I'm Here For You, Don't Be Afraid [REWRITTEN]

Chapter Eleven: I'm Here For You, Don't Be Afraid

     A/N: Hello guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, I'm back! I took a lil time off because my interest and motivation just went "noot noot" and jumped out the window. Thanks for understanding and enjoy the chapter :D

    *TW: This chapter contains mentions of death, light gore, and self-harm. You know the drill; please skip if these topics make you uncomfortable.*

      Meanwhile, Pure Vanilla and Dark Cacao were cuddling quietly in bed, still where Vanilla Wafer had left them. Dark Cacao was sleeping dreamlessly. However, the other...

-

     Pure Vanilla awoke in a forest clearing. A very familiar forest clearing. There was a narrow fissure at one side, with pink goop flowing at the bottom. His breathing quickened as he realized where he was.

     "Do you blame yourself?" asked an overly sweet, female voice.

     "What? Who's there?" Pure Vanilla shook his head, looking around frantically. The cookie he saw standing at the outcropping of the clearing stopped him in his tracks. His sister.

     "Well," Crème Mochi said, tilting her head. "It's quite common for someone in your situation to feel a sort of... guilt."

     "Wh- what are you talking- what situation?" Pure Vanilla asked, his face paling and his stomach feeling queasy. He already knew the answer, of course, but it wasn't something he wanted to be reminded of.

      Crème Mochi smiled, although there was no happiness behind it.

     "Oh dear," she crooned. "Don't you remember?"

-

     Pure Vanilla found himself in a pitch-black room. To his horror, there were several bodies strewn around. The first two bodies were laid out on the ground, two ripped up dolls next to them. The next one was heavily mutilated by magic and slumped over a table, jam pooled under it. The last was just some crumbs and two hair clips.

     "Remember now, Vanilla Bean?" the sickly sweet voice continued, mocking. Pure Vanilla looked around, but Crème Mochi was gone; only her disembodied voice remained. "Remember the twins? Their dolls? Our brother, Frosting Vanilla, found dead in the library, mangled by magic? Cupcake Vanilla, eaten by a monster because of your negligence? Do you remember?"

     "N-no! Stop! It wasn't my fault, I swear!" Pure Vanilla swiped at his eyes and stumbled backwards, covering his ears, hoping to drown out the voice that echoed in his skull.

     "Aww," Crème Mochi's voice said. "The poor widdle king can't handle the guilt." Something shifted, and her voice hardened. "Nothing's changed. You're just as weak now as you were the day I left. How pathetic..." She laughed, a high and sharp sound. The black room started cracking like glass.

     Pure Vanilla tried to run, but tendrils of smoke grabbed his wrists and ankles and locked him down like chains. He felt them burn, searing him. Yet more smoke came from the ground, restraining him. Pure Vanilla felt hot, frustrated tears running down his cheeks, blurring his vision.

     "You're going to die alone, can't you see?" Crème Mochi hummed. Pure Vanilla couldn't see anything anymore, but he knew she was there.

     "Your fault..." chorused the voices of his siblings. He wanted to cry out, but his voice seized and stuck in his throat. "Your fault..." The voices crescendoed, bouncing around his head and becoming unbearably loud.

     "Everyone's going to leave you. Just like you left all of us."

-

     Pure Vanilla regained consciousness in the bathroom, realizing that his hands were shaking. There were bright red rivulets of blood dripping from slits on his wrists. And... there was someone gripping his waist gently from behind, shaking him.

     That someone turned him over and looked into his eyes.

     "Nills! I was so worried..." Dark Cacao exclaimed, stroking Pure Vanilla's hair and pressing him against his chest.

     "Wh...what? What happened?" Pure Vanilla murmured, his voice slightly muffled by Dark Cacao's hanbok.

     "I heard you saying awful things in your sleep, so I woke up only to find you in the bathroom. What's all this blood?"

     Pure Vanilla groaned inwardly. "I had a nightmare, that's all. You don't need to be worried."

     "Are you nuts?! You harmed yourself in your sleep!" Dark Cacao 

     "It's not, I told you," Pure Vanilla said. "I was just having a nightmare."

     Dark Cacao pulled away, looking into Pure Vanilla's eyes once more.

     "Listen, Nills, I don't know what's going on with you, but whatever it is, it must be big. I'm going to try and help as much as I can." He hugged the smaller male again. "Now how about we get some bandages for those and go back to bed?"

     "I... thank you, Cacao." Pure Vanilla returned the hug, feeling his eyes get wet. "Oh, shoot," he sniffled. "I got blood all over your clothes."

"It's fine, Nills. Just remember, I'm always here for you. Don't be afraid."