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It was if an explosion had gone off in Jeremy’s bedroom, knocking him from his beanbag to the floor before he could even process what the hell had just happened. The boy sat up, wincing and clutching the back of his head as it throbbed from his rough landing. He blinked back confusion, thoughts momentarily jumbled before his eyes scanned anxiously for the figure that had been sitting next to him just moments ago-- Michael. Where the hell was Michael? Jeremy wracked his brain for an explanation, recalling the most recent conversation between himself and his best friend.
‘To celebrate.’ Michael had assured seconds earlier, triumphantly holding up an unopened bottle of Mountain Dew. Jeremy had almost instantly fixed it with an uneasy look, having refused himself the stuff since The Play. Jeremy couldn’t help the worry settling in his stomach at the mere sight of the drink, for fear that it might set off a chain of events that would put everyone at danger again.
‘Sorry, dude-- I don’t think I could… I wouldn’t wanna risk it. Not when everything has finally gone back to normal,’ Jeremy remembered the dejected expression on Michael’s face at the words, to which he had quickly continued, ‘But you should drink it for me. In my honor, or whatever. You sorta deserve it anyways.’
Michael then saluted him with a serious expression before downing a good portion of the bottle, to which Jeremy had laughed and gave his shoulder a friendly shove-- And then Jeremy blanked. It was as if a portion of his memory had disappeared, leaving him dizzied and bewildered as he stumbled to his feet, his consciousness aching in a way that he groaned at, the familiar sensation the cause of one being--
“I thought I chugged enough Mountain Dew Red before Michael showed up to keep you out of my head for a few hours.” Jeremy snapped, eyes flitting to the form that had just manifested on his bed. The Squip had been severely weakened since The Play, especially with the amount of Red that Jeremy consumed regularly to keep the piece of nanotech at bay, but the extra voice in his head still managed a few hours of power a day that Jeremy always found himself dreading.
The Squip was smirking, as if finding something about the situation extremely humorous. It had been awhile since Jeremy had seen the other express amusement, which usually occurred at Jeremy’s own expense. The Squip’s smile was wide, like a cat having cornered its prey. It made Jeremy shiver, uneasiness running down his spine as the Squip met his gaze.
‘You did,’ The Squip agreed with the statement, moving to stand next to Jeremy and peer over the beanbags with vague curiosity. Then he snorted, looking back to the boy with that same predatory sneer. ‘I’ve been conserving power for weeks waiting for this moment though. Enough that it truly did not matter how much Red you consumed beforehand.’
Jeremy rolled his eyes, though his body gave an involuntary shudder at the conviction in the Squip’s words. He tried to move his focus elsewhere-- What had he been looking for?
“Michael,” Jeremy startled, eyes flitting to the other empty beanbag. The force must have knocked the other back as well-- But Michael was nowhere to be seen. “...Michael?”
‘Look harder.’ The Squip suggested, to which Jeremy shot him a glare and took a step forward. Then another step. Then--
‘Careful,’ Jeremy was left standing on one foot, wobbling as he struggled to correct his balance. The Squip had hold of his other leg, the limb left frozen just above the floor. Jeremy’s brows raised as the Squip continued, ‘Don’t step on anything important.’
Jeremy opened his mouth to express his confusion, beginning to grow irritated with the Squip’s cryptic words, when he heard a distressed yell. It sounded so close, yet so far away, and very distinctly--
“Michael?” Don’t step on anything important. Jeremy slowly lowered himself to his knees, which he doubted could support him much longer anyways, and prepared to direct his attention towards the ground. He briefly glanced up at the Squip, who nodded him on, and then Jeremy dared to look down.
Michael Mell, Jeremy’s best friend and closest confident since the third grade, currently sat on the floor at less than a couple inches tall. He was staring up at Jeremy with wide eyes and mouth agape, though no further sound had come out of him since the two made eye contact. Michael had one arm defensively in front of his face, as if still expecting to take the full force of Jeremy’s foot. Jeremy was instantly filled with guilt, realizing that he had very nearly been the other’s cause of death, before panic seemed to grip him.
“No way-- This-- There’s no way that this is real.” Jeremy whispered, watching as Michael slowly got to his feet, apparently determining that Jeremy was not, in fact, about to crush him. Michael looked bewildered, releasing a shuddery breath before he stared back up at Jeremy and cocked a brow.
“Seriously? /You’re/ the one in shock right now?” He nearly sputtered, his tone bordering along hysteria. The boy took a moment to take in his new surroundings, while Jeremy just watched him in disbelief. Michael looked better suited to be an action figure than an actual human being. Really, Jeremy couldn’t blame his reaction. He had a feeling that Michael was still taking it better than he would have, had their roles been reversed.
“Okay… Okay,” Jeremy finally said, managing to piece thoughts into words. Then he frowned, eyes flitting to the Squip at his side, watching curiously over the two. His smirk had yet to waver, undoubtedly delighted by the situation that the two found themselves in. “You knew something happened. Did you…? How…?”
‘Michael was Squipped at The Play too, Jeremy.’ The Squip hummed. It was the first time in weeks that the Squip’s tone was more than a frustrated growl, making Jeremy’s stomach churn. Nothing good could come of something that made the piece of nanotech so happy. ‘He chose to indulge in a regular Mountain Dew, reactivating his hacked Squip and allowing me attempt something I’ve been wondering about for awhile. Nanotech is rather curious, is it not?’
Jeremy was speechless, staring at the Squip in horror. How could this have been planned? It all seemed so insane-- There was no way that any of this could have been expected to happen. He shook his head, still in disbelief as he finally turned back to Michael. Michael’s gaze flitted between Jeremy and the Squip, which Jeremy seemed to realize looked as though he were having a conversation with himself.
“It’s the Squip, huh?” Michael questioned, the dejection in his voice making Jeremy’s heart ache with guilt. All Jeremy could do was nod, to which Michael threw up his hands. “Why? What good does this even do?”
Jeremy’s hand reacted on its own, surprising both himself and Michael as Jeremy plucked the other from the floor without warning, fingers curled around his miniaturized form. Alarmed, Jeremy looked to the Squip, who continued to lazily enjoy piloting Jeremy’s limbs. Jeremy’s grip tightened, to which Michael gave an “oof!” as the breath was knocked out of him.
“Ugh-- Dude!” Michael wheezed, eyes wide, while Jeremy attempted to use his other hand to peel his fingers back to set the boy free. He gritted his teeth, his actions frustratingly useless. The Squip kept his grasp steady, Michael struggling in his iron grip. After an eternity, the Squip finally granted Jeremy use of his body again, immediately allowing the boy to flatten his palm and allow Michael to some air. Michael slowly sat up, clutching his ribs and wincing as he fixated Jeremy with a puzzled look.
“S-sorry! That wasn’t me. My hand--” Jeremy tried to explain, before his vocal cords abruptly stopped working. His fearful eyes were back on the Squip, lips parted as if to speak, but unable to question. The Squip reached out, giving Jeremy’s head a condescending pat as though his hand would not just pass straight through his hair. The action itself made Jeremy shudder nonetheless, the Squip’s entertained smirk suggesting exactly who was holding the power right then.
“Jer?” Michael questioned, brows furrowing with worry. Jeremy had managed to say enough that he at least understood that something wasn’t right.
‘Michael asked what good this does for me.’ The Squip recalled, coaxing Jeremy’s hand upwards. Michael fell back, forced onto his ass by the sudden movement that Jeremy could not seem to apologize for. All Jeremy could do was focus on holding his hand steady, swallowing back the fear rising in his throat. Then, out of Jeremy’s own mouth, the Squip whispered, “Revenge.”
“H-huh?” Michael barely seemed to process the word, his own mind clearly racing to determine a solution to an impossible problem.
Jeremy’s grip adjusted, lifting Michael from his palm by the back of his hoodie to hold him from a height that, at his current size, was most definitely lethal. He could feel Michael shivering, gifting the carpeted floor a tense look as he seemed to process the same thing. Jeremy’s eyes were wide, fearing the worst-- The Squip was going to make him watch his best friend’s death. Michael was going to die and it was going to be all Jeremy’s fault.
‘You’re half accurate,’ The Squip noted, to which Jeremy scowled. He could feel the Squip combing through his thoughts, feeding off of his fear. ‘I would not be so cruel as to make you watch.’
Michael was moved closer to Jeremy’s face, hand actively shaking by then. Jeremy prepared to attempt speech again, managing a ghost of a syllable before he was left mute, his parted lips frozen and mouth half-open. The Squip leaned closer to gauge Michael’s reaction, while Jeremy managed only a pathetic whimper in reply.
“Hey, uh, maybe we could figure this all out on a solid surface?” Michael stammered, cheeks paled with fear. “Or at least-- Wait!” Michael yelled as the Squip forced Jeremy to toss the boy into his open maw, mouth snapping shut before the boy could even react. Jeremy seemed to regain control of all but the permanent clench of his jaw, which perhaps was worse than having no control at all. In a panic, his fingers reached for his face, nails tearing helplessly at his lips as though they might magically part and set Michael free. He could feel Michael’s form squirming against his tongue, though Jeremy’s heart was pounding so loudly that he couldn’t hear whether or not the other was speaking (or screaming, more likely). Breathing hard through his nose, Jeremy tried to calm down. All he had to do was hold still and keep Michael right where he was until the Squip decided that his sick game was over. If he could just--
‘You really assume so much of yourself,’ The Squip sighed, moving to stand directly in front of his host. ‘You’re actively losing, yet you’re still searching for a way to turn this around. I’ve /won/, Jeremy. You only refuse to admit it.’
Without speech, all Jeremy could do was give a light shake of his head, tongue curling carefully around the shape in his mouth. He /did/ hear Michael exclaim that time, shouting his disgust. Jeremy refused to lose, if that was what the the Squip was playing at. When losing meant hurting Michael, Jeremy refused to consider it. The Squip rolled his eyes, and suddenly Jeremy’s head was slowly being forced to tip backwards. Horrified, Jeremy felt his tongue slowly uncurling in his mouth, something sharp digging into the muscle that made him wince. /Michael/. His best friend was being forced to fight for his life against someone he should have trusted, and it made Jeremy want to scream.
He raised a trembling hand to his lips, clutching his face as though it might do anything to slow Michael’s descent. There was nothing he could do, however, to prevent the Squip from throwing Jeremy’s head back, forcing the shape on his tongue towards the back of his throat. If Michael could just find somewhere to hold on, and if Jeremy could just stay completely still--
‘Swallow.’ The Squip commanded, and Jeremy did just that. Absolute terror struck him as he felt Michael’s form in his throat, wiggling downwards until a sort of horrible satisfaction accompanied the warm feeling in his belly. Jeremy still stood with his head back, hands over his face, eyes burning with tears. The Squip just held him still, his breathing turning shallow and shuddery, as if to prolong the torture--
“MICHAEL!” And then Jeremy was free. He looked down to his stomach, one hand moving to grip at his shirt as he managed to piece together his next move. Bathroom. Jeremy stumbled into the hallway, movements stiff and uncoordinated with shock. Michael couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t be dead. There had to be a way that Jeremy could--
“U-uhgn!” The moan slipped from Jeremy’s lips before he could stop the sound, one hand lunging out to grip the wall as he was forced to waver in the middle of the hallway, the other moving to rest over his lips. Something had pushed /inside/ of him, a disgustingly wonderful sensation to be experiencing amidst the possible death of his best friend. He could feel the Squip’s brow raising at him, but now was hardly the time to care about the opinion of a wintergreen tic tac. Jeremy felt the sensation again, no longer fearing the worst as he managed into the bathroom and gripped the sink.
“F-fuck, okay…” Jeremy stared at his own reflection, cheeks paled and hair plastered to his forehead with nervous sweat. He reached up a trembling hand, releasing a shaky breath before he attempted to stick his fingers down his throat. If he could just bring Michael up before anything too horrible happened, maybe he could… He could try…
‘You could /what/?’ The Squip scoffed in amusement as Jeremy struggled to force up the contents of his stomach. Somehow he just couldn't seem to reach far enough, fingers just stopping short of where they needed to be to force a gag. The Squip just stared, lips quirked into a nasty sneer as Jeremy desperately tried to force his fingers further.
The sensation in his belly grew weaker, the light shoves from within becoming more feeble as Jeremy remained unsuccessful in his endeavor. He finally bit back a sob, both hands now in front of him and gripping the counter in case his legs decided to give out. He felt horribly numb, tears rolling freely down his cheeks as the Squip just /stared/. What else was there to do? Jeremy couldn’t even think, as if his brain had turned to auto-pilot to keep him from breaking down completely.
‘So? Have I won yet, Jeremy?’ The Squip questioned, knowingly. The gratification in the Squip’s voice seemed to break him. Jeremy gave a single shake of his head in response, though the sobs echoing through the bathroom hardly proved his point. He couldn't admit defeat, even if he had lost. Lost /everything/…
‘I don’t think you’re being honest with me.’ The Squip countered. How the piece of nanotech could be so delighted by the tragedy was lost on Jeremy, but now was not the time to analyze how the Squip functioned. Now was not the time to think much of anything at all.
‘Have I won?’ The Squip urged, his tone cool and deliberate. Jeremy could only look down at the sink, staring at his trembling hands. It felt like he was staring at someone else, as though his body did not belong to him.
“...yeah. Yeah, you won, okay? You /won/, and Michael is gone. That’s what you wanted, right?” His tone turned bitter, nearly gagging on his own words in disgust. Disgusting. One hand moved to tug at his shirt, gripping at the fabric just above his abdomen.
The Squip had the audacity to grin. Jeremy’s head snapped up to glare at him, teeth clenched to hold back further tears. His throat felt raw, as if he had been screaming, despite his near silence. Then he coughed, the sound softened through tears, before the Squip’s hand in front of his face caused the boy to startle.
‘Good game.’ The Squip complimented, his hand still outstretched for Jeremy to take as though it were something tangible. Jeremy blinked back confusion, eyes flitting from the hand to the Squip’s face.
“Wh… What…?” Jeremy managed, his voice tight and scratchy.
‘I won. That’s what you’ve just said, isn’t it?’ The Squip raised a brow, giving his hand a little wave as if to remind Jeremy it was there. ‘So we’ve finished up here. We had our fun.’
“I…” /Fun/? The word made Jeremy sick to his stomach. Then his hand raised of its own accord, stopping just short of the Squip’s fingers.
‘Are we finished?’ The Squip was growing annoyed. Truly, the boy had nothing else left to lose. Did it really matter? Slowly, he reached out, fingertips just brushing that of the Squip’s palm--
“Ugh!” Jeremy was sitting. Laying, more accurately, sprawled across one of the bean bags in his bedroom. He had been in the bathroom just a moment ago… What had happened? As the blur in his vision cleared, he looked to the beanbag at his side and startled at the familiar figure sitting next to him, alive and wonderful and exactly the size he should have been.
“Michael!” He exclaimed, voice filled with overwhelming relief. Michael appeared about as surprised as Jeremy felt, and just as dazed. The other looked to him and managed a sheepish grin, a hint of nervousness in his gaze. It wasn’t real. None of it had been real. The Squip had crafted it within their heads, the near hallucination so tangible in Jeremy’s mind that he felt he could grasp it and be transported into the memory. Not that he had any interest in returning right then.
“It’s, uh… Good to be back?” Michael said, to which Jeremy felt his cheeks grow horribly warm. It seemed that Jeremy was not the only one of them to recall their earlier experience. Truly, now that the terror had faded… His mind was wandering back to the light sensation in his stomach from before, the warmth that had been stirred up at Michael’s touch from within. Michael seemed to be remembering the incident similarly, considering that Jeremy had voiced such pleasure earlier without much thought. The other looked just as red-faced, nibbling his lower lip as he tugged at the strings of his hoodie.
The Squip gave the empty Mountain Dew bottle next to Michael’s bean bag a little kick, though his foot passed straight through plastic as he moved to stand in front of Jeremy. He cast the boy an amused look, arms crossed, while Jeremy just rolled his eyes.
‘I’d love to play again sometime.’ The Squip determined, gaze landing on Jeremy with that familiar knowing look. He was most definitely going through Jeremy’s thoughts again, much to the boy’s embarrassment. Jeremy wavered, briefly considering the Squip's words before he turned to Michael.
“Hey…” He said suddenly, to which Michael looked up. He didn’t look as fearful as Jeremy would have expected him to. Instead Michael’s expression was somewhat shameful, lips pressed tightly together as if to keep himself from speaking. Something in his expression causing the butterflies in Jeremy’s stomach to flutter, carefully meeting Michael's shy gaze. Jeremy could only imagine that his face looked nearly identical. He cleared his throat, looking between Michael and the Squip as he continued.
“...what would you think about a rematch?”