Anti knew he was dreaming but it wasn't JUST a dream.

Memories. 

Ones he wished he could go back to.

The anxieties of what was to come was getting to him. Weighing down his body and soul. If he had just never met her . . . perhaps none of this would have ever happened.

But then again, it probably would have. . . he just wouldn't be experiencing this pain.

Anti dreamt of some of the best moments he had ever spent with her. Even back when they barely knew one another.

"What do you even do to get this messed up?" Mira laughed at him, "Bruises and cuts everywhere! What am I gonna do with you?"

Anti knew she knew what had happened. Another incident with the Septics. But she chose to play ignorant so he wouldn't think she would scold him.

He still didn't trust her. Not quite yet. Somebody that wanted to be his friend and looked past all his fuck-up and wrong-doings? No. He'd never be that lucky.

"Just fucking hurry up with your pampering or whatever and leave me the fuck alone. I'm busy"

"Busy getting beat up?" she shot back at him, "Please, I'm not stupid."

Anti just watched her reach for some gauze and start to wrap his arm. He wanted to whip away or yell at her.

But something inside of him stopped him. She was looking back at him. Almost DARING him to do it. To fight her. 

Looking into her eyes . . . . . that fire and unexpected dominance she put over him.

Maybe he could admit he li- no. Respected . . . he respected her. 

'Maybe she's alright. Pretty ballsy to look at me like that. Does she know I've killed people for much less?'

Of course she does . . . . she's had to have heard the stories, right?

Mira suddenly shot him out of his musings by ruffling his hair, "You're so silly, looking like that! Looks like you have resting bitch face! It's so cute!"

"I'M NOT CUTE!"

Mira just snorted, laughing and Anti never remembering struggling to NOT kill someone.

After the bus incident, they had gotten significantly closer.

Anti, today, was hanging an arm over Mira's shoulder watching TV while she drew scribbles in her sketchbook. He wasn't really watching her. He was just comfortable being around her. Plus as long as he was with her, the Ipliers couldn't try and kill him.

Specifically, Darkiplier.

Anti glanced at her sketchbook and snorted, "Are you drawing ME or an angry cat? What is that?"

Mira giggled, " . . . you as an angry pussycat"

"Well shit" he looked on a little more, " . . . . that's pretty good. Do Dark next. What's he? A pissy 14 yr old goth  with daddy issues?"

"Don't all goth teens have parental issues?"

"I don't know. I don't have parents"

"Me neither. Just guessing . . ." Mira snorted and flipped to a new page, "I'm gonna draw him as a princess"

Anti lost it, laughing loudly, "Fucking christ! YES! With a tutu! A tutu and a tiara!"

They couldn't stop laughing but at some point, she DID manage to draw her masterpiece.

They pinned it on the kitchen fridge that night and the next morning, they relished hearing Dark's angry shouting.

Anti not living at the Iplier house anymore was weird for Mira but she tried to compensate for her loneliness by visiting him every chance she could at his apartment.

Anti would have found it annoying if he wasn't just as lonely. Plus, he liked her company, he supposed.

"ANTI, I BROUGHT ICE CREAM! LET'S PARTY!"

Anti flinched at her sudden appearance, bursting into his apartment but he quickly realized what happened.

"Fucking HELL, Mira! I've TOLD ya!"

"Yeah, yeah, knock just in case you're doing something weird. Well you weren't! Lucky me! Now come on! Let's clip to that show we were watching yesterday and pig out!"

Anti snorted, his anger forgotten, "You're excitable today"

She flopped on the couch beside him, "Nah, I just couldn't wait to get out of the house away from them all! Dark was trying to get Mark to sneak me into a video. Wants me to be a part of the Iplier fam but thank GOD Mark said no"

"You don't wanna be featured? Noticed?"

"Fuck no, I don't want the publicity. I'm fine without it. I've seen what it does to the others, including the Septics. I don't know why you WANT to be in a video so bad" she laughed.

Anti just rolled his eyes, "It's not that I WANT to. I'm just sick of them pretending that I was never in a video to begin with. Sean wants to focus on THEM first and  . . . well it pisses me off."

"Everything pisses you off" 

". . . .. yeah." he grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder, taking a pint of ice cream that she had brought, "Oooo! My favorite!"

"Thought you'd like it" she smiled.

There were some nights she could sneak to Anti's house without alerting anyone she was ever gone. Pretending she had to go into her new job super early and work late. It was like she was never at the Iplier house anymore. Because she hardly ever was.

She was with Anti.

They couldn't stay away from each other. Not now and not ever since they finally came to realization with their feelings for one another.

It was a peaceful night. Not a cloud in the sky. Barely any wind. Cool and calming.

Mira was cuddled up to him and they were playing Minecraft together through his TV with their own keyboards.

"It's a good night, isn't it?" she asked him.

Anti heard the tone in her voice. As if she had been thinking.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"What's wrong? I can hear it in your voice, lass" he put the game on pause and fully looked at her. She looked tired.

"Okay, okay" she smiled softly, leaning her head on his shoulder, "It's just . . .  sometimes I feel bad for always leaving them. My family. For always sneaking away and  . . . . well I'm supposed to be their protector, right? From Actor and other stuff? It's just  . . .  I finally feel the happiest I've ever been and yet . . . maybe I'm not. What if something happens to them and I'm not there to protect them?"

Anti snorted a little but tried to be serious, "Mira . . . you don't have to worry. If Actor DOES try anything, Dark and Wilford can take him on any day and any time. Don't worry about them. I wouldn't"

"But your situation is different. You purposefully push yourself away from your family without much of a reason. I HAVE a reason and even then, it kill me inside a bit"

Anti tried not to get angry. Was she regretting their relationship? No, that's not it.

"Mira. You worry too much. Nothing's ever going to happen. Mark created you because he was paranoid. But I'm glad he WAS paranoid. Otherwise, I would have NEVER known what being actually happy felt like"

"Anti?"

"Yeah?"

"Never knew you were actually such a big teddy bear" she teased.

"I'll deny all of it"

She just laughed and kissed his cheek, "And what if someday, something happens to ME? What if I can't protect myself?"

"As if that day would EVER happen" Anti took a swig of whiskey, "I fucking watched you disintegrate a bus coming at you full speed. Nothing left of it. There is NOTHING that would ever be able to go against you and we both know that"

She gave him a 'look'.

Anti sighed, "But if anything ever DID happen . . . you know I'd search heaven and hell for you. You ain't getting away from me, not ever"

And then very quickly, the nice dream suddenly turned into a nightmare.

There was darkness. 

Screaming.

Flashes of light like bombs in the air.

"MIRA?!" Anti called for her, "MIRA, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

The screams only grew louder in his ears. But in the distance, he could see something when the lights were flashing.

He ran to it.

He didn't know what it was but it was something. 

But the closer he got . . . 

The more he realized.

Mira in a black pool of darkness, being sucked in. Screaming in pain as her power was being forcibly ripped out of her like she was a battery.

"MIRA!!"

"You couldn't save her, could you?" another voice echoed in the dark.

Anti whirled around, trying to find the source.

"You couldn't keep your promise. And now she's mine"

"NO, SHE'S NOT! I'LL SAVE HER! I WILL! I FUCKING-"

He stopped shouting and whipped back around. 

Anti ran closer and closer to Mira, watching her sink. Her screams having died down as a dark water-like pool drug her down to its depths, weighing her down even further.

He got to the edge and reached in, trying to grab her, "MIRA! REACH FOR MY HAND! MIRA!"

She tried but she was sinking too far.

Anti jumped in but in that moment, suddenly everything was gone. She was gone.

He was drowning. 

Anti tried to swim back to the surface but the darkness was sinking him in, too. He couldn't do it.

He couldn't save himself, he couldn't save her. He couldn't do ANYTHING RIGHT! IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT!!A̵L̶L̵ ̵H̵I̴S̵ ̸F̴A̸U̷L̷T̴!̸

"̷I̵T̷'̷S̴ ̵A̴L̶L̶ ̵Y̴O̵U̸R̴ ̵F̸A̵U̸L̸T̵!̴"̴

Suddenly Anti jolted, his eyes opening. 

Dark was over him, somewhat concerned, "Anti . . . . it was just a nightmare. Calm down"

Anti then realized he was panting for air, panicking.

"She was there. . .she was right there and I couldn't  . . I couldn't reach her. I couldn't save her again. I-"

"Shut up" Dark stopped him, "Just breathe. It wasn't real"

Anti listened and finally started to breath better. He sat up, hunched over, looking a bit lost.

He could still hear her screams.

See the defeated look in her eyes.

"ANTI!"

He snapped out of it, "What?!"

Dark raised a brow at him but carried on, "Get up . . . . it's time"

Sighing heavily, Anti nodded, getting up.

They went downstairs, finding some others ready to go, too already. It was a bit surprising.

Anti always knew some of these guys to be afraid or to hate Mira. Why all of a sudden were they willing to fight a demon for her when SHE was the one meant to protect them?

But then again, they didn't have to FIGHT the thing if they could only get close enough so that Mira could gain enough power back to fight her way out of the orb.

'Actor better be right' he thought to himself.

He saw Dark a little ways away arguing with Actor and Mark about something but before he could go and see what it was about, he bumped into someone.

Anti curled his lip and wrinkled his nose at the sight, "Bim. What are you doing down here? Thought you hated Mira?"

He shrugged, "I do but if all I have to do is be there then whatever. It's better than Dark ripping my head off for doing nothing. But if shit goes sideways, I'm gone. I'm Bim Trimmer and this face has to be protected."

"Your face will be pummeled into scraps of meat and bone if you do anything to fuck us over, I can tell ya that" Anti grinned mockingly, relishing Bim's sudden fear.

"I . . . uh-"

"Anti!" Jackie came over, "Calm down, alright. Everything will work out as intended, I'm sure. . . . .man, you look like you got run over by a truck. Didn't sleep good?"

Anti just glared at him.

Marvin popped over, "I got some good eye cream for that. You want some?"

Anti just rolled his eyes, "Are we all ready to go or not? What's the hold-up!?"

Bim scoffed and wandered off to a different group.

Henrik, Jameson and Chase joined them, looking just as confused on the wait.

Sean came closer up to him, "Actor wants to come with us. He says he wants to join the fight against the demon"

"No" Anti growled, "Absolutely not! Dark!" he stomped over to Dark, Mark and Actor, "You can't be thinking about fucking letting HIM come with us!? NO fucking way! It's all his fault to begin with that Mira was taken from us!!"

"I agree" Dark stated, "It's Mark that wants to give him a chance"

"Well think about it! More people, more power and help for Mira!"

"No." Dark argued, "Who's to say he won't betray us AGAIN like he HAS been this entire time?! I won't allow it!"

"For once, I agree with Dark" Anti seethed, "It's just trouble waiting to happen"

"But you don't understand!" Actor whined, "I really do want to help, now! I swear it! Fuck the demon! I mean, DON'T fuck the demon but you know what I mean! Fuck him! He promised me tons of shit and did I get any of it?! NO!"

"That's your reasoning?" Anti growled, "You don't care about Mira at all. You just want revenge on the demon for lying to you? . . . . I still don't fucking trust it. You were swayed by the thing TWICE already. Who's to say you won't be stupid enough to be swayed again?"

"The answer is NO, Mark. We leave him here." Dark stated, "Google, put Actor downstairs in the basement and lock the door . . . thoroughly."

Actor jumped away from Google, "Now hold on a second! What if none of you come back and I die in a basement all alone?!"

"You won't be alone!" Dark grinned, "You'll have other rats just like you down there to talk to!"

"Geez, Dark" Mark sighed, "Look, Actor, I'll give Amy a call and if it's been too long, I'll have her come over and slide food under the door"

"You're on THEIR side now!?"

"We don't have time to be bickering!" Anti shouted, "We have to go save her and we have to go now! She's in pain! She's afraid! She's dying! And only we can save her!"

Silence filled the house.

Everyone looked at each other apprehensively.

But their own fears slowly turned to something else.

"WELL WHAT IN THE FLUBBER NUBS ARE WE WAITING FOR!?" Wilford shouted above them, "LET'S GO PINS SOME KNIVES ON THE DEMON AND TAKE HIS CANDY!"

More silence.

Mark cleared his throat, "I think he means . ..  LET'S GO SAVE MIRA!"

Wilford shrugged, "Yeah, sure, that too, I guess"

Histrio was already in the forest in a small clearing. 

'This will be the perfect spot to kill them all. They can plead and beg all they want when they realize they're no match for me. Their blood will soak into the ground and feed the trees.'

He could just barely feel Mira shouting. Screaming.

He loved it. How helpless she must feel.

Histrio absentmindedly dragged a finger down the orb in his chest, feeling the power tingle his fingertips, 'Don't you worry, little one. It'll all be over soon. And then we can all start the REAL fun . . . . and I'll walk the land with the blood and guts of these pathetic humans under by feet. With your power, I could be rip of the title of just a mimic demon . . . . '

Histrio grinned, licking his lips and clenching his fists excitedly.

"I will become a god"