Chapter Text
Chapter 6: Lost in the Shadows
Emmet Brickowski slowly opened his eyes, ready to awaken to the beginning of a brand new day. At least, that's what he was hoping for. That's what he had been hoping for the last…what seemed like an eternity for him. He couldn't remember much anymore. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he flew out of his tiny spaceship-house and was flung into Reality. He had slid onto the strange and terrifying planet Undar of the Dryar System. And there he had stayed.
His eyes, newly opened, saw the familiar sights of the strange wood flooring collecting dust all around him. It was quiet for now – once in a while, the Dryar System howled such ferocious and loud winds that hurt Emmet's ears. He would have gladly covered them up…if he wasn't frozen in place on the floor, with no way to move.
This day could not end quickly enough for him, and it had only just started. He sighed, although nothing audible came out from his mouth – it was as if someone had super-glued his mouth shut. He couldn't move…he couldn't scream, although it wasn't for a lack of trying. Worst of all, he was all alone. He could see images and flashes of light as what appeared to be his friends were dancing and partying, all in the hands of these giant flesh monsters.
If Emmet could shudder now, he would. He had been in their hands once before, he remembered. Or at least, that's what he thought he remembered. Time had become so monotonous and long for him that it was starting to affect his long-term memory. Slowly, his memories of home were vanishing, and his desperate attempts to escape from this awful place grew stronger and stronger in his heart.
He did remember that he had been frightened, at the very beginning. He was afraid of the circumstances that he found himself in – sure, he wasn't dead, there was that. But it was almost as if he were dead, in a sense. This didn't become clear to him until he saw the flesh creatures playing with his friends. He could overhear what adventures they were having – parties, dancing, celebrations…Emmet's heart panged. He had wanted that, too, for so long. Those are my favorite things to do…with all of them, he thought to himself. And they were doing all of it without him. It was as if he didn't exist for them anymore. His heart and core tightened as it slowly began to dawn on him that there was no place for him in that world they were a part of. Not anymore. All he could do now was lie where he was, and watch. It was pure torture, knowing that there was no purpose for his existence anymore. There was no place for him among his friends…for Lucy, especially. She looked so happy, he noticed. Was she really happiest without him? After a long while, he reluctantly admitted that she was.
He was once called The Special…a man named Emmet Brickowski, a construction worker – someone who always joyfully followed the rules, who wanted to be friends with everyone, and unite everyone.
Now, on this desolate planet, all alone…he wasn't sure what he was anymore. He wasn't sure who he was anymore.
Scratches were heard far behind him; if he could still move, he would shudder. He had no idea what lay behind him, deep in the dark. He only had the world in front of him to look over and stare at…for all eternity. Now that the scratches were gradually becoming louder and closer, Emmet couldn't help but wonder what was making those sounds, and if it had any interest in him.
As quickly as they had begun, however, the noises ceased. Emmet slowly felt his insides relax; he had no idea he had tensed up so much by those noises. In a way, he was excited for the new sensation – it was refreshing and new from the deep-pitted sadness and anger that had gradually been building up inside of him for who knew how long.
Suddenly, before he had a chance to redirect his thoughts back on his current circumstances, a giant brown thing pounced on his side. Claws dug into Emmet's sides, scratching him. Emmet thought he was too petrified to react, when in reality he still couldn't move or speak due to his present condition. That didn't stop him from looking up at the creature, as it plopped Emmet onto his back from his side. It was large –at least twice as large as he was. It had beady black eyes that only accentuated its terrifying countenance to Emmet.
This is it… Emmet thought desperately. It's going to eat me…or worse!
It didn't cross his mind that a large rat had no interest in consuming a plastic construction worker. It still didn't help when the rat's large mouth opened and it started to wrap its jaws around Emmet's neck – the thinnest part of his body.
It was only stopped when a grappling hook came and struck the rat across the face, scaring it off of Emmet. The rat scrambled back deeper in the shadows into the hole in the wall, until no trace of it remained in view.
Emmet now wished he was back on his side to see who had come to his rescue. Could it be…? The one he had been hoping for, wishing to see…?
…Could it be her?
Lucy?
His question was answered when a navy boot was planted on Emmet's side, and a helmeted figure reached over him. He looked like some kind of strange astronaut.
Maybe he was sent by Benny? Emmet thought. He could feel his heart sink somewhat from disappointment. He was hoping that one of his friends - or what he thought were his friends – would come and rescue him themselves.
Emmet had daydreamed the pictured moment many times for many, many days. He had imagined a group effort lead by Lucy creating a stampede, blocking obstacles from their path, in order to reach him. The journey would have been perilous – what other reason could there have been for the journey to take as long as it had? Lucy would have reached him, confidence in her eyes, but comfort and reassurance in her hand as she reached out to pull Emmet up. They would have then make their way back to Apocalypseburg, and everyone would have resumed their old lives again.
Those dreams were dashed when he saw Lucy and the others befriending the Systarans and their queen – the queen that had captured them in the first place! He watched them dance and party with one another – Emmet was almost certain that they had to be brainwashed. Batman? Party? Never. Neither would Lucy's hair be shiny and blue – it just wasn't her.
He felt helpless watching them under this state, but more than that, he felt upset…which turned into loneliness. And that loneliness gradually began churning into a deep-seated anger.
Now that anger had dissipated into shock and surprise, as he gazed up at his rescuer.
"Who are you?" he wanted to ask. Until he found that he couldn't – his body and face were still paralyzed; an unfortunate side effect of being stuck inside Reality.
The stranger spoke first. "We need to get you out of here," a clear, male voice told him. If he was affected by Reality's pull, he didn't show any sign of it. The strange astronaut grabbed Emmet and helped pull him up. The astronaut kept his grappling hook up at his side, ready to use it at any point again. He walked backwards, supporting Emmet up as he did so.
Even if Emmet could speak again at this point, he found that he was at a loss for words. He was finally getting rescued! How long had it been? Had the stranger been sent by his friends, or did he somehow spot him hidden in the dark and felt the need to retrieve him? Did he know the way back to Apocalypseburg?
Emmet felt a pang in his heart again. …Did he even want to go back again, at this point? Emmet let his thoughts stir and become even more muddled as the stranger continued to pull him further out of Undar. When they finally reached the light, the astronaut showed incredible dexterity, hopping quickly from one area of the room to another within moments, carefully grasping Emmet all the while. Neither of them noticed the black, beady pair of eyes watching them from nearby.
The rat was a coward, but it was no quitter. It had been tasked with a job to do, and it was committed to following it through to completion.
It had found the lone figure, abandoned and helpless, just as it was told he would be. He had been alone for so long that he was beginning to collect several layers of dust. Poor thing, the rat thought…or it would have thought, if it could think. It didn't have time to think – thinking belonged to the being that owned him. The being that wanted this construction worker for his own devices, just like he had wanted the rat. The rat had a role to play.
So did Emmet Brickowski.
Once the mysterious savior and Emmet were out of the rat's sight, it turned around and headed back through the hole in the wall. Deep in the wall and into the house it ran and crawled. Back to its master, to relay the latest news. Then it would be told what to do next. One thing was obvious to the rat for sure, though. Its master needed Emmet Brickowski. For what reason, only the Master knew. The rat was simply the courier.
Once it had reached its destination, the rat relaxed its posture. It was ready to relay its information, but only when its Master deemed he was ready. They were inside a bowl-shaped area; what little light penetrated revealed a small figure gazing up at the opposite wall.
The Master took his time to turn to face the rat. There was no rush – no hurry. Everything would take its correct course, if only if his plan was not rushed. Rushing caused others to make mistakes, to be sloppy. He would be careful not to do so, if his plan was to see the light of day.
"So? What news?" The Master finally asked his servant, his voice deep and gravelly, as if it were seldom used.
The rat quickly approached its master, twitching its twisted whiskers and squeaking rapidly, using a language only The Master and itself were able to understand.
"So…he managed to escape from Undar after all," The Master mused quietly. "Well done. Continue keeping tabs on them. If and when you see an opportunity that Brickowski is alone, or a moment of weakness between the two, capture him and bring him to me. Nevermind about the other one – do with him what you wish."
The rat shook its head to give a semblance of a nod, then hurried out as quickly as it had come in.
Chortling laughter broke through the silence, almost stunning the Master…if he was able to become stunned, that is. Latched onto the wall was a skeleton, shaking in its chains as it continued howling with boisterous laughter. "Can't stand the quiet anymore, can'tcha Sherriff? If I knew you were this lonely, I'd have really cranked up the volume! You only had to ask!"
The Master turned and stepped closer to the skeleton. Although he had long been his prisoner, they had also been each other's only company for a good long while. It was because of this that the skeleton knew which buttons he could press to really irritate the Master. It was also because of this that the Master felt inclined to reveal his plan to him, if only a small portion.
He smiled at his prisoner. "How long has it been since I've trapped you here, Ribsy? Two days? Two months? Two years?"
The skeleton stopped laughing at once. He and the Master both knew that they had both lost their sense of time, lost in the shadows for as long as they had been. For the person the Master tauntingly called Ribsy (for in truth, the skeleton had long forgotten his original given name), it was almost more than he could take. Hanging trapped on the wall deep in the shadows…he began laughing. And he hadn't stopped laughing since, if only to keep himself going a little while longer.
"That construction worker is like us…cast aside, adrift. It's up to me to rescue him, and to show him the truth. Show him the potential of what he could be." The Master smiled. It was a terrifying smile, one that lacked sincerity and warmth. "With his help, you won't be alone anymore. And with my help, he'll realize that his place is here. And he'll be happy. We'll all be happy."
For the first time in a very long time, Ribsy was speechless. He knew the Master was deranged. It was clear just by looking at him – every piece of him was mismatched. Nothing about him made sense, from his appearance, to how his mind worked. He was fractured…broken. For some reason that continued to confound Ribsy, the Master clearly thought Emmet was broken, just like he was.
Once the strange astronaut deemed they were safe from any nearby danger, he set Emmet down gently. He took his helmet off for the first time, allowing the stiff Emmet to take a good look at him. His features were sharp and rugged (in comparison to Emmet's soft, babyish face). His hair was dark and messy (in comparison to Emmet's light and well-groomed crown). His clothes were edgy with dark colors (in comparison to Emmet's bright orange construction suit).
"I think we're as safe as we're gonna get," the mysterious stranger said, speaking for the both of them than just Emmet.
Emmet was still helpless in his current state – although he was aware of his surroundings and what was happening in front of him, his body was still paralyzed. The stranger noticed this and quickly got to work.
"Don't worry," he told him gently. "I'll get you up and feeling like yourself in no time." He wasted no time grabbing Emmet's right arm and beginning to rub it. He rubbed faster and faster, the friction creating warmth for Emmet's frozen body. "This'll get the life juice in ya to start pumping again," the stranger explained. "Start moving anything as soon as you feel the heat growing." Emmet listened and waited as the stranger continued to rub his arms and then his legs. He went back and forth many times, rubbing quickly before moving on to the next appendage. After what seemed like an eternity for Emmet, he began feeling sensations in his fingers and toes. He tried moving them as the astronaut continued rubbing. Their efforts were eventually rewarded as Emmet slowly (but finally!) could move his arms and legs again.
"I…I…." He whispered. It had been so long since he last spoke. Back when he was in his little spaceship house that had crashed into the Stair Gate.
The stranger hushed him, urging him to relax. "You're been through a lot, being on Undar. Save your strength. You'll need it when we keep on moving."
Emmet nodded and slowly let his body relax. The stranger then looked around before turning back to him. "I'm going to build us a fire. Be okay until I get back?" Emmet could only nod again, still too stunned and exhausted to speak. The stranger then leaped away in just a couple of quick bounds. Emmet finally slipped into unconsciousness, entering a peaceful slumber for the first time since he had been trapped on Undar.
The rat couldn't believe its luck – it had Emmet Brickowski in its sights, just hours after first losing him. It crawled closer behind him, quietly but quickly, so that it wouldn't be spotted.
A sudden blow struck its face, stopping it in its path. The rat shook off the pain and looked at its attacker. The astronaut flew above it, its jetpack powered on, allowing him the freedom to breeze past the rat, and around. "Stay away!" The astronaut hissed.
The rat studied the mysterious rescuer – although it was not skilled in observing facial expressions, it was clear that the spaceman was furious.
"You leave him alone!" The stranger shouted, shooting his blaster at the rat. It evaded the shots, and quickly climbed some ledges in order to get a closer range of its target. The rat's mission was clear to it, at this point: Disable the annoying spaceman, retrieve Emmet Brickowski, and bring him to its Master.
An attempted jump was stunted when the astronaut punched the rat in the back midway, causing the rat to stumble down. Seeing this as an opportunity for another escape, he raced back where he left Emmet, quickly picked him up, and used his jetpack for a quick getaway, hoping he would be able to reach safety and be out of sight before the rat was able to study their movements again.
Emmet, for his part, twitched his hand – the sensations in his body were getting stronger the further along they moved.
Hours later, in a dark hiding spot, Emmet sat up for the first time by himself in what seemed like a lifetime for him. His rescuer had built a fire, to keep them both safe and warm. The stranger was rapidly checking their surroundings, fierce determination written on his face. "We can't stay here for too long. Or anywhere." He stood up and paced. "That thing will be after us. We need to keep moving, as soon as you're able to get some rest."
He winced suddenly, his face contorted in pain. Emmet gasped – had he been injured in his bout with the creature? "Are you okay?" he whispered. It felt strange being able to talk again – it was coarse and rough; it would take some time for him to be able to sound like himself again.
"I'm…I'm fi-" He inhaled sharply, his features tightening future. He grabbed both sides of his head and started breathing quickly. Emmet felt his own heart racing; there was no one near enough to help them both. Suddenly, the rapid breathing stopped and the stranger opened his eyes wide. He dropped his hands by his side, and his body noticeably relaxed.
He turned to face Emmet with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry about that. That's the second time that's happened so far."
"The second?"
The astronaut sat down by the fire, next to Emmet. "Yeah. It…kind of comes out of nowhere. I get this feeling like a giant hammer is hitting the front of my skull, and the wind is whistling through my ears." He chuckled. "It's pure agony."
"…I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's how I was able to find you."
Emmet cocked his head sideways, confused.
"See, there's someone that talks to me then. Or…that's what it feels like. I dunno. It's like I hear a voice." He chuckled nervously. "Now I really sound like a crack-pot. But a voice really did tell me to come find you. And there you were, like it said you would be. It told me to come and rescue you."
"Rescue me?" Emmet repeated. He could feel his heart sink a bit – although he was relieved he had been rescued, he was hoping that his friends had had a part in that rescue. "You mean…you weren't sent by Lucy and the others?"
"…Lucy?" The stranger put on a perplexed look on his face. A few moments of silence passed before he spoke again. "…It…it sounds familiar. That name. But no, I don't think I was sent by Lucy."
"…Oh."
"But, hey, that doesn't mean Lucy isn't looking for you, Emmet!"
"Wait…how do you know my name?" Emmet asked.
"The voice told me to 'find Emmet.' 'Protect Emmet.' Somehow, I knew where to find you, and somehow I knew that Emmet was you."
"'Somehow?'" Emmet repeated.
"Here's the real kicker." The spaceman leaned closer to Emmet. "I don't remember anything past this morning."
"WHAT?"
"Yup. It's true. Everything from my life from before today – it's a total blank." He knocked his skull with his knuckles. "But that doesn't mean we don't have anything to go on. I was sent on a mission to rescue you – I know that much. Maybe I know Lucy too. Maybe she's the one that sent me out to find you, and I just don't remember."
Emmet didn't answer; he wasn't sure how accurate this testimony was that this stranger was offering him.
The spaceman reached out his hand. "I'm Rex, by the way. Rex Dangervest – Galaxy-defending, archeologist, raptor-training, and cowboy-extraordinaire!"
Emmet grasped Rex's hand. "I'm Emmet. Emmet Brickowski..." He paused for a moment, trying to think of something to match up Rex's incredible record. "Emmet Brickowski, the um…Special. I'm The Special."
"Nice to meet you, The Special. And Emmet, you look like someone pretty special."
"Really?" Emmet grinned hopefully – his first smile in what was likely forever for him.
"Sure!" Rex laid on his side. "Time to crash now, Special. First sign of daylight, we're out of here to find Lucy and your other friends. We can't stay too long in one place – we're being hunted. Just take it easy, Brickowski. I'll look after you."
"Right. Thanks, Rex." Emmet yawned loudly and laid down as well. "G'Night!"
It was night by the time the festival activities finally wound down. As Unikitty and the others began dismantling the sets and rides, Lucy said she would head down to the Dream House to check on Emmet. They hadn't seen him since he left to take his treasure back up there.
He must have decided to rest up, she thought. I don't blame him. All of this might have been too much for one guy. I wonder if he liked what we put in the chest?
Her thoughts stopped, though, when she saw a shadow in front of her. She had to walk closer to realize it was a body. And it wasn't just anyone that had just passed out – it was Emmet.
She chuckled, thinking that perhaps he had fallen asleep on his way back to the house. The treasure chest lay next to him, unopened.
She prodded his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. "Emmet? It's me, Lucy. Come on, time to get up. You'll get sick if you keep sleeping on the ground like that."
No movement.
She prodded him again, a little harder this time. "Em? Come on, let's go home." Emmet fell limp again, and she suddenly felt a cold chill run down her back. She finally noticed that he wasn't snoring, or breathing much in any regard. She leaned down next to him, placing her ear on his chest. His pulse was present, but very, very faint.
Lucy was petrified. She picked up his shoulders and shook him hard, his head rocking back in forth. She screamed his name in his face. No reaction. He was in a deep sleep, like a coma. Like death, almost.
She shakily rose up and lifted Emmet. She wasn't sure where to take him, but she knew he needed help. The only thing she could think of doing was to carry him back to the house and summon their friends to let them know what happened. The treasure chest lay behind, abandoned and forgotten.