'I already wish I would have let Jackie come.' Anti grumbled as he saw the memory in front of him. 

It wasn't his own but it was a weird one. He could feel what Dark was feeling in these moments and honestly it was just strange. Almost bland. Like he felt nothing. Or was trying not to feel anything.

Him and Dark were arguing in the void in this memory. It was before Anti had become corporeal when he himself didn't feel a thing and didn't want to. Anti could now see that his past self was nothing more than a virus.

"̴W̵e̵l̶l̵,̷ ̷y̷o̸u̴ ̸w̸a̵n̷t̷e̷d̵ ̵m̶e̸ ̴h̷e̵r̵e̵!̶ ̴S̷o̴ ̸h̷e̸r̵e̷ ̶I̸ ̸a̴m̷!̴"̵

Anti felt this weird sense of deja vu but it was nothing compared to the weirdness of watching a memory right in front of him. It was like watching IMAX in someone else's perspective.

He felt a few ticks in Dark's head as if he were irritated but there was something else there. An emotion Anti couldn't quite place.

"There isn't room for the both of us here" Dark had said coolly, "In this world, only one of us can be the King"

"̷Y̵o̷u̶'̶r̸e̷ ̸w̸e̸a̵k̶!̷ ̵J̸u̴s̵t̶ ̸l̴i̷k̶e̶ ̷h̴i̵m̷!̵"̸

Anti nearly wanted to roll his eyes. His past self was so ignorant and dramatic, now, he realized. (not that he wasn't STILL dramatic) 

Antisepticeye of the past glitched like mad in and out of insanity. Anti remembered the feeling back then when he didn't have a physical body. He was more sporadic and unstable. 

Meanwhile in his musings, he didn't realize the two were staring at him.

Anti's heart just about stopped but they were still like wax models, even his past version. It as very unsettling but he could still feel Dark's deep thoughts. 

Tiredness. Annoyance. Then there was a sort of feeling he couldn't place. One that was . . . .interested in something?

But what was exactly happening right now? Why were these memories just staring at him like that? As if they KNEW and were actually self-aware? It was so creepy!

Antisepticeye of the past had a slow grin that crawled on his face while Dark's remained blank and unreadable.

Anti swallowed thickly and tried glitching away again only to land within another memory of Dark's.

He was in Raspy Hill Mansion, the house that provided a home to most of the Iplier egos. Anti used to live there after he and Dark made their deal.

The deal was simple. Anti would do as Dark asked and he'd get to hurt and kill. Looking back, of course Anti hated himself but this was still at the time when he didn't feel for others or care about anything except himself.

Antisepticye was messing with a knife in his hand in Dark's office while the other was trying to tell him about his next plan in getting to Mark.

"̵I̴ ̶d̸o̴n̶'̶t̶ ̸s̵e̴e̶ ̷w̵h̵y̷ ̷y̴o̸u̷ ̸d̶o̴n̵'̵t̴ ̵j̷u̶s̸t̷ ̷g̵o̶ ̴i̵n̵ ̷a̸n̵d̴ ̵g̸e̵t̴ ̷i̵t̶ ̸o̸v̶e̵r̷ ̴w̵i̴t̷h̵"̸

Dark huffed at him, "If I did that then everyone will just be on my ass, won't they!? I have to at least make it seem like an accident"

"̶W̷h̷y̸?̵ ̴Just kill everyone who gets in your way. O̷r̶ ̴w̵o̷u̶l̷d̸ ̷y̶o̵u̵ ̵r̶a̷t̸h̶e̴r̵ ̷h̸a̵v̶e̷ ̴m̵e̷ ̴d̶o̵ ̴i̶t̶?̵"̶ ̷he grinned, showing his teeth like a predator.

"You don't get it" Dark rolled his eyes, "The only person I want to kill is Mark. I'd rather no one else get involved. They have nothing to do with my vendetta."

Antisepticeye narrowed his eyes in disgust at him, "You're just as bad those Septic losers. D̷i̷s̶g̸u̵s̴t̴i̶n̵g̵ ̷d̶i̵s̴p̸l̴a̸y̵ ̴o̸f̵ ̷h̴u̷m̸a̵n̵i̴t̴y̴.̵ ̸S̴o̶m̵e̶t̸h̵i̷n̵g̶ ̴I̶ ̴h̴a̵v̷e̵ ̵n̸o̸ ̴u̷s̴e̷ ̶f̷o̸r̸"̴ ̷ he grinned.

Dark hummed, "Really? Because just the other day I saw you gushing over a cat walking across the street. I don't think you can get any more human than cracking over the cuteness of an animal, Anti"

The glitch demon snarled at him, "̴F̶o̷o̸k̵ ̶y̶o̵u̸!̴ ̸ I did no such thing, ̶a̸r̵s̶e̶h̸o̷l̶e̶!̴ ̵I̶ ̷w̵o̴u̷l̶d̷ ̴h̵a̵v̶e̷ ̷g̸u̷t̵t̸e̷d̸ ̴i̵t̸ ̷i̵f̵ ̷I̸ ̴h̷a̴d̵ ̸t̶h̷e̸ ̶c̷h̶a̴n̷c̸e̷!̸"̵

"Yeah, sure." Dark smirked, clearly not believing him.

As Anti watched the scene, he saw himself blushing.

'This is the first time I realized I was starting to think like a human' he bit his lip, 'The next day I started to turn physical.'

He remembered going into a full blown meltdown when he started feeling emotions. It all had hit him at once like a train. He regretted everything he had ever done and wouldn't leave him room for nearly a week. Dark had walked in looking for him to find him on the verge of starvation and dehydrated for the first time. It had been an embarrassing situation but luckily Dark had never brought it up with him.

He felt something in Dark's mind again. A sort of warmth. A fondness? Anti didn't understand how, really or why. His past self was such a nuisance and annoying. Perhaps Dark had a feeling of fondness for him as if he were a loyal puppy? That would make more sense to him.

Anti glitched again out of the memory and into a different one.

This was where he started to see a pattern in where he was going.

Dark was staring at himself in a cracked mirror in his bathroom. He looked worn and tired.

Anti could hear his breathe go ragged and the closer he steadily came up to the man, the sooner he realized . . .. . Dark was crying.

The bathroom was covered in gashes in the walls and Anti knew then that he had had a fit with his auras. Or rather. . . Celine? The void?

But Dark was crying. Anti could feel why. Even though he had never seen this before, he could FEEL it.

'Why are you so stupid, Dark!? Why can't you get it that there's no use in feeling!? You'll only hurt people! That's all you do.' he sobbed as he ran a hand through his black hair.

'You show one sign of weakness. One show of softness and everything goes to hell! You should have known better!' he suddenly punched the mirror, making it crack even more but also making his hand start to bleed.

Anti didn't know exactly what he was doing. He had never seen Dark like this, so broken and . . . .sad. With bated breathe, he carefully put a hand on Dark's shoulder. He was surprised that he could actually touch this memory version of him but that's all it was. A memory. This version of Dark couldn't feel or hear him.

But as Anti kept a hand on him, he could see better what this memory actually was.

Antisepticeye had given him a picture of the two of them shortly after he had become corporeal. They had been smiling in the picture Anti had taken himself. At first Dark was happy with the picture given to him as a gift but that voice in his head lurched inside of him. 

That one shred of happiness he felt was wiped away in an instant as his auras lashed out and attacked, hurting Anti AND a few Iplier egos caught in the fray.

That's why Dark was in the state he was in this memory. 

Anti sighed, 'I didn't understand then. It all makes so much more sense now.' he gripped Dark's suit in his fist, 'Why did you have to go through it all by yourself, Dark? Why couldn't you . ..talk about it? Why didn't you tell me?'

But he knew his thoughts were hypocritical on their own. As if he could say anything when he himself was the same way. Always the lone wolf. So secluded and felt all the pain on his own.

They were both stupid. 

Anti remembered waking up in Dr. Iplier's office at the mansion with stitches on his chest and arm. He remembered feeling stupid. Embarrassed to have done such a thing. He should have known Dark wouldn't care for niceties like that. To feel a friend or kinship for anyone was childish and worthless.

Anti never knew that Dark kept the picture hidden away in his desk drawer and the next time they saw each other, a rift was formed between them. They saw it as an understanding to keep their distance for different reasons.

'There's a pattern in these memories' he thought as he let go of Dark, being warped into another memory. The party.

'I'm involved in all of these. But why? Either he's thinking about me right now or it's simply because I'm HERE. Perhaps it's because we are both the only beings here at the moment and we are sharing memories in the void? I don't know. I'm no scientist'

He could FEEL Dark's turmoil and fear with the memory of the party. The way he just let himself go to the void to do as it pleased.

'I knew it' Anti thought, 'I knew there was something wrong that day.' he shook his head.

"But I can't keep just sifting through these memories like this! There has to be a way to break through to that lake again. He was right there" he talked to himself.

Glitching again, Anti found himself in a sudden slew of memories all around him. They weren't in front of him anymore, they were just all in his head! Anti could sudden feel everything Dark had in the moments they had interacted and he soon found it was just unbearable.

His heart lurched but was that really HIS feeling anymore or Dark's? Every moment Dark felt after the party was just pain. Regret. Anger at himself.

Anti tried his best to pick individual things out from the memory but he couldn't. Everything was so crazy now. The last thing he saw was a cabin. His name was mentioned. And then there was nothing.

'That must be the last memory. The cabin. I need to get there but how!? I can't navigate properly here and I don't have much time!'

"̵W̶h̸a̴t̷  ̸t̷h̸e̴  ̷f̴u̷c̵k̵  ̷d̸o̶  ̴I̸ ̸ d̵o̴!̴?̸"̷ he yelled out, a hand in his hair. The ringing around him was starting to give him a headache.

-8888888888888888888888888888-

The group sort of stared at Dark's body while Henrik was pestering Mark for everything he needed to make a makeshift portal.

"But I don't have a battery strong enough HERE!" Mark groaned, "And I don't have just spare metal lying around! Doctor, I'm starting to think we should have planned this out a little more before just sending Anti into the fray like that!"

"It's not like we have all zhe time in the world, Fischbach! If I can't get what I need here then where!?"

"Will Anti know where we are if we moved?" Sean asked.

"Well I don't see why not" Wilford slurred, "It's not like the void obeys any laws of nature."

"Would the other Iplier egos at Raspy Hill have what we need? It's not far from here" Amy suggested and Mark looked nervous.

"I mean I guess Google or Bing would be able to help but how'd we get Dark's body there? Who wants to carry him?" Mark meant it sarcastically but no one was in the mood for sarcasm.

"I got it" Jackie untied him carefully, still making sure he was actually asleep before gently throwing him onto his shoulder, "Now come on. There's no time to waste."

It took them all about a half hour to drive to the mansion, all the while everyone staring uncomfortably at the unconscious heap.

'This is too weird' Sean thought to himself, 'Wouldn't it have woken up by now? I wonder how hard Marvin hit him with that spell?'

He looked over at Marvin who was still getting pestered by Henrik. His shoulder had stopped bleeding but it didn't look pretty.

It seemed he wasn't the only one thinking the same thing. Jameson signed to Marvin, 'How long will he stay like that do you reckon?'

Marvin stared at Dark's body as well, "Honestly, I don't know. I did hit it pretty hard though. The big reason why I won't be able to get Anti OUT of the void now. But since this thing IS the void taken form . . .  there's no telling with it."

Jackie tapped his foot on the floor of the vehicle, "If it does wake up, how will we know when Anti gets to Dark? Will he just have to wait until Henrik finishes the portal? I don't want him to think we forgot about him, you know. You know how he can get. What the void did to him last time"

Marvin nodded, "I said I couldn't teleport anyone but that doesn't mean I can't use other spells, you know"

Sean stared at him expectantly, "How do you mean? You want to explain?"

"Yeah that'd be real helpful Harry Potter" Mark sassed at the wheel.

Marvin flipped him off, "I might still be able to contact Anti through the mind if nothing else. Talk to him and get up to speed"

"Maybe now would be a good time, yes?" Henrik growled at him, "He's been in zhere for a good half hour now!"

"Yeah I think that's about half a day or so in void measures" Wilford hummed.

"I thought you said the void obeyed no laws of nature?" Sean asked, "Wouldn't that mean time as well?"

Wilford shrugged, "Eh. Your guess is as good as mine!"

Mark slapped his forehead with a groan, "You're killing me, Warfstache"

It was a good thing Amy was driving.

-88888888888888888888888888888888888-

Anti just started to run. He knew it was stupid but he couldn't help but to try. He was trying to get through that weird wormhole he had seen before arriving at the lake and cabin. Nothing was working, however. He even would sometimes glitch as he ran but at one point, he ended back where he started.

Dark's same drawl echoed in the air, "I didn't think you were going to show up"

Before his past self could reply, Anti groaned loudly, "Shut up, already! ̵F̷u̶c̴k̴!̶"̸

The two from the memory didn't pay him any mind, however and kept going.

"̶W̴e̴l̸l̷ ̷y̸o̵u̶ ̵w̴a̶n̴t̶e̷d̴ ̷m̸e̵ ̵h̸e̵r̴e̴,̵ ̸s̵o̴ ̶h̸e̵r̶e̷ ̷I̵ ̷a̸m̶!̵"̵

Anti blocked the rest out.

He thought about that line.

He didn't think it'd make much sense. He had just been talking bullshit back then.

So why did ti make so much sense?

"Do I have to be wanted by him to appear in front of him? Nah that can't be. I was just there before when he looked like a f̶o̶o̷k̸i̶n̷g̴ husk puppet. He wouldn't have known I was even around, right?"

While Anti struggled with his thoughts, he gave a deep sigh. It was beginning to feel pointless at this rate. Perhaps it'd be better if the void woke back up? He knew he was running out of time. He had been in the void for a while now and he could feel himself glitching more and more.

If he didn't hurry he could end up . . . .  the way he was before.

And that couldn't happen. Not again. He refused. He refused to be that soulless monster again.

With a sigh, Anti cracked his neck getting ready to try for it again.

"You're going the wrong way, you know"

Anti froze and turned to see he wasn't alone anymore.

His heart raced and panic started to settle into him. He couldn't move but the person in front of him just smiled.

"Anti! Hey ANTI! You doing alright in there, man?!" 

He was snapped out of the panic with a shout when Marvin's voice blared in his mind unexpectedly.

"̵̨̎T̴̨͗H̴̳͗É̴̺  ̷̦̉F̵̼̕U̴͙͛C̶̼͠Ḵ̴̕ ̸̢͝ I̵̡͌S̴̤͋  ̸̩̏H̸͓̓A̵͖̐P̸̢̿P̴̡͐E̵̥̕Ń̶͈I̸͈͒Ṋ̷͠Ģ̷̛!̶̹͑?̷͇͐"̶̨̃