Chase looked over the scene in horror.

He wasn't prepared for this. None of them were.

The fear in everyone's eyes. In her's.

His body was shaking in fear but also something else.

Rage boiled over inside of him and he pulled out his gun.

Earlier that day

Mia was sipping some coffee at the table, relishing the flavor.

She was a bit different than the others when it came to coffee. Where her brothers preferred their coffee black with maybe a little sugar, Mia loved hers with a bunch of flavored cream and sugar. Plus the coffee was flavored, too! Mostly she loved either vanilla or caramel flavorings and man, did she get a lot of crap for it.

Especially from Henrik.

He sat across from her this morning shaking his head at her drinking his own coffee, "I'm pretty sure that level of sugar in zhe morning is NOT good for you"

She playfully flipped him off, "Hey, I don't bug YOU for drinking literally a gallon of straight coffee a day, Schneep. Bug off"

He rolled his eyes, "Vell, this is why you don't lose wei-"

"Hey! What you guys talking about over here!?" Jackie broke in the conversation. He knew Henrik was blunt and he didn't want Mia's feelings to be hurt. Henrik wouldn't mean to be an ass but . . . . it certainly would sometimes come across that way.

Mia was suspicious but took another gulp of her coffee, "Nothing . . . . hey, I heard from Sean you're gonna be doing some acting for that video coming up? You excited?"

Jackie grinned and stood up straight and proud, "Yeah! It'll be my first video in a long while! I'm kind of nervous, actually about what everyone will think."

"Aw, they'll love ya"

He laughed happily, "Anyway, I don't know why you're asking ME, won't you be coming, too?"

Mia blinked at him, "Well . . . I wouldn't think so. Sean's never needed me in his videos"

Jackie blushed, "Well, I mean . . just in case .. . we wanna do some stunts or something"

" .. . .. oh" Mia shrugged, "I . . I don't know. Sean hasn't told me anything. Probably not, then"

"Oh . . . okay then"

An uncomfortable silence wafted through the air of the room.

"Fucking hell, that was awkward" a new voice popped in.

They looked around to see Anti at the door way smirking. It was obvious he had just rolled out of bed, his hair in disarray and stale crusty blood still caked on his throat.

Mia grimaced, "Ew, you couldn't have showered before coming down?"

Anti huffed, "My shower drain is filled . . . with fucking GLITTER . . . STILL. I swear you dumped a JUG of the shite on me"

"oh"

"OH!" Anti rolled his eyes, "So much fucking glitter . . . ." there was reminiscent horror in his eyes as he stared off at a wall.

Marvin came up from behind him chuckling, "I could clean your drain for ya"

Henrik face palmed, "Marvin . . . .. no"

"Ew, man. Come on" Jackie also groaned in disgust.

Marvin gave THEM a disgusted look, though, "What? No, really. I found a spell for that. . . freaks."

Mia just giggled at the absurdity.

None of them knew Jameson was behind Marvin having heard the entire conversation. The poor brit was blushing like mad near passing out. It was too early in the morning for their chaotic talk!

Anti rolled his eyes and walked the rest of the way in the kitchen, going directly on over to the coffee machine to fix himself a cup. He had never been down this early before, though, so no one had actually seen him drink coffee.

They figured it was pretty normal though . . .until Anti pulled out Mia's creamer and pure sugar, dumping them haphazardly into the coffee.

"So that's who's been using my shit" Mia mumbled to herself, "I thought Jameson was getting a sweet tooth"

Jameson just shook his head and went to prepare his tea.

Anti blew on the coffee and drank a huge gulp before moaning weirdly at the taste and shivering, "Ooooo . . that's the good shit"

Jackie nudged Mia, "At least we know now you're not the only one in this house who's a sugar-addict."

"Fuck off, Jackie"

Henrik swat her with a newspaper he was reading, "Language at the table!"

But she just chuckled, "You're such a dad"

"Speaking of dads!" Marvin piped up, jumping into his chair, his feet where his butt was supposed to go, "Chase is coming over sometime today! He texted me!"

Mia shot up, "Round eleven?"

Marvin laughed, "ROUND . . . ELEVEN"

They all looked rather concerned.

Except Anti. He seemed very confused.

"What?"

Henrik groaned rather loudly, "Uuuuughh . . . I'll be downstairs. I'd expect none of your disasters to breach my space. Is that clear?"

"I'm with ya there" Jackie popped up, "I'll be in my gym when he gets here. Not getting in the middle of THAT again"

"Of what?" Anti asked again.

"Remember?" Marvin topped off his coffee for him, softening him up a bit for the day, "We told ya that Chase is only ever allowed to do any pranks here at the house? Mia and him go all out with them when they're around each other. The only reason they didn't the other day was because you were around and it was Sean's birthday"

"Hm" Anti just nodded and sipped more of his coffee, "Well count me out of that shite as well. I'm not in the mood today. My neck's bleeding like a bitch, my drain keeps spitting up glitter, I need a shower and apparently I'm crazy" he gave Marvin and Jackie a knowing look.

Apparently they hadn't told the others of their little . . . . . adventure into Anti's mind.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Mia snuffed him, "You're probably no fun with pranks anyway"

"Excuse you?" he set his mug down, "I just so happen to be BETTER than all of you. Your pathetic attempts are just too weak to match up against MY fun"

Jackie grunted, "Isn't your idea of fun . . .. murder?"

"What?" Anti didn't see the problem with that, "A nonlethal stab isn't hilarious? It is to ME"

"Of course it is" Marvin rolled his eyes, "Why don't you just stay up in your room, bud?"

Anti scoffed but grumbled to himself, walking out of the room.

The Septics looked around at each other oddly but carried on conversation when Anti was out of ear-shot.

'He can't be too serious about that, can he?' Mia wondered, 'Nah, surely he was just messing around with us'

"SUP BITCHES, I AM HERE!!" Chase broke his way into the house with a big smile on his face, "WHERE'S MIA?! I need to make sure we're good for the games today! Marvin, you told her, right?!"

Marvin tried to stop himself from laughing, "Dude, you look like a Nerf Rambo"

Chase had nerf guns decorating his body from head to toe, a green bandana around his forehead, a light saber on his back and a backpack full of what Marvin assumed to be prank gags.

"You're fucking right, bro" Chase nodded seriously, "It's time to settle the score. We're tied and I intend to break the tie today with our ROUND ELEVEN! Where's she at?!"

Jameson was on the couch quietly reading a book, 'Probably in the vents, knowing her'

Chase grinned, "I knew she was sus. . . . . ." for a moment he broke out of character, "Oh by the way, can you let Hen know that the kids want him to come to their school for career day? They thought he'd be the coolest to show off"

Marvin made a face and scoffed, "WHAT?! The . . . the COOLEST!? THE AUDACITY! What the hell, Brody!? I thought you taught them better?!"

Chase just shrugged, "Kallie wants to be a doctor! What can I say to that? Tell her NO!?"

"YES!"

Chase gave him a look but waved him off, "I'm gonna go find Mia and start our war. You guys stay safe. See ya later"

"Yeah, whatever"

'Have fun! Try not to take it too far!'

"Alright so we're good? Ready to go?" Mia jumped excitedly.

Chase nodded erratically, "Yeah! This is gonna be so good! I brought TONS of shit to win!"

"Well I got tons MORE! Be prepared to lose, Brody!"

"You fucking wish, sis!"

"Oh, wait! What's the safe-word this time?"

Chase shook his head in disappointment, "I should have never taught you about those. . . . . but how about pineapple?"

"Okay!" she bounced, "Ready?"

Chase grinned wickedly, "I'll start downstairs. Get set"

She slammed the door to her room in his face, "GO~ BITCH!"

Chase bolted down the stairs and readied himself. He had been preparing for this round for months and it was finally time. He knew all her tricks and techniques by now.

Or so he thought.

All they had to do was not get caught in the other's prank.

Anti was curious, though. He had never seen a 'prank war' and was wondering about what it would consist of if not murder.

'I'd pay money to see Brody get bombed with glitter'

He was in Mia's TV watching her run around frantically. Truth be told, he had already been watching her before Chase arrived. It was amusing to see her plan and grin deviously, thinking she was on to something. He couldn't see what she was working on but by her giggling, he knew it had to be something good.

'I gotta watch this go down'

He wasn't one for being around people but watching them suffer was his jam. Maybe he'd be into something like this.

'I wonder why the others aren't as fascinated by this war. It certainly is unorthodox but at least it's something. I bet the doctor is just dissecting a frog as per usual and the hero is just working out in his little gym.'

He suddenly smirked, getting an idea in his head.

'What if I. . . .. . unexpectedly joined in the fun?' his grin widened just thinking about it, his canines as sharp as knives, 'Pineapple, huh? Pathetic if you ask me. . . . A real war doesn't have safe-words'

Without another thought, Anti glitched out of Mia's TV and went around the house watching everyone else. He had to know exactly where everyone was and what they were doing for this to work.

This was going to be fun. He thought so, anyway.

Jackie heard Chase arrive an hour ago but he groaned to himself, hearing the laughter in the other room, "I love Chase but fucking hell their pranks get out of hand"

Marvin was snacking on popcorn watching him lift weights just in case he hurt himself or went too far, "Yeah, remember the time when Mia had me make a color-dye bomb and it dyed Chase's entire body green for a week? Stacey was NOT happy with me"

"Yeah, her and Mia have always been close. Stace would never blame Mia for anything. But yeah . . and what about that time, though, when Chase cut Mia's hair? Remember that? Sean came UNGLUED and had you regrow it"

Marvin nodded, "It's becoming apparent that I'm involved in a lot of their pranks"

"Yeah . . .maybe you should stop enabling them"

The magician just shrugged and stuffed more popcorn in his mouth, "They're adults"

Jackie just scoffed, "Are they?"

"Oh don't even! You enable Mia just as much!"

Jackie huffed again, "No, I don't"

"Dude, you let her get away with SO much. Not that everyone doesn't know why"

Jackie put his weights down and sat up to stare at him, "What? What do you mean by that?"

Marvin picked at his teeth for kernels, "Jackie, you have her use her powers on you almost every day."

"So do you!"

"Yeah, but I ask politely and if she's having a good day already. Maybe like once a week or whatever"

"We just did that other thing yesterday. Looking into . . . you know . . Anti's head?"

"Like I said. . . . once a week. Whatever."

"Okay? So what? She's never said anything about it before that it bothers her. It's what her powers are for anyway"

Marvin nearly choked on his popcorn, "Dude! The fuck?"

Jackie covered his face and went red, "Wait! No . . that's not what I meant! Marv!" he groaned to himself, "You KNOW that's not what I meant"

Marvin nodded with a hum, "Hmm . . . . I guess . . . I guess it's just us two that have her do it. Maybe it's . .not as bad as I'm thinking"

But Marvin's words sort of burned in Jackie's head. Did she maybe really not like it? No, that would never be true, right? She knows she's protecting us by doing it, right?

He was tempted on going and checking on her. It was pretty quiet now so maybe the worst of the pranks were over.

Both Marvin and Jackie froze, however, when they heard a gun-shot.

Henrik had just come up the stairs from his lab with Jameson when he saw it happen.

His heart raced and he stood frozen. He didn't know what to do. It was rare for him to freeze up like this but here he was.

His PTSD was shaking him, making him unable to move.

Jameson was no better but he had a different memory to go by.

That laughter hanging in the air.

The knife glistening in the light just before coming down to spill blood.

Mia had come down the stairs into the living room a few minutes ago but there was no sign of Chase.

'He's hiding. He thinks he's sneaky' bur really, she couldn't deny that he was. She had no idea where he was hiding.

She had learned everything she knew from HIM, after all and the others hated Chase for it.

Currently, Mia was hiding behind the couch in the living room. There was a lot of space behind the couch but she knew he wasn't there. She was too close to the wall and she would have seen him by then.

No, he was somewhere, though.

Mia had a plan.

If she could lure Chase out in the open, he would come into the living room and she'd pelt him with balloons filled with glue and feathers. She already noticed the prank he was trying to pull on her.

There were cookies on the coffee table in the living room. Just all on a plate by themselves. Looking chocolatey and delicious. She wasn't a fool, though. She knew they most likely had laxatives in them.

'Nice try, Brody but I won't fall for the same trick twice!'

Little did she know, however, that Chase had other aces up his sleeve. He was hiding in the pantry in the kitchen but he had set up a camera in the living room in the flower vase. He knew exactly where she was and could see her holding a basket full of 'water' balloons. What Mia didn't know was that the cookies were a ploy. The real prank was in his nerf guns. They were water guns and he had filled them up with a pink dye that would instantly dye her skin and even hair on contact. He had bribed Marvin over a month ago for something like it and it was certain that not even the magician remembered it at all.

But either way . . . one of them had to make a move. They were just stuck there in a stand-still. Both of them unwilling to move an inch in case they set off each other's prank.

Meanwhile, Anti didn't exactly know what the two had planned for each other but he didn't care. He had his own mischievous plans.

All he knew was Mia was in the living room and Chase was in the pantry. He had figured that out and no one else was around to interfere.

All he wanted to do was make them open fire on each other in some way in what they each had planned. Then that way, he could say neither of them won their silly final round of prank wars.

But HE'D win and that was all that mattered to the glitch.

He had to make them lose it. Startle them to a point for them to act out.

His plan was simple but he knew it'd be effective. He just didn't realize HOW effective.

Mia felt something cold in the air. Something felt . . weird but she shrugged it off. Perhaps there was just a draft where she was hiding.

But suddenly the lights started to flicker in the house and it was just cloudy enough outside that it made the whole house significantly darker!

She tensed up and froze but stood up with her basket, looking around widely. She could hear frantic movement. But no matter how much she wanted to shout out the safe-word at that moment ... she didn't.

'I'm braver than that! I got this!' she hated the dark but she hated losing more.

The lights snapped back on abruptly and there Chase was just about ten feet in front of her just as surprised looking.

They just acted and Chase shot her with the dye and she pelted him with the balloons! It was all out panicked throwing and acting without thought or reason. At the same exact time.

They were just about to stop immediately after, though when the lights flickered again and shut off.

"oH SHIT!" Mia shouted.

Chase tensed and held his water gun closer, "Mia?! This you!?"

"No, why?! Isn't it you!?"

"nO!"

"hEHEHEHEHEHEHhehehe"

They both halted all movement. Both covered in weird liquids, scared and freaked out.

Suddenly the lights flashed back on but nobody was prepared for what happened next.

Anti thought he'd get to laugh at them and announce HIS victory over them and relish their defeat over their special little war.

He was totally unprepared for them both to just act and pelt HIM with the items as well and before either could stop themselves . . . . . Anti was suddenly COVERED . . .. in pink dye and glue with feathers sticking all over his body. Luckily his shirt and arms were only pink but being attacked wasn't Anti's . . .. favorite things.

It only took one look in his eyes for Chase to see they fucked up.

But Mia didn't see it that way and chuckled at Anti, "pFT! W-what you go and do THAT for?! You crazy or something!? If you wanted to be apart of the pranking, you could have just asked!"

Anti started to shake, though and a snapping noise popped in the air. He was starting the glitch uncontrollably and anger rose inside of him from being attacked AND by her words.

"CRaZY . . . . you say? H̴̟̍ê̵̬h̴̫́e̴͓̐h̸͇̀ë̸̢́h̴̤͂e̷͇̔ḧ̷̼́e̵̻̅" Anti clenched his fists and teeth, his jaw nearly breaking at the intensity, "Bitch, you don't know . . .. . c̴̨͂r̴̪̒ä̵͎́z̵̟̀y̸̝̾.̷͉̊ You've just broken this ticking time bomb all up in your face, y̸o̸u̴ ̷s̸t̸u̷p̷i̶d̵,̵ ̶i̶n̵s̶i̸g̴n̴i̷f̴i̶c̵a̷n̸t̸ ̶w̸h̵o̶r̷e̸!̵!̸"̶ ̵his eyes started to glow and he grinned.

But Mia wasn't prepared for the way he smiled at her. It wasn't like his usual smirking or grinning.

No, this was . . . this was downright scary.

She could feel herself getting cold at the sight. Anti made a knife appear in his hands, "Stupid bitch" he laughed at her, "You think . .. you're so .. f̷u̷c̴k̷i̴n̵g̶ ̶F̵U̵N̴N̵Y̵?̷!̸"

He glitched in front of her and put his knife to her throat, "hEHEHEHEH I'll show you funny. . . I'll rip you apart and ̶I̵'̸L̴L̷ ̴B̶E̴ ̴T̴H̷E̷ ̸O̴N̶E̵ ̵L̴A̶U̴G̴H̵I̶N̷G̶!̵!̴!̸!̶!̸ H̸A̸H̸A̶H̵A̷H̴A̶H̷A̸H̷A̷H̶A̴H̷!̸!̸!̶!̷!̶"̷

Mia didn't know how to react. She had never felt this level of fear before and tears prickled in her eyes. She hadn't even realized Henrik and Jameson had just walked into the room. All she saw was the unbridled glee and rage on Anti's face as he pressed the knife harder down on her neck.

Chase looked over the scene in horror.

He wasn't prepared for this. None of them were.

The fear in everyone's eyes. In her's.

His body was shaking in fear but also something else.

Rage boiled over inside of him and he pulled out his REAL gun.

"ANTI! LET HER GO!"

The glitch barely flitted his green eyes in his direction, "You couldn't save each other . . .. . how are you gonna save this d̸u̵m̷b̴ ̸b̷i̶t̴c̴h̴?̷"̸

He pressed the knife harder down just enough for it to nick her and she whimpered at the pain, tears flowing freely down her face. She was unable to speak, afraid any words she said, would cause him to just slice open her throat, killing her.

But Chase wasn't as afraid as the last time he came against Anti. He pulled the trigger, shooting Anti square in the back, making him let go of Mia and bend slightly. Mia fell to the ground, unable to use her legs and just scooted away as much as she was able.

Anti just laughed, "Such a pathetic attempt!" he turned towards Chase, glitching and speaking in that raspy fucked up voice of hi, "Maybe I'll kill you this time . . ̶i̵n̶d̶e̷f̴i̵n̴i̷t̶e̸l̴y̴"̴

Chase whimpered lightly, unnerved that the shot had done NOTHING to the glitch, " . . . . uh . .. . pineapple?"

"̵H̵e̴h̶e̸h̵e̵a̷h̵h̸a̸h̵a̴h̸a̴h̵"̸ Anti took a steps towards him.

But no one was expecting Jackie to come barreling in, punching Anti straight in the face. It was so quick it was a blur but it was enough to knock Anti down into the ground.

Everyone was there by then but Chase was the first to go rushing to Mia to make sure she was alright. The girl couldn't help it, shaking in her brother's arms, letting him hold her.

The father kept her closer and hushed her lightly, "Sh, it's okay. I got ya, kid. I'm here. We all are" she cried into his chest. She knew it was childish of her but she was just so . . . afraid. And here she was supposed to protect THEM? She was supposed to make them stronger. And yet here she was on the floor crying in Chase's chest like one of his kids.

Anti groaned on the floor but shakily got to his hands and knees, "Fucking . . . hell" everything was sort of a blur but he shook it off and looked around.

Something was wrong and he had a feeling he knew why.

Henrik, Jameson, Jackie and Marvin were surrounding Mia a little ways away from him. They all looked equally as scared but also . . angry. Honestly, he had never seen them ALL look so angry like that before.

Anti squinted at them. Really, Jackie's punch might have given him a concussion.

'Bastard really has gotten stronger . .. even without the girl's help'

He couldn't bring himself to be angry about that, though. This time, he hadn't MEANT to lose control.

And this time . . . . .

He looked past them and saw Mia behind them still hugging Chase, her face red and tears streaking down her cheeks, a nick on her throat only slightly bleeding.

'I . . . I did that' he wasn't ignorant. He knew he did but also . . . it was always as if it was someone else in control in those moments. He knew it was him but also . . . usually he was okay with the end result.

Usually.

Why now did he feel . . . so guilty?