#I should’ve gotten out of bed three hour ago lol bye

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

pov it's been like four years since u last saw ur bestie-crush and u finally see them again and ur just so so so happy to see them but also u rlly been thru it and what u missed the most was how they held u

[bangtan-gal]

Wide-Eyed Wonder h.js

Word Count: 2.6k Warnings: fluff, angst, swearing, this was most definitely left on a cliff hanger lol A/N: yeah, I’ll probably write a part two to this

Masterlist Part 2 | Part 3

“You asshole, you can’t do this to me! We paid for this tog—”

The door slammed shut in your face.

Your eyes widened, your breath catching as you stared at the wooden door in front of you. It only took a second for the rage to override the shock and you started banging furiously on the door.  He ignored you of course, his footsteps so loud as he walked away that you could even hear them over your pounding. Your hand fell away, just staring at the dark, mahogany door that you used to open to greet friends.

Friends, you laughed dryly at that thought. They were his friends, never yours, so they never owed anything to you. They never owned telling you that maybe, just maybe, your fucking fiancé was cheating with you on some highschool dropout. 

The walk to your car felt worse than humiliating. None of your neighbors were outside, but you knew they were there: peering out from behind their silk, hand-made curtains, noses turned up. You slid into the driver’s seat, your leggings squeaking against the leather seats of the Prius. They were probably glad to see you go, considering you were the outsider.

Before you had started dating Nico, your life wasn’t any simpler. If anything, it was more complicated, more expensive than the life you lead with the bastard. But the past shouldn’t be your problem, your problem should be now. Now, because he had kicked you out of your shared house (although you actually made for more of it than he did) and you had nowhere to return to. Your parents had disowned you when you followed your heart and the job that been promised to you was taken.

The white iron gates stood tall and proud before you as you drove towards them. As you started to slow to a stop, you noticed Mr. Ryunsoo working on his lawn. He waved as you drove by, a genuine smile sparkling on his face. You waved back, although you found it hard to smile in return. Mr. Ryunsoo had been the only nice person to you at the neighborhood cook-outs and parties, along with his son who occasionally turned up.

Probably the only one who didn’t know you were leaving. 

    The gates opened and you took a breath, knowing that once you drove through them, they would close behind you and you would never be welcomed back. You continued on, teeth digging into your bottom lip. They screeched as they closed behind you and your hands tightened on the wheel, a shaky breath escaping you. 

    You reached for your phone, quickly dialing your friend’s number. The only person you actually trusted at the moment. He probably wasn’t happy with you—he told you not to trust Nico—but maybe you were taking advantage of his kindness. It rang for only a few seconds and then he picked up.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Mark gasped.

You snorted. “Why do you immediately assume I’m in danger or something?”

“You rarely call and most especially not at this hour,” he explained. Your eyes strayed to the clock on your dashboard, it was very early. 

“Okay, well, things aren’t going as well as… hoped. I-I kind of need a place to crash tonight? And maybe for a few days,” you mumbled, slowing to a stop. Mark’s parents owned a hotel and he was slowly transitioning into the CEO position. He had gotten you a room last minute plenty of times before. 

“Yeah, I have your usual room ready,” he murmured, his voice growing softer. Something told you he already knew exactly what happened. Mark knew you too well and considering you didn’t sound like the other times you and Nico had fought, he probably realized it was over. 

And he wouldn’t ask questions.

“Thanks Mark,” you whispered, “see you soon.”

“Yeah, bye.”

    Mark wasn’t there when you arrived at the hotel. You were partially glad as you trudged up to the simple room on the second floor and stepped into the shower right away. There was nothing special about the room itself; it looked just like every other one, it wasn’t a suite, and nothing significant happened there. It was just a coincidence; Mark had put you there the first three times without realizing it and from then on, it just became your room. 

    He had texted you, saying that he wouldn’t be in until tomorrow, leaving you to do whatever you pleased. Although you were tired and would’ve rather stayed there in bed all day, you couldn’t. You knew you couldn’t because if you did, that would leave you with no choice but to grieve. 

    It was hard to explain your relationship with Nico. At first, it had been as tentative friends to an even more tentative relationships. Then it expanded and at some point you had loved it, or at least, thought you loved him. But in the past few months, it felt more like a fraud. Something went missing and that was when the fighting really began. Part of you wasn’t shocked when you woke up this morning to find three boxes—which barely made up a third of your stuff—shoved gracelessly into the back of your Prius. 

You were more shocked by Nico’s nerve.

You had paid for most of the house.

Almost all of that furniture was yours.

Two of the cars in the garage were yours. 

The only thing Nico did was ask you to marry him.

You gave him the illusion of control. Just because you had lost your position at your parents' firm in the past year, didn’t mean you didn’t have money. The designer you worked part time for paid better than people could guess. Along with that, you weren’t stupid. You saved money more than you spent it. You still had the spare key to the house and the day you stomp back into that house with a couple movers will probably be the greatest day of your life.

Your phone rang.

“Allegra!” You chirped, when you answered the phone. Your best friend, who was currently studying in London, was probably the last person you wanted to talk to. You had a tendency to cry whenever the two of you talked because she always said when she got home she’d beat the crap out of Nico.

“Are you busy?”

“No…” “Fabulous, meet me at McDonalds!” Then she hung up.

Your mouth dropped open.

+++++

You should’ve drove.

    You’d learned long ago that this part of the city could be dangerous if you were the right person in the wrong place. You were reminded of this lesson as you stood facing a wall, the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of your head. It was impossible to tell just how many of them there were, but there had to be at least two. Your jacket and small purse had been taken from you and out of the corner of your eye, you could see your chapstick rolling on the ground. 

    Sure, it was midday, but that obviously didn’t stop these guys. The city wasn’t exactly crowded at a time like this and since the police didn’t patrol until night, they probably had a better chance now than any other time. It wasn’t cold, but shivers continued to race up and down your spine. 

“Dude,” one of them whispered, “we can sell this jacket for a crap ton. I bet the same goes for her clothes.”

You weren’t crying before, but the idea of being stripped down just so they could sell your clothes made tears start to prick at the corner of your eyes.

    Whoever held the gun to your head quietly hummed and he tugged on the back of your shirt. Your teeth tore into your bottom lip and something metallic spread along your tongue. One tear slid along your cheek and you sniffed, your head dropping. 

“Hey, no mov—”

“You two need to fuck off.”

You stiffened as a new voice rang down the alleyway. The person who stood behind you shifted and the gun moved away from your head. A breath of cautious relief escaped you, but it was brief when you noticed your savoir had nothing on him. He held a grocery bag in one hand and there was no sign of a weapon. 

“Oh god,” you whispered, your forehead falling against the wall. One of the crooks said something, but your heart pounded too loudly in your head. You should’ve just drove. 

A gun went off and there was a flash of light. It sounded like something had quietly popped and you found it impossible to move. You were suddenly freezing and your body shook, vision swimming. A hand landed on your shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

You glanced over your shoulder, shocked to see the the boy instead of one of the dickwads. There was no sign of them, only several feathers floating around, your coat, and purse. Your mouth opened and closed. Then the world went black around you.

“Y/N, Y/N you need to wake up.” The voice sounded far away as it called your name. But it was loud enough and strong enough to drag you from your sleep. A male figure hovered over you and at first, you thought it was Mark, but as your vision cleared, you realized it was the boy who saved your ass. The two of you stared at each other, your heart racing and words stuck in your throat. 

    You had meant to say thank you, but instead the world spun too fast and nothing was able to come out. You really had meant to and you weren’t planning on throwing your arms around the boy’s neck and pulling him in, your lips crashing together in the most unplanned, sloppy kiss on the planet. He was surprised, his whole body stiffening against yours as he was pulled close. It took a second, but then you realized just exactly what you were doing, and you pulled back.

“Shit, I am so sorry,” you gasped, “I don’t-don’t know w—”

“It’s fine, honestly. I-er-it’s a normal symptom of shock,” he mumbled, two fingers pressing to his lips. A few nervous gasps escaped him and his cheeks were bright red. He couldn’t meet your gaze as he looked around the room. You looked around as well, quickly realizing you were in your hotel room. It should’ve shocked you, but you stayed calm. 

It was silent for only a few seconds before there was a banging on your door.

“Y/N! Are you alive?” You recognized Mark’s voice immediately. You scrambled up and then awkwardly pointed to the boy. 

“You need to hide or find a way to leave, I don’t know, bu—”

“I can’t leave you,” he interrupted, standing up and shaking his head. He seemed taller than you remembered and there was a glow around him. You shook your head, brushing it off as the sunlight. 

“Well, for one, you probably can’t leave right now, but I need you to hide. And for two, you can and will leave me once he’s gone,” you hissed and then pointed to the closet. 

“Y/N!” Mark’s voice grew louder.

The boy peeked behind him, confusion running along his face. His blonde hair fell into his eyes as he looked back at you. Then he shook his head. You grabbed his wrist, dragging him towards the closet. The door creaked as you ripped it open and tried to shove him in. The blonde was stronger than he looked as he easily resisted you

“You lug, you have to!” You snapped. Mark’s banging grew more desperate and you were sure that any second the door would burst open. 

“Y/N, I can’t leave you unprotected!” He retorted, his voice loud enough that Mark probably heard him. You managed to shove him in and the shut the dingy wooden door behind him. 

“We can talk later, but just stay quiet,” you muttered through the door. Just as you started to walk back towards your hotel door, it burst open. Mark stood there, holding a key card in his hand and looking distraught as his eyes ran along the length of the room. He spotted you and breath of relief fell from him, his arms wrapping around you tightly when he reached you.

“God, I thought you did something stupid,” he mumbled. You nodded nervously, glancing over your shoulder towards the closet. Blondie hadn’t tried to open door the yet thankfully. 

 “Mark, I’m fine… I guess I kind of expected it,” you sighed, pushing the black-haired boy away. He nodded, clearing his throat and looking around the room. 

“He kicked you out?” His voice was quiet. You nodded and then shrugged.

“I have movers on speed dial and my lawyer and I’ll be happily taking my stuff sooner or later,” you explained, “but… uh, Mark, I kind of have to shower, so if you could leave?”

He paused for a moment and then nodded.

    Once the door closed behind you, the closet door banged open. The blonde stood there, looking more confused than angry and it was kind of cute. Then you sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose, realizing that he had a lot of explaining to do. 

“What do you mean, you have to protect me?” You asked as he slowly sat down on the bed. He was quiet for a second, nibbling on his lip.

“I… interfered,” he stated softly, “I shouldn’t have, you were supposed to die, but I just couldn’t sit by and watch. So therefore, I’ve placed my mark on you and it means I have to protect you until natural causes claim you.”

It made zero sense.

“Huh?”

“My name is Jisung, I am an archangel”—you started to laugh—“you were supposed to die, but I changed your fate. Therefore… I’ve marked you and so now you’re like a beacon for all the bad things out there.”

Your laughter continued, but you swallowed it when his eyes started to glow. It was an electric blue and the way he tilted his head had your stomach twisting. It then hit you that it was nighttime and there was no way he could be glowing because of the sunlight. Your jaw clenched, fingers digging into the palm of your hand. 

“What… bad things?” You forced the question out. But as Jisung continued to stare at you without answering your question, you got your answer. As a kid, you’d learned and knew a lot about demons and angels. You’d even believed in them. You stared back, your hand covering your mouth. “Oh my god.”

    You sat down on the bed, burning holes into the wall. He was being serious, you could feel it, it radiated from him. The angel’s steps were light as he approached, coming to stand before you. His fingers pushed your chin up, so you were looking at him. He smiled lightly.

“Y/N, I’m an archangel for a reason, you’ll be fine,” he whispered and crouched down in front of you. His face hovered mere inches from. It was unconscious, so you didn’t realize until too late that you were leaning towards him. Unlike your kiss five minutes ago, this one was more tentative. Your lips brushed against his and then pressed slowly. 

He pulled back with a shaky laugh.

“It’s the angel aura,” he explained as you sat in a confused, light daze, “you’re probably not attracted to me. It’s just the pull of power that attracts humans to me.”

“Oh,” you mumbled, a blush spreading over your face.

He grinned. “Yeah, you’ll have to watch out for that.”

Then his expression turned serious.

“I will protect you Y/N.”

[captainschmoe]

I Will Survive [Beta] - Chapter 5: Flash of Fire

[A/N: It’s going to get violent. I mean, it’s an Anti fic. Of course it’s gonna get violent at some point. The Nice Guy GlovesTM are off. Also, I’m going to give myself extra time for the next chapter. I need to both write it and also figure out some background/spoiler things. :D]

[Summary: In which somehow Bio Inc. gets uploaded anyway. Neurological violence ensues.]

[Previous - Next]

Beepbeepbeepbeep!

“Gah.” Sean floppily rolled over and gave his alarm clock a good whack. He lay with his arm dangling over the edge of the bed. Ugh. He did not want to be awake right now. He had to be, of course. Always shit to do. A good cup of the ol’ dirty bean water should help refresh him. As it always does. As should some breakfast. He was starving, hunger shakiness and all. Well, of course he was fucking starving, he never got to digest that sandwich.

Hopefully he could digest the eggs he could smell from the kitchen. So hungry. So caffeine-deprived. His feet automatically carried him there, where he found Signe, already dressed to take on the day, doing exactly what his nose predicted she was doing. Ooh, were those sweet potatoes getting put into the other pan? Yeeesss.

“You want some?”

“Yes, please.” Sean groggily started up the coffee pot. He leaned against the counter, hands at his sides gripping the edge. His eyes drifted shut. Mmm. Such good smells all around him. And sounds - the whirring of the coffee pot, and the sizzling of breakfast in the pans. It helped his eyes flutter back open for a moment.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just super hungry. Puking didn’t help.” The coffee started flowing into the pot with its signature satisfying babbling.

“I’m sure this’ll help wake you up, too.” She transferred half the contents of each pan onto each of the two plates she’d set out on the counter. Sean wasted no time grabbing a fork and scarfing down half of his serving right then and there, to Signe’s shock and amusement. “Oh my God. Don’t choke.”

“I wasn’t kidding,” he said with a little bit still in his mouth. Wow, he felt better already. Maybe he could slow down now. He swallowed what he had. “Plus eggs get cold fast.”

Signe started on her portion, too. Probably figured might as well, as long as Sean was eating here. She shook her head and laughed. “Not that fast.”

Sean took the initiative to grab mugs as the coffee pot finished filling. “Want some?”

“Sure. Just a little.”

Sean could feel the steam kissing his face as he poured her cup. Way too hot to drink right away. Signe agreed, blowing tiny waves into her drink, and flinching away when her efforts proved fruitless. She set it aside for now - as did Sean - picking up her plate and finishing her food. She leaned back against the counter, casually engaging in conversation.

“I think I’m going to go out today. It might help clear my head.”

He nodded, polishing off his last bite and setting his plate in the sink. “I think that’d be good for you. Where were you thinking?”

“I don’t know. Probably nowhere specific.” Signe finished her food and set her plate down on top of Sean’s. “I’ll know where I want to go when I see it.” She picked up the coffee mug again, blowing on it again and taking a tentative sip, and drinking more now that she was able to. Sean tested the temperature of his with the tip of his finger, not wanting to burn his lips or tongue. Still a tad hot. Would take a while longer since there was more in his mug.

“Even better. Just wandering around the city. It’s nice.” Sean took a test sip in the pause. Still pretty hot, but tolerable. “You heading out right now?”

“Yeah. I’ll be a couple hours, probably.”

“Well, you know where you’ll find me. Screaming my fucking head off.” He leaned down for a goodbye kiss. “See you later, babe.”

“Bye. Love you!” She set off with one of her classic cute waves that never failed to bring a smile to Sean’s face.

“Love you, too.”

Once alone again, Sean’s gaze drifted out the window, which he opened to let the breeze in. Nice and warm, but not too hot. Not bright or sunny, but that was okay. That was normal. He drank up his coffee, taking a bigger mouthful now that it cooled off enough for him to not scorch himself. The familiar comfort of the bitterness on his tongue and the heat expanding in his belly helped wake up and raise his spirits. Maybe he could make today a good day despite Anti’s fuckery.

...

What if it was all just a big prank?

If Anti followed the rules of Sean’s characterization of him - which may not be the case, he was willing to accept - then the possibility that he was merely out to fuck with everyone rather than actually harm them was a possibility that existed. What if he was getting worked up over nothing? What if they just warned dozens of people, who had little to nothing to do with any of this, of worse things to come that was actually coming? Felix and Marzia, at least, seemed to take it pretty seriously. Not the Felix would ever admit it, but Sean could hear the slightest twinge of fear in his voice as they talked. Normally he’d poke fun at him for it. This wasn’t a normal time.

It was weird, as scary as the whole thing was, no one had actually gotten hurt. Yet. As far as he knew. There was still that doubt with Mark, gnawing at the back of his mind, to consider.

He suddenly remembered that odd... dream? From last night, that conversation with that voice. Who were they? Anti? No, they didn’t seem malicious. He couldn’t remember all of what they talked about, but he did know that it was pleasant and calming. Nothing at all like Anti. Sean tried his best to remember what the voice sounded like - if it was identifiable to one he knew in real life. He didn’t remember it sounding like Anti’s, either. But he didn’t remember it sounding like anyone’s he knew. Maybe his memory was just bad. Didn’t they say they’d see him again soon? Maybe they’d show up again tonight?

Sigh... There was nothing he could do about any of this. Nothing beyond taking it one step at a time. One day at a time.

One recording at a time.

It’s time to start the day.

Whoa, look at this! Whoa, look at that!

That was pretty much all this recording session was going to be. God damn, this community made so much good shit. Look at all this art of him, of him and the Whoosh, of him and his friends, of all the egos...

“Aw, we should make a video game with them all, with all the characters.” That would be amazing. Especially an RPG, seeing how the community fleshed out and developed and interpreted the characters.

Who was this guy on the far right-hand side?

Jack the Magnificent, huh? He never gave the magician guy a name, did he? It felt a little weird, though, having three characters with “Jack” in their names. Jackieboy Man he could leave alone, since that was already a name he’d officially given him. Well, back in the video he showed up in, the name “Marvin” was the name that was given, right?

“That’s his name! That’s what we’re gonna call him from now on: Marvin the Magnificent! You all helped, ‘cause we did Marvin’s Magic.”

This was fun, making more characters! The community was gonna love this, having a new little baby to call their own. So was Sean!

Sean gradually sidled up next to Signe on the sofa. Bit by bit. Inch by inch. Until he was practically merged with her. While she let the game she was playing keep running - she could afford to, it was the middle of a Pokemon battle - the visible pause in her hand movement served as her acknowledgement of his playful pestering. She slowly turned her head towards him. Sean gave a wave, a smile, and a “Hi.”

“Do you mind?”

“Nope.” He peered over her shoulder. “Did you catch ‘em all yet?”

“Getting there.”

“What do you mean, ‘getting there?’“ He leaned back out of her personal zone, opening up Twitter on his phone. “You should’ve finished that a long time ago. You’ve been playing nonstop for, like, a month.”

“Have not.”

“You put in, like, three hours an hour.”

Signe flung her arm towards the window. “I went outside earlier! You saw!”

Sean shook his head and started scrolling through Twitter. “Probably out trying to find Rowlets on a power line.”

...Wait, what?

“You can’t get Rowlet in Pokemon Go.”

Hang on.

“I’m happy with my little Cyndaquil, though.”

This conversation was going to have to be dropped. Something was horribly wrong. These tweets...

Towards the end of the new Bio Inc I was getting migraine headaches. lol what if Anti’s real?

> same here??????

> Thirded. Like really bad too. And double vision.

“What the fuck?”

“Sean?”

“God,” he muttered under his breath, “the ride just doesn’t fucking end.”

Signe shut her 3DS and leaned over his shoulder.

“I never fucking finished it,” Sean said, largely to himself.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re all talking about Bio Inc. And they’re all getting, like, headaches and shit from it, apparently.”

> My sister had a literal seizure after watching it!!! No family history of epilepsy or nothing, shes never had a seizure before!!

> headaches with aura and nausea. the fuck is happening Jack!?!?!

> wow everyone’s feeling like that? holy shit im scared D:

Sean opened Youtube in a new tab. There’s no fucking way. There couldn’t be. He was more willing to believe that Anti was making shit up on Twitter than actually uploading an entire nonexistent video to Youtube and giving millions of people migraines and seizures from it.

And yet, there it was. The newest upload. Not Suicide Guy as was intended, but rather:

KILL JA̠͎̭̕CKSEPTICEYE | Bio IN҉̱c. RedempT̡͟I͘on #5.

Then again, he had to admit, Anti uploading a video wouldn’t be the craziest thing to have happened thus far.

“Wa-pssh! Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye, and welcome back to Bio Inc. Redemption!”

So at least it started off normally. Jack quickly became nauseated, desperately trying to hold back vomit, and ran off camera, with Dr. Schneeplestein appearing in his place. All as Sean originally wanted. It looked as though it was genuinely edited from what he did manage to successfully record. Even the mini bloopers with his face mask. But Sean knew better. Something had to be different.

Something such as the Anti moments that rapidly filtered in. Sean had planned for them, he did. But of course... it wasn’t finished. He didn’t record the little blips yet. Robin didn’t edit the Anti moments yet. There’s no way they should have been there. Yet they were. Sean’s head and vision pulsed with every blip.

Or another something such as Schneeplestein taking off his hat at the end, and Anti’s evil laugh filtering in. As if taking over the doctor’s body. Sean didn’t plan for that.

“I need your help!” Schneeplestein cried. “Save him! Save Jackse-”

“Anti.”

“I’m feeling dizzy,” Signe said. Sean wrapped his arm behind her, stabilizing both of them. Her breathing turned quick and shallow.

Schneeplestein suddenly tried to strangle himself with the headphone cable, correcting himself with a “What am I doing?” For a moment, Sean swore he could feel his own throat closing on itself.

His heart raced.

As Jack’s condition worsened, the screen decolorized. It was growing more and more obvious that Schneeplestein was operating under Anti’s control, with Anti breaking through as his name was inadvertently mentioned within “antidepressant” and “anticoagulant.”

Jack ultimately died - as planned, Sean wished he could say. And in his place...

“Ẃell, ͜lo͢o͘ḱ ͏who'͞s͡ ba͟çk!”

Sharp ringing pierced Sean’s ears and black splotches formed and disintegrated in his field of vision. Signe flinched as well. Jesus Christ. The community weren’t fucking kidding.

“I’m tired of playing pr̸̨ȩt̀en͠d́! Sick of it!” Anti’s hair started flickering between green and red - giving Sean a bit of a headache - gradually remaining red for longer blips of time as his demonic speech carried on. “And y̴ou th̶òug͝h̵t ͏you h͠ad ͡h��i̕m ͝b҉ac̡k͜...” It reverted back to green.

“What the fuck is this?” Signe cried. She doubled over, hands clamped over her ears, breathing quickening even more to the point of hyperventilating. She ripped herself from Sean’s grip and took off before saying anything more, and before Sean could stop her and ask if she was okay.

“ I've k̴e͢p̶t͏ c̛ontr̀ol all this time.” Anti ran his fingers along the edge of the blade. Almost... seductively. Sean felt like he was suffocating. “N̨͝o̡̡͜͟t̵h̛́͟i͡҉͠n̷̷̢g̸̷͞ gets rid of me!” A shock blasted up his spine, throwing his head backwards against the back of the sofa and sending the phone flying out of his grasp. He may not have smacked against a wall, but it still hurt like a bitch. From the other room, he heard a thud and Signe yelping in pain at the same time as his head smash. Please be okay... Vertigo kept him trapped in place, and his vision turned dark again.

Anti’s voice continued, now seeming to come from within Sean’s own head as much as from the distance. “Mo̡c͞k̶i̛n͜g̢ ̢m̸e with your ‘glitch bitch’...” One of his evil laughs followed, and shocks ran through Sean’s body again, this time pinning his limbs down. His jaw, too, locked shut. Was this what having a seizure was like?

“P̨̛ò͘w͟͜e̷̷͘r͜le̕s̸s̴̸̷!̸͢͢”

“Sean!”

Signe’s shriek made his blood run cold. He desperately wanted to respond. He couldn’t.

“Wh̵o͝ do̡ you̡ ͏th̴i̕nk ͢y̷o͘u̧'̵v̴e ҉be͜e͠n҉ ̶w̸a͝tch͜in͢g all̸ t͞h͟is͡ tim̷e? My p̴̨u҉͟p̷͜͝p̛è͘t̷s̢.”

Fuckfuckfuck... Let me up! Signe, no...

“I̧f͏ ́y҉ou ̕wan̶t͡ h͠i͠m̕ b́a͝c͟k̀ so badly, then why don’t you ̶sav̸e ̵hi̵m̛?”

“Sean, hel-” She was silenced mid-sentence.

Signe! He tried with all his might to break out of his locked joints. To no avail. No!

“There are no̢ s̛tr̛i҉ng̸s͞ on me.”

His brain was screaming. Ringing. Pulsating.

...

And then all was silent.

“And for you! This isn’t over.”

Sean couldn’t get up. His joints felt released. Relaxed. His breathing and heartbeat slowed to a crawl. Too relaxed.

“I wonder what will happen to your favorite boy next time.”

Why did Sean feel so calm?

“See you soon.”

...

God damn, Anti was pissed this time around. All of the fun of his last two appearances was gone. Despite being a fictional character, Alyssa felt a significant quiver of fear in her chest after watching Bio Inc. Or maybe it was the drugs the doctors ordered for her. Who knows. It wasn’t pleasant to watch either way. Not that it was bad. The video was phenomenal, as always. A ray of sunshine on her fourth gloomy day in the hospital. It was so obvious that Jack and Robin had a blast creating this character, and the fun really rubbed off on Alyssa.

One, two, Anti’s coming for you~

It was Anti’s voice, unmistakable. But it sounded like it came from within her own head? Her eyes flicked around the room, scanning every corner; her ears opened in a vain attempt to catch another sound from him. Was she just going crazy? Was it just a side effect of whatever drugs they gave her?

Suddenly her nose and throat were forcefully blocked by a searing mass of thick fluid. Black mist flecked with green spanned across her field of vision. Something grabbed and squeezed her whole body like a giant’s hand, even holding her a few inches off the bed. Shocks shot through her spine and head. She needed to scream, but couldn’t. The fluid was real. Her arm was pinned to her side, unable to reach the call button that was otherwise right there...

It felt like the fluid in her lungs burst out and ripped down through the rest of her insides. Like her body had been hollowed out and filled with magma. Her spine bent backwards farther than she’d ever thought possible. The pain was mind-shattering. So much that she couldn’t even think about her imminent demise.

The first nurse on the scene about fainted at the sight. Staff crowded around, speechless. Alyssa’s father waited just outside the door, receiving no words of comfort about his baby girl.

This was no mere code. There was no resuscitating this one.

The next thing Alyssa knew, she was somehow alive, but alone, greeted by a gray, twilit sky and the hospital’s equally-monochrome edifice.