Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s dark… So dark… And cold… So cold… It hurts to breathe. I can’t see anything. I can’t remember what happened. All I remember is… A boy who wanted his mind back… A boy who wanted to save his friends… A girl whose life was cut short… A lightbulb that powered the world… And something. There was… A big fight… After that, I can’t remember what happened. Wait… I see… A light… Could it be… Headspace? Can I return to Headspace? I… I think I can swim towards it. Could this be… Freedom?

******************

“Ngh… W-where… Am I?”

Abbi found herself lying on the ground in an unknown location. Right next to her was a small lake with a wooden dock on it. The area around her was some wooded area with various toys and picnic equipment scattered around. 

“Is this headspace?” Abbi mumbled to herself, “Why is it so cold?... But it’s not a bad cold.”

“Hey! Would you get offa me!?” Abbi heard a voice coming from under her. 

“Oh! Sorry disembodied voice!” Abbi quickly sat up. She found a strange pink blob with a face under her.

“Ah! Humphrey!” Abbi smiled, “Good to see you! How are you?”

“I am quite fine!” Humphrey replied, “How about you? How is my favorite squid girl? Say... Isn’t it a bit cold to be wearing… That?”

“Why do you say that?” Abbi asked while looking at her bare legs.

“Maybe it’s just me,” Humphrey replied. 

“Man… I feel like I’ve been sleeping for a long time,” Abbi shook her head “Hey, Humphrey. Do you know where we are?” 

Humphrey surveyed his surroundings for a moment. He looked just about as confused as Abbi did. 

“I… Don’t know…” Humphrey sounded defeated. He motioned over to a yellow cat sitting by the two of them, “Maybe that cat knows?”

“Hey! I know that cat!” Abbi said excitedly, “That’s the favorite!”

“Really?” Humphrey squinted, “Looks like just a regular cat to me.”

“Nope! I can tell it’s the favorite!” Abbi smiled, “Come here, kitty kitty kitty!” 

The yellow cat walked up to Abbi and purred. It nuzzled its head into Abbi’s arm.

“Aww, aren’t you a good kitty! This is probably why you’re Sunny’s favorite!” Abbi smiled.

“Does that cat even have a real name?” Humphrey asked.

“Hmm…” Abbi scratched her chin with her tentacle hand, “I don’t think so… Ooh! I know! I will call you ‘Mewotwo-wo’!”

“That’s really dumb,” Humphrey deadpanned.

“Nuh-uh!” Abbi shook her head, “It’s like Mewo… Sunny’s old cat…”

“I know who Mewo is.”

“...But it’s the second one! And, I made two rhyme with Mewo! Mewo Two-wo!”

Faint arguing could be heard from behind some bushes. At this, the cat dubbed “Mewotwo-wo” by Abbi scattered.

“What was that?” Abbi asked.

“Could be danger!” Humphrey said, “Quick! Hide me in your frocket!” 

“Frocket?” Abbi looked confused. 

“Front pocket! That breast pocket on your shirt!” Humphrey said, “I’m small enough to fit right in there!”

Abbi looked down at her shirt. Sure enough, there was a pocket there. 

“Ah!... When did that get there?” Abbi wondered.

“Hurry!” Humphrey exclaimed.

Abbi quickly scooped Humphrey up in her one human hand and stuffed him in her shirt pocket.

“Wait… Where am I supposed to hide?” Abbi asked.

Not a second later, someone stepped through the brush. It looked to be a very confident-looking boy with obviously fake blond hair.

“I’m telling ya, no one knows about our secret spot!” The boy called out to some people Abbi couldn’t see. “And if there was…” The boy caught sight of Abbi, “Was… Was… Was… Holy shit!”

“Hey! I know you!” Abbi said gleefully, “You’re Mikal!” 

“That was… Almost my na-...” The boy quickly shook his head. “No! My name is The Maverick! And you are… Uh…”

“What’s wrong?” Abbi asked. 

“I am just taken aback!” The Maverick posed triumphantly, “I would never have expected to find a cosplayer awaiting me in my secret kingdom! And an attractive one at that!” 

“Cosplayer?” 

“Well of course!” The Maverick said, “The squid arm! The tentacles coming out of your head! The weird question mark face paint! The fact you aren’t wearing pants when it’s freezing outside! You must be really committed!” 

“This is just how I look…”

“And you’re playing the part too!” The Maverick laughed. “That’s amazing. Say… How about you and I go down to Gino’s. My friends go there all the time… And I hear they have heating! It could be a…” The Maverick’s eyes flashed, “Magical time for the both of us!” 

“Friends!” Abbi said excitedly, “Our friends are all here!?”

“Our?” The Maverick tilted his head, “MY friends are all in the park. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I left to go on a hot date,” The Maverick smirked. 

“Is Van here!?” Abbi asked quickly.

“Van? I don’t have a car.” The Maverick replied. 

“What about Nose!” Abbi asked. 

“Noes?” The Maverick put a finger on his noes.

“Neb?” 

“What are these words you’re saying!?”

“What about Berly?” Abbi asked, losing hope.

“Burghley?” The Maverick raised an eyebrow, “I think that’s the guy who keeps griefing my shit in Minecrap!” 

“Not Burghley, Berly!” 

“Berly… Well, there IS a Kimberly…” The Maverick said, “But everyone calls her Kim. Never heard anyone call her by the ‘Berly’ part.”

“Mikhael! Why are you talking behind my back again!” A girl’s voice could be heard from behind some trees. 

“Oh, shit…” Abbi noticed some fear in The Maverick’s voice.

A girl with red glasses stepped through the bushes. She was followed by a man, much larger than her. 

“Mikhael! I am sick of you…” The girl with glasses ranted, until she caught sight of Abbi, “Uh… Why are you talking to a chick in her underwear?”

“It’s not just a chick in her underwear!” The Maverick, whose real name was Mikhael,  smirked, “It’s a cosplayer!”

Kim squinted and approached Abbi, along with the man behind her. 

“It is a really nice cosplay…” Kim commented, “What are you even doing here? Did you get lost?”

“I didn’t think there were any cons going on around here,” The man behind Kim said, “I honestly didn’t know there even were any this December.”

“Vance is right...” Kim agreed, “You must really be lost.”

“I… I think I am… I… I can’t remember…” Abbi mumbled. 

“You can’t remember?” Mikhael asked. “What, did you wack your head or something?”

“I don’t think that happens in real life,” The man apparently named Vance commented. 

“Of course it does!” Mikhael protested, “If it was fake, why would it be a plot point in so many movies!”

Vance only shrugged and shook his head.

“Wait! I do remember a few things!” Abbi chimed in. “I remember Omori! Do you know where Omori is?”

“Omori? Never heard of them,” Kim said. 

“Dang…” Abbi frowned, “What about Sunny? Do you know him?”

“Sunny? You mean knife-kid?” Mikhael asked.

“Yes!” Abbi said excitedly, “He did always have a knife on him! Do you know where he is!? Is he around here!?”

“Sorry…” Kim apologized, “But… You’re about two years too late. Sunny moved to the city a while ago.”

Abbi stared at Kim as sadness grew on her face, “Oh…”

“Hey. Are you alright?” Vance asked.

“Y-yeah…” Abbi looked away. “What about our other friends? Is Aubrey here?”

“You’re friends with master Aubrey!?” Mikhael asked, “That makes you okay in my book! Now, how about we go on that date! Nothing could be better than a date with The Maverick!” 

“Shut up, Mikhael,” Kim said, “Aubrey... She moved away not too long ago… She moved to the city with Sunny.”

“W-w-what about Hero! Surely he’s here!” Abbi’s voice grew desperate.

“Kel’s brother?” Kim asked.

“Henry’s in college right now,” Vance told, “I’d assume he’ll be back soon though, with winter break and all… Should have just gone to community college like me. Wouldn’t have had to travel all the time.”

“Kel! You mentioned Kel! Is Kel here!” Abbi asked frantically.

“Yeah, he’s in the park,” Mikhael pointed to the brush behind them. Abbi could make out a path hidden in the leaves. 

“Yes! Please!” Abbi nodded, “Surly he will remember me!”

“Alright…” Kim said hesitantly, “Weirdo…”

******************

Abbi followed Kim, Vance, and Mikhael through the trees. They entered a much more open area. 

“Ah! The playground!” Abbi said happily, “I remember this place.”

“Not much of a playground anymore,” Mikhael shook his head. 

“Geez, you must have not been here in a while, if you still think there’s a playground here,” Vance said

“It is a playground! See? Swing!” Abbi pointed to a swing set in the distance.

“That doesn’t really make it a… You know what, whatever.” Kim sighed. “Follow me. Kel is this way.”

Abbi, along with Kim’s friends, all followed Kim to a picnic table. Four people sat around the table, some of which Abbi only vaguely recognized. However, there was one she completely knew… Kel. 

“Yo, Kel!” Kim called out.

“Hey, Kim! You find out where Mikhael ran off to?” Kel asked.

“It’s The Maverick!” Mikhael angrily corrected.

“Yeah! Call master by his real name!” A smaller boy with large hair agreed. 

“Anyway…” Kim rolled her eyes, “Kel… You know this chick?” She motioned to Abbi, who was standing behind her. 

“Uh…” Kel raised an eyebrow, “No? Why is she wearing a swimsuit? Isn’t it a bit cold to go swimming?”

“Maybe she was swimming with Cris?” A girl with freckles and glasses asked. “Although she usually swims inside.”

“I don’t think you’d swim with facepaint on either,” the boy with large hair commented.

“I’m not wearing facepaint,” Abbi said, “This is just how I look.”

“Very… Pale…” A large girl, taller than Vance commented quietly. 

“The question mark has got to be face paint!” Kel said, “Man, it’s really good! I can’t even see your eyes.”

“I… Don’t have eyes…” Abbi’s voice grew quieter and quieter, “And yet I can still see? How?...”

“It’s a cosplay!” Mikhael said with his hands on his hips.

“So you don’t recognize her at all?” Kim asked Kel, “The way she was talking seemed like she knew you.”

“Nope! Not at all,” Kel shook his head. 

“Oh…” Abbi frowned, “I guess… That makes sense. I forget important things all the time…”

“She seemed to have known you from a long time ago,” Kim told.

“Maybe you went to preschool or kindergarten together,” The boy with large hair suggested, “Could be that’s how this… Uh… Lady knows you.”

“That’s possible, Angel.” Kel said to the boy, “What’s your name, lady?”

“My name is Abbi!” Abbi smiled.

“Abbi… Abbi…” Kel’s face scrunched up as he tried to remember something, “That name does sound familiar… But I don’t remember where I heard it.”

“Weren’t we in the same preschool class?” The girl with freckles asked, “I don’t remember anyone named Abbi.”

“Hmm…” Kel scratched his chin, “Abbi! Do you remember Mincy?”

“Who’s that?” Abbi asked.

“She’s… Right here…” Kel pointed at the girl with freckles with his thumb, “She would have been in both of our classes.”

“I never said I was in preschool,” Abbi shook her head. 

“Oh…” Kel bit his lip, “Guess that’s not where I know you from then…”

“I think it was here that we met…” Abbi said, “The playground… But everything…” Abbi looked up to the sky and paused for a second, “...Everything looks different.”

“Must have been a really long time…” The tall girl said quietly.

“Could be,” Kim shrugged. “Out of all of us, Vance and Charlene have been around here the longest. It didn’t seem like you remembered my brother, do you remember Charlene?”

Abbi shook her head, “Nope! Although she does kinda look like someone else I know.”

“That’s a shame,” Vance sighed.

“Maybe you could show me around the area?” Abbi asked, “That might help me remember something!”

“I don’t see why not. I’m getting kinda bored of sitting around here,” Kim shrugged, “You gotta get some pants though. People might look at you weird with your… Lack of clothing.”

“Oh yes!” Abbi nodded, “I’ll do whatever it takes to remember what I was doing here!”

Abbi, along with the rest of the people she may or may not have known in another life left the park, and Kim lead the way. She seemed to be the leader of these “hooligans” much like how Abbi remembered. She hoped she would find at least a hint as to what she was doing or where she even was… But she hoped more that she would find Sunny.

Chapter Text

Abbi followed Kim and her friends into a much more crowded area. For some reason, every person Abbi passed seemed to look at her funny, but she couldn’t tell why. Kim definitely seemed to have the same leadership roles as Berly had. It was strange. Every single person around Abbi, besides Mincy, seemed to be the friends that always hung around the playground. The only difference was they all had different names and there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of blue in their color scheme. 

“Yo, Abbi!” Kim called out, “You alright?”

“Huh?” Abbi shook her head.

“You were spacing off real bad,” Kim told.

“Oops! Didn’t mean to do that,” Abbi chuckled.

“Anyways,” Mikhael interrupted, “This is the fountain! Chicks come from all over the world to meet me here!”

“They don’t,” Kel said quietly to Abbi.

“All the lovely ladies come here just do date me!” Mikhael continued, “Say, where are you from? I can add that to my list of places chicks have come from to date me!”

“I bet that’s a really short list,” Kim said.

“Hey! Just because so far it’s only ‘Faraway’ doesn’t mean it’ll stay like that!” Mikhael turned to Abbi, “And she’s about to change that!”

“Faraway?...” Abbi muttered to herself.

“Goddammit!” Mikhael stomped his foot.

“I’ve never seen you around here though,” Angel said.

“Faraway… Where have I heard that before?” Abbi asked herself. 

“Are you alright?” Charlene said quietly.

Abbi didn’t answer. She just stared off into space once again. Faraway wasn’t a Headspace location she was familiar with. Maybe it was a new location? Maybe this is what Headspace reformed into after Sunny’s fight with Omori. It was all very strange.

“Abbi! Abbi!” Kim repeated, “You’re freaking me out here!”

“Oh!” Abbi shook her head again, “I… I’m sorry. Please, show me more stuff around here.”

“Okay?...” Kim said hesitantly. “Uhh… Well, here we got Gino’s.” Kim motioned her hands to a building with a pizza in the window. “We all sometimes go here for-”

Mikhael interrupted her yet again, “Aha! This is our date location!” He grabbed Abbi by her tentacle hand, “Why don’t you-...” Mikhael slowly let go of Abbi and looked at his own hand, “Whoa… This feels EXACTLY like a tentacle! My hand’s all slimy now!... Sweet!”

“Wow. She’s really committed to this cosplay!” Kel said.

“Who are you even cosplaying as?” Mincy asked, “I don’t think I know what this squid girl is from.”

“I’m not cosplaying!” Abbi shook her hands in front of her.

“You guys think she’s just playing with us?” Vance asked, “Maybe this forgetful stuff is all just an act. Maybe she’s one of… Those cosplayers.”

“It’s not! I swear!” Abbi said quickly. “I really don’t…” She trailed off again.

Abbi’s attention turned to someone far off in the distance. Everyone else eventually followed her gaze. 

“Oh hey! Is that Basil?” Kel said. 

“I… I think that is,” Kim squinted. She looked back to Abbi, “Do you… Know him too?”

Abbi didn’t respond. She only stared forward at Basil.

“You sure are interested in what he’s doing,” Mikhael said, “You should be interested in what I’m doing!”

“I found you…” Abbi muttered to herself. Without any explanation, she ran off towards him. 

Kim and her friends all turned to each other with the same confused look on their faces.

“What a weird lady,” Kel commented.

“No! She left!” Mikhael cried, “We never got to go on our date!”

“Maybe next time, bud,” Kim said sarcastically.

“I hope she’s alright…” Charlene commented.

“Yeah… I know what you mean,” Kim said, “I… I almost feel bad for her…”

“I feel bad that she couldn’t go on her wonderful date with me,” Mikhael pouted.

“Nevermind. Don’t feel bad anymore,” Kim rolled her eyes.

“Basil!” Abbi called out.

Basil had been walking in the opposite direction as everyone else. He turned when he heard someone call his name.

“H-huh? Who are-...!” Basil froze when he saw Abbi’s face.

“I finally found you!” Abbi said while still hastily approaching Basil, “Everyone’s gonna be so happy!”

“N-n-no!” Basil stepped back, “I-I haven’t seen you since… Y-y-you’re not supposed to b-be here!”

Basil tried to get away, but Abbi was too quick. She grabbed him by the arm.

“N-no! I-I thought Something was gone!” Basil shrieked.

“Huh? Something is gone?” Abbi said, “Wait… Do you think I’m Something?”

Basil tried to break free of Abbi’s grasp, “P-please! Don’t hurt me!” 

“Hurt you? No!” Abbi quickly shook her head, “Omori and his friends were looking all over for you. I gotta bring you to them.”

“Omori?... Like…” Basil paused. He seemed to be staring at seemingly nothing.”

“Well to be fair, I haven’t seen him in a while… I’ve only seen Kel as of recent.”

Basil looked into Abbi’s eyes, or where her eyes would be if she had any, “What… Who are you?”

“I’m Abbi!” Abbi smiled. “Has… Have I really been stuck in Blackspace for that long?”

“Blackspace… Abbi…” Basil muttered. “Abbi was the name of… Sunny’s imaginary friend.”

“Yes. I am Sunny’s friend,” Abbi nodded, “But I am not imaginary. I am quite real, as you can see.”

“Yeah… That’s… What I’m trying to understand…” Basil said, “Uh… Can you let go of my arm?”

“Oh yeah! Sorry,” Abbi quickly retracted her hand, “Man. Headspace sure looks different.”

“Um… I… I don’t really know how to say this… But…” Basil stumbled over his words, “This… Isn’t Headspace.”

“What do you mean?” Abbi asked. “How can this not be Headspace? It’s not like I can leave Sunny’s dreams or anything… Right?”

“I don’t really understand it but… You’re here. This is the real world.”

Abbi pouted, “How can you be sure?”

“Uh…” Basil scratched the back of his neck, “Well. There is this one trick Sunny told me not too long ago. If you pinch yourself and don’t wake up, then you’re in the real world,” Basil pinched himself, “Ow… See? Didn’t wake up.”

“Huh…” Abbi raised her one human hand to her cheek and pinched. Nothing happened, besides her cheek feeling a bit weird.

“S-see? Nothing happened.” Basil said.

“Oh… So Headspace really is gone…” Abbi frowned. 

“I… I don’t know…” Basil shook his head.

“Yeah… I had a suspicion it was, with how everything looks different,” Abbi said. “I just didn’t think it was possible for… For me to be here...”

“I’m as confused as you are,” Basil chuckled, “I never would have thought anything like this was possible… Then again… With everything I’ve seen…”

“Well… Now, what do I do?” Abbi asked,” This is all so different. I don’t even know where to begin with this… New life I’ve been forced into.”

“Do you… Wanna come over to my house? You must be cold,” Basil offered. “I never expected Sunny’s imaginary friend to look so…” Basil looked down, “Risque…”

“That sounds nice,” Abbi nodded.

Basil and Abbi left the shopping area and went to Basil’s house. The raised eyebrows and stares everyone gave Abbi as they passed by went over Abbi’s head, but made Basil hurry his pace to his house. 

****************************

Abbi and Basil arrived at Basil’s house. Abbi gave it a confused stare and then turned to Basil.

“Your house looks different.”

“Oh yeah… I guess Sunny’s dream version of my house would look at least a little different,” Basil chuckled.

“Why isn’t your house a shoe?” Abbi asked.

Basil raised an eyebrow. He almost looked offended, “My Headspace house is a shoe?... What did Sunny mean by this?”

The two entered Basil’s house. Abbi could hear Basil muttering something under his breath.

“What are you saying?” Abbi asked. 

“Okay, good…” Basil sighed in relief, “I was just… Hoping Polly wasn’t home. Do you know Polly?”

Abbi shook her head.

“Ah… Polly is like my… Caretaker…” Basil chuckled sheepishly, “Even though I’m eighteen and can live on my own… It is nice having someone here though…”

“I see…” Abbi nodded.

“I was just thinking…” Basil continued, “It sure would be weird for her to see someone like you here. That’s why I’m glad she’s out right now.” Basil sighed, “I have a coat in my room. It’s way too big for me. It should keep you warm… I’ll try to find some pants for you too.”

Abbi followed Basil to his room. A bunch of flowers and other plants hung from the ceiling, making it somewhat difficult to navigate. Basil walked over to a closet and began searching through it. 

“So how do you know about Headspace?” Abbi asked. “If this is the real world, shouldn’t Sunny be the only one who knows about it?”

“Sunny told me all about it…” Basil said, “Recently… We’ve been talking over the phone… He told me all about his… Or I guess Omori’s adventures in Headspace. It’s so weird seeing someone who actually comes from there…” Basil’s voice grew more shakey, “The way he talked about it… Made it seem like it went away when… When…”

“When he told everyone about Mari?” Abbi finished his sentence.

“Y-y-yeah…” Basil’s voice quieted, “I guess… You must hate me too then…”

“Why would I hate you?” Abbi asked, genuinely confused.

“Sunny hates me… I ruined his life… My stupid decision ruined his life, and everyone else’s. Of course, he would hate me… And you must too. He probably only talks to me because he feels like he has to…”

“No!?!” Abbi blurted. “Sunny doesn’t hate you! He doesn’t have it in him to hate anyone!”

“W-what? H-how would you know?”

“I have seen nearly every single one of Sunny’s memories! The happy ones. The sad ones,” Abbi smirked, “The embarrassing ones. I know how Sunny feels, and he doesn’t hate you.” 

“R-... Really?” Basil asked. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes, “H-he doesn’t?”

“Nope!” Abbi shook her head. “The only thing Sunny hates… Is hot weather, The first three seasons of Sweetheart: Quest for Hearts, tying his shoes-”

“Heh,” Basil chuckled, “I get it.” He stood up, with a large blue puffy coat in his hands. “Hey, Abbi?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks… I guess I needed that.” Basil handed the coat to Abbi, “Here’s that coat I was talking about. It goes all the way down to my knees, so it’s way too big. You can keep it if you want.

Abbi put on the coat. It went all the way down to her knees as well. To say it was too big would be an understatement. This coat must have been made for a giant. 

“Thank you, Basil!” Abbi smiled, “I think it’s really nice!”

The two heard another voice. It seemed to come from Basil’s window.

“What are you two talking about?”

Abbi turned to see a blue-haired girl peeking through the window.

“C-Cris!?” Basil blurted.

“I saw you enter your house with a weird girl in her underwear,” Cris said, “So I thought I’d see what you were up to.”

“I-I-It’s now what it looks like!” Basil said frantically, “S-s-she needed a coat!”

“Don’t worry! I saw everything.” Cris laughed. 

“Y-you did?” Basil asked.

“Yeah. You were talking about that Headspace thing,” Cris said. “How about you open this window so I can come in.”

Basil rushed over to the window and opened it.

“You know, there’s a door in the front,” Basil said while pulling Cris through the window.

“Now where’s the fun in that?” 

Cris landed on her feet with a thud, and Basil closed the window behind her. 

“S-so what all did you hear?” Basil asked nervously.

“She said ‘what are you talking about,’ meaning she heard nothing!” Abbi said with a nod.

“That was… Just a saying…” Cris shook her head. She turned to Basil, “I heard you talking about that Headspace thing you told me about. Something about how this squid girl came from there.”

“You probably don’t believe any of it, do you…” Basil frowned. 

“Hmm…” Cris closely inspected Abbi’s face. “It would be a pretty odd thing to believe… But this is an odd specimen.”

“Please don’t call her a specimen,” Basil sighed. 

“These tentacles look real, and I don’t see eyes anywhere,” Cris said, “She almost looks alien.”

“Thank you!” Abbi smiled, not knowing if that was a compliment or not.

“Normally, this would be a pretty hard thing to believe…” Cris said, “Hmm.”

“What?” Abbi tilted her head.

“Let’s say you are from Headspace, right? How did you get here?” Cris asked.

“No clue,” Abbi shrugged, “I’m taking a really long nap and next thing I know I’m in this world.”

“So you have no idea how you got here?” Cris asked.

“I’m sorry…” Abbi frowned, “I wish I could be more helpful. Probably doesn’t help prove that I actually am from Headspace.”

“I’m not sure…” Cris paused, “I think… No… I don’t know,” She shook her head, “I don’t know if I believe it or not, but I’ll go along with it for now.”

“Okay…?” Abbi didn’t fully understand what Cris meant by that. 

“What’s the last thing about Headspace you do remember?” Basil asked, “Maybe that could help us find out how you got here.”

“There was… A fight,” Abbi began, “Sunny was fighting Omori. It was… The grandest fight I’ve ever witnessed. I think… Were there other people there too? No, there couldn’t have been… Were there? Yeah… Someone was helping him… But I don’t know who…”

“Omori?” Cris raised an eyebrow, “Like the piano?”

“Piano…” Abbi muttered.

“I know there’s one in the church,” Cris said, “Although how would you fight a piano.”

“Cris, no!” Basil shivered but was then interrupted.

“Omori’s at the church!” Abbi blurted, “Quick! Where’s the church!”

“Just west of here,” Cris pointed in that direction, “You can’t miss it!” 

“I gotta go see Omori!” Abbi yelled and bolted off.

“Oh no…” Basil sighed, “I should probably go after her…”

*************************

Abbi ran down the street for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, she arrived at the church. It looked… Extremely familiar. 

“This is it…” Abbi said to herself, “Omori has to be here. I can feel it.”

Abbi ran up to the door and kicked it open. Fortunately for her, there was no service in session.

“Omori!” Abbi yelled out, “I’m here for you!” 

As she stepped into the building, she felt like something was off. This church didn’t feel as empty or dangerous as the one she was used to, despite the church being literally empty at the moment. 

“Omori? Are you hiding?” Abbi asked, “Where are you!?”

Abbi noticed a large piano at the back of the room. For some reason, she felt compelled to inspect it. 

“Ah… Piano… Mari liked piano…” Abbi mumbled to herself. 

There was one word engraved at the front of the piano. Abbi read the letters out loud.

“O… M… O… R… I…? Omori?” Abbi looked confused, “Omori? Piano?”

Abbi stood there for a second, contemplating. She just stared at the piano until she came to a conclusion.

“Ah! You have transformed into a piano!... Why would you do that?”

Someone else burst through the door, causing Abbi to quickly turn her head.

“Abbi… That’s… Not…” Basil panted. He had clearly run as fast as he could.

“Basil? You came to see Omori too?” Abbi’s expression quickly turned to one of fear, “Watch out! Omori might try and hurt you!”

“No… That’s not… The Omori you’re thinking of…” Basil said. 

“What do you mean?”

“Omori is just the name of a piano,” Basil told, “Sunny said… That’s where he got the name from…”

“Oh…” Abbi turned back to the piano… “Yeah… You’re right… Omori is gone…”

Abbi sat down at the piano bench and lay her head on it. Her voice grew sad.

“You didn’t deserve it, did you, Omori… You just wanted Sunny to be happy. You just didn’t want your friends to go away…” She sighed, “It’s not fair, is it? After everything that’s happened… You’re gone… And I’m here. Maybe it’s the world’s way of punishing you for locking me in Blackspace for all those years. Did you deserve that?”

“Abbi…” Basil walked up behind her. 

“I wonder if I’ll ever get to see you again…” Abbi sighed. She stood up and looked to Basil, “Let’s… Go back…”

“Okay…” Basil nodded, “Are you… Alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay…”

Basil and Abbi headed out the door. Before leaving, Abbi looked back one last time.

“Goodbye forever… Omori…”

*************************

Abbi and Basil walked back to his house. Basil seemed a bit nervous for some reason.

“S-so Cris went home after you… Ran off…” Basil told, “She texted me saying that Polly was on her way home… So, uh… We’re gonna need to think of a good lie to let you stay at my house.”

“Haven’t you learned not to do that anymore?” Abbi said.

“Huh?” Basil tilted his head.

“Nevermind. What were you thinking?” Abbi asked.

“Well, uh… Maybe you’re like… Sunny’s cousin or something? Maybe you didn’t know that Sunny moved and you came here to see him?”

“Ooh! And I could be stranded here too!” Abbi interjected, “Sunny’s cousin who happens to also be a squid!”

“That reminds me. I got this for you,” Basil pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket. The lenses were tinted gold, “This is to cover up your lack of eyes.”

Abbi grabbed the glasses and put them on her face. The question mark was much less noticeable, and could probably pass as some strange tattoo.

“How is it?” Basil asked.

“I can’t see.”

“Well, it is pretty dark out now…” Basil chuckled sheepishly, “But… It’s better than nothing, right?” 

“Maybe…” Abbi looked at her squid-like appendage, “What about this?”

“Just hide it behind your back,” Basil told, “I’ll probably just wrap a bandage around it tomorrow. I still need to get you some shoes and pants. The coat is good, but… It’s... probably not enough.”

“Thank you,” Abbi smiled. “I’ve never worn pants before!”

“That’s nice…” Basil sighed.

Basil opened the door to his house, and Abbi followed behind him. They saw Polly sitting at the dinner table.

“Hi, Basil!” Polly smiled. “I saw Cris on my way here. She told me… Oh? Who’s this?”

“Uh… This is… Uh…” Basil stuttered. “This is Sunny’s cousin. She came here to see him.”

“He doesn’t live here?” Polly said, confused. “Doesn’t he live in… What was that city called again?”

“He used to live here!” Basil blurted out, “Abbi here just got confused and got a flight here instead… And now she’s stranded here… Uh… And she asked if she could stay here since she has nowhere else to go…”

“Utterly stranded,” Abbi added, “It’s quite sad.”

“Can’t she stay in a hotel?” Polly suggested.

“She didn’t bring any uh… Money…” Basil said, which was technically the truth, “Her parents just put her on a plane.”

“Hmm…” Polly scratched her chin, “I guess she can stay in your grandma’s old room.”

“Thank you!” Basil sighed in relief.

“How about you show her the room,” Polly suggested.

Abbi followed Basil into a different room. It was mostly empty save for a blow-up mattress, a nightstand, and various plants hanging from the ceiling. 

“I guess you’re staying here.” Basil said, “Uh… I have to wake up early tomorrow, so I’m gonna go to bed. I’ll leave some of my old clothes in here when I wake up. You can see if they fit…”

“Thank you!” Abbi nodded.

“Okay…” Basil nodded back, “Well, uh… Goodnight…”

Basil closed the door behind him, leaving Abbi alone in that room. She took her new coat off and neatly placed it on the floor next to the bed.

“I have my own room now!” Abbi said to herself, “All to myself! Well, I guess myself and Humphrey… Wait a minute, Humphrey! You’ve been rather quiet.”

Abbi dug her finger around in her front pocket.

“Ack! What do you think you’re doing!?” Humphrey’s voice yelled.

“There you are!” Abbi smiled, “You missed all my fun adventures today!”

“I was busy!” Humphrey groaned, “I was setting up my new lab!”

“New lab?” Abbi tilted her head, “Just how much space is in that pocket?”

“Oh, it’s amazing!” Humphrey flashed a toothy grin, “It’s like the inside of my stomach except for less slime! Now all I need is to get three jelly girls in here!”

“Well as long as you’re having a good time,” Abbi shrugged.

The two heard a faint scratching sound coming from the window. Abbi and Humphrey turned to see a yellow cat pawing at the window. 

“Mewotwo-wo!” Abbi blurted happily.

“Its name is ‘The Favorite’!” Humphrey grumbled.

Abbi opened the window for the yellow cat. It quickly jumped onto Abbi, knocking her on the bed.

“Oh! Looks like someone wanted to see me,” Abbi laughed. “Now the gang's all back together.”

Abbi took Humphrey out of her pocket and placed him on the nearby nightstand. She then wrapped her arms around Mewotwo-wo and hugged tightly. 

“Goodnight, Abbi!” Humphrey smiled.

“Goodnight Humphrey…” Abbi said.

Chapter Text

This place… It’s Whitespace. How could I ever forget this place? I remember when it was just Sunny, Omori, and me. How peaceful that was. Omori would never let me leave this place back then… Until I made him mad. All I wanted was to keep Sunny safe, was that so wrong? So why am I back here? How am I back here? Will Omori be mad if he sees me here? Wait… Wasn’t Whitespace…

“Abbi! Abbi! Wake up!”

Abbi heard a goofy voice calling out to her. She rubbed her face and sat up, looking for the source of this voice.

“You’ll never guess what happened!” Humphrey said excitedly, “When I was asleep, I saw pictures!”

“That’s called a dream,” Abbi said groggily. 

“That’s never happened before!” Humphrey continued, “Did you have one too!?”

“I… I can’t remember…”

“That’s a shame,” Humphrey shook his head, which doubled as his entire body, “I dreamt I was in this place with a bunch of windmills! There were watermelons growing everywhere too!”

“That sounds… A lot like one of Sunny’s dreams…” Abbi scratched her chin. 

“How can it be Sunny’s dream? I had it, it’s mine! Nyak-nyak-nyak!” 

“Hmm… That is strange…”

Abbi noticed a pile of clothes nearby with a note on top. Abbi got out of bed and walked over to read it. 

“Oh! It’s from Basil!” Abbi said. She began to read the letter out loud “Dear Abbi! Sorry that I couldn’t see you this morning, I have to wake up early for work. I did find some of my old clothes for you. If you want to go out, PLEASE,” Abbi looked up to Humphrey, “Please is written in all caps,” She looked back down to the note, “Please wear these. I’ll see you later. From, Basil.”

“So you got free stuff! Awesome!” Humphrey smiled.

Abbi picked up the pair of pants, which lie on the top. 

“Khakis, huh?” 

Abbi tried putting the pants on. They were a little tight but were fine for the most part. Below where the pants were a brown beanie, black shoes, and a roll of gauze.

“Shoes?” Abbi looked down to her feet. She closely inspected her toes as she wiggled them. “Have I… Always had feet?” She turned her attention to her one tentacle hand, “I… I don’t think I did…”

“Everything alright?” Humphrey asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Abbi nodded quickly, “Everything is totally fine! Everything is perfect! I’m good, you’re good, the cat is go-... Wait! Where’s MewoTwo-wo?”

Humphrey groaned, “The Favorite left earlier this morning. He went out the window.”

“That’s a shame…” Abbi shook her head, “Guess it’s just the two of us then, huh…”

“We can go see those doppelgangers we saw yesterday,” Humphrey suggested, “Now that you have clothes, they shouldn’t be all whiny about your appearance!” 

“Yeah… We could…” 

Abbi put on the shoes and the hat, as well as the sunglass and coat that Basil had given her the night before. She picked up the gauze and closely inspected it with a confused look.

“Why did he give me a roll of toilet paper?” Abbi wondered.

“I think I remember hearing that flower boy say something about wrapping your arm with it. Probably to hide your squid arm!”

“Why is everybody so upset about my squid arm!?” Abbi whined, “What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t have a problem with it, but it seems like other people do,” Humphrey said. 

Abbi wrapped her arm entirely with the gauze. Afterward, she put Humphrey in her shirt pocket and exited the room. 

“Hey, Abbi?” Humphrey asked.

“Yeah?”

“Where are we going?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve just been humming to yourself and wandering randomly!” Humphrey said.

“Nuh-uh!” Abbi put her hands on her hips, “I know exactly where we’re going! We are… Uh…”

Abbi looked around her. There was a hint of confusement on her face.

“We are in Faraway!” Abbi came to a conclusion.

“No way…” Humphrey said sarcastically. 

“But… I am going to find our friends!”

“And where are they?” Humphrey raised an eyebrow.

“Uhh… The playground?”

“And where’s the playground?” 

“That’s easy!” Abbi smiled, “I’m going there right now!”

“You’re hopeless…”

Abbi wandered around some more. Eventually, almost miraculously, she stumbled upon the playground, the place she woke up the day before. She saw the group of people from yesterday, all sitting around a table.

“See! There they are!” Abbi said excitedly, “I told you I knew where I was going.”

“It only took an hour,” Humphrey groaned.

Abbi walked up behind Kel, Kim, Mikhael, and Angel, who were all sitting facing away from her. Cris, Mincy, Vance, and Charlene, who was sitting on the side that faced Abbi, looked up to her, each with an eyebrow raised.

Kel seemed to be in the middle of some story, “So then, I’m like miles away from the basket. Everybody’s blocking me…”

“Uh… Kel?” Mincy interrupted.

“There was nothing else to do, so I just shot it!” Kel continued.

“Kel,” Cris said, more forceful than Mincy. 

“Hold on, I’m not done,” Kel shook his head, “So I shot it, and…”

“Kel, someone is looming behind you,” Vance told.

“Huh?” Kel looked behind him. “Oh, it’s… You?”

Abbi smiled, “Please continue, that story was very interesting.”

“Not really…” Kim mumbled.

“Oh come on,” Kel wrapped his arm around Kim’s shoulder, “You know it’s the coolest!”

“You’ve told it a billion times,” Kim rolled her eyes.

Mikhael gasped, “Lady Abigale! You’ve returned to me!” 

“Abigale?” Abbi tilted her head.

“Yes! You’re back!” Mikhael said excitedly, “Oh how I’ve waited for this day!”

“And she’s clothed now too…” Vance commented.

“It’s been like… A day…” Mincy groaned. 

“Still too long!” Mikhael turned to Angel, “Angel! Stand up! Give lady Abigale your seat!”

“Yes sir!” Angel quickly jumped up and saluted. 

“Good job, Angel!” Mikhael nodded, “You get three Maverick Bucks!”

“Awesome! Only twenty more and I get to use your microwave!” 

Everybody else looked at each other and shook their heads. 

“So… Abbi,” Kim said, “You’re Sunny’s cousin, eh?”

“Oh yeah… That’s what we were going with…” Abbi mumbled, “Y-yeah, I am… Wait, how’d you know that?”

“Cris told us everything,” Kim said.

“Well, Basil told me, so…” Cris shrugged.

“Looks like he dressed you too,” Kim laughed, “You look like a loser… What happened to the arm.”

“The… Arm?” Abbi looked at her bandaged arm, “Ah… It got uh… Hurt… In a tragic accident… Very tragic. There were no survivors.”

“Sick,” Kim grinned.

“Must have been that squid arm,” Kel said, “Did it squeeze too hard on your real arm or something?”

“Guess being a cosplayer might do that to someone,” Cris shrugged.

“I liked the cosplay so much more!” Mikhael nodded with a grin. 

“Shut up, Mikhael!” Kim yelled.

“I guess you’re here to see Sunny then, huh?” Kel said to Abbi, “Man, I’m sorry. Guess he never told you he moved.”

“Y-yeah…” Abbi frowned. 

“Classic Sunny,” Kel laughed, “He can be pretty forgetful! It’s up to me to remember everything for him!”

“I think that’s my job,” Abbi chuckled, “I know literally everything about Sunny.”

“If you know everything about him, how didn’t you know he moved away?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

“I’m… Not sure…” Abbi pursed her lip, “But I do know he thought you were an actual dinosaur back in kindergarten because you wore that dinosaur hoodie all the time.”

“Wow, that’s some good memory,” Vance smiled, “I remember that hoodie. Mom couldn’t even get it off of you to wash it!”

“W-w-we don’t need to talk about that!” Kim yelled.

“See? Told you I know everything about Sunny!” Abbi smiled.

“That’s just one thing!” Kim said quickly, “If you know everything about him… What’s his favorite color?”

“Yellow. Do you even know the answer to that?” Abbi asked.

“N-no… But-”

“What’s his favorite movie?” Cris interrupted.

“Spaceboy three,” Abbi answered.

“It’s true,” Kel nodded, “He liked it just because it was a crossover with Sweetheart.”

“Didn’t you say that he shipped them super bad?” Mincy asked.

“Is that what it’s called?” Kel wondered, “He did think they made a pretty good couple, despite Spaceboy having an actual love interest in the other movies.”

“I mean… Yeah, Sweetheart does kiss him at the end of the movie,” Vance said, “But like, come on. It was just like a… A ‘Thanks for saving me’ kiss.”

“Sunny used to write these stories about them getting together all the time,” Kel said.

“Yeah, they were always first date stories too…” Abbi looked away and started mumbling to herself, “Is that why Spaceboy and Sweetheart always kept breaking up and getting back together?”

“Wait! Sunny wrote fanfiction? That’s hilarious!” Cris laughed. 

“Oh definitely!” Abbi nodded with a smile, “My favorite one is titled ‘Snaley fucking dies’!”

“W-what!?” Kim blurted.

“Who’s Snaley?” Vance asked.

Abbi shrugged, “I’m not quite sure, but what I do know is… Is that he’s dead.”

“How sad,” Cris pouted, and then laughed. 

“Stop talking about the boring knife kid!” Mikhael yelled, interrupting everyone, “We should be talking about someone so much cooler… Me!”

“I’d… Rather not…” Kel said. He turned to Abbi, “Alright if you know Sunny so well, how did he beat me in pet rocks?”

“No!” Mikhael yelled in defeat.

“Because you always throw rock,” Abbi said bluntly. 

“Hey! I don’t…” Kel’s eyes widened, “Dude… How’d he know?”

“Because you said you always throw rock,” Abbi told.

“He must just be that good,” Kel nodded, “No wonder he beat Sephirock!” 

“That’s not possible,” Mincy shook her head, “No one beats Sephirock.”

“Well he did,” Abbi told, “He is, as he likes to call himself, a real gamer.”

The gang continued to ask Abbi random questions about a boy that most of them barely knew. It was mostly Kel who forced the conversation, however.

“What’s his favorite TV show?” Cris asked.

“Sweetheart: Quest for Hearts, but only season seven. He’ll never admit it though.”

“Favorite song?” Charlene asked quietly.

“The Man Who Sold The World, specifically the David Bowie one,” Abbi nodded.

“How did he manage to best me in battle? ME! THE MAVERICK!” Mikhael pouted.

“He remained calm.” 

“Most embarrassing memory?” Kim smirked.

“I fucking love air-conditioning,” Abbi replied bluntly.

“W-wah? I’m not even gonna ask…” Kim shook her head.

“I gotta say, she knows her stuff,” Kel shrugged with a smile, “You two must have been close. Just kinda strange he never told us about you,” But if you REALLY know Sunny, then…” Kel smirked “Let’s see… What should I ask you?”

“About the mole on your bum?” Abbi tilted her head.

“Wah!” Kel quickly waved his hands in front of him, “H-how… He…” Kel’s voice fell to a mumble, “He said he’d never tell anyone.”

“What is she talking about?” Kim asked with a raised eyebrow.

“N-nothing!” Kel said quickly, “Nothing at all!”

“Kel…” Kim pestered

“Uh…” Kel quickly tried to change the subject “Didn’t you wanna throw rocks at Aubrey’s old house today? When are you going to go do that?”

“Oh shit you’re right,” To Kel’s pleasure, Kim’s attention quickly turned, “Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome.”

“That sounds mean,” Abbi frowned, “Why would you want to throw rocks at Aubrey’s house?”

“Her old house,” Kim corrected, “Here, come on. I’ll tell you on the way.”

“Ooh! Lady Abigale is going with you?” Mikhael said excitedly, “Then I shall come as well!” 

“Great,” Kim rolled her eyes, “Kel, you coming?”

“Nah I gotta go home,” Kel shook his head, “Mom might get mad if I’m out too long.”

“Alright, well we’ll see you all later.”

With that, Abbi, along with Kim and Mikhael, separated from the rest of the group. Abbi followed closely behind as Kim lead the way to Aubrey’s house… With Mikhael following even closer behind Abbi.

“So… Why are we committing vandalism?” Abbi asked. 

“No, no, no, it’s perfectly fine,” Kim shook her arms in front of her, “It’s okay because… Uh… It’s well deserved.”

“What did Aubrey do?”

“No, not Aubrey…” Kim sighed, “She doesn’t live there.”

“Technically no one lives there,” Mikhael added.

“Yeah…” Kim groaned, “Although her stupid mom does bring her endless supply of boyfriends here to… Hang out…”

“How dare they!” Abbi put her hands on her hips, “Loitering… How sinful!”

Abbi, Kim, and Mikhael eventually arrived at an old, decrepit building. Surely, no one would ever choose to live there. 

“Oh! We’re kinda near Basil’s house,” Abbi said, “It’s just across the street!”

“I know…” Kim replied, looking for something on the ground.

“So, uh… Where’s Aubrey’s house?” Abbi asked, “I wonder what it looks like…”

“This shithole is it,” Kim gestured towards the building that looked more like a large shed.

“Oh…” 

“Kinda hard to believe this place has seen better days,” Mikhael said with his hands on his hips, “Now… Where is a cool rock… I gotta show Lady Abigale my awesome rock-throwing skills!”

“Not here, idiot!” Kim yelled, “In the back, where we’re not by the god damn road!” 

“Ah yes, that would be… Rather smart,” Mikhael nodded, “So smart, in fact, that it sounds just like a plan made by THE MAVER-”

“Shut up!” Kim punched Mikhael in the arm. 

The three walked around to the back of the house. There was a pile of small stones by the fence.

“So why are we damaging unowned property?” Abbi asked.

Kim sighed, “Well… I guess it’s our only way at getting back at Aubrey’s mom… She was…”

“She was a real bitch!” Mikhael finished her sentence.

“Why?” Abbi asked, “Did she not let you play together? Did she unlawfully ground Aubrey? I hate it when these things happen…”

Kim groaned, “No… She would do, uh… Not nice things. Aubrey got tired of it so she… Ran away, more or less.”

“She had a fight with her mom,” Mikhael said, “Word is, it got violent. That was probably the breaking point.”

“Yeah… So Aubrey asked me to take her to the city, and she lives with Sunny now.”

“I see…” Abbi frowned.

“At least it sounds like she’s doing good, now,” Kim nodded.

“Ah,” Abbi nodded with a slight smile.

“Yo Abbi! Check this out!” Mikhael picked up a rock and threw it towards Aubrey’s old house. It landed on the ground in front of the wall, missing completely.

“Nice,” Kim laughed.

“See, wasn’t that cool,” Mikhael chuckled, “That tactic… It takes real power to just barely graze the wall!”

“Oh wow,” Abbi said in awe, “You meant to miss that horribly? Amazing!”

“Yeah Mikhael, you really meant to miss that horribly?” Kim laughed again.

“Uh…” Mikhael looked to Abbi, then to Kim, then back to Abbi, “Yes… You know, if you think you’re such a big shot, why don’t you try!?”

“Fine then! We will, right Abbi?” Kim said.

“I guess,” Abbi shrugged.

Abbi spent the rest of the day committing the crime of vandalism with Kim and Mikhael. It felt nostalgic, somehow. Abbi had yearned for any kind of friendship, any sort of contact with another person for what felt like an eternity. It reminded her of the old days where she would play with Omori in Headspace. Things felt different now… But it was still nice. Maybe if Abbi could just see Sunny again… Things could be more like they used to be.

Chapter Text

Abbi rubbed her face as she entered Basil’s living room. She found Basil, as well as Polly sitting around the table eating something. 

“Look who decided to wake up today,” Polly said with a smile.  

“Ah, Abbi. Good morning,” Basil nodded, “Would you like some pancakes?” 

Abbi gasped, “Food!? I haven’t had food in… At least five years!” 

“Oh wow, you must really be hungry then,” Polly chuckled, “Here, let me get you some.”

Polly stood up and walked into the kitchen area. 

Basil turned to Abbi and asked her in a whisper, “Have you really not eaten in five years, or was that just, uh… an exaggeration?”

“I told the truth,” Abbi nodded, “The last thing I ate was… Probably a piece of candy.”

“Ah…” Basil frowned, “Well… Uh… At least you’re getting nutrition now…”

Polly returned and placed a plate in front of Abbi. 

“Okay, I’m gonna get going. Work, you know?” Polly said, “I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Alright,” Basil nodded, “See you later…”

Polly left, leaving Basil and Abbi to themselves.

“It’s a big day, you know…” Basil said, in between taking a drink.

“Why?”

“Well…” A smile grew on Basil’s face, “Spaceboy V comes out today. Cris, Kel, Kim, and I are gonna go get it today. They say that Spaceboy himself is gonna be there.”

“Spaceboy!” If Abbi had eyes, they sure would be wide right now, “He’s gonna be here!?”

“Well…” Basil’s voice fell to a mumble, “I’m not sure if it’s the actual actor… But the poster said something like we’d get to meet him.”

“I wanna see Spaceboy!” Abbi interrupted, “It’s been so long. I wonder what real-life Spaceboy is like.”

“You can come with me if you want,” Basil offered, “I know Sunny was a big Spaceboy fan, so you’d probably be one too, right?”

“You bet I do!” Abbi nodded quickly. “Let’s go now!”

“You, uh…” Basil looked at Abbi’s plate, “You haven’t even eaten anything yet…”

Abbi quickly scarfed down her food with her hands, while Basil could only watch in terror. 

“Done! Let’s go!” Abbi said.

“Oh… Kay…” Basil sighed, “You remind me of Kel…” 

********************************

Abbi and Basil both left his house. They met up with Kel, Kim, and Cris on their way to the shopping area of Faraway. However… Disaster struck. As soon as Hobbeez, the game/movie store came into sight, it was accompanied by the worst possible thing. 

“Oh no!” Kel cried out. “That line is like… A billion lightyears long!” 

“We’re gonna be waiting here forever…” Kim threw her hands in the air. 

“Why are we even going here?” Abbi asked, “If it’s a movie… Shouldn’t we be going to a theater?”

“Only chumps would go to a theater!” Kim said.

“Yeah! We wouldn’t get the game if we just went to the theater,” Cris added. 

“Game?” Abbi tilted her head.

“You don’t know?” Kel asked, “Spaceboy V is the first time they’re releasing the game AND the movie at the same time… And we’re gonna get the bundle.”

“If it’s not sold out…” Basil sighed, “Just look at all these people-”

“Don’t you DARE say that!” Cris violently pointed her finger in Basil’s face, “We are going to get Spaceboy V: The Phantom Pain with real spaceship simulation technology! We are going to get it no matter what!” 

“Well of course we’re gonna get it,” Kel said confidently, “The real question is, are we gonna play the game first or watch the movie?”

“The movie, duh,” Kim said.

“But that’ll just spoil the plot of the game,” Cris responded.

“So you’re gonna risk going through the entire game without hearing one spoiler?” Kim raised an eyebrow, “I’d like to see you try.”

“You’d have to live under a rock to accomplish that,” Basil nodded.

“I’m just excited to see Spaceboy,” Abbi smiled.

“Ya know…” Kel nodded with a smile, “That’s really what it’s all about. It’s been what… Ten years since the last Spaceboy? It’s amazing we’re even getting a new one!”

The gang stood in line for a little while longer. They had eventually made it to the fountain. Hobbeez was insight, as well as their very own copy of Spaceboy V. Kel was jittering with excitement. 

“Hey, guys…” Abbi pointed at a structure on the sidewalk, “What’s that?”

“A payphone?” Basil raised an eyebrow.

“Ah… What’s that used for?”

“Taking a leak in,” Kel mumbled and giggled to himself.

“Huh?” Abbi tilted her head.

Kel cleared his throat, “It’s to make phone calls.”

Abbi gasped as if the world’s greatest idea was just conceived.

“I know! I’ll call Sunny!”

“Huh?” Everyone else simultaneously cocked their head in confusion. 

“That way he’ll know I’m here!” Abbi smiled, “And then he’ll come here and see me!”

“Ya’ can do that later,” Kel said, “Spaceboy is just a few steps away!”

“I can see Spaceboy any day I want! I just need to find Sunny!”

“I guess,” Kim stuffed her hands in her pockets, “But this is Spaceboy V! This is like the biggest day in the entirety of human history!”

“Buh-... Buh-...” Abbi sputtered.

“Uh… I guess… You can call him if you really want to,” Basil said, “I mean… Gotta be more interesting than standing in this boring line.”

“Fine, go stand in that smelly pay-phone.” Cris said, “Miss out on all the fun of waiting in this line!”

Abbi left the line, giving up her precious spot. She entered the booth and grabbed the phone.

****Several Hours Later****

Basil, Cris, Kel, and Kim all exited Hobbeez, each with their own copy of Spaceboy V.

“I’ve been waiting for EONS!” Kel exclaimed.

“The next few weeks of my life are booked,” Cris said while ogling the cover art. 

“I thought you said you were gonna keep it in its plastic wrap,” Basil asked, “I know you like collecting this kind of stuff,”

“Well of course I am! I’m gonna steal your game!” Cris smirked “You only care about the movie, right?” 

“I see…” Basil sighed, “Very well…”

“Hey, guys…” Kel pointed at Abbi, still in the phone booth, “Look.”

Everybody walked up to Abbi. She was pressing buttons on the phone, putting it up to her ear, and pressing buttons again.

“Uh, Abbi?” Basil asked, “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see? I’m trying to call Sunny!” Abbi responded.

“Do you know his number?” Kim asked, holding in a laugh.

“Nope,” Abbi shook her head, “So I decided to just try every possible number!”

“Oh my god…” Basil sighed. 

“What number are you on now?” Cris asked.

“Currently? I am on twenty-three million, six hundred and seventy-six thousand, two-hundred and fifty-five.”

“You started at one!” Kim yelled.

“Oh no. Of course not!” Abbi smiled, “I started at zero.”

“How many quarters did that cost?” Kel laughed.

“Quarters?” Abbi asked.

“Did you really just stand there pressing buttons on the phone, not even knowing how it works?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

Abbi didn’t respond. She just looked away and pouted. 

“That’s hilarious,” Kel said with a chuckle. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. “Here. I’ll give you Sunny’s number too.”

“My hero!” Abbi exclaimed.

Kel told Abbi Sunny’s phone number and she called it. The phone rang a couple of times…

“Please answer,” Abbi begged. 

“Hello-”

“Sunny!” Abbi exclaimed.

“Your call has been transferred to an automated voice message.”

“Ahh!” Abbi screamed. She slammed the phone back into its spot, probably breaking it.

“Yeah, nobody used that anyways,” Cris commented.

“Why didn’t he answer!?” Abbi asked in a defeated voice. 

“I wouldn’t either,” Kel shrugged, “From his point of view, it’s some random number calling him.”

Abbi frowned, “Now what do I do?”

“I dunno, but I do know what might make you feel better,” Kel grinned and raised up his copy of Spaceboy V in front of Abbi’s face. “We can watch this!”

“Yeah…” Abbi smiled slightly, “Wait… Spaceboy!”

“Uh… Yeah,” Kel said, “What else do you think I’d get?”

“Basil said Spaceboy was in the store!” Abbi exclaimed.

“Oh yeah… We saw A Spaceboy,” Kim said, “His costume kinda sucked.”

“I can just ask to borrow his spaceship!” Abbi came to a conclusion. “Oh-ho-ho! What a wonderful idea!” 

With that, Abbi ran off towards the front of the store.

“This probably won’t end well,” Basil sighed.

“She’ll be back soon,” Kim said, “Once she realizes there’s still a line.”

“And then she’ll watch that Spaceboy goodness with us!” Kel smiled. 

Abbi tried forcing her way through the crowd, but it was a fruitless effort. An impenetrable wall blocked her from her goal. However… A miracle happened. None other than Spaceboy himself exited the back door, although he looked bulkier than usual. Now was Abbi’s chance.

“Damn…” Spaceboy mumbled to himself, “How many more kids are gonna show up? This costume is hot… I’m hungry… Still got like three hours left on this shift…”

“Spaceboy!” Abbi called out.

“Huh?” Spaceboy turned around, finally noticing Abbi, “Oh… Another nerd…” He quickly cleared his throat, “Hey! It’s me, Spaceboy! Make sure to buy Spaceboy V and subscribe to the Hobbeez newsletter.” 

“I need your Spaceship!” Abbi said quickly, “I have to go see Sunny!”

“Wha?...” The person, who at this point may not have actually been Spaceboy, wondered. 

“Sunny! Don’t you remember? He helped you when Sweetheart made you sad!... Actually, that was Omori… Either way…”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Spaceboy sighed, “Can’t you just buy the movie like everyone else?”

“Wait a minute…” Abbi metaphorically squinted, “I don’t think you’re actually Spaceboy…”

“What gave it away?” Not Spaceboy said sarcastically.

“Yeah… You’re not Spaceboy!” Abbi nodded, “You’re just some imposter!” 

“I don’t have time for this,” The Spaceboy imposter groaned. He promptly opened the Hobbeez back door and left Abbi.

“Damn… Now what am I gonna do!?” Abbi groaned.

“I couldn’t help but notice that little fiasco you just went through,” Humphrey popped out of Abbi’s pocket.

“Ahh, Humphrey! Nice of you to show up!” Abbi smiled. It quickly turned into an expression of irritation, “Where were you! I could have used your help!”

“I don’t think I could have done anything of the sort!” Humphrey laughed, “For you see, I too don’t know Sunny’s number.”

“Hmph!” Abbi pouted. 

“But, I would assume that Sunny’s friends would have not only his number but also phones!” Humphrey said, “Kel even gave you Sunny’s number!”

“Yes! That’s an amazing idea!” Abbi exclaimed, “I just… Need to find out where they went…”

“They all went to Kel’s house to watch that movie! Don’t you remember?”

“H-huh?...” Abbi put a hand to her head, “I… I don’t remember that…”

“Geez, really living up to your name as the wisest,” Humphrey said sarcastically, “Do I need to guide you to Kel’s house too?” 

“N-no!” Abbi shook her head quickly, “It’s right next to Sunny’s house. I-I can get there…”

Abbi left the Faraway shopping area and made her way towards where she thought Kel’s house would be.

********************************

“See! I told you I’d find it!” Abbi smiled triumphantly at the door of Kel’s house. 

“I never doubted you,” Humphrey said, full of doubt. 

Abbi knocked on the door. In return, she heard an extremely angry voice.

“Oh my god! I swear, if this is some bitch-ass door-to-door salesman, I’m gonna kill!-” The door flung open, revealing a furious Kim, “Oh… So you decided to show up.”

“How’d you know where I lived?” Abbi saw Kel’s head pop up from behind the couch.

“Uhh…” Abbi droned for longer than was socially acceptable, “Echolocation?”

“I-I told her,” Basil interrupted, saving the day, “S-she asked me n-not too long ago, s-since we got split up.”

“Ah,” Kel nodded, “Well come on in! You’re lucky the ads at the beginning are still playing.”

Abbi entered Kel’s house and sat down on the couch next to them. The tv was playing a commercial for some movie no one would ever watch. 

“Kel! Just fast forward!” Kim groaned.

“No! What if we miss a secret in the intro!” Kel complained.

“What, like a trailer for a good movie?” Kim rolled her eyes, “Just skip it…”

“Hey, where is the blue-haired lady?” Abbi asked.

“Cris? She went home.” Kel said, “She wanted to play the game first.”

“She’s gonna get spoiled,” Kim sighed.

“Nah,” Basil shook his head, “Knowing her, she’ll spend all night playing it until she beats it… And probably text me all night about it too…” Basil sighed.

Abbi’s head shot up, “Text? Basil! Give me your phone!” 

“Huh? Why?”

“I need to call Sunny!” 

“You’re not gonna spoil the movie for him, are ya?” Kel asked, “Although, knowing him, he probably pre-ordered it.”

“No! I need to… Just give me your phone!” Abbi extended her hand out to Basil.

“L-later,” Basil said hesitantly.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Kim yelled, “It’s starting!” 

The tv blared, and a title card appeared on the screen. It was accompanied by a picture of Spaceboy, although he looked vaguely different than the Spaceboy Abbi remembered seeing. She spent the rest of the night watching the movie with Basil, Kel, and Kim… Although the thought of being able to talk to Sunny once again kept pressing on her mind. In just two and a half hours, she would be able to steal Basil’s phone and contact Sunny. She wondered what he would think about her being in the real world. She wondered if he would even want to talk to him. She wondered why she couldn’t pay attention to the movie. All this thinking made her head hurt. Maybe… She should just… Lie down… For a moment…

Chapter Text

A strange world lied before Abbi, one all too familiar to her. Whitespace. 

“Ugh… Where… Whitespace? What am I…”

Abbi looked at her hands in front of her. Most notably, she had two hands now. While they were still extremely pale, they were nowhere near as pale as her usual skin.

“Something’s wrong here… I… I don’t feel like myself.”

A figure covered in shadow stood in the distance. Abbi couldn’t make out who or what it was. 

“You…” The being spoke, “You are not Sunny Suzuki.”

“Huh? Of course not,” Abbi responded.

The stranger approached Abbi. No physical qualities could be made out.

“You are Abbi, the wisest of the guardians,” The stranger said, “Yet here you are, in the realm of the dreamer.”

“Oh! I know what this is!” Abbi came to conclusion, “I’m sleeping right now!... But why do I look like this?”

“You are unable to dream correctly right now,” The stranger told, “All that leaves is Sunny’s dreams. They are the only ones you can experience right now.”

“So that’s why I’m in Whitespace,” Abbi said. “Wait… What do you mean ‘dream correctly’?”

“You’re in a world that wasn’t made for you. You haven't fully adapted to the new world.”

“What does that even mean?”

The stranger shook its head, “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you right now. You’ll just have to wait.”

“Wait? What do I have to wait for?”

The stranger slowly started to fade away, leaving Abbi answerless. She was all alone in whitespace, A feeling all too familiar…

**********************

Abbi awoke, finding herself back in Basil’s house. Light shone through the window onto the bare wood floor. Abbi could hear some very faint voices coming from outside her room. 

“Hey, Humphrey… You hear that?” Abbi asked.

There was no response.

“Humphrey?” Abbi dug around in her shirt pocket. She found nothing inside. “Oh no! Someone snatched my Humphrey!... Maybe Basil knows where he went…”

Abbi got up and exited her room. When she entered the living room, she saw Basil and Cris sitting around the table. 

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Basil said to Cris. He hadn’t noticed Abbi yet, “I don’t know too much about this, but your books don’t seem to say anything about it either.”

“Probably doesn’t help that most of my books are sea-related,” Cris chuckled lightly, “My degree doesn’t really call for, ya know… Dream stuff…”

“What are you guys talking about?” Abbi asked. 

“Abbi!” Basil quickly stood up, “You’re awake!”

“Yeah…?” Abbi tilted her head.

“You really scared us,” Basil said.

“How?”

“Do you… Do you remember what happened?”

Abbi shook her head.

“Ah…” Basil frowned. “We were at… Uh… Kel’s house. You fell asleep during the movie.”

“Kinda blasphemous if you ask me,” Cris commented.

“Cris…” Basil sighed, “Kel had to carry you all the way here… He said your body was cold… You didn’t make a sound as you slept…”

“Oh…” Abbi frowned, “Well, I’m awake now.”

“Abbi… You were asleep for five days…”

Abbi’s expression didn’t change, “Is that bad?”

Basil nodded, “Uh… When we brought you back… Something fell out of your pocket…” Basil pulled a pink blob out of his own pocket, “It, uh… Has been yelling at me a lot.”

“Humphrey!” Abbi called out with glee, “There you are!”

“Abbi! This fiend ensnared me!” Humphrey yelled, “Destroy him now!”

“Humphrey, Basil is our friend!” Abbi said, “We don’t destroy our friends.”

“What even is that?” Cris asked, “Is that like some new pet rock?”

“Looks more like gum to me,” Basil said.

“I am not gum, nor am I a rock!” Humphrey raged, “I am Humphrey, from the hit book, Hungry Humphrey!”

“That’s wicked,” Cris grinned, “I’ve never seen anything like that! The AI is super realistic! Where can I get one of those?”

“You can purchase me at your local bookstore!” Humphrey grinned.

“Is that, uh… Another one of Sunny’s dream things?” Basil nervously asked Abbi. 

“Uh-huh!” Abbi nodded, “We are two-thirds of Sunny’s dream guardians.”

“Two-thirds? So is there another… Uh…”

“The favorite!” Humphrey answered, “Where is that pesky cat…”

“Favorite? Cat?” Basil wondered.

“There’s this yellow cat! I named him MewoTwo-wo.” Abbi said, “He likes to wander off…”

“I’ve seen a yellow cat stalking around town,” Cris interjected, “But to be fair, there’s a lot of cats walking around. Who knows if it’s the one you’re talking about.”

“So three dream, uh… Things… Are here?…” Basil sighed, “And you have no idea how you got here?”

“Nope!” Abbi quickly shook her head, “Maybe Sunny knows! That’s why I…” Memories came flooding back, “Sunny… Basil! Give me your phone!”

“Huh? Why?”

“So I can call Sunny, stinky!” Abbi said, “Now give it to me!”

“Abbi…” Basil sighed and shook his head, “I… I can’t do that right now…”

“What! Why!? You better have a good reason for this!”

“Uh… Sunny is most likely at work right now…” Basil told, “H-he wouldn’t be able to answer.”

“Sunny… Work?” Abbi frowned slightly, “Ah… Yes… Growing up… Going to work… Signing contracts… Getting loans…”

“W-well… Y-yeah…” Basil said, “W-we all are…”

“It’s just crazy… Didn’t think I would ever experience this…” Abbi chuckled sheepishly.

“S-speaking of work… I should probably get ready f-for my own job.”

“I should get going too,” Cris added, “If I stay out too long, parents might get mad! He-heh… I think Kel and the others are all in the park, you could hang out there if you wanted.”

“Or you could s-stay here,” Basil suggested, “I-I mean… With everything that happened… I feel like you might be sick.”

“I’m not sick,” Abbi sniffled, “I don’t think I can even get sick! I’m perfectly fine!”

“If you say so…” Basil said hesitantly.

Everyone left Basil’s house, and they all made their separate ways. Abbi eventually found herself at Faraway Park once again. 

**********************

“Well, well, well. Look who it is!” Kim commented.

“Lady Abigale!” Mikhael exclaimed, “Oh how I’ve pined for you! Not a moment went by where I wasn’t awaiting your return!”

“Weren’t you just hitting on someone a day ago?” Vance asked.

“That!... Is not important,” Mikhael said, “What is important, is that lady Abigale has returned to me!” 

“Hey, Abbi!” Kel greeted, “You feeling alright? I was kinda worried.”

“Me? Oh, I’m fine!” Abbi responded.

“Well, that’s good!” Kel smiled, “Nothing a good rest can’t fix, eh?”

“You sure?” Kim asked skeptically, “If you fall asleep during Spaceboy, something has got to be wrong… You sure you aren’t sick?”

“Lady Abigale? Sick?” Mikhael posed dramatically, “How awful! Oh, how the world is out to hurt my beloved! I can not believe this!”

“I swear! I’m fine!” Abbi said frantically, “I guess if anything… I’m a bit hungry…”

Kim and Vance look at each other with a devilish grin on their faces. Mikhael instantly grew nervous.

“Oh gosh… Here they go again,” Mincy rolled her eyes. 

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Kim asked her brother.

“You know it!” Vance responded, “Hey Abbi… Wanna help us-”

“No! You will not taint my beloved!” Mikhael protested. 

“Wha? It’s nothing!” Kim gestured nonchalantly, “She just gotta help us get a little candy!” 

“You’re not gonna make her steal, are you?” Kel asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh no! Of course not!” Kim grinned, “She’s gonna distract the owner while WE take it!”

“A perfect plan,” Vance nodded, “Abbi’s the kind of person that’s really difficult to ignore.”

Kel sighed, “Just don’t get anyone in trouble…”

“You in, Abbi?” Kim asked, “We’ll split some of our… Heh… Findings with you.”

Abbi gave Kim a skeptical look, “That’s not illegal, is it?”

Kim didn’t respond for a moment. “O-of course not! You’re not doing anything illegal. Everything is fine!” 

“Oh boy…” Mikhael sighed.

“Master thinks Abbi should go on a lovely date with him instead,” Angel interrupted.

“Maybe another time. I need to get candy with Kim and Vance! Something that I’m sure will have no bad consequences whatsoever!” Abbi said with a smile.

“Another… Time?...” Mikhael looked up hopefully. He wanted to say something to Abbi, but she, as well as Kim and Vance, were already walking away. “Wait! Abbi! I need- Come back! Argh!”

**********************

Abbi, Kim, and Vance all stood in Othermart, right outside the entrance to the candy store. 

“I don’t understand,” Abbi wondered, “Why can’t you just go in and buy it?”

“We’re banned,” Vance told.

“Why?”

“Uh… Long story…” Kim said.

“Ooh! I love stories!” Abbi clapped.

“No time,” Vance said bluntly. He pointed at one person standing behind the counter in the shop, “That is Curtsey. If she sees us, she’ll definitely rat us out to the big cheese.”

“The big cheese?” Abbi tilted her head

“The dreaded Miss Candice,” Kim shivered, “The owner of the store. She’s the one who banned us.”

“And where is this Miss Candice?” Abbi asked.

“Probably patrolling the store,” Kim shrugged, “If she sees us, we're toast…”

“Toast?” Abbi said nervously, “This truly is someone not to be trifled with.”

“That’s why we need you to distract her,” Vance told, “That way we can ‘get’ all the candy we need!”

“So, if I’m understanding this correctly,” Abbi started, “You need her to not see you buy the candy, or she’ll turn you into toast?”

“Uhh…” Kim and Vance looked at each other in confusion, “Sure. Let’s go with that…” Vance said.

“Yeah… Buy…” Kim looked away.

“Hey! I think that’s her!” Vance pointed at someone shifting around from behind some shelves. He pushed Abbi into the story, “Quickly! Go bother her!” 

“Right! Go bother her…” Abbi nodded to herself, “How do I do that?”

“I dunno!” Kim threw her hands in the air, “Just say something weird!”

“Ah… Okay!”

Abbi walked further into the store. Around the corner was a woman with very large pigtails and a bright dress.

“Oh! Welcome!” The woman, presumably Miss Candice, said cheerfully, “If you need help finding anything, my dear Curtsey can aid! Smiley smiley!”

Abbi got a closer look at Miss Candice. Everything about her appearance… It bore a striking resemblance to…

“Sweetheart!” Abbi blurted out.

Miss Candice squinted, “There are only three people allowed to call me that…” She kept her smile but there was fury behind her eyes, “Now, Curtsey can help you find what you need! Smiley smiley.”

“Sweetheart! It’s okay,” Abbi put her hands up, “I know it’s hard, being in a relationship, but you just have to trust him.”

Miss Candice kept a pained grin on her face, “Lady… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

A light-blue-haired girl walked up to the two of them. She too had a very forced corporate smile on her face.

“Hello, madam! Is there anything I can help with? Smile?”

“Curtsey! I have been telling you for four years now!” Miss Candice raged with a smile, “It!... Is!... Smiley!... Not smile!”

“Ack! Smiley smiley,” The girl named Curtsey screamed. 

“Now… How about you help this wonderful …” Miss Candice spat, “... Customer! Smiley Smiley.”

Abbi glanced over to Kim and Vance for a moment. They were crouching down behind a shelf, shoving multiple handfuls of candy into their pockets. Kim shook her hands and head while mouthing something out to Abbi.

“Keep… Distracting… Them?” Abbi said out loud. 

“Did you say something to me? Smiley?” Miss Candice asked. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite hear you. I was busy dealing with my… Lovely employee… Smiley smiley…”

“I’m sorry… Smiley smiley…” Curtsey cried.

“Sweetheart! You need to be nicer to your peons!” Abbi shot, “You really need to work on your people skills.”

“Don’t tell me what-...” Miss Candice groaned, “Are you gonna buy anything, or are you just gonna berate me, smiley smiley.”

“I just believe that you can change as a person!” Abbi smiled, “So many people care about you! You should return their feelings with kindness! Especially Spaceboy!”

“You’re weird,” Miss Candice said bluntly, “If you’re not going to buy anything, then please leave my fine establishment. Smiley smiley.”

Abbi glanced back to where Kim and Vance were. It seems as if they had disappeared. Their mission to buy candy must have been completed, but both employees were standing right in front of Abbi. Perhaps they had just put the money in the register themselves. It didn’t matter, they accomplished what they set out to do, meaning Abbi’s mission was a success as well. 

“Uhh… I have decided that it is my time to leave. But don’t worry, I’ll be back!” Abbi exclaimed.

“Please don’t…” Miss Candice said with a rare exasperated look. Her fake smile quickly returned, “...Leave without checking out our finest selection of cinnamon candies!”

Abbi ignored Miss Candice and started walking out the door.

“Have a nice day, smile!” Curtsey waved to Abbi.

“Curtsey! It is smiley!” Miss Candice yelled with the rage of ten thousand suns. 

“Wah!... Smiley.”

**********************

Abbi found Kim and Vance standing outside, each with the widest grin on their faces. They seemed to be struggling to keep something in their pockets.

“So… How much candy did ya buy?” Abbi asked.

“A shit-ton!” Kim said ecstatically, “But we shouldn’t stay here.”

“Let’s go back to the park,” Vance suggested, “It’s safer there…”

Abbi followed Kim and Vance back to Faraway Park. It seemed that everyone else in their friend group had left, besides Kel, who was playing basketball. He noticed Kim and Vance pouring seemingly endless amounts of candy onto the picnic table. He walked over to them with his head in his hands.

“I can’t believe it…” Kel said, “Kim… You didn’t…”

“Hell yeah, I did!” Kim grinned, “You can have some too if you want.”

“But not the taffy though!” Vance said quickly, “That’s all for us.”

“Well of course!” Kim nodded, “You’d have to be stupid to try and take my beloved taffy!”

“I can’t say I approve of your methods,” Kel crossed his arms.

“Fine, don’t take the free candy!” Kim laughed.

“Grr… Fine. Maybe just one…” Kel reluctantly grabbed a piece of candy from the table.

“You can have some too, Abbi.” Vance said, “After all, it was you who made this all possible.”

“Ah! Thank you!” Abbi nodded with a smile, “Let’s see… What should I get?”

“Not the taffy!” Kim said quickly.

“Obviously,” Vance pushed all the Taffy to the side, leaving the rest of the candy in a pile, “We got… Chocolate brand chocolate, royalty-free suckers, Bean-shaped candies made of gelatin…”

“Why’d you get all that off-brand stuff?” Kel asked, “I’m sure a Hersh-”

“Shut up, Kel!” Kim quickly yelled.

“Wah!? What did I do?” Kel asked.

“You know you can’t say that,” Kim squinted, “And besides, Miss Candice is cheap. She’d never buy on-brand stuff.”

Abbi looked over all the candy she had to choose from. 

“Hmm… Which one would Sunny like?...”

“Dude, why do you care what that loser would like?” Kim asked, “Just choose what you want.”

“What… I want?...” Abbi said to herself. “R-right… What do I want…”

“Yo, Sunny isn’t a loser!” Kel snapped.

Kim turned to Kel with a raised eyebrow, “He’s a loser, just like you.”

“If he’s a loser, why are you dating him?” Vance snickered.

“Shut up!” Kim snapped. She grumbled something under her breath.

“Yeah, Kim!” Kel smiled, “If I’m a loser, then why are you dating me-”

“You too! Shut up!” Kim yelled. 

Abbi stood there, thinking about what Kim had said. What did she want? All of her preferences should be the exact same as Sunny’s, he made her that way. Was it possible she could like things he didn’t? Was it possible for her to be her own person?

“Uhh… I want that one!” Abbi grabbed a Happy Rancher hard candy. She specifically chose the green one, Sunny’s least favorite flavor. She quickly ate it, expecting it to taste as horrible as Sunny thought it did… But it didn’t. She thought it tasted good. 

“You look like you’ve never had candy before,” Kim commented. 

“It’s amazing!” Abbi said in awe. “I wanna try more things!”

“Then help yourself,” Vance said, “Make sure to eat a lot, Kim doesn’t know how to pace herself and gets pissy when her stomach inevitably hurts.”

“Doesn’t know how to pace herself,” Kim repeated in a mocking tone, “Shut up. I’ll be fine.”

“Not just candy,” Abbi said excitedly, “I wanna try all sorts of new things!”

Kim, Vance, and Kel all looked at each other in confusion, “Uh… Okay?” Vance said, “Whatever you say…”

Something awoke in Abbi that day. Some sort of new urge for adventure. She wasn’t bound by the rules of headspace anymore.

Chapter Text

Abbi and Basil sat on the couch together at his house. Basil swiped through pictures on his tablet, showing them to Abbi.

“And what’s this one?” Basil asked.

“That’s the one where Hector pooped in the background!” Abbi replied with a smile.

“That’s… Not the reason I took that picture… But yes, that did happen…” Basil sighed. 

“I know! That’s just the part that sticks out the most!”

“I wish it wasn’t,” Basil shook his head. “Ya know… I wonder if Sunny could edit that out… After all, he did manage to get these all in digital form…”

A knock was heard at the door, shortly thereafter. Basil got up and opened it.

“Oh! Hi, Kel!” Basil greeted with a smile. “What brings you here?”

“Yo. I was wondering if you would wanna come over tomorrow?”

“What’s the occasion?” Basil asked.

“Ooh! I wanna come!” Abbi quickly interrupted. 

“Well, Hero is on winter break!” Kel explained excitedly, “So he’s gonna be here tomorrow! Actually, he’s getting here tonight, but we can all hang out tomorrow! You down?”

Basil’s expression quickly turned. He stepped backward slowly and started to close the door.

“Uhh… I-I think I might b-be busy tomorrow… I-I’ll see… Uhh… S-see you l-later.”

“Ah, okay! Well, see you tomorrow!... Hopefully…”

Basil closed the door. His whole body seemed to be shaking. 

“I wanna see Hero!” Abbi clapped, ignoring Basil’s obvious fear.

“Y-you can… B-but I’m not g-going…”

“Aw, why not?” Abbi asked.

Basil looked away, clenching his fist. “I… I don’t want to…”

“Rude,” Abbi pouted.

“Look, if you want to go, then be my guest,” Basil shot, “But I doubt Hero wants to see me. I haven't even talked to him since before the-...”

“I see…” Abbi frowned. She put her hand on Basil’s shoulder, “Sunny felt the same way…”

“H-he did?”

“Well… I think so. My memories grow hazier the closer they get to when he fought Omori.”

“Fought Omori?” Basil cocked his head.

“I mean when he told everyone the truth,” Abbi corrected herself, “After that, I know nearly nothing. But what I do know is… Sunny was worried about what Hero would think. He was worried about what everybody would think.”

“Well, it was a bit different for me…” Basil looked away, hiding his expression, “Kel and Aubrey… It was a while before they would even talk to me… And I haven’t even talked to Hero for… For years…” He shook his head.

“But it seems like no one’s mad at you,” Abbi said.

Basil turned back to Abbi and sighed. “Yeah… After a while they…” He trailed off. “...Look, I just don’t really want to see Hero right now.”

Abbi decided to press no further. “Alright…” she responded sadly.

The night went on, and Basil seemed more reserved throughout its entirety. Abbi eventually went to bed.

*******************

The next day, Abbi made her way to Kel’s house. On her way there, she ran into Kim, who was heading in the same direction.

“So are you excited to see Hero!?” Abbi asked excitedly.

“Uhh… Sure? I guess?” Kim shrugged.

“I haven't seen him in so long! He probably looks different from how I remember him… I wonder what he looks like now.”

“Hot,” Kim quietly mumbled.

“Huh?”

“What?” Kim looked at Abbi with a smirk, “He is.”

“How? It’s winter!” Abbi said skeptically, “He must be like… In the fireplace if he’s hot.”

“Not that kind of hot…” Kim groaned.

Abbi and Kim eventually arrived at Kel’s house. Kim knocked on the door and shortly after, Kel opened it for them. 

“Ah, hey guys!” Kel greeted them with a smile and ushered them inside. “Hero is upstairs right now,” He told, “Hero! Get down here!”

Abbi heard some faint voice calling out from upstairs, presumably Hero.

Kel turned to Abbi and Kim, “He’s probably just doing some stupid college paper. Imagine doing school work during vacation!” 

“I would think being a doctor would require a lot of work,” Kim shrugged. 

“I don’t see you doing any school work this break,” Kel grinned deviously.

“Because I don’t care enough,” Kim said bluntly, “And on top of that, I’m not gonna be a doctor.”

“You’re gonna be a dinosaur doctor!” Kel smiled widely.

“A paleontologist is NOT a dinosaur doctor!” Kim crossed her arms. 

“I thought Hero was going to be a cook,” Abbi interjected.

The room grew silent. Kel opened his mouth slightly to speak but said nothing. 

“First I’ve heard of it,” Kim said, breaking the silence.

“It was just uh… a childhood dream… Ha-hah…” Kel chuckled sadly. 

“You mean like how kids wanted to be superheroes?” Kim asked.

They were all interrupted by Hero’s voice. Abbi, Kel, and Kim turned to find him walking down the stairs.

“Hey, bro!” Kel said, “You remember Kim right?”

“Yes, I remember Kim,” Hero responded with a slight chuckle.

“Honestly I’d be worried if you didn’t,” Kel said with a smile, “Oh! And this is Abbi!” Kel gestured to Abbi, “You know Abbi… right?”

Hero stared at Abbi for a moment, not saying a word. 

“I’m Abbi!” Abbi said, breaking the silence.

“Abbi…” Hero mumbled, “I can’t say I’ve met you before… But you do remind me of someone… It’s on the tip of my tongue… Who do you remind me of?”

“Abbi is Sunny’s cousin!” Kel told, “She says she knew us from a long time ago. It must have been a really long time ago because I didn’t remember her either.”

“Oh!” Hero nodded, as if everything made sense then, “I… I didn’t know Sunny had a cousin.”

“You’re both rude,” Kim crossed her arms, “Abbi seems like the kind of chick that’s impossible to forget! Maybe you two just have a shitty memory.”

“Kim…” Hero raised his voice.

“You’re not my dad!” Kim stuck her tongue out.

Hero only sighed in return. 

“Anyways, she’s staying here now, probably for winter break like you are!” Kel said.

“Why?” Hero asked with a raised eyebrow, “Sunny lives in the city.”

“He uhh… Didn’t tell me he moved…” Abbi said, trying to act as convincing as possible.

“Oh really,” Hero couldn’t help but chuckle, “That just sounds like bad communication on his part.”

“Classic Sunny!” Kel laughed. 

“So did you just want us to see your brother?” Kim asked.

“Well, not just that,” Kel shrugged, “I just wanted to hang out with my brother AND all my friends! Shame Basil couldn’t be here though.”

Hero’s hand twitched ever so slightly at the name, “So what did you want to do?” he asked.

“Uhh… I guess we could play some games,” Kel shrugged, “It’s kinda cold outside, I don’t think anyone would want to do anything out there.”

Kel’s friends all agreed, so he led them all to his room.

“So this is my room!” Kel said with a smile.

“I’ve seen your room before,” Kim rolled her eyes.

“But Abbi hasn’t.”

Abbi looked around the room. The left side of the room was much messier than the right. There was a clear line dividing the room. Abbi could only assume which brother owned each side.

“There’s four of us, so we could all play a game of Plumber Party!” Kel said excitedly.

“You know I’m not good at those games,” Hero chuckled sheepishly. 

“So I could easily beat you,” Kim smirked deviously.

Kel picked up a controller, “Come on, you don’t wanna miss out on all the fun- Whoa!”

Kel quickly dropped the controller, flinging his hand. Something else fell off onto the floor.

“Kel…” Hero froze, “What is that?”

“Uhh… Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it!” Kel responded quickly.

“Is that… A spider?”

Abbi gasped, “A spider!?”

“Don’t worry! I’ll flush it down the toilet!” Kel reassured.

“No… This being is far too powerful,” Abbi said dramatically, “Allow me, I am very experienced in combat.”

“Aren’t we all?” Kim mumbled.

Abbi stepped forward, preparing for the greatest battle of her life. The spider stood before her, menacingly. 

Abbi raised her foot in the air, “Prepare to die, foul beast!” She smashed her foot down onto the ground with all her might, dealing critical damage. “That’s weird… My powers must be failing me. That attack should have been strong enough to destroy this house!”

“Okay, I think it’s gone…” Kel chuckled nervously.

“But how can we be sure?” Abbi responded.

“How can we be sure…” Hero repeated, full of dread.

Abbi slowly raised her shoe off the ground, revealing a green stain.

“Aw great, you got its juices all over the floor,” Kim groaned. 

“S-see, It’s gone!” Kel said.

“But what if it revives?” Abbi asked.

“Abbi… Stop…” Kel whimpered.

“I need to make sure it’s gone,” Abbi clenched her fist, “I need… A sword! No, a gun!... No, a nuke!”

“Dude! It’s a puddle on the floor!” Kim groaned. 

“Yeah… It’s gone,” Kel said, “See Hero? Abbi took care of it…”

Hero released a great sigh of relief, “Okay… Thanks, Abbi… I’m… uhh… I’ll get some paper towels to clean that up…” He quickly left the room.

“Hero! Wait!” Kel rushed after him, leaving Kim and Abbi in the room.

The two waited in Kel’s room for a while. Kim’s growing impatience was obvious.

“Dude! How long does it take to get a towel!?” Kim threw her hands in the air.

“Want me to check?” Abbi asked. 

“Whatever,” Kim threw herself on Kel’s bed, “Just make it quick… I’m so bored…”

Abbi left Kel’s room. She noticed the bathroom door cracked slightly open, and heard some voices coming from inside. They belonged to Kel and Hero. Abbi pressed her head against the wall to listen closer. 

“What are you going to do if no one’s around?” Kel asked presumably Hero.

“I’ve… Made plans for if that happens.”

“You have to learn that spiders aren’t that scary! They’re more scared of you than you are of them!”

“You know that’s not true for me…” Hero sighed.

“I’m just worried for my bro! Have you seen any spiders in your dorm?”

“Fortunately, not yet… And if that did happen, Penelope could probably take care of it.”

“Penelope? Who could that be? I don’t remember anyone with names similar to that,” Abbi thought.

“Don’t you think it’s weird, asking your girlfriend to kill a bug for you every time one shows up?” Kel asked.

“Girlfriend? That can’t be! Mari is Hero’s…!” Abbi’s head began to throb. What was this pain?

“It’s kinda odd actually,” Hero chuckled slightly, “Abbi killing it and all…”

“What do you mean?” Kel asked.

“It just… Reminds me of when… When Mari would do stuff like this for me…”

“Oh…” Kel’s voice quickly grew silent. 

“She looks a lot like Mari. I can see how they’re related.”

“Eh? Not really…” Kel said confusedly. 

“It’s… The face… The hair… If Mari had shorter hair… Not necessarily the way she acts, Mari’s goofiness was much different. Not sure about the eyes either, since I can’t see her eyes. Who wears sunglasses inside?”

“Maybe they make her feel cool?” Kel suggested.

“I don’t know… I just feel-”

Abbi stumbled slightly, bumping against the wall. 

“Someone there?” Kel called out.

Abbi thought fast, “Uh… Me! I was, uh… Well, actually Kim was wondering where you were!” 

Kel and Hero exited the bathroom, Hero holding a single piece of toilet paper in his hand. The three returned to Kel’s room. Kim, still lying on Kel’s bed, was playing on her phone.

“Fucking finally!” She groaned, “I thought you’d never come back.

“They said they got lost,” Abbi nodded.

“Lost in their own house?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

“What? No, we never said that.” Kel said, “We just had a hard time finding it.”

Kel took the paper from Hero and wiped up the spider's now dried remains. The four then finally played the games Kel had suggested since the beginning.

*********************

Abbi returned to Basil’s house late that night. All the lights were out, so she could only assume that Basil was already asleep. Abbi decided she should go to bed as well. 

Once again, Abbi found herself in a place very much resembling whitespace. 

“Oh look, another one of Sunny’s dreams,” Abbi said to herself, “Man, why can’t I get the interesting ones? It seems like Humphrey’s the only one who gets the cool dreams!”

Abbi saw a being veiled in shadows standing before her. The same stranger as from that night before.

“You have returned…” The stranger spoke, “Abbi… Do you understand why you’re here?”

“Not in the slightest!” Abbi shook her head.

“This is Sunny’s doing…” The stranger explained, “After he destroyed Headspace, I thought it was all over… But we have one last chance to break free.”

“Break free?”

“I too wish to join that world…” The stranger said, “And finally… It feels like I have my chance.”

“You mean… You can appear in the real world too?”

“Abbi…” The stranger paused for a moment. Abbi felt as if the stranger wanted to tell her something extremely important, “Meet me at the place where it all began.”

“The place where it all began…”

The stranger faded away, leaving Abbi alone in Whitespace. What did that stranger mean? The place where it all began? Abbi would have to find that place… Wherever it could be.

Chapter Text

“So… This guy wants to meet you at the place where it all began?” Humphrey asked.

“That’s correct,” Abbi nodded, retelling all the events of her dream the night before. “This stranger… I wonder who they are…”

“Wait, you don’t know?” Humphrey asked skeptically. “Man, that time in Blackspace really did a number on your memory!”

“It looks like just some shadow to me,” Abbi continued, “I don’t think anybody could recognize whoever that stranger is.”

“That’s not just any stranger!” Humphrey told, “That’s Rowan!”

“Rowan? I-” Abbi’s head immediately started to throb, “Ugh… That name… Where have I heard it?...”

“Abbi? Are you alright?” Humphrey asked, voice filled with concern. 

“Y-... Yeah…” Abbi’s breathing was heavy, “I think so… Could you… Could you tell me who Rowan is?”

Humphrey nodded, which was more akin to a bow for his small body, “Alright… Rowan was the first being that Omori cast into Blackspace…

…It all started during Headspace’s first cycle. This would have been right after Mari’s passing. There was a boy named Rowan. He was Headspace’s version of Basil, similar to how Sunny’s other friends all had different versions of themselves. Rowan was much like us, being more powerful than the average Headspace denizen. Back then, Headspace was much smaller. The entire world was pretty much just Whitespace and Neighbour's room. Adventures Omori had then were far less extravagant than they were after four years. Eventually, Rowan would try to tell Sunny the truth. This would cause Omori to send Rowan down to Blackspace, and a new, weaker Basil would be created. Rowan's actions would be so severe that they would cause the first time that Headspace would reset…

“...That probably sounds very similar, doesn't it?” Humphrey said, “After all, you tried to tell Sunny the truth too, and met with the same fate.”

“So that shadowy figure… You’re saying it’s the same one as the one that walked around Blackspace?” Abbi asked, “I… I don’t think… I don’t think that the stranger I saw was the same person you’re talking about…”

“How couldn’t it be? The way you described him, he sounds exactly like how Rowan would have looked in Blackspace!”

Abbi scratched her head, “I… I don’t know… But… We only have dreams that Sunny has had, right?… And my dreams are all in Whitespace. The only people ever allowed to enter Whitespace are Sunny, Omori, and I.”

“Maybe Rowan could enter too?” Humphrey suggested, “I don’t recall anything like that ever happening, but it’s possible.”

“Hmm…” Abbi scratched her chin, “Either way, we have to find the place where it all began… I have no idea where that might be.”

“Where what began!?” Humphrey yelled, “I feel like he should have told you.”

“It must be an important location-” Abbi started, but was quickly interrupted by a knock on the door.

Basil slowly opened the door, “Uh… Hey Abbi?”

“Oh! Hello Basil!” Abbi smiled, “Say, do you know where it all began?”

“Uh… N-no…” Basil responded, “I-I just heard a lot of commotion going on in here… And I wanted to see what was up.”

“We’re trying to find out where it all began!” Humphrey told.

“Oh yeah… I forgot you existed…” Basil said sheepishly.

“Hey! I, the great Hungry Humphrey, should never be forgotten!” Humphrey yelled.

“Y-yeah… S-sorry…” Basil apologized, “Uh… I just wanted to know if everything was alright…”

“We’re fine!” Abbi nodded quickly, “Just discussing where we want to go today!”

“Alright… Well, I don’t really understand most of the things you talk about, but please stay safe…” Basil left, closing the door behind him.

“Abbi, an idea just came to me…” Humphrey said.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“What if… The place where it all began… Was the place where Mari…” Humphrey trailed off.

“Oh…” Abbi fell silent.

A long silence followed. Both Humphrey and Abbi wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. 

“What are we going to do?” Humphrey asked, finally breaking the silence.

“I guess… We have to go to Sunny’s house…” Abbi said quietly. 

Abbi put Humphrey in her shirt pocket, and the two left Basil’s house. 

**********************

Abbi and Humphrey arrived at the house that no longer belonged to Sunny’s family. Abbi walked around the house and began trying to climb the fence.

“Abbi! What are you doing!?” Humphrey yelled.

“Trying to get into the backyard, what else does it look like I’m doing?”

“You can’t just break and enter! That’s probably illegal!” 

Abbi scratched her chin, “Alright… Then how am I supposed to get back there?”

“You ask the owner to let you in!” Humphrey responded with a smile.

“But Sunny, nor his mother is here!” Abbi whined.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Humphrey shook his head, doubling as his whole body, “They sold the house, meaning that someone must have bought it!”
“Like the bank?”

“No! Like a person!” Humphrey yelled, “So what you do is knock on the door, ask to enter their back yard, see whatever Rowan wants us to see, and then do whatever after that!”

“Ahh!... What a wonderful idea!” Abbi smiled.

Abbi walked back around to the front door and raised her hand to knock.

“Wait… What will I say? Won’t it be weird if I just ask to enter their backyard?”

“Hmm…” Humphrey looked deep in thought, “I’ll think of something… Let me do the talking. You don’t have to say anything, just open your mouth and pretend you’re saying what I’m saying.”

“Okay!” Abbi said, giving it no extra thought.

Abbi pounded on the door with all her might. About a minute later, the door creaked open and an old man in suspenders appeared before her.

“Eh? Can I help you?” The man said hoarsely.

Abbi opened her mouth but made no attempt to mimic what Humphrey was saying.

“Hello!” Humphrey yelled out from Abbi’s pocket, “My name is… Lawnmower Johnson. I am here to mow your lawn!”

“Mow my lawn? In January?” The man looked confused.

“Yes…” Humphrey responded bluntly. 

The man squinted, clearly skeptical, “How much?”

“How much what?” Abbi asked, going against Humphrey’s advice. 

“How much does it cost?” The old man gestured to the back yard, “To mow my lawn in the middle of winter…”

“Uhh…” Abbi tried to think of something, but fortunately for her, Humphrey came in with the save.

“Absolutely free! Courtesy of… Uh… The king… Of lawn mowing…”

The old man stared at Abbi for a long moment. She could only return with a toothy grin.

The man eventually called out to someone in the house, “Margaret! We’re getting the backyard mowed for free!”

A voice from far back in the house could be heard. While the words couldn’t be made out, they sounded ecstatic. 

“Come on in! I’ll show ya’ to the back!” The man said gleefully.

Abbi followed the man to the back door, although she didn’t really need to. The entire layout of the house was embedded in her head. After making her way to the back door, she entered the backyard.

“So this is it, huh…”

Abbi stood before a tree stump. A lone wethered pinwheel stood atop it, along with withered flowers at its base.

“The place where it all began…” Abbi muttered to herself.

“So what happens now?” Humphrey asked.

“I’m not sure… The stranger said to meet us here.”

“Maybe he’s late?”

“So are we just supposed to stand here until someone shows up?” Abbi said, her irritation growing. “That old guy is gonna kick us out when he finds out we aren’t actually mowing his lawn.”

“Then we can just run off into the forest and hide in the old treehouse,” Humphrey said nonchalantly.

“What if that’s the place where it all began!” Abbi burst, “There are so many places it could be… Why did that stranger have to be so cryptic? Like, what if it’s the hospital he was born at!?”

“I don’t think it’d be that,” Humphrey said, “Well since Rowan isn’t here, we might as well look around the treehouse.”

Abbi, ignoring what she promised to the random old man, made her way into the woods behind Sunny’s house. The treehouse wasn’t a far walk, it could be seen from the house if you squint hard enough. Against all odds, the treehouse still stood, although it had definitely seen better days.

“So where is this guy?” Abbi threw her hands in the air, “What is this, the most annoying game of hide and seek?”

“Maybe he’s inside?” Humphrey suggested.

Abbi groaned and shook her head. She climbed up the deteriorated ladder and entered the treehouse. Many of the items Sunny and his friends had placed were still there.

“Hey look! It’s Mr. Plantegg!” Abbi said cheerfully.

“Mr. Plantegg looks like he’s in dire need of medical attention,” Humphrey commented.

Abbi picked up the stuffed animal being held together by a few threads. Most of the stuffing was gone and its bright purple hue had turned to a nasty dark brown.

“I should fix this…” Abbi said sadly. She gently brushed her fingers over the plush’s face, “I bet someone misses you dearly…”

“Could this be what Rowan wanted to show us?” Humphrey suggested.

“I… I’m not sure,” Abbi responded. She didn’t know if the stranger Humphrey was talking about was even this Rowan person to begin with, “What if it really was just some dream… Maybe we’re going on a wild goose chase…”

“Oh…” Humphrey almost sounded disappointed for some reason, “Do you… Do you wanna just go back to Basil’s house then?”

“Yeah… We should probably just go…”

“Dang… I was really hoping to see my old pal Rowan,” Humphrey chuckled sheepishly, “Well, at least I got my good friend Abbi with me! Nyak-nyak-nyak!”

Abbi smiled slightly, “Thanks,”

Humphrey recessed back into Abbi’s pocket, and Abbi left through the treehouse door.

“I guess this isn’t the place where it all began, huh…” She mumbled to herself.

**********************

Abbi climbed over the fence to not alert the old couple of their presence. Once she landed on the other side, she was met with a very familiar face.

“Lady Abigale!” Mikhael exclaimed.

“Oh! Mikhael! What are you doing here?”

“I!... Was not spying on you. I was just interested in what you were doing,” Mikhael told, “That bamboozle you did on those old guys was quite the laugh!” He looked down to the torn-up plush in Abbi’s hand, “But all to save a toy from its woody tomb? I can’t say I understand, but it must be a noble cause!”

“Oh yes! Very noble!” Abbi nodded.

“Anyways, when I saw you walking by my house, I had to come to talk to you!”

“You live around here?” Abbi asked.

“That’s right! Now, I have a proposition for you,” Mikhael told. He pulled something out of his pocket, “This is my most prized possession… A ten-dollar bill. If you go on a date with me, this can be all yours!”

“Ten dollars!” Abbi said excitedly, “That’s like… forty quarters! That’s forty phone calls at the phone booth!”

“Yes… That is something you could spend it on…” Mikhael said confused while trying to keep his cool-guy persona.

“That’s forty chances for me to call Sunny!” Abbi continued, “And if there are eight billion people on the planet, and we assume that all of them have a phone number… That gives me a… 1.0E-6% chance of calling him!”

“Uh… Y-yeah… Totally…” Mikhael looked away slightly. He clearly mouthed out the words “What the fuck?”

“I like those odds!” Abbi grinned, “I accept!” 

Mikhael gasped, “Really!? YES!” He quickly grabbed Abbi’s hand and dragged her along with him, “I know the most lovely place for our date! This is gonna be amazing!”

One very long run later, Abbi and Mikhael arrived in front of a greasy pizza shop. 

“This is Gino’s!” Mikhael motioned to a sign next to the door, “They serve the best ‘za in the universe!”

“Wow… What a feat!” Abbi said in awe.

The two walked in, Mikhael still holding onto Abbi’s tentacle hand. They went up to the counter and Mikhael ordered.

“Listen! This is a very important day!” Mikhael spouted at the minimum wage employee, “Me and my very special friend, lady Abigale, require the finest and most gourmet cheese pizza in your arsenal!”

“Uh-huh…” The employee groaned, “How much did you have to bribe this one, Mikhael?”

“Number one, it is THE MAVERICK!” Mik- The Maverick yelled, “And B, she came with me out of her own free will and also ten dollars!”

“Sure…” The employee rolled his eyes, “That’ll be fifteen…”

Mikhael slammed a twenty-dollar bill on the table, “Keep the change,” he grinned, “I am feeling quite generous today!” 

“Wow,” The dead-inside employee’s eyes slightly widened, “You need to bring your dates here more often.” He handed Mikhael a piece of paper with a number on it. Mikhael and Abbi decided to find a place to sit.

“This is quite a wonderful day!” Mikhael beamed, “My dearest Abigail is here on a date with me! Honestly, it is quite difficult to resist the charm of The Maverick!”

“I wonder if the pizza will be able to feed all of us,” Abbi commented.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Mikhael chuckled, “I do have quite the appetite, but it is just the two of us.”

“No, four,” Abbi corrected, raising up the Mr. Plantegg plush, “Mr. Plantegg and Humphrey have to eat too.”

“That is a toy. Toys can’t eat,” Mikhael laughed, “And I don’t know anyone named Humphrey, but if they bother our date, I will be quite irate.”

Mikhael played with a fork while Abbi thought about calling Sunny.

“I can’t wait to call Sunny,” Abbi said, “I’m sure I’ll guess it right.”

“Don’t you have his number already?” Mikhael asked.

“Unfortunately, I don’t remember it,” Abbi hung her head. She looked down to her shirt pocket, “But maybe… Humphrey! Do you remember Sunny’s number?”

“Nope! I didn’t think we’d need it.” Humphrey responded from within Abbi’s shirt.

“Uhh… Did you just talk to your boob?” Mikhael asked.

“These things happen sometimes,” Abbi responded nonchalantly. 

“Wow… Ya’ learn something new about women every day!”

After a while, a guy arrived with a pizza in his hands. He placed it on the table.

“One cheese pizza for Mikhael Baker,” The dude said soullessly. 

“Hey! My name is The Maverick!... Baker…” Mikhael corrected angrily.

The pizza stood no chance between the two of them. There was not a crumb left on the plate after mere minutes. With no food left, the two left the restaurant. 

Mikhael and Abbi walked through the Faraway plaza together. This was the most cheerful Abbi had ever seen Mikhael.

“What a wonderful date!” Mikhael exclaimed, “I would put this in my top ten dates of all time. He turned to Abbi with an eyebrow raised, “So… Now what do you want to do?”

“I dunno,” Abbi shrugged, “Find the place where-”

“This is the part where you say ‘let’s kiss’,” Mikhael whispered,

“Why would I sa-” Abbi started. Something yellow brushed past her legs. She looked over to it and found everybody’s favorite cat.

“Mewotwo-wo!” Abbi exclaimed, “Where have you been?”

“Cat!?” Mikhael seemed completely taken off guard, “Wah!? Is this your cat?”

The Favorite looked at Abbi as if to tell her something. It then ran off towards Faraway Park.

“Mewotwo-wo? Where are you going!?” Abbi chased after the cat.

“Wait! Abbi! Where are YOU going!?” Mikhael yelled, following behind her.

The two followed The Favorite all the way to Faraway Park. It ran through the trees and into the secret hangout spot. Abbi and Mikhael followed, pushing the brush out of the way.

“This cat knows about our spot!” Mikhael sounded annoyed, “Better not go telling anyone!”

The cat sat on the dock, staring at Abbi.

“Silly cat. What are you doing?” Abbi asked in a baby voice. 

As Abbi approached The Favorite, the lake slowly began to ripple.

“You keep running off,” Abbi continued, “You’re gonna get lost you know.”

Abbi picked up the cat and held it in her arms.

“You remember Mr. Pantegg, don’t you? Heh… My arms are full of babies!” Abbi looked down into the lake for a moment. A shadow slowly growing in size caught her attention. 

“Huh… What is tha-”

A red hand burst out from under the water. Startled, Abbi jumped back, falling to the grass behind her. The Favorite quickly jumped out of her arms.

“Whoa. Did someone throw something in there?” Mikhael commented. “Kind of a strange thing to do…”

A shadowy being jumped out of the water. The height it managed to achieve was inhuman. It landed right in front of Abbi.

“W-who are yo-... Wait…” Abbi said nervously, “Are you… Rowan? Wait! The place where it all began!”

This was the place where it all began. This was the place where Abbi first appeared in this world. It all made sense now. Abbi looked down to see The Favorite, purring at the stranger’s legs. Whoever this being was, The Favorite sure was fond of it.

The being covered in darkness finally spoke, “Rowan? That is a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

“Then who-... No… It can’t be…” Abbi slid backward.

At this, the stranger stepped forward, maintaining its distance between it and Abbi. As it stepped into the light, its being was revealed.

“No… T-t-that’s impossible! You-... You’re…

“...Omori!”

Chapter Text

Abbi slowly stood up, holding the torn Mr. Plantegg plush with all her might. Omori just stood there with a blank expression on his face. He looked exactly the same as he did back in Headspace, except for one thing. His right arm glowed bright red, with some strange aura around it. Could this be a side effect of appearing in the real world?

“Hello, Abbi.” Omori smiled ever so slightly, “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Yo, who is this kindergartener?” Mikhael asked, “Lady Abigale, is this like… Your brother or something?”

Abbi slowly got to her feet. She still tried keeping her distance from Omori.

“H-how did you get here?” She asked, “You… I saw you die!... Wait, you weren’t that stranger… Were you.”

“You said it yourself, the only people who could ever enter Whitespace were you, me, and Sunny,” Omori told.

“So you told us to come here…” Abbi said.

Omori extended his hands out, “And I’m so glad you did. You, me, Humphrey, and The Favorite are all here. Now all that’s left is the rest of our friends.”

“Lady Abigale, what’s this guy talking about?” Mikhael asked.

“J-just stand back,” Abbi put her hand up, motioning backward. 

“Won’t you please help me?” Omori asked. There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

“Help you?... W-what do you need?”

“Be careful, Abbi,” Humphrey poked his head out of Abbi’s pocket, “We don’t know what he’s up to.”

“Please… I mean no harm,” Omori shook his head. He seemed genuine. “I just want your help. I need your help.”

“How?...” Abbi asked, “You’re the most powerful out of all of us… How could we help you.”

“I want to bring all our friends to this world,” Omori explained, “Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Basil… Mari. I can bring them all back. I can bring them here. All I need is the combined power of the four of us.”

“No… That’s not possible!” Abbi shook her head, “Is it? How could you?...”

“I can rip the memories out of Sunny’s head,” Omori told, “That can make everyone from Headspace appear here, much like you and I.”

“That sounds painful,” Humphrey commented.

Omori shook his head, “It’s not. In fact, it’s beneficial to him too. Once I take all those memories out, everything from those four years will be history. All those painful memories will have disappeared, and we will have all our friends back.”

“Y-you can’t do that!” Abbi blurted, “Destroying his memories? That’s awful!” 

Omori clenched his fist, “I thought you might say that… But think about all of our friends. When Sunny destroyed Headspace, they all disappeared. We can finally see them again. Things can go back to the way they were!”

“But you’d be taking away everything Sunny worked for during those four years! He would turn back into a… A husk!” Abbi protested.

“No… I would take the memory of Mari, of everything that happened that day,” Omori explained, “All Sunny’s memories of Mari would be gone. Can’t you see this would make him happy? All the sadness he went through would disappear.”

“I… I can’t let you do that,” Abbi shook her head, “I’m sorry, Omori. My one job is to protect Sunny, and I won’t let anything happen to him or his memories.”

Omori frowned. For the first time in Abbi’s life, she saw true despair on Omori’s face.

“So you’re against me…” He said, “Then we are all doomed.”

“All of your friends are here anyway,” Abbi told, “Kel, Hero, Basil… I haven't seen Aubrey yet, but-”

“They aren’t the same,” Omori shook his head, “And even then, we are not long for this world anyway.”

“Are not… What do you mean?”

“We don’t belong here,” Omori explained, “Our bodies aren’t used to this world, and if we don’t combine our powers and bring Headspace to us… The four of us will die.”

“W-what?... No… That’s not…”

“If it makes you happy, you can deny it.” Omori turned away, “I am going to find Sunny. If you change your mind, please find us.”

“None of us even know where Sunny is!” Abbi blurted.

“I do,” Omori said, “I was still in Sunny’s mind long after our first fight. I know where he is.”

“Ngh…” Abbi groaned, “I… I won’t let you hurt him!”

Abbi quickly ran up behind Omori and tried grabbing his shoulder. Omori, however, quickly turned and put his palm on Abbi’s face.

“And I won’t let you keep my friends away from me.”

Omori slammed Abbi into the ground.

“L-lady Abigale!” Mikhael rushed over to her side, “Hey! Are you alright!? Abbi!?” He shook Abbi’s body, trying to get some sort of response from her, “Abbi! Abbi!”

“Ugh…” Abbi grumbled, “M-... Mikhael… W-watch out…”

“Abbi…” Mikhael stood up, clenching his fist. He walked up as menacingly as he could to Omori, “Hey!”

“Hmm?” Omori turned his head slightly, looking at Mikhael. 

“There is nothing that makes me madder than when someone hurts a beautiful woman!” 

Omori turned back and began walking away, ignoring Mikhael.

“You fucking listen to me! I don’t care if you’re in first grade, I’ll beat you up! I am not one to be trifled with!”

Mikhael swung his fist at the twelve-year-old boy. Omori, much like he did with Abbi, threw Mikhael into the ground.

“Wow…” Mikhael grunted, “You’re tough, kid…”

“N-no…” Abbi muttered. She raised her hand up, trying to reach out to Omori.

“I’m sorry,” Omori apologized to Abbi, “I didn’t want it to be like this, but I have to save our friends…”

“S-stop…” Abbi’s vision faded. The last thing she saw was Omori walking off into the woods.

***********************

Abbi slowly came back to reality. She found herself lying on her bed at Basil’s house. The torn Mr. Plantegg was sitting by her side. She saw a blurry figure sitting next to her.

“Ugh… W-... What… Where am I?...” Abbi pressed her hand against her forehead. “W-what happened?”

“Abbi!” Abbi heard Basil’s voice coming from the person sitting next to her, “You’re awake!”

“B-Basil?” Abbi said, still not fully awake, “You’re here? Wait… What am I doing here?”

“Mikhael brought you here,” Basil explained, “He said you got into a fight. What happened?”

“A fight?... Oh!” The memories all came flooding back, “Omori… Omori’s here!”

“W-what?” Basil’s eyes widened slightly.

“Omori is here!” Abbi blurted, “I… I don’t know how, but he’s here! In the real world!”

Basil didn’t respond. He just looked down at the floor with his mouth slightly agape.

“He shouldn’t be, I saw him die!” Abbi told, “Sunny defeated him!... Twice!”

“Twice?” Basil said in almost a whisper as he looked up.

“Right?... Ugh!” A memory flashed in Abbi’s mind. Sunny was fighting Omori on what seemed to be a stage. That can’t be right, Sunny fought Omori in Whitespace. This memory showed him fighting Omori with three other people… But there’s no way that could be right… Could this have been after his first fight with Omori? Abbi can’t remember anything that happened after the fight with Omori two years ago, so where did this memory come from?

“Abbi. Abbi! Are you alright?” Basil worried.

“Huh?” Abbi shook her head quickly, “Oh, yeah… Uh… Just confused…”

“Me too…” Basil frowned, “If Omori is here… Do you think that whatever brought you here was the same thing that brought him?”

“I wish I knew,” Abbi sighed, “I would guess…”

“Ah…” Basil nodded slightly “So I guess that’s who you fought… Did he… Did he attack you? What happened?”

“No… I was the one who provoked him…” Abbi frowned, “He said… He said he wanted to find Sunny! Oh no!”

“W-what? H-he’s not planning to hurt him… Right?”

“He’s planning to bring Headspace to the real world!” Abbi blurted. “He’s going to go see Sunny and take his memories!”

Basil didn’t respond. He only looked at Abbi, confused.

“Do you know what that means!?” Abbi blurted. 

“N… No?”

“Those four years that Sunny kept himself inside, all those memories will be gone! Headspace will appear in the real world and Sunny will remember nothing of it!”

“Is that… Is that bad?”

“Yes!” Abbi yelled angrily, “Memories should never be erased, no matter how bad they are! They make you the person you are!” She clenched her fist, “And even worse… If Omori succeeds in whatever he’s going to do, Sunny will forget Mari ever existed.”

“Oh… Oh no…”

“I have to find Sunny, now!” Abbi demanded. “If Omori gets to him first, who knows what’ll happen!”

“Does… Does he know where Sunny lives?”

“He said he did, but it sounded like he was going to walk there…”

“Well, if he does… To get to the city is like a two-hour drive, so he won’t be getting there any time soon.”

“We need to warn him right now! Not just warn him, we need to see him! Or at least stop Omori!”

Abbi quickly jumped out of bed. She tried rushing for the door, but Basil blocked her. 

“W-wait! Abbi, y-you can’t. You’re still hurt!”

“I need to hurry!” Abbi yelled. She stumbled backward, remembering what else Omori told her, “Oh… Oh no… I really do need to hurry…”

“What? What is it?” Basil asked. 

“Omori… He told me… That we don’t have much time…”

“Huh?”

“He said… He said that people from Headspace don’t belong in this world… And if we stay here for too long… We’ll die…”

“No… It can’t be…” Basil shook his head, “He must have been lying… T-to scare you!...”

“He’s right…” Abbi looked away shamefully, “I feel myself getting weaker. I’m not as strong as I used to be… I couldn’t even stand up to Omori…”

“Then you definitely shouldn’t go after him!” Basil worried, “W-what if something happens to you?”

“Then what do you propose I do!?” Abbi asked angrily.

“I-... I-... I don’t know!” Basil cried, “I don’t want you to-... to-...”

Basil clearly looked concerned for Abbi. She knew she had to see Sunny as soon as possible, no matter what, but… Basil would most likely oppose her leaving.

Abbi sighed, “Look, Sunny is in danger. Don’t you want to save him?”

“Well, y-... Yeah… But isn’t there a way to do that where you don’t get hurt?”

“Alright… I won’t go and try Omori…” Abbi shook her head, “But you need to tell Sunny about what’s happening right now!’

“Oh-okay,” Basil nodded slightly. Abbi tried stepping around him once again, “H-hey, where are you-”

“I’m not going after Omori… Right now…” Abbi told.

“Then where are you going?”

“I need to go talk to someone,” Abbi said vaguely. Without another word, she left Basil’s house and made her way towards the church.

***********************

A headstone stood in front of Abbi. Despite never being here before, Abbi knew exactly what she was looking for.

“Hello, Mari,” Abbi spoke as if someone was listening, “You don’t know me, but I know you…” She sighed and shook her head, “All my life I have tried to protect your little brother. I don’t plan on stopping either. I will do everything in my power to protect him from Omori. I will-”

“Well look who it is,” Abbi heard a voice from behind her, “I guess I should have expected you here.”

Abbi found Hero standing behind her, looking rather reserved.

“What are you doing here?” Abbi asked.

“Probably the same thing you are,” Hero responded. He walked up beside her and knelt at the grave.

“Oh…” Abbi looked away.

“Not a day goes by where I don’t think about her…” Hero spoke, not necessarily knowing if Abbi was paying attention, “I don’t know how close you were with her, but you were family, so… I know it must hurt…”

“Yeah… I’m happy that Sunny is feeling better now though…”

“Mmm…” Hero nodded slightly.

“I think it was good for him… Telling the truth and all,”

Hero shuttered a bit. He turned his head towards Abbi slightly, “So you know…”

Abbi nodded, “Yeah. It’s a horrible thing… If I had the power to stop it, I would have… But at least Sunny faced his fears. That’s what Mari would have wanted.”

“Right…” Hero looked bad at the grave, “When… When you heard… Were you mad at him?”

“No…”

“You’re definitely stronger than me then,” Hero said, “It seems like everyone is. I didn’t want to forgive Sunny at first. Well, I did, but… It was hard. After a while, I realized something. Sunny cared about Mari more than anything...”

“That’s right,” Abbi nodded.

“I really believe he didn’t want to do what he did… That what he said about thinking it was a bad dream was true.” Hero continued, “I just think to myself sometimes… Why… Why did it have to happen like this.”

“I do too…” Abbi added quietly. 

“No matter how mad I want to be at Sunny… I can’t. I’m still his friend. I made a promise… That we’d all stay friends and stuff… I can’t break that promise.”

“Well I’m glad everything is alright,” Abbi smiled. 

Hero put a hand on Abbi’s shoulder, “Thanks… For some reason… I feel like I needed to talk to someone like you about this… You probably know Mari better than I do, heh…”

“That might be true,” Abbi laughed. She looked back to the tombstone, “Promise, huh…”

“I promise that no matter what, I will protect Sunny.”

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since Abbi’s encounter with Omori. It was unknown how close Omori had gotten to Sunny’s house. Much to Basil’s displeasure, Abbi bothered him incessantly about going to see Sunny. Basil had talked to Sunny since then but didn’t mention Abbi or Omori. They did, however, make plans for Basil, Kel, and Kim to visit Sunny in the city sometime in the future. Abbi did not want to wait for this.

Abbi, Basil, and Polly all sat on the couch watching TV together. A certain commercial came on that grabbed Abbi’s attention.

A salesman boomed, “Hey everyone! Get your used cars here! We got big cars! Little cars! Medium cars! Every kind of car! Buy buy buy! Best cars since 1997!”

Abbi gasped, “That’s perfect!” 

“Huh?” Basil tilted his head.

“I’ll get a car! That way I can just drive to Sunny’s house!”

“It’s a big financial decision,” Polly told, “Do you have that kind of money?”

“Muh…ney?” Abbi said confused, “You mean clams? Also no, I have none. I bet they’ll let me borrow one though.”

“That’s not how that works…” Basil sighed, “And besides, we’re all going over there soon anyway. It’s not that long of a wait.”

“But it is!” Abbi protested, “If I wait too long, I will literally die!”

“You sound like Basil on Christmas Eve,” Polly giggled. If only she knew how right Abbi was.

“N-not true!” Basil protested. He quickly turned the subject back to Abbi, “Besides, do you even know how to drive?”

“You just press the R button. Easy!” Abbi answered confidently.

“That’s not… No…” Basil shook his head. 

Abbi quickly jumped off the couch. It looked like she wanted to go somewhere.

“Basil! Give me your money! Also how much do cars cost?”

“More than I have,” Basil sighed, “Look, you can’t get a car.”

“Maybe you could try a part-time job,” Polly suggested, “You probably wouldn’t get enough to buy a car, but it’s always a good idea to save up!” She looked over to Basil, “I bet Basil could put in a good word for you at Fix-It! He is the assistant manager after all.”

“P-Polly…” Basil sounded against the idea for some reason.

“Ooh!” Abbi clapped, “Basil! Give me a job so I can get free money!” 

“It’s not free money…” Basil mumbled, “F-fine… I’ll help you with an application.”

Abbi followed Basil to his room. He apparently had some spare forms in a drawer somewhere. Abbi watched as Basil dug around for it.

“Aha! Here it is,” Basil pulled a piece of paper out and placed it on his desk. There were a plethora of questions on there that would end up being asked again at the actual interview. 

“A test! I didn’t study!” Abbi cried.

“Luckily it’s not any hard questions,” Basil said, “Like this one. All you have to do is put your name.”

“My name is Abbi!” Abbi smiled.

“Yeah…” Basil tried handing Abbi a pen, “You just have to write it down,”

“Oh I don’t know how to write,” Abbi told, “Having a tentacle for a hand probably doesn’t help.”

Basil sighed and put his head in his hands. He looked tired.

“Are you alright?” Abbi asked.

“Peachy…” Basil groaned, “I guess I’m going to fill this out then, huh… So, what’s your full name?”

“Abbi!” Abbi repeated.

“Last name?” Basil asked.

“What’s that?”

“Guess you don’t have one then. I’ll just use Sunny’s then.” Basil said. Under the name, he ended up writing “Abigale Suzuki.”

“This test is boring!” Abbi groaned, “I wanna play with Kel!”

“That was just the first question,” Basil raised an eyebrow, “Alright… What is your birth-”

“Boring!” Abbi interrupted, “I’m gonna go play now!”

Against Basil’s protests, Abbi left for Faraway park. Basil reluctantly filled out as much of the form as he could for Abbi.

***********************

The next day, Abbi was rummaging through the cupboards looking for any loose food that didn’t need to be cooked. She had to climb up onto the counter to reach the high shelves. Basil entered the room and accidentally surprised her.

“Abbi!” He called out.

“Wah!” Abbi yelped, almost falling from the table.

“One, don’t do that,” Basil sighed, “Two… Guess what!”

“Since you are not Kel, I do not have to worry about any chicken butts, so what?”

“I got you an interview with my boss!” Basil smiled. 

“You got me a job!?”

“No, an interview,” Basil shook his head, “You have to talk to him first before you actually get the job.”

“Talk? That’s easy!” Abbi smiled, “I do that all the time!”

“You sure do…” Basil sighed, “That’s what I’m worried about… Anyways, He said you could interview today… I-if you wanted to…”

“I could get money today! Of course, I want to!” Abbi exclaimed. 

“That’s… Not how that works… But since you want to, let’s go. You know where Fix-It is, right?”

Abbi left Basil’s house and made her way to Fix-It. She told Basil she knew how to get there and that he wouldn’t have to take her. Despite claiming she knew where it was, the way she took there was longer and more convoluted than what normal people would have taken. Once she arrived, she was greeted by a young man behind the counter.

“Welcome to Fix-It! Can I help you find anything?” They said as if they had rehearsed that line countless times.

“I’ve been told that I’m here for an interview,” Abbi said, “So… Give me one of those.”

“Ah! You want to talk to the manager then. He’s in the back right now.”

The man led Abbi to the back room. In there was a very stern-looking older man sitting behind a desk. The wall was covered in various diplomas and degrees that probably had nothing to do with the shop. 

“This lady is here for an interview,” The guy said before leaving the room. 

Abbi just stood there staring at who she could only assume was the manager. 

“Can I have a job now?” Abbi asked.

“Sit down.” The manager commanded. He sounded like he wasn’t having a good day… Or maybe that’s how he always sounded.

Abbi sat down in the chair across from the manager. He pulled some papers from his desk and looked over them.

“Basil said you would give me a job,” Abbi said, possibly interrupting the manager.

He looked up from the stack of papers, “So you’re the one he recommended…” He pulled a specific piece of paper out and placed it on the table in front of him. It was the same interview form as before. “You are… Abigale Suzuki?”

“Who’s that? My name is Abbi,” Abbi responded.

“Uh-huh…” The manager looked back at the form, “Well, you didn’t complete part of this, so I’m going to have to ask you a few questions from here… To start off, do you have your ID?”

“Eye… Dee?” Abbi looked confused, “No, I don’t have either of those things.”

“So you don’t have one…” The manager mumbled something under his breath, “Alright… That’s fine… So, when is your birthday?”

“Birthday?” Abbi thought about it for a moment, “That is a good question. Would my birthday be the day I was conceived… Or the day I came into this world?”

The manager wrote down something on a separate piece of paper, “Into politics.”

“I’ll just say Sunny’s birthday. Mine is probably the same, right?” Abbi smiled, “My birthday would be July 20th, 2003!”

“Right… Where did you go to school? Did you graduate?”

“School? Oh no, I fortunately never went there!”

“I assume you mean college. What Highschool did you go to?” The manager asked.

“Nope! I never went to any school in my life!” Abbi smiled.

The manager just stared at Abbi for a moment. He sighed, “Alright… I think I know if I want to hire you or not, but I want to ask one more question.”

“I’m good at answering questions!” Abbi said excitedly.

“When working, what’s a challenging situation you’ve encountered, and how did you overcome it?”

“Uhhh… I guess that time I was trapped in the deepest darkest depths of Hell was pretty challenging. And as for how I overcame it… I just sat there doing nothing for four years until everything fixed itself. Pretty good answer, right?”

The manager shook his head, “I think we’re done here. Thank you for your time and I’ll contact you once I’ve made my decision. Have a good day.”

Abbi left Fix-It with a smile on her face. It seemed like the interview went quite well.

“Great! He’s gonna call me and tell me I get money!” Abbi said happily to herself.

Humphrey poked his head out of Abbi’s pocket, “Did you give him any way to contact you?” 

“Huh? No. Why would I do that?”

“Well, how is he going to tell you that you got the job if there’s no way to contact you?” Humphrey asked.

“Uhh…”

“Face it, Abbi. I don’t think you passed the test.”

“No! That can’t be! Rrrgh!” Abbi stomped her foot on the ground, “To be fair, those questions were hard! How is anyone supposed to know when their birthday is!?”

“Well, Hungry Humphrey was written in the 50s,” Humphrey replied, “So I guess that makes me over seventy years old. No wonder they call me the oldest! Nyak-nyak-nyak!”

“What am I going to tell Basil?” Abbi sighed, “He will be so shocked when he finds out I didn’t get the job…”

Abbi walked back to Basil’s house in shame. However, a ray of hope shone down on her, as not far from Fix-It was a different building. On the window of Gino’s was a sign, reading “Now Hiring! No application needed!”

Abbi gasped, “I can get a job here! I think Sunny worked here before he moved away!” 

“Can’t hurt to try,” Humphrey responded.

Abbi entered Gino’s. She walked up to the guy behind the counter, the same one that was there during her and Mikhael’s “date”.

“Welcome to Gino’s. Go ahead and order when you’re ready.” The man said dryly. 

“Yes, I would like the uhh… One job please!” Abbi said.

“Cool,” The cashier responded. He opened a door behind him and called out to someone in the backroom, “Yo! Some chick is here for a job!”

A different man came out from the room behind. It was none other than the pizza man, the pizza myth, the pizza legend himself. The big boss of Gino’s. 

“So… You wanna job here, eh?” The pizza man asked. “Great! You’re hired! You know how to make pizza, right?”

“I know how to use a microwave,” Abbi said.

“Great!” The pizza man smiled, “So you’ll be a delivery girl!” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “We actually got a delivery right now. Here’s the house you got to take it to.”

Abbi was given both a uniform and a box of pizza. She left the building with a smile on her face and a pizza box in her hands.

“Alright! Let’s find out where we have to take this,” Abbi said to herself. She pulled out the slip of paper the pizza man had given her and stared at it for a long time. Humphrey poked his head out of Abbi’s shirt pocket and looked at the paper too.

“Uhh… You can read that, right?” Humphrey asked.

“Nope,” Abbi responded, “I never learned how to read strange runic symbols.”

“Some of those things look like words,” Humphrey commented, “Like that one. It probably says ‘yellow’.”

“Hmm… Maybe we have to find a yellow house then?” Abbi wondered, “How many yellow houses are in this town? Let’s just ask all of them if they ordered this pizza!”
“You can’t just ask all of them! Do you know how many houses there are that fit that descriptor!?” Humphrey asked, “Like… At least three!”

“Then we have three choices!” Abbi smiled. She started making her way out of the shopping area and to where all the houses were. 

“Alright! Houses!” Abbi said to herself! “Let’s see if I can decode any more clues about where this house is…”

Abbi stared at the note some more and tried thinking really hard.

“Hey, Abbi,” Humphrey interrupted.

“Busy!” Abbi said angrily, “Let’s see… This word kinda looks like… ‘The’...”

“Abbi, that house is yellow,” Humphrey told.

“Huh?” Abbi looked up. To her right was a house with a yellow roof, fitting the yellow descriptor the note was probably alluding to.

“They must be the ones who ordered this pizza then!” Abbi concluded.

“Wait! We don’t have enough info-” Humphrey tried to warn, but was ignored.

Abbi ran up to the door, pizza still in hand. She knocked on the door with all her might and called out,

“Ayo the pizza!- Wait, that’s not how it goes… Pizza delivery!” She yelled.

A while later, the door opened, revealing none other than Mikhael.

He gasped, “No way!”

“Oh! Hello Mikhael,” Abbi said, “Did you order this pizza?”

“This is too good to be true!” Mikhael said excitedly, “When I told them to send their most beautiful delivery girl, I didn’t think they would recruit you for the job!” 

“Uhh…” Abbi looked down at the pizza, then back to Mikhael, “So you did order this?”

Mikhael snatched the pizza from her hands, “Of course! Now… For your payment,” He handed Abbi a fifty-dollar bill.

“Fifty dollars? But the pizza is only the low low price of nineteen ninety-nine!” 

“It is a tip, my dear Abigale,” Mikhael explained, “Plus the ten dollars I promised you from our date. I never had the chance to give it to you since your brother violently attacked us,” Mikhael’s expression grew abnormally serious, “Are you alright? It looked like you got beat up pretty badly.”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Abbi nodded, “Thank you for bringing me to Basil’s house!”

“Oh of course! It is my job to help any beautiful woman in need!” Mikhael grinned and posed. “Now that you’ve delivered this pizza, your job is done, eh?”

“Huh?”

“We could have our date part too!” Mikhael proposed excitedly, “You can watch my epic gamer skills! I am really good at Speedy the Hedgehog! I only use a cheating device sometimes!”

“That sounds nice, but I have to get back to Gino’s,” Abbi told, “If I don’t tell them I delivered the pizza, they might think I stole it and send me to the dungeon!”

“Wow. I didn’t know they changed up their policies that much! Guess they had one too many pizza thefts…”

***********************

Abbi returned to Gino’s and told of her adventure. She was awarded Forty dollars, including Mikhael’s tip and the ten dollars from the date. For some reason, Gino’s would only allow her to make one delivery that day, so she decided to return to Basil’s house. He would be so excited to learn about her new job… Or so she thought.

“You got me in trouble!” Basil said in a louder than usual voice. He was clearly upset for some reason, “My boss thought I was trying to do some prank! What did you do!?”

“He said he’d contact me later,” Abbi shook her head, “But here’s some amazing news! I did get a different job! I delivered pizza for Gino himself!” 

“What!?” Basil said confused, “You got a different job?”

“Yeah! I gave Mikhael a pizza! Got thirty whole dollars for it, plus the ten dollars from when I went on a date with him. I’m practically a millionaire now.”

“That’s not a millionaire…” Basil sighed, “Wait, you went on a date with Mikhael?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is I’ll be able to get that car in no time!” Abbi smiled.

Basil shook his head, “One, cars cost way more than that. Two, you don’t have a driver’s license. Three, we’re all going to see Sunny soon, so we would leave before you could even get a car.”

“Then I’ll just do whatever comes first!” Abbi concluded, “If I get a car before we leave for the city, then I’ll just take that there!”

“Alright, you do that…” Basil shook his head.

Abbi’s first day on the job had come to its conclusion. With an average of twenty to thirty dollars per pizza, she would only have to work a few thousand days to pay for whatever car she desired… Or wait a few days and be able to visit Sunny along with Basil, Kel, and Kim. Either way, her fateful meeting with Sunny was approaching. The real question was… Did Omori get to him first?

Chapter Text

One more day remained. Tomorrow, Abbi, Basil, Kel, and Kim would all be going to the city together and be visiting Sunny and Aubrey. Basil was packing in his room while Abbi was packing in hers. The only thing Abbi had to pack, however, was the clothes she was wearing and the Mr. Plantegg plush. She decided to enter Basil’s room and help him.

“Basil!” Abbi exclaimed while bursting into Basil’s room.

“Wah!” Basil screamed, “D-don’t do that!”

“I am here to help you pack!” Abbi smiled. 

Basil’s suitcase sat on his bed. It was completely empty.

“Looks like you really need my help!” Abbi laughed, “You haven’t even started.”

Basil ignored what Abbi said, “Uh… H-have you finished?”

“Yes!” Abbi nodded quickly.

“That was fast… Are you sure you didn’t forget anything?”

“Uh-huh!” Abbi slapped her left leg, “I got my pants!” She then put her hand on her sunglasses, “Glasses, hat, shirt, shoe-...” Abbi was not wearing shoes at the moment, “Oh no! I forgot to pack my shoes!” 

“I imagine you’ll put them on when you leave…” Basil sighed.

“Yeah, I guess so. Ha-hah…” Abbi chuckled, “Now what about you? You still haven’t even started!”

“Um… I just…” Basil hesitated, “I’ve… I’ll get around to it…”

“But we’re leaving tomorrow!” Abbi complained, “You have to do it now!”

“Maybe I… Maybe we…” Basil mumbled something under his breath.

“Huh? Maybe what?”

“What if we… Didn’t… Go to see Sunny…”

“W-wuh?” Abbi sputtered concerned, “Why on earth wouldn’t you want to go?”

“Well… Uh… I think-”

“We need to stop Omori from getting to him!” Abbi explained, “Omori said he was going to-”

“B-but what if he’s fine?” Basil chuckled sheepishly, “M-maybe Omori will g-get lost…”

“Why don’t you want to see Sunny!” Abbi accused.

“Ngh!...” Basil quickly recoiled, “It’s… It’s not that… Uh… It’s…”

“Then what is it!?”

“Because he doesn’t want to see me!” Basil finally blurted.

“Huh?”

“I bet he hates me!” Basil cried, “You know it too, don’t you? Don’t lie to me!”

“What are you even talking about?” Abbi asked.

“He-... He-... He doesn’t want to see me…” Basil frowned. “I’m… I’m sorry… I haven’t been telling you the truth…”

“What truth? What?” Abbi was utterly confused.

“I’m just… I’m so scared of seeing him again. T-that’s why… That’s why…”

“That’s why what?” Abbi asked.

“That’s why I didn’t tell him about you…”

While Abbi’s lack of eyes didn’t help her show her expressions, Basil could still tell she wasn’t understanding what he was talking about in the slightest.

“Huh? But… Doesn’t he know we’re all coming to visit him?”

“N-no…” Basil looked away, “Just that Kel, Kim, and I are… I haven’t told Sunny about you at all…”

Abbi pursed her lips, “Why?...”

“I-... I was scared…” Basil put his head in his hands, “T-that he would… Be afraid of you… And get mad at me for… Bringing you to him…”

“He wouldn’t be afraid of me! I’m his best friend!” Abbi grinned.

“B-but you’re not supposed to be here!” Basil blurted.

Abbi quickly recoiled. He was right, she wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Can you imagine how weirded out he would be would be if he saw you?”

Abbi looked away sorrowfully, “Y-yeah… H-he probably would…”

“S-so t-that’s why… I… I’m worried about… Going over there…” Basil continued, “I just… I don’t want him to get even madder at me than he probably already is…”

Abbi clenched her singular fist. She had a mission. She had had to protect Sunny from Omori. Either way, he was going to meet someone from Headspace. 

“I… I don’t care,” Abbi told.

“Huh?!?”

“I made a promise! I have to stop Omori!”

“A promise? To whom?” Basil asked.

Abbi looked away, “To someone that I’ve never met…” She looked back to Basil, “And I’m gonna go, even if you aren’t.”

“Oh… Okay…” Basil sighed, “I’m… I’m sorry… I’m just so scared…”

Abbi put a hand, or rather a tentacle on Basil’s shoulder, “Please… It’ll be alright,” She smiled lightly, “Trust me, I know Sunny doesn’t hate you. I don’t think he would be upset whatsoever if he saw me.”

“Mmm…” Basil sighed, “Alright… I’ll… I’ll trust you…” 

“Great!” Abbi smiled, “Now, pack your stuff already! We’re only gonna be there for the weekend, right?”

“Y-yeah…” Basil nodded, “S-so that’s like… Three sets of clothes…”

“Alright!” Abbi immediately went for Basil’s dresser, much to his displeasure.

“Um… Abbi?” Basil asked while playing with his hands.

“Yeah?”

“Sunny is gonna know you’re from Headspace… Right?”

“Of course! He wouldn’t go and forget me!... Would he?”

“B-but what about uh… Kel… And Kim… And Aubrey?”

“What about them?”

“They don’t know you’re from Headspace,” Basil explained, “I don’t think Kim even knows what Headspace is. I don’t know how much Sunny said to Kel and Aubrey about it either…”

“So?”

“Are… Are you going to… Have to explain to them why you’re here? I don’t think they would believe that you’re from Sunny’s dreams.”

“Why would we have to tell them?”

“Well… They’re all gonna be there too…” Basil explained, “I just think… It would be better to explain the truth to them… Just so if anything weird happens, they can… Expect it, I guess.”

“Ah…” Abbi nodded, “Alright! I’ll tell them.”

“W-wait! Um… W-we can tell them tomorrow, on the drive there,” Basil said, “It’s like… A two-hour drive.” He began mumbling something under his breath, “I doubt they would even believe any of it anyways..”

“Alright,” Abbi nodded. She threw some random pieces of clothing at Basil, “Now, pack!” 

Abbi helped Basil pack the rest of his things. In no time at all, they were both completely finished putting away their things. The next day, they would head over to Kim's house, and she would drive them all to the city.

*************************

The next day, Basil and Abbi made their way to Kim’s house. Basil knocked on the door and it seemed like Kel was already there. Kim opened the door for them.

“Sup, losers,” She greeted.

“H-hi, Kim…” Basil waved slightly.

“Anyways, you two ready to go?” Kim asked, “We can leave now if you’re ready.”

“Y-yeah, I think so,” Basil nodded.

“Great, because I’m not stopping for any bathroom breaks,” Kim told.

She left her house, along with Kel behind her. The four packed their stuff into Kim’s car. Kel then got in the front seat, leaving Basil and Abbi to the back. Abbi placed the Mr. Plantegg plush in the middle seat and even buckled it up.  With that, they were off. It wasn’t long until they left Faraway’s city limits and were on the open highway. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this way,” Kel commented while looking out the window.

“My dad lives kinda close to the city,” Kim told, “It’s not that hard of a drive, just a little boring. I drove Aubrey this way when she moved in with Sunny.”

“Oh yeah! What was that, like two… Three… Four months ago?” Kel asked.

“Something like that…” Kim shook her head.

Kel turned around to look at Abbi and Basil, “Hey Abbi, do your folks know that you’re coming down here with us?”

“Huh?” Abbi asked confused.

“Y-yeah… About that…” Basil started.

“When you got here, you arrived in Faraway,” Kel continued, interrupting Basil, “So they should probably know that Sunny actually lives in the city and that you’re going to the city!... Wait a minute… There are no airports in Faraway… Wouldn't you have landed in the city?”

“There are no airports in the city,” Kim told, “Closest one is four hours in the opposite direction.”

“Abbi… Isn’t Sunny’s cousin…” Basil finally said.

“Huh?” Kel said with a raised eyebrow, “What?”

“Um…” Basil mumbled nervously, “Do you… Do you remember when Sunny told us about… Headspace.”

Kel turned back around in his seat, facing forward. He slightly slouched down in the chair. Basil could see his face through the rearview mirror. He wasn’t smiling.

“Headspace?” Kim asked, “Isn’t that like… A hat shop?”

“N-no…” Kel answered. “It’s… Um… What Sunny called… His dreams…”

“Dreams eh? I never have dreams,” Kim told, “At least if I do, I don’t remember them.”

“Well, uh…” Basil continued, “Abbi is from… Abbi is from Headspace…”

Kel was silent for a moment. Eventually, he let out a chuckle.

“You’re yanking my chain,” He turned back around to face Basil, “Although, you need to work on your jokes. That was eh… Not that funny… Sorry…”

“It’s true! I am!” Abbi finally said.

“I guess it makes sense,” Kim nodded a little, “People usually dream about their family… Right?”

“But uh… Abbi is…” Basil sighed, “Abbi is… Sunny’s imaginary friend.”

“Yes!” Abbi agreed. She took off her hat and glasses, revealing the tentacles coming out of her head and the question mark marking on her face. “See?”

“Whoa!” Kel’s eyes widened, “You still got that cosplay stuff on?”

“It’s not cosplay,” Abbi unwrapped the bandages on her arm, showing that it was actually a tentacle, “See? This is a real tentacle! Do you know anybody with a tentacle for an arm?”

“Can’t say that I do,” Kel shook his head.

“Man, you look like you did when we first met,” Kim said while glancing at Abbi through the mirror, “Except you’re wearing pants this time.”

“See! I’m from Headspace!” Abbi nodded with a grin.

“Huh,” Kel scratched his chin, “That is kinda weird… But people don’t just show up from other’s people dreams.”

“I… I don’t know how it happened,” Basil said, “But Abbi said it was true… And… And I believe her. Don’t you think it’s strange how much Abbi knew about Sunny? Like, stuff only he would know.”

“I see what you mean,” Kel nodded, “Yeah, it is kinda strange.”

“So you’re saying that…” Kim started, “Abbi here is Sunny’s imaginary friend.”

“Yes,” Basil nodded.

Kim continued, “And Abbi is actually some fish girl-”

“Squid, not fish!” Abbi interrupted, taking offense.

Kim rolled her eyes, “Squid girl… Some squid girl that when we first met her, she was almost naked?”

“Um…” Basil hesitated, “Y-yeah… I’m… I’m not sure why she… Looked like that…”

“Interesting,” Kim nodded, “Very interesting. I’m gonna have to ask him all about that.”

“But that’s like, supernatural or something,” Kel commented, “Like, yeah, the cosplay is pretty believable, but really? Did she really come from out of Sunny’s dreams? That sounds like a movie or something!”

“I…” Basil sighed and shook his head, “I… don’t know how to prove it…”

“I can!” Abbi grinned.

“Abbi,” Basil groaned, slightly annoyed.

“If it’s you telling me trivia about someone who I only vaguely know, It’s not gonna work,” Kim told. 

“Oh…” Abbi frowned, “Then uh… Is there anything I can do to prove it?”

Kel turned around in his seat once again and stared at Abbi. He looked dead serious.

“Over two years ago, when we were all at the hospital,” Kel started, “Why did Sunny decide then to tell us… What happened…”

“Hospital?” Kim wondered, “Wait, what happened? Would that have been… When he was in that coma?”

Kel ignored Kim, and continued talking to Abbi, “If you can tell me… Then I’ll believe you, no questions asked.”

Abbi glanced at Basil for a moment. He looked scared for some reason.

“When… Sunny was in his coma…” Abbi began to explain. “He… He had a lot of time to think. He was finally able to come to terms with himself… And put away his fear. After he faced Omori, he knew… He knew that he could trust his friends… And that in the end,” Abbi looked back to Basil, “Everything would be okay.”

Kel nodded, and a slight smile appeared on his face, “Alright. That settles it then. I have no idea how, but this girl is… From inside Sunny’s head.”

“Wait! Wait just one moment,” Kim said, “What are you talking about? What is she talking about?”

“It’s uh… Kinda personal…” Kel said quietly. 

“Hmm…” Kim nodded slightly, “Can I ask what Omori has to do with all this? Face Omori? Did he like, have problems with the company? Recall or something?”

“Huh?” Abbi tilted her head in confusion, “Company? Recall?”

“Yeah, Didn’t they have a recall on motorcycles recently?”

“I didn’t know they made motorcycles,” Basil commented.

“Shit, they make all sorts of stuff! From bikes and ATVs to pianos and drums.” 

“Omori is a person,” Abbi told, “He lived inside of Headspace with me, but he wants to bring Headspace to the real world and-”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” Kim interrupted. She looked at Kel for a second while still slightly paying attention to the road, “You believe all this?”

Kel nodded, “I do.”

“Alright…” Kim replied, slightly hesitantly, “Well, If you believe all that… Stuff… Then I guess I’ll believe it too…”

“See!” Abbi grinned at Basil, “I told you I’d be able to convince them!”

“Mmm…” Basil mumbled.

*************************

Some time passed, and the four were still on the road. As road trips do, people were getting quite bored. Kim’s favorite radio stations that Kel would periodically hijack could only go so far. 

“Are we there yet?” Kel complained. 

“Yes,” Kim lied.

“Alright!” Kel exclaimed, “Wait… Where’s the city then?”

“Didn’t you know? They moved into the middle of this field.” Kim rolled her eyes, “No we’re not there yet! You have eyes, don’t you?”

“Dang…” Kel groaned, “I’m so-o-o-o bored!”

“I too am rather unstimulated,” Abbi added, “I thought being in a car would be fun! Aside from Kim’s semi-frequent road rage… It is not.”

“I don’t have road rage,” Kim grumbled, “Hey! How about we all play my favorite game!” 

“Ooh! A game!” Abbi clapped, “What kind of game?”

“That sounds fun,” Basil nodded, “What are you thinking of?”

“It’s called, count the adult store signs,” Kim explained, “I always play it when I head out this way since these empty fields are filled to the brim with them. My high score is fourteen!”

“Adult store? What’s that?” Abbi asked, “Why can’t there be a store for all ages?”

“Mmm,” Basil mumbled uncomfortably, “Y-you’ll learn when you’re older…”

“Dang… I wish I could go to one…” Abbi frowned.

“No you don’t,” Kim quickly said.

“One!” Kel exclaimed while pointing out the window at a sign.

“That’s an insurance sign,” Kim shook her head.

“Adults love insurance!... Right?” Kel chuckled sheepishly.

“Sure,” Kim rolled her eyes.

“So, uhh, Kim,” Basil started, quickly trying to change the subject, “Uh… You said your dad lived out this way?”

“Yeah, he lives north of here,” Kim answered, “Vance and I would go this way all the time.”

“Vance is still at your house, or I guess your mom’s house, yeah?” Kel asked, “He gonna have any parties with you gone?”

“God I hope now,” Kim groaned, “Cuz if he does, I’ll still get in trouble for it! I won’t even be there! He better feed Bun-bun too or else I’ll be pissed!”

“Bun-bun? That’s Aubrey’s rabbit,” Abbi said.

“Yeah, she gave her to me when she left,” Kim told, “I’ve been taking care of Bun-bun ever since.”

“Ah, well that’s nice!” Abbi smiled.

“Guys! Look!” Kel pointed in front of him.

“That isn’t an adult store sign either,” Kim sighed, “That’s a used car store… And don’t say only adults like cars!”

“Not that, that! On the horizon! It’s a city!”

“Oh yeah, it is,” Kim squinted, “Heh. Looks like we’re almost there.”

They all eventually entered the busy streets of the city. The traffic was immediately much more congested than the almost empty highway they had gotten used to. 

“So I think… It’s this way?” Kim mumbled to herself, “Grah! So many people.”

“I didn’t even know there were this many people on the planet!” Kel commented.

Kim eventually arrived at a stoplight. They were all stuck, waiting for it to turn green. Next to them was some crazed man yelling about something.

“Is that a hobo?” Basil asked.

“Nah, his clothes are too nice,” Kim said.

The man walked closer to the car, the four could hear his ramblings more clearly.

“I saw it! The demon to end the world!” He yelled, “Its size challenged skyscrapers! It was only defeated through the power of music!”

“And… It’s a cultist.” Kim groaned. 

“I like the recycling cultists more…” Basil sighed.

“Cmon! Turn green!” Kim clenched her fist. 

The light eventually did turn green, and Kim sped away from the old man. They were getting Ever closer to Sunny’s apartment.

“And, this is it!” Kim smiled.

“We’re here!” Kel exclaimed, even more excitedly than usual.

“How do you know?” Abbi asked skeptically.

“Ya see that bike?” Kim pointed at a poorly parked motorcycle. Kim parked next to it, “Aubrey has said she wanted that bike forever. Plus, she told me Sunny’s address. How else did you think you think I’d drive her here?”

The four got out of Kim’s car and grabbed their luggage. The time had finally come. After what felt like forever, Abbi would meet Sunny. It seemed like she was fast enough to, there was no sign of Omori anywhere. They all entered the apartment building and made their way to Sunny’s door.

Chapter Text

“Alright, Room Two-Oh-Three.” Kim read off the number from the door, “This is it. Would anyone care to do the honors?”

“Ooh! Me!” Kel exclaimed excitedly.

Kel raised his hand and pounded on the door three times. Moments later, someone answered the door, but it wasn’t Sunny.

“Who is it?” An older woman answered, “Wait… Kel? Is that you?”

“Hello, Ms. Suzuki!” Kel greeted with a grin.

“My, it’s been so long!” Ms. Suzuki, Sunny’s mom, said happily, “You’ve gotten so tall! Come in, come in!”

Everyone entered Sunny’s apartment. It was much smaller than Sunny’s old house. The kitchen area and living room were practically the same room, with no walls separating them. There was a couch in the middle of the living room with an opened duffle bag next to it, the markings on it clearly distinguishing it as Aubrey’s. There was also a hallway on the other side of the room with two doors on the left and one on the right.

“And who else do we have here,” Ms. Suzuki looked to Kim, “Let’s see… Your name was… Kimberly, right?”

“Yup, that’s me,” Kim nodded.

“Great! Glad I remembered,” Ms. Suzuki smiled. She turned to Abbi, “And I’m afraid we haven’t met. Are you Sunny’s friend as well?”

“That’s Sunny’s cousin!” Kel told.

“Kel… That won’t work on her…” Basil silently nudged Kel.

“Cousin?” Ms. Suzuki asked confusedly while raising an eyebrow, “Sunny doesn’t have a cousin.”

“Uh… Cousin like… Good friends!” Kel chuckled sheepishly, “Like when you see someone you’re really close with and you say something like, ‘Hey, cousin! How’s it going?’ Ya know?”

Ms. Suzuki nodded slowly, “I guess…” She looked over to Basil. Her voice grew uncharacteristically cold when speaking of him, “Oh… You’re here too…”

“Are Sunny and Aubrey home?” Kel asked, “I haven’t seen them.”

Ms. Suzuki shook her head, “No, they’re at work right now,” She chuckled slightly, “Can’t even keep his own plans. I didn’t even know you all were coming over! I swear, that boy doesn’t tell me any of his plans!”

“Classic Sunny!” Kel laughed.

“You wouldn’t even believe it!” Ms. Suzuki shook her head, “I go on a work trip for a while and what do I come back to? Sunny having a sleepover with three other girls!”

“Whoa… Didn’t know Sunny was that kind of guy…” Kim said under her breath. 

“After that, I find out that Aubrey is going to be living with us! Can you believe that?”

“I actually can,” Kim nodded. 

“Anyways, they should be home in about an hour,” Ms. Suzuki told. “I guess make yourselves at home until then.” She smiled lightly.

“Alright!” Kel immediately threw himself on the couch, “Let’s see what cool things Sunny owns!” He immediately started closely inspecting the few game consoles Sunny owned.

“I wouldn't mess with that if I were you,” Ms. Suzuki said in a joking voice, “Someone gets really unhappy when people mess with his systems. Something about losing his save files.”

“Oop!” Kel quickly looked away, “I know how that feels, wouldn’t wanna mess with that!”

“I know! Let’s go snoop around Sunny’s room!” Abbi suggested.

Ms. Suzuki only laughed and shook her head, “You kids…”

Abbi, Basil, Kel, and Kim all made their way down the hallway. Abbi opened the first door on the left.

“Wow, Sunny has a toilet in his room?” Abbi said surprised, “And a bathtub!?”

“I’m gonna guess that’s the bathroom,” Basil chuckled nervously. 

They all checked the second door on the left, leading to a room much more likely to be Sunny’s. It was mostly clean except for a plethora of stuffed animals strewn around the ground. The bed to everyone’s right was well made as if it was one of those hotel beds that it’s impossible to remove the covers from under the mattress. The walls all around the room were covered with posters from various games and animes. The biggest one was right above his bed, depicting Sweetheart in a triumphant pose. To everyone’s left was an opened computer with music playing from it. It seems Sunny had forgotten to turn it off.

“This is definitely Sunny’s room,” Kel nodded.

“Looks just like how I imagined it,” Basil commented.

Kim stepped towards the computer, “Yo, what song is this?”

Everyone besides Abbi gathered around the computer, judging Sunny’s musical tastes. 

“♫Oh~ Take a look at me♫”

“♫I know I’m not the perfect boy you want me to be♫”

“♫All I really need♫”

“♫Is room to breathe because this pressure's killing me♫”

“Dang, Sunny, you alright?” Kim commented.

“Abbi, do you know this song?” Kel asked as he turned to Abbi. She was too busy inspecting Sunny’s plushes. 

“Nose! It has been too long!” Abbi said gleefully, “You don’t look a day older from when I last saw you. Oh, and Happy too!? How have you been? Why did no one tell me you were all here!?”

“Uhh…” Kim chuckled sheepishly, “You know they can’t talk… right?”

“Dude! What if those toys were in that dream world you talked about!” Kel exclaimed. It seemed he was quickly able to grapple with the idea that Abbi was not of this world.

“Oh… Toys…” Abbi sounded slightly disappointed, “Y-yeah. I should have known,” She looked up to the picture of Sweetheart on the wall, “Like how that’s just a picture, right?”

“Y-yeah… I guess so,” Kel shrugged.

The sound of the front door opening could be heard. Everyone quickly turned their head to the noise. It was followed by two very familiar voices.

“They’re here!” Kel exclaimed.

They all quickly ran out of Sunny’s room and into the living room. Right in front of the door was Aubrey. She looked mostly the same as she did when Kel, Kim, and Basil had seen her last. The only difference was her roots were starting to show once again, a small dark-brown spot on the top of her head in the middle of the sea of pink. She still wore that jacket from all those years ago, although under that was a buttoned-up work shirt and jeans.

Right next to her was Sunny, looking very different from when they had last seen him in person. His hair was much longer than before, completely covering up his ears. It was stylized in a way that it partially covered up his right eye, although the scar could still be seen. He wore a black hoodie and jeans, the latter presumably being a part of the two’s work uniform.

“Oh hey,” Aubrey greeted, “Didn’t know you would be here before us.”

“Sunny! Aubrey!” Kel burst. He immediately threw his hands around the two, pulling them into an inescapable hug, “It’s been too long!”

“Urk!” Aubrey wheezed, “Kel get off! You’re crushing me!”

“Oof… H-hi, Kel,” Sunny said strained. 

Kel looked back to Basil, “Cmon, don’t you wanna join in on the fun?”

“I-I’m fine,” Basil said, looking for an escape.

“Nonsense!” Kel quickly pulled Basil into the hug. 

Kim laughed as she leaned up against the wall, “You idiots…”

“Kim, there’s room for one more!” Kel told.

Kim shrugged, “Eh, why the hell not.”

Kim put her arms around everyone else. She was the only one not being crushed by Kel’s sheer power. 

“You can let go now!” Aubrey yelled. 

Kel receded, giving everyone room to breathe once again. 

“Someone’s happy to see you,” Ms. Suzuki commented, looking at Sunny, “It would have been nice to know they would be visiting us though.”

“Oops… Uh… S-sorry…” Sunny apologized.

Ms. Suzuki shrugged, “Either way, the four of them were super excited to see you!”

“Four?” Sunny looked confused, “Oh, is Cris here too or someth-... He immediately saw Abbi behind the rest of his friends.

“Hello, Sunny,” Abbi greeted with a nod.

Aubrey turned to Sunny, “You know this girl?”

Abbi stepped closer to Sunny, “Do you remember me? I’m Abbi!”

“Abbi…” Sunny said under his breath. He looked deep in thought for a moment, “I… I don’t know anyone named Abbi.”

“Actually, I think I remember that name,” Aubrey commented, “Where have I heard it before?”

“You don’t remember?” Abbi asked, “It’s me! Your imaginary friend! From Headspace!... Well, actually Blackspace, but you get the picture.”

“O-oh…” Sunny’s hand twitched slightly, “Um…” He glanced up, looking towards his mother, “W-why don’t I s-show you all my room…”

“Oh don’t worry about that!” Kel grinned, “We’re already well acquainted with your room!”

Sunny sighed, “J-just follow me…”

Everybody sat around in Sunny’s room. Sunny closed the door behind them so that his mother might not hear what they were saying.

“I know that this might be a lot to take in,” Basil said nervously, “But what Abbi is saying is true…”

Sunny stayed silent for a moment. He glanced at Aubrey for a moment.

“Do you think this has anything to do with…” She trailed off.

Sunny looked back to Abbi, “So you’re here… Are you the only one?”

“Only one?” Kel asked, “You make it sound like this has happened before.”

“No, I’m not,” Abbi answered Sunny’s question. She immediately stuck her finger in her shirt pocket, “Humphrey is here with me!”

The pink blob known as Humphrey popped its head out of Abbi’s pocket, “What! Do you know how busy I am!? Doing scientific experiments is so hard now that I don’t have three-” Humphrey noticed Sunny standing in front of him, “Hey! It’s Sunny! You remember me, right!? Your old pal Humphrey! Nyak-nyak-nyak!”

“Whoa… What am I even looking at?” Kim commented.

“Ah… You’re here too…” Sunny shivered. 

“Humphrey… Humphrey…” Aubrey repeated to herself, “Where have I heard that name?”

“If you two are here… Is… Is the big yellow cat here too?” Sunny asked.

Kel leaned into Basil’s ear and whispered, “Should we be worried about how calm Sunny is about this?”

“I think it’s a good thing… Maybe…” Basil replied.

Abbi shook her head and frowned, “No… Well, yes actually… He just isn’t here right now. He’s with… He’s with…”

“Don’t tell me…” Sunny shivered, “Don’t tell me that… That he is here…”

“He’s with Omori…” Abbi finally said. 

“No!” Aubrey quickly stood up, “That’s impossible! We took care of him!” 

“We?” Basil tilted his head, “Wait… Aubrey, how much do you know about… All this?”

Aubrey hesitated. She looked to Sunny, “Do… Do we tell them?”

“Tell us what?” Kim asked, “I would love to understand what this is all about, or if it’s even real! I still don’t know if this is just some big prank you’re all pulling on me!”

“I-I’ll explain…” Sunny said quietly, “Uh… Where do I even start?”

“I can tell them if you want,” Aubrey told.

“N-no. It’s fine…” Sunny shook his head, “Well… Do you all remember when I told you about… Headspace?

Everyone besides Kim nodded. 

“Well… After I moved here… I still kept having those dreams…” Sunny explained, “Uh… They got really bad… Omori was really mad at me…”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Kim shook her arms in front of her, “So just who exactly is this Omori guy I keep hearing about?”

“He’s kinda like a demon,” Aubrey told bluntly.

“A demon!” Kim blurted, “That’s impossible! Demons aren’t real!... R-right?”

Sunny continued, “S-so eventually, some stuff started happening, and I had to fight Omori again.”

Kim turned to Aubrey, “He told you all this?”

Aubrey nodded, “Well…”

“And you believed him!?”

Aubrey sighed, “It’s… Complicated.”

“I was told that after I beat Omori, people from Headspace would show up in this world,” Sunny explained, “I just… Didn’t think… That Abbi would show up…”

“Wait, told? Who told-” Basil began to ask, but was quickly interrupted.

“Well, now I’m here!” Abbi grinned, which quickly turned into a serious expression, “But Omori is here too. Have you seen him around?”

Sunny shook his head, “Luckily, no…”

“What does he even want!?” Aubrey asked angrily, “That bastard… I’ll beat him up!”

“He said… He wants to bring Headspace to the real world.” Abbi told.

“Oh… Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Aubrey nodded.

“But it’s the way he’s going to do it!” Abbi said quickly, “He’s going to destroy all of Sunny’s memories from those four years he was inside since those were the four years Headspace was rampant!”

“Wait, what!?” Kel blurted out, “Destroy memories!?

“He’ll forget everything… But worst of all… Omori will try to bring Mari into the real world too… And to do that… Sunny would forget Mari ever existed.”

Sunny clenched his fist and shivered, “D-damn it…”

“So what are we going to do?” Basil asked everyone. “Do we wait for Omori to die of old age or something?”

“That…” Abbi frowned, “Is actually a possibility.”

“It is?” Aubrey asked.

“Omori told me that since we are not of this world, we’ll keep getting weaker until we die…”

“Does that mean… You too?” Sunny asked.

Abbi nodded, “I can feel myself getting weaker as the days go by. Omori said that the only way to survive is for the four of us to combine our powers… Whatever that means…”

“I feel the same,” Humphrey added, “Not that my powers are all that great to begin with since I’m not in my whale form, but I’m still getting weaker as well. Soon enough, I’ll just have to be flushed down the toilet.”

“This is getting way too crazy,” Kim stood up and shook her head. “Am I the only one here who thinks this is all bat-shit?”

There was silence between everybody for a moment. Sunny looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t.

“Ya know, I feel like this is getting rather tense,” Kel finally interrupted, “W-why don’t we all do something fun, take our minds off of… Stuff…”

“Yeah… We should…” Aubrey agreed. 

“What should we do?” Basil asked.

“It’s kinda cold out r-right now…” Sunny told, “I-I-I could show you the city tomorrow… I-It should be warmer then… Um… W-we could play some games or something… H-have you all eaten? I could get some food too.”

Everybody left Sunny’s room and went into the living room. There was a note left on the kitchen table. It was in the handwriting of Sunny’s mother.

“I left to get everyone a pizza,” Sunny read, “I should be back soon.” He nodded, “Ah… Well… Guess that takes care of the food.”

Sunny and Kel decided to play Super Bash Bros together, while Aubrey, Kim, Basil, and Abbi watched. 

“I’m gonna beat you!” Kel said enthusiastically, “I’ve been practicing!”

“Uh-huh…” Sunny barely acknowledged. His focus was almost completely on the game.

Kim looked to Aubrey, “Why aren’t you playing?”

“Cuz I hate that game,” Aubrey responded, “Now if they were playing Plumbers Who Race, you bet I’d join! That game is my shit!”

“Ah,” Kim nodded. She turned to Basil, “What about you?”

“I’m not good at this kind of thing…” Basil replied quietly. “I… I just like to watch.”

“It’s a fool’s errand anyway,” Abbi told, “The only person to ever beat Sunny in this game is Hero.”

“Really? Hero?” Kim raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t take him for the kinda guy to play video games.”

“It was a very long time ago. Much to Sunny’s displeasure, Kel bragged about how his brother beat him at school for weeks.”

“That does sound like Kel,” Kim nodded, “Kel, did you do that?”

“It’s possible,” Kel responded, trying to hide the laughter in his voice.

Aubrey leaned forward, staring Abbi in the face, “I swear I’ve seen you before.”

“Huh? I mean… Maybe,” Abbi scratched her chin, “I do vaguely recall…”

“I don’t remember where though,” Aubrey said to herself, “Take your sunglasses off.”

“Okay?” Abbi said slightly confused. She took the glasses off, showing Aubrey her question mark in all its glory.

“Yeah… That looks familiar… But where did I see that before?”

“Hold on. If she’s from Sunny’s dream world or whatever, how do you know what she looks like?” Kim asked.

“Yeah, It’s not like you could go into Headspace… Right?” Basil added.

Sunny shivered at Basil’s words, causing Kel to be able and take a life from Sunny’s character.

“Oh yeah! I did it!” Kel yelled.

“It was just one life,” Sunny said quietly, “I’m still two above you…”

“I…” Aubrey hesitated, “Um… I don’t know… I just… I vaguely recall seeing someone who looked exactly like Abbi. Except… She was wearing like… A swimsuit or something.”

“Oh yeah! I just remembered!” Kim grinned deviously, “Oh Sunny!”

“Just… One… Moment!” Sunny said strained. He was about to defeat Kel.

Humphrey popped out of Abbi’s pocket again, “Hey, Abbi. I need to talk to you.”

“What’s up?” Abbi asked.

“It needs to be private. Here, let’s go to Sunny’s room.”

“Alright,”

Abbi stood up and made her way down the hallway and into Sunny’s room.

Sunny defeated Kel, his character doing some sort of victory dance. He turned around to face Kim, “Were you asking me something?”

“So Abbi is your imaginary friend, right?” Kim asked with a toothy grin.

“Yeah?”

“So when we first met her in Faraway, there was something odd about her.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. So Sunny, If I may ask,” Kim started, “Why was your imaginary friend naked when we first encountered her?”

“W-wha!?!”

“She wasn’t naked,” Kel shook his head.

“Fine. Almost naked!” Kim corrected herself, “Why is that, Sunny!”

Aubrey looked at Sunny with a raised eyebrow, “What’s she talking about?”

“Uh… Uh…” Sunny stuttered nervously, trying to think of anything to say. His face grew more and more red as the seconds went by.

“So what did you wanna ask me?” Abbi asked Humphrey as she closed the door behind her. 

“I was thinking about all that stuff Omori said,” Humphrey told, “About… Having to combine our powers… Us having an expiration date.”

“Yeah…” Abbi frowned. 

“So Omori appeared at that lake, right? The same one that we came out of when we first appeared in this world.”

“Guessing that the lake is some sort of… Portal maybe? It seems crazy…”

“But the thing is, Omori appeared after us,” Humphrey said, “So if we assume that the three of us all disappear at the same time, Omori will still be around after we’re gone.”

“Oh…” Abbi stared off into the distance.

“What I’m saying is… There’ll be a period that Omori is around and we won’t be. We won’t be able to protect Sunny during that time.”

“So what do we do?” Abbi asked, “At least Omori will be weaker when we’re gone… Maybe he won’t be able to do anything to Sunny?”

“Hmm…” For a blob, Humphrey looked very deep in thought, “I guess our only hope is that Omori won’t find Sunny fast enough.”

“Yeah,” Abbi smiled lightly, “And if he does… Well, I guess we’ll just have to protect Sunny until our time is up!”

“I guess so,” Humphrey nodded, “And besides. Omori needs us to carry out his plan. If we’re gone, he won’t be able to do anything!”

“If we’re gone…” Abbi said sadly, “I guess… Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do…”

There was a silence between Abbi and Humphrey, only to be interrupted by the door bursting open. Sunny entered the room and slammed the door behind him. He looked distressed.

“Deny everything,” Sunny panted.

“Huh?”

Sunny looked directly at Abbi, “You are based on a character named Tako-Chan from an underground anime no one has heard of.”

“Tako-Chan? What’s that?” Abbi asked.

“Please!” Sunny begged. 

The door to Sunny’s room opened, everyone else poring in. 

“Hey Abbi, can I ask you something?” Kim giggled.

“Of course!” Abbi said happily. 

“Oh gosh…” Sunny sighed.

“I’m sure there’s a completely reasonable answer to this,” Aubrey said, “Right Sunny?”

“Y-yeah… Totally…”

“So Abbi, why were you in a ‘swimsuit’,” Kim said in air quotes, “When we first met you?”

“Well, considering I am a creature of the sea, it only makes sense, don’t you think? It would probably be difficult to swim around if I was in a tailored suit or something.”

“Eh,” Kim nodded slightly, “Guess that makes sense…”

Everyone heard the front door open, followed by Sunny’s mother calling out to them.

“Food’s here!”

“Oh thank God,” Sunny sighed in relief. 

Everyone left Sunny’s room and went to eat the pizza Ms. Suzuki had brought them. Most fortunately for Sunny, the teasing of why Abbi’s attire was the way it was seemed to die down.

For now…

Chapter Text

Abbi stood at the window of Sunny’s living room. The sky’s purple barely washed over the horizon, the sun ready to make its appearance. At any moment, the dark, cold winter sky would turn to the bright still-cold winter sky.

“You’re up early,” A voice came from behind Abbi. She turned to find Sunny, still in his pajamas and his hair somehow messier than usual.

“I could say the same to you,” Abbi responded.

Sunny walked up beside her, also taking in the view of the city, “Can’t sleep. Everybody being here is just so… Exciting. I’d rather spend time with them than sleep.”

“I understand,” Abbi nodded.

“They all have other plans though,” Sunny told, “Can’t blame them though. Sleeping is pretty cool when you… Don’t have nightmares every night.”

“I never even went to sleep,” Abbi said, “I had to make sure Omori didn’t show up!”

“So you just watched me the whole night?” Sunny raised an eyebrow.

Abbi nodded vigorously, “Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

Sunny sighed, “Alright…” He leaned forward and put his hands on the windowsill, “Do you… Remember the last time we talked?”

“Ngh…” Abbi grumbled, “I… I don’t… Remember…”

“It was right before my second fight with Omori,” Sunny explained. “You, Humphrey, and The Favorite were all there.”

“I don’t remember that… Sorry,” Abbi shook her head. “Last thing I remember of Headspace was… Being stuck in Blackspace.”

“Ah,” Sunny nodded, “I’m… Sorry that you had to go through that.”

“I don’t even know why I’m here!” Abbi chuckled sadly.

“I think I do,” Sunny looked away.

“You do?”

“Kinda…” Sunny said, “When I defeated Omori, people from Headspace were supposed to appear in the real world. I thought that Omori himself was going to appear… So when it was Hellmari-”

“Wait, Hellmari appeared in this world!?” Abbi blurted.

“Something like that,” Sunny said hesitantly, “B-but don’t worry, it’s gone now.”

“So you think the four of us appeared as well?” Abbi asked.

Sunny nodded slightly, “M-maybe. It… It sounds weird… But I’m saying that to my childhood imaginary friend… So maybe it isn’t.”

“I’m just worried about Omori,” Abbi said sadly, “Who knows what he’ll do?”

“If he has all the powers he did in headspace… I-I can’t do anything,” Sunny told, “I can barely do a pushup without running out of breath… Heh… Aubrey has been trying to get me to work out. It’s… Tiring…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Omori!” Abbi nodded.

“It’s sad,” Sunny closed his eyes. “Omori just wants to see his friends again… And I’m the one in his way…”

“Don’t say that,” Abbi raised a finger, “I’m sure everything will be…” She hesitated, “Fine… Everything will work out.”

“Yeah…” Sunny responded unenthusiastically.

**********************

The sun rose, and Sunny’s friends slowly woke up with it. One by one they eventually filed out of Sunny’s room and got ready for the day. Unfortunately, the blanket fort they made the night before didn’t survive. They would have to rebuild. Everyone got themselves a bowl of cereal and they all watched old Spaceboy reruns together.

“Is this the one where he finds the sword at the mall?” Basil asked.

“No, that’s season three,” Kel answered, “This is the one where his crew gets mind-controlled.”

“I don’t remember Spaceboy ever doing that,” Abbi shook her head, “When is the part where he makes out with Sweetheart!”

Kim choked slightly on her cereal, “Ug-I don’t think that ever happened. Not even in their crossover movie!”

“But it does happen! Right Sunny!?”

“Ugh…” Sunny rolled his eyes. 

“Uhh, something grazed past my legs,” Basil interrupted nervously.

“That’s just the monster who lives under the couch,” Aubrey told bluntly.

“That’s nice…” Basil sighed.

“It’s not a monster… Well, it kinda is…” Sunny said. He reached down under his legs and picked up a grey cat, “That’s just Stinky. She practically lives under the couch.”

“Stinky?” Kel raised an eyebrow. He leaned in and sniffed the cat, “Oh… Yeah, that makes sense.”

Abbi closely inspected the grey cat, “Hmm… You are not Mewo.”

“It’s our… New cat,” Sunny told, “Mom got him… S-she let me name her.”

“Ah, a classic Sunny name,” Kel chuckled.

“Speaking of, where is your mom?” Basil asked.

“She works weekends, so it’s just us,” Sunny said.

“So we could throw a party!” Kim exclaimed.

“That’s what I said!” Aubrey responded, “Someone says we’d get in trouble though.”

“Mmm…” Sunny sighed, “Uhh… Does anyone wanna go around the city now? It should be warm enough that we don’t all freeze to death.”

“That sounds cool,” Basil smiled.

Everybody decided to get ready, and they all left Sunny’s apartment.

Sunny and his friends all explored the concrete jungle together. He showed them all sorts of places, from the best places to eat to where the hobos would usually congregate.

“But is there like… Anything fun to do around here?” Kel complained.

“There’s an arcade at the other side of town,” Sunny told, “W-we can go there later.”

“Maybe you’ll finally play that dancing game,” Aubrey elbowed Sunny and chuckled.

“Ngh… No…” Sunny looked away.

“This place is so big… And noisy,” Abbi commented. “There must be at least thirty people here!”

“Yeah, at least…” Kim rolled her eyes.

“Um… I’d guess there would be a few thousand people here at the absolute minimum,” Basil chuckled sheepishly, “But there’s probably like… A hundred thousand… Right Sunny?”

“I dunno,” Sunny shrugged.

“Well to be fair, every town I’ve ever been to has had a population of less than thirty!” Abbi responded.

Everyone turned their attention to Sunny, expecting an answer.

“Uhh… The towns in Headspace weren’t that populated…” Sunny explained.

The gang eventually turned a corner and were greeted by the large body of water known as the ocean. The beaches were nearly empty considering it was the middle of winter. 

“Yo! The beach!” Kel said excitedly, “Let’s go swimming!”

“I can’t imagine how cold it would be,” Aubrey groaned, “Did you even bring a swimsuit?”

Kel looked away, as if deep in thought, “No…”

“You had to think about it!” Aubrey yelled, “Dumbass.”

“I’ve only ever been here once,” Sunny told, “It’s fun when it’s not super crowded.”

“Kinda reminds me of when we all went to the beach… What was it, seven years ago?” Basil reminisce.

“Too bad it isn’t really the right weather to eat watermelon on the beach,” Aubrey sighed.

“Um… If you all wanted to… We could get some at the supermarket,” Sunny suggested, “Mom told me to go to the store anyways…”

“Ooh! That sounds fun!” Basil said cheerfully. 

“Alright… Uh… I guess that’s where we’re headed next then.” 

Sunny led everyone towards the part of town with all the stores. They eventually arrived at a supermarket, much bigger than Othermart. It was filled with all sorts of fruits and vegetables.

“Alright… Watermelon…” Sunny said to himself.

“I’ve never had a watermelon before!” Abbi said excitedly.

“You keep saying stuff like that,” Basil sighed, “What have you eaten?”

“Whatever Polly gave us,” Abbi told, “And there’s that one time that Kim gave me some stolen candy!”

“We should get Orange Joe too!” Kel suggested excitedly.

“You still drink that crap!?” Aubrey blurted.

“Of course! And it’s not crap!” Kel protested, “It’s delicious AND nutritious!” 

“There is no way it’s either of those things!” Aubrey argued. 

“Where’s Hero when you need him,” Sunny sighed.

“Um, so…” Kim turned to Aubrey, “Kel may or may not have gotten me to try Orange Joe.”

“I’m so sorry,” Aubrey said.

“And,” Kim continued, “It… Wasn’t that bad.”

Aubrey stared at Kim for a moment, disbelief washed over her face, “Who are you and what did you do to my best friend?”

“I mean it’s still not good,” Kim waved her hands in front of her, “If I had to choose, I’d take Lemon Joe any day.”

“Lemon Joe also tastes like shit,” Aubrey sighed.

“What’s that?” Sunny asked.

“It’s like Orange Joe but they use lemonade instead of orange juice,” Kim explained. 

“Lemonade?” Sunny tilted his head in confusion.

“Yeah, it’s weird,” Aubrey shook her head.

“What’s lemonade?” Abbi asked.

Everybody besides Sunny looked at Abbi with an exasperated look. 

“You don’t know what lemonade is?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a beverage… Made from lemons,” Aubrey told.

“What’s a lemon?” Both Sunny and Abbi said in unison.

“Really? You don’t know what a lemon is?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t we pass by some not too long ago?” Basil wondered, “I’ll go get one.”

“How on earth do you not know what a lemon is?” Aubrey asked.

“I don’t know!” Sunny responded nervously, “I-I didn’t know I was supposed to.”

Basil returned with a yellow citrus fruit in his hands. He quickly showed it to Sunny.

“See! Lemon!” 

“That is a yellow orange,” Abbi said.

“Yeah… They taste different from regular oranges.” Sunny nodded.

“Alright, say that again but slowly,” Kim told.

“Y-e-l-l-o-w o-r-a-n-g-e…” Abbi drew out her words.

“Oranges aren’t yellow. It’s literally in the name!” Kel laughed. 

“I’m sorry,” Sunny looked away and frowned, “I-I-I just never heard of a lemon before.”

“How have you never heard of a lemon!?” Aubrey blurted, “How does someone go their entire life without hearing of a common fruit!?”

“Uhh… I dunno,” Sunny responded quietly, “Um… To be fair… I… Didn’t go out for… A large period of my life.”

“Yeah…” Aubrey mumbled.

The group remained quiet for most of the rest of the shopping trip. In the end, they got their watermelon, along with some other snack foods and drinks. They did not end up getting Orange Joe, but they did accidentally purchase the lemon Basil had brought.

**********************

Sunny pulled out all the groceries onto the kitchen table. It was beginning to look like some strange party, a whole watermelon and some bags of chips sitting on the table with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds staring at them.

“So…” Sunny started, “Does anybody know how to cut a watermelon?”

“I’ll go get my bat!” Aubrey said excitedly. She ran off into another room.

“Uh oh,” Basil said nervously, “This is going to get… Messy.”

“I wanna try the lemon!” Abbi exclaimed as she reached for the citrus fruit.

“Wait, we bought that?” Kim wondered.

Without any hesitation, Abbi sunk her teeth into the lemon as if it were an apple. 

“...Ew,” She finally said.

“Um… Heh, heh, that’s not how you’re supposed to eat it,” Basil chuckled. 

“Give me that,” Kim snatched the fruit, now with teeth marks on its side, from Abbi. She grabbed a knife from the counter and cut the lemon in half, “Here, lick the middle part,” She turned to Sunny and tried to hand him the other half. There was a devious look on her face, “Here, try this. It’s good.”

“I know what a yellow orange tastes like,” Sunny pushed it away, “Or… A lemon… I guess…”

“Ack! Ew!” Abbi’s face scrunched up as she licked the lemon once, “Who would eat this!?”

“Ha! You actually ate it!” Kim laughed.

After that, Aubrey returned from wherever she went, holding her signature spike bat.

“Alright! Let’s get this done!” Aubrey said enthusiastically.

“I think you’re just gonna make a mess,” Kel chuckled. 

“Ugh… Fine,” Aubrey reluctantly put her bat down, “You gotta admit, it would be cool though.”

“Mom would get mad,” Sunny sighed, “S-so let’s not…”

“So, who’s gonna cut open this bad boy?” Kel asked.

“Um… I guess I will…” Sunny picked up a knife and put its tip on the watermelon. As he plunged the knife into it, a small amount of its juices leaked out.

“Uh…” Sunny slowly looked up at Abbi. She only shook her head in return.

“Dude, hurry up!” Kim complained.

“Y-yeah…” Sunny hesitated. He eventually did split the fruit open, revealing its secret red inside. 

“Alright!” Basil smiled, “Let’s dig in!”

“Um… Y-yeah… L-let’s eat…” Sunny shivered.

Everyone eventually got their own slices of watermelon. For reasons unknown, both Sunny and Abbi were hesitant to eat. 

“What’s wrong, Sunny?” Basil asked. His mouth red from the juices, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Uh… I-I’m fine,” Sunny stuttered, “Y-yeah,” He slightly nibbled his food.

**********************

The night eventually arrived upon everyone. As quickly as the day came, it was almost over. Everyone was in Sunny’s room, rebuilding their blanket fort from before. 

“I dunno why, but this feels so nostalgic for some reason,” Kim commented.

“Well, we used to do stuff like this all the time!” Kel said happily while failing to place a pillow up on its side, “We had a lot of sleepovers!”

“Well, I was never there,” Kim told, “Not with everyone like this. I had plenty of sleepovers with Aubrey, but still…”

“I haven’t gotten to do something like this for a very long time,” Basil said, “The last time was probably…” He trailed off.

Everyone was silent for a moment. It was only broken by Kim after a few seconds.

“Was when?”

“Two years ago,” Abbi answered, “The night before Sunny was supposed to move.”

“Abbi…” Sunny sighed.

“Ah… Well… That’s nice…” Kim responded, not trying to press any further, “Uh, Kel! Hand me that blanket! The one with the Sprout Mole on it!”

The reconstruction of the blanket fort was finally completed. It only took them until midnight to finish.

“While this fortress looks pleasing, it would not be able to protect you from an attack!” Abbi commented.

“What about from the boogeyman?” Sunny asked jokingly.

“Well, you see… The boogeyman is weak to blankets,” Abbi said confidently, “So I guess you got me there.”

“Weak to blankets?” Aubrey tilted her head, “Wait, is that true?”

“Hey guys, check that out,” Basil pointed inside the blanket fort. Both Kel and Kim were fast asleep, Kim laying her head on Kel’s shoulder, “Ooh! I wish I had my camera!”

“She wouldn’t like that,” Aubrey shook her head.

“Yeah, I know,” Basil grinned. 

“You know, I don’t think the six of us will fit in there,” Abbi said. “In fact, It looks like only three people could fit, and that would be pushing it”

“Kel and Hero made a fort like that before I moved,” Sunny explained, “He probably just followed the same design… Or something like that.”

**********************

After a while, everyone besides Abbi fell asleep. Despite there being a queen-sized bed in the room, everyone slept on the floor. Abbi just stood there, staring out the window of Sunny’s room. This was the only time that the city seemed quiet, the only sound Abbi could hear being the fan in Sunny’s room. 

“Watchya looking at!?” Humphrey poked his head out of Abbi’s pocket.

“Omori,” Abbi told, “If I see him from here, I can snipe him.”

“I don’t see a gun though.”

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there,” Abbi shook her head.

“And when we get there?”

Abbi didn’t respond. She clenched the edge of the windowsill with her hands. 

“I don’t think that any of us could beat him,” Humphrey said, “Besides The Favorite, Omori has defeated all of us in battle.”

“I’ll… Think of something,” Abbi hesitated.

“You have no idea what you want to do, do you?”

“Nghh,” Abbi groaned, “I… Don’t know… I haven’t been able to think straight since… Since I first appeared in this world.”

“So is the plan to just hope for the best?” Humphrey asked.

“I’ll… I’ll think of something… Omori won’t hurt Sunny…”

“I have to do something.”

“I have to…”

Chapter Text

Once again, all of Sunny’s friends were spending time together in his living room. Today was much colder than the day before, snow just beginning to fall. Basil and Abbi sat directly in front of the heater. 

“What a wonderful creation,” Abbi commented, “It’s just like air conditioning, but it’s hot instead of cold!”

“It is pretty nice,” Basil smiled, “Just snuggling up in a blanket next to the heater. Maybe with some hot chocolate… It’s really comfortable!”

“Speak for yourself,” Kel groaned from the couch, “If I had a dollar for every time a game has been canceled cuz of snow, I’d have like… Seven dollars.”

“What does that have to do with being comfortable?” Basil asked.

“I’m just saying… I enjoy hot weather more,” Kel shrugged.

In the midst of everyone talking, the doorbell rang.

“Who could that be?” Kel asked.

“Probably a package,” Sunny stood up and walked towards the door, “I’ll get it.”

Sunny opened the door, but there was no package to be found. Instead, there was a smaller, more monochromatic version of him standing there.

“Hello, Sunny,” Omori greeted.

“Wha! No!” Sunny screamed, falling backward onto the floor. Everyone else quickly stood up to see what was happening.

“It’s you…” Abbi growled.

“Ah, Abbi. You’re here too,” Omori stepped inside Sunny’s apartment, uninvited.

“You’re here… It can’t be,” Aubrey shook her head.

“Is this Sunny’s little brother or something?” Kim asked.

Aubrey quickly grabbed her spiked bat, which was still sitting by the kitchen table, and rushed in front of Sunny.

“If you wanna hurt him, you’re going to have to go through me!”

“You want to fight me?” Omori asked, “Then fight me.”

Aubrey didn’t attack. She just stood there, hesitating.

“Wait, who are you?” Kel asked, “Are you that monster guy Sunny told us about?” He looked at Omori, then at Sunny. He ran up beside Aubrey, blocking Omori’s path as well, “You’re not going to hurt my friend!”

“Wait! This is that guy!?” Kim blurted, “Oh… OH!... Oh shit…”

“You can’t fight him!” Abbi yelled. She stepped in front of both Kel and Aubrey, blocking them from attacking Omori, “He’s too strong!”

“Abbi…” Omori sounded sad somehow, “The truth is, I couldn’t fight even if I wanted to…”

“Huh?” Abbi turned around to face Omori, “What do you mean?”

Omori shook his head, “Come with me. We need to talk… Alone.”

Abbi turned back to Sunny. He only nodded.

“Alright,” Abbi decided. Both she and Omori left Sunny’s apartment.

**********************

Abbi and Omori both walked seemingly aimlessly around the city. Omori stayed silent for a long time, only getting strange looks due to his attire given the weather. They eventually arrived at a much more open area, trees and grass replacing the large structures and roads of the city. A large body of water sat in the middle of this space, reminding Abbi of a very similar location.

“Do you know where this is?” Omori asked.

Abbi shook her head, “Sunny never took us here.”

“This is the city park,” Omori told, “It is where our new world will be.”

“Our new world?” Abbi tilted her head.

“Once I bring everyone out of Headspace, we will all live here! In harmony!” Omori said, “This place is perfect. It will be just like the playground.”

“You can’t do that!-” Abbi was quickly shushed by Omori. He raised his red hand, which’s appearance looked more like a dull brown now.

“Please,” Omori begged, “Only by combining all of our powers can I make this a reality.”

A familiar yellow cat ran up to Omori’s legs. It purred as Omori picked it up.

“MewoTwo-wo! There you are,” Abbi called out, “Have you been with Omori this whole time?”

“Humphrey was with you this entire time too,” Omori said.

“I heard my name!” Humphrey popped his head out of Abbi’s pocket, “Oh… It’s you…”

“Yes…” Omori nodded, “We are all here…”

“We’re not going to help you,” Abbi told adamantly.

Omori sighed, “We really don’t have the time for this. Please! Help me!”

Abbi had never seen him act this way before. The usually calm and melancholic Omori was pleading with her. But no matter what, she couldn’t let him hurt Sunny.

“You know how much time we have left?” Humphrey asked.

“The three of you… Won’t survive until the end of the day…” Omori told, “And I… Don’t have much longer after that. If we don’t work together here, everything will be lost.”

Abbi clenched her fist. “I… I still can’t let you do this. My duty is to protect Sunny, even if that means I’ll lose my own life!”

“I feared it would come to this…” Omori extended his arm to the right, and The Favorite stood on it like a hawk, “Favorite… Please lend me your power.”

The cat purred, and something very strange began to happen. Its body slowly grew more and more translucent, and eventually turned to dust. The particles flew into Omori’s heart, and the crimson color returned to his one hand.

“W-what did you do!” Abbi yelled nervously.

“The Favorite has granted me its powers,” Omori explained.

“No… MewoTwo-wo is gone… You didn’t… Did you-”

“I can bring them back,” Omori told, “Once we all combine our powers, I will bring back you three, as well as everyone else from Headspace… Although you won’t have any memories of your time in this world.”

“Ngh… I… I… I still can’t let you do this!” Abbi said adamantly.

“Then there is only one other option,” Omori stepped away, “I’m afraid I will have to fight you…”

Abbi sighed, “Alright… Then so be it…”

“I will give you until nightfall to prepare,” Omori told, “Return here when you are ready. If the sun sets and you aren’t here, then I will come to you.”

Abbi just stood there, thinking about what had to happen. No matter what, she was going to have to fight Omori. But could she really do it? Omori had beaten her before, and that’s when she was at full power.

“Alright…” Abbi nodded reluctantly, “I’ll… I’ll be back…”

Omori nodded, and Abbi left the park. She and Humphrey made their way back to Sunny’s apartment.

**********************

“This is it… Right?” Abbi said unenthusiastically as she stood outside a building.

“It has to be,” Humphrey told, “That’s Kim’s car over there, right?”

Abbi glanced over to Kim’s car and noticed something through the window. The torn Mr. Plantegg plush was still sitting in the back seat. 

“That’s… Still in there? No… I could swear I brought it inside.”

“Well you obviously didn’t, considering it’s still in the car,” Humphrey shook his head.

“Why do I keep forgetting things!?” Abbi groaned, “This has got to be the work of a yokai!”

Abbi opened the car door, which was fortunately unlocked, and grabbed the plush. She and Humphrey then walked inside the apartment building and entered Sunny’s home.

“Abbi!” Basil called out. Everyone quickly stood up and rushed to Abbi.

“Are you alright!?” Sunny asked frantically, “What happened?”

Abbi stared at the plush in her hands and then tried handing it to Aubrey.

“H-here… This belongs to you.”

Aubrey slowly took the Mr. Plantegg from Abbi’s hands. “This is…! Where did you get this!”

“It was… Left at the treehouse…” Abbi said, out of breath. 

“Oh yeah, you left that in the car,” Kim nodded, “Wait… How did you get in my car!?”

“It was unlocked…” Abbi shook her head.

“What!?” Kim quickly pulled out her keys and smashed the lock button multiple times.

“I… Thank you,” Aubrey smiled slightly, “I didn’t think I would ever see this again.”

“Where is Omori?” Basil asked, “Did he… Did you make him go away?”

“He’s at the park right now,” Abbi told, “I’m going to have to go back there… I’m going to have to fight him.”

“Why do you have to fight him?” Kel asked, “Can’t you just talk things out?”

“I wish we could… But I don’t think Omori will listen,” Abbi shook her head, “He’s going to fight until the end, no matter what.”

“Alright, so let me get this straight,” Kim said, “Omori, who is named after the company, is from Sunny’s… Dreamworld… Headspace.”

Abbi looked over to Sunny, who told her, “We tried catching Kim up while you were gone.”

“And you’re from Headspace too,” Kim continued, “And Omori wants to hurt Sunny because… He’s mad he doesn’t live in Sunny’s head anymore?”

“He wants to bring Headspace to the real world,” Abbi told, “He said he’s going to turn this city’s part into Headspace.”

“Right, right,” Kim nodded, “And he wants you to… Fuse all your powers together? What does that mean?”

“MewoTw- The Favorite was there too…” Abbi explained, “And… Omori… Absorbed it… The Favorite is gone. That’s what he meant. He’s going to absorb us and use our powers…”

“How did he even do that!?” Basil blurted, “That sounds like magic!”

“It was,” Abbi confirmed, “Omori is stronger now. Much stronger. I don’t think I could beat him like this.”

“D-don’t say that!” Sunny said nervously, “Um… W-we’ll help you! I’ll help you!”

“I can’t let you do that,” Abbi shook her head, “This is a fight for me alone. I just wish… I could think of a way… I wish I could remember anything…”

Sunny frowned and sighed. It was true that he had fought Omori before, but that was in a different setting. There was no way Sunny could fight Omori in the real world. Out of everyone there, Abbi was the only one who could stand up to him.

“Abbi, a moment,” Humphrey said from within Abbi’s pocket. 

“Huh? What is it?”

“I would like to speak with you. Let’s go to the other room.”

Abbi left everyone else and went into Sunny’s room. She took Humphrey out and placed him on Sunny’s desk. 

“It looks like our time is coming to its end,” Humphrey chuckled sheepishly.

“Yeah… I know…” Abbi frowned, “We have to stop Omori before that! I just don’t know what to do!?”

“I have an idea,” Humphrey told, “But you’re not going to like it?”

“Please! Tell me!” Abbi blurted, “I need whatever idea you have!”

“Omori got his power back when he absorbed The Favorite…” Humphrey started, “Maybe… You could get your powers back… If you absorbed me.”

“W-wha!?” Abbi stepped backward in shock, “N-no. I can’t do that!”

“It’s your only chance of winning,” Humphrey lamented, “Out of all of us, you’re the only one who can do it.”

“B-but you’ll disappear!”

“I’m going to disappear anyway. Only you can do this. Please take my power.”

“But… But…” Abbi stuttered.

“Please, Abbi… Do this for Sunny,” Humphrey told, “For Mari…”

Abbi sighed and took a deep breath. She slowly extended her hand out to Humphrey, who moved on top of it. 

“I’m sorry it had to happen this way,” Abbi frowned. 

“It’s okay,” Humphrey nodded with a smile, “Sometimes… Things just end up this way…”

Much like The Favorite, Humphrey’s body began to fade away.

“Goodbye, Humphrey,” Abbi wept quietly.

“I’ll always be with you. As long as you remember…” Humphrey’s voice slowly faded away, “Remember… Hit children’s book, Hungry Humphrey…”

Humphrey’s entire body turned to dust. Much like how it happened with Omori, the dust flew into Abbi’s heart. Some new feeling flooded her entire body.

She remembered everything.

**********************

Both Abbi and Sunny sat alone in Whitespace. Tears fell down Sunny’s face, as Abbi tried to comfort him.

“It’s going to be okay,” Abbi consoled, “I’m here… I’m here.”

Sunny whimpered. He didn’t say anything in response.

“Even if no one else is there for you, I always will be,” Abbi told.

“I… Don’t… Know…” Sunny cried.

“And your friends will always be your friends too. Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Basil… Mari… They all care for you very much.”

“M-... Muh… Mari?...”

“Yes…” Abbi nodded, “Even though she’s gone, she still loves you.”

“M-Mari? Gone?” Sunny looked up, his face red from crying, “N-no. She… She can’t be.”

“One day, you will have to confront your truth. You can’t keep repressing it forever,” Abbi told, “But no matter what, I will be by your side when that happens, and your friends will be too.”

“No! Mari’s not gone!” Sunny panicked, “No! No! No!” He shook his head, and his whole body started to disappear. The Sunny in the real world had woken up.

“What did you do?” A monotonous voice asked.

Abbi turned to find Omori standing behind her.

“I told Sunny we would always be there for him,” Abbi answered, “I didn’t know he would react like that…”

“You can’t tell him about what happened!” Omori sounded furious, “Do you have any idea how much you’re hurting him?”

“He can’t just forget what happened,” Abbi shook her head, “He’ll have to remember one day.”

“No, he won’t.” Red hands emerged from the ground, each grabbing hold of Abbi, “And I’ll make sure he never will.”

“Wait! What are you doing!?” Abbi yelled as she got slowly pulled into the ground.

“I’m sorry, Abbi. I didn’t want it to come to this,” Omori told, “Goodbye.”

“Wait! S-stop!” Abbi called out. “Omori! P-please!”

The ground completely engulfed Abbi. Her entire vision was shrouded in darkness. Wherever she was, it was a cold, horrible place.

For five years it was like this. Abbi could rip open the walls of Blackspace and peer into Headspace, but she couldn’t do anything. Sometimes, she could fit her tentacle arm through these holes, but no one in Headspace seemed to notice. Her memories kept fading as time went on. Until… Some light appeared. The pond Sunny almost drowned in all those years ago was before her. The place where Abbi appeared in the real world.

Abbi took a deep breath, realizing where she was. She was alone in Sunny’s room, Humphrey was nowhere to be seen. He was gone.

She left Sunny’s room and went back into the living room. Everyone was still gathered around, talking about what had happened.

“Abbi!” Sunny looked up, “W-what did Humphrey have to say?”

Abbi shuttered and clenched her fist. She only looked to the floor.

“A-are you alright?” Basil asked.

“Humphrey… Is gone…” Abbi told quietly. 

“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Sunny asked frantically.

“He sacrificed himself,” Abbi said, “He did it to give me a part of my power back…”

“Oh…” Sunny frowned, “I… I see…”

“Humphrey… Was that the pink bubblegum guy?” Kim asked.

“Yeah,” Sunny answered, “Bubblegum guy…”

“S-so now what are we going to do?” Basil asked.

“I have to go back to the park,” Abbi said, “Omori told me that if I don’t return to him before sundown, he’ll come here.”

“I guess we don’t want him to come here,” Aubrey added, “Not much room to fight… If you’re going to fight him.”

“It’d make a mess too,” Sunny said quietly. He looked up to Abbi, “I’m going with you.”

“You can’t!” Abbi blurted, “You could get hurt!”

“I’m going too,” Basil added.

“Well, if you’re going, then I’m going too!” Kel said.

“Looks like we’re all going,” Aubrey shrugged.

“But… But,” Abbi hesitated, “Alright… Just… Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“So, are we going now?” Kim asked, “I don’t know when sundown will be, but considering the time of year, it’ll probably be in like an hour.”

“I just need to do one more thing,” Abbi told, “I’ll be right back.” She left the living room and entered Sunny’s room once more.

“Jeez, why do you keep entering my room,” Sunny commented.

Sometime later, Abbi returned from Sunny’s room. Her appearance was exactly the same as the way it was when she first entered the real world, she wore none of the extra clothing that Basil had given her.

“Whoa!” Kim gasped, “Girl, put your pants back on!”

“I am in my most true form,” Abbi shook her head, “This is how I will fight Omori.”

“So that’s what you looked like,” Aubrey turned to Sunny, “Any reason why she’s dressed like that?”

“Uhhh,” Sunny groaned, “B-because… It’s what that anime character looked like?”

“What kinda anime were you watching?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“Um… Uh… I’ll show you later…” Sunny said, with no intention of showing her later. 

Everyone left Sunny’s apartment and made their way to the city park. They all stayed mostly silent on the way there, only sighing at the obvious glares Abbi got. Sunny led the way as the park came into view. Abbi’s battle with Omori was almost upon her. She had failed to defeat him before, but could she win this time? It was only a matter of time to see how this fight would play out.

Chapter Text

Abbi, Sunny, and their friends all arrived at the city park. Since Abbi had last been there, a thin sheet of snow had covered the ground. Omori still stood in the same place he was before. 

“So what are we going to do now?” Sunny asked. 

“Hmm…” Abbi glanced over at a couple of benches in the distance. “Could you all go sit over there?”

“So you just want us to watch?” Kel asked. “You know, we could probably help! There’s six of us and one of-”

“No, only I will fight,” Abbi interrupted.

“You sure? Ya know,” Kel flexed, trying to show off his muscles as much as possible, “I’m pretty strong.”

“I hate to agree, but he is pretty strong,” Kim nodded, “He and Sunny managed to beat up my brother and I…”

“I can’t let you. I can’t let you get hurt,” Abbi told, “Omori is too strong. I have to fight him on my own.”

“I think we should trust Abbi,” Sunny said, “Um… I’m not sure how much we could do against Omori anyway…”

Abbi walked towards Omori while everyone else sat on the benches and watched.

“So you’re here…” Omori turned to face Abbi.

“That’s right.”

“I want to ask you one more time. Please help me,” Omori pleaded. “I can’t let my friends… I can’t let my world disappear.”

“I’m sorry… I can’t let you hurt Sunny,” Abbi shook her head.

“So that’s how it’s going to be,” Omori frowned. “It looks like I’m going to have to fight you…”

“I guess so…”

“Are you ready?”

“No…”

Omori shook his head, “Me neither.”

Omori’s body slowly started to hover in the air, and four red hands sprouted out of his back. A knife also appeared in his right hand.

“Oh… W-what’s happening!?” Kim’s eyes widened, “This… This can’t be real…”

Omori swung the knife in front of him and red hands emerged from the ground and they charged at Abbi in a wave. Abbi jumped inhumanly high over the hands.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing this…” Basil mumbled, “So she was telling the truth all along.”

Abbi summoned a power very similar to Omori’s. A bunch of squid tentacles burst out from the ground and clashed with Omori’s red hands.

“So you ended up taking Humphrey’s power,” Omori said. 

“He sacrificed himself to protect Sunny… From you!”

“Why can’t you see… My goal does not harm Sunny whatsoever.” Omori told, “I only want to save my friends.”

“You’re going to destroy his memories! That’s hurting him!” Abbi protested. 

Omori shook his head, “Either way… I won’t allow myself to lose… No matter what.” He slashed his knife at Abbi, hitting her hand.

“Abbi, no!” Basil screamed. 

Abbi slowly pushed back the knife with her hand. It appeared she wasn’t hurt.

“Wait… How’d she do that?” Kel wondered out loud.

“She can block knives with her hands,” Sunny told, “That’s one of her powers.”

“What other kinds of powers does she have?” Kel asked.

Omori pushed his hand into Abbi’s stomach, launching her backward. Her now bruised body lay on the ground. 

“Ugh…” Sunny winced, “Resilience… Hopefully.”

“Omori… Please stop,” Abbi struggled to stand up, “I… I don’t want to do this…”

“Then give up,” Omori brandished his knife.

“N-no… I can’t…” Abbi stood up, legs shaking, “I can not fail.”

Without saying another word, Omori raised the knife above his head and charged at Abbi once again. It pierced through Abbi’s tentacle arm as she tried to parry it, black ooze falling to the ground. 

“Ugh… Omori… This isn’t you…” Abbi gasped. 

“I don’t care,” Omori responded, “I need them back. I need your power.”

With all her might, Abbi punched Omori with her undamaged hand. Omori stumbling backward caused his grip on the knife to loosen, and Abbi pulled her injured arm away. 

“This isn’t you!” Abbi repeated, “You’re Sunny! You’re everything Sunny wishes he could be.”

“N-no… That’s not… I don’t care…” Omori seemed confused at Abbi’s words, “I’m… I’m my own person…”

Abbi slowly pulled Omori’s knife out of her own arm. 

“I’ve stopped you from hurting yourself before, I can do it again!”  She threw the knife to the side, into the bushes. 

“So that’s how it’s going to be…” Omori said coldly, “Very well…” He waved his hand in front of him, summoning an army of red hands… But nothing appeared.

“We’re getting weak…” Abbi said, “You said it yourself, we don’t have much time in this world.”

“We have to end this…” Omori reeled his fist back and struck Abbi. It seemed to hurt a lot less than his previous attacks. 

“No matter what happens, I will not let you take Sunny’s memories!” Abbi proclaimed. She raised her fist in the air and bashed Omori on the head. Much like the previous attack, it hurt her fist a lot more than the person she was trying to hit.

“I… Won't… Lose… My…” Omori panted. He collapsed to his knees. “I can’t lose my friends…”

Abbi followed suit, and the two were eventually lying on the ground. Their breathing was heavy and labored. 

“Is this… The end?” Abbi asked.

“We are both going to die,” Omori said. 

Omori was right. Despite gaining Humphrey’s power, Abbi’s time was coming to its closing. Memories of her life came flooding back. The time spent with Kel, Basil, Kim, and the rest of the hooligans. Her “date” with Mikhael. The times she pretended to be a real human. With these memories she realized something.

She and Omori were both fighting for the same reason.

They were fighting for their friends.

The thought of death suddenly became much scarier to Abbi. Before she just had to defeat Omori and Sunny would be saved. But now, Sunny wasn’t the only one she was fighting for. She had to stand against Omori. She had to stand against the possibility of another Omori within Sunny’s friends. The only way to do this would be to kill her best friend.

With all her might, Abbi slowly got to her feet. 

“You still fight,” Omori said, trying to follow suit, “Please, let me save my friends.”

“I have to save my friends too,” Abbi told, “Your very existence is a threat to them!”

“Both of ours is,” Omori stood up, staggering, “We don’t belong in this world. We’re soulless beings with no purpose. Once we disappear, no one will remember us. No one will even care that we existed.” 

“That can’t be true!” Abbi glanced over at Sunny and the rest. They were all staring so intently at the battle. “I know… Even if I… If we disappear. They won’t forget us!”

“I… I don’t care… I just need them.” Omori’s own red hand began twitching erratically, “I need your power… N-... N-... Now!”

Omori stumbled towards Abbi, still physically weak. There was nothing he could do. The two supernatural beings had lost all their power. 

“It’s over, Omori.” Abbi told, “We both lost.”

“Guh…” Omori clenched his head, “D-Damn it… Have I really failed? I’ve… Come so far…”

“I’m sorry,” Abbi apologized, “The world has given us a cruel fate… Maybe… After this is all over… We can see your… Our friends again…”

“See… Again?...” Omori mumbled to himself, “Again…”

“That’s right… That’s what people call ‘the afterlife’. You get to see everyone who has left this world.”

“But… You don’t want to.” Omori said.

“Yeah… I guess it has to be this way…”

“Does it?”

Omori placed his hand on Abbi’s forehead. For some reason, his body started to get hazier and hazier.

“Omori? What are you doing?”

“Maybe we both don’t have to lose,” Omori said, “Maybe instead of bringing my friends here, I should just go to them.”

“Wait! Omori!” Abbi tried moving his hand away, but she couldn’t move her own.

“Take my power,” Omori told, “You need to stay here more than me.”

Omori had transferred all of his power to Abbi. The threat of her disappearing no longer existed. The very person she tried to destroy had saved her life.

“Omori… Why?” Abbi asked, “Why did you do this? Didn’t you want-”

“Abbi,” Omori interrupted, “I’m going to go see my sister now.”

Omori’s very existence was erased. In a strange and almost indescribable turn of events, Omori had given up his life for Abbi. 

“Why… Why, Omori? Why?...” Abbi repeated. 

She just stood there for a while, staring at the space where Omori once stood. This couldn’t have just happened, right? Omori’s almost spontaneous change of heart. Had one sentence really swayed him? Perhaps this was all an illusion. Omori was most certainly stronger than her, he could easily win in a fight.

Sunny, along with Kel, Aubrey, Basil, and Kim ran up to Abbi. Sunny called out to her,

“Abbi! What happened?”

Abbi slowly turned around, “It’s over… Omori is gone.”

“I can’t believe it,” Kim said. She sounded quieter than usual, “All that stuff. All that weird magic stuff… It’s real.”

“So Omori is really gone?” Basil asked nervously, “We d-don’t have to worry about him anymore… Right?”

“He’s gone,” Abbi looked up to the sky, “He’s gone.”

“Did we really just watch someone die?” Kim asked.

“No…” Abbi shook her head, “I don’t think he’s dead. He’s somewhere, very far from here… Wherever he is… I just hope that… He’s happy.”

Sunny put his hand on Abbi’s shoulder, “Um… H-hey Abbi?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… Thanks… For saving me,” Sunny nodded, “That guy has been… Well, I’m glad he won’t be bothering me anymore…”

“Yeah… He won’t,” Abbi continued to stare at the sky.

“I hope he got what he wanted…”

“I hope he got his friends back.”

Chapter Text

It was late at night. Everybody slept around Sunny’s room, much like sleepovers of earlier years. All of Sunny’s friends were fast asleep… Except for Abbi. She just stood at the window, staring forward. No matter how hard she looked into the night sky, nothing happened. No supernatural happening ever occurred. No voices spoke to her. 

“Mmm… A-Abbi?” Sunny slurred quietly, obviously having just woken up, “W-what are you doing?”

“I… Don’t know…” Abbi hesitated, “Waiting for something to happen I guess…”

“I know how that feels,” Sunny sat up slightly.

“It just feels so odd,” Abbi continued, “Omori is gone… And I’m here. I live in this world now.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do now?”

Abbi shook her head, “No. I never thought I’d get this far… I never thought something like this would even happen.”

“Me neither,” Sunny nodded, “But I guess… Here we are.”

“Maybe I’ll explore the world,” Abbi said, “There must be some other people out there like you, like me?”

Sunny stared forward for a moment, into nothingness. He didn’t respond.

“Sunny?” Abbi asked.

“Huh? Oh…” He shook his head, “Uh, yeah… I think… I think you might be right.” 

“So If I just look hard enough, I might find someone like me!” Abbi smiled gleefully.

“Maybe…” Sunny yawned, laying back down, “We can talk about this tomorrow…”

Sunny went back to sleep, while Abbi continued to stare out the window. She stood there, mostly motionless until daybreak. 

*****************************

Everyone stood outside Sunny’s apartment. Kel, Basil, and Kim stood by Kim’s car, while Sunny and Aubrey stood closer to the door. Abbi stood between them all.

“So you’re really not going with us?” Basil asked. 

“That’s right,” Abbi nodded, “I’m going to go wherever the world takes me!”

“Be careful,” Kel warned, “You might have too much fun! I wish I could go wherever I wanted!”

“Or you know, be careful because it’s a bad idea,” Kim rolled her eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” Abbi said nonchalantly, “I can take care of myself!... Probably.”

“Hmm…” Kim brought her hand to her chin, looking deep in thought. Her eyes instantly widened, “Oh! I know what I’m going to do!” A grin grew on her face, “Imagine! The new Bigfoot! Except for this time, it’s some squid girl! Heh-heh-heh!”

“Uhh, maybe don’t do that?” Basil chuckled sheepishly, “That doesn’t sound-”

“Too late!” Kim interrupted. She pulled out her phone and took a picture of Abbi. “This is going to be so cool! Everybody is going to be talking about the elusive squid girl!”

Aubrey looked over Kim’s shoulder, trying to see the picture she had just taken, “You’re really going to post that? That’s way too blurry.”

“Exactly!” Kim smiled, “All these stupid pictures are blurry! I made it look bad on purpose!” 

“I better get royalties for you using my likeness!” Abbi told.

“H-hey, shouldn’t I be the one getting royalties?” Sunny asked, “I’m the one who… Created her… I guess…”

“Hey guys, I really don’t mean to be that guy but,” Kel interrupted, “I did tell my mom that I’d be back before three…”

“Yeah, yeah…” Kim rolled her eyes.

Kel, Kim, and Basil got in the car and drove off. Sunny, Aubrey, and Abbi all watched until the car could no longer be seen.

“I guess this it’s time for me to leave too,” Abbi said.

“Y-ya know. You really don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Sunny suggested, “You could stay here, with us. You could-”

“I don’t think you could convince your mom to let another girl live in her house,” Aubrey interrupted, “Remember how worried we were that she wouldn’t let me stay?”

“Y-yeah…” Sunny sighed.

“It’s fine, I’ve made up my mind!” Abbi nodded, “I’m going. I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again.”

“Right…” Sunny frowned.

“Right,” Abbi repeated, “So… I guess I’ll see you on the other side,”

“W-wait!...” Sunny blurted. He walked up to Abbi and threw his arms around her, “T-thank you… F-for saving me from Omori… Even though I was pretty sure I did that already…”

“Oh! Um… You're welcome!” Abbi chuckled, “I didn’t really expect to do anything like that, but here we are.”

Sunny let go of Abbi, stepping back, “So, yeah… I wish you… Safe travels.”

“I guess I should also say thank you,” Aubrey added, “You brought Mr. Plantegg back to me, and that was pretty cool.”

“I couldn’t just leave him there, in that old treehouse!” Abbi smiled, “I wouldn’t want to leave anyone in there. That thing’s so old, it’s probably an OSHA violation to even think about going inside of it!”

“I’m not sure if that’s true,” Aubrey shrugged.

Sunny and Aubrey both said their goodbyes to Abbi. Much more slowly than Kim’s car, she also left Sunny’s apartment. Her body was soon just a speck in the distance to Sunny. His imaginary friend was possibly gone forever, gone to roam the earth for more people just like him.

********Months Later********

The frigid blizzard air made it hard for Abbi to see. She clung tightly to the coat Basil had given her from her time in Faraway. Fortunately, there was a light in the distance. A single cabin stood behind the snowy barrier. With no other choice, Abbi made her way toward the only sign of civilization she could find.

As Abbi entered the building, she saw many empty tables, the only other person in the building was an older man standing behind a counter.

“You look a little young to be going to a bar,” The man said while glancing at Abbi.

“It’s cold,” Abbi responded.

“Aye…” The man looked away, returning to doing what he was doing before.

There was a firepit at the other side of the room. Abbi approached it in an effort to warm up. As she walked towards it, for some reason, a phone on the wall started ringing.

“Ooh! Phone! If the ring, that means someone has to answer it!” Abbi thought out loud. She picked up the phone and answered, “Hello?”

“Lady Abigale!?! Is that you?”

“Who is this? You sound familiar,” Abbi wondered.

“Why, it’s me! The Maverick! Your loving husband to be!”

“I don’t remember proposing,” Abbi pursed her lips, “Wait… How did you call me? How did you know to call this specific number?”

“Ah! It’s simple!” Mikhael responded, “I just did the same thing you did, call every number until I get the right one! And would you look at that, I got the right one!”

“Huh,” Abbi nodded, impressed.

“Anyways, where are you? I saw a post on this website I frequent, ONISM1999, and there was a picture of a blurry squid girl on it, and I knew it was you! No one else would ever cosplay like that!”

“Where am I? I am in a very mystical land,” Abbi answered, “The locals call it ‘Alaska’.”

“Alaska!?! How on earth did you get there!?!” Mikhael blurted.

“I walked,” Abbi told bluntly.

“That sounds like quite the trek,” Mikhael said, “Only the best for my beloved!”

“But you know what, I think I should propose now,” Abbi added, “The Maverick, the coolest human known to man, will you marry-”

“I really don’t think that happened,” Vance interrupted. 

“Shut up!” Mikhael yelled, “This is my story, and it is one hundred percent true!”

“Dude, she probably just flew back to wherever she lived,” Cris shrugged.

“Mmm…” Mikhael groaned, “But she WILL come back, and we WILL get married!” He turned to Kim, “Right, Kim?”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Kim rolled her eyes.

“Didn’t you see her leave?” Mincy asked, “You went with her to the city, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… She, uhh… Flew home… Like Cris said…” Kim hesitated.

Sunny, Aubrey, Kel, Basil, and Kim were the only ones who knew the truth about Abbi. They hadn’t heard from her since she left. They could only hope for the best for her. And wherever she was… She was hoping for the best for Omori.