Chapter 18
I had hoped that it was just a wild animal that was coming out of the bushes. Be it a deer, a wolf, heck I would have taken a bear at that point. Luck wasn't on either mine or Dark's side that night it seemed. The demon that had abducted me and was chasing me through the woods finally showed himself. "GRAAAAHH!" I winced, hearing that roar as it was so loud and so close. "Where did you go, you-" His voice trailed off as he appeared before us, standing in the opening of the forest that we were in. He looked our way, with a sharp toothy grin. His eyes dilated into pin pricks as he stared at the two of us. I held back a gasp, trying to stand my ground with Dark by my side. I knew that it was Anti but I didn't expect him to look the way he was from when me and the others faced him in the Computer Tower. He had no shirt on and his jeans were ripped as they covered his knees while many holes were edged into the fabric. His hair, though still green and fluffy like Sean's, was far more messy with stuck out ends. His ears were more pointed and they were far longer than a normal human. As for his eyes, while they were still blue, one of his scleras was pitch black and the other was neon green like his hair. His claw like hands wiggled, as if they were ready to attack.
I was slightly shaking still, just keeping my eyes on him. I didn't want to move away, for fear of what he would do should I take a moment from him. I could feel Dark's arm pushing me back, making sure I was staying behind him. A slight growl escaped the ego's lips, a threat towards the other. Anti growled back, standing there as he tried to appear just as dangerous. He crossed his arms over his chest, while his green eye socket appeared to glow in the red moonlight. He kept staring at us, as if he was waiting for us to be the ones to make the first move. His eyes were looking over Dark mostly, especially at the top of his head. He must have noticed the horns that the Iplier ego had on him, they weren't exactly hard to miss. "You finally show who you really are?" Anti spoke in a mocking tone as his face still had such a toothy grin, showing off how pointed all of his teeth were.
"I see you are abusing the Blood Moon's power as well," Dark retorted, keeping his composure despite being challenged. I stayed behind him, trying to make myself appear invisible though I knew he already saw me, so there was no point.
"Tch, you are too." Anti scoffed. Technically he wasn't wrong, but it didn't seem like Dark could resist the power of the Blood Moon as far as I was aware.
"So?" Dark raised a brow. "Even with the power of the Blood Moon, you still couldn't beat me!"
This earned a laugh from Anti as he pointed directly at the other demon. "Like you could've done back at the mansion!" He let out another snarl from his laughter. This was starting to get a bit tensed, though no actions were being executed. Plus, I was scared how this fight would go. It seemed that Anti didn't exactly win against Dark the last time they battled, but then again Dark didn't win against him either. And now that they were at full health with a wide open space, it was anyone's game.
"What is it you want now?" Dark demanded as he looked at the beast.
Anti rolled his eyes before glaring back at us. "Don't play dumb!" He threatened as he adjusted his stance. I looked over Dark's arm to see Anti myself, watching his eyes move and wondering what he would do next. The ego that was on my side kept growling towards the other, making himself more of a threat. I still believed that Dark could at least damage Anti enough for us to get away. If we could avoid a full fledged brawl, that would have been ideal. For a brief moment, our eyes locked and when he saw me, I was even more terrified because his eyes went wide and his laughter started up again. "Since you are here, I figured I would give this back." He reached into his left jean pocket, taking something out. "This does belong to you, does it not?" He tossed what he had in his pocket towards me, a crumpled piece of paper landed by Dark's feet. He was the one that picked it up and smoothed it out. We both looked at what was on the paper, and I was the most surprised to see what was drawn on it. A sketch of what appeared to have been a mansion. It was slightly smudged up and some dirt was on there, but I could tell that it was my style. So Dark was right, this must have been how Anti found my scent and traced it back to me.
Anti was all smudged about it as he looked over at us. "I caught her scent on it and tracked it down… to that house of hers." He glared at me for a moment before looking back at Dark. "I was very upset that you weren't there, despite smelling your stench in that building. I didn't want to leave empty handed so I took the one that was there." Anti mused as he admitted to the abduction.
This seemed to have made Dark even more enraged as he took a step towards Anti. "Why?! Why did you take her?! She has nothing to do with this!" I couldn't believe Dark was actually sticking up for me. It was really kind of him, even though we never saw eye to eye, he still cared to not want me involved with Anti. Then again, for all I knew, he was only doing it because he was just stubborn and knew I was his prey and his alone.
Anti challenged the daker ego, snarling still as he approached him. I stepped back, watching the glitch bearing his teeth as his eyes went pin-pricked once again. Dark continued to growl in an attempt to keep Anti from advancing, but it was all in vain. My shivers got worse, because I knew that it would only be a matter of time before a war began. Anti kept chuckling with his growls, stepping up to Dark and even poking his chest. "We both got her involved in this!" Anti stated.
Dark didn't like that, so he grabbed Anti's wrist, snarling. "She is none of your business! I am only with her to fulfill a contract!" Hearing that made me wince, being reminded of what fate could possibly befall me once our deal has been met.
"Ha! Bullshit! Once you break the contract with her, you'll just end up killing her!" I actually stepped back at that line. Would Dark actually break the contract? He kept his word for so long, why go back on it now? Anti howled as he broke free of Dark's grasp, using his claws to slash at his face to leave a few marks.
"Dark!" I called out. The Iplier ego reeled back as blood dripped down his face. He was out for a moment, before turning back to Anti, who hissed louder with his mouth open. As if to say, 'Try me, you bastard'.
"Leave us alone!" I warned, having a shred of courage for one moment.
Anti looked over at me, huffing before turning back to Dark, who had regained his balance. "You're just gonna end up killing her. Admit it!"
Instead of denying or confirming that answer, Dark wiped the blood from his face as he tried to derail the question. "You have no idea what I am to her! What kind of relationship we have is none of your business!" Anti only scoffed at that response, but I was too much in shock to really process it. Dark took the opportunity to attack Anti using his own set of claws, and scratched at Anti's face, making the green demon reel back from the strike. I had believed for a moment that Dark would have taken that chance to keep attacking him and made the score settle between them. Instead, once Anti had stepped back from the onslaught, Dark ran towards me and grabbed my arm. "Come on!" He ordered, dragging me away from the scene. I screamed at the action, but didn't argue if it meant we could get far away from that demon.
"Come back here!" Anti screamed behind us, his growls growing in intensity. I knew he was chasing us, but I dare not look behind. I already saw him chasing me once before, I didn't want to be reminded of that nightmare turn reality.
"Run faster!" Dark ordered as he was holding onto me and forcing me to follow him.
"I am!" I panted as we ran. It was hard for me because he was pretty much forcing me, but at least we were sticking together.
I could hear Anti right behind us, I was certain he was closer than I thought. "C'mere, Dark! You bastard." Anti hissed as he huffed while running. Dark and I kept running, as fast as we could as he was dragging me from behind. I did my best to keep up, I didn't want to fall behind and become a victim to Anti once again. I didn't want to imagine what he would do to me if he had me a second time. As much as I hated to, I couldn't help myself to look back to see how close Anti was following behind. He was on our tail, a good six feet away at least. He must have been on a good pace with us. I was just pleased to know there was still some distance between us, but for how long that gap would last was beyond me. He was very close, reaching his clawed hand out to try and grab at me. I turned my head away from the other demon, and focused on Dark. I had to keep up, if it meant surviving. I wasn't sure how long we were running for, but I do know that when I heard snarling coming from the distance, I looked back to see Anti looking around. "Oh, great! Just what I need…" His growls were drenched in annoyance. I wasn't sure what made that sound or where it came from, but it distracted Anti enough for us to get a better distance away from him.
After running a couple more yards, Dark started to slow down a bit so I could catch my breath. We were still running, but it was at a pace I could actually handle. "D-did… you have to… drag me?" I panted after a few words, trying to catch my breath.
"You wouldn't keep up." Dark told me as he looked at me while holding my arm still.
"I'm not a fast runner!" I argued, still catching more of my breath.
"Really? You seem pretty decent enough to have evaded Anti so far." Dark stated with a raised brow. I wasn't sure if he was mocking me or actually complimenting me, but he did have a point. I may not have been the fastest runner around, but when it comes to a life or death situation I was pretty speedy. By the time I had finally caught my breath, it seemed that Dark was ready to speed up again. However, it was the sound of familiar footsteps that caused us to stop in our tracks and look behind. Anti skid to a stop, making Dark growl. "There's no way we will be able to outrun him," he told me as he pulled me back and stepped forward. "Sorry Cosmo, it seems that I will have to deal with him myself if we have any hope of getting home without any worries."
I swallowed a lump that was in my throat. I had a very strong yet unpleasant feeling that Dark would have to end up dueling Anti. I wanted to avoid it because Anti was still possessing Sean, and if the battle got too out of hand, one of them could get gravely injured. The last thing I wanted was to have to watch Mark or Sean being fatally wounded or worse. "Dark, wait!" I grabbed his arm, trying to get him to listen to me. "Whatever you do, don't kill him! Please!" I begged, hoping that Dark would follow suit on my word. He didn't turn back, nor did he nod his head to confirm. He just pulled his arm and walked to Anti. Clearly the only thing on his mind was bloodshed, as much as I didn't want it to come to that. I watched from behind a nearby tree, wondering what was going to happen and how far they will take this fight. Dark adjusted his feet, ready to make the first strike. Anti seemed distracted though, looking around the treeline. I was confused, why was he paying attention to the trees and not at Dark or myself?
The Iplier ego took the opportunity while the other was distracted. Dark rushed over and grabbed Anti by the throat, slamming him to the tree and grinning. "Got you!" Dark smirked. Anti spasmed and thrashed in his hold, but Dark kept him pinned with his strength. The horned demon raised his other hand, gathering red energy into his palm as he was ready to make an offensive attack on the green one. I gasped, watching in horror as it seemed Dark was ready to end the fight so quickly. My hands soon went to cover my ears as a bloodcurdling scream escaped Anti's mouth, sending Dark back and freeing him. Anti huffed, growling as he launched himself at Dark to tackle him. Darkiplier dodged in time, jumping to the side as Anti landed on the ground. But he quickly jumped from the dirt and landed on Dark's arm, trying to tear into his face.
He kept the feral one at bay, pushing him off of his arm and then launching some of his red powers his way. Anti ended up getting hit in the face, making him not only yelp in pain, but also skid across the field. He snapped back at Dark though, eyes pin-pricked and a burnt mark on his left cheek. Anti screeched as he jumped up, trying to tackle Dark again. Dark was able to dodge him with no problem, but this time, Anti let out a wave of his own green energy towards Dark, knocking him off balance. He used that opportunity to launch a few energy balls Dark's way. The Iplier ego saw them coming and tried to protect himself from them. He used his red flames to cover his front, letting the green balls hit his shield so he wouldn't get attacked. When they stopped coming his way, he lowered his shield and guard down for a moment. It resulted in him being scratched behind by Anti, who appeared right behind him as he was distracted with blocking the onslaught of attacks.
Dark fell to the ground, hissing in pain from the counter attack. The back of his shirt now had claw marks on them, and some lines of blood started to form in some of the holes. Dark looked up, seeing Anti tower over him. He unhinged his jaw, opening it wide as some green glow began to morph in his mouth, ready to attack the red one. Dark was quicker in his attack though, as he raised up his hands and blasted Anti with his form of energy. The impact was enough to blast Anti off of him, and got Dark enough time to stand back up. "If you believe that is all it will take to keep me down, you have another thing coming." Dark warned as he charged after Anti.
The feral of the two hissed at him as he jumped high up and sat on one of the branches. He giggled manically as he watched Dark from above. "Oh Dark dear, even if I can't beat you, that doesn't mean you can beat me. And why are you even pretending to act so tough? It seems to me that the spotlight dried you up."
Dark narrowed his eyes at Anti. "Says the one that is also impersonating a human."
This struck a nerve with Anti as he hissed at Dark once again. "Shut your mouth! You're making me sick with your own lies! You stand there, thinking you are better than me but you happen to have done far worse to that human than I ever could." Anti pointed in my direction, as I was still hiding behind a tree. Dark looked back at me for a moment before looking back up at Anti. The wild one kept going. "You allowed her to slip and fall into your nightmare and you watched her drown in the lies you fabricated, the illusions you created just for her."
"That's enough!" Dark shouted as he launched a special attack at the branch Anti sat on. His energy beam caused the tree to be cut in half, making it fall into the clearing. Anti had already jumped off before the attack could land on the wood, jumping down and landing on the fallen trunk. He hunched over the dead tree, smiling at Dark with those shark-like teeth of his.
"Oh? Is your tongue tied by what I'm saying?" Anti mocked Dark as he stuck out his tongue at the red horned demon. "Or is it just that false pride of yours that I'm striking your nerves with?"
Dark growled out a loud screech as he ran over to Anti, trying to attack him with more of his flame like powers. The half naked one was able to evade them all as if they were nothing. "You may think that you are the puppet master to her, but I'm the one that's cutting the ties clean off." Anti laughed as he ducked under Dark, only to pop back up and knee him right in the chest, causing him to cough up some blood. He bawled his fist and covered it with green energy, punching at Dark's direction. The horned ego moved his head to the side at just the right time, grabbing onto Anti's wrist as he was the one that now bore a smile on his face. This caught Anti off guard once again, but he didn't have time to process as Dark once again grabbed him by the neck and shoved him into the trunk of another tree. I could see the results of the impact as some bark fell off and chips of wood fell off of their home.
Dark held him there, gripping his neck as tightly as he could. Before Anti could try and retaliate with another scream attack, Dark tossed him over his shoulder and threw him across the field, like a skipping stone over a lake. Anti tumbled a bit at first, eventually skidding onto his feet to stop. He sat up, with one foot on the ground and a knee on the dirt. Dark aimed his right hand at Anti, summoning a ball of black and red energy. "Don't even think about it!" Anti warned as his green eye began to glow brightly, making him run at such a fast rate that in the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Dark, holding onto the wrist he was going to use to blast at Anti. They both held onto each other's hands, trying to be the first one to get out of their grip so they could do the final attack.
It was at that point I was starting to grow even more anxious. Dark seemed to be holding his own against Anti clearly well, but Anti seemed to be having the upper hand at times. At such a rate, I was certain that either one of them was bound to kill the other. I couldn't allow that to happen. I may not have saved Sean and Mark's soul in their mindscape, but at the very least I had to save their bodies from sustaining any damage. I didn't like the idea of getting in between their fight, but it was the only way I could stop it. I searched around, trying to find any means to protect myself. I may not have had any powers or magic, but if I had a weapon I would at least stand a chance. The best I could find was a large branch that had fallen from one of the trees they took down. I picked it up, trying to grip it as tightly in my hand. There was some bark that was chipped away, so it hurt my palms a bit, but I had to bear it.
I looked over in time to see Anti was the first one to get out of Dark's grip, pushing him to the ground and towering over him. "Looks like I finally won, Dark. Too bad this had to end so soon." He laughed wickedly. That was my cue, I charged in with the branch in my hands and raised it above myself. I swung it down onto his head, making him lose his focus on Dark for a moment. I panted, seeing how my one hit made the branch split. The green haired demon hissed as he turned towards me, his green eye illuminating half of his face. "You… Lil' bitch!" He hissed as he raised up his claw. I didn't even notice it until I felt it hit my face. I fell to the ground, holding my cheek that was now bleeding due to being scratched. I whined in pain, looking up to see Anti towering over me with my blood on his hand. My eyes went wide as he was the one now smirking at me, and I was his focus. "Should have stayed hidden in that tree." He raised his bloody claw up at me, ready to attack me once again. I was frozen in fear, waiting for him to claw at me again.
I was spared from his onslaught only with the help of what appeared to have been shadow tendrils wrapping around his limbs. Anti grunted, trying to pull out of their grip but was unable to. I looked behind him, seeing Dark holding up both of his hands in the green haired one's direction. Anti growled, turning his head over at Dark again and struggled to get free as much as he could. Dark kept his hold on Anti, using his shadow chains to toss him onto another tree and locking him in place. "Got you." Dark panted as he held Anti on that tree.
Anti snarled, kicking every limb that wasn't held down but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get out of the binds. "You-You bastard!" He screamed as he still had a fighting spirit in him.
"You should have finished me off at that manor when you had the chance." Dark chuckled, clenching his fingers into his palms. This action caused the chains to become tighter around Anti, making him scream in pain. It seemed that Dark was going to keep his word, wanting to finish off Anti right there and then. I still held onto my bleeding cheek, putting pressure on it so it would stop the bleeding faster. At the same time, as I saw a satisfying grin on Dark's face, I couldn't stand there anymore.
"Dark, wait!" I used my free hand to grab onto him, trying to keep him from using his hands to tighten Anti any further.
He looked down at me, letting out a sigh of annoyance. "Kate, let me go!" He ordered, using my name rather than a pet name he made up for me such as 'child' or 'kid'.
"Not if you're going to kill him!" I protested.
"What else do you expect me to do?!" He dared to ask me. "Let him go?! He will only hunt us down again!"
"I never suggested you release him, but you shouldn't kill him either! If you kill him, you'll kill Sean as well!" I pointed out. I turned back to Anti, looking him dead in the eyes. He went stiff for a moment, his trashing was stopped. I wasn't sure whether it was the conversation we were having or he was too tired to keep fighting, either way it seemed he was paying attention to what me and Dark were talking about.
"So him possessing someone you know is enough of a reason to let him live? He trapped you in a mindscape, tormented you mentally as he hunted you down so he could try and kill you!" Dark reminded me.
"Last I checked, you did as well!" I pointed to him. His mouth opened, as if he was ready to say something. He quickly closed it however, but still had a disgruntled look upon his face. "Dark, please." I begged, sighing as my hand finally left my wounded cheek. "I can't stand to see anyone else die. I don't want to lose Sean or Mark, I know they are still in you two somewhere. I failed Sean once before, I don't want to fail him again."
Dark looked at me with a raised brow. "So what do you propose we do with it then?" He gestured over to Anti, who let out a hiss but it was much smaller than his previous ones.
"Let's bring him back to my place for now." I answered sternly.
That caught him off guard as Dark's eyes narrowed while looking at me. "You want to keep it within your own walls? What if he gets loose and tries to kill us in our sleep?!"
"We'll keep him locked up and watch over him as often as we can. It will only be temporary until we can find a way to separate him from Sean's body. Once he's out of Sean, then you can kill him. Is that fair?"
I could tell he was against the idea, I didn't blame him. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want Anti inside my house. To be honest, not even I thought it was a good idea. Still, it was the only option I could think of that could protect Sean from being crushed along with Anti. I knew he was still inside of his own mind, probably trapped like Mark was. If there was a chance to expel the demon from the Irish YouTuber, I had to take it. I couldn't allow his sacrifice for me to be in vain. I stared up at Dark, waiting for an answer and praying that he could see things from my point of view. Even though it was my house we were bringing him to, Dark technically resided there as well so his vote had to matter. After all, he seemed to be the only one that could be able to keep Anti at bay so he wouldn't try to kill us when we had our guard down.
Eventually, he let out a grunt of disbelief but gave in. "Fine! We'll let him stay with us for the time being. But when he is separated from his human host, I will be the one to end him on the spot. I do hope you keep your word on that promise at least."
I sighed, but nodded. If it meant he would agree to these new terms, I couldn't argue. And if he did kill Anti after the separation, it wouldn't cause any problems. I then watched as Dark waved his fingers around, transforming the shadow tendrils to that of red fire. They surrounded Anti, encasing him in what seemed to have been a net. Anti growled and shouted in pain, probably from being burned by the net. I had to admit that I was curious about Dark being able to control fire. The shadows I could understand but since when could he manipulate flames? He tugged the net closer to him, having it connected by a string he held in his hands. I stared at the flaming net before looking back up at him. "So, when were you going to tell me you could use fire powers?" I wasn't being sarcastic or even rude, I was curious and he must have heard it as he looked at me with a shrug.
"I didn't plan on telling you because I didn't think it would matter. Plus I didn't anticipate the possibility of you seeing me use them." Dark admitted.
"So, you can control shadow and fire?"
"Fire, mostly. The shadows take more energy and concentration, but I've had practice so it's second nature to me at this point. Plus the powers of the Blood Moon really help." He admitted with a sly smirk.
"And here I thought because you were called Darkiplier, it'd be the other way around." I let out a light chuckle, and he actually chuckled back at me. I was surprised we were having such a light hearted moment despite the situation. It was short lived as the two of us heard the sound of faint howling coming from the trees. Anti looked through the net, his eyes pin-pricked as he stared off into the woods. Dark grunted as he adjusted the line on Anti's net. "Let's go." He began to walk as he dragged Anti behind him. I followed by his side, no complaints on my end.
Side by side we walked together. I stayed by Dark as Anti was being dragged by the fire net. At least one of the threats had been taken care of, so it seemed like it was going to be a walk in the park. Well, in this case a walk in the forest. For a while I was silent, even though so many more questions were running through my head, I really just wanted to be home at that point. I could save my thoughts for later, even though after that they may not get their answers. Yet my body craved for a hot meal and a warm bed, so I was fine with what was happening. Dark seemed to have everything under control. Although, after a while, I did have to ask something. "So… what exactly is the plan?" Dark looked over at me with only his eyes, a brow raised as he seemed perplexed with what I asked. I had to elaborate. "I mean… how are we going to get back home?" I explained.
Dark looked ahead once again, tugging on the rope that kept Anti in his binds. "Since we are on the other side of the world from your home, we will have to teleport back to your residence."
"Teleport?" I repeated. "You can teleport us?"
Dark rolled his eyes. "Normally I can, however, I will need the shadows to help me." Dark began to tell me. "The way I move is through shadow manipulation. Not only can I control it to a degree, but I can also move within it to transport me to certain locations. Sometimes at a small distance, but if I have enough power and concentration, I could teleport to any country I wanted."
I had to admit, I thought that was kind of cool. Probably explains how he's able to be in so many places at a time. Though one thing did bother me, "So, why are we walking if you can just teleport us?"
Dark gaved a groan of annoyance. "Like I stated before, Shadow manipulation, especially in this form, takes much more energy and concentration. Considering I will have to use it not only on myself, but on you and our prisoner," Dark tugged on the net again, making Anti hiss in response. "We will also have a large distance to cover. Which means I will have to find an area that has a lot of darkness and will need time to meditate to carefully surround us in the black void so we can be transferred back home."
"So… that's why we're walking." I realized as we kept taking one step at a time. "What kind of area do you need for that?"
Dark looked around us for a moment, before returning his attention back to me. "An area that doesn't have much light with the Blood Moon should be fine. There are many trees around here, but the leaves don't provide enough shade. There should be an area with pure blackness somewhere close by though." His explanation was reasonable, so we just had to keep walking.
"Ha, for a supposive strong entity, you can't even use the shadows at your own disposal." Anti mocked in his binds, but quickly hissed in pain from touching the fire.
"Big talk coming from the one that was caught like a fish." Dark remarked as he tugged on the rope again, dragging Anti with us. We just had to keep walking, hoping that we would find the perfect spot for Dark to use his shadow powers on us. It seemed that we were walking for a long time though. Every corner of the woods seemed the same from my standpoint. All I could do was wait for Dark to pick a spot and hopefully he can use his magic to bring us back home. As we kept walking, I could hear faint howling in the far distance. I didn't mind it at first, it sounded like a regular animal. I would have been scared, but Dark was by my side and I knew that if we crossed paths with a feral creature, he could take care of them no problem. After all, a wolf or bear seemed like nothing compared to Anti. Speaking of which, I found myself looking back over at him with every chance I could get. I mostly did it out of anxiety, just to be sure that he wasn't going to be let out anytime soon. The main thing I did notice about Anti though, was how pin-pricked his eyes still were. But they weren't directed at me or Dark, rather he kept them over at the trees, where the distance howling was coming from. I believed that he was just curious about the creatures that were living in the woods, it may have just been me though but he seemed… worried?
"Hold on!" Dark used his free hand to stop me from walking further. I nearly tripped had he not been there to hold me. I was about to ask him why we had to stop, only for my eyes to look up at the scene before me. Another large opening was where he had ended up walking to. It looked similar to the camping set up that I ran across before meeting up with Dark again. There were tents that had been torn apart, scattered food and beverages all around the ground, along with other personal items that must have belonged to other people. In the center was a firepit, logs were already lined up and ready to be set aflame. However, there was no indication of any fires started. I stared out in deja vu, being reminded of what I saw not too long ago. I swallowed a lump in my throat, feeling myself starting to shake. Did that mean that whatever had caused such destruction before got to the people here? "What's the matter?" I snapped out of my trance and looked up at Dark, who was looking at me. He probably noticed how scared I was in that instant. I looked back at the site and began to explain to him what happened earlier.
"I… saw another camping site. Before we met up, it was smaller but some people were there. It was in the same condition as here, with blood on the ground and in the tents." I shuddered, being reminded of that visuale.
He looked over at the camping site, sniffing the air. "I don't smell any blood. Whoever was here must have been able to get away from the beast that caused this." That did provide me with some assurance. That must have meant that those that had been attacked were safe, at least. And hopefully with no blood around, whatever had been there recently was no longer anywhere nearby.
"What do you think caused such a mess?" I asked Dark.
He gave a shrug and stepped closer. "Probably wolves… the scent is hard to pick up. Whatever happened here was a while ago. Still, there could be a chance that the one responsible is nearby."
"So, what do we do?" I looked up at him.
Dark inwardly hummed to himself, searching the area for a little bit. He turned back to Anti before dragging him to the nearest tree he could find. Dark flung the fire string over a high branch and pulled Anti up into the air, tying the rope around the trunk. The feral one hissed and cursed in protest, but that did not stop Dark at all. When he finished, he looked back at me. "I'll scout the area ahead, just to be sure it's safe. Stay here and keep an eye on him." He pointed to the one in the net.
"You want me to stay with him?" I asked, pointing at Anti.
He nodded. "Normally, I think it would be a bad idea. But if those creatures are still around, I don't want you to get hurt by them. As long as he stays in the net, it will be fine. I shouldn't be long. Do try to keep yourself out of trouble until then." He didn't give me time to respond since he turned on his heels and started to head further into the camp. I watched him go, staying close to the tree with Anti. He wasn't struggling now, he was just sitting in that net. Though he tried not to lean too much into the ropes, because he hissed everytime he did. I couldn't help but stare up at him, it was all I could do as I waited for Dark to come back. He looked down at me, only to quickly turn away and stared into the woods. Since we were there, I figured the least I could do was start some sort of conversation to pass the time. Not like I had anything else to do.
"Are you… worried about what's causing those howls?" I asked him.
He looked down at me and scoffed. "You don't know a lot about creatures of myth, do you?"
Okay, that came out of nowhere. Not sure what that had to do with the topic at first. I did defend myself though. "I'll have you know I took a semester of mythology my senior year and got an A on every assignment. I may not be a mythological expert, but I know my myths in Greece, Japan, Egypt, China and even Babylonia." I know, it sounded like bragging, yet it was the only thing that I seemed to have had superiority over him.
He scoffed again, crossing his arms. "I meant if you knew about any actual creatures of myth?" He corrected me. Again, I wasn't sure why he was asking me such a question. What did mythical creatures have to do with the situation we were in? Granted, I knew Dark and Anti must have been beings from another world, but what did that have to do with anything? I looked back over to the woods, the howling ceased for a while but I could still hear it ringing in my head. Wait, was Anti referring to the creature that was making that sound? Could it have been a creature lost in time and faded into myth? Was that what he was getting at? I jumped when I heard yelping from above, seeing Anti had burnt himself in the binds. "Ffff-Fucker!"
It seemed the net really was burning him, but not just from sitting, more like every time he tried to get out. "Is it… too tight?" He only hissed in response before turning away. I saw the fiery binds bearing into his skin, I was sure they must have hurt. I knew it was a bad idea, that I shouldn't have messed with him at all. Still, he was already captured so there was no point in hurting him further. He was humiliated enough. I reached up as much as I could, using the tips of my toes to stretch myself out and grabbed at the binds. I just wanted to loosen them a bit so he had better room to sit. The moment I grabbed a few of the lines, I instantly reeled back and held my hands close to my chest. "Argh! Ow…" I looked at my palms, though no physical burns were left behind, the pain was still there.
"What were you planning to accomplish? You shouldn't touch fire unless you want to be burnt." Anti mocked me.
I bit my lip, trying to ease my pain. "I just wanted to help you…" I sighed.
He grunted, keeping his eyes on me as he held his head with the palm of his hand. "Is that why you stopped him from killing me, then?" He sighed, turning away. "All because of Sean I'm assuming."
I blinked at his statement. Then remembered he heard everything since he was right there. I sighed, shrugging. "Why are you complaining? Shouldn't you be grateful you were even spared? I get the circumstances aren't the best but would you really want to have died right then and there?" He didn't answer me nor look in my direction. He was too focused on the forest before him. Guess he was just as much of a brick wall as Dark was when we first met. "Look, I don't want anyone else to die. You're possessing Sean and if he would have killed you, he would have killed him."
"What differences does it make? You're going to have him kill me anyways." He pointed out. I jumped back from his words, he wasn't wrong on that statement.
"You're right…" I admitted. "But Sean wasn't the one that kidnapped a random person and tortured them mentally. You did. Sean risked his own safety to get me out of that mindscape, and I don't want to fail him by killing him and his body off." I gripped the area where my heart was, being reminded of how Sean was the one that pushed me through the portal. Even though he was the injured one and though he wanted to be freed just as much as me. He stayed behind to deal with Anti all on his own in such a weakened state. The most noble yet foolish thing anyone could have done.
"I… I didn't plan on killing you." I looked up at him, hearing Anti whispear that line. I asked him to repeat that. "I said I didn't want to kill you!" He stated in a louder tone. "I only wanted to use you so I could lure out Dark. I had no intention of killing you."
"Yeah, right." I stated sarcastically.
He glared down at me. "Do you really believe that if I wanted to have you dead, I would allow you to escape me everytime I caught you? There was a reason where even though I had you in my grasp, I didn't off you right then and there." He started to explain to me. "I kept you asleep in that cabin because I didn't want to harm your physical body. Your mental state would mean nothing, no matter how much damage you received. But if you had died in that dreamworld, you would have woken up."
I wasn't sure if it was just the fact I was tired or if I had been in the forest for far too long. Strangely though, he did make a lot of sense. He clearly had the power to kill me at my own home if he wanted. He could have killed me in that cabin as well the moment I woke up. But… he didn't. Come to think of it, other than a lock door there really wasn't that much in regards to a defense system. Did that mean he really wasn't obsessed with hurting me as I thought? Or perhaps he was just aware that I would get lost in the woods and would have no trouble finding me. "I didn't feel the need to kill you. You didn't do anything to me personally. Sure, you saved Dark and let him live with you, but that was more of a circumstantial scenario that you found yourself in."
"B-but you still did some damage!" I protested. "You killed the other egos! You tore off Jackieboy's head!"
"Ha!" Anti laughed. "I didn't kill them, I just corrupted them as you described. Wrapped their minds so they obeyed me. When it came to actual murder, you and the outside parties did that. Well, yeah, I took Chase and Jackieboy, but really they were getting on my nerves. Plus, they were really going to kill you, so I had to intervene."
"So you saved me by killing them?"
Anti rolled his eyes. "They were alter egos! They weren't real, just fictional characters that Sean made up for the fanbase to use as their playthings. Me included." He adjusted himself in his binds again. "They always say, 'Glitch Bitch this.' or 'Glitch bitch that.' 'Go away.' 'Leave Jack alone!' I know what they say about me, what they made me out to be. I stopped caring a long time ago about pleasing them."
I never really thought of it that way, it was the same as Dark. So many people viewed Anti and Dark as the bad guys, the evil personas of Mark and Jack. And yet, no one really bothered to ask themselves why they did it. Why do they torture those two so much? Surely, there must have been some reason. But who ever asked their side of their stories? Probably no one, as I realized now. No one is born or created good or evil, we just become that way through experiences. That is what I always believed at least. And… some parts of what Anti said were true. He may have killed Jackie and Chase, but it was myself that killed Marvin, Robbie and Jameson while Sean ended up stabbing Schneep. As for the YouTuber himself… I hoped he was still alive in that mind of his, but I never really understood how the mindscaped worked after I was gone.
"You are supposed to be the bad guy." I admitted. "It doesn't help your case since you crashed into my house and kidnapped me then trapped me in a mental world where I saw the other egos die and then glitch back under your control to kill me." I could hear him mutter a 'Just like everyone else'. I sighed as I looked up at him, some sympathy on my face. "Not everyone wants you gone. You are still one of the alter egos. There are those that like you and see you in a different light."
He lifted his head, looking over at me from his shoulder. His face started to grow curious now as he looked at me. "Why are you talking to me like that? I doubt even you believe I deserve to be spared."
"Maybe… maybe not." I shrugged. "But, I will say what you did to me wasn't as bad as Dark. He manipulated me to the very end. At least with you, you made me aware that I had no control from the start. So I have to give you credit there. And at least you actually had me go into many different worlds rather than force me to stay in one area. I felt I had a bit more freedom, even if at times it seemed I was lost." A small smile crept up on my face as I admitted that. I leaned against the tree trunk and sighed. "Actually, you and Dark are more similar than you believe. But there are significant differences between you guys in method and personality. Ironically Dark is seen as a romantic figure even though he's manipulative and egotistical. However, you have a more outgoing and… insane personality but you always have fun whenever you are up to something. Between you and Dark, I think I would take my chances with you."
Anti was silent after I finished my explanation. I guess he wasn't sure how to process what I said. It must have been the first time someone viewed him that way and made comparisons to him and Dark. Eventually, he scoffed again but still looked my way. "Dark is a social manipulator and a cunning liar. Why you have him of all people stay with you is beyond even me."
"What we have is complicated, and how we got to that point is even more complex. But admittedly, I don't mind the set up me and him have. I wish he would be more open with me, but I get that being mysterious is part of his character. Even though I'm sure he is just as alive now as he was before." I sighed, looking in the direction where Dark had gone. He was gone for a while now and it was starting to make me nervous. He should have come back by that point but he was still scouting the area. I suppose he wanted to be through, though we really had to get back home as soon as we could.
"Speaking of which," Anti looked over to the woods that I was staring at. I'm sure he must have been curious about Dark's whereabouts as was I. I looked up at him as he took a deep breath before asking me something. "Was what he did… really worse than what I did? It's always been that way, really. The two of us competing, fighting over who's better than the other. But, I'm really curious to know what he did to you before I had my hands on you."
I was pretty caught off guard with his question. I was actually surprised that he would ask those things. Then again, maybe he was just bored with staying in that net. Dark was still nowhere to be found and it seemed like it was peaceful. Killing the time didn't seem like a bad idea as we were forced to wait. So, I went on and told him the story of how Dark and I met. I didn't go into every detail, that story was a long one. I just went on and got the important parts. I started by telling him how I met Dark in the woods near the mansion they fought in. I returned there to retrieve my sketch and phone, but when I saw Dark I had to bring him home to help heal him. When I did, I took his ring, the source of his power. I transitioned to me going to stay with my sisters for a bit so we could put on our anniversary for our mother's nonprofit. Markiplier ended up sending me an invitation to this party he was throwing where it was just me and his other alter egos (with a few extra characters). I told him about how it turned into a murder myrstery party and everyone began dying left to right. First Mark himself, then Ed Edgar, Bim Trimmer, The Host, Googleipler, Dr. Iplier and Wilford. I told him how they all died and that Dark had planned it all along. Everytime I went to sleep, he would force me into that reality. Yet even when I was awake, he would be watching me and messing with my head. By the time I figured out his ploy, the damage had already been done. Still, I had to get him out of my mind, so I traveled back to the manor, heading into a secret cellar with many tunnels down below and faced him with Wilford's help. His sacrifice is what made me expel Dark from my mind.
I then went to explain how even after that dreamscape was shattered, Dark was still haunting me during that event. I brought up the Scavenger to Anti, and how it nearly killed my sister and went on a rampage. The only way I was able to get rid of it was with the help of Dark. He was able to scare the creature away, but it did escape nonetheless. We then came to a deal that he would protect me and kill that creature that killed my parents. In exchange, I let him live with me and when the time comes, I guess I would have to give my soul to him? To be honest, it wasn't really clear what Dark planned on doing to me after he achieved his end of the deal. Most likely he may just end up killing me, but it wasn't like I could get out of the deal now.
When I looked at Anti after finishing the story, his features were frozen. It was as if he couldn't believe the story I had just told him. Then again, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't been the one to live through it. He swallowed something in his mouth as he looked at me, ready to ask questions. "Didn't think he'd go that far...especially hiding himself as..." He paused as he trailed off, possibly trying to cope with the fact that Dark disguised himself as Damien. Even I was devastated when I found out. I guess it was true what they say; keep your friends close but your enemies closer. I thought that Damien was a great companion, only to find out that Dark was under the mask and he became one of my greatest adversaries.
"What he did… killing the other egos I mean. It was no different than what you did to yours. But at least you gave them a second chance rather than just offing them from the start." I admitted, hugging myself. Was I actually defending Anti, after everything he did to me and the other Septiceye egos? Maybe I was losing my mind, and yet there's a part of me that can't exactly say he was worse than Dark. "With you, at least you had the decency to show yourself to me from the start rather than staying in the shadows and watching me."
I heard him tsking, raising his brow at me. "Dark's origins are covered in mystery and are cryptic as hell. Even I don't know that much about his backstory, not that I care though. He's an asshole through and through, no changing that. You however, seem to be the only person that he didn't just kill on the spot."
"I… guess I do feel kind of special." I muttered, kicking at the grass below me. "But I know he only sees me as another human. I'm probably nothing to him. I don't even know why he really bothers to stay by my side." I admitted bluntly.
Anti shrugged. "He always hides in the shadows and prefers to keep to himself. That's how he is." In a way, he wasn't wrong. I didn't exactly see Dark as a loner, but I definitely couldn't picture him hanging out with too many people at a time. We barely spent much time together anyways, but that was to be expected. I didn't accept his terms because it meant I was going to get a friend out of the ego. I only did it since it was the only way I could get him to stop mentally breaking me. We did our own thing, and as long as it didn't interfere in our everyday life that was okay. Yeah, I'll admit I did tend to worry about him at times whenever he went out. It was more so that I was scared Mark's body would be hurt, though. Was it wrong for me to worry about Dark at all? Thinking about it now though, he did do everything he could to find me and help me get back home. He even listened to my request about keeping Anti alive, so maybe it did mean something? I didn't even know anymore.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard that howling again, but this time it was closer than before. Anti noticed it too because I heard him growling through the net. "Oh, shit… don't tell me those things have found us."
I glanced back up at him, clearly he was on edge but why? "Why are you so scared, they're probably just wolves." I tried to assure him. It didn't have any effect though.
"Those things are far worse than wolves. They're Hellhounds!"
"Hellhounds?" I repeated, hearing the howling grow louder. "You mean like demon dogs?"
"Oh, they are very demonic. If you thought a Scavenger was bad, those beasts are not to be messed with. Especially if they hunt in a pack." So that was why he was looking out into the woods, he must have realized that those demon dogs were close. Now that I thought about it, those creatures must have been the ones responsible for tearing apart those camping sites. Which meant that if they found us… the howling continued to grow louder and louder, as if the source was coming our way. Anti frantically wiggled in his net, trying to desperately get out of it. "Shit, shit… they're coming this way already! We have to get out of here. Now!" Anti barked.
I stayed where I was, shaking in fear as I knew that whatever was coming our way, was fast approaching us. I looked over, seeing the bushes rustling nearby. I was frozen in fear as the howls soon turned into that of hungry growls.