He rubbed his neck with a pale hand, a clear sign of agitation.
"Where is he?"
That wasn't safe, he knew. Black sclera hid secrets and multi-color eyes held violence.
"And why should I tell yoU?" The smirk was cruel. His hand left his neck, showing scars. They would start to bleed again if he wasn't careful. Never again.
"I just want to know."
His black t-shirt and pants blended into the shadows, making his twitches seem like shadows themselves. Black boots were loud in the silent room, making the Light jump with every step.
"Ah, but he has his own DeMoNs... should we really bother him, Jacky?" One blue and one green softened, slowly trailing a hand through green hair. Blue eyes stayed closed, not flinching. He was in one of his moods, best to be careful. A nose nuzzled his cheek, a hand on his throat.
A reminder.
"Just a peek... please?" Whispered. Pleaded.
A wish.
"Hm," Anti hummed, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. "You've been so good lately. I have been thinking of AwArDiNg you."
Awarding? Maybe to take the rope from his limbs, send him home to rest, or maybe even to let him simply stand from the chair that was tying him to the earth, covered in old blood. The hand moved to the front of his neck, a pale thumb moving gently over it with only the smallest pressure. Then it was gone, along with the cold breath on his ear. Blue and green held an almost love for the man in front of him.
His Light.
"Goodbye Jack. Do remember to behave, unless you want your visit cut sHoRt."
He melded with the shadows, leaving Jack to his peace. There was no door, he remembered. When he had fist gotten here, he had awoken in the chair, but untied. He had wandered the room, the darkness licking at his heels like a starved beast.
Wanting to eat his sanity.
Braving the dark and feeling the walls for what seemed like hours, he finally found himself back in the chair, knees pulled up under the only light in the room. That was the fist time Anti had stepped in.
Anti was... his imagination. He made him one time... more as a special treat for his followers. Then it went wrong. With the small lights that where his support, Anti grew in strength.
Thinking of his loyal fans, he let out a small huff that could have been a chuckle in another life. They raised him so high, a pedestal that reached the skies, but they also forged the hammer that knocked them down...
He was in here somewhere...
Their connection was always strong, the two of them. Half of him agreed it was all the fan-fiction that his fans wrote, the other half thought that it was simply their connection to the emotional demons plaguing them both. Red eyes glimmered in the dark, watching him, and as the figure stepped out of the darkness that was his prison, he found a face he knew even better than his own.
Ink locks where fanned to the side, much like his own Irish green. Rubies looked at him with a sort of pity, but he needed it not from the demon. A tux coat went over a low-buttoned white shirt, black slacks and dress shoes finishing his roguish charm.
"Look at what that cretin has done to you," his smooth voice echoed in the room, soothing the mental burns. The scars didn't hurt so much when Dark was in the room. Maybe it was because he reminded Jack of his best friend. A cold hand landed on his exposed neck, his shirt long ago disposed. It eased the burning of the shallow cuts and dulled the whispering of Anti in his ears.
"I've been hearing that you've been really good for Anti as of late. I've also heard your request. I'm here to take you to him."
Salve to all his aches and scars.
"Thank you..." Jack whispered, eyes closing again to lean into the devil's touch. Though it was as cold as Anti's, something told him that this spirit would never hurt him. Ropes loosened around his wrists and ankles, but he knew he was too weak to walk. So did Dark, it seemed, for he picked him up bridle style before walking into the darkness.
Shivers raced down his spine and he curled tighter into the man's chest. He would keep him safe.
"Why'd you have to go on and do that?" a static voice hissed. "He should have walked on his oWn!"
"Anti," Dark remarked coolly, "he hasn't been able to stand in a while. His muscles are sore and unused. Is this not a reward?"
The virus huffed, glitching in irritation, but Jack wasn't focused on that.
"Oh, Mark."
He, to, had a chair. Granted, a much nicer chair than his simple, bloodstained wooden one. He was the replica of his evil twin, brown eyes and black t-shirt and jeans aside. His head had been lowered before he heard his name.
Before his heard his voice.
"Why?" Mark asked, brown eyes filling with tears. "I know he's not there. Stop..." He sounded so broken, so lost in his grief.
"What have you done?" The question was directed at the man holding him, who was approaching Markipier. A whispered word that would have blown away if it weren't so quiet. Mark was a fighter, always has been. How could such a strong man be so broken?
"Mark? It's me... Jack. It's Seán, look... please."
Mark looked into the blue eyes of the Irishman, finding the pain there. Oh, it looked to real as his darker side set him gently on the floor in front of him.
"Jack?"
"Yes," Jack confirmed for the weary man, a small smile shifting over his face. "It's me. I'm here." A hand drifted over the scars and cuts that now littered his skin, so different from their tormentors in its warmth. He covered it with his own, smile widening.
"This is sick..." Anti hissed, watching them. Something cold pressed against Jack's throat, a shiver racing up his spine. "Come on, Jacky~. We still have yet to play today~."
"Wait! Just a bit longer!" he pleaded, looking at his best friend's darker half for help. If anyone put Antiseptic in his place, it was Dark.
"Are you ArGuInG?" the playfulness left completely, a dark growl of malice taking his place. "Maybe this visit wasn't such a good idea, Dark. I think we should keep them sEpArAtE."
"Wait... please," Mark spoke up, attracting attention.
"Don't, Mark," Jack pleaded.
"What is it, Mark?" Dark's soothing tones asked. "Are you wishing for more time?"
"If we can't have more," Mark hesitated, "just... Please be gentle. We're both exhausted... I don't think we can take much more of this."
The darker halves spared each other a glance, some silent conversation passed between eyes.
"We will leave you be," Dark bargained.
"Why the hell should I be kept from my pet just because he's tired?" Anti growled, pale hand on his throat, rubbing the itching scars.
"Look at him." That he did. Jack was covered in cuts and bruises, a bite mark or two from sharpened teeth engraved on pale shoulders where fabric no longer covered. Fear rolled off the human in waves, Anti nearly becoming orgasmic at its taste.
Maybe the Lights deserved to be replaced before they blew.
Anti huffed, making his way back to the darkness, leaving Jack with Mark. Dark looked at the two with a unreadable expression.
"Would you like me to move you to the bed, Jack?"
"I want to try doing it myself." His tone was low, respectful and not risky. He had pissed off none of them today. "If you help, it would be most appreciated."
Dark helped him off the ground and let the Irishman lean in him, Mark by his side to catch him. Jack put a bit of pressure on his left leg and hissed.
"Jack?"
"Got a cut that stings, nothing too bad," he reassured. Mark looked, only now noticing the large slice in Jack's thigh.
"That doesn't look like 'nothing'."
"I'll give you setting to patch him up with. God only knows what that glitch has done," Dark grumbled.
"Why are you helping us?" Jack asked as they set him on the little bed in the room, Mark sitting next to him. "Not that I'm complaining."
"He is crude in the way he does things. I am much more refined." Mark shivered, giving Jack the feeling that Dark was just as cruel. "I can see what I can do for bandages."
He left in a whir of black, leaving the two in their own company for now.
"What has he done, Mark?" Jack asked quietly, his throat burning. "I don't see anything physical."
"Too messy, he says," Mark answered, letting one of his palms rake down his face. "I've been seeing things, Jack... So many." He pulled his legs up to his chest, getting as small as possible. A sharp hiss broke him out of his depression, looking at the green-haired male. He had his hand to his throat, though he didn't touch it. His eyes widened when lines of red trailed down his neck. "Jack?"
"He must be upset," he chuckled, coughing afterward. "Probably about the bandages Dark wanted to get."
"Your neck bleeds because of that?" Mark questioned, appalled.
"His does... when he's really angry. Wonder why, though..."
"I didn't want him touching you, is all. I'm starting to thing you favor him, Jacky," Anti spoke from the shadows, coming out with a tray of medical supplies.
"What...?"
"I'm here to patch you up, like I always do~," he cooed, dabbing a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol.
"Does he really?" Mark asked, unaware of the danger. Jack flashed him a warning with his bright blues, but then he caught the look in Anti's eyes.
"I do~," he chirped, taking the ball and running it over a scratch he had made with his knife on his cheek, relishing in the way his Light flinched. "I'm always so rough on you, Jacky. Gotta be gentle sometimes." Jack shivered, fear in blue orbs. Mark watched carefully. Dark had made him watch one or two of their 'playtime', and it made him sick how he was trying to make up for it.
He grabbed a white towel, which was already stained pink, to wipe off the blood from his neck, only dabbing lightly. "I brought you water. Another favor for your wonderful screams~." Putting the towel away on the tray, he went to hand Jack the water glass, but Mark noticed how bad he was shaking. He went to grab it, to help Jack drink it, but Anti growled. He withdrew his hand, sending Jack an apologetic look.
Sean grabbed the glass with both hands, trying to steady his hands. He drank a little, the water soothing his throat, He hummed before he hissed in discomfort as Anti swabbed at his neck.
"It must have been from when I was upset earlier. I'm sorry, Jacky," Anti apologized, but to Mark, it sounded hollow.
"It's nothing. Doesn't even hurt that much," he chuckled, drinking a bit more water to stop the tickle in his throat from becoming a cough. Cold hands brushed his skin, cooling the redness.
We found them!
Is that Anti?
Mark! Jack! We've come to help!
Anti growled as Dark appeared beside him, eyes glowing white in furry.
"Our..."
"...Lights," Mark finished, a smile playing over his lips. Red spotted the new bandages that covered Jack's neck as crimson lines streaked down Anti's. He glitched furiously, baring sharp teeth. Dark was calm and collected, but hatred and anger burned the red to white in his irises.
"YoU lItTlE... WhO sAiD yOu CoUlD cOmE hErE?" Anti growled, voice in a glitching hiss.
We're here to help two of our favorite people!
We made you and we are going to stop you!
Light blinded the four before Mark found himself waking in a hospital room. He and Sean shared a room, thankfully, and they had visitors. Three teens stood in the room, smiles on their faces.
"Your back!" the only boy cheered, his short, black hair swaying as he jumped up. The white stings of his light-blue jacket flailing the air as his black sneakers squeaked on the white tile.
"Thank God you made it," a young girl sighed, running a hand through her long, purple hair. Mark thought the color suited her, matching her purple t-shirt over jeans and black boots. Blue, round glasses sat on her nose, smiling softly.
"Uh, guys. Jack's not awake yet," another young girl informed, white teeth worrying her lower lip. The brunette had a pixie-cut, checkered button up brushing her dark jeans. Sandals brushed the tile quietly as she made her way to Jack's bed.
"Sean?" Mark called, sitting up on his bed. There was no response, however, and Mark began to worry.
"Linda," the brunette looked at the boy, "do you think he was left there?"
"He might have been, Jacob," she responded, putting her fingertips to Jack's temple. "He's still there, but it's hazy."
"Let me try," the purple-haired female asked, but instead of going to Jack, she came to Mark. "I'm Alexis, a big fan. Nice to meet you," Mark nodded to her. "You two have a connection, don't you? I can feel it. Not romantically, of course. Those twelve year olds don't know what they're talking about."
"Yeah, I would say we do," Mark chuckled.
"Good, then I can do my job. While Linda can find a person's presence, I'm the one that fished the two of you out of there. I'm sorry Mark, but I'm going to have to put you back. Your instruction to find and touch Jack so I can pull the both of you out together. There more you are connected, the better it works. Like, for example, a hug works wonders while simply resting your hand on him is spotty at best," Alexis explained. Mark nodded in understanding, seriousness crossing his face.
"Here I go, then."