Chapter Text
WELCOME TO WHITE SPACE.
YOU’VE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN REMEMBER.
In the white space, a black and white boy lay. His messy, pure black hair was growing longer. It contrasted heavily with his pure white jersey, but matched with his pitch black shorts. After a moment, he got up. He looked around him, his surroundings familiar.
“Bark! Bark!” Hector yapped excitedly. (Waiting for something to happen?) Hikikel ignored him and wandered up to the door. He stared at it, his face blank, almost eerily expressionless. He tried the knob, but no use. It was locked. He slowly started to pad around the endless expanse of white space, side stepping all the snake like hands slithering around. Finally, he finally found what he was looking for; a orange ball, laying in the middle of nowhere. He tucked it under his arm and walked back to the white door, which had since unlocked. He opened the knob and the world abruptly shifted into a peaceful area with his friends, who were playing cards.
“C’mon little brother, let me look at your hand!” Mari said, laughing. Sunny held his cards even closer, but when he saw Hikikel standing in the doorway, he dropped his cards and wandered over the deck over to him.
“Sunny!” Basil objected. Sunny looked back and looked a bit remorseful.
“Aha! Don’t worry Basil. Hikikel’s here!” Mari said with a smile. She got up as well and stood behind her brother. Hikikel moved past them and approached Basil, who had a worried expression on his face.
“Mmm, hey...” he murmured. “I’m... sorry to bother you, but can you help me find my watering can? I think it’s somewhere around here...” Hikikel nodded and walked casually around the pastel dreamscape. He approached a watermelon and threw his basketball at it, smashing it open. There was Basil’s watering can. He walked back over to Basil, who took the can with a big smile on his face. “My watering can! Where’d you find it?” Hikikel pointed back to the smashed watermelon.
Mari and Sunny approached them. “It was in a watermelon?” Mari laughed. “Hm, I see. I bet Aubrey was the one who hid it. She and Hero came by earlier to make preparations for the picnic.”
“W-what?” Basil said, trying to muster up some indignation. He sighed and shook his head. “Good thing Hikikel found it, or my flowers would’ve wilted...”
“Well, now we’re ready to go!” Mari said, grabbing her brothers hand. Sunny gave a small smile. “Ehe~. I’m excited to see Hero. I bet Sunny’s excited to see Aubrey, too.” Sunny’s ears turned red and he scowled from embarrassment. He didn’t like teasing. Hikikel nodded as the three fell into a line behind him. They went up the rainbow colored stairs and out of the stump.
“Hey! I’m stuck!” Basil cried, trying to wiggle to get out of the stump he was trapped in. Sunny quickly ran and pulled him out. “Aha... thanks Sunny. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” They looked around the gorgeous VAST FOREST.
“Cmon you three. We shouldn’t keep Hero and Aubrey waiting!” Mari said with a smile. They got into a neat line, Hikikel in front. They walked peacefully, Basil occasionally commenting on passing flowers. Eventually, they reached the park, and sat down on the bright red picnic blanket. Hero and Aubrey waved with smiles on their face, but Basil’s arms were crossed.
“Aubrey!” he scolded. “Why’d you hide my watering can? If Hikikel hadn’t found it, all my plants would’ve rotted.” Aubrey stuck out her tongue.
“Well that’s what you get! You made fun of Mr. Plantegg!” she retorted, cuddling the crude plushie closer to her.
“Now, now,” Hero said, smiling gently. “Aubrey, it’s not nice to hide things people care about. But Basil, it’s not nice to insult things that mean a lot to people, either.” Aubrey and Basil nodded and looked at each other remorsefully.
“Sorry for hiding your watering can,” she huffed.
“Sorry for insulting Mr. Plantegg,” Basil said quietly, looking down at a long sunflower and turning it over in his hands. Mari clapped her hands together happily.
“Wow! Everyone is happy again! You’re truly a wonderful mediator, Hero.” she said with a bright grin.
“And an excellent cook!” Aubrey added, her mouth already full with a big bite of a Hero Sandwich. Hikikel nodded and took a big bite of the sandwich to show appreciation for his brother.
Sunny and Basil were eating while looking at Basil’s photo album, Mari and Hero were working on making a new flower crown for him after his wilted, and Hikikel and Aubrey were sitting next to each other in a comfortable silence. She even rested her head on his shoulder. Everything was perfect.
After everyone ate, Aubrey got to her feet excitedly.
“Hey guys! Berly’s about to play a fun game of Hide and Seek!” she said excitedly. Mari looked up from the flower crown she was working on.
“That sounds like a lot of fun, Aubrey! But I’m sort of busy.” She smiled sweetly at Hero, who turned a bit red. Aubrey gave a sly smile.
“Right. Looks like the ones playing with the others will be me, Sunny, Basil, and Hikikel.” Hikikel and Sunny nodded in approval, while Basil gave an excited thumbs up. It was always his favorite game, after all. The group walked over to Berly.
“Hey Berly!” Aubrey called excitedly. “I rounded up a group to play hide and seek!” Berly beamed.
“Yay!” she cheered, her glasses sliding a bit down her face. “Let’s play!”
“Who’ll be the seeker?” Basil asked curiously. Berly thought for a second, then beamed.
“Me and Van will make a killer combo!” she said with a mischievous grin. “The rest of you hide!”
“Can two people really be the seeker?” Aubrey asked. Berly rolled her eyes.
“Yeah! It says so in my version of the rules!” she refuted. She pushed up her glasses smugly. “We’ll count to 60. Everyone else, hide!” Aubrey, Sunny, and Basil darted off in three different directions. Sunny hid in a bush, his thin, shadowy figure easily being concealed. Aubrey effortlessly scaled a tree, and grinned cheekily once she reached the top. Then she disappeared in a flurry of leaves. After a bit of hesitating, Basil hid under the red slide. Hikikel had to think. Where would he hide? He got the perfect idea. He sprinted effortlessly toward the mailbox and ducked in. He realized a little too late how dark it was. He closed his eyes, refusing to see what shadowy figure could await him in the dark.
“READY OR NOT, HERE I COOOOOOOME!” Berly’s shrill voice echoed through the playground. “Basil, did you even try?” Hikikel smiled a small bit. “Mikael, at least try to hide in the tree!” Berly declared more people ‘found’, including Sunny and Aubrey. He was the last one left. He grinned with pride. Finally, after a solid three minutes, Berly and Van gave up, and Hikikel climbed out of the mailbox. He was flooded with congratulations, which he accepted with a nod of approval.
“Wow! I never would’ve known you were there!” Aubrey chattered excitedly. “You were so sneaky!” Sunny gave him a thumbs up, while Basil gave him a pretty flower.
“This is an iris.” he explained. “I found it while waiting for everyone to be found. Its often used to deliver a message. And my message is this: you’re a great friend, Hikikel. We all agree.” Sunny and Aubrey nodded, Aubrey’s affectionate grin spread wide. “So I wanted to deliver this to you. To show that we appreciate your companionship.” Hikikel gave a slim smile. This world was perfect. Everyone loved him.
So why did something feel... off?
He pushed that thought down as he grabbed the flower and weaved it into his jersey.
“It looks great on you!” Aubrey said happily.
“I think Hero and Mari might wanna be alone for a while,” Basil commented drily.
“Hmph! I’m still going back for seconds!” Aubrey called. After a couple seconds, they heard a scream. Hikikel, Sunny, and Basil all ran toward the source, as did Mari, wielding her jump rope.
“Oh no,” Basil whispered, flinching back.
The big, towering bully, Boss, had Aubrey in his grasp.
“BWAHAHAHA! You all thought you could play hide and seek without ME?” he roared bitterly. “I INVENTED hide and seek! And let me tell ya, it’s not the same without the body slamming!” His laugh was gruff and mean. Hikikel gripped his basketball, Basil tucked in his watering can close to his chest, Mari spun her jump rope fiercely in the air, and Sunny grabbed his violin and bow. Together, the four of them entered into a fight with Boss.
Hikikel tossed his basketball right at Boss’s face. It stunned him for a moment and Mari was able to whip him with her jump rope fiercely.
“Put Aubrey down!” she cried in anger. Boss shoved her back and she landed in the dirt, wincing. Basil ran over to her and fed her some healing herbs, helping to raise her health. Sunny played loud, screeching notes on his violin, hurting Boss and making him ANGRY.
Hikikel blinked in confusion. What was happening?
“Ugh, Sunny! Now you’ve done it!” Aubrey called from Boss’s arms. “You made Boss ANGRY! He has higher attack, but lower defense. Use it to your advantage, or you’ll be in trouble!”
Boss let out a big, thundering laugh. “BWAHAHA! You small fry really thought you could defeat ME?! I’ll finish you all right now and here!”
Boss dealt a spinning blow, hitting everyone!
Mari became Toast....
Sunny became Toast....
Basil became Toast....
...
Hikikel did not succumb.
“Hey, what’s going on?!” Boss cried, worried. “What’s with this kid? Why won’t he fall?” Hikikel glared sharply at Boss, and then, without warning, he broke into a sprint. He did a high jump and smashed his basketball into Boss’s face, causing him to fall to the floor with a loud THUMP. Hikikel landed on his feet, stumbling slightly as Hero rushed over.
“Woah. Hikikel! That was awesome!” Hero said excitedly. “You really taught Boss a lesson!” They both looked over at their Toast friends with frowns. “I’ll have to get them fixed up. C’mon!”
Hero healed your wounds with homemade cooking. You and your friends feel as good as new!
“Thanks for rescuing me, Hikikel...” Aubrey muttered, staring at the floor. “I should’ve been more careful.”
“Hey Aubrey, don’t blame yourself! We got a chance to teach that bully a lesson!” Mari replied, wrapping Aubrey into a hug.
“I’m just glad she isn’t hurt.” Basil said with a relieved smile. Sunny nodded fervently. Aubrey thought for a moment.
“I guess that’s true... but he got dirt all over my nightgown! I’ll have to go home and change...”
“We’ll come with you,” Basil offered half heartedly. It was clear he was enjoying the picnic.
“No, it’s fine. I can take care of myself, you know!”
“It’s better to travel in pairs.” Hero said thoughtfully. “Someone should at least go with so you don’t get hurt.” Aubrey sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Fiiiiiine. C’mon Hikikel. I probably trust you the most.” she said, groaning slightly. Hero smiled warmly.
“I’m sure my little brother will do a great job protecting you!” Hikikel gave his brother a hug before standing up and following Aubrey.
“I don’t think you’ve ever been to my house before,” Aubrey said thoughtfully once they were out of the others earshot. “Do you know the way?” Hikikel shook his head. “Right. I’ll lead the way, then.” They walked in a comfortable silence, making an effort to dodge any Lost Sprout Moles they happened to see. After a little bit, they stopped at a surprisingly normal, shabby looking house. Aubrey frowned. “You don’t.... have to go in.” she said quietly. She started to walk toward the door, but she saw something odd and shiny looking in the grass. She frowned curiously as she picked it up, and then her eyes widened in horror as she looked at the bloodstained knife.
“No-! Hero! He’s-!”
Hikikel was abruptly jerked back to White Space. He scowled. This would be an issue. He looked at his basketball, his gaze darkening. He bludgeoned himself until he couldn’t feel his face. Then he passed out from blood loss, his blood staining the pristine white floors.
Kel woke up with a choked breath, sweat pouring down his face. He rubbed his eyes. It was the middle of the night. He saw his answer machine was beeping and clicked on the messages button. A message from his mom started to play.
“Hey sweetie. We got held up at the new house. We’ll be here in 3 days to pick you up. You should say goodbye to your old friends. I’m sure they’ll miss you. I put some steak in the fridge! Be sure to not eat it all! I also have a chores list set out for you. Be sure to do them before we move!” The message ended.
Kel sighed and climbed out of bed, feeling an eerie feeling all around him. He should probably eat. Even if his moms cooking was 10 times worse then Hero’s. He walked down the hall and to the kitchen. Should he warm up the steak? Nah, eating it cold was fine. Kel turned on the kitchen light. He ignored the knife block, as he had for four years. Instead he used a fork to cut it, and struggled heavily. He was done in a matter of minutes. He only ate if he was told to, so of course he was hungry. He put his plate in the dish washer and silently stumbled back to his room, not bothering to turn the light off. As he was passing through the living room, Kel froze. Was that... a knock?
“Hey Kel! It’s me, Hero! I’m back from Mari’s! I forgot to grab my key though.... Mind unlocking the door for me?” Kel was rooted in place. Could it be? No, it wasn’t possible. He took a step back. And then another. Soon he was running down the hall. He felt a hand grab his leg.
No. Not here! Why did it have to appear? He couldn’t... take it. He whirled around, his basketball tucked under his arm. The small, shadowy hand in the floor sprang up, the arm part shark and jagged, like a knife. Kel whimpered and took a step back.
“No.” he whispered, fighting back tears. “I won’t let you win.” The single, bloodshot eye shot open. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” He threw his basketball at the figure. It effortlessly phased through it. Kel was afraid to close his eyes as he kept backing away, whimpering in fear. He had to battle his inner demons every night, this was nothing new. But every night, it hurt even more then the last.
“Remember what I taught you?” a voice in the back of his head whispered. “Replace what you’re scared of with something you love.” Kel shut his eyes closed and pictured his little sister. He wouldn’t screw up with her. He’d protect her, and make sure that she wouldn’t end up buried at the church. He loved Sally like he loved Hero. Kel slowly opened his eyes, and the demon was gone. He let out a relieved breath as he cautiously walked to his room. He tucked himself back into bed and remembered to breath as he drifted off, old memories from before the day it all went wrong swirling through his head.
...
WELCOME TO WHITE SPACE.
YOU’VE BEEN LIVING HERE FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN REMEMBER.