*slides into the room* Welcome back to Fear the Jelly Walkers-Chapter 2!

This is another chapter that Fanta wrote a lot of, though I did write a chunk of the ending! I promise I'm actually writing in it, but most of my Major Contributions come in about two chapters from now.

Which reminds me! Let's play a game- - a lot of these chapters include references to song lyrics. Not all of them, but there are definitely a couple. If you think you've spotted one, send us a comment and we'll let you know! The reference in this one is a bit obvious, but in the future...

There's more news to tell, but I'll tell it at the bottom. Till then, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

TW: Death and zombie stuff

"Hand me my wrench, will ya?" Roll Cake said and held out a hand to his side. Kiwi obliged, placing a Caramel Wrench into his boyfriend's hand- - but not before sneaking a kiss on his palm.

"Sneaky bastard," Roll Cake mumbled with a grin.

"Your sneaky bastard," Kiwi replied, winking at Roll Cake. Roll Cake laughed.

The two of them were sitting side-by-side in Roll Cake's garage, making small improvements and fixes to their vehicles. A radio was blaring rock tunes as part of the two Cookies' attempt to distract themselves from the oppressive heat of the morning sun (which was being supplemented by ventilation from the open garage door). It seemed as though every five seconds, Roll Cake would reach for his root beer and take a long swig of it before setting it down, dramatically wiping his mouth, and letting out a loud aaaaaah to tease Kiwi, who'd said he'd be fine without a drink for now.

"You know, if you really want to stay cool, soda isn't the best thing to drink, babe. You should get some water."

"Ah, shut up!" Roll Cake sneered jokingly. "Why don't you go get some yourself if you know so much, Mr. Wise Guy?"

"I don't need any. I got a tall glass of water right here," Kiwi said, arching one of his eyebrows and giving Roll Cake a playful smirk. Roll Cake's face erupted in blush, and he shoved Kiwi in the chest as payback.

"You stop that!"

"Make me," Kiwi teased, scooting closer to Roll Cake and setting his grinning face on Roll Cake's shoulder. Roll Cake smiled back at him and pressed their lips together for just a moment.

But apparently Kiwi had decided that he hadn't had enough, because he placed his hand on Roll Cake's back and gently caressed it. It made Roll Cake's skin tingle; he loved Kiwi's touch. Seeing as he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Roll Cake gave Kiwi another kiss, and Kiwi held him closer, making it last longer than the last.

"It's too hot for this right now, Kiwi," Roll Cake said, wanting more but feeling embarrassed about all of it.

"Oh? Should we stop and take this inside?" Kiwi teased with a lick of his lips. Roll Cake broke out laughing and pushed Kiwi away by his face.

"Kiwi!"

"What? I'm up for whatever you want, baby."

"Kiwi!"

"Nothing wrong with wanting more," Kiwi said before casually leaning back with his arms folded behind his head. "You know I could go all day."

"I'm going to run you over with my road roller when I'm done fixing it."

"That's fine by me! At least I got to taste your sweet lips one last time before I go!"

Roll Cake was about to retort with another joking threat when they both heard the music on the radio come to an abrupt stop. A loud, shaky voice filled the room.

"This is an emergency radio station override by local authorities! Mutant Cookies known as Jelly Walkers have emerged from the forest on the edge of town and are advancing through the town at this very moment! We ask all residents stay indoors and keep their radios and televisions on as they wait for evacuation instructions. This is not a drill! All residents, please stay indoors—"

The message repeated, but Kiwi and Roll Cake only had to hear it once before their minds started racing. Jelly Walkers? What was a Jelly Walker? Whatever it was, it wasn't good news. Roll Cake jumped to his feet and lowered the garage door, the metal resounding with a bang as it slammed against the concrete driveway. They were sealed off, safe, as long as the monsters outside couldn't tear through metal.

Kiwi let out a gasp. "Wait. They said to stay indoors."

"Yeah?"

"Roll Cake, where's Pancake?"

Roll Cake froze. "He's out at the park right now, looking for Acorn Jellies."

They both looked at each other, fear in their eyes and horror on their frowning faces.

"Then what the hell are we sitting around for?!" Roll Cake yelled with a rasp in his voice that Kiwi had never heard before. He'd never seen Roll Cake look so afraid. Normally Roll Cake would hide his fear behind a smirk and show off his hammer, claiming he was about to bash the shit out of whatever was scaring him, but this time…

No time to think about that. Roll Cake only had one thing on his mind right now: find Pancake, get him the hell out of the park, and bring him home to safety. Kiwi retrieved Kiwi Bird and Light Bros from where they lay resting inside the house, just in case they needed someone to carry a message to other Cookies should something happen to them both. Then he ran back to the garage and mounted his bike.

"We'll take my bike. Come on!" Kiwi instructed, patting the seat of the motorcycle behind him. Roll Cake nodded and joined him. The motorcycle gave a hearty growl as its engine ignited to life, the garage door opener lifted the gate, and the two Cookies were on their way, their Pets clinging tightly to their heads. Praying that they wouldn't come across any monsters as they sped down the street, they raced off towards Pancake.

Thankfully, their prayers were answered. They found themselves in the gravel lot of the park completely unscathed and full of determination to find Pancake. Roll Cake wasted no time leaping off the motorcycle as it came to a stop and cupping his hands around his mouth, calling out.

"Pancake! Pancake Cookie! Where the fuck are you? Pancake!"

"No need to curse, Roll Cake. And we shouldn't be too loud, or else those monsters might hear us- -"

"There's no time to consider all that, Kiwi! We gotta find this dumbass and get out of here!"

"Well, you have a point," Kiwi sighed and started yelling for Pancake as well. The two of them slowly made their way around the park, searching high and low, their voices never ceasing.

No luck. That is, until they spotted Pancake Frisbee, who was carefully floating around the park, looking for someone to help it. When it spotted Roll Cake, it raced into his arms and started crying tears of syrup, shaking uncontrollably. Well, fuck. This couldn't mean well.

"Pancake Frisbee! Where's Pancake? Can you take us to him?! Take us to him!" Roll Cake demanded, shaking Pancake Frisbee in front of him. The Pet started crying harder, but it left Roll Cake's grip and started floating away towards the back of the park. Roll Cake was right behind it.

After covering a fair distance, Roll Cake saw a figure, close to the edge of the forest that surrounded the park in the back.

"PANCAKE!" Roll Cake screamed, and without hesitation, he charged for the figure. Kiwi tried his best to keep up and follow the sound of Roll Cake's hoarse voice screaming, "Pancake! Pancake, come here!"

When Roll Cake was finally close enough to see just what the figure was, he came to a stop, as if something had suddenly snagged onto him and tried to drag him back. There, standing a few feet away from him, was his little brother- - only something was wrong. Very wrong. His skin, normally browned to perfection, had become a sickly shade of purple, and his big, purple eyes were a sickening neon yellow. The syrup decorating his cape had become jelly sludge, and more of it leaked out from his mouth with every breath.

"Play with me, bro. Play… play…" The figure choked out, its voice a deep, twisted corruption of Pancake's own.

Hearing those words, those oh-so-familiar words, now being uttered by this… monster, this thing that had consumed the mind of his brother, rattled Roll Cake to the core. He began to slowly back away, shaking his head, whispering, "No… no…" over and over.

Kiwi saw Roll Cake begin to falter and called out. "Roll Cake! We've gotta get out of here! Head back to the bike! Come on!"

But Roll Cake couldn't hear him over the sound of Pancake's words buzzing around in his head. Give me an Acorn Jelly! Am I cute, bro? Play with me, bro! Play, play, play!

Was this really his brother? Was this really him? When had this happened? How could this have happened? What could he do? What could- -

"ROLL CAKE!" Kiwi's voice rang from the distance. He had already mounted his motorcycle and was ready to leave at a moment's notice. He urgently reached out a hand. "Get the fuck away from him and let's go! Do you want to die?!"

Roll Cake giggled quietly, then burst into a fit of pained laughter. Kiwi froze.

"After seeing this? Maybe."

"Roll Cake…" Kiwi gasped, unable to believe his ears. Roll Cake had really said that instead of just shaking it off? His Roll Cake?

And now Roll Cake was slowly walking towards the Jelly Walker, the possessed husk of his little brother. 'Is he crazy? What is he thinking?!' Kiwi thought to himself.

The Jelly Walker began to sob streams of viscous Jelly fluid once it saw Roll Cake approach. "Play with me, bro. Play… play…"

"It's not time for playing, Pancake. It's time to go to sleep." he said, his voice numb, hollow.

"Play… play…"

Roll Cake reached out to the Jelly Walker for a hug, as if it really were his brother.

Big mistake. The Jelly Walker suddenly grew aggressive, lunging at Roll Cake and clawing at him wherever it could, trying desperately to score a bite into Roll Cake's dough. Roll Cake almost laughed. It would have looked pathetic, this tiny Cookie trying to wrestle with someone nearly twice its size- - except for the fact that this Cookie was now a monster bent on spreading its deadly virus to anyone in sight. Pancake was gone, Roll Cake knew, because if this had really been Pancake, he would have given up the act any time now. He would have quit snarling and growling and went back to his cute, cuddly self, giving Roll Cake the tightest hug his little arms could muster and saying, "I got you, bro! I tricked you!" with a huge grin. But that didn't happen. The monster kept up the fight, drawing strawberry jam from Roll Cake's arms and torso and staining his clothes purple with Jelly fluid. And Roll Cake would have kept up the fight too, except for the fact that a realization dawned on him. A heartbreaking, soul-wrenching realization.

If Pancake really was gone, then there was no way to bring him back. No point in fighting on. No reason to keep holding back for fear of hurting him or breaking him beyond repair. He needed to end this, for his own sake and everyone else's. Of course there was no way he could fix Pancake. All he ever did was destroy, anyway. What a fool he was. He'd let himself destroy their family relationship, all because of a small bit of jealousy that would bite at him every now and then. He'd always said he would crush Pancake to bits, but he never meant it. He never wanted to mean it. Oh, Millennial Tree, please tell him there was another way, that it didn't have to come to this.

"Roll Cake?" Kiwi whispered, even though he knew it wouldn't reach his boyfriend's ears. He saw Roll Cake cease his struggle and let the Jelly Walker finally have its way with him.

Roll Cake felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Shit. Pancake had already scored a bite. No turning back now.

But that was okay. It was time for him to put Pancake to sleep like he said he would, and he knew just what song to sing for him- - the song he sang for him every night when he was just a newborn, the song he sang for him every night whenever he would sneak into Roll Cake's room and snuggle up close to him after a nightmare. Kiwi recognized the melody almost instantly and had to cover his mouth to hold back his sobs as he saw Roll Cake hold the Jelly Walker close, just as he did whenever he'd carry Pancake to bed after a long day.

Even with the Jelly Walker clawing at him, snarling and biting like an animal, Roll Cake just closed his tearful eyes, held him close, and sang with his hoarse voice, seeing his little brother now instead of a vicious monster.

"You are my sunshine- -"

Pancake is one year old. He's asleep soundly in his cradle. Then he wakes up and starts crying. Roll Cake sighs and rocks him in his arms until he falls asleep again.

"My only sunshine- -"

Pancake is two years old. He's eating his lunch- - that is, until he knocks his milk off his high-chair. He giggles with mischievous delight as Roll Cake curses and wipes it up.

"You make me happy-"

Pancake is three years old. He's running outside in the grass, on the street, everywhere. He trips and scrapes his knee. Roll Cake shakes his head and bandages it for him.

"When skies are gray- -"

Pancake is four years old. He runs up to Roll Cake holding a piece of paper. It's the two of them, holding hands. Roll Cake acts annoyed, but he pins it to the fridge anyway.

"You'll never know dear- -"

Pancake is five years old. He's crying. He crawls up onto Roll Cake's bed and asks if he can sleep there for the night. Roll Cake nods and holds him close, singing softly.

"How much I love you- -" Roll Cake says slowly, breaking the melody of the song for just a moment, choking on his words. He gives Pancake one last forehead kiss and ruffles his hair.

Pancake is six years old. He's clinging to Roll Cake, biting him, clawing at him, covering him in Jelly fluid-but Roll Cake doesn't care. He keeps singing, and singing.

"Please don't take my sunshine away."

For a second, Roll Cake swore he saw Pancake's eyes soften. Behind the sickly yellow, he saw a familiar tiredness, a familiar comfort. Pancake was ready to go to sleep, and Roll Cake agreed that it was time.

Roll Cake gently pried the Jelly Walker from his body and set it down on the ground once more. It looked up at him with softness in its eyes. Did he see… happiness? Some sort of peace? No, no, he was imagining that. Enough reminiscing.

He raised his hammer high into the air, whispered one last "I love you" to someone who could no longer hear him, and swung his hammer down, down, down.

There was a small sob, then nothing.

Though all was still, the air was tense. Roll Cake gave a heavy sigh and dropped his hammer, then fell to his knees without a word. He lifted his hands to his face and began laughing absurdly, as if he had lost all sense, and then let the laughs become giggles, then chuckles, then gross sobs that echoed throughout the park.

Kiwi could hear him screaming, crying out for someone who was no longer there, begging Pancake's forgiveness and pleading for Millennial Tree to strike him down where he sat, clawing at his face and pulling at his hair. Kiwi wanted to go back to Roll Cake, to comfort him, to hold him- - but it was too late for Roll Cake now. Kiwi had seen Pancake bite him. Whether to make a run for it or try to comfort Roll Cake until the virus took over, his brain didn't know what to choose.

But his heart knew exactly what it wanted to do, and he listened to it like he always did, and he rushed to Roll Cake's side. He held his boyfriend closer than he ever had before, even closer than the night when they had first confessed to each other, and he didn't let go. Roll Cake let himself go limp in Kiwi's arms, crying into his shoulder without a second thought, and Kiwi just sighed, rubbing Roll Cake's back and humming some gentle melody. Kiwi wanted desperately to kiss him, to let him know he was there for him and to let him know he'd be alright- - but that was a lie. The virus was already in Roll Cake, and it would only spread to Kiwi as well if he stuck around too much longer. The most he could do for Roll Cake was hold him like this until Roll Cake felt himself give in to the virus.

And it didn't take long for that to happen. After what seemed like only mere seconds to both of them, Roll Cake felt a numbness overtake his entire body, followed by an icy hot pain that shot through his nerves, his muscles- - everything. It overwhelmed his senses until he could no longer hear, or see, and the only thing he could feel was debilitating pain.

In a blaze of fear and confusion, Roll Cake pushed Kiwi away and screamed at him to run. Kiwi refused, begging Roll Cake over and over again to calm down for just a second, just one measly second.

But now Roll Cake was the one doing the begging. He yelled out in a shrill, strained voice.

"KILL ME!" he cried out ceaselessly, choking on both tears and Jelly that was starting to fill his lungs. Eventually his words became twisted, distorted with growls and snarls.

Kiwi stood there in horror, watching his boyfriend fall victim to the virus before his very eyes. As much as he wanted to move, to run away- - he couldn't, he couldn't. Roll Cake writhed on the ground, howling in pain, his skin changing, jelly beginning to replace the tears leaking out of his eyes. Kiwi knew he needed to leave, now, but he couldn't. Every scream that tore from Roll Cake's throat sliced through Kiwi's heart like a knife. Roll Cake kept begging for Kiwi to kill him, to let him die, to make the hurt in his body and his heart go away.

"Kill me, kill me, kill me, KILL ME!"

And then Roll Cake began choking on thick, toxic purple jelly until he could barely speak, the virus attempting to kill him from the inside out so that he would become an empty shell for it to use. With his last bit of sanity, he looked Kiwi in the eyes and choked out one last desperate plea.

"Kill me… or I'll kill you!" He said in the most broken whisper Kiwi's ever heard.

But Kiwi was still frozen, even as the screams stopped, even as Roll Cake slowly rose to his feet- - Jelly spilling out of his mouth and his eyes, his eyes that glassy neon yellow. Kiwi stood frozen. Even though he was shaking, he was just sitting there, disconnected.

No, no, no. This isn't real. This is a dream- - no, a nightmare. It's just an act. Any second now Roll Cake was gonna grin at him and wipe the Jelly from his mouth. Everyone was going to be okay. Roll Cake would remove the fake jelly and the contacts and the purple body paint and explain how this was all just an elaborate prank. Any second now, Roll Cake. Roll Cake, please, don't let this be real, please- -

Kiwi Bird scratched at Kiwi's cheek, and he finally snapped out of it. With urgency, he called out to Light Bros and Pancake Frisbee.

"Come on! Let's go! Your owners are gone! We need to get you to safety!"

To Kiwi's relief, Pancake Frisbee obeyed, coming to his side. Light Bros, however, was not so easy.

"Light Bros! Come on!"

The Pet wouldn't budge. Both Red and Green seemed to be overcome by despair and hopelessness. Neither of them had the heart to leave Roll Cake. Even if Roll Cake was gone, it seemed, they just couldn't leave his side; not until the bitter end. Kiwi begged them one more time, but they just shook their heads and stayed by Roll Cake.

'Fine, if that's what you want. You were always stubborn, just like him.' Kiwi thought.

With Kiwi Bird and Pancake Frisbee clinging to his helmet, Kiwi hopped onto his motorcycle and raced away- - raced away to solitude, trying his damndest to see through the blur of tears in his eyes. He had to warn everyone. Roll Cake was gone. And who knows how many others. Was there anyone even left in the town? Were they all gone too? Their friends, their families, succumbing to the sickness? Was he the only one left?

The motorcycle's tires almost skidded out from under him, slipping on a puddle of strawberry jam in the street. Shit. He needed to stay focused- - stay focused on getting out of here, on surviving, on finding a fix, a way to bring Roll Cake back, to make everything back to normal again. Or as normal as things could be after this.

He couldn't kill Roll Cake. He couldn't. But… he just hoped that tonight, in that big kitchen up in the sky, Pancake was sleeping soundly, peacefully snuggled next to his brother, who would be singing his favorite lullaby to him. That thought brought him some peace- - maybe the last shred of peace he'd ever know.

That's the chapter! What did you guys think of it? Feel free to drop a comment and let us know!

Which reminds me- - with the two of us working together and a mind storm of ideas, we're finishing the last chapter of this story as I type these notes! So... We're going to speed up the uploading schedule! Now you should expect a chapter to upload on Tuesdays and on Fridays! So stay tuned, and feel free to follow the story to be sure you don't miss out!

Also, can't forget to give a shoutout to our super cool beta readers! This chapter was beta read by worriedindigo and violetinfidel, and you can find them both on Twitter and Tumblr! You can also find violetinfidel on AO3!

Thanks for reading this chapter, me and Fanta are roaring to push out the next one so we'll see you Tuesday!

~Ani