MAD LOVE — o, oneshot + development

notes to self:

tw; gore, anxiety and panic attacks, negative feelings of self-worth

In his own eyes he was weak, not worthy of being apart of the Typhoon, not worthy of even being the division of the Grim Rays. He had no weapons, barely any ability to fight. If he had siblings he probably would of ended up being the runt of the litter not for his size, but for his inability to even defend himself properly. When he was younger he could of done so much to prevent himself being taken by the humans but he didn't and thus he considered it his fault that he was taken when he could of easily done so so much to stop it from happening. His parents always told him that they never viewed him the way he viewed himself, though he usually always thought that as a lie as he couldn't read the thoughts inside their head and what they really thought. The way they acted towards him, those words meant nothing to him and he could only wish to hear the thoughts that were inside their heads. He could imagine them to be thoughts of him being worthless and nothing more than that, a disgrace that two strong parents like Nikolai and Amora, could produce something so incapable like Marcellus.

It hurt so bad to think like that but he couldn't control the thoughts. Deep down inside he knew they truly didn't think that way and that they loved him for real, but he could only view himself in the light of being pathetic. Worthless. Weak. Those three words were what he could only use to describe himself as he didn't believe any other.

The day was slowly coming to an end as the sun set behind the horizon in the distance and Marcel was out on his own on a stroll down the beach, his eyes peering around as he was on his way back to his shack that was lined up a bit ways along Barracuda Bay. His paws clicked up sand as he strolled along until he heard another set of the pawsteps a bit in front of him. Stopping, the king cheetah departed his jaws and tried to identify the scent to make sure an enemy hadn't gotten in undetected, but what came next was a shock to him as he couldn't smell any scent. Not a single trace. For a moment he thought nothing of it until a rough wind pushed up against the side of his body, nearly making him fall over into the sand. For a moment all he could do was stand there in shock but he pushed any ridiculous thoughts out his head, simply thinking to himself that this was natural. Hesitantly and cautiously, the king cheetah continued on down the bay, slowly growing more and more paranoid as sounds followed after him, all of them unable to be explained.

As quick as he could manage the male broke down into a run at the sight of his shack up ahead, eyes widening in relief as he practically leap straight in, disregarding the amount of force he used on the door which had caused it to nearly break. His breathing grew uncontrollable as anxiety raced through his body and his eyes darted everywhere to see if what had been following him had still been out there. He remained in the corner of his shack for a long while, afraid and anxiety ridden, until the sounds died down and he could no longer hear anything but the sounds of the waves crashing and the seagulls that usually flew above and make their noises. He slowly began to calm down with his breathing going back to a normal and steady pace, his paws carrying him to the doorway where he would peek out to see if anything was there.

All he could remember at that point was his vision going black and his body hitting the floor with a loud thud.

A groan escaped his jaws as he slowly forced himself to get up and all he could manage to see upon opening his eyes were pitch black and nothing but that, his head swinging from side to side as he slowly started to sink back into a panic. "Okay Marcellus, it's okay. Just, stay calm. You're okay." His voice held nothing but panic and he failed to believe even his own words. It didn't take him long to realize that the feeling of being sick was completely gone, along with his sore throat and even his limp. He could walk on all fours instead of using the usual three legs. His eyes glanced back at his now working crooked leg in shock but also happiness as it was all he ever wanted; to be able to use all four of his legs and not be completely useless. The working of his leg was something that calmed down a bit, helping his mind to clear up.

He had to do something, anything.

The king cheetah hesitantly began taking a few steps forwards before his slow steps broke into a full out run, one faster than he would be able to with only three legs. He had easily began to forget that he was stuck in a completely pitch black background that seemed to go on forever, his paws carrying him faster and faster as he gave a laugh that signified his happiness and content with being able to run with all four legs. Though not all good things last forever and so quickly the tides changed, the male ending up back in a place where he never thought he would.

His old home.

He was surrounded by thick undergrowth and trees, dry grass and multiple little streams that used to provide him water. One step forward he took and pushed through the bushes that guarded his old den where he would rest with his parents before he was taken, his eyes softening as he padded towards it at a brisk pace. He inspected the small stone den before he heard the sound of snapping sticks and twigs behind him, the crisp leaves breaking under every pawstep the stranger took. Marcel battled with himself with the thought of turning around and confronting this visitor head on, though it seemed he didn't need to.

"You were always a curious one, Marcellus." The voice was easily recognizable to the male, his eyes widening before he spun around to get a view of his parental figure, his father. He could feel small tears well up in his eyes before he dashed forwards and moved his head to press it into his fathers shoulder, feeling as the battle-scarred cheetah suddenly backed up away from his embrace, confusing Marcel. His father had always loved to cuddle the male when he was younger along with his mother, so this behavior to Marcel made him grow weary, though he would push it back and allow a smile to grace his maw.

"I missed you so much! I'm sorry I ran away! I promise I will never run away ag-" His words were cut off by the sudden change in atmosphere, all of the undergrowth and the forest quickly becoming dead. A fire could be scene in the background slowly rushing towards the two cheetahs as they stood there. Nikolai made no efforts in moving, instead his face turning from one of happiness swiftly to one of disgust and hatred. Marcellus was taken back as he began to take a few steps back, looking at his father with shock and confusion. "Father, we have to go the fire it's"

"Coming?" The other king cheetah swiftly interrupted, a smirk lacing his maw as he took a threatening step forwards. "Yes, Marcel, I know it's coming. It's exactly what I want." Every moment they wasted talking was another moment the fire would come closer, the flames starting to nearly encircle the two.

"W-What? I don't understand? Why do you want the fire to come here? We have to go!" Slowly Marcel would grow insistent on getting away from the flames, the king cheetah quickly turning away and getting ready to dash out the remaining exit but before he could he could feel a pair of claws slam down into his tail, quickly pulling him back and causing the king cheetah to wince. Upon looking over his shoulder to see why he couldn't leave, Marcel would see his own father with a wicked grin on his face as he held down Marcellus by the tail.

"You were always quite the weak one, weren't you, Marcel?" Nikolai would coo softly, the flames beginning to grow hotter and hotter as they got closer to the pair. "Good riddance you disappeared. Maybe if you weren't so pathetic, you'd be here with us and not miles away." With every each word the males voice grew more and more taunting, watching as tears built up in Marcellus' eyes. "You deserve to die, Marcellus." With that last sentence, his voice grew chilling and maniac-like, his eyes turning into a dark glowing red as a menacing look graced his features. A wicked laugh escaped the males jaws as he slammed his entire body into Marcellus', feeding him into the wicked flames.

Screams and yells could be heard from the flames until they died down, Marcellus' body becoming nothing more than bones and rotted flesh.

Hours passed and the king cheetah's eyes slowly opened again to reveal his mother in the same setting of the now charred and dead forest, hovering over him and sobbing, crying, tears dripping onto him. "Mother! Amora! You're here! Nikolai, he-" His words were cut off when Amora turned away from him as if she hadn't even heard him in the first place, disappoint lacing her features. Confusion was well on his face as he took a step forward to try and follow her.

Amora's body burst into flames and she slowly turned to look at him over her shoulder, eyes narrowed and flames strong. The now ghost king cheetah flinched and took a step backwards, eyes looking on with fear.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" Her voice boomed all over the dead forest, the female cheetah taking a step towards Marcellus and shaking the entire forest floor, her body growing in size until she completely towered over Marcellus by a couple of feet, Marcel cowering down to the forest floor as he began to burst out in complete tears; wailing and crying with anxiety and fear all over, his emotions all over the place while he tried not to look at Amora but instead point his head towards the forest floor with his eyes closed in cowardice.

"YOU'RE WEAK, PATHETIC, USELESS!" Her screams only grew louder and so did Marcellus' wails as he then tried to speak over her.

"Please, please, p-p-please! Please mother, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Uncontrollably the spirit sobbed, his eyes tightly closed shut. Due to being in this form he could not feel her flames but her anger felt as if it was able to burn her despite him now being dead. He could feel his breathing beginning to speed up extremely quick, barely able to catch any breath at all .

Amora looked at him with disgust and hatred until it died down into a soothing and kind look. Taking a step forwards, the cheetah placed her large paw gently against Marcellus' spirit, her flames dying off completely as she looked like her normal self. "Oh Marcellus." She cooed gently as she looked down at him. Suddenly her expression grew hardened and a snarl built up in her throat. "Remember, you are worthless." With those last few words, the flesh of Amora began to drip off her body to give a skeleton figure in return, the bones collapsing to the ground as flames shot up on it and burned the bones. Instantly after, Marcellus returned back to reality.

The passed out male's head shot up as he looked around with fear, eyes widened as if he had just returned from the dead and his claws digging into the floor of his shack. His breathing grew quickly uncontrollable as he began to feel himself slip into a panic attack, his heart racing and his eyes darting wildly around the shack's walls. Trying to move forwards, the male could barely manage before falling out of his shack and onto the sand beneath it, barely able to breathe as his panic attack only grew more and more with the minutes that he lied there, the world slowly fading in and out of consciousness. He gasped roughly for air.

tdlr;; he had an extremely negative dream involving his parents that impacted him very strongly emotionally and now he's having a full blown panic attack on the beach.