Ego One shots- Oct-Dec 2017

Jack and Meds

There were a lot of times when Anti would go out late, but this time in particular made Chase concerned. He talked to Jackie and Marvin but they didn't seem to care. Even ze good doctor didn't bat an eye to Chase's worries. He knew they could all feel something wasn't right. All the septics were connected in a way. When there were strong, foreign feeling going on with one of them, they could all sense it. That's how Chase found himself alone, at 2 am standing against the wall of an alleyway, he could see the bar that anti frequently went to across the street. The closer he got, the worse it felt.

He knew one thing for certain, Anti was drunk. Drunk out of his mind. Chase didn't know whether to go in and collect his darker doppelganger, or let him pass out and piss off some random bartender, leading to him probably getting his ass kicked. He didn't know which to do, so he just stood there. It wasn't often that Anti got completely wasted. A few times Chase would find him in the morning passed out on the cabin floor, attempting to make it to his room but falling short.

Every time it happened, when he got wasted, it would always be because of something. Last time was after he attacked Henrik. When he was brought back to sanity, Schneeplestein went after Anti. Chase had never seen the Doc so angry before. It was the first time Anti began to see the effects of his little games. None of them had to wonder why they all woke up the next morning will minor headaches.

Chase's attention was caught when through the bar windows, he could see bottles begin to fly. Anti was probably just admitting that he couldn't, or wasn't planning on paying his tab. The chaos continued until Anti's glitched figure appeared in outside the bar. Anti looked back and snickered, stumbling away with a bottle of Jack in his hand. Chase was about to leave and wait for him at Jack's old cabin, but then he saw the other ego collapse, hitting his head on the pavement as he did. They were all going to feel that in the morning. Chase sighed and ran over to him.

Chase looked down and sighed at the drunken man. He tapped his side with his foot. "Hey, glitch. Get up before that bartender comes out here," The glitch moaned but showed no sign of moving. Chase could already feel the pain in his head. He must have really hit his head hard. Chase bent down and help Anti up with one arm behind his back, the other holding him up. "Come on, we're going home," Anti shook his head and stopped the two.

"Walking'll take too long," he slurred out.

Chase rolled his eyes. "Anti yer too drunk to stand but you really think you can glitch us back to the cabin?" Anti looked at the other ego, his eye lidded. He cracked his neck and breathed out, and suddenly the two were at the cabin.

Chase looked around, surprised. "Oh,"

"I glitch when I'm drunk before," Anti's words were slow and mumbled, but Chase could still understand him, barely. "Now if you'll excuse me," He pushed Chase away and began making his way to the attic. When the egos realized how their numbers had grown, they decided that they'd might as well live together and all have their own space. Anti chose to be far away from them all, so he chose the attic. None of the others objected.

As he was walking, he nearly bashed into the dining table. Chase ran to his side to help. Anti again pushed him away. "Get off me!" He winced at the pain in his head. Chase didn't listen, he just kept trying to help him. Eventually he stopped fighting and let Chase walk him to his room. Once there, Anti collapsed on his bed. Chase left, but immediately returned with a first aid kit. Even though they had the doctor, it was always good to be prepared in case he wasn't there.

When he came back, Anti was already half asleep. Chase drug a chair to the side of the bed. "Hey don't pass out yet. Drink a little water and take some of these, it'll help with the headache," Anti sighed and sat up just enough for Chase to properly examine him.

As he was working, Anti sipped his water. The two were silent. Chase never bothered to ask what lead Anti to do this. Regardless of how much he wanted to know, he knew Anti would only close him off more. Anti glanced at Chase, looking for something in his eyes. Annoyance, sorrow, pity, curiosity. Anything that could give him a read, but Chase's face was frozen and emotionless. "Come on Brody," He muttered. "I know you're wondering. Just ask already," He took a stab in the dark, wanted to get a frustrated reaction from him. But there wasn't one. Chase just shrugged and kept working. Anti let out a huff. "I don't know why you put up with me. All the others wouldn't give a rat's if I went out to the bar and was never seen again. In fact I'm sure they'd prefer it," chase place the wrap over the wound on his forehead and began cleaning up the bandage.

"Get some sleep Anti," Chase said and left Anti alone in the dark.

The glitch fell back into his pillow. "Whatever," He mumbled and drifted off to sleep. His dreams were empty that night.

Chase would never admit to the others why he did what he did. He questioned himself about it constantly. No matter what, his mind always reminded him of the first time his son came home with a raging hangover after going to a party with his school mates. The two bickered in middle of the night, waking both his wife and their their youngest, causing more issues. His son wouldn't talk to him for a week after that and things only went downhill from there. He hadn't treated that situation right, and now he could never try again. At least not in that house, but maybe he had a chance in this one.

Even though he didn't ask, Chase wondered what it was this time that pushed him so far. He was sitting on the couch, a glass of water in his hands. He could never seem to understand the glitch. He was so unpredictable. It was getting close to Halloween, is powers were thriving, so it made no sense for him to be down. Chase didn't get it. He placed his glass down, noticing the black paper crane next the coaster, thinking that he may never know what Anti was trying to bury away under a bottle of Jack.