“Oh dearie me,” a voice in the back of his head fussed, “Perhaps I miscalculated something?”
Time around Jason seemed to freeze and the world around him dissolved into blue dust. He was suddenly in a strange room made of the stuff. Was he having an out of body experience? His body had no weight or feeling to it, exactly like a dream.
“I know that voice,” he thought aloud, “Is that you, Witch?”
Her form faded into view, “I only meant for you to learn about your new reality, not forget your old one."
“You took them from me, I didn't kill your loved ones!” Jason screamed, “Why would you do this to me?!”
“Simmer down, child,” the witch’s voice continued, “Lest you forget what’s going on around here. This is all penance for your reckless destruction of my magic orbs, remember. It’s like when a restaurant has you wash dishes when you can’t pay your tab. All I did was alter reality. Your siblings are still there, they’re just boys now. Marcy is still there, Darcy is still there, and Elizabeth is still there, even though they’re called something else and they aren’t girls anymore. I regret to inform you that a miscalculation on my end caused a side effect to your memory recollection, in that the new memories are replacing the old. I’m going to make it so that you will retain every single memory you have of your old life and everything you learn about the new.”
“Marcy… Darcy…,” Jason suddenly recalled their names again, “I… I can’t believe I forgot them… Thank you Witch,” Jason sobbed feeling elated.
“Thank me? You're Thanking me?” the witch cackled, “You have so much to learn you stupid child. By the end of this you'll be begging to forget. If you don't know you've lost something you don't miss it, and it isn't a punishment. If I let you get engulfed by this reality, you'd become just like your siblings, fated to be a prolific hedonist just like your father of this reality. That's not the lesson. Though since you're so happy about this I'll have to make your next life especially jarring. Though I do think you could stand a few more days with 18 brothers.”
"What do you want me to learn?"
"What? And take all the punishment out of it? Never!" She cackled again as she faded from view. The dust began to swirl around Jason’s vision as weight and feeling returned to his body. The bus reformed as time started to move again and he could faintly hear Cody’s voice shouting at him.
“Jeezus, Jay! Snap out of it! You’re wigging me out here, man!”
Jason looked around having been deposited back in time, still on the bus, before the awkward conversation with Cody... Jason blinked for a second before smiling... it was safe, he was safe to learn everything about this reality and he'd be able to fit in like everybody else and still remember his real family! "Cody! Tell me I remember everything!"
"What? What are you going..."
"I Need you, to Tell me, that I.Remember.Everything." Jason punctuated each of the words with ferocity.
"You remember everything?"
"Yes!" Jason cried. But after a moment he still couldn't recall his teachers or friends at this school, or who of his brothers were dating, and his face fell, thinking hard...
"What is going on with you man?"
"That should have worked... Should. Should! SHOULD! Cody! Repeat after me, 'You SHOULD remember Everything!"
Cody gave Jason a strange look only for Jason to immediately return it... In obnoxious fashion Cody complied, "YOU.ShOuLd.Re-MEM-bur.Eh.Var.EE.Thang!"
And it happened. His new parents, his siblings, his friends and classes. He could fit in perfectly, maybe even better than the original him, err, the original him of this reality. As his memories of two distinct lives merged he knew that this reality was doing pretty poorly in school, former him could fix that and so many other things.
"Thanks Cody, I do..." Jason said with a winning smile. The barrage of questions that came next Jason handled without a stray emotion or wince. Jason went to classes, paid more attention than usual and was sure he was showing the old woman how he was a good upstanding person who didn't deserve to be punished for a faulty bump in the road.
The school day went along pretty well, several of the teachers actually complimented him for knowing some things alternate Jason would have not known. The end of the day came and Jason felt accomplished. As he and his siblings entered the bus he realized too late that Eli wasn't around.
Initially Jason was unphased, but his memories of Eli were that of the caretaker... Kevin went off to college and as first born he was always testing the limits and getting into trouble, Kevin was always expected to do everything, could never do enough, and was somehow simultaneously on a pedestal. Eli, was always responsible, and in Kevin's absence was like a second mom. For him to be unexpectedly missing...
Jason butt scuttled his way to the front and let him know that Eli didn't make the bus, and that he was worried about his brother... the bus driver, Mister Griffin, called into dispatch and after a few minutes, the call came back that there was a family emergency and Eli went home early...
Jason processed this information with both sets of memories and pieced together that his mom must have gone into labor. She would be a month early but that isn't super uncommon.
The bus arrived at the stop and the group unloaded heading to the house. They were all chatting and discussing the day or their hopes for the evening. Reaching the door a note was taped to it with Jason's name on it. It read:
Jason,
After getting everyone off to school, Keith was running errands and got into a car accident. He is in the ICU at St. Denomination Hospital. The stress of it was too much for mom and she went into labor. I am taking care of Keith while Dad's taking care of Mom, you're in charge of getting the house ready for the baby, getting everyone fed, clothed, bathed, and to school until we know what's going on. Don't burn the place down.
Eli
Jason knew Keith wasn't real but he still took a private moment outside because Keith was now real to him. After he shed a tear or two for knowing his brother was hurt and may still be in danger, Jason steeled himself and turned back to the door. "Oh god," he is the oldest, he needs to take care of this mess.