A Second Chance

Purple, Pink, and Red

(Warning: Lots of Gore. I guess kind of NSFW? Regardless, be careful if you read this and want to skip it.)

The air had stilled in the restaurant. No noise could be heard in the office, not even the sound of pencil on paper. On the right side of the restaurant, the stage housed and loomed the very reapers of death, standing lifelessly without so much as a twinkle in their eye. These creatures of which had hid the monsters who had reigned this world for over half a century. Like a temple, they housed the gods of this world and were idolized forever in their infamy.

He still remembers the childrens' screaming.

He ran to the stage, his legs moving faster than his mind. The cold, checkered tiles gave a dull reflection of the world above, capturing William's fearful, determined expression as he ran towards the stage. It also captured the contortions of his face as his foot landed an accidental blow to his wrench, causing it to fly across the stage. The impact echoed in the stoic room.

He needed to think, fast. He's got Henry's attention on him, (which he will say, he's proud of how quick on his feet he was with that!); but, what now? The man is nigh impossible to trick, and he's likely aware that he's awake now.

He doesn't hesitate when he feels the man's ever omnipresent hand grasp his shoulder. He refuses to even flinch as the man grabs his face and forces him to hold eye contact with him, holding him at knife point.

It was the closest he'd ever seen Henry to looking disheveled. His smile was still there, somehow, but he could tell that even Henry was getting tired of holding it. His eyes had almost gone completely black. Only a small vestige of their "kindly" eyes remained from earlier. The small wisp of his remaining hair clung desperately to the top of his head. It had been dampened down by the sweat that was glowing in the moonlit room. He looked like a disco ball. William couldn't take him seriously.

He started to cackle madly.

"Why on Earth are you laughing?" Henry queried dispassionately.

"It's just.." William tries to get an answer out but is unable to stop. He couldn't tell if he was doing it out of humor still or if he'd officially begun to despair.

Henry plunges his knife into his shoulder, sick of his mockery. William's laughter turns into screaming as Henry tries to drive the knife as deep as he can. He may not be able to reach the heart from where he'd punctured William, but he can cut into his lungs.

William doesn't hear himself screaming as Henry drives the knife down into his shoulder and into his chest. He can feel the knife cutting through muscle, searching for a vital organ. He fiercely swings his other arm at Henry, landing a blow to his head. This loosens Henry's grip on the knife, giving William the chance to kick him away. Henry stumbles off the stage, landing on his back harshly. He scrambled to get up as he watched William try to get the knife out of his body. He jumps up and grabs William by the ankles. William kicks the man in the head, and hits one of Henry's eyes. He barely registers Henry's yowl of pain as he runs to the other side of the stage to find his wrench. He finds it on the floor but is tackled by Henry and pinned to the floor. Henry shoved his hands onto the hilt of the knife, trying to make William let go of his weapon.

"Why are you acting like this? You're supposed to be my experiment! My assistant!" He bellows.

"Oh please! I may be okay playing second fiddle to some things, Henry, but murder ain't one of them!" William spits out, pushing Henry off of him. He grabs the man and holds him down, like how he had been taught to do with... them.

"You already ruined my life in another timeline." William remarks bitterly. "I'm not letting you ruin it again."

"What?" Henry chokes out.