ȚHÉ PÜPPÉȚ MÃŞȚÉŘ

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

“‘m Issac.”, he told Anti, because he wasn’t Jim! Jim and Jim were Jim! He had barely an idea what they were saying, but it was very amusing to him.

"Hi." Anti whispers, another small giggle escaping him. "I'm Anti. Trying to be quiet. Hiding from daddy." He grins and giggles again. It was just too much fun to hide! He used to hide a lot back at the lab. He would use his powers to teleport into vents and other small spaces where no one could find him for a long time.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

The mysterious and brooding ego can't help but immediately think about Issac as soon as he's left the room. He shouldn't be so nervous to leave the boy in a room without him being there to supervise, but Issac is surrounded by the other egos right now. What's the worst that could happen? Well...bad things have happened before, but surely Issac will be kept safe. He has to be, otherwise Dark will snap the necks of anyone who dares to hurt his child.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

“I deem child Anti adorable, and he needs all the love in the world. He hadn’t had a good childhood, Henrik.”, Edward said and sighed. When they entered the dining room, he noted that Dark was there, which made him wonder where Issac may be. Either somewhere nearby, or somewhere on his own.

“No worries Darkipoo! Everything is a-okay!”, Wilford smiled at Dark, leaning over to give him a tiny little quick peck on the cheek. “Ellie made sure Stephen left, and Jujubee took care of everything else. They’re great!”, while Wilford lacked the understanding of how life and death worked like, he knew his crew (who didn’t end up shot accidentally) made certain things were going cleanly and smoothly.

Anti plays by himself for a good ten minutes or so before he decides that he's gotten bored. Blocks can be fun and all, but eventually, when you don't have anyone else to play with, anything can become basic and useless. He drags his new favorite stuffed dragon behind him as he waddles around the living room, occasionally taking a tumble before picking himself right back up. He can hear the voices coming from the dining room and decides that it's worth checking out. He plans on making a game out of it, though, to see how long he can sneak around before anyone spots him. He'll be a little ghost! And ghosts are cool.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

“Quite productive!”, Wilford replied with a big grin. “I found someone who totally looked like a dad, so I interviewed him on how to be a good dad, and I learned a lot! Stephen really seemed to enjoy himself, he didn’t even want to leave at the end!”, he laughed brightly, squeezing Dark’s hand lightly. So Wilford had kidnapped a random person, and knowing him, his studio had gotten a fresh pool of blood today. Seemed normal enough!

The Jims, seeing how they were determined to stay with “tiny Jim” schemed their biggest scheme -stealing food from the table sneakily so they didn’t have to sit up at the table. They did that sometimes either ways -sometimes when food was served, someone just gave them a plate of food down there.

"Please tell me you cleaned up after the incident this time." Dark mutters under his breath. He doesn't need to risk Issac hearing about Wilfor murdering a man, though the toddler seems to be preoccupied by the Jims still. "We have a child in the Manor, Wil. This is the one time I am begging you to keep yourself and our home free of blood and corpses." He growls quietly under his breath as he meets his lover's gaze.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

He starts to grow worried when he can't immediately find him, his aura flaring up violently. "Issac?!" He calls out again, his voice deeper and booming this time. He walks back towards the dining room fearfully, silently hoping that the boy did not even consider going in there. When he storms into the room, the table seems to die down, most of the men falling silent.

Dark immediately makes his way over to Wilford, trusting his husband to tell him where the boy is. If anyone has seen Issac, it's going to be the pink-obsessed psycho that he chose to marry. "Warfstache." He says firmly as he walks up and stand behind his lover. "Where's the boy?" He asks, gritting his teeth impatiently. His voice echoes through the room. He was panicked.

Anti squirms impatiently with excitement as he watches Edward grab the box of building blocks and places them down on the floor. He squeaks happily as he immediately reaches into the box and grabs a block. He grabs them based on color instead of letters or numbers that are carved into them.

He places a red one down, before grabbing a blue one and stacking it on top of the first block. As he continues this process, he occasionally glances over at his daddy, wanting him to be amazed by his building skills. He even puts his dragon to the side so he can completely focus on stacking the blocks, already having five all neatly placed together.

He looked up when Henrik came by, smiling at the german doctor. “I’ve been adopted.”, he tells him, chuckling lightly. “It’s quite alright. I’m taking off of work -vacation days stack up anyways.”, he shrugged lightly. He enjoyed being with Anti, especially since he was adopted as daddy. “Anti darling? I have to go eat dinner. Can you stay here on your own? You can build me the tallest tower for when I’m back.”, he gently ran his hand over Anti’s head, smiling lightly. “And if you need me, you can just call loudly for me.”.

Barely anyone noticed the toddler when he had waddled into the room. The ones likeliest to find him did- the Jims. They had seated themselves left and right of Issac, as the toddler had seated himself beneath the table, and were excitedly whispering. “A tiny Jim, Jim! This might be blind Jim!”, Jim told Jim, who nodded excitedly. “Tiny Jim! We are Jim, and Jim.”, Jim introduced himself and Jim to Issac, who was giggling delightfully listening to the two of them.

None of the three heard Dark call for Issac, barely noticing when the room grew quiet -the Jims excitedly whispering to themselves and Issac.

Wilford had been lounging in his chair, waiting for dinner and playing with his knife, looking startled when Dark walked in. He blinked up at Dark, confused for a moment. Where’s- oh! “I’ve not seen the little one without you around.”, he hummed, looking around. Noticing the hushed whispers as the only other sound, he curiously looked beneath the table.

"You go!" Anti says, gently placing a hand on Edward's arm and looking up at him. "Will make da bigges' tower!" He exclaims with a giggle before looking away from his daddy and returning to his work.

Henrik looks at his fellow doctor with an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed over his chest. "Seriously?" He chuckles as he shakes his head from side to side. "Well, whatever makes him happy, I suppose. At least he isn't trying to murder anyone." He gestures for Edward to follow him as he starts to walk out of the living room. "Come along then, doctor. Since Marvin and Jackie aren't home, there's extra food waiting for us for once."

Dark's aura immediately fades back to it's normal wavy form when Wilford shows him exactly where Issac is. He takes a deep, long sigh of relief as he watches the toddler interact with the Jims. He seems to be alright on his own, for now, at least. He decides to not gain the toddler's attention, to instead let him continue to interact with the twins.

"Ah. Nothing to worry about then." Dark says as he stands up straight and adjusts his suit jacket. He would attend dinner himself, but the man hasn't had to eat to survive in years. He'll still sit at the table beside his husband, since Issac is here. He doesn't mind conversing with other adults right now, anyway.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

He starts to grow worried when he can't immediately find him, his aura flaring up violently. "Issac?!" He calls out again, his voice deeper and booming this time. He walks back towards the dining room fearfully, silently hoping that the boy did not even consider going in there. When he storms into the room, the table seems to die down, most of the men falling silent.

Dark immediately makes his way over to Wilford, trusting his husband to tell him where the boy is. If anyone has seen Issac, it's going to be the pink-obsessed psycho that he chose to marry. "Warfstache." He says firmly as he walks up and stand behind his lover. "Where's the boy?" He asks, gritting his teeth impatiently. His voice echoes through the room. He was panicked.

Anti squirms impatiently with excitement as he watches Edward grab the box of building blocks and places them down on the floor. He squeaks happily as he immediately reaches into the box and grabs a block. He grabs them based on color instead of letters or numbers that are carved into them.

He places a red one down, before grabbing a blue one and stacking it on top of the first block. As he continues this process, he occasionally glances over at his daddy, wanting him to be amazed by his building skills. He even puts his dragon to the side so he can completely focus on stacking the blocks, already having five all neatly placed together.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

Anti continues to make the 'beep' noise and to bounce his toy around until he gets tired, eventually just hugging his dragon close quietly. "Like to make noise". He mutters. But now he's thinking about the toys that are waiting for him. Blocks sound like so much fun right now! He can't wait to show daddy how good his block building skills are.

"You want me to show you around?" Dark hums in response after Issac exclaims, saying he wants to explore. "I suppose we can do that." He nods, gesturing for the toddler to follow him along as he wanders past the living room and the kitchen. Across from the kitchen is a dining room, where the other egos are starting to gather for dinner. He walks right past the room, not wanting Issac to be frightened by the crowd of other egos. He instead walks past all of that to a set of doors that leads out into the backyard.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

"You want socks?" He asks upon hearing Issac's exclamation. He looks through the box of clothes before finding a pair of nice fuzzy socks in the same shade of blue as Issac's sweater.

"Here we are. These will keep your feet nice and warm." He then helps the boy put his socks on. "Are you all set and ready to play now?" He asks. "What should we do first? Where do you wanna go?" He's curious to see what Issac plans on doing.

Anti squeaks happily when Edward offers to carry him, sucking on his pacifier as he reaches his arms out towards his daddy in response. "Uppie!" He says with excitement. He loved being held close to his caretaker. It takes him feel safe and warm.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

When blocks are mentioned, he does lift his head almost instantly to look up at Edward with a newfound excitement. "Blocks!" He squeaks happily. He knows what blocks are! Those are one of the few things he got to have in the lab. Kids would trade toys and he often got blocks or, in that one situation, his stuffed bunny that he now keeps for himself.

Dark chuckles softly at Issac's excitement, watching fondly as the golden-eyed boy digs through the box, finding something to wear. He takes note of how Issac seems to pay attention to textures and patterns. That intrigues him. Perhaps certain textures really bother him? That would explain the fit he had with the shorts.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

"Ah, here's what you're looking for." Dark says as he picks up the box and places it down on the ground for Issac to reach. He opens it up and gasps enthusiastically, smiling at the boy standing with him. "Wow, look at all these options! So many colors and patterns." He hums. "It's your choice to make. But I think it all looks very nice." He then falls silent so Issac can fully focus on picking out whatever he wants to bundle up in.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

Dark watches without blinking or daring to turn his head away as Issac makes his way down the stairs. The adult ego himself makes his way to the very bottom of the stairs before waiting on Issac, a proud smile on his face before the toddler even finishes the last step. He applauds the toddler as soon as he climbs off the stairs, a genuine feeling of pride swelling up in his chest.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

"You're doing very well." Dark praises once Issac begins to climb down the stairs. "You're alright. I've got you. Don't focus on my, focus on where you're going." He talks to Issac the whole time, hoping to keep him focused and determined on making it to the bottom of the steps.

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

It all happened so quickly.

Earlier that morning, Marvin stood up at the breakfast table and announced that he wanted to hold a magic show in the Manor theater. Of course, with Dark as the leader of the household, he had every right to say no. But, the fused ego has to admit that he finds it amusing to watch the magician fail. So, he insisted upon everyone meeting in the theatre after breakfast.

He sat in one of the rows further away from the stage with his husband Wilford Warfstache at his side. He should have know things were going to go horribly wrong when Marvin finally appeared on stage and asked the only two egos in the front row, Anti and Host, to be his volunteers for a new trick.

Dark was expecting this new trick to be something stupid and pointless, like making one of the egos disappear and reappear, or a stupid card game that's based purely on luck. But no. Marvin used actual dark magic this time instead of his normal capabilities. Dark watched with fear in the back of his mind as Marvin pulled out a wand and pointed it at Anti and Host. A puff of smoke surrounds the stage for a long moment. When it finally clears...

After a long moment, Dark lets the boy go. "Alright, let's get out of this bathroom and go find something fun to do, yeah?" He says, helping Issac off his lap before standing up with a groan. "Just..try to stay away from strangers. I don't want anyone to scare you. Not everyone is..very friendly, at first."