. Adapt.

Prox looked up as Magnotris' footsteps drew closer, and frowned. "Oh. You again. Hello?"

"Where is Juice?" Magnotris said, keeping his voice firm.

"Huh? Why are you-"

"Where is he?"

Proximity's frown deepened and he closed the lid on the polish. "He's out."

"Where?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Magnotris flexed his hand. His grip on the dagger, in his pants pocket, was still tight, tight enough to slick his hand with sweat. "I changed my mind."

"Well, sheesh," Prox said, putting his hands on his hips, "you know how hard that little pal of yours punched us? That actually hurt. I don't know if Party'll let you join after a stunt like that."

Magnotris breathed in and raised an eyebrow.

"OK, I guess that's fair," Prox said, setting aside the other items on the throne. "So!" he put his hands on his hips, "what made you change your mind?"

Magnotris glanced over his shoulder. Quantum still wasn't in sight. He wouldn't show up unless Magnotris gave the signal. "I just... um, was wondering about your... goals. Wondering if they were more... better than the Coalition's. So I wanted to come here and join you."

"Oh, for sure, but that's obvious, isn't it?" Prox said, amusedly, with a light shrug and wave of his hand.

He was casual enough that it was starting to prickle under Magnotris' skin. Stupid fucking Mag Frags. He hated them, so, so much, stupid idiots thinking they were high and mighty, doing stupid shit like this. Just ruining everything, getting their stupid overpowered hands on everything, messing it up. They'd messed up so much with Morning Star.

It really was their fault, wasn't it, that all of this had happened? That Morning Star had been so traumatized? He would've never been swept up in the Bereave thing if Pyatiugolnik hadn't ascended him. Of course. Only salt in the wound. And it had been Mag interference that had resulted in Bereave's death anyways. 

He didn't know, still, whether or not he was glad Bereave was dead. He didn't want to think about that right now. What was important was making sure the plan was going off without a hitch. Killing two self-important gods. Giving Quantum the fucking revenge he deserved, revenge for getting locked up all those years and traumatized. It was these fuckers' faults. And they'd dismantle every cornerstone of this entire operation. 

"Please enlighten me," Magnotris said.

"Well, which branch were you looking to get into?" Prox asked, brightly, hands still on hips and smiling. "We have different regulations depending on what exactly you want. We'll supply the goods most of the time, and repay you for any stock you lose, of course. But there's also a few... classes you have to attend, depending-"

"-No, tell me about your goals," Magnotris grumbled, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Proximity blinked for a second, before smiling again, "Oh, fair enough! Our goal is to make Divinity and its subsidiaries a safe, healthy way for people to explore their darker sides, with enough regulation that-"

"At the cost of innocent lives?" Magnotris challenged, the white-hot, familiar streak of his anger igniting.

"What do you mean?"

"The fighting ring," he spat, "people can force others into fighting for them. Trafficking. Buying and selling of lesser beings. All of these are ABSOLUTELY part of the underground, and how can you say you're making it 'safe' and 'healthy' for people to explore actual human atrocities?!"

The frown had returned to Proximity's face. "We're working on that. Regulations are tighter now. But if you know of any rings that might be breaking the codes and laws that I wrote up, please let me know, okay? Things don't improve fast if people don't tell us!"

He sounded like a fucking politician. A politician advocating for lesser-being trafficking, prostitution, slavery. This was a fucking joke, right? A big, stupid, joke. "It shouldn't be happening in the first place."

Fuck, why was he even arguing this? Obviously he wasn't going to get through to Proximity, but he was still shooting back counterpoints, questions, loopholes in the other's warped, disgusting logic. This was a waste of time. 

And yet, his anger had him firmly leashed. Despite everything, he still wanted to convince Proximity that this was wrong. He still wanted to believe that Proximity had sense, that Proximity had the capacity to realize his mistake and move on. The cynic in Magnotris said it was stupid to even consider it, but the only thing running the show at the moment was resentment.

"Well, duh, I agree with you there," Prox said, with an amused shrug and eye roll, "but things take time! You have to phase things out in style. Or brainwashing, I guess. And we're working on that! But it's hard when the damn Coalition keeps poking holes in our plans."

"How are we supposed to know your 'plans'? How are we supposed to trust that they're actually doing what you say they are? That you're not just lying to make yourselves look better?"

Proximity magicked up a stack of papers. Magnotris frowned at it. "Welllll, this is a peer-reviewed study showing lower rates of violent crime in most Timelines among Fragments and Fragment-to-mortal interactions! So I'd like to say that we're doing-"

"-Who the fuck is peer-reviewing this shit?"

There was a long pause. Proximity stared at the papers for a second longer, smile frozen and strained, before he looked to Magnotris, slowly, like the other's presence was just dawning on him. "You don't actually want to join."

"No." 

"You don't actually care about what I'm saying right now."

"No, not really."

With a long sigh, Prox dissipated the stack. "OK. Why are you here, then? Why were you asking about Juice?"

Magnotris let magic spark in his hand, and snapped his fingers behind his back. The signal. "I mean, I guess I was sort of curious about it all. Wondering if it'd redeem you two even a little bit."

Wow. He sounded more spiteful than he intended.

"Redeem?" Prox's frown deepened. "I mean... we're not usually fussed about that-"

One of the windows shattered, from far above, higher than the lights pierced. Proximity's head swung up as Magnotris crounched, instinctively covering his head as glass rained down from above. He could hear the thud of Quantum landing, hard, next to him. The ground cracked slightly from the force of impact; he could see the spiderweb shatter under his own feet.

Magnotris scrambled back slightly, gripping the dagger as his eyes flicked between Quantum and Prox. Neither had moved, frozen, staring at each other. Prox's eyes had widened - but that was all. Magnotris narrowed his eyes, scowl emerging. Was... Quantum trying to intimidate the other? Or something?

"Oh my goodness," Prox said, somewhat breathless.

Was this weird magic bullshit? Was Quantum doing weird magic shit? He hadn't seemed like an exceptionally-magical orientated Frag, but well, Magnotris knew better than to make assumptions (he himself didn't appear to be a chemist, after all). But he couldn't feel any magic in the air - and would Prox really be reacting that way?

Suddenly lost, without any cards in his hands, confusion overtook the anger for a brief second. The full weight of the situation was only a blink behind.

He was in Divinity. Essentially helpless. He'd let himself get caught up by anger, resentment, frustration, and self-pity, and had wandered into one of the most dangerous situations he could've. If things went south, the best he could hope for was Rendgen and Jubilee swinging in and saving his sorry ass again. If Rendgen was still watching. And if he wasn't, who knew when someone would notice he or Quantum was missing? 

No. No, NO, stop thinking about that. It's just going to cause problems. If he lost faith in the plan, it'd become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It'd collapse. He had to cling to this house of cards, cling to this lie with all his might. If he just lied to himself, it'd be fine. Right? Right. Stop worrying. Don't be like Morning Star. Be like Magnotris.

Magnotris. Intimidating. Strong. Gives no fucks. Trying to be a good person. Going to be a godkiller. That was him. Be more like that. Shut that anxiety up, pull up his pants, and remember the plan. Have faith in the plan. Quantum was strong. And it'd only take a bit of gold, right? Gold could kill anything. He watched Sterling kill Bereave. 

"Well, that's a mighty surprise!" Proximity said, cheerfully putting his hands on his hips again, "I didn't know one of the Magnitude Fragments would be visiting so soon! You know there's a door, right?"

Magnitude Fragments? One of them? Magnotris looked to Quantum.

Quantum didn't respond, hands shaking, eyes wide, teeth grit together as he stared at Proximity in a mixture of betrayal and horror.

"It's right over there...." Prox pointed towards the entrance.

Quantum still couldn't speak. 

"Well!" Prox clasped his hands together, voice shaky, "whatever, that's irrelevant - if you like windows or doors more, whatever, that's fine, we can work around that - but I'm so fucking happy to see another-"

Quantum's fist collided with the side of Prox's head.

Magnotris watched as Prox's body shot through the air, as it flipped, skidded on the ground, and finally made contact with the far wall with a crack that shattered both bones and steel. The Mag dropped to the floor, letting out a weak whimper and curling up slightly.

After a pause, Magnotris let himself breathe in. They were going to win this. Look at that.

"I can't FUCKING BELIEVE," Quantum screamed, voice loud enough that Magnotris' hands flew up to cover his ears instinctively, "that one of YOU did this to me!"

"Wh-" Prox couldn't manage more than a syllable as Quantum's foot smashed, hard, into his spine, audibly cracking it. His sentence was swallowed by a scream instead. 

"You REPULSIVE FUCKING EGOTISTICAL COWARD!"

Proximity violently flinched at the words, wincing hard, tears streaming down his face, "Listen, s-stop, I think you misunderstand-"

"Misunderstand!?" Quantum roughly picked him up by the front of his shirt, bellowing, "I'M not the one ENSLAVING people for some sick fuck's enjoyment!"

"W-wait," Prox managed, cracking an eye open, "y-you're the one that Myosatellite reported m-missing? But you're like me a-and Party!"

"TRUST ME, the similarities DISGUST ME."

"N-no, not that! I-I mean, if you're... um... if you're like us why didn't you just stop it!"

Magnotris' eyes flicked to Quantum, whose expression had melted into pure, burning incredulous rage. The violence was starting to get under his own skin, and he ripped his eyes away from Prox's broken body. Some sort of scar had travelled up his neck and exposed some sort of stardust. Just like what Bereave had bled. It was enough to make his stomach churn.

This was justified. This has to be justified, right? Stars, he couldn't be so anti-violence now that he couldn't enjoy an asshole getting beat up, right? He was just emotional. Or something. Or... he didn't know. But was this really who he was? Incapable of liking even the most reasonable act of cruelty? Proximity was an awful person. He deserved this.

Fucking hell, Morning Star really rubbed off on him. Regret had leaked in through the cracks of his psyche and discoloring everything else. It wasn't like he wanted to make amends with Prox or anything - he wasn't stupidly idealistic, bless Morning Star's heart - but the dissonance had become loud enough that Magnotris couldn't help but notice it now.

But what could he do? Call off Quantum? Haha, hell fucking no. 

The other still hadn't moved, still clutching Prox. What was running through his head? What emotions? Though Magnotris was not exactly literate in the field of expressing oneself and introspection, he wasn't stupid enough to miss the implications of what Prox had said. And, well, he supposed it was a fair enough question. Maybe harmless... if they weren't in this sort of situation.

Stars above.

"You're joking," Quantum hissed, finally.

"N-no, not really," Prox said.

Magnotris winced, covering his eyes. It was futile, though, as the room-shattering crack and Proximity's agonized wail told him everything about what had just transpired. He still couldn't look up, though he could hear the sudden sound of magic, and Quantum's resulting scoff.

"O-OK if you're just going to b-be like that then I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Prox said, voice strained.

Magnotris peeked between his fingers to see Quantum swing a punch into the shield Prox had procured. It cracked, but did not break. 

"You need to s-stop," Prox continued, touching over one of his wounds and healing it, other hand still upholding the shield. It resisted several more kicks and punches, and Quantum's scowl deepened. "I'm not joking! If you c-can't be reasonable then I refuse to talk to you!"

"I don't have to be reasonable," came the retort, Quantum's voice low. "I just have to kill you."

"You can't kill me!" Prox near-scoffed, fear finally beginning to fade as he healed more of the damage.

Quantum turned towards Magnotris, holding out his hand expectantly. Of course. He wanted the dagger. Magnotris stared at the other's outstretched palm, at the slight shake in his arm. He wanted the dagger. He wanted to kill Proximity. A familiar, cold sense of immobility washed over him. Just hand him the dagger. Why couldn't he hand him the dagger?

Magnotris couldn't move his arms. He couldn't move his fingers. He couldn't breathe. No.

No, no, no, not again.

He couldn't even widen his eyes in shock as a blast of searing orange magic ripped across the room and into Quantum, slamming him hard into the floor. It dissipated as Juice's slow footsteps brought him closer to the center of the room, horn still glowing with magic, mouth quirked up in a tight smile, hands behind his back. 

Everything was in pieces.

Quantum pushed himself to his feet as Juice calmly plucked the dagger from Magnotris' pocket. He spun it between two fingers, eyeing the gold edge. After a second, he magicked it away, turning to face Quantum as the other stood, on shaky legs.

"Juice!" Prox called, still shielding, "Juice, he's-"

"-I heard," Juice cut in, bouncing from the tips of his feet to his heels. "I heard plenty of that shit. Quantum, right?"

"Oh, good - I was worried business would keep you away!" Prox dropped the shield, perking up slightly. 

"Enough BULLSHIT!" Quantum cut in, charging and lifting a punch.

Juice sidestepped, but not far enough - Quantum shifted his momentum, spinning on his foot slightly and letting the weight carry his fist right into the other's chest. 

With a yelp, Juice flew backwards, though he saved himself from hitting the wall, digging his heels into the floor even as they streaked blood. He threw out his hands to either side, catching his balance in time to see another punch heading directly for his face.

He ducked, deftly trying to knock Quantum's feet out from under him. The kick didn't land, only bouncing off of Quantum's knees as a confused expression overtook Juice's face. He didn't have time to emote further before Quantum swung both arms into Juice's head, knocking him to the ground hard enough to send him through the floor.

Magnotris tried to struggle, but Juice's magic still clung to him, wrapped around like a horrible rope, keeping his body pinned to the floor, despite the injuries the other was sustaining. 

The floor behind Quantum exploded, the laser of magic slicing up into the darkened ceiling, lighting it for a few seconds. With a quick roll, he managed to avoid the brunt of its blast, which only seared an inch of his tail. He was already back on his feet as Juice rose out of the newer hole, hands lit with magic, wings flaring. 

"Oh, you think you're funny?" Juice hissed, though the smile had yet to leave his face. "Not even gonna let me check on my partner?"

Magnotris managed to catch a glimpse of Proximity climbing onto the throne, curling up slightly. There were still flecks of the star scarring on his body. Hadn't he healed those? 

"FUCK both of you," Quantum shouted, charging again. 

He leapt, in the midst of a swing. Juice snapped his fingers, and Quantum briefly disappeared in a flash of orange light - until reappearing, fist colliding with the wall rather than Juice's face. Quantum looked around wildly, nursing his fist for a brief second before he caught his bearings once more.

"You're gonna play dirty like that, huh?" he snarled, cracking his knuckles now.

Juice narrowed his eyes. "You brought gold. That's the dirty shit, buddy."

Quantum magicked up some sort of javelin, hurling it towards Juice. The latter threw up a shield, but blinked in surprise when the spear split into dozens of tiny, sparkling shards. They still bounced harmlessly off the wall of magic.

Before Juice had time to fully register the attack, though, Quantum was right behind the spear, swinging a foot into the shield's center. It, too, shattered, cascading down little glittering bits of light and Magninium. His fist closed around Juice's neck a second later.

With a white-hot slice of magic, Juice cut off Quantum's arms at the elbow. The other hit the floor with a scream, although magic was already snaking its way down to rebuild them. Juice alighted on the floor, wings still splayed, letting out a short scoff. Magnotris tried to avoid looking at the blood. He was going to be sick if he stared too long.

When had he gotten so soft?

"Why the fuck are you here, again?" Juice near-snarled, poised almost angelic.

"I'm here for revenge," Quantum hissed back, body shaking. "Revenge for you and your sorry associates fucking shoving me into a stupid fighting ring and making me dance like an animal for their amusement."

"Wow, you're pissy," Juice said, brightly.

"Fuck right off, you shitbag."

Juice hummed, hand lighting with magic. "Oh, but... you're pretty strong, ain'tcha? Like, not as strong as me - obviously - but those punches hurt. Way more than normal. And you're a Magnitude Fragment."

"So?" Quantum spat, bitterly, trying to climb to his feet, arms healed. 

"So, why didn't you run?"

Silence. No one spoke.

An indignant look of confusion crossed Quantum's face. He opened his jaw, but no sound came out. It took several more seconds for him to find his voice again. "What?"

"Why didn't you run?" Juice asked again, speaking slower, like he was talking down to a child. "Run away from your owner. You know. You're strong enough."

Quantum blinked, and rage slowly spread over his face. He didn't respond, just charged at Juice again. The other gave an exaggerated, animated yawn. This time, Juice easily dodged, flitting up into the air, snapping his fingers and tripping Quantum with a string of magic. "Feisty, are we?"

"You're DISGUSTING," Quantum shouted, rolling back onto his feet in a smooth motion. Magnotris had to admire his skill.

"Disgusting?" Juice asked, faux concern as he covered his mouth, batting his eyes, "you're the one who won't answer me!"

Quantum screamed again, springing up into the air once more, hands glowing with his own magic.

"So, excuse my bluntness, but why didn't you run?" a blast of magic punctuated Juice's mocking tone.

Quantum hit the far wall, and Magnotris could only watch with wide eyes as a shudder of pain ran up the other. He peeled off and hit the floor, on his knees and hands, struggling to hold himself up.

Still, Magnotris was frozen, glued to the floor, body not responding. He wanted to help, but what could he do? Juice had him locked completely motionless, like he was stuck in time. And he could only watch as Quantum crumpled, and realize in a blast of utter shame and defeat that he'd let his anger get the better of him. 

He could've stopped this. He could've reeled Quantum in. They didn't have to suffer this, right now, if only he'd been sensible and actually applied anything he'd learned from Morning Star, or Crvendach, or Jubilee....

Juice crossed the throne room, hand lighting with magic. The bared teeth of a snarl was uncanny on his expression. "Come on, now, don't clam up now. You were so eager to talk shit earlier! C'mon, tell me, Quantie - why didn't you run?!"

"I didn't KNOW!" Quantum screamed, voice cracking. "I didn't know I could! I didn't know there was anything else out there! Fuck you, you stupid fucking bitch!"

"Oh, so then you're just stupid?" Juice challenged, hand lighting with magic, "you're just too stupid to think of freedom? You were too stupid to observe the world around you and realize there was so much more, huh?"

"You have NO IDEA what I went through!" Quantum spat, blood splattering against the floor as he climbed shakily to his feet.

Juice's hand swung down, and Quantum's knees buckled, hurtling forwards into a kneel. Magnotris winced at the scream of agony. "YOU THINK I DON'T?"

"What would YOU know," Quantum bitterly hissed, through clenched teeth and tears, "you're the fucking kingpin. You willingly let shit like what happened to ME occur!"

"I was CONTROLLING it, fucktard," Juice shot back, flicking blood off his hand. "I was making sure it didn't get WORSE. Because, unlike your sorry ass, I got stuck in it once - and I was smart enough to realize what was happening, and get my ass out. What kind of 'Magnitude Fragment' are you, if you couldn't realize your potential and escape?"

"You were doing a piss ass job of that!"

"You are so fucking stupid," Juice hissed, holding his hand. Quantum growled as magic pressed down, preventing him from climbing to his feet. "There ain't anything in your fucking head. Here I thought, well, them Magnitude Fragments are gonna be a little intimidating. They'll put on a right show, try to put me in 'my place'. But they send a little fuck like you to fight me? Pathetic."

"They d-didn't send me," Quantum hissed.

Juice tilted his head, "So this is some personal little bullshit you got goin' on? Some little grudge? Against me? I didn't even fuckin' know who you were before all this shit."

"You arranged this. You arranged e-everything that led to what happened to me!"

"No, I didn't," Juice said, staring down at Quantum with a near-blank expression, "and you should REALLY be shuttin' up on that line of thought. I'm being merciful even lettin' you talk right now, considering what you did to Prox. You're just lookin' for a bitch to blame because you can't handle the thought that your escape was in your hands, all along."

"That's not-"

"-Shaddup, I'm talkin'. If you're a Magnitude Fragment - and I guess you are, 'cause I can tell, and you punch like a train - you should've been able to escape. And you're tellin' me you didn't think to escape? You never tried punchin' your 'owner'? What, did ya just like staying there?"

"You wouldn't fucking understand," Quantum hissed, amid tears and tightly-clenched fists, "It was all I knew. How was I supposed to know there was anything else out there!? He didn't even teach me magic! He didn't teach me anything but to obey him! You're a fucking selfish, stupid coward if you think I WANTED to be tortured and degraded for - for WHAT? LAUGHS?!"

Juice wagged a finger. "You don't know jack shit about me, so don't go throwin' stones in glass houses. You got no idea what circles I got caught up in. But instead of wallowin' in it, I actually realized what I was. I realized I was stronger than all these bitches, and I took what was rightfully mine. And then I started workin' to make sure it wouldn't happen to nobody else."

Quantum opened his mouth, but Juice snapped his fingers, and no sound came out.

"Shaddup. It's got a lot more finesse than your stupid little brain can handle. I don't wanna just snap my fingers and make it all go away. That's dumb. That won't work. Stupid weaker beings, they need guidance. A lot. So I said, I'll be king of it all, and I'll decide how much everyone gets. I'll make sure they don't get enough. I'll make sure it's easy, though. I'll change this whole fucking shit."

"See," Prox said, still curled on the throne, "that's what I was trying to say earlier!"

"And it's worked!" Juice exclaimed, throwing his hands up, magic dissipating as the intensity in his tone rose. "It's fuckin' worked! And I'm taking over more and more of the worst parts every day. I'm out here, makin' change, makin' the world a better place, and you're here tryin' to fuck me up and ruin everything I- ACK!"

Magnotris gasped for air just as Quantum swept Juice's feet out from under him. The other Mag tumbled to the ground, landing hard on his ass and wincing. Scrambling to his feet, Proximity let out a startled shriek, diving for Juice. As the air finally worked its way through his lungs again, Magnotris set a hand on his chest, though he only had a second before Quantum grabbed hold of him.

Before he could speak, they teleported.

He blinked, eyes flicking around. They were in an unfamiliar place, dreary and quiet, no moon or stars visible in the dark sky. Trees around were lit by a strange sort of ambient light, glinting off a tall concrete wall that rose from the teal grasses. The only noise was his heavy breathing as he tried to catch it.

When had Quantum learned of this place? 

"Where are we?" he asked, voice hoarse, throat sore. He swallowed a few times, praying it'd help.

The other simply shook his head, clutching his stomach awkwardly. Weak healing magic lit in his hands. 

Magnotris glanced from the magic up to the horns on Quantum's head. "...You're a Magnitude Fragment, I guess?"

Quantum gave him a quiet stare, out of the corners of his eyes. He reached up to wipe the blood from his mouth. "Yeah."

Awkward silence filled the space between them. Once more, Magnotris glanced around, but there were no structures in sight. If they were in a Timeline, he had no idea which one. Unpopulated, though, it seemed. They were likely safe here.

"Hey..." he turned back to Quantum. "I don't believe in anything Juice said. If that helps.

Silence. Again. Quantum didn't even spare him a glance this time.

Magnotris silently breathed in, pressed against the wall of the structure. Quantum, too, had leaned his back up against the cold concrete, legs shaking, expression strained. In silence, Magnotris stared at him. He didn't know how to comfort anyone. What could he even say? Sorry for being a fuckup? Sorry the plan got ruined?

He reached forwards, wrapping a hand around Quantum's. The Mag glanced down, brow furrowed in confusion. He looked up to Magnotris' face, which was scrunched in an attempt at comfort.

"Listen," Magnotris began, patting Quantum's hand, "let's go find Jubilee. He'll know what to do, alright?" he honestly could barely believe he was willingly slinking back to Jubilee after this.

Quantum frowned, glancing at the floor. "I... no thanks."

"He can definitely help us take down Jui-"

"-I said no thanks."

Magnotris blinked, leaning backwards. What was there to say to that? He couldn't even be angry enough to muster indignance. Honestly, the more he thought on it, the more he realized he didn't really want to face Jubilee after the magnitude of a fuckup he'd just pulled. He couldn't imagine the anger and disappointment and lecture the other Overseer would pull on him.

He pressed his face into his hands, groaning softly. He'd let his anger control him. And he'd thought he'd grown past that. He thought he'd moved on. Learned something, or adapted, or overcame his weaknesses. No. They still had him leashed, just as much as everything else.

Ugh.

He felt Quantum stiffen next to him. Dully, Magnotris glanced up, catching sight of the other's sudden horror-stricken expression. He couldn't even really muster the energy to care. 

"We have to go, now," Quantum said, stilted.

"Why?" Magnotris asked, though he grabbed Quantum's wrist anyways. 

"He's here."

Magnotris froze. "What? Who - Juice?"

"We need to go," Quantum hissed, grabbing Magnotris' shoulder with his other hand, "I'll lose him in void space - just don't let go of me."

"I-"

They teleported.