Chapter 8: Food and Fortunes
Anti and Angus finally made it back to the cabin, after a long and silent walk. The hunter was laying on his bed as he just wanted to rest, but he had this strange nagging feeling inside of him that prevented him from closing his eyes. The glitch was over by the window near the kitchen. The one that he broke when he first came to the Mindscape. Thankfully, Angus was able to get it patched up with Bing's help. Anti was looking over at the carnation that was picked for him. It was resting in a jar filled with water, making sure it was near the window to get plenty of sunlight. Anti merely smiled whenever he saw the flower, he was just so entranced by it while he stared.
"You really like that carnation, don't you?" Posi asked as he watched Anti gazing at his treasure.
The glitch nodded over at the angel. "I've never really seen many flowers before, and it's really beautiful!" He notes, looking back as he noticed that the petals of the flower were slightly different. Before, it was a golden-yellow when Angus first gave the item to Anti. But now, in its new home, the petals looked like a soft-lemon color.
Angus perked up as he heard Anti and Posi talking with one another. He decided to join in on the conversation. "It may look beautiful, but it holds a deeper meaning."
The two turned over to Angus, walking over to where he and Nega were so the four could be closer. "What do you mean?" Anti asked curiously.
The hunter sighed. "Anti, do you know that in many cultures, flowers mean something? They call it the language of flowers."
The glitch gasped. "Really? So that carnation means something?"
"Y-yeah…" Angus looked down, a bit of longing in his eyes. Nega and Posi noticed this right away, growing nervous. Anti tilted his head, wagging his tail as he waited for what the hunter would say. "It uh… it's kind of a sad flower really. You see… a yellow carnation represents disappointment… or rejection." He rubbed his arm, looking away as he mentioned that.
Anti's ears flattened as he heard what Angus said. He seemed kind of surprised. "They really do sound like a sad flower…" He notes. "Do all carnations mean that?"
"No… no, just yellow carnations. The thing is, many flowers can come in different colors, and the colors can change the meaning of those flowers. For example, a white carnation means luck or purity. Light red carnations represent admiration. So the flower itself doesn't really hold one meaning, it's the colors that help change what it's saying." Angus further explained.
Anti climbed up onto the bed, sitting next to Angus as his ears twitched, while his one bullseye pupil just stared at the hunter. Angus looked down, thinking back to that flower. "They really only appeared two years ago… during that time." He added. Posi and Nega looked at one another, knowing full well what Angus was referring to. They looked away as they tried not to bring the situation further down.
Anti looked away for a moment himself, before going back to see the hunter. "Angus… can I ask you something?" The hunter turned to the glitched out ego, raising a brow.
"What is it, Anti?"
"Can you… tell me more about this 'Corruption'?" He asked. Posi gasped, as Nega looked over. Angus seemed just as surprised, but he wanted to hear Anti out. "It's just… you all have been referring to it a lot, especially with Chase and Jackie's memory. I know I don't know a lot about the Mindscape but… I just… I want to know what happened here. Even if it isn't my business, I want the answers."
"Anti…" Posi breathed, he could understand why the child would ask such a question, but he knew how painful the topic itself was.
Angus shook his head as he adjusted his seat. "No… you should know. You deserve to know that much at least…" The hunter admitted. He turned to make sure he was making eye contact with Anti. It would be a tough subject, but Anti needed to know the answers. "The truth is… this Corruption that everyone talks about… it's actually something that I caused. Not intentionally but…" He trailed off, seeing the curiosity in Anti's eye widened as Angus rubbed his neck. "See… after I was dying and being forgotten… After I ended up taking your soul to keep mine stable, I found myself in the Mindscape. I was in an alleyway, shaking from the rain. I didn't have any memories of who I was before or what happened… all I knew was the name Anti. I took on a new appearance, the same one you saw me in when we first met. That was when Da… Henrik found me. He saw me scared and afraid, in my new form. He wasn't scared, actually he took me to the hospital and took care of me for a while. In time, I saw him as a father figure, as he saw me as a son. For a couple of years, I took on the role of Anti and watched as other egos were formed and the Mindscape expanded. Even though I didn't know a lot about myself or what happened to me, the others were there to help me out. So, I didn't feel as alone." He smiled, thinking back to the time before the Corrcuption… before he regained his memories… and before Sean.
"So… what happened?" Anti asked, getting invested with the story.
Angus bit his lip as he explained further. "The thing was… when I took your soul, I only took half of it. The half that I took was the negative half… Nega…" The devil himself jumped as he was mentioned. "He was with me during the time before the Corruption. The thing is, because I only had Nega, that meant I couldn't feel any positive emotions. I eventually confronted Henrik about this, and he agreed to help me. He created a serum to help introduce positivity into my soul, and at first it worked. I actually felt better for a while. When he saw that I was making progress, he decided to up the dosage. That was where things went wrong."
Before Angus could continue, Nega stepped in as he wanted to try and take over the story to give the hunter a bit of rest. "You see, the serum ended up bringing back some of Angus's memories as the survival hunter. The serum became corrupted, and he ended up running away from Henrik and everyone else. His thoughts started to become darker and twisted, with all of those terrible memories and the instability of his soul… well, he began to lash out."
Angus sighed as he looked down at his hands. "I kept blaming Jack for what happened… my creator. I believed he was the reason I was forgotten and so… I ended up pushing him out of his body and locking him up in the Mindscape. Then for the next month, I took over Jack's body and pretended to be him. My plan was to make sure that the other egos and myself wouldn't ever be forgotten. Admittedly, it was a very vengeance-fueled plan, and I didn't even realize the consequences of my actions. With Jack locked away, the Mindscape started to lose energy and began to crumble without the Irishman to support it. My Corruption also began to take control of many of the other egos like Chase, Henrik, Jackie and Marvin."
"So… that's what happened to them?" Anti questioned.
Angus gave a solemn nod. Posi approached as he began to add on more. "Chase was able to find Jack and the two of them worked together to save everyone from the Corruption. When they made it to where Angus was, he revealed to Jack who he truly was and what happened to him. That was when… when…" Posi trailed off, a bit of worry in his eyes as he seemed to have been reminded of something. Something he didn't want to remember.
Angus saw that look and finished the story. "Jack asked for forgiveness, and in return he forgave me for everything I had done. And it turned out that Posi had latched onto Jack this whole time, and he was reunited with Nega inside of me. When Posi entered my soul, I was also freed of the Corruption and a lot more stable. After that, I sent Jack home and for the next two years, things in the Mindscape went back to normal. The Mindscape had mostly been repaired and the ones that went missing reappeared. It happened so long ago but... the memories are still fresh in our minds I guess." Angus's wings wilted down, as his head hung low.
Anti blinked as he heard the story. He didn't know what to say, he just took in the information as he now understood the events that happened. "You… really went through all of that stuff?"
The hunter nodded. "It was peaceful for a while, we tried to move on. That was until you brought me to that hospital and… well, now we're here." Angu sighed as he rubbed his face a bit. "Haaaa… god, I can't believe what's happening…"
Anti once again has his ears down, part of him began to feel guilty as he laid his head on Angus's lap. The hunter looked down, seeing the glitch's head on his legs. "Do you… hate me for what I did to you?"
Angus blinked as he was surprised by Anti's tone. Biting his lip, he began to run his hand through the glitch's hair. "No… It's not your fault. These things happen for a reason, and if you being here and me going back to my old self again is real, then there must be a reason behind it. Maybe this is… just how things had to happen." He started to unconsciously stroke Anti's hair, which made the glitch purr in response. All the while, Angus gave a slight smile as he heard Anti. "Huh… you know, suddenly I feel a bit better." He noted as he looked down at the younger ego.
"Seriously, what animals did they put in you?" Nega wondered as he looked over Anti.
Anti pulled himself back up, seeing the smile on Angus's face made him feel better. "Thanks for telling me this, Angus… it couldn't have been easy to say that stuff."
"It wasn't," he admitted. "But you should know anyway. After all, in a strange way, you did kind of help result in this."
"But… that's the thing. I never knew you only had Nega, I thought you took both him and Posi." Anti admitted.
Angus raised a brow. "...No? I mean, if I did take both of them, I wouldn't have had all of those problems that caused the Corruption to begin with. I only had Nega at the time, I never took Posi."
"Wait… if that's the case then… why was Posi not with Anti?" Nega questioned. Everyone looked over at the devil, realizing what he was getting at. If Angus never took Posi, then the positive soul should have stayed with Anti, right? But yet… somehow the angel was not attached to Anti at all.
"Posi… do you remember anything when I took Nega from Anti?" Angus questioned, wondering if the angel had any ideas.
The light blue half shook his head. "Hmmm… not really. Nega and I weren't actually conscious until you came along. We were just Anti's soul before you took us. But… I remember that I was trying to find that other half. I knew it was dangerous but I had to leave. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was I had to find Nega. I was weak, and alone. I ended up latching onto the first person I could find, to keep me supported."
"You mean… Jack?" Angus questioned. Posi nodded to answer. "But… How did you find him though? I mean… he shouldn't have even been in the Mindscape at that point."
"I don't know how or why… all I know is that I saw him and went to him to use him as a host to stay alive." Posi admitted.
"Come to think of it, that was around the same time that Jack had a huge spike in his energy and was pumping out video after video. Especially those with the egos…" Nega noted as he rubbed his chin.
Pois blushed as he rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, I think that was me… Guess this shows what happens when you are too positive." He laughed nervously.
"Well.. that explains some stuff…" Angus shrugged.
Anti still was confused though. "But then… about what you mentioned in regards to the hospital. I… wasn't the one that brought you there." Angus and the others now looked in the direction of Anti as he explained. "I mean… I couldn't have. I was trapped in that room you found me in when I told you to free me. Sure, it wasn't the first time I saw you… but I didn't even expect to have you show up."
"W-wait… are you sure YOU didn't send me to that hospital?" Angus asked, not liking where this was going.
"No, at least not intentionally. I mean, if I had the power of teleportation, which I didn't at that time, I would have used it on myself to get me out of that prison rather than on someone else, especially someone I didn't even know." Anti pointed out.
Nega gave a shrug. "He's got a point."
Posi seemed worried once again. "But then… who could have sent you to that place?"
Angus hummed as he thought back to his first encounters there. The strange yet familiar figure he thought he saw. "I did see someone else that was running around the halls. I didn't get a good look at them though, since they always disappeared around a corner…" The hunter looked back over at the glitch. "Anti… while you were trapped in that strange box, did you see anyone else that came into the room."
"No… none of the other scientists were there. But…" he trailed off as he started to recall something.
"What is it, Anti?" Posi urged.
"Well… there was this one strange guy that entered the room I was held up in. I tried calling out for him, but when he saw me, he screamed and ran… I can't really say I blame him…" Anti held up the side of his face which was still glitching and fading in and out.
"Do you remember what he looked like?" Angus asked, wondering if it was the same person he saw in the hallways.
"It's hard to say since it was really dark in the room. But… he looked like he was… glitching? Not like me though, his whole body had this strange static aura on him, and he also appeared to have these… really piercing blue eyes. They looked like they wanted to hurt someone… even kill…" Anti shuddered as he held himself, being reminded of the memory.
Posi saw the glitch shaking, going over and hugging him to calm him down. "Shhhh… there there…"
Angus rubbed his chin, trying to figure something out from the description, but it wasn't a whole lot to go off on. Nothing was ringing a bell. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you saw on him, Anti? Did he wear any special clothing?"
Anti bit his lip, holding onto Posi for comfort. "Well, he didn't have a lab coat, so I knew he wasn't a doctor. But… he did have on what looked to have been a hoodie"
Angus jumped as he heard that bit of information. "H-Hoodie…. W-was it a dark blue hoodie with stains and dirt on it?"
Anti nodded. "Y-Yeah… actually, he looked like he was in some sort of fight with how scruffy he looked. Probably a good thing he ended up leaving the room." He chuckled lightly at the end.
Angus's whole face was drained of color. He began to put the pieces together, but he didn't want to see the picture. 'No… it couldn't have been.' He thought to himself, as he didn't want to speak out loud with the others present to listen in. 'How… Why was HE there?!'
"A-Angus?" Posi looked at the hunter, seeing his eyes wavering in distress.
"Is something wrong? Was he the one you saw?" Anti asked.
Angus looked back over at Anti, as he did, he thought he could see a glitching shadow of his own creator behind the ego. A smile crept onto this shadow's face, as he raised his arm where the stains of blood were still fresh on the fabric. He raised the limb up, as it seemed ready to slash down right on Anti's neck. Angus gasped, falling off the bed as he tumbled to the floor.
"Angus!" Nega knelt down to help him get back up.
"Are you alright?!" Posi asked in concern. The hunter moaned, looking back over at Anti who seemed slightly terrified. Thankfully, Sean wasn't behind him anymore.
"S-sorry…" Angus shook the two souls off, heading over to Anti to look him over. "Anti, are you sure that man didn't do anything to you?"
The glitch stared at Angus, confused but he ended up shaking his head. "No, he really just left after seeing me. Didn't see him again, but then you showed up. And well, I assume you know what happens next since you were there."
Angus breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back down as he held his head. At least Sean didn't hurt Anti, that was a good sign. Even so, he must have been the reason that Angus found himself in that hospital. Considering that Sean was able to get out of his timeline, it would make sense he could go into another. But why? Was Sean doing this to get back at Angus or…
"Come on Mango Man, snap out of it!" Nega called to him.
Angus looked back up to see the devil and gave an embarrassed pout. "I told you not to call me that!"
Nega just raised a brow as he glared at Angus. "No form of order is ever going to stick with me, pal. In one giant ear and out the other."
"Pffft…" Anti couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Are you sure YOU aren't the real Anti?" Angus questioned in a bit of annoyance.
"Though speaking of which, what do you mean by seeing Angus multiple times?" Nega changed the subject, looking over at Anti.
The glitch blinked as all eyes were back on him now. He thought back and rubbed his head. "Well… it's kind of hard to explain. But… I've had these, uh… visions, shall we say? In one of them, I see myself on a table and staring directly at you. In another I found myself in the forest and hearing your voice, so I turned to see you. I know it seems kind of crazy, but uh… I guess that's just me hallucinating or…"
Angus's eyes went wide as he heard Anti say all that stuff, being reminded of his first encounters with the glitch. It couldn't be… "Anti… do you… do you know of the timelines?"
Anti gasped, as he looked over at Angus with his eyes wide. "H-Hold on… Angus… are you…"
The hunter sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "See… after I was forgotten and when I had Nega, I was able to gain an ability that no one else here had. I mostly had it while I was 'Anti', but… well, are you familiar with alternative universes?"
Anti jumped up as a smile spread across his face. "Oh yeah! That was actually what the scientists at the hospital were working on!"
"They were?" Angus questioned, surprised. Anti nodded. "Woah… well uh, how much do you know then?"
Anti scratched his cheek. "From what I remember, the concept of alternative universes, or AU's for short, are a concept created by people who use them as a sort of trope in writing. It's similar to the idea of multiverse theory, where for every decision that happens in this world, another timeline exists where a different course of action of said decision was made. Sometimes the universe is the same with slight variations, but there are others that have large, radical changes to their world compared to ours. In fact, AU's are mostly common in terms for fandom tropes, where fans of that fandom use it to create different realities of their beloved storylines from shows or games."
Angus blinked a few times. "Jesus… I'll give the scientist this… they knew their stuff."
Anti shrugged. "They had theories and were self-aware that they were created by a fandom relating to the Jacksepticeye Community, so they had a lot of stuff to go off of."
"Well, you know that we are aware that we are just… well egos. Everyone here knows that we are egos created by Jack and the community, but… what they don't know is…"
"Is…?" Anti wagged his tail.
Angus sighed. "The truth is… we aren't the canon egos." Anti's one eye went wide as he just stared at Angus. The hunter took in a breath. "We are just another… a separate reality that the fans created. Our headcanons… our relationships, even our backstories. They were made up by the fans that created this Mindscape."
"E-Even Jack?" Anti questioned with a stutter. Angus nodded solemnly.
"The thing is though, no one else knows the truth about what we really are. They all believe that this is the real canon! The one that Jack himself made but… it's not. And I can't tell them the truth that they are just part of another reality separated from the canon. I haven't told them at all."
"You've really been keeping this a secret… this whole time." Anti noted as his tail wagged.
Angus sighed, leaning against the headboard of his bed and bit his lip. "Even if I tell them, I don't know how they'll react. I don't want them to feel even more obsolete than they already are."
The young glitch looked down at his fading hands, as they reached to his neck where the wound was. He kept his one eye downcasted as it glanced over at his tail. "I… always thought I was different. From the other Anti's out there that exist. I mean… I never was able to even use my powers properly so…" Again, he trailed off, deep in thinking.
Angus raised a brow as he looked back over at his room mate. "Wait… what do you mean now?"
"Anti… you can tell us." Posi assured.
The glitch looked up at them, seeing their curious faces as he knew he would have to explain. "The truth is… I was created for the purpose of opening the fabrics of realities and… exploring the different universe. The AU's as they called them. That was the power they gave me…"
"Hold on… THAT'S why they created you!?" Angus gasped, shock was written on his face as he just stared.
"Y-Yeah… but I could never manage my powers or use them on my own."
"What?!" Nega seemed just as surprised. "But you're an Anti! All Anti's have the power to break through realities! How have you never mastered that skill? It's basically your birthright! Hell, Angus was able to master it right off the bat, and he was only pretending to be an Anti."
"I mean… I've been told how to use my powers. But I've never been comfortable using them and… I've always gotten scared that I would end up hurting someone. It just seems like a power I wouldn't want." Anti whimpered as he rubbed his hands together.
Angus looked at the glitch with a sympathetic expression. The hunter went over and patted his floofy hair, causing Anti to look up at him. "I don't blame you, Anti. Honestly, I wish I had never gotten this power myself. It feels lonely, knowing you are the only one that has this ability and no one would be able to understand…"
The glitch smiled, going over to Angus and laying on his lap again. "Well, you have me. I know what it's like." He looked up at him with a perma-smile. "So you aren't alone!"
"That's right!" Posi cheered as he seemed pleased with Anti cheering up Angus. He loved seeing how close the two have gotten, they really looked like brothers.
Nega smiled as he watched the two having a moment, but knew that it couldn't last. "Alright you two, let's get some rest. Henrik should be getting Marvin soon, and after Jackie you all could use some R&R."
Angus nodded, laying on the bed as he sighed. Anti looked down for a moment, fiddling with the blanket. "Anti? Is… something wrong?" Posi asked.
"I'm… kind of afraid to sleep…" Anti admitted.
"Can't say I blame you…" Angus pointed out. "Honestly, I'm kind of the same." He rubbed his neck as he looked at Anti, who seemed hesitant to jump off the bed. An idea came to the hunter's head as he smiled. "Hey, how about you sleep on the bed with me tonight?"
The glitch looked over at Angus as his tail frailed "A-Are you sure that's okay?"
"Of course! The bed's big enough, and if you have another nightmare, I'll be right there to wake you from it." He winked, reassuring Anti. The glitch smiled, his tail happy as he climbed closer to the head of the bed. Angus chuckled, laying on his pillow, sighing happily. He soon felt the weight of Anti's head on his chest, which caused him to open one eye and look down. He reached up and petted Anti's head, hearing the young ego purr in delight.
Nega and Posi watched, the two of them smiling. "They look so cute!" The angel couldn't help but gush.
"Let's leave them to sleep." Nega whispered, heading out of the bedroom as the two egos started to fall asleep. Posi still watched over them, just in case they would have any nightmares. Hopefully, none of them wouldn't, but he never knew.
Angus moaned, his eyes slowly opening as he tried to figure out where he was. The last thing he remembered was sleeping in his bed with Anti and then he ended up here. Once his vision was cleared and he looked around, he began to take in his surroundings. "What… is this place?" He asked himself. As soon as he saw certain objects in the room, his eyes began to shrink. A large table in the center of the room, a computer on a desk. And half the space was covered by a glass barrier. "T-This place…" He knew it all too well. It was the first room he came into where he saw Anti, laying on this exact table! But why was he back in this room again? Was he back at the hospital? Now that he looked at this place though, it didn't seem as distorted as when he first came here. It looked… normal.
"Do you have the pills?"
"Yeah, what are we feeding it today?"
Angus jumped, looking over to where the glass barrier was as he saw two figures, each one wearing a white coat over their bodies. "What the hell? Who are these people?" Angus questioned, seeing the two figures covering up the window. As he heard them talking, his ears started to pick up what sounded like crying. What was even weirder… it sounded familiar.
"Some bread which is slightly stale, but edible. We were supposed to give it some rice with the food, but there was a mixup at the cafeteria." One of the doctors sighed. "I'll feed it if you want to give it the pills."
The other doctor gave a shrug. "Sounds fair to me." He stepped back, letting the taller one open up the glass through a small door. Angus approached closer, since he figured they couldn't see him, and he wanted to know what was going on. When he was able to see what was on the other side of the glass, his eyes went wide as he saw that someone else was in there, hooked up to chains on the wall. It appeared to have been a young child, probably around Robbie's age or younger. He had pale skin, dark green fluffy hair with brown in the back. He wore a small hospital gown that covered his shoulders and reached to his knees. His black sockets that held heterochromia green and blue eyes were leaking oil like tears. His serpent-like tail was huddled against his frame, as he began to shake while the one doctor-figure walked over, holding a plate of bread.
"W-What the hell….Anti?!" Angus couldn't stop taking his eyes off of the young child in the room. It had to be him! They looked so similar but… he wasn't as distordied as he was now. Was this… one of Anti's memories?! He also noticed that Anti had chains on his body, namely around his wrists, ankles and even neck, which covered some bandages.
"Come on, hurry up and eat." The doctor placed the plate in front of the chimera, watching as he towered over the child. Anti shuddered, his body shaking as he grabbed the plate and looked over at the bread. It didn't look fresh, and even when he held it it started to slightly crumble in his hands. Anti's stomach gave a growl though, indicating how hungry he was. He took one of the pieces and put it in his mouth, already hating the taste as he attempted to vomit. "Don't spit it out! Eat it up so you can take your pills!" The doctor barked, making the child gag more on his food.
Angus grunted, seeing how they were treating him. He ran over to the doctor inside the cell. "Get away from him! He's not a fucking animal!" He tried pushing him, but his hand just went right through. Angus stumbled a bit, gasping as he turned to look back over. Of course… This was just a memory. He couldn't do anything. "Shit! Anti! Can you hear me?!" Angus called out to the chimera, but all he did was continue to eat the bread with no other choice. Despite wanting to puke, he ate it all down, much to the discomfort of his stomach. Once the bread was gone, the doctor took the plate away as he left the cell, only for the other one to come in. He held a cup of water in one hand and a few pills in the other.
"Come on, take the pills and water." He ordered. Again, Anti began to cry as he was forced to comply. With shaky hands, he reached up and grabbed hold of the pills, then placed them in his mouth. The doctor allowed him the water, which Anti took and drowned his parched throat. He gasped, the tears kept running down his face as he emptied the cup. All Angus could do was watch in horror as to what they were doing to Anti. "Alright, we gave it the medicine." The doctor told the other as he walked out of the cell, locking it up and leaving Anti inside. "Now we will let it rest up."
"When are we supposed to start the soul experiment?"
"First we have to stabilize the soul before we can put it in the reactor and test how much energy it can produce. We will have to make sure to sedate his negative half in the hopes that the positive half will be able to be on equal levels."
Angus glared, growling like an animal as he watched those bastards walking off to the door, turning off the lights as they left Anti in his cage. The young child brought his knees up to his chest, crying into them as he looked so small. The hunter ran over to the glass, thinking he could phase through only to be pushed back. He gasped, pressing his hands against the glass as he was unable to get into the cell. "Anti!" He yelled. "Come on! Anti, look at me! Please tell me you can hear me!" He kept pounding on the window, doing everything he could but it seemed that his words fell on deaf ears.
The darkness surrounded Angus, as all he could hear at this point was the crying of the glitch. But it kept getting louder, like it was right in his ears… Angus opened his eyes, gasping as he was once again in his own bed. He looked around, making sure he wasn't still dreaming. Thankfully, he was back in his cabin. When he looked down, he saw Anti was clinging to the hunter, whimpering and whining as his tail was thrashing around. "Anti? Hey, come on, wake up." Angus started to shake him awake, trying to get him up.
Anti panted, looking up as he sniffled, seeing Angus through teary vision. "Ah… ha…"
Angus held the young child close to him, rubbing his back. "Shhh… it's okay, I'm here. You're safe now Anti. I promise." He was calming the glitch down, as Anti held onto Angus, still crying.
Posi and Nega quickly appeared into the room, both were scared as they heard them waking up. "What's going on?" The devil asked.
"He had another nightmare." Angus answered, holding Anti closely.
"Anti?" Posi seemed nervous. "What happened?"
The glitch wiped his tears away as he continued to sniffle. "I… I dreamt that… I was back in the hospital. T-they were feeding me b-bread and… and…" He held his stomach as he could taste the staleness in his mouth.
Posi quickly went over to Anti, rubbing his back to try and keep him steady. "Easy Anti… it's okay. You're safe now, and they aren't here." The angel comforted the young glitch, which Anti welcomed.
Angus hummed as he looked at the three, needing to admit something. "There's more… I was there too. I saw everything."
Nega jumped as he looked at the hunter. "W-What are you talking about Angus?"
"I was in that room and saw everything. Those doctors or whoever they were, were feeding him stale bread and gave him some pills. Then they left him in that room." Angus grunted, as the memory was still fresh in his mind. "Sons of bitches were talking about 'soul experiments'." The other three were surprised, looking at Angus as they weren't sure what to say. Anti stood up, done crying as he looked back at Angus.
"But… I didn't see you…" Anti admitted.
"It was more like I was just observing the memory, like with Chase and Jackie." Angus explained.
Posi gasped. "But… I thought you needed that machine to do it."
"Holy shit… did you two somehow link your minds or something?" Nega questioned.
Angus shakily explained as he was just as confused. "I-I don't know how it happened, but it did! I was there and I saw everything." He then turned to Anti. "I tried calling out to you, but you couldn't hear me."
Anti looked down, holding onto Angus for comfort, as he petted Anti's back. "I'm… sorry you had to see that."
"Don't apologize… for what they did to you. I'm more angry at those fuckers! They treated you like an animal." Angus growled, wishing he could have clawed their faces off.
"Did they… usually treat you like that?" Posi asked Anti.
The glitch nodded. "During my first few months of life at least…" While Angus was still calming Anti down, Posi and Nega looked at each other.
"Do you think this happened because of us?" Nega questioned. "Because they've shared us?"
"M-Maybe because they've gotten closer and bonded… somehow they can access one another's souls?" Posi pondered that as well.
"Where's Henrik when you need him?" Nega shrugged.
Angus heard that and raised a brow. "Speaking of which, maybe we should tell Henrik about it. I don't know if he'll know anything, but it might help to tell someone about it. At least the nightmare aspects."
Anti nodded, agreeing with Angus. "O-okay… Do you think… it'll happen again?" He asked the hunter.
"I'm not sure… but if it does, we'll just have to hope it doesn't cause any damage to either of our souls. Last thing we need is for both of us to get hurt by these nightmares."
Nega nodded at Angus after his answer. "Good thinking…" He rubbed his chin, still contemplating the concept itself.
"You okay, Neggy?" Posi asked, seeing the devil in deep thinking.
"Just trying to wrap my head around all of this…"
Posi hummed. "Yeah… this is new… The fact that Angus was able to see one of Anti's memories like that… it's really jarring."
"I don't think it's anything to worry about." Nega tried to reassure. "The question is… could Anti do the same to Angus's soul?" He whispered more to himself than to the others. Of course, Nega didn't have to question for long as they were interrupted by a loud growl. Anti held his stomach, squealing as he bit his lip.
"Sounds like someone is hungry…" Posi noted as he looked at the glitch.
Anti rubbed his stomach as he sighed. "I can't really remember the last time I ate, either…"
Angus could see how tired Anti looked, after that nightmare and everything else, it made sense. He tried to lighten up the situation as he smiled. "You know… some food actually sounds like a good idea! It would help us get our strength back!"
Anti looked up at the hunter as he tilted his head. "Are we… going to have some toast?"
"Mmm… I've got something better. It will take me time to make, but it will be worth it." Angus winked, promising as he picked Anti up. "Come on," he carried Anti to the kitchen, setting him down at one of the chairs as he went to the counters and grabbed a couple of things. He set a timer as he placed strips of cut meat into a frying pan. Then began to crack a couple of eggs into another pan to fry them. The other three watched him moving his hands around, using a timer to determine how long it would take.
"Didn't know you could even cook." Nega commented as he looked at Angus's back.
"Hey, I know a few things aside from hunting." Angus reassured. "Besides, I had to cook meals for myself when I went on some of those hunts. Bing kind of taught me more once I had my own place to settle down in." Angus stated as he got two plates out and began to pour content onto the saucers. "Not really a meal for nighttime, but it will fill anyone up." He stated. Once he decorated the plates, he then began to make his way over to the table, setting one plate in front of Anti while the other opposite to him.
"Oooohhh! That smells great!" Posi sniffed the air.
Anti looked down at the plate before him, his one eye went wide as he saw the assortment. Sunny side up eggs, light-golden hash browns, crispy bacon and thick sausages were present on the dish. A cup of water next to it to complete the picture. All Anti could do for a moment was just stare at the food before him. It was so full, so colorful, and it had a smell that he could practically taste already. He thought back to that memory when those bad people were feeding him bread and pills. As haunting as that nightmare was, this appeared to have been a dream come true. Black tears began to well up in Anti's one eye, as he could only take in the image of the breakfast before him. Those tears fell onto the table, while he began to shudder as he started to sniffle.
Angus saw this, as did the other two souls. The hunter went over to him, letting one of his wings carefully curl around Anti. The weight of the feathers felt like a blanket on his skin. Posi rubbed Anti's back to calm the child down as well. "Ohh, Anti… Shhh… it's alright…"
"Breathe Anti. Remember what we practiced?" Angus reminded him, lifting up Anti's chin to help wipe the tears out of his eyes.
Anti nodded, taking in the deep breaths and shuddered. "A-Angus…"
"No one deserves to have been treated like that… not even you." Angus rubbed Anti's head, petting him once more. "And you won't ever be treated that way ever again."
"P-Promise?" Anti asked, not wanting to believe it right away.
Nega was the one to answer as he approached the group. "We promise… Now come on, you two eat up. You both are gonna need your strength for Marvin's memory."
Angus looked over at Nega, glad that he was helping out as well. He sat on the other side of the table and began to dig into his food. The glitch was still hesitant as it had been too long since he ate a decent meal. He sniffed it a bit more, tail wagging again as the aroma wafted into his nose. His hands reached over to one of the strips of bacon, taking it into his mouth to nibble on it. He tested the waters before going in. After eating the crispy pig, his taste buds were overwhelmed, but in a good way. He devoured the rest of the piece before picking up another, eating the bacon first then taking the sausages.
"Make sure to use the fork and knife, Anti." Posi tried to persuade him.
"Come on Posi, it's his first meal in a while. Besides, Angus isn't using any utensils." Nega pointed out.
The hunter looked up, a bit offended as he was still eating with a mouth full. "Wat? His is fingur phood." Nega snickered as he heard Angus speak with his mouth full.
Anti couldn't help but laugh either, especially when he started to choke a bit and pound his chest to keep it going down. Posi gave Anti some water, as the glitch drank the glass. Once he was able to breathe, Anti continued to eat his fill. Posi was glad they were able to enjoy a nice meal. Especially Angus, who appeared much better. Before he seemed really pale and tired, much like Anti. But they both seemed to have color back in them again.
The meal itself was short-lived once Angus's phone began to ring. Admittedly, it did catch the Survival Hunter off guard, which made him be the one to choke. He gasped, getting the piece of food out of his throat before getting his device and looking at the caller ID. He smiled as he answered, hearing a German accent on the other end. "Hello, Angus! I hope I wasn't disturbing you."
"Hey dad…" Angus smiled, glad to hear Henrik's voice. "I just got done making Anti and I some food."
"Oh? How are you two doing?"
Angus rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as he looked at Anti, who was still eating as he now moved to the hash browns. "Hey, Anti?" Angus called out, the glitch looked up at him and tilted his head. "Henrik is on the phone… Do you want to tell him what happened?" Anti swallowed what was in his mouth, biting his lip as he looked around the room. He seemed hesitant, as if he'd rather not be reminded of that terrible nightmare. But… as he looked up at Angus, the Hunter gave a reassuring look. As if promising that everything would be alright.
The glitch slightly nodded, still shaking but he was cooperative. "C-could you tell him instead?" He asked.
Angus gave a small nod towards Anti, assuring him that he would. He stepped back to give Anti space so he could finish eating. "Well, Anti had another nightmare. It was more based around a memory though."
"What…? Is he alright?" Henrik asked with worry.
"Yeah, he was really scared but I was able to calm him down. Basically…" Angus began to explain what he saw in the memory, not skipping any details or his own feelings. Needless to say, Henrik shared the same reaction.
"Those matherfackers did what to him?!" The German Doctor shouted on the other end.
Angus grunted as he explained. "They were treating him like he was just an animal. Well, more like an object. They also kept talking about experiments on his soul. But they didn't go into detail."
"How could they do such a thing?! To a child no less?!"
"You're guess is as good as mine." Angus sighed. "But I think I now know the source of Anti's fear of hospitals. Though they didn't seem like actual doctors."
"They seemed more like scientists, based on what they were doing. Though it makes you wonder… what were they even trying to do to Anti?" Henrik pondered.
Angus turned back to the glitch, seeing that he was finishing off his eggs. Using his hands at this point as he scarfed them down into his mouth and munched on them. "Who knows…" He stated, shaking his head.
"But… speaking of that… you said that you were able to experience said memory?" Henrik questioned.
Angus nodded. "Yeah, but I couldn't touch anything. And when I tried calling out to Anti, he couldn't hear or see me. Neither could those other scientists."
"That definitely sounds like what happened with Chase and Jackie…" Henrik noted. "But how did you manage to see such events without being hooked to the machine?"
"I honestly don't know how I did it, Dad." He shrugged.
Henrik was silent for a bit, humming on the other end. "Well, if it happens again, let me know. I don't think it will hurt you guys… but we best make sure. Oh! Speaking of which, Chase and I are currently on our way to Marvin's carnival. Could you and Anti meet us at the hospital?"
"Oh!" Angus jumped, now noticing how late it was. "Yeah, we'll be waiting for you guys there. Once Anti is finished with his food."
Henrik smiled on the other end, as an idea came to his mind. "Why don't you take him to the cafeteria when you get there? I think they are having an ice cream sale! I know how much you love rocky road!"
Angus blushed slightly in embarrassment, chuckling from that response. "Pffft… dad!" He calmed down a bit, still having a flushed face. "Alright, we'll see you guys there." He then hung up and went over to Anti. The glitch cleaned his plate, and burped as he finished his meal. Once again, Angus snickered. "Oh my god… Do you feel better, Anti?"
The glitch looked over at the hunter, as he nodded. "It was the best meal I've had in forever!"
Posi smiled over at his former host. "Glad to see you're doing better as well."
"So, what did the Doc want?" Nega asked Angus.
"He and Chase are heading to Marvin's carnival to get him for the next donor. So he wants me and Anti to meet them at the hospital."
Posi jumped as he heard that. "Woah, we're getting another one already?!"
"At least we're on a roll." Nega stated. "So, we're heading out?"
Angus nodded, going over to Anti and taking the plates. "I'll clean up the plates later, for now, we best head to the hospital. And while we're there, I think we should have a treat once we get there."
"A treat?" Anti questioned.
The hunter chuckled. "I have a feeling you're going to like it." That was all he said.
Anti smiled more at the thought of a treat. As he smiled, his eyes turned over to see the glass of water on the counter, where he could see his reflection for a moment. He was reminded of what those bullies said, frowning a bit as he covered that side of his mouth.
"Anti… what's wrong?" Posi asked as he noticed what he was doing.
He looked away and bit his lip. "J-just covering up w-what a freak I am…" He whispered.
Angus heard that, going over to him as he held his hand that was covering the face and lowered it while he looked Anti in the eyes. "Don't. Don't let what those two assholes said get to you. They were just taking their problems out on someone else."
Anti blinked as he heard what Angus said. "D-Doesn't it frighten you?" He asked.
Angus shook his head. "Trust me, I've seen far worse. And it won't be forever." He promised, petting his hair. Anti wagged his tail, feeling better as the two started to head out of the cabin, going to the hospital as they held hands to keep one another close.
Night had fallen upon the Mindscape as the good doctor and the cool father headed to where Marvin's carnival was. They headed to the large tent in the very center, where the magician was currently talking with someone. They traveled all the way to find the next donor for their soul serum. As much pain as it probably would give to the ego, they needed his help to complete the cure for Angus.
"Hey! Marvin!" Chase called out as the two approached.
The cat ego turned as he saw them coming towards him. "Oh, hello darlings~!" He then looked over at the person behind him. "Just finish taking down the tent and I'll help once I'm done talking with Henrik and Chase." He promised before the person walked off. He turned back to the others with a smile. "So, you all need my help with the soul shards for Angus, right?"
"Whoa! How'd you know?" Chase asked him.
Marvin giggled as he blepped "I have mystical powers beyond any other mortals capabilities.~" He teased. Chase gasped as he was amazed, as for Henrik, he just raised a brow. Marvin chuckled. "Kidding. I was there when Henrik told Jackie."
"Well, what do you say?" Henrik asked. "It won't be pleasant, but we need the shard for Angus's serum."
"Hmm…" Marvin hummed. "Tell you what, if you can help my crew take down the stands and tents, I'll go with you tonight!"
"Really?" Henrik was pleased by the answer.
"Of course darlings~!" Marvin reassured them. "Now, there's lots to do and I need to make sure things are being done. Look for people who look like they could use a hand, then come find me once you're done."
"Sounds easy enough!" Chase nodded as he and Henrik turned to start looking for those that needed help. There wasn't too much that was left to be done, but they did what they could. The sooner the carnival was handled, the sooner they could head to the hospital for the soul shard extraction. The two walked side by side, spotting someone that was in the middle of looking over some cards rather than taking down their booth.
"Hello there!" Henrik stepped up to the person. They had dark skin with brown hair combed to the side, as they wore a gray hoodie and black jeans. "Would you like any help taking down your booth?"
"Oh, yes! Thank you!" They responded with kindness. Henrik and Chase worked together with the person, Beau, to take down and pack up the booth. "Thank you both for helping me. I should offer you two something in return for your generosity."
"Oh please, that isn't necessary..." Henrik assured.
"Nonsense!" They reassured the pair. "I know what I can do for you both. I'll do a quick reading for you!"
"A reading? With those cards?" Chase pointed to the cards in their hands. Beau nodded, as Chase looked over at the Doc. "Come on, Hen! We can do this while we wait for Marvin!"
Henrik still seemed skeptical, even though he didn't believe in tarot reading, he figured they may as well do something while waiting for the other ego. And perhaps some good fortune would help them boost their motivation. "Well… if you insist." Henrik agreed. Beau grabbed his deck and shuffled the cards. He took the first three from the top and placed them on the ground. He then flipped the first one on his right, to reveal an image of a familiar figure with glasses and a coat leaning over a grave, with a few strange metallic objects in the background.
"The first card is the six of swords. Sometime in the near future, one of you will finally find yourself moving on from a past pain. You will recover from something that has hurt you for a long time." Beau explained.
Henrik looked at the image, mostly uncomfortable with how much the figure on the card looked like him. "I… see…" It was all he could say.
Beau flipped the middle card, revealing an image of two orbs of white. One of them had wings while the other a long, pointed tail. "Second card is the six of wands. The journey you are on will end in victory! Congratulations!"
"Hell yeah!" Chase cheered. "You hear that, Hen? That means Angus and Anti will be okay!"
A small smile crept onto Henrik's face as they mentioned that. "I will admit, that is nice to hear." He hoped that it would come true, they could use all the help they could get. "What about the last card?"
"Your third card is…" Beau trailed off as their face paled, flipping the card as they were stricken with horror.
"What is it?" Henrik asked, looking at the image of the card. It was an image of a person in a hoodie standing on top of a large building. Two figures were falling from the top, on the right was someone with green wings while on the left was a person that had a long tail. The one on top of the building seemed to be reaching out their hands, as if they were trying to save the two but to no avail.
"...The Tower!" Beau gasped.
"What… does that mean?" Henrik asked in worry.
"There is an inevitable disaster coming your way. Destruction. You are in danger." They warned.
Henrik shuddered. "That… doesn't sound good…"
Chase's face was pale as well, but for a different reason. "T-Those two look like…" He mainly pointed at the ones that were falling. Henrik noticed it as well, which made him just as fearful. Their thoughts were cut short as Marvin came running behind them.
"Alright, darlings! Everything has been packed up! I'm ready to help the boys!" Marvin smiled brightly as he approached.
"Ah! Hey, Marv. These guys are your friends, right?" Beau asked as he jumped.
"Yes! I see you two have met Beau! They are one of my dearest friends here at my carnival. Beau, meet Henrik and Chase." Marvin stated with a happy grin.
Beau smiled at the trio, waving to them. "It's been nice meeting you both. Anyways, I need to finish packing up. Stay safe, Henrik." They stated before leaving with their cards. Once the egos were alone together, Marvin noticed the distasteful look upon Henrik's face.
The magician approached the doctor in concern. "Hen? What's wrong?"
Henrik looked down, still having Beau's reading fresh in his mind. "Just… something Beau said in a reading was a bit odd…" He admits, not wanting to go into detail.
"Their readings tend to be a bit strange, but are rarely as worrying as they sound." He reassured them. "They once told me that there would be a terrible accident in my life, that very same day I accidentally signed my tail and favorite cape during a trick!" Marvin explained to them.
Chase shuddered as he heard that story. "Yikes…"
"Marvin, don't you have fifty more of those capes in your closet?" Henrik questioned.
Marvin started to tear up from that memory. "Yeah, but I really loved that one, it was my favorite. I think that makes that day even more terrible…" The other two looked at one another in disbelief as they turned back to Marvin. He jumped upon changing the subject. "Anyways, onward to the hospital!" Marvin declared.
"Yeah, let's go!" Chase agreed, as the two were being led by Henrik back to Attitude City where the hospital was. It took a while, but thanks to the help of public transportation, they managed to get there.
Once they walked through the doors, Henrik looked around. "Alright, I believe Angus and Anti are in the cafeteria. We can meet them there and head to the soul clinic."
"What are they doing in the cafeteria?" Marvin asked.
"I suggested to Angus to give Anti some ice cream to help calm him down." Henrik answered.
Chase raised a brow. "Calm him down? Did something happen?"
Henrik sighed. "Anti had a nightmare about his past…" Henrik then went on to explain what Angus told him, though he did leave out the part of Angus seeing the memory himself since he didn't want to worry the others until he knew what was going on.
Marvin and Chase had the same reaction that Henrik had when he first heard the news. Chase was more livid. "They treated him like that?!"
"I'm afraid so…" Henrik admitted. "It's almost as if they saw him as an experiment rather than a person. I don't know what they were doing to Anti, but it could not have been good."
"Poor dear…" Marvin said solemnly. "No child deserves to be treated like that. Never! To know that they did that to him just… makes me sick!"
Henrik hummed as he rubbed his chin, thinking about the memory Anti had as it made him more and more curious. "It does make you wonder…" The two turned their attention to the doctor as he spoke out loud. "There is still a lot we don't know about Anti. Where he came from. Who was looking after him. What they were doing to him. A lot of it is still a mystery."
Chase rubbed his arms at Henrik's words, even so he had a lot to say. "What does it matter where he comes from or what he was supposed to do? The fact is they treated him like garbage. And I don't blame Angus for wanting to get back at them. All I know is that if Angus wants Anti to stay in the Mindscape, then so do I! If it means he won't be subjected to those kinds of conditions."
Marvin jumped in agreement. "That's right. Anti is one of us, after all."
"That's what I said!" Chase smiled as he had someone on his side. Henrik wanted to interject again, but they did have a point. Anti seemed like a child still, and no one should have ever gone through that, especially so young. The doctor and the other two remained silent as they kept walking, finding the cafeteria on the ground floor.
"There they are!" Marvin pointed out as he saw Angus and Anti sitting at one of the tables. Angus watched as Anti was digging into his ice cream, practically devouring it.
"Careful Anti. Don't give yourself a brain freeze." Angus warned, though was still amused to see how well Anti was doing compared to a few hours ago.
"Hey guys!" Chase waved as the other three approached. The hunter turned over his shoulder, seeing the others approaching as he waved to them. "Were you waiting for long?"
Angus waved his hands. "Nah, we were just finishing our ice cream."
Anti purred as he licked his lips to get every ounce of cold cream. He ended up getting mint and chips since it seemed to speak to him.
Marvin stepped over to get a better look at the pair. "How are you two feeling? Hen told us about what happened, are you two alright?"
"Y-yeah…" Anti admitted. "I did have a nightmare, but Angus was there to help me get through it."
"Did you tell them about what happened, Dad?" Angus asked as he rose up from the table, though he did stay close to it so Anti wouldn't feel left alone.
"Y-yes… I'm sorry if I revealed such personal information, Anti. But Chase and Marvin were worried…"
"It's okay, Henrik… I'm feeling better now." He promised.
Henrik looked between the two as he smiled. "You both seem much healthier, I trust you two have been taking care of yourselves."
Angus chuckled. "Don't worry Hen, we have."
"So, are you guys ready to head to the soul clinic?" Chase asked.
Angus nodded. "Yeah, let's do this!" He sounded much more confident, clearly Angus must have been feeling better both physically and mentally. Anti finished up his ice cream, then got up from his seat as he followed the others to the room where the machines were. Henrik helped strap Chase and Marvin down while Angus and Anti were getting themselves ready.
Posi and Nega were of course present, as they watched over the two. "This'll be for the third shard. Which means, we'll need three more after we get Marvin's." Posi squealed.
"Then that will mean we'll be halfway done with the serum." Angus added with a smile. He then looked back at Anti who was laying on the bench. "Once the serum is made, I'll be back to myself, and you'll get Posi and Nega back."
Anti couldn't help but be just as pleased, looking hopeful even. "I'll have my soul back again…"
Nega chuckled as he looked between everyone. "Got to be honest, it's gonna feel weird being out of you and back to Anti." He told Angus.
"Yeah… but I bet it will feel good." Posi reassured the devil.
Anti stared at the two souls that were his own, as a question popped into his head. "Do you… think you guys will be able to speak to me like with Angus? Even when you go back to me?"
Angus and the others looked at one another, it was a good question. The reason that Posi and Nega were conscious to begin with was because they were in the host of someone that was not their own. Though they could not be certain that the same will happen once they go back to Anti, their original home. "M-Maybe!" The angel tried to be positive. "We'll have to see and find out for ourselves! For now, let's get that soul shard!"
Anti didn't object, he watched as Angus went over to the table, laying down and taking a few deep breaths. "You alright?" Anti asked the hunter.
"Just… trying to prepare myself. With what happened to Chase and Jackie, I don't know what to expect from Marvin." Angus explained.
Posi shuddered, being reminded of how powerful the memories of the first two were. "Let's… just hope it's not as bad as the others…" Posi prayed.
"I'm… sure it'll be fine." Nega shrugged, though he highly doubted it, he still wanted everyone to go in with a confident attitude. Anti and Angus closed their eyes, letting the machine hook them up as they began to enter Marvin's memory.