Mark and The Borrower HIATUS

Chapter 20

(3rd POV)

"Wow, I knew you'd come through eventually Jack. This body is so young and spry." The demon giggled, looking at his new hands, "A little cramped though." he stated, cracking his neck and stretching his arms. The two other men watch uncomfortably, not sure how to react. "So what's made you so desperate buttercup?" He asked, playfully smirking.
"A friend of ours has been taken by Dark and we can't find them anywhere. We were hoping you could help us." Jack stated firmly, getting to the point. Anti gave them a blank stare, raising his eyebrow before howling in laughter.
"Do I look like a bloody hound to ya? Dark and I are rivals, why would I know or care where he is." He said, still chuckling. Jack gave him a stern look, he rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Look, I can see what I can do to find Dark but on one condition." He paused, causing both men to lean in slightly, anxious to hear. "I get to keep the body." He smirked.
"No, not happening! I knew this was a bad idea." Mark yelled, grabbing Anti by the collar. "You're lucky we even allowed you to inhabit him but we can kick your ass out just as fast." Mark snarled. He wasn't about to lose Ethan too. Anti snarled, pushing Mark's hands away from him, lifting his hands defensively,
"I'm just joking. What crawled up your ass this morning?" He defended himself. Mark huffed, stepping back and crossing his arms. "Let me get this straight, I don't get a body, have to hunt down my rival, who by the way wants to kill me, and save some friend of yours then what's in it for me?" He asked, glancing between the two standing in front of him, raising his eyebrow. Jack was about to reply but Anti held his hand up to stop him, tilting his head up as if to listen to someone else. He smiled,
"What a wonderful idea, Ethan. Deal." He said.
"What did he tell you?" Jack asked, wary Ethan might've made a rash decision to get Anti to agree.
"I get 4 free possession days whenever I want to do whatever I want, with a 12 hour limit on each," Anti stated. Mark looked at Jack to see how he felt about it. Jack sighed, not comfortable with the idea,
"If that's what Ethan agreed to then I guess there isn't a problem. Though I demand we hear it from Ethan first." Jack said, agreeing to the terms. "So where do we start?"
Anti looked around the room as if to find something. "Well, he's definitely here. This whole place reeks of edgy bastard." Anti stated, locking his eyes with Mark's, causing Mark and Jack to stiffen.
"What do you mean he's here?" Mark asked, his eyes darting around the house.
"He's been hiding in that noggin of yours," Anti said, knocking on Mark's forehead, causing him to stumble back.
"What do you mean? I thought you couldn't bring living beings into the mindscape." Mark said, holding his head. They had been that close the entire time? Of course, Mark could notice when an ego would return to their original home, his mind, but could it even be possible to bring something that wasn't created there?
"That's just a little lie we might've told you but for good reason." Anti began to explain, "You see that little mind of yours is only meant to hold the things it's created. When you bring something as big as another being into their it could permanently trap them or kill them. Even if your friend is still alive it's probably too late to bring them out." he snarled. Not that he felt bad for the person but he knew he wouldn't be getting his free possessions any time soon.
"What if they aren't exactly human sized?" Jack asked cautiously. They didn't want to tell Anti everything about their friend in fear of him gaining too much curiosity and possibly doing the same thing Dark did and use them as leverage. Anti tilted his head in confusion,
"Just because your friends short it isn't gonna change anything. They'd have to be the size of a rat to escape. I mean if they're as short as Mark we might also have a chance but highly unlikely." Anti jabbed. Mark crossed his arms, standing straighter.
"Ha ha, very funny." He sneered, causing Anti to giggle. Jack looked between the two before continuing, rolling his eyes at Anti's antics.
"Our friend happens to be 5 inches tall. So do we still have a chance to get them out?" Jack asked. Anti's eyes widened.
"You didn't tell me people could come in that size!" He whined excitedly, like a child. Mark didn't like how enthusiastic Anti was about the new information.
"I didn't know either and even if I did, why would I tell you? That's beside the point, how are we supposed to rescue them if any human that goes in his head will get trapped or die?" Jack asked. Mark's heart panged, realizing they might not be able to save (Y/n). Even if they knew where they were they couldn't rescue them without another ego of his own but he didn't have any that would willingly defy Dark and help him.
"When I mean be trapped or die I mean their physical form. Since I didn't see anybody laying around I assumed Dark took their entire form. It's less risky if we enter dream wise but that relies on everyone staying asleep through the entire ordeal. I can guide you to Mark's dream but we'll only have a limited amount of time until you wake up." Anti explained, finally getting serious. "Though I expect more than 4 possessions, this'll take a lot of energy outta me and I won't be able to defend against Dark's wrath if he finds out. You might want someone to watch the bodies as well, just in case." He finished explaining, huffing. He obviously didn't want to help Jack or risk his life but how could he give up free possessions?
"Alright, let's get started!" Jack said, walking into the living room. Anti grabbed his shoulder,
"Not so fast hot shot. I'm not doing this for free. I want something more." he said, mark rolled his eyes in anger.
"Isn't possessing his body enough? You can't just demand whatever you want." Mark said. Jack's eyes widened in fear as Anti's cheerful demeanor diminished. Jack paled, it was scary to see this happening to one of his friend's body and not his own. Anti's glitches became a more prominent, morphing into a void of black.
"Don't forget I have the upper hand, Ethan's not experienced enough to fight back yet so I'd watch your tongue before I change my mind." He snarled, Ethan's skin paling with a tint of green. Mark looked nervous, standing straighter than before, waiting to see Anti's next move. He pushed it too far and prayed Anti wouldn't turn on them. Anti smirked, watching the two fidget fearfully. It wasn't often he had this much control. He looked at Ethan's hands. While taking this body and leaving would be nice, Ethan would eventually take back control plus the body was too snug for his liking. He'd much rather have Jack's body, maybe even Mark's. They were unknowingly smart to choose Ethan. If he had Mark's body he could blackmail Dark. He smiled at the idea.
He began to pace cockily in front of the two, tapping his chin as if to think. The two stood rigidly, Jack grumbling something to Mark. Anti pointed his hand in the air, deciding his choice, turning towards the two with a nasty grin, causing them to go quiet. "I think it's only fair that I get to bring my arising again, the fans are eager for my return." He said, while possessing Mark was wonderful on paper, he would most likely get kicked out the moment he tried by the other egos. He was lucky Ethan's ego was powerful enough to fight back either.
Jack contemplated the deal. Bringing back Anti to the channel would only add to Anti's power but from the looks of it, he didn't have a choice. "Fine." Jack spat, despising the choice. "This better be worth it." He growled to Mark, hoping he'd understand how much Ethan and him were sacrificing. Anti smiled,
"Now that's what I like to here, alright, let's go give Dark a surprise visit!" He cheered, walking with a jump in his step to the living room. Mark and Jack gave each other a doubtful look before joining anti into the living room.

(Lol sorry this literally took 4 months 🤪)