Mango had tended to forget what exactly he was in The Nether for.
He hadn't exactly given it that much thought.
Although...well, he should. He was doing this for the one person who'd given him reasons to live.
After...she...passed, he'd had only one reason to live.
And he was gone.
Sucked up by the very thing he was inside of.
Mango glances at his staff, then at his reflection in a passing window.
He's sure he can see Gold's reflection behind him, smiling brightly.
"Oh, Gold..."
The reflection vanishes. Mango's eyes widen.
"Gold-!"
"DAD! HELP ME!"
Mango looks around the hall wildly, glad he's alone in there. He glances around for the screams. Where they're coming from.
WHERE ARE THE COMING FROM?!
"GOLD?! I'M HERE, BABY, I'M HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Mango's voice catches. Tears fall down his cheeks against his will.
Mango's breath catches in his throat. He ends up choking on it. His entire body is trembling. His chest tightens up, leaving his breaths short and gasped out, when he doesn't end up choking on them.
Mango chokes on a sob, and tries to regain his footing, grabbing the windowsill to ease his shaking legs and use that as a support.
Only, his legs give out. Mango stumbles, clutching at his hair as he tries to desperately suck in a real breath.
He fails, and he collapses against the opposite wall, his vision blurry with tears, his head in excruciating pain, and his entire body wracked with trembles and sobs.
And Mango can only slump against the wall, sliding down and burying his head in his knees.
And sob.
Purple isn't entirely sure what catches their interest.
It's either the sudden feeling of dread. Or the sounds of devastated sobs.
...Okay, Purple's sure it's the second one.
Instinctively, and curiously, Purple flies down from the roof and starts glancing around, finally seeing King in one of the corridors.
...Only, he's sobbing into his knees, trembling, and clutching at his hair like he wants to rip it out.
"King!"
Purple flies through the window, sliding to their knees in front of him. Their first instinct is to grab his hands so he doesn't go through and rip his hair out. Instead of leaving them both be, Purple holds one of them tight, tracing circles into the older one's skin, the other holding his wrist.
"King, hey, it's me. It's Purple. Can you breathe?"
Purple knows from experience that the last thing King probably needs right now is for them to freak out.
The trembling slowly subsides, and King lifts his head up to stare at Purple.
"...Gold...?"
Purple blinks.
Who's...
"Who is-"
King suddenly pulls them into a hug-something Purple would have never expected King to do-sobbing.
"Gold...oh, Gold, my little sunflower, I missed you..."
Purple hesitantly returns the hug, sensing that he probably wanted it. "It's okay, it's okay...I'm here, your okay..."
King only hugs them tighter.
Purple rubs his back, trying to calm him down in any way they can.
King pulls them close, combing affectionate and comforting fingers through their hair. They're slightly stunned by the sudden show of affection, but King was just having a panic attack earlier, and he keeps calling them Gold...so maybe they could just let it happen.
Purple leans into the affection. (God, how long has it been since they'd been given real affection.)
"It's okay, King...it's okay..."
King holds them, whispering something into their hair.
Purple then realized it's a song.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."
Purple's heart melts.
"You make me happy, when skies are grey..."
"You'll never know, dear, how much I love you..."
Purple feels themself getting tired. They don't care.
They just let themselves fall into the sweet release of sleep as King sings.
"Please don't take...my sunshine away..."
When had Mango fallen asleep?
Mango rubbed at his eyes, wondering how, when, and why he'd gotten so tired all of a sudden.
"What the..." Mango suddenly becomes aware of the feeling of something laying against him.
It's Purple, sound asleep, laying against his chest.
One of Mango's hands is softly petting their hair.
In any other circumstance, Mango would've been confused. In this, he thought it was adorable.
Something clicks in his head, and Mango suddenly remembers what happened.
"Oh..."
Had he really thought Purple was Gold?
And Purple let him?
Purple stirs, causing Mango to flinch. His hand suddenly leaves Purple's head, instead moving to their arms to help them sit more comfortably.
"Easy there, kid."
Purple blinks in confusion, still slightly disoriented from suddenly being jolted awake, before the two make eye contact.
And Purple dissolves into panic.
"Oh God I'm so sorry you were panicking and I tried to help I didn't mean to fall asleep I'm so sorry I-"
"Hey. Calm down. I fell asleep too. Your not the only one." Mango loosens his grip on their arms.
Purple stares at him in what he can only assume is shock before they nod.
Mango pulls them both to their feet, and Purple starts heading down the hallway, re-equipping their elytra.
Mango watches them leave, the melody he'd apparently sung them to sleep with earlier still ringing in his head.
"Hey, Purple?"
Purple turns back to look at him.
Mango can only give them a smile. "...Thank you."
Purple maintains a glance at them before remembering what he meant. "...Your welcome."
And with that, they disappear into another corridor, and Mango is left standing there, ignoring the soft smile on his face.