Arisen

Chapter 1 Mark

They stood solemnly over the still soft ground. Felix stood next to Mark as they mourned the loss of their friend. It had been four days since the shop incident. Jack was at home, Mark's home. He had felt guilty and refused to come. Things had been strange. However thankfully Anti was... gone. At least seemingly. Nothing anyone said or did seemed to prompt him out in a sense. Dark has grown agitated. And Felix's fallen was disinterested as always. Neither of them would answer questions when confronted about Anti. Mark and Felix had finally been able to make a trip to visit Matthew's grave after everything that had happened. It was chaos to say the least. Fans had been confused after a week of lacking to update or upload. Jack and Mark made a video about it. Trying to explain some things without telling too much about what happened.

You shouldn't be so relaxed about this

Dark spoke. His voice cold and emotionless. Mark sighed and murmured softly, unsure at this point and just grateful Dark was speaking.

"I'm not. Ok? I'm.... concerned, and wary. What- why is Anti like this? Is he even still here"

His questions were greeted by silence, despite the presence of Dark remaining. Mark shook his head and began walking back to his car. Leaving Felix behind him in the chilling winds.

The last week or so had been a blur. None of the recent events felt real. Like a dream..... actually more like a nightmare. Mark thought to himself.

After a short, and rather silent drive home he pulled into his house. He opened the door and was greeted by Jack. Who was staring off into the distance. He seemed lost in thought. Out of all of them, he was taking it the worst, which was perfectly understandable. He felt like things were his fault. Regardless of the fact that he had nothing to do with it. And it was that wretched cruel thing in his head, not him. This wasn't fair to Jack. The poor guy was in constant turmoil, and his injuries and stress weren't helping.

"How are any of us supposed to live normally after this?" His voice came out broken and sad.

Mark took a breathe, trying to put this words into thoughts, "I don't know Sean..."

Jack's next words came out such a snarl that Mark almost thought it was Anti, almost, until he saw the still blue eyes. Cold and angry.

"It's Jack"

He growled that so harshly. It took Mark by complete suprise. He stepped a few inches away from the man, "I'm... Sorry Jack."

* * * * *

It had been at least a few hours since either Mark or Jack had spoken to one another. Tension was high. You could practically cut it with a knife. Mark sat on his bed, head in hands nearly on the verge of tears. They all needed help.

Help with coping, trying to process everything, healing. And most of all recovering from the events. But how were they supposed to tell anyone? Mark shook his head.

Nobody even knows of the Fallen outside of themselves. Not Amy, Signe, or Marzia. Let alone anyone else. It was miserable. There was no way they could tell anyone, otherwise they'd seem like madmen. But that was the least of their problems.

Mark sighed lifting his head slightly. Then reaching for that ever so familiar presence, "Dark?"

A few minutes passed. Then he felt that soft pressure on his skull.

What?

Dark answered bored. As if he couldn't care less what was going on. Which was probably true.

"You need to tell me about Anti. We all need to know something. Anything to make this easier. Obviously you know him."

There was a sharp pain of emotions that were gone as soon as they came. Mark could tell what a few were, pain, guilt, sadness, anger, resentment, and a dull ache. The kind that touched every fiber of your being and made you miserable. It shattered your heart and broke your soul. But as soon as he could tell a few they were repressed.

The emotions weren't Mark's, they were coming from the Fallen. A bit hesitant Mark spoke again, a little more wary now.

"Dark? Is... are you ok?"

I'm fine!

Dark snapped at him harshly. His voice like a knife. Anger overwhelmed Mark. But it wasn't aimed at him. Or at the very least, entirely at him. There was something else. A sadness that under layed his words

Mark sighed, removing himself from the situation. Not wanting to piss off Dark any more than he had already. He layed down on his bed and let exhaustion swept over Mark's body.

He was in a simpler room. Few bits of furniture a window, and a mirror decorated the place. Anti stood across from him. Nose buried into a book. As Mark looked around he could see Dark. The whole scene had a atmosphere of joy in it. Anti had a smile on his face as he looked up at Dark. Having dragged his attention from the book. Dark returned the smile. He began combing his hair with a brush on the bed. There was very little colour outside the room. And from what he could see outside. There was only gray, black, and white. The seemingly bright bedroom was the only splash of colour to anything and everything. Dark looked over and glared at him then spoke in that terrifying tone, "you aren't supposed to be here. Get out."

Mark awoke in a cold sweat. The room haunted his mind. What was that? Why did he see it? He shook his head trying to process everything. A gentle nudge in his skull came from Dark.

Just drop it. You shouldn't have seen that.

Although he couldn't see Dark, Mark could feel his glare. It was chilling. He tried shaking it off. They memory of the room, the dream, and everything. Eventually he calmed down. Only snapping out of it by a gentle knock on the door.

Jumping slightly he went over opening it, greeted by a pair of soft blue eyes and the Irish man.

"Hey Merk. . . . " he trailed off looking down, "I'm really sorry for earlier. . . "

I have him a warm smile, "it's ok S-Jack. I forgive you.".