One and The Same (a Jacksepticeye and egos AU story)

Chapter 5 - Family Reunion

Jack leaned back in his chair, staring at his computer screen. Skype was open, but he couldn't bring himself to press the call button.

He'd just had a rather long and emotional conversation with his family over the phone, as he left the clones to clean up Robbie's...mess. His brother had answered when he first called, absolutely ecstatic that his brother had finally come back to them. Jack smiled as he heard his brother sprint down the hallway shouting, "It's Sean!! It's Sean!" At which point his parents clambered for the phone. It was a shock to Jack to hear himself being called by his real name, after so long of being called Jack by the scientists who'd never really cared enough to ask and instead just assumed names based on conversations had between clones, therefore just assuming that his name was Jack and refusing to call him anything else.

Jack and his family talked for ages, his mother in tears, his father trying to hide them but failing miserably, and his brother practically jumping up and down with glee. His mother suggested they come and visit him in person, but Jack immediately panicked - remembering the clones - and said they shouldn't, and that it would be better if he stayed alone for a while. His brother, surprisingly, agreed with Jack, saying to his mother that Jack probably needed some time on his own to cope with everything that had happened to him. When his father backed him up too, Jack's mother finally backed down, reluctantly telling him they were going to stay where they were until he called again. She also told him to keep safe before them all saying goodbye.

And now, Jack was sat silently at his computer, Skype open but too afraid to press call. The only sound was the muffled voices of the clones downstairs. He needed to think of a better name for them. 'Clones' sounded too formal, too much like Jack was better than them, which he wasn't. If anything, they were after than him. He couldn't fly or shoot lasers or fire a gun with pinpoint accuracy. He needed another name. Egos? Yeah, that sounded better.
Egos? Anti said, suddenly reminding jack that he was in his mind and knew what he was thinking at all times, Sounds kinda stupid to me.

Jack ignored him.
So...what are you going to do? Anti asked, Are you too scared to call one more person? Just close the program now if you're not going to do anything. I've already had to listen to your mushy, pathetic thoughts about that stupid family of yours (not to mention all the crying), I don't want to do it again!
You won't have to, jack replied, suddenly gaining a wave of confidence, this isn't the same as that. With this, he clicked the green button to call. A small jingle played to signify it was calling, giving Jack a couple of seconds to ready himself, before the other person answered.

Robin, Jack's editor and long time friend, sat on the other end of the screen. He looked miserable until he realized who'd called him, at which point his eyes widened so much they nearly popped out of his head. There was silence.
"Hey dude," Jack said eventually, giving Robin a little sad smile.
"Sean?!" Robin replied, once again giving Jack a shock at being called his real name.
Jack gave a little wave.
"Hello!" He said quietly. Robin was stunned.
"But...but it can't be. You...people said you were...they said...I-I didn't believe them at first, but as the days went by I...I really thought..."
"Whoa, Robin, slow down." Jack said soothingly, "it's ok! It's ok! I'm here now. I'm back. That's all that matters."
"People were...there was an investigation and everything! Police came to my house to question me! They said you'd been kidnapped! The community...your fans were organizing search parties! Everyone thought...after a while, everyone began to think..." he looked up, staring Jack dead in the eyes, "they thought you were dead, Sean."
My god, does this guy ever stop talking?! Anti said, Get over it dude, he's back!
Shut up, Jack thought, This is a big deal for him. I did kinda spring this on him with no prior warning.
He watched in silence as Robin calmed himself down. He wanted to comfort him, wanted to reach out and hug him, but at the same time, he was too scared.
"I'm...I'm going to have to call the police about this, you know." Robin said at last in a small voice.
"I know."
"They're...they're going to want to speak with you...about everything."
"I know."
"I just...I just can't believe this...are you going to tell the community? They need to know you're back."
"I..." Jack paused. He couldn't bring himself to face everyone right now. He needed space to cope with the egos first. "I can't right now..." he finished, "I just...can't..."
Robin smiled in an attempt to comfort him.
"Hey, I get it. You need time. Do you want me to tell them for you?" Jack nodded. "Alright then. I'll...leave you alone now." With this, Robin smile widened slightly. "See you later, Jacksepticeye." He said. Jack paused for a moment. He knew Robin was saying that to be comforting, but that name brought back too many painful memories for him to deal with right now. Before he had a mental breakdown, Jack quickly said, "Bye," and ended the call.

Jack leaned back in his chair again, brought his legs up to his chest and hugged them. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life. Maybe he did need company right now. Not just from the egos, but family. He was about to reach for the phone again when someone knocked at the door to his room. Jack stood up, straightening himself up and making it seem like he didn't want to fall into a hole and die right now before saying:
"Yeah? What if it?" The door creaked open and Schneeple peeked around it.
"Are you busy?" He asked, urgency in his voice.
"Um...no," Jack replied, "I just finished everything I wanted to do. What is it?"
"Vell, I vas examining zhe leftover parts of the robot that attacked us," Schneeple said, stepping into the room looking downright scared, "just to see vhat made him tick, and I vas looking at the part of its neck that Robbie didn't eat and...vell...zhere's something you need to see."

***
Schneeple pointed to the neck of the robotic corpse, and Jack and all the other egos (except Robbie, who was wearing an old collar Chase had found in a box of Jack's childhood stuff and tied to the sofa leg so he wouldn't eat the corpse again) peered at it.
"What are we looking at?" Jackaboy asked, but Jack was silent. He'd seen it. Wordlessly, he pointed so the others could see it.
"Oh, I see it!" Chase said after peering at it for a moment, "it's that black bunch of lines right there!"
"I still don't see it..." Jackaboy said.
"Here!" Marvin said, moving Jackaboy's finger so he was pointing at it.
"Oooh! Now I see it!" He said.
"But...what is it, doc?" Chase asked. This was the first time Jack had ever heard Chase call Schneeple 'doc', but he let it slide.
"It's a barcode," Jack replied for him. He looked up at Schneeple and said, "isn't it?" Schneeple nodded.
"But zhat's not zhe worst part," he said solemnly, turning so his back was to them and pointing at his own neck, "Look."

Jack and the other peered at where he was pointing, and to their surprise found an identical black barcode on Schneeple's neck.
"Holy fuck..." Jack murmured.
"Does that mean I have one too...?" Chase said, almost to himself. Jack looked and, sure enough, there was a barcode on Chase's neck too. After a quick examination, Jackaboy and Marvin discovered barcodes on their necks as well, though Jack didn't seem to have one. Jack went to check Robbie - who was beginning to panic at not knowing what was going on - and discovered a barcode on his neck too.
"W-What are they?!" Chase cried, panic rising in his voice, "What are they?!"
"Don't panic!" Jack said quickly, "They might not be bad! They might just be a form of identification, a way to tell who was who before the scientists gave us our own clothes," he turned to Schneeple for backup, "right?"
"I...I don't know," Schneeple replied nervously, "I honestly don't know..."
"What if they're tracking devices?!" Marvin cried, "What if that's what the man on the train meant by 'we have other ways of tracking you'?!"
"But that doesn't explain why Jack doesn't have one!" Chase shouted. They continued to argue for a moment until they were stopped by a scream.

They all turned to Robbie, who was now curled up in a ball at the other end of the room, whimpering. Jack went over to him and hugged him.
"Robbie doesn't understand!" Robbie cried, "everyone is shouting but Robbie doesn't understand why!" Jack sighed and squeezed Robbie tighter.
"We're all just...freaked out. That's all." He said, turning to face the other egos, who wordlessly stared back, panic still in their eyes, "we don't know what's going on any more than you do." He held Robbie for a little longer until he'd stopped crying. "Come on," he said at last, "it's late. You all need to get some sleep."
"I can agree to that," Chase said, letting out a yawn with all previous panic seemingly forgotten in the place of exhaustion.
"I guess..." Marvin said, still panicked about the barcode. Jackaboy stayed silent.
"But vhat about you?" Schneeple asked Jack.
"Well someone needs to watch over you lot," Jack said, trying not to show his tires he was, "Come on, I'll get some stuff from upstairs and you can all sleep down here. I'll put the TV on for some noise too."

When no one argued, Jack walked to the door. After noticing the confused silence that followed, he leaned over his shoulder and said:
"Come on guys, cheer up! It'll be just like a sleepover!"
"What's a sleepover?" Marvin asked, with everyone else keeping up the silence.
Jack let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"Never mind."