-Blaza POV-

Today went from ten in the morning to four in the evening real quick. The only thing that was really off was that Socks hadn't come back all day. It's only been this harmless version of Gulvic. Speaking of Gulvic, ever since around three, he's been super tired. He literally fell asleep leaning against the wall earlier, and he's still sleeping there. It's been almost 45 minutes, and we aren't sure if we should wake him up. And if we do, I'm not doing it.

Everyone has just been doing their own thing for the most part ever since three as well. Nadwe has apparently been talking to Meme and Muffin, Tbh, Woolf, Oompa and Dino had been trying to figure things out, and Laff was bringing in some Laff Loafs that were in the chests. I was just there, sitting on the floor, trying to comprehend what had happened before. I then started laying down on the ground, bored for the first time in days. After a while, it started getting a bit louder as everyone was getting more interested in their conversations. I started to worry if they might wake up Socks.. well.. if Socks was even there.

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-Laff POV-

After I finished carrying in the Laff Loafs, I realized it started to get much louder in the room after about ten minutes. I wondered if Socks or Gulvic were fake sleeping at this point, as I wouldn't be able to sleep through this. I started to slowly walk over and see if he was really sleeping. Blaza noticed me, and gave me a 'I wouldn't do that if I were you..' look. And of course.. I still wanted to check. I whispered,

"Hey, are you awake?"

He didn't answer, only ignored if he was awake. I was about to walk over and sit down with Blaza when I felt something curl around my legs. I swear I was lifted up at the speed of light. I was flipped upside down and was facing towards Gulvic, the opposite way of where I was facing. I yelped because of this, grabbing the attention of some. We were face to face. His face expressed annoyance and frustration as if he was about to scream at me. There was also a snarl mixed in. He then growled in very low pitch, very loudly, making everyone go quiet right away.

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-Nadwe POV-

"Did I hear what I think I just heard?"

Meme then looked over to where the sound came from, and deadpanned,

"..yep... that's what I heard."

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-Laff POV-

His eyes weren't the red rings anymore. They were back to the regular red slits. But a couple seconds later his eyes turned into blank eyes, as in, it was just pitch black. His teeth were bared, and his breathing was heavy. So was mine. I then saw out of the corner of my eye that he was getting ready to scratch or punch me in the face.

Or so I thought. He then hesitated, and instead started going for my hand. He then scraped the palm of my hand with his finger so it drew blood. I needed to bite my lip so I wouldn't scream. It looked like it didn't take much effort, from his face it looked like it was the easiest thing in the world, not to mention the fact he did it slowly, making it even worse. He then dropped me to the ground, making me fall flat on my back.

Not like it was a hard fall or anything.. Thanks a lot.

Blaza and Woolfster came over to help me up. And when I got back up, Gulvic didn't keep an emotionless face. His red-slit pupils came back, and he smiled at me before closing his eyes, and then becoming white with a brown iris once again, meaning Socks was back. He had a shocked look on his face, and he was breathing heavily like before. He blinked a couple times before looking around. There was just one question.

Why did he cut my hand instead of slashing at my face?

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-Sub. Socks POV-

I had been arguing with Gulvic about getting out of my head, when we both noticed that Laff had been approaching us. We both glared at each other out of the corners of our eyes. I ran up to try a take control of the situation, but Gulvic pulled me back to where I started, as he started to try and take control. I started screaming,

"LAFF, DON'T YOU DARE COME OVER!"

But of course he couldn't hear me, just like every other time.

"Would you shut up? There's no way he could hear you unless you're in control, and you know that."

"Yeah, I know Gulvic. But it's just me being me. My conscience wanted me to say that. I mean, at least I have one."

"Thank goodness I don't. They seem so.. so controlling."

"They really aren't if you would listen to them."

Gulvic then looked over at me, with a smug face.

"Well, too bad I don't listen."

He then grabbed onto Laff's feet and lifted him into the air, making him face us.

"Hehe.. this'll be easy. Give him a bit of a scare, then FINISH HIM OFF!"

"GULVIC, NO! DON'T YOU DARE KILL LAFF!"

"And what the hell are you going to do if I did?"

I shut up after that, as doing that usually makes Gulvic make the injuries a bit not as bad as they would be.

"That's what I thought.."

I let Gulvic figure out what he wanted to do as he usually talks to himself.

"Alright.. if I scratch his face, that'll end pretty well.. if I scratch him anywhere else, probably won't end as good. So.. the face."

He then started aiming for the face, along with a growl that he added in. I couldn't help but scream,

"GULVIC, STO-"

"I SAID SHUT UP YOU BRAT!"

I was then silenced with being wrapped from all angles using his tentacle. This caused my physical eyes to turn black, as I had no say, but Gulvic did. Gulvic then rethought his decision about slashing at the face, and instead cut his hand so it drew blood. I started panicking and trying to escape the tentacle, making a ton of noise in the process. Gulvic then turned around because of feeling me struggling and gave me a death glare.

"I swear, if you keep this up, I will remove you from your own mind DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Because Gulvic turned around, he lost control. Thankfully though, he was finished with what he wanted to do.

"Here, have control. I've done what I've wanted to."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me.. now take control before I change my mind."

Gulvic then walked away to the corner he always stayed in when he wasn't in control. Though sometimes he would do ridiculous things to get in control at the right times. Like the one time I was with Laff walking back from the jail. He kept trying to get in control. We were literally wrestling with each other over who had control. Obviously I won. A couple other times he has literally tackled me down to try and get in control, used his tentacles to be in control while I was, or even just being in control at the same time as me. It was frustrating always fighting him, but it was worth it. Didn't need anyone else dying.

I just had one more question before I took control.

"Hey.. uh.. Gulvic?"

He glanced up, showing he heard me.

"Why didn't you hit Laff in the face like you were originally going to?"

"..."

"I have my reasons."

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-Woolf POV-

For some strange reason, Gulvic decided to make a cut in Laff's hand. Originally though, it looked like he was aiming for the face. It was strange, but.. then again it was Gulvic. He was always unpredictable. I went to go get bandages for Laff's hand, but couldn't find them anywhere. I found some rubbing alcohol though, so I got that instead. As I was about to enter the room again, a floating roll of bandages then flew into my face. I knew it was Meme. I just felt his presence. Feeling his presence made my tail start to go off a bit and start wagging. Just slightly. I took it, and thanked the spirit.

"Hey, guys! I got some bandages and some rubbing alcohol. We can use some of it, though it may sting a bit.."

I came back over to where Socks, Blaza and Laff were sitting.  Nadwe said that apparently Meme is sitting in between Socks and Blaza, and Muffin was sitting on Laff's lap. Socks was trying to get a better idea on how he was acting earlier from Blaza and Laff.

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-Laff POV-

"Wait a minute, so I was acting just like a five year old?"

"Yeah! Pretty much! It was almost as if you were a bit drunk too, because at some points, you couldn't even stand up straight. You also started slurring sometimes, and kept messing up everyone's names. You didn't even know your own name!"

"You also started hugging almost everyone randomly for no reason, like when we first came through the door after getting rid of.. eh.. you know what.. you literally tackled me, Blaza, Oompa and Nadwe in a big hug."

Socks' face was flushed with pinks and reds. They didn't specify that he was basically drunk earlier, and didn't tell him that he had been hugging people randomly. After we first told Socks how he acted that morning, he was slightly embarrassed, but also couldn't believe that it was Gulvic. He couldn't stop laughing when we told him, and half of us started laughing with him as we thought back. But when we told him about what he did to Laff, he would not stop apologizing.

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-Flashback-

"ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine.."

"I'M SO SORRY, I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I'M SO SORRY!!"

He then started tearing up a bit. It was obvious he hated hurting his friends, even in the smallest bits. He then started looking at the cut on my hand even more, as if trying to find out if it was deep or shallow.

"Are you sure you're okay? It looks kinda deep."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

I offered a small smile to Socks, to see if that would soften him up a bit. Surprisingly, it did, and he smiled back.

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-Laff POV-

That's what I said before. The painful part of the healing process was just the bandaging. I started putting some of the rubbing alcohol on it, and boy it hurt like HELL. It felt like I just stabbed my hand all the way through with a pencil at first, but now it was just burning. Now it felt like corrosive acid just covered my palm, and was eating it's way through. I clenched my teeth to avoid any cussing or yelling, and instead I just took deep breaths.

Gosh darn it Gulvic.. this thing is deeper than I thought you made it..

I was surprised it wasn't bleeding until I started feeling the cut a bit more. A see-through film seemed to be spread on top of it, avoiding the bleeding. I peeled it off just for blood to rush out of the gash in my hand. I immediately stuck it back on. I don't know what I was expecting. Then two questions arose.

What is this stuff? How did Gulvic get it on me?

I then heard a voice from behind me.

"I wouldn't be looking around for answers if I were you. Might figure out something you'll regret.."

I looked behind me, to see no one there. I then looked back in front of me, into the mirror, and saw a terrifying reflection. It was me, but.. I didn't even look at it for long. I couldn't look at it for more than five seconds without almost crying. But, I felt like I needed to look at it, like something would happen if I didn't. I talked to the reflection. I felt like a crazy person.

"Was this what you meant? Is this.. what my future is?"

I got.. no response. I blinked once, and it was gone. I then got a feeling that something was not right. It felt like I should just stop time so I didn't need to see what would happen next. I then started to feel a little light-headed. I thought I was going to pass out. I felt something on my right hand, and looked. It was covered in blood. It was almost as if I stuck my hand right into a freshly killed corpse. I looked for where that seal was, and it must've fallen off after I stuck it back on. I then looked at my reflection one more time before I lost feeling in my body. Everything went numb, and I passed out.

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-Dino POV-

I went into the bathroom to check on Laff, as he just said that was putting the rubbing alcohol on, and that was it. I knocked on the door first, and said,

"Hey, uh.. Laff? Are you okay? You've been in there for about ten minutes.."

I got no response. I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach saying that something wasn't right. I then opened the door slowly, to see Laff passed out with his face in the sink. Thank god there was nothing in it. His right hand was covered in blood, which I assumed was his own. With no hesitation, I flung him over my shoulders and carried him to where I came from.

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-Socks POV-

"OH MY GOSH, WHAT HAPPENED DINO?!"

"I HAVE NO IDEA!! I WENT TO CHECK ON HIM IN THE BATHROOM, AND I SAW HIM PASSED OUT ON THE SINK!"

"WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE, PUT HIM ON THE BED!"

Dino did exactly what he was told and put Laff on the bed. We all came over to see if there was any damage apart from his hand. We saw that his mask was chipped from the fall, revealing a tiny fraction of his face. None of us have actually ever seen his face before, despite the fact we've all been friends for about 5-6 years now.

We ended up cleaning and bandaging his right hand, which was kinda hard since he was unconscious. There was also a small cut since he had hit his head on the edge of the sink. The problem was, we couldn't bandage it without taking his mask off. We ended up waiting for him to wake up to ask if we could. As I was bandaging his hand, of course I got blood on my white gloves. I genuinely felt like I was Gulvic then, and that there was no distinction. I dismissed the feeling though, and continued.

The time went from 5:18 to 9:34 in a snap. Laff woke up around 6:25, but he seemed super frantic like he just had a nightmare. He kept asking,

"WHERE IS IT. WHERE IS IT?!"

When we asked what he was talking about, he just said,

"WHERE IS THAT FREAKING REFLECTION?! I'M GONNA GET IT!"

I felt a weird connection in my head to that reflection.. like Gulvic was part of the equation. But he can't do that.. make people hallucinate? No. Stress them out? Yeah.

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-Flashback-

"Okay.. Laff, calm down. There is no.. reflection here. And nothing was coming after you."

Laff seemed to calm down a bit.

"But, when I was in the bathroom, a reflection of me popped up in the mirror. It said to not look around for clues, as I might find something I'll regret. The reflection was obviously me, but it was very different. I asked if this is what my future would be, I got no response. The next thing I know, it was gone and everything went black."

"Okay.. first of all, I'm pretty sure you were hallucinating for some reason. But why it was telling you not to look for clues if it was you hallucinating, I have no idea."

We left it at that.

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-Socks POV-

It got to around 10:30 when people started going to their rooms for the night. We helped Laff to his room, just in case he got dizzy again. He didn't, and got to his room without a scratch!

At least.. a new one..

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-Socks POV-

I went to bed around the same time I did before a couple nights prior, which was around 11. I said goodnight to Woolf, (who somehow stays up until like two in the morning..) and got ready for bed. I still wondered.. Why did Gulvic slash at his hand instead of his face? I took my helmet off, put the covers over me, and just stared at the ceiling until I fell asleep. I was thinking about everything that happened today when a thought hit me.

Can't infections spread through contact?

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Ok.. I feel like I have some explaining to do..

I first 'scene' that was written in all italics was taking place in Socks' mind. It took place when Laff was being attacked in the beginning of the chapter. I might have another one of these scenes in a future chapter, as they kinda explain what is happening in Socks' mind when Gulvic takes control, when they are both in control, or when they are both fighting for control, etc.

The rest of the scenes that are written in Italics are all flashbacks to moments that were spoken of right before.

Anyways, CLIFFHANGER! HA! I think you guys already know what is going to happen.. lol. If you don't.. good.