Fear Garden 2: Scarlet's Bloom (An IDFB Fanfic)

Truths and Lies

Beep...

Ding.

Beep....

Ding.

Beep...

The world was on fire.

Beep....

Everything set ablaze in a sea of red.

Ding.

Everyone....

Beep....

Robot... Flower...

The burst of flames opened the gates of darkness, and gravity yanked Basketball away from the realm of consciousness. She fell endlessly, with the panicked voices dissipating around her, until the atmosphere shifted, and she slammed against the ground.

Once Bomby detonated, stray flames had managed to find her, although she was far enough for the blast to spare her from the worst. Her burns, throbbing with pain, silence to a faint stinging.

In darkness, she laid helplessly. No noise makes its presence known, yet her eyes trail aimlessly, grasping at anything that hinted at light, or reality. Time flung off her radar. Minutes, or hours? Seconds, or days? Any sense of it had burnt to a crisp.

There was no way she was awake. Well, obviously- the buildings and objects around were no longer in plain sight. The familiar stars, in which she'd find and explain the constellations for her family, became mute, leaving behind a barren wasteland of nothing.

Nothing.

She was nothing.

Dead? No. Death was out of the question.

Although her body pleaded against it, Basketball slowly sat herself up. She didn't understand how every part of her could sting; it wasn't any comfort to find the charred boils on her chest. She took in a breath, flinching at the ash that accumulated in the back of her throat.

Her insides stung too? How much more could she take?
For an endless amount of time, Basketball stays on the ground, her gaze breaking free from her body as she took in her surroundings. When she lifted her head, the voices returned. Her loved ones.

Whispers swirl around her. Quickly, she found herself recognizing the faint tone of her cousin, turning to try and find his presence.

Instead, her blood runs cold.

There, standing right in front of her, was Robot Flower. Motionless. Silent.

All the whispers swell into roars, keeping the sports ball rooted to the ground. They scream, taunting her of the mistakes she had made, and reminding her of endless promises she had failed to keep.

Grassy called her name. He called for his mother. And she feels herself paralyzing at the sound. Yet, she looks up, finding that her lover's arm was now outstretched towards her, her fingers desperately aiming to hold onto any fiber of her being.

"Robot-" Basketball flinched as the voices grew louder. "-Flower!"

Nothing.

"ROBOT FLOWER!" she screamed, hurling herself towards the robot. Despite the pain that seared through her muscles, she watched as the sight of her girlfriend drew closer, and closer.

And in the midst of the chaos, she grabs onto her. Pleading. Wailing.

"COME ON!" she begged. "WE HAVE TO GO!"

No response. Clenching her teeth, Basketball nudged the object to try and get her to move.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!"