Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Someone descends beneath a castle. Not a soul in the palace notices the intruder’s entrance. 

Then again, how often does one look for shadows? 

Someone walks down corridors flanked by cages. Most are empty. Others house the unfortunate remains of those who invoked the previous owner’s wrath. 

A farce. The entire castle was a cage already. 

Someone faces a golden doorframe. The gold has grown dull, cracks creeping along its once ornate sides. A heart sits atop the frame. Unlike the rest of this place, the symbol is appropriate.

Through the doorway lies the heart of this false palace.

Someone enters the doorway.

A black tendril seeps out of a crack on the cold floor. It notices the Visitor and grows into the shape of a hunched figure. Its pale face betrays little emotion, and neither do its words.

“You are not the dark-haired boy.”

The Keeper shows the faintest trace of curiosity with a slight tilt of its face.

“And yet-”

The tendril extends as the pale face stares at the Visitor closely.

“You have the same empty eyes.”

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Far away, a dark-haired boy rests with with two brothers and a girl, next to a beloved's grave.

White petals scatter across the cemetery as a gust of wind cools the group of friends.

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Somewhere else, a brown-haired boy sleeps by a hospital bed with his grandmother.

A single white petal floats in from the open window, and rests on the boy's head.

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“Interesting.”, the Keeper muses. 

The Keeper and the Visitor stay silent for what feels like eternity.

Finally, the Keeper speaks.

“The boy from before. His eyes are not as empty as they once were. He’s found a reason to see.” 

The Visitor remains silent.

“This place no longer has an inheritor. Though I sense you know this already.”

For the first time, the Visitor spoke.

“Will you grant me ownership of this place?”

Although a question, the Visitor phrased it like a command.

“You know what this place is, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You know what this power will do, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You know there is no turning back from this path, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then there’s nothing more to be said.”

The pale face almost looked wistful as it stared at the ceiling.

“I wonder what you will make of this place.”

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The castle’s foundation shakes violently.

Pink wallpaper peels away, revealing mossy stone underneath.

Massive vines sprout from the ground as if to sink the castle underneath the earth.

Tall trees erupt around the palace grounds, blocking off entry and exit with its thick trunks. 

The vibrant palace became shrouded in overgrowth.

Flora and fauna reclaimed the once-proud monument to human excess.

Spiders from the surrounding forest swarm the estate, attracted by its deep shadows and trapped prey.

Within the palace, a dark figure sits upon a throne of willow, alone in a grand hallway. 

Someone waits for the dark-haired boy’s return. 

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Beneath the castle, a black tendril seeps out of a tree stump, a white egret orchid nestled at its base.

Chapter Text

Omori opens his eyes.

Headspace.

For as long as he remembered, it was the one place he could feel anything.

The one place he didn’t have to deal with-

Well.

It didn’t matter.

Omori breathed deeply, taking in the woody yet slightly sweet forest scents.

The chirping of birds, the humming of bees, and the light rustling of leaves gave him peace.

Next to him sat Aubrey, arguing with Kel like always. 

Hero sat across him, cuddling up to Mari as she gently stroked his hair.

Perfect. Like it always was.

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Somewhere in Faraway, a dark-haired boy sleeps.

An energetic younger brother and a grumpy young girl fight over a game of rocks.

The older brother rests against his beloved’s gravestone, a sad smile on his face as he remembers how things used to be. 

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Omori opens his eyes.

Strange. Usually, he saw an empty bedroom when he looked Outside. It didn't matter. It would be an empty bedroom soon enough. Just as Omori settled back into his paradise, Kel shouted and pointed out something on the horizon. A massive tornado loomed over the treeline, ripping up massive trunks with ease. 

This isn’t right, Omori thought. 

This wasn’t part of Headspace. 

Omori closed his eyes and focused on the tornado.

He imagined it weakening, shrinking to the size of a toy top. 

When Omori opened his eyes, nothing changed. The tornado bulldozed through more of the forest while sprout moles and bunnies alike screamed as they got sucked in.  

Omori felt afraid.

Kel fruitlessly attempted to chuck rocks at the tornado and only succeeded in making it angrier. Hero and Mari tried to calm Aubrey as tears welled in the young girl’s face. Omori knew he had to step up, so he urged everyone to run. The party ran through the dense forest as the tornado ripped up the landscape behind them. Webs and branches clung to their hair and scraped their elbows, but they didn’t stop.

Omori saw the hideout just up ahead. If he could reach White Space, he could just reset the world himself, and everything would go back to normal. A panicked scream cut through his thoughts, and Omori saw Kel dragged into the tornado. Hero tries to pull Kel down, but the tornado is too strong. Hero and Kel disappear into the swirl of trees and dirt. Aubrey’s knees buckle from the sight, and she begins to cry, heaving sobs at her friends’ fates. Mari desperately tries to push her along, but Aubrey won’t budge. Suddenly, a huge branch whips into Aubrey and Mari, and they join Hero and Kel in the storm.

Omori ran. 

It didn’t matter. 

He could get them back. 

Just like always. 

He just needed to reach the hideout.

Omori’s ankles burned from sprinting, and nicks from all the debris had made a mess of his arms and legs. Finally, he was only a few feet away from the hideout. As Omori breathed a sigh of relief, a vine sprouted from the ground and twisted around his leg. Omori hacked it away with his knife and ran forward, but more vines tripped him up, planting his face on the soft earth. Every slash seemed to spawn more, and the tornado kept getting closer. The vines held on tighter, leaving vicious red marks on Omori’s body. As Omori’s hand reached for the hideout’s entrance, all the vines let go at once. Omori was violently pulled backward into the tornado, the whiplash making him feel like he just snapped his neck. The world was spinning, and if he could feel sick, Omori thought he’d throw up by now. 

Before long, Omori’s world turned to black. 

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A dark-haired boy opens his eyes.

He was on a hill, just beside a paved road. A black cat appears from behind a rock and nuzzles up against him. The boy strokes the cat’s fur before he stands up for a better view. Inexplicably, the boy remembers a movie he watched years ago, of a girl who finds herself lost in a strange land.

“I don’t think we’re in Faraway anymore, Mewo.” 

A parade of sprout moles approaches from the far end of the road, led by a lizard girl with glasses in a funny-looking hat. The sprout moles following her seem afraid yet at the same time in awe of their boisterous leader. Before the boy could hide, the girl spots him, and her eyes widen in shock. 

“Is that who I think it is?” the girl exclaimed.

The girl approaches uncomfortably close to the boy and sniffs at him. 

“Yep, can’t be wrong, you’re definitely the guy.”

The girl beckons the crowd of moles forward and shouts, “HEY, EVERYONE, IT’S THE GUY WHO KILLED THE WICKED WITCHES OF THE WEAST!” The crowd ooohs and aaahs at this revelation, but the boy is perplexed. Spotting the confusion, the lizard girl laughs and points to somewhere a bit behind him.

A gigantic rock, which he somehow never noticed, lay on the hill. At its base, a mess of tentacles, colored blue, red, and green, were crushed beneath its weight. 

“Those witches performed evil experiments on us for years, from west to east! We didn’t like saying west and east so much, so we just said Weast since they didn’t care a hoot about who terrorized where anyway,” explained the girl. 

The boy had no idea how they thought he killed these “witches.” Still, he knew better than to question people who seemed extremely confident about being right, so he stayed silent.

“By the way, I’m the Witch of the North, and I’m also wicked. Wicked cool, that is.” The witch guffawed at her self-compliment, and the crowd followed along like good little plebes. “You did us a big favor violently crushing those witches with that rock. That’s hardcore.”

The girl offers a fist bump, and the boy obliges. 

“Still, we can tell you’re not from around here. I can smell it on your clothes,” the girl said sagely. 

The boy shrugs, and Mewo meows affirmatively. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter where you came from, you saved our butts. We need to put a name to our glorious hero!” As the lizard girl said this, the clouds parted, and streaks of green fire spelled out a simple message.

“Oh, that’s gotta be for you. That's your name up there, right?”

The boy nods.

“Well then, there’s no two ways about it. You need to get to the Emerald Palace.” 

The lizard girl claps the boy on the back hard.

“Welcome to Moz, Sunny!”

Chapter Text

As the Wicked Cool Witch pushed Sunny down the yellow brick road, he wondered how he got to this strange place. Sunny remembered being at a picnic somewhere with friends. Happy faces, though with a tinge of sadness, he couldn’t explain. For the life of him, Sunny couldn’t remember their names either. 

Just their faces. 
 
“Finally, we’re here!” exclaimed the Wicked Cool Witch. The group stood amid a bustling Sprout Mole village, little heads bobbing around carrying tofu and other vegan-friendly proteins. Holes in the hillside served as houses for the sprout moles, and the group dispersed, each heading back to their homes.

The Wicked Cool Witch clicked her tongue and looked at her pocketwatch. “I’m running late for a picnic with the Really Nice Witch Up North,” said the witch with a sigh. She patted down her robes and looked Sunny up and down before snapping her fingers. “Oh right, you’ll need this-” and the witch grabbed something from behind Sunny’s ear.

When she unclasped her hands, a bracelet of intertwined blue, pink, and green coils sat on her palm. “These are strands of, uh, hair, I guess?- of those Wicked Witches of the Weast.” The witch, in a surprising display of actual magic, made the bracelet float from her palm. “The road to the Emerald Palace is fraught with danger. It’s fun for someone like me, but for normies like you, stuff like this will work wonders!” said the witch judgementally. 

Sunny took the bracelet and immediately regretted it as it squelched in his hand, all slimy and gamey.  

“That’s no way to say thank you for a powerful magical artifact,” said the witch with a smile as Sunny’s face wrinkled in disgust. "I guarantee this bracelet will come in handy. Maybe not soon, but, at some point, this will be an important thing, yup yup.”

The witch punched Sunny hard in the shoulder before taking off into a sprint, robes fluttering in the wind before swirling into nothing. With no other answers in sight, Sunny prodded Mewo forward down the yellow brick road, leaving the village of happy sprout moles behind.

Though Sunny wasn’t sure if “Moz” had seasons, he’d have guessed autumn, thanks to the trees. Rows of tall, thick redwoods flanked each side of the road, orange leaves gently swaying in the breeze. The sun gave off a pleasant, orange warmth as it slowly descended over the horizon. The trees soon gave way to golden cornfields, and as the sun began its descent, shadows streaked across the vibrant path.

In the distance, he saw Someone.

A shadowy figure, too indistinct to make out clearly, stood in the middle of the road. As Sunny approached, the figure turned and disappeared into the fields. 

Without knowing why, Sunny felt he had to chase after the stranger. He ran into the field and followed the stranger’s trail. A glimpse of an elbow, a rustle of corn, a cold brush against his skin, these were all that Sunny had to keep up with the stranger.

By now, the sun had fully set. Moonlight made eerie silhouettes of the once-picturesque crops. It also made tracking the shadow that much harder, but Sunny persevered. Mewo kept up, sometimes nipping at Sunny’s heels as if telling him to stop. If so, Sunny ignored the cat’s pleas.

Suddenly, Sunny found himself in a circle of dry, patchy grass. The open scab in the otherwise crowded field made Sunny uneasy. Moreover, it made him notice for the first time how dark it had gotten. He never liked the dark. It always made him feel alone, even when he slept beside-

Sunny stopped. 

He couldn’t remember. 

Why couldn’t he remember?

Sunny closed his eyes and focused. 

____________________________________________________________

Moonlight seeped through a gap between closed curtains. The dim light revealed a dark-haired boy, a blanket covering him up to his nose. His eyes stare up at the ceiling, old glow-in-the-dark star stickers holding onto whatever light they had left. He hears the front door close.

His friend (?) had left.

Why was the friend here again?

He couldn’t remember. 

The boy can’t sleep. 

He struggles to remember Something important. 

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Clunks against thick glass echo throughout the dark room. He ignores it and recounts the day. He was practicing for something. Music? Maybe. He didn’t like it very much, but he did it anyway. Why? 

He couldn’t remember. 

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Against the boy’s instincts, he got out of bed. The floor is cold. He inches closer to the window. Dry leaves crack underneath his bare feet. The moonlight grows brighter, a single streak illuminating his face. 

He peeks through the curtains.
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Sunny’s eyes open with a start. It felt like a sledgehammer caved in his chest, and he realized he was lying on his back. His hands dig deep into the soil, dirt caking underneath his fingernails. Mewo jumps onto Sunny’s chest and licks his face, sensing his distress. The sun had risen, and Sunny realized with embarrassment he had fainted. He wondered if the shadow was even real before a voice shocked him out of his musings. 

“You alright there?”

The voice came from the middle of the circle. A scarecrow faced Sunny, hung up by a wooden pole. He was clad in overalls far too big for his skinny body. It had an overstuffed burlap sack  for a head. The front of the sack had a surprisingly detailed drawing of a friendly-looking boy’s face. Suddenly, it animated and greeted Sunny with a smile. 

“Hi there! The old farmer calls me Kel. Could you get me down from this thing?”

Chapter Text

Kel the Scarecrow didn’t remember much before being on a pole.

Makes sense, given Kel didn’t exist before being hung up on said pole and getting a face drawn on his massive burlap head. Kel didn’t get a good look at the farmer who created him. Kel only saw the farmer’s back, covered in overalls with a big hat that kept their features darkened.

Kel did his best, but he questioned the wisdom of the farmer. It’s not easy to shoo away crows with your arms tied to a giant pole. The crows made short work of the field around him, and one old crow, perhaps feeling a little bad at Kel’s uselessness, gave some advice.

“Bah, don’t feel bad. If the farmer taught he could scare us with someone as friendly-looking as you, then perhaps he has more straws than brains up there,” the crow said sagely before pecking away at more corn.  

Kel wondered if getting some brains would help him out of this pickle, and he wondered for a day more until a strange dark-haired boy fainted in front of him. Kel shared these worries with the boy once untied, but he merely shrugged. Kel wondered if every human acted as aloof as the boy did. 

Eventually, they left the field and set out on the yellow brick road. Kel took in all the wonderful sights. Fences, sprout moles, trees, houses, and bunnies made his head spin quite literally. The world was so much bigger than the seas of corn Kel knew, and he so wished for a brain to remember all these sights.

The whole time, Kel noticed how quiet the boy was. The black furball following him around made more noise than he did. Feeling bored, he tapped the boy on the shoulder and asked something he probably should have asked a few hours ago.

“Hey, what’s your name?” asked Kel.

“Sunny,” Sunny said simply.

“Sunny. Hmmm, you don’t look like a Sunny. Then again, what do I know, maybe Sunny is a normal thing to name gloomy boys” Kel said.

Sunny shrugged.

“If I had a brain, I’d pick a name that fit me more, that’s for sure. I don’t even know where Kel came from. I’d rather be named Big-Head. Or Straw-Boy. People should know what you’re about from the name, ya know?” Kel said.

Sunny pondered the simple wisdom of this sentence and nodded.

“What’s that mean?” Kel asked.

“It means yes.”

“Huh. Really wish I had a brain so I’d know all this. What do you wish for?” 

Sunny stopped for a bit and thought about the question.

What did he want?

“I guess I want to go home?” Sunny answered.

“What’s home?”

“A house?”

“We passed plenty of houses on this road. Why not live in one of those?”

“Those aren’t the same.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just not.”

Sunny went on to explain that home is a place you’re comfortable in, with people you know and love.

“Wow, no wonder you want to go back home. I wouldn’t call my pole a home, though it’s all I’ve ever known.”

Kel felt something unfamiliar form inside his straw head: an idea.

“Wait, you know me, right? There are houses here, right? We can have a home right here.”

Sunny shook his head.

“What’s that mean?”

“It means no.”

“Awww, why not?”

“I already have a home, with people I know.”

“But you left them?”

“I didn’t leave them.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I don’t know.”

Kel was even more confused. More than ever, he wished he had brains to figure out this strange dark-haired boy.

“Who are the people you know?”

Sunny couldn’t remember, but he didn’t want the scarecrow to know that.

“They’re friends. That’s all you need to know.”

“I guess. Not like their names mean anything to me, you’re right.”

An awkward silence as they walked down the path.

“Sorry about all the questions by the way. I’m learning this whole not-being-tied-to-a-pole thing as I go.” Kel said with a tinge of embarrassment.”

“I don’t mind.”

“And I don’t have a mind, let’s be friends!”

Sunny smiled, despite the corniness. It felt comforting, even familiar, but he couldn’t place why.
“Sure. Let’s be friends.”

Nighttime fell on Moz. Sunny felt sleepy, and he didn’t want to spend another night sleeping on the dirt. Kel pointed out an abandoned house up ahead, and there Sunny slept. Kel slumped against a wall, as he didn’t need sleep at all. Mewo curled in his lap and slept enough for the both of them.

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Somewhere far away, a dark-haired boy sleeps on a picnic mattress. A boy with tan lines throws a ball a bit too far away from a pink-haired girl. Before the girl could yell his ears off, he sprinted to retrieve it. The boy’s brother laughs, something he hasn’t done in a long time. He rests his back against a headstone. 

“If only you were here.”

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Morning came, and the trio took a detour from the main road when Kel saw a path of pretty flowers. Sunny, for reasons he couldn’t place, really liked the flowers, and followed suit. As they walked, Kel got curious about Sunny again.

“So where’s home?”

“Far away from here.”

“What’s it like then?”

Sunny didn’t remember the people, but he could vividly remember his house. He described his room, with its plain walls, a comfy bed, and a computer nearby. Kel asked what a computer is, and Sunny, not wanting to explain all that, said it was for toasting bread. For some reason, Kel understood what toast was immediately.

“Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t sound more fun than here. Just look at this place!”

Kel spread out his arms, spinning in a grove full of colorful flowers and thick trees. The morning dew gave the hideaway a pleasing scent like spring morning made manifest. Birds chirped prettily, and some even landed on Kel, pecking at bits of corn still stuck to his massive head.

Sunny couldn’t help but be drawn in by the atmosphere until a gentle voice whispered right next to his ear at that very moment.

“None of this is real.”

Sunny whipped his head around but saw nobody. 

“None of this is real?” Sunny said out loud.

“What do you mean?” Kel asked, his drawn face concerned.

“All this? It’s very nice, but it doesn’t make sense. This isn’t home. It’s not real. This isn’t right. I’m not supposed to be here. I just want to go home. Where am I? Why am I here? Am I dreaming?”

Sunny hugged his shoulders and bit into his fist. Spots of light began to dance in his vision. His heart beat hard against his chest. His legs turned to jelly, and he slumped against a tree. TERROR filled his mind as he realized the weight of his situation for the very first time. He was far away from home. He couldn’t remember his friends. He was surrounded by INSANE things, and he was taking them in stride. Why? None of this makes sense. What the hell was all this?

“Hey!” 

Kel materialized in front of him.

The drawn face was stern, but his voice was gentle.

“I’m real. I’m not flesh and blood like you, but I’m here. I’m always here. Okay? Follow my lead.”

Sunny nodded.

“Close your eyes first.”

Sunny closed his eyes.

“Listen to my voice.”

Sunny heard birds chirping, the gentle rustle of leaves, and the comforting voice of Kel.

“Take a deep breath.”

Sunny breathed, and he smelled flowers, wet grass, and old burlap.

“Focus.”

Kel held Sunny’s shoulders and squeezed gently.

“Open your eyes.”

Sunny opened his eyes, and saw the face of a friendly boy, smiling.

“Feel better?”

Sunny nodded.

“Good.”

Kel offered a hand, and Sunny took it.

“How did you know?” Sunny asked.

“Hmmmm?” 

“To help me like that?”

“I don’t know, really. When I was made, I was kinda scared too. It was all dark. Just nothing. Then the farmer gave me ears, and I heard his voice. Then he drew a nose, and I smelled corn. Then I felt straw stuffed into my head. Finally, he drew my eyes, and but I never got a good look at his face.”

Kel attempted a shrug.

“I didn’t want that for you, so why not see my ol’ mug, ya know?”

“Thank you. Really.” Sunny said.

“No problem! You can pay me back by helping me get some brains.”

Sunny nodded, and Kel nodded back before they made their way out the grove and back to the main road.

Neither noticed the white petals, whispering in the breeze.

Chapter Text

After the panic attack, Sunny realized he was very thirsty. Kel, perhaps from watching crows, understood the concept of needing stuff to eat and drink, and they set out to forage. Unfortunately, Sunny had never foraged before, and Kel was no better, being barely two days old.  Mewo got bored and jumped on a tree, lazily scratching its claws on its branches.

Eventually, they found a river with bushels of bright purple berries. Sunny, seemingly lacking any self-preservation instincts, took the berries and popped them into his mouth. To his surprise, the “berries” crunched and tasted more like cereal than anything else. He then bent over the waterside, cupped his hands, and drank.

As far as breakfast goes, it could have been worse, Sunny thought. He brushed himself off and was just about to return to the road when he heard a slight creaking. Kel perked up his nonexistent ears, while Mewo sniffed around. The trio eventually closed in on the source of the creaking: a tin statue of a young man holding a frying pan.

The statue was mid-walk as if they had just finished cooking a meal and were returning to the kitchen. Moldy bread at the statue’s feet and a campfire a few feet away lent even more credence to this theory. The tin statue had a surprisingly detailed face, a handsome young man whom Sunny couldn’t help but notice had similarities to Kel. Though for some reason, Sunny felt this guy was a bit smarter than his straw friend.

Kel tried to make the statue budge, but it stood firm. The creaking continued, and Sunny found the source. A hinge, where the jaw would be on a human being, was rusted shut. Still, Sunny could hear the hinge creaking, bits of rust flaking off, bit by bit. Sunny took Kel by the hand and used his sleeve to rub off the outer layer of rust. 

A hum escaped from the tin man’s mouth. Eventually, the last of the rust flaked off, and the words escaped from his jaw. 

“Ow,” said the Tin Man.

“Hi, I’m Kel! What’s your name?” asked Kel.

“Oil.”
“Hi Oil, nice to meet you!” Kel extended his hand for a handshake.

The Tin Man’s eyes looked at Sunny, body froze with rust.

“Is…he….making…fun…of…..me…,” asked the Tin Man.

Sunny shrugged. 

“Cooking….oil……log…..near….fire…..” pleaded the Tin Man.

Sunny nodded and retrieved the oil. He poured oil on the man’s neck, then joints, and moved them to and fro until all remnants of rust disappeared into the soft earth. The tin man gingerly started doing stretches, before sighing with relief.

“Thank you so much! I’ve been stuck there for like a month. I’m usually not so careless, but I had a rough day and forgot to run back home while cooking stuff for the Sprout Moles here.” 

Sunny looked around for signs of the little rascals, but the Tin Man shook his head.

“They left a few days ago. Said something about a savior come from the sky in a giant boulder.” 

Sunny decided it was better if he pretended not to know what he was talking about.

“Oh, how rude of me! My name’s Hero,” said Hero and he reached out his hand to Kel and Sunny. Kel shook vigorously, while Sunny just gave a gentle squeeze.

“So uh, what rough day got you stuck there anyway?” asked Kel.

“Honestly, it’s more like I’ve had a rough couple of years,” said Hero before he began his tale.
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A young boy works as a cook in a far-off city. Though his boss is loud and aggressive, the young man admires his boss’s attitude and drive. Nothing more than a street rat, his boss took him in and realized how much potential the boy had. Perhaps more potential than even the boy himself realized.

The boss named the boy Hero, to instill an unattainable drive within the boy to live up to his name. Hero, undeterred, took to the name with fervor and worked himself to the bone to prove his worth. Unfortunately, “to the bone” proved literal when a workplace accident occurred where Hero lost his arm.

His boss, who knew a strange witch who worked with metals, asked her to create a new arm for Hero. She agreed, feeling sorry for the hard-working boy. Hero loved the new arm. He admired the loving craftsmanship and mysterious magic used to create it. It felt no different from his old arm, maybe even better.

Hero’s workload doubled, and still, he never complained. He had to prove himself, and no matter how much he cooked, no matter how many restaurants he headed, how many farms he labored for, he couldn’t stop until he was satisfied. Soon enough, the workload caught up with him, and he lost another arm.

Then the left leg.

Then the other leg.

In one scary instance, Hero fell and broke his neck. The boss, finally feeling shame, rushed to the witch and begged her to save his life. As the boy clung to life, the witch knew she needed to instill some of her life force to save him. Sheets of tin enveloped the boy, and with a sliver of the witch’s life essence, flesh and tin became one.

When the boy opened his eyes, he saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

The witch was still chanting, beads of sweat glistening on her brow, and yet she never looked so magical as that moment. Dark hair flowed to and fro as she hopped between books, her vivid purple eyes scanning its pages. She was slender, but not delicate, with the tell-tale arms of a woman who knew the value of hard work. 

Yet for all that beauty, Hero noticed something strange.

His heart wasn’t beating.

Hero looked down and saw that his heart had been removed, and put inside a jar well out of reach. His body was now made of tin, and yet when the witch brushed her hands against his, he felt electricity zip through his soul. But it felt weird. The emotions were there, and yet they felt distant. 

Like they were somewhere else.

The witch finally noticed Hero’s awake eyes, and after the shock left her eyes, she smiled. Dazzled, the boy tried to speak, but the girl put her finger to his mouth and said “Sleep.”

And so he did.

When he woke up, his boss was beside him. The boss gave him a tight hug, and Hero felt his tin body nearly fold from the pressure. “Look, I’m running you ragged. I can’t have my star employee do everything by himself. You’ve got to drive, kid. You laid your life on the line, and you’ve earned that name. Now, don’t you ever do something like that, you hear?” The boss said.

“Ummmm, I don’t mind, boss, but okay?” said Hero, looking around the room. “Where’s the witch?” asked Hero. “Oh, she said she had something very important to do, and that I couldn’t reach her for a while. It happens, ya know? Business trip and all that” said the boss.

“But I have to thank her!” said Hero uncharacteristically loud.

“Oh you can wait, we can meet her too,” the boss said when Hero suddenly stood to full height. Though much shorter than the boss, Hero’s face was hard as steel. “I have to meet her, boss. I just have to.” The boss and Hero stared each other down until the boss threw back his head in laughter.

“Oh, I see, that’s how it is? Well, who am I to stop that drive of yours, you go find that witch and tell her I said hi, okay?” said the boss jovially. With a wave, the boss jumped out an open window, and Hero felt the entire building shake with his landing. He looked around the empty room and found a note, addressed to The Emerald Palace. 

As Hero read the note, he felt his heart beat rapidly. And yet he opened his chest, and it wasn’t there. It was somewhere else, somewhere far away, but he could feel it. He longed to have it again, but it was in the hands of the most beautiful being he had ever seen.

The witch. And she was in the Emerald Palace.

___________________________________________________________________

“Wow, that story’s way cooler than mine!” said Kel in awe.

“Oh, I don’t know about that”, Hero said, rubbing the back of his head embarrassed.

“No, for real, it’s so cool! I don’t know the big deal with losing limbs and all that, I lose my head all the time, but your boss sounds awesome.”

“Yeah, I hope I can get back to work soon, but I just need to find her. The Emerald Palace is where I need to go-”

“WE’RE HEADED THERE TOO!”, shouted Kel.

“O-Oh, that’s nice,” said Hero.

“You should come with us! Sunny talks less than Mewo over there, and you sound like you have awesome stories.”

Sunny would have been offended if he what he said wasn’t so true.

“Okay, it’s safer anyway. You guys saved me back there, so I’m ready to help however I can!” said Hero.

And so, the trio became a quartet. They set out for the Emerald Palace, a dark-haired boy looking for home, a straw-filled boy in search of a brain, and a lovestruck tin man missing his heart. Still, there’s one more member they haven’t met, and she’s closer than they realize.

Much closer.

Chapter Text

As the trio (plus the cat) continued down the yellow brick road, Hero and Kel began to talk about their goals.

“So, why do you need your heart anyway?” asked Kel.

“To love again,” said Hero.

“Love?”

“Yes, love.”

“What’s that?”

“Caring for someone very much”

“Why do you need a heart to care about someone?”

“I’m not sure. Must be some magic unknown to someone as simple as me.”

“Well, if it's all the same to you, I’d rather get brains. I don’t need a heart to care about things. I just do!”

“I’ve spent my whole life thinking too hard about things. For the first time, I’ll follow where my heart leads.”

Despite the differing goals, Hero and Kel nodded at each other with a smile. Sunny wondered which he’d choose if he could only have a heart or a brain. He decided neither would be best. His brain makes him sad, and when he’s sad, his heart starts hurting. Feel nothing. Think nothing. That sounded nice to Sunny.

They traveled on, Sunny foraging for food and water for himself along the way. Sunny quickly picked up on the whole self-sufficiency thing. Of course, it helped that the Tin Man had an encyclopedic knowledge of anything edible they came across. The farther they got, the thicker the treeline became, and light soon disappeared behind the leaves. 

Thin lines of sunlight barely illuminated the path, and the trio bumped into each other too many times to count. In the chaos, they failed to notice the strange eyes preying on them. Green eyes glowed dimly behind bushes, stalking the three boys. Actually, multiple eyes were staring at them, yet in the darkness, nobody noticed.

Nobody except Mewo, who desperately clawed at Sunny’s ankles to make him notice.

“Now, boss?”

“No, hold.”

“But they’re so lost and vulnerable! That’s the perfect prey!”

“They aren’t prey. They’re marks. We need them alive.”

“Awww come on, not even a light concussion?”

“I’ll give you a light concussion.”

“Hey! Only the boss can talk to me like-”

“Shut up, here they come!”

The bushes shuffled and then lay still as the trio approached a clearing. Mewo immediately sensed something wrong and zipped into a nearby tree. Sunny, tired from playing bumper cars with two guys with no pain receptors, decided to rest against the tree Mewo climbed up. While Hero and Kel tried to look for the path forward, massive hands closed around Sunny’s mouth from behind the trunk.

Hero and Kel didn’t notice.

Sunny was dragged not-too-gently into the dark forest, branches. and bushes hitting him from every angle. The hands never budged, and Sunny couldn’t do anything to break free. Finally, Sunny was dropped in the middle of a different clearing. Logs sat around a massive campfire, and discarded candy wrappers littered the forest floor. Wild teens wandered the clearing, each wearing thick furs with different colors.

A curly-haired boy was talking tensely to a blonde and obnoxious-looking boy. The latter kept adjusting his hair, and striking different poses. Another teen with facial hair leaned against a tree casually. At first, Sunny thought he had a cigarette until he pulled out a rainbow-colored lollipop from his mouth.

The massive hands tossed Sunny into the middle of the clearing. As Sunny tried to stand, something wooden roughly forced his chin upward. A sullen girl with pink hair glared at Sunny with pure contempt, and Sunny felt another pang of familiarity. If Sunny did know who this girl was once upon a time, he doubted they were friends given the hatred in her eyes.

“Who are you?” said the pink-haired demon.

Sunny stayed silent. He didn’t trust these people, and he was already wondering if he could make a run for-

WHACK!

A heavy, wooden club hit Sunny in the side of his ribs. He doubled over and clutched his torso, almost yelling out in pain.

“I’ll ask again, freak,” the pink-haired demon said contemptuously. She pulled Sunny up by his collar. Her piercing green eyes were inches from his face, and Sunny felt afraid again. 

“Who-” 

The girl pushed Sunny against the tree.

“Are-” 

An elbow pinned Sunny across the throat.

“You?” 

A knee hit Sunny in the stomach.

Sunny coughed violently and leaned against the tree for support. Through tears, he saw the girl make a simple gesture to the teens, and they all raced towards Sonny. The two smaller boys held Sunny’s arms, while the lollipop guy and the thing with the massive hands flanked the pink-haired girl.

“See, I heard about your little adventure here in Moz. I heard some ridiculous rumors you were the one that killed those wicked witches. In your current state, I doubt you could even knock out a Sprout Mole.”

The girl inched closer, and once again pushed up Sunny’s chin with her club.

“You know what I think? I think you’re a liar. You didn’t kill those witches. If you did, you wouldn’t be at my mercy right now.”

The girl pushed the club to Sunny’s throat.

“What I do know is ever since you came around, this place changed. My home turned into a forest. My best friend turned into-”

The girl spat on the ground.

“It doesn’t matter. I know you have answers, and if I have to beat it out of you to make things normal again, I will.”

Sunny’s fear suddenly dissipated. In its place, a cold calm spread throughout his body. 

CALM DOWN.

The girl approached with a heavy club in hand. 

FOCUS.

The club makes contact with the dark-haired boy’s side.

PERSIST.

The girl’s stare tells him to give up.

OVERCOME.

The boy headbutts the girl, and she shrieks in pain. Shocked, the two boys let go of him to check on their leader. At that moment, the boy ran, as fast as his shaking legs could carry him. He heard the girl call the two boys “idiots” before commanding them to pursue.

The boy weaved through trees and hopped over small streams, running to who knows where. All that time, the feral teens never stopped, some even chucking rocks at Sunny, although none hit their mark. Still, the boy’s strange burst of adrenaline was starting to wear off. 

Sunny was getting tired.

Too tired.

Without warning, his legs buckled, and he fell down a shallow trench. The pack of wild teens stood over him, pink-haired demon up front. The burning hatred in her eyes would have set Kel on fire. 

“You know what? I changed my mind. Maybe you do need a light concussion. Boys, do your thing.”

The girl turned away, and the blonde boy slid down with his curly-haired protege, eager to earn back their leader’s respect. As Sunny accepted his fate, a massive burlap sack hit the blonde boy square in the face, knocking the “master” down. 

The ball landed on Sunny’s lap and it smiled.

“Miss us?” asked Kel’s disembodied head. 

Chapter Text

Sunny barely registered the bizarre scene when he noticed a shadow looming overhead. Massive Girl barreled down the trench, and Sunny rolled out at the last minute. He clambered out of the trench, holding Kel’s head in one hand. For a breath, Sunny took stock of his surroundings.

They were in a strangely familiar playground. The two cronies that held him down were busy patting dust off each other, while the pink-haired demon was shouting at them to stand up and fight. Kel’s body was struggling against Lollipop Boy, beating the stuffing out of his burlap torso. 

“THROW ME BACK TO ME”!” Kel suddenly shouted in his arms.

Although Sunny hadn’t thrown a ball in years, the playground triggered enough muscle memories for a decently strong throw. The ball whizzed past the pink-haired girl who staggered back in surprise and hit Lollipop Boy in the side of the head. Lollipop Boy grunted in pain and let go of Kel’s body. As the head rolled around, Kel desperately tried to pick it back up, but he kept slipping between his fingers.

The shock of the ambush wore off, and the pink-haired demon turned her attention to Sunny. Without even calling for her thugs, she sprinted towards him, and Sunny knew then that he had no chance in a head-on fight. Sunny dived for the ground as she swung her heavy club, rolled forward, and picked up Kel’s head in the same motion. 

With a swiftness that surprised even Sunny, he sent the ball sailing towards the demon. She blocked it with her arms, but the force was enough to stagger her. As the ball bounced back, Kel jumped and caught his head. Just as he would put it on, an expression of shock followed before he threw it past Sunny, who was almost sucker punched by the Blonde Boy.

Blonde Boy wasn’t as resilient as the demon girl, and Sunny felt the full impact on the boy’s face. As Massive Girl tried to climb out of the trench, Blonde Boy staggered into her, knocking them back down the pit. Sunny caught Kel’s head as it bounced back, and he sent it flying at Curly-Hair Boy.

Truth be told, he wasn’t doing anything, just standing in shock at the chaos, but Sunny couldn’t resist a stationary target. The curly-haired boy cursed, and he comically sent his “master” Blonde Boy and Massive Girl back into the pit as they too tried climbing out. As the ball bounced back, Kel was about to catch it when Lollipop Boy tackled the torso to the ground. “Sunny, ruuuuuuuuunnn-!” Kel’s head said as it sailed into the forest. Too late, as while Sunny was distracted, the girl approached and hit Sunny in the gut. He felt the air pushed out of his lungs as he collapsed. He held sides and felt a small relief that his ribs weren’t broken. The relief didn’t last long as the girl aimed a kick at his thigh, and sharp pains radiated from the spot.

“I admit. I didn’t expect you to show this much guts,” the demon said with a tinge of respect. The respect didn’t stop her from stomping on Sunny’s back hard with one foot, and his face hit the soft dirt. “I’m going to get my answers one way or another, so why don’t you stop resisting and just talk, okay?” The demon said with mild sarcasm. 

Sunny had no idea what she wanted to ask. For all he knew, maybe he did know the answers. But through the pain, Sunny knew he couldn’t answer. 

No, that wasn’t right. He wouldn’t answer.

Maybe he did know the answer to her questions. Even if he did, he didn’t care. After what she’d done, the outright hatred in her eyes, Sunny didn’t like this girl. Not one bit. Clutching dirt in his hands, he tossed it directly at the girl’s face as she readied her next attack.

The momentary distraction let Sunny kick her feet out from under her. She fell hard, and Sunny wasted no time in sprinting towards Kel’s body. Sunny tried to body-check Lollipop Boy, but he forgot that he’d been a shut-in for four years and weighed almost nothing. He stumbled back, though Lollipop Boy did release his hold on Kel’s body.

“Sorry about this, boss’s orders,” said Lollipop Boy as his fist made contact with Sunny’s cheek.  Sunny went flying, comically twirling through the air after the punch. As he landed on the ground with a thud, he saw Kel’s body scrambling towards the forest. Lollipop Boy picked him up surprisingly gently after almost knocking his head off, then dragged him to the demon girl. 

“I’m done messing around. Let’s take him back to the hideout.” The girl tipped her head towards Kel. “Make sure nobody’s following us.” Curly Boy and Massive Girl nodded, following his trail into the forest. Sunny tried for another burst of energy, but his mind felt like it was underwater, and his muscles screamed against his skin. 

The girl approached, and a wicked smile ran across her lips. 

“How rude of me. I should introduce myself.”

She clutched both of Sunny’s shoulders, fingers gripping into his clavicles.

“I’m Aubrey. And you took everything away from me.”

Despite the smile, Sunny knew from her eyes that there was no joy in what she was about to do. They were empty. Pleading, almost, like she wanted Sunny to fight back again. Sunny was too tired to do anything. Her head reared back, and with a vicious impact, her forehead violently connected with Sunny’s. Fatigued, with a light concussion, Sunny passed out. 

____________________________________________

“Kel? Sunny? Where are you?” Hero shouted as he wandered around the dark forest. Mewo was meowing incessantly as well, and jumped from branch to branch, scratching and clawing anxiously. Kel heard a noise and ran ahead, but Hero’s joints were still rustier than he thought because he couldn’t keep up. Now, he was hopelessly lost, and unfortunately, the oil can was with Kel.

If rain fell, then Hero would be stuck again. He couldn’t get stuck again, not now. Hero continued to call out, hoping for an answer. Finally, he found one. Hero almost tripped when Kel’s head rolled into view. “OH HERO, THANK FARMER, WE NEED TO HELP SUNNY-” was all Kel could say when a devious-looking boy with curly hair suddenly dived onto it.

“Gotcha!” said the boy. A massive girl walked out of the bushes with Kel’s torso over her shoulder. Whoever these two were, Hero knew they were trouble. And they definitely did something to Sunny. Mewo jumped down from the branches and landed next to him, back arched, as if expecting a fight.

Finally, the pair noticed them, the Tin Man and the Black Cat. The girl put her hand in front of the boy as if to protect him. The boy had a swelling bruise on his cheek as if something really heavy and Kel-shaped hit him recently. 

The four stared at each other, in silence, except for Kel’s body making ineffective punches on the girl’s back. Hero sighed and clapped his hands twice. A loud clang accompanied each clap, making the hostile pair flinch.

“Okay, enough. Let’s do this my way.”

Chapter Text

That one. She’s different. 

A glowing image, tinted green, hovered in front of the willow throne.

She’s not acting out your little play. 

Someone stares, hands clutching the sides of the throne.

“She remembers.”

A deep humorless laugh echoes through the chamber. 

I’m surprised.

A child’s voice hums through the overgrown walls as if trapped in the walls.

When I let you inherit this place, I looked into your eyes, you know?

A woman’s cold voice whispers into Someone’s ear. The winds howl for a moment, before going still.

I saw much in those pitch-black eyes. Gentleness……

The child’s voice returns,  muffled beneath the stone floors.

Melancholy……

The deep voice booms, shaking the walls of the throne room.

Hatred……

The castle begins to thrum, the floor cracking, as if the voices were peeling it apart with words alone. Someone shows no emotion, yet their nails dig deeper into the throne. 

The voices speak in unison.

Fear.

All the voices laugh, and they keep laughing, and more voices join in. Loose stones fall from the reverberations, smattering the smooth floor with dust and debris.

Stranger, Other, Shadow, Visitor. Names, and none of yours.

The castle suddenly goes still. 

Who are you? Really?

Someone stays silent. They wave, and the green image starts to shift. 

The mirage shows a pink-haired girl beating down a dark-haired boy. The boy is badly injured, yet the girl doesn’t stop. The girl clutches the boy’s shoulders, then knocks the boy out with a crunch as her forehead connects with his. The girl staggers for a moment, before dusting herself off. The girl tells her crony to bring the boy to the hideout by himself. The girl waits for ten minutes, before exhaling and resting on a nearby tree.

Now she’s alone. Tears trickle down from her face, slowly at first, before they become a flood. Aubrey punches the trunk, each impact shaking leaves off the tree. She doesn’t make a sound at first, even as her fists split, blood flowing freely from the abuse. Her punches become faster, with more weight behind each swing. Her tears turn into sobs, every punch a deep sob escaping her lungs. 

Finally, she speaks.

“Why-”

Her left fist shakes the tree.

“Am I-”

Her right fist cracks the bark.

“So-”

The impact of her forehead leaves a hairline crack down the tree’s spine. Her eyes are closed tight, feebly attempting to hold back hot tears.

“Useless.”  

The girl’s eyes widen, and her head darts around for the whisper. Even in the depths of emotion, the girl was sharp. She didn’t let anything take her by surprise. Brushing away her tears, she leaves for her hideout, cursing herself for being frightened of ghosts.

Someone waves away the image, green glitters fading in the damp, dark air.

A child’s voice, curious, asks Someone a question.

Useless? Her? You’ve never spoken a word on any of them until now. What makes her so-?

A man’s voice, cruel, shouts at Someone.

“ -Special? Why torture her if she’s so useless? She’s the only one doing anything, by my measure.  She’s-

A  woman’s voice, gentle, pleads with Someone . 

“ -just a girl. Why hate her more than these other poor souls?”

Someone stays silent for a moment, then speaks:

“I wasn’t talking about her.”

Someone stares across the long hallway. In the distance, a mirror floats, barely illuminated by cracks in the ceiling. A boy covered in shadow sits across Someone, staring through the glass. A boy speaks, though the voice isn’t his.

“Her suffering ends with me.”

Chapter Text

Gray clouds blot out the sun. Though it won’t rain, a heavy shade falls over the cemetery. A pink-haired girl stomps her feet in resignation to a tanned boy and walks back to the picnic blanket. The tanned boy’s older brother smiles at her as she approaches, nestled beside the gravestone. For a moment, Aubrey thought she saw a young girl next to him, but the moment vanished. A dark-haired boy sleeps, though from time to time, their forehead scrunched, eyes clenched in pain. Small groans escaped the boy’s mouth when this happened. 

The girl crouches and ruffles the gloomy boy’s hair. The past four years have not been kind to the boy. “No,” the girl corrected herself. The boy had not been kind to himself. His skin was almost ash-white as if no blood rushed underneath. But blood did, as the faded cuts across the boy’s forearm displayed. Just one of her hands could wrap around the boy’s wrist entirely. The eyebags were deep and dark, tarnishing an otherwise gentle, young face. His cheeks were gaunt, not enough to be ghoulish, but enough to tell he hadn’t been eating much. The girl rested her hands on his side and felt his ribs heave with effort. Four years, and it’s like he’d never grown at all. 

How did she hate him for so long? How long did he suffer in silence? Why didn’t she check on him? Or anybody? She couldn’t say. Not now, at least. The boy suddenly gripped her hand, eyes darting around beneath closed eyelids. “I need to tell my friends…”

The girl gently stroked his hair, and she whispered:

“Everything will be okay soon, Sunny.”

She clutched his hand tight and looked at the gravestone.

“Everything.”
______________________________________________

Sunny woke with a start. Flashes of a faraway place lingered in his memory, but they dissipated as soon as he was aware of them. He lay face down on the dirt, and to say his muscles were sore was like saying sprout moles only “sort of” liked tofu. With some effort, he pushed himself up, small bits of rock and debris falling from his bangs and clothes. 

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

The girl frowned at what she just said. Sunny felt like chuckling, but couldn’t figure out why, so he settled for a heavy sigh. Although awake, he could feel the fatigue of the entire journey so far and just wanted to go back to sleep. Even in this dirty cave floor. Instead, he sat down and faced the girl.

Or as she called herself, Aubrey.

Aubrey’s eyes still had an empty look to them, but the sneer from before was replaced with mild curiosity. With Sunny too tired to fight, and Lollipop Boy flanking the entrance, it seemed Aubrey had no fear of an escape attempt. Sunny hated that she was right.

“Now, we can talk.”

She also sat down, her chin resting on the pommel of her club. A relaxed pose, but it communicated the dynamic quite clearly. If Sunny tried anything, he would get clobbered. Sunny sighed again and nodded. “Who are you?” Aubrey asked. “Or, rather, who do you think you are?”

“I’m Sunny. I don’t remember much else,” answered Sunny. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing to gain from lying at this point. Nor did he particularly care about telling the truth. Whatever satisfies the violent delinquent in front of her, he’d nod along.

“I don’t believe you,” Aubrey said neutrally.

“I don’t really care,” Sunny answered honestly.

He half-expected her to swing the club again, but she continued:

“You do remember. I heard you muttering in your sleep. Something about “telling your friends” or whatever. I’ve followed you the whole time you were here. You haven’t been here long enough to hide secrets from those two idiots.”

She was talking about Hero and Kel.

“I’m sure you think you don’t want to remember. But you know what I think?” Aubrey leaned in closer, her nose inches away from his own. “I think you don’t want to remember.” She let the words linger long enough to make Sunny look away, before shrugging.

“Hey, I don’t blame you. I don’t miss that place either,” Aubrey said the words like she couldn’t stand the taste of them in her mouth. “I don’t know why you’re trying to hold the answers back from yourself, and by extension, me. But I’ll knock them out of your skull if I have to. Spare me the effort of beating you up and tell me.”

“What do you think is even wrong here?” Sunny asked. 

“Everything,” Aubrey said simply. She stood up and paced around the hideout, speaking all the while. “I was with my friends, somewhere far away. I know YOU know what that is.” She pointed the club at Sunny but didn’t wait for affirmation. “We were in the forest when everything went wrong. I don’t know how, or why, but all I know is there’s supposed to be six of us.”

Lollipop Boy hung his head as Aubrey’s glare met him.

“Assuming you idiots remember how to count, there’s only five of us. She’s missing. Kim-”

Sunny’s pocket suddenly wriggled at the mention of the name. Aubrey didn’t notice.

“-is gone, and this place is weird. The longer I stay, the more I forget about where I came from.”

Aubrey smiled, and for the first time, Sunny sensed something besides emptiness. There was a manic quality to her next words.

“Oh well. I love it here anyway. People are so easy to shake down for stuff. Just look at this place!”

Sunny looked around, eyes finally adjusted to the dim light. Colorful bars of candy, furniture way too small for humans, and assorted knick-knacks with buttons scattered on the floor. Still, it was quite an impressive amount of loot, Sunny had to admit.

“I could stay here forever, away from that place.”

Lollipop Boy looked like he was gonna say something, but held his tongue. He looked at the doorway sadly. Sunny didn’t want to admit it, but part of him agreed. Although he was scared of this place, he did notice it felt better than wherever he came from. Almost like there was less pain, where problems weren’t so serious. But did he even have serious problems to worry about? 

Sunny couldn’t remember.

“But even in this screwed-up fairy tale land,” Aubrey continued, “I can’t get everything I want. This place took Kim away from me. I know she’s not dead. None of the losers we’ve seen could take her out. But she’s not here right now, and-”

Sunny stopped listening as the wriggling got too uncomfortable to ignore, his pocket desperate to free itself from his shorts. Finally, he reached inside and took out what was inside.

“Oh,” Sunny said at the little figure on his palm.

“-So if you won’t tell me where the hell Kim is, I swear I’ll make you my foot stool here forever, and you’ll never reach that Emerald Palace. Hey! Are you even listening?” Aubrey stomped forward ready to clobber Sunny but she stopped.

A small figure lay on Sunny’s palms. It had streaks of blue, red, and green like a five-year-old found a bunch of clay and decided to mush it together. Only, the sculpt itself looked scary and accurate to a certain someone.

“The Wicked Cool Witch/Kim.” Sunny and Aubrey said simultaneously.

“Huh?” They said simultaneously again.

To confuse them even more, the figure suddenly burst to life and pointed frantically at the doorway. Aubrey and Sunny turned, and Lollipop Boy tensed. Footsteps were approaching, and loud noises followed them. Deep booming ones, followed by shrill shrieks. 
________________________________________________________________

“Vance? Get behind me.” Aubrey said to Lollipop Boy calmly.

Vance nodded, and readied his fists, backing up his boss.

Sunny, tired and confused, just sat, with the gummy little witch frantically pointing at the doorway.

The sounds got closer, and shadows loomed over the dim doorway. Sunny listened closely. The booming sounds were weird, but they didn’t sound violent. They sounded like laughter. Aubrey, too tense to notice, looked ready to throw her club at whatever went down the doorway.
A shine of metal flashed between the doorframe, and Aubrey yelled as she threw the club with ridiculous strength and precision. 

“Whoa!” someone familiar shouted.

“Hey!”

“.....”

“Not the face!”

“What’s everyone yelling about-”

The club hit someone directly in the face, nearly taking their-

Oh.

No, it did take their head off. The headless torso fell backward from the force of the club, and the head made an audible thump on the ground.

Everyone was silent.

“Hey, I JUST got my head back on. why’d you do that?’

Sunny sighed with relief. It was just Kel. Only, no, that’s bad, why is he down here-

“Alright, come on up, Kel.” said a brotherly voice.

“Hero,” Sunny said absentmindedly.

“Who the hell is Hero?” Asked Aubrey.

“That-” Hero grunted a little before popping on Kel’s head. “-would be me, ma’am.”

Everyone stood around awkwardly while Kel fumbled with his neck.

For once, Aubrey’s bravado had been replaced with utter confusion.

Finally, the massive girl said something for the first time.

“Sorry, boss. He’s just, I don’t know, so nice. Didn’t feel right to beat him up,” said the massive girl. 

Aubrey’s bewildered stare turned icy, and whether through bravery or stupidity, the “master and disciple” pair came to the massive girl’s defense.

“Uhh yeah, boss, like, they came with us quietly too. Said we had their friend, so they followed, no question,”  said the curly-haired boy.

“Indeed, our magnetic charisma meant we didn’t have to use such base tactics like fists and intimidation,” said the blonde boy, without an ounce of charisma. 

Sunny felt a pang of sympathy looking at Aubrey’s confused face. Maybe it reminded him of when he first woke up in this land. Of course, she still beat the crap out of him, so his sympathy didn’t last very long.

“.....I’ll be in my room.” Aubrey stalked off to a deeper cavern. “Don’t let these idiots leave until I say so!” said her voice, echoing across the stone walls.

Everybody stood around awkwardly again.

“Well,  I wanted to talk to her anyways,” said Hero. “Sunny, are you okay?” he asked, noting the bruises on Sunny’s face. Sunny shook his head. “Okay, clearly, there’s been a misunderstanding. We’ll wait here quietly.” Hero said with a sigh to the hooligans. “Kel, are you-”

Kel was already rifling through the pile of loot.

“Yo, they have so much cool stuff here. Is that one of those, uhhh, comic books I heard the crows talk about?” Kel said excitedly.

“Hey, don’t touch that!-” said, the curly-haired boy and chased Kel around the cavern. The massive girl shrugged and sat down next to Vance, while the blonde boy posed in front of a mirror.

Guess we’re in a stalemate. 

Chapter Text

Somewhere far away, a gentle boy shuffles in his sleep. Only the rhythmic sounds of hospital equipment and the slow hum of the air conditioner accompany the boy’s shallow breaths. The old woman’s chest rises and falls, but no sound escapes her. The boy dreamt of dark hallways, cracked walls, and strange shadows. 

A doctor walked inside, with a solemn expression, but noticed the boy asleep. He checked his papers, sighed, and said something beneath his breath. The boy, half-awake, only caught the words “....best to give him as much time as possible with her.” 

The boy closed his eyes again. He held his grandmother’s hand in his, a hand even frailer than his.

“We can do this.”

Tears came to the boy’s eyes through closed eyelids.

“We have to.”

__________________________________________________________

This was weird.

Sunny looked around at the hideout. It finally hit him for the first time how goofy this all looked. Yeah, he had a panic attack over the whole “I’m in some weird alternate reality and don’t have all my memories” thing. Even so, the fact that he’s holding a talking burlap sack in his hands and tossing it to a tin man didn’t fully register until just now.

“Hey, are you guys done, I’m feeling a bit sick,” said the burlap sack named Kel. “You did say you wanted to get more used to the feeling in case we had to toss you again,” said the tin man named Hero.  Sunny lobbed Kel over to Hero, and wondered where Aubrey was. It had been an hour since she stormed off after realizing Hero had pacified her fearsome henchmen with his dashing charisma. 

Despite the rough introductions, the hooligans proved surprisingly friendly. Hero introduced each of them in turn as Vance, Angel, Charlene, and Maverick. Maverick insisted on adding a “The” to his name, but Sunny and Kel ignored him. Hero did it anyway because he was too polite.

They apologized to Sunny for being rough and said it was all a big misunderstanding. When they got to this world, the first thing the Sprout Moles did was apparently to try and mug them. From that point on, Aubrey’s pillaging of the Sprout Mole countryside was karma, in her books. As for why they beat the stuffing out of Sunny, they got too scared of Aubrey, who they’d never seen that angry before.

“Only a real bad guy would tick her off like that,” said Angel, giving a pointed look at Sunny. They were cool with Kel and Hero, but it seems the dark-haired boy still made them suspicious. For his part, Sunny wasn’t suspicious of the hooligans at all. After the beating he took, he didn’t need suspicions. 

Sunny taught about what Aubrey had said. So, the weird lizard girl he first met was Aubrey’s friend, and the gross witch bracelet did end up doing something magical. Right now, it was back in his pocket, sitting completely unmagical and wriggling. 

Like a lion waking from its slumber, Aubrey stalked out of her room, glaring at the three of them. Sunny did note she wasn’t carrying the bat this time, though the clenched fists meant he still kept his distance. Aubrey’s head snapped to stare at Sunny, making him jump despite himself.

The she-lion took a deep breath. “We started off on the wrong uh………foot,” Aubrey said awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. “I still don’t trust you, but unlike the Sprout Moles, beating the crap out of you hasn’t worked out for us. What do you say we work together?” 

She looked at Hero and reached out a hand. “Wow, that was quick! Big softie she turned out to be,” said Kel, twisting his burlap sack head into place on his wooden neck. “Call me a softie again, and I’ll turn you into a pair of burlap pants, straw boy,” Aubrey said without looking. Kel’s drawn face stuck out a tongue and bravely stood behind Hero for safety.

“I don’t know why, but Hero here seems familiar. In a good way. I can’t explain it, but I trust my gut.” Hero couldn’t blush, but the slight shuffling of sheet metal on dirt gave away his feelings. 
“I appreciate the offer, but I think some misunderstandings need to be cleared up first.” Hero clasped his hands together and turned to Sunny.

“I think, we need to introduce each other properly. These are Sunny and Kel. They found me rusted and frozen in the woods, and if it weren’t for them, I would still be a suspiciously handsome landmark.”  Hero said that last part with his most winning smile, flashing shiny metal teeth. Despite the metal thing, Hero was still quite the attractive lad. The massive girl, Charlene, blushed, and even Aubrey reddened a little. 

“I don’t get it,” Kel said.

“It’s a scary place out there. I get it,” Hero continued. “Unlike you fellas, we’re not really “human”, except Sunny here. I think.” Hero looked for confirmation, and Sunny nodded. “But it looks like you and Sunny have the same problem. Wherever you guys came from, you don’t remember everything. We’re off to the Emerald Palace, which probably has answers for all of our problems.”

Aubrey tilted her head. “We steered clear of that place when we first got here. Something about looks……bad.” Aubrey said it casually enough, but Sunny caught a slight twitch in her eye, and her foot tapped a bit more than usual. Before he could speculate, Aubrey continued “-But, it does look magic.” She turned to Sunny with a weird smile, and said “Hey, toss that mini Kim to me, uh, Sunny.” He closed his fist over the bracelet and deposited it in Aubrey’s waiting palm.

It was still a bracelet. “Are you messing with me?” Aubrey said, the old anger returning. She closed her first around the bracelet and stepped toward Sunny, but the bracelet suddenly wrapped itself around Aubrey’s wrist. “What the-” Aubrey said, as she tried to pull it off. The hooligans all ran to their leader, but she shouted them back. “I don’t know what this thing can do! If this kills me, gloomy boy, I’ll kill you!” Aubrey moved away from the crowd, as the bracelet transformed further.

The bracelet churned and solidified into an elegant helix-shaped bracer, and its old colors disappeared in favor of a vibrant blue sheen. Suddenly, it began to hum. “Hey, hey, is this thing on?” the bracelet said. 

“Kim?”

“Kim? I don’t know what a Kim is, lady, but she sounds cool. Anyways, if the skinny boy’s not dead yet, could you pass a message along?”

Aubrey turned to Sunny, confused. “How do you-”

“Hey skinny kid, if you’re there, I’m in the village near the Emerald Palace having tea with the Good Witch!” Hero suddenly perked up, and approached Aubrey, listening intently to the bracer. 

“I hate tea, but the Witch is real nice. She wants to meet you, so hurry up, and don’t die. Toodles!”

“Wait-” Aubrey said, but the humming stopped, and the bracer went silent. Aubrey found she could take it off without difficulty, and stared at it. “Did she not recognize my voice?” Aubrey said with a small amount of hurt in her voice.

Hero turned around and held Sunny by the shoulders. “She’s there! I knew it! I knew following you was the right move!” Hero hugged Sunny, and despite Hero’s steely weight, it was oddly comforting.  

“She didn’t recognize me. What did they do to her?” Aubrey said behind Hero, hurt replaced with anger. She put the bracer on again and looked to the hooligans. “Okay, I’m rescuing Kim from that Witch!”

“Yeah, let’s go to the Witch!” Hero said, ignoring the blatant threat in Aubrey’s tone. “Wait, so this hothead’s coming with us?” Kel said. “Correction, knucklehead. You bozos are coming with me. I’m calling the shots.” Kel protested, but Hero was too lovestruck to play diplomat, so he resorted to grumbling. 

Aubrey turned to the hooligans. “You guys hold down the fort and make sure those sprout moles don’t take our stuff, alright?” The hooligans nodded in unison, and cheered.

“Get Kim back for us, boss!”

“Tell her I said hi!”

“.......”

“Kim will be most impressed with my conquering of these new foes!’

She nodded, and looked at Sunny, Hero, and Kel. 

“Well, what are you nerds waiting for? Let’s go!”