Trigger warning: This chapter contains crude talk of torture

Anti had snapped.

Slowly the glitch stood up to his full height and he looked Chase straight in the eye. Like a predator.

He grinned like a sick hyena. His eyes were pitch black and his green aura snapped and crackled, making his body involuntarily shudder and quake. He was glitching and he looked like a madman.

"̴Y̴o̸u̵ ̸w̴a̴n̷t̷ ̵t̴o̷ ̶k̵n̷o̶w̸ ̷ w̶h̶a̶t̴ ̵I̷ ̵ w̴a̵n̶t̴e̷d̶ ̵t̵o̷ ̸d̷o̷ ̶t̷o̶ ̸t̴h̸e̶m̸,̶ ̴C̸h̴a̸s̴e̷y̷?̸"̴ even his voice was off the rails and he giggled, showing his canines.

Chase took a step back as Anti took a step forward, "You want to know what I wanted to do to those little tots? Oh I had so much planned, Chase. S̸o̷ ̶m̶u̸c̸h̴ ̵ p̸l̴a̷n̵n̶e̵d̷ ̵f̵o̵r̴ ̶y̸o̶u̵,̴ ̷ t̴o̸o̵"̵

"A-anti, stop it. Look, I'm s-sorry alright?" Chase stuttered, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have y-yelled at you."

Anti smiled, "Why not? I like this" he tilted his head curiously, "You're so afraid. I̸t̶'̵s̵ ̶d̴e̷l̶i̵g̴h̸t̶f̷u̷l̸!̷"

"Anti please-"

Suddenly Anti was dead in front of him and slammed him against a wall, fists in his shirt, "I'll tell you everything you want to know" he whispered in his ear, making Chase cringe.

"I had so many tools to use on them. I had my knife, of course. The nail-puller, tongue ripper, the saw, the hammer and nails. . . . a̸n̸d̴ ̵s̷o̷ ̸m̵a̴n̴y̵ ̴w̴a̵y̷s̷ ̵t̴o̵ ̶h̴u̷r̸t̸ ̸t̵h̸e̵m̸"̸

"Please stop" Chase begged him, "Anti please-" he sobbed as Anti's nails were now digging into his throat.

"I was going to do so many things. Scald them with boiling water. Rip out their eyes, nails and tongues. Saw off their fingers and toes one by one. Pull out their baby teeth. Electrocute them! G̷h̴a̴h̶a̵h̷a̴h̷a̵h̷a̵h̵A̷h̷e̷h̷e̵h̶h̵a̶h̸a̵h̸a̸!̷"̵ he laughed harshly in Chase's ear and pulled away, making Chase fall to the floor crying.

"I should have done it. I should have done it in front of you. Because you and I both know" he sunk down with him and whispered to him quietly, "̶Y̷o̸u̸ ̵d̴e̴s̴e̸r̸v̶e̷ ̴ i̷t̴"̶

"NO! NO PLEASE! Anti please stop it." Chase begged him, "I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean it please! Don't hurt them!"

Anti leaned close to Chase, cradling his cheeks, "I don't want to hurt them, Chase. . . . .I want to hurt you. ̵S̷o̶ ̶f̸u̷c̵k̷i̵n̶g̸ ̷m̷u̴c̷h̵!̶"̵ he looked so joyful.

There was stomping and rustling and Anti turned to see Jackie and Sean coming through from the kitchen.

"Anti! Let him go! What happened!?" Jackie tried coming up to him but Anti snarled.

"̴H̶e̷ ̷ w̴a̴n̸t̸e̶d̷ ̷ t̴h̷i̴s̴!̶"̸ Anti laughed as he picked Chase up with him again like a ragdoll, "He wanted me to do this! Stay out of it, hero! Go pick a different battle as usual" Jackie looked hurt but didn't move.

Sean tried to talk to him, "Anti. . . . Chase made you snap. I can see that. You just need to calm down Anti. This isn't you."

"Isn't me. . . . .I̵S̵N̵'̶T̷ ̶ I̷T̸!̷?̸"̵ Anti threw Chase to the ground and stomped on his chest, making him groan and sputter, "I've been here this entire time! I̵t̴'̸s̵ ̵ a̶l̶w̴a̷y̴s̴ ̸ m̴e̷!̸ ̷ M̵E̷!̴"̸

The others started to hear the commotion. Henrik came from his office and JJ and Marvin came from upstairs.

Marvin, seeing the situation, tried to shoot a spell at him to put him to sleep but Anti merely swatted it away, "You think your stupid magic will effect me!? I'm stronger than you. All of you. L̶i̶k̵e̶ ̶ t̷h̸i̷s̷,̵ ̸I̶ ̸ a̵m̸ ̷s̵t̵r̶o̵n̵g̸e̵r̷!̴ ̴Y̵o̴u̶ ̴c̵a̸n̵'̸t̶ ̴ g̶e̷t̶ ̴r̷i̴d̷ ̴o̵f̶ ̶m̴e̸!̵"̶

Anti laughed in their faces. They all looked so lost. They didn't know what to do. If Marvin couldn't stop him then. . . . how would Anti calm down? Torturing someone?!

Anti looked down at Chase, "You think after all the time that's passed that you'd be off the hook, B̸r̵o̴d̷y̶?̴"̸ he shoved his foot down harder, making his ribs start to crack. He cried out in pain.

"You're nothing but scum. Y̵o̸u̶ ̶ d̴e̸s̷e̶r̶v̶e̵ ̵t̴h̶i̶s̵.̸ You killed. Remember, you're worse than I am"

Chase cried under him but said something no one was prepared for, "I know."

Everyone went quiet but Chase sobbed, "I know. And I'm so sorry. I was so angry. So fucked up and I let it control me. I killed eight people. Four men. Three women and a child. I deserve it all. All your wrath and everything you can do to hurt me. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Anti snarled and was about to crush Chase's ribs when Sean stopped him.

"Anti!" Sean cried out to him, "Anti please. . . . please just stop"

Anti smirked at him sinisterly, "Why should I, Seany-boy?"

Sean swallowed, "Because you're not the fucking executioner. You're not the one who gets to fucking decide who deserves pain and who doesn't!"

Anti snarled but he did stop.

"Why hurt innocent people, too? Why? What's the point of it? You say Chase deserves it but then why hurt the others that you have? That makes you worse than him!"

Anti growled and glared at Sean but stepped off of Chase, "N̵O̴ ̶I̶'̴M̶ ̶N̸O̸T̷!̷ What, you think YOU'RE better than ME!? You C̷R̶E̵A̸T̴E̵D̸ me! If anyone's the monster here, i̶t̶'̷s̵ ̸y̵o̷u̸!̶"

"You're right"

Anti stumbled, looking confused but he was still insane at the moment.

"You're right, Anti. I thought of you. I made you. But I'm not the only one who brought you to life. Your fans helped. They wanted you to exist. What, you're going to say that your fans are monsters or freaks, too? You love your fans, Anti"

Anti snarled at him,"It's all your fault! Their pain is on Y̸O̵U̷!̶ Not me!" he giggled like mad, "Preaching to me with your stupid fucking PMA bullshite! You're a liar! Worse than me! I hate you! I̷ ̸h̸a̶t̴e̷ ̶y̴o̷u̶ ̶a̷l̸l̶!̷"̵

He went to lunge at Sean and he almost hit him but stopped himself. Anti suddenly clutched his head, groaning. He started to breathe heavily, ̶͙͋"̸̯͘Ị̶͆ ̶͕̅ h̸̯̑ả̸͍ẗ̷̹́e̵̢͗ ̴̻́ ȳ̴̝o̶̻͐u̵̒ͅ!̶̦̽ ̶̗̆Y̶͖̔o̶̱͝û̸̠'̷̖̾ȑ̶̭ě̶̥ ̷͔̕t̷̹͋ḥ̴͋ẻ̷͖ ̴̟̒m̵͇͂o̴̜͝n̵̝̏s̷̟̿t̶̢͊e̸̛͉ŗ̸̈́.̶̱̄ ̵̮̑.̶̱̌ ̷͖͐.̶͇͑.̷̫̔ ̸̰̅d̸̗͋ḛ̶͗s̵̠̃ē̵̦r̷̡̅v̸̧̏e̸̯͘ ̷̧͘i̸̖͠t̶̳̃.̵̱̃ ̴͇̚Á̵̲l̴͓͌l̵͇͑ ̶̹́ ò̸̫f̴̟̾ ̵̺̇ ỳ̴̲ò̶͈ü̴͎"̶̠̒ his glitching was getting spiratic.

"Uncle Anti?"

Chase looked up to see Kallie and Sammy from the kitchen looking very scared at worried but not about him. About Anti.

Sammy stayed back but Kallie started to come towards him.

"Kallie, no! Stay away from him!" Chase shouted.

Anti turned his eyes at the little girl that was standing a little ways away from him. One of the children he had planned on torturing and killing. A smirk rose on his face, "̴̹̑d̷̡͂e̷̫͐s̴̡̔è̶̡r̴̳̆v̸̳̚e̶̠͒ ̴̮̂ḯ̶̺ẗ̴̲~"̴̙̀ ̷̼̓he chanted but still held his head in pain. Like he was fighting something.

"Kallie" Sean tried to warn her to run away. Jackie and Marvin were about to attack Anti with his guard down when suddenly something VERY strange happened.

Kallie bolted towards Anti and hugged him around the waist, "It's okay, Uncle Anti. Just breathe, alright? You'll feel better soon, then"

Anti glared down at the small human in distaste. He was about to rip her away and hit her but he stopped himself. He didn't know why.

He shook and glitched furiously but the girl wasn't bothered by it.

"Get away from me you little-"

"It's okay Uncle Anti. Everybody can have a panic attack. I get them all the time at school, remember? I told you"

Anti quieted but his breathing was starting to get a little better. The girl just held onto him.

Everyone in the room watched in shock as Anti's eyes started to turned back to normal. The green aura slowly died down.

Sammy ran up to the both of them and joined in the hug, "We're here for you Uncle Anti. Remember? Just like the last time, right?"

Anti gasped out a breathe like he just came out of the ocean and suddenly crumpled to the floor on his knees, gripping onto the kids like a lifeline. He started crying, hugging them for dear life but the kids weren't bothered by it. It was like they had seen him do this before.

"It's okay, Uncle Anti." Kallie kissed his cheek sweetly, "Daddy didn't mean to yell at you. Daddy was just sad again. He loves you. We all do"

Anti balled his eyes out at her words and held both the kids like another child in pain. Sean and the other egos watched, heartbroken. Anti really didn't want to hurt them. He stopped himself again.

No one else saw Chase get up. No one realized he was walking towards them until Chase fell to the ground behind the kids. Anti looked up terrified but saw Chase's tears, crying and sobbing as well, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Anti"

He joined in the hug, hugging the three of them tightly. Anti didn't move but accepted the hug, crying into Chase's shoulder like his own child.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Anti cried to him as well but Chase only held him tighter.

The others were so moved by the moment, they couldn't help themselves. Sean was next to come over and hugged Anti from behind as did Jackie. Marvin came in from the side of them and JJ from the other side. Henrik came over but since he wasn't much of a hugger, he pet Anti's hair gently, discretely wiping his tears away from under his glasses.

It almost seemed like hours before they all finally parted from each other. Anti was still shivering from what had happened but Jackie helped him up onto his feet and led him to the couch. In this moment, Anti was willing to get all the affection in the world, and clung onto Jackie, still tearing up, his eyes blood-shot and red and he was hiccuping. In short, he was a fucking emotional wreck.

Chase led his kids away to apologize to them and comfort them. Even once he jokingly said, "Please don't tell your mother"

After a while, Marvin teleported the kids home and Chase went back in the living room. Cautiously, he went to the couch and sat besides Anti. Everyone was floored when Anti lunged at Chase, burying his face into his chest, crying again, mumbling about how sorry he was, glitching here and there.

Chase just hugged him back. This was what he wanted all along right? All he wanted was for Anti to give a shit about him. But now. . . .he almost wished he didn't. He didn't want to see Anti like this. He hushed him softly like a child and rubbed his back, "It's okay, Anti. It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's not your fault"

He forced up Anti's legs onto the couch so he could cuddle up to him easier and the others just sat around them providing their comfort, Jackie rubbing Anti's back on the other side of him.

"I didn't mean to s-snap. I didn't want to. I didn't- I'm sorry" he kept mumbling and it got Henrik thinking.

"Your episodes, Anti. . . they are triggered by panic attacks. . . . zhat's why you never snapped vhen you were locked in your apartment. You were calm with no one around you" Henrik analyzed him more, "And you have social anxiety and depression. Your suicidal actions"

Jackie forced Anti's hoodie sleeves up carefully to view his scars. Where he had continually cut himself. Anti tried hiding away the scars but Chase stopped him and merely pulled up his own sleeves. Anti shuddered, seeing the cuts.

"You think you're the only one, Anti? I didn't stop trying to kill myself after trying to shoot myself, dude. I didn't stop trying to hurt myself. To end it all. You were right. Always right. I deserved every bit of pain for what I did"

Anti stared at the cuts. He never knew Chase did it too . . . .

Henrik sighed, "I always thought you two were far more alike than you realized. Chase does the same things .. . . except. . . not as extreme or as violent as you, Anti"

Anti hugged into Chase again but didn't say anything. How could they both have hated each other being so similar? They were so much more alike than they thought.

Maybe that was why. . . . because they hated themselves?

"I'm so sorry Anti" Sean spoke this time and he looked up to him.

His creator sighed deeply, still tearing up himself and choking on his words, "This is all my fault, you were right. I thought of you. I made you this way. I didn't know you'd become real, I swear! I didn't want that. I didn't want you to go through this pain. I didn't know you could, even, at first. All this time preaching positive things to everyone and I created someone like you. In pain all the time. Living in fear and anguish for what you do when you just get angry. It's not your fault, Anti. It's no one's fault but mine. I did all of this"

Sean got up and walked away, leaving the egos amongst themselves. The Mac 'n Cheese was still cooking but none of them felt hungry after everything that just happened.

A few hours later, they were all still lounged on the couch and Chase still held Anti in his arms. Sean had left, turning off the stove for them so their dinner wouldn't burn, not that they cared. Most of them were asleep now, Anti especially, curled into Chase's chest, his head under Chase's chin as his arms were wrapped around Anti. Jackie was sprawled on the couch, his back against Anti's and Marvin was sitting up seemingly napping his legs stretched across Jackie's. JJ was in the chair next to the couch but leaned his head onto the armrest of the couch next to Chase. The only other one who was awake was Henrik.

"How'd it come to this, Henrik?" Chase asked him, "Any theories, Doc?"

The doctor sighed, "Even I do not know that answer, Chase. A lot has happened. Everyone has gone through so much but not as much as you and Anti. Birds of a feather, you two."

"Yeah" Chase looked over at the feather Anti created on the canvas. The one he threw in anger. It was still laying on the floor a little ways away, "Two birds of a feather"

-8888888888888888888888888888888-

"Master, what do you wish us to do? When do we strike?"

Actor smirked at one of his pawn's excitement, "Soon, friend. Very soon."

They watched the house from a camera they planted nearby. Before Anti had glitched him and Dark away, he had one of his men shoot a tracker onto Anti's clothes. It was easy to find where they lived and he had been watching their every move since for the last two weeks. Soon they would make their move.

Actor lightly dragged his hand down his mask on the one half of his face, 'Soon, Anti. Soon, I'll make you pay for what you did. And you'll regret it'

He grinned, his brownish-red eyes gleaming dangerously. He had big plans.

But first he'd drop by and see an old 'friend'.