Vegorott

“I wanted to take more samples while it was alive, but that didn’t happen,” Mad muttered to himself, pacing the lab with his mallet in hand, one of the faces coated with blood. 

“At least you still have the body.” Anti shrugged, looking at the crushed creature on the floor. “A pancake of a body, but still a body.” He took his phone out when it started ringing and ignored the call. 

“You gathered some living samples by the sounds of it.” Host commented. “We’ll need to be careful with our testing, but it is at least a start.”

“I should have added that extra layer of metal to the cage. I knew it. I knew it. And now Google’s hurt because of me.” Mad mumbled to himself, following a tight, circular path. 

“I don’t like how he’s acting,” Marvin muttered to Jackie, turning away and getting his phone, sending a quick text. He was becoming too used to being a tattler and hated it. 

“The skin will seal up by tomorrow, but I think we should call it a day. Get some extra rest.” Bing said, throwing away the cotton ball. 

“It’s barely a scratch,” Google said. 

“We need to get some extra rest.” Bing gave Google a look. 

“Right, yes, some-uh-some extra rest.” Google cleared his throat. 

“Why the hell am I the last one to learn you have been studying one of those things alive?” Mare demanded as he stormed into the lab with Dark and Chase following close behind. Anti’s phone rang again, and he cursed under his breath as he turned it off.  “And why am I the last to know you fought one of those things without me?” 

“No one got hurt, we didn’t need to worry you,” Chase said before looking at Google. “No one got hurt…yet.” He awkwardly corrected himself. Mare opened his mouth to say something to Chase, but saw the blood on Mad’s mallet and rushed over to him. 

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” Mare held Mad’s upper arms, trying to look him over. 

“I’m fine.” Mad tried to pull away. “I killed the creature when I should have just knocked it out instead.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? It didn’t get you at all? No scratches or bites or-”

“I’m not made of glass, Mare!” Mad suddenly snapped, eyes flashing red. 

There was a long, almost painful pause. 

“Mad?” Mare said softly, watching as Mad's eyes slowly turned into different shades of blue. 

“I’m sorry,” Mad whispered. 

“Maybe you need to call it a day, too,” Jackie suggested.

“No, no, I need to-”

“We’re going home.” Mare cut off Mad’s protest and fully prevented him from protesting even more by sending both of them away in the next blink. 

“And on that note, we’ll be heading out.” Bing grabbed Google’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

“Maybe a rest would be ideal. Let us look at this with a clear mind tomorrow.” Host sighed. “I need something to eat, preferably something sweet.” He muttered to himself as he left the space as well, Night following him in a way that caused Marvin to make a face. Thinking back to Jackie’s comment about them resembling Anti and Dark. 

“Henrik’s calling me?” Marvin forgot his thought and answered the phone. “Yeah? Um…okay?” he turned to Anti and held his phone toward him. “It’s for you.” 

“Fuckin-” Anti took the phone and walked off. “I’m fine, Henrik. I’ll take it later, we’re doing stuff. I feel fine, nothing’s wrong. Later. I promise. Later. Dark wants to-I’m fine!” 

“What do you want to do?” Marvin asked Dark. 

“I want to try something. One of the first steps to help Jackie with his…worries.” 

“Worries?” Chase said. 

“Wait, what are we doing?” Jackie instinctively grabbed Marvin’s hand. 

“That worry.” Dark gestured to the hands. “We’ve worked a bit with this worry, and I think it’s time to try our first step into exposure therapy.” 

“I don’t like this already.” Jackie sank into himself. 

“It’s not going to be anything too excessive. Unlike some of us, I don’t jump into the chaotic side of things first. I think things through.” 

“I feel like there’s a long list of us that fit that ‘some’ criteria.” Chase rolled his eyes. 

“Yes,” Dark stated bluntly. “And my plan is also fairly simple. Jackie, you are going to go to the store. You’ll shop for a few things, be it either a list I’ll make for you or simply things you Septiceyes need or want, and then you’ll return home.”

“How is that supposed to be exposure therapy?” Marvin asked.

“Because you will be staying at the House, Marvin,” Dark answered, and Jackie tensed up a little. “Jackie will go to the store with Chase, and you will remain at the House. You will not be going anywhere else but the House the entire time they are gone.” 

“That’s it?” Marvin hummed. 

“Yes. We’re starting simple. Putting you in the least amount of risk possible while giving him a task that isn’t stress-inducing.” Dark turned to Chase. “Try to keep him out for a while, maybe a few hours, at least one to get this started.”

“We get distracted easily. Doesn’t sound hard.” Chase shrugged. “Let’s head off now, Jackie.”

“Now?” Jackie went stiff.

“Yeah. There’s going to be a Pokémon card restock soon, and I need you to look scary so I can get Robbie and me a few packs before the assholes take them all.”

“I said for it not to be stress-inducing.” Dark pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Jackie just needs to stand there with an angry face, and I’ll do the hard stuff.” Chase waved a hand. “I’ll even let you drive.” He took out a set of keys from his pocket and tossed them to Jackie. 

“I don’t know.” Jackie stared at the keys.

“I promise I won’t leave the House,” Marvin said, putting his hand on Jackie’s shoulder. “I have some reading to do, so I probably won’t even be leaving my room till you two are home.”

“You won’t go anywhere else?” Jackie asked.

“Probably the kitchen for some tea.” Marvin had a playful smile. “You can also text me as much as you want, even call to check in, right, Dark?”

“Yes. The main goal is temporary physical separation. We’ll work our way up to more.” Dark answered. 

“I…guess.” Jackie chewed the inside of his cheek. “We can try.”

x~x~x

Marvin was surprised that Jackie had only called during the first fifteen minutes they were gone, texted a few times after that, and then hadn’t heard from him for a good while. Chase was likely right that they got distracted. Probably messing with some of the toys or eating or something like that. Marvin had seen the pure anxiety in Jackie’s eyes before he and Chase left the House, but he hoped not hearing from him was a good thing. Marvin didn’t like admitting when Dark was right, but he was right. This would be good for Jackie. 

Even if Marvin was finding himself missing him. 

He had gotten used to always having Jackie by his side, and it felt oddly…lonely without him. Marvin went to Jackie’s room and to his closet. Opening the door and seeing the classic red hoodie hanging. He’s caught on to the fact that Jackie owned two identical hoodies. One to wear while the other was being washed. Marvin knew this was silly, but who didn’t love the good old boyfriend hoodie? Maybe it’d make him feel less lonely. 

Marvin grabbed the hoodie and slipped it on, wearing it around the room as he continued his readings. Eventually, he craved some tea, so he went to the kitchen. Chase said he would text when they were on their way home, so Marvin wasn’t worried about being caught. 

“Some extra honey sounds nice,” Marvin said to himself, pausing when he heard the footsteps nearing.

“We’ll bring in the stuff in the morning. Not like anyone lives close by to take it.” Chase said as he and Jackie walked into the room. “Oh, hey, Marvin.” 

“You were supposed to text me,” Marvin said between his teeth. 

“Forgot. We were having fun. Isn’t that right, Jackie?” Chase turned his head and raised a brow. “Jackie?” He saw Jackie standing perfectly still, mouth open and eyes glued to Marvin. “Dude, why are you-oh.” Chase held out the word when he actually saw what Marvin was wearing. “Well, that’s my cue to leave before I get scarred. Have fun.” He gave a salute before walking past the two. 

“Hi, bug. How was the trip?” Marvin asked, trying to sound casual. “You okay?” Jackie responded by suddenly rushing over to Marvin and pulling him into a kiss. 

-----------

“It’s been several days already with no incident. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Chase waved a hand at Anti as a way to silently tell him to ‘save it for later’. “Between Bing, Google, and Mad in that lab at almost all hours, I’m sure everything is going to be fine.” Chase was sitting on one of the couches with Jackie. 

“Would you be saying the same if that creature were inside the Septiceye House?” Dark raised a brow. 

“Our homes are built differently. It’s not comparable.” 

“You could have at least told me the day it happened.” 

“I tried plenty of times these past few days. Every time I called, you hung up before I could get it out. Even Hen called you a few times.” 

“That you have.” Dark pinched the bridge of his nose. “I guess there isn’t much fault to place regarding that anymore. It’s just been a lot here at the Manor lately.” 

“‘A lot’ how?” Marvin asked, leaning against the frame of the living room’s entrance. 

“Some…disagreements.” Dark’s face tightened for a second. 

“Disagreements?” Marvin didn’t like how vague Dark was being. “Are you having issues with Actor?”

“Oddly enough, I’ve barely seen him in the past few days. He spends all his time with Benjamin. I’m hoping that means they’ve settled well and won’t be causing any trouble.” 

“Or they’re making out.” Anti clicked his tongue. 

“Please don’t put the image in my head.” Dark groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. 

“So if it’s not Actor, is it still Night?” Marvin asked, seeing Jackie tense up out of the corner of his eye. 

“Somewhat.” Dark lowered his hand. “I think-”

“Would you just shut up and listen!” A voice yelled from deeper inside the Manor.

“Was that Night?” Jackie stood up. 

“It would be a blessing to never speak to you again in this lifetime!” Another voice shouted.

“Host?” Marvin said with a surprised laugh. “Oh, we should-.” He didn’t even finish his sentence before he was taking off, Jackie scrambling to catch up with him. 

“Like I’m missing the fun.” Anti bounced off the chair, going after the two.

“As I said…a lot.” Dark sighed. 

Marvin followed the voices until he reached the meeting room, stopping at the door and going down to his knees as he peered in. He heard Jackie approaching and wasn't surprised when Jackie leaned on him to look in as well. Marvin paused and looked up when he heard a soft sound from Jackie and saw Anti on his back. He simply shrugged at that and returned his attention to the meeting room. 

Host was sitting at the head of the table, arms crossed, and lips pressed tight. Night sat beside him, a hand to his head and nose scrunched. Marvin was surprised to see that they were sitting, given the shouting they had done. 

“How is it that you still haven’t found it?” Night asked. “You’re able to track all of us easily.”

“It is vastly different from what is being asked of me. Finding a fellow Ego is second nature since I know who we are. Finding the source of the rift is not something I do every day.” 

“I guess when you said you have powers beyond understanding, you also meant that you don’t understand how to use them.” Night scoffed, leaning back in his chair. 

“I guess when you said that you would be able to help us, you were talking straight out of your ass.” Host shot back. 

“I said that I was willing to help. If you’re going to attempt to quote me to insult me, at least do it correctly.” 

“And I said, you talk out of your ass, so there’s a lot of shit I have to dig through to figure out what’s going on.” 

“Their arguing reminds me of something,” Jackie said in a whisper. “Or, well, someones.”

“Who?” Marvin whispered as well. 

“Reminds me of how Anti and Dark used to fight.” 

“Gross. Don’t compare me to Night.” Anti scoffed.

“I was more thinking Night is like the Dark of this fight.” Jackie corrected.

“Oh.” Anti held the word for a second. “Gross. Don’t compare Dark to Night.” 

“At least there’s some interesting one-liners in this fight. Might steal a few for myself.” Marvin joked. “And at least Host isn’t throwing knives at Night.”

“Just admit you can’t take the pressure.” Night scoffed.

“Can’t take it?” Host rose to his feet, waved a hand in the air, and his bat materialized in his palm. He swung the bat forward and pointed the end of it at Night’s face. “How about we test to see what I can take and what I can give.”

“Holy shit, Host is me in this fight,” Anti said. 

“As long as he doesn’t throw up in my toilet.” Marvin clicked his tongue.

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope.” 

“How about you stop threatening-” Night stood up, grabbed the bat, and tugged, forcing Host to move closer to him. “-and actually do something?” 

“They are definitely about to make out,” Anti emphasized the last two words.  

“Now you’re putting bad images in my head.” Marvin grimaced. 

“Maybe we should go.” Jackie started to move away, but froze when a phone rang. The three watched as Host let his bat go; it vanished while he pulled a phone from his pocket and held it to his ear. 

“Yes?” Host turned away from Night. “Is anyone hurt?” He paused as he listened. “Okay. We’ll come down and discuss what to do next.” Host hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. “Would you three like to join us?” He asked toward the door. 

“Either we’re not that subtle, or Host just knew the whole time,” Anti said.

“Probably both.” Marvin sighed while Jackie awkwardly waved.  

-----------

“Well, I do appreciate being up to date. Considering that this is all my business after all.” Dark shot Bing a look, and Bing just held his hands up in surrender. 

“For the main part of the update. We’ve added extra layers to our firewalls.” Google gestured at the lines of coding, knowing Dark had no idea what they meant, but still showing him regardless. “I plan on running a test with Anti to see how strong they are. If he struggles with them to any degree, then it’ll be impossible for a human to get through.” 

“Sounds like a good plan. I’m sure it will be easy to bribe him into helping.” Dark commented.

“One would think he’d happily volunteer since this also helps himself and his fellow Septiceyes in the long run.” Google huffed. 

“Anti is more complicated than any of us can understand. Maybe Wilford. But he’s a different case of complication. Most of us are.” Dark hummed with his thoughts. 

“Complicated is how we work best,” Google stated, opening his email and typing out a quick message to send to Anti. “If anything was simple, we’d be worried something was wrong.”

“I guess that is a fair point,” Dark said. 

Then, in the next breath, the computer started to spark. Google and Dark didn’t react as a strike of what looked like green lightning came from the screen. Bing just put his rock into his pocket as the strike turned into a person, into Anti. 

“Sup?” Bing greeted while Anti grunted as he stretched his arms up. 

“I can tell you did some extra padding in there.” Anti took a closed hand to his chin, tilting his head until his neck cracked. “Pretty sure I wasn’t hacking and was just jumping through lines of code.” He chuckled. “Should have warmed up before coming through, wasn’t expecting that.”

“Sounds like your extra layers worked out perfectly. Good job, Google.” Dark praised, patting Google on the shoulder.

“Thank you, sir,” Google said with a smile, perking up and watching Dark leave with a softness in his eyes and the lightest hint of pink on his cheeks. 

“Ah, shit.” Anti’s voice snapped Google back to the present, and he turned around in his chair, seeing Anti handing Bing a twenty-dollar bill. 

“I told you.” Bing chuckled.

“I didn’t think anyone could get a crush on that stick-in-the-mud.” Anti scoffed.

“What are you two talking about?” Google asked.

“Me and Anti made a bet, and your adoring gaze made me win,” Bing said, waving the bill in the air. 

“Now you need to be the one to make out with Dark, or I’m out forty bucks,” Anti stated.

“He means you make the first move.” Bing clarified. 

“I beg your pardon!?” Google stood up. “I am not-wait-that bet-are you implying that I have a-absolutely not! Both of you are insane!” With those last words, Google stormed out of the room. 

“Thought he’d take that better,” Bing said as he gave Anti back the money. 

“For someone who claims to be an ‘emotionless android’, he sure has a lot of big feelings.” Anti lightly laughed. “Want to go see how our bet with Chase and Marvin is going?” 

“Totally.” 

“What?” Chase rubbed his eyes one more time and saw the tray of food at the foot of his bed. A small tray with a plate of pancakes, a bowl of fruit, and a mug of coffee. “You made me breakfast?”

“Of course, I made you breakfast,” Marvin said with a playful huff, taking the plate of pancakes and sitting on the side of the bed while Chase sat up and leaned his back against the bedframe. 

“Why?” Chase asked, watching Marvin cut a bite of pancake with a fork.

“It’s your birthday, duh.” Marvin loaded the fork and held it toward Chase. He pulled it away when Chase tried to take the fork for himself, and the look he made told him not to try that again. “You’re going to relax today,” Marvin stated as he fed Chase a bite. 

“But what about Anti-”

“I sent him off to annoy the Ipliers.” Marvin fed Chase another bite to cut his sentence off.

“But what if he-”

“I sent Jackie with him so he wouldn’t get into too much trouble.” Another bite was given. 

“Robbie-”

“Is at an amusement park with Henrik and JJ. They’re all going to end up falling asleep as soon as they’re home.” 

“Hm-” Chase tried to say something else, but had to wait until he finished chewing the half of a pancake in his mouth. “The House-”

“Would you stop trying to find something to worry about?” Marvin said with a teasing tone, grabbing the mug of coffee and handing it to Chase. “I have everything done or figured out.”

“Everything?” Chase asked, taking a sip.

“Everything,” Marvin confirmed, picking up the bowl of fruit. “The House is clean, the Septiceyes are all off having fun, I told Dark to shove it and that we’re not working today.”

“I really hope you worded it a bit more…nicely to him.” Chase sighed.

“Nope.” Marvin popped a grape into his mouth before taking a strawberry and holding it toward Chase. 

“This is why you two don’t get along.” Chase hummed, leaning forward enough to bite into the strawberry. 

“We get along well enough.” Marvin chuckled, getting another strawberry for Chase to eat. 

“So, am I just staying in bed all day?” Chase asked.

“Not all day, but for a good chunk of it.” Marvin stood up, taking the tray with him and setting it on the dresser. “We’ll catch up on some shows, watch some movies, I’ll make you your favorite grilled cheese for lunch-” He took the half-drank coffee from Chase and placed it on the dresser as well. “-and I’ve made some reservations at a nice restaurant for dinner.” 

“You have everything planned out, don’t you?” Chase asked. 

“Yes, I do. Including being sure that the House is nice and empty for several hours.” Marvin tossed the blanket off of Chase before crawling up on the bed and sitting on his lap. “Meaning there’s zero chance of us getting interrupted~”

“I thought you said we were going to catch up on some shows?” Chase asked with a grin.