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“You’re not welcome here.” Dark practically spat the words out.
The Actor stood a mere few yards away, his disgusting smile aimed directly at Dark. “Aw, now is that any way to greet an old friend?”
“We are not friends.” Dark took out his cane.
Damien had been a paranoid man, the stories of war from his military friend having driven a sense of fear into his heart. As a public figure, he thought that he should have a way to protect himself.
Dark was extremely grateful for the purchase of the sword cane. It wasn’t really useful in his past life.
But now...
“You’re an idiot to come into my home.” Dark pointed the sword at the Actor. “Get out, now.”
The Actor beamed, his grin becoming far too wide for his face. “But I want to meet this lovely family you’ve become so fond of.”
Dark lunged forward with the sword, barely missing the Actor, who stepped out of the way just in time. “Don’t you dare come near them.”
“Ooh, you must really care about them.” The Actor craned his neck to the side at a very uncomfortable-looking angle. “You have nothing to worry about. I would never lay a hand on them.”
“Liar.” The red in Dark’s aura flared. “Why are you even here.”
The Actor laughed. “Can’t I just chat with you? I want to catch up. You still haven’t introduced me to your family members. You just got three new ones, correct?”
“None of your business.”
“Oh, don’t be like that Dark. I want to meet them! Let me see, I think their names were... The Captain, Indiana- no! Illinois! And um, Yancy, I believe? Where are they...”
Dark said nothing, his grip tightening on the sword.
The egos were hiding in the upper levels of the Manor. Dark had ordered them to run as soon as the Actor had appeared. Thankfully, everyone had listened.
However, that meant that Dark had to face the Actor alone.
If Wilford were there, Dark would have gladly accepted his help. Unfortunately, however, Actor had managed to show up at the Manor on a day where Wilford was out.
What a coincidence.
There was no way in hell Dark would let any of the other egos help. Some of them were capable, yes, but the Actor was highly unpredictable. There was no telling what he would do to them.
“Lost in thought again? Such a bad habit.” The Actor glanced around the foyer. “You need to pay attention to your surroundings.”
“And you need to leave.”
The Actor rolled his eyes. “You were much more fun apart. Now that you’re both together you’re so boring.”
“You know that I’m not just them anymore, right?” Dark growled. “There’s demonic energy in me now, and it’s your fault.”
“Oh please! I didn’t make you both take the District Attorney’s body. You did that on your own. You could’ve stayed with me in the Manor, but you just had to leave.”
“This is your fault!” Dark yelled, his aura flaring both colors rapidly. He swung again, and the Actor dodged again.
“My fault?” The Actor’s smile disappeared for a brief moment, but then it was back. “You act like you’re so above me, don’t you? Do you really forget how alike we are?”
Dark narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“I mean, you’re right, you aren’t just Celine and Damien anymore. You have the house inside you now.” Actor beamed, walking out of the foyer, heading towards the kitchen. Dark followed, hesitant.
Once at the kitchen door, the Actor turned, his smile far-too-wide for his face now.
“We both have the house inside us now. But I know how to manage it far better than you. Because I stayed and learned how to control it.”
“You let it control you,” Dark snarled. “You’re a puppet.”
“I am not a puppet.” Actor glared at Dark, his smile gone. “I have control over myself, and I know you’re losing control.”
Dark’s eyes widened, the blue and red in his aura hugged close to his body. “What?”
The Actor’s smile returned. “I used to think about destroying everything around me. It got worse the longer I stayed away from the Manor. But, the more I stayed home, the quieter the thoughts became.” The Actor took a step towards Dark.
“You think about killing them, don’t you?”
Dark’s aura flared blue. “No.”
“You do! You’ve been away from the Manor for so long, I bet those thoughts are violent now. Even worse than mine ever were.”
“Shut up. I’m not you.”
“You fantasized about it more than once. What do you think about? Strangling them? Stabbing them? Beating them until they’re bloody pulps?”
Dark lunged forward with the sword. The Actor leaned away just in time. The sword had embedded itself in the door, right where his head had been previously.
Dark felt a pressure on his chest and arms, weighing him down. The Actor must have been getting cautious.
“It’s probably different for each of them, isn’t it? I bet you wanted to see if those androids could feel pain, didn’t you?”
“Enough!” The red in Dark’s aura flared high.
“You’ve probably been annoyed with how that adventurer escaped death so many times. I bet you wanted to try and crush him, make him feel the pain that you feel.”
“Stop talking.” Dark’s hands twitched around the sword.
“Maybe you wanted to slit that jailbird’s throat-“
“Shut up!” Dark pulled the sword out of the door and stabbed it straight through the Actor’s chest.
The Actor stared down at the sword in his chest, eyes wide.
Dark panted, his aura flaring both colors at once.
There was a moment of silence.
Then, the Actor laughed.
Why the fuck was he laughing?!
Dark growled and plunged the sword further into the actor’s body. He went until the blade was completely inside. The Actor coughed up blood, his disgusting smile still on his face.
“Oh, Dark, why would you do such a thing?”
Dark scrunched his eyes shut. “Zip it!”
“Dark-“
“I said zip-“ Dark opened his eyes.
His anger very quickly morphed into horror.
It wasn’t the Actor at the end of his sword.
Yancy coughed, blood dribbling down his chin. His hands were loosely gripping the cane. Illinois was right beside him, splayed out on the floor. He looked like he had gotten shoved out of the way.
“I-“ Yancy hacked up more blood, trembling.
Dark felt the same pressure from earlier on his arms and chest still. Turning, he saw Bing holding onto his arms, staring at Yancy with wide eyes. Dark then looked down, seeing a pair of arms wrapped around his chest. He looked back, seeing Google holding onto him from behind. Both the androids were covered in gashes, coolant staining their clothes, synthetic skin torn up in various places.
Yancy’s coughing brought Dark back to the situation at hand. “Doctor...”
Bing looked to the side, nodding to someone. It wasn’t long before Dr. Iplier came into view. He glanced at Dark with a cautious, confused look in his eyes.
They were supposed to be upstairs.
“Dark, let go of the cane.”
Dark did as he was told, the ringing in his aura becoming loud, the blue and red screaming.
Where was the Actor.
Dr. Iplier quickly got to work on Yancy, Illinois helping as best as he could. It was then that Dark noticed some of the others around them. Not all of the egos where there, but the ones that were there looked terrified of him.
Google and Bing led him away from Yancy, away from the others. Only when they got to the living room did the androids let him go.
Dark stared at them, at the damage he had done to them. Google was glitching. He hadn’t done that in a while.
“What..” Dark stared at the floor. His aura was becoming out of control.
Bing shifted. “You... you told us to come back down, and the Actor wasn’t here, but you kept acting like he was.”
Google tried to speak, but it came out in terrible sounding beeps and whirs. Dark finally noticed the gash across the android’s throat.
“Dark?” Bing asked. “What happened?”
Dark didn’t say anything.
He didn’t even know.