Celine was now in complete control of Dark's body. She ran her fingers along his cane that he adored oh so much. It sort of angered her. It was Damien's cane that she and Mark had gifted him for becoming mayor. She wanted to snap it in half.
She wanted nothing more than to immediately go to Mark's house and kill him but she had to be more sly and stealthy than that. Barging in may take him by surprise but it will also have repercussions. He has motion cameras now and his two dogs, Henry and Chica could alert him, giving him the advantage.
Celine had to be smarter. She had a lot of time to think about how she'd end Mark but being in her own physical form once more was a little daunting. She had to get used to things first.
Cracking her neck in Dark's body, she groaned a little before walking out of the room.
Wilford hand't been in the best of spirits since the other day. Seeing his friend like that lose control got to him. It's very rare that anything scares Wilford Warfstache but this did. The journalist was currently in the kitchen pretending to look at the daily newspaper upside-down when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was well in the afternoon by this time and everyone else was either outside, in the living room or in their own rooms, scattered about the place so it was hard to tell at first who it was coming down.
Then he heard a third footstep and deduced it before they walked in, "Well hello, Darky! Finally coming out of your cave, eh?!"
'Dark' glanced over at him but didn't answer, merely going to the fridge in search of something to eat.
Wilford wasn't perturbed, "Did ya finally talk to Markimoo over the phone or are you still pouting like a child?"
A red glow hummed from him but he didn't answer, still, making a sandwich. Wilford observed carefully. Usually he would be the sort of person people would see as irrational and crazy. Nonsensical and strange. But he did have his sane moments. Something was off.
Before he could speak again, however, Eric walked in. Upon seeing the two in the room, he looked like he was regretting his decisions but bravely stepped in, "H-hi, Wil. H-hello Mr. Dark, sir"
"Eric! How you today, scout?!"
Eric shuffled nervously and appeared to be sweating but answered, "I-I'm fine, Wil. H-h-how are you t-today?"
"Jolly Good!" But Wil's happy demeanor was quickly swiped when he observed Dark again. He was frozen, hunched over the counter as if just listening to everything. As if everything he was hearing was nails scratching on a chalkboard.
"You go on outta here now Eric-boy. Don't want anything to lash out attcha."
Eric, catching on to the hint, started to leave to just go to his room, "O-okay. B-bye."
Once he was gone, Wilford cleared his throat, "Whelp! Imma gonna just go and wreak some havoc, Darkimoo! See ya before dinner!"
"No, Wil" his voice was deep and menacing. Familiar.
"Ah! He speaks! I was beginning to think somethin' was wrong with ya! Not that there isn't, already!" he laughed.
'Dark' glared at him over his shoulder, "You'll only 'wreak havoc' if I have a need for it. Now go do your job."
Wilford hummed but pouted, "Aw! You're no fun!"
But Wilford left the room, only slinking around the corner to spy on the man, 'He seems colder today. I've noticed his spurts here and there but this is different. Ever since the other day when he lost control like that. Never seen him like that before. Yes, yes. Something is definitely wrong. Of course he'd always behave harsh but this is different. Call me crazy'
Then he heard Dark mumble something under his breathe, "Soon. Soon, I'll have it all and you, my little puppet will be no more. Just like Mark. What do you think of that, Darkimoo?"
'Yep. Definitely something wrong' Wilford teleported to his office at his HQ. He needed a plan.
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Marvin dragged Anti behind him and up to his room. The glitch flickered here and there at the contact but he let the magician push him in.
"Thought you'd need away from him for a bit." Marvin closed the door behind him and walked around Anti deeper into his room, "What happened?"
Anti shrugged, just a little uncomfortable at being in the same room as him again. There was something about Marvin he never really trusted. Always sneaky and too friendly at times.
"He uh. . . he found Stacey."
"Oh. Shit"
"Yeah. I don't think he was drunk but he wasn't exactly in the right mind. When I glitched Jackie and I there at the house, Chase was yelling at her to get out of the car, crying."
Marvin sighed, "Well, he DOES love her a lot."
"What's that have to do with it?" Anti scoffed, "Point is, he scared her and the kids by what he did. If he loved them so much, he would have thought about their feelings first. R̷i̴g̷h̸t̴?̴"̵
The magician scratched the back of his head, "Well, you're not wrong but I think it's more complicated than that. You know? He hadn't seen them in a long while."
"Yeah and the last time he saw them was after the drive-by. I don't blame Stacey for being afraid. He even had a gun on him. That's why he thought he shot me"
"Hm. He wouldn't have hurt them"
"They don't know that. He's lucky they didn't see the gun."
There was a small silence between them before Marvin spoke again, "Anyways. What else happened? I've missed a lot, I see. Henrik's patched you up today" he went to a bookshelf that held a lot of vials and rummaged through them, "Your stitches came loose and since our good doctor has been working late recently, he probably won't get home any time soon to fix the damage Chase did when he hit you."
He picked a vial and brought it to Anti, "Drink it. It'll work better than those stitches, I'm sure"
He stared at the vial Marvin gave him with undisguised suspicion, "So it'll heal me. W̷h̸a̷t̷ ̸e̶l̴s̸e̵ ̴w̶i̷l̸l̴ ̶i̵t̶ ̸d̸o̵?̷"̶
"Relax, Anti. I may have tried to hypnotize you before but I won't drug you. That's Schneep's forte."
Agreeing with the magician, Anti finally gave in and gulped down the liquid. In mere seconds, he felt the stitches tighten and Marvin moved quickly to lift his shirt and make them disappear.
With a light blush, Anti pulled down his shirt, "̸D̵o̵n̷'̸t̶ ̶t̴o̵u̸c̷h̵ ̴m̶e̸"̶
"Still insecure, I see"
"̸S̸h̶u̶t̸ ̴i̸t̵!̶ I'm not insecure! Fook off"
Marvin rolled his eyes, "You gonna explain or do I really have to wait for Jackie?"
Anti grumbled softly but finally gave up, "I guess if I let him tell you, he'll fooking glorify it or some fooking shite. I was at a store and a robber came in and was gonna shoot a little girl unless we gave him money. I took the bullet, alright? W̸h̶a̵t̸e̶v̷e̶r̷.̴ ̴Not a big deal"
"What?! But Anti, that IS a big deal!" Marvin smiled ear to ear, "You saved someone's life. Just like-"
He stopped at Anti's glare but Marvin wasn't afraid of him, "Does no one really know what happened that day?"
The glitch froze suddenly, staring at Marvin like a ghost, "What?"
The strange magician gave a sly smile, "The party. They only know bits and pieces, don't they? Only you and Dark know the truth, yes? Why don't you tell everyone?"
"I . . .. I don't know what you're talking about" he started feeling weird. Violated.
'How. . .how does he know?'
"I know a lot of things, Anti." Marvin filled in, "No, I can't read minds, but I presumed that's what you were thinking." he chuckled lightly, "Answer me, Anti"
He blinked a few times, and looked around but Anti wasn't willing to answer any of those sorts of questions right now, "Why doesn't Schneep see his ex or son anymore?"
The question threw Marvin off but he thought about it carefully, "Hm. . . . you know what, I don't know everything. Heh" he chuckled, "But if I had to guess, I'd say it's because he blames himself for what happened."
Anti's shoulders shagged, instantly regretting bringing up the topic, "Yeah. . .I guess that makes sense. Wasn't his fault though" he rarely felt sentimental but this was a special case.
"He doesn't see it that way. Anyways, about the party-"
"Enough about the F̸O̴O̵K̵I̴N̵G̶ ̶P̸A̸R̸T̸Y̷!̴!̸ There's nothing to talk about! It was a long time ago by now anyways!" Anti shouted at him, "God, you're so f̶o̷o̷k̵i̷n̶g̶ ̵.̷ ̶.̸ ̸.̸u̶g̸h̴ ̸r̴r̵r̸r̵r̸r̴r̸"̷ he stomped his way towards the door to leave and had his hand on the door knob.
"I was gonna tell you later but I might as well now. I saw it, Anti"
Anti froze again. Marvin was good at making him do that. Swallowing, he took a deep breathe, muttering, "What do you think you saw?"
"Enough. I won't tell the others, though, Anti. That's your story to tell. You should tell them, though, Anti. They've never understood and honestly neither have I until I saw it the other day. But now I know. You're-"
Before Marvin could continue, Anti opened the door and left, slamming it behind him.
'You don't know a damn thing'
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Dark watched on the inside. It was like his body was being possessed. He could still see himself walking around and interacting with others but it stung him so much.
It wasn't the fact that Celine was treating them all so horribly.
It was the fact that they all seemed used to it and it didn't bother ANY of them.
'Was I always really like that?' he thought, 'Even when she didn't take control. . . Even Wilford didn't seem disturbed just now.'
It was dark where he was right now. In the void precisely like Anti had been, unable to do anything about his predicament.
He didn't know why Celine was doing this. Honestly, he still didn't know why she did what she did at the party. What was there to gain? At first he thought he agreed. At first he thought he knew the answer why. But now he wasn't so sure.
It all felt so. . ..wrong.
All around him, memories scattered, taunting him. The void was unforgiving and even though he was made from it, he was not immune.
Memories flung him left and right in his head.
Memories of when he used Google and Bing for his own gain without their permission. When he would snap at either the Jims, King or Eric for being too soft. When he locked up Yancy in that closet to 'teach him a lesson' before fraternizing with the enemy, teaching Mark how to sing and dance.
He remembered when he plainly used Wilford to teleport him across seas and do his bidding. When he yelled at Yandere for paying too much attention to their love interest or senpai than the plan. He had lashed out at nearly all of them but the most recent one he regretted the most was lashing at Wilford. He wasn't stupid. He had seen the fear in his eyes.
Dark's heart actually hurt, 'What is this? This pain I'm feeling? Is it a heart attack?. . . No. It's something deeper. I've never felt this before. Not without the auras lashing out at least.'
But nothing stirred around him. Only darkness and the memories that plagued his mind.
'But usually even in the void, they'd stir. Why not now? Does it have something to do with Celine and how she's in control now?'
He didn't understand it but before he could think about it further, another memory lurched forward.
'Anti. . . ?' his heart wanted to shatter.
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It was early in the morning when Anti came downstairs but he was surprised by what he saw, really. On the couch in the living room, Jackie was back but curled up with Jameson, their heads leaning against each other. It was almost cute. Anti almost wished he was a part of it.
Almost.
'I don't smell alcohol. Chase must not have either drank himself to death last night OR he did it in his old room.'
He went into the kitchen and grabbed a poptart from the cupboards and some milk. Munching quietly, he thought about going out as he walked out of the kitchen.
But then he caught something he wasn't supposed to.
"Uh" Chase stood at the door frame getting ready to head out with two suitcases in hand, "Hey man. Didn't think I'd see you up so early."
"What are you doing?" Anti glared at him suspiciously.
They stared at each other for a bit until Chase finally sighed, knowing he was caught, "I uh . . Look man, don't make this any harder, alright? Don't tell the others. I'm leaving"
"Wait. Leaving? Again?" Anti almost dropped his breakfast and his heart picked up pace, "W- . . .. w̴h̶y̵?̴ Where you going?"
Chase shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I've caused more trouble being here than I was probably supposed to. With what happened last night and what I said a few days ago about you. You're all better it seems now, anyways, from the void. So why not just go? I'll be less of a burden that way"
"You're not a . . ." Anti stopped, afraid and confused, "Why do you have to leave? I mean. . .how do you know I'm all better? I thought you said you didn't come here for me, a̶n̸y̸w̴a̴y̴s̵?̷"̸
"Anti, bro. Look, I'm sorry about what I said the other day. It wasn't right. I was stupid"
"You're always stupid"
"Not helping. Anyways. Point is, I'm leaving. You guys don't need me here. Probably would have been better off without me"
"̴B̷u̵t̸-̴"̸
"I didn't mean what I said, Anti. I initially DID come for you. I don't know why I said I didn't. Probably to hurt you guys. That's just how fucked up I am. Like I said. You're better off without me around."
"̶I̴-̴.̵ ̴.̵.̴ ̴.̵.̴ ̶"̷
Chase waited but Anti couldn't speak. It was too weird. Too emotional and strange for him. Chase and him had never really gotten along anyways so why was he trying to make him stay?
"Anti . . . it's okay that you can't get a point across right now. There's NO point to get across except for mine. So just go up to your room and pretend you didn't see me leave, alright? Going back home. For good this time"
Chase turned around and for a few moments, Anti panicked. He didn't know what to say and he really didn't WANT to say it. It was completely against his nature but honestly, he didn't want Chase to leave. Despite their differences and the shit they've both done to each other over the years, Anti couldn't deny he cared about him. About all of them.
Chase started to walk out the door when Anti blurted out, "̷I̶'̸m̴ ̷ s̷o̵r̶r̶y̶ ̷a̶b̸o̶u̷t̶ ̸ t̷h̵a̸t̶ ̶ n̵i̸g̷h̶t̶!̴"̴
Chase stopped and glanced back a little.
Anti shuddered and glitched anxiously but continued, "That night we both got drunk and . . . t̶a̸l̶k̵e̷d̴ ̸a̴ ̵l̵o̴t̸.̶ And I was embarrassed. . . . a̷n̸d̷ ̸.̸ ̷.̵ ̷.̶h̶u̵r̶t̵ ̸y̷o̵u̵.̴ I-I'm sor-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Chase."
Chase gave a slight smile, "Thanks, man. Don't worry about it. I forgive you." he still continued to walk away.
Anti clutched the hair on his head and the lights in the house stuttered violently, "Don't go" he whispered.
Chase shut the door behind him and that hurt his heart like someone was squeezing it like a stress toy, "̵P̶l̷e̸a̵s̸e̴ ̶n̴o̵.̸ ̷.̵ ̴.̶w̴h̵y̷ ̷d̴o̸ ̷I̶ ̷.̸ ̴.̵ ̶.̶ ̷.̴I̸ ̵a̸l̵w̴a̶y̶s̶.̵ ̸.̶ ̴. .Why am I always so fooking-"
Anti glitched nearly out of existence frantically and all the electronics in the house went insane and a sharp ringing penetrated the air somehow still not waking up the two boys on the couch, though. Anti finally glitched out of the house, causing the chaos to cease.
Chase stumbled back in surprise as Anti glitched in front of him just as he reached his car and barreled into him.
Chase expected Anti to attack out of rage and knife him or even beat him.
But instead, he was latched around Chase like a child, hugging him. It knocked the wind of it Chase but he wasn't going to push him off. He could feel a light wetness soaking into his shirt and his throat felt tight all of a sudden.
Anti was crying.
"̴̙̜̲͊͠D̷͔̻̩̱͋̐o̸͆̽͐͘ͅň̵͓̪̬́͝'̵̥̅t̴̮̀ ̸̗̮͛G̷̦̦̮̽̀͑Ő̷̢̻̾"̴̻̌̈́̀ Anti's voice was muffled in his chest.
Chase hugged Anti back, shocked at the pain in the ego's voice. He held one hand at the back of Anti's head and the other rubbed his back, "Hey, hey" he shushed.
Anti shivered. He normally hated to be touched but this hug felt nice.
Chase felt tears drip down his own face, "Fooking hell, Anti. I never know what you're thinking, really. And then you drop THIS on me?! Don't tell me you actually care about me, you brat"
Anti wouldn't answer and instead hugged him tighter, not wanting to let this feeling go. He had always hated Chase for the drive-by but it didn't change the fact that he was a father. He was like a father to all of them but Anti would NEVER admit that Chase was like his father, too.
When he first left, Anti blamed himself hard. It hurt so much. He had to have been the reason he left. You don't just stick around the same person who stabbed you in the same house. Everyone had been so distant and sad after he left and it was all Anti's fault, right? Then Henrik left and Anti blamed himself for that as well even though it wasn't his fault. He felt as if he could have helped in SOME way.
Then they BOTH came back for HIM. Why HIM?! But was it really because of him? Really?
He wanted to believe it, he really did. But wasn't it just too good for him to believe?
"Don't leave again. . .. please, don't leave again. ̷Y̶-̶y̸o̴u̵ ̷c̵a̶n̸'̶t̵"̸ Anti clutched onto Chase hard but the fathers sorrow turned a tad bitter.
"Give me one good reason why."
"I can't live with it again. So many p-people ̶j̸u̶s̵t̶ ̸w̶a̸l̵k̵ ̶a̴w̷a̴y̵ or l̷-̷l̴e̸a̵v̷e̷ because of me. They leave me. . . . I̸'̴m̶ ̷a̵l̷o̵n̶e̷"̴
"I've been the only one to leave, Anti, and that wasn't because of you, dude"
"Y̵e̵s̵ ̸i̴t̸ ̸w̵a̴s̶!̶ Don't lie to me!" Anti shoved him, glaring through tears and red eyes, fists clenched, "You, Henrik, Dark! Then when you were all gone, the only one who actually paid any attention to me was Jackie but I M̶A̸D̶E̸ him! If I caused enough problems he'd have to fix then he'd have to catch me and actually T̵A̶L̸K̷ to me! I can't go on again, Chase! F̵u̴c̷k̵,̸ ̷I̶ ̴c̵a̶n̷'̷t̸!̵ ̷I̷ ̵c̵a̸n̵'̵t̸!̵ ̶I̵'̶l̸l̸ ̴ f̸o̶o̶k̶i̴n̶g̴ ̶ k̸i̸l̵l̸ ̷ m̸y̸s̷e̷l̷f̶!̸"̷
"No you won't!" Chase gripped his shoulders, yelling at him, "You won't fooking DARE try anything that stupid, you hear me!? Don't you fooking dare say that shite! If anyone should kill themselves, it's ME! God knows, I've tried!"
They stared at each other for a while, each contemplating each other's words.
Chase was the first to sigh and let go of Anti's shoulders, "It was after the drive-by. After I lost everything. Before you attacked me. Wasn't you. Never you, brat. I've always known you were misunderstood. Before you were corporeal, you always seemed so alone. Then spending all that time around Dark . . . it wasn't you and I saw it in your eyes. You may have caused all of us a lot of grief but you hated every second of it. That's why I vouched for you to stay with us alongside Jackie."
Anti was silent but listened to Chase's words carefully. He was right. Why did he have to be right?
"I'm sorry, Anti. . . for everything you've been through. All the misunderstandings. All the miscommunication and bitterness between all of us and Sean. The first time we met, you were trying to kill me and my kids. But you just wanted attention. . .. didn't you? You weren't really going to do it, were you, Anti?"
Anti stayed silent but it was enough confirmation for Chase. Before he could say more, however, a car rolled up beside them. Anti darted away from Chase instinctively as Henrik hopped out of the vehicle.
"Chase. . . Anti" he blinked tiredly, "Vhat are you two doing out so early in zhe morning? And vhy do you have suitcases? Going somewhere?"
Chase looked back at Anti for a moment before sighing and picking the luggage back up, "Nah. Just getting these last few things out of the truck I forgot a while ago is all."
Henrik didn't sense the lie and yawned.
"Were you up all night again, Henrik, dude? That's not good for you, you know"
Henrik waved a hand at him, "Ah shut yer mouth. I am doctor and very busy man. Not uncommon to pull all-nighters."
"Alright, I guess" Chase pat Anti's shoulder lightly to get him to move towards the door to go inside.
Now that, Henrik noticed, "Anti . . . you are up early, yourself. Couldn't sleep? Nightmares still?"
"A few" he answered, "Just couldn't sleep is all."
"The night-light is doing it's magic, huh?" Chase chuckled as they made their way quietly to the kitchen, still aware of Jackie and Jameson sleeping on the couch.
Henrik went straight to the coffee pot and stared at it as it went to work, "Ugh" he groaned, "I vill go right to bed soon here. Just one more mug"
"Alright, man, whatever you say. Don't stay up much longer, though or I'll tell Sean"
"Yeah, yeah" he waved it off.
Chase smiled at Anti before walking back up to his room, suitcases in hand.
Anti wiped his eyes quickly again, keen on using 'being tired' as an excuse for red eyes.
Henrik was still watching the coffee pot but spoke, "Anti, I need to speak vith you once more about zhe void."
Anti stilled but Henrik continued, "I know it's touchy subject still and it's still super early for you but it's important, I'm afraid."
"Important?" Anti narrowed his eyes, "What's so important about the void? I told you all I know about it, Henrik"
"No, no, no. You'll see." he filled his cup when the coffee was ready and blew on it carefully before taking a big gulp, "Tis an experiment. Completely harmless, I promise"
The good doctor gave him a smile but some, it unnerved Anti even more.