Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He has lost.

His journey was a long one, and although he regained the memory of the Truth, it ultimately ended in his defeat.

Despite being encouraged by his friends. Despite overcoming his fears. Despite everything that his friends had done for him in the last three days...

He still lost...

.

He chuckled. It really was like what Omori had told him throughout their battle.

He was a liar.

He was selfish.

He was less than useless.

He was sick.

.

.

.

He should just die.

As Sunny disappeared in Omori's embrace, he was once again alone in WHITESPACE. It was even emptier than usual. No more laptop to access B̷̖͘L̶̮̒A̵̠͘C̴͚̽K̴̡̅S̵̫̉P̷̠͒Å̷͎C̶͚͊E̸͎̅ (not that he'd want to), no more 'light'-bulb to stare at, no more tissue box to wipe his sorrows away. And most importantly, no more Mewo for him to cuddle.

Omori stood and began to look around himself. At first, he found nothing out of the ordinary, but then he saw a small dot in the distance.

Squinting his eyes, he realized that it was a door. As he approached, he saw that it was light cyan and looked very much like a hospital door.

Just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to twist it, he heard a warped version of a familiar voice.

It was of the person that he had always met whenever he entered B̷̖͘L̶̮̒A̵̠͘C̴͚̽K̴̡̅S̵̫̉P̷̠͒Å̷͎C̶͚͊E̸͎̅. The one that he loathed the most aside from the DREAMER.

It was Stranger's.

Stranger looked as though he was about to die. His form was no longer humanoid; it tried to put itself together, only for its efforts to be in vain as the void-coloured 'limbs' kept falling apart while simultaneously melting into puddles upon puddles on the 'floor'. His eyes continuously flickered like a lightbulb running out of electricity.

Omori figured this would happen. Since Stranger's purpose was to help Sunny remember the Truth, Sunny giving up would defeat the entire point of Stranger's existence, which explains the form Stranger was in right now.

As black ink drizzled down from him, Stranger said to Omori in a garbled and distorted voice.

"Ý̶̧o̷̰̎-̴̫̾-̶͚̕ö̵͉́u̴̲͐ ̸͙̊m̸̩̏a̵͓͘y̶̘̾ ̸̥͒h̸̠̎ǎ̷̱ṿ̴͝e̴̦͛ ̶͔̉w̴̢̍ő̸̱n̵͍͌,̴̻̆ ̴̘͑P̵͍͋R̴̰̃O̷̦̓T̷͇̍Ȇ̵̞C̶̹͑T̶̟̐O̵͔̔R̷̭̀;̶̱͋ ̷̲͋b̴̞͛ù̴̘t̵͖̀,̷̻̈́ ̸̮͗I̶͓̐ ̷̖͛w̸̟͗i̸͜͝l̵͉̈l̴͉̽ ̵̬͑ǹ̴̗o̷̲͆ơ̶̖-̴̠͆-̶͒͜o̸̘͌ơ̷͔-̵̱̃-̸͔͝ŏ̸̦t̸̘͝ ̷̼͘ÿ̷͇i̸̟͒e̵̱̽l̷̜̀ḏ̴͛ ̴̯̈́ś̶̺o̵̢̅ ̴̢̕ě̵̗a̷̗̽s̸̢̓į̷̓l̶͖̕y̷̒ͅ.̴̡͒ ̵̬̈́H̶̺͝e̵̓͜-̶̤͑e̴̦̒è̴͜ẹ̷͝-̸̯̎ȇ̵̳ḍ̵͂ ̸͙̀m̶̱̏y̵̫͌ ̵̢͝w̵͖̔o̷̗͝r̸̲͊d̸̫͘s̵̡̚.̷̺̆.̴̺̾.̷̠̍ "

His body(?) was now half of its original size. The black puddles were now glitching, their colour now switching into that of a broken static TV screen.

Noticing his inevitable demise, Stranger used all of the power he had left to yell out:

"Ẅ̷̰́E̸̘̔ ̵͎̚W̵̤̉I̵̞̕L̸̯̽L̶̛̙ ̸̯̑M̶͖̅E̴͓̍҉̸̩͝Ĕ̴̟҉̷̜̈́T̸̪̏҉̸̻̍ ̷̰̆҉̵̣̏A̷͉̍҉̴̞̄G̷̜̕҉̷̡͐A̵̤̕҉̸̟͆I̸̗͠҉̶͎̈N̶̙͂҉̶.̸̙͍̬̯̑̓̀.̵̛̘̼̳͊.̸̨̧̝̯͚̎.̵̨̤̪̩̘͊͜.̶̢̖̱̉̑̓͒͠.̴̫̰̱͎̭͆́̔̆̾̚.̷̩̻̪̅͌̅̋̓͜"

As his eyes lost their light, the remains of his body began to dissolve at a rapid pace, as all of the void-coloured ink also began to evaporate. Eventually, no trace of Stranger was left to be seen.

Although he had never been on good terms with Stranger, Omori was genuinely impressed at the show he put up even when his body was in such a state. If his body was decaying that fast, he would've been screaming his head off in agony the whole time.

Pushing the feeling aside, Omori looked back at the door. It was still there, unfazed as if nothing had happened. Twisting the doorknob, he went into it as the somehow brighter void swallowed him.

.

.

.

S̶u̶n̶n̶y̶ Omori woke up.

Chapter Text

Kel was tired.

Last night was very eventful for him, and not in a good way. Everyone would tell you the same thing if two of their friends had beef with each other in the middle of the night and one of them got their eye stabbed with gardening shears.

After hearing Sunny's condition had stabilized, he and his friends went to Basil's room to check on him. The poor guy had cuts and bruises all over his body so the least they could do was watch over the unconscious Basil.

Most of the conversations were pretty awkward, so silence was usually the dominant aspect of the room.

Aubrey and Hero were also very worked up. Kel understands since he knows that the thought of losing both Sunny and Basil could be very distressing, as the gang was just reformed that same day.

But one thing had been bugging him ever since they rushed them to the hospital: he doesn't get why Sunny and Basil would fight each other. They were practically best friends; Sunny would listen to Basil's ramblings about plants all the time, so they developed a very strong bond. It was hard to imagine them arguing, let alone fighting each other to this degree.

Aubrey and Hero were as clueless as him, so they decided that they would ask them later.

"This is all my fault..." Aubrey muttered. She had been blaming herself ever since the incident, saying that all of this was her fault and other negative stuff. He and Hero tried to cheer her up, but their words fell on deaf ears as Aubrey continued to hang her head while sitting on the chair.

"C'mon, Aubrey..." Hero said. He didn't seem to care if Aubrey would listen to him or not. "None of this was anyone's fault... Stop blaming yourself." Hero's tone was very caring, but Aubrey seemed to ignore him as she once again indulged herself in grief.

The silence returned.

.

.

Kel looked at the clock, it had been 2 hours since they last visited Sunny. He should probably check on him.

"I'm gonna check on Sunny," he said. After getting nods of acknowledgement from his friends, he got out of the room and started walking down the hallway.

He hated the heavy feeling in his stomach. He was supposed to be the clown of the group. The cheery, goofy Kel who fights with Aubrey all the time. He was able to keep the act up for 4 entire years, so why can't he do it now?

His train of thought was stopped when he realized he was standing in front of Sunny's room. As he twisted the doorknob, he put on his signature smile once again. It felt fake, but it'll do for now

"Good morning, Sunny!" he said as he opened the door. "Feelin' better, bud?"

He saw Sunny looking outside the window, not moving as if he didn't hear him. 'Huh, weird!' he thought.

So, Kel did the thing that any rational person would do in this situation.

He proceeded to scream his head off in a hospital room.

"Sunny... SUNNYYYYY~!" Kel called at the top of his lung while oblivious to the death stares that the other patients had been giving him.

Sunny, once again, did not react.

Confused, Kel walked closer to his friend's bed. "Sunny?" He said while shaking his friend's shoulder.

This time, he DID get a reaction. It was not a pleasant one.

Kel instinctively backed away, feeling goosebumps all over himself as his eyes met Sunny's glare. It was cold and emotionless; his eye was eerily blank and apathetic, devoid of the warmth and light it once had.

"Back off," Sunny said in an ice-cold voice that Kel was sure wasn't his. He knew that Sunny was not the most expressive one in the group. But this... this person was not the Sunny he knew. Something was very, very wrong.

"S-Sunny...?" Kel said in a terrified voice, clearly afraid of his... 'friend'. To which Sunny said nothing and continued to stare at Kel, blank-faced and emotionless. That made Kel even more concerned.

"H-Hold on, I-I need to do something real quick..." Kel stuttered, eyeing Sunny. He needed to get Hero and Aubrey, quickly. "H-Hang in there, Sunny... I'll be back, er... soon," he said as he bolted into the hall and ran straight to Basil's room.

Chapter Text

So that was Kel, huh...

He had never been to the real world before. Since Headspace was his home, he was so used to seeing his friends that this version of Kel startled him.

Sure, they shared some similarities here and there, but the differences were so much that he thought Kel was a stranger. Thinking back, he may have been a little bit harsh to him—

No. He shouldn't be feeling like this.

Having regained his composure, as he looks around he sees several potted flowers sitting around his bed.

Each one has a tag attached to either their leaves or their pot, they were probably sent individually by many people as the handwriting on each tag was different from another.

Picking one up, it was sent by the Bakery siblings. Bowen and... Daphne?

These names were unrecognizable to him. The only people that were related to baking bread in Headspace were Biscuit and Doughie who lived in the Orange Oasis. Even then, they were named the Unbread Twin, certainly not the 'Bakery siblings'.

But maybe Headspace's people were different, he wouldn't know as he couldn't care less.

Getting off his bed, he suddenly feels an agonizing pain spread through his entire body. He hissed as he stumbled backwards. He then realized that his right eye was missing.

Right, this must be the result of the fight last night. Blackspace was rumbling with tremors as the fight ensued. This body was weak, it wasn't the body he had while he was still in the DREAMER's mind.

He needed to fix this.

He had to fix this.

Gritting his teeth and trying his best to ignore the pain, he opened the door and made his way to the rooftop. Each step was considerably heavier than the last, but he didn't care. This was nothing compared to the pain he felt when he was in B̷̗̈L̸̰̀A̷͚̅C̸̫̒K̸̝͐S̵̯̋P̷͎̊A̶̞̔Ć̷̯E̶͕̋ as a vessel for the DREAMER. His purpose was to protect him from the truth, and he would do anything to accomplish it.

Anything.

As he went around the corner of the hallway, he was stunned to see a heavily deformed, static-filled shadowy being in front of the rooftop door, seemingly trying to block his way to the rooftop. It was glitching and struggling to even stay formed. Omori felt unease as he senses an eerily familiar presence emitting from the creature.

Squinting his eye, he recognizes the creature as Stranger.

Perplexed, his eye widened for a split second before he reverted his face back to its usual blank expression. But internally, he was still shocked. How could Stranger have the energy needed to show himself again in the real world, when his existence was practically destroyed due to having no purpose?

Omori could not imagine how much willpower Stranger must have had to persist through their last confrontation, let alone survive until now AND manifest himself into the real world, even if it was just a hallucination.

Omori would soon be even more bewildered as Stranger 'spoke' in a heavily muffled and warped 'voice' that was barely intelligible.

"Ş̸̘͉̜̱̍̉̉͌͂̎͆͜͝ͅT̴̩̜̦̫̅̔̄̈́̓̏ͅȌ̴̺̗͖̲͎͈͙̆̾̐͘͝P̷̛̦̘͍̊ ̴̊͆͊̿͌̕ͅR̸͔̣͔̣̞͙̀ͅI̷͉͊̇̑͋̈́̏̎G̶͙̣̟̈́͛Ĥ̶̟̪̞̝̜͂́̐͜ͅT̴̿̈́̋̅̓̕͘͜ ̷͇̖̮̳̿T̸̨͉̟͇̠̀͊͜Ȟ̵͎̫͍͕̩͍͜Ē̶̡̖̠̻̑̚Ṙ̶̮̩̖̖Ḛ̸͍̓̎͌̽̔̎͂͘,̸͇̱̝̬͈͉͓́̈́͂̾͂̽͌͝ ̷̧̨͖͉̳͉͇̼͊͂̈́͂̍̽̉P̵̧̌̔͂̐R̶̤̟͎͖͛̔͂̓O̴̰͠T̶̡̻͖̏͛͆͌Ȩ̴̒͐̓͘ͅC̴̼̹͖̳̗̥̫̳̑͒͛̆͘͝͝T̸̛̮̾̓͛̎̈̕Ò̵̧̺͍̟̿͗͗͛͜R̸̡̛̥̮͔̘͙͙͂͊̂̅̀҉.."

Stranger spat at him, his form getting even more unstable since many parts of it were practically imploding. But Stranger didn't seem to care, as he let out more distorted sounds from him as he was struggling to form a mouth.

There was a fine line between comprehensible sentences and gibberish, and Stranger was crossing that line very quickly by how garbled and grotesque his voice had become.

"Y̵̻͛̆͗̓I̶̛̲̐̚E̷͎̽̓̊L̶͔̘̰̪͛D̶̰͌̓̈͛ ̷̻̼̈́̀̆͝Y̸̡̮͂Ö̶͖́͘U̸͔̲͔͝R̸̩̘̟͈͊̉ ̵̻̼̐̇P̵͎̓̈́͒̀Ơ̶̱̯̖̣̿͌͝W̴͓̬̹̌͗͛̑E̸̪̰̜̹̓̌̀R̴̩̞͖͝ ̵͉̭̀̇Ą̸͂̀͐͐N̷͇̞͌̂̚͜͝D̵̻̗͚̂̈͜ ̵͚̻̖́́̅R̷̲̻̘̱͂̏̚E̷͓̖͑̐Ť̶̼͘U̶̪̼̘͋͒̐R̵̦̩̜͚̓̇͘͠N̷̨͖̹̦̍ ̶̮̰̄T̴̢̰̝͂̔̕Ḧ̴̠̪́̔̊Ȩ̸͓̼̱́̈̊́ ̶̬̾̂̀̀C̶̰̅̕Ö̵̘͉Ņ̴̞̭͆̒Ţ̶͂͊̄͆R̵̖̃̈͂̈́Ǒ̷̭͝Ļ̷̜͇̇̈́̓͊ ̷̼̞̍͗B̷͉͚̬̮̂̕A̶̛̮͖͚̜͗Ç̴̘͌̋̈́K̵̖̫͔͇͆ ̶̰̈́T̵̥̄̈́͋Ö̶̩́̆͘ ̷̨̹́Ṯ̷̛̹͓͉̄̀Ḩ̸͉̗́̈́͆̀ͅE̵̖̙̭͛ ̸͓̖̃̉̕D̷͎̂̐R̴̜̀̈́͘E̸̫̳̜̾͑̒́Ǎ̷̢̙̯̙̽͐M̶̗̬͑Ë̶̮̗́̈̿͘Ȑ̴͉̘͇.̴̡̀̆̚͝ ̸̣̘̱͒̒͘̚Y̴̲̬͐̒͘O̷͖̣̤͚͒̈́Ủ̵͙ ̶̬̘͒Ȧ̸̱̘͍̓͌̈R̵͙͔͚͑Ê̵̢ ̸̡̤̗̐C̸̨͍̣̻̓̅̆͘Ơ̴̯͈̗̈́̓M̵̠͓̣̊́͛M̸̢̹̦̤͂͠I̸̡̼̔̍͝Ṯ̷̤͎̊͊͗͜T̷͓̯̈͊I̵̝͍̬͔͊Ń̴̡̔̏̓G̸̢͍͂̾̇̂ ̸̢̼̪̼̐̌͋́A̷̖̘̾̀͆͘ ̷͕̾͒̓̀F̶̥̻̅̽͜Ö̸̙͜Ó̴͚̾̎̾Ḻ̴̫͉̾̏I̷̛̮̗̰̭̓Ş̵̞͝H̴͎̪͎͗̀̇͠ ̴̳̤͒̉̋͝A̴͓̳͑͛͊C̸̨̖̟͓͐̑͗͆Ṭ̵̗̒I̸͙̿O̷̧͚̠͛͑N̵̞̦̻͂.̷̙̦͋͜.̶̤̲̀̐̚̚.̴̗͍̦̅.̷̪̏̐ ̴͚̋́̽Ÿ̸̠̙̣́́͒̏O̵͍̳͍͌͝U̸̜̭͑ ̵̞͈̂͒̈́W̸̡̟͎͒ͅǏ̶͎̪̭L̴̙̘͓͚̓̊Ļ̵͔͚̬̍͠ ̵̳͎͗R̷̨̫̀̎Ë̷̖͈͋̉͘G̸͚̅̂̉̊R̷̟̉̌͠Ḛ̴̍́T̶͍̰̣̀ ̸̩̠͉̤̈́Ț̵̐̆̐̽H̵͇̉I̴̜͇̠͊̍S̶̟̑̄!̴̟̫̗͗̀͛̚"

Omori was taken aback, he had not seen Stranger show this much emotion before. There was distinct rage and panic in his voice. He was very desperate.

Many parts of Stranger's sludgy body started to decompose. Again, Stranger was unconcerned and only saw it as an inconvenience since it made him even more incapable of forming coherent sentences. But, he somehow did; as he howled one last time.

"Ý̸̺͜Ò̵̤͙͉͈̋̚ͅṴ̵̡̨̞͚̬̠̓̾̓ ̷̹͊̔̆͋͝Ā̵̛͎̂R̸̰͔̹͚̰̦̬̽É̸̯̪̪̽̐̐͜ ̸̠̤͕̘̆̃́̂̅Ḿ̷̡͕̩̱̦̱͋̐͆͒̚Ȇ̷̢͉̯̰͉͕̈́̽R̶̺̥̿͘E̸̝̤̐̇̈́L̸̮͓̥̎Y̶̰͗̉́̿̾͘ͅͅ ̴̹̙̫͚̱̃̃͜A̸̻͑̃̈́̔͂ ̸̧̗͉͈̖̀̊́̈́̀V̵̢̰̍̑E̵̹̒̅̈̏̐̈S̴̗̀͋̽̑̚Ṥ̴͚̐Ẽ̷̖̝͉̻̜̫̱̌̇́͑̂͋L̴̩͎̱͗̾͗̓ͅ,̷̺̐̌̈́͐ ̵̡̰̫͉̊̔̅̀Ù̷̹̍͜͜Ǹ̵̰̙̟̿́̈͝D̴̢̜͙͓̝̐̀̈̐̆̈̚O̸̙̾̉̂̔̉͗ ̸̡̪̲̱̠̖͍͐̃̃T̵͔͕̗͐̀͌H̴̯̦̤͎̙̬̤͠I̶̡̳̺̺͓̲̠͋̾͠͠S̷̳̓̈̔ͅ ̶̲̩̙̲̦̻͙̎͝͝A̴̛̳̺̿́̃̿́̒Ņ̴̼̻͑D̸̫͔͇̗̂͐͂͝ ̸̯̲͉̰̯̠̈́̽̃̚Ř̵̠̙̝̳̈́͑͐͜E̶̢̛̜̗͚͙̊͝Ț̶̨̨̳̗̤̿̎͌R̴͕̻̻̜͉̻͆́̍̀͑͜E̷̠̯̣͒̋̏̓̃̕A̶̟͊̍̓̆͠͝T̸͙͙͙̖̟͐́̉͠ ̷̢̫͌ͅṬ̸̪̹̖̙̌̓́͜Ö̴̧̩̀̎͠ ̷̣̜͎̈͆̌͗͜͝W̴̯͊̌̒̂͝H̸̢͎͆Ḭ̸̬̎̀͒̒T̶̠̘̳͈̙̥̾͆̕É̸̮̐͋͑ͅS̴̱͝P̴̹̊̈́͝Ä̶͍́̅͗̓C̷̘̮̬̘̳̎̈́̇̚͠͝È̵͉̘̹̫̫ ̷̮̏̾͘͠Ä̷͍̘͇͍̬͕́̀́͌͐̇͘Ţ̴̨̮͙̳͑͒͠͝ ̴̹̜̔̂̒͌̀͠ͅỎ̸̹̰͚͌̒͝Ņ̵̹̗͇̍̉̑̎̐̅̌C̵̨̨̖̈́̽͊̃̾͝͝Ë̶͖̠̳̠͖́̌̽̾͑̚,̵̺̞̓̓ ̵̥̖͓͕̼̯͊Ỷ̷̩͎͇͖̩̈̂̎̑ͅÓ̸̗̤͈̦̤̆̎̏̑͒͜͠U̸̫̗͔̫̇ ̵̘̻̜̎͜Ţ̶̨͉̞̯̀͋̓Ŗ̴͎̬̖̜͙̓̿͌̈́͂͘E̶̿͊͜Ạ̴̢͉̫̫̤̄̒͐͝͝C̸̯͎̯̻̒̉͌̔̔̓͝ͅH̶̤̻͕̟̥̓͋́͘̚ͅE̸̘̠̘͠R̸̡͕̻̥̘̫̝̀̈́̀͝Ȏ̵̧͓͎̣Ų̷̤̭̙̠͂̐̉͆ͅS̵̹̺̍̉͊̔ ̸̺̗̙́͌̆̎̿L̴̢̗̹̗̚͜Ĭ̶̬̺͙̥͂͛͜͠T̵̂́̚͜T̴̡͉̀̀͛͝L̶̙͓͉̥̬̖̖̿̉È̸̫̳͖̗̠͎̈́̔̊̄̚ͅ ̴͉̦͙̦̌̂͜Ṣ̵̨̡̱̦̉͘H̷̩̗́I̴̢̙̐̋̈̈́-̴̧͕̭͇͎͕͔̀̌̏͒͘-̷̝̊̂̆͒͋-̶͖͚̳͎̯̱̀́͜ "

And with that, Stranger was no more, as he exploded into smithereens.

Omori made sure to stand still and paid a moment of silence for Stranger. They may have been enemies, but the only thing that he felt toward Stranger now was respect for his dedication to stopping him.

As he was standing there, Kel was reporting to his friends about Sunny's strange behaviours back in Basil's room.

"...Are you sure you entered the right room?" Aubrey asked. She seemed to be interacting for once, out of concern for her friend.

"I did! I mean he had the eyepatch and everything... Wait, were you even listening???"

Aubrey resisted the urge to punch Kel with great effort. While they were fighting, Hero seemed to be deep in thought.

"Personality disorder... no... confusion... impulsive behaviours..."

Hero feared the worst. Could it be brain damage? He wished it wasn't, but it was a very real possibility. No, he shouldn't fret now, it was still too early to assume. He should probably check up on Sunny to see his condition first.

"Kel, bring me to Sunny." Hero's voice was stern. Kel and Aubrey seemed to realize this and stopped their bickering. As Kel nodded, the three of them rushed to Sunny room, all the while ignoring the suspicious raven-haired boy dressed in a hospital gown who was standing in front of the rooftop door.

As they arrived at the room, Kel busted the door down like a normal person at a hospital. After earning scowl looks from his friends and the patients in the room, they walked to Sunny bed...

...Just to see that it was empty.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Kel had experienced many intense emotions before.

He was shocked when someone beat him in a race. He was nervous when he snuck out of his house in the middle of the night to go to Hobbeez. He was miserable when he had to bring his report card back home.

But now, only one was surging through his body, filling in every vein in his body as he stared at the empty bed.

PANIC.

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The room was silent for a solid 10 seconds. You could hear a pin drop.

"Kel..." A voice spoke up, its tone was cold. " Where the fuck is Sunny? "

Aubrey's expression was unreadable, but her voice was full of rage . As Kel heard his name being mentioned, he jolted back to reality and started trembling.

"I... don't know—" But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off.

" What do you mean you don't know, KELSEY ? " Aubrey shouted, furious.

Kel's breath was caught in his throat, he froze as Aubrey started to approach him very quickly. Hero caught sight of this and took immediate action. "AUBREY, NO!" he said as he rushed in front of Kel and restrained her.

"LET ME GO!" Aubrey yelled, her voice hoarse. "I'LL KILL HIM!" She tried her hardest to squirm out of Hero's arms with little to no success, as it got even tighter. Hero's brows furrowed.

"NO, YOU WILL NOT!" Hero yelled back, struggling to hold her. "CALM DOWN!" He was genuinely baffled at Aubrey's strength. She could've broken out of his arms if he didn't go to college, but his knowledge of restraining people was nothing to scoff at, looks like those hours of studying and practising had finally paid off.

"HE LOST SUNNY, HERO!" Aubrey said. The anger in her voice was mixed with fear. 

" WE lost Sunny, Aubrey," Hero snapped back, raising his voice. "KEL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

Kel just stood there and watched as all of it unfolded. His trembling did not stop. He felt useless. What the hell was he thinking leaving Sunny alone? 

'He could've prevented this,’ he thought as tears leaked out of his eyes. 'None of this would've happened.' The more he blamed himself, the more he cried. His breath began to hitch; he was practically hyperventilating.

Seeing this, Aubrey's temper somewhat eased down, but the anger was still there. She couldn't forgive him so easily, not until they had found Sunny .

Hero, seeing Aubrey's relaxation and Kel's frantic state, loosened his grip. "Let's think this through, okay?" he said as he went beside Kel and hugged him. "Deep breaths, Kel. Breathe in, breathe out..." Hero whispered in a soft tone.

As Kel calmed down, Hero pulled some stools over and sat down on one of them. Aubrey and Kel did the same.

"First things first:" Hero said firmly. "Aubrey, do not lash out at Kel right that. You could've injured him!" He only received an unappreciative "Tch.." from her. His eyes furrowed further, but he chose to say nothing.

"Secondly, Sunny hasn't eaten breakfast, and it's 9 AM right now." Hero glanced at the clock. "So he was probably hungry and went down to the canteen."

At this, Aubrey looked guiltily at Kel. He was still staring at the floor, head hung. She shouldn't have yelled at him like that...

"Sorry... Kel," she said apologetically to him. Her tone was calming, but it did little to soothe Kel as he did nothing in response.

"Alright, so who wants to go down the cantee—" 

But, before Hero could finish his sentence, he froze as a dreadful feeling rose in his stomach. 

It was chilling, and it was the same one that he felt on that day . It seemed like he wasn't the only one who felt it; Kel suddenly jerked his head up, alarmed; while Aubrey widened her eyes, looking terrified.

They slowly looked outside of the window. Just in time to see a raven-haired boy in a hospital gown falling down

He looked awfully similar to Sunny. His blank eye met their panicking faces. While his face remained neutral and stoic, theirs were horrified.

As the boy blurred down the window, Aubrey immediately sprinted toward the exit; Hero also followed her, stumbling on his way. 

As they left, Kel was left alone in the cold room, paralyzed in fear. His brain barely got time to process the haunting images that he saw, but its gears had clicked together and recognized the boy. 

No matter how much he tried to deny it, it kept coming back as the only explanation for the morbid scene:

That was SunnyThat was SunnyThat was SunnyThat was Sun nyThat was SunnyThat was SunnyThat was SunnyThat was SunnyThat was Sunny ̴̨͍͌He fell down from the rooftopHe fell down from the rooftopHe fell down from the rooftopHe fell down fromẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆H̶̤͚̓͋ḛ̷̻̖͗͑́͛ ̷̢̢̦̽͛͐̊f̴̤̞̏e̷̗͐̕l̵̘̋͗̄l̷̠̉̎ ̶̯͗̽̀d̴̲͚̈̓̄ớ̶͙w̶̮̾̓̚ń̸̪̹̻̀͝ ̵̹̗̲̼̔̐̆f̸̥̯̂̒ȑ̷̙̩̰̒̽̉ö̶̺̖͈́͜m̸̜͔̰͊̓ ̴̨͍͌ẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆H̶̤͚̓͋ḛ̷̻̖͗͑́͛ ̷̢̢̦̽͛͐̊f̴̤̞̏e̷̗͐̕l̵̘̋͗̄l̷̠̉̎ ̶̯͗̽̀d̴̲͚̈̓̄ớ̶͙w̶̮̾̓̚ń̸̪̹̻̀͝ ̵̹̗̲̼̔̐̆f̸̥̯̂̒ȑ̷̙̩̰̒̽̉ö̶̺̖͈́͜m̸̜͔̰͊̓ ̴̨͍͌ẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆H̶̤͚̓͋ḛ̷̻̖͗͑́͛ ̷̢̢̦̽͛͐̊f̴̤̞̏e̷̗͐̕l̵̘̋͗̄l̷̠̉̎ ̶̯͗̽̀d̴̲͚̈̓̄ớ̶͙w̶̮̾̓̚ń̸̪̹̻̀͝ ̵̹̗̲̼̔̐̆f̸̥̯̂̒ȑ̷̙̩̰̒̽̉ö̶̺̖͈́͜m̸̜͔̰͊̓ ̴̨͍͌ẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆H̶̤͚̓͋ḛ̷̻̖͗͑́͛ ̷̢̢̦̽͛͐̊f̴̤̞̏e̷̗͐̕l̵̘̋͗̄l̷̠̉̎ ̶̯͗̽̀d̴̲͚̈̓̄ớ̶͙w̶̮̾̓̚ń̸̪̹̻̀͝ ̵̹̗̲̼̔̐̆f̸̥̯̂̒ȑ̷̙̩̰̒̽̉ö̶̺̖͈́͜m̸̜͔̰͊̓ ̴̨͍͌ẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆H̶̤͚̓͋ḛ̷̻̖͗͑́͛ ̷̢̢̦̽͛͐̊f̴̤̞̏e̷̗͐̕l̵̘̋͗̄l̷̠̉̎ ̶̯͗̽̀d̴̲͚̈̓̄ớ̶͙w̶̮̾̓̚ń̸̪̹̻̀͝ ̵̹̗̲̼̔̐̆f̸̥̯̂̒ȑ̷̙̩̰̒̽̉ö̶̺̖͈́͜m̸̜͔̰͊̓ ̴̨͍͌ẗ̶̟͝h̴̤̻̏̈́̔̾e̸͎͕̱͒̾̿͠ ̸̜͈͇̈́̀r̸̯̭̀ȯ̴̘̈͒͝o̶̲̖̲̰̅̌̕f̶̭̾̏t̵̪͗ô̶̺̙̐͘͘p̷̘̍.̵̩̫̜̌̆

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Hero and Aubrey were running from floor 8 down to floor 1. It sounded crazy but they didn't care, they needed to come down quickly . The haunting images were still there, vivid in their heads as if they were printed into their brains. A boy fell down. His hair was black. He wore a hospital gown. He had an eyepatch. He was Sunn -

They kept running, adrenaline coursing through their blood as they continued to run while simultaneously pushing away that thought. No, it couldn't be the case, it could not be the case .

Floor 6… They kept running.

Floor 5… They felt dizzy.

Floor 4… Their hearts were jumping out of their chests.

Floor 3…  Their legs were giving out...

Floor 2… Screams were heard.

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They got to the bottom and burst through the hospital doors outside. They saw a crowd around a bloody mess. As the two got closer, some police officers stopped them.

“You kids should not see this,” one of them said quietly. “Leave this to us.”

“LET ME GO!” Aubrey snarled and squirmed her way out of the officer’s grasp.

As they got closer, they saw…

A blood-stained eyepatch…

Some bandages wrapped loosely around the corpse’s head.

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No...

Chapter Text

Sunny was having a picnic with his friend. Kel was gobbling bags upon bags of candies, his face filled with joy.

Sadly, it didn't last long, as Hero snatched away the 36th bag. "Stop! At this rate, you'll turn into a pile of candies yourself!" He scolded, as Kel pouted. 

"Please, just a few more bags, Hero... I promise I won't eat anything after that!" He begged, and then looked at Hero with puppy eyes. "Please please please please please?"

"Eating like that, no wonder why you're so dense..." Aubrey smirked, as she said in a mocking tone. "Your head's probably filled with candies to the brim!"

"That's rich of you to say!" Kel retorted, sticking his tongue out. "Considering you've gotten so fat that you struggled to get out of the tree stump earlier!"

At this, Aubrey's face glowed red in anger and embarrassment. Gripping Mr Plantegg tightly, she started chasing Kel around the playground. Hero followed them, trying to save Kel from being murdered.

"Those two are always so energetic. Aren’t they, Sunny?" Mari said, and Sunny nodded. "I'm not too sure about Hero, though. Hehe!" Mari chuckled in amusement as they watched Hero trying his best to keep up with the duo, only to get left in the dust.

After a while, Sunny grew bored of watching Hero's torment. He looked up at the beautiful and vibrant purple sky, which was dotted with little shapes of satellites. He wishes this blissful moment would last forever.

He felt sleepy, so he decided to take a nap on the picnic blanket.

"Sweet dreams, little brother..." Mari said warmly, and then she started to hum a tune. It was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He listened to it as he drifted off to sleep. 

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He felt like he was lying on grass.

That's... weird? He was sure that he slept on the blanket. Waking up, Sunny was confused.

The sky was now light blue instead of its usual vibrant purple; there were occasionally... fluffy looking clouds of fog(?) drifting past. Where were the white shapes of satellites and bunnies?

As he looked around, he felt a sense of deja vu. He was in a cemetery. In front of him was a Christian church. 

He was flabbergasted. What the hell happened when he was asleep?!

It seemed like he was sitting on a grave himself. As he frantically stood up and turned around, he saw the name ‘Suzuki’ carved on the headstone.

That was the trigger.

As soon as he caught sight of the word, waves upon waves of memories surged into his head at full force.

That night...

The argument...

Those haunting sounds as his sister tumbled down the stairs...

He had the urge to puke.

That tree...

The rope...

Mari's hanging body—

He couldn't hold it in anymore. He threw up into a nearby bush, as Something materialized behind him. He wanted all of it to stop.

But it did not stop.

Mari's funeral...

Four years of isolation...

Kel pulling him out of the house...

Reuniting with his friends...

The fight with Basil...

His right eye burned in pain. As he hissed and clutched it, he realized that it was missing.

The hospital room's ceiling...

Kel's scared face...

Him walking up the stairs...

The shadowy creature blocking the door...

A strange sensation rose up in his stomach.

The hospital's roof...

Wait...

The view of Faraway from above...

No... 

The JUMP ...

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The world spun around him. Sunny felt nauseous.

His friends' faces...

He started to cry.

The Ȉ̶̥m̵̓͜p̵̰̃ă̷͚c̴̱͝t̵͕̋ ...

The red pavement...

Sunny vomited even more.

The nurses' screeches...

Aubrey's scream of grief...

Hero's sobs of sorrow...

Kel's lifeless expression...

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The waves of memories stopped.

But Sunny did not stop weeping.

This was too much to take in. Had he not burdened his friends enough? Why did he do that? Why was he so hopeless? He should not have done that. This can't be real...

No... Thinking back, he should've done that. Murderers like him don't deserve to live after all... Once they've heard about his crimes and how tarnished he was, they will see that his end was fitting for him. 

After sobbing for a while, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his head. He clutched it and screamed out of pain, but no sound came out. 

He couldn't bear it any longer.

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WELCOME TO BLACK SPACE.

  WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY, DREAMER.

Chapter Text

Sunny woke up.

'Where am I?' was his first thought. He began to scan his surroundings. He was in a black void. It was familiar, but unrecognizable. He winced the moment he realized that the pain was still present in his head, but at least it was now manageable.

He stood up and started to wander aimlessly. There were many things littered across the void. Sometimes, they looked like fragments of something; other times, they looked like heavily distorted images.

When he tried to pick one of them up, they would just disappear in his hand the moment they were touched. Sighing, he gave up doing that and focused on walking.

"G̵r̶e̶e̵t̸i̶n̶g̵s̸,̸ ̵D̴R̵E̸A̶M̵E̸R̵,̶" a deformed voice suddenly spoke up behind after he kicked an image of a pebble, making him jump. "T̵o̶ ̶w̴h̸a̸t̵ ̵d̵o̷ ̷I̷ ̴o̶w̴e̶ ̴t̵h̷e̵ ̷o̴c̵c̷a̸s̴i̵o̵n̴?̴"

As he turned around, he saw a shadowy humanoid creature. Its form was hazy and dark. Sunny's body froze up in terror as a pair of dim eyes gazed back at him from its face, unblinking.

Both of them just stared at each other and said nothing. Sunny was afraid, he wanted to run from it, but his legs did not obey his thoughts. The silence continued as he stood there.

After what seemed like an eternity for Sunny, it was finally broken. Stranger let out a dry laugh, devoid of amusement.

"W̷h̵o̶ ̷a̶m̶ ̶I̸ ̸k̸i̴d̴d̸i̷n̸g̷,̴ ̴I̷ ̷b̵r̴o̸u̶g̶h̸t̵ ̵y̴o̴u̶ ̶h̸e̵r̸e̸,̸" he said in a bitter tone, shaking his head. "I̵t̷ ̷w̵a̵s̶ ̵p̷a̶i̴n̷f̷u̵l̷ ̷f̸o̸r̷ ̸y̷o̸u̶,̷ ̵y̷e̸s̸.̶ ̴B̶u̶t̶ ̵i̴t̴ ̵w̴a̵s̵ ̸n̷e̵c̶e̶s̴s̷a̶r̸y̸ ̶f̶o̷r̵ ̴t̵h̶e̷ ̷b̵o̶t̷h̷ ̶o̸f̷ ̴u̴s̴." Sunny narrowed his eye. He was confused. For both of them? He had never even seen this thing before. Stranger then paused to wait for Sunny to say something.

Sunny said nothing in response. Seeing this, Stranger closed his eyes and turned his face somewhere else as he continued. "W̴h̷e̵n̶ ̷t̴h̴a̶t̴.̴.̴.̵ ̶̺̈́ě̸̯v̴̠͝e̵̝̒ń̵͔t̸̟̎ ̴̹̄h̵a̵p̴p̸e̶n̴e̸d̸,̶ ̵I̸ ̷t̷h̵o̵u̵g̸h̷t̴ ̸I̸ ̷l̶o̴s̷t̶ ̸e̸v̶e̸r̶y̶t̷h̷i̸n̴g̵,̸" he said as he looked back, his tone sombre as the dim gaze refocused onto Sunny. "I̷ ̷t̷h̴o̷u̵g̶h̸t̷ ̶I̶ ̶l̷o̴s̴t̷ ̶̻͝ỹ̷̺ỏ̶͎u̶͋͜,̴̡̔ ̸͓̔S̴͙̐ù̵̘n̵̦̈́n̷̞̾y̶̧͠.̴͙̑" His eyes flickered.

Sunny tensed up even more when his name was directly addressed. The change in his demeanor went unnoticed by Stranger.

"B̷u̸t̵ ̴h̶e̸r̶e̴ ̸y̴o̷u̷ ̶a̵r̷e̷.̴.̸.̵ ̷S̵t̸a̵n̸d̶i̴n̵g̴ ̷i̴n̶ ̵f̶r̷o̴n̸t̴ ̷o̶f̶ ̴m̷e̶.̴" He kept going, his words echoed across the void as he roamed. "E̷v̴e̷n̷ ̷s̷e̸e̵i̶n̵g̸ ̸y̵o̴u̴ ̷n̵o̸w̶.̵.̸.̷ ̶͔̎I̸͈͗t̸͚͑'̵̯͋s̷̛͍ ̷̡͑h̸͇̃ä̶̗́r̵̳̐d̵̠̊ ̷̬̈́t̵̨́ǫ̵̌ ̷̮͒t̴̰͛h̶̪͊ḭ̸͊n̶̛͜k̵͎͋ ̶̯̂s̵̜̊t̵̨̾ṙ̷͙ȃ̸͉i̶̝͊g̴̟͐h̷̟̊ẗ̴̨́.̵̣̀"

Sunny still didn't understand; he didn't even know who this thing was. But, before he could do anything, he felt something rise up in his throat. He tried to stop it, but it was too late; words had already slipped out of his mouth.

"Who... are you?" He asked in a quivering voice.

Stranger's eyes glowed brighter in surprise before he spoke up in his usual warped voice.

".̶.̸.̴M̷y̵ ̶i̵d̴e̸n̵t̵i̴t̶y̵ ̸d̶o̴e̶s̵ ̶n̸o̴t̵ ̷c̷o̵n̴c̵e̷r̵n̶ ̴y̶o̸u̴.̵ ̸D̶e̵p̶e̸n̵d̷i̷n̵g̸ ̵o̴n̷ ̶h̴o̶w̶ ̷y̴o̸u̸ ̸c̴h̶o̵o̵s̷e̸,̵ ̵y̸o̸u̴ ̵m̵a̸y̴ ̴d̶i̵s̸c̷o̴v̶e̷r̸ ̵i̵t̵ ̷l̵a̷t̸e̸r̶.̷" He paused, seemingly waiting for something, before speaking again. "H̷o̸w̶e̴v̶e̶r̵,̴ ̵I̷ ̵d̶o̷ ̸h̴a̵v̴e̴ ̶a̸n̷ ̴o̷f̷f̵e̴r̶ ̶t̷o̷ ̷p̴r̸o̸p̸o̷s̷e̷ .̵ " His dim eyes bored into Sunny's.

Sunny was silent, so Stranger took that as 'I'm listening' and spoke up again.

"W̴h̴e̷n̴ ̸y̷o̴u̷ ̶p̴a̶s̶s̵e̸d̵ ̵o̷u̷t̶,̴ ̶I̸ ̶t̷o̴o̶k̷ ̷o̵v̶e̴r̸ ̵y̶o̶u̷r̸ ̴b̵o̴d̶y̵,̶" he said as he turned his face toward where the ceiling would be, and closed his eyes. "A̸n̸d̴ ̵I̷'̴v̴e̷ ̸g̶a̷t̷h̸e̷r̸e̵d̵ ̶s̸o̷m̸e̷.̸.̴.̵ ̴̖́i̵̬͂n̵̳̔t̷̰̋r̴͍͘i̴̠͝g̷̦̑ǘ̷͕ḯ̷̧ń̴̻g̸͖̈ ̴̡͌i̷̝̔ṋ̶̂f̴̼̕ó̷̼r̶̯͐m̷̄ͅa̴̲͊ṭ̶̽i̵̻͌o̴̞͋n̸̦͝.̶̹̽ F̴o̵r̷ ̸e̴x̸a̷m̵p̸l̴e̶.̵.̶.̷"

He then looked Sunny dead in the eye.

"T̷h̷e̵ ̴n̴a̴m̵e̷ ̷'̸S̷͉͒u̵̻̐n̵̰͗ǹ̵̡ỷ̶̢ ̷S̴u̵z̵u̵k̸i̵'̴ ̸w̴a̶s̷ ̷c̶a̸r̶v̵e̴d̵ ̴i̴n̶t̶o̸ ̵a̸ ̸̯̈h̶̺̍ẹ̶́a̶͈̚d̵͍̔s̸̲̍t̵̐͜õ̸̺n̷̳͗e."

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What?

But that's not possible...

"Y̸e̸s̴.̵.̴.̷ ̵W̶h̷e̷n̸ ̸I̸ ̴f̴i̵r̶s̸t̵ ̷s̴a̴w̸ ̶i̴t̶,̸ ̴I̷ ̷w̴a̴s̴ ̴a̵l̵s̶o̷ ̵b̶a̴f̶f̴l̸e̶d̵.̴" Stranger continued. "B̶u̸t̶ ̵e̶v̵e̶r̶y̶t̶h̷i̸n̴g̶ ̶w̷a̵s̴ ̵t̴r̸u̶l̶y̶ ̷f̴l̷i̶p̷p̶e̷d̵ ̷u̴p̵s̶i̶d̵e̶ ̶d̷o̷w̷n̵ ̵w̴h̴e̴n̷ ̸I̵ ̴s̸a̵w̷.̵.̴.̶ ̴h̶e̷r̸.̶"

"P̶i̶n̴k̵-̴h̴a̶i̶r̸e̶d̶,̴ ̷t̷e̸a̴l̷ ̸h̷a̷i̵r̷t̶i̵e̵,̵ ̴I̸'̷m̴ ̸s̴u̶r̴e̷ ̴y̶o̸u̶ ̴r̴e̶c̶o̸g̵n̴i̸z̷e̵ ̷h̴e̷r̵.̸" Sunny widened his eye as Stranger stared at him. "D̵̛̼o̴̧̒n̵̛̤'̷̜̂t̸̺̏ ̵̞̈́y̴̱̽o̸̭͐u̴̠̅?̴̰͋"

Sunny's heart skipped a beat.

"Aubrey..." He muttered, his voice full of regret.

"I̴n̴d̷e̷e̴d̷.̴ ̷T̵h̷a̵t̶ ̶g̸i̷r̵l̶ ̵w̷a̷s̶ ̷A̵u̴b̴e̵r̴g̸i̵n̵e̷.̶" Stranger replied, then looked at a fragment on the ground. "S̶h̷e̵ ̶w̷a̶n̵t̴e̵d̴ ̷t̶o̵ ̴v̴i̶s̸i̶t̷ ̵y̵o̷u̷.̸ ̸I̷ ̴h̵i̴d̴ ̴m̵y̶s̴e̷l̶f̷ ̷b̷e̷h̴i̷n̸d̷ ̷a̸ ̴t̸r̴e̸e̷,̶ ̸a̸n̸d̸ ̶w̸a̸s̴ ̶a̸b̵l̴e̴ ̸t̴o̴ ̸g̵e̴t̵ ̷s̵o̸m̴e̸ ̴i̸n̸f̷o̵r̶m̷a̴t̷i̶o̵n̶ ̸o̷u̴t̷ ̶o̴f̶ ̸h̶e̷r̷ ̷w̴h̷i̴l̴e̶ ̸s̶h̷e̶ ̵w̴a̵s̴ ̸m̴o̵u̵r̵n̷i̶n̵g̶.̵" He then gathered some fragments and images, as he started to piece together what seemed like an old television.

While Stranger was working, Sunny had an internal breakdown. He was sick; why hadn't he just waited for them to come back and talked to them? Why was he so selfish? They did everything for him, just for him to throw his own life away? Why was he so useless? Why was he such a monste—

His train of thought was stopped when the void started trembling. He panicked and fell flat on his back.

"I̸t̴ ̸h̶a̵s̸ ̶a̶l̷w̵a̷y̸s̶ ̸b̵e̴e̷n̶ ̶l̶i̸k̶e̴ ̷t̴h̵a̶t̶ ̴w̵h̴e̸n̸ ̵t̷h̴e̷ ̵̘̎r̵̙͛ỏ̸͓t̵̨̕t̴͔͊e̷̜̊n̷̼̔ ̴̛̥t̸͈͋ḫ̸͑o̵͈͝û̷̩g̸̢̑h̶̢͆t̴̪̎s̵͍͘ ̸͎̉e̷s̶c̸a̴p̸e̸.̵." Stranger muttered, still focused on the TV. "T̵r̶y̴ ̸t̶o̵ ̷n̷o̴t̶ ̷t̶h̶i̷n̵k̸ ̶t̶o̷o̶ ̶m̸u̵c̵h̵,̶ ̷S̷u̸n̷n̶y̵," he said as he pieced together an antenna and placed it on the distorted TV.

"I̸t̵'̸l̶l̵ ̴b̸e̸ ̵b̸e̷t̸t̴e̵r̴ ̵i̸f̸ ̶y̸o̷u̶ ̴s̷e̴e̵ ̴i̸t̵ ̷f̶o̶r̶ ̸y̸o̷u̸r̷s̵e̵l̸f̶,̷" Stranger said as he pulled a static-coloured cassette out of his head and inserted it into the player.

The screen started to light up. Sunny's chest hurt, he was not prepared for this.

On the screen was a video of a teenage girl standing in front of a grave, she was carrying a bouquet of purple flowers.

"Good afternoon, Sunny... It's been a while," she said, her voice calming with a tint of sadness behind it. "I brought something for you." She put the wreath down next to the headstone.

"These are called gladiolus, y'know? Basil said it represents me..." her tone was bitter as she sat down and reminisced. "Speaking of Basil... His condition has improved. Not much, but it's still a good sign."

"Hero went to medical college. He was the person that reconnected us... after..." A tear leaked out of her eye. She quickly swiped it away and switched the topic. "Kel has been very into sports lately. We still talk, but not as much anymore. Do you still remember the last time when we quarrelled with each other?" Aubrey asked, her voice full of nostalgia.

"As for Mari..." she continued after pausing briefly. "We got her out of the house recently, she looked horrible. So much so that I didn't recognize her at first..." she let out a forced chuckle. "How silly of me. Am I right, Sunny?"

Silence.

"Come to think of it..." she spoke up again, her tone sorrowful. "I wonder what you would've accomplished if you were still here with us... We could've done so much stuff together, ya know?"  

The breezy gust of wind fluttered her hair. It was peaceful.

"You were always there for me when I needed it..." Aubrey's eyes became wet. "On those swings... You always listened to my problems... My dreams,  my aspirations... you knew them all..."

"But I wasn't there for you when you truly needed it..." her sobs were silent, but they were filled with sadness. "I should have noticed the signs sooner, then none of this would've happened..."

"It's been four years... Sunny. Sometimes I just wish that this was all just a bad dream, that I could wake up from this nightmare..."

"The day you died... I just couldn't believe it... I felt alone, broken..."

"I didn't realize this at the time, but everyone has their own way of dealing with it... Basil broke down... Mari shut herself in the house... And Kel... Kel was the one that tried to move on, I thought he moved on too fast, and I got mad at him..."

"But Hero... He talked me out of it. And I'm still grateful to him. Otherwise... I don't know what I would've become without his help..."

"But I still don't understand... Why did you do it, Sunny? We were so happy..."

To which Aubrey received nothing in response. Her sobs got louder as she painfully continued.

"I wish I could've told you this sooner, but..." 

"I love you, Sunny..."

Aubrey then kneeled over and started to cry uncontrollably. As she was weeping, the screen eventually went dark and the television broke down.

The void was silent.

Every bit of the video was burned into Sunny's head.

"A̶f̶t̵e̶r̸ ̴t̴h̵a̷t̸,̸ ̶I̶ ̵c̸o̴u̸l̸d̷n̷'̷t̴ ̴m̵a̴n̷a̵g̵e̸ ̷y̵o̷u̶r̷ ̵b̵o̶d̶y̶ ̵a̸n̵y̴m̶o̷r̷e̷ ̴a̷n̸d̷ ̵g̵a̵v̸e̵ ̶o̵u̵t̶," Stranger sighed as he walked over to the TV and pulled the tape out.

Sunny didn't hear any of that. He was heartbroken. 

His body was frozen. He hadn't moved a single inch since the video started. He felt nauseous. He had somehow managed to make his friends suffer even when he was dead. Why was he so useless?

The 'ground' started to vibrate. Stranger promptly ignored this and turned to face Sunny.

"D̴o̸ ̶y̶o̸u̶ ̷w̷a̸n̸t̸ ̸t̵o̵ ̵h̴e̴l̴p̵ ̸y̶o̶u̶r̸ ̵f̴r̷i̴e̵n̶d̸s̸?" he asked. His words rang into Sunny's ears.

Sunny jerked his head toward Stranger and uttered a quivering "W-what?" 

"C̶o̶n̴s̶i̸d̴e̵r̶ ̵t̶h̵i̸s̸ ̴t̴h̶e̴ ̵c̸h̶a̷n̸c̵e̷ ̸t̴o̵ ̸r̷e̴d̵e̵e̸m̵ ̷y̷o̴u̸r̶s̴e̴l̸f̴," Stranger continued, ignoring his question. "Y̷o̴u̶'̶v̶e̵ ̸c̸a̵u̸s̷e̶d̸ ̵s̸o̶ ̴m̶u̷c̵h̴ ̵s̵u̷f̴f̴e̵r̶i̵n̵g̸ ̷f̴o̴r̵ ̶t̷h̷e̷m̸.̸ ̵S̶o̵, ̶i̷t̷'̶s̶ ̷o̸n̵l̷y̷ ̷f̵a̴i̶r̴ ̷i̴f̷ ̴y̸o̵u̵ ̶g̴i̶v̷e̴ ̷b̸a̵c̵k̴ ̸t̴h̸e̸ ̵p̶e̴a̶c̵e̸ ̸t̷h̴e̴y̸ ̷d̷e̵s̵e̶r̵v̵e̶.̷" 

"V̴e̸r̴y̸ ̴f̴e̴w̴ ̸b̷e̶a̷r̴ ̷t̶h̸i̴s̵ ̴c̵h̷a̷n̸c̷e̴.̸ ̵Co̴n̸s̷i̶d̸e̷r̸ ̶y̵o̸u̶r̵s̶e̸l̷f̷ ̵f̴o̶r̶t̵u̶n̸a̶t̷e̸," he said in a firm tone, then looked at the now dissolving TV.

Sunny couldn't get it. Why would a sinful murderer like him get this opportunity? He destroyed everything they loved, even betrayed their trust. He was rotten. So why?

"W-why are y-you helping me?"

Sunny's brittle voice rang across the void. Stranger returned his dim gaze back at him before responding flatly:

"B̷e̴c̵a̴u̵s̶e̵ ̷i̴t̶ ̵w̸o̴u̸l̷d̷ ̶g̷r̵a̸n̶t̷ ̸m̷e̶ ̵a̶ ̴p̶u̵r̴p̵o̶s̵e̸.̵"

"Wh—" But before he could say anything, the void started to shake violently.

"L̸o̸o̶k̶s̴ ̵l̴i̸k̶e̵ ̵o̷u̷r̴ ̸t̴i̴m̷e̵ ̷i̴s̴ ̶r̵u̷n̶n̵i̴n̴g̴ ̶o̵u̴t̴,̸" Stranger said monotonously, untroubled. "M̶a̷k̴e̵ ̶y̸o̷u̸r̴ ̶d̸e̷c̵i̸s̸i̷o̷n̵,̸ ̴D̴R̶E̶A̶M̷E̴R̴.̵ T̶h̵e̴ ̷c̴h̷o̴i̶c̶e̴ ̷i̶s̶ ̴y̵o̷u̴r̶s̵.̸"

Sunny thought about it. As Stranger's words echoed in his head, a fire of hope lit up in him. He could actually fix this. He could finally repay his sin and make them happy again... He had to do this.

"I accept your offer," Sunny decided, his voice filled with newfound determination. 

As soon as he finished the sentence, Stranger's body started to reconstruct itself. Its shape becomes more defined as Sunny gaped in awe. But, he was truly shocked when he realized that it took the form of Basil.

As Stranger put on his blackened flower crown, he spoke one last time in a clear, booming voice:

"Very well."

Chapter Text

Sunny jerked up with a start, breathing hard as though he had been running.

He had awoken from a strange dream. As he tried to recall it, the recent memories kept getting hazier. He could remember being with someone familiar... watching something on a television... He could tell that there was more to it, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

As he steadied his breathing and calmed down, he learned that he was lying in some bushes. Standing up, he scanned his surroundings and realized 2 crucial things.

He was still in the cemetery.

It was also very dark.

Oh no.

But before he even had time to panic, a monotonous voice rang in his head.

"It seems that we've found ourselves in a... unfortunate situation. But fret not, DREAMER." Oh, right. Stranger. He was in BLACK SPACE with Stranger. "I will aid you in surviving through this night."

Stranger then gave out some instructions. After listening intently, Sunny managed to narrow them down to one thing:

Find a secure space to sleep.

"No, that is not what I said." Stranger's tone was filled with frustration. "You must avoid being seen at all costs. Especially by your friends."

Whatever, it's not like anyone's still awake at this time of the night, let alone be able to spot him.

Having reassured himself and ignored Stranger's warnings, Sunny began to walk in the direction of the park. If his memories serve him right, it should be just right behind those trees near the church's backdoor.

As he walked, the breezy wind flowed through the tree leaves. The rustling sounds were calming. He heard Stranger saying something about him being ignorant but it was probably just him imagining things.

Sunny navigated through the branches and reached the park. It was unnaturally silent and empty without all of the talking and kids. He made a mental note to himself to never go to the park at this time ever again.

"For safety reasons, I advise you to sleep in that cat-shaped structure." Sunny could feel Stranger pointing his void-coloured finger in his head toward the yellow cat. As he was about to move there, he suddenly caught sight of an eerie red glow that was radiating from the secret hideout.

He was strangely drawn to it.

He could hear Stranger speaking, but he was too focused on the light to notice what he was saying.

Sunny subconsciously walked closer. Black tendrils slowly shot up from the ground around him. They swayed at him, seemingly trying to bring him closer to it . His surroundings darkened. Every rational thought screamed at him to get away, but their words fell on deaf ears.

Closer...

He pushed the bushes of leaves and navigated himself through the trees.

Closer...

He was almost there.

Close-

"-up! Snap out of it!" Sunny received a mental punch from Stranger. Which, indeed, snapped him out of it.

Having realized that he was only a few branches away from the hideout, he was alarmed. But, before he could turn around and retreat back to the park, he saw something— no, someone standing on the wooden plank on top of the lake.

Squinting his eye, he saw that they had blonde hair and wore a green T-shirt…

Blonde hair…

Flower clip…

The shears—

His breath hitched; his eye burned in pain. No… This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was still too early... He hadn’t prepared for this!

“Calm down. Easy, DREAMER.” Stranger spoke up, his tone was comforting. “ Take a deep breath. You're not invisible, but you can still move quietly. Carefully step away, and try not to make any sound.”

Sunny tried to step away from the scene, his heart was racing with fear. He couldn’t do this. Not yet. He had to find his way out of this.

He stepped back, trying to be as quiet as possible. But as he shifted his weight, he stepped on a branch. The twig snapped under his foot, its sound echoed through the night.

“W-who’s there?!”

He was frozen when Basil frantically turned around. His black eye locked onto Basil’s shining teal eyes. Sunny’s heart pounded in his chest as his mouth went dry. His breath started to hitch.

The newly-arrived silence was unbearable. After a brief moment, Basil broke it. 

As he clutched his head and started to hyperventilate, Sunny could hear him muttering to himself the same thing as that day. “Everything is going to be okay… You’re just hallucinating… Everything is going to be okay…” 

Sunny was not sure of what to do. It could have been his chance to escape. To vanish out of sight, just like a hallucination. But it just didn’t sit right with him.

He remembered Kel, and something he had once told him.

“Friends… Friends are supposed to be there for each other.”

“No, DREAMER. Don’t even THINK about it!” Stranger was exasperated. “You’re wasting your opportunity. You will REGRET this!” 

Sunny didn’t care. He couldn’t bear seeing his friend suffer like this. As he slowly approached the now cowering Basil, Sunny could hear him whimpering in fear.

“Basil…” Sunny said in a soft tone. “Calm dow—”

“NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Basil screamed, his eyes tearing as he frantically pulled a pair of gardening shears out of his pocket. “DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” he yelled as he desperately swung the shears at Sunny, seemingly trying to get him to leave.

“Real. Not a hallucination.” Sunny tried to reason with him. He felt his eye getting wet. He slowly approached Basil with his hands raised in the air.

“S-STOP!!” Basil shakily pointed his shears at him. His face was red from all of the crying. “G-GO AWAY!!” he shouted, quivering.

“DREAMER, STAY. AWAY. FROM. BASIL. YOU CANNOT REASON WITH HIM IN THIS STATE! YOU ARE ONLY PUTTING YOURSELF IN DANGER!” Stranger’s protest rang in his head. But he did not care. He couldn’t leave Basil alone, not like this. He had to help him, even if it meant putting himself in danger.

He remembered Hero’s promise, from just a few days prior.

“Last time…

We made the mistake of leaving each other when we needed each other the most.

This time… we’ll stay together.”

Taking a deep breath, Sunny stepped even closer to Basil. He could see the fear and confusion in his eyes, his face wore a terrified expression, and it tore him at his heart. 

“Bas — ” but before he could finish a single word, he saw Basil start walking towards him, before picking up into a run and lunging at him. He barely dodged to the right, the blades narrowly missing him by inches. As Basil missed the target, he fell onto the ground and landed on the grass.

Sunny watched in shock as Basil struggled to get back up, weeping. He did not expect Basil to just attack him without warning like that. He could see the hostility and desperation in his eyes. 

He took a step back, trying to put some distance between himself and Basil. But it was too late. Basil had gained his footing again and was coming straight for him, the gardening shears clutched tightly in his hand. 

Sunny panicked. He should’ve listened to Stranger. He should’ve gotten away while he still could. Now, he had to deal with a mad blonde who was equipped with a weapon while he was unarmed. 

“Try to juke him,” Stranger’s voice boomed in his ears, its tone unreadable. He was surprised, but did not question it. As Basil closed in, he faked to the left, then darted to the right, successfully baiting Basil as he stumbled past him, momentarily disoriented.

“Basil, please!” Sunny pleaded. Basil wasn’t thinking clearly, so he must have acted on impulse. Maybe if he could talk this through with him, he could calm him down and snap him out of it. “It’s me—”

“—NO! SHUT IT!!” Basil cried, his voice hoarse as he turned around and faced the supposed hallucination. “YOU AREN’T REAL. YOU WILL JUST HURT ME AGAIN!” Once more, he started to charge at Sunny.

“We cannot keep this up for long,” Stranger commented, agitated. “You must consider the risks you are putting yourself at, DREAMER!” Sunny shook his head mentally. No, Stranger was being paranoid. B-Basil wouldn’t try to kill him, right? He wasn’t in his right mind when he did that… He just needed some help. And they ca—

SLASH .

Basil lunged at Sunny, reached out with the shears and tore off Sunny’s eyepatch. Exposing the scarred eye underneath.

The shears.

Basil…

The shears.

My eye.

Sunny became STRESSED OUT.

He stumbled backwards, trying to shield his eye. He could feel the blood running down his face. His thoughts were a jumbled mess.

Basil was charging at him again, his shears glinting in the moonlight.

He had to do something.

He looked around, frantically searching for something, just SOMETHING to defend himself.

He saw a rock.

His mind was in turmoil.

He grabbed it and charged at Basil.

A sickening sound echoed through the night.

Basil let out a cry of pain and stumbled backwards, dropping the shears. He clutched his head, dazed and disoriented. Sunny could feel the stress and adrenaline coursing through his body. He was too overwhelmed to think clearly.

He swung his hand at Basil again.

CRACK .

.

.

.

Basil fell down to the ground, unconscious.

Sunny stood there, panting. Blood dripped off of the rock he was holding.

The night was silent again, as if nothing had happened.

As the realization of what he had just done crept up on him, he started to tremble. No… This couldn’t be it. Th-This is absurd. This is ridiculous. He didn’t- 

Mari’s unmoving corpse under the stairs.

Basil’s limp body lying on the grass.

…Sunny became DEVASTATED.

He knelt down as waves of guilt washed over him, tears streaming down his face. He started to cry and shake profusely. He tried to steady himself, but he couldn’t.

He stared at Basil and let go of the rock. His hands trembled. He wished that this was all just a nightmare. He looked helpless.

“I will take it from here,” a voice rang up in his head. But he couldn’t understand what it said. He couldn’t comprehend anything. He just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do anything. He was useless.

Suddenly, everything went black as he fainted. 

Chapter Text