Anti sat in a corner of his mind's 'room' where Septic had locked him. His stab wound was still hurting but it wasn't life-threatening since it was all in his head. His physical body, if he ever managed to get it back, would remain unharmed. He was saving his strength, concentrating hard on healing as fast as he could and it was working. The wound was almost closed and had stopped bleeding. Perhaps his time in that void had something to do with it?But that was the last thing on Anti's mind right now.
'Did I really see Dark in that mirror?' he wondered, 'Was it even real? God, I hope it all was. I hope I wasn't hallucinating all of that.'
He knew Marvin could figure it out given some time but he didn't really know how much time he had left. With Jackie over Septic's shoulder unconscious, he doubted he had long.
Coming up to Schneep's door, he knocked and waited calmly until the doctor answered. His reaction was immediate and Septic had to refrain from laughing out loud.
"HOLY! Jackie! Vhat happened to him!? Here, bring him inside. I'll get a bed ready!" Schneep had him follow him in the room.
Septic tried to act the best he could, "I don't know what happened, Doc! I heard something from Jackie's room so I went to see but he must have come back like this from a fight! Is he going to be okay!?"
Schneep fell for it, "Of course he iz! I am ze good doctah! I can heal anybody!" he inspected him and proceeded to take off Jackie's top, "Plenty of bruising and a stab wound to the shoulder. And a gash on his head. He must have had one hell of a fight"
Septic only nodded, grinning on the inside.
"Zhank you for bringing him to me, Anti. He'll be fine, albeit pretty sore when he wakes up. I'll stitch up his shoulder." he turned to him, "Are you sure you don't vant me to help you vith your head wound, Anti?" he shook his head dismissively, "Nevermind, I know vhat you'll say! Here, just take these pain meds anyways. It vill help."
Septic just nodded again, "Of course Doc. Tell Jackie I hope he feels better soon" he left, leaving the doctor to do his job.
Anti, meanwhile, was stilling seething but unable to antagonize the demon ego, still weakened from their little fight. Instead, he wanted to ask some questions. Maybe he could throw him off his game?
"I don't . . . .I don't understand you. What's the point in getting them to trust you when you're just going to kill them anyways? Can't you kill them at any point?" he knew he was taunting him, playing a dangerous game, but he wanted answers, too.
"What's the point of a quick death when I can also see the look on their faces of betrayal? Maybe I should tell them of your predicament, too, beforehand. I want to see as much pain in their eyes as possible before I take their souls."
"Why do you want their souls? What's to gain from it? Why not take some other people's?"
Septic shrugged, entering Anti's room, "The heart wants what it wants. What is all this newfound curiosity anyways? Planning something, glitch?"
"What could I possibly be planning in here, Septic? I can't do a damn thing but watch. You've already won"
Septic grinned, "You're right, I have. I mean, I still have a few other obstacles to clear but then . . ."
"What will you do afterwards?"
"Hm?"
Anti sighed, "After you kill them all. After you take their souls. Then what?"
He was silent for a few moments, "Not sure. I'll probably think of something fun to do next, though"
"Like what?"
"I don't know! We'll see when we get there! Geez, someone's antsy." he huffed, "Maybe. . . . I guess we could go on a little trip"
" . . . . .a trip?"
Septic went into Anti's bathroom mirror so he could see his host. Anti held his wound in the cracked glass pieces truly looking utterly shattered. The demon ran a finger down the cracks tracing them mindlessly, "Yes. I was thinking maybe LA. . ." he smiled at the mirror teasingly, "Perhaps near Raspy Hill"
Anti's heart stopped, "No. No, you don't even KNOW them. Why would you-"
"Why would I do anything, Anti? It's what I do. Get over it." Anti didn't even look surprised anymore and Septic wasn't pleased about that. He fed off of Anti's fears but now that he was just so 'defeated', it was almost worthless for him to . . . .
Septic snarled at Anti, "What? Not even gonna fight me anymore? You really are pathetic"
Anti just stared back at him, "Isn't there anything else you want? There's so much to do in this world. So many things better than murder. You liked the poptarts, right? Don't you want to try other good food? Jackie's a great cook and so is Sean."
Septic gave him a disdainful look, "Shut up"
"There's games, too. You've never played a board or video game, have you? I bet you'd like darts, too. Jameson is fun to play darts with and Chase loves any game, really"
"Knock it off, Anti. I know what you're trying to do"
"You COULD have your own body. We could just go ask Marvin! There's got to be a spell for it. You could reform and be a part of us."
"̵I̷ ̸ ̷S̸A̶I̷D̶ ̷ ̸S̴H̴U̸T̵ ̶ ̷U̸P̶,̷ ̶ ̵Y̶O̴U̶ ̶ ̸S̷T̸U̵P̸I̷D̶ ̶ ̸L̵I̴T̷T̶L̷E̷ ̵ ̷B̶I̷T̸C̵H̶!̶"̶ Septic shouted, his eyes going black and static buzzing around him. He was pissed, "̸Y̷O̵U̵ ̶ ̵C̷A̷N̸'̷T̴ ̷ ̴R̴E̴F̷O̷R̵M̷ ̷ ̷M̷E̷!̷ ̸ ̶W̸H̴Y̵ ̷ ̵E̶V̴E̸N̸ ̸ ̴B̵O̷T̵H̶E̶R̷ ̴ ̷T̵R̸Y̷I̷N̴G̸!̶?̸ ̶ ̷I̸ ̶ ̶W̸A̶S̷ ̵ ̷M̴A̴D̷E̸ ̶ ̶̶A̶ ̷ ̸M̴O̵N̵S̴T̸E̵R̴!̶ ̴ ̴I̶ ̶ ̴W̸A̷S̷ ̸ ̷C̵R̸E̴A̵T̷E̴D̴ ̵ ̸A̸S̴ ̷ ̷A̷ ̴ ̵F̴U̶C̶K̶I̸N̷G̶ ̵ ̶M̷O̷N̸S̷T̵E̷R̴!̴ ̷ ̶Y̷O̸U̸R̵ ̶P̶R̷E̶C̴I̶O̵U̶S̵ ̸ ̸S̴E̸A̴N̷ ̴ ̶D̷O̴E̴S̸N̷'̴T̸ ̵ ̸E̸V̵E̶N̴ ̴ ̵K̴N̵O̷W̵ ̴ ̷I̷ ̴ ̴E̴X̸I̸S̶T̴!̸ ̸ ̸N̵O̵N̵E̶ ̶ ̷O̴F̸ ̵ ̸T̸H̶E̷M̸ ̸ ̶D̷O̴!̴"̸
Anti was silent as he continued, calmed down slightly, "Why do you even care about them?! They've hated you for years. Thought you were evil when in reality it was me the whole time. If anyone is confusing here, it's you! Why defend the people that have made your life miserable since you arrived in this world? Why defend those who have abandoned you!?"
"Because everyone deserves a second chance." Anti placed his own hand on the other side of the mirror, making Septic cringe just a little, "They gave me one and it's been the best time of my life since. They gave me a chance. I gave them another chance. They can give YOU another chance, too, Septic."
Septic's eyes were still pitch black and he was as stiff as a brick. He bowed his head, preventing Anti from seeing his features. He shook a little and Anti couldn't tell if it was in rage or frustration. Then he heard the giggling.
"Gehehehhhahahhhahehehheeheh" his body moved with his laughter,
"HahehhehehehhehahahheheH̵̟̤͍͚̮͑͒̈́̔A̴̰̼̻̗̠̒̊H̸͚͎́͑͆̈͘Ḁ̶̘̞̩̹̕Ä̵̢̺͚̗́̈́̒͜A̶̧̳̮̗̅̈H̸̭͍͚͑̒͂̉͘͠Ȃ̶͎̠͍̔̆͝H̸͕̓͌͒̃͒Ă̴̘̗̾̋͐͠H̸̩̟͔͚͑̆͘A̵̢̙̬̜̖͔͠͠H̸̛̻̪̯̘̲̆A̶̧̨̞̞̘̪̚͝A̵̅̊̿́̚ͅA̶̡̹̜͕̞͆̂̈Ȧ̷͙̬̰̺̙̌̃̌͋H̶̛͙͕̀͑͌̕Ä̷̮́͊̾͜Ḩ̶̳̹̞̗̉̿́͒A̷̞̦͆́̇̚͠͠ͅ!̷̮́̃͆̇̾"̴̲̹̠͇̈͊̒̀
Anti cringed as Septic looked back at him, "So naive. Thinking you can get to me. . . ." he smiled coyly at his host and shook his head, "I mean don't get me wrong, I applaud your efforts. But. . . .I am who I am, sweetheart" he winked, "I WAS going to eradicate your soul, too, afterwards so I'd be free on my own but now . . . .I'm thinking perhaps I'll keep you, love. I could use your company. We could have so much fun together. Maybe once it's all over and you stop fighting me you'll see just how much fun it can be."
He gave Anti a smirk, "Maybe one day I could find a different host and give you back your body. We could REALLY have a lot of fun then, couldn't we?"
Anti felt violated already and wrinkled his nose in disgust, "You're not my type"
Septic just smiled dangerously at him, the black fading from his eyes leaving a sick green glow to his iris's instead, "Now you KNOW I didn't mean that, you little shit".
"Let's go pay Jameson a visit now, huh!?" Septic madly grinned, "You said he was good at darts, let's see if he can hit the mark on me!"
-88888888888-
Marvin stood over his desk, feeling frustrated and confused. Why had he seen Anti in that glass? He had just seen him afterwards walking on to his room but something just didn't add up. The sudden energy that blasted through all of his mirrors with that green static had proved that something was wrong but he couldn't go to anybody about it just yet. If something WAS wrong with Anti then he had to be quiet about it.
He recalled last night when he gave Anti the potion to help him sleep. Something had seemed off about him. He was way too cheerful with him considering the little argument they had had that morning. And speaking of yesterday morning, he thought he had seen something different. Something that wasn't Anti, a malicious thing.
But he thought he felt something different that night a few weeks ago when Anti had that nightmare. It had scared him so much and he went on about a demon but Marvin hadn't sensed anything. Right? Or was this thing able to disguise itself?
'Maybe I should check again' Marvin walked out of the room, noticing it was nearing dinner time but no one was really out and about. He found himself in the kitchen, hoping to find either Chase or Jackie but no one was there. He left to the living room and found Chase slumped on the couch with his head in his hands.
"Chase? Hey, are you alright?" he went over to him but Chase just shook his head, not bothering to look up at him.
"I heard about the kids and Stacy . . . . you doing okay, man?"
Chase just shrugged.
"Hm. . do you know where Anti is right now? I need to find him"
Chase finally looked up to meet his eyes, "Probably in his room. Why? Is he okay?" more tears fell down his face than what was already there.
Marvin was a bit confused, being out of the loop but nodded, "I think so. I'm just sort of worried about him"
"It's all my fault. It's got to be. I hurt him" Chase wiped the tears from his eyes and hiccuped.
Marvin furrowed his brow, "W-what do you mean? What did you do, Chase?"
The father breathed shakily, "I hurt him last night. I got wasted drunk. He . . .he was only coming in to check on me. He was trying to help and I. . . I snapped at him, shoved him down and kicked him. I'm a fucking monster, Marv. I hurt the very person who helped me to stop drinking in the first place. My brother. And now he hates me"
"He doesn't hate you. Although he'll probably be upset with you for a while"
"No, you don't get it! It was like he was a completely different person, Marv! He wouldn't even touch me when I hugged him and begged for his forgiveness. He just . . .stood there and told me he didn't care anymore."
"That's not like him" Marvin hummed, starting to get more worried by the second when he suddenly had a fleeting thought, "What color were his eyes?"
"What color were his eyes?!"
"Green. It was like they were glowing, too, actually. I haven't seen that happen since. . ." he suddenly had a panicked look on his face, "I fucking knew it wasn't him!" Chase stood up with new energy, "We have to find him NOW!"
Marvin ran with him, "Hey just wait a moment! Don't keep me out of the loop, here, what are you thinking?"
Chase knocked on Anti's door but there was no response so he bust it open suddenly only to find no one inside, "Chase!" Marvin shoved him, "Talk to me!"
Chase just ran to the bathroom and saw the mess, Marvin behind him. They both gaped at what they saw. The shattered mirror, the blood everywhere filling the sink and still splattered on the tiles. His pill bottle still completely full.
Chase gagged at all the blood and grit his teeth,"It's not our Anti. It's the monster from before. I KNEW something was weird! Why didn't I see it!?"
Marvin took his shoulder, "Not now, Chase. If we're really dealing with that demon from before then we need to find the others. It's best to have numbers on our side."
"But what about Anti!?" Chase covered his mouth in his hands, "He needs our help. We need to get him back, dude!"
"I know but the others safety comes first, Chase. Anti wouldn't want us leaving the others out of it, would he? He'd want them safe, too."
He conceded, "Right."
The first place they ran off to was Schneep's office. They needed to warn the doctor first since his office was the closest. Marvin burst in with Chase behind him, "Henrik! We have an emergency!"
"Vhat is it?" the doctor blearily asked them, still tending to Jackie who was unconscious.
"What happened to Jackie!? Did the demon get to him already!?" Chase blurted and Schneep was confused.
"Vhat? Vhat are you talking about? Anti brought Jackie to me like this. Said he must have had a bad fight earlier today. Vhat demon? I thought we settled zis farce?"
"There's no time to explain, Henrik!" Marvin grabbed him, "If Jackie's out of commission then it'll just have to be us-"
"Mhmhmm" they all looked at Jackie who was waking up from their shouting, "What's. . .what going. . .. Anti!" he shot up quickly only to grunt and flop back on the bed, holding his stitched shoulder.
"Jackie, just lay back down, man, we know!" Chase told him.
Jackie shook his head, still a bit out of it and dizzy, "No you don't get it. . . .. guh. . It's not Anti. He told me himself. He did this. Did this to me. Not him."
Schneep suddenly looked terrified, "Ze monster? But. . . ve thought he vas just bipolar. Marvin, you said you didn't sense anything that night!"
"Well I was wrong, alright? But never mind that! We need to go find Jameson. Lock Jackie in here just in case."
However, Septic was already in Jameson's room talking with him. Jameson could tell something was off but he trusted Anti so he thought nothing of it. Jameson watched as he threw some darts at the dartboard, "This is fun. I can see why he said I'd like it"
Jameson gave him a strange look before taking his turn. The mute man never spent much time around him but he knew Anti well enough. He was on his guard.
Septic knew this but smiled, "You're so quiet Jameson. I like that." he threw another dart when it was his turn. Jameson gave him another look.
"I mean I don't have to listen to you tell me how much you hate me or . . . . want me gone."
Jameson shook his head with hands in defense and Septic chuckled.
"Just because you don't talk doesn't mean I can't read you like a book, JJ. The others have the same feelings"
Jameson wrote down in a notebook and showed it to him, reading, 'Just because we get testy sometimes doesn't mean we hate you, friend. Troubled past or no, you're still our brother and we love you.'
Septic snarled and threw his knife at the dart board, alarming Jameson.
"You don't know me, friend. Anti's not here anymore. It's just me"
Jameson looked confused for a moment before talking a few steps back and Septic smirked, "You love your brother, hm? I wonder if he even believes you anymore. After all the shit you've all put him through. Just yesterday, you probably don't know, Jackie threw him against a wall, making his head bleed. He went to Schneep for help but the good doctor yelled at him, turning him away. Then Chase comes home drunk and has the nerve to beat Anti and call him names, the sorry piece of shit."
Jameson look horrified and wrote something down again before showing it to him, 'You're the demon Anti was talking about! I know Jackie, Schneep and Chase have had their bad days and Anti knows that, too! We love him and that's that. You can't tell me what I feel for my brother. What have you done with Anti!?'
On the inside, Anti was writhing. The stab was almost healed and he gaining more and more strength but he knew it would be too late if Jameson didn't do something and run. He didn't want to see him hurt.
"JJ please" Anti whimpered, "Fucking run, you mute softie bastard, you. Run. Please"
"Aw how cute" Septic mocked, "He appreciates the love. He's telling you to run but you're a little too late. I'm in control now and there's nothing he or any of you can do to stop me. Plus. . . with you as my little hostage, as well, JJ.. . . That'll be sure to halt them, too, wouldn't it?" he was about to lunge at Jameson when he suddenly found himself frozen.
"Hold it right there, you demon bastard" Septic glanced behind him to see Marvin had cast a spell on him, freezing him.
Anti grinned seeing Marvin with Chase and Schneep behind him, "Yes! Marvin. . . I knew he'd get my message!"
"Message?" Septic snarled, "When did you have the time to send him a message, you little glitch bitch!?" he tried to snap out of the spell but it wasn't working.
Marvin had him leashed, practically and grinned, "So it was Anti, after all! I was hoping I wasn't going mad"
Chase growled at him, "Leave Anti alone! Get out of him!"
"Face it, demon." Marvin came closer until he was merely a few feet away, "You've lost before it even began. Now give us our brother back"
Septic suddenly smiled darkly and giggled, "Actually. This couldn't have worked out better for me. You see . . . . if I attempt to leave Anti's mind or digress back into his subconscious . . . your precious little glitch will die. I've wounded him in his mind's physique. If I were to leave now. . . . he will never come back"
The egos stared at him in shock, not believing what they were told.
Suddenly Septic moved, using Anti's glitching ability to snap out Marvin's spell and across the room. He glowed, static fizzling around him and his eyes pitch black. The scar on his neck began to bleed just like that day three years ago when he possessed Sean for that sort while, making him look even more sinister. He looked angry and ready to fight, more powerful than ever and with the egos afraid of hurting Anti, they were unsure of how to fight back.
"By the way. . . . My name is Septic"