When Anti woke up, he flipped on his side to get somewhat more comfortable. Hopefully he could just go right back to sleep, he was so tired from the jet-lag. Blearily, however, he cracked open his eyes and he was almost startled to see Dark a few feet away in his own bed. Then he remembered where he was and he smiled a little. Turning on his stomach, Anti wanted to laugh at Dark. There he was, on his back snoring lightly sprawled across the bed. If he had a partner, they would have been tossed off in the middle of the night.

Stretching a bit, Anti yawned. He didn't want to get up but he could hear a few of the egos downstairs. It was their Friendmas day and even Tyler, Ethan and Kathryn were going to come and spend the day with them. They didn't need to get gifts for one another but a few of the egos did get the other a little something having not seen each other in a while.

'I hope Dark likes the gift I got him. Hope he doesn't think it's clingy or something.' Anti was lost in his thoughts thinking about how the day might go until he was interrupted by a pillow being thrown at him.

"Guh!" Anti huffed and looked over to see Dark still laying there with his eyes closed but now his mouth was closed, too, and he had a smile on his face.

"You ass!" Anti playfully threw the pillow back at him. Obviously, Dark was expecting it because he caught it and laughed.

"Morning!" Dark shot up with a smirk on his face and tossed the pillow at him again, "Stop thinking so much. The day will go by fine, I'm sure"

"How did you-"

"I may not have seen you in a few years but I DO remember the face you make when you're thinking too hard. Relax. It'll be fine." Dark ruffled his hair, "I'm gonna go get dressed. You should do."

Anti shoved his hand off his head, "You should take a shower while you're at it!" he teased, "You stink!"

"Fuck off" Dark chuckled and went to the bathroom anyways.

Anti giggled and got dressed himself, wearing a nice Black and gray sweater that JJ had gotten for him. He had a real assortment of winter clothes now. Before, the only winter clothing he had was the turtleneck Dark had gotten for him but once Sean found that out a few weeks ago, he forced him out shopping to get a new winter wardrobe. 

Smiling, Anti decided not to wait for Dark and left downstairs to see who else was already awake. When he reached the living room, he noticed Jackie was there sitting with Eric. Yandere was also on the other side of the room, trying to act like they weren't staring at Jackie.

Jackie knew Yandere was staring but chose not to acknowledge them. Jackie noticed Anti walk in and almost looked relieved, "Hey Anti! Happy Friendmas!"

The glitch shook his head, "That's such a silly name. You guys are up early."

"I couldn't sleep" Eric smiled. He held a stuffed animal to his chest and Anti assumed it was for his anxiety, "Had a nightmare Actor came back. It was scary."

Jackie pat his back comfortingly, "Hey don't worry. It'll be alright. He's gone now, remember? Besides, you guys have Dark to protect you."

Eric nodded, "Yeah. I guess you're right." he smiled slightly, "Actor never stood a chance against him"

"Damn straight!" Yandere shouted from the other side of the room before running over bounding over the furniture. Jackie stiffened as they came near, "Nobody could beat Dark! He's the most powerful ego in the world! Well. . ." they stared at Jackie again with lovestruck eyes and fixed their schoolgirl skirt, "Besides probably you, of course, Jackie"

Jackie blushed but Anti snorted, "You overestimate Jackie. He's strong physically but in a battle that requires 'other-worldly' abilities, he'd choke"

Yandere glared at him, "Oh? And who do YOU think is the strongest of the Septic Egos? Hm? You? Just because you beat Septic, doesn't mean Jackie couldn't have"

"Actually, it does"Jackie said himself, "Septic beat me to a pulp. Twice. If it wasn't for Anti, all of us would be dead"

Yandere stared at Jackie for a few moments before their eye started twitching. In a flash, they snarled at him and stomped away. Jackie looked shocked at the reaction, "Uh. . . .what just happened? They alright?"

Eric bit his lip, "I think you made Yan mad."

"ME!? What did I do!?"

Anti giggled, "Does it matter? They probably hate you now. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well . . . . . not really" Jackie rubbed the back of his head and rolled his eyes, "I don't understand them"

"Nobody really does" Dark walked in, having seen the whole thing from the shadows, "I'm kind of relieved that happened though."

"Why?" Anti asked him as he walked closer.

Dark glared at Jackie, "They're the kid of the family along with Eric and King. I don't want Yan seeking ANY relationship, really"

"I'm not a kid" Eric pouted but was ignored.

"Aw!" Wilford popped out of nowhere as usual, "You're like their dad!"

Dark closed his eyes in exasperation but sighed, "Sure. Anyways. Any idea of when Mark and the gang when show up today?"

Wilford shrugged, "I don't know! Thought you'd know. Probably will get here soon though. Hey Dark, don't you have a little something something to give Anti today? Didn't you get your boyfriend a present?" he teased.

Dark glared at him, "I swear, Wil. Don't think I won't maim you or send you to the void. I will personally find a way to force Celine back awake to kick your ass"

Wil shut up looking like a kicked dog, "Touchy. Somebody needs some action" he commented.

Anti looked at Dark surprised, ignoring Wil's comments, "You. . . you got me something?"

Dark grumbled but took his hand and led him to a different room, ignoring the watchful eyes of Chase, Schneep and Dr. Iplier as they walked by the kitchen. When they got to an empty room, Dark groaned, "Yes, of course I got you a present. Why wouldn't I? You're my best friend."

Anti blushed, "I got you one, too!"

Dark then paled a little, "Oh? You didn't have to, Anti. I owed you this. You didn't need to get me anything."

"Yes I did. You're MY best friend! Now shut up and take my gift!" he reached in his jeans pocket and pulled out a messily wrapped circular present, handing it to him.

Dark smiled lightly and took a small rectangular wrapped box from inside his suit jacket, "Want to open them together?"

"Sure!"

As they both unwrapped their gifts, the both got equally apprehensive but once they fully unwrapped them, they just stared at the object for a bit.

Suddenly they both started laughing and hugged each other. Anti hugged him tight, "I can't believe we both got each other the same thing! It's the same kind of mirror that Host and Marvin have, right?"

Dark nodded before letting him go, "Yeah." he shook his head, "Now that's hilarious. Thank you, Anti. I love it"

Anti smiled and nodded, "Welcome. Thank you, too." he giggled again and was about to say something else before they heard the doorbell ring.

Dark turned towards the noise, "Sounds like Mark and his friends are here. Want to head back?"

Anti nodded, "Yeah. Come on, ya sap"

"You're just as sappy." he snapped back.

__________________________________________

It was two in the morning and Anti tossed and turned in the bed, trying desperately to go back to sleep but it just wasn't working.

Finally after enough failed attempts, he decided to just pick himself up and go downstairs for a glass of water, trying not to wake up Dark as he left.

He tip-toed to the kitchen and quietly got a glass and filled it with water. As he sipped on his cold drink, he leaned on the counter thinking.

It had been a few days after their Friendmas. Everything had went perfectly and everything was so much fun. No one was angry or sad, it was just a fun gathering. Besides Yandere staring death glares at Jackie. Anti found himself hanging out with some of the other Iplier egos besides Dark. He liked to talk to Eric. He was sweet and sensible and although he was a nervous wreck a lot of the time, he was smart and could hold up a decent conversation unlike Bim who would only talk about themselves or King, who would only talk about squirrels.

He also liked to hang around Yandere because they shared an affinity for sharp objects. He loved their knife and sword collection. And Anti also liked to talk with the Jims. Those two had some fun adventures. He liked Wil enough and could visit with him, but not for long. The longer he'd talk with him, the less sense he made.

However, the more he hung around the rest of them, the more he found that Dark would get a bit pissy.

'Jealous ass' Anti smirked. He knew Dark was jealous of how Anti spent time around the others and not just him. It reminded him of how the way things used to be. Dark was stuck in the past  concerning their relationship a bit.

'He needs to just chill' Anti thought, 'I can talk with the other Ipliers if I want. He's not my ONLY friend.' 

He knew that Dark was just scared though. Scared Anti would longer think of him as his BEST friend. Scared they'd drift apart again in their friendship. He shook his head with a sigh, 'Big dork'

Suddenly there was a noise in the other room. It sounded like a footstep.

'Probably one of the egos' he thought.

But then he heard a familiar giggle. It was faint but it was there.

'No.' he thought, 'He's gone. I killed him.'

Another noise like more footsteps sounded in the living room, 'Maybe I should check it out'

Carefully, Anti stepped quietly to the living room, being cautious as to not make any noise himself. When he peered around the corner, there was nothing there, though. 

He walked further in, still cautious but there was only the dark room. With a sigh, Anti turned on the light but nearly screamed in surprise.

He flinched back and saw the form of a shadow standing there in front of him on the opposite wall. It was just still and unmoving. Like it was watching him. A hollow smile appeared on the shadow.

"What the . . ." Anti shivered, "I'm dreaming. I have to be."

"I've been waiting a long time to see you again" the shadow drawled. It sounded like an Iplier. Anti gulped as it chuckled.

"W-who are you? What do you want!?"

The shadow stopped laughing and walked along the wall around the room slowly. The voice sounded of contempt, "I've seen you in his thoughts. He hates you, you know. He wants revenge for what you did to him"

"Who?" Anti still just watched as the shadow walked along the wall to the stairs.

"He knows how much you care for Dark. Perhaps you shouldn't have left him alone in that room where he could get to him so easily" with that, the shadow just vanished in the darkness and Anti's heart dropped.

He ran back upstairs to Dark's room and slammed open the door, "Dark! Get up! There's-"

Anti stilled as he saw himself laying in bed sleeping, "No. But it feels so real. How."

There was another giggle that sounded so familiar, "Hello again, my puppet" 

Anti turned around but as soon as he did, he suddenly jolted awake in bed, "GaAah!" he looked over to see Dark still sleeping although he stirred a little when Anti shouted.

Breathing heavily, Anti tried calming himself, 'It was just a nightmare. Everything's fine. It wasn't real'

 But something still bothered him. It felt so real. Before he woke up, he could see his glowing green eyes and sharp-toothed smile.

"Just a dream. Just a dream" Anti didn't go back to sleep.

_______________________________________

Dark walked along in the void. He knew he was dreaming again. He could hear the whispers just like he had in the last dream.

'They're not really your friends.'

'You don't belong'

'They don't love you'

'They liked HIM more than you'

Dark growled, 'Why is it the same as before? I know they're wrong. What is this?'

He heard a high pitched giggle and turned in the blackness. He let Damien's blue aura glow in the void giving him some light. In the distance, he could see a figure. They stood with their back towards him and it seemed like they were holding something. The closer he got, the more he realized, it was Anti. 

Dark sighed, 'I get it. I'm dreaming of him because I've been too clingy to him, right? Is that what my brain is telling me? Or perhaps Celine?'

Dark got so close to the dream Anti, that he could see over his shoulder. He held the hand-mirror Dark had given him and he could see Anti's reflection in it. His face was so blank.

Suddenly, however, his expression changed to a cynical smile, "Hey there Darky" he spoke playfully. But it sounded so wrong.

Dark took a step back, "A-anti?"

Anti turned slowly and Dark actually shuddered. His eyes were gone. Just gone. His throat bled profusely, he had sharp teeth and nails that looked more like claws. A green aura was glowing around him, "What's the matter? Afraid of your best friend?"

"You're not Anti"

The thing's eye holes oozed out a black pitch down his cheeks and the he licked at it, "No, no. I'm someone far stronger. Someone B̷̬̽̓E̷͈͛T̷̝̱̩̖̾̈́T̴̰̘͙̝̆Ę̴͓̯͙̏Ȑ̶̬̖̝̂͑̋͜ than that fool of a glitch" he suddenly snarled.

Dark glared back at the thing, "You're Septic. Why am I dreaming of you? Anti killed you"

"Did he?" Septic grinned, "Did he really? Just like you killed Actor?" he laughed, "Perhaps. We'll see. You're so cute"

Dark flinched, taken aback by the comment as it sauntered closer to him, but he refused to retreat. Septic licked his lips, "So naive. You think you're strong? You think you're better?"

He came so close as to whisper in Dark's ear, "You think you've w̷o̶n̸?"

Septic suddenly laughed loudly, making Dark back up a bit, startled. He felt very uneasy around this thing.

"GahahahahhahhhhaȞ̸͚͝A̶͓͈̎͘H̷̛̘̠̓A̴̦̹̋̅H̶͙̓A̴̡̡͂H̸͙̍A̶̞̪̒̄Ḧ̶͎͝A̶̧̾H̸̥̹̋́Ă̶̺͎͘H̷͓͛̍H̷̘̞̆̓a̷͙͚̽h̶̩͍̀̉a̶̗͙̐̍h̴̨̀a̷͖̍h̷͈́͝!" As he laughed, blood dripped out of his mouth and his voice got glitchier by the second.

"This isn't the end" he grinned, a faint green glow protruding from his eye holes, "I wonder . . ."

All of a sudden, Septic hand a knife stabbed into Dark's stomach, "What will happen next time we meet?"

Dark couldn't speak, the breathe being taken out of him. Septic leaned closer to him and even gently pet his hair, "What will happen to your favorite g̷l̵i̴t̷c̵h̴?̸.̸ . . . . . ..  See you soon"

Everything went black and the next thing Dark knew, he was sitting up in his bed catching his breathe, squeezing the sheets until his knuckles turned white.

He stared over at Anti who was sleeping soundly and just watched him until his breathing went back to normal.

'Odd' he thought, 'That couldn't have been just a dream, right? It felt so real. And if it was. . . what does Septic want with me? Wouldn't he be after Anti? Or is he after both of us? Should I tell Anti about it?'

He thought again about Septic's words. His threat. 'Maybe I shouldn't. It was most likely just a dream conjured up by my own insecurities. Yeah, that's it. Anti's fine. We're all fine. Calm down, Dark' he shook his head and laid back down. He couldn't go back to sleep now but at least he was calmer than before. He just had to breathe.

Just breathe.

____________________________________

The shadow watched Dark jolt up from the nightmare Septic gave him. He had to admit, it was quite easy to get to Dark. He just had to use someone who looked like Anti. He saw the fear in Dark's eyes and reveled in it.

'Soon', he thought, 'Soon you'll be at my mercy once more. . .. . friend.'

Actor dissipated once more into the void through the shadows but eyed Dark's cane leaning on the wall beside his bed just briefly. When he got his revenge, he'd break the damn thing in front of him.

Although he was sort of like a ghost now, he was still there. What little he still had of the void inside of him saved his 'soul' from Dark's wrath.

But now with the piece of Celine's aura that Septic stole from Dark a few days ago, all they had to do was wait. It was all in the timing. Actor admitted, though, he couldn't have even thought of this plan without Septic. He was a core part of this plan. He was to get his revenge as well, after all. Actor didn't like that he had to work with such a disgusting creature but he did have his uses.

'I might not care for Septic but even I have to admit . . . . . .  he does put on quite the show'