Chapter 4: Chase's Loneliness
When the group opened their eyes, they found themselves in a very dimly lit street with a filter filmed around them. Pieces of the sidewalk and ground were missing, making large holes in the pathway. Snow still fell on the ground as the four were close to one another.
Chase looked around, getting a sense of where he was. "This is… my neighborhood?" He questioned, not recognizing it at first.
"So… this must be where the soul shard is?" Angus questioned, weirded out by the setup of the memory.
"But it's hard to tell where anything is since… a lot of it's broken up. Why is it like this?" Chase wondered.
"Memories are a very strange thing, sometimes insignificant details often get lost or blend together in odd ways. There may be some parts you don't want to even remember or perhaps you can not recall certain events that played out how they did, so your mind does it's best to fill in the blanks, but they tend to hold their own biases."
"O-Oh… that's fair." Chase sweated a little bit at the answer. Angus and Anti looked around, both were tensed as they gathered their surroundings. Chase turned to the Hunter and Glitch, but jumped as he noticed two other figures behind them. "Uh… W-who are they?" Chase pointed over to the blue angel and the red devil. Everyone turned to see the other ones as well, Anti and Angus were the most surprised.
"Posi? Nega?" Anti walked over to them as they manifested.
"Wait… you can see them?" Angus questioned as he looked between the two halves of Anti's soul and back at Chase.
Chase nodded. "P-Pretty clearly!"
Posi gasped, realizing that Henrik and Chase could now see them. He became giddy as a smile crossed his face. "Oh, this is great! I'm so glad both of you can see me! I've wanted to get to talk to you for so long now!"
"Who… are they?" Henrik asked.
Angus smiled as he gestured to them. "These are the two halves of Anti's soul. The one with the horns is Nega, he represents the negative emotions. And the other is-" Angus was interrupted as the angel cut him off.
"I'm Posi! I was the one who helped heal the corruption two years ago!" He squealed with a smile.
"He's also the positive half of my soul." Anti added.
"Wait, so that thing that snapped me out of the corruption was you?" Chase asked the angel.
Posi nodded with a bright grin. Henrik smiled as well as he put the pieces together. "Oh! So you were that little light!"
"But… how are you two able to be here and be seen by the others?" Angus questioned.
Henrik hummed. "I suppose since the Anti's souls are much looser to you now, and because we are in our spirit forms here inside the memory, they are able to be seen. It also probably explains Angus's eyes…"
"What do you me- Whoa! Uh… Angus? We're your eye sockets black before?" Chase questioned.
"Huh?" Angus looked at everyone, confused until he heard what Chase asked. "W-Wait… are they really black?"
"Yes… black scleras that hold green pupils." Henrik stated.
"I'll take your word for it… but why do they look like this? They didn't look this way when I turned back…" Angus wondered.
Anti tilted his head as he looked at Angus's eyes. "Maybe it's an effect of you having my soul? You did have the black scleras when you were in that form."
"Not sure why he would have them now, but sounds like the most logical answer." Nega shrugged.
"They don't hurt… do they?" Posi asked.
"Honestly, I feel nothing." Angus admitted. "I don't think it will affect me in the long run, so let's get back to the task at hand."
"Okay… so where do we go?" Chase asked.
"The soul shard would be buried deep in the location you associate yourself with in regards to that powerful memory." Henrik explained. "Since we are in your neighborhood, I would suggest checking your house first."
"Seems about right." Chase noted. "Alright, let's head to my place!" The other father began to lead them down the memory, passing a few houses and doing their best to watch their step so they didn't fall in one of the holes. While they were heading down the street, Chase stopped everyone as he peered over, seeing that there was a large gap between the streets. "What's going on?"
"I don't think we'll be able to get across there." Angus noted.
"Why does it look like this?" Chase wondered.
"It's probably because this is a certain memory that you do not want to relive. So your mind is doing all it can to prevent you from moving forward." Henrik explained.
"So that's why this gap in the road is here?" Anti questioned.
"If that's the case, the memory is definitely ahead." Nega noted. "But we won't be able to get far at this rate."
"Is there any way we can fix the road?" Posi questioned.
Henrik hummed. "The best way we could get across is to unlock other memories, ones that could help lead up to that event. Usually such triggers would be laying around nearby."
"Triggers?" Chase repeated.
"Some sort of symbol or word that makes that memory of such a traumatic experience resurface. There might be one around here."
"Alright, then let's look around and see what we can find!" Angus declared. Everyone else nodded, splitting up and looking around to find a clue to help trigger the memory they needed. They weren't sure what they had to be looking for, but they knew that if it was something out of the ordinary, then it had to be what they needed.
Posi and Nega searched an area with Chase, as the three were looking around, that was when Chase screamed which made everyone turn to him. Standing before the cool father, was a strange creature that was in front of them. It appeared to have been made up of black tar dripping down, with four arms, two of which held onto its head. It had white soulless eyes and a grinning mouth with sharp holes. There were two red X's on either side of it's head.
"What the fuck is that thing!?" Angus questioned as it stared at it.
"T-That's… M-Mania…" Chase shook as his eyes shrunk into his sockets. Henrik was the first one to take notice as he went to Chase's side. The moment this monster appeared, it seemed Chase became fidgety, like it was affecting him directly yet not doing anything.
"C-Chase?!" Nega called out to him, trying to get his attention but it seemed he was in a trance. The doctor held onto him, knowing he needed to calm his friend down if he was going to get through this.
"Chase, listen to me. Take deep breaths and close your eyes." Henrik advised. Chase nodded, doing as he was told. He shut his pupils to block out the image and began to take shaky breaths. He was able to even his breathing out as he felt much calmer. The monster before them also seemed to have relaxed, which in turned made it disappear.
Posi went over to Chase, helping him stand up. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah… I'm alright…" Chase panted.
"What was that thing?" Anti wondered.
"It kind of looked like the same creatures that Jack and the others fought when the Mindscape was corrupted…" Posi realized.
"Now that you mention it, it did look similar to the ones I saw back then." Chase admitted.
Henrik stepped forward to take over the explanation. "These creatures are called 'Manifestations', they spawn based on powerful emotions which stem from memories, fears and even trauma. Remember when you were corrupted, Angus?"
"Y-yeah… back when I went by 'Anti' and I didn't have Posi yet…"
"During the time of that corruption, your emotions were so powerful that when you had control over Jack's body, your traumas manifested across the Mindscape."
"Huh… so that explains it then." Nega shrugged.
"Sorry about that…" Angus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
Anti looked between Angus and the doctor. "Are there going to be more of them?"
"It's very likely. The closer we are to the soul shard, the more of those 'Manifestations' will spawn." Henrik answered.
"That's good right? It means we're getting closer to the soul shard!" Posi pointed out. Everyone else remained silent, as they didn't want to steer off Posi's optimism. Anti wagged his tail a bit as his bullseye pupil looked to the ground where the goop monster was. He went over to it, which made everyone look over his way. "What is it Anti?"
"I think that monster left this drawing behind…" The Glitch explained.
"Drawing?" Chase raised a brow. "Can we see?" Anti walked back over, holding the picture and showed it to everyone. On the white sheet of paper was a doodle of a not-so happy scene. There was a pink girl, a blue boy, a black woman and an orange man on the paper. Along with a house and a yellow sun with a frowny face. The orange man was crying as he was separated from the other three figures and the house. The moment Chase saw this, his whole body froze once again.
"Chase? What is it?" Henrik asked. The group of six stuck together, while Chase held onto the page. For a split moment, everything around them went black. The mind began to create a new memory, one where they were in front of Chase's house. But something seemed off, as they looked to see the man himself standing a few feet away from the door, where a woman blocked his path. She had piercing blue eyes, and long wild bark brown hair. She wore a black crop top and torn pants as she glared at the other Chase.
"W-What is this?" Angus questioned as they watched the scene play out.
"S-Stacy please…" The Chase that was talking to the woman cried.
"You told me that you wouldn't be out this late anymore! And you dare come back here when it is almost ten at night?! Do you have any idea how upset I am? And how worried the kids were?!"
Chase jumped upon hearing that. "I-I'm sorry… please, don't let them see this."
The woman crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him. "It's because of your stupid online seires, isn't it? I thought I told you to drop that stuff! It hasn't done this family any good, so why keep it? You told me you would get a real job!"
"I-I do have a real job!" The other Chase assured, though he began to cry tears
Stacy scoffed and turned back to the door, going to it. "You can sleep outside tonight! If you come back and beg in the morning, I might consider letting you back in. Goodnight, Chase!" She hurried inside, slamming and locking the door as she left. The Chase that they all watched began to sob as tears cascaded down his face. He started to run off, leaving the house as a downpour of emotions released from his eyes.
Just as quickly as that memory appeared, the world went black before they were once again in the crumbling streets of the suburb. Chase was the one who seemed to take the most mental damage, as he was panting and breathing at such a fast pace, it seemed his heart was ready to jump out of his chest. The paper in his hand crumbled up, as if he were ready to rip it apart. "Chase! Chase, remember to breathe!" Henrik urged, going to him and rubbing his back.
"Ahhhhhhh…. Haaaaaaaa….. Haaaaaa….haahh…" Chase gasped a bit, as he collected himself. He looked back up at Henrik, who was staring at his friend with worry. Chase waved a hand, as he let the drawing go. "I-I'm okay now Hen… thanks…" Henrik was not fully convinced, so he stayed with him for a bit longer.
"Was that… the trigger?" Nega questioned.
"Looks like that drawing brought back that memory…" Posi realized.
"Y-yeah…" Chase agreed. "The kids often drew what they saw back then. They must have been aware of the fights we had."
"Smart kids…" Nega commented. "Then again, considering how loud that woman was, you'd have to be deaf not to hear that."
"Was… was that Stacy?" Angus asked, as he was fully aware of the ex-wife of Chase. The cool man looked back over at the hunter, giving a small nod to confirm it.
"She… did that to you?" Anti questioned, looking at Chase with a sympathetic eye. At least, as sympathetic as he could make his glitched-out face.
Chase looked away for a moment before replying. "It wasn't the worst thing she did to me either… I can't believe I had to relive that again…"
Henrik held onto his friend, doing his best to reassure him. "This is all just a memory, nothing you do here will change any of the outcomes."
"So… if this is a memory… is that why they couldn't see or hear us?" Angus asked, being reminded of the memory they saw where they watched, but those versions of Chase and Stacy didn't notice them.
"Well, not exactly." Henrik started to explain. "The most important part of the memory, the one that will allow us to access the soul shard, will see us and hear us, as if they were an actual person."
"So, if someone from this memory can see and hear us, they are the ones that are holding the soul shard?" Anti questioned.
Henrik nodded. "And they probably won't just give us the shard without a fight."
"I had a feeling it wasn't going to be this easy." Nega sighed. Everyone else turned around and noticed that the road had been patched up. "Well, that did something."
"I guess that memory was the trigger I needed to get us to progress…" Chase still shook as he spoke.
"Guess we better keep going then." Posi noted a bit somberly, as he wondered what else this world had to offer them. Everyone stayed close together, as they walked further down the street. They hoped that they didn't have to see any other memories before they had to get to the main one, but with how unpredictable this mind was, they didn't get their hopes up. Once again, they came back to a roadblock that prevented them from going further. So they went to search for another drawing, which seemed to have been the key. After another confrontation of another Mania, and helping Chase calm down once again, the monster disappeared and left behind another drawing. Nega picked it up and let everyone look over it. It was from the same artist, with this one having the same color-coordinated family members. The two kids and the man were smiling, looking happy as they were close together, but the one woman who was drawn in a black crayon, had her arms crossed and was a bit far away from the other three.
"This one looks somewhat better…" Nega noted as he stared at the drawing.
Anti pointed to the one woman who had her arms crossed. "Is that one supposed to be Stacy?"
Chase gave a nod at the Glitch. "Yeah, it is…"
Angus glared at the image, his eyes mostly on the one who looked scary. "She doesn't look happy."
"She was rarely happy." Chase pointed out. As they looked at the image, the road before them rebuilt itself. They kept walking, seeing what else the memory world had in store for them. They came to a third road blockage.
"Okay… this is getting old fast." Nega complained as he stared down into the subconsciousness.
"Well, you know the drill." Henrik started to search around for the key they needed to get across. They didn't have to search for long as the same goop monster appeared. Though this one was not a Mania, rather it went by Worry. It seemed much sadder than the previous monster, and barely put up an actual fight. They had to get their hands dirty if it meant getting the next page. Thankfully, it went down pretty easily. And in its place was another drawing. "There it is!" Henrik reached over and picked it up, showing everyone else. This one was colored in just pencil, with a woman sitting on a bed, her back turned but her face peered over her shoulder to reveal sharp teeth and piercing eyes.
"Ah…" Posi gasped softly as he looked at the image.
Even Anti was shaking a bit as he stared at the figure. "T-That's really terrifying…" The angel went over to pull Anti away from the drawing, seeing how stressed the picture was making him. No one blamed either of them.
"Is this… Daniel's drawing?" Henrik asked as he looked over the craftsmanship.
"Y-Yeah, that's from him. He's a really good artist." Chase tried to chuckle in an attempt to hide how upset he was. Henrik noticed this, rubbing his back as the road began to reconstruct itself yet again.
"Looks like we are almost there…" Henrik stated.
"Great… I don't know how much more of this I can take…" Angus stated.
"Preach to the choir." Nega added. The group hurried along, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. There were no more road construction, but they were stopped by a Mania and Worry at the same time. Both of them affected Chase, making him freeze in absolute fear. Angus and Henrik stepped up to defend their friend, with Nega helping out. The devil summoned some flames to burn them out. Posi and Anti were by Chase's side, both of them doing their best to calm him down. Once the enemies were gone, they could move along. But not before Henrik reached down to pick up one final drawing. This one was by Daniel again, and in the picture it was Stacy pointing and shouting at Chase, who had his hands up in defense as he looked like he was walking backwards.
"Oh, this one is interesting…" Henrik noted.
When Chase looked over the image, tears came to his eyes as he explained. "I-I found this one once… I-I think that's supposed to be me and Stacy during an argument. We had a lot of those…" Silence befell everyone upon hearing that explanation. They dare not make any other comments, for there was nothing any of them could say at this point.
"Come on…" Henrik urged as he held onto Chase. "I think we are close to the soul shard. Just… prepare for the worse…" He advised. Everyone took that advice, heading further to the destination. They walked closely together, as Anti held onto Posi for comfort. The angel placed a wing around the Glitch, doing his best to make sure he was safe. Angus noticed this, feeling bad that Anti had to see this. He felt terrible that Chase had to relieve these memories as well. No wonder he wanted to keep these events buried deep within, they weren't that pretty.
Soon enough, the group made it to Chase's house, where a snowman was out front. "We are here…" Henrik declared.
"So… how will we know who has the soul shard?" Angus questioned, before they would go to the house.
Henrik looked over at his son to answer. "Trust me, you'll know it when you see it." Everyone turned to the building, as they were approaching to head inside. Before they could do so, they noticed another person heading over to the door. Upon closer inspection, it was Henrik! At least, the memory version.
"Is that… you?" Nega raised a brow, seeing the other doctor going up to the house and knocking on the door.
"Dad?" Angus turned to Henrik with a worried look. "What were you doing at the house?"
Henrik just stared, looking at the memory as he soon put the pieces together. "Oh no…" He shuddered.
Chase realized it as well, shaking as tears formed in his eyes. "O-Oh fuck… I-I think I know what the memory is…" Angus did not like how they both sounded, which meant that this memory would be a bad one. Nega and Angus looked at one another, thinking the same thing. Posi went over to Anti, holding him close just in case he had to shield Anti's eyes should this get out of hand. The group of six watched as Chase from the past came out and greeted his old friend.
"O-Oh. Hey Hen. I uh… didn't know you were gonna come over-" Chase sounded skittish, like he was antsy about something.
"Kasebrot, may I have a word with you?" Henrik asked as he looked at his friend in worry.
The past Chase flinched a bit, as he turned back to the door. "But… Stacy is kind of… h-here. We were gonna watch a movie and… a-and uh…"
"It will only take a moment." Henrik clearly had a longing look in his eyes, as if he were practically begging for Chase to agree. As this was going on, the present Chase held onto Henrik, while he was shaking slightly. The good doctor rubbed his friend's back as he reminded him that this was just a memory, nothing more and nothing less.
Despite Chase looking reluctant, the past version nodded. "Mnnn… O-Okay." The two stepped away from the house as they stood in the snow, making direct eye contact with one another. "What's up?" He asked.
Henrik took a deep breath as he began to speak. "I have… been trying to find a way to say this to you for a while, my friend. Out of respect for you I remained quiet up to this point. Joline had always been pushing me to say something a long time ago. And at first, while I didn't want to listen, well…" He paused for a moment, looking back up at his friend. "I think now is the appropriate time for me to just get it out."
"O-Okay…?" The past Chase did not like the tone in his voice, nor did he like where this was going. Not even the present one liked where this was heading either.
Past Henrik braced himself, while the present Henrik mouthed along with what his memory version would say. "I think that… Stacy is abusing you."
Upon hearing that, Anti jumped while Angus growled lowly as he stood beside Chase and Henrik.
The past Chase jumped as he listened to what the doctor said. "W-What? W-What do you mean…? S-She isn't abusing me! I-It's not like sh-she hits me or anything r-really!" Chase tried to defend himself.
The past Henrik stepped forward as he began to elaborate. "She mocks your interest. She hides your phone, deletes texts, keeps you from spending time with anyone but her..."
"S-She isn't mocking me! T-they're just jokes!" Chase tried to justify.
The past Henrik began to gather tears in his own eyes while he spoke with Chase. "How many of those "jokes" have you ended up crying on my shoulder about? How many times have you come to me at two in the morning because of one of her "jokes" and how they affect you? You don't think I can see the stress in your eyes! You've been overworking yourself because of her!"
The past Chase also started crying, as he began to actually hear what the doctor was saying. Even so, he still tried to justify. "I-I don't know what else to do, Hen… I-I just want things to work out with her... I love her..."
Henrik looked up at his friend, as the memory versions of them continued the conversation. "I know you do, and that's why it hurts me when I see how she treats you. You deserve to be treated like a human, my friend. Not an item. Not a toy. Not a thing that exists to serve Stacy and make her happy." As Henrik said those words, Anti's one bullseye pupil looked up at the scene. He listened more closely and took in the words, as if they hit too close to him. "Joline would agree with me if she were here right now. It hurt her so much to see what Stacy did to you. You used to love your channel and pour so much passion into it. You used to have so much happiness in your eyes whenever you talked about it. But now, I never hear you mention it these days." He walked over to him, still having tears in his sockets. "I miss that, Chase. I miss the light in your eyes. I miss that warm, genuine smile. Please… I want that Chase Brody back."
The past Chase looked down, even though he was hesitant, it was clear he was thinking about what his friend was saying. "I-I don't know what to do about her, Hen...I-I can't just tell her t-that I don't like it, you know..? S-She'd get mad and yell at me again. Not to mention the kids m-might see..."
Henrik held the past Chase, giving a smile. "I'll be right here, alright? No matter what happens. Let's go confront her, together."
Tears once again formed in his eyes as he nodded. "A-Alright Hen…" The group in the present watched as the memory versions of Henrik and Chase walked back into the house. Everyone was speechless to say the least, as they observed the scene between the two. Once it was over, Chase began to pant and cry out again. Henrik was by his side as he rubbed his back.
"Breathe, Chase, breathe…" He urged him gently.
"S-She… did all of that… to him?" Posi questioned, still shuddering after everything they had heard and witnessed.
Henrik nodded. "Indeed she did… It started out small but the problems got much more severe. It took me a while to even see it, but the signs were there."
Angus just glared back at the house, his green pupils shrunk in his black scleras. "How could she do such a horrible thing?!"
"She was always like that, me son." Henrik told Angus.
Chase finally managed to calm himself down a bit, looking at everyone as he heard their reactions. He didn't blame them. "Y-Yeah. I remember t-that day all too well…"
Angus looked over at his brother figure, having a few things on his mind. In particular, the timeline of when this took place. "When exactly did this happen?"
"I-It was back before Jack was trapped in the Mindscape…. L-Like a month, I think?" It seemed so long ago, and honestly, who could really remember the events before Jack came to the Mindscape?
"Ohh Chase…" Posi whispered, becoming more sympathetic to the man.
"She'd gotten r-really bad at that p-point… I wasn't able to leave the house, since she wanted me to stay home. I had to p-put off all of my plans with everyone else… She even took away my phone so I couldn't t-talk to anybody…"
"Goddamn abusive bitch!" Angus gritted his teeth. Henrik didn't blame his son for being upset. He had the same exact thoughts.
"B-But, I loved here…" Chase admitted in a hushed tone. "A-An awful part of me still wanted to love her, even now…"
"That's not love. That's abuse." Nega stated codly, as everyone looked at the devil. "True love is about commitment and compromises, not chains and guilt. Both parties should do their part in sacrificing to make one another happy. If you were the one putting in more effort than her, that was a big sign that the marriage was not healthy."
Henrik nodded, listening to Nega's words. "...Joline and I knew very early on that something was wrong, after they got married. She began to show her nasty side very slowly, but aggressively. I believe she knew that we knew what she was capable of, but went on anyways. She used to say such horrible things to Joline. I think she even hit her once. Needless to say, Jo never wanted to be around her if she could help it."
Angus grunted. "I don't blame her."
Anti stared at the house, going closer to it as his tail seemed raised like a spear. Henrik began to explain a bit more. "Stacy was also known to have-" The doctor was interrupted as they suddenly heard a loud clap that was nearby.
"W-What was that?!" Posi jumped at the sound. Everyone turned to see Anti run inside of the house, which made the angel gasp. "A-Anti?!"
"Anti!" Angus shouted as he and Posi followed to get to the Glitch. Everyone else were behind them. When they went into the house, they were greeted by another scene. This one… was of Henrik, Chase and Stacy. The nasty woman was glaring over at Chase, who was hiding behind Henrik as he held his cheek which had a red mark.
"O-Oh god…" Chase whimpered, as he knew where this was going. They let the memory play out, though as painful as it was they could do nothing to stop it.
"Get away from him!" The past Henrik shouted at the woman in pure, unadulterated loathing.
"I-I… S-Stacy…" The past Chase sobbed as he looked over at the woman.
"Are you alright, Chase?" Memory Henrik asked as he looked over his friend's wound. Once again, the present versions found themselves clinging to each other for support, to help them get through this. Angus growled as he saw Stacy, baring his teeth like an angry dog about to pounce. Anti stared at the woman as well, shaking as he held his tail tightly to his chest.
"You aren't involved in this, Doctor! Let me handle this with my husband alone!" Stacy demanded with a deranged look.
"Like fucking hell I will!" Past Henrik yelled at her. "You won't be laying another hand on him if I have anything to say about it!"
Chase looked over at his wife, still crying as he held his bruised skin. "S-Stacy… w-why did you do that…?"
She scoffed while answering him. "It's for your own good, Chase. Things have been getting better ever since you started staying home more. We were finally getting on good terms."
"B-But I…" Past Chase stammered, not sure how to process any of this.
She smiled at him with a wicked grin. "You don't want to fuck this up now, do you? Think about how it will affect the kids."
Before Chase could even try to talk, Henrik stepped over to her as he had rage written on his face. "Don't you DARE use the kids against him, Stacy! You know full well he cares for them more than you ever did! Using them like that to get to him is only proving my point right now!"
"I'm really getting sick of you becoming involved in these personal matters. Maybe I should call the police to remove you! I could tell them you are trespassing." She warned him.
Henrik was not scared of her empty threats. "You and I both know that Chase and Jackie would vouch for me. Not to mention that Chase let me inside his house, so I am not by all means trespassing. Plus, given that you can see Chase was hit, I'm sure they wouldn't mind finding out who attacked him."
Past Henrik raised a brow, seeing Stacy glaring at him as he made some valid points. "You…"
"On second thought, maybe we should get them involved." He grinned smugly as if he would dare do it.
Past Chase held onto his friend, looking up in worry. "H-Henrik, m-maybe we should l-leave…" He begged.
"You won't be going anywhere, Chase!" Stacy told him, making advances to the one in the hat, only to be pushed back by the good doctor.
"If you take one more step towards him, you'll regret it!" Henrik warned her.
Stacy giggled, not intimidated at all. "Oh, you finally grew a backbone, huh? Took you long enough, but it's too late. Get out of my way, or you'll regret it Henny."
Henrik in the memory shook, as if that nickname held meaning that struck his heart. He bit his lip, balling his fists. "Y-You don't get to call me that!"
"Ooo, did I hit a nerve?" She chuckled.
"Shut up!" He shouted.
"Hmm. Seems like you don't have much of a spine after all then." She shrugged, smirking with sadism.
Chase finally stood up, staying by Henrik's side. "S-Stacy! Leave him alone!"
The woman was caught off guard at that, but she held her smile as she stared at her husband. "Aw, you're trying to stand up for your friend? That's cute."
"I-I mean it Stacy! You've taken things too far!" Despite the wavering of his voice, he was attempting to sound brave.
She scoffed at that. "Guess things won't be working out for us after all then, sweetheart. Expect to hear from my lawyer soon." She turned her back on them, heading off into the other direction as she left them alone. They looked at one another, checking each other over from the wounds they had gotten.
"H-Hen, are you o-okay?" Henrik grunted, still shaking from that nickname she gave to him. Chase held his shoulder, doing his best to calm down the one who was by his side."Breathe. She was just trying to get under your skin. She's really good at that."
Henrik did as he was told, looking back over at Chase as he wanted to make sure that his dear friend was just as stable. "Are you alright?"
"I-I think so… I-I'm s-s-shaking a lot…" Past Chase admitted. It wasn't that simple though. Stacy soon came back over to the living room, with Daniel and Becky trailing behind her. They looked scared and confused, even more so when they looked over at their father and his best friend.
"Come on, you two! We are going to stay with Aunt Janice for a while." Stacy ordered.
The young girl with auburn hair looked back over at her father. "Is daddy coming too?"
Stacy glared over at Chase and Henrik. "'Daddy' won't be going anywhere with us, sweetie."
Daniel shook his head, nervous about this. "...I don't want to go. I want to stay with Dad!"
Stacy shouted at him as her eyes were shrunken in her skull. "Did I say you had a choice?! We are leaving, Daniel! Get in the car, the both of you! Now!" She forced them out of the house, leaving Chase and Henrik. Once they were alone, Henrik looked over at Chase.
"Come on, let's head to my hospital for now. I'll move some things around and give you the room next to mine. You are more than welcome to stay there as long as you like."
Chase nodded, still crying. "Y-Yeah… thanks, Hen." The two walked out of the house, leaving the six in the present to watch and be left alone to take in what all happened.
Angus was the first one to speak. "That fucking bitch! She hit you?!"
Chase once again had the tears in his eyes as he nodded. "S-she didn't do that t-too often. But that night… was the first time Henrik ever saw it happen."
Posi steamed as he was just as upset. "That's horrible! She was even yelling at your kids too! What a horrible woman!" Posi was clearly just as angry.
"S-She was just as bad to Daniel and Becky as she was to me...T-That's why I'm trying to get them to stay with me and not...n-not her. I-It's difficult, b-but...I'll fight as hard and as long as I can to keep them." Chase sniffled as fresh tears rolled down his face. Everyone else were still upset over what happened. They all had a newly found hatred for Stacy. Henrik was by Chase's side, trying his best to calm him down some more. Anti looked around the rest of the house, as he did his best to take his mind off of what had occurred. His eye caught sight of a picture resting on the mantle shelf in the kitchen. He reached for it and checked it over, noticing how happy they looked compared to the other images. With the picture in hand, he ran over to Chase, tugging on his shirt. The father looked over at Anti with a confused expression. "H-Huh? What is it Anti?"
Henrik grabbed the photo from the Glitch, as everyone looked to see Chase with his kids sitting on the counter top, with a tray of some sort of burnt rolls. A figure in a white coat held one close to the foreground. The doctor chuckled as he saw the smiles and the meaning behind this memory. "I remember this…" He noted.
Chase sniffled as he eyed the picture, a smile crossing his face. "Hehe… I-I remember too. Hen came over when I was trying to make some tamales. But uh… we kind of ended up burning them…"
"That's what those things were?" Nega questioned as he stared at the charred logs on the silver tray.
Posi and Angus could see how happy the kids looked with him in just this one picture. They also noticed how much more cheerful Chase was, doing what he could to be the best father for his two kids. "Where did you find this?" Angus asked as he looked back at Anti.
The Glitch looked over at the mantel in the dining room. "I saw it over there, I thought it would help… cheer you up."
Chase chuckled, looking over at the strange creature. He may not know what was going on, but he appreciated the effort he was putting in to make him happy. "T-Thanks, Anti." He reached over, going on top of Anti's head. When the Glitch saw that, he backed away slightly as his body shook. "W-Woah… hey, it's alright. I was just gonna pet your head." Chase told him.
"P-pet my head?" Anti asked.
"Y-yeah… see?" He slowly lowered his hand down upon Anti's fluffy hair, rubbing it slowly as he smiled. "Thanks for this, Anti." Chase beamed. The young child's eye went wide as he stared up at him. He was surprised that these people didn't hit him, instead they were being much kinder. Angus noticed how Anti flinched from Chase's touch, being reminded of what took place in the treehouse. It made Angus wonder… about what happened to Anti while he was in that glass box.
"So… where is the soul shard?" Posi questioned, looking around the empty room.
Chase pulled back as he started to scan the house as well, but didn't see what he believed he was looking for. "Shouldn't it be here? That's all the memory was…"
Henrik hummed as his eyes turned to the door. "Perhaps the shard is outside? Where everyone else went?"
"Then let's head out there! This memory won't end until we get that piece." Angus declared.
"Y-Yeah! The sooner we get out of here, the better." Chase agreed. Everyone else figured that going outside was the best option they had. They did their best to prepare for what else they would see, just in case the memory decided to continue. The moment they stepped out of the door, they saw the vile woman herself looking at them with that wicked face.
"You're so pathetic!"
Chase jumped, he did not expect the memory version of his ex-wife to have spoken directly to him. "S-Stacy?!" Angus began to growl and tense up as he glared at her. At this point, he was ready to throw her out of the Mindscape and be done with her. He and Henrik stayed close to Chase, ready to back him up.
"You're the reason that our marriage failed, you know. Between your stupid job and those idiot friends always coming by." As she spoke, her body started to lose it's solid form, her skin began to drip and create small puddles around her. It looked like she was melting into the floor. Even her eyes were no longer there, replaced with black sockets that had void tears leaking out while that fiendish smirk danced across her face."If you had just done everything that I told you to do, the four of us could have been happy."
"Uh… guys… she can see and hear us…" Nega pointed out.
"That is the one holding the soul shard we need." Henrik explained. "It makes sense. All of your fears, pain and trauma that were created by Stacy, have manifested to become the guardian of the shard."
"Does this mean we have to fight this thing?" Angus asked, not officially annoyed. After all, this would be a good excuse to get rid of this bitch.
"I'm afraid so." Henrik told his son.
Anti looked over at Stacy, seeing that morphing monster in front of him caused him to shake again. But the more he listened to her words, the stronger a new feeling became as it took over his fears. He stood on all fours, raising his tail up in defense as he started to snarl lowly. Posi took notice of this, wondering what the Glitch was going to do.
She laughed while looking at the group. "Aren't you so smart, Doctor. You were also a factor that ruined our marriage. You filled his head with lies about me, making him choose sides. For shame on you." She mocked.
Chase shook as he looked away, crying again. He couldn't face her, but at the same time he didn't want to listen to her. "I-I-I... No! T-That's not true!"
"We know damn well none of those were lies! All of your memories of her, you could see what she was capable of! What she really did to you! You can not change the memories of that abuse, but that gives you all the more reason to NOT believe her!" Henrik defended.
Stacy continued to laugh. "That doesn't matter. He's still trapped in the past by me. After all, he knows that learning the truth now won't ever free him."
Angus stepped forward, no longer interested in what she had to say. "Alright, that's fucking it. I'm gonna kick her ass. Who's with me?"
"Let's throw her off the Mindscape's edge." Nega agreed. Everyone else stood by Chase's side, ready to defend him. Even Anti seemed to have been ready to attack, in a feral state that was.
"Chaaase… you still love me, don't you?" She asked innocently.
"...I…" He hesitated, still looking away.
"You won't fucking hurt him again, bitch." Angus snarled at her, as his wings puffed up in anger.
"If you love me, then you'll come back and stay with me… forever." She offered. "Just listen to me and I'll love you ag-" At the moment, Anti hissed as the glitching around him seemed to have increased. His hands turned more into claws as his tail pointed out like a spear. Without thinking, and to everyone's shock, he ran over and jumped onto the 'Manifestation' of Stacy. She screamed as Anti latched himself onto her, clawing at her face as he flung her goopy skin away. It disfigured her face terribly, again causing her to howl in pain. Posi and Nega did not know what to think of this situation. Henrik and Chase stared in awe while Angus… was in disbelief. "Get off of me, you fucking animal!" She managed to grab onto Anti, tossing him and sliding him across the street over to the others.
"Anti!" Posi quickly ran over to the Glitch as he checked him over, making sure he had no wounds. Angus knelt down to see if he was alright as well.
Chase looked between Anti and Stacy, seeing what had happened and loss for words. "Chase, are you really going to let that thing attack me?!" Stacy demanded as she growled. "Kill it now!" She ordered.
Chase felt like he was about to hyperventilate again, every single thought he had came crashing into him at once. He envisioned his memories of Stacy and the kids, how they seemed like a happy family. Then again, only three of the four were ever truly pleased with the life they had before Stacy wore the pants in the relationship. Stacy was right, knowing the truth at this point wouldn't change the trauma he went through. But that didn't mean he couldn't use this to learn from his mistakes. "No!" He shouted, looking back over at her. He still had tears leaking down his cheeks, and though his body trembled, he was still doing his best to stand his ground. Gritting his teeth, he was the one that talked down to her! "I'm not going to listen to you any more, Stacy! You and I are through!" He raised up his nerf gun, pointing it right at her with his finger on the trigger.
Everyone else stood up, preparing themselves for a fight. Stacy shouted in blind rage, running over to attack Chase and the others for their defiance. When she was close, Chase began to shoot at her, multiple times. This stunned her for a bit, making her stumble. Henrik came over, using a syringe to inject her with some arsenic. This way she would be poisoned and damage herself every time she moved. It wasn't over yet though, she still put up a fight. Slashing at Angus and Anti, who managed to dodge her just in time. Anti attempted to bite at her while Angus swung his golden sword, cutting her skin deeply which made her take a lot of damage. Posi and Nega helped out as well, with the angel using his light and ice magic to freeze her feet to the ground. Nega used some fire manipulation to burn her with his flames, again her screams of agony gave a sense of pleasure to them all.
It was a long fight, but together they watched her go down. Gasping in pain as she looked over at Chase one last time, before her body hit the pavement and completely disappeared. When it was over, Chase slowly lowered his gun and gasped for air. "H-Haa…. Haaaa…."
"I-Is… is it over?" Posi asked.
"I think so…" Henrik breathed. "At least… the memory portion."
Angus walked over to Chase, checking up on him. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah… just… g-give me a sec to breathe…" Chase said as he took in some deep breaths to calm himself. The tears were still fresh in his eyes but he didn't look as pale anymore.
"That was intense…" Angus noted as they both looked over to where Stacy was. He rubbed Chase's back to help him ease up. "This thing was in your head this whole time?"
Henrik looked over at the two of them as he explained, with his own sorrow upon his face. "Trauma can often manifest into twisted monsters, to reflect our fears and flaws. They are the parts that keep us shackled, infecting our mental health to the point where we would give up. They can be difficult to defeat alone, as well. Which is why we tend to avoid them while we can."
"It's a good thing you weren't alone this time." Nega told him as he smiled.
Everyone else looked at Chase, as he now had the spotlight to speak up. His voice still wavered, but he wanted to get it out of his system. "I-I never thought...I'd be able to stand up t-to her. W-What happened that day, c-caused me to doubt myself. I've had n-nights where I lie awake, thinking about all the things I could've done to avoid b-being abused by her...o-or even wishing to go back to a time when I thought she l-loved me. I-I just..." He trailed off as he didn't know what else to say, just looked to the ground as the doubt clouded his mind once again.
Anti went over to Chase and fiddled with his fingers. "I know how you feel." He admits. They all looked over at the Glitch, wondering what he was going to say. "Back where I was from, those that had to watch over me didn't value me either. They only saw me as a means for their progress, they never cared about how I felt or what I wanted. It made me hate myself and the circumstances of where I was born." A smile spread on his face as he looked over at Chase while his tail wagged. "Then I was lucky enough to find some kinder souls who walked in and lifted me back up. If it weren't for them, I probably would have become bitter like those that used me. You're lucky that you had so many people that were able to back you up when you needed help against her, and you still do. You may have loved her, but that doesn't mean she loved you. Being away from that awful woman… was the best thing that could have happened to you. And you should be grateful that you don't have to put up with her!"
Everyone just stared at Anti, listening to his story. They weren't sure what to say or how to react. Angus, however, kept a mental note of it all. So that explained why he was so scared when he first came here. If those people that abused him were the ones on the tapes he found, it's no wonder why he was spooked.
Chase felt like crying again at Anti's words, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be amazed with how much of a survivor this child was. He didn't know what exactly he went through, but knew that they could understand each other's pain. The young man went over and hugged Anti tightly, which caught the Glitch off guard, but he let it happen. "Thank you, Anti. To all of you." Chase looked back at the other four. "For helping me stick up to her. I'm sorry you all had to see that."
Posi smiled over at Chase, seeing the embrace he gave to Anti. "You have such a kind heart and soul, Chase. You always want to see the best in people. That's such an amazing quality to have, especially since not everyone has it. But, Anti is right. Sometimes it's better to seperate yourself from the ones who keep hurting you."
Angus patted Chase on the shoulder, smiling at him. "You deserve so much better than her, Chase."
He nodded at everyone else. "H-Heh… Yeah. I've been doing so much better mentally without her around." Chase sniffled a little while wiping his tears away.
Henrik laughed. "And I am proud of how well you have been doing! It's good to have the old Chase Brody back."
"It's good to be that Chase Brody as well!" The one in the hat smiled. "Seriously, I don't know how to thank all of you for helping me stick up to her. Both in this version and in real life."
Nega smirked as he looked over at him. "Just continue being yourself, and enjoy the time you have with your friends and family." Chase looked over at Nega, giving him a goofy grin as he let go of Anti after such a long hug. Though he did ruffle the Glitch's hair, which made Anti shake his head. That caused everyone else to laugh, including him.
After they had their fun moment, they turned to see an orange shard laying on the ground. Henrik smiled as he went over and picked it up. "Looks like we got our first soul shard!" He declared.
"Alright!" Chase raised his fist in the air. "So, what's next Hen?"
"Well, there isn't much else to do in this memory. We have what we need, so let us get out of here."
Angus sighed in relief. "Thank god."
"You said it, brother." Chase agreed.