Don't Leave me...

The last words Sean heard, playing on repeat. The sadness in Mark's voice still clear as day, each time it played it only grew more painful.

Sean remembered what he felt in those last moments. He felt the pure anger from Dark. Sad acceptance from Anti. What he felt himself? He wasn't sure, was he sad? Was he happy it was all over?

All he remembered was the feeling of Mark holding him in his strong arms, he remembered the stinging pain once the blade cut through his pale flesh, the warmth as the blood trickled down his skin, the way everything slowly faded away as though it was all a dream.

Then, there was blackness. Not a threatening darkness, but a peaceful one, one that welcomed him. He didn't feel sad, nor happy, he didn't feel anything. Just a cold emptiness, that grew thicker as the phrase repeated, mocking him with that miserable tone.

Don't leave me...

Jack's eyes open quickly, he instantly feels something off. He couldn't breathe. No matter how much he tried, his lungs screamed for air, but he couldn't get any.

The green haired man writhed as he struggled to take a breath, panic overtaking him, before a hand grabs his. The warmth instantly stopping him, sending waves of calm throughout him.

His blue eyes instinctively move over to the source of the warmth, he meets a pair of warm brown eyes, the color of freshly made hot chocolate, and he feels himself inhale.

His breathing was shallow, each breath burning as it went down his throat, and as things came into focus around him, he realized how sore everything was. His back ached fiercely, head pounding with every small noise, and only growing worse as the lights around him nearly blinded him. His arm felt heavy, as did his leg, looking over he saw both were wrapped in a cast. And his throat... it stung, each breath a struggle to get in. He reaches up, hand gently brushing his tender neck that he soon learned was bandaged. The bandages, soaked through with a deep red.

"What happened?"

Jack asks once he felt his senses return almost fully. His voice was croaky, hoarse, and throat scratchy in desperate need of water. Mark says nothing, reaching over to the bedside table with his free hand. Jack watches him, and after a moment lets his blue eyes wander.

He was obviously at a hospital, laying in a white bed, an IV stuck in his good arm, and a heartrate monitor hooked up to him, showing his steady heart beat with each spike, in almost a hypnotizing sort of way.

Mark places a small cup in front of his face, snapping Jack from his thoughts. The green haired man sits up slowly, wincing as his back popped and cracked with the small movement, who knew how long he'd been lying in that bed.

He takes the cup from Mark with his good hand, greedily drinking the cold liquid, he soon learned was water. The coolness running down his throat a complete relief. He finished the water within seconds, taking a few deep breaths afterward. His blue eyes finally move to Mark once more, who looks at him with gentle eyes, a small smile curling onto his face.

He looked completely worn. Brown eyes tired and sunken, his cheeks stained with tear marks, and his red hair a greasy, tangled mess. Jack sighs, noticing their hands were still intertwined he gives Mark's a gentle squeeze, raising an eyebrow in question, struggling to ignore the pain that coursed through his small body, and distract himself with those chocolate colored eyes.

"What do you remember...?"

Mark asks softly, not directly answering Jack's question, his voice tired and laced with worry. Jack thinks back, rolling his neck as he does, and wincing as pain shot through the bandaged skin.

"I remember... Taking control... Blood... lots of it... and then darkness.... I couldn't see, couldn't move, I could only listen... I heard your voice... It felt like I died..."

The red haired man tenses slightly, lowering his gaze gently, as he squeezes the Irish man's hand again, a part of him afraid to let go.

"You... You did..."

Mark murmurs softly. Jack narrows his eyes.

"For several minutes actually..."

He explains in a soft tone, voice shaking ever so slightly with each word. Jack gulps quietly, hand instinctively clutching Mark's tighter. A part of him wanted to reach up and touch the bandages again, the proof that he was nearly gone, but he didn't want to let go of Mark, and his other was wrapped in a thick cast.

"I... Died?"

The green haired man finally manages to squeak out. He opens his mouth to ask about it, before a thought hits him.

"What about Anti...? Dark?"

He asks, the question suddenly burning at his mind. Mark sucks in a breath and looks up once more, mouth twitching into a calm smile.

"Anti's still here..."

The red haired man replies simply, not bothering to say anything about Dark, though Jack didn't seem to notice, or mind.

"How can you be sure?"

The green haired man asks, silently trying to feel through his mind, to see if Anti was truly there, but he didn't feel anything. Mark sighs, and squeezes his hand once more, pulling the Irish man's attention back to him.

"Because I talked to him..."

~~~~~~A couple hours earlier~~~~~~

Mark runs a hand through his tangled mess of hair for what felt like the hundredth time, his leg tapping repeatedly as he sat in that chair. He sat next to the bed where Jack lay, beaten and bruised, his breathing shallow, and his heartrate slow and steady.

Doctors had said he was stable, but he hadn't woken yet, it had been at least a week, and Mark grew impatient, worried beyond belief.

Felix and Ken had, thankfully, followed him. Calling an ambulance as Mark struggled to stop the bleeding. He could still remember the warmth of the red liquid as it seeped from the man's small neck, he remembered every second despite how much he'd tried to forget.

The green haired man shifts slightly in the bed, pulling Marks attention to him once more. Mark watches, a small smile instinctively curling onto his face as the man groans, slowly opening his eyes. The red haired man's smile drops as he looks into the eyes, one of them being an unnatural green.

Anti sits up, rolling his neck and shoulders, not seeming to be in any obvious pain. His mismatched eyes wander curiously, before landing on the casted arm and leg, annoyance shining in his irises. He reaches over, tugging on the white cast roughly, seeming actually strong enough to break it off before Mark reaches over stopping him.

"Don't... Sean needs those..."

He mutters quietly. Anti narrows his eyes, piercing gaze finally moving to the other person in the room. He looks over Mark inquisitively.

"Where am I? I know it's not heaven because you're here..."

Anti speaks simply, voice bored. Mark sighs, biting back a snarky reply and drops his hand, still sad it wasn't Jack.

"Hospital..."

The red haired man responds bluntly, leaning back in his chair once again. Anti nods, mismatched eyes wandering the room once again, and looking as though he wanted to pull the IV from his arm once his gaze landed on it. Though he doesn't simply relaxing back onto the bed once more.

"Is he okay?"

Mark finally asks, softening his voice as he does. Anti looks at him, staring into those worried brown eyes for a few seconds before simply nodding his head, reaching a hand up and scratching the bandages around his neck with annoyance.

"Physically I'm sure he'll be fine... Mentally I have no idea... He's still passed out."

Anti explains, combing his fingers through the dyed strands of hair on top of his head, looking like he was slightly lost in his own thoughts.

"And Dark?"

The green haired man tenses up at the name, good hand instinctively bunching in the white covers of the bed.

"He's gone..."

Anti mutters bluntly. Mark narrows his eyes.

"What do you mean gone?"

The green haired man shrugs his shoulders, trying to look nonchalant, however his stature remained tense, mismatched eyes looking at anything but Mark.

"Not sure... He must've fled when he thought we were going to die..."

"So we have no idea where Dark is? He just jumped into some poor person?"

Mark asks instantly, nearly interrupting Anti's sentence. The green haired man huffs and nods his head, hand letting go of the blankets and reaching up to brush the bloodied bandages around his neck. The red haired man watches his movements inquiringly, narrowing his eyes as a small smile curves onto the man's pale face.

"He really did it..."

He mutters mostly to himself, a bit of admiration in his accented voice. Mark watches him, tilting his head slightly.

"You're not mad? You know, that he was willing to kill you?"

The red haired man finally manages to ask. Anti thinks on this, tugging the bandages as though they were uncomfortable. Finally the green haired man shrugs, mismatched eyes finally going to Mark again.

"I don't know... We all die at some point... I guess I just accepted it was my time..."

He mutters in response, genuinely seeming like he didn't care whether he lived or died. Mark sighs and nods, looking down at the floor once again, as he felt Anti continue to study him, every little movement.

"You really love him don't you...?"

After a few minutes of awkward silence Anti speaks up again. Mark sighs, keeping his eyes down as he nods, letting his red hair fall lazily over his face.

"What's that like?"

Mark narrows his eyes, lifting his head and watching the green haired man inquiringly. Anti simply looks back at him with a small tilt of his head.

"You loved Dark didn't you?"

Anti sucks in a sharp breath as the man mentions that, and averts his eyes, it was clear he was thinking on it.

"I don't think so... that wasn't real... not like what you and Sean have..."

Mark sighs, pitying the man slightly. Anti continues to stare down, his good hand picking at small pieces of lint on the bed.

"I'm not sure I can explain it... All I know is I'd do anything for him... and he'd do the same for me..."

The red haired man begins to explain, genuinely unsure about how to describe it. Anti lifts his gaze, watching Mark and silently waiting for him to continue.

"If I lost him, I don't think I'd be able to live... He's my everything...."

Anti watches him, mismatched eyes curious still. Mark sighs and shrugs his shoulders sitting up once more.

"So... Like all those cheesy chick flicks?"

The green haired man asks with another tilt of his head. Mark can't help it as a small laugh escapes him.

"Exactly..."

He smiles gently. Anti lets a small smile curve onto his pink lips and drops his gaze once more, the smile dropping as thoughts rocket through his mind.

"Mark... I..."

Anti begins, but stops midsentence as his eyes wander and he releases a sigh.

"Sean's awake..."

He mumbles. Before Mark can ask what he was going to say before the man falls back onto the pillows, eyes closing gently. Soon opening again as a soft blue.

~~~~~~~Now~~~~~~~

Jack sighs, sitting back against the pillows once more after Mark had explained. Worry twisted at his gut as he thought about Dark, none of them knew where he was, who he was. Some poor person had to deal with him.

"What if Dark comes back?"

The Irish man mutters questioningly, not necessarily talking to anyone specifically.

I doubt he will...

The sudden voice in his head makes Jack flinch, before he relaxes once more. Mark looks at him weirdly but he ignores him listening as Anti continued.

You two have beat him twice... This time almost killed him... Even he isn't stupid enough to come back... Not for a while at least....

"That's not worrying at all..."

Jack mutters sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. He can feel Anti shrug.

No point in worrying about it now....

The green haired man sighs and nods his head in agreement. Mark had stopped looking at him weirdly, realizing he must've been talking to Anti. To anyone else Jack would have looked insane, but to Mark it made perfect sense.

"How are you feeling?"

Mark asks once both had gone silent. Jack sighs and shrugs his shoulders gently, barely moving the sore muscles.

"I've had better days.... But I'm alive aren't I?"

He responds quietly, blue eyes scanning the cast wrapped around his arm with disinterest. Mark nods his head, giving another gentle squeeze. A part of him afraid that this was all a dream, that Jack was gone, and if he let go this dream would end, leaving him alone.

However this wasn't a dream... Jack was here. Everything was going to be fine...

((This is not the very end, there will be one more chapter))