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randomwriteronline · 1 month

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"Pohatu - fancy seeing you here."

Nokama smiles a little more when the Toa turns to her. He sits slightly hunched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, powerful legs swinging idly in the emptiness that divides the rocky wall from a plummet into the ocean, completely unafraid; the unusual shape of his Kakama Nuva greets her wordlessly.

"I hope I did not bother you," she continues gently: "You seem so caught up in your thoughts, these days..."

A comfortable silence follows the pause she allows to hang.

For a moment a sense of dread creeps along her spine, around her arms, ensnaring her neck: Pohatu, whose voice rattles the mountains, stares at her eerily quiet with a terrifyingly blank gaze and a lack of emotion in his expression.

But he blinks, and his eyes widen, and he says: "What?" as he leans his head forward. "I'm sorry Turaga, I was not listening."

She exhales, amused, as the broken tension allows her shoulders to sag a little: "I only mentioned that you seem very distracted as of late - even during Vakama's tales."

"Ah," he replies with a slightly embarrassed laugh: "I guess my head likes to be in Lewa's domain far more than my feet do in Onua's."

Nokama laughs with him: "May I?" she asks.

He gestures to his side amiably, inviting her to sit with him: "Of course, of course."

It's surprising how little he's worried. Even her head starts to spin from vertigo when she dares to look down at the swirling waters, and she is the furthest thing from the infamous Po-Matoran hydrophobia; yet he sits there without the barest hint of concern despite knowing very well he would sink to the depths of the ocean horribly easily.

Pohatu looks again to the horizon.

He's unusually unreadable.

"I've spoken with the Mahi of Po-Koro, on one of my visits," she tells him - her Rau's abilities have already been unmasked by now, so it's less strange than it could be - "They've told me you quite love to pamper them, more than the Hapaka."

His laugh vibrates out of him, but she notices he does not smile as wide as the sound would imply when he simply shrugs: "I like horns."

They've told her that, too.

"What troubles you, Toa of Stone?"

He glances back at her: "Nothing."

"Yet your mind is so often elsewhere, and you almost don't look like yourself. I've come to know you, Pohatu - I wish to help, if I can."

Nokama's gentle worry makes him sigh deeply: "You're as good a teacher as Toa Lhikan thought, Turaga," he replies with a heavy tone. "Very attentive."

She looks to her feet: "Vhisola was proof otherwise," she mutters.

Pohatu tilts his head: "Then it just means you've gotten better."

The Turaga smiles: "You're always too kind."

He does not reply to that.

His fingers sink into the stone of the precipice to rip a chunk out of the cliff like it's nothing; he tosses the rock from palm to palm absentmindedly, neck craned back to look at the sky.

"I'm just thinking of Po-Metru."

Curiosity, then. "It's only natural," she soothes him: "Your siblings wonder about Metru Nui too. Gali has asked me about Ga-Metru and the Great Temple quite a lot in the past few days. I'm certain Onewa will not be too shy to answer your questions."

She watches him pull one knee up to lean his chin on it: "I don't have many, to be honest - not about the city."

"Really?"

A shrug: "Turaga Vakama is very good at descriptions."

"Ah... Yes, he is, isn't he."

The Toa does not smile back at her; he keeps looking further away into the endless sky, as if to pull on the rest of the ocean with his mind until the other side of the island appears on the horizon.

"What is it, then?" Nokama nudges him. "What doubts take hold of your focus?"

He does not answer immediately.

The rock falls back in his hand perfectly each time he juggles it.

He does so halfheartedly, distractedly - in the same way he sits at the Amaja circle and looks at her brother speak as though he could see right past him, through him.

"The Matoran come from there," he finally says.

She nods.

At last, his strange nearly impersonal gaze returns upon her mask.

"Do you know where we come from?"

It takes her a moment to understand who he speaks of: "You come from the canisters," she answers, because that is nothing if the truth. "You come from the sea."

"The sea bears life - the sea bore us," he says under his breath at that, as though he is repeating a memory. It sounds a lot like Gali.

She nods: "That is as much as we Turaga know."

"And nothing else?" he insists. His words don't hold any desperation, but there is something in them she can't explain with any other term. "Did we have anything before that?"

"No, nothing. Nothing that we know of."

"You were Matoran. You became Toa. Do you not remember us?"

"No - you were never in Metru Nui. We never could have met you there, not even as Matoran."

"It remains we must have been Matoran. Isn't that right?"

His tone is... It strikes her enough to make her stagger before she can offer a response.

He sounds like...

He sounds like them, in a way.

He sounds like he is testing her - to see if he can trigger a specific reaction from her.

His tone is somewhat methodical, scientific, like a researcher interrogating a subject to observe the effects of whatever he's administered them; it is that of calculated questions that one already knows the answer to. His mask is unreadable, incomprehensible - not for a blank anonimity but instead an overwhelming amount of minuscule tells and signs that muddle the waters of his emotions, obscuring them within their own cacophonic confusion.

If only she too knew the answer.

If only (she assumes) he had not forgotten it.

"I imagine as much," Nokama finally replies. "But you six are special, Pohatu."

"You were chosen by Mata Nui himself," he interrupts her. The kindness in his voice is nearly an afterthought, but he masks that fact well. "I would say you too are not necessarily as ordinary a bunch as any Gukko flock might be in Le-Wahi."

She chuckles despite the strange atmosphere: "Oh," and then she laughs, and she laughs some more, bent over herself to try and stifle the giggles that bubble in her chest, "Oh, be careful not to say that in front of Tamaru or Kongu, lest you want a very angry lecture on how the Gukko force is so very different from their wild siblings."

Pohatu's smile is lukewarm.

The Turaga recomposes herself quickly when she takes in his lack of amusement: "But you are different," she insists. "You are something more than what we were or could have hoped to be."

"That sort of thing doesn't spring out of the ocean from nowhere."

"That sort of thing is what legends and prophecies are made of. Your arrival was foretold in stars that cannot be rewritten; you came to aid us, delivered upon our shores by the elements themselves; you battled against the Great Spirit's most insidious, terrible enemies, and defeated them. You are special. And perhaps you had no need of a Toa Stone to become who you are."

The reply she gets is a silent stare.

The rock creaks from within the Toa's grip.

If she were looking at it she'd notice the liquid manner it behaves.

"It's a sad idea," he finally says, "To be born only to fight."

The Toa protect, for that is their duty; the Matoran create, for that is their destiny.

Her hand lays on his arm with a kind, humid pressure.

"I may very well be wrong," Nokama reassures him now. "I've told you, not even we Turaga know much."

"You know prophecies."

"Those can only get us so far. And they can't see the past."

"I wish they could," Pohatu says with a focused gaze.

His eyes are locked onto her own.

"I will pray the Great Spirit to bring you answers soon, Toa of Stone," she promises - because what else can she do? How else can she reply to the perfectly still stare that seems to pass through her, carving holes within her head with the precision of a sculptor? "So that you and your siblings will never have to feel as you do now again."

He does not move.

Then, at last, his head tilts with a tired, relieved smile.

"Thank you, Turaga," he tells her earnestly. "I hope so too."

Nokama grins back at him, so gentle, so sweet - so glad that the disquieting spell is over and the Toa is once again fully himself.

She raises herself from her seat with a bit of a struggle, helped upright by his powerful arm. Another burst of vertigo makes her sway for a moment as she catches sight of the long fall into the waters, head feeling light before she imperiously shakes the sensation out of it: there is nothing to fear, the cliff won't fall. Even Pohatu has gone back to swinging his legs in the nothingness with the carefree movements of a Matoran dangling from a jungle vine, and if he is not afraid then she has no reason to be either.

He does not move to follow her.

"I shall return to Ga-Koro now," she tells him: "Soon enough we'll have to carry the boats to Kini Nui, and I ought to make sure they're nearing completion."

"Call Taipu when you need to move them, if my brother is too busy listening to stories - I'm sure he'll be happy to help," he suggests.

Her smile confirms that his poison is mistaken for a lighthearted jab: "A good idea. I will ask Whenua to send him to us, if he is not busy enough already and wishes to lend us a hand. You should be off too, listening to stories like your siblings, should you not?"

Head thrown back and legs stiffened, the Toa whines like an annoyed child: "But Turaga," he exaggerates his whimpering drawl to kick a laugh out of her shoulders, "I don't wanna!"

"Neither do I want to go fetch Nixie out of her observatory for the eleventh time today, but duty call us all the same."

He huffs and pouts dejectedly as his body slumps on himself in a comical manner; his furrowed brow clears into a simple smile as Nokama hiccups chuckle after chuckle at his stellar performance.

"There's still a little while," he bargains with her.

"And will you be at Kini Nui on time?"

"Am I ever late?"

No, she can't argue with that. Her eyes shine with affection as she lays them on him again.

"Alright," she pretends to concede with a sigh, as though she were doing him a big favor. His grin amuses her to no end. "But make sure to be there."

He places a hand on his heartlight: "I will be."

"And try to focus, as best as you can."

"I will try my hardest. I just need to clear my head a little more, and then I'll be the most captive audience Turaga Vakama has ever had."

"I'm certain you will. I hope the sea brings you solace, Pohatu."

"Thank you, Turaga. Goodbye."

She does not see his cheerfulness drop in an instant as soon as her back tells him she will not turn to look at him again, smile flattening, eyelids drooping, eyes hardening. He watches her until she disappears from view with a face devoid of love and a sizzling in his heartlight that almost makes him feel sick; the stone in his hand squeezes through his fingers like putty, slithers between them, takes a slug-like shape as it coils around his digits squirming like a worm emerging from a fresh tomb into a summer downpour, before he lets it collects itself in his palm once more.

He crushes it gently and looks down only when he opens his palm again. It looks like a Kane-Ra bull. He tries again: this one is a Makika. A Fikou. A Dikapi. A Tunnel Stalker. A Husi. A Fusa.

A Turaga with their mask shattered.

Without a word he presses the rock with both hands to somewhat shape it back into a proper sphere, carefully, taking his time.

He kicks it as far into the ocean as he can. His eyes follow its trajectory until the distance turns it far too small for him to distinguish it against the flickering gleams of the waves in which it no doubt sinks. He continues to look at the calm waters, legs swinging idly much like branches in a light breeze.

The sea bears life, Gali said; the sea bore us.

Pohatu looks into the cradle of his siblings' rebirth thoughtlessly, quietly, hating it as much as he hates them for not swallowing them whole.

#bionicle #nokama #pohatu #random writing #orpiment au #(kisses head of orpiment pohatu) my beautiful boy who is so full of hatred and has decided to let it stew so he can make it explode harder #idk if this reads the way i want it to? but then again idk how i want it to read #i guess nokama interprets his strangeness as melancholy and/or ghosts of memories from his amnesia #whereas in reality pohatu has a completely different motive #i.e. 'i wish the prophecies could look into the past' - nokama interprets this as him wishing he could know his past #while what he means (and tries to convey by staring) is that they wouldnt ail the mata as heroes if they knew ''the truth''#or ofc what he thinks is the truth (that they left the av matoran to die bc they were cowards). which is completely off the mark #audience pls tell me your interpretation of whats behind the convos and actions. thats your homework for the day. im jokin but itd be nice

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fanciestghost · 9 months

Note

TW: Manipulation, Major violence, Implied cannibalism, Major gore, Kidnapping, Blood, Vomiting, Needles, Slight mentions of snakes, etc. Please read with caution.

– PART ONE: ARCHIVED –

Adam would envision this candyland type place in his dreams and would have them

quite frequently. On top of this he would crave sweets, specifically apple pie. He would tell

Jonah about this but would only joke around with Adam about it. One night, the craving got

so bad that Adam asked Jonah to come with him to the store and he obliged. Now they are at

the store, Adam goes and gets an apple pie which would be the last one that was there on

display. They go home and Adam is obviously eager to actually eat it already cuz he's been

craving it for so long, only to be disappointed to find out it didn't taste as good as it looked. In fact, it made him feel very sick.

He dizzily walked over to his room, every step making him feel more woozy, but he made it to

his door. When he opened it, he noticed a light shining through the crack of the door. Of

course he really didn't think too much of it and thought he was seeing things due to how ill he

was feeling, but when he walked in his room, it wasn't his room. It was the exact place he was

dreaming about for days. The skies were bright pink, grass was a very saturated green, and

there was a yellow wafer path ahead of him that led somewhere. The sign "Welcome to

Madeleine County" was on the horizon. As Adam walked forward he noticed he wasn't even

wearing his hoodie anymore but a bright pink suit, and he had an apple accessory on his

head. He didn't like where all of this was going and turned back expecting to see his bedroom

door, only to find out it was missing.

Adam heard humming coming from behind him to see someone who looked exactly like

Jonah, but wearing a yellow coat and lemon accessories carrying a basket full of candied

apples. Jonah didn't recognize Adam, so he thought he was a complete stranger. He says

hello and basically welcomes Adam to the place. Adam is confused on how Jonah doesn't

recognize him at all, which would cause Adam to mention that this Jonah is different from the

one he knows back at home. Moving on, Jonah would soon introduce Adam to the others

Cesar and Mark. They all lived in a huge mansion made of candy.

Now you're probably like, omg everything is so cute and sweet. Yeah for now. Adam would

notice how whenever he asked if there was a way back to where he came from, he would

often be silenced or ignored. Another thing that Adam would have to deal with is go through

these activities Cesar would make them do, like have tea parties, picnics, etc. Basically stuff

to keep Adam busy and occupied to avoid asking them further questions. All these activities

would drain Adam's energy, and on top of everything being so sugary and sweet- he would often feel dizzy. Another thing to mention. Adam is never allowed to leave the mansion without anyone accompanying him. One night, Adam wanted to step outside to just have a walk and Mark would come with him. They would have small talk about the place and everything and Adam's life back in his universe.

Then Mark would tell Adam to be careful with what he says or does and to not let the cheery bright colors of everything blind him. Before Adam would ask what he meant, Mark would stop walking and stay silent then ask Adam to check if "he" was watching. Adam would turn back to the mansion and see the silhouette of Cesar by the window, with the curtains slightly peeking out. Mark suggests that it's best to go back inside as it was getting late. That night, Adam couldn't sleep well, he would wonder what Mark had meant. He heard his door open to see it was Jonah. He had a small box in his hand and claimed it was a gift for being so friendly. Adam would open it up and see it was yet another apple themed accessory (an earring even though his ears weren't even pierced).

That's when Adam noticed Jonah had a sad expression on his face. He would ask what is wrong and Jonah told him that Mark told him everything about missing the "other Jonah". He would then plead Adam to not even think about leaving the place as Adam means so much to him and that he often felt lonely until he came. Adam really didn't feel good about how he worded it so he claimed he'd think about it as he was tired.

I forgot to say that Adam was stuck there for about 3-4 days. This next part is about his third

day there. Adam woke up late and Cesar wasn't really happy about it. He would scold him

about it and then mention the talk he had with Mark. Basically, Cesar would say really harsh

things to Adam and mention that this is his new home whether he liked it or not. Adam would

notice that the colors of everything looked dull, the wallpaper started to peel off the walls, the

floors were worn down and cracked, and the strawberries on Cesar's hat were getting darker

and going bad. Cesar would then force Adam to be around Jonah more often as he banned

Adam from talking to Mark. So Adam and Jonah had an activity to do with each other and it

was to catch candy fish from the pond near the mansion. Jonah was happy he was able to

spend time with Adam, but he was also happy cuz that was the moment Adam was going to

reveal to him if he was staying or not. Adam said no lol, and Jonah got pissed and passive

aggressive with Adam for the rest of the activity.

Now it's dinner time :) and they are eating the fish they caught. It was very awkwardly quiet

and Adam couldn't take it anymore. He started to rant about everything and how he knows

something is going on, pointing out that everyone and everything looks like it's rotting. Cesar

would of course say that Adam is stupid and that everything is fine. It would go quiet again

until Mark stood up from his chair, he went over to Adam and grabbed him by the shoulders,

screaming at him desperately to leave before it's too late. Cesar would pull Mark back, claim

that he is "feeling ill" and take him away, leaving the dining room.

Now Adam and Jonah were alone together again. Adam asks Jonah if him not wanting to

stay has to do with anything and Jonah tells him to shut up and eat his fish. Adam looks down

to his plate, it wasn't a candy fish anymore, but a raw rotting fish. Knocking was heard at the

door and Jonah went up to get it. This gave Adam a chance to find out what was truly happening. He first went down the hallway he saw Cesar go to with Mark. On the floor, there

was a trail of blueberry jam that would slowly turn from blue to red. He followed the trail as it

led to a large room. There stood Cesar standing in front of Mark's body on the floor. His cane

was covered in blood.

Adam decided it was best to go back as if he stayed any longer, he'd have the same fate. As

he walked back to the dining room, he peeked to see who was at the door and saw it was two

police officers (Thatcher and Ruth) asking about a missing person.

Adam sat back down, he felt tired and frustrated at his place as he really needed to leave. He

didn't know why they wanted him to stay so badly, but he would do anything to find out one

way or another. That night, Adam would stay up late to prepare himself to actually strike. He

turned his hood Cesar gave him into a bag to hold items. What items? Weapons. He silently

went back to the kitchen to steal whatever he could find to defend himself, sharp forks, knives,

and a blow torch. He went down the same hallway as earlier and noticed his surroundings.

There were a lot of portraits of an angel, the same one to be exact, and obviously candy

themed like everyone else. He felt odd looking at them cuz it felt like they were watching him.

Moving on, Adam would reach the end of the hallway, there was a door. It was left slightly

opened and he peeked inside. It was stairs that led to a basement.

He went down, making sure he had something in hand to defend himself, and saw Mark's

body on a large plate in the middle of the whole basement. He was missing an eye and

covered in blood. Adam went over to him and asked what the hell was happening. Mark told

him everything, from how this was only a place to lure in people with sad lives into their land

for their flesh. Mark also points out the reason why everything is decaying is because they are

hungry and irritated how Adam never seemed to give in. Adam asks what he has to do to

escape. Mark tells him that he needs a key and that Jonah has it. His last words were "Leave

before sunrise or else you're officially trapped forever. Don't make the same mistake as me."

Then Adam looks up to the wall to see it covered in missing people posters, and right in the

Middle of it was Mark’s. So Adam had to act quick as he didn't have that much time left. He ran up the stairs and down the hallway. He heard a loud scraping on the floor and saw Cesar. He looked taller and thinner than usual. His fingers were slimy as they dripped with some kind of black jelly. He held a large fork that was already pointed directly at Adam. He charged only to miss Adam cuz he dodged it. This caused the fork to get stuck in the wall which gave Adam an opportunity to attack Cesar with what he had. He heated up forks with the blow torch and stabbed Cesar with them. This caused Cesar to completely forget about trying to retrieve the fork back as he screamed at Adam for how much of an idiot he was. Adam would pull the fork out of the wall and stab Cesar right through the chest with it. His body began to melt into that same black jelly. Adam tried not to get nauseous about it and continued to search for Jonah in the mansion. He went upstairs where the bedrooms were and went to each room. It was obvious who's was who's as they were themed with that type of desert they were. Adam walked into the lemon themed one. He demanded Jonah to come out as he wasn't anywhere in sight. Adam walked in the room and the door slammed shut. Jonah appeared behind Adam, grabbing into his shoulder. He pretty much tells Adam that he knows why he's here and what he wants, but decides to guilt trip and gaslight him anyway about it lol. Adam didn't listen to whatever Jonah had to say so Jonah stood in front of him. He was just like Cesar, tall and deathly thinner than usual, his fingers were long talons. He unhinged his jaw in front of Adam and reached into it pulling out a key. He held it in front of Adam's face, luring him to grab it. Adam didn't budge and this would frustrate Jonah. He pulled out a large knife and pointed it at Adam saying he would kill him right there if he didn't grab it.

Adam stepped back, not knowing what to do, he reached into the bag with one hand but used

the other to grab the key. The "key" would melt into the black jelly all over Adam's hand as

Jonah lifted him up, but then Adam pulled out the blow torch with his other hand and put flame

straight to Jonah's face. He screamed in pain and would drop Adam, which gave Adam time

to see if there was anything else to defend himself from Jonah. He saw a candy axe and

grabbed it. He ran at Jonah with it and sliced him in half in one swing. Adam tried to not let

this get to him as it is literally Jonah. his best friend. that he had to kill. He had to remind

himself that this Jonah isn't the real one, no matter how much they look like each other. Jonah

layed on the floor in half, he was still moving and looked at Adam. He would tell him that he

would regret all of this and that he missed so many opportunities to get whatever he ever

wanted there. He would mention true happiness, no stress, all the money he ever wanted,

then he would mention his mother.

Adam stood in shock, he felt his heart racing when Jonah brought it up. Jonah noticed this

and would continue making it worse about how his mother was here all along and how she

missed him so much Adam couldn't take it any longer and used the axe to slice Jonah's head. His body melted the same way Cesar's did, and in the middle of it was the actual key. Adam grabbed it and didn't bother to try and waste time to think what the fuck just happened. As he made it to the front door, the two police officers were already there. Adam then pleads and begs for them to help him get out of there. Thatcher notices that Adam looks exactly like the person in the missing poster and takes him back to the police station. Adam would then tell them everything that happened and that he needs to leave as soon as possible. Another man comes into the office and interrupts, telling Thatcher that he's having the "door problem" again. Adam would ask who he was and what he was talking about. The man introduces him as Dave and tells Adam that random doors would appear at his office and never knows what

to do with it. Ruth suggests that that's probably Adam's way out since he was given a key.

That's when Adam went with Dave to see what it was and saw the door looks exactly like his

bedroom door. There was a small lock on it, and Adam used the key to unlock it. The door

opened, it was the same bright light from when Adam got there. He turned to Dave and

thanked him before walking into the light.opened, it was the same bright light from when Adam got there. He turned to Dave and thanked him before walking into the light. Adam woke up in bed, he looked over to the side and saw Jonah. Jonah let out a sigh of relief as he thought Adam died of food poisoning from the apple pie he ate. Adam then sat up and told him everything that happened to him, and that it felt so real and he was so happy to be back home. Jonah would laugh at this, thinking that Adam was being silly and say "it was just a bad dream". Adam would deny it and explain how he has never been more terrified in his life. Jonah grabbed Adam's shoulder, smiling at him. "Well, aren't you happy you're at least Home, just like you wanted..". Adam would look over to his shoulder and see it was the same consistency as the black jelly.

– END OF PART ONE: ARCHIVED –

– PART TWO: ARCHIVED –

Adam went through the door and back home with Jonah. Or did he. The second he noticed "Jonah's" hand melt similar to the way lemon Jonah did, he panicked. Adam would push Jonah away from him, only for the walls around Adam's room to crumble into pieces like cookies. The debris would come down, causing Adam to close his eyes shut. They remained shut for a few minutes as he tried desperately to remain calm. What if he was still dreaming, a sick and twisted dream that he continues to find himself in.

His eyes opened, he was sitting on a chair near a fireplace made out of sugar cubes. The logs were made out of chocolate, so there was no fire going. It was dark in the room, only a singular lamp was lighting the place. It took awhile for Adam to fully realize he was in restraints made out of yellow taffy. He struggled then heard someone walk in the room. It was Jonah, in a completely new outfit compared to his old one. He wore a top hat, his coat collar was sharper, and he wore a black dress shirt with a yellow tie. He had a long gummy snake hanging over his shoulder, only making him appear more threatening.

He would greet Adam before standing right in front of him. Adam would demand Jonah to release him and to cut it out, but Jonah only laughed. He said that no matter how hard Adam tries, there's no escape. It would go back and forth and they would have a little argument about it- which would cause Jonah to snap and yell at Adam to shut up. The room would grow quiet until Jonah breaks the silence by saying he'll only release Adam if he agrees to play a few games with him. They both agreed to play hide and seek first. Jonah released Adam, covered his eyes, and began to count. Adam didn't waste any time trying to get out of that room. As he ran down the hallway, he saw how all of the windows were boarded shut with graham crackers. The doors of the main entrance and back entrance to the garden would also be boarded off as well. He ran up the stairs to go back to his room to see anything that was worth keeping in hand. Nothing. He went to the room next door which would be Mark's, but it was locked shut. Next room was Nothing. It was terribly cold there. Adam scanned the room to look for anything, clues, weapons, anything. No use. There wasn't even enough time to look deeper anyway. He went to the next room, which was Jonah's. His stomach dropped as he saw the mess it was in. On the bed, there was Adam's hood he was gifted, along with a missing poster of Adam. Adam would start to feel uneasy, he heard Jonah count louder. He grabbed his hood back and ran back out. He needed a good place to hide. Then he remembered the basement. He went downstairs, through the main hall, and to the hallway that was tucked away within the mansion. The same portraits of that angel were there, eyes still following Adam as he walked down the hallway. He stopped at the basement door, took a deep breath and went in. The first thing he noticed was the awful smell. It smelt of mold and something rotting. He tried his best to ignore it, but the more we walked down those stairs, the stronger the stench got. Then he remembered. Mark was the last person in here. Adam placed a hand over his mouth and looked over to see if Mark's body was still there. There was something for sure. but it wasn't Mark's body. It was someone else's. Adam couldn't see very well with how dark the basement was, but he saw it as he stepped closer. It was Cesar's body, headless, nothing else but his upper torso was left with his rib cage exposed. He looked as though he'd been chewed up as some residue remained on the rib cage. Adam gagged in his mouth, the sight, the smell, it was all too much to handle.

There was no chance going back out as he heard Jonah say "Ready or not!!! Here I come!!". It was too late. Adam hid in the corner behind a few crates that were there. His heart raced as he hoped Jonah wouldn't find him. He didn't tell Adam what would happen if he did.

Adam has never been terrified like this before in a while. He wouldn't even know how he would live the rest of his life remembering this experience. He held his breath as he heard the door of the basement being opened. It was Jonah. Who else would it be? He hummed as he slowly stepped down the stairs. He would talk to himself demanding Adam to come out because he "wasn't playing fair". Jonah would walk to Cesar's corpse and stand in front of it. He let out a laugh, but the laugh was so demented and twisted. His head turned to the corner Adam was hiding in. He grinned, the most twisted type of grin imaginable, it looked inhuman.

Tears formed in the corners of Adam's eyes, he felt so terrified at this version of Jonah. He just wanted to go home back to how things were. Now he had to be stuck here. with this version of his best friend. He would do anything to see the normal Jonah again.

Adam snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Jonah approach slowly to the corner, humming the same tune. Adam sat in the corner watching Jonah push away the crates covering him, one by one. When Adam was revealed, Jonah smiled, not as terrifying as the smile from earlier. but there was still dread behind it. There was no use of Adam trying to get away as he was sitting on the floor while Jonah was standing up, towering over him. Adam felt this wave of numbness rush through his body, was he finally giving up?

Jonah helped Adam get up from the floor, he told him to cheer up and that it was okay to lose the game. Adam shook his head, his anger was finally coming back. He made Jonah back up by pushing him away. He started to yell at him about how he didn't want to stay any longer and that he demands answers. Jonah would laugh about this, call Adam stupid for still thinking there's a way out. They would argue back and forth about it, until Jonah started to have a breakdown in front of Adam. He would scream and yell at Adam to shut up, then sob loudly after. Adam would get lightheaded from this, he couldn't take it anymore. He doesn't know what type of mental torture Jonah was doing to him, but it was working. He ended up passing out once more.

The air felt cold, Adam opened his eyes to see he was in a room of darkness. There was nothing in sight. He looked down to his hands and was able to see them. As he looked up, he saw someone off in the distance. It was. the real Jonah? Adam squinted his eyes as he saw Jonah approach him. He saw Adam and ran towards him, with a huge smile on his face. "I was looking all over for you!" he said "I thought you died!" He would give a hug to Adam when he reached him. Adam didn't know what to feel. A part of him wants to believe this is the real Jonah, and that everything is over, but no, Adam can see through his tricks. "Jonah" backs up, still holding Adam by the arms, he asks what's wrong. Adam tells him that he knows it's lemon Jonah and that he could cut it out already. Jonah's face began to twist and distort right in front of Adam, his grip became harder. Adam ended up being pushed to the ground. Lemon Jonah was in front of Adam, his grip became harder. Adam ended up being pushed to the ground. Lemon Jonah was back to his normal outfit, he scoffed saying he really thought Adam would be weak enough to give in to that hallucination. He opened a door behind him, as he did, he said "You'll remain here until you LEARN to love being here. You will also learn to accept I'm your only friend and forever will be!" He closed the door shut, leaving Adam in darkness again. He sat there for a good 10 minutes trying to think what he would do. He felt hopeless. He looked down to the hood he was given the first day he came here. It felt like there was something in it. Adam looked in the hood and saw a small creature in there. It wore a strawberry hood, and it was sleeping.

Adam gave it a little poke, waking it up. It made a ">:O" expression and ran off. He sat confused at what the thing was, but it was so dark in the room he didn't bother to chase after it. He remained on the floor sitting, and the creature would take notice. It slowly walked back to Adam and tried to cheer him up. Adam shook his head, he talked about how there's no use anymore and that he was stuck here for good. As he looked away, he swore he saw something glow in the corner of his eye. He looked back down to see the creature glow, like a glow stick! He picked it up and decided to look around the room he was in now that he had a light source. He was in Mark's room. He could tell due to the amount of blueberry themed decor. On the side he was looking at, he saw how everything looked normal, till he took a turn where the bed was at and saw it. The walls were covered with etches, hundreds, thousands of them all over. Adam saw a few papers under the bed and decided to take a look at them. They were all about Mark's experience being in Madeleine county. He's been there for 17 whole years. Adam felt his stomach drop realizing he might have the same fate as Mark if he doesn't figure out something. He looked through more of the papers, many mentioning the key he needed, something about never leaving assigned desserts unfinished, and "the savior". It was all too much for Adam to decypher, even though it was a lot of information, it was all incoherent gibberish. Has Mark gone mad?

Adam could only imagine, being stuck in a candy coated hell hole for 17 years can make anyone go crazy. He began to think to himself, about the key specifically. He remembered he got it from Jonah and used it, but it vanished after that. He thought harder, of how Jonah presented the key to Adam. Holding it in his hand, and when he tried to grab it.it turned into that black jelly. Has Adam been tricked all along and used the wrong key? He screamed, slammed his fists on the ground. He would've been home by now if he was more careful. He fell right back into Jonah's trap. Adam looked over to the papers again, back to the part about the key. It says that Mark would look through it and his surroundings wouldn't be colorful anymore, instead it would all look rotting. The paper also mentioned: "Cesar walked in the room and I Looked through the key. The strawberry on his hat was the only thing that remained bright and colorful, while he looked horrifying. His skin was gray, eyes blank.soulless, half of his face was decaying with his jaw exposed. He looked like a fucking zombie. He asked me what I was doing, and I said nothing." This only intrigued Adam to look at the other few papers that were left. It was about Cesar creating a new person. When Adam read Mark's description of them, his eyes widened. He described Jonah.

Adam stood up, he used the strawtruder to look around the room more. The real key still has to be out there somewhere. If Mark saw the key in Cesar's room, it had to be left there somehow. But how the hell would Adam get out of this one? The door was missing, and Jonah hasn't come back at all. Adam realized what this meant, so he rolled his eyes. He banged on the wall where the door is supposed to be and "begged '' Jonah to come back and that he "misses him". He heard footsteps coming, Jonah was skeptical of Adam acting the way he was. Adam convinced Jonah that he was "telling the truth" and that he really misses him and wants to play more games. He heard Jonah go "hmm" before finally opening the door. Jonah rested his hand on his hip and looked Adam up and down.

"Why are you so skeptical? You can't believe that I've learned my lesson and wanna hang with my bestest bro in the world?"

Adam cringed internally saying that, but it seemed to please Jonah enough. He let out a giggle before pulling Adam by the arm. So now the two were back in the room with the fireplace, Adam sat down on the chair drinking tea. He has a plan in mind, but he doesn't know how it's going to work. He literally has no one else around to distract Jonah from him. Sure he has strawtruder, but he's a little guy and who knows if Jonah would squish him out of anger. Jonah would basically take this opportunity to talk to Adam about new rules that were being enforced in Madeleine county and the mansion. Adam wouldn't pay attention too much as he was trying to focus on his plans, until Jonah mentioned one thing about how both of them need to be together 24/7, including sleeping in the same room together. Adam tells Jonah that he needs his privacy and that being around Jonah is already suffocating as it is. Jonah lets out a huff, he ends up agreeing with Adam, he would only get his privacy, just as long as he stays.

The room would go quiet, the only sound being Adam sipping on his tea. Jonah would examine Adam, looking specifically at his ears. His eyes lit up as he remembered something. He asked Adam about the gift he gave him, the earring. Adam gulped down his tea and glanced over to Jonah. He nodded. Jonah clapped his hands together and said that he should try and pierce Adam's ear today so he could be able to wear the earring. As Adam placed his cup down, he said he doesn't even remember where he put the gift. Then something came up. He asked Jonah if he could go back upstairs and go look for it. Jonah thought about it, he didn't want Adam out of his sight, but he trusted him enough to go off just a little while to look for the earring. He let Adam go.

Adam would hurry up the stairs, this gave him the perfect opportunity to look through Cesar's room and find the key. He felt squirming in his pocket and completely forgot strawtruder was in there, he placed the little guy on his shoulder as they went into Cesar's room. The room was very organized. His bed was nicely done, desk clean and presented with neatly stacked papers in the middle. Then there was this large wardrobe. Adam stood in front of it and gave a peek. All perfectly organized and color coordinated, it was aesthetically pleasing. Expect for one dark red shirt placed in the middle of two pink shirts. Adam tugged on the hanger and the wardrobe began to shake. It shifted to the side revealing a hidden hallway. Adam looked back to make sure Jonah wasn't looking, then he stepped in, the wardrobe closing back behind him.

The hallway had a much sinister vibe compared to Cesar's bright pink organized room. It was dull, cold, and eerie. There was a door in the end of the hallway that Adam approached. A sign that read "caution" was on the door. He opened it anyway, and what was behind the door seemed to be a large lab. It was dim and dark, the only thing lighting up the place were a few fluorescent lights that buzzed. Adam looked to his left and saw another desk. It was more of a mess, papers littered everywhere, and old cups of coffee were left there. Something caught his eye, something shining. It was the key! Adam quickly walked over to it and grabbed it. He took a good look at it, he noticed how the handle of the key was shaped like an apple. He did what he read from Mark's papers, looking through the key. He did, but nothing looked different. Maybe he was looking through it in the wrong way. It didn't matter, he placed it in his pocket and continued to look around. The whole place was full of all sorts of weird gadgets he couldn't even name. There was another door in the corner of the lab, but it said "KEEP OUT".

"As if I'm gonna listen."

Adam pushed the door open, his eyes widened as he saw what was behind there. There were four large glass jars, but three of them had something inside. Something he would've never imagined to see. The three jars had exact replicas of Jonah, all three wearing their own different types of outfits. Each had a paper attached to the glass. Orange? Grapefruit? Lime? Adam backed up, he wanted to test something out again. He slowly pulled out the key from his pocket and brought it to his eye. The three seemingly colorful dressed Jonah's became horrid decaying corpses floating in a jar through the key. Their intestines were exposed and some were floating around in the air too. Adam's heart began to race. his hand shook as he was unable to look away. He was tired of being exposed to such imagery, he looked away and put away the key back in his pocket. He sat down on the floor, head in his hands as he began to cry. Never did he wish to see his closest friend in that condition, ever. It was heart wrenching and terrifying.He regained himself as he stood back up. He can't be fooled. Those Jonah's are just as fake as the one tormenting him now. He must move on.

He stood in front of the empty jar labeled "lemon". He looked at his reflection in the glass. He was so tired. As he let in a deep breath and sigh, he walked back out. There was another door on the opposite end of the lab, but it looks like a code was needed to enter. He didn't bother as his main focus is to leave.

The wardrobe opened back to Cesar's room as Adam walked up, he really hoped Jonah didn't notice he was missing for a while. As Adam walked out of Cesar's room, he was quickly grabbed by the neck and pinned against the wall. Jonah looked extremely pissed. He began to yell at Adam about how he ruined his trust for him. Adam tried to cover up by saying he looked in his own room and couldn't find the earring, so he went to the next room. Jonah grinned, he slowly began to laugh. He picked up his free hand, revealing the earring.

"Then what's THIS? I know your room like the back of my hand. I know everything you have placed in there."

Adam struggled, he just wanted to be let go, but he felt Jonah's grip on his neck tighten, slowly making him lose air. He started to choke, his head getting more and more lightheaded as he slowly started to pass out once again. He woke up back at the chair, with the same restraints as earlier. He looked around the room and didn't see Jonah in sight, only for him to startle the crap out of Adam by poking out behind the chair. Jonah stood in front of Adam, hands behind his back, almost like he was hiding something. Jonah asks Adam how much he saw, from the basement to Cesar's room. Adam tells Jonah that he wants to know why he did that to Cesar. Jonah chuckled, finally revealing what he had behind his back, he held up the decapitated head of Cesar by the hair. Jonah explains he only did it because Cesar was planning to use Adam, to duplicate him for endless supplies of meat for Madeleine county. Jonah expressed how he didn't like the idea of Adam being replicated, he only wanted the real one to himself and only to himself, but Cesar would never listen. All he cared about was surviving, and Cesar already tried replicating a real human before and it was successful. Adam asked why Jonah was so upset over the idea of being replicated, which would cause Jonah to look visibly upset.

Jonah explains it's because he feared being replaced himself, he saw all the other Jonah's that were made in the lab. He had overheard Cesar talking to Mark days ago about how Cesar was planning to make another Jonah because he (lemon) wasn't good enough and he made multiple mistakes that would become issues in the future. Jonah then starts to break down in front of Adam saying things about how he's the perfect Jonah and no other would be the perfect friend. Adam just looked, he was getting uncomfortable witnessing it. Jonah stopped, his eyes looking straight into Adam's.

"..So you're just not going to comfort me?? You're not going to say I AM the perfect Jonah? I thought you said you learned your lesson.."

Adam shook his head in confusement, he didn't know he was supposed to say anything. Jonah discarded the head he was holding, he walked back to Adam, hands in his coat pocket. Jonah asked Adam to tilt his head to the side, pulling out a sharp needle from his pocket. Adam's chest began to pound, he knew where this was going. He looked at Jonah with wide eyes, screamed and begged him to not even dare to try doing what he was going to do, Jonah only grinned. He forcefully tilted Adam's head, bringing the dirty needle close to his ear lobe. Adam thrashed around in the chair, yelling at him to stop. The needle pierced through the ear, causing Adam to scream out in pain. Blood started to spill out of his ear lobe the deeper the needle went. Jonah pulled out the needle only to poke the earring through the bleeding wound. There were tears running down Adam's face, the pain was unbearable, he looked up to Jonah, who licked off the blood from his "gloved" hand. Adam choked out a sob, he couldn't take it any longer. He just wanted to leave, he wanted to go home.

Bythorne county. It was 4 hours after midnight. His hands dug into the bag of chips, he's been staying up for hours. He chuckled to himself watching tv, it showed nothing but static but it was entertaining Anyway.

"They reeaaaally didn't have to outlaw these hehe..”

He took another puff of his blunt, looking over to the bag of chips to see it was empty. A sigh escaped his mouth, he needed some munchies. He looked over to the slice of pie that was left on the coffee table by Adam. He only took one bite, shrugged and put it back down. He groaned as he started to feel ill, then it hit him. Something felt off, something was missing. His head turned to Adam's bedroom door. He's been in the room for hours. Usually Adam is the type to wake up in the middle of the night to take a piss or whatever, so he found it unusual he didn't see him.

He stood up and walked over to the bedroom door, giving it a knock.

"Yo Adam, you good in there? I know you went to bed and all..but I dunno something doesn't feel ri-"

He opened the door to reveal the same pink skied candied place Adam was greeted with. He only assumed he was just high and walked in. He saw his outfit change before his eyes, his dessert theme was an edible brownie. He chuckled to himself only thinking this was a really weird trip and began to walk down the wafer path.

It's been a day, last night was tough as only Jonah would mentally torment Adam after the piercing. He stayed layed down on his bed, this is how things were going to be from now on and he would have to get used to it. If he was going to have to stay in Madeleine county for 17 years..or more like Mark then so be it. He gave up. Strawtruder peeked up from the pile of pillows that were on the opposite end of the pie dish shaped bed, he scurried over to Adam and stood on his head.

"There's no use, little guy. I think it's over for me.”

Adam looked over to his nightstand, he left the key there. Something about it just seemed to. call out to him. He sat up and reached over to look at it closely. He remembered what Mark's papers had said. something about Cesar's strawberry on his hat glowing. He needed to know what it meant. He got up from the bed and put the key in his pocket. Strawtruder tilted its little head, wondering where Adam was going. Adam said he was going to walk around the mansion for a bit. As he stepped out of his room, he noticed how Jonah was nowhere in sight. He let out a small sigh of relief and continued to walk down the hall to down the stairs. He stopped and looked at the main entrance of the mansion, it was still boarded off. Adam wondered, he never seemed to try and eat his way out of things. Everything in the mansion looks edible, but based on what the key shows, things are actually rotten. It made him wonder what else would appear rotten. He wondered if it would work with Jonah, but he wouldn't dare show he had the actual key in his possession. He walked over to the kitchen and saw him. Jonah looked. taller than usual. He didn't know if it was the outfit that was making him appear that tall or he actually grew. He turned and smiled at Adam, saying that he came just in time for breakfast. Adam declined but Jonah walked over to him, practically towering over him. He did grow..

He pointed to the table with a long sharp finger, almost demanding Adam to take a seat. Adam insisted, walking over to the table and taking a seat. There were..eggs and bacon? They looked realistic unlike the fake gummy food they would usually eat. He grabbed his fork, about to cut the egg and that's when it was revealed it was nothing but cake. Oh, great. Adam sighed and took a few bites, he saw in the middle of the table there was a pie with a missing slice. He asks Jonah about it, questioning how long it has been there. Jonah explains that it was a pie Cesar made the day before Adam came. Adam kept that in mind.Jonah then told Adam that they were both going on a picnic since he didn't want to be stuck in the house

all day. Great, there goes one of Adam's plans.

After breakfast was over, Adam went back to his room to change out of his pajamas. His wardrobe was full of the same pink suit and striped tie combination. There was literally nothing else. Once he got ready, he put on his hood and snuck strawtruder in there.

They both stood in front of the back entrance door. Jonah looked over to Adam and asked for his arm. Adam rolled his eyes and held his arm out. They locked arms together and walked out of the entrance.

The picnic was.alright. Sure, the place was bright as always and made Adam want to throw up, but Jonah seemed to be more tame than usual. Something is up. Was he only acting like this because he knows there's no way Adam can escape anymore? He finally got his way. He won the game. He held his umbrella to Adam, giving him some shade. Adam looked off to the grassy fields, there were many colorful trees, giant cupcakes all over the place, and. some homeless looking guy rolling around in the grass..

Wait. What?

He squinted his eyes but could only see the guy was wearing a brown coat. Was this another person? No it can't be. After what happened with the officers, Adam couldn't seem to trust anyone else that lived in Madeleine. However..

He asks Jonah if he could "look around" and take a walk. Jonah allows him, but he kept his eye on Adam the whole time. Adam saw the mysterious person roll behind one of the cupcakes. Perfect. He took a peek and saw the person giggling to himself. He smelt strongly of..weed. Oh. Wait a minute. Adam asks who the person is and he sits up, making Adam let out a sigh.

“..another one?"

Another. Jonah? How many were there? Adam couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed him by the collar of his sweater and demanded an explanation.

"Holy fuck!! Chillax Adam!! What the hell are you wearing! You look like some kind of strawberry shortcake character.”

He bursted out into laughter. Adam thought to himself for a second. That's strange for an edible to be inhabitant of such an "innocent" looking place. What if. Just maybe. This is the real Jonah. No. Adam shook his head and let him go. He was tired of being tricked. Jonah stood up and asked where Adam was going.

"Nice try, but your stupid little hallucinations aren't working on me anymore, Lem."

Jonah tilted his head and asked who's that. Adam didn't give an answer, he remained frustrated and confused. It bothered him, even though it felt like he was talking to the real Jonah, he wasn't sure if it was. He doesn't know if anything could be one of (lemon) Jonah's tricks. Maybe that's what the key was for, to tell what is really real. Adam pulled out the key and held it to his eye. The seemingly colorful fields turned gray, so did the sky, however, Jonah remained in color! It was. actually him, just in a stupid edible brownie themed hat and clothing. Adam lowered the key down, as small tears formed in the corner of his

eyes. He pulled Jonah in for a hug, he went on about how much he missed him and that he wants to leave so badly. Jonah, being high, only hazily laughed and held on to Adam. For once Adam felt safe again, until a dark pit formed in his stomach, remembering (lemon) Jonah was still out there waiting for him back in the picnic. Adam told Jonah to stay still and to wait for him, he also said to go to follow the wafer path to the mansion.

Jonah nodded, but then asked why he needed to go. Adam only looked down, it was a lot to explain and he didn't have any time, he only told Jonah that he needed help. He walked back to the picnic and saw (lemon) Jonah sitting, he had what seems to be bunnies made out of marshmallows on his lap. When he saw Adam approach, he smiled and waved. Adam sat down and pretended to make it seem like nothing happened. He started to tell Jonah he was feeling ill and wanted to go back into the mansion. Jonah squinted his eyes in suspicion, he would ask what Adam was doing behind the cupcake for a while. Shit. Adam had to come up with the most bullshit excuse to why he was, he also feared (lemon) Jonah would end up finding Jonah there and possibly hurt him. Adam told him that he felt like he needed to throw up, so he hid behind there just in case he had to, but didn't. Jonah's expression relaxed, but he still didn't seem pleased to have to end their picnic over Adam feeling sick.

The two ended back into the mansion so Adam could rest. He would look out the window of his room (which was locked up and had bars on it) as he saw the pink sky turn to black. It was already night, he only hoped Jonah would find some way to help him. He looked back to the key, then back outside. He had seen Mark's papers, looked through Cesar's lab, but none answered his question on how he needed to leave. Maybe there wasn't a way at all. He thought of it deeper, from Cesar being chewed up, killing him completely, from how Mark's body went completely missing when it was last seen in the basement. Did Mark even die? Adam got up from his bed as his thoughts began to race. He remembered Mark's paper talking about fruits glowing through the key, something about not to leave assigned desserts unfinished. The apple pie in the kitchen with a missing slice. A slice. The last thing he ate before he came here was a slice of apple pie. He paused. He needs to get rid of the rest of the pie to free him from this connection. Him taking a bite of the slice of apple pie was like him signing a contract to stay in this everlasting nightmare. He still has time to cancel this deal he never agreed with.

His eyes are wide open.

Adam had to act quick, he felt like anything bad could happen in any moment. First, he needs to find the bodies of Mark and Cesar. He has a feeling glowing fruits are important and need to be kept. He threw his pink suit to the side, rolled up his sleeves and tied his hood to his waist. He looked in his room to see if the axe he used was still around. It was tucked behind his bed. As he ran out of his room, he tried his best to try and be quiet and quick. He had to go back to the basement where Cesar's body was. He ran down the hallway, opened the basement door and ran down the stairs. He pulled the strawtruder for light as the basement was still dark. He saw the body more clearly now, it was mostly bones. He looked through the

key, the strawberry on his suit didn't glow. He needed his hat, he looked over to the rest of the basement and saw it on the floor. He looked through the key one more time and saw one of the strawberries glow. He reached out for it, it felt warm in his hand.

"Thank you.."

Did it just speak to him? Adam tilted his head and the strawberry began to speak again. It sounded exactly like Cesar. He told Adam that he needs to find Mark's blueberry as well, he also apologized for all of the trouble Adam put up with. He talked to Adam about how Madeleine only existed to protect him from the dangers of the real world. He was tired of waking up everyday from the nightmares he would have. He would grow paranoid because of them, also the existence of alternates didn't help either. He thought Madeline was good until one night, an unknown force took over his body completely, killing him shortly after. Even though most of his mind was corrupted, he still had some control due to his soul still being

present. His top priority was to keep Mark safe, but he was forced to watch Mark go through so much pain as the unknown force would torment him. The force craved meat, it was blood thirsty, and most of the time it would want to go after Mark. But Cesar remained strong, he would try his hardest to hold it back for so long until that day when Cesar hit Mark with his cane until he bled out. Cesar got weak from controlling the force as it would only grow stronger throughout the years. Cesar told Adam that he swore he didn't do anything else to Mark after that and the last thing he remembered was the fight between him and Adam.

Things were only starting to make a few sense to Adam, all he knew now is that Mark is still around, dead or alive. What Adam found weird is how Cesar wasn't in charge of Mark being put in the basement.. with his eye missing. It only meant one thing.

Adam placed the strawberry in his bag and continued to move on. He made it to the kitchen; he still had to get rid of the pie that was left on the table. It was missing. He felt like he wanted to scream but he needed to move on, there wasn't enough time. He noticed there was a walk-in freezer in the kitchen, the door looks to be slightly open. He walked over to it and went inside cautiously, he made sure he used his axe as a way to prevent the freezer door from closing shut. Adam's stomach dropped as he found Mark. His whole body was frozen but he held out his hand shut. Adam pulled out the key and looked through to find where the blueberry was at. It wasn't on his hat, then he looked over to his closed hand and saw the blueberry through it. Now how the fuck is he going to get it. Adam grabbed the hand and it managed to snap off his wrist. Adam got disgusted, throwing the frozen hand on the floor, causing it to shatter, revealing the blueberry. As he grabbed it, it spoke to him as well. It was Mark. Just like Cesar, he thanked Adam for saving his soul. He only told Adam that he's getting really close to freedom. Adam mentioned to Mark that the pie he needed to get rid of was missing. Mark said not to worry about that too much as just as long their souls pass over, Madeleine won't be a thing anymore. Adam placed the blueberry in his hood and moved on from there. He noticed Jonah hadn't been present at all.. it was almost suspicious. Adam cautiously walked, he then heard laughter coming from a room. He followed where it came from and entered the room where the fireplace was. Adam's eyes widened as he saw the real Jonah tied down to the chair with his mouth covered too. (Lemon) Jonah held a knife over Jonah's neck, looking straight at Adam.

(Lemon) Jonah explains how he knew Adam was up to no good and was still trying to deny the fact he was staying in Madeleine forever. He ranted about how selfish Adam was, claiming that Adam never really appreciated what he did for him. He walked over to Adam, knife still in hand, he continued to talk about how he was disappointed Adam broke his trust. He noticed how Adam was clenching on to his axe, he laughed at that, saying no matter how hard Adam tries, he could slice and cut him however, but he will always come back, they will always meet again. He smiled. Adam's hands began to shake, he didn't know what to do. He looked over to Jonah who had a scared look on his face. It took him a while to find out what to say, he took a deep breath. Something echoed in the back of his head, about ever leaving desserts unfinished. He remembered about Cesar's corpse, he was completely dead..because he was eaten. Adam had cracked the code.

Adam looked into (lemon) Jonah's eye before yelling and slicing him in half like he did before. (Lemon) Jonah only laughed and called Adam stupid for thinking that would do anything. That's when Adam began to chop his torso into smaller pieces. He would grab a handful and shove it in his mouth. (Lemon) Jonah's eyes would grow larger as he realized what Adam was doing. He yelled at him to stop, but Adam didn't. He continued chopping, shoving more and more pieces into his mouth. It tasted sour, but he had to do this. Only the top half of Jonah remained as he struggled to get the rest of the black jelly to reform himself. He was panicking, melting in the process of it. He started to scream and yell at Adam, guilt tripping him. Adam once again swung his axe at him, finally shutting him up for good. Adam got down to his knees and ate the remaining black jelly. He felt nauseated, but he tried not to let it get to him. He looked over to Jonah who was still on the chair, his eyes obviously giving a "WHAT THE FUCK?" look. Adam went over and freed Jonah from the taffy restraints. They both looked at each other awkwardly and agreed they would never talk about this experience ever again.

Not shortly after, Jonah would talk about how "badass" Adam looked swinging the axe and "killing the bastard". Adam only chuckled, he was glad he had his old friend with him at last. Now the last thing to do is figure out how to get out. Adam saw the pie with the missing slice was placed down on the coffee table in the middle of the room. He grabbed it and threw it into the fireplace. How was their fire in Madeline? Not sure, seems the place is decaying enough it breaks its own laws of everything only being candy. It didn't matter to Adam anyway, he needed to help Mark and Cesar pass over.

The two would walk out of the mansion, both catching up on what happened in the last 4 days.. but to Jonah, it was only 4 hours. Adam also introduced Jonah to strawtruder and he loved the little guy. They stopped in their tracks as they saw a grape and cherry in the middle of the wafer path. Adam picked them

up and looked at it through the key. It didn't glow.but it wasn't rotten either. It was just a regular cherry and grape. As he looked back up, he was greeted with darkness. No..not again. Don't say. that this was all just another hallucination.

No.

A bright light approached Adam, it introduced himself as "his savior" and congratulated him for finally succeeding. Adam was confused, he didn't know what this meant. The savior grew brighter, so bright Adam had to close his eyes. Once he opened them, a tall angel decorated with frosting and berries stood before him. He lifted up his hand and Adam's outfit would change into a tailcoat and top hat. The angel said Adam will be the new ruler of Madeleine. Adam shook his head, he didn't want this. He explained to the angel that he wishes to go home. The angel nodded, but he brought up that he noticed he had some souls on him. Adam said yes, but something about this angel didn't feel right. He doesn't trust him with the souls of Mark and Cesar. Either way, Adam promised he'd be the one to cross them over. He then

looked at the cherry and grape he found. What if he just.gave these instead. He handed the grape and cherry to the angel, and he gave the most innocent smile ever. This smile would soon melt into a stretched out one.

"You'll regret making this decision, Adam. For you will be a fool for the rest of your life. Wake up."

He was back at the wafer path, gasping for air. Jonah stood up and told Adam that he was standing there for a good 10 minutes. Adam shook his head, saying that they need to leave now. The door appeared again at the end of the wafer path. Adam and Jonah walked over to the door, and this time Adam had the right key to escape. Adam unlocked the door, pushing the door open to reveal the same bright light. The two walk into the light together. Madeleine county slowly starts to decay, falling apart into nothingness. It's all over now. Mark and Cesar are at peace now. They are both safe, just like Adam and Jonah.

Adam woke up on the floor, his eyelids feeling too heavy to open. What the hell was that? He saw Jonah on the floor as well, and he started to laugh.

"We did it Adam heheheeh"

"We? You dickwad, I was the one who killed that freak and spent a whole day trying to find out how to escape! You came last minute!!"

Jonah laughed. Adam was glad to have his old life back. This is all he ever wanted. It would be a day later after all of that, the two would sometimes crack jokes about it once in a while, but they both agreed it's best to forget about it. It's not like it'll be a problem for them anymore.

His eyes began to water as he felt a burning sensation in his throat. He hunched over to the sink, feeling like he needed to throw up. He gagged and coughed, little by little, drops of a black substance came out. His heart dropped, he looked up to the mirror as the black substance dripped out of his mouth.

“I don't feel like myself anymore.”

– END OF PART TWO: ARCHIVED –

– ENDING ONE: ARCHIVED –

His eyes burned as he felt his throat getting the burning sensation of needing to throw up. He

hurried into the bathroom, hunched over to the sink. It started to spill out of his mouth. A sickly

gross gooey substance that was pitch black.

He started to catch his breath as it stopped, only for it to continue. It filled up to the brim of the

entire sink. Disgusting. He looked up to the mirror and saw it dripping down his eyes and

mouth. This must be the after effects of being in Madeleine for so long…right? He hoped so,

as he really wished it wasn't anything more serious. He couldn't shake off the feeling of

something he felt. The sense of dread. He shook his head, he was back home and that's all

that matters. He looked back down at the sink and grimaced. He really needed to get a bucket

to put that goo in. He was afraid it would clog the pipes, and hell would their landlord be

pissed over that.

He walked out of the restroom to see his friend sleeping on the couch. He couldn't help but to

smile as he really missed him after being trapped in that hell hole for days. He's never been

happier to be living in a gloomy apartment. He walked over to the kitchen to see if there was

any bowl or container store that substance for now, but he only seemed to find one glass jar.

That would work for now. He walked back to the bathroom and started to scoop it out of the

sink into the jar. Once he got all of that done, he sealed it up. It surprisingly didn't leave a

mess as the sink looked spotless. He planned to take the jar and throw it out, but it was

already so late. He needed some rest, especially after all that happened. He left the jar on the

coffee table and walked back to his bedroom.

Adam opened his eyes while stretching out, it was a new day. He got up and walked back to

the living room to see Jonah surprisingly up early. He sat..so still, it was almost concerning.

Adam looked over to him and Jonah quickly turned his head over to look at him back.

"Good morning”

Jonah smiled, but not in a way he would usually do. It unsettled Adam a bit, then he looked

down to the coffee table and noticed the jar was missing.

"H-Hey..Jonah? Uh..where's the jar? I left one here last night and.."

"Oh heh, yeah I thought it was trash so I threw it out! What was it anyway?" Jonah chuckled.

Adam let out a sigh, maybe he was just being paranoid. Jonah seems to be acting fine, there's nothing wrong with him.

"Oh sweet. I was gonna throw it out myself but thanks man.”

Jonah stood up, walking over to Adam with a smile still on his face. He placed his hands on

his shoulder, his grip holding tight.

"No. Thank you, Adam. Thank you for bringing me here. Now we can be friends forever."

Jonah grinned as some of the substance spilt out of the corner of his mouth. He let out a

laugh as Adam tried to be let go from the grip but failed to. Tears formed in the corners of his

eyes.

He was a fool.

– END OF ENDING ONE: ARCHIVED –

– ENDING TWO: ARCHIVED –

As Adam put the strawberry in his hood, he turned over to stare at the large wall covered in

missing posters. The one in the middle was Mark's, but there were others surrounding them.

Adam's eyes looked closer, examining each of the posters. His eyes landed on one on the far

right of the wall. He had never seen this woman before..but her name…

..Lynn Murray

His heart dropped as he stood in front of the poster, tears forming as his sight began to blur.

Could this be? The person he was looking for all along ended up in this candy hellhole he so

happened to be trapped in. His lip quivered as his hand reached out to the poster, taking it off

from the wall.

He needs to get out of here, and there's no more time to waste. Adam would soon go back up to the kitchen and end up finding Mark's soul there. On the way out of the kitchen, he bumped into someone. That same homeless guy- no wait, it's Jonah.

"Dude!!! Where the hell have you been? Haha, this place is huuuuge. I was looking all over for you!"

Adam shook his head and told Jonah there's no time to waste and that he needs to help him get Mark and Cesar's soul to the other side. Jonah nodded and told him where he got in the

mansion. The two would cautiously roam, making sure Lem was nowhere in sight. Adam told

Jonah that he couldn't shake off the feeling of something feeling off, and that he was missing

something. Jonah then brought up to Adam about how he found a grape and cherry on his way

into the mansion. Adam looked at the fruits through the key and they didn't glow. but they weren't rotten either. They were just a grape and cherry. He still held onto them in his pocket as he felt like he would need them just in case. The mansion was way too quiet as they both made their way to the kitchen. Adam told Jonah to keep an eye out for anyone coming by as he went to look for Mark's soul.

Jonah nodded, "Alright but be careful."

Adam would then find Mark's soul in the walk-in freezer. As he walked back out he saw Jonah

holding a cleaver in his hand

"Why do you need that for?"

"Listen, I'm already highly suspicious of how quiet this place actually is. Also, didn't you tell me something about this "Lem" dude? What if he attacked me while you were in there getting the soul?"

"Right right, well there's no time to waste so we must get going..”

As they both walked, Adam felt like he needed to go back to the lab. Jonah asked why, only for Adam to not even know himself. He felt like there was a lot left unanswered there and that he needed to look back. Jonah rolled his eyes, not liking the idea of them splitting up again as it could put both of them in danger. Adam promised Jonah that he wouldn't be alone for long and handed Strawtruder to him to keep him company. Adam was off alone again as he hurriedly went up the stairs to Cesar's room. He noticed the entrance behind the wardrobe was already open. Did he do that?

Banging on the glass wouldn't work, as he'd been stuck in this large glass tank for a few days.

He didn't have to worry about drowning in the sickly sweet pink syrup that filled the tank. He

swam up to the top of the tank where the lid was, wondering if there was a way to unscrew it

from the inside.

It didn't take him a while to finally figure something out. His intelligence was a gift, yet a curse as it was the thing that made him be sealed away from the outside world in the first place. Sure, he would've tried to escape sooner, but he'd heard commotion coming from outside the lab walls that made him stay still. It's been quiet now, so might as well try to escape now. As he used his strength to kick the lid open, he could only think of the many things he wanted to do once he got out. He wants his revenge for being put away like if he was some sort of threat to his creator. All he wanted was to be free from being just a creation. He wanted to be his own person with his own life, but no. He was forced to doing stupid tasks all dealing with being a "friend" and other pointless manipulation tactics.

He threw the lid to the ground as he jumped out of the tank, dripping from the pink substance.

As he looked around the room, he saw a pinboard of papers and pictures. He took a closer look, only to see they were all pictures of this guy. a guy that looks exactly like him. He read the paper and saw the name "Jonah Marshall" on it along with other information like his date of birth, where he lives, his age, his height. Then there was a paragraph analyzing his behaviors, mannerisms, his interests.

"What the hell?"

He stepped backwards and bumped into a desk that had a file placed in the middle of it. Nothing else. It had the word "Lime" on it, with a huge X across it. Is that his name? Lime? He opened the file up to see all the analysis that has been done on him. He flipped to the last page talking about how he needed to be put away and that a new version of him would be made. A new one..

He'd been replaced.

He threw the file back down to the desk, frustrated at the information he had read. He wasn't

good enough? No, he met every criteria, but he was too smart for his own good? It's not his

fault! He was created this way! He turned back to the page to see what he was replaced with. A prototype named "Lemon”..

Lemon. What makes him so special? He needs to know where this Lemon would be and what

makes him so great. When he does find out where he is, he'll make him pay for having to be

trapped away in this room for days.

Adam walked down the hall and looked around the room. Nothing has changed. His eyes

looked over to the locked door. There has to be something inside there. He looked at the

buttons on the lock.they were numbers. He could sorta make up what the code could be as

some of the numbers were faded..

1234..

4321..

2143..

This could take a while. He tried again once more.

3124

The door opened as he saw someone already behind there. Another one?

Lime blinked as his hand remained on the handle of the door. He examined Adam with a

skeptical face.

"You're not Lemon..are you?"

"Fuck no!"

"I knew that! I was just making sure. I'm pretty sure all of us prototypes can all shapeshift.'

Lime noticed Adam's hand on the buttons still. He smirked in a cocky manner.

"Oh yeah, don't worry, I think I was the one who actually got the door to open. Y'see, I've been

trapped in that room for days, and I managed to figure out how to unlock the door from the inside.

Adam blinked in confusion and shook his head, not even wanting to bother. He said that he'll be going until Lime grabbed Adam by the wrist.

"Uh..? What do you want?"

"Based on what I have read, I was designed to be your friend. Boring, yes, but I want to make

sure I am the best at doing it. Unlike anyone else because no one holds as much knowledge as me.”

Great. Another obsessed perfectionist. Adam rolled his eyes and faced Lime.

"Well guess what, no thanks! I'm tired of you fake Jonah's and your weird obsessions over

wanting to be friends with me! Lem already has me fucking losing my mind because of it!"

Lime blinked, "Lem? As in Lemon? So you're telling me he's around? Where exactly..”

"I don't know! How about you go and look for yourself, genius."

Lime scoffed, "Whatever, I honestly don't have time to deal with people like you.”

And like that, he walked away from Adam and out of the lab, leaving Adam back all alone. He sighed to himself as things were starting to get more and more confusing to him. He wanted to know what this whole place meant, but it was all so hard to decipher. Was it even worth it in the end? What matters most is to leave this place for good. He would rather be doing alternate investigations than this. This whole place feels like an entirely new paranormal experience. It's otherworldly, and he wouldn't wish anyone to be trapped in here. He needed to get out of the lab as he didn't want Jonah to be left alone for too long. Who knows what Lime would think if he ever saw him.

Jonah held Strawtruder in his hands and walked through the mansion. He heard footsteps

coming down the stairs and assumed it would be Adam. When he saw who it actually was, he

stepped away slowly. Lime scrunched his nose at Jonah in disgust.

"Oh this cannot be the right guy! This can't be! You're not Lemon are you?"

"Dude! Can you keep it down?"Jonah whispered.

Lime rolled his eyes and went on a rant about how he shouldn't bother to try and listen to Jonah because he was "stupid". Jonah obviously got upset and argued back to Lime, telling him to shut up. Their commotion would cause Lem to find both of them, and he was enraged

Adam would come back downstairs and find Jonah nowhere in sight. Shit. He heard yelling coming from the other side of the mansion. He ran quickly to the room it came from, and saw

not one..not two..but three Jonah's fighting each other. It was a fucking mess. He stood by the

doorway as the three didn't bother to stop to look at Adam, they just continued. Adam would

hear the conversation between Lime and Lemon, both of them arguing over how one is more

superior to the other in their own way. Then there was Jonah, trying his best to defend from

either one of them that tried to strike at him. Adam saw the look on Lem's face, and he looked

like he was about to snap. He snapped his fingers, causing his snake around his shoulders to

go towards Jonah, restraining him. Lime got back up, only for Lem to grab him by the neck,

holding him in the air. Adam didn't like where this was going so he hid behind the wall, only

hearing Lem talking to Lime about how no one is getting in the way anymore. As he heard that he heard the sounds of bones being crunched, followed with the sound of Lime screaming in agonizing pain. Adam took a peek and saw Lime's head on the floor. Jonah was forced to sit there in horror as he watched Lem tear Lime's body apart and devour whatever he could. Lem wiped his mouth with his hand, only smearing the black jelly on his face further. He turned over to Jonah, grinning at him, saying that he was next. This would soon cause Adam to step out behind the wall and walk in the room with his axe in hand. He yelled at Lem to stop what he was doing.

His heart raced as he looked into the beady eyes of Lem. He gripped onto the handle of his axe,

but didn't dare to move. His eyes glanced over to Jonah who gave an expression of pure fear,

not knowing where this would go. Lem would only look down at Adam and laugh, saying that the

axe isn't going to stop him and that nothing will. He was in full control of Madeleine, and that

everything will go according to his plan.

Adam closed his eyes and sighed, dropping down the axe. He had a thought in mind, but he

needs to see if it would work if he did this. Lem's expression twisted into a grin as he chuckled.

"Looks like you're finally getting it, huh? Did it take this whole time for you to finally understand?"

He walked over to Adam, looming over him.

"I guess I won once again, I told you I'm good with games, but don't worry, there's still plenty

more to come and I'm sure you'll win.”

Adam shook his head, "This isn't about me anymore or you or this stupid candy hell hole!! I want you to take the real Jonah back home!"

Lem laughed, "For what? I honestly think he'll make a really good snack." He turned to face

Jonah.

Adam groaned and he tried to think of something. He stood there for about a minute thinking

and he finally got it. It was the only way Jonah could go back home safely.

"If you take him home I'Il stay with you..”

Lem turned back to look at Adam, shocked to hear the deal he offered. He tapped his chin and hummed in thought before pulling out his hand for Adam to shake.

"A deal's a deal..”

Adam shook his hand, he winced at how cold it was against his own. Lem then smiled and

hummed as he released Jonah out of his restraints. Jonah looked to Adam in stress, shaking his head.

"Adam, you don't have to do this! Please..”

His head remained low, he was tired of trying to fight back. Adam slowly approached Jonah with the strawberry and blueberry in his hand. He placed them into Jonah's hands.

"Please take them back with you. It's the least you can do right now."

Jonah looked into Adam's eyes before pulling him into a hug. Adam patted his back before Lem pulled Jonah away forcefully.

"Alright alright enough of that, you're out!"

Lem snapped his fingers, causing a door to appear in the room out of thin air. He could've done that this whole time? "I guess when you're in control of Madeleine..you're in control of

everything." He said, as he opened the door and forced Jonah out, shutting it closed once he did.

The door faded away, Lem chuckled to himself before turning to face Adam. He grinned and

looked down at Adam, telling him that it's just them two forever and ever. Adam couldn't help but to smile, knowing what is going to happen next.

"Yeah…I don't think so.

The walls around them began to decay, but flew away like dust. Lem looked down around and

shook his head, screaming "no" in fear. He desperately clinged on to Adam yelling at him

asking him what he has done and that he's an idiot for this.

"This whole place was designed for Cesar. I helped him pass his soul to the afterlife by giving

his and Mark's soul to Jonah. Without his soul trapped here, this place shouldn't exist..and neither should you.'

Lem screamed as he began to slowly fade away into dust, he desperately clung on to Adam

until there was nothing left of him. Nothing else was left. It was all empty. If Adam's thought was correct, if Madeleine didn't exist anymore, then he should be back home in no time! He noticed he was still in his clothes…not in his usual hoodie. Shit.

There was a bright light ahead of him, it slowly approached Adam then stopped in front of him

"Congratulations! You weren't an idiot this time around."

Adam tilted his head in confusion.

"Since you have proven to me you're smart, what if I gift you something in return, Adam"

Adam didn't like how this strange entity was speaking to him. He mentioned the only gift he'd be accepting if he went back home. The entity laughed, but then told Adam that it wasn't possible for him to go home, but he could always make a home. It continued by saying that there's no other choice and that Adam will forever be left in emptiness if he doesn't give in. Adam sighed as there was literally no other way out of this.

He agreed, and in order for this new home to come..he had to take a bite of an apple pie slice.

He saw it float in front of him, everything Cesar had told him flashed through his head. Was it

worth even fighting anymore? He took a bite but didn't dare to swallow it. He knew what was

inside. The same force that took over Cesar. He stared down at the glowing entity as it shined

brighter, he refused to swallow. It slowly faded away as he saw his clothes change before his

eyes, a pink suit with a top hat. He was now in control. The walls of the mansion began to

reform again as if nothing happened. His heart dropped wondering if Lem would come back, but nothing happened.

He was alone in the mansion.

He walked over to the fireplace and spat out the piece of pie he took a bite out of. The mansion was quiet once again, as there was no one else but him inside. Until. He heard little footsteps come behind him. It was Strawtruder, looking up at Adam with big eyes. He picked it up and placed them on his shoulder. He walked out of the fireplace room with his hands in his pocket. He noticed he felt something in there, only to pull it out and see it was the grape and cherry from earlier.

He looked at both of them, then up to the empty room around him. He hates being alone. He's

been alone for most of his life. If he was in control of Madeleine, wouldn't that mean he could

create anything and everything? He held so much power than he thought, and it all can

start.. with the grape and cherry.

🍇🍒"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Adam! Happy birthday

to you!"

🍒 "Now blow out the candles and make a wish!"

🍎 "A wish? What's there to wish for? I got all I need here."

🍒 "Well there has to be something you truly wish for in your life.

🍎 “You're right, I wish one of my friends was still around..”

🍇 "You did the right thing, Adam. You kept him safe.

🍎 "Yeah, I really hope he's doing okay."

🍇 "That reminds me, I saw this real lemon outside in the morning. Wanna see it?'

🍒 “Oh Mark, I'm pretty sure that's just a candy lemon."

🍎 “Yeah.. you can toss that out into the fireplace later. It's nothing to worry about.”

🍇 "If you say so."

🍒 "Say, when was the last time you lit it up?"

🍎 “I.. don't remember. In fact, I can't remember anything that happened to me months ago

except my friend."

🍇 “This is why me and Cesar are here to help. Anyways! Blow the candle out so we can dig into that cake!"

And thus the three sat down at the table. Adam looked out the window at the skies of

Madeleine, how the color was a soft lavender with fluffy cotton candy clouds. He took in a deep breath and blew out the candles that were placed on his cake.

Later that night, Mark cleaned the room where the fireplace was. He took out the lemon he saw outside from his pocket and threw it in there.

"Nothing to worry about” he said as he sighed calmly, walking out of the room

The lemon sat still in the fireplace, so perfectly still. Slowly, something that was dark and gooey, something that was in the fireplace for a while began to stick around it.

Is all nothing to worry about.

– END OF ARCHIVE. THANK YOU FOR READING. –

youtube

#that was BONKERS /pos #definitly coraline-esque which i mean i like coraline #having to eat a dessert person for them to truly be gone was wow #strawtruder is there for moral support #weed edible jonah does that imply theres weed brownies/edibles in madeline #i hope so because thats hilarious like imagine this candyland type place all sweet and innocent then theres just some weed brownies + candy #i wish lime didnt die so early #also the hunger attributing to the rotting i liked because to me hunger has a rotting feeling in the stomach #also the jonahs being made to be adams friend but he doesnt want them makes me think of “[jonah] wasnt my best friend i was HIS best friend #tmc #the mandela catalogue #mandela catalogue dessert au #adam murray #jonah marshall #cesar torres #mark heathcliff #alternate gabriel #the intruder #tmc au #ouija board ghost #ask #asks #anon #new fixation yall...#i dunno why it just sparked

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