Quick Guide:

Antag - the Antagonist/villain

Protag - The protagonist/hero

The Nurse - the literal nurse working for Antag

Institution - Big ol' bad institution, use your imagination

Antag wasn't one for surprises. They didn't enjoy not knowing the outcome or wandering aimlessly, praying for something to show them the way. They enjoyed knowing what the hell was going on and having a plethora of options at their disposal.

This - this was not something they had planned for.

Protag was a pile of flesh and clothes at their doorstep, shivering from the cold rain it seemed. In another circumstance, it would've been amusing to see Protag at such a low but there was something unnerving about the raw desperation in place of their spirit.

"I'm... sorry," Protag managed, taking a small step backward at the sight of their foe. Their eyes were fogging up and they were holding themselves as if they were about to crumble into millions of little pieces. "...didn't... didn't know where else... to go..."

Not a moment after those words had left Protag's mouth a shudder seized their body, locking their muscles, buckling their knees, and sending them reeling, collapsing towards the doorstep. Antag moved instinctively, lunging out from to door and catching the ragdoll before their skull could slam into the stone. Antag hauled them inside, carrying their soaked selves through the door and into the foyer.

"What the hell, Protag?" Antag grunted as they slumped the near-unconscious body on their tile floor. They quickly looked them over for any sign of tampering, recording devices, or any other sign that this was a set-up or secret unorthodox investigation, but all Antag found was the thick red blood that covered Protag that had been previously hidden by their thick black hoodie.

"You... were right," Protag rasped. They shuddered again and coughed, blood spraying from their lips. Their eyes met Antag's, reading their shocked expression as Antag tried to come to grips with the situation. 

"I'm... sorry," Protag breathed before squeezing their eyes close, their breaths slowing.

"Holy shit," Antag's breath hitched as they looked at their palms now stained with crimson. They pulled Protag over and tried to pull their hoodie off, calling their lackeys to fetch bandages and help carry the injured party into a guest room of the mansion.

One of their personal nurses took charge shooing everyone out of the room, including Antag while demanding only a few hours and extra pain medication. The surprise on Antag's employees was obvious as they recognized Protag even when they weren't in their stupid uniform. 

"Boss." One of them gathered enough courage to bring it up after the nurse had slammed the door in their face. "What the hell are we doing?"

"To be frank, I have no idea," Antag admitted, their mind racing with plausible scenarios that may have brought Protag to their doorstep. It was baffling. Protag had plenty of others to run to, Antag had often been given the pleasure of meeting them in court as they tried to wrestle his power away from him with their little legal restrictions. Antag wasn't exactly the first choice for comfort and the last when it came to being trusted. So why of all things would Protag come here?

"You were right"  they had said. Right about what? Antag had a list of things Protag didn't know that they were waiting to rub in their face. Right about what!? The gangs? The institution? The money? 

Whatever it was had turned Protag into a bleeding miserable wretch and had forced them to seek asylum with Antag which meant it was dangerous and coming for Antag's doorstep soon.

"I need to look into some things," Antag dismissed. "Keep watch," they instructed their lackeys before striding into their basement and flipping on their many computers with the master switch. They needed answers and Protag's vague apologies were about as helpful as a dead flashlight at midnight.

Their fingers set upon their familiar dance, logging into the many different confidential databases Antag had set their sights on. They looked for any information regarding tonight, anything that hinted at just who Antag was risking angering. 

There wasn't any evidence that a hitman had been hired from any of the usual suspects who would want Protag dead, which was both relieving and terrifying. A hitman was an expected danger that could cause damage but could also be hindered, bribed, or questioned with less ethical means. Anything else meant that it was an inside job or... that it wasn't the usual suspects.

Antag's fingers froze as the thought crossed their mind, their eyes locked on their keyboard even as their mind raced to connect the dots.

What was it that Protag had so long protested in all of their little scuffles? What was it that Antag had preached for so damn long?

The institution.

The fucking institution.

Antag slammed his keys as he rolled backward in his chair, their mind churning with this realization. The institution had this sort of power, this sort of drive, and good-little Protag had stuck their nose into something that the institution didn't want them to see. Protag was supposed to be a good little dog, not an actual hero.

It was a theory, a theory Antag would've placed their life on. They rolled back to their computer after a moment and switched over to radio frequencies, taking hours to shuffle through the cacophony until finding the codes he was looking for, strewn amongst the chaos. The institution was always clever above delivering their orders, only letting their little attack dogs understand their whistles, but Antag knew a thing or two about the attack-dog life.

The new orders were definitely hit calls, an order to hunt and find someone, doubtlessly Protag. A handful of Protag's "friends" had already responded as they hunted for their old comrade. It was a full manhunt which only worsened the pit in Antag's stomach. They looked up every change from the institution in the last twenty-four hours; hospital check-ins, bank accounts, absentee reports, anything, and everything that could help Antag understand the reason for this manhunt.

What on earth could Protag do to make the institution hunt down their golden-child like a fucking war criminal? What did Protag learn?

"Boss," someone called from the basement stairway. 

Antag whirled around in their chair to see the Nurse making their way down the stairs, their lips pursed and their brow furrowed.

"What is it?" Antag asked.

"There's something you should know," the nurse answered, their gait stiff and tense as they came over and sat on a nearby desk.

Antag raised their brow and gestured for the nurse to continue.

"Protag is sleeping, I've treated everything I could but... but the blood, Antag... it's not their blood."

Antag stiffened a bit and sat up. "What?"

"Don't get it wrong, Protag isn't in a good place, they're hurt, bad. They've... they've been... it's pretty bad."

"But they've been tortured," Antag supposed.

"God, whoever did it was... it's significant. I've seen messy before, I've done messy before, but this was clean, neat, meticulous. I'm talking sophisticated methods here, boss. Electricity, drugs, mental stimulants, things that destroy the inside but don't touch the out. This wasn't anger or a message, I'm thinking it was an interrogation. Whoever did it wanted Protag in one piece but hurting like hell; it's nasty."

"But the blood... what about the blood? There was a literal fuck ton."

"It's not theirs... It's not. There's not a bruise on their body except for the normal restraint ones 'round the wrist and ankles. No cuts, no broken bones, no bloody noses, the worst thing they got was some bleeding in a lung for overstimulation of the capillaries which happens when you inject some really expensive nasty stuff in a person."

"So... our little hero got themselves tortured and possibly murdered others in their grand escape," Antag supposed.

"Maybe..." the nurse seemed unsure of that claim. "Though I can't imagine they were in too fit to fight... I mean..."

"They dragged themselves to my doorstep in the pouring rain while half cognitive, I'm not about to assume they weren't capable of murder when it came down to it."

The nurse smirked and shrugged. "They've always been annoyingly resilient."

Antag nodded as they got out of their chair. "Nice to see that I'm not to only one to test it."

With that, the two made their way up the stairs and navigated through the mansion to Protag's allotted room.

"They're sleeping?" Antag asked.

"They were," the nurse supposed as they pushed the door open and peeked in. "Still is."

"Good, because I need something from you," Antag supposed as they pulled out a notepad and a pen from their pocket. "Run to these institutionalized hospitals and find someone from the institution who was wounded last night and serious enough that it could've amounted to the blood we found on little gold-child here. Get their name and get back here quick..."

"You think it's the institution?" the nurse supposed as they took the list of hospital names.

Antag scoffed mirthlessly. "I'm almost certain."

The nurse nodded and made their leave while Antag turned back to the door. They waited until they were alone in the hallway before gathering up their senses and pushed the door open, creeping inside.

Protag was strewn on the bed with an IV in one arm and bandages on their wrist. It was surreal, now, to see someone who was usually so obnoxiously difficult to seem so meek and vulnerable. Antag let their fingers drift along the side of the bed as they approached, a smile on their face.

"Got in deep this time, didn't you?" Antag wondered as their hands drifted up and ghosted across the surface of the bandages that hid the raw skin at the wrists. There was something satisfying about all this, knowing that the institution had done exactly what Antag had expected, though perhaps Antag hadn't expected the institution would go so far.

"Don't look so smug," Protag's voice was a startling contradiction to the silence that Antag had been relishing in. Their eyes snapped over to their bed-ridden foe whose eyes were open and averted.

"Well, look who graced us with their consciousness," Antag smirked, flicking the IV bag in an act to seem like there was some other motive for their presence in this room.

"Have they come to get me yet?" Protag asked dryly, their voice heavy in their throat.

"Who?" Antag feinted stupidity.

"Don't play stupid," it was almost a plea from Protag which made every neuron in Antag fire off like a firework show.

"Oh, so I should know why exactly you collapsed at my doorstep like a lost puppy?"

Protag was still avoiding eye contact which only made Antag's spirits soar. God, how long they had waited for this moment. This utter defeat and hopelessness that just hung over Protag's head like a death sentence. It was glorious.

"You know who did this to me," Protag managed.

Antag reached out and grabbed Protag's chin forcing them to look Antag in the eye and take in their smug smile.

"I want you to say it," Antag taunted. Oh, what a sweet taste victory was as Antag took in the hero's broken spirit that lay dead in their eyes.

 Protag opened their mouth but their lip trembled and they pulled away from Antag's grip trying to look away.

"Who. Did. This?" Antag pressed, leaning in closer, their smile curling up to their eyes. "I want you to say it. I want you to accept it. I want to hear it from your mouth, right now."

"Fuck off," Protag tried to spit, their voice cracking half-way, tears in their eyes.

"Sorry, but you're in my house now. I saved your pathetic life, now tell me who did thi-"

"The Institution!" the Protagonist snapped, tears in their eyes as they tried to turn over and only managed to hurt something. They gasped and lay still on the bed as Antag straightened up and regarded them smugly. Tears spilled from Protag's eyes as they stared at the ceiling.

"You were right, you were fucking right. Is that what you want?" Protag demanded, their throat tight. "You were right about them, about me, about... "

They brought their hands to their face and tried to hide their tears behind their palms as they pressed down, their breaths heavy.

Antag sat down beside Protag, their victory still a rush of euphoria in their blood. They reached out and lay a hand on Protag's shoulder, noticing the flinch away from touch.

"What did they do to you?" Antag wondered. "The golden-child of the institution afraid and alone. What on earth could they have done to that annoying determination?"

Protag's breaths were ragged now as they tried to hide their tears that just kept coming. 

"It was apparently bad enough for you to run to me instead of your little friends," Antag supposed.

"They did it..." Protag's voice was hardly audible but Antag heard it well enough and their eyes widened a bit.

"What?"

"They did this to me," Protag's voice cracked. "I wanted them to listen but they just... they wouldn't listen. I tried to tell them we were lied to, tried to tell them I didn't - I didn't hurt anyone, that it wasn't true. It wasn't true. But they - they just... they - "

"They didn't believe you," Antag supposed softly, relishing in this parallel life to theirs as they slid closer and drifted their fingers over Protag's neck, gently brushing against the spots where it was evident a syringe had been jabbed. Protag pulled their hands away from their face and pushed Antag's arm away, curling in on themselves as they tried to sit up. Antag was right there, putting an arm around them and smiling at the flinch that came with their touch.

"It's so difficult isn't it?" Antag taunted gently. "Leaning you're entire life was a lie, learning that the entire reason for your existence was to be an attack dog for a bunch of liars and murderers. And then... learning that everyone you ever trusted is the same. It must've been... shocking."

Protag brought their knees up and hugged them.

"I came here because there was nowhere else to go," they muttered.

"What exactly did these 'friends' of yours do to you?" Antag probed, hiding their want to smile at the expression of pain that danced across Protag's features.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Protag dismissed angrily.

"Hush," Antag purred as they rubbed circles into Protag's tense back. "It's alright for now... you're safe from them."

"They're not the only thing to be scared of," Protag glared backward at Antag and held their knees closer.

Antag leaned over so that their lips were nearly touching Protag's ear.

"It was dark, wasn't it?" Antag whispered, watching Protag for every little movement. "The chair was cold. The cuffs were so thin so that every time you tried to pull away it felt like they were slicing through your skin. And there were all your friends, just at the edge of your vision, demanding what you know, and hurting you when you didn't answer."

Antag basked in the fact that the trembling hero that was suddenly sobbing, that those stupid ideals and hopes had been dashed. Protag shuddered and tried to hide their face again.

"Shhh," Antag soothed, resuming their calming circles in the injured party's back. "I know... I remember... I remember it hurt"

The sobbing continued despite Protag's best effort to quell their overflowing emotions.

"But you got out, didn't you?" Antag smiled.

Protag wiped away more tears and sniffed, trembling uncontrollably.

"I..." Protag began, their voice fading away.

"There was a lot of blood," Antag murmured, absentmindedly beginning to draw random symbols on the Protag's back with their fingers. "It wasn't yours."

Protag tensed at those words and shuddered.

"How?" Antag wondered. "How did you get out?"

Protag murmured something that Antag couldn't catch.

"Louder," they instructed. "What happened"

"I didn't mean to," Protag whimpered.

"What?" Antag encouraged, failing to hide their smile. "What didn't you mean to do?"

Protag pulled their hands back and stared at their palms as if expecting them to act on their own accord and strangle them.

"They... they were trying to... I didn't want to... So I...I was still... I didn't -"

"They were in your way," Antag supposed as it wasn't hard to guess what had happened to whoever this 'they' was.

"I didn't mean to," Protag shook as they stared at their hands.

"What, what exactly did you do?" 

"I... I killed them," Protag whimpered. "I... I killed them."

"How many?" Antag asked.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't want to! They... they were going to... The first one just... their neck... I didn't mean to - " Protag cried desperately

"Necks snap too easily," Antag murmured in encouragement, almost warmly. "But where did the blood come from?"

Protag's lip trembled as huge tears ran down their face.

"I was angry... they... I just wanted to knock them out, I swear."

"You tried to knock them out?"

"I didn't mean to... I didn't know I was that... I didn't know I was that strong..."

"Taking a head to a metal wall has unexpected consequences, doesn't it?" Antag cooed.

"I didn't want to..." Protag sobbed.

"And the rest of them?" Antag wondered.

"I didn't mean to... I didn't..." 

Antag gently grabbed Protag's chin and pulled it over so they could look at the distraught face of their old foe.

"Part of you meant to," Antag murmured. "Part of you wanted to do it. That's why it happened."

"No - " Protag tried to argue desperately

"Shhh," Antag purred, cupping their face and leaning in. "I don't blame you. No one blames you here. You were hurt, you were in danger, we do what we need to in times like that."

"I didn't want to kill anyone - " Prota sobbed.

Antag wiped their tears away with their thumbs.

"They were your friends, right?"

Protag shook their head in affirmation.

"They tortured you, didn't they?"

Protag's breath hitched and another bout of tears fell down their cheeks.

"Then they were nothing but liars, and you were just better and stronger," Antag finished warmly. "We're not that different, you and I..."

"But I... I didn't want to hurt them, they were just... they were just lied to," Protag sobbed.

"But they couldn't see the truth, you did. We do," Antag smiled. He released Protag's face and held their chin up. "You see what I see, you know what I've known. You came to the right place, Protag... I will not let them get you here."

Protag only hid their teary face again.

"I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have wanted to know... I shouldn't have looked - " Protag shuddered.

"I know," Antag soothed. "I know... I remember."

...

"I remember wishing the same thing."