Black. Black, black, black.

Anti panicked as he glanced around, trying to find anything that wasn't black. Even the sky was black which unsettled him horribly. He opened his mouth to scream something but couldn't find any words to say. What came out was a high pitched yell that glitched unhealthily.

Looking down at his hands, he noticed they were twitching and glitching too. They looked normal for a few seconds or so but then they'd be a bright blue or red... or green sometimes. He continued to search for colour in the dark room but, when he found it on his own hands, he detested it. He just wanted to see his pale skin again.

Voices suddenly swirled around the room and Anti found himself looking up at the ceiling. What was once black became a mixture of colours. Anti's breath hitched as he remembered when he had died for a moment. He was back in that place.

Chase's worried face filled the sky, his eyes wide and sparkling with tears. JJ was beside him, a hand on his shoulder. "I'm scared, JJ..." Chase mumbled. "I don't want to lose someone else."

Anti screamed. What came out was unlike any noise ever produced by a human. It was like a high pitched screech of a bird and he didn't care that his throat began to ache as the sound strained his vocal cords. He didn't stop until he had to pause for breath. At that point, his body was continuously flickering between all of the colours of the rainbow and it... hurt. The pain was unimaginable.

It was like an electric shock but so much worse. He bit his lip hard, both his arms moving to cover his ears. Chase's sob echoed around him, vibrating the area and making the pain all the more excruciating.

He collapsed to his knees as his legs became weak. In his last moments in the dream, he wondered: is this really what it feels like to die?

-

"Scheiße!" Henrik yelled, not even caring that he was swearing in an environment that was meant to be professional. Anti's body was shaking in his sleep and Henrik was finally admitting to himself that he didn't know what to do. He was a doctor so he should have known what had brought Anti back to life but he didn't. Some doctor, right?

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice Anti wake up again. His eyes immediately glazed over and tears poured out of them, streaming down his face. The other egos had gone home to properly rest (Henrik had insisted he'd tell them if anything new happened) and Dark was probably still on his murderous rampage. Henrik wrapped his arms around his friend, allowing him to cry into his chest. It was an awkward position, considering Henrik was on his feet and Anti was sat down on the bed but neither minded.

"Am I going to die?" Anti's voice was so quiet and it was laced with terror. Henrik empathised with the demon and rubbed his back gently.

"I won't let that happen, okay? I promise. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"I don't want to die. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just- I wanted to kill someone and then I looked into their eyes and just something inside me cracked. The sheer look of pain and terror did something to me and I don't know- I just imagined what it would be like for them. If someone was holding a knife to my neck and I was rendered immobile... I can't believe I hurt so many people."

Henrik smiled; not because Anti was upset but because he was finally remembering.

"I've murdered people and they have families. Families who grieve for them and it's all my fault. What's so fun about hurting people anyway? Just because I love the colour red doesn't give me an excuse to kill someone innocent who could grow up to do so many things. Fuck, I could have killed someone who would have gone on to find the cure to a deadly disease or something. What have I done?"

Anti pushed Henrik away so that he could pull his knees to his chest and hug them tightly. His eyes were distant and it was like he was only there physically.

"When I was dead, I was in this black box or something. The sky was filled with colours and I saw you and the other egos. The colours morphed into your faces and they showed me all of your emotions. I hated to see all of you so broken hearted and I can't believe I've done this. Killing that person and seeing their emotions caused me to want to escape and take revenge on myself for them but seeing your emotions made me realise I need to do more. I need to make good of my actions and quit killing people. I need to help people and stop just thinking of myself."

"Anti, I believe you are experiencing a new emotion called empathy. It is when you put yourself in other people's shoes and can sympathise with their emotions."

"I fucking hate it," Anti chuckled, his face glitching to the side for a moment. "I'm a monster and killing is what I'm supposed to love to do... Imagine what Dark is going to say when he finds out his boyfriend that used to love our murder dates has turned all soft."

"He won't care. All he cares about is that you're alive."

"He's going to leave me. Going to leave... Don't want to be alone..." Anti's body was trembling but, before the pain in his head returned and he panicked, Henrik took his hand.

"He'll understand. I know he will... Should I call the others and tell them what you've just told me?"

"Please..." Henrik turned to leave but Anti called him back. "But stay in here whilst you do it. I don't want to be alone."