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

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The strange buzzing and clicking sang like a chorus from the heavens above. The two scientists watched with ease, as the machine carefully recovered the contestant that they had been familiar with. That striking red hue caught their eyes, as he plopped on the ground, immediately grunting from the impact.

Well, that was a first. The first three gave no reaction during their initial recovery- but Fries was conscious, carefully adjusting himself as he stared at the ground below.

No wonder they chose him. He seemed strong- already pushing through the haze of being brought back to life. But nobody wanted to make any assumptions just yet, as his eyes suddenly darkened as he lifted his head.

Nobody could describe the expression they saw on his face. Fries glanced around, carefully standing back on his feet.

"...Is this.." His voice was low, almost careful, as if he were afraid of gaining the attention of something... or, well, someone... he didn't want to see.

Just the way he was standing was enough to send a twinge of worry down Eraser's spine- he had never seen him in such a state before. This didn't last too long, as Fries immediately lifted his head up, gazing across the familiar faces that he had met once before.

He couldn't break now- not ever.

He needed to stay strong.

Golfball would approach him, collecting herself as she nodded.

"You're back, Fries. We're safe."

"B-But- we were- I was- the recovery centers..."

"...They brought them back. They fixed them."

The words immediately clicked in Fries' mind. Golfball turned to face the crowd to at least address their concerns, but the breath was knocked out of her, as Fries immediately rushed past her, making it to the keyboard.

The instructions rang clear in her head. Revive Fries, and move the way down to the Freesmarters. If both Golfball and Tennis Ball had woken up with the terror that stabbed through their very minds, they couldn't fathom just how shattered the final few survivors were.

But to Fries, the fact that the recovery center was back was beyond tempting, as he immediately realized that he could get them back. He didn't want to waste anymore time while he was alive- for tater's sake, he didn't know if the recovery center could give in once more, leaving them all at the hands of death itself.

Ignoring the furious glare that Golfball shot at him, Fries immediately typed away.

P-U-F-F-B-A-L-L.

He held his breath. Even as the smaller object tried to headbut him to the side, he stood his ground, clenching his fists with anticipation while the machine did its work.

And less than a minute later, there she was. The familiar pink hue from her body made Fries' heart skip a beat, as he watched her carefully slip to the ground below.

After everything.

After the hell that they had to endure- the guilt that clawed at his very spirit, and ate away at the will that he had to continue fighting.

That pain all washed away, as his arms began to tremble, watching those multicolored eyes of hers carefully open.

Those eyes he had fallen in love with so long ago, that familiar glimmer of life now twinkling within them.

She was here.

She was alive again.

And Fries had to bite back the urge to run to her, to scoop her close to himself, and never let anything, or anyone, hurt her again.