Duality

Chapter 1

     Upstairs you could hear Mark yelling something and over that the even louder noise of Sean screaming. They had settled in for a livestream which meant you had at least an hour to prepare, cast, and then clean up the evidence of the spell you wanted to practice.

Mark respected your privacy, even if you were dating. Which was good because if he found out you possessed magic, the ones in charge could have you both killed. It was Sean you worried might come into your private basement space while wandering. You shut the door to your sanctuary and descended into a space lit entirely by flickering candles. You supposed it was a little cliche of you as a witch to decorate like so, but it just fit right with your soul.

You approached the chalk circle on the floor and began to fill it in with lines of sand until there was a pentacle in the center. In French, you chanted. The lights flickered but you paid no attention. If you stopped in the middle things could horribly wrong, even if it was just a simple spell to change your physical appearance. The light bulb overhead popped and showered glass down on you. You winced and continued to speak, but you stumbled over a conjugation. All the candles whooshed out and the house went dead silent. You fished a flashlight from your pocket and started for the stairs to go back up. "Mark? Sean?" You called.

There was no answer. The house was in total darkness, broken up only by the beam of light emitted from the flashlight you wielded. You began to venture upstairs to where Mark had been recording before the incident. Oh god, what if you had banished him to an alternate plane of existence just because you got startled trying to alter your hair color without dye? You caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and startled. Your hair had streaks of white in it now and one of your eyes was a pure silver.

This was what happened when spells went wrong, another prime example of why it had been a bad idea to run from your mentor. You thought about calling her now before anything went else went wrong. There was a creak and you spun on your heel to see a floof of green hair. "Sean you scared the shit out of me-"

     He looked up and you gasped, dropping the flashlight and taking a step back.

      Sean's eyes were black and there was a gash on his throat. Anger struck you suddenly. "Very funny Sean. I watch the videos. I know you have a fictional evil alter ego just like Mark. Playing jokes like this on me. Does Mark know-"

     "Oh I'm v-very real." His form glitched with his voice like a computer virus. "Thanks to you, little witch. I had such an easy time taking over this body. Why he even had a name and an image for me already. I'm going to like being Antisepticeye."

     You were convinced. He knew you were a witch. What did that make him? A demon? You ran up the rest of the stairs and locked yourself in the bathroom, sliding to the floor in a panic. You tried to remember everything you knew about Sean and his evil alter ego. The one he made up with his fans! You shook your head. This wasn't going to help. A thought struck. What had he done to Mark? Another thought hit you. What if... Mark was affected too? What if he was Darkiplier now?

     You knew a lot about Dark. A demon who dressed in suits and kept his composure well. Unlike Anti who had electronic powers, Darkiplier focused mainly on making his victims insane with tricks of the mind and other mental fuckery. "(Y/n), I think he's gone. Hurry. Let me in!" It was Mark. He whispered urgently. Without a second thought you stood to unlock the door and would've thrown yourself into Mark's arms. But- It wasn't him. Before you stood your worst nightmare become truth.

     He smiled wickedly and yanked you out by the arm, bleeding red and blue auras. "Darling. Oh... And you thought you knew me. Apparently not well enough to realize I've got his voice too. His body. His everything." He brought you in close, dangling you just off the floor by your elbow.

     You could've trembled. Could've fought. Instead- "Mark I know you're in there! Fight him like you do in those cheesy fanfictions!"

     His grin only grew. "Darling.... You're lucky he likes you so much and that I'm basically him. Lucky I have to play the part of this fabricated evil. Because if not-" He leaned in close to your ear. "I would disembowel you in point three seconds and leave the guts in his hands for him to wake up and find. Oh his delicious mental anguish, better than any other." He dropped you. "Here in this house you will stay. Just know that if you try anything...our vessels will get it." And he disappeared.

X

     Of course you tried the basement only to find Anti down there twirling a knife you knew he was quite proficient with. He grinned and started your way until you ran away again, up to the recording studio. You thought about making a video, leaving it for the fans, but Dark would surely know. He'd know and then he'd hurt Mark's body. You curled and fell asleep on the soundproof foam. You were safe. For now.