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Cookies. That’s what she first thought. Not her name, not her friends, just cookies. Cookies.
Was she floating? She felt like she was floating.
Her next thought was, Wilbur?
She looked around. Everything was dark and dense. Her eyes were blurry. She blinked. She was in a forest. The floor was surprisingly warm, despite being in a dew-covered forest. She looked down and realized she wasn’t touching the floor. She actually was floating.
It took no effort at all to float down to the forest floor. Luckily, she was wearing shoes, but she could tell the floor was wet with leftover rainwater.
She realized she forgot her name.
She smelt the air. It was warm, surprisingly warm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The sound of bees buzzed.
Niki Nihachu.
There it was. It seemed so obvious now. What other name could she have? It felt nice, and warm, and soft. She liked that name.
She walked – well, floated – around. It was nice floating. Felt like sitting with cotton candy.
Niki hummed a song as she went along. She wasn’t sure how she knew it m̷̢̭̼͍̩̔̑̄y̶͍̹̯̘̼̳͑̿̔ ̷͓̤͔̪͚̲͙̍̒̔̔͜͠͠l̷̤̿̏̏͂̎̈́͘̕'̷͈̝̙̙̇̇̐̎m̶̼̎̅̈̅̈̊̌̚ą̶̬̗͍̞̩͒̓̍͋͘ǹ̸̢̛͔̻̬̠̠̂̎̓̾͋̈͘ḃ̴̨̻̙̫̗͋̓́͆͑̃͝ű̴͇̳̭̇͐̾̐̒̑̕r̴̝̳͉̹̃̍̀̊̑͗͗̕ģ̵̥̭̱̪͚̻̂̋̓̒̅̑̇͛ but she knew it was important.
She finally saw the high wooden walls. Curious, she floated over.
ĭ̸̥̟̥́̂͜ ̵̨̡̈́h̵̯̞͑̎̄e̷̹̊̓a̵͇̤̯͘̕r̴̝̲̪͛̀̊̕d̵̖͆ ̵͇̲̘̦̅̉̔͘t̷̹̘̜̎͜h̶͙̯́̾̈́̀a̴͚͖̺̔͒t̵̲͕͛ ̸̨̫̼̪̐t̴̯̞̥̆h̸̩͓̟̑̽ẻ̵̺̘̒̆͝ṙ̸̦͙͇̃e̴̮̯̐̈́̊̎ ̸̗̟̺̈ẃ̶̘̻a̸̯̖̱͊̾ͅš̸̜ ̶̝̽͝a̸̼̝͕̮̾͆͗ ̸̧̫͎̀͛̏s̸͔̥̮͝p̴͚͉͓̂̑̆͘͜e̷̹͌͂c̵̮͛̀i̷̛̞̞͆̿͝a̴̡͊l̶͉̦͐̔ ̸̗̰̓͆̊̒p̷̛̲͌͑̍l̸̪͙̬͋̒̈́͌͜a̵̡̹̜̅c̸̩̘̩̝̐̽̏̃ḛ̶͓̈́̑̾͑
There wasn’t anybody around, apart from one man with a beanie. She didn’t remember him.
w̵̖̮̠̦͂͜ḩ̴̰͔̟̭̚ẻ̵̖̤̄r̷̨̙͖̺̩̗̽͑e̶̮̟͐̕ ̷̧͖̬̉͝m̶̨̧̗̳̜͛̽̎̀͛͋e̸͓͖͓̙͈͒n̸̡̦̼̦̰̤͐͋͝ ̵̝͉̭̯͛͝c̵̞̦̘̞͋̕ō̸̢͔̟͐̋ͅu̶̱͖̹̺͔͌̿͒̂l̶͙̝͇̙̫͊̆̿͆͛̕d̴͕͋̍̓͝ ̷̡̲̟̳̩̟̋͒̏g̷̻͓̳̲̎̾͂̆o̴͔͍̿͗̉ ̸̧̭͓̲̈ͅa̷̢̼̰͗̂̋̈͝͝n̶̺̞̥̦͌̈́̕d̵̖̥́̒ ̵͔͚̠̮̻̈́ȩ̷̯͕̯͛̓̇͜͜m̸̹͈͕̠̫͊̿͒̉̃͐ą̷̢̼̣̂͗̌͗̂n̵͇͎̞̝̟̪̆̆̋͆c̵̨̬̫̮͂̎̕͜i̴̹̪̺͕̕̕p̸̧̣̭͉̮͔̍̈́̆̈́á̵͙̣̋ṱ̶͍̮̳̇͛͋ȅ̵͉͍̲̗̐̔͝
Oh, and looking further, there was a fox – a human fox? – standing in front of a grave. He plopped down a cookie and a piece of bread. Fundy! She thought.
Smiling, she thought she ought to approach him. Before she could, however, Wilbur appeared in front of her. He was slightly transparent
like her
and looked as happy and young as he had before the election.
The Election…
t̴̛̫̮̠̳͇͌͆̆ḧ̵̡̩͚̙̭́͑e̸̤̰̫͗̈ ̷͉̺͓̲͌͆ͅb̴̞̤͎͇̏͗͛̎͗͜r̵̻̪̯̈́̓͊͝u̴̲͍̻͑͋͜ṫ̵̻̪̥̗̖̳͌̇̚̕a̸̻̩̓̊̏̚͠l̶͍͒̆ȉ̵̧̢̩̯͍̓t̵̠̬̾̔̕͜y̵͔̰͕̫ ̸̻͖̱̳̎͛́̓ǎ̵̢̢̼̈́̒ͅn̴͇͔͖̟͚̑̍͌͝ͅd̴͈͈͒͐͗͘͝ ̶̜̪͎͋͐͜͜t̶͖̅h̷̳̖̣̞̠̰͆̔è̶͍̯̟͓̬̎ ̵̡̺̘̝͚̏͋t̵̡̗͇͇̥̟͒̀͑y̵̨̞̑̊r̴͈̚a̴̰̳̣̩̐̏͆͝ņ̸̬̺̞͌̒̅͑n̴͎̝̔̀́͘y̷̘͓͈̌͛̅̂͠ ̶̡̤̈́o̸̝̜̯̔f̴̦͔̹̔͐ ̵̭̇̓̀̎̿͜ͅt̶͕̲̣̜͆͊͆̌h̸͚͍͔̝̦̃͌͗͗ȇ̷͓̹͗̇̔͝i̶͚͓͋͌̋̋͘r̴̨͓̗͉̓̐͐͜ ̷̝͉̳̒̅r̶̢̛̛̝̄̽͆u̸̧̠̤̤̦̔̈́͒͒̚l̵͙̼̹͔̲̇͋̈̐̇ȅ̵͚̔̊r̸͕̺̓s̵͇̺̦̜͂̈́̿͝
Her mood dampened, but brightened up immediately at seeing him.
“Niki!” He cried.
“Will!” She shouted back.
They embraced. To others, Wilbur would have been cold, but to her, he was the warmest thing she had felt all day.
“Oh, I’m so happy to see you! Wait ‘till you see how much it’s changed. L’Manberg is amazing! They’ve even kept a little space for your bakery!” He told her excitedly, grabbing her by the hand. “Look! See?” He pointed at a little gap between buildings, the best place for her bakery. She gasped. Oh, they planned it all! She could get building tomorrow, and maybe make a few pies, even, and-
“..Niki?” came a croak. She looked round to see Fundy and the beanie man there. Fundy’s ears were low down. She wasn’t sure why he was sad. The beanie man looked almost equally distraught, and his fist was clenched.
“Fundy!” She cried, wrapping her arms around Fundy. God, she forgot how tall he was now! Gone were the days when she was able to pick him up and carry him around under her arm. He flinched at her transparent skin, like it was boiling hot. “Did you plan this?” She asked, teasing slightly, gesturing to the free space.
“We- Niki- Did- You- I-” She looks at the beanie man questioningly as he began to list the pronouns of the English language.
Eventually he stopped, and Fundy’s furry paws grabbed her wrists. “Niki, do you remember me?” He asked seriously. Niki laughed.
“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I, silly?” Niki asked. Fundy’s shoulders slumped in relief, and he let out a breath.
“What about me?” The beanie man asked hopefully. She looked over at him, trying to place him somewhere. The beanie seemed familiar, but apart from that…
She frowned, closing her eyes to think better. Eventually she opened them and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t. I’m sure you’re really nice though.” She added kindly.
The man gestured hopelessly at his body. “Come on! You know me! Big Q? Quackity?”
She giggled. “That’s a funny name.”
“Yes!” He said, pointing excitedly at her. “That’s what you said when we met!”
She frowned. She had no recollection of this man. “I’m sorry, I still don’t- I don’t know you.”
Wilbur shook his head sadly. The man – Quackity – looked close to tears. Niki, somehow, felt guilty that she didn’t remember him. She frustratedly knocked on her temple, as if that would solve anything.
Wilbur ruffled her hair. “Hey, it’s okay. I have amnesia too! Look, amnesia buddies!” He smiled, then his eyes lit up like he’d had an idea. “Hey! What if we go on like, a trip!”
Quackity spluttered and Niki giggled, but Fundy remained silent.
“Not that kind of trip.” He added, chuckling. “Like, a mini-quest to remember stuff!”
Niki gasped gleefully. “Yes, yes! What do you remember?”
“Hmm.. Well, you, obviously, the smell of bread, Fundy growing up, I mean, of course-” They fangirl together about their memories until they hear a voice. Well, two voices, to be exact.
“Niki…” two voices say in unison.
A brunette and a blonde seemed to have appeared out of thin air, somehow.
Bees, she thought. For some reason, that thought made a sharp pain appear in her abdomen. She clutched it, groaned softly. Memories come flashing before her very eyes.
"̶̥͙̥̽͆͋̍̕N̴͍̖̅͛͛i̸̳͔͍̊͋́͠ͅk̷̭̾̄̊̌͛i̴͙̾,̸̗̻̬͖̟͆͐ ̶̟̻̽͂r̶͚͑̈͂̕͘ͅù̸̩̙̙͠n̷͓̖̻͛͗̋,̴̧͚͉́̽̐̋̇̅ ̸̯̖͇̓̌͝j̸̢̥̎͒u̶̙̦̟̯͌̑̍͘͜s̴̢̭̰͙̲̀ͅt̶̜͍̼̣͈̑͊̈́͌̚ ̶̯͕̺͎̎ŕ̸͈̦͗̀̊͒̚u̷̺͕̇ṋ̴̩̘͈͉̤͗͗͛.̴͔̬͙͓͈̏̓͗̄͜"̴̱͗̚
"̷̢̪͕̗͔͉̊̀̓F̴̙͕̿I̶͚̟͌̂͌̆̕R̸̜̦̻͈̉̑́̕Ȩ̸̛̯̟͓̘̄́!̴̰̭͓̩̳̰͊"̴̜͔̣̪̘̪̑̈́̔̾̈́͌
“Niki! Are you alright?” Wilbur asks urgently. “Niki!”
Before she can grasp them, make sense of them , the memories slip away. She blinked. Everything’s blurry. She blinked again.
“Yeah, Will- Sorry- Don’t know what- Tubbo! Tommy!” She exclaimed joyfully, seeing the two boys. “Jesus Christ, Tommy, when did you get so tall?”
“I’ve- I’ve always been this height. What- Do you remember me?” Tommy asked doubtfully. Tubbo’s eyes were shining with tears.
“Why wouldn’t I remember my boys?” Niki asked, confused. “Of course I remember you both. Why is everyone-?”
“Amnesia, remember?” Will reminded her.
“Oh, yeah. Who’s president? Why is everything so different? Why’s Will...?” The word died on her tongue. Luckily, Tubbo and Tommy seem willing to answer her questions, and also seem to understand.
“I’m president.” Tubbo said, with a hint of pride in his voice. “Everything’s different because… Wilbur… blew up the old L’Manberg, but that’s good, because we’ve made it bigger and better than before!”
He said it nervously, glancing at Wilbur like he might hit him. Wilbur just shrugs. Niki can hardly believe that Will would seriously do anything like that.
“And, Will… Well… He died in the explosion.” He murmured. “And… do you remember? Like, the Election, the Festival?”
Tubbo shuddered and held his arms protectively over his body. Not sure why, she answered, “Not really. I remember landing fourth in the Election with Fundy-” She waved at Fundy and grinned appreciatively. He tried to grin, but instead it looked like he had a toothache. “and then- I don’t remember much. I remember… Hmm, well I remember being happy because you were happy preparing the Festival.”
“Yeah, it… It didn’t end well.” Tubbo mumbled.
“But anyways, do you remember anything after? The Explosion?”
She shook her head. She was starting to get tired of these questions. She only had one left; when could she build her bakery?
“Niki, it’s- It’s probably best you come look at this.” Tommy said. Niki followed them all, curious. Eret and Ranboo – yes! She remembered her names! – was by a gravestone, the same one Fundy was at. Eret had placed a new piece of cookie down near the grave, while Ranboo, her brother, had placed bread with Chorus Fruit inside (her favorite!).
“Move, Niki’s here.” Fundy said rudely. Ranboo and Eret did a double take at her, gaping at her. She moved down to look at the gravestone.
It was polished a polished white, with decorative wool placed around it. There was a Lily of the Valley, placed on top of the gravestone, but around it was bread, cookies, pies, a collar, but mostly bread and cookies.
There was writing on it. It must have been recent, because it wasn’t faded at all. Or well looked after.
Niki Nihachu
2001-2020
Slain by Jschlatt on the 8 th of October
- Lily of the Valley, as chosen by Wilbur Soot and Fundy Soot, that represents delicacy and kindness.
Niki gasped, heaving heavy breaths. She couldn’t have… She wasn’t… She…
“Ich bin tot.” I’m dead.