Rise & Fall

Donnies Gifts

(Happening after the events of the episode)

POV - Cleo

"One...two..." silence all but engulfs the room. Leaving a fragmented, younger version of Cleo in the middle of her childhood room.

"Three...four..." Posters lined the walls, stolen from dumpsters in the hidden city, accompanied by colorful dream catchers, crystals and anything that shined. Steering away from the black engulfing tentacles that make their way along the sturdy walls.

"Five...six..." Things begin to quiet in his mind. The younger version tightened their fingers in his meditative state. A familiar feeling of calm washes over them.

"Seven...eight..." Everything is quiet. Their mind is clear of any and all distractions that threaten to ruin concentration. Anything that wants to destroy all their work.

"Nine...ten..." Complete and utter peace...

That is until Frida pushes Cleo over and stumbles her out of meditation.

The young kid cries out pathetically and falls to the ground. Their chin collided with the harsh flooring and caused a not so subtle cry to erupt from him.

"Dad! Daddd Frida ruined my meditation!!" An accusatory finger was instantly brought towards Frida. Causing the kid to stumble back and begin crying to herself now for some reason.

Draxum brought two fingers to rub the bridge of his nose tiredly. The two kids continued their pointless squabble at his feet.

"I- I didn't— dad! Cleo's lying!" She brought her equally accusing finger up to Cleo. Poking her straight in the nose. The eldest shivered at the touch and growled lowly, pushing Frida to the ground with a tackle. They stumbled and kicked across the wood turtle's bedroom.

Cleo first made a move to kick Frida's plastron. Which backfired on him when her youngest sibling grabbed hold of his ankle and lifted it upwards. With a wince, Frida pushed her own leg in an attempt to kick Cleo's face but failed miserably when he pulled his head into his shell and her foot met air.

Both of them entangled themselves with equal goals of gouging the others' eyes out before finally being separated by the firm hands of Draxum who held them up by the tip of their shells and away from each other.

"Frida, Cleo, you should know better than to fight like this! You are siblings. Understand one another."

That caught Cleo completely off guard. Craning their neck upwards to stare blankly at the softened look Draxum gave.

Something was off.

Something wasn't right.

And most importantly:

He never calls them by their nicknames.

the memorable world crumbled in on itself like a house of poorly stacked cards.
Things started to look choppy, collapsing into itself. Piling into heaps of forsaken lost thoughts, regret and sorrow.

The creepiest of it all was how the people he knew and loved had begun to change poorly.

Draxum's eyes darkened and seeped into a pit of nothingness, weeping black waiting to engulf everyone whole. Bugs scuttled out his eyes and mouth painfully while his cut off screams echoed in the broken melody of his strained screaming. Cockroaches and beetles surrounded his failing body as he dropped Cleo to the sinking quicksand that was the floor. Dragging him down to implied death.

Frida right beside him melted into a painful pile of dust and oil.
Her scales flaking off like paper scraps her eyes floating pools of black with a single dim light. She regrettably didn't join Cleo in the quicksand and instead stayed above the overworld. Looking down at him with withered tears and an outstretched oozing arm that bled black gunk..