The Mandela Catalogue || Oneshots!

⛧Alt!Cesar x Reader †

*Requested* If I had a nickle for every time I humanized Alt!Cesar, I'd have two full jars

Notes-

† Gender neutral reader <3

⛧ Alt!Cesar just being slightly creepy

† Idk how to balance between fluff and angst but I tried. Hope I did good enough!

It's been weeks since your friends Mark and Cesar disappeared. Failed investigation after investigation and they couldn't come up with a clear story of what happened to them. The sudden news hit you like thousands of bricks with how little evidence there was.
As much as you knew they were gone, you still clung to that tiny fragment of hope you held that someday they'd show up. You always reflected on how much trust and time you put into them.
Now, all those childish minutes are rotting in the deep of your heart. Even so much as thinking of them made your head spin and urge you to vomit until you collapsed.
With how much the wounds hurt, you still couldn't let go of them. You wished for them to still be here with you.

You wished they'd just pop up and yell "surprise!" like nothing ever happened.

That you could go back to talking endlessly with them.

That they never died in the first place.

You were left sobbing and weeping on your own with nobody to comfort you for what seemed like years. When it came to reassurance, you now recognize how you took Cesar for granted. You never sat down to think on how early he'd go, but now that he was really gone you finally pondered to yourself. Indulging yourself on past memories that seemed long gone. You missed the way Cesar used to comfort you when you were feeling disconsolate. His touch was gentle yet it didn't come close to how tenderhearted he was. Cesar was patient with you and let you take your time. You longed for that feeling and would do anything to have him by your side again.

Oh, what a terrible wish.

Night after day, you started to notice the tiniest details in your everyday life start to change. More cold air and open windows throughout your house. Misplaced and mismatched items and clothing. Creaking floors and door hinges. You just thought it was mind playing you sweetly as you lost touch with yourself each passing day. You carried on in silked bliss as the darkening beast carried closer to your helpless figure with each unknowing breath you took.
You thought losing your friends was enough but the constant tampering in your home pushed you to the edge of your head. Scribbled and tangled thoughts made their way into your head in ways you didn't know how. Sometimes you find yourself drifting off and coming back to the topic of Cesar. Something was pulling you to his house, and you blindly followed like a sheep.

The idea was stupid, but you thought it would help in some way. Desiring and yearning to fill the cold that was your empty mind. Grieving, you decided to drive over to Cesar's abandoned home. Maybe stepping onto what was considered "paranormal" property wasn't the best, but maybe you could find something. You'd settle for anything that points to what happened on that bloodied night.

The inside felt bare. The once warm and welcoming abode now felt that of heavy, chilling air. Everything about the room felt off, like something beyond the world tried to make something natural. The living room was desolate and filled with dread. Pressure filled the surrounding space as a wave of sorrow hit you abruptly.

You noticed faint whispering in the air.

You were terrified. You had no idea where the voice was coming from, but it sounded like Cesar? You felt a faint smile creep onto your face before it swiftly faded from your features. You were drawn deeper into the house as you childishly skipped towards his voice. Feeling joy that you finally found at least one of your friends, alive and well. Giddy and swelling with ecstasy as the underlying grief was tainting you slightly. The voice died down and all light was voided for endless darkness.

"Y/N~" It sounded playful. The voice was almost too sweet and it felt like poison. "Y/N...don't you miss me?" A figure finally made itself known. It was Cesar. It looked like Cesar. It wasn't Cesar. It's not Cesar.
You felt frozen in place as it seemingly drifted over to you. You felt like crying, needles pinning at your throat and your head felt heavy. You managed to form a mindless sentence before clenching your teeth again, "You aren't Cesar." It roared with echoey laughter as it clung it's arms around you, trying to simulate a hug. "Of course I'm Cesar, honey. We've known each other for so long, why wouldn't it be me?" You were rutting your teeth against the inside of your cheeks to the point where it felt like they were going to bleed as you felt tears break out of your eyes. 'Cesar' cooed as he ran a hand down your back, soothing you of all your stress.
The embrace made you want to puke. Your throat felt full as you moped coldly. "It's okay, Y/N. I'm here now." -You stuttered and sulked in response-"I missed you, Cesar..." 

'Cesar' shushed you as he gently swayed you back and forth, "I missed you too, Y/N. I was sooo scared that you couldn't carry on without me."-He softly patted your back-"I'm so glad you found me, Y/N. Now let's get you back home, it's late." His voice sounded so painfully inhumane, it stabbed you where it hurt the most. There was no hint of emotion, just raw monotone script. 
You couldn't bring yourself to say anything, you just stuck with what you wished for. 'Cesar' seemed to notice this and he actually felt rather concerned. Fragments of the man he used to be started to shine their brightest on the surface. "Honey, I can see that you're sad..." You looked up at his face. It looked like him, but his skin was voided of all natural color and his smile-lines were more prominent. Cesar looked into your eyes and wiped away the tears on your cheeks using his thumbs. His features turned to that of a sorrowful one as he embraced you once more, this time it actually felt genuine. "Shh shh, I'm here. It's...really me this time."  You started to cry harder as he hugged you tighter, "I missed you so much, Cesar..."

"I missed you too, Y/N."