Chapter Warnings: Deceit, Choking, Language, Threats, Abduction

It started with Yellow. With his laughter, teasing words, bringing up one thing at a time. Chase, Bing, and Marvin were with him. Snickering. Joking. Oh, so willing to follow like the puppets Anti always claimed them to be. The four left Ego Central, went to Egos, Inc.; to Bing's room to play video games. It was far too easy. Yellow almost wanted to sneer. How stupid could they get?

Green had snuck into the lab while Dr. Iplier was pulled aside to speak with someone. A loosened bolt here, snipped wire there, some damage to the track, and soon the CAT scan would be acting up, throwing up sparks and moving when it shouldn't be, and the good doctor would be looking for Green to fix it.

Red waited a tad longer to act. Anti had carefully planted Red's "favorite" tool within Central, broken in half, all evidence pointing to the one and only Jackieboy Man. It created the perfect excuse to start a fight with the superhero without anyone growing too suspicious. Red was a meathead, after all, right? It really wasn't all that hard to get Jackie to go outside. Jameson followed close behind in an attempt to help his fellow Septic. Jacques Septique, that hermit of an artist, simply locked himself in his room to avoid the conflict. Robbie was too stupid to notice and had gotten lost on the second floor.

No matter. So long as everyone was out of the way, Anti would be able to pull off his part.

The glitch had removed the collar so that he could travel through Central's internal wiring. He waited until the path to Schneeplestein's lab was unobstructed. He waited until he heard the front door slamming shut, until he heard the clicking of Jacques's door to tell him it was tightly locked.

Moving silently through the building's wiring, hoping beyond hope that Central wouldn't realize he was there and throw him out, Anti entered Schneep's lab.

The doctor was facing the door, hunched over his desk as he filled out paperwork. He looked exhausted to the point of being ill: Bags under his eyes, face tinged almost gray, eyes dull and straining behind his glasses. Perfect. That would make things easier for the glitch.

He moved until reaching an outlet positioned behind the doctor, surged out of it, stood tall. He rested a hand at his hip to silence the cuffs hanging there; moved quietly toward the younger Septic. Anti's feet were bare so as not to make a sound, form hunched so he could duck out of view if the other happened to turn.

Schneep may have been a tad underweight from long hours of work without taking the time to eat, but he was still tall and broad compared to the other Septics; stereotypical German. Strong frame, powerful yet dexterous hands (he was still a doctor, after all) that could break an arm. Even if he was ill from overwork, if he managed to get those hands around Anti's neck… So the glitch was swift to act. Anti was tall, but lightweight; built for speed and agility, but not power. He'd rather not find himself in a brawl with the doctor.

Pale arms reached forward. One snapped around the doctor's neck, the other holding it firm so he couldn't be pushed away even as Schneeplestein let out an alarmed noise and started to struggle. Dull fingernails dug into Anti's arm in a desperate attempt to pull it away, to allow circulation to return to his head. The angle made it impossible; he was panicking, forgetting the things Jackie had shown them to break away from such things. His glasses fell from their precarious perch on the end of his nose, blue eyes blown wide. He couldn't form proper words. Couldn't call for help.

Despite the doctor's struggles, it took only moments before he went limp in Anti's arms.

The glitch moved as if he'd choreographed it a hundred times over. At the most, he'd have about thirty seconds before Schneeplestein woke back up, so he acted quickly. The doctor's hands were cuffed behind his back, a rag tied tight around his mouth to keep him quiet. He perched himself proudly on the desk. When the doctor regained consciousness, Anti would be the first thing to catch his gaze.

It took just under half a minute before Schneeplestein stirred. Anti couldn't help but be surprised. Then again, he supposed Blue knew what he was talking about when he explained to Anti what the glitch was supposed to do. That particular choke reduced blood flow to the head. It took the target only seconds to lose consciousness, though Anti had been skeptical about it not even taking a minute for the target to wake back up after they were released. Well. Learn something new every day.

Plus, made it real damn helpful when Schneep would be able to walk out on his own. Anti doubted he could carry the younger Ego very far.

A thump came from the doctor as he bumped his knees under the desk. He shook his head as he sat back up, blinking slowly at the form in front of him.

"Eh?" he mumbled around the cloth. Schneep's arms strained against the cuffs, brows furrowing. "Agh!" His eyes widened as he struggled against them. He tried to say something, but Anti couldn't tell what.

Baring pointy teeth in a cruel grin, the glitch hopped off the desk. He flicked his wrist, and his trusty knife appeared in his hand: Chipped edges and all as it glinted in the lab's white lighting. As soon as the blade found its home against the doctor's throat, Schneeplestein went deathly still. He whimpered, reeling away until he could no more, stopped by the back of his chair.

Grin disappearing, Anti used his free hand to grab the doctor's arm and drag him to his feet. Rather than releasing, he dug sharpened-to-point nails into the doctor's thin lab coat, marking the bicep beneath. The knife found its place once again, and he jerked the doctor toward the door to the lab. "You're gonna follow me, and you're not gonna make a sound," the glitch growled. At the glare he got in reply, he pressed the edge right to Schneep's jugular; enough for him to feel a pinch, yet not quite breaking the skin. "G͏͠ǫ̕͞t̨ ̕͠͠i̡͜t̨?̡͝"

Not daring to nod, Schneep instead made an agreeing noise with wide eyes.

As Anti dragged the younger Septic through the building, Schneep's gaze darted about. He was clearly looking for the others. Where were they? Why weren't they helping? He furrowed his brows, gave Anti a look that spoke where his voice couldn't: What did you do to them?

The glitch just shook his head and jerked the doctor harshly toward one of the many doors out of the massive building.

"Ain't done anything," he hissed, right against Schneep's ear. With a sly grin, he added, "Just looks like they've abandoned you."

In an attempt to bare teeth, Schneeplestein clamped them down over the rag. Anti tsked, not getting the result he'd hoped for, then proceeded to shove Schneep out the door once it was open.

Tripping over the threshold, unable to catch himself, the doctor landed with a grunt in the grass beyond. He lifted his head, grumbling around the rag as he moved to his knees. A glint of glass caught his eye. A vehicle in the distance. A van. Brows knitted, Schneep started backing up. His back hit the now-closed door.

Anti could read his thoughts clear as day on his face: Oh, no. Oh, no. This was very much real.

The look that entered the younger Septic's eyes as he pressed himself back against the door had Anti sneering. "What, Doc? Ya thought you were dreamin' or something?" He squatted in front of Schneep, blade gripped lazily in his hand. "Get your ass up and f̵ǫ̷͢ll̸҉o̸͟͝w̨," Anti growled, voice dipping low. Cold, bright blue eyes met their identical yet terrified twins. He'd give the doc credit: He seemed calm all things considered. Maybe it was shock, he though with a sneer. Anti didn't actually wait for Schneeplestein to choose to respond; instead, he just grabbed the doctor and pulled him to his feet harsh enough that Schneep winced and whimpered as the cuffs dug into his wrists.

Tugging and shoving, growling and leering, Anti forced the doctor in the direction of the van.

It was your typical "creeper van," (where the hell had Blue found that?) which didn't help calm the doctor any. The humor in his incoherent pleas as they drew closer almost turned to irritation in the glitch. Almost.

As they drew nearer, the matte black vehicle revved to life. It's headlights caught Schneep's stare: Yellow eyes that glared into their souls. Daring them to approach as its engine growled low. Schneeplestein reeled away. "Mm!" His eyes were blown wide, and there were tracks down his cheeks. When had he started crying? He was shaking his head, shivering almost violently as Anti continued to drag him toward the van. The glitch didn't care if he was crying, though did wonder how he hadn't notice. He didn't care if the doctor was scared out of his wits and only now starting to show it.

Really, that would just help with their next step. Or, so Blue had claimed. Not even Anti knew every step to the plan.

The place…wasn't quite a warehouse, but it was the only other word he could think of for it. Anti had lost track of where they were in the Egos' little (well, not so little actually) slice of reality. The driver of the van had been none other than stone-faced Blue himself, and the location he'd picked required so many turns and off-road detours that the glitch truly had no idea where they were anymore.

Good. That meant the other Septics would have a helluva fun time finding the place.

It was made of concrete; appeared as it if may as well have been created from the very threads of reality. Something out of a storybook or movie. Dark vines climbed the windows and doors; trees huddled about it as if it were a fire and they were crowding it for warmth. Their gnarled fingers grabbed for the roof, the walls, the windows. They touched whatever be in their reach, yet didn't so much as attempt to disturb those within the building itself, nor try to break in despite how it looked that they wanted to.

Within, the concrete was cold on Anti's bare feet, causing him to curl his toes. It was smooth, however. Not a crack in the floor nor uneven panel to the wall. The beams in the ceiling were perfectly aligned. The main room reminded Anti of an unfurnished living room, while beyond was a hall that stretched into darkness. Schneeplestein eyed the corridor and whimpered.

The place was massive, and the glitch could faintly make out other doors within that hall before it grew too dark to see any farther.

Had Blue really created it? It seemed so…unreal.

Blue's lip curled into a slight smile, so Anti raised a brow. "Darkiplier is aware of what are are doing." The glitch blinked. He was? "So long as we do not get in the way of his own goals, he claims he can care less what we do to the others, under a few conditions." Blue paced toward a window of the "living room" and peered through the cracks of the tangled vines outside of it. Both Septics eyed him. "A deal was struck. If the Host would bend reality to create this place, we would stay out of Darkiplier's way and no harm would come to him, the Host, and Warfstache."

The android turned back to the pair. Schneeplestein flinched when Blue approached and leaned in to bring them nose-to-nose. His teeth were bared yet eyes blank of emotion. It created a terrifying expression, and the doctor wouldn't dare meet his eyes. "Come," the android ordered. He led the way down the corridor, glowing emblem illuminating the darkness. Schneep was whimpering as he was dragged along, fighting every step as much as he dared with a knife pressed to his throat.

Blue picked a certain door: Heavy, white. It almost looked like it could be made of plastic. He motioned for Anti to remove the handcuffs from the other Septic, the proceeded to open the door.

A blast of chilled air hit the trio. Both Septics shivered.

"Looks like a fuckin' freezer," Anti said. The cuffs were attached to his hip, and he held Schneep's wrists in an iron grip to keep the doctor from bolting now that the restraints were gone. Even so, he nearly pulled free twice before Anti's sharpened nails threatened to slice into veins.

"It is." Blue's words were on point, clipped; no hesitation. He didn't seem to take notice of the brief struggle between the Septics. Or he didn't particularly care. "I explained exactly what I wanted with this place," he continued. "The Host certainly did not hold back. It is beyond expectation."

"Drab if ya ask me."

No response from the android, though Schneep was glaring between the two. Anti dug his nails into the doctor's wrists slightly, and he lowered his head with an incoherent mumble.

Blue made a simple gesture, a wave of the hand, and the glitch shoved Schneeplestein forward without warning. He fell with a grunt into the chilled room, then the android was slamming the door behind him. The heavy pull-handle jolted as it was fitted back in the slot with a resounding click. There was no way to open it from the inside.

It didn't take long before there was shouting on the other side, banging, cursing in both English and German. He sure hadn't hesitated to pull the rag away from his mouth…

With a sneer and roll of the eyes, Anti fixed his gaze on Blue. "And we're s'posed to watch him how?"

Blue tipped his head toward another door; that one near the beginning of the corridor and bathed in light. "Surveillance room. And you," his blue eyes fixed on the glitch. Anti was wearing the "collar" again, had put it on before getting into the van. It allowed the glitch and android to interact without worry, "will be the only one to confront him on camera. The others will know you have him while the Upgrades and I work from the…"sidelines," if you will. We each have our own tasks to focus on. This is yours. As they watch their doctor broken, it will in turn break them."

Anti could only grin.

AN: Ah, this chapter was really tricky to write! I've never done an abduction scene, let alone from the abductor's POV, so it was really difficult to get right!
I hope it turned out all right! ;;