Chained Puppet

Like A Dog

No matter what Chase said to Stacey, they both ended up agreeing that she should take the kids back home for now. They'd wait until this whole thing blew over and until then, they could facetime.

They were upset about leaving so soon but they managed to get one more hug from all of their uncles and dad before leaving. Stacey wished them luck and pecked a small kiss on Chase's cheek.

Anti already missed the brats, a sudden tension looming in the air with Dark's presence. They may have all agreed that he could stay but it wasn't exactly welcome.

Dark glanced over at Anti but before either of them could say anything, Marvin grabbed his arm to lead him upstairs, "Marv!" Anti whined but let the magician drag him to his room.

He shut the door behind him and nearly squeaked in panic, "The fuck are we gonna do now!?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean!? Now we have another psychopath hovering over us!"

"He doesn't seem that bad"

"Yeah, well you don't remember him" Marvin scoffed, "And we don't even know what all sort of abilities Dark has, actually. He could be watching us now" the magician turned paranoid but Anti just chuckled.

"You worry too much"

Marvin sighed and put his hands on his hips, "Whatever. We should hurry along already though. We've wasted enough time" he reached for Anti but he glitched back suddenly.

"Hey what'd you do that for? Come here"

Anti narrowed his eyes at him, "Marv . . . . . I may have your magic inside me but I'm not your personal battery. I won't be treated like one. Not anymore"

He let his hand fall and turned away, "Y-you're right. Sorry, Anti. It's just . . . we're so close to something, you know? If I'm able to remember what happened it could help us in taking down the puppeteer or whatever we're calling him."

"I understand" Anti reassured him, "But I'm pretty tired now. I think we should take a break. Both of us. Maybe get back to it tomorrow?"

Marvin looked as if he'd argue but took a deep breath, "Fine. I guess you're right. Can't have Schneep yelling at me again like earlier."

Anti was about to leave but Marvin stopped him again, "Just be careful alright? If Dark does or says anything weird to you, you let us know."

"Yeah, yeah, ya worry-wart." Anti chuckled and left the room. He wanted to go take a nap in his own room but he didn't want to be rude either so he went back downstairs with the others.

Chase had gotten Dark a mug of tea and was trying his best to be a good host, getting Dark some pillows and blankets so he'd be comfortable on the couch. Luckily this was a fold-out couch and doubled as a bed. 

Once Dark saw Anti again, he curled his fingers to ask for him to come over to him. Not thinking anything of the action, Anti did, making the Iplier ego frown.

"You really were his pawn, weren't you?"

"Huh?"

The others stopped what they were doing to listen to the conversation as Dark continued, "You just followed a command unconsciously like a dog. It's proof that even if you don't remember, your subconscious recognizes the need to obey without question."

" . . . . Or I was trying to be polite"

Dark rolled his eyes, "Perhaps. But my hypothesis is a bit more correct considering your history. The mystery Septic-"