When Wilford woke up the next morning, he stretched lazily before finally making himself get up a few minutes later. With a grunt, he forced himself up and got dressed and ready for the day with a grin on his face. Something, however, tugged at him. Normally, he wouldn't feel this way but he was anxious and he didn't know why. The whole thing with Actor on Thanksgiving had been odd and frustrating but that was over now, right? He had been warned and Dark had given him a stern talking to. Or rather, a heated threat.

Wil was proud of Dark for coming back to the party. He knew he had been upset. He may be a nut but he wasn't stupid. Mentioning Celine was crossing the line and honestly if Dark hadn't lost it, Wil probably would have. Celine had left Actor for him, after all and even though there had been animosity between Wil and Celine as well, he still cared for her. She was Damien's sister after all. They had always been so close.

When he left his room, he was heading downstairs to get ready to go out to his office. As he neared the kitchen to make himself a hot chocolate, Actor was there. And he was smiling and humming happily.

'Something's off' he thought, 'Actor's never this happy unless for his own reasons.'

"What's got ya so thrilled, Actor?" he spoke, making Actor look up from his breakfast.

Actor grinned, "Wil. Good morning to you, too. Oh and nothing, really. Just tied up some loose ends last night. It's good to get things out of the way that have been a problem, you know."

Wil nodded, "Yes, yes. Hm" he adjusted his suspenders, "Has Dark come down yet? Usually he's up by now"

Actor's face cringed just a little but he caught it, "Why no. No I haven't. Must still be in bed."

"It's nine in the morning" Wil stated, "Dark is always up by seven every day. I should go check on him"

Actor shrugged, "Alright."

Now Wil was a bit worried and he was never worried. Actor seemed so calm and happy, it was unsettling. Almost rushing back upstairs, he knocked on Dark's door but there was no answer, "Dark? Dark, old pal, you up?"

Nothing.

Wil grew more anxious, "Dark, now don't you be playing any tricks on me!" he laughed a little, "This better not be a joke. Answer the door, please!"

Absolute silence. Not even breathing. Instincts taking over, Wilford teleported inside the room. Not many knew he could do it. Hell, he wasn't aware of it sometimes himself but that's how he was able to appear just about anywhere at anytime. It was mostly why he was so successful at his job.

Just as assumed, Dark wasn't in the room, 'But where could he have gone?' Wil thought, 'He's always in his room either working or something or other!'

Something nagged at Wil and he tried to calm himself but it was getting hard to. Something told him he should be worried.

Then he saw all the notes on Dark's bed, scattered, 'Dark never leaves a mess. What is all of this?'

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Meanwhile with Dark, he was trapped in a vast darkness wandering from mirror to mirror. The more he investigated, the more he realized the mirrors were in the exact layout that the mirrors in the house were. He suspected it when he found his bathroom mirror after Actor had trapped him but now he was for sure. The whole night, Dark had tried watching Actor to keep tabs on him but it seemed like Actor was paranoid. And for good reason. 

Actor had removed all the mirrors he could that were not in the other ego's individual rooms. This way, Dark couldn't see exactly where he was going or what he was doing.

'Smart son of a bitch' Dark thought, 'It's like he planned this whole thing. He probably did. And I fell for it.'

Dark was in his room looking through a circular mirror he had on his wall. Then there were a few knocks on the door, "Dark? Dark, old pal, you up?"

"Wil? Wilford!" Dark knocked on the mirror to try and make some sound but he must not have heard.

"Dark, now don't you be playing any tricks on me!" he laughed, "This better not be a joke. Answer the door, please!"

Dark banged hard on the mirror, "Wil! Get in here! Break the door down if you must! It's not a joke! Please!"

Something must have worked because Wil was suddenly inside, having teleported in, "That's it Wil! Look over here! Come on! You have to see me, right!? Please tell me you can see me"

Apparently he couldn't but he wasn't leaving. Dark tried again, "Wil! If you can somehow hear ANYTHING at all or FEEL what I'm trying to say or do then please! You have to warn Mark about Actor! He's gonna kill him! Wil!"

Wilford made his way closer in the room and furrowed his brow at the mess on Dark's bed. All the notes he had left about Actor, "Yes! That's it Wil! Look at the notes! I was getting close on his plan. You KNOW something isn't right. You know me, Wil" Dark rested his head on the mirror and watched in earnest as Wilford picked up some of the notes, reading them.

"Strange teleporting abilities. Can teleport objects. Teleported food out of the fridge Thanksgiving. Google and Bing's camera footage. I knew it was that bastard. What else did you find out, Dark? Where are you?"

"I'm here, Wil. I'm here. Keep reading. Use those reporter skills Mark gave you. Figure it out"

He continued, "Bing's footage in attic. Actor reading most of day. Difficult to target him in suspicion."

Wil stopped there, "Dark old pal. Did you not know Actor hated books? There's no way he'd be reading books most of the day up in that dingy attic."

Dark didn't know that. That knowledge would have come in handy if he HAD known.

"Google and Bing's camera data from Actor's arrival is missing. They state they are the only ones who can delete data from their hard drives and didn't." Wil pet his mustache in thought, "Something's not adding up. Dark, what were you on to? And more importantly, where ARE you? I have to get to the bottom of this. Might need some help" with that, Wil left the room with the notes in hand and Dark sighed in relief.

"Please figure it out, Wil. I don't know how much time we have"

Tapping his fingers on the mirror, Dark fidgeted. He didn't know how much longer he could take it in there all alone in the void. How long had the DA lasted and where were they? He didn't know and he didn't know if he wanted to know.

"Damien!"

Dark turned sharply at the voice but there was no one around.

'Great, am I hearing things already?' Dark prepared himself for a fight as he walked more into the void through the house, 'I should check up on the others. Maybe I can get someone else's attention besides just Wilford.'

Carefully, he stepped through the darkness, still emitting a blue aura around him, following the path in his head of where he was until he reached Bim's room. The TV host had a multitude of mirrors in his room but unfortunately, Dark knew it would be a waste of time to try and get his attention. But he seemed like he was okay. Actor hadn't tried killing him yet at least.

Next was Yandere's room and Dark looked through the mirror that they had on their bathroom door. They were currently looking through a bunch of pictures they had of someone on their computer. In a corner of the room, they had a little dollhouse open. It was usually kept closed but now he knew why. Inside the dollhouse was basically a shrine with tons of pictures and newspaper articles about Jackieboyman. 

'So Jackie is her Senpai?' Dark rolled his eyes and groaned slightly, 'I'll have to get a hold of Sean and let him know somehow. I'll have to have a little chat with Yandere, too. If I get out of here.'

He cursed himself, "When you get out of here, Dark. Don't be pessimistic just yet."

 Leaving that mirror, he traveled onto the next and the next, making sure the other egos were all okay, those of whom were in their rooms. They all seemed okay but that only made him more anxious. What was Actor playing at? When would he strike? Would Wil have enough time?

Dark then got to Host's room, looking through a mirror he had up beside of bookcase. His room was filled with books and bookcases. The Host loved the read and write but currently, he was sitting in an armchair sipping tea seemingly doing nothing. 

Dark wasn't concerned until he was about to leave and Host spoke, "Dark appeared through the other end of the void staring in through Host's mirror. He was doing a head-count, worried of the Actor's next phase in his plan."

He gaped at the Host and couldn't tell if he was excited or mad at him. Did he know everything!? Why wasn't he doing anything about it!?

"The Host knew Dark was furious with him so he gently told him he needed to relax. He couldn't find the solution if he was so worked up."

"Host, you son of a bitch! If you can hear me then you better damn well listen! You have to let the others know! Actor's going to-"

"The Host interrupted Dark's warning as he already knew of the Actor's plan. However, just as Dark had said a few weeks ago, it was making for an interesting story. That, and Host knew of a better way to help Dark and the others."

"And!? What's that?! Host, please. He'll kill Mark and if that happens, then we all might die! We don't want Mark hurt and we don't want to take that risk!"

"The Host took Dark's words into account but assured him to trust him. There was someone else, too, that wanted a chance at ending Actor and to help them, things had to go a certain way. Dark needed to trust Host or else he might not ever escape the void himself."

"I don't care" Dark shook, "I don't care if I'm stuck in here the rest of my life! I don't care if I die here, Host! Actor needs to be stopped NOW! Why can't you see that?"

"Host wanted to remind Dark that Host couldn't see anything. But before Dark went on another angry rant, Host needed to tell him that in order to destroy Actor completely, Dark needed to be ready. There was only one way to end to Actor for sure and Mark wasn't the only one who could"

"What? But no . . . Mark is the only one who can do that. He's the one who created us so only he could have the ability to destroy us"

"Your'e wrong." Host spoke out of narrative for a moment but it was enough to gain Dark's full attention, "The Host told Dark. But enough of that for now. There were other pressing matters at hand as well. Dark was a part of more trouble than he realized and he needed to see past his doubts and distrust to move to the next step. Was he ready? Host didn't know for sure but he left this little hand mirror open for him as to help him see"

Dark was confused but once Host opened his hand-mirror, it appeared in the void as well. Reluctantly, he took it and looked through it, "I don't see anything"

"Host told Dark that the mirror was given to him by Marvin and so it was powered by magic. He needed to think of one of the Septic egos in order to see properly."

Dark hummed to himself, "Didn't know you and Marvin were close"

"The Host and Marvin have been good friends for years now."

Dark let it go but was unsure of what to really do. There was only one Septic ego he could think about but he didn't want to think about him. Anti had hurt his trust! Maybe he should just try and think of Marvin himself?

"Sometimes people are judged too quickly by their actions." Host spoke softly as he sipped on his tea again, "Perhaps looking deeper, Dark will see that they have gone through similar hardships as of recent. Dark should always stick to his gut."

With a sigh, taking Host's words into account, Dark allowed himself to think about Anti. It was fuzzy at first but he saw the glitch in a dark room pounding on a mirror. Or perhaps a window. Something strange was happening and he listened in.

"Stay away from him! He didn't mean it!" Anti's anguished shouts echoed.

"Oh didn't he, though? You and I both know he's never trusted you. Just because you two had a heart to heart doesn't mean shit."

'Who is that? Is Anti trapped, too?' Dark thought, 'What's happening?'

"Bastard. You're just a sick beast. You think you're so great? Hurting people making them suffer?! You're nothing! You think yourself a great puppeteer but you're unaware of the strings you placed on yourself!"

The thing controlling Anti's body stopped and Dark was surprised to see another version of Anti appear in front of him in the 'room'. Anti flinched back and Dark was starting to see what was really happening.

"The fuck did you just say to me, g̶l̶i̴t̶c̶h̷ ̷b̵i̶t̷c̶h̶!?"

Anti puffed out his chest, "You heard me. You've always wanted pain and suffering but if you have been a part of me all my life that I've existed then doesn't that make you an ego, too? You're just as much of a puppet as I am then"

The copy suddenly gripped Anti's throat and slammed him against the wall, "You little bitch! How dare you!? I'm your fucking master now and there's no one who can stop me! I am eternal! You will listen to me!"

He started choking Anti and Dark could only watch, "I am the stronger here and soon everyone will see that! I'll kill all of them saving your precious Sean for last and THIS TIME I'LL TEAR HIS HEAD CLEAN OFF!!!"

Anti was thrown to the floor, "Ḭ̷͎̫̯͖̭̞̜̪̎̈́̆̾̅̓͐̋̏'̷̢̱̜̀̑̈̓͗͝͝M̶̢̼͇͊̌̑̕ ̶͉̗̲̯̬͋̃̄̈́͋̿̈́͋͗Į̵͓͉͎͔̥̖͉̣̐̄N̸̬̳̫̪̗͚̼̅͐͆ ̸̝̗͙͔̩̞͠ C̷̙̏̈́͘O̶̬̮̱̮̗͛ͅṊ̴͖̥̏Ṭ̵̩̹̯̺͛̒R̴̪͈̻̟͇̔̄Ǒ̸̜̭̦̤̩̤̙̫̓Ļ̴̖͕̤̼͕̝̀͜͝!̴̢̧̠͕͈̰̘̫͕̈́̒"

He was about to stomp on his chest but Anti glitched away and on his feet before punching him in the face, knocking him back a bit, "No you're not! You're nothing but a sick virus trying its best to be relevant! BUT YOU NEVER WILL BE!"

Dark was suddenly proud of Anti. He had never seen him so confident in himself. 

'So this copy. . . . This thing is controlling Anti? But why? How? How did I not see it? Is this happening now!? How long has this been going on for?! Since the first incident?'

The copy suddenly glitched to him and stabbed him in the stomach. 

Dark gasped as Anti fell to his knees in defeat, the copy grinning as he had won their little argument. It whispered in Anti's  ear and Dark could hear it too, "Let's go pay Jackie a visit, shall we? I need to let off some steam now." He giggled before disappearing and started walking again to Jackie's room.

Anti held his bleeding wound and watched in uncertainty at what was about to happen as did Dark, "No"

Dark gripped the hand mirror tight, "Come on, Anti. Get up. You're stronger than this. I know you are." he found himself worried for him, watching as the copy went to Jackie's room and beat him. Anti was helpless as he watched, trying to shout for Jackie to fight back but for some reason, he wouldn't. Finally, he knocked Jackie out, and Dark watched as Anti was slowly starting to black out. Dark was about to stop watching when Anti woke up in a place similar to where he was.

"Anti?!" Dark tried to call to him but he must have been somewhere else. Perhaps the void reached so much farther and he was still on the other side of the world.

Dark watched in fascination as Anti slowly figured out where he was just as Dark did and ran to a room where there were tons of mirrors. Then he saw Marvin. Anti tried with all of his might, banging on the mirror and screaming for his brother but nothing was working until Anti just lost it and his glitching broke the glass on that end AND in the real world. 

'How did he do that?' Dark wondered. Anti was about to give up when Marvin came over to inspect the mess. He picked up a piece of glass only to be shocked by Anti's residue glitching. Dark saw Anti's features change and an idea sparked in him.

"Come on, think, Anti. You could be helping me, too" Dark gulped, "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know what I did before but I have to try and do it again!" he seemed to be concentrating hard and Dark  found himself biting his lip in anticipation as Anti pepped himself up, "Come on! Anti, come on! For once in your life, control your glitching! Do it!"

A little spark formed around Anti as he stood in the middle of where the rest of the mirrors were, "Come on! You got this, dammit!"

"Come on, Anti!" Dark cheered for him, "Do it!"

"I can't let him win!" Anti yelled at himself, "He won't win! Not this time!" his glitching was so out of control, it was like there was a motion blur effect on him and green lightning crackled from him uncontrollably and he screamed out in his rage and desperation.

"Rrrrraagaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

The lightning shot off into all directions, taking out and shattering all of the mirrors in the room. All of the mirrors shattered and glass shot out from the frames. Green sparks flew around the room among the shards before disappearing as the glass fell.

Dark was impressed at the power Anti displayed. He had never seen something as powerful as that before. 

Perhaps Dark could do it, too?

Everything was silent as Marvin stood frozen at what just happened. 

"What in the world?" Marvin was just as confused as ever, "What did I just see? What's happening?"

Anti, laid in the darkness around the shattered glass. He stood up, though and picked up a shard and watched as Marvin pulled out a book from his shelf and a small hand-mirror fell off with it but the magician couldn't be bothered to put it back. Anti wandered over to it.

Dark watched as Anti came closer to the hand mirror that he was holding and held his breath, seeing into his pain-filled eyes. It hurt him so much.

Anti picked it up and looked into it and for a second and for that one brief moment, they saw each other.

"Dark?"

But suddenly Anti woke up in the room again. 

Dark let go of the hand-mirror in shock, 'Anti saw me! He fucking saw me! So much has happened, I don't even understand most of what I saw there but I do know that Anti and the other Septics are in trouble, too. And Anti. It seems that this creature has been taking control of him. That means. . . .that when he 'went insane' it wasn't really him. It was this demon!'

Dark smiled for a moment, 'That means . . . .', he frowned again, 'That means I've failed him. I abandoned him. My best friend. I should have looked closer. I should have known it wasn't really him. Dammit, what have I done? I'm so stupid! And now I have even more people to worry about!'

"Damien!"

Dark turned to hear that same voice again as before. But he saw nothing just as last time.

'I don't think I'm just hearing things anymore'

The Host, still listening to the story at hand, merely smiled and drank more of his tea, watching the plot unfold more and more.

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Wilford couldn't do this alone. He tried  recruiting the Jims to help him but quickly realized that they would be of no help. They only asked questions and gave no answers, more concerned about where Dark was and why Wil wasn't just looking for him instead of searching on some weird clues about Actor.

He'd need someone more experienced. Someone with that could connect the dots quicker than he ever could. Someone who could fit the pieces together and prove it.

He needed the Detective.