Anti and Marvin just stared at each other for a while both equally as confused.

"Y-you . . . ." Ant tried mustering out, "You shut the door . . . . . from over there"

Marvin practically gulped like a cartoon character. He was excited but he didn't want Anti to go running telling everyone what just happened.

Looking around for anyone else in the hall, Marvin strut over to take Anti's hand, "Let's go to my room"

Anti couldn't even break out of his grasp, letting the magician drag him. He couldn't really tell what his emotions were at the moment.

When they got to Marvin's room, he shut the door behind them, letting Anti go. But still neither knew quite what to do or say.

Marvin stroked his scruff habitually and groaned. He wanted to talk but couldn't think of anything to say.

Anti snapped out of his shock and stared at Marvin curiously, "I . . . I thought . . . Henrik said you didn't actually HAVE magic"

Marvin swallowed and ran his hand through his hair before coming up closer to Anti and placing his hands on his shoulders, "Anti . . . you have to promise me you won't tell the others"

"Wh . . . what!? Why!? Marvin . . you can do actual magic! You could go up against the weird septic ego reject dude!"

Marvin wanted to laugh at Anti's nickname for the mystery ego but kept himself serious.

"No, listen, Anti" Marvin shook him lightly, "I can't."

"But why not? You did that to the door-"

"And tomorrow I won't be able to. Look, I can't explain it. Sometimes I have it and sometimes I don't. But you can't tell the others, alright? They'll either think I'm crazy or just trying to get attention. Okay?"

Anti's face fell but he understood his friend's concerns, "Alright. I promise. But wasn't it so cool, though!?"

Marvin grinned and laughed, letting his shoulders go, "Well yeah!"

"Can you do something else? Maybe move that book over there?" Anti pointed at a book on his bed.

"I can try" he shrugged and reached his hand out for the book. To their delight the book floated just slightly, hovering a few inches off the sheets. Marvin held his breathe. He could feel Anti's wonder at it and it made his heart flutter.

This is what he missed. He missed this so much.

Suddenly the book fell back down and Marvin's hand shuddered, feeling exhausted.

"You okay?"

Marvin nodded, "Yeah, it's just . . . . I think that was it"

"What?! No, no! That can't be it!" Anti was disappointed but didn't want to push him. But then again, he wanted to see so much more.

The mystery man that kidnapped him the other day had magic in him but it was so much different. His was sinister. Dark.

And Marvin's . . . . well it was magical. So uplifting, practically glittering with joy. It was like being high, not that Anti would know what that felt like. Or rather, would remember.

Marvin sighed and straightened, walking over to his desk. Anti watched as he took out a wand.

"What's that?"

"A wand"

"Well yeah but . . ." he really wasn't sure what he was asking about it. He used magic with his hands. What did he need the wand for?

"Anti . . . I'm gonna tell you something important no one else knows. Again, I'm going to ask you to keep this a secret between us."

He glitched a little, sensing how much the magician was serious. Why was he so serious? What did he know? There was something odd about this.

"Okay, Marv. I swear it."

Marvin walked back over to him, wand in hand, "If we weren't in danger of a murderous ego, I wouldn't be showing you at all. But you have something to do with it. I can't just keep it to myself anymore. Although . . . ." he sighed again.

Anti remained quiet, listening to Marvin, intent on hearing what he had to tell him. What was it that he could tell HIM about but not the others? Why keep it all to himself?

"I don't remember much myself. I made myself forget a long time ago. For reason, I suppose. I DO have magic. . . . or did. It disappeared along with my memories and I don't know why. This wand. . . . I used to use it all the time when practicing spells. I kept it as a memorabilia so at least I'd never forget who I was and what I could do"

"So you could always do magic?"

Marvin made a noise of confirmation.

"So Henrik and everyone was wrong. But . . . why do they think otherwise of you?"

Marvin twirled the wand in his hand and went over slowly to plop in his bean bag chair. Anti came over with him. It was clear Marvin didn't want to answer but he knew he had to.

"Because I made THEM forget, too. But not you. You always knew. Don't know why you never told anyone though"

"Why . . . why make the others forget? Why make them think you . . . that you couldn't do something so cool?"

Marvin snorted, "That's the thing, Anti . . . . I don't know. I can't remember. One of my specialties, I guess was messing with the mind. Funny, huh? Perhaps I did it to protect them"

"Hm" Anti sat in the other bean bag with him, legs splayed out dramatically, "Well fat lot of good that does us now, doesn't it?"

Marvin raised his brow at him but Anti stared back not phased in the least.

"What if this creep attacks us? What will we do then, Marv? We need to figure out how to get your magic back permanently."

"It's not that easy, Anti." Marvin rolled his eyes, "You see those books over there?"

Anti looked over to where Marvin pointed. Oh yes. Anti had been wondering what all those books were for. There were three large bookcases FULL of books ranging from all sizes and colors. The bookcases reached almost to the ceiling with multiple shelves. It was nearly daunting just how many books he had.

"Yeah?"

"I've read all of them and still I haven't found any answers. They are all books based off of magic of all kinds. But one thing I've learned is that magic isn't something that comes and goes. It's a part of you. What that means is that my magic shouldn't even be working like this. Running out and just appearing out of nowhere."

"Have you read any books on maybe how to get your memory back?"

Marvin froze but rolled his eyes, "What's the point if I can't use magic to bring it back?"

Anti shrugged, "Whenever you DO get it back in the spurts you do . . . ."

Marvin was pissed at himself that he didn't think of it himself, "Then I could use a spell on myself to HELP myself"

"Exactly"

"Fuck, Anti, for someone missing half their brain, you're pretty smart!" the magician snickered.

Anti looked offended but jokingly shoved him, "Fook off, ya witch bitch! You're just mad I thought of it first!" he grinned and they laughed, feeling slightly better about the situation. Marvin was at least a bit more hopeful.

"I should organize and take out all my books dealing with memory and the mind. . . . . want to help me?"

Anti's heart lifted, excited he'd have something so interesting to do. At least for a little while, "Yeah!" he bolted for the bookcases, practically ripping them off the shelves, completely forgetting about what had happened earlier between him and Jameson.

"Be careful! You don't know if any of them could be harmful, you dolt!"

Sometime Before the Fire

Anti sat on his mattress, watching the TV.

Specifically, he was watching Marvin. He always found it fascinating what the magician could do but now that his magic was gone, it was almost sad how much he tried and failed to bring it back.

Marvin resorted to card tricks because every once in a while, he could do it successfully, tricking his own mind that he didn't just slight of hand himself. It was sad.

Anti actually wished Marvin could bring his magic back. Maybe then they'd be able to kill him.

Yeah, Anti was just done with it all. He didn't want to do this anymore. He hated it so much. He didn't care how many times the man said he owed him.

So what, he helped get him out of Sean's mind? At what cost?

Was it all really worth it?

And now he was his 'pet', doomed to do anything and everything the bastard wanted. At first it was simple things such as stealing money from ATMs and bank accounts. Fucking with people's heads. Messing with the other Septic egos and fucking around with Sean's videos.

And now the man wanted to kill them all. But since Anti fucked that up, he wanted Anti to go after something else.

The kids.

Anti wasn't heartless but then again, he didn't have much of a choice. This man could do anything he wanted to him and Anti wouldn't be able to stop him.

But at least the other Septic egos could fight back. There was Anti's excuse.

The kids couldn't fight back. Anti felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

He flicked his finger, switching the channel and he saw Chase visiting his kids and ex-wife. Anti hated himself at how jealous he was seeing the man so happy. The last time he saw him was when he tried possessing him. He almost made him kill himself but he backed out at the last second, allowing Chase to rip away the gun out of his mouth.

His master wasn't happy with him that day, and drove a knife into his throat again.

Every time he failed, he'd refresh the scar.

He got used to the feeling.

But now he wasn't giving him another shot. Anti watched the kids in the screen giggling and smiling with their father.

Anti switched the channel again and it landed on Henrik. The doctor was a difficult case. He was the last ego he tried to go after but couldn't go through with it. It seemed Henrik still had the red marks on his skin from when Anti tried strangling him with the stethoscope but it wasn't so bad.

The doctor was on the computer, face-timing his own ex-wife and kids. Anti's heart hurt seeing that. Even though the doctor was so invested in his work all the time, he always tried to make time for his kids. After the divorce, he tried rectifying his ways, seeing how much it costed him.

His wife wouldn't take him back but that was okay. All Henrik needed to keep sane was his kids.

Even after every call, he'd take out his vodka and cry himself to sleep at his desk, angry at all his own errors.

Anti hurt so much for what his master wanted him to do. He didn't want to do it.

He had one other option.

He had a piece of paper in his hand and a dull pencil. A bottle under his bed filled with pills he stole from someone in another apartment in his building. Sleeping pills.

Anti sat hovering over the paper and started writing. He shook and could barely write it and his panic took over. He didn't want to do it. Maybe he could end it. But what if his master wouldn't let him? He was so scared.

But he really was so sorry.

Back to the present

Dark sat at his desk still very confused as to what happened the other day in his office. He couldn't explain it.

He hadn't seen Anti in so long and then all of a sudden he drops in like that only to quickly glitch off?

He looked so afraid, too.

Dark didn't blame him, really. He should have been afraid to see him but something was different about him.

He looked like a scared animal.

There was a knock suddenly at his door, snapping Dark out of his thoughts, "Yes? Come in"

Google opened the door and stepped inside, "Dark. I believe I have found something that could link to Anti's weird appearance the other day. I printed off these reports for you to look over"

He handed Dark the papers and the leader ego nodded to him, "Good. Thank you, Google. That will be all."

Google left, closing the door behind him and Dark sifted through the files after putting on his glasses to read.

His eyes narrowed in confusion though, "A fire? Hm. . . . ."

The more he read, the more he understood. The files Google had retrieved were in no way legally obtained but necessary for the search. Hospital files of a certain patient involved in an apartment fire.

Then Dark got to the part that really interested him and he removed his glasses, "Amnesia. . . . . . I suppose that explains it"

Straightening up the papers, Dark sighed, still thinking, 'But why appear in my office of all places? Coincidence? I suppose the circumstances explain why he looked frightened and confused. Do the other Septic egos know?'

He shook his head, 'Of course they do. These files are from the same hospital that the doctor works at.'

Dark thought back to when he first encountered Anti.

He didn't look too enthused to be in the void. Like he didn't even want to be there to begin with. But he still tried attacking him.

His interests had peaked.

Perhaps he should check in on this?