*Warning this chapter will get so dark just be in mind of that before you read.*
Its been about five weeks since Jake had found out about Felica's father and what she had to live through and through out those weeks Jake has found quite a lot of things thanks to his other half and the skills it brought.
Ekaj: "Ah, you love me ❤️!"
Jake just groans at his other half as he makes sure to place every picture, recording, and document that he's found on the man inside the right folders, boxes, and everything before he hides them from his safehouse roommate Black cat.
She was an interesting figure to be forced to cozy up with since she's rarely there, possibly because she has more safehouses to call home or get too busy with one of her many acts of theft she does like how there are blueprints to steal a jade tiger necklace from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.
The Avengers had left it there after one of their recent trips in saving and protecting the world led them to the discovery of some ancient tripe of people that seemed to respect and possibly worship either Tigers or the spirt of one from what Archeologist could tell from tablets and other broken artifacts.
It was something the school had plans on visiting at one point in time but was stopped once the city had been attacked by Magneto and his group of freedom fighting brethren which after doing a bit of research Jake had found out were called the brotherhood.
Finding this out helped him realize Jake wondered what it could have meant whenever he tried to remember his trip or why he seemed to feel like he finally understood something every time he though of the trip or the Brotherhood.
But none of that really mattered as Jake had enough of Mutants and their way of life for the moment as he already had more than enough problems as is with the symbiote and the normal hero lifestyle of New York City.
Its something that everyone who lives in New York City has to get used to at some point in time but dealing with these somewhat local villains and occasional threats against the universe were more than enough for Jake.
Placing everything he had on Felica's father and another man he'd been looking into, into a secret and secure space Jake started to leave the building and before he did he started to hear the police station radio start to spam multiple dispatches and calls.
Police Radio: "Police Dispatch... HELP! WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO (sounds of something possibly a whip in the background get loud as the officer starts to plead for mercy before a loud whip can be heard followed by sounds of something hitting the area around.) *Creepy voice* H-hello Dispatch *starts talking in a mocking tone* we need help at fourth and fifth... along with everywhere else (starts to laugh like a maniac before crushing the radio as other similar reports come in.)"
Jake: "What the heck!"
Ekaj: "Wait! Were not ready for something like this!"
Jake: "(Looking at his reflection from the giant mirror in front of the door) It doesn't matter our family, Penny, Felica, Gwen, heck even Flash and Eddy need our help!"
As Jake tries to leave through the front door Ekaj seems to try and stop him by forming a giant hand of his own will and grabs onto one of the corner pillars of this place and tries to stop Jake from going anywhere.
Jake however has had enough of his other half's plans and ideas and grabs a nearby knife and brings it towards his own arm completely ready and willing to cut his own arm off in the process if he had to if it meant getting out of this room.
Finally managing to break free from the safehouse Jake goes outside and sees that everything was set on fire, explosions where the most frequent sound except of course for the constant gunfire that echoed throughout the city more than usual.
Jake: "What the heck happened here?"
Before even getting an answer some giant winged mutant creature people started to attack Jake with a few of them even having lightning powers or at least something that shocks Jake every time they miss him but still somehow manage to get a hit in.
Jake tries his best to fight the flying rat people but there were to many of them and for some reason Ekaj didn't feel like talking or doing anything to help Jake out even as it lead to both of them falling off the giant building.
When Jake hit the floor the only thing he heard was the loud cracking sound of all his bones as everything started to leak out into the wet cement around him... but wait? How could the cement be wet when there was no construction around this place for miles... ah, the wetness of the floor was also caused by him hitting the ground.
Jake: "(Coughs up blood a bit) Why... is it snowing... in June?"
As Jake fell asleep he woke up back home... except he knew these weren't his parents as he hadn't seen any of them this happy ever since the accident with his sister and the man that helped Jake realize how Justice truly works in this world.
Getting out of bed Jake realizes that he was back in the country side of his Mom's family's cabin where they all used to hang out before Haley started developing panic attacks whenever she left their apartment making it impossible for the rest of the family to move around like Spud and Trixie whenever things got too weird.
Looking around the room Jake sees his parents as happy as they've ever been with Haley seeming to be normal as she wasn't sticking to either him or their parents even inside a place that was as safe as possible.
Once Jake left his room he found that it was impossible to open it back up again which made things even odder to him as that was his room in New York and they've never tried to go back to the cabin out of guilt for leaving Haley behind and fear on what would happen to her with them gone.
Trying his luck with the other doors Jake found that they too were locked along with the windows, which shouldn't have been possible as the only locks on the cabin were the front and back door and that was only after their grandparents found out what happened to Haley.
Giving up on trying to get out Jake looks at what his parents and Haley were doing only to see that his parents were stirring nothing that somehow continuously released steam while his sister Haley was drawing something on some papers that was white and had a black spider on it.
Jake: "Uh... sis what's that?"
Haley doesn't respond and continues drawing the same curve she had been for that past few whatever amount of time had passed as the clocks in house were always broken but this time they seemed to be broken even more as they only showed a single time.
At first Jake thought it was just a random time... till he realized the time was just a couple minutes shy of when Haley was taken at the park, at first Jake refused to believe that this was what they meant but when he reached towards the clock and moved the hands back his door suddenly opened.
Looking through the door he saw his parents and sister inside all with creepy smiles on their faces as his bed looked like there was supposed to be someone inside it and no matter how much Jake tried to make the hands go back even more they refused to move.
Hugging the time statues of his family Jake started crying as he moved the hands on the clock forward to exactly 10:01 AM the time when Haley had gone missing at the last and only time any of them have ever gone back to Central Park.
Once he put the clock to 10:01 he heard a giant bell ring throughout the cabin along with some police sirens as the room started to flash blue and red with every door opening and closing as his entire family went missing as Jake went through his door once more as it was the only one that stayed still.
Going through the door Jake immediately realized where he was at as it was the first place that he had ever fought and taken another persons life.
Jake: "No matter how much I try to forget this place (punches the wall that formed from his doorway) I will always at least see this thing."
Walking further into the room the red and blue lights continue flashing as his sister flashed in and out of the chair looking progressively more scarred and beaten up fueling Jake's rage even after all these years like it just happened right in front of him.
The worst part of all this is Jake knows that it was just his mind making things like this as nothing really happened to Haley other than her being tied up and forced to sit on some broken chair that was mostly rot.
Jake: "When I heard from the police that my sister was here I ran in thinking all sorts of twisted things were going on and when I finally got here (The room flashes a violent red and stays there as the room soon fills up with the bodies of five homeless men) I didn't even give them a chance to speak."
Walking over to the first corpse Jake picks up the screw driver he used to end all these men's lives as the room flashes into a light blue and calming color as Jake was forced back into the mind doctor at the police station where they asked him what happened at the warehouse.
Jake: "I was so blinded by rage that night I lied to everyone and told everyone the worst outcome I had thought of as they tried to kill me when I burst through the door... (starts to cry) when actually they possibly saved her from those actually trying to hurt her and as thanks I took their lives (cries as he falls on the floor as the room fills up with blood)."
Not wanting to move any longer and feeling at peace with knowing that where ever he was going next he'd deserve whatever it was and welcomed it all with open arms... except he heard some beeping along with a heart beat and when Jake opened his eyes he saw darkness with paths of white light everywhere.
Following the path for some time Jake saw the monster that was himself stabbing his broken down body possibly healing him but also possibly putting the man out of his own misery as goes over to his body and slaps himself as hard as he could across the face.
Ekaj: "(Appears behind him just as an old record starts playing) Dame son! I knew you held self hatred but I didn't think it was enough to actually hurt yourself."
Jake: "(Looks at himself with contempt and hatred) Well I don't care anymore, you won (throws his hands out)! You're right in that I'm nothing but a pathetic hypocrite! No matter what I think or say I'm never going to be better than the darkest moments of my life!"
As Jake starts yelling and screaming about everything he feels guilty about which also leads into his own self hatred the monster that was Ekaj or rather the monster that Jake believed himself to be continued to grow as Ekaj started to bleed from his mouth more and more as Jake continued shouting out his thoughts and feelings.
When Jake finally finished Ekaj fell to the ground as Jake realized that the monster they turned into was growing and that seemed to somehow be killing Ekaj, rushing to his side Jake realized that he was wearing an all black version of his normal attire while Ekaj was wearing an all white suit.
Jake: "(Smiles hysterically while crying) What are you trying to say you're my good half."
Ekaj: "No (coughs) just the part of you that is willing to move on and accept that no matter how dark things in life may seem (hits the floor with his arm as the heart monitor beep starts playing along with pictures of Jake and his friends along with Haley trying to leave the apartment.) There is always a light somewhere in the tunnel (coughs) you just have to find it first."
As Ekaj and Jake fuse into one, Jake feels that unlike before there was nothing fighting against what he wanted and that he had full control of his body along with the monster form of himself mimicking his moves.
Walking towards his body he plunges his hand into his chest as he starts gasping and panting back in the real world as Jake sees that it's become day light and his outfit was now only black and white and that for the first time in a long while he only saw himself.
Jake: "What the heck is going on?"
Just in front of Jake what looked to be the Hulk seemed to be fighting off a demonic looking Iron Man while a similar looking Hawkeye was shooting something at Thor as many people of differing colors either fought against or with the demonic avengers.
That is all for now hope you all enjoyed and until next time stay safe and peace!