Homicidal Liu AU; "The Under-realm"

- The Truth -

The room was bright and blinding.
Voices around me were nearly incoherent due to the consistent ringing in my ears.
But I wouldn't have mistaken Jeff for anybody else.

I stared back at him, eyes hazy and confused.
He stared back for a moment, looking as if he was just now beginning to catch his breath. Had he really been saying all of that to me? Why did he care whether I lived or died?

"Jeff..." I spoke up again, my voice soft and weak.
"What's...what's going on?" I asked nervously, my eyes panning around the room to reveal what I could make out to be another figure.

My brother took a deep breath, exchanging looks with the man who I identified as Hoodie before speaking.
"Zalgo...he nearly killed you, Liu." He explained, somberly.

So it hadn't been a dream. But if it was real then how was I still alive? As alive as a ghost could be anyways.

"What happened?" I inquired, forcing myself into a sitting position again.

Hoodie took a step foreword towards me.
"It was Masky and I's fault. We were designated to make sure nothing happened to you, yet we failed to notice your absence." He sounded disappointed in himself, even a bit angry.

"You need to rest. We did what we could, but Zalgo had already drained so much of your soul before we had time to step in." Hoodie rested his hands on my shoulders, motioning for me to lay back.

I felt a burning anger in the back of my mind, itching away at my skull as I reached a hand up to swat him away.
"Get the hell off of me!" I blurted angrily, backing up against the bed.
My head reeled and I winced as Sully fought for the light.

"Tch..." Sully pulled away at the sheets that were covering our body, kicking them back.
"We were fine on our own..." He muttered, looking down towards the ground.

Jeff slammed his hands down onto the bedside table abruptly, causing Sully and I both to flinch in shock.
"FINE!? Seconds later and you would've been gone!" Jeff exclaimed, pain evident in his tone.

I tensed up, refusing to make eye contact.

"I...I lost you once Liu...I'm not losing you again." My brother's tone softened slightly as he stood straight again, taking a slow step back.

"Jeff...I-." I began to respond before Sully interrupted.
"Says the motherfucker who killed us! Give me one good reason why I should believe a god damn word that comes out of your mouth!"

Jeff's eyes widened in surprise before his expression shifted to one of anger and remorse.
"I know..." He spoke through gritted teeth.
"I know what I did. It haunts me every fucking day."

I watched as he balled his hands into fists, clenching them tightly, his gaze on the floor growing more intense with each passing second.

I winced again, pushing Sully back as much as possible.
"Jeff, it's-it's okay. I forgive you-."

"Like HELL we do!" Sully cut in.

"Sully, would you shut the fuck up!? Just give me a second to talk to him and-."

"OH TALK TO HIM!? Yeah, that's totally the route to take! Tell me Liu, how the fuck do you just 'talk it out' with the Michael Jackson wannabe, who LITERALLY stabbed you to death!?" Sully roared with anger, standing up and attempting to shove Jeff back against the wall.

Jeff quickly dodged the attack, ducking as he slid up beside Hoodie, peering out from behind him.

Sully seethed with anger, turning to face Jeff.
"You fucking coward, I outta-."