Chapter Text
It didn’t take long for the familiar scenery of Faraway to fade away. The car rolled along the road, away from Faraway, until Sunny could no longer recognize his surroundings. His Mother occasionally would talk about the new apartment they were moving to, and how she had work in the morning, but for the most part Sunny tuned her out.
It was just two days ago that he had confessed the truth to his friends at the hospital. Basil was finally relieved of the burden Sunny forced upon him, but at the cost of his other friends. Hero had left the room in shock, after Sunny had finished talking. He hasn’t seen or heard from him since. Aubrey, on the other hand, yelled at him in rage, before she too stormed off. Sunny knew he deserved it. Kel had the mildest reaction, the same surprise as Hero, before excusing himself in the quietest voice he’d ever heard him use.
Sunny was shocked that Kel even bothered to see him off, when he left the hospital. He even gave Sunny his phone number, insisting that they talk again soon. Sunny almost felt it was more than he deserved. Looking out the window, he saw other cars rushing past him, and felt himself slowly drift away until he was fast asleep.
He awoke several hours later, to his Mother shaking him awake. Apparently, they’d arrived at their new home while he was asleep. The building had a sign hanging above the door that read “Diamond Apartments”. If Sunny remembered correctly (which, to be fair, he probably didn’t) the city they’d moved to was entitled “Diamond City”. A bit unimaginative, perhaps, but Sunny supposed it must be a common naming scheme, then.
After entering the building, it didn’t take them long to get to the apartment, which was on the first floor. His Mother had already furnished the place using their somewhat sparse belongings. She pointed out his room to him, before entering her own. The room was a little smaller than his room at his old house, but the positioning of the furniture was about the same. Even his Dad’s old blackjack player was there. Despite sleeping for most of the day, and having been resting at the hospital for the past few days as well, Sunny couldn’t help but feel exhausted. He had just laid down in his bed before the phone decided to ring.
Sunny responded by glaring at the phone, but unfortunately, sheer strength of will wasn’t enough to silence it. Sluggishly grabbing it, He put the receiver up to his ear, and-
“Hey, Sunny! It’s Kel!”
-immediately pulled it away. Kel’s voice almost seemed to be amplified by the phone, making Sunny’s ears ring, and Sunny knew there was a possibility he was deaf now. Oh, wait. He’s in a phone call now. It would probably be rude to not respond.
“...Hey, Kel.”
“I’m glad you answered! I’ve called like, five times now!”
“I was in the car for most of the day. Sorry.”
Kel was silent for a moment, before responding “Oh… Whoops! Forgot about that, heh. So! Since you’re talking to me, does that mean you’ve moved in then?”
Sunny nodded, but then remembered that Kel couldn’t see him through the phone. “Yeah. Everything's good here.”
“It kinda sucks that it's the last week of summer, huh? Or, at least it is here! I can’t believe we have to start school tomorrow.”
Oh. Oh. School had completely escaped his mind. He needed to start going again, now that he was done being a self-appointed exile. He studied a little, mainly the material his Mother brought for him, but actually going to school… He’d need to go. He wanted to improve himself. This was a way to do so, to interact with others.
“Sunny? Are you there?” Right. Answer Kel now, panic about the future later.
“Yeah. I forgot about school. I don’t know if school here has started or not. I guess I’ll see.”
“Alright! Well, I just wanted to check in on you. Things are going pretty good here!” There’s a pause for a moment, before Kel continues.
“Well, not perfectly, but Basil’s doing better! Happier than I’ve seen him in a while, actually! And Hero… Well, just give him time! He’ll cool off soon, I bet. I should probably try to go to sleep. Let's talk again soon, okay? Bye!”
“Bye.” Sunny returned the phone to its cradle, and laid back in his bed, groaning. School, huh? His eyes drifted towards the alarm clock sitting on the table with the phone, one of the few new additions to his room. It had already been set to wake him up in the morning. With a sigh, he closed his eyes, and soon enough, he was asleep.
He was in White Space again. This time, though, there was no Omori. Only himself. White Space was different from what he remembered. The possessions that used to be here, the laptop, sketchbook, and tissue box, were all gone. Most notably absent was the lightbulb, the vacant string it once hung from still hanging from what Sunny assumed to be the ceiling.
Looking around, Sunny did note that Mewo was still here, and had nuzzled up to his leg. Petting her, she let out a meow. Unfortunately, Sunny was not Omori, and had no way to know what she said. A pity. Despite all of the changes, one thing did remain the same, that being the door to headspace.
Walking over to the door, he sees a notice had been hung from the door handle. Reading it, it said “Under renovations. Please wait.” Despite being clearly told not to, he attempted to open the door anyway. It remained firmly shut, although whether that was because it was locked or because Sunny was weak, he didn’t know. Letting out an exhale of breath, he returned to Mewo’s side, and laid down on the ground. He closed his eyes, and began to wait.
When he opened his eyes, it was to the shrill sound of the alarm clock. After spending a solid ten minutes attempting to silence it with his mind, he gave up and decided to just get up and shut it off manually. ‘I guess I should see if I have school.’
Leaving the room, he saw a note on the table, presumably from his Mother. He gave it a read. “Hello Sunny! Mommy has work today, and I won’t be home until late. You have school today, and the bus should be here about half an hour after you get up. Remember, Mommy loves you!”
Well, this confirms it. Sunny has to go to school. Which means interacting with people. He’s barely been able to socially interact with Kel, but he can’t consider that an achievement when a rock could socially interact with Kel better than he could. (He’s pretty sure that actually happened in one of his dreams, now that he thinks about it.) Still, he has to try, at the very least.
He promised himself he would get better, promised Basil he would take care of himself, and had come to terms with what he had done. Now he just needs to get used to being around people again, to better himself. He can do this.
Sunny is beginning to think he might have been a bit overzealous with his previous statement. It was the first time he’d been to a proper school in four years, and although he’d managed to get himself on the bus fine, he was still incredibly anxious about being at a brand new school with nobody he knew. He was able to confirm that today was the first day of the year, so at the very least he wasn’t joining mid-semester.
He knew he was going to be behind in several subjects, and this was anticipated by the principal, as well. His teacher informed him that he would be meeting with his new tutor after school. The day passed by in a blur, and Sunny did his best not to tune out his surroundings and actually pay attention. He should probably try and get a backpack, though. Other than his eyepatch, the fact that he hadn’t brought any sort of school supplies is probably what stuck out about him the most.
Still, despite the strange looks, he did his best to get through the school day. He was unsuccessful with interacting with anyone, however, too shy to talk with any of the other students, who already had established groups and- ugh, he’s tired just thinking about it. Still, he probably will have a chance to try and talk to someone, given that he’s apparently supposed to meet with a tutor now.
Waiting in the school library, the teacher walked in with another student. The student was wearing what appeared to be a lab coat of all things, with some sort of black jumpsuit underneath. Her orange hair was tied into two braids, and she had a heart shaped ornament in her hair. She also had a large pair of glasses on, and was wearing a large smile. To Sunny’s great surprise, she also seemed to be shorter than him, which was incredible, given that Sunny was admittedly somewhat malnourished.
“Sunny, this is Penny, from Diamond Middle School. She will be helping you catch up on the subjects you may be having trouble with.” After saying this, the teacher left quickly, leaving Sunny and Penny alone.
A few immediate things came to mind. First, he was right about ‘Diamond’ being a common naming scheme, given that he was also attending ‘Diamond High School.’ Points to him for that. Secondly, while Sunny isn’t certain about any sort of school rules, what she’s wearing probably violates some sort of dress code. Finally, she’s a middle schooler. And is tutoring him. Wonderful. Sunny didn’t know it was possible to do so, but it seems he's discovering the new and exciting depths of his self esteem every moment.
Sunny realizes fairly quickly just why it is that Penny is tutoring him. Turns out, she's smart. Really smart. As in, ‘I’m a genius and am thinking four moves ahead of you at any given time’ smart. She also is very talkative and outgoing. It’s almost a little overwhelming.
“Not to brag, but I’m a pretty great inventor, you know!”
“I want to be a pop sensation-slash-inventor, so I need to have both a cute and practical outfit!”
“Hey, is your eye alright?”
“Oh, you’re new? Where are you from?”
She could probably give an ‘Orange Joe’ infused Kel a run for his money with the amount of pure energy she seemed to contain. Still, she definitely helps him understand the subjects better, and doesn’t seem to be offended by how quiet he is, so he supposes he can consider this a successful social interaction.
After about an hour, they decide to call it a day, and as Sunny is standing up to leave, she quickly asks, “Hey, if you’re new, you probably don’t have all that many plans yet, right?” Well, Sunny did have some plans. He was going to try and find his way home, given that any buses probably already left, and after that, he was planning on contemplating his existence and maybe calling Basil, but he managed to refrain from saying that. Instead, he shakes his head.
Later on, Sunny can admit that this was probably a mistake.
Penny’s smile widens even more, which he didn’t think was possible, given that she and Kel both have that strange quality where their smiles seem brighter than the sun. “Alright! Hey, come hang out with me! You look like you need some friends anyway, and I know just the people!”
Well, that’s kind of rude. How does someone ‘look’ like they need friends, anyway? Is it the eyepatch? Before Sunny can object, however, he’s being dragged out of the building, Penny still talking his ear off the entire way.
Eventually, after about 10 minutes of non-stop chatter, Penny leads him to a fairly nondescript building. A large ‘W’ hangs above the door.
“Don’t worry if you’re feeling shy: I bet the others will love to meet you!”
Absent-mindedly, Sunny wonders if this is what being kidnapped is like. If so, the presentations he remembers from when he was younger were wrong, as instead of white vans with candy, its weird science girls and what he can only assume is a building full of cultists. Huh, maybe they’re the recycultists, back for revenge? Wait, that was a daydream. Still though, it’d be an interesting adventure.
Before Sunny can completely delve into another daydream, he realizes Penny is staring at him expectantly. Crap he wasn’t even trying to pay attention. Sunny decides to nod, which was evidently the correct move, as Penny then decides to drag him inside the building.
The interior of the building seems to be that of a standard office building: desks, chairs, the occasional potted plant. Seems pretty quiet for an office building, given that it isn’t that late in the day. Penny also seems a little confused at this.
“Huh… I guess they’re in another room? It usually isn’t this quiet. Welp, onwards!”
As what Sunny is now realizing is the usual, Sunny gets no agency in this adventure, and the girl drags him inwards. As they walk, they pass an anthropometric dog and cat, which Penny greets- wait a minute .
Sunny has to do a double take, and confirms: yup, that sure is a big dog. Sunny isn’t sure what type, although Kel probably would. Sunny doesn’t own a cell phone nor a camera, so he can’t really record what it is he’s seeing at the moment. Also, said dog person would probably be insulted. They appear to be wearing a blue mechanic's suit, the name ‘Dribble’ sewn into the side. Walking next to them, and also being much smaller than the rest of them, is a cat. The cat has bright yellow fur, and also has a pair of goggles strapped to their head. Similar to Dribble, they have a blue suit, this one with ‘Spitz’ sewn into it.
The dog and cat duo regard Sunny with a strange look. The cat in particular seems to be upset with Sunny’s staring. “What? You got a problem?”
Sunny, running on autopilot at this point, shakes his head and stares forward. There’s a single logical explanation for this. He’s dreaming.
He fell asleep before his tutor even showed up, hence why he met this strange girl with so many of Kel’s traits: he’s subconsciously projecting them onto her. He imagines that once he walks through the door ahead of them, he’ll see Mari and his dream friends lounging around the room. He should probably make an effort to wake up. Stabbing himself would probably be rude, however. How else do people wake up from dreams, again?
Before Sunny can figure out how to escape this wacky dream, Penny tugs on his sleeve, past the Dog and Cat and into the next room. The room doesn’t have a lot of people in it, which Sunny is thankful for as he doesn’t think he can handle all that much more talking, even in his dreams.
Two people are huddled around… something in the corner, and he can’t really get a clear look at them. He can get a clear look at the other three people, however. The first is a big guy with a ‘zaggy’ mustache. He also has a motorcycle helmet on, and a biker jacket. Sunny tries to recall where he got the inspiration for this sort of thing, but can’t really remember. The man in question is tapping on a computer in an exaggerated manner, occasionally laughing. Probably the leader of the cult, if Sunny guesses correctly. Much closer to the entrance of the room is a man with a large, blue afro, sunglasses, and a red jacket. He’s tapping on his phone, humming some sort of song while doing so. The last person is a girl with brown hair and a large white coat. She’s also on a computer, although not in as animated a manner as the biker is.
Both the afro-man and the girl notice them. The girl gives them a smile. “Hey, Penny? Who’s your friend there?” Penny, the traitor, pushes him forward into their direct view. “This is my new friend, Sunny! He just moved here. I’m also tutoring him! He looked like he needed something to do, so I decided to bring him here!”
Sunny very much did have things to do, thank you very much. Before Sunny can try and hide in his own shadow to escape the situation, the man with the Afro speaks up. “Yo, Sunny! I’m Jimmy. Cool eye patch, by the way. I dig it!”
“...Thanks?”
The woman’s expression lights up. “Oh! I’m Mona, by the way. Ashley and Red are over there in the corner, and Wario is working on the computer there.”
she points over to the biker after she finishes speaking. Seemingly noticing their presence for the first time, he lets out a confused grunt and squints.
“Eh? Who’re you?”
A moment passes, and Sunny realises he’s supposed to answer. Time for his trump card. “I’m Sunny. Sorry for intruding. I’ll leave.”
Now, time to make his exit and return home. To Sunny’s great displeasure, Penny grabs his arm before he’s able to escape. Wario, as he now knows him, narrows his eyes.
“You know how to make microgames?”
“...What?”
“Good enough! Welcome to the team! Wa Ha Ha!”
Just as suddenly as Wario enters the conversation, he leaves it, returning back to ‘working’ on the computer. Before Sunny can even ask what just happened, An explosion happens in the corner. No one except Sunny seems to be bothered by this, however. Sunny is able to get a better look at the two people over there, now. The first is a girl who looks to be about his age, wearing some sort of red cloak and carrying a wand of all things. The second seems to be some sort of demon, given that it has red bat wings, a pointed tail, and is carrying a pitchfork. The demon... person? is quick to apologize, speaking out to the others.
“Sorry, Sorry! We might have messed up the potion we were working on, heh heh…!” The girl, on the other hand, simply stares at the rest of them with a blank face. Her eyes narrow slightly when she looks at Sunny. Fortunately, Sunny isn’t intimidated, in part due to spending a lot of time around Aubrey. Sunny hears the girl say, "Whatever." and she turns back to the charred remains of her potion.
Jimmy clasps a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry little man, that’s normal! Just don’t complain too much, and Ashley won’t curse you!” He then mutters under his breath, “Probably.”
Mona nods at this. “Yup! Welcome aboard! Don’t worry, nothing too hectic will happen too soon. We just had a crazy adventure traveling inside of that game console, we aren’t due another disaster for a few months.”
Before Sunny comprehends what that means, he comes to a conclusion. Sunny needs to speak up, he can’t keep letting himself be pushed around like this. Even if this is a dream, he still needs to find some agency in himself, be his own person. So, Sunny stands up straight, ready to deliver an epic speech to affirm his independence, and-
“Sunny! I guess you’re joining us! We’ll work together here a lot, oh, but I should give you a tour of the place first! Also, don’t worry if you don’t know what microgames are, I can show you! Think of it like a homework assignment!”
Penny completely barrels through his attempt to speak, and once again, begins treating Sunny like a shopping cart, dragging him around at her leisure. Sunny sighs. Can’t he catch a break one of these days?