(((I TOOK WAY TOO LONG D: SOORRYYY GUYS I GOT DISTRACTED!! )))

Anti gave me control pretty quickly after... that... whatever that was. It felt like a memory, but I know I've never went through such a thing. I've especially never met Dark under circumstances like that, I'd definitely never look at him the way I did during that... With pure relief, and then heartbreak as he walked away.

So it if it wasn't my memory.... Was it his?

Mark continuously questioned me, questions about my well-being, whether or not I knew what happened, bombarding me with questions I frankly don't want to answer.

I respond bluntly.

'I'm fine.' 'I don't know.'

In all honesty though I'm not okay. A wave of nausea passed over me with every slight movement, my body ached as though I'd just run a marathon, and my eye... it hurt... I could still feel the sensation of the blood rolling down my cheek, despite not being in control.

The throbbing from the memory, flashback... whatever the hell it was, haunted me. I'm unsure if it's just phantom pain or if there is something truly wrong. Regardless I ignore Mark's concern, silently reaching out for Anti within my mind. He either ignores me or busies himself with something else because for once my head felt empty.

I don't bother asking about Dark, a part of me feared mentioning his name would bring him forth, and without Anti in reach, I don't want to deal with him. Especially not with the strange kindness he's been showing me. It gave me the creeps.

So as soon as I can I excuse myself to bed. I may have over exaggerated my exhaustion, but I need to talk to my demon, as soon as possible

So as I laid my head down against the pillow, I called out to him silently once more. No answer.

I clench my eyes shut, merely hoping I'd end up seeing him, but I can never control these things...

It took a few minutes, but when my eyes open again I'm in the familiar scene. Sometimes it was a forest, other times, such as this, a field.

The field was clear, grass rotting a deep brown beneath my feet, the sky a gentle gray with a few clouds spotting its polluted color. No trees, only a few wilting flowers scattered around, a rather depressing scenario. At least with the forest it seems almost lively if not disconcerting.

My eyes scan the depressing scheme of colors before landing on a familiar green standing out greatly against the dullness. Despite my change of hair it seems Anti kept the green, not that I mind too much, it drew us apart. Made me feel like we aren't so alike after all.

He sits cross legged on the grass, the plants beneath him seeming more wilted than the rest if it were possible. Black jeans hug his legs, a rip in each knee, and a black shirt to match. Did he never change clothing? I shake this off, moving forward on silent feet.

Upon closer inspection his head was low, watching his hand travel over his upper bicep, a white line almost a scar visible against his pale skin. Dark's words reverberate through my head.

I bet you still have some of the scars...

Can demons even get scars? It's not something I'd thought about till now. Did this have something to do with what I saw?

"Anti?"

My voice comes out softly, though the demon still tenses instinctually as though startled by my sudden appearance. His head jerks upward, almost like a scene from the exorcist if it were to turn any further around.

An almost sorrow coats his neon green eyes before that quickly fades to realization, and then again to a cold anger.

He pushes off the ground, tugging the short sleeve over the white mark he'd been examining. I let my eyes linger for a moment before going back to his own the anger not as intense as it usually seemed to be.

"S-Sorry I..."

His eyes narrow at my half-assed apology.

"What do you want?"

He interrupts with annoyance, letting his arms cross over his chest half-heartedly. My teeth catch the inside of my cheek chewing on it with almost nervous energy. A part of me dares not ask, but curiosity soon overpowers it.

"What happened back there...? What was that?"

The questions escape my mouth quickly. His eyes narrow as though in question, the green glowing a gentle hue.

"What are you ta-"

He stops, eyes widening as though hit with a realization. The anger fades yet again to be replaced with almost apprehension.

"You... You saw that..."

For the first time his voice doesn't come out clear and cold. He hesitates with his words as I usually would. I feel my head bob in a slight nod, feeling strange to talk to him like so after everything we've... he's... done...

And for the first time since I've seen him, he looks away from my gaze. Eyes moving down with a nervous energy I usually had. It's weird to see him act so much like I would talking to one of them.

"What was it?"

I ask again, the question eating away at me. I could still feel each ache from that memory, each voice still clear in my head, each tear roll down my... his... face.

He hesitates, and for a moment I think he'll ignore my question, or snap or do something. Instead he opens his mouth again, letting his voice come out softly, eyes gently moving to mine again, no anger visible in those green irises, the green reminding me of that color from the memory, the throbbing pain throughout the infected eye.

"That my dear boy.... That was Hell...."

~~~~~~Anti's POV~~~~~~~

As the words leave me I watch the human's eyes widen in intrigue. I silently swear.

We aren't necessarily supposed to discuss this stuff to humans, especially not the ones we're assigned to.

However, I didn't expect him to see that... Hell, I didn't expect to see it myself... I've worked so hard to push those memories back, and with a single sentence Dark brought me to my knees, made me remember almost everything.... Thankfully Sean didn't see the half of it that might have truly driven his mind away as it did mine.

Only now do I notice he still stares at me, as though expecting more of an explanation, but unsure how to word his questions.

"So..."

He begins forming words, clearly careful with each deliberate movement of his lips.

"Hell... That's a real thing?"

I stifle a sigh, giving a simple nod instead of some snarky reply.

"So... Does that mean Heaven is real?"

This time I stop, eyebrows furrowing almost thoughtfully. The way his voice softened at that question... Poor thing thinks there's still a chance for him...

"If there's a Hell... I assume there's a better place somewhere..."

The sympathy that drenches my voice is sickening. I feel myself outwardly cringe at the gentle tone.

"But I wouldn't know... If you haven't noticed I'm not the best person."

I let the disinterest re-enter my voice. Any bit of hope Sean may have had went out the window, his eyes lowering sadly, thoughtfully.

"So that memory... That was yours... That's what Dark was talking about...?"

I give a solemn nod, releasing a sigh. Feeling my neutral façade begin to fade. I lower my head letting strands of neon green cover my eyes. I feel the human's eyes on me, I hate how he looks at me... He's not scared of me... He's pitying me....

"But... why were they hurting you? You're a demon aren't you? I thought-"

"Well you thought wrong!"

The yell leaves me rather weakly, though it does stop the man in front of me from running his mouth. I keep my head down, biting my tongue as to not scream at him again.

"Look everything's a lot more complicated than you could ever hope to understand, Sean..."

I return the neutral tone, turning around as to hide my face better. I hate feeling weak, especially to Sean... He's supposed to fear me... Not this...

"Let's keep it simple... I screwed up... They don't handle failures very well..."

My eyes scan the dim colors that surround us, I could hear Sean's soft breaths from behind me, as though silently urging me on.

"You humans... You like to think of Hell in black and white... Pretend there's some devil controlling things... that we punish sinners... all that bullshit... It's a lot more complex... We have a type of government as you humans do but much stricter... And when you fail at your job..."

I let my words trail off, teeth catching my lip until I tasted the metallic blood leak from it.

"Let's just say what you saw.... That's hardly scratching the surface of what they did to me...."

Silence falls, and for a moment I think he'll ask more. I could already hear the questions he wanted to ask.

What's your job? How did you fail? What did they do?

However none of the questions leave his mouth. A few footsteps, soft against the dying grass, and I felt him behind me. I don't move, resisting the urge to shove him away, to make him wake up.

"Anti..."

That soft voice, it makes me want to claw his eyes out, makes me want to scream at him, do something.

"I'm..."

I feel his hand grip my shoulder, friendliness to his touch. I feel my eyes glow gently, lip curling back into a silent snarl.

"I'm sorry..."

That's the last straw, I feel another wave of anger overtake anything else. Teeth grind together as I slowly turn my head, shrugging his hand off violently.

"Don't..."

I hiss the word from between my teeth

"I don't need your pity..."

Pure malice drenches my lowered voice, despite not looking directly at the human behind me I can see his muscles tense, see the gears turning in his head unsure what he did to cause the eruption again.

I hear him take a step back, then another, and it goes silent. I turn around again only to be met with the empty scene, Sean back in the real world. I feel the anger disperse, as though it was never there in the first place, I let the breath escape my lungs.

I let myself fall back onto the lifeless grass, eyes travelling to the shirt on my torso hiding the disgusting scars I could never get rid of... The ones that forever reminded me that I'm nothing but a screw up.

A dry chuckle escapes my throat, hand tracing over the black fabric, small, pathetic, ghost of a smile resting on my dry lips.

Damn I'm fucked up...

~~~~~Mark's POV~~~~~

I don't bother closing my eyes, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to that much is obvious. So I laid there, letting the darkness surround me in almost a comforting sort of way; eyes adjusted to the dimness I merely stare at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Everything was quiet but my thoughts, each time I thought I'd maybe get some semblance of rest I was forced awake by another thought.

A mix of thoughts in all honesty, jumbled together in a disturbing madness.

Between my demons newfound obsession with the psychiatric patient I'm supposed to be curing, what happened with Anti, and how strangely Sean acted afterward.

I haven't had much experience with Sean's demon, but with what little I've had I can tell he doesn't show weakness. So watching him crumble to his knees because of Dark's prompts, watching him scream out in agony, and how alarmed he looked at the red dripping down his face. It's painfully clear blood doesn't tend to bother the creature, so why did he look so fearful?

Not to mention how quickly he pulled himself away from the situation, leaving Jack to take control. The man had a very similar expression to that of his demon, petrified, pale, and all around uneasy.

Yet he gave such blunt answers when I asked about it, and how quickly he excused himself afterward, it's apparent he knows something, so why is he leaving me out of the loop? Why won't he talk to me? I need answers...

"Dark..."

I speak softly, barely a whisper against the silence of the room. No answer.

"Dark?"

I try again, louder this time. Yet merely more silence follows. I only assume that means he's still pissed about Sean... For whatever reason.

Sean would never see him like that, it's excruciatingly obvious how scared the man is of my demon. So why does he think he has a chance...

Better question... Why does he think of me as competition...? Sean's my patient, I could never see him like that...

At least... I don't think so...