Anti stared at his hands deep in thought for a few seconds before clenching his fists and staring at the door that led 'outside'.

Even though it wasn't actually real, the winds seemed harsh and he could already feel the cold drifting in slightly through the thin window pane. It looked just damn uncomfortable plus he didn't have any winter gear and he had to run through that blizzard? His mind was already trying to coax him out of it.

"What part of 'you don't have much time' didn't you understand?" Damien's low voice brought him out of his thoughts. Anti looked over to him wide-eyed.

"You said you cared about him. So are you going to help him or not?"

"Of course I f̴o̷o̴k̷i̷n̴g̴ am! But I don't have no winter gear or anything! I'll get frostbite or somethin'"

The man glowed a dull blue light from him and narrowed his eyes, staring at him as if he were stupid, "Did. . . .did you forget where we are? We're not ACTUALLY in a blizzard, Anti! As long as you believe you're not in a snowstorm, then you won't feel it!"

"Easy for you to say! You've had practice!"

Damien sighed, "Tell you what, I'll give you a boost" with a swift movement, he suddenly pushed Anti out the door outside of the cabin.

"̸W̴h̶a̸-̶!̴ ̵H̴e̶y̴!̷"̷

From the window, Anti could see Damien smiling and waving at him, "Just remember to hurry! Time is NOT on our side! And your own memories could still haunt you out there if you're not careful! Good luck!"

With a light scoff, Anti turned towards the forest, feeling the wet snow's cold creep through his pants and into his socks.

"Fooking asshole." Anti mumbled, "So that's where Dark gets it from. Thought it was Celine."

With one last glance at the cabin, Anti shook off the cold and let a some sparks fling from him. It was dark out with the only light coming from Damien's cabin.

But Anti had to remember that Damien was right. This place wasn't real. There was no snow, no cold or wind. No actual cabin, forest or lake. It was just all one big illusion created by the void. It was ALL the void. As he started his walk up to the treeline of the forest, he took a deep breathe, ignoring how his breathe became visible. Anti closed his eyes. His heart started to pound in his chest.

'It's alright' he thought to himself, 'It's just like the forest outside of town by the Septic house. I've been in there loads of times.'

He was reminded of the incident that first led to Sean forcing him into the void in the first place.

It seemed like so long ago now. 

He wasn't trying to create chaos that day. He just wanted to see how high he could glitch up into the trees. Unfortunately, his glitching caused sparks to fly and caught a tree on fire. Sparks had also destroyed a nearby power-line causing a power-line to fall into traffic in the nearby freeway. Not to mention that the one tree on fire led to many more on fire.

Anti shook his head, 'I'm not really that guy anymore. . .I don't think. I never meant for that to happen that day just as I didn't mean to fuck up Mark's computer the next. But I did manage to glitch up those trees pretty far. . . .Maybe being higher up it will be less cold?'

Taking a running start through the heavy snow, Anti lifting his feet up as to not slip up and glitch up to a low branch. Hanging on tight, he eyed another branch on another nearby tree and swung over to it, glitching.

He did this a few more times, realizing it wasn't as bad as getting his feet cold in the snow.

'Fook, I'm a regular George of the fooking Jungle out here!' he smirked to himself.

He swung to a few more trees, making himself glow brightly to see the others in the distance. Before he could reach the next, his hand slipped on the branch he had a hold of.

"Gwuah!" with little grace, Anti fell into a heap of snow, even colder now than before, "F̵-̸f̴-̴f̷-̸o̵o̶k̶i̶n̶g̸ ̸D̷a̸m̸i̷e̶n̴.̴ ̶.̴ ̷.̵ ̷.̶c̵-̵c̷-̶c̵-̶c̸-̸c̷o̶u̸l̴d̸ ̵h̸a̵v̶e̸ ̶g̴-̷g̸i̷v̵e̸n̴ ̶m̵e̷ ̶m̷o̴r̸e̶ ̵i̴n̸s̴t̵r̵u̵c̶t̴i̴o̵n̵s̴,̴ ̵d̵-̷d̷-̶d̶a̵m̷m̸i̷t̸!̵"̷

Holding himself, Anti was about to try again when he heard something strange.

It sounded like a low humming.

It sent chills down Anti's spine that wasn't caused by the cold.

But it wasn't behind him or in front of him. He could hear it everywhere. It was nothing like the high pitched ringing he was used to hearing in the pitch blackness.

This sounded more intimidating.

"̴H̴e̶l̷l̸o̸!̸?̵"̸ Anti called out, "Who's out there!?"

No one answered but the humming persisted, making a tune with the wind.

"Damien, I fooking swear if that's you, it's not a funny joke! You've clearly gone insane living out here!"

Still nothing answered him.

Swallowing thickly, Anti could then see it in the distance. Green eyes looking back at him through the trees.

"Hello?" Yes, this didn't feel right at all.

"Antisepticeye" a low voice came from the creature in the darkness. Anti instinctively took a step back as it moved in the shadows.

Closer and closer.

"Trying so hard to be the good guy. . . . when we both know you'll only ever be nothing but a villain. The bad guy."

As the creature stepped closer in the snow, Anti realized it was a man. He was dressed in familiar red and black clothing with blue on his stomach and face.

Anti released a breathe he hadn't realized he had been holding but shuddered instead, "J-jackie?"

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"DO NOT TELL ME HOW TO PUT MY MACHINE TOGETHER!!" Henrik screamed at Google for the millionth time.

"I am only stating that those parts really should not go there-"

Henrik waved a wrench in his face, "And I told YOU, to just do as I say! I know vhat I am doing!"

The doctor kicked a scrap of metal out of anger only to groan a second later.

Dr. Iplier watched the scene in concern but really, there wasn't anything he could do. He knew nothing of what his friend was doing. He was strictly a medical doctor. 

However, he did his best and went to get him a cup of coffee to perhaps calm his nerves.

Marvin used whatever spells and magic he could to make the process of building the machine faster but there was only so much he could do. He could only follow Henrik's command. He'd float the parts in the air and weld them into place for him but the doctor was starting to get anxious and worried.

"Ah that don't go there! Dammit! Vait! Maybe that is vhat went there? That has to be it" he was mumbling to himself, concerning EVERYONE.

Jackie still had Dark's body tied to a chair in the living room. He even had him handcuffed with the same cuffs Marvin had created to keep Anti contained. Hopefully it would work the same with Dark's abilities as well. But then again, they weren't exactly working with a mortal or physical being. Honestly, they didn't know what they were dealing with AT ALL.

'That brat better get to Dark soon. Marvin looked concerned after he stopped talking with Anti earlier. Hopefully we won't have to worry about him fading if Henrik gets this thing ready soon'

It all made perfect sense to Jackie now why Henrik always stayed late at work and never slept. He was being driven by his desires to see his deceased daughter again. Jackie's heart ached for his brother, knowing it nearly destroyed him. It hurt him, too. He was the hero, after all. He was supposed to save people. Get there in time. Make sure people were safe and happy.

To find out that Olivia had  . . . . . it hurt him, too, and since then, Jackie dove into his hero work ten-fold. He was around his family less. Especially after Chase's absence. He had tried finding him for months only to give up. Another thing he had failed on.

There was one thing he never failed on, though.

He could always count on Anti to stir up trouble. And Jackie was always there to stop him. Is that when Jackie started to feel less of a failure? Even when Anti grinned after being caught, it still felt like a win.

"How much longer do you think, Hen?" Sean walked back in the room with Mark and Amy. They were trying to give the doctor some space to work but time was ticking and the others were getting antsy. Especially Yandere and Wilford. Yancy kept glaring off into the living room watching in case Dark made a move. King started lathering peanut butter all over his face to keep calm. Bing was trying to distract Chase by having him show him some trickshots. And Illinois couldn't stop pacing around bickering about too little going on.

The house was absolutely maddening.

Henrik glared at Sean with an evil eye, "It vill be done when I say it is done! Google! Connect the red wire here! Marvin! Weld that piece here! Ve still need a strong battery as vell. . . ."

Mark sighed mostly to himself, "This is all my fault"

Amy nudged him, "Don't say that. No, it's not"

"Yeah it is. If I hadn't called Sean about Anti then maybe done of this would have happened? Or maybe if I had tried to spend more time around Dark he could have trusted me more? I don't know"

"You know that's a load of bullshite, Mark" Sean rolled his eyes, "Anti being locked away into the void had nothing to do with you. I wanted to put him in there anyway at the time for something else he had done. And it wouldn't have mattered if you spent days around Dark. He had a voice in his head constantly telling him lies and manipulating him."

Amy agreed, "See? It doesn't help that Dark might just be more stubborn than you. Really, this was all inevitable. But I'm sure that once this is all over, Dark will come around. He knows, now, who to trust"

"We hope he does" Mark scoffed. He was about to go on when his phone buzzed.

"It's Ethan." he answered the phone, "Hey man. Yeah, no sorry. No Unus Annus vid-making today. I'm a bit busy at the moment. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow maybe.  . . . yeah, no, that brand is okay. We can use that for another video.  . . . yeah get the purple one. Bye."

After he hung up, Sean stared at him wondering what the fuck he was talking about but Mark just shrugged, "Typical Unus Annus vid. You'll have to watch to find out, man"

Back in the living room, Jackie's attention had been disturbed by Mark's phone going off.

He didn't see Dark's hand twitch ever so slightly.

-8888888888888888888888888888888888888888-

"Jackie?"

The man in front of him grinned almost devilishly, "You're not fooling anyone"

Anti growled at him, "No. You're just an illusion. You're not real. Damien said this would happen."

"And he just flung you out here on your own, didn't he?"

Anti clenched his fists, "You're not real. G̷e̶t̶ ̴o̸u̶t̴ ̶o̶f̴ ̷m̶y̶ ̴w̴a̶y̸"̷ he tried to walk around him but it grabbed his shoulder and punched him hard in the back.

"Grah!" He fell into the snow with a groan and glanced up at the impostor with disdain, "For something that's just in my head, you fooking hit like him."

"That's because I AM him. Your envision of him" Jackie's 'clone' remarked, "Deep in your mind, you KNOW he's stronger than you. You'll never get past me. Just give up now, glitch bitch"

Anti pulled himself back up to his feet, "F̴o̵o̸k̴ ̷o̸f̴f̵.̶"̵ he tried leaving again only for the thing to stop him once more, "Why are you so intent on saving him? What's he ever done for you?"

"You know the answer to that already. You're just in my head, remember?" he smirked with sass.

'Jackie' lunged to hit him again but Anti dodged quick, "Why are ̵Y̷O̴U̶ ̵so intent on stopping me!? Unless you're the void yourself!?"

"I'm not" he went to attack Anti again but the glitch dodged in time so he hit a tree behind him instead. The man punched the tree so hard, his hand broke through the wood, sending the tree to come down, slamming into the snow.

A cloud of snow whisked around them and Anti tried to use that to his advantage to get away but this Jackie was fast slammed himself into him into a nearby boulder.

Anti coughed up a little blood and his form buzzed in and out at the strength of the attack but he wouldn't be beaten yet, ̸"̷Y̸o̴u̵ ̸h̴i̶t̸ ̴l̸i̷k̷e̸ ̵a̷ ̵b̴i̴t̴c̷h̷"̷ he croaked out.

A look of fury stabbed into him and Anti actually regret his sass for once. 'Jackie' pulled him away from the boulder a tad only to slam him harshly back into it, cracking and breaking it.

Repeatedly, Jackie pulled his fist back and punched him, making sure Anti felt every remorse for his words. When he stopped for a moment, Anti was breathing heavily but he was tough. He'd been through worse fights with Jackie.

"Why are you d-doing this? Trying to stop m-me?"

'Jackie' held no emotion in his eyes. He looked like a mere puppet. The thought scared Anti but the thing just hummed to him, "Because this is your doing. And you know it. Deep inside you don't want to save Dark. Deep inside, you're constantly debating with yourself on turning back or not. Deep inside, you know you deserve this"

Anti understood then, "You're my conscious."

"I'm your fears. All your worries and anxiety put into one."

"Why the fook do you look like Jackie?" Anti stumbled as the thing let him go a little.

"You know why. You just don't want to admit it" he smirked.

Anti snarled, F̴o̵o̸k̴ ̷o̸f̴f̵.̶"̵! I'm not afraid of Jackie! He's the hero! He'd N̸E̵V̶E̵R̶ hurt me!"

"And yet here we are. You're right, he IS the hero. And you are always the villain. And what do heroes do to the bad guys, Anti?"

He grit his teeth, resisting the creature's words, "They try and turn them. Try and make it so they can redeem themselves."

'Jackie' suddenly gripped his arm and flung him into a tree, splitting the bark slightly, "WRONG! The hero puts the villain in their place and takes all the glory! The villain can never be good! The villain can never be happy or have anything they want even if it's just friends! You know this! You've been THROUGH this!" it was as if this version of Jackie had suddenly switched roles and was trying to convince him that the hero was 'bad'.

"You're wrong! I've ̶F̶O̸U̸N̸D̴ ̶friends! People who care about me-"

"You know they don't really care about you. They're still afraid of you. After all you've done to them, you think they can just forgive and forget?!"

Anti couldn't think of anything to say right away and 'Jackie' continued.

"You've hurt them all so much. You've killed, Anti. You've stolen, mugged, tortured, hurt people and created chaos just for the fun of it. And just because you save a few kids, you think they just forgive everything else?"

"It's more than that" Anti tried to argue.

"Oh really?" 'Jackie' hummed low in his ear, "What else have you done to deserve their love, Anti? What? You think making a sacrifice will do anything to lift your reputation? You think saving Dark will make you a hero? You'll never be the hero, Anti."

"I don't care. I don't want to be! Now get the fook out of my head and out of my way, already! I̸'̶m̶ ̸s̴i̴c̵k̵ ̷o̴f̸ ̸y̵o̴u̶r̴ ̸f̵o̸o̴k̷i̷n̵g̷ ̵b̶a̸n̵t̴e̵r̴ ̶s̶h̵i̸t̵e̶!̶"̵

"You're already out of time, glitch! You might as well give up now and go back to the cabin with Damien! At least you'll have a few more hours here of peace before the void wakes up and comes to eradicate you!"

Anti closed his eyes and took a deep breathe.

"Hey! What are you doing!? Look at me!"

But he didn't. He kept his eyes closed, "You said it yourself. You're not real. You're just all my negative emotions and worries. To get rid of you I just have to. . . . . think positively."

"You won't win" Anti could hear its snarl and feel its breathe near him.

"I will win."

"You won't get to him. Not in time, at least"

"Yes I will. I'll get both Dark and I out of here alive"

"He's only ever manipulated you and used you to his own whim and gains. You are nothing to him."

Ant was silent for a moment and took a deep breathe again, "He showed me how to be human even if he didn't even realized it himself. It's thanks to him I can FEEL. Now it's my turn to show him he can, too."

It was silent except for the breathing and Anti continued, "Even if he hates me for it. . . . .  I have to do this. Because I wouldn't be who I am today if not for him. Even if he had molded it with distrust and hate afterwards. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he wouldn't do the same for me. It just means I'm better than that and that I've changed for the better. I will save him"

When he opened his eyes, 'Jackie' was gone. The boulder was intact and no trees were knocked down. 

He no longer hurt from 'Jackie's' attacks and he wasn't bleeding and bruising. He didn't even feel the cold anymore.

Anti took another breathe and went to lean his hand on a tree only for it to fall through! He gasped in fear at first but once he glitched, his arm became solid again.

A lump formed in Anti's throat, 'Fuck. I'm wasting too much time out here! I have to hurry, dammit!'

"You better fooking appreciate me after this, ̵y̴o̸u̴ ̵a̸r̷s̸e̵h̴o̶l̵e̴"̶ ̵he mumbled to himself and trudged forward.

He was still a mile out from the frozen lake.