Alter-Native

Chapter ten

Being trapped in your own mind is not something that Jensen really wanted. Since Anti had possessed him, he was always trapped in an endless loop of death, and repeatedly seeing the people he cared about getting shot only fueled his rage even more. Markiplier Manor stood untouched, at least from his perspective it lay untouched. The only good thing is that when he and Jared hid the staff, they hid it in a secure room in the manor. Jensen had to ensure he didn't reveal it in case something terrible went wrong. Anti looked at the manor with a sneer and immediately tried to knock the door down, no one was inside and he figured that the staff would be easy to find. But he was wrong as the manor seemed to get larger the more he tore through each room and there was no sign of the staff.

"Where is it!" Anti exclaimed.

"You won't find it!" Jensen exclaimed despite being inside his own head. "Good luck trying to get it out of me you asshole!" Anti growled at those words but still refused to let Jensen go. This staff was the key to his success and no Golden Dawn agent was going to stop him, upon reaching the library he could see an object glowing in the distance.

"Really your friend thought hiding it in a library was a good idea?" Anti asked.

"Who would remotely think of the library you dick?" Jensen said, remaining quiet. Jensen had to stall otherwise his friends wouldn't get there on time and he'd figure it out.

***

Anti closed in on the staff in front of him, the closer he got the more confident he became. Before he could reach it, Ethan suddenly appeared before him, except Blank wasn't in control. The dimness in his eyes suddenly became brighter, Anti took a step back. He hadn't thought that it was possible to revert the alter egos back but it seemed that Chase had come up with something.

"Get out of my way." Anti ordered.

"Not a chance Anti, you've ruined enough lives with your insanity," Ethan responded. "It's time you give him back control."

"You'll have to be more specific," Anti chuckled. "I've taken control of every single one of the alter egos that I've come across to make the assailant weak. Jensen is no different than all the others," he continued. "He's got a strong ego, but I can't exactly bring him out until I have the staff."

"You know I'm not going to let you do that." Ethan responded. Anti walked toward Ethan, like a moth drawn to a flame.

"You're a lot braver than you were before," Anti said, circling Ethan. "How did you take control from Blank in the first place? Surely you didn't take control that easily."

"I would tell you but I know better than to give you any information," Ethan responded. "So kiss my ass," Anti grew furious and he reached out as if to strangle Ethan but his hand went right through him. "You didn't think it would be that easy?" Ethan asked. Anti growled realizing that he had been talking to a hologram the entire time. Jared took his chance to attack Anti from behind thanks to Ethan's distraction, but Anti grabbed his wrist from behind and knocked him on his back. Instantly, Jared got back to his feet and fought back mostly holding back so he wouldn't hurt his best friend. The minute that Anti swung he grabbed his wrists and knocked Jared to the floor, the impact echoed throughout the manor.

"Now Jared it's not nice to sneak up on a friend." Anti said.

"Don't pull that card with me Anti, get out of him!" Jared demanded.

"Or what?" Anti asked, twisting Jared's hand causing him to scream. "I could do a whole lot worse to you, if I wanted to, you've gotten in my way so many times." Jared kicked him between his legs forcing Anti to get off him while he recovered.

"And I'm never going to stop," Jared responded. "And I'm not going to let you get that staff, so get out of him!" He exclaimed. Anti recovered quickly and could feel Jensen screaming inside his head to be set free. Jared used this opportunity to go make sure the staff was safe, he couldn't let Anti get his hands on it. While walking through the hall he could hear the sound of whispering, which confused him but he figured it was the staff. Jared tuned them out not wanting to listen to whatever the staff had to say, but a thought suddenly occurred to him. What if the staff was the key to forcing Anti out of Jensen, it was risky but it might work.

***

Anti struggled to stay on his feet with all of Jensen's strong will, it was like trying to stand on a brick in the middle of a river. He could hear the sound of whispering and at first Anti thought that Jensen was attempting to annoy him to no end to be released, but as it progressed he realized it was the staff. "Only one can remain, and feel my power." If he wasn't a demon Anti would have been freaked out, he followed the sound and dreamed about all the things he could do with the staff. When he came across the room that held the staff he was surprised to see that it was gone, and even more shocked to find Jared trying to grab it. You idiot don't touch it, Jensen thought and fought against Anti's control to stop his friend from doing something stupid.

"Oh I never guessed you were a fool, you know what will happen." Anti said.

"Guess I'm not the only one." Jared responded. Raising the staff over his head, Jared swung and broke the object, the crystal broke into twelve pieces, each disappearing into a strange mist. The entire manor shook with each moment nearly making everyone almost fall over. Light exited from Jensen causing him to collapse and the manor calmed down.