Unfortunately, during the Septic's stay at the Raspy Hill Manor for Christmas, they had to bunk with the Iplier egos.

Dark was at least good to his word and didn't make Anti spend any more time around him. Anti didn't know what he'd do if Dark had told him he had to share a bedroom with him. He already had enough of Dark's weird behavior during the day.

So Anti ended up sharing a room with Google and Bing. The two android Ipliers didn't mind Anti's presence at all, sensing he was of no danger to either of them. That night, Anti even got them to talk a little.

Or rather, Anti got Bing to talk to him and Google would chime in here and there.

"Yeah, I've gotten a lot better at it, though" Anti got on the topic of his glitching, "I'm better at controlling it now than before. Or at least, controlling myself NOT to do it all the time"

"What makes you do it?" Bing asked him.

Anti shrugged, "I guess when I'm really anxious or scared?"

Bing hummed, "So were you really scared that night when you glitched here and beat the shit out of Dark?"

Anti fell silent.

Google rolled his eyes, mindlessly fiddling with the machinery in his arm, "You know we're not supposed to talk about it, Bing. Besides, Dark wasn't really hurt"

"Yeah, I know. He really milked it for as long as he could, though" Bing laughed, "What a drama queen"

Anti glitched slightly, nervous about how flippantly they were talking about Dark.

Google took notice and stopped messing with his arm, shutting it down so the skin returned, "Why are you nervous?"

Anti's swallowed and rubbed at his sore arm Dark had bruised earlier, "I'm not"

"Elevated heart rate says otherwise" Bing mumbled.

"It's just  . ..  Aren't you guys afraid of him? Even a little?"

Google noticed the bruise on Anti's arm but cracked a small smile, "Dark can be. . . . difficult . . but he's family"

"More like the dad of the house" Bing muttered.

Google shrugged and nodded.

Anti didn't really believe what they said. Dark? Act like a dad to them? So far, Anti has only seen a sadistic bully. He couldn't imagine Dark to be anything like Sean used to be to Anti.

"Well enough about him" Anti changed the subject, "I think I'm gonna go to bed now. Do you guys sleep?"

"We charge" Google provided, "But don't worry. It's pretty similar to sleeping. We'll be shut down until morning. We won't watch you while you sleep"

"Somehow that doesn't reassure me how you said that"

Google grinned and Bing shoved him, "Dude, stop freaking him out. Plug up and shut up"

"Told you never to say that again" Google rolled his eyes.

Anti liked Google and Bing. They were funny and nice. He felt comfortable talking with them.

Except when it came to the subject of Dark.

Anti went to bed a little bit after that and Google and Bing plugged themselves in, going into a sleep mode while charging, sitting in chairs on the other side of the room. While they charged, they emminated a soft glow. It was rather soothing and very quickly, he began to fall asleep.

Opening his eyes, he was once again in darkness.

He was in that same place in his nightmares again.

'Fuck, I hope that creepy thing doesn't come back. I can't even tell what it's supposed to be. Is it my imagination of Dark? Or something else? It reminded me of that thing in the lake, too. . . almost'

He could hear the dripping again and his fear overwhelmed him. He couldn't move, though, just like all the previous times he had been there.

"Poor little creature" the voice rattled in the air, "No matter what you do, you're still trapped every time. Like a little mouse"

Anti felt a sharp fingernail trail down his spine.

He shuddered but managed to choke out a few words. Something he had never been able to do before.

"Wh-what . . what do you want. . . from me?"

The thing behind him laughed and it echoed throughout the void.

"Poor, stupid soul . . . . .hehehehe . . ..  I already got it from you"

"What?"

Suddenly, Anti felt something lunged through his stomach and he looked down to see the creature's black and gooey hand having been stabbed through him.

He could feel the onslaught of pain and choked on his own blood coming up his throat. He couldn't scream. He couldn't beg.

The arm pulled out and the creature shoved him down. Anti looked up but his vision was blurred from the tears. He couldn't see its face.

But as he laid there, he could feel himself drifting off. 

The pain was slowly ebbing away.

The black tar was consuming him.

"WAKE UP!"

A loud voice boomed in his ear.

"ANTI, WAKE UP!"

Anti's eyes shot open and he could see Google above him, shaking him.

He gasped and yanked himself away from the android.

The lights were back on.

They weren't the only ones in the room anymore.

Anti sat up in the bed, looking around. Google was closest to him and Bing was awake too now but it appeared that Jackie had broken in along with Dark, Chase and the Jims . . . who had a camera trained on him.

"Wh. . . what happened?"

Google sighed, "Your heart rate elevated in your sleep. Your blood pressure rose dangerously and you began screaming for help. You began glitching and it woke me up out of me and Bing's sleep mode."

"Dude, we could hear you across the hall. S-sounded like you were fucking dying!" Chase was breathing heavily from running in, "What kind of nightmare were you having!?"

Anti wanted to tell them but it wasn't easy with Dark standing there, too. He was surveying Anti, looking somewhat curious.

Why had he come? Did he sense him panicking because of his aura still inside of him? Why the fuck would he give a shit?

Anti didn't want to think about it, "I. . .  I don't know . . .  Something. . . tried to kill me" it wasn't a complete lie. He still didn't know exactly what the creature was. Who they were.

Jackie's shoulders relaxed, "So just a nightmare? Okay. . . I'm going back to bed"

The Jims realized that there wasn't anything good to film and followed Jackie out.

Chase could sense something else was wrong, though, "Are you okay now? Do you want to talk about it?"

Dark cleared his throat, "Perhaps he needs a change of room? Google and Bing can be quite ominous in their sleep mode. You could always share my room instead-"

"No" Anti was fast with his answer, "No fucking way"

Dark shut up immediately. 

Chase sensed tension in the air, "I think he's fine now. Right, Anti? You good to go back to sleep?"

Anti nodded.

Dark shrugged, "Very well. I was only trying to help. See you in the morning" he stifled a yawn and walked out.

Chase gave Anti another look before walking out as well.

Google and Bing sensed everything was fine then and went back into sleep mode.

Anti stayed sitting up, though. Awake.

He could still feel that arm through his stomach.

Carefully, Anti lifted up the shirt.

There was something there.

His skin . . . where the creature had impaled him, was black.

He pulled his shirt back down, 'What the fuck?' this was a new sort of horror, 'Was it. . ..  not really a dream after all?'

He couldn't sleep the rest of the night.

He stayed sitting up, holding his stomach until light was starting to filter through the blinds.

Thinking it was late enough in the morning to get up, Anti hopped out of bed and left the room. He was still in Dark's old clothes since his was wet and cold yesterday so that was still uncomfortable to him but he tried not to think about it too much.

Anti blindly walked into the kitchen, not even noticing who was in there. He went straight for the coffee machine and made himself a cup. Still not looking around, Anti got himself a mug and poured the coffee. He took a sip and sighed, trying his best to relax.

Until he turned around.

Dark was standing there WAY too close to him damn near chest to chest.

Anti flinched back as much as he could and glitched, making a little coffee spill, "Jaysus Christ!"

Dark tilted his head a little, unbothered, and crossed his arms in front of him, "You don't look like you got a lot of sleep last night"

Anti swallowed and crept around Dark to get some space, "You promised you'd leave me alone"

"I promised I wouldn't make you do anything else while you were here this week." Dark clarified, "What was your nightmare about last night?" he suddenly asked and smirked a little, "Was it of me?"

Anti drank a little more of his coffee, "No"

Dark's smirk fell.

"I don't know what it was . . . I can never see its face. It's just. . . black and inky like tar." he stopped, "Nevermind"

Dark frowned and licked his lips, thinking, "So you get the nightmare often?"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"It's not that hard of a subject. Just tell me. We're supposed to be friends, after all, right?" he teased.

"You're not my friend" Anti glared at him.

"Aw, now that hurts" Dark grabbed his chest, mocking feeling hurt by his words, "Even after I gave you my clothes and lit that fire for you and wrapped a blanket around you? Even after I forgave you for trying to kill me so many months ago?"

"And you know damn well why"

"Watch yourself" Dark's eyes went black as if challenging him.

"Why what?"

They turned to see Sean just walking in with Gab in the kitchen. He was stretching his arms out and it appeared as if he really hadn't heard the whole conversation.

Anti felt small and nervous. He hadn't met Gab face to face yet, trying to stay away on purpose.

"I. . . .uh . . .n-nothing"

Gab gave him a small wave, "Hi! Good morning. I don't think I've met you yet. Anti, right?"

Anti swallowed, anxious, "Uh . .. y-yeah. Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Gab but you can call me Evelien, too, if you want."

Anti nodded but avoided eye contact.

Sean smiled, remembering this behavior, "He's just nervous about meeting new people. He'll warm up to ya." Sean walk forward to get a cup of coffee for himself but noticed something strange.

"Hey . . . Anti? How'd you get that bruise on your arm? It looks really bad. Does it hurt?"

Anti had been so focused on the slight pain in his stomach, he had completely forgotten about the bruise Dark had given him.

"Oh. . ." he looked at it. 

Yeah, it was already black and blue shaped obviously like a hand gripping him, "It's nothing. It's fine"

Dark finished his own cup of coffee and quietly left the room.

Sean noticed how Anti seemed to relax, "Hey. . . . you know you can still tell me if anything's happening with you, right? Did Dark do this to you? You didn't have this when you arrived here with the others"

Anti paled but he knew he COULDN'T tell Sean, ". . . . Thanks. . . but it's nothing. . . . I promise"

Sean wasn't convinced but let it go.

After a couple more hours, more egos started to wake up and walk around the house. 

Anti stayed around the other Iplier egos, namely Bing and Google, so he wasn't alone or accidentally left alone with Dark again.

Marvin lounged on the couch in the living room, taking notice of Anti's odd behavior of holding his bruised arm and his stomach. The magician also took note that Anti was still in Dark's old clothes.

Something suddenly clicked in his head, "Hey Anti . . . what did Dark give you yesterday?" 

Anti looked over his way. Several of the egos that were in the room stopped talking and listened curiously to the conversation.

"Huh?"

Marvin snorted, "Yesterday. . . when you went with Dark upstairs to his office. He said he had a present for you. What'd he give you? Something dirty?"

Anti cringed, "Ew, no. Marvin, why? Gross"

"Well what'd he give you, then, besides a bruise?"

"I . ..  D-dark didn't . . . wasn't-"

Jackie was in there, too, and was listening intently. He figured Dark might have given him the bruise but he also figured Anti probably deserved it.

But what if he didn't?

"I grabbed him too hard getting him out of the pond. That excuse good enough for you?" Dark appeared out of nowhere.

Marvin looked back to Anti as if asking for confirmation.

He just nodded, "Y-yeah . . . that's what. . . that's what happened."

Marvin wasn't sure if he believed him and all of a sudden, Jackie was starting to get suspicious.

Something wasn't right here.

"Why do you keep holding your stomach?" Jackie asked him, feeling protective all of a sudden.

Honestly, Dark didn't have an excuse for that one, not knowing the answer himself.

"I'm not"

"You are" Henrik walked in, "You've been holding it all day like you have a stomach ache. "

"I don't"

King cleared his throat, "Even I don't believe you and I'm the most gullible one here"

Anti didn't even have a moment to protect himself as Bing suddenly lifted up the shirt.

Henrik gasped, "Vhat the hell is that?!"

"Damn, that's an even nastier bruise than the one on your arm!" Marvin exclaimed.

Jackie stood up against Dark, "Did you hurt him? Don't lie to me"

Dark blinked, completely unphased by the hero, "No. I don't know where that one is from"

Anti pulled his shirt back down, "Will everyone please just fucking STOP!!? IT'S NOTHING! I SAID IT'S NOTHING AND IT'S FUCKING NOTHING!" He started to glitch out of control, "FUCK! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

And just like that, Anti glitched, teleporting outside.

Luckily, he hadn't gone far.

He was only in the backyard.

He held his stomach again and spotted a bench nearby the garden. He walked over and sat on it.

'I shouldn't have yelled at them all like that. But even I don't know what this is. . .  I don't understand'

"Really? Ya don't?"

Anti flinched, not expecting Wilford to be leaning over the back of the bench next to him, "GAH! Where the hell did you come from!?"

Wilford shrugged, "Around. . . . so when ya gonna tell them about the weird black monster in your dreams, kid?"

"What? How do you know about that?"

Wilford shrugged, "I can read your mind, obviously. I know it's not my business but curious things like this don't happen every day" he laughed.

Anti swallowed, "I don't  . . I don't know . . . I wasn't planning on telling anyone"

"Maybe ya should." Wilford laughed, "I mean, we both know that ain't no bruise on your belly, champ! HA!"

Anti was fearful, "What if it's. . . him. . . doing it?"

"You mean Dark?"

Anti couldn't talk about so he was glad Wilford could at least read his mind so he didn't have to.

"It's not" Wilford concluded, "This is. . .. this is something else. . . BUT if you don't want to tell anyone, I ain't gonna stop ya! Good luck buddy!"

And just like that, Wilford was gone, leaving Anti alone with his thoughts again.

But not for long.

Dark appeared in front of him.

Anti wasn't in the mood and tried to run away but Dark grabbed him before he could.

"LET ME GO!" he pleaded but Dark was on a mission.

He forced Anti's shirt up and examined the black mass on Anti's stomach.

"How did you get this?"

Anti glared at him. He couldn't take it. Why couldn't he just leave him the hell alone like he promised!?

Anti tried shoving him off, "GET OFF OF ME!"

Dark lost his temper and slapped him across the face, knocking him down into the ground.

He didn't care what it looked like. Dark hovered over Anti, stopping him from crawling away and looked at the black 'bruise' again.

Dark shook his head, "I don't understand. I didn't do this. What did?"

Anti laid there, still, afraid of getting hit again.

Dark looked back down on him, "What did this? What happened? I know you know"

"Why don't you just fucking look and see, asshole?"

Dark went to hit him again but reeled himself back, "You fucking.  . . .ANSWER ME, GLITCH BITCH!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Dark punched him across the face and gripped ahold of Anti's throat with one hand and pressed down hard on his stomach with the other.

Anti cried out in pain, "AH! STOP IT! STOP! PLEASE, STOP!"

"Tell me what happened!"

Anti started to cry from the pain, "The monster! The monster in my nightmare! Okay!? It stabbed its arm through my stomach and I woke up like this! That's it! That's all! I swear!"

Dark stopped pressing down on his stomach but kept the handover his throat. He didn't quite believe him but Anti really seemed to believe himself.

"Hm" Dark didn't understand. He should have been able to see it. Why hadn't he seen it?

Whatever this was, it was odd.

Finally, Dark let Anti go, getting off of him and yanking him up on his feet.

Dark pat dirt off of Anti's clothes, mostly thinking to himself. Anti had that creepy vibe from him again as Dark placed his hands on either of his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes.

"You've been having these dreams for a while you said. . . . .  perhaps it's just you . . . you didn't know you could glitch after all before you met me . . .you didn't know you could teleport. Perhaps this is the same sort of. . . thing"

Dark didn't really believe his own words but it was the best he could come up with, "Try not to talk to anyone else about this"

Dark's eyes fell down on Anti's bruise on his arm. He grabbed it and rubbed his thumb over the bruise, "Hm . . . I'll have to try and be more careful from now on with you. . . they actually gave a shit earlier . . ."

Anti whimpered, becoming worried, "Please don't make me hurt them again"

Dark started to smile, ". . . . . . Only if you do what I say. Yes?"

"You said-"

"The week isn't that long. After your time here, you're mine again. Don't forget that"

Anti hung his head. He was right.

Dark took in a deep breathe, "I'll see you later. Try not to lose your shit again in front of them all"

With that, Dark left in the shadows again, leaving Anti alone once more.

Anti swallowed and held his stomach again.

He felt like he was going to puke, it hurt so bad.

It felt like that monster's hand was still inside of him where it had impaled him, messing with his guts.

Anti thought about what Wilford said but put it behind him again.

Even if he did tell the others . . . . . what could they do?

They didn't care.

'But Dark said they gave a shit this time'

Anti shook his head, 'No, they were just faking it. . . . they were in front of the Ipliers. They don't really care'

'Chase and Jackie came to check on me last night'

'How couldn't they? They said it sounded like I was dying. Probably wanted to see it happen for themselves.'

His chest and stomach hurt for new reasons and his cheek where Dark had punched him started to hurt, too. He'd probably get a bruise there, too and make the others ask even more questions.

Questions Dark won't like.

Anti fell onto the cold ground and sat in the dirt, holding himself.

'Maybe it'd be better if I really was dead. I wonder how happy they'd all be without me around'