Chapter 3: Fractured and Corrupted Souls

It took a bit of convincing for Anti, but the Survival Hunter was able to get him out of the treehouse. The two of them, as well as Posi and Nega, were going to head to Bing's house to find Henrik. Hopefully the good doctor would be able to figure out a way to help both of their souls. Even though Angus was still quite anxious about wanting to be seen like this in front of everyone, there was hardly anything else he could do. Once they were on the ground, Angus looked over at the glitching figure. "Okay, we'll have to go through the forest to get to Bing's house. Make sure you stay close to me at all times." The Hunter reached out his hand to Anti, who just stared at it.

"What are you doing?" He asked, using his one eye to look at the open palm.

"I'm going to hold your hand through the forest…" He stated.

Anti stared at him in disbelief. "I can handle myself…"

Angus stared in annoyance. "Look, I want to make sure you are by me at all times. You haven't been in the Mindscape, right? The last thing we need is you getting lost. And if someone else sees you, I can't guarantee that they will take kindly to you."

Anti glare at Angus, he didn't want to be looked down upon by this thief. It seemed he was about to say something, only for Posi to approach. "Anti… please?" The angel begged as he looked up at his former host. Anti wagged his tail as he looked over at the positive half of his soul. As much as he resented the idea of being near the one that stole his life, he didn't want to upset Posi. Rolling his eyes, Anti held onto Angus's hand.

The Hunter began to walk with Anti away from the treehouse, making their way through the pathway to get to Bing. The android lived in Chase's territory: a small suburb neighborhood. Thankfully Angus and Chase's parts of the Mindscape were right next to each other, so they didn't have to travel too far. He just hoped he would be there in time to get to Henrik.

While they were walking, Anti looked around as his eye scanned around the whole forest. He had been so focused on trying to find a place to hide, he didn't take time to actually admire the place he was in. Anti couldn't help but awe as he caught sight of one interesting thing to another. His tail wagged in excitement as he loved how beautiful everything was. Angus looked back over to him, noticing how invested he was in the woods. Perhaps this was Anti's first time being in nature? "You know… if you have any questions about the Mindscape, I can answer." Angus offered. He figured he may as well do something while they were heading to their destination. After all, it would help to keep his mind occupied.

Anti looked over at Angus, who kept his eyes on the Glitch as the two of them walked together. His head raised up to look at the sky, which he pointed to. "What are those shining things up there?"

Angus looked up, seeing the gleaming lights in the sky. "Those? They're called stars. They usually come out at night to decorate the sky."

Anti blinked as he noticed all the colors that blended into the area above them. "Do they make the sky all those colors?"

"Oh, those colors are supposed to represent everyone's soul."

"Soul?" Anti blinked.

"See, every ego here that lives in the Mindscape has a soul inside of them. It is supposed to be their life force in a way. Whenever a new ego is created, the sky adds a new color to represent them living here." As he explained, Anti noticed the colors that were in the night sky. A light red, a golden yellow, a sky blue, a rusty orange, a velvet pink, and pretty purple. His eyes were wide as he couldn't help but be entranced by the colors. However, when he saw the green that was dusted up in the colors, he noticed how hidden it was compared to the others. Anti didn't say much though, for his sights were caught on the sound of some fast waves.

Angus sighed in relief, they were at the river which was where the camping area was. That meant that they were close to the suburbs now. As they passed the bridge, he looked back over to where the clearing was. He remembered when he first saw Anti in the forest, and how terrifying he looked. Hard to believe such a monstrous figure would turn out to be a lost child. "Why is there water in this large pit?" Anti asked, looking down to see the waves.

"That's called a river." Angus explained. "It has a current which makes the water in there flow."

"A river…?" Anti couldn't help but keep his eye on it as they kept moving. Angus was taking note of how curious Anti was about the surroundings. Didn't he know about rivers or the sky? It actually made Angus question the place Anti lived in. Then again, from where he found him in that dreamscape, chances are those that made him didn't treat him kindly.

"Hey Angus, what are those?" Anti pointed over to a bush with some wild flowers growing around it. The Hunter stopped, looking over to where he pointed. They headed over there, as Angus knelt down to those familiar flowers. They brought back some troubling memories, though he did his best to keep them hidden. Anti however was in awe, staring at the golden petals.

"Those… are yellow carnations. They're a type of flower that grows around here." He explained, doing his best not to sound bitter.

Anti pulled his hand away from Angus, kneeling down and gently touching the stems and heads. His bullseye pupil went wide as his smile grew. "They're so beautiful! I've never seen one up close before!" He admits.

Angus raised a brow as he saw how invested Anti was in just the flowers. Even though Angus was somewhat indifferent about them, to Anti, they were probably the best things he's seen. Angus hummed for a bit, seeing the Glitch running his hands over the flowers. "Do you… want to keep one?"

Anti looked up at Angus, tilting his head. "C-Can I?!"

Angus gave a small smile back. "Well, you can't keep them all. But if you want to take one for the road, I think that would be okay." The Hunter reached down, taking one of the golden flowers by the stem and plucked it. He then gave it to Anti, to which the Glitch grabbed onto it and stared in amazement. Angus had to admit, he was entertained by the thought that this child was fascinated by just a simple vegetation. For someone that was willing to try and kill him earlier, he really was a curious and engaging youngling. Maybe Angus shouldn't have judged him so quickly after all.

"Alright," Angus sighed, taking Anti's hand again. "We're almost out of the woods. Let's keep going."

Anti nodded, as he held the flower close to his face, giving it a sniff. The pollen entered his nose, which he was not prepared for. "Achoo!" He sneezed, shaking his head at the sudden sensation.

Angus did his best to hold back his laughter, but he ended up snorting. Anti looked at him in confusion. "S-sorry… just didn't expect that sneeze. I'm gonna guess and say that you never had that much experience with flowers?"

Anti shook his head. "I've only seen them in books that I've read. The ones I'm familiar with are roses, pansies, lilies, sunflowers, tulips and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. But I know each one can come in different colors!"

"Yeah, and depending on that color can also depend on what that flower means." Angus added with a chuckle. "But… you've never seen any real live flowers?"

Anti shook his head slowly. "I've never really had the chance to experience any of that." He admits, looking to the ground as he closed his one eye halfway. "I didn't really leave that room for so long…" He admitted, as his voice went quiet. He still walked along, but Angus could feel how heavy his arm was becoming and the somberness in his voice. He looked back over at Anti, seeing how his one eye was just looking at the ground.

"Anti?" Angus called to him in a bit of worry. "Hey, you okay?"

The Glitch perked up as he looked at Angus. "S-sorry...I was just thinking…" He admitted. He kept going, even though Angus had many questions, he didn't want to pry into Anti at the moment. But there was one thing that was bothering him.

"Hey Anti, can I ask you something?" The Glitch blinked as the Hunter looked back. "What exactly… were you doing in that building I found you in?" He had to know what Anti was doing there. What he was supposed to be there for? He had a strange feeling he had some sort of connection with those people on the tapes, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Anti opened his mouth, about to answer, that was until his eye was blinded by a strange light. "Ahh! Too bright!" He covered his one eye.

"Whoa, you okay?" Angus checked over him, making sure he wasn't blinded. They managed to cross over into Attitude City, the suburb neighborhood at least. It was snowing over there, and in the time of the night, it would help them see better.

Anti shook his head as he looked up at the street light. "That caught me off guard… what was that?"

"Those are street lights. They help light up the sidewalks at night."

"I don't think I like them too much." Anti admitted. Though his eyes did drift over to the snow, which made him curious. "But what's that stuff on the ground?"

"That? It's called snow. It comes down often here in Chase's world. It's like rain, but when it gets cold the water turns to this frozen state. It's very cold though…"

A snowflake fell down from the sky, landing on Anti's nose, which made it twitch again. "It doesn't seem so bad…" He admitted.

Angus giggled a bit, watching Anti enjoying the simple things. He sighed as he turned around. "Alright, Bing's house should be close by." He declared, as the two of them walked further down the streets. The town wasn't usually busy during this time of the night, so they didn't have to worry about cars. Angus searched around each of the houses that were lit up, trying to figure out which one was the right one. Along the way, they ran into a strange man in a suit and top hat. Angus was going to ask him for some directions, but instead the man spoke.

"ChiKenS! Ch-iiiikens! Chicken."

"I… what? I don't have-"

Angus was caught off as the guy shouted "CHICKENS!" At the top of his lungs. Angus quickly got out of there with Anti, running away from the guy.

"That guy was kind of scary…" Anti admitted.

"Yeah, let's never talk to him again." Angus stated. The Glitch nodded, agreeing then they walked down the street. Thankfully, they didn't have to travel too much longer, as Angus found the blue car parked right behind a certain house. This was it! He walked over to the front door, placing Anti by his side as he looked in through the window. Everyone was there! Chase, Jackie, Marvin, Robbie, Jameson, Henrik and… Bing himself. They were all having a good time, but as he watched them, suddenly his heart began to race in his chest. He still had no idea how he was going to explain all of… this! What would he say to them all? How would they react? Would they… even accept him as Angus?

"Angus?" Posi spoke up. "Are you…?" He saw the look of dread on the Hunter's face.

"I… God, how am I gonna explain all of this?" He looked away from the window, staring down at himself as he did his best to slow down his heart rate, though he ended up failing.

"A-Angus… are you nervous?" Posi questioned, though by the look on his face, he got the answer. While Angus was talking with the two halves of Anti's soul, the Glitch grew curious and peeked in through the window. His pupil widened as he couldn't believe what he saw. Real. Live. People! Other people that weren't wearing lab coats and were just being themselves. They looked so happy, so colorful, so… alive! Anti stared at them, admiring their appearance, until his eyes caught sight on a certain person in blue scrubs.

"Come on Angus, we need the doctor if we are going to find a solution for you two." Nega pointed out.

"I-I know that, Nega! But what am I going to say to-"

"D-Dad?" Anti cut Angus off as he stared over at the one in the white coat. His tail wagged as his smile widened.

"Huh?" Posi turned over, seeing his former host appearing happy. "A-Anti?"

The Glitch jumped away from the window and ran to the door, opening it as he headed inside.

Angus gasped, seeing the Glitch running in. "Shit! Anti!" He called after him as he ran inside.

Meanwhile, inside the very house, everyone was gathered in the living room. Chase was talking as he was discussing an idea for his next video. "And I'll call it: Snow Place Like Home!" He declared, proud of the title already.

Henrik stared at his dear friend with a frustrated sigh. "Chase, for the last time, I am not just going to let you sled off your roof!"

"But think of how many views it'll get, Hen!" Chase tried to persuade him.

"Think of all the bones you could break!" He shouted in annoyance. It wasn't like the good doctor was surprised by this behavior from Chase, it was just the fact that he would be willing to go through with it and at times go behind his back just for the views. Not to mention if Chase did break some bones, who would be the one to have to patch him up?

"It'll be so worth it though, dude!" Chase stated, clearly determined. Henrik sat back, giving up at this point.

There was a moment of silence from everyone, as no one knew what to say after that. Marvin sighed as he sat next to his boyfriend, who attempted to change the subject as he looked at the android. "So… Great party Bing…" Jackie smiled nervously.

"I have to agree! This has been a wonderful night, darling!" Marvin smiled over at the robot.

Bing looked over at everyone with a kind expression. "Aw, thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the camping trip. I hope this makes up for my absence."

"Oh, nonsense! There's nothing that you need to make up for!" Marvin assured. "Robbie wasn't feeling well and someone needed to stay and take care of him."

"I'm glad you understand, Marvin." Bing sighed in relief. "I'm sad though that I wasn't able to spend time with Anti. Hopefully the two of us can-"

The android was not able to finish as the door suddenly swung open, revealing a glitching figure with a wide smile and tears running down his one, visible eye. He stared directly over at Henrik as he gasped. "DAD!" He ran over to the doctor, practically jumping on him and knocking him down to the ground.

"Gack!" Henrik was caught off guard as this strange figure jumped on him and nuzzled up into his chest, purring as he pinned him to the floor.

The other egos were caught completely off guard as they watched the newcomer jump and tackle Henrik. Marvin stumbled back as his tail puffed up. Chase just stared with red, puffy eyes that were caused by the weed. "The heck is that thing!?" The cool dad questioned.

Henrik tried to speak, wanting to get an explanation of the creature. But Anti was the one that talked. "I'm so glad you're here and safe! I was worried they hurt you! I really missed you so much!" Anti rubbed his head into Henrik's chest, hugging him tightly.

"Uh…. how much weed did I have again?" Marvin questioned, looking at the scene in utter confusion.

"You guys…? Am I hallucinating right now?" Chase wondered, rubbing his eyes.

"If you are, then so are we cause we appear to be seeing the same thing." Bing noted.

Jackie shook as he seemed lost as well. "What the fuck…? I swear I'll never do drugs again, Henrik…"

Everyone wanted some answers as to what the scene they were being exposed to was all about. The front door swung open again, this time it was Angus who stumbled in as he tried to get Anti back. "Dad, I can explain!" He shouted. He stopped in the door frame though as he saw everyone else look his way. Once again, he felt his blood freeze over as he realized his mistake. "Ohhhh shit…" He thought to himself as the color in his face drained.

Marvin gasped, seeing the Hunter in the doorway. Chase stared over at Angus, still confused and now more than ever. When Henrik looked up at Angus, as much as he could with this child in the way, his eyes were wide as he had never seen the figure before. "Uh… w-who are you?" Henrik questioned.

Angus expected that question, after all they didn't know him in this form. "D-Dad, it's me! A-" He went to explain, needing to tell everyone what was going on if they could help.

He was cut off though as his green eyes turned to a figure in black and yellow. Bing rose up from where he had fallen, slowly making his way over to the Hunter. He blinked a few times, taking in the person that stood in his doorway. "An...gus?" His voice sounded hesitant, as if he didn't want to believe what he was seeing. At the same time though, he prayed that his vision was not having a malfunction. Tears began to collect in his eyes, as a smile spread across his face with hope written in his pupils. "Angus… is… is that really y-you?"

The Hunter looked over at his love, giving a nervous smile as he attempted to explain. "B-Bing, I-I um…"

He didn't get a chance to finish though, as he was once again cut off by the Android. "I...I can't believe it! It's you! You're really here! Oh my god, Angel!" Without thinking, Bing ran over to Angus, holding his face and pressing his lips to the Hunter's. Everyone watched, not sure what to even think about the scene anymore, just let it happen in the hopes it would all be explained. Angus almost fell as Bing embraced him, but he ended up returning the kiss. To be honest, this was something he had wanted to do for a long time. Eventually, the two pulled away, but Bing began to ask a million questions at once. "How did this happen? How are you like this? Are you staying like this forever? Where did you get the wings? Will you keep them? How long have you been like this?"

Angus knew that he would have questions, but he wouldn't get anywhere if Bing kept asking. He took hold of the Android's shoulders and tried to calm him down. "Whoa, whoa… Breathe for a second there, Sunflower." He smiled at him, blushing as he was still reeling from the kiss.

"S-Sorry… I'm just not used to this… you're shorter than the last time." Bing chuckled.

"H-Hold on… Angus?" Marvin raised a brow. "Stange… he looks familiar…"

"Now that you mention it…" Jackie hummed as he looked over at the Hunter who was close with Bing. Suddenly, the hero jumped. "Hold on, I recognize you! He was that 'Hunter' guy from that photo we found a while ago!"

"Photo?" Marvin raised a brow in confusion, but suddenly put the pieces together. "Oh right! The picture we found in the Overnight-watch building when we were looking for Chase!"

Jackie looked up at Angus with a smile. "So, you're that Hunter guy, right? The one Bing mentioned to us?"

"Yeah, I am. You all knew me as Anti though." Angus admitted. "I'm really Angus Irwin."

"So then… who is this?" Henrik questioned as Anti, who was no longer being overly affectionate, still held onto the doctor as they both listened to the conversation.

Angus gave a nervous smile as he took in a breath. "That's… kind of hard to explain…" He sat down next to Bing as the Hunter began to retell his story to everyone. It took about a half hour, and he did his best to fill in the details he remembered, but eventually he finished his story and allowed anyone to ask any questions if they had any.

"Sooo… Let me get this straight." Chase began to recap what he heard. "You were the very first ego that was created by Jack, when he first started his YouTube series. But because you didn't make many more appearances after 'The Survival Hunter' series, and because Jack didn't have that big of a community for you to fall back on, you ended up being forgotten which in turn caused your soul to fracture. In order to live, you needed to find something to help stabilize your soul, and it was during this time that the fanbase was crearting Anti. So you took Anti's soul, which you believed was only forming at the time, to keep yours stable. But in turn, it made you into 'Anti' and erased your memories of your past self. The soul you stole was only the negative half, which meant you couldn't feel any positive emotions, so in a desperate attempt to gain the other half, you went to Henrik who made a serum to introduce positivity into your soul. Which ended up backfiring by bringing back your memories of Angus, and you accidentally corrupted the serum which in turn led to the Mindscape and everyone of us being corrupted. It was only with the help of Jack and the other missing half of the Anti soul, that you were able to heal and become a better version of your Anti self.

"But, now somehow you managed to summon the real Anti, who has been haunting your nightmares for the past week. The same one that you took the soul from and who turned you back into your former self." Chase finished. After his recap, everyone else just stared at him in awe.

Even Angus was surprised with how well he followed along, despite him being high as a kite. The Hunter nodded though. "Y-yeah… more or less…" He admitted.

"I'm surprised you could remember all of that." Jackie admitted as he looked at Chase.

"I remember things better when I'm high!" He explained.

Henrik stared over at Chase as he made that comment. "This is why I'm always worried about you."

"This is… a lot to take in. I mean… woah!" Jackie shook his head. "To think, this whole time the Anti we've known has been someone else!"

"Trust me, I wouldn't have believed it myself if my memories didn't come back." Angus sighed. "But that's why we're here." He turned back to Anti and Henrik. "I brought Anti here and all he wants is his soul back… but, I can't just give it to him."

"But I need my soul… without it I'm just…" Anti getsured to himself, showing off his glitched out state.

"Oh dear…" Marvin whispeared.

"It is a miracle you even still have a form. How are you able to live without your soul?" Henrik wondered.

Anti shook his head. "I'm not sure…"

Angus looked over at Henrik, getting serious. "Dad, we need your help. We need to find a way where the two of us can be whole again. If there's anyone that can help, it's you."

Henrik stood up, looking over at his son in his new appearance. Even though he looked different, the begging eyes did not change at all. He turned back to see Anti, who peered up with a tear-stained pupil as well. It appeared the both of them have been suffering for so long, and all they wanted was to be themselves again. "In that case… I will do everything I can to help you two!" He promised, looking at the Hunter and Glitch. "But first things first, we should get you two to the hospital and examine your souls. See what the damage is and figure out a plan from there."

"Alright, that sounds fair." Angus agreed. He looked back over at Bing, who was holding him this entire time. "Sorry to uh… cut this whole thing short, Sunflower." He apologized.

Bing looked up at him as he held his hand. "It's alright Angel, just promise me you will be careful?" Angus nodded, giving a kiss on his forehead.

"Hey, Hen? Can I come too?" Chase asked as he stood up.

Marvin looked over at the ego with a raised brow. "Chase, darling. Are you sure you should be moving right now?"

"Yeah, you had like five bowls of weed, which is way more than the rest of us had." Jackie pointed out.

"It'll wear off by the time we get to the hospital." Chase assured them, even though his eyes were still puffy. Marvin shook his head and sighed, but did not object.

Henrik reluctantly agreed as he handed Anti over to Angus. The Glitch looked up at Angus in confusion, while the Hunter held onto Anti tightly. "Sorry to cut this short Bing. We'll make it up to you." Henrik promised.

"No need to apologize. Take care of Angus." Bing begged. Henrik nodded as he led the three out the door and into his car. It was a bit of a drive from Chase's neighborhood to the hospital, but Henrik went as fast as he could. Angus was relieved it went better than he thought. Sure, they were all confused, but at least they didn't seem to treat Angus any differently now. They also didn't seem to be upset at Anti, which meant that hopefully they would get along. Chances are, Anti would be staying with them for a while here in the Mindscape, so it would be nice if they could get along now.

Once they made it to the hospital, Henrik parked and they all began to head inside. Well, almost all of them. Anti stayed behind, looking up at the large building as he stood in place and shook. Angus turned, seeing the glitching figure staying put. "Anti?" He walked over to him and held his hand. "Hey, take it easy." He tried to reassure him.

Chase saw the two of them still behind, as Henrik and him were already at the doors. "You guys okay?" He called out to them as he and the doctor went over to make sure they were alright.

Anti held onto Angus, visibly shaking, which caught the Hunter off guard. He wondered why Anti was so scared. His eyes wandered to the building, which gave him flashbacks to the hospital that he had entered where he had freed Anti from. At that moment, Angus suddenly understood the fears the younger one was feeling. "I… don't think he likes hospitals. They bring back some bad memories." Angus explained, holding onto Anti, who nodded to confirm.

"I see…" Henrik sighed as he knelt down to Anti's level. "I know that hospitals can be a very scary experience, and while I do not know what you have gone through, you have my word that we will not hurt you here. I only want to help you and Angus, and we can't do that out here. If it gets too scary, let me know and we will protect you, okay?"

Anti looked up at him, as Henrik gave a small yet warm smile his way. When he saw that grin, all he could be reminded of was his own father. Henrik and him looked so similar. The Glitch gave a slow nod, but still clung to Angus. Probably just wanted to be by someone for comfort. The Hunter allowed it though, after all, he remembered how terrified he was when he first came here for Henrik's help.

They finally managed to get into the building, heading down to the soul clinic. There, Henrik ran some tests and x-rays on Angus and Anti's souls, to determine the damage. Chase watched, but helped out all he could. Henrik had left to go get the x-rays, leaving the three alone in the room. Anti and Angus were sitting on two separate examination beds, while Chase stood against the wall.

"See? Those tests were pretty harmless, weren't they?" Angus gave a smile over at Anti.

The glitch nodded, holding himself. "T-they weren't as bad as I thought…" He states with a blush.

"Makes you feel any better, I was really scared when I first came here." Angus admitted. "But Henrik made sure that I was comfortable at all times. So it made everything else less scary…"

"He seems like a good doctor…" Anti said.

"He is! The best one in fact!" Chase added on. "Trust me when I say this, you two are in good hands with him!" Anti and Angus gave some small grins, as they both believed in what Chase said. Soon enough, Henrik came back into the room, with a couple of sheets in his hands. "Hen!" Chase jumped. "So, what's the verdict?"

Henrik gave a worried sighed as he looked over between Angus and Anti. "It's much worse than I thought…"

"What is it?" Angus asked, wondering what the results would be from the tests.

"Well, where do I even begin? First of all, there is the issue with Angus's soul. As he mentioned before, he used Anti's soul in order to keep his soul stable, when he was being forgotten by the community. In order to make sure his soul wouldn't break, he used something else to keep it stabilized. But now… it appears that the Anti souls have been jostled loose…"

Angus gasped as he heard that, now that he thought about it, his connection with Posi and Nega felt a bit… off. But he had so many other things to do that he didn't notice it until now. "That… might have been me." Anti admitted. Everyone turned to him for more answers. "When Angus found me in that dream state and freed me, I could sense my souls in him. So I tried to get them back from him and… in the end I didn't."

"That would explain why I look like my former self now." Angus noted.

"It's much worse than that. Without taking on the appearance of the Souls true form, you are also no longer protected." Henrik added.

"Okay… but, what about Anti?" Angus asked, looking over at the Glitch.

"Well… that is a different story. But… let me explain!" Henrik went over to a large white board, placing a picture of a white orb surrounded by light blue. "Here, this is an example of what a soul usually looks like. Inside the very center, the white spot is called the core. It more or less makes up the very foundation of who you are. Traits, personality, memories, all that stuff. The aura that surrounds the core is what we call the essence, which helps to protect your core. It also is where all the magic you have comes from. Souls also tend to be color coated, usually to represent what the person is like. My soul is a light shade of blue, typically associated with wisdom, but the light shade shows the caring personality I have. And it goes well with the blue scrubs I tend to wear, showing my status as a doctor." He slowly removed his own soul and replaced it with another image. "This… is Anti's soul at the moment." Everyone looked to see a black hole that was surrounded by a white aura, with the hole having glitched spots.

Anti's face paled as he saw that image of his soul, shuddering.

Even Angus was fearful. "Ohhh god…"

"T-That's Anti's soul?" Chase asked.

Henrik looked somber. "I'm afraid so, well what is left of it. Despite your core being gone, you have managed to retain yourself, but clearly having your soul taken has affected you physically. It appears that the essence around your soul is what is currently holding your form together." As Henrik explained, Anti held himself as he shook. Angus noticed this, seeing how scared he was getting.

"That's good though, right? It means that Anti is still alive with it!" Chase pointed out.

"Sure, for now at least. But essence comes from the very core of the soul, which creates the magic itself. Hence why Angus's soul, despite it being broken, is still together because the magic from the Anti souls are keeping it from falling apart." As Henrik explained, he then showed Angus's soul next to Anti's, which was an orb that had multiple cracks surrounded by a green aura. "This is Angus's soul currently, and as you can see, it is very fractured and fragile. Especially with the Anti souls loose, he is left unprotected.

"Hhhhhhhh…." Angus shook as he listened to his dad.

"So… what does this mean, Hen?" Chase asked, worried about the end result.

"For Angus, because he is no longer protected, if he gets badly injured… no, not just that. If we do not do something soon, his soul will fall apart on its own. As for Anti… while the essence is keeping him alive for now, without a core it will eventually run dry and if that happens… his body will not be able to keep itself together. The two of them… will die."

Both Anti and Angus began to cry and shake, hearing this outcome. Chase froze in horror at the realization. "This is so much worse!"

Posi and Nega watched from the sidelines, listening in as they were looking over their former and current hosts. "Oh no no no! That's what I was afraid of!" Posi whimpered, seeing the two in pain.

"Anti's solution is fairly simple. If we give him his souls back, it will stabilize him again. But if we do… Angus will be too weak and vulnerable…" Henrik explained.

"So… if we give the souls back to Anti, Angus will die. But if we don't give them back, Angus will live, but Anti will die…" Chase summarized.

"So there's… really no way for the both of us to make it?" Anti asked, as the tears came pouring down his eye.

Angus reached over, rubbing onto the Glitch's shoulder to try and reassure him. He looked up at his father figure. "Please Henrik, tell us there's something you can do."

"I'm sure there's some sort of solution!" Chase tried to be positive. "Oh! Why don't we just give each one a half of the soul? There's two of them right? So Anti and Angus can both have one!"

Angus shook his head. "That won't work. The two are halves of a whole soul. I needed both of them in order to stabilize mine to the max. Having only one of them is what caused me to be corrupted in the first place."

"Not to mention," Anti went on. "The two haleves represent positivity and negativity. Depending on which one you get, you will only feel those emotions."

"Which was the cause of the problem for Angus before…" Henrik finished.

"Ok… so that idea is out the window." Chase sighed. "Can't you just like… duplicate the souls?"

Henrik sighed. "Souls do not work that way Chase. We can not just make another soul! Each ego soul is unique and special, none are ever the same. The best course of action I could take with that would be to create an artificial soul to replicate the Anti souls. But that could take far too long, and I can not promise it will work."

At the moment, it seemed like they were running out of options. Nothing they came up with would be able to help either Angus or Anti in the long run. Nega was growing furious as he saw how hopeless the situation was. "There's got to be something we can do! Christ… it's like the serum all over again!" He grunted.

Angus heard what Nega was saying, which made him flinch. He didn't blame the devil for being upset, but… hold on. The serum? Angus's eyes went wide as he looked over at the doctor. "Henrik… what about the serum you gave me a while back? Would that work?" He questioned.

"Soul serum?" Henrik repeated. He hummed and rubbed his chin, as he thought it over. "Well, technically it could work. I would have to readjust the formula and make a much stronger dosage than the previous ones but… it could be the best way to help reconstruct your soul."

Angus's eyes seemed to light up when he heard that. "So, it's possible?"

"There… is a risk though." Henrik warned. "If the serum isn't done just right, it could trigger your soul to react and crumble the moment it touches your soul."

"Why is that?" Chase questioned.

Henrik went on to explain. "Ego souls are much stronger than the average soul. The previous serum I gave to him before was enough to keep Angus going. The serum I would need for this has a risk of becoming unstable if done wrong, which could end up breaking your soul."

"But what other choice do we have?" Angus pointed out. "It seems to be the only option that will work. Sure it's a risk, but if we leave things the way they are… both Anti and I will die. I trust you, Dad. I know you can do this!"

Henrik jumped as he heard Angus's words. Despite the side effects, he would be willing to go through with the procedure if it meant making his soul better. Angus was right though, there weren't any other options aside from that. "I suppose… it is a risk we will have to take."

Posi and Nega sighed. Posi had a hand over his mouth, ready to cry out of relief due to them finding a solution. It wasn't a clear shot, but at least they had something. Nega smiled as he looked over. "Thank fuck…"

Angus looked back at Anti, looking him straight in his one eye as he held onto the Glitch. "Anti… I promise, once I get the serum in my soul, I'll give you back your soul. It may take a while, but I'll keep my promise."

"Y-you mean it?" Anti asked, his tail wagging a bit.

Angus nodded. "It'll work out in the end. We just have to hang in there."

Anti looked down for a moment, it seemed he didn't like these conditions. But when he looked back over to Posi and Nega, who were watching over them, he turned back to Angus and gave a nod. "Okay… But, can I help out too?" He asked.

"Huh?" Henrik raised a brow.

"You want to help out as well?" Chase asked.

"I...I want to make sure Angus is able to get the soul shards for the serum. That way I'll know how closer we are to getting my soul back and… fixing Angus's." Anti explained. The Hunter gave a smile, he actually was touched with Anti's words. If he didn't know any better, he thought Anti was starting to care for Angus.

"Wait…" Henrik looked over at Anti. "How… did you know we need soul shards for the serum?"

Anti looked over at the doctor with his half-face. "Oh! My dad was into soul science, he told me a little bit about it."

"Your dad knows about soul science as well?" Chase asked, somewhat surprised.

Anti nodded with a slight grin. "Yeah! He was always fascinated by it!"

Angus and Henrik had many questions, but decided to wait a while before they would ask them. "Alright… Anti, out of curiosity, how many soul shards do we need?"

"Hmm…" Anti hummed. "If I remember correctly, the max number you can have in a soul serum would be six. Anymore than that, and the risks of making the serum unstable would be too high. You would also need a soul shard from the person you are combining the serum with. That way it will be able to bind more correctly." Anti smiled as he remembered it all.

"Impressive…" Henrik had to admit. "Well, based on the damage of Angus's soul, six would probably be the ideal number. We'll save Angus's shard for last, but for now we will need to start looking for five other donors."

"Five donors huh?" Chase repeated. "How would one even get a soul shard?"

"Soul shards come from a deep and powerful memory that are buried inside of a person's subconscious." Anti explained. "That memory where the soul shard resides is usually one that shows how the person became who they are. So something that had a large impact in their life."

"And sometimes… those powerful memories are not always a good thing." Henrik added. "I'm not asking you to do this, Kasebrot, but-"
"Hen, I want to help." Chase stated. "After all, Anti- I mean Angus, is like a brother to me. If this is how we have to help him and the real Anti, then I'll do what I can!"

"In that case, I'll be coming to." Angus offered. "If they are willing to do this for me, it's only fair I see it to the end. Besides, how bad can it be?"

Henrik remained silent, he rather not explain it all since there was much that needed to be done. "All right then, let's head to the extraction room!" He led the other three out of the room down to a lower floor. They found themselves in a large room with strange machines hooked up to black benches. There were a total of ten machines, five on each side of the wall. As Anti looked around the room, his eye landed on the machine for a long while. "These… machines…" He breathed as he was close to one.

Angus walked over to Anti, seeing the look the Glitch was giving the strange device. "What is it, Anti?"

The chimera jumped as he looked over at Angus. "S-sorry… these machines look familiar, but I can't recall where I saw them…"

"Now that you mention it… I think I saw one of these machines back in the…" Angus trailed off, once again he was taken back to that strange hospital where Anti was held captive. Perhaps this was how Anti knew about soul shards and a soul serum? So… those people on the tapes were getting soul shards? But why?

Henrik and Chase were talking with one another, while Anti and Angus had their conversation. "Alright, everyone lay on the bench with the helmet on your head. Then close your eyes like you are about to take a nap. The machine will do the rest." Henrik instructed.

"And you're sure these machines are safe?" Chase asked.

"As safe as it can be. I've done this… multiple times for the older serums." Henrik assured.

Angus hummed a little as he looked back over at his father figure. "Let's do this!" Henrik ended up getting Chase settled in. Then, Henrik helped get himself into the machine. Anti and Angus would have to help one another into their benches. As it was just them, Angus and the two souls noticed how nervous Anti looked.

"Anti?" Posi looked at him. "You're not… scared are you?"

"A little bit… I've never done this before." Anti admitted.

Angus stepped over to Anti's side. "I know it'll be fearful, but what other choice do we have? We're basically dying, anyways."

"Ah…" Anti's eye went wide at the statement he made.

"Jesus, and I thought I was the negative one." Nega shuddered.

"He isn't wrong." Anti agreed. "If you guys don't want to come, you don't have to." He looked at Posi and Nega.

"No! We have to go with you two!" Posi stated.

Angus raised a brow. "I mean, not really-"

Nega cut in. "We literally have to. We're a part of Angus, so wherever he goes, we go. Besides, this way we can protect the both of you."

"Oh yeah, I guess that is true." Angus shrugged.

"We'll protect you two, no matter what!" Posi smiled. "So come on, let's get going!" He declared.

Anti nodded, as he jumped up on the bench and laid down. Angus went to the machine next to the Glitch, looking over at him. "Hey Anti…"

"Yeah?" The Glitch looked over at the Hunter.

Angus gave a small smile, doing his best to reassure him. "I'm sure it won't be as bad as what we think." Anti blinked at the Hunter, even though he was saying this to make him feel better, he appreciated the thought. The two of them laid down as they closed their eyes, letting the machines do the work.