Anti stared at the good doctor in confusion, "Experiment? What do you mean, Hen? What have you been doing late at night at your office?"

Henrik gave a small smile, "Don't think about that just yet. A few questions, first. Now remember, zhe void, yes?"

Anti twitched, "Y̷-yes?"

"You told me before that zhe void can make you see things. Make zhem real"

"Make them s̶e̷e̸m̴ real, Henrik."

"Hm" the doctor narrowed his eyes, "Zhe void is a vast, uncontrollable and strange place. It could probably do zhat as well. From memories. Dark was created from it. . . "

Anti didn't like where this was going, "Henrik-"

"Vould you like to come with me to my office later today, Anti? I still have some vork to do even though it's zhe weekend. I could use your knowledge and help with my experiment"

"I don't know, Henrik. What exactly is it you're experimenting with?"

The good doctor chuckled, "Oh it's just hypothesis and theories. Nothing to vorry about, Anti! Now if you'll excuse me, I should get a little sleep at least. So I'll see you later, yes?"

Anti thought about it. Although he wanted nothing to do with the void, he wanted to know what exactly Henrik was up to. Something was off about him lately. Always holed up at his office until the AMs, working and drinking his coffee. He might as well not even live with them if he was also sleeping at the office. That and he had a feeling Henrik was still grieving.

"Alright, Henrik. I'll help you"

"Good! Good!" he yawned, "I will see you later, then! I'll find you" with that, Henrik happily left the room and Anti watched him go.

Then he remembered his little 'moment' with Chase a few minutes ago. He felt stupid for acting so childish and weak. But he couldn't help it at the time. He didn't want Chase to leave and that was the truth, even though he had done terrible crap. Maybe that was why? They had a lot in common, really.

"What's got you thinking so hard, man?" Jackie walked in the kitchen with Jameson behind him, "I think I see the smoke coming out of your ears from the gears working so hard" he teased.

Jameson smiled at Anti and the glitch 'glared' at Jackie, "F̷u̵c̷k̴ ̷o̶f̶f̸, man. Nothing."

'Have you eaten anything yet?' Jameson asked him.

Anti nodded and Jameson snapped his fingers in disappointment, 'Perhaps we could get lunch together then! How about it, old boy?'

"Oh yeah! Sean's coming with us later, if you want, Anti. It'll just be me, Jameson and Sean. I'll ask Marvin in a bit here but Chase needs to stay inside for a couple days and Henrik's working so I won't bother asking him."

"He's actually sleeping now. He just got home" Anti decided not to tell them about Chase trying to leave again.

Jackie looked disappointed for a moment, "Really? Man, he needs to stop working so hard. He'll have a heart attack one day if he keeps it up!" he tried joking.

"And actually" Anti continued, "He asked me to come along later when he goes back to his office. Something about he had a few more questions for me"

'Questions? What kind of questions?' Jameson signed.

"About the void. He didn't tell you guys?"

Jackie really looked upset now, "Tell us what? Why's he asking you about the void?"

He shrugged but felt he had said too much. Obviously, Henrik hadn't told them and he didn't want Henrik to get in trouble with Jackie. He was curious, himself, as to what Henrik was doing.

"H̵e̶'̴s̷ ̵j̴u̴s̷t̸. . . trying to understand it better is all. Trying to talk to me about the things I saw to . . .h̸e̴l̷p̶ ̷m̸e̸"̶ he lied.

Jackie didn't look as though he bought the lie but let it slide for now, "Alright. . . . well until Henrik wakes up from his little 'nap', Sean will be over this morning as well to hang out with us first if that's cool."

"Is he bringing BB again?"

Jameson smiled but shook his head, 'Gab is back and BB never leaves her side, you know.'

"No, you're not stealing the cat" Jackie saw the look in Anti's eyes but the glitch scoffed indignantly.

"I wasn't going to!"

"You were."

"̶A̷n̶y̷w̵a̸y̶s̵!̶"̶ Anti tried to divert the conversation, "Fine, whatever. When's the bastard coming over?"

-888888888888888888888888888888888-

Flashback

Dark never liked parties. He didn't know why Mark bothered having one and invited him. He didn't want to go but Wil had dragged him along to try and settle the fuss between him and 'Mark'. The mere thought of having to be around the same area as him angered him but he couldn't kill him in front of so many people. There would be too many people that would be on Mark's side right now what with everyone having such a good time.

He could feel Celine poking around his head at the beginning of the party. Talking to him, fueling him with hatred. She couldn't take control but she could influence him.

Dark looked around as he sat next to Anti away from everyone else. At first he didn't think it was so bad. Everyone seemed happy and were playing games together and talking so animatedly with one another. The kids were all having fun. He almost felt the urge to smile until Celine's voice rang in his head.

Focus. You know why you're here. He doesn't trust you to be on your own around him without everyone else around. He barely trusts you around the others. Their happiness right now is a weakness, anyways. You should just kill Mark now.

'I can't do that and you know that. Too many people around'

Fine but stop letting yourself slip. If you can't kill him today, then you could at least hurt him.

Dark thought about it. He didn't want to but it was better than the alternative.

He looked over at Anti whose face was scrunched up looking irritated. He was glad he was here but kept his emotions down. He always hated it but it was for the best. He thought of Anti fondly as he had common problem. He was alone. Dark was alone by selective choice but Anti, he pitied. His own 'brothers' wouldn't give him the time of day. Of course Jameson and Jackie always wanted to give him a chance but now it was whether or not Anti wanted to trust them.

"If you keep that up, your face will freeze that way" Even though Dark enjoyed his company, he was still an ass sometimes.

Anti glitched and huffed at him, "This is stupid. This whole thing is dumb. Why'd W̵E̵ ̵have to come to this?"

Dark shrugged, "I don't know. Wil dragged me along, otherwise I wouldn't have. And you're here because of me. Get over it, glitch bitch"

Anti flinched at the name but didn't respond, choosing to watch everyone else mingle with each other instead. Dark regretted calling him that name as soon as he said it. The reason he hated it was because that's what the others had started to call him behind his back along with the community. It was a name that expressed how much of a 'mistake' he was and even though the others may only use it to tease him, Dark knew it hurt Anti.

He looked over at Anti again but he saw something different in his eyes than before. There was a smile on his face.

Dark looked to where Anti was looking to see all of the kids laughing and having fun.

He's weak, too.

'They're kids' thought Dark, 'They don't cause any harm.'

He looked over randomly to see Mark laughing and smiling at the kids, too and suddenly a sick thought was planted in his head.

'No, I can't do that. That's going too far'

In the hunt for vengeance, nothing is 'going too far', Dark. If you want to destroy Mark, you'll have to learn this. You can't kill him today, that's fine. But you can hurt him. Hurt him, Dark.

'I don't know. They're just kids. They've done nothing wrong.'

And you didn't do anything wrong, either. You don't deserve what's been brought upon you, Dark. Don't you want to feel? Don't you be happy and angry and sad? Don't you want to feel without running the risk of hurting anyone?

Dark thought about it. He really did.

If you want. . . . I could take over for it.

And thus Dark made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

End of Flashback

Dark felt a tear run down his face as he continued to watch the memory unfold. The pain hurt him so much. The memory of what he had done. Luckily no one except him and Anti knew the truth. He felt so angry at himself for letting it happen. It shouldn't have happened.

'Wait' he stopped, 'There it is again. . . . I'm . . . feeling.'

Everything in his head whirled and he didn't understand but it was all starting to come together.

'The auras aren't freaking out. Why not? It always happens usually. I ALWAYS have to reel them in. Don't I?'

Dark gripped his hair and shut his eyes tight. It was all so confusing. So strange. Was it really just the void or was it something to do withe Celine? He had thought that before but he didn't want to think she could be. . . . lying to him.

There was silence for a while.

The faint high-pitched ring.

The stillness.

And then a new feeling. . . . Cold.

When he opened his eyes, he found he wasn't in the void anymore.

Dark was new this place, though. He was born here.

"She's has been lying to you."

Dark whirled around to see the man surrounded by blue again. He recognized him now, "Damien?"

The man held at same solemn expression on his face as before, "I told you not to listen to her. Now look what you've done"

-8888888888888888888888888888888-

Anti sat in the living room alongside Jackie, Jameson, Marvin, Sean and Chase. Henrik was still sleeping so he still had a bit before he could leave. Even though he didn't mind being around the others anymore, he still appreciated being around less people. The less the better.

His thoughts floated around but he thought about Chase currently. The father stayed silent, mostly.

'Probably worried Jackie will tell Sean about last night'

But he didn't. Anti was both mad about that and glad. He was glad that more drama wouldn't be thrown in but he was also a bit angry that Chase wasn't going to get reprimanded like Anti would.

It was a bit unfair but he didn't bring it up. If he did, Chase might change his mind again and leave.

'Why do I care, again? I don't know. I guess he's not so bad. This whole house is filled with screw-ups, whether they realize it or not. I'm not the only one' he smirked at that.

"What's got you so happy all of a sudden, glitch?" Sean teased him.

Suddenly, Anti's smile turned to a frown, "I. . . . n̸o̸t̷h̸i̴n̵g̸"̸

Unbeknownst to him, Chase had been watching Anti a bit more closely after this morning. Anti had been smiling a little but then . . .

"Hey man, don't call him that. You know he hates that nickname" Chase reprimanded Sean.

Sean seemed surprised but caught on to why the name was disliked, "Oh. . . sorry, Anti. I didn't mean it that way, you know. I was only-"

"W̴h̸a̸t̵e̵v̵e̸r̸.̶ Doesn't matter" Anti didn't want to hear excuses. He didn't want any drama.

"Say, why do you hate that name, anyways, Anti?" Marvin spoke up, "It's what you are, after all"

"Marvin, don't" Jackie warned him, "Leave it"

But Marvin was conniving at the moment, "The name represents your talent. You can teleport, slip from one piece of tech to the next AND you can control tech. It's a neat trick to have in your arsenal, you know"

Anti blushed slightly at the compliment but refused to look at anyone.

"Not to mention if it wasn't for your talent, certain people wouldn't be here today"

Anti's blush turned to a glare, "Marvin, s̷h̶u̴t̵ ̷u̶p̶.̷"

"What's the matter, Anti?" Chase smiled, "He's right. You saved that little girl's life yesterday, not to mention what happened a couple years ago-"

"Then don't m̵e̸n̶t̵i̸o̸n̵ it"

"What's wrong, Anti?" Sean asked him, "You did a good thing. It's lucky you were there at the time."

'Yes!' Jameson cheered, 'Who knows what would have happened, otherwise? It was such a coincidence, too!'

"Not so much" Marvin interjected but it wasn't caught.

Anti glared at him like he was going to kill him then and there but the magician merely grinned at him playfully, "I told you before, you should tell them, Anti. Now's the perfect time!"

"Marvin, s̴h̷u̷t̸ ̴u̵p̷.̸ I'm not doing this"

The others suddenly looked confused and Chase's brow furrowed, "What do you mean, Marv?"

"̴N̵o̴t̴h̴i̸n̴g̴!̸"̷ Anti shouted, "There's nothing to talk about! I don't want to get into it! E̶N̶O̴U̵G̸H̴!̴"̶

They stared at Anti like he was going to explode and Marvin sighed, "I get it, Anti. You're uncomfortable about talking about it. Most likely because HE was involved, right?"

He was silent but the others looked at him expectantly, curious as to what was going on.

Then Anti heard a door upstairs open and close, "Oh! Henrik's up! I better go get ready. B̶y̷e̵!̶"̶

With that, Anti glitched quickly out of the room to his own for a quick breather.

Meanwhile, everyone else was now looking at and bothering Marvin for answers at what the hell just happened.

"I can't, guys. It's for Anti to talk about, not me."

Chase nodded, "Alright, alright. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then, it's fine. Maybe he'll come around?" but he couldn't help he was curious, too. What was there that they didn't already know?

"Hey guys" Jackie spoke up, "Do you think Anti's. . . .changed?"

'What do you mean?' Jameson asked.

"Well" he went on, "Since the void, I mean. Does something seem . . . different, to you?"

They were a tad quiet thinking about it among themselves but Sean spoke next, "I don't know, probably. I think anyone would change a bit after an experience like that, don't you think?"

Jackie nodded, "It's just he seems. . . . happier? I'm not sure. Or maybe. . .not as aggressive"

"Thank god" Chase mumbled but chuckled to make a joke, "I don't think I could handle getting stabbed by him again"

The others laughed a little at the joke then carried on with a different conversation before getting ready to go to lunch together.

Meanwhile, Chase thought about the conversation they had with Anti before he ran off to find Henrik.

Since this morning, Chase had been thinking about the interaction with Anti and then Jackie went and said that. He couldn't deny at that point, he agreed.

Anti really had changed. Since coming out of the void, he had gotten softer or at least calmer. He wasn't so angry all the time or distrustful. Normally, he would stay in his room all the time or go out to do something horrible to someone.

Now he came out of his room more and loafed around them. Sometimes he didn't talk at all but it was better than stabbing them.

Chase remembered what it was like when Anti was the monster Sean created him to be. It was an accident, of course and Sean didn't mean for him to be that way or appear at all. Perhaps that was why Anti was always angry to begin with. From the beginning there was a bad impression and instead of helping him, they all avoided him like the plague and feared him.

Anti was ruthless and came close to killing each of them at least once.

Even at the party, though, he was . . . . calmer.

Sean hadn't invited him and at first, Chase didn't want him there but seeing him all alone next to Dark as company had changed his mind. The look on Anti's face was lonely. Almost sad.

He had noticed the way he looked at the kids, then and didn't feel as worried.

Jackie and Jameson were always keen on giving him a chance and now he understood why. Anti wasn't really a monster. He just made himself out to be that way because that's what was expected out of him. But he didn't really want that.

Bringing himself out of the memory, Chase smiled to himself, 'And since Dark had been out of his life, he was better. Now after all of this, he's finally starting to trust us and be his own person'

But Marvin's words still kicked in here and there in his mind, 'What's he hiding though about that day that we don't already know? I remember it clearly although it did happen pretty fast. What else was there?'

He remembered Dark freaking out and his auras lashing dangerously. The kids were in the way.

Anti stepped in.

That's all there was to it. . . .right?

Anti, at the time, was just there and out of a whim, decided to not watch the children die. The kind of person he was back then, even if he, himself, wouldn't harm a kid. . . . that's all that it was, right? Just a whim?

Even so, they all decided to give him a second chance ON that whim. Because of Anti's 'whim', he was no longer living on the streets or with Dark and he had gained a home and a fresh blanket of trust.

'So. . . . what else was there Marvin's not telling us?' he had to know.

-8888888888888888888888888888888888888-

Wilford had the Jims keep tabs on 'Dark' the whole day, watching his every move.

He wasn't stupid. Obviously by what this impostor had said, they have Dark locked away. He didn't know what it meant but he was going to find out!

This person wasn't his friend and Dark was too important for him to lose. He wouldn't give up in helping the one person that truly understood him.

Besides for Damien. Yes, he knew Dark wasn't Damien. Even though the resemblance was way TOO similar, he wasn't stupid.

He was being tricked along with every one else in the house. Wilford didn't like that none too well, either.

'No, no' he thought as he sat at his desk as his HQ, 'Warfstache don't take no shit from nobody. I won't be fooled, no sir~y'

"Hey Wil, sir?" one of the Jims came through on the walkie talkie.

"Yes, yes? What is it? Ya got something fer me?"

"Uh, we might have a problem, sir. Dark's gone"

"What!? Well what do ya mean he's gone!?"

"He vanished, sir! Disappeared! Poof! Jim doesn't know what happened!"

"He teleported, huh?" Wilford spoke to himself before directing to the Jime again, "Alright, alright. Just let me know when you find him again, alright? Yer job's not done, Jim"

"Yes sir!"

'Dammit' Wil thought, 'Lad must be on to us. Wonder if they caught one of the Jim's spying on him. That ain't good. Nah, that ain't good at all'