#nobodys gonna like what im gonna pull w their kit i fear

[novastrae]

and if i make decima remembrance now that it’s a confirmed path

[huffle-dork]

Sleight of Hand (Part 9)

Previous: [x] More Magnificent: [x]

Anti pushes forward towards the wide-eyed Marvin, twirling the knife in between his fingers and giggling madly. Marvin scoots away with fear in his eyes until his back bumps against the wall. Anti’s laughter echoes and grates in Marvin’s ears along with the sharp sound of glitching.

“What’s the matter? Ć̖̫̖̓͂a̡̛̳̯͆̀t͈͇̔̀͛͜ ̼̭͉̾̌̒g͓̳̯͛̑̔ǫ̜̬̀͗̕t̜̱̫̂́̑ ̲̦͓͗̈̿y̢͙̦͑̀̀ō̦͈̘͋̀û̞̲̯̉̉r͍̬̲̀̑͝ ̼̲̗̊́͌t͔̩̦͐̈́̾õ͈̲͈̍̋ṅ͍̯͙͒͗g̼͓͍̔̅̓ǔ̩̭̤̈́̉e͔̗͙͐̽̕?̛͙̱͖̀̅ ̛͉̳̓͐͜” the glitch giggles, “You has some reason to call me here so fucking spill it!” He growls, his eyes flashing pitch black.

“I-I,” Marvin stammers, dread sinking into his whole body. This was a bad idea.

Anti sarcastically mocks Marvin’s stammering as he strode forward and knocked over a chair, causing Marvin to wince and shrink in on himself.

“I haven’t got all day, cat mask,” Anti snarls as he flips the knife up into the air again. The light above the table flickers in and out with Anti’s form as he glitches in anger. Marvin quickly sits up taller and bursts out, “It’s the others!”

This gives Anti pause. Then he laughs and points the knife down at Marvin, getting uncomfortably close. “Why would i care about those useless bunch of copies?” He spits, taking another step forward and Marvin closes his eyes, fear clutching his heart.

“B-because someone is controlling them!” He cries, and pries open his eyes to see Anti has stopped. He brings his head up and his mouth feels foul as he breathes, “T-they… they’re taking your puppets away.”

A hand heavily thumps next to Marvin’s head against the wall and the cold tip of Anti’s blade in held under his neck as Anti hisses and leans in close, ‘W̜͔͖̼͐͌̏́ḩ̛̞̙̯̅̐́ö̤͈̗̫́̈́́̇?̡͍̗̺̎͑͑͌”

Marvin swallows but stares determinately at the glitch, “His name is Phantom.”

Anti’s eyebrows shoot up, “That little nobody figment of that singer?” Anti giggles and lifts up Marvin’s chin with the knife, reveling in the way Marvin’s face scrunches in discomfort, “You gotta be lying to me, kit kat. He doesn’t have that sort of power.”

“He’s stronger than you know!” Marvin wheezes, “He’s taken a whole army from his time in prison and he… he’s gotten all the other egos. And he won’t stop til…”

Anti tilts his head, “Until what?”

Marvin takes a shuddering breath, “Until he has me.” He stares down at the floor for a second before looking back at Anti with a renewed fire in his eyes, “I can’t stop him alone… i-i need your help.”

Anti stares at Marvin in semi-disbelief before he throws his head back in manic laughter.

“Me? Help you???” He holds his stomach as his whole body glitches in laughter, “You truly must be d̠͈̲̂͆̎͂ͅe̜̙̲̍̾͛̕ͅs̢̙̻̼̀͌̉̚p̗̣̲̗͛̄̅̀ê̟̖̦̼̒̓͝r͉̲̰͙̉̈́͑͘à̦͎̩́̂͘ͅţ͓̗͉̐̿́͂e̹͇̩̘̋̀́̇.”

Marvin pushes himself away from the wall and his eyes glow blue, “I’ll do anything to save them… even work with you.”

Anti smirks through his strangled laughter, “You got balls, Marv, i’ll give you that.” Anti stands up on his feet and flips the knife, “But working with me is gonna cost you something… w̡̡̟͍̽͑̉̿h̼̻͖͇͋̐̈̕à̘͕͓̺̈́͋̆t͔͈͇̩̀̌̂̕ ̻̹̜̠̄͆͛̚ą͕̰̞̋̑̓̌ŗ̟͉̻͋͛͊̍e̹̭͍͙͊̋̃̾ ̖̣̻̄̀́͘ͅy͇̰͚͚̽̓̀͘ǒ̜̱̼̪͌͛̓u̻̹̱̪͑̓̊͘ ̡̻̙̖̏̃̈͗w̖̩̜̗̔̇̕͝ì̡̗͕̺͑̌͛l̫̲̤̮̆̌̇͝l̪̹͎͈̄̈́͑̅ị̩̲̎͛͗̕͜n̢̺̹̖̐̇͐̋g̡͖͖̺̽̉͐͝ ̤̼̰̬̂̒̀͘t͙̻͔̪̾͐̾̎o̱̟̖͒̾͛͜͝ ̢̝̭̝͒͋̄̿p̧̺̳̘͗͛̊͝a̟̞̠̼͒̍̍͑y̹̘̭̮͌̏̿͒?̺̘͇̬̔̏̌͘”

Marvin grips his hands into fists and his shoulders shake, “I… I’ve given everything i’ve had to try to keep them safe…. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Y̠̝̻̿̇̔͜͝o̢͓̙̠̾̅͝͝u̦̱̞͔̇͌͘͠'̛̪͚̬͆̏͜͝r̙̤̘̜̾͐͂͘e̠͇̘͎̎̑͂́ ̝̮̟̻̃̆͝͠g��̖͙̺̮̄̀͠ǫ͉͉̌̾̌̄ͅn͔̞̭̱̐̐̀̿n̢̼̤͔̉͒̍͝ą̞̲͂̀͂̕ͅ ̧̞̘̻̎͆̀͠ŗ̳̱̝̈́̎̿́e̡̙͕̠͗̉̒̚g̫͈̜̗͌̌͆͝ṙ̺̦͚͓̈̀̀e̗͍͉̣̔́̾̌t̳͙͇̎̓̈́̇͜ ̛̖̯͈̘͑̊͠t̝̺̖̣͌̈́̎̑ĥ͚̞̹̍̏̀ͅō̖̹̹̤͐̊͝s̘̝͇̍̀͌͒ͅe̼̬͔̽̆̈͗͜ ̝̪̖̜̀̋̌͠w̡̰̟̗̏̊̾͂ǫ̢͚̭̾̅̄̏ȓ̡̨̥̀̋͑ͅd̳̯̟͈͊̔̇͛s̡̢̛̮͉̾̀̚,̛̫̩̰̇̀̌ͅ ̠̼͈͓̃̇̓̈́Ṃ̢̛͖͌́̈́ͅà͔̱͍̻͊̎̿r͙͚̟̰̽͒̾̾v̧̝̮͕̿͌͌͐ị͎͙̮͆͛̃͘n̘̙̰͍̾̔̾̒.̝̼̫͎̄̅̓̆” Anti giggles, but he turns and places the knife on the table before he offers Marvin his hand with a lopsided smirk, “But for now, it seems we have a deal.”

Marvin slowly takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. Suddenly Anti is pulling Marvin closer to him by his arm and he whispers harshly in his ear, “But don’t think for a second its out of the kindness of my lack of heart. I’m only doing this is get back what’s m̨͙̭̫̾̒̐̈́i͔̰͕͚̍͋̾̾n͕̞̳̠͆̅͂͂e̞͔̫̗͌̀͒͠.̺̦͕̪̎̈́̀” Marvin shivers but he nods. Anti looks like he’s going to grip harder onto Marvin’s arm to increase the threat but his arm passes through Marvin’s in a series of pixels and glitches. Marvin jumps back in surprise.

“Ah Damnit!” Anti growls as he shakes his arm and tries to get it back together.

“What the hell…?” Marvin whispers, watching as Anti’s form continues to glitch and fizzle.

Anti flashes black eyes at Marvin with a low growl, “Whatcha lookin’ at, circus freak?”

“What’s happening to you?”

The glitch gives a bitter laugh as his arm finally comes back together and he flexes it as if testing it’s strength, “Not all of Jack’s figments were made to exist in their own bodies. He made me to exist in his fucking head… a virus.. A glitch in his computer.” Anti growls and smashes his hand against the table with another growl of anger before he lets out a breath, “I can’t exist in a solid form too far from his head without…”

“That’s why you’re only seen in videos for such a short time...Why the camera can never pick you up just right. Why no one has seen you make your own place in the city…” Marvin gasps as he pieces it together, “...Why you hate Jack…”

Anti tilts his head with a cruel smile, “Yer a smart one. He forced me to live inside his stupid head while he let all you roam free….Not exactly fair is it?”

“Well… you did try to kill him,” Marvin counters and Anti merely shrugs and brushes past Marvin and flops onto the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

“Enough fucking around, whiskers. I’m figurin’ this whole thing has a time limit so catch me up on what yer plan is.”

“Ah, right,” Marvin says shaking his head and he grabs the cards from the table and joins Anti on the couch. He takes a few minutes to catch the glitch up on who Phantom and all he’s done in the past months before he retells the most recent bits, “Phantom stole them all earlier tonight. He can reveal their desires and has minor mind control to make deals. Once a deal is signed he has their souls… and they can’t resist his commands. He has everyone. He says if i don’t give myself up to him he’ll… he’ll kill them all. And i have no doubt he will. WIth his army and the others… my magic alone isn’t gonna be enough against him.”

“So what’d ya need me fer?” Anti sneers and Marvin looks conflicted, “...did you even think of a plan before you slit yer hand open to bring me here?”

Marvin stares down at his bleeding hand as if just remembering it was there. The cut is still bleeding but the blood looks almost black and Marvin swears he sees green glitches appearing around the edges. He rips a piece of his shirt sleeve and wraps it around the wound as he stammers, “I...I guess not.”

Anti huffs in condescending laughter, “yer an idiot.” He pushes off the couch and grabs the ace of diamonds, studying the address on the back. He twirls the card thoughtfully in his fingers and almost drops it as his hand glitches through it. He catches it with an annoyed grunt before he flings it at Marvin. “So, you’ve handled the guy before right?”

“Yeah… i uh… I’ve killed him before.”

Anti clicks his tongue against his cheek, “Yeah but figments aren’t so easy to kill.” Anti leans back on the couch’s arm and regards Marvin, “Think ya got the guts to kill ‘im again?”

Marvin stares shocked at Anti before staring down at his lap. Slowly, he shakes his head, a cold look on his face. “No…. killing him is too merciful.”

Anti barks out a laugh, “I like the way you think, cat mask! … Maybe you an’ me could be good partners down the road….”

Marvin gives Anti and withered look, “I don’t want to hurt people anymore, Anti. I’m not like you.”

Anti crosses his arms and shrugs, giving him a devilish grin, “Ya never know what could change.” The glitch rises back up from the couch, “So you’ve beaten him before, right? Multiple times?”

Marvin self consciously messes with his hair, “Well yeah.. But the only time i’ve gotten a jump on him is.. When i’ve surprised him.”

“So why not do that again?”

The magician's eyebrows furrow together in confusion, “I can’t. He knows i’m coming.” Anti rolls his eyes, “Yeah but now you have me. That’ll probably get the jump on him.”

Marvin looks more confused, “The… the warehouse is on the other side of town. You just said you can’t exist long out of Jack’s-!” Marvin is cut off by Anti slamming his head against the back of the couch with a sinister grin spreading across his face.

“There’s more than one way to exist outside my host,” He cackles as he snatches Marvin’s bandaged hand and curls his fingers under the fabric. He rips it away before plunging his fingers into the wound. Marvin cries out in pain and his body seems to be consumed by the feeling of static and electricity.

“W-what are you doing?!” Marvin gasps breathlessly as spots dance in front of his eyes. The lights and electronics are going haywire in the apartment as Anti laughs madly. The glow of his unnatural green eyes is the only thing Marvin can see clearly through the madness. Marvin screams as the pain seems to collect and linger on his sliced palm. It feels like he’s being sliced open on the inside by a thousand sharp razor blades.

“Y̡̖̝̗͑̽̃̐o̟̥̫̦̒̈́͠͝ư̜̫̹̐̈́̈͜ ̧͓̳̭̈̅͂̎s̮͓̦͚̾͐̅̃a̠̦͕̅͌̈̑͜ĩ̭̥̞́̇͒ͅd̪̖͉̭̐͛́͝ ̜̫̮̻͗̇̎̋y̗̣̱͆̎̅͜͠o͓̝̻̅̐̈́͌ͅũ̢̡̳̬̀̌̃'͎̣͈̩́̀̈́̕ḑ̱̣̮͛͌͘͠ ̢̞̜͚͑̽̎͌b̻̙̟̱̏͂́͝e̹͇̥͙̓̀̆͂ ̖̫̰̙͌̒͒͋w͕͔̠͇͗̊̉͝ȋ̢̲̗͔͊̕̚l̡̗̘̪̔́̀̈́l̤̱̖̘̽̃̈̋i̢̲̜̦̅̓́̈́n̹̤̦̮͑̃̓̾g͕̙̘̗̏͌̓̋ ̧̡̜̲̍̿͑̀t̛̥͕̫̆̈̚ͅo̧͚̜͒̋̚̚͜ ̰̮̩͗̈́̎͠ͅd̰͕͈͙̀̄̑̚o̬̝̤̟̐̾̈́͛ ̢̥̤̘͒̎̿͝ä̛̦̰̗̹́̎̇n̞͚̳͒̆̍͜͝y͙̹̳̅̇̈́́ͅt̨͕̰̹̃̽̔̋h͍͈̰͐̅̂͌͜i̛͙̗̭͈̐̎̚n͎̼̠͎͗̈́͋̑g̬̠̗̬̐̑̚͘,̪̦̼͚͗̈́̓͘ ͈̣̯̤̽̈́͋̒M̫͇͚͓̍̀̀͂ä̛̬̻̪̹́̈͝ṟ̭̹̟͂̇̑͝v̨̳̱̇̈́̌͊͜i̤̳̝͙͋́͘͝n͙̺̥̝̊̿̎͝.̼̣̖̯̍̍͑͝ ̗̜̱̬̅̃̔̚T̗̰̗̹̂̓̀̀h̲͇̙͑̂̆͜͝i̛̬̞̞͚͌̾̑s̨͓̹̯̓̈́̈́̔ ̢̫͎͇͌́̒͑ḯ̼̭̯̦̍͑̋s̝̮̳͛̐̎͜͝ ̧͚̦̖́͗͘͝w̢̲̬̹̎̑͝͝ḩ͇̮̜̿̾͌͐e̛̖͙̱̣͂̆̑ŗ̠̗̥̑͑̽͝ę̩̭̝̐͒̀̊ ̨̨͙̟̿̕͠͠t̨͔̬͈͐̉̽̇h͙̤̜̞͆̄̄͠e̡̤̝̻̋́̃̈ ̧͈̺̮̎̅̽̇f̧̖̹̲̈̆͑͘ų̮̬̙͗̾͝͝n̛̲̣̬̅͑̕ͅ ̢̞̜̭̓̍̈̚ḅ̠̺͖̆̋͛͘e͖̹̲͒͋̈́̀͜g̡̞̲̜̎̄̀͝ỉ̜͚̘̲̒̕͝ñ̡̥͖̯̂̈̈́s̳͎̮̮͆͊͗͝!̪̺͔̟̉̈̐͆” Anti giggles sadistically as his voice echoes and grates the inside of Marvin’s head. He can’t think, or breathe or feeling anything besides this awful feeling of being torn open. The pressure seems to build and build until Marvin is sure he’s gonna pass out from it all.

Then, there’s one big burst of light as all the electronics fizzle and die and the room goes dark. Marvin clutches his hands to his chest as he breathes past the pain. His face is covered in tears he hadn’t realized he’d been crying. The lights slowly flicker back on and Marvin looks around to see Anti’s no longer in the room with him.

“A-Anti?” Marvin whimpers as he stiffly pulls himself up from the floor. When had he fallen down there? He shakes his head as a wave of nausea comes over him. His whole stomach turns and he lifts himself and high tails it to the bathroom. He barely is able to make it to the sink before he spews and coughs out whatever was irritating his stomach. He wipes away his mouth and shudders out a raspy breath. He blinks and stumbles back when he looks down and sees the mess is nothing but what looks like glitching black blood.

He pushes up against the wall and stares at his hand. It’s completely healed over, but the skin around the cut looks green and it too looks like it’s glitching.

Marvin is in full panic mode as he pushes back towards the sink and shoves his way towards the mirror. He shakily reaches up a hand and wipes away tears of blood leaking from his eye. His right eye, which now echoes the look of Anti’s.

Ah sorry, the process can have a few glitches~! Anti’s voice echoes throughout the space and what feels like Marvin’s head. Marvin grits his teeth against the foreign feeling and shakily pushes back away from the mirror. He tries to say something in response but finds himself choking as pain erupts from his neck. He stares in horror at his reflection as a thin neck wound starts to open on his neck and begins to bleed. Exactly like Anti’s.

“W-what the hell did you do?!” Marvin coughs, and blood drips out of the side of his mouth and he shudders. His body seems to glitch slightly and Marvin’s skin crawls at the uncomfortable feeling.

I gave you a fighting chance, kitten whiskers. The glitch chuckles darkly. Marvin feels something sharp in his head and a tug like he’s being pulled by a string and his whole body lurches forward so he’s staring back at his reflection in the mirror. Marvin sees his head tilt slightly in a mischievous manner as Anti’s voice seems to echo from his own, “That con man won’t even suspect what’s coming for him~!”

Marvin’s reflection grins as his eyes burn green.

Part 9.5: [x]