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Aura: A World Unseen. Chapter 2 - Whispering Shadows

Note, this chapter is nearly twice as long as almost Everything Else I've ever written for Aura- so hopefully it's all enjoyable!! ---------- Honestly, Anti hadn’t meant to skip lunch. Really, he hadn’t! But Mark and Amy were still here, and as much as he loved hanging out with Mark, the man was just so loud, emotionally. Sometimes it was too much to handle. So when lunchtime came around, and he could feel Mark’s eagerness like the thrumming of a heartbeat, he planned to just stay put until he’d calmed down, and now, well- it was almost time for dinner. “Chase is definitely gonna be on my ass if I skip two meals,” he muttered to himself, and finally got up from his laptop, taking a moment to stretch before leaving his room to head downstairs, checking in on everyone as he did. A wave of happiness flowed up from the living room, broken up by little shards of excitement here and there- that was probably where most of them were, though he had no clue what they could be doing. And then… Daggers of irritation from the kitchen, which meant Henrik got stuck cooking again. Best avoid it if he didn’t want to get dragged in. Anti reached the bottom of the stairs, planning to peek into the living room and see what was going on- His foot missed the last step, a blaze of panic ripping through him so sharply it hurt, tearing a hole in his chest, leaving him gasping for breath, his ears ringing. What- who- I can’t- Anti wasn’t sure how long he laid there before a voice faintly registered nearby, worry swirling around him like a breeze He tensed when his shoulder was touched, but the hand was like a soothing balm, cooling over the burns from before and loosening his chest, letting him gulp in air until the dizziness- that he hadn’t even noticed a moment ago- started to fade. “That’s it, just breathe…” The hands pulled him closer, wrapping him up in a hug, and Anti buried his face in the other’s shirt, trying to hide from the lingering flames dancing at the edge of his mind. Block it out, remember what Marvin taught you- just try to block it out… Finally, when he was sure he’d be able to handle it again, Anti pulled back, relieved when there was no effort to stop him. “...Thanks, Jack.”

His creator smiled at him, his relief alone making Anti smile back. “Of course- sorry it took a while to get to you, nobody realized you were over here at first.” Honestly, he had no idea how long he’d been there, but now he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. “What happened?” he asked instead, trying to look past Jack into the living room, “I felt…” Panic wasn’t a strong enough word for it- it was a moment of raw fear. There was a ping of confusion, then understanding, and Jack murmured an apology, though Anti didn’t really hear the words of it. “That was, uh, Mark and Amy, probably. I had a dizzy spell a few minutes ago, they both freaked out when I hit the floor.” “Oh,” that would explain the suddenness of it- “but then- that means there’s someone new?” Now excited- and feeling less shaky- Anti pushed himself to his feet, smiling hopefully when the human joined him. “Who is it? A fan ego? I know there are some out there you like-” He cut himself off when he registered the confusion now drifting out from the living room, and from Jack himself. “...What is it?” “...See, we don’t know who or what appeared,” Jack told him with a frown, looking around them for a moment. “Nothing changed in the room, and if you were the one that made noise out here…” “We’ll figure it out after dinner,” Chase cut in as he left the room, catching Anti’s eye, “it’s almost ready, and some people missed lunch.” Anti smiled sheepishly, but Chase just ruffled his hair and gently pushed him towards the kitchen. “Move, kid. And you’d better talk to Hen, make sure you didn’t get hurt.” “Okay, okay-” Anti chuckled and obediently headed for the kitchen, smiling faintly at Mark and Amy when he saw them. …It felt way too strong for just two people, though…

Henrik checked him over, declared he wouldn’t die, and they all sat down for dinner shortly after. Dinner itself was as usual- with the addition of everyone trying to figure out who or what had arrived of course. Anti mostly stayed out of the conversation, because he was really hungry now that there was food, and even in a crowd confusion and curiosity were fairly easy to ignore, like waves lapping at the sand. …What wasn’t easy to ignore was the faint but swiftly-building tension in the air, the nervousness coiling around him like rope, the fear that made his hands shake, his chest tighten, made his pixels buzz with static because something’s wrong, every instinct screaming danger- “Anti!” He nearly fell out of his seat when a hand touched his arm, a glitch ripping through him as he jerked back from the touch, only to realize how lightheaded he felt- Something’s wrong something’s wrong something’s wrong- And then all at once the feelings dropped away, just vanished from the air around him, but the lightheadedness was worse, and all he could hear were quick, sharp gasps- “Kid, it’s just me, I got you-” There were hands on his arms again, but this time he registered the familiar worry, and then he opened his eyes- when had he closed them?- he found spots dancing in his vision, and as the tightness in his chest faded he realized oh, I’m the one gasping. He drew in a deep breath, hearing static laced through it, and the instant wave of relief would’ve made him laugh, if he hadn’t been too busy reminding himself how to breathe. “ Jeeze, kid-” Chase huffed when Anti could focus on him, “You gotta stop scaring us like that, one moment you’re fine and the next thing I know you’re over here hyperventilating-” Anti smiled weakly, exceedingly aware of how quiet the room had gotten. “Sorry, I-I don’t know what happened, there was just… A lot, suddenly…” “And it’s gone now?” Jackie checked, sat on Anti’s other side. …It wasn’t, he realized. It was still there, just… Distant, dulled. Buzzing in the background like an irritating insect. It could have something to do with whatever ego appeared, so if it’s still here, that’s a good sign. “...Mostly?” he ended up saying, giving him a little shrug, “it’s kind of… in the background now, like I’ve been able to do for most of you guys’ feelings.” “Admittedly, that doesn’t assure me much,” Marvin huffed, “this emotion power you have seems to be getting stronger- how have the wards on your room been working out? Have they been blocking anything?” Anti hummed, trying to nudge the still-worried Chase away, “Kind of? It’s weaker when I’m in there, but I still feel things sometimes- when Jack is recording I feel him a lot, especially with Mark around.” Both YouTubers looked guilty, but Anti quickly shook his head. “You guys are just doing your job, and they’re not bad feelings, I can deal with some wayward excitement once in a while no problem.” “Still, ” Marvin pulled a book out from somewhere and started to flip through it, “it’s nothing I’ve ever come across before, so even with my spellroom I’m struggling to figure it out-” “Excuse me,” Henrik waved his fork in Marvin’s direction, eyes narrowed, “No spellbooks at the table, we’ve talked about this- yes, Anti’s thing is weird and interesting, but we are still eating, and you can discuss it after dinner.” Jamie nodded along, frowning, and Anti chuckled at the flash of irritation from Marvin before returning to his own food, trying to push the faint but still present fear to the back of his mind. We’ll figure it out when we find whatever appeared, I’m sure. No need to worry them more.

After dinner, they all scoured the house, looking for signs of anything new- new objects, anything that could’ve appeared with a new person, any doors that hadn’t been there before. But they didn’t find a single thing out of the ordinary. Marvin couldn’t even sense any kind of magic that would be able to hide somebody so thoroughly. “-and even if that random surge of emotion was related, if you can’t feel it strong enough to pinpoint them, it doesn’t do us much good,” Marvin sighed when Anti brought up his theory, “for all we know, they ran out of the house when we were busy, so we’ll just have to wait and see what comes up.” Anti almost mentioned that the feelings had been fluctuating while they searched, but- they were so faint now, like Marvin said it wouldn’t do them any good. Besides, if they’re that scared, it might be best to just wait for them, wherever they’re hiding… So when they gave up on the search- despite Jackie’s protests- Anti headed right up to his room, looking forward to the respite it would hopefully give him. …Except, standing in front of his door, it was stronger. Not nearly as bad as before, and it was still strangely muted, but definitely the strongest he’d felt it since dinner. And when he entered his room, the feeling increased tenfold, which should be impossible, unless… …unless it worked both ways. Which meant he was right. There’s someone in here. Anti took a deep breath, trying to push away the fear and apprehension that kept squeezing, tightening around his chest like a vice. It’s not me, it’s not mine- it doesn’t matter how much of it there is, I can handle some fear these days, no problem at all- He took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. He shut the door behind him. “...I know you’re there,” he started quietly, not wanting to startle them, or be heard from outside, “I don’t know why you’re hiding from everyone, but I’m not going to tell them.” Anti paused, searching the room, but there was no sign of anyone, nothing out of place. The fear eased up, though, and he almost whined in relief, feeling his shoulders slump. “I won’t tell them you’re here, but you can’t just hide in my room forever, okay?” he continued, talking a few more steps into the room and slowly turning around, hoping to see something.“Not without calming down, at least. I can… Feel you, and it’s a lot more than I usually deal with.” He waited again for a response, but when there was nothing he just sighed and headed for his little desk, opening his laptop back up in hopes of distracting himself. When he pulled up YouTube, he felt the fear in the air receding further- to be replaced by a faint spark of curiosity. …Okay, I can work with that. “What do you wanna watch?” he asked aloud, not really expecting an answer but figuring they’d make their opinion known somehow. “Minecraft, indie, FPS? Horror maybe?” …Nothing, though the curiosity was still glimmering- how could one person feel so much- He started to say something else, ask another question, but it stuck in his throat as he abruptly became aware of a presence behind him, leaning over his shoulder like it was trying to see the screen. Oh fuck what the fuck- Anti searched the reflection on his screen a bit frantically, but saw nothing behind him, he just… Knew. Okay, fine, if you wanna be creepy to the guy trying to help, then I just won’t talk to you. Petty? Absolutely, but he figured he had a right to be petty if he was going to deal with an invisible person in his room. So he just put on Jack’s Detroit: Become Human playlist, and tried to relax. …I just wish I had any clue on who it was…

—

Admittedly, trying to sleep in a room with an unknown, invisible person whose emotions were weirdly strong was easier said than done, and Anti was pretty sure he looked like shit when he went downstairs for breakfast, but thankfully everyone seemed to take the excuse that he just hadn’t slept well and didn’t pry any further. He said he wouldn’t tell anyone, and he meant it- at least until he figured out who it was. So he kept his mouth shut and went about his day. Joining the others when they searched for the new person again, spending some time helping Marvin in his spellroom, playing with his cat, getting into a very intense game of Uno with Jackie, Chase, and Jameson-

(Jameson had won, but Anti was too thrilled that he was comfortable enough to be competitive with him to be salty about it) He had plenty of things to keep him busy, and more than enough reasons to stay away from his room, so as the day went on he mostly forgot about his invisible roommate. No emotions struck him as foreign, nothing new or different made itself known around the house- it was like they didn’t exist at all. …Until Anti went back to his room for the night, and the moment the door was shut, it all came rushing back- almost literally, curiosity and confusion surrounding him, pushing at him like a mild tornado. Anti almost ran right back out the door. But he took a deep breath, tried to focus on the static crackling up and down his arms for a moment, and stepped further in, trying to let the torrent wash around him instead of against him. He didn’t try to speak until he was sitting at his desk, and by then the waves had calmed somewhat, though he still felt the presence somewhere nearby. Waiting. Anti let his breath out in a sigh, then turned a hesitant smile to the room as a whole. “Thank you for calming down, um… How was your day?” …No audible answer, but maybe… Anti closed his eyes, letting his static fade out so he could try and seek out the emotions instead of ignore them. The curiosity was still there, prodding at him like an impatient kid- but now it was joined by a prickle of nerves, like all the hair on his arms standing up at once. The air also felt strangely heavy, thick with something he didn’t quite recognize… “You’re… wondering what I did today?” he guessed, opening his eyes again, “and nervous that someone will find you here?” The briefest flash of pride was confirmation enough, but Anti couldn’t help but frown. “Mine was fine, I guess, but I asked how your day was, not…” The heavy feeling returned, and for a split second the room seemed to go grayscale, every color sucked away at once. He blinked once, drawing in another breath, and it returned to normal. “...You were bored,” he realized, and the moment he said it it made sense- of course they’d be bored, he was cooped up in a room alone all day. Another spark of pride- whether they were aiming it at him or just proud of themselves, who knew- and Anti nodded, turning to open his laptop. “Well, I usually stay up watching YouTube for a while longer, so you can watch with me. Just- give me some interest if you see something you like, okay?” He paused for a moment, but no emotions stuck out at him- just the same feeling of something over his shoulder returning. So he just started scrolling through videos, hoping he’d actually get an answer this time. (he didn’t, but they didn’t have any protest for RE7, so he counted that as a win)

—--

Anti slept much better that night- honestly, a lot better than he usually did- but he couldn’t say exactly why. There’d been… Some sort of buzzing in his room all night, similar to his static but somehow more, and that was the last thing he remembered hearing before he drifted off. Maybe it has something to do with them…? He wondered when he went down to breakfast, distractedly greeting the other egos as he helped himself to some coffee. If they're helping me, maybe that means they're getting less freaked out? Maybe they'll talk to me soon? Worry suddenly curled around him, so thick he could almost taste it, and Anti pulled himself out of his thoughts to frown at Chase, coming up next to him. "You really need to relax, your emotions are doing that weird cloud thing." The other ego didn't bother to make excuses, just making a face at him. "Yeah, yeah, I know- I just… this whole situation about the new ego is rubbing me the wrong way, is all." He sighed, grabbing a mug for himself. "None of us remembered much when we appeared, barely knew our own names- so why would whoever it was hide from us? You said you felt emotions, so it's clearly a person, and last night Marvin said he felt magic from someone other than him, but couldn't track it. That's probably why we never saw the guy, but… I dunno." Anti hummed along, wanting to offer him something, but he didn't know enough to be sure of anything. "You could do a little more research into fan egos, see if any of them have any particular powers?" He suggested, leaning against the counter to put a little distance between them- it was always harder to filter things out in the morning, and Chase was particularly open today. "I mean, clearly we aren't dealing with Robbie the zombie," he continued with a chuckle, "but there was that guy from Glitch in the System- Mack, I think? Maybe see if fans have expanded on him, they're good at that." Chase didn't respond right away, staring at the coffee machine as he drank what must've been half the mug, but when he went to refill it Anti felt the worry recede a bit, no longer filling the room, and he relaxed as Chase nodded. "...Yeah, that's an idea," Chase finally muttered, "and honestly, maybe there's been a new one lately- we assumed he had to be giving the thought attention now, but that might not be it…" He clapped a hand on Anti's shoulder, a tired smile on his face, and murmured a "thanks, kid," before walking away. Anti took a moment to feel proud of himself before going to make some toast, wanting something he could take up to his room. I guess I could ask them about that too- even if they don't know much, they should at least recognize their own name, right?

Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but they certainly didn't recognize any of the names Anti had tried. Robbie was out, not that he'd expected it to work anyway, zombies weren't known for their ability to turn invisible. Mack drew a blank too, which he'd been a bit more hopeful for, but Bing got a little spark of interest for them- though, admittedly, that could just mean they preferred the search engine, and Anti didn't judge people's browser choices. …Not out loud, anyway. So he'd given up on that for the moment, instead trying to sit down and finish up a project he'd been too distracted to do the past couple days. He'd managed to pick up some work doing freelance coding- nothing huge, but it was something to do, and it felt nice to buy his own games, and pay Jack back just a little for all the kindness he'd shown him. So he got that finished, sent it off to the client, and browsed through YouTube a bit, idly noting that the Presence was behind him again. If you're that bored, then just tell me what you want to see! He huffed to himself, resting his chin on his hand. A notification popped up, and a glance at it revealed that Jack had started streaming, with 'special guest' Markiplier. That had him grimacing, wondering how Mark had gotten in without him noticing- he'd feel him soon, that was for sure, especially if he and Jack started to play something. With that in mind, he went to find something to distract him from the bursts of emotion that would drift past the wards, something stupidly amusing that he could zone out with. They probably wouldn't be streaming for too long, anyway.

—

They'd been streaming for four hours, and at this point Anti could hear them yelling at each other- playfully, of course, but still frankly impressive considering the soundproofing in the recording room. "Should see if Marvin can magically soundproof it," he chuckled to himself, scrolling mindlessly through his Steam library. The emotions hadn't actually been too bad, mostly just excitement and joy blazing through the house like a flame, occasional frustration wafting off like smoke, so it wasn't too hard to force it to the background. That being said, he wasn't sure just how much was being blocked by Marvin's wards, so he wasn't eager to leave the room until he had to, just in case. He'd just settled in playing some Viscera Cleanup Detail when the Presence appeared again, startling him so bad he nearly jolted right out of his chair. "Fuck, don't do that-" he snapped, shooting a quick glare over his shoulder even though he knew there was nobody visible. "Give me a little warning, that's not exactly the most comfortable feeling!" No response, of course, but he did feel a little prickle of remorse, so he let it go and turned back to his game with a huff, planning on ignoring them as was starting to become usual. But then he felt a chill, a shiver of magic up his spine, the buzz from last night echoing in his ears- And Anti found himself holding his breath as the semi-annoying phantom sensation became the very very real feeling of somebody actively leaning over him . it's a hell of a time to stop being shy why the fuck-

"...What are you doing now?"

Anti's racing thoughts screeched to a halt, and he exhaled sharply, turning his gaze down to the desk. He felt frozen, fixed in place, and it wasn't because the guy finally spoke- the question startled him, sure, but it was reasonable enough, he probably couldn't see the screen very well. No, the problem wasn't the question- it was the voice . Calm, but deep enough for a faint rumble in his chest. Smooth, but not soothing- more cold . The faintest of echoes ringing in his ears, two voices just below the first- similar , but different. ...I know that voice. It was something he had no doubt in, a fact as irrefutable as his own name. Something he couldn't deny if he tried. I know that voice, I- I know who that is- But that doesn't make any sense , why would he- why would Jack's power summon- Anti drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, suddenly hyper aware of the confusion still lingering around the room- confusion that had been there from the very start, and barely faded since then. …I know who he is, but… he doesn't, does he? "I'm playing a game," he replied carefully, worried that he'd vanish again the moment he did. But the figure stayed where he was, even making a soft noise of acknowledgement. Anti took another deep breath before he looked back up at the laptop. There, reflected in the screen, he saw a silhouette. Broad-shouldered, a little taller than him, wearing something all white- a suit, if he remembered correctly. The buzzing crackled around him, and he saw wisps of red and blue and gray in the corners of his vision. It's really him . He almost laughed at the confirmation, because this was absurd, this was absolutely nowhere on the list of things they were prepared for- because why the hell would they? He wet his lips. Tried to find the perfect words, and failed because he never once thought he'd need them. …I guess I'm winging it, then. Because there's no way in hell I'm just letting this go now. "It's uh… nice to meet you properly, Dark," he murmured, smiling at the reflection, and the figure behind him startled back, the buzzing getting louder and the faint haze of anxiety thickening- "Yeah, I'll bet you're confused as hell," Anti hummed, "but I can answer any questions you have- because I know who you are, Dark. Whatever you're confused about, I can explain to you." He paused, waiting to see if Dark would disappear again, honestly expecting him to- but after a moment, the buzzing quieted down once again, and he took that as a sign to turn around, finally looking at him properly. Back straight, arms folded behind his back, white suit pristine, not a smudge or wrinkle in sight. His aura swirled around him, and the room around him was gray, as was he- the only color visible other than the shards of blue and red was the dark crimson of his eyes, staring at Anti like he could see right through him. Anti just smiled in return, watched Dark seemingly falter at how genuine he was. "My name's Antisepticeye," he introduced himself, and chuckled when recognition flashed clearly across his face. "Yeah, we know each other- well, sorta, it's a long story." Darkiplier certainly wasn't anything they expected, but… He turned out okay, didn't he? Why couldn't this work out for them too? I'll make sure it works. And I'll make sure he doesn't suffer the same way I did. ------ Previous - Next

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