Remember

Return

When Jackaboy and Anti went into Jack's room, they were surprised to find other patients already there with gifts for the unconscious Irishman, their faces lighting up as the pair stepped in.

There was a young girl with long blond hair holding a plate of cookies, another young girl with short dark brown hair with flowers, a young boy with pastel purple hair holding a stuffed bear, a teen boy with short purple hair holding a box of chocolate, and a girl with magenta tips in her hair holding a card.

"My name's Lyla, we heard about who you were visiting and wanted to help." The girl with blond hair spoke up.

"I'm Issac, I already know that you guys are the real Anti and Jackaboy-Man." Issac crowed proudly, Anti looking into his multicolored eyes to avoid staring at the scars on his body caused by self harm.

"My name's Joanna, I know things kinda suck, but you guys have helped so many people over the past couple of days." The girl with short brown hair chimed in brightly, an idea coming to the hero's mind.

"Maybe if everyone we helped came in and talked about how Jack's helped them, maybe he'll remember?" Jackaboy suggested hopefully, Anti shrugging in response.

"My name's Kora, I don't mind finding everyone." The girl with magenta tips volunteered before running out of the room. 

"Anti..." Jackaboy trailed off as he held up a hand for the demon to see, his body gradually turning translucent.

"My name's Kai...are you a ghost?" The boy with short purple hair asked, Jackaboy chuckling quietly.

"I guess I am." Jackaboy admitted, pushing away his fear as more of his body started to disappear.

Jackaboy held his arm close to his chest as all of the people the egos had talked to over the past several days came in, the room quickly becoming crowded.

Issac hid far from everyone else and flinched whenever someone touched him, his eyes shining with discomfort.

"Hey Issac, you doing okay?" Anti asked the boy softly, kneeling down in front of him.

Issac was fiddling with a knife in his hand, moving to press it to his arm before Anti gently grabbed his hand and took the knife from him, shaking his head.

"I just want to feel something." Issac whispered, Anti smiling sympathetically as he ruffled Issac's hair.

"Here, try cutting me." Anti directed, offering the knife to Issac.

"No, I care about you." Issac mumbled, his eyes widening in realization as Anti stood up with a wink.

"That's how other people feel when you do that to yourself."

With that, Anti scanned the room to find Jackaboy kneeling next to Jack with his right arm completely invisible, none of the kids seeming to notice him.

Jackaboy's eyes shone with tears as he reached out to touch Joanna's shoulder, his hand passing through her as if he was a ghost.

"Hey!" Jackaboy shouted, only Anti able to hear or see him.

"No no no no," Jackaboy chanted as he held his head in his hands, tearing at his hair as Anti kneeled next to him.

Anti looked away when he noticed Jack shift in his sleep, his eyes cracking open to see his room filled with people.

"Where...where am I?" Jack muttered groggily as he held a hand to his head, wincing in pain as he struggled to sit up.

Jackaboy's body faded away as Jack looked around him, Anti swallowing hard as he heard the hero's cries echoing in his ears.

"Jack, you're awake!" Lyla cheered happily, the Irishman frowning in confusion.

"Who's Jack? You must have the wrong room, my name's Seán." Jack replied, the kids exchanging a concerned look.

"You've helped all of us with your YouTube channel." Chloe spoke up, hugging the bear JJ had given her.

"You're funny," AJ added with a grin.

"Kind," the male AJ contributed.

"Childish," Sam giggled.

"Caring," Joanna stated.

"Selfless," Alice interjected.

"Positive," Kai supplied.

"Our hero." The kids stated in unison, Jack closing his eyes with a frown while Anti pressed a hand to Jack's head to go into his mind.

"Ya hear that? There's kids out there that care about you." Anti stated as he looked at Jack, the Irishman curled up alone in the darkness.

"I can't remember...all I remember is all of the dark times in my life." Jack admitted, Anti smiling sadly.

"You gotta remember PMA." Anti countered, a flicker of recognition visible in Jack's eyes.

"PMA..." Jack murmured thoughtfully, Anti offering him a hand up.

"Positive," Anti grunted as he helped Jack up.

"Mental," Anti continued as he hugged Jack close. 

"Attitude." Anti finished, the demon leaving Jack's mind.

When Anti opened his eyes, all of the egos were back and seemed okay, the kids swarming around them while Jack laid his head back down on the pillow.

JJ was nearly tackled to the floor by Chloe as he reappeared, the mute smiling happily as he hugged her back.

Alice and Sam were talking with Robbie and holding onto him, the zombie laughing happily as they talked about games they could play.

Schneep was speaking to Grace with an excited smile, Chase standing nearby with Ryan.

Danny was showing Marvin all of the changes she had made while Marvin was gone, the magician showing off some of his tricks.

Jackaboy was eating the cookies Lyla had made with a relieved smile lighting up his face, the hero listening to Lyla talk.

"Jesus, what happened while I was out?" Jack wondered aloud as he glanced at Anti, the demon smirking in reply.

"There's a lot for you to remember."

A/N: there's one last chapter (the epilogue), so I hope you guys enjoyed this book!