Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

White, blinding white, nothing like the soft colorlessness of Whitespace. Sunny woke up in a hospital room tears still staining his cheek from the fading reminiscences of Mari. It was finally time to tell everyone what really happened on that night four years ago. The room was devoid of all color save for a single white Tulip sitting near his bed, the edges of the petals browning from lack of care, the green of the stem adding colour to the bland room. Sunny pushed himself up from his bed and pulled the I.V.'s from his arm a soreness spreading throughout his arm from the act of yanking it out. The heart monitor screaming its siren of a beep as he walked out taking a passing glance at his eye-patch in the mirror.

Down the hall Sunny saw his headspace friends, as they waved at him and motioned for him to follow, they ran soundlessly down the halls towards what Sunny could only assume to be the exit. The stranger stood there silently before heading the opposite way deeper into the hospital. Sunny followed as if it was the most natural thing to do, blood dripping its way down his arm. He was anxious... dreading how his friends would react to the truth. He watches as the Stranger enters the room without opening the door and follows suit. Taking a deep breath he opens the door, inside is a gruff older gentleman laying in the bed hooked up to many big machines who gives Sunny a somewhat toothless grin.

"Ey there kiddo, is there somethin I can do ya for?" He croaked out in a voice abused by decades of smoking

Sunny quickly shook his head and retreated from the room... Why did he think that the Stranger would just bring him to where he wanted to go, this was the real world not headspace, its not like the wormhole he saw when he was hanging out with Kel the other day had any significance either.

"I can just ask the receptionist where Basil is." Sunny mused to himself before heading towards the entrance of the hospital. As he walked the world started spinning, it felt like he hadn't eaten for days... oh yeah, he hadn't. As sunny gripped the wall for support leaving a bloody hand print in its wake a nurse rounded the corner Sunny saw this as the perfect opportunity to find Basil.

"You're bleeding!" She rushed over to give him support, "What're you doing out of bed!?!?!"

Sunny opened his mouth in an attempt to ask about Basil, but nothing but hot air came out, this had never happened before, sure he was used to being quiet and hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, but its not like he never made sounds, crying to himself in his room or making groans of fear when Something would stop him from living through the last three days, but he had never been unable to physically talk before- it felt like his Vocal chords were glued together dry and unable to move more than to scratch his throat. While looking towards the Nurse a loud crash could sounded off down the hall.
"S-Sunny?"
Glancing away from the nurse Sunny saw Basil wearing the same thing he had been wearing just the other day, single pink flower clip in his hair and everything. Broken clay and soil covered his shoes, a single Tulip growing from the now pot-less dirt on the ground. Any evidence of their fight last night non-existent. Even his eyes had lost the guilt they both harbored behind them, his Something nowhere to be seen, had he already told everyone?
Basil rushed forward to hug Sunny "You're awake... I-I have to tell everyone!" He exclaimed with giddy in his voice before rushing out. A janitor huffed in irritation at the dirt that littered the ground as Sunny was forcibly guided back to his room.

Sunny was administered a physical and a bandage was applied to his arm. Just as the doctor left the door opened once more. A girl stood in the doorway, she had long dark hair with a single pink streak. She wore a teal hairband, white and yellow jacket with a t-shirt and skirt.

As she stood there it felt like the air in the room froze. The world began to spin around Sunny once again his memories not lining up with what he was seeing in front of him; however with a searing pain nesting itself in his head this time. 'Aubrey?? How did her hair return to its Original colour already? Basil too was already healed, how long was I asleep for?'

Sunny gave her a small wave through the throbbing pain behind his eye that snapped her out of her trance. Tears started pooling in her eyes as she raced over and pulled him into a crushing hug. Air wheezed out of him from the pressure.

"Oh, sorry its just... Its just been-" The door slams open cutting Aubrey off as Kel rushes in with his signature basketball jersey jump tackling Sunny into a sweaty hug as well with his usual beaming energy. Did he run just to come see Sunny as soon as he heard the news? Hero followed right after him with a weary smile on his face wearing his casual attire.

"KEL BE MORE CAREFUL!" Aubrey shouted "I couldn't help it, my best friend woke up for the first time in years! Its not my fault!!" Kel argued back equally as loud.

The Throbbing in his head Extended to behind his ears, his stomach started doing flips, ears ringing, and a dark haze seemed to slowly fill the room, 'Years? What's goi-'

"Now now Kel, it's because hes been in a coma for four years that you Should be more careful, hes probably weaker because his body hasn't done anything in so long. You alright there Sunny?"

Sunny was frozen stiff, an icy grip kept him in place, heart beating out of his chest. How did four years pass? They all look exactly the same save for Aubery when he saw them last. All of this information was swirling around his head and he couldn't make sense of it among the pain and spinning. The last straw was seeing his father, one of the last few people he expected to walk in with with his mother as basil opened the door for them. It was like something just... Snapped, and Sunny was plunged into an ocean of darkness.

Chapter Text

Sunny opened his eye again, the crowd had lessened to half the size. Uneasy faces watched as he slowly sat himself up and looked at each person in the room one by one. The people that remained in the room were Aubrey, Basil and Sunny's mother, as well as a nurse that watched from across the room to make sure there were no more shenanigans. Sunny motioned for a glass of water and once he had finished it he tried to say something; however only an incoherent wheeze left his mouth. The three surrounding his bed were taken aback by the unnatural sound that came from the small boy. Basil produced a pen and notepad from a paper bag that sat at his feet.

"He probably won't be able to talk properly for a week or two... maybe more, one of the effects of not using his voice for so long. Though he should still try in moderation, it will help speed up the process." The nurse quoted from what only he could assume was the doctor as the notebook was placed into Sunny's hands.

Sunny stared at his friends and mother unsure of what to write for what felt like hours, questions gnawed at his mind like the shadows that ate away at the corners of the room. He wrote down a question that he couldn’t wrap his head around, “Have I really been in a coma for four years?”

His mother was the one who spoke up first in a soft voice placing a hand on his shoulder. "You fell down the stairs on the night of the recital, Mari was the one who found you and called the ambulance." Sunny furrowed his brows ever so slightly, how could that be true, his memories... And the shadows eating away at his mind told him otherwise. He could still remember clearly the fear in Mari’s eyes as she fell down the stairs, the sickening churning feeling in his stomach told him that it wasn't just a dream.

Sunny forced himself to hide the psychological pain behind his neutral face and started writing again, deciding to change the conversation so something less… Dreary, "So what have you two been up to? Aubrey still the leader of the mildly inconvenient Faraway scooter gang?"
"Wha-" Aubrey blushed and broke eye contact clearly embarrassed about the scooter gang being mentioned. Basil's eyes widened in surprise "S-Sunny... How did you know that there was a scooter gang?"

Sunny felt his lips curl ever so slightly into a frown and shrugged not sure how to reply before turning back towards his mother. "So how long am I in the slammer ma'am." … The lack of reaction to his poorly conceived joke proved that his humor was still dry as ever. It might’ve elicited a snicker from Hero or Kel though if they were still here. Tough crowd.

"Normally we would keep you around till you could walk by yourself but it seems like you're already strong enough to do that so the doctor said you can leave today." The nurse replied while picking at her fingernails. The crass attitude seemed to make Sunny’s friends and family a bit agitated though none of them made a move to act on that agitation, instead more concentrated on Sunny.

Basil spoke up "We didn't think any of your old clothes would fit and s-since we always used to be generally the same size I brought some for you to borrow." He placed the paper bag that previously held the notepad on the bed beside Sunny giving him a nervous smile "But you're so thin so they still might be a bit big on you." Peering into the bag Sunny saw something similar to what he usually wore, save for a small sunflower design on the vest that rested below the left shoulder and the T-shirt that didn't have a collar.

Everyone vacated the room while Sunny changed into the clothes. They hung loosely but fit for the most part, and a belt held up the somewhat oversized shorts on his thin frame. Exiting the room he was faced with both Aubrey and Basil. They stood waiting and each took one of his arms before guiding him towards the exit. Aubrey held on for dear life, as if letting go would cause Sunny to disappear again, Basil on the other hand- arm was much more of a gentle embrace, something to reassure himself that Sunny was back.

The walk outside was calming although far shorter than Sunny had hoped, it helped clear his head. Outside his mothers white car stood running idly, parked next to the hospital doors, the interior filled with boxes leaving only enough room for one person to sit in the back. Hero and Kel were nowhere to be seen. The passenger side window rolled down to show his mother, “Sorry we couldn't give you guys a ride back, since we’re helping one of our friends in the city move we had to rush to even have room for Sunny.”

“No it’s okay. It’s getting late so I should go back before Polly gets worried. Here let me get the door for you Sunny” Basil let go of Sunny to scurry over and open the door. Aubrey on the other hand looked like she needed more convincing. The moment Sunny let go of her arm and tried to sit down, she tapped her foot, ready to squeeze into the same seat. Though in the end she decided against it, worrying she would hurt the frail boy.

As the car pulled away from the hospital Aubrey and Basil had clear trepidation on their faces as they faded out of view. The ride home was… unnerving to say the least, Sunny couldn’t seem to look his own father in the eyes after all, Sunny was the one who broke the family apart in his memories. This was the same man who cut down the tree and disowned him. That same man just drove silently. On the other hand his mother never stopped talking, Sunny picked up bits and pieces, only what he could assume were the important parts. They were both going to be in the city for awhile, his bed should be untouched, and lastly Kel and Hero were going to be coming tomorrow to celebrate him getting discharged from the hospital. His thoughts however drifted towards how Basil and Aubrey seemed a lot less… set off, especially Basil, without Sunny around and a secret to keep, it seemed like he was living a normal life. Without Sunny the root of all their pain around the group didn’t seem to fall apart the way it had before.

The car pulled into the driveway as the oranges of the sky started to cool down into the darker blues of the night, the sun was going to dip below the treeline soon. The car was already on the move again before he reached the door of the house, his mother waving goodbye as it rolled away.

The house still held a general unease about it in Sunny’s mind, shadows loomed over Sunny only adding to how he was feeling, black tendrils licked at the back of his heels as he entered the building. The inside brought a comfort that Sunny hadn’t expected; instead of a barren soulless husk of a room with only boxes of packed away belongings, furniture stood proudly giving the place the homely feel Sunny had remembered and missed from when he was younger. A red glow was now filling the room from the back door.

Something inside of him urged to go and look, step by step he made his way over to the sliding door, black ropes of hair and hands slowly wrapped around him pulling him closer to the door. Then he saw it. Something was hanging from a large tree behind the house. Its eye staring at him judgmentally looking down at the boy. Sunny was filled with unspeakable dread, he tried to avert his gaze, cry out, run away but he couldn’t, the black appendages securing him firmly in place unable to look away from the tangled mess before him. He curled up on the ground and silently sobbed ‘Don't be afraid. It’s not as scary as you think. Take a deep breath…" Sunny sucked in air through his teeth

Sunny used CALM DOWN

The shadows slowly unraveled themselves from Sunny and retracted into the corners of the room once more, releasing Sunny from their clutches. The tree, his favorite tree... The one that he and Basil hung Mari on was still standing unlike in his memories. It had even grown bigger in the four years that had passed. Full of green leaves for the summer season. Something had disappeared from its branches, gone as if it wasn't even there in the first place. But looking at the spot where it once was made still made his stomach churn. Sunny shakily retreated from the back door, one shock after another today had left him drained of energy.

The stairwell still caused an ache in his head, knowing that he had caused Mari’s death here made it an unpleasant place to be around; however that wasn't what caused him to freeze at the bottom step. Something stood at the top of the stairs… but it wasn’t just Something, Straining his eye through the darkness of the unlit room Sunny could just barely see Mari’s face under uncut, long tangled hair. She had an expression Sunny never wanted to see on his dear older sisters face. Fear and guilt was displayed on her face, it reminded him of Basil and himself. The air in the room turned icy as they stared at each other in a standoff. She was the first to move, rushing into his- their room and slamming the door behind her.

Sunny was at a loss, conflicting emotions swirled around his head unsure whether to cry tears of joy or sadness at the fact that Mari was Ali- No Sunny, this is all in your head. There is no way that could have been Mari. You dream her up all the time in the real world, it was just a trick of the light... Sunny pushed down the emotions he was feeling and calmed down once more.

Sunny went to the bathroom first avoiding his room all together, brushing your teeth before sleeping is important even if he deserved his mouth to rot. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, nothing was behind him. He fully expected Something to show its face… eye when he looked in the mirror, however he was alone in the dark room. After brushing his teeth it was finally time.

Sunny reached up to pull off his eyepatch, it stuck to the flesh underneath causing a small bit of pain when it was pulled off. Sunny’s breath quickened at what he saw. Flesh mangled and torn as if a pair of garden shears had rampaged inside the socket, then stitched back together the best a doctor could. This was not a four year old injury. Not even a four month old injury. It wasn't fresh either, more like it had been fixed up maybe a week ago. Sunny didnt have a replacement for the eyepatch, most likely because the doctor hadn’t expected this one to be covered in bodily fluids since it was supposedly a four year old injury. Sunny grimaced at the eyepatch he just pulled off laying on the counter, he tried wiping the sticky yellow goop with a hand towel off of the eyepatch before sticking it back on where it laid before, the leftover slime cold where it touched his wound.

‘There's no way this is real, how could this have happened... Am I dreaming? If so this is nothing like Headsp-’ Thud. Sunny walked into the door while deep in thought, it was locked. This was a first. Even when Mari was around she would always warn him that she would be locking the door if she needed some time to herself, so he normally wouldn’t even try to enter, respecting her privacy, and after the incident there was never anyone around to lock the door on Sunny. Normally it was Sunny locking Kel out when his mother would let him in the house and Sunny didn't want to go out. So this is how it felt to be on the other side of that door… Helpless.

Sunny sent a silent apology to Kel as he heard movement on the other side of the door. He stood there, each step that got closer to the door the faster Sunny’s heart beat. He couldn’t deny it anymore someone was on the other side of this door

Click The door unlocked, but neither sibling on either side of the door moved, afraid of what was waiting on the other side of the door. Sunny was unsure how much time passed before the knob started slowly turning and the door opened enough for an eye to peek through for a couple of seconds before opening the rest of the way.

His breath got stuck in his throat. There was no denying it anymore, it was Mari. Mari looked… tired, like she hadn’t slept properly in a long time. Her hair had grown out longer than it had been when they were younger, it poured down past her shoulders down to her hips in a tangled and unbrushed mess. It also seemed like she had grown taller, but not by much. Sunny was catching up in that regard.

They both stood there waiting for the other to make the first move. Sunny was apprehensive about moving first after seeing her fear and guilt earlier at the stairwell, but he couldn’t quell the emotions filling him, or the tears forming in his eye. He reached forward to hug her, she stepped back in what could have been fear but he already had his arms around her. This wasn’t like the times where he would hug her as Omori in Headspace, this was real, he could feel the heat from her body through his arms and even smell her scent, Headspace was never this Vivid; however that wasn’t the only thing Sunny noticed. Mari was thin, nowhere near as thin as him, but she was still thinner than she ought to be.

She didn't hug Sunny back right away. Only once he felt wetness on his shoulder was the hug reciprocated. “Sunny… I’m so sorry, so sorry...” Mari whispered through sniffles and sobs muffled into his shoulder.

Once their embrace was broken Mari gave a soft smile to Sunny, still with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn't come visit you when you woke up. I...” She seemed like she had more to say, but couldn’t find the courage to say them. Something Sunny struggled with himself in the past. Sunny made his way over to the bedside cabinet between their beds. His sketchbook and notepad were still there, untouched, alongside a bunch of Mari’s books she liked… or likes to read before bed. Sitting down and flipping to a blank page he wrote out the feelings he had in that moment. “Whatever happened, you don't have to apologize, I forgive you.”

You’re just saying what you want to hear from her. You don't know what she actually did.

Reading what he wrote sparked up the waterworks again in Mari, though not as bad as earlier, she sat herself down beside him and wrapped her arms around him in another hug putting her weight into it, this pushed him over head landing on the pillow while her head rested on his chest. It reminded him of when he was younger though normally their positions would have been reversed. Back when he would wake up from his nightmares and Mari would stay by his side till he calmed down all the while… Sunny reached up with his free hand and started softly stroking her head… Why was he the one doing this… shouldn't it be the other way around? But looking down at Mari softened the protests in his heart… It was hard on her at least in a similar way it was for him these last couple of years.

Her sobs slowly softened into the soft breathing of sleep. Sunny glanced around the room before sleeping, his nightly ritual. But for the first time in a long time, nothing ominously watched over him from the shadows, or stood at the foot of his bed as he closed his eyes to sleep for the night.