Chapter 17: The Omitted verse
Morning soon rolled around in the Mindscape. Bing set an alarm on himself so he knew when they should get up. Henrik had told everyone to meet at the hospital no later than eight that morning, and since it would take them a while to get ready, Bing's alarm went off at seven. The survival hunter and the android awoke in the bed. Angus rubbed at his eyes, yawning as he sat up. He looked down, seeing his Sunflower resting on his chest. Part of him wished they didn't have to leave, he would rather stay here with his boyfriend and let the hours slip away. But they had a mission to go on, and there was no time for distractions.
"Morning Angel." Bing smiled up at him, grabbing his glasses from the nightstand and putting them on.
"Hey Sunflower…" Angus responded, his face brighter than usual. The two embraced in a gentle hug, both of them wanting to be like statues if it meant they would remain in this position. "How are you feeling?" Angus asked.
"I should be asking you that question." Bing pointed out.
Angus lightly shook his head. "I'm a little nervous for what is to come… but as long as you are all behind me, I'll feel better." He reassured him. Bing bought that, giving a curt nod before standing up from the bed. Angus followed and the two began to make their way downstairs. Once they reached the ground floor, they could see that the other residents in the house were already up. Robbie and Anti giggled as they were once again playing cards to pass the time.
The zombie turned as he heard the footsteps behind him and saw the other egos. "Biiiin! Angieeee!"
"Good morning Anti! Morning Robbie." Bing smiled as he looked at the children. "Were you awake for long?"
Anti shook his head. "No, we just woke up. Just wanted to play a quick game and picked up all we could."
Bing smiled as he looked at the two. "Thanks you two."
"We goooo hosssspital?" Robbie asked while looking up at the android.
"Actually Robbie, Jameson is coming today to babysit you. It'll just be me, Angus and Anti going to the hospital." Bing explained. Angus figured that would be the case, after all, he didn't want Robbie to be exposed to any of the dreams. As much as he loved the zombie, he wasn't sure how well he would handle the traumas.
"Jamieeeeeeee!" Robbie squealed, not minding about the arrangement.
Angus chuckled at Robbie's reactions, then turned his attention to his own little brother. "Did you sleep okay, Anti?"
"Yeah! It was the first time that I haven't had any nightmares."
"That's good to hear. And maybe a good sign as well." Angus tried to be optimistic. He hoped this meant that getting the last soul shard would be a piece of cake.
The doorbell to the house rang out, signaling for Bing to head to the door. When he opened it, the dapper ego was on the other side. "Jameson! Thank you again for coming so early!" Bing greeted as he led the younger ego inside.
"Greetings Bingsepticeye." The mute used his hands to communicate.
"Thanks again for coming to watch over Robbie. Sorry that it's last minute."
"It's no problem. You three better hurry to the hospital, Henrik is probably waiting." Jameson informed.
Bing nodded as he went over to the mute. "Alright, his breakfast and lunch are in the fridge. He can only have a total of three hours of television and screen time per day. Make sure to keep anything that looks edible away from him, cause he'll eat anything. And you can give him a snack but not thirty minutes before lunch." Jameson nodded, taking mental notes. "Thanks again, JJ. I promise to make it up to you."
"Just hurry along, I can handle the rest from here." He reassured the android.
Bing looked over at Angus and Anti, who both seemed ready for the mission ahead of them. The three said their goodbyes to Robbie and Jameson before heading out the door and going through the street from Chase's Neighborhood to Attitude City. Angus chuckled slightly as he and the others walked down the street together. He may still be afraid, but he wanted to think of the positives. If they could just get this final soul shard, then Henrik can finish the serum and he and Anti can be healed. Just a bit longer, and this nightmare will be over.
Eventually, they made it to the hospital once again. The three headed to the front desk, where the toy maker was there. "Ah! Angus Irwin, welcome back! I'm assuming you are here for Henrik?"
"Yeah! Is he at the Soul Clinic?" Angus questioned.
"He needed to check the pediatrics area first to check up on some of the kids. He's probably still there."
"Guess we better go make a pit stop." Bing smiled. Angus rolled his eyes as the group headed to the area and went to the floor where the children's wing was.
"Are you going to be okay with the kids?" Anti asked Angus, remembering what happened the last time they were in this area.
"I should be alright… hopefully." At least this time Angus knew what to expect. Once they were out of the elevator, they headed to the pediatrics wing. Immediately heading through the door, a bunch of kids flocked towards them.
"Angus is back!" One kid shouted.
"Welcome back, Angus!" Another cheered. Many of them smiled as they crowded the egos, thankfully they weren't climbing all over the survival hunter so that was a plus.
"Hey there, kids." Angus gave a small grin to them, waving his hand to greet them.
A pair of twin girls came up, but their attention was to Anti. "Welcome back, Anti!" The one smiled.
"Glad to see you came back!" The other added.
The chimera blinked in confusion. "You… know about me?"
The twin on the left nodded. "Yeah! Rose told us all about you! We ended up drawing you with her, since she was waiting to see you again!" As if to prove their point, the twins held up two images of Anti. One of them was of him playing hide and seek with Rose herself. The other one was of the chimera and the young girl walking hand in hand together. Anti couldn't help but be pleased as he saw the drawings, they looked really good. And he did like the idea of wanting to spend more time with Rose. After all, she was his first official friend that he made in the Mindscape, and he hoped that he would see more of her soon.
Angus couldn't help but feel proud of Anti, clearly the children here seemed to like him. From the looks of things, Anti would be able to fit right in once he officially moves into the Mindscape. "Oh, Mr. Angus!" One of the boys in the crowd tugged on his shirt. "We drew you as well!" The survival hunter looked out to the crowd, seeing many of the kids holding up portraits of the ego in different poses and environments. Clearly to depict how dangerous yet entertaining his job was. Angus had to admit, as weird as it was to have such attention on him, it was refreshing to be gifted something he always craved for a long time.
"Looks like you two have a fan club now." Bing giggled as he saw how the kids were reacting to them.
"Yup!" One of the children with glasses smiled. "We created the Angus Irwin fan club! In honor of the very survival hunter himself!"
"W-wow… you kids have been busy since last we met." Angus noted, a blush crossing his face as he was slightly embarrassed.
"We were wondering if you could hold the first meeting of the Survival Hunter Fan Club, Mr. Irwin. Since it is in your name." One of the twins asked.
"Oh… uh…" Angus was taken aback, though was curious. "I would love to, but I will have to take a rain check. We're looking for Dr. Schneeplestein, do you know where he is?"
The boy with the glasses pointed to a certain room down the hallway. "He went into Rose's room to check up on her condition. I think he's still there."
"Thanks! We'll be heading there, but uh… when I'm all better, I'll look over the fan club." Angus promised. A lot of the kids cheered, very happy about the idea. Angus, Bing and Anti hurried over to Rose's room. Anti was excited to go in since it meant he could see his friend again. As they entered, they were met with two other egos, but not the doctor himself. Instead, it was the magician who turned when he heard the door opening.
"Darlings! You made it!" Marvin smiled as he approached the three.
"Greetings Marvin. Is Henrik around?" Bing asked, searching for the doctor.
"He and Chase went down to prepare in the Soul Clinic. We came here to check up on Rose." The magician gestured over to where his boyfriend was as Jackie was checking over Rose. She no longer wore the bandages, instead showing off her new skin which made her look like a cow due to the splotches of mix-matched patches.
"You've been really brave during your recovery, Rose." Jackie smiled proudly at her.
"Thanks Uncle Jackie," Rose smiled as she looked at the hero. "Dr. Schneeplestein said that I should be able to be released in a few more days! And hopefully I can start spending time with you and Uncle Marvin!"
"Yeah! Your grandma says we can begin with having you over for a few nights and see how it progresses. Though uh… I need to ask, you aren't allergic to cats, are you?" Jackie questioned.
"I don't believe so…" Rose shrugged. Jackie sighed, knowing his cats would be safe. The two near the bed turned over to see the ones that just came in. "Anti!" The young girl got up and ran over to the chimera. "You came back!"
"Hi Rose. Sorry it's been a while, we've had appointment after appointment." Anti explained with a small smile. He didn't go into detail since he knew she probably wouldn't understand.
"Your condition must be serious if you've come back to the hospital multiple times a day." Rose noted.
"Yeah… but we're hoping this one is gonna be the last appointment." Anti reassured her. "Then Angus and I will feel much better!"
Rose smiled back at her friend. "Well, if you're in the hands of Schneeplestein, then everything will be fine, I'm sure!"
Angus approached, glad to see he wasn't the only optimistic one out of the bunch. "Don't worry, after today, Anti is going to feel a lot better. Then you guys can play again."
"Really?!" Rose asked, her emerald eyes sparkling with that hope.
"It would be nice to play hide and seek again! Maybe we could play in Angus's forest." Anti suggested.
"Really?! I always wanted to see the woods myself!" She admitted. "Is it beautiful?"
"Very!" Anti promised.
Jackie, Marvin and Angus watched as the two kids were planning a fun event. They were hoping that everything went well for the chimera and survival hunter. It all came down to collecting one more soul shard. The end seemed so close at this point. Bing came over as he tried to get everyone on track. "Well, we better hurry to the Soul Clinic then. Henrik and Chase are probably waiting for us."
"Ah yes, we don't want to keep them waiting." Marvin agreed.
Rose took a step closer to Anti and looked at him. "Hey Anti, can you promise me something?"
"What is it, Rose?"
"Well, when you get better, do you think you could see me off when I get discharged?" She requested. "It would be nice to have you around when I have to leave the hospital. And knowing I'll have a friend waiting for me outside will make the discharge easier."
Anti's eyes went wide, seeing how nervous Rose was when she asked the question, along with the fear of her impending discharge. The chimera gave a smile, as he held out his hand to reach for hers. "Of course! By then, we'll both be healthy! We can graduate together!" He promised. Rose giggled, as she moved closer and embraced Anti in a hug. The chimera hugged back, while the four egos watched. Angus was mostly pleased to see how confident Anti was today. After the events hours ago, he hoped that passion would last just until they got the last soul shard. The survival hunter could only imagine what Posi and Nega must be feeling.
"Come on, darlings, we better hurry to the soul clinic." Marvin advised.
"You have to go, already?" Rose asked, looking a bit sad as she looked at Anti.
"Don't worry, I'll come back after and we can play soon! Promise." He reassured her.
"Pinky promise?" Rose held up her hand, reaching her pinky out to him. Anti stared at the gesture in confusion. Angus noticed this, going over and holding up Anti's hand, intertwining the chimera's pinky with Rose. The child's eyes went wide as he realized the gesture, smiling and giggling with Rose. "You get better, Anti." Rose told him, as the egos began to head out of the room towards the elevator.
"Looks like you and Rose have gotten pretty close." Jackie noted as he looked over at the chimera.
"Yeah! She's really fun!" Anti's tail wagged as he admitted.
"She talks about you a lot as well." Marvin added. "I'm glad she has another friend!"
"Once we get back from getting the last soul shard, you can go and play with her." Angus promised Anti.
"I can't wait!" The chimera jumped, as the five headed into the elevator and went to the Soul Clinic floor.
Chase and Henrik were already there, as the cool dad was helping the doctor set up the machines for the others that were arriving soon. Chase went over to the doctor, who was finishing up the last soul extraction machine. "I just got a call from Shawn! The others should be heading down soon." Chase told his friend.
"Ah… I see…" Henrik noted, as he kept his eyes on the table. By the sound of his voice, it seemed he was far away.
"You okay Hen? You've been a bit distracted since this morning."
The German ego looked over at his friend, sighing as he lifted his glasses to rub the bridge between his nose. "Apologies, Kasebrot. Something has been on my mind."
"You wanna talk about it? You know I'm always willing to listen to anything that worries you." He stated, reaching over to hold onto the white lab coat. Chase placed a smile on his face, showing his compassion to his friend. Henrik had to admit, just having the man here was enough to melt away any of his troubles. And while he wasn't sure if Chase would understand, it would help to talk about it and get it off his chest.
"Well… it is something that Angus told us. Back when we first met Anti and he explained what happened…"
"Oh yeah! At Bing's house." Chase realized. "What about it?"
"Well, Angus told us that when he was dying, he needed to use Anti's soul in order to stabilize his own so he wouldn't die. Hence why he took on 'Anti's' appearance and how the real Anti became what he is."
"Yeah, I remember that. But Angus told us and Anti he didn't know the chimera was fully formed. He thought he was taking a forming ego's soul."
"That is exactly what confuses me…" Henrik explained. Chase didn't quite understand, so the doctor went on. "As you know, when an ego is created, it is their soul that emerges first and then the body molds around it. Even though Anti is not from our world, him being an ego the same concept should have applied to him. And once the body is fully developed, there would be no possible way for anyone to reach out for the soul, since it would be protected at that point."
Chase blinked a few times as he took in what his friend was saying. "Hen… where is this going?"
"What I am trying to figure out… is how could Angus manage to get the soul from an already formed ego?" Chase jumped, pondering the question as he seemed speechless. "If Anti already had his body, Angus should not have been able to get access to the soul without Anti's permission. On top of that… how could Anti have survived so long without his core? Sure, the essence is still holding him together but… he should have died out a long time ago…"
Chase was just as confused, but now that Henrik mentioned it, there was a lot to the story that didn't add up. Chase may not know a lot about soul science, as Henrik called it, but he could understand enough to realize the concerns the doctor had. "Well… you did say that Anti wasn't from our world. So… maybe the laws of soul science where he's from are different?" Chase suggested. "I mean, Anti has always been a mystery to us. None of us knows how he operates."
Henrik hummed as he rubbed his chin. "Perhaps… Once Anti gets his soul back and is more stable, I want to run a few tests on him. There's so much I don't understand about the child, and there is much I wish to learn."
"I'm sure he'd be fine with it." Chase reassured the doctor. "For now, we should focus on getting him and Angus stable again."
"Right… but Chase, don't mention this to the others just yet." Henrik requested. "I don't want them to become worried, Angus and Anti especially. I want to figure it out more before I tell them."
"Yeah… your secret's safe with me Hen." Chase promised. Henrik smiled as he looked at his friend. How he wished things between them could be different and bloom more.
The door to the soul clinic opened, as the survival hunter, the chimera, the android, the superhero and the magician came in. "Heya Henrik! S'up Chase?" Jackie greeted the other two egos, a confident smile on his face.
Henrik looked over to see his son, smiling as he noticed how much more lively he was. "My Angus, you and Anti look much better today! I trust you both got plenty of rest?"
"Yeah! The two of us didn't have any nightmares either." Angus told his Dad.
"Glad you guys managed to get some rest! We'll need to give it all we got for today!" Chase pointed out.
"With the seven of us, plus Nega and Posi, getting that final soul shard will be a breeze for sure!" Jackie punched the air with his fists.
"Do save that strength for the memory, dear." Marvin gestured. "Either way, are we all ready?" Marvin questioned.
"Ready as we can be!" Bing smiled.
"In that case, we better get strapped in. If we make good time, we can get the shard before lunch." Henrik tried to be on a lighter note today, just so they could be mentally prepared.
"Let's do this!" Chase fist-pumped Jackie as the two egos were just as excited.
"One more shard!" Bing added, as everyone else found their tables to lay on. They were all strapped in, asleep as Angus and Anti were having one more conversation with the positive and negative halves of the glitch's soul.
"This is… kind of exciting!" Anti admitted. "I know that these kinds of trips tend to be really emotional and bad, but I have a strange feeling that this experience will be the best one!"
Angus listened to his younger brother, giving a small nod. He turned back to Nega, the events of last night still fresh in his mind. It was time, he thought to himself. After this final soul shard, Henrik would make the serum to stabilize Angus's soul. Then the survival hunter would give Posi and Nega back to Anti, who would become stable as well. Things would be different after that, but at least they would all be happy.
"Whatever's waiting for us, we can handle it!" Posi reassured everyone. "We've been through far worse, this will be nothing!"
"Honestly, part of me is kind of looking forward to it as well." Nega admitted. "Though, it's gonna be kind of sad once you get that soul serum and we have to leave you." He tells Angus, looking a bit sad as he knew this would be their last time with the survival hunter. "I mean, it felt like we were really getting to know each other and find common ground."
"Yeah, I know…" Angus stated, feeling the same pain as Nega. He quickly replaced it with a smile. " But it'll be worth it in the end."
Anti giggled nervously, staring down at his hands. "It's so strange… I'm kind of going to miss my glitchy state. I've been living with it for so long now, I've grown used to it. Like it's a part of me and made me who I am. I don't even think I'll be able to recognize my own face once it's whole."
Angus reached over, holding onto his shoulders and looking Anti directly in the eyes. "Hey, you'll be alright. We both will, once this whole thing ends up in a victory. For all of us!" Those words were enough to persuade Anti, who nodded up at his big brother.
"Alright you two, into the machines you go." Nega gestured. "That soul shard isn't going to get itself."
"Alright, alright." Angus rolled his eyes, heading over to the table and began to strap himself in. Anti followed suit, laying next to Angus as the two shared a genuine smile. Once they laid their heads down, they closed their eyes as the machines did the rest. The ego's waited, patiently waiting to go into the memory as they wondered what awaited them. The machines roared, the gears inside were doing their parts as they started up. Everyone could feel their consciousness combining together, trying to be in one singular ego. However, unlike the previous times, the sounds of static sound could be heard.
Henrik was the first one to notice, and he was aware that was not a good sign. "W-What the… what is happening?!"
"Guys… something doesn't feel right!" Chase gasped, as he felt his soul shaking to its core.
"What the hell?!" Angus was just as confused, none of this was normal. Everyone else could only see blackness, as they became blind. However, images of Angus and Anti with static backgrounds and glowing green eyes could be seen. It was a very disturbing imagery, but what really got to the survival hunter was when he could see a figure within the static. One that he recognized and loathed. "S-Sea-" He tried to speak, only for his voice to be cut off as his ears heard the ringing of meddled code.
"SXQncyBhbGwgeW91ciBmYXVsdA== ... V2UgYXJlbid0IHNvIGRpZmZlcmVudA== ... WW91J2QgbGV0IGhpbSBkaWUgZm9yIHlvdXIgb3duIHNlbGZpc2ggZGVzaXJlcw== ... SHlwb2NyaXRl..." Angus could understand the code now, covering his ears as he tried to keep it out of his head. He wondered if he was the only one who could hear them? He bit his lip, doing all he could to suppress a scream. His eyes shut, not wanting to see the haunting image of his creator.
Angus was one of the few to open his eyes, once the voice stopped calling to him. When he looked around, his whole face froze as he noticed the environment. The ground they were on was a lifeless gray, with holes dug deep and making the area appear smaller. There were some rocks and red vines, but that was the only vegetation around this place. Angus had a strong sense of Deja vu as he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He knew one thing for certain: This was not his memory.
Henrik moaned as he was the next one to wake up and check everyone over. "I-is everyone alright?"
Marvin groaned as he got up, rubbing his head as he looked over at his boyfriend. "D-Dear, are you alright?"
"Yeah… my brain feels like it's fried though…" He complained as the two helped one another stand on their feets.
"Fuck, I'm gonna be feeling this for a while." Nega grunted as he rubbed his lower back. The devil looked down and picked up his other half. "You okay, Frostbite?"
"Hhh- O-Owww." Posi whined as he rubbed his head. "I think I landed on my face…"
"Are you gonna be alright?" Nega asked, worried as he stayed by the angel's side.
Posi gave a reassured smile his way. "Yeah… I'll put some ice on it to help it go down." He used his magic on his head, feeling the ice itself form which helped to lower the bruising.
Bing looked over at Angus, stepping over to rest by his side. "Are you okay, Angel?"
"Yeah…" He sighed in a bit of pain, holding onto his chest where the cracks had originated.
Henrik heard the distress in his voice and looked over at his son. "Angus?"
As soon as the survival hunter heard the doctor, he collected himself and responded. "I'm fine Dad, no damage to my soul." He promised, rubbing at his upper body. It clearly hit the ground on impact, but the pain was starting to dull. Thankfully, his soul didn't seem to break any further, probably due to the fact that Nega and Posi have a stronger connection to him now. But he didn't know how long that would last.
"What happened?" Chase questioned.
"I'm not too sure… something must have happened when we were transferring ourselves into Angus's memory." Henrik admitted.
"But this… doesn't look like my memory." Angus stated, as everyone scanned the area they were in. That strange familiarity was growing more inside of him, and he didn't like it.
At this point, everyone was noticing the rain droplets coming down on the group. Marvin hissed softly as his tail pressed against him. He pulled his cape around himself to defend against the elements. "Brrrr…. It's s-so cold out here…"
"Where are we?" Bing questioned, as even the android was not able to calculate their location.
"Wherever we are… it looks pretty lifeless… and quiet." Jackie noted as he looked around. "Where is everyone?"
"I dunno… but I'm getting an uneasy vibe being here." Nega admitted as he stayed close to Posi. The angel held his other half, sensing the same feeling as well.
Angus looked at the two guardian souls, seeing how upset they appeared. He wondered if the chimera felt the same as the other three. When Angus tried looking for his young brother, his eyes went wide as he could not locate the child. "Wait, Anti?!" Angus stood up shakily and turned around as he tried to find him. "ANTI?!" He shouted.
"W-Where'd he go?!" Jackie questioned as he looked around.
"A-Anti?! Anti, where are you?!" Posi called out as well.
"Where is he?! Shouldn't he have been here with us?" Chase questioned.
"He couldn't have gone far!" Marvin reassured them all. "Maybe he got up before us and somehow wandered off."
"We better hurry and find him then! Who knows what could be awaiting us here." Jackie pointed out. With everyone in agreement, they began to fan out and search for the chimera. Angus, Posi and Nega were the ones with their eyes peeled.
"Anti…" The survival hunter whispered, his concerns for the child growing as they kept running. There was no way he could have landed somewhere else, they were all together like the last times this happened. Did Anti really wander off on his own? What could have drawn him away though? Could it have been that voice and that figure that Angus saw before he woke up? Did that mean Anti heard it too?
"There he is!" Jackie shouted, pointing over to a figure who was glitching out and wagging his dragon-based tail. His back was facing the group, as the chimera seemed to be staring at something they didn't notice at first. They hurried over to the child, relieved that he was alright.
"Anti!" There you are!" Nega sighed as he approached and stood by the child's side. "Christ, one of these days you're gonna give me a heart attack!" He complained.
"Are you alright? Why'd you take off?" Jackie asked, as the hero noticed that the one visible eye on Anti was staring at something in front of him, keeping him in a trance-like state.
"Anti?" Angus could see the concentration on the child, and it made his gut react terribly. He looked up to where the glitch was transfixing his eyes on, as he did his face turned pale. Before them was a large white building, with many windows that were either shattered or boarded up. Pink squares were also plastered onto the walls, but there was no way it could be an interior design. The survival hunter's face went completely white, as his eyes shrunk in their sockets. "N-No…" He breathed, being reminded of his nightmare when they went camping not too long ago. It all began to click with Angus, and he knew Anti was thinking the same thing.
"W-What is this place?" Chase stared up at the building, shaking as he became nervous as well.
"I… didn't want to believe it. I thought that it was just me seeing things." Anti began, as his voice was cracking. "But now, I see this hospital in front of me… I know where we are…" He sounded terrified, defeated even.
"Anti… you know this place?" Henrik asked.
The glitch turned so he could face everyone, as they could see the horror written on his features. "This… was the hospital that I was created and raised in."
"W-What?!" Jackie gasped. "A-Are you sure?!"
"I'm positive! This is where it all started for me…" Tears began to leak out of Anti's eyes as he confessed.
"W-wait…" Bing shuddered as he looked between the hospital and Anti. "I-If this building is your home… then, that means…"
"We're… in the Omitted Verse…" Nega finished, as reality began to crash down on the egos. Mainly Angus and Anti.
"This… this place. I've been here before…" Angus admitted, as he was starting to visibly shake himself.
Both Chase and Marvin turned to Angus, confused as the survival hunter spoke. Henrik was the one asking the questions though. "W-what do you mean?! Omitted Verse? What is that?!"
"Angus, what do you mean you've been here before?" Bing looked at his Angel, wanting an answer.
The survival hunter looked at everyone with wide eyes as he began to explain. "During the camping trip and after… I was dragged to this place in my dreams. I found myself inside this hospital and that's how I met Anti."
Marvin was stunned to say the least. "I remember you telling us you came here when you released Anti." He admitted. "But you were here more than once?"
"I didn't tell you that part because I thought it was just a random dream. A nightmare… but now that we're here…" Angus's face shadowed over. Guilt began to settle into him.
Anti on the other hand was visibly panicking, his hands went to his head as he hyperventilated. "This is all my fault! I must have done something to bring you all here! I don't know how, but I know it's my fault! Now, the scientists are going to find me! They'll take me back, and if they see me with you, they'll… they'll…" Anti trailed off, his stress was increasing with every word that was coming out of his mouth.
Posi quickly rushed to his side, holding the chimera close to ease his torment. "Anti, please calm yourself. They won't take you back. We'll protect you, I promise."
"Y-yeah… whoever those guys were that hurt you before, won't get you so easily now that you have us!" Jackie reassured, doing his best to sound brave. Angus winced as he listened to Anti, knowing full well why the child was worried. After all, he saw what they did to him, and who knows what else they will try once they have Anti in their hands again.
"But how did we end up here? We should have gone into Angus's memory." Bing pointed out.
"Something must have taken us here…" Nega said out loud as his eyes wandered over to the chimera and hunter.
Jackie noticed this and got a bit defensive at the devil. "Don't tell me you're blaming them for this!"
"They're the only ones that have been here and have gotten out! Angus was able to get Anti out of here when he came to this place."
"But they wouldn't have sent us here on purpose. They couldn't have." Marvin told Nega.
"Something must have happened that triggered that reaction and made us come here…" Henrik concluded.
Angus listened to them all, he didn't blame Nega for the suspicion. After all, he has been to this place on a multitude of occasions, both in memory and in person. But he couldn't have sent them all here, at least not on his own. After all, it was usually someone else or something else that pushed him to this strange realm. Angus thought back to what he saw before they all arrived here. The figure that looked similar to his creator… at least the one that killed him before. He also remembered what Anti told him on the second night he was with Angus. How he saw that person wandering the halls. "No… it couldn't have been… NO!" Angus inwardly gasped as he put the pieces together.
"Damnit! Fuck, fuck, FUCK! That bastard brought us all here, I'm sure of it! This can't be fucking happening…" Angus's thoughts were a complete mess, as well as his emotions. Not only did he and Anti get brought back here, but so did everyone else! And now they were in this decaying world, with no knowledge of what they were getting themselves into.
Bing stepped forward, as he tried to be the one to rally everyone. "Let's not panic. We know where we are, so at least there's that. Our main objective is to figure out what our next plan is."
"Then I have to get you all back to the Mindscape!" Anti declared. "The longer you stay here, the more in danger you will be!"
"That does seem like the best solution." Henrik agreed.
"But how do we even get back?" Chase questioned.
The chimera shook as he slowly turned back to the building. He bit his lip to the point that it began to bleed. Angus followed the gaze that Anti was locked onto, as the two of them thought the same thing. "Let me guess… the equipment we need is inside." It wasn't a question, Angus was sure of it.
"Hold on, you aren't actually suggesting we go inside, do you?!" Nega complained, hating the idea entirely.
"What other choice do we have?" Anti cried out. "I know it's dangerous and I don't want to but… it's the only option we have…" Anti felt the tears running down his face, which caused that guilt to rise up in Angus once more. The child was suffering just as much as the hunter, and Angus blamed himself.
"Anti… darling…" Marvin could see how upset the chimera was, and not one of the ego's blamed him. Even though Angus was the only one who truly saw how bad his life before the Mindscape was, the others were still able to paint the pictures themselves. Needless to say, they didn't want to put Anti through that trauma again. Even Posi and Nega were hesitant to step inside the building where it all began.
"Anti is right…" Angus stepped up, taking control of the speech as he looked at everyone. "I've been inside that hospital before, the people who worked there may be bastards, but their equipment is similar to what Henrik had. We can use that to get back to the Mindscape. Besides, it doesn't look like there is anywhere else for us to go." Angus noted, as he and the others looked around, seeing the desolate land around them. No other buildings or any sign of life was nearby, and it didn't seem this place was big enough to explore. The survival hunter knelt down so he was at Anti's eye level, holding onto his shoulders. "Anti, I promise, when we go in, we'll be right here with you. You are not gonna face this alone. We won't let anyone hurt you… not again."
Angus was still trembling as he did his best to keep his act together. He had to stay strong, for Anti and the others. If they could find a way to get back to the Mindscape, then he could relax. Anti was shaking as he looked up at Angus. The child was clearly terrified, he didn't want to go back inside that building. Even so, he knew that it was the only way they could get out of here. So he nodded his head a little, holding onto Angus in a tight hug. The survival hunter rubbed Anti's back gently as he held him close. "Easy Anti… breathe like I taught you." He advised, as the child did as he was told. He tried grounding himself, since he wanted to be ready when they went inside. He picked Anti up, holding him against his chest as Angus looked back at everyone else. "Come on… let's go. And keep your guards up."
He then began to head through the doors, for his multiple time once again. So much for being optimistic and believing things would turn out better. At this point, Angus would have rather seen himself die than force anyone else to experience what he saw the first time here. Everyone followed behind, Bing was as close to Angus as possible to help steady him. Posi and Nega were by them as well, the angel whimpering quietly. Nega held onto his brother, trying to ease his pain, and to comfort himself.
Once they were inside, they gathered their bearings. The lobby was dark, no signs of life inside either. Some pieces of the floor, walls and even ceiling were either distorted or missing. A few chairs were at many different angles, and crashed against the wall. It appeared to have been ransacked, for better or worse.
"W-What the heck? This place looks a lot like your hospital, Hen." Chase noted as he looked around the lobby then towards the doctor.
"It seems that way… but the colors are different and it seems… less hospital-y." Henrik admitted.
"I mean… this place probably has seen better days." Jackie shrugged.
Marvin shook a bit as he held onto the superhero. "T-this is getting stranger and scarier by the minute…"
"It's… in even worse condition than I thought…" Anti admitted, looking around the room while clinging to Angus's chest.
Even the devil was somewhat frightened. "I really don't like this…"
"Me either, Neggy." Posi shuddered. "I have a terrible feeling…"
"Yeah… and the memories are starting to resurface as well."
"Memories?" Angus repeated, looking over at the two guardian souls. His eyes went wide as he took in what Nega said. "Wait… you don't mean…?"
"Y-yeah… I'm starting to get the same visions as well." Posi admitted as his eyes glanced down to the floor.
Anti looked over at his souls, feeling empathy for them as he appeared just as guilty as his brother. "I'm sorry you have to relive that stuff."
"Don't blame yourself… you never asked for any of that. Besides, we were a part of you at one point, only fair we have your memories just like Angus." Nega pointed out.
Bing looked around as he attempted to scan the area. His antenna acted a bit funny at one point, but he ignored it since he thought it was just a bad signal at first. "I don't sense any signs of lifeforms anywhere nearby. And the place sounds very quiet as well."
"T-that's a good thing, right? Maybe that means everyone went out and no one is home?" Chase laughed nervously, hoping it was just the nine of them.
"We should keep moving. I have a bad feeling about-" Marvin was cut off as the others heard a faint sound coming from the hallway. Chase squeaked in fear, holding onto Henrik for protection. Posi whimpered as well as he and Nega held onto one another. Angus growled, holding onto Anti tightly as his eyes looked at the corner. Everyone stayed together, as the footsteps drew closer. They believed that some new threat was coming their way, and they prepared themselves for it.
"Um… excuse me?" A soft, male voice called out as a figure turned the corner, looking at everyone. When he approached, they could see who it was. A man in a white lab coat, wearing a light blue turtleneck and black pants approached. His hair was brown and fluffy, supporting circular glasses which held blue eyes behind them. Well, one blue eye at least. The left half of his face was blacked out, distorted, similar to Anti's. Supporting a wider smile on that side and a glowing, green pupil. Also much like Anti, there was a large hole where his soul should be right on his chest.
Chase practically screamed as he saw the man approaching. "AAAHHH!" Everyone was on edge as the figure approached. Anti was staring at the man with wide eyes, as the tears gathered in his sockets.
"Who are you all? What are you doing here?" The man questioned as he tried advancing towards the egos.
Jackie stepped up, holding up his hands in a karate like pose as he glared at him. "Don't take another step!" He warned, which made the anonymous figure flinch and step back. "If you don't tell us who you are, I'll be force to-"
"DAD!" The chimera pulled himself away from Angus, running over and hugging the glitching man. The other egos were surprised, watching the two interact.
"Anti?! Is it really you?!"
The child giggled as his tail wagged happily. "It is, Dad. It's me!"
"Oh Anti!" Black tears began to gather in his one good eye as he looked at his son. "I missed you so much! I was worried when you went missing, thank goodness you're alright!" The two held one another in a tight hug while they spoke.
"Wait… was it just me, or did Anti call that guy 'dad'?" Jackie questioned.
Angus turned to everyone as he could see how confused they were. "Because that is Anti's father. He's Henry Alexander Schneeplestein, the one that took care of him and protected him from the other scientists."
"So you do know this man…" Marvin realized as he watched the glitch and the one in the lab coat interact.
"So… this dude really is Anti's dad?" Chase questioned. "And he has the same last name as Hen?"
"Apparently." Angus shrugged.
"If he's alright, then that must mean the others made it out as well." Posi stated, smiling as he started to become optimistic again.
Henry looked over Anti's face, seeing how distorted he was. "Anti… your body is…"
"I know…" Anti reassured. "It doesn't hurt though… you're the same way though…" Henry held his hand to where his face split off, sighing as he looked at his son.
"Looks like whatever happened here didn't just affect Anti…" Nega whispered. Angus was also surprised, seeing that some of the other residents of this world had come down with the same infection as Anti. Though it wasn't clear if the symptoms were the same.
"But how did you get out? What happened to you?" Henry questioned.
"I was taken to another world by someone else." The chimera looked over to see Angus, as Henry followed the gaze, seeing everyone else behind his son. "I met a lot of people that helped take care of me while I was there. We have Chase Brody, Henrik Von Schneeplestein, Jackieboyman, Marvin the Magnificent, Bing Septiceye, Posi, Nega, and the one that took me and helped me out, Angus Irwin."
"Uh… hello." Angus slightly waved to him in introduction.
Henry looked over at Angus in curiosity, blinking as his eyes went wide. "You… took Anti from the hospital?"
"It wasn't intentional, I assure you." Angus defended himself, a bit worried that Henry would get the wrong idea. "But I did bring him to our world."
Henry jumped when he heard that last sentence, making his eyes go wider. "Your… world?"
"Yes, we are from a place called the MindScape. We're it's main residents, actually." Marvin explained.
"You all are from another… world?" His eyes began to sparkle as he asked the question. When the magician nodded, his crooked smile grew wider as he started to howl some laughter. "Ah! Haha! I don't believe this! That means we did it! We actually achieved interdimensional transport!"
"Inter… dimensional… what?" Henrik blinked, staring at the doppelganger. Chase winced a bit, staying with Henrik as the guy's smile grew. Even Angus was slightly disturbed to see how excited this man suddenly became.
He looked like a kid in a candy's store as he began to pace back and forth. "We've been working on this project for years! Practically over half a decade! All we had to go off of were theories and tests for a long time! And now we have concrete proof that our hard work was a success and that we were correct! I mean, granted, this is now how I pictured the end results would go, but still!" He turned back to face the egos, face bright as a light. "The very notion that you are from a different world, and you are standing here in front of me! Our goal has been achieved!" He started to approach Henrik out of them all, advancing towards the other doctor. "I have so many questions to ask! How did you manage to get here?! What is your world like?! How many residents live in your world?! During transportation, did you by chance feeling anything strange in certain areas such as-"
As Henry kept asking question after question, Henrik stepped back as he was being bombarded with this interrogation. Angus felt uneasy, stepping over by Henrik's side to protect him as he noticed how tense the situation was. He didn't take his eyes away from Henry's movements. Anti noticed this and quickly went to his own father's side. "Uh… Dad, I think you're scaring them."
Henry blinked as he saw the hunter and the Mindscape doctor looking at him with wide eyes of concern and defense. "Ah! S-sorry… I got a bit ahead of myself again." He rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled nervously.
Anti looked back at the other egos as he elaborated. "Dad can be very eccentric with his work. He tends to take it very seriously."
"That sounds really similar to Henrik…" Chase admitted.
"It's just… the idea that you all came from another reality it's… well I can't find the words to describe it." His eyes went back to checking over Henrik again, as he tilted his head. "And I am more curious that you seem to resemble me as well… aside from the hair color."
"Yeah, the German accents are really on point! Then again, all German's sound the same to me so…" Jackie shrugged.
"Pretty sure that's considered racist." Nega pointed out.
"Even so, I do not know what happened when Anti was with you all… but I am thankful that you took care of him." Henry smiled.
"Yeah! Brother especially made sure I was safe." Anti stated as he went by Angus's side, who was still on guard but tried not to intimidate anyone else.
"Brother?" Henry blinked at Anti's words as he looked up at the hunter. "You two have gotten that close?"
"Well… yeah." Angus admitted. "It slipped out and we've been calling each other that since. I figured it was appropriate since I did take him from here and helped look after him."
"So… you are the one that came here and transported Anti?" Henry questioned, not taking his eyes off the eldest of the Septic egos. "But… how? How could you have traveled through the realities?"
"That's… hard to explain. It's a long story, and we'll answer any questions you want. But would it be alright if we could go somewhere more… secure?" Angus requested. He still did not like the hospital in general, but he figured that there should be some places that they could consider safe.
"Oh! Yes of course! I'll take you to my office! We can discuss the matters there!" Henry promised. "Follow me!" The doppelganger led the nine down the hallway, as they checked out more of the hospital. They could see that the building looked as if it was falling apart, yet it somehow managed to stay standing. Angus remembered this hallway, as it was one he went down the first time he was sent here. Anti clung to his father, happy to see a familiar face that he truly missed. At the end of the hall, the other doctor pressed the buttons on the panel next to an elevator. Once the doors opened, he walked in as the others followed.
When they were in the lift, Bing looked inside the small space and noticed something amiss. "Uh… Henry… where are the buttons?"
"Oh, the elevators here don't have any buttons. My sister and Cole modified them to have voice recognition technology… kind of why I usually take the stairs in this place. The tech doesn't recognize German accents." Henry admitted.
"What floor is your office on?" Henrik questioned.
"Level seven."
"Seven!" Henrik called out to the elevator.
"Could you please repeat that?" The voice box called out.
"Seven!" Henry called out in the same accent.
"Sev-en!" Henrik said it louder and slower in pronunciation.
"Could you please repeat that?" The voice called out once more, making the two doctors have an unamused expression on their features.
"Why did they think this was a good idea?" Henrik complained as he pointed at the voice box.
"Maybe this is a sign you lazy asses should take the stairs and exercise more." Nega chuckled as he mocked them.
Marvin looked up at the voice box and gave it a try. "Level Seven please."
"Taking you to level seven." The female machine called out as the elevator began to move. Henry and Henrik were still pretty salty, but they enjoyed the ride. Anti still clung to Henry, who patted his head while smiling. The two were clearly happy to be reunited, which most of the other egos were glad to see. Angus however stood against one side of the walls, watching the interaction. His gut was telling him something was off, but he wasn't sure what it was. Even so, he trusted his instincts, which meant he didn't let his guard down. He averted his gaze at the chimera and his father and sighed.
Once they made it to the said floor, Henry led them down another hallway towards the end. The halls were just as decimated as the first one, but they pressed on. "It may be a little cramped, but it will have all the resources to answer any of your questions." Henry promised as he opened the door to his office. It was pretty standard for the most part. Small, but everyone could manage to get inside and either sit in one of the chairs or lean against the walls. Henry sat at his desk, which had his computer and a few piles of paperwork. As well as a framed picture by his monitor. Upon closer inspection, they could see that it was Anti, who appeared much younger. He was sitting on the edge of a bed, holding a bee plushie as a drawing of him and his dad was in the background.
When they saw the picture, a lot of the egos couldn't help but admire the younger chimera. Even Anti smiled when he saw. "I didn't know you had one of me on your desk."
"Well of course. I liked having you watch me while I work. It reminded me that it was worth it." Henry chuckled.
"So… this is what you used to look like?" Jackie questioned.
Anti nodded. "Before my soul was corrupted."
"You really were a child…" Henrik noted, which caused Angus to look away as the guilt climbed back into him. Posi noticed this, staying by the hunters side to try and ease him.
"Awww… you look so cute!" Marvin gushed as he was taken aback by how Anti looked in the image.
"Yeah… you look similar to what Angus was when he was 'Anti', aside from the dragon-like tail." Chase added.
"Oh, I wish I brought the photo album! There are so many more photos, like when he had his first bubble bath, he loved to splash around!" Henry smiled.
"Uh… m-maybe another time… dad…" Anti stated, as he blushed with embarrassment. "Plus, I am sure they have some other questions…"
"Ah! R-right…" Henry got back on track as he looked at everyone else. "Well, if you do not mind, I wish to ask what happened to you, Anti? Where did you go and how did you meet all of these people?"
"Well… it's a long story." Anti stated as he began to explain to his father every detail. How Angus found himself inside of the cell he was in, and how he and Angus were brought back to the Mindscape after Anti tried to get his soul back. Angus helped to elaborate some of the details, but kept out certain topics such as Sean sending him here the first time. He more or less told Henry the same thing that they told the others when they were at Bing's house.
Henry was baffled to say the least. He kept his eyes on Anti while the story had been explained to him. No one blamed Henry for being so confused, after all not even they could really understand it all. "S-so… that explains why you look this way…" He shuddered as he kept his heterochronic eyes on the child.
"Please don't blame Angus! He didn't know what he was doing, he was just trying to keep himself alive." Anti explained. "He didn't even know about the Omitted Verse, nor did he know what happened. And he did offer to give my soul back, but I can't!"
Posi stepped forward to add his explanation. "You see, Angus's soul is unstable right now. It's fracturing, and if me and Nega go back to Anti, Angus could die."
"That's why Anti has been staying with us this whole time. He wanted to make sure Angus would be able to heal himself first before being given his soul back." Henrik added. "We have been gathering soul shards so I can create a soul serum to repair Angus's soul. We were currently going into Angus's soul to get one of his when we were brought here."
Henry hummed as he listened to their words. "So you all ended up here as a result…"
"But we don't know why or how." Chase scratched his head in confusion.
"Well… I might have a reason. Though it is only a theory, it is the best possible explanation I can come up with." Henry began, as all eyes were on him. The scientist leaned into his seat as he felt all eyes were on him. "You see, the Purple Iris Science Facility, that is the name of this hospital, while on the surface it appears as an ordinary hospital, in truth it is also a place of many scientific research and experiments. There are many departments that deal in different matters across the field from biology, chemistry, physics, all sorts that one can think of. We were even attempting to genetically engineer life itself, creating a variety of specimens. Anti... being one of them." The chimera jumped as he heard that last line.
"A-Ahh…" Marvin gasped as he listened.
"Yeah… Anti told me that." Angus admitted. "But… he's more than just that, isn't he?"
Henry nodded at the question. "Anti has a special ability that could allow him to access the different worlds other than our own. We were testing this ability with him, but he never seemed to have been able to manage it." Anti held onto his tail, being reminded of the experiments and the treatment here. Angus noticed this, staying close to the chimera. So Anti was not just a chimera experiment, but one to see if they could travel to different realities. Question is, how much did these scientists know? "As you are aware, Posi and Nega are Anti's soul. A positive half and a negative one. Only when the two have the same energy length with each other, can the split in the fabric of space and time be opened."
"Well we already knew that…" Nega noted. "That still doesn't explain why we ended up here though."
"You mentioned that Angus took Posi and Nega, correct? And infused them into his own soul?" Henry asked.
"Actually… I just took Nega. But Posi joined soon after." Angus corrected. "Why? Does that have to do with any of this?"
"Well, since Posi and Nega are the soul of Anti and the source of his abilities, when you fused them with your own soul, you gained the same properties that Anti originally had." Henry stated. The two egos looked at one another, as they both knew how true that really was.
"That… does make a lot of sense…" Henrik had to admit.
"Yeah… we saw what Angus was capable of when he was 'Anti' in our world. Not sure if this Anti can do the same, but we can only assume so." Jackie stated.
"This probably explains why Posi and Nega, as you call them, have developed their own consciousness, since they were never intended for Angus to begin with." Henry stated. The hunter raised his brow, hearing what was just said. Something didn't sit quite right with how he phrased that sentence. It was probably just Angus's own guts, but he still kept his guard up.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Nega shrugged.
"But that still doesn't explain how we got here though…" Chase pointed out.
"Well, you mentioned that you were gathering soul shards, correct?" Henry questioned.
Marvin responded. "Y-yes, we are. We need six to fix Angus's soul, and we were getting our final one inside of Angus."
"Well… that explains it all." Everyone was confused by Henry's words, so he elaborated. "When one goes through a soul shard extraction, they go into the very soul of that person. Since Anti and Angus have the power to travel into different worlds, it would seem that power was unleashed when they were in the machines and it activated Posi and Nega to bring you here."
Both Anti and Angus looked pale at the explanation. Anti believed it without any question, while Angus was certain that there was more to it. "Hold on! We've been doing this soul extraction with the both of them plenty of times before, why is it now that we end up here?" Bing questioned.
"It's most likely because you were going into Angus's soul, which holds Posi and Nega. When that happened, it caused their powers to activate and well…" Henry trailed off, as everyone put the pieces together. Angus grunted as he bit his lip. He wished that was the real reason why they came here, but he was certain there was another factor to this. "I am certain you did not mean for it to happen, though." Henry stated. "After all, we never really knew the full extent to Anti's powers either."
Anti looked back at everyone, seeing the ego's taking in this new information. The child stepped forward, looking at his father. "Dad… I have to get them back home. I don't want them to stay here any longer and see the horrors of this place. I don't want them to get hurt because of me. Please, tell me there's a way we can get back."
Henry looked up at his son, as the tears came out of Anti's eyes. A smile spread on Henry's face. "My son… you have such a kind and gentle heart. I know you just got here, but I don't blame you for wanting to leave again. After all, I know just what they did to you here…" He kept his eyes downcast, taking a moment of silence for himself. Angus noticed this, again that nagging feeling in his gut and now in his mind coming back to him. The doppelganger shook his head and sighed. "If you can get out of here before, then you can do it again. The trick is you and Angus, the both of you should be able to go back to where you were from."
"So… should we try the soul extraction machine again?" Chase questioned.
"That would be the safest bet." Henry noted. "Lucky for you all, we have such machines in this facility."
"You do?" Henrik questioned in surprise.
Henry smiled as he nodded. "We actually have a department dedicated to soul science as well, believe it or not. We have more than enough to get you all back home. Unfortunately, those departments are located in the sub labs, below the ground floor of the hospital."
"Can we get down there?" Chase asked.
Henry shook his head. "I'm afraid at the moment, we can't. Not long after Anti left, a lot of the power in the building went out. We managed to recover some on the ground floors and higher, but the power which we needed to access the sub levels were cut off."
"Isn't there any way that you can get the power back?" Posi questioned.
"Well, we do have a generator room on the ground floor. Two large engines to be exact, with one controlling the power of the upper levels and the other bringing power to the sub labs. Usually, whenever we have a power outage, which happens quite often, we would have BB to reconnect the circuits."
"B-BB?" Chase repeated.
"Basically their version of Bing, and Anti's friend." Angus answered. Bing perked up when he heard that, as he didn't know he had a doppelganger.
Anti stepped forward. "D-do you know where BB is?"
"Well… he was getting repairs down below in the sub-labs before… the event." Henry trailed off, as a distant look was in his eyes. No one really questioned it, as they had more pressing matters to attend to. "But… I know they are still down there. I heard them over the intercom, but when the power was cut out, I lost all contact."
"S-so they're alright?!" Anti gasped as his eyes lit up. "Aunt Emily?! Cole?! Nathaniel?! They're alright as well?!"
"Last I checked… we're all safe. But they are trapped in the sublevels. And until the power down there is activated again, no one will be able to go in." Henry admitted.
Everyone looked at each other, taking in what Henry was saying. It seemed like it wouldn't be easy to get there, but if they could work together, they could figure it out. Bing smiled as he approached and offered a suggestion. "You said you would need BB to help override the system, correct? Does that mean you need an android?"
"Yes… BB has a special feature that can help him override certain parts in the engine." Henry stated.
"Then maybe I can be of assistance!" Bing smiled. "I have those kinds of programs installed in me when helping Henrik install some computers in the hospital. I've never had to override an engine before, but I can certainly try!"
"R-really?" Henry gasped as he looked at the yellow and black robot. "You think you can do it?"
"If it's an android you need, I can be of service!" He declared, smiling wide as he promised. "I did say I wanted to help out as much as I could. And this is my time to shine!"
"Well… I suppose we could see if it works." Henry sounded optimistic, though not too hopeful. "Once we get the power working down below, I would need to head to the monitor room. There, I will take access to the main controls and use the cameras in the sub-levels to locate the others."
"We can probably also use them to see if there are any enemies nearby as well!" Chase added.
"Good thinking, darling!" Marvin agreed.
"Yes, a lot of the other scientists were locked downstairs, so it would be best to see their movements with the monitors." Henry agreed. "Once then, we can find the others and bring you all to your world again."
"Then we can head back home and get out of this place!" Nega smiled. "No offense…"
Anti went over to his father and held onto his arm with a smile. "Dad, you should come with us! You and the others can live in the Mindscape with us! We can be freed from this place and be a happy family. No one to hurt any of us…"
Henry looked down at his son, seeing him begging. The doctor couldn't help but pet his fluffy hair with a small grin. "Only if the others are okay with it…" He scratched his cheek. "I mean… I do like the idea of going to your world and exploring it. And personally, I think it would be better to leave this place. Finding work may be difficult, but it will be better than what I had to deal with. And if it's for Anti…"
Angus noticed how pleased Henry looked, as he remembered what he promised his little brother. The hunter had to admit, Henry seemed excited about the idea as well, and who was he to say no? "Well… I'm sure we can find some room for you guys." Angus reassured Henry.
"The Mindscape is big enough, and finding some jobs for you all won't be a problem." Marvin added.
"Plus, you are Anti's family! Which means you're a part of our family! Since we kind of adopted Anti ourselves… uh, hope you don't mind…" Chase chuckled nervously.
Henry beamed at everyone with his grin. "Not at all… there will be enough of the machines for all of us. Although… If we are to head back to your world, then we will need to do something about our souls. It would seem you know how to fix Anti, but with the five of us… our solution is not as simple. But there might be another way."
"Which is…?" Henrik questioned as he raised a brow.
"Are you by any chance familiar with artificial souls?" Henry questioned.
Henrik jumped as he looked at his look-a-like. "Y-yes actually. I tried to make one for Angus a while back, but it never came to life. Does that mean you…?"
Henry nodded as he looked at Henrik. "I actually worked on a few artificial soul projects myself. Though Nathaniel is more knowledgeable in that department, he did give me the blueprints and a lot of his notes. When we go to the Mindscape, we can take those notes back with us and create some artificial souls for us to use to heal ourselves!"
"Can we take physical stuff back to our world?" Angus asked his father.
"Well, yes, though we can only carry a small amount. But, do you think that would be a solution for all of you?" Henrik wondered.
"It might be the only possible one that I can think of." Henry admitted.
"I say it's worth a shot! If we're gonna get back home, then we need to put this plan into motion!" Chase declared.
Jackie nodded in agreement. "So, how about we split up? If we go in groups, we should be able to get it all done faster!"
"Normally, I would be against the whole splitting up cliché." Nega admitted as he seemed pretty un-amused by the idea. "Though, I think I can allow it since there are so many of us now."
"Well, I'll have to head to the ground floor to access that generator. If I can get it working, then the rest of the plan should fall into place." Bing pointed out.
Jackie stepped towards the android and nodded. "In that case, I'll go with you! Marv, you're gonna join us?"
"Of course, dear. Did you really have to ask?" Marvin smirked with sly eyes.
Henrik approached Henry. "I'll go with Henry to check up on the monitor room."
"Count me in as well!" Chase agreed.
"Then all that's left is to gather the paperwork of the artificial souls." Henry noted. "Those should be on my desk in my apartment."
Anti gasped while jumping a bit. "I know where that is! That's the apartment we shared when I lived here! On the ninth floor! I can go and get them for you, Dad! Plus, I want to see my room one last time before I leave it behind…" He admitted.
"Then I guess that means we'll be going with you." Angus stated. "Don't want to break my promise to you now."
Anti smiled as he held onto Angus's hand. "I can't wait to show you my room!" Angus couldn't help but lightly chuckled. Even though he still had a bad feeling, he was curious as well. In a way, he did want to learn more about Anti's origins, and this could be his only chance to do so.
"Looks like everything is settled!" Chase declared. "Let's do this!"
"Yes! Let's all head out and fulfill our goals!" Marvin declared.
"Still, best you all be careful. The other scientists may have been locked in the deep labs, but I do not know what they are up to." Henry warned.
"Don't worry, we've handled worse. If those guys dare to show up, we can take them on no problem!" Jackie promised, showing off his muscles which made Marvin giggle. Angus wished he could believe the superhero, but his gut was telling him that something was amiss, even if he was the only one who believed it.