Antisepticeye grinned, getting more and more excited by the second.

"Ehehehehahahaha . . . "

His felt so powerful.

He had almost forgotten what it felt like.

His whole body shivered with anticipation.

He couldn't wait to rip apart Mark's body with his bare hands.

This rain wasn't going to stop his parade.

"Ahahahah. . .AHAHAHAHAHAH. . . .. AHAHAHAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Antisepticeye started to laugh, "AHhhahaaha!!!! You . . You have NO fucking idea! Just how LONG I've waited for this!"

Mark didn't look impressed, "I'm gonna guess a year? Please, if all of THEM couldn't put up a fight against me together, how do you think YOU stand a chance?!"

Antisepticeye's eyes glowered dangerously and he grinned maniacally, "Because it took all of THEM and then some . . .. to take ME down"

As lightning crackled in the sky, Antisepticeye let his electricity crack and spark around him, the Pheno energy coming back to life in his veins.

Henrik and Eva had finally come through the walls to the opening to the backyard with Jameson and Evan behind them.

Eva sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness. Anti DID give him his powers back"

Henrik investigated the scene, "Jackie and Marvin are hurt! But . . damn, they're too close to the fight and the rain is making it harder for zhem to get up on their own"

Chase realizes he's right. Mark's hold on them all had lifted as he focused his energy on Antisepticeye but they were still too weak to pick themselves up.

Anti was the strongest out of all of them and got to his knees.

Henrik swallowed, "We might vant to be careful around Antisepticeye now, though"

Gab turned her head to him, "Wh-why? He wouldn't hurt us. He's different from before"

Henrik shook his head, "Not all too sure about zhat but also . . . not vhat I meant. Zhe Pheno energy he absorbed last year has returned to him meaning he still has all that amount of power now as he did before. He has zhe power of 3,000 atomic bombs at his disposal again. And back zhen and he couldn't very accurately handle all zhat power. Zhat was his weakness back zhen. He lacked patience and control over himself"

Gab nodded, turning back to watch Antisepticeye. But she KNEW something was different from back then and now. He looked so much more mature and together.

She shook her head, "It's different now. You can tell in the way he carries himself. I saw it when we first fought when we first met and he tried to kill me. You're right, he didn't have a lot of control over his actions and how he fought back then. He was always so reckless and immature. But now . . ."

Chase nodded, agreeing with her, "I see it now, too . . . you're right. I don't know if I'm happy about that or not. But you're right. He HAS control over himself now"

Antisepticeye suddenly teleported and appeared inches from Mark's face, "Now I'M in the limelight, bitch"

He let a wave of his lightning hit Mark full on, surprising him.

Mark was hit back so hard, he landed against a tree trunk, breaking it.

Mark cracked his back, muttering obscenities.

But he was more than prepared and stronger than just one hit and he slammed Antisepticeye with a blast of Gab's power.

Antisepticeye blocked it but it still really stung like hell.

Mark laughed, "How's your girlfriend's power feel!? Bet you miss that, huh, you freak?!"

Antisepticeye just smirked, though, "Yeah, ya know what?! I kinda did!? You know why?!"

He pulled out his knife from his back pocket he'd been keeping with him. He licked the blade, relishing the moment, "Because I AM a fucking freak!!!"

Antisepticeye rushed to attack him again but Mark was ready this time and his knife clashed against Mark's cane.

The struggled against each other, waves and blasts of energy radiating off of them to try and push the other off or away.

Chase pat Gab's shoulder, "Hey, I need your help. Jackie and Marvin are too weak and hurt to get away from the fight on their own. Help me?"

How could she say no? Since Jameson got hurt, she was raring to try and help THEM in return, "Of course! Let's hurry!"

Anti had finally picked himself up but seeing Chase and Gab running over, he was relieved.

Chase went to Jackie, helping put his arm over his shoulder, "Come on, buddy, you got this. Can't let one broken leg get you down, right?"

Jackie groaned but hobbled on his good leg, leaning on Chase, "Ri-right. . . but he also broke some ribs, too. Please tell me there's a hidden stash of healing potions somewhere?"

"Nope, sorry man." Chase sighed, "It'll be okay, though. Just think, when all this is over, beating the fuck out of Chad will seem like NOTHING"

Jackie just chuckled softly at the joke but his sister's ex husband was the least of his worries at the moment, "Beating the fuck out of HIM was never an issue for me"

Gab helped Marvin up seeing as he couldn't pick himself up without use of his hands, "It'll be okay. Bones heal"

Marvin just groaned, "Yeah, I know. Besides, Evan's got it worse than me. I'd rather take his place for him, though, if I could help it"

"The best thing you can do for him now is just stay alive"

Marvin knew she was right but couldn't bring himself to agree with her.

Since Chase and Gab were helping Jackie and Marvin to safety, Anti made his way to Dark to help him up since he was having trouble.

Anti pulled Dark's arm over his shoulder but he noticed Dark was still staring at his broken cane.

"Hey, it'll be okay. When this is all over, Marvin or Evan can fix it"

"It's not that. . . ." Dark teared up, "I let her down . . Celine . . . I let all of them down"

"Don't talk like that. You haven't let anyone down yet." Anti shook him a little, helping him walk, "It's not over until we're all dead"

"Oh, how cheerful" he deadpanned.

They got out of the way as much as they could but Anti and Dark stood in front of the others, being the strongest and least injured at this point.

Anti wanted to clutch onto his necklace but already was forgetting he let it go.

'You better win this, Antisepticeye. . .. we're counting on you'

Antisepticeye's knife finally managed to cut a little into the cane and Mark started to panic.

He decided to play dirty and kicked Antisepticeye, forcing him to back off.

But it wasn't for long as he quickly re-orientated himself and swung a punch at Mark. And since he got him to let his guard down, Antisepticeye suddenly went into an onslaught of repeated punches at his face and chest.

What he didn't realize was Mark was LETTING him do this. He was building up.

It was when Antisepticeye went to stab him into the heart that Mark grabbed at his hand and twisted it, forcing him to let the knife go.

"Grnn!" Antisepticeye rubbed at his wrist and took a punch to the face.

But he was far from done.

At the same time, Mark and Antisepticeye let free a wave of electricity and power towards each other, making the rain blow away for a moment.

Mark laughed at him as the light from their blasts faded off and they broke apart, "You're not too bad . . . we're not so different, you and I"

Antisepticeye snarled at him, stalking around him like a predator, "I beg to differ."

"No. . . no, you're strong. That much is obvious. . . but there's something ELSE about you. You're ruthless. . . merciless . . . . I watched the battle between you and the Septics last year, you know, when I was scouting for power just like Dark . . . you could have won against the Septics if you were more . . . strategic . . patient"

"You don't say?" Antisepticeye listened to him but mainly just to get him to let his guard down.

"OH yes" Mark licked his lips, "You're more patient now than back then. You're BETTER.. . . . And you hate them all still just as much as I do. . . . . We could make quite the team, you know."

He knew where this was going. Antisepticeye tilted his head, letting him talk, "Oh? You think so?"

"Oh shit" Jackie cursed, "We're fucked"

"We might be" Chase agreed.

"It's hard to say" Marvin didn't quite agree with them, "I don't know. He was different in the last story. He . . . comforted Olivia. Honestly, I don't know WHAT he's thinking but the old Antisepticeye would have rather killed the kid than ever talk to her."

Gab took a deep breathe, 'Of course he's different. . . . he can't be honestly thinking of hearing Mark out. . . right?'

Antisepticeye and Mark were both soaking wet by this point being out in the open in the storm but neither cared.

Mark just grinned, thinking he was getting somewhere with him, "We could kill them all together. You could have your revenge AND the girl. Of course I'd keep her powers. . . but you and her would LIVE"

Antisepticeye narrowed his eyes at him, "I don't know about this plan of yours. Maybe I DON'T want to work with you. What would you say to that?"

"I'd say so be it. Fine. . . . .. How about I give you a choice?" Mark laughed, leaning on his cane with his ego held high, "A once in a lifetime offer . . . . . . I let you leave right now WITH your girlfriend . . . alive. And you'll never see me again"

"Tempting offer" Antisepticeye hummed, still not giving away which way he was going to go.

All the Septics and Gab held their breath, worried about what would happen next.

Antisepticeye hissed with a smile, "Sssss . . . But I'm gonna have to pass."

They all let go their breathes

"You see. . . . . TWO things about that 'offer' of yours" Antisepticeye quoted the word offer with his fingers, practically mocking Mark, "First thing . . . . . I hate failing . . . and I hate failures."

Mark blinked, already offended.

Antisepticeye continued, "You see . . . I may hate the Septics with every fiber of my being . . . . but at least I have the balls to admit that I RESPECT them. They WON against me. They BEAT me and took me down. Took away my powers and sent me off far away to another universe. And that's a FEAT!" He smiled, taunting Mark, "They are not failures . . .. but YOU are."

"You're trying to die quick, I see" Mark snorted.

"Oh, you don't get it?" Antisepticeye chuckled, "You don't see all the fuck ups you made? Chase was right, that story REVISON was bullshit and you know it. You let Wilford get away with sleeping with your ex-wife. You FAILED in fighting Darkiplier the FIRST time when the stories were actually GOOD. . .Or so I hear. I heard your career took a dive and then you made a deal with a demon to kill your ex wife which also backfired for you."

"How did you find out about that!?" Mark demanded.

Antisepticeye chuckled, "Delving into the minds of the weak is not hard for me. I see right through you . . . . You're a failure in EVERY way and I hate you and there's no way in HELL I would ever consider taking any deal from you. . . . . . . Oh. . . . and second thing?"

Antisepticeye cracked his neck back and forth, a snarl forming on his face, "You tried to kill my woman"

In a sudden flurry of movement, Antisepticeye criss-crossed his arms up and down repeatedly and with each motion, a blast of lightning shot down straight onto Mark! The noise of the thunder hitting the ground each time cracked so loud, they should have all gone deaf.

Antisepticeye didn't know how many strikes he made. Maybe ten? Fifteen?

But eventually he DID have to stop.

His arms twitched and he was breathing heavily from the amount of power it took to strike like that.

Smoke filled the zone from the repeated lightning strikes and leftover sparks crackled around. The rain wasn't really helping to extinguish out the smoke.

But they didn't have to worry about that.

A bright white light was seen emerging from the smoke, whisping it away.

Gab gasped, "Oh shit . .. . . he reached where he shouldn't have"

None of the Septics liked that.

Apparently Antisepticeye's speech may have angered Mark a lot more than intended.

So much so that Mark's rage brought out the rest of Gab's incredible power.

He was at near full capacity now.

Antisepticeye could feel it.

'He had more . . . . I should have known better. . . . this isn't good.'

The smoke cleared and Mark stood with a glowing white aura surrounding him but his eyes were different now. They were pitch black.

Oh, he was pissed.

Antisepticeye barely blinked and Mark was inches away from him.

Mark smirked, "My . . . what a tough act to follow. But I DO think I can do better"

He slammed his fist into Antisepticeye's stomach, throwing him quite a distance. He splashed into a muddy puddle on his stomach. Trying to blink away the water in his eyes, he didn't have time for when Actor used the gravity powers again and slammed him back into the puddle, forcing his face to stay under water, practically waterboarding him.

Antisepticeye struggled but held his breath the best he could.

But apparently after a few more seconds, Mark decided he didn't want to win that way and let him go, letting Antisepticeye gasp up for air, his hair sticking to his face.

He coughed out what water he could and quickly wiped his face before trying to stand up again.

Antisepticeye whipped lightning at him but of course Mark was just swatting it away. He was running out of options.

But Antisepticeye had one more good trick up his sleeve.

He took a stance and his eyes glowed. He looked right into Mark's black eyes, trying to draw him in.

Gab was confused, though, "What. . . what's happening? Why is he just standing there?"

Marvin cleared his throat but he knew this tactic anywhere, "He's trying to possess him. He did it to all of us before. . . but bad news? It means he's desperate"

Antisepticeye let his aura reach out to Mark, luring him in.

In that moment, Mark stopped, halting in his tracks.

In his head, he could see his biggest fears. . . his regrets. And so could Antisepticeye.

Mark saw Celine, Wilford and Damien. The detective, the District Attorney and his butler.

He saw that night.. . . . .

'What a failure. Piece of shit.'

Antisepticeye's voice hung in his head all around him.

'You should have just tried harder to kill yourself.'

"I KNOW" Mark's whole body shook looking straight at a mirror image of Damien.

'Then none of this would have ever happened. . . .. YOU created Darkiplier."

"NO!" Mark swung at Damien, making him disappear in smoke.

'It's all your fault. You did this. Your wife left you because you're a failure. It's all your fault and yet you continue to blame others around you.'

"Shut UP! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!'

'You created Darkiplier because you wanted someone to blame other than yourself'

"GET . . . OUT!!"

Mark forced Antisepticeye out quickly and the other obviously didn't expect that, stumbling backwards.

'Shit! I just made him angrier!'

Antisepticeye went to airstrike him again to fend him off but Mark was faster and grabbed him by the front of his face, throwing him like a rag doll towards the house, going through a wall.

Mark's whole body radiated with that white power but it was starting to affect him. His skin was starting to burn and his nose was bleeding.

"ALL OF YOU JUST NEED TO DIE ALREADY!"

Antisepticeye knew Mark wasn't just aiming for him this time and scrambled towards the others.

Before Mark's attack could hit, Antisepticeye created a nuclear looking shield around them all just like he had to protective himself a long time ago from the Pheno Cannon.

But Mark's energy was seeping through the bubble. Luckily enough for them, Mark stopped before it could shatter around them.

Antisepticeye REALLY didn't want to do this.

But he had no other choice.

Without even asking, he just GRABBED Anti's arm, forcing him at his side, dispersed the bubble that was protecting them and made him run with him towards Mark!

Anti was EXTREMELY confused at first but got the gist.

Antisepticeye needed help.

Anti ran with him on his own, making Antisepticeye let go of his arm and they made a coordinated attack, charging him.

Mark's burning body was on fire with Gab's hot light power but he didn't care anymore about his image. He needed to end this NOW.

Mark blasted a bright shot of white flames and light towards them.

Anti and Antisepticeye had their opposite hands side by side, forming a strike twice as powerful together, colliding with Mark's light!

They had to reinforce their footing in the wet mud but stood their ground together.

But Mark's power was only building and was causing both Anti and Antisepticeye's lightning to dwindle.

But they were saved as Mark stopped all of a sudden and they had a moment of reprieve.

Anti was basically heaving for air but stood next to Antisepticeye who was doing the same thing and gave him a sort of weirded out look, "You know . . . if you said a year ago that we'd end up fighting an egotistical evil maniac together . . . I would have thought you lost your fucking mind"

Antisepticeye snorted, "I DID lose my fucking mind. Isn't it obvious?"

Anti swallowed, "What's going on with him? Do you think we can take him together?"

Mark's nose was still bleeding and his skin was basically red and smoking but now he was starting to cough up blood. Something was definitely wrong.

That's when it clicked.

Antisepticeye blinked and whispered to Anti, "His body can't handle all of Gab's power.. . . . it's like it was with me and the Pheno energy but FAR worse. Gab's power hangs on different rules than Dark's or our alters. Like how Dark couldn't just TAKE Gab's power like he COULD have yours."

Anti nodded, "You're probably right. But that also doesn't mean much. If you recall, you didn't give a shit when you had all that power that would eventually kill you and neither will he. He's still super powerful and at the rate we're going . . . .. I don't know if we can keep going like this"

Antisepticeye didn't like it. . . . but Anti did have a point.

Mark suddenly started to laugh uncontrollable, "AHha.a . . .hahahahaahah. . .HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" He pulled at his hair, yanking a few strands out, "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE TURNED ME INTO!!! YOU LITTLE MONSTERS! I USED TO BE A STAR! THE BEST! I WAS HANDSOME AND GRAND!"

He started to cry but blood came out of his ducts instead of tears, "I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU ALL WISH YOU WERE NEVER EVEN BORN! I'LL END THIS ALL RIGHT NOW! I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS! YOU MADE ME DO THIS! YOU MADE ME!"

Dark was worried about what would happen next. He knew Mark was insane but how far was he willing to go?

"I'M THE HERO OF THIS STORY!" Mark breathed in deeply with a big smile, "AND IF THE HERO DIES SACRIFICING HIMSELF TO DESTROY THE EVIL THEN SO FUCKING BE IT!!"

The white light burst from Mark, up into the sky and it surrounded him ready to rip apart everything in its path.

Antisepticeye tensed, seeing something.

It reminded him. . . . . .

Maybe he should . . . . .

'We aren't enough'

Mark was ready to level this entire world if he had to, to get what he wanted.

Anti felt the heat coming from Mark like a volcano, "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

Antisepticeye locked eyes with him, emotions blank.

'What are you thinking?' Anti wondered, 'What's that look in your eyes?'

Antisepticeye turned behind him to Gab.

And without missing another single moment, Antisepticeye teleported to Gab and they disappeared.

But so did Henrik and Eva.

The others gaped in horror at what they just witnessed.

Did Antisepticeye just . . .. leave them?

Did he and Gab just take Mark's deal, leave them and take Henrik and Eva with them?!