Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hi, Author here before I give esgoo the mic to tell the story, I had few words to give. So yeah… this isn’t actually a crack fic. It’s a… much focused story, with a headcanon and many more. The original story supposed to be ‘Esgoo got sent to the limbus company bus because of.. plot reason! And he started going apeshit on everything! Especially on charge team and sloshing Ishmael, and Soda honglu!!’ well, no. I ended up making a serious fic with a little humor here and there that our blockman usually made. well, though not accurately since I’m not a sinner with Esgoo 0000 ID on uptie 6, so I analysis many of his videos and livestream he both made and joined, and do what I do best from the way he talked, added few lore to make it spicier, and OCs so our lovely blockman won’t be lonely, and suffer. But I know I won't exactly be 100% accurate YouTube Esgoo personality, so I'm sorry in advance if it ended up being weird.

Esgoo if you’re reading this, thanks for saving my life, as in saving my lunacy, tickets, and threads from uptying and rolling bad IDs, and (hopefully) have fun reading your (probably) very first fanfiction someone made about you that is also +10K WORDS!, also don't worry, it's nothing weird or fucked up if you're worried about it, it's pretty vanilla in all shape and form, I'm trying to be as respectful to your online figure, so I'm making this simple and as an appreciation to you from a 0 ID fan, and not because I wanted to get lucky on every walpurgis for the next 4 years.

Also you can contact my twitter @thelaststraq if my writing could be useful for your channel, maybe, idk lol XD. I won’t expect much.Anyway, enjoy!.

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Hoo boy, so how do I start this? The title, and like the whole thing, may sound like I’m having a crack and getting high on Saturday night, but unfortunately, getting high on Saturday night is much better option than what I was right now.

Tsunul might even said ‘Bro got sent like he was in an isekai anime’, but the truth is... I actually am, and it's the worst experience i could ever have. One that i'll told you... After you guys clicked that subscribe- Oh wait... this is not a youtube video... uhh moving on!

So how does this happen? Well, It all began when I made a video script about limbus company, and accidentally fallen asleep on my desk while writing. I don’t know if it’s our lord kim jihoon’s punishment to me for writing about another charge bias, but when I woke up, here I am on the city, maybe wanting to show me who’s in charge, haha…. Hah… that was kinda cringy actually.

The early days were pretty rough to say the least, but a good news is that I’m not in a crazy corp like N, or K, or even T corp. Oh no no no, imagine omaha and Baltimore, two of the worst cities with drug problem. Combine it as one, then you get…

C corp! the home of the Claws on that finale of library of ruina that goes surprisingly hard at a scripted fight, that we can’t enjoy winning or actually battling it off. Whatever the case, C corp is rampant of drugs abuse, especially those colored serums. It is interesting to learn that I ended up near the District where the first canto of the game started, not that i'll matter later, wink wink.

So how did I survived? Well, unlike those Isekai Mc where they get their waifus the second they arrived there and becoming overpowered as fuck, I was fully alone, and weak. yeah… well like my dear friend Tsunul once said ‘They made every every isekai protagonist have infinite Rizz and so goddamn strong nowdays is because the creator was too lazy to a make a compelling character… and they have no bitches’

I survived by dealing the serums there. Those addicts are… really into those bright colored syringes that it was easy for me to steals some, even their weapons too. Alright alright, before any of you all talk about how cool it is to become a wolverine-like guy with shard claws…. It’s not like that. First, grow up, you’re not wolverine even if it would be cool, and second, is that I wasn’t used to fight at all. I know the moment when I had to stabbed a guy to death and had no cops on my ass, is what made me realizes that the city was that fucked of a place and that I had to do what’s necessary to survive, even if it meant getting my hands dirty, even if it meant that i'm getting myself desensitized to murder.

I ended up with a sword of a shape of a claw that I've ripped apart, and that became my self-defense tool, even when I managed to laid on a nice-looking place, months after going hell to get to it. And even then, this ‘I never named because I was sucks at it’ sword which becomes my protection, it’s originated from a guy… that was probably already dead, which is ironic.

And while some of you thoughts that I’ll be cool, edgy, and badass looking guy after being forged… well I’m still the same anyway, sort of. I've already come to the term that I’ll no longer returns to my house, which is sucks but that’s what it is. Well… that’s what I thought before but we'll get to that later.

What I wore is not much, but it’s kept me alive this long. The tunic’s is nothing of a fancy, just thick enough to stand the weather, though it’s seen better days because I stole it from a dead guy. And this vest? Leather, sturdy enough to take a hit or two, if it comes to that, also stole it from a dead guy along the belt to hang my sword. The pants are patched in spots; trust me, they’ve seen some things, because… again, I stole it from a dead guy. Tuck ‘em into my boots, which are about the only thing that’s held up the way they should, which surprisingly, I didn’t steal it from a dead guy but one that are unconscious, I guess? He was overdosed as hell that he didn’t noticed his boots were gone….  uhhh hopefully he’s not dead.

Okay enough ramblings, i know that some of you might wondering why I went full length just to explain how I get here, and how I survived all that. And it’s because of what happened to me and regarding my… sudden ‘teleport’ to the city in the first place.

It all started when I was going my usual day, usually in my original home, I would try my best to do my daily login along with an MD run, and brainstorming for a video when i'm not burned. But now, I transacted few of the serums that I stole before they were managed to get shipped to the C corp’s nest. Now I understand that being a drug dealer is… quite frankly ironic, but all got to do to survive, because the city abhors hero, as welvader once said too.

As usual, some addicts brandishing their weapons as they approached me, intimidation because they usually tried to rob me from the serums, or they couldn’t afford it and resort in physical violence due to desperation

“Well well well, who do we have here?” As they said, trying to intimidate me, one that i've heard so many times like a script.

 which I would’ve been but I simply said to them “If you guys wanted some, then pay up-“

“GET HIM!” one of them yelled and began charging at me with their claws.

Oh right, I suddenly remember that I stole from those guys yesterday, which I should’ve been more awry. Well, no use in trying to escape now, I drew my sword as they attack. The one good thing about them is that they’re sloppy and bat at combat, only slashing and attacking without at care on how the right way to because their brains being broken by the serums, they’re drugged as hell.

Of course, this 'famous' limbus company youtuber, who didn’t even dare to try one, managed to handle it. I would explain it in a badass, epic, and cinematic description but I’m too tired to fully explain it so i'll simplify.

The first guy try to thrust his claw, I move to the left and swung at his neck, the second guy I parried his attack and stabbed his stomach, the third quickly fell soon after, and the fourth, I knocked him to the ground and stabbed his back, yada yada yada, nothing short of amazement.

The fifth and last one, knelt to the ground after I slashed his stomach open, he muttered in his dying breath “Heh…. Now… you’re… done”

“And why exactly?” I had to ask him of course.

“You’d…. think….. we came alone? Oh no no…. you’re…. mistaken… You're dead... asshole” he falls silent soon after.

Before I could process my confusion, in a cliché kind of way, I was immediately surrounded by a lot of people. Some I remembered stealing from, some whose place i intruded, yeah… they all banded together to get rid of the ‘pest’ aka me, from stealing their supplies, usually i would be away by then but i had no slip to escape. Now… would the story of the great esgoo ended in tragedy? As I possibly would get mauled to death and get my body hacked to pieces? Well, I wouldn’t be here to tell the story if I die. So, spoiler alert that aren’t so spoiling and already be seen from far away, I survived, also in a cliché kind of way.

“Uhh... Hey…. Everyone…” I thought that my life was about to end, as I looked around and outnumbered by a dozen of them, some were cackling, smirking, and chuckling, like I was a prey, they're pissed and for the right reason, that is until…

“How curious…” as some of them starting to charge at me, as i about to come to a final stand, a female voice suddenly made them stop on their way. A smoke suddenly flies to them and started coughing heabily, choked by the toxic smoke until they coughed out bloods and smokes from their nose and mouth until they fall dead, as smoke continue to steam from their body “So….  you're one of the anomalies…”

“GAH!!” I jolted back, falling down on my butt as suddenly, a woman appeared besides me and out of nowhere.

Her attire was… striking from the get go, all grey. I mean literally, gray jacket, gray jeans, hood that covers her gray hair, gray skin, all about her are gray as if she was put in a gray filter. Her voices were cold, but emotionless and she was holding… something like a staff of some sort, with a glass globe on the front tip.

There were sounds of surprised from some of the addicts, no matter how drugged they are, they could still understand potential dangers and she is one to them.

“Now… if you gentlemen would leave us both alone, It would be… appreciated” she emphasizes on the last word, a threat and a final warning.

And guess what happen next? I’ll give you guys five seconds to- just kidding, they didn’t listen to her at all. Woohoo?

They underestimate her, even after they saw that their friends were brutally murdered with smokes coming out of them, everyone began charging at us with murder in mind.

“Hmmm… Impudent knave” she said blankly as she taps her staff on the ground, and disappeared to a cloud of gray smoke.

What happened is unbelievable to my eyes, even if I knew at how almost fantastical The city could be. The smoke then spreads to all of them, I can clearly saw that the smokes forces themselves to each of their nostrils, and few seconds later, they all became like the friends that already dead, coughing like crazy, bloods and smokes started fuming out and die. Now kids, what can we learn from today’s incident is please, don’t get addicted to drugs or you might accidentally poke the wrong bee hive, and then die a very painful death.

I quickly covered my mouth as everything unfold, as I watched all of them suddenly die, choking on smokes, possibly carbon dioxide that forces their way to their lungs. As everyone arounds me were dead moments later is when the smokes regroup to a one big cloud and transform back to that woman, as she lands gently on the ground.

She stared at me and wow... those violet eyes, those otherworldly colored eyes that stands out from her full gray form, were staring at my soul... well not literally, but you can get the point i'm talking about. “Well then, now that we-“

I didn’t give her a chance to talk as I immediately made an escape for it. I don’t give a shit whether or not she had a ‘business’ with me, i was scared okay? i didn't knew what to think. I continue to run and run and run, almost like I’m in a speed race until I stopped and looked around while panting heavily. I was quite far already.

I decided to return back to my apartment and laying my back on the simple bed. Not gonna lie, that was the craziest thing I’ve ever encountered, something that wasn’t explained at all, even at my current knowledge of this world, even then that won't be the last craziest thing i'll encountered.

So… yeah, whoever she was. She’s a person that I wouldn’t want to mess with, even if she goes to B in my tier list…. Actually, put her to A. An A tier is more fitting.

At first, I didn’t understand who this mysterious woman wanted or what her businesses with me. Like seriously, a castaway like me who suddenly appear on The city, a videogame series that I made my youtube career of! I was no one in this world, just another residents of the city. If anyone had a business with me, it's usually for this Colored serums that i've kept.

I decided to sleep it off, but obviously, you guys know what happened next. There’s no need any question as to why this isn’t surprising at all. Haah…

It happened during the next morning, I wasn’t feeling like waking up, just staying on the bed while wearing the same clothing yesterday. But I know I need to go and find something to eat, so i.. with a grumble, stood from my bed after a long stretch.

I was just pull the door open, literally when the outside was visible to me… she was there, standing “Ah… Good morning-“

I immediately slammed the door to her face, was that rude? It... it is, am I panicking as hell? It really an understatement to explain how scared shitless I am. Trapped in my own apartment that aren’t even that big at all, and only window that could lead to a deep fall to the ground, I almost felt like I was dreaming but I knew that I weren’t at all. She was here, in my apartment door.

A knock can be heard on my door before i could think of anything “I just wanted to talk-“

“I’m NOT talking to anyone!” I yelled as i decided to shove everything to barricade the door, good thing that it’s a pull, not a push, though it won't matter. And I stood there with my sword at hand once I stacked everything at it. Hoping she wouldn’t try to get in.

“You know I could just… get inside” to which she is, a puff of smokes started to went pass under the door and all the furniture that I thrown in, until the smoke turned to an actual human being. “Splendid, now we-“

I swung my sword towards her and she turns to a smoke and appears somewhere else, evading my swing.

“Listen, if you ever gave me a chance to ta-“

“NEVER!” I swung my sword again at her, the same things happened, she turns to a smoke and appears nearby

“You know I can keep this up until you’re tir-“

I swung my sword and the same thing happened again “Not until I get you or you leave my apartment!”

“….. I just want to have a cha-“

“Leave!” I swung my sword at her. "NOW!"

Obviously, it’s a back and forward for like… quite some time, as it was the same thing over and over and over again. Until I lost my energy and standing wobbly, clearly tired from the many miserably attempts.

“You had enough?” the smoke turns to front of me and appears her form.

“I’m… not… over yet” I panted heavily, from a youtuber to a swordsman maniacally trying to strike a stubborn woman, honestly… it’s something indeed in only a matter of months.

“really? After wrecking your own apartment?” she sounded annoyed in that flat tone of her.

“What?! What do you mean i…. oh… Shit...” Yeah…. I unknowingly destroyed my entire room myself… I sighed in defeat and sat down, giving up “Fine… I’ll hear what you have to say”

It’s not that I don’t want to trust her, sure you guys might think that I’m being overly paranoid, and distrustful of her. But put in the account that I’m not a native of this city, I was so happened to get sent out of nowhere, and surviving myself from literal scrap on a drug-fest Backstreets that is C corp. I had to adapt myself on this harsh. Living. Hell. And it was more than hellish itself, it was painful, so painful that I almost lost myself from time to time. And with my wide knowledge of this place, it’s hard for me to trust anyone but myself, so that's why my first meeting with her weren't so... peaceful.

“Ah… Splendid” she lowers herself and sat on the ground in front of me “Let’s just hope… another fellow anomaly wasn’t as… annoying as you”

“The… what?” I can definitely hear the word anomaly clearly, but I don’t actually get what she meant at first

“You’re not from this world, I presumed right?” she guessed it without a hint of doubt in her voice “Someone that were forcibly taken from their home and thrown to this… city.”

“W-what? How could you…, w-who.. are you?”

“Me?” she stared me back with her violet eyes “I’m just but a wandering fellow that share the same fate as you, but it seemed we share the same knowledge of this place although…

“A videogame series for you, however…. How peculiar”

That final word she gave me, made me exclaimed in my seat. Now look, imagine if there’s someone who suddenly knew where your origins out of nowhere the first time you met? It’s the most out of the box plot idea that tsunul could wrote without thinking in his sleep, or maybe anyone.

“How… how the hell could you....?” I immediately taken away by that.

“Hm… I think we should introduce ourselves first before I explained my offer to you” she said, closing her eyes for a moment before opening it. Then again, the hood that covers her head give a sense of mystery to it. “I have name but for now, you may refer me as the ‘Gray Nightmare’”

“Gray nightmare.. Wait… a color?!” Gray nightmare, a name I haven’t heard at all throughout the entire series. But it clearly explains her immense power level, even above me. “You’re a... you're an actual… color?”

“I am… in my world that is... And as my title named, I can extract information, or anything through people’s nightmare, and I was just so happened to take a look at your nightmare last night”

“Wait, what?! How the hell you even find me in the first place?” I had to ask, because this is getting ridiculous from my point of view.

“Anyone always leaves their trail of nightmares, as so do you. And it was… interesting for someone to view this world as a… interactive games, no more than toys, or a sandcastle to anyone” her voice, coated with mystery are full of interest, something that somewhat shudders me “Interesting… indeed”

"And how much did you know?” I asked her out of curiosity

She only raised her shoulder “Not many… I haven’t had much time to explore more than necessary, but I was intrigued to view other anomaly’s eyes about this world”

That word again, it made me curious “That word, what is the anomaly, anyway? Is that a name for a distortion?”

“Not really, I wouldn’t call us a distortion or even an abnormality, simply… just 'The anomaly', a term for those who weren’t meant to be here, those who got sent here without their knowledge, those who ended up stray in the city, and those who were far from their homeland” she explained quite throughout

And to summarize, the anomaly from my understanding is as simple as being isekai’d to another world, and by her words, it clear that it has its own few cases already.

“Right…” I nodded at her "So... why why are you here?"

“The reason of my visitation is for me to invite you on a journey” she finally explained her motives, one that quite take me away

“A journey? A journey of what?”

“A journey… for us anomaly to find our way back home, so that we may return to where we came. I sense that you were an anomaly just like me, and I was right…”

Hearing that, my heart almost skips a beat… back home? Will that be possible for me? “Home… how can you so sure about that?”

“During my… journey alone, I have discovered plenty of information regarding us anomalies, and through parts of your memory that I saw… strongly reinforced my theory as to why we’re being here, or even a possible way back”

“And that is?”

“…. If you want answers for that…“ she stands up straight, patting her gray outfit “… Then you’re agreeing to accompany me for this journey”

I stand up too, the word home… it almost sounds too good to be true, it almost… suspicious to say the least “And why do a powerful color, needed someone else like me? I’m sure you could handle it yourse-“

“I just can’t.” she cuts me off abruptly “So that’s why, I’m offering you to join. We both are anomaly, beings that are taken from their home, beings that wanted to return home, so you must understand what we both wanted thus far”

I… became hesitant at that point, should I agree or disagree with her offer? Well sure, the promise of going home is…. Promising, but I still haven’t trust her yet. She may be lying to me, she may even have malicious intent behind it, but the thought of home is... tempting.

“So?” she still waited for my answer

I was… being silenced, unable to say a word to her. Yeah… I was being more than hesitant at that moment, so I didn’t answer at all, i was just uncertain with everything at that moment.

"Alright..." She noticed my anxiousness and nodded with her eyes closed “I’m not forcing you to join me, it’s an offer anyway. If you wanted to come along, come to the ruins of the abandoned factory, i'm sure you know where it is” she slowly disappears to cloud of gray smoke “I’ll wait until the next dawn, consider my offer very well”

And with that, the cloud of smoke flew away under the door gap and I was left alone in my apartment that I’ve destroyed…. Shit indeed.

I spent the next hours or so cleaning the damaged that I’ve did to my place, I was so hesitated because, well… come on now. You’ve spent months in mud and hell to finally acquire a nice living place, only to be offered on a vague request that require you to leave your home you just trying to get by someone you just met. It’s just… hard for me, okay? I’m just some dude trying to make videos about a game that I loved, that ironically, ended up getting sent to the said universe of the game.

But the idea of going home were…. An eye catching. Going back to my original world, going back to my home, my family, and friends? I’ve lost that thought months ago and now this woman brought it back to me. A stranger that saved my life and also in a similar situation. And i spent long time if i want to agree or not.

So obviously… the story would’ve just ended here if I didn’t agreed to her, and it'll be pretty boring conclusion. After long consideration, I decided to agree, to agree on meeting her on that factory ruins. Yeah it is cliché, but i was thinking that I wouldn’t survive long after this due to the fact that many C corp’s addict were on my ass. i didn’t exactly believer her yet, but with the fact that both of us are stray on this world, potentially many others like me too, I would at least try for once, even if the future were uncertain at that time.

The anomaly as she said, is a titled for someone that got sent to The city. Anomaly, being that existence weren’t meant to happen or it is an anomaly, or a mistake of some sort, pretty fitting name not gonna lie. I still wanted to find out the truth behind it, so might as well doing that with someone else.

That is the decision I ended up made during the night, when I stare at the void that is the dark sky as i sat next to the opened window, and throwing the syringes away of the windows. I wouldn't need it anymore if i'm going to go to a journey, so might as well to throw it away. Though i've kept few syringes safely on a small bag, just in case of emergency. None of those are even K corp's ampules, just your typical enhancement drugs that only worked if being used at a right dose and not goes batshit and just pierce it through your bloodstream without having the right dosis, then again... the serum here have addictive substances, so it's weirdly counter intuitive.

Sometimes... I wondered as I stared outside that there would be a faint white dot there, but there wasn’t that night. Of course, what I meant is the stars, the theme that revolves around limbus company, it is literally stated in the beginning of the game and became the themes of the sinners and the cantos. I didn’t have the luxury of being one of their sinners, I feel like that would be kinda a crack story and a bit delusional in some part. Like imagine, esgoo meeting them, becoming the 14^th sinners, becoming their strategists for a viable team comps, and patting Gregor on the shoulder for not having awesome ID. Or imagine Tsunul there, trying rizz Sinclair and slander everyone like on his videos, or Welvader searching through the mirror worlds for a Shi ID, or axeiiyl trying to solo every single time, or even Frey cheqama putting unnecessary annoying limitation on the team as a challenge run. Hah… that was a nice dream, dream that are far from the truth from I’ve been…. Now I’m nothing more than just a part of the city, just an NPC and nobodies. I was still uncertain about the future, especially when i lay on my apartment's bed for the last time, but i don't want to back away from this chance, not anymore.

Anyway, the next dawn, when the sun barely up, after getting a backpack and stuffing everything that I could bring even the packed serums, I leave my apartment, the home that I’ve been like… what? 4 weeks now? Glad that I didn’t get too attached at that place anyway. The factory wasn’t that far but I take a jog so I don’t want to miss her out. But as I were getting close, something felt… odd.

Not odd as in she was in danger, that would be like being lucky in walpurgis night, no. There were bodies lying scattered on the ground, and an rv revving up near the factory i'm jogging into. That moment I exclaimed “HEY WAIT!” she was leaving and of course, I’m not going to let that chance goes ever again.

I immediately went from a jog to a fast pace running towards the ruins of the factory as soon as the rv started driving. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up on the rv in time, and I know that the rv would’ve to go through the other side of the factory. That’s why I took a quick detour to the inside of the ruins and onto the stairs, there’s a gap that should be a window there and i could make a leap for it. Yes, I know I’m just gambling my luck, and I could land a painful fall if the rv wasn’t passing by, but thankfully, it is.

I jumped and fall right ontop of the rv with a hard thud as I try to hang on the speeding vehicle. She noticed me, well more like noticed a 'stranger' that held on the roof, as the rv then swerve left and right, trying to throw me off, of course I still held on as I carefully crawled myself, fighting against the gravity and the winds towards the window of the driver. And said window were being lowered slightly as smokes began coming out, I exclaimed and continue to crawl to the right side.

It was… intense, more than what you guys see on mission impossible or that pedal scene in canto 5 where every sinners trying to pedal to the next zone… She doesn't noticed me yet, and i'm not going to break many of bones if i get thrown off. My fingers were burning but i keep pressing on at the speeding rv.

I tapped the window as the smokes began to ingulf me “HEY!” I exclaimed on the top of my lungs, seeing her on the wheels. “IT’S ME!” as she turns her head to face me and I saw her violet eyes staring back, she kicked the brakes and I was immediately got thrown to the front. "OH SHIT"

I closed my eyes to prepare myself before my back hitting the ground with a loud crack, but my body suddenly stop midair. I opened it to see that I was levitating, inches before hitting the ground as a thick smoke cloud were holding below me before I fall.

“That was close…” She said as she opened the door and stepped out of the rv, and at the same time. The thick smoke cloud fades and I fall to my butt but with lesser pain since… ya know, I didn’t smack the ground hard.

“That’s.... for you to say” I stood up with a groan “I thought you were supposed to wait until dawn, this is barely even dawn and you’re about to leave me”

“That’s not what I’m doing” she approached me “I was irritated because stupid fools keep trying to rob my rv, and they keep coming like endless army of ants so I just wanted to move it somewhere discreet” good explanation though

“Ah I see… But you agree that was pretty cool, right?"

“Just whatever you said…”

Oh yeah, I never realized how blanks her tone at that time. Back then, she always had a really flat tone. Like her voice speaks little to no emotions than her words. Pun alert, but that also explains why she’s so gray to me at times. It’s not just her looks, but also her voice. Would I compare her to faust? Not really, faust is more far more expressive than her, maybe the closest one would be like Meursault, though she has flatter tone than his, but did you know what’s not flat of her- alright no, I’m not gonna finish that sentences, but you all know what I meant right?

Ahem! Moving on

“I didn’t expect for you to join, I thought you were so used to live on that shelter of yours” she said to me once again.

“It's not that I wanted to join, but the circumstances weren’t so helping at all, I was being… wanted by the addicts of C corp, and my apartment not going to sustain long” that is one of the reasons too. Come on now, I would die if it weren’t for her coming just in time to backed me up.

“just.... that?”

“I miss home” I explained shortly to her but she gets the memo  "What else?"

“Ah…. so I supposed we would be working together from now on….” she was unwilling for an introduction but she knew that she had to for formal reason, so she extended her right hand to me “….. You haven’t told me your name”

“Just… call me Esgoo, for now” I said as we both shakes hand. I didn’t believe her yet, and she hasn’t told me her name too, so it’s fair for me to do the same. And what came to my mind was to use my channel name. Easy to remember.

“I... see what you’re doing, I supposed it’s fair for you to do the same” she turned back to the rv “Come on, Goose”

“W-what are you calling me?!” I was taken aback for her calling me that. That was out of nowhere

“That’s the anagram of it, yes?” she said opening the rv door “come on”

“I… Ugh alright” I went to the passenger side of the rv.

And just past the driver’s seat, a narrow corridor led to the cozy living area in the back. It was as you expected from a motorhome rv. There was a small cushioned couch, lining on the edge of the back of the rv, drawers and cabinets on the wall for putting away stuff, and a small kitchenette with a small sink, stove, and fridge. No alcove bed but I think with the small size of the motorhome, it’s… honestly were fine. At least I didn’t have to duck my head so that’s good.

“Wow…” I said in amazement as I look through the rv, setting down my backpack down. “where did you even get this?”

“I stole it…”

“Let me guess.. from a dead guy?”

“No… it was merely abandoned, it was in a pretty rough shape when I first met it so I installed few stuff in here that I also stole, and yes, this time from some dead guy”

“Of…. Course” I snickered, oh esgoo… always with the same cringy dead body jokes.

Anyhow, after the short introduction, we both sat down as she began to continue driving the motorhome, but this time towards a different location. I’m just going to give a montage time skip with cheese since it would be pretty boring if I explained every single thing we passed through something, or random fights or just anything, and I’ve spoke a lot already.

“You feel sad about moving out?” she asked, during the quiet journey, few days later.

“Hmm?” I exclaimed when she began talking out of nowhere, but I was glad since I mostly just saw roads, more roads, with the occasional dumbass that try to steal the rv. “Not really, I knew when you first left my apartment, that place was already compromised. Maybe a day or two, it'll be raided by the addicts. Not that it'll matter when everything the moment they went in"

“Hmm… typical” she nonchalantly said

Then another peace and quiet occurs, until I asked her “Soooo.... how… did you find me, exactly?”

“I didn’t… it was more a coincidence” she explained “I heard a commotion happening, I got curious and found you in a grave situation. I usually won’t care for that sort of conflict and continue be, but I felt like you’re… unusual”

That’s… a very weird thing to say “And what you mean by unusual?”

“By that I mean you felt... different. I wasn’t sure at first, but when I take a look in your head, I was right, you were an anomaly”

I huffed, that explains a lot. I never knew how lucky I am. At least it wasn’t like that moment when i get unlucky in walpurgis night . Not… exactly like that but at least luck was on my side this time…. For now.

“Hmm… you think..” I paused for a moment “… you think that there’s other anomaly than just us?”

“I was thinking that I was the only one until I met you, so that’s your answer”

“hmm… true” so there’s a chance that there’s many scattered and confused like us… could 'THEY' also be? At first, I was hoping not. That’ll be… both fortunate and unfortunate if they were. That I won’t be alone, and that they’re also here.

The roads then changed to a… forest. A gloomy, dark, and quiet forest. I feel like I knew this area that we’re passing… the trees, the atmosphere… “Where… were we?”

“If judging by the forest around us… we finally arrived at District 4”

Then it clicked on me “District 4?! D corp?”

“Yep” she nodded

“Why the hell are we even here?” I was confused, maybe i should've asked where we were going like... days ago.

“Say…” she ignored my question “You remember this part, right? The forest, everything?”

“Well, yeah. This is during the prologue of the game. Where dante were being attacked, the bus came in, the sinners came out, this and that. Basically the setup. You read that too?”

“Not all, but I had a hypothesis that may be correct and may not be correct.” The motorhome finally reached the end of the forest and… yep, onto the backstreet of D corp.

“And that is?”

“That the key relies on what happened during the… said game you played. I had a hunch that if we went through where they were, we might find something, also just to confirm my suspicion”

“It's a hunch nonetheless, miss nightmare. We're playing with uncertainty"

“let’s hope it has something"

So yeah, her idea was to revisit each location of the cantos. Starting with canto 1, aka here. “So, we’re going to the Lobotomy corporation’s branch huh? That would be a sight to see firsthand” I said to her.

She didn’t answer, she looks at something at dashboard, “Hmm… the fuel is running low”.

“Holy shit!” Then I immediately held on as the RV went to a full stop, it really sounded familiar. “Geez… if you want to stop just tell me beforehand” and a sighed came out of me “I supposed I need to look for fuel, then?” for an Rv, it had a pretty excellent fuel consumption

“no need” the Rv then honked pretty loudly, calling many attentions “Let the fuel came to us, you know that early moment in the game? Enphe… enki… what was it?”

“Enkephalin” I corrected her “So what? This rv also utilizes enkephalin like the bus?”

“Something similar and different, but you’ll have to see it yourself” she stepped out of the rv

At least this time, she doesn’t force me to get out and murder everyone, unlike vergillius. But I decided to join her too, with the claw sword ready in my hand, i've been itching.

She waited nonchalantly for anyone to finally came by, and I decided to brandish my sword, just to get a little preparation “So… we just put them out of their misery?”

“…. You don’t need to join, ya know? This’ll be done in seconds”

“Oh please… miss gray nightmare, let me do it for you”

"Whatever you wanted" Then again, she’s not the only one capable of fighting, so do i. And training like this with thugs of district 4 would prove to help my skill since all I’ve been fighting is the addicts of C corp. Similar like how I do my video, I try, I analyses, and I make my videos. Of course, the analogy was so far-fetched but you guys get the idea.

It doesn’t take long for them to arrive, and it doesn’t take long for the fight to started, and it also doesn’t take long for it to end in victory.

“Phew… that was nice” I wiped my brows after wiping the blood away when the rest of the thugs were running away after four of their buddies were dead “Is four good enough?”

“Add that to seven, and yes” she said

I turned around to saw her sitting on the motorhome’s hood with her legs crossed, and under her were three bodies with smokes coming out of them. She stands down from the hood as she prepared her staff “Now watch…”

She pointed at the three dead bodies as gust of smokes, that are darker than her usual gray smokes were being vacuumed to the glass globe of the staff as it came out from their noses and mouth. She then walked to the four I killed and did the same while I watch from the side.

“So you… take their smokes?” I asked, curious.

“No, this… smoke you saw, it’s a manifestation of one’s nightmare. Not only I can see one's, but I can also take their nightmares through a physical form which is the smokes.” After she said that, no more smokes came out so she walked with the staff which glass globe were pretty dark gray right now to where the fuel hole supposed to be. I decided to follow her and watch.

She opens the cap, and jammed the bottom of her staff inside. A few moments later, the smokes puffed out from her staff and onto the fuel tank inside, and after drying the glass globe empty, she closes the cap.

“So that’s… how it works? The rv’s fuel is smokes?” I asked her

“Yes, but it is not a normal smoke. The 'nightmare smokes' I called it, contains of many mixtures of different hydrocarbons, which essentially are petroleum, which are fuel”

It works like how Mephistopheles works in limbus company, except that it’s not through the bus’s maw, but by taking someone’s nightmare. It explains this sense of déjà vu that I got when she told me how the rv’s fuel work.

“But… how is that even possible?” I asked her “like how smokes can contain petroleum?”

“That’s the essence of one’s nightmare. Especially on the city, fear grows rampant. Terror, dread, distress, unease, anxiety, horror, despair, it all mixed together as a one’s nightmare. Because nightmares work like a fuel, analogically that is. Nightmares can be the 'gasoline' that embraced one’s mind, and it can burst to flame if it’ll ended up untreated, nightmares can be catalyst of one’s destruction, it is how dark the human minds can be, so dark that the manifestation of the smokes can be use as fuel, that hope were no more to be held”

“And how dark can it get?” I crossed my arms

“No one knows, there’s no limit at how dirty, and foul one’s nightmare is. Now come on, goose” she said, walking to the driver’s seat door.

I soon followed her back “You gotta stop calling me that”

“Then find a better one” She said once we settled to our own seat

“Esgoo is already a good name, well… content creator’s name”

She then drives off, after the motorhome’s fuel finally went up. Now if you guys think that this is just limbus company but cracked. It’s… not really like that, sure some aspects are similar but it’s just some part of it. The fuel management, that there’s a color with me, and that we're driving on a vehicle that is also our resting home. There’s no timepiece that could inexplicably revive us from time to time, we had no cohesive strategies or plans when planning something, we’re not contracted or tied to any corporation, thank god, and we... didn’t actually have any official name, until later when we have more heads on the Rv and i decided the name "The Anomalies". Yes it lacks originality.

It’s… decent if any of you wondered, it may not be as wide as my apartment, or wacky as the limbus bus. But let’s be real here, it’s a mobile home slash transportation and it’s better that it was normal. I don’t want any random shenanigans secrets that potentially could ended up killing me, or make me traumatized like what happened to Heathcliff. Just a normal Rv and I like the way it is, that it's simple.

Anyway, moving on to the important story, the rv finally reached quite the distance from the old lobotomy corporation’s branch. During that time, aya and Hopkins greeted the sinners and yuri, and they all went inside, but no one's here to greet us, only… just us.

“Finding a safe place to hide the rv?” I asked her when she finds a hidden area to hide the rv.

She shook her head “No, what’s the departments of Limbus company that you know during their story?” and asked the question as the rv finally dies down. “I had to make sure”

“Well, there’s the LCB, the bus crew, LCCB with an extra C, they’re the Before team that did field survey to confirm the bough’s existence, there’s also LCD, for distortions, and LCCA, the After team who usually cleans up after the mess the sinners made”

She seemed to be thinking, gearing her mind. I did tell her the story of the city, not all, just the info about the limbus company, and their departments since she knew a lot about the city already. She was wondering about something from that bland look of her, she wasn’t similar to Meursault at all. To me, Meursault is much more focused on following order from that stoic look on his face, and his voice had Seriousness in it, but the gray nightmare? She sounded blank as if she was deprived of any emotions, that… I’ll explain on another part, this one is much important

She lowered the window, and a tiny cloud of smoke ventured out. Levitating away into the area out there

“Is there… something the issue?” I asked her

“Just something I had to make sure, precaution”

I can faintly see the smoke going there before faintly returning back to her, going back to the window and back to her staff.

“And… I was right, there was a hidden security camera planted just by the entrance” she told me

“How… can you do that?”

“Just smokes…” she answered shortly

“Uhhh right….” I slightly nodded my head

She opened the rv door “I knew that there’ll be something when you mentioned the LCCA, and I was right… they didn’t just casually leave it alone and forgetting it”

I soon joined her as we both exited the rv, we both now stood few meters from the entrance

“Maybe it’ll be fine if we made ourselves known” I told her “The limbus company probably would get to us and potentially help us out…. if we wanted to be bold, possibly stupid that is.”

“Too many risks anyway…” she said back "Can't trust anything in the city"

The security camera was there for a reason, not about the G corp veteran that went in and out, but for someone that is strikingly different from them, like us anomalies. It was a thought that I had about making ourselves known to the company, but I knew that the risks were not worth it just yet. This is the site of the golden bough anyway, and with how words usually spread late, some might never know that the existence of the bough was already gone. But the security cam works to identify possible threats in the future, aka us. Even though we’re not looking for the bough at all.

“we still have to get pass, miss nightmare, and I don’t think any back door could exists, so we have to get through the main way.” I said, looking at a g corp veteran that walked inside the old branch. I didn’t see the camera at all because it was perfectly hidden. “Can you obscure the camera using your smoke?”

“That was my plan… but there’s something you had to know before we proceed”

“And that is..?”

“By doing so, we would made ourselves ‘known’ to the company. A smoke that conveniently blocked the camera’s vision for few seconds before fading out, they’re not stupid from what you’ve told me. They’ll try to investigate and after that?... time’s clocking for us”

“Are you… asking me to back out?” I asked her since her tone sounded like that

“We don’t know if we’ll find something there, it’s all based on my assumption and uncertain hypothesis that I made when you told me about the game that is this world. It could be false and we might come out empty handed, and possibly hunted by the company” She explained to me, in a blank tone like she doesn’t care at all, even though she clearly cares.

I huffed “I’m not backing out, if there’s a chance that we might go home, it’s a chance I’m willing to take. Besides, I don’t have any homes to go to, so I’ll stick for now, and we've gone too far to stop now”

“Alright then..”

With that, we both made our way to the entrance, she sends a thick dark cloud of smoke and it went to a ceiling corner near the entrance. That’s the hidden camera, I presumed. The entrance was the same as how the sinners met the two fixers, so does the hallway of the remnant lobotomy branches. It was empty, quiet, with many damages and ruins on the ground and the wall. There were supposed to be bodies but it seemed it was cleaned out.

“Is there any… abnormalities that we needed to worry?” she asked me, she… sounded worry for once as we both walked through.

“I don’t think so, the After team usually would brought the eggs once they were defeated by the sinners, so this’ll be a breeze” I reassured her, holding my sword hilt, in case some peccatulum got nearby.

Well breeze was a wrong thing to say, I underestimate about the G corp veteran roaming inside. I thought that they’re going to be… ya know, bare minimum like in the first canto. But it was more crowded when we were in.

“You forgot about them” She said to me once, we stopped midway through the corridor. “I supposed they’re not going to let us through easily?”

It was some sort of security post, guarding the way towards the second descent floor. I mean… there’s boxes, and poorly makeshift blockade.

“They’re… definitely not going to” I told her "Obviously"

And this is… where breeze turns into bombshell, as in… very very badly.

“What are you two doing here?” Before we could plan anything, or just discussed a plan to get pass, two of those veterans shows up from where we came in.

“Woah woah there!” one of them said, once I faced them with my sword drew out. “We both meant no harm”

“Solemnly swear, man” they raised their clawed arms up, as if it was a message of peace. “Looks like you two got too curious to be wandering here, adventurers I presumed?”

They try to get close but I knew better to not let them be. As stated in the first Canto , it’s impossible to trust them a single bit. “Not any closer, buddy” I warned them

“I know you two are… lost and confused, but we can guide you two back. This is no good place for wanderers” Lies… nothing but more lies.

We all know what’s going to happen, they’ll lead us astray, and attacked us when our guard is down. They have no means of kindness, all nothing but lies. I was making sure that they kept their distances from us. We were midway through the corridor, pretty far from the entrance but we’re not lost. We knew where the hell we should go.

“We can… walk ourselves, thank you very much.” I tried to kindly told them “Now then if you two would let us-“

“...Hey, esgoo” she called me, patting my shoulder. And also, the first time she called by my name, well youtube name.

“What?” i said while keeping our distance at them.

“You might… wanted to look behind us”

“What do you mean by… ah... shit”

Well, I was dumb. Turns out… dozens of those mutated veterans were already behind us. They weren’t trying to lure us away but to distract us as they snuck to surround us. Clever bastards…

“Now then, if you, and your pretty friend doesn’t want to get hurt, dropped your weapon and come along with us” A threat, not just a bark but also one that will bite.

I groaned, they’re all mean business, and getting to a fight would be suicide as we were outnumbered. Of course, I quickly told her in a whispering tone “Hey… do your thing…”

“…. Drop your weapon” that’s what she only says, dropping her staff to the ground, giving up. I was confused at first, I could remember she taking out a full group all by her own, and now she’s giving up? I had no choice but to dropped mine too

“Smart woman…” one of them commented “Now then…” with that, I get a hard smack on the face, and everything went dark.

And that’s how I ended up on the slammer. Alright, alright, I know that sounded way too anti climatic, it is! You guys think that we’ll go down in a brawl? Well… no, we just arrived there, spent good enough minutes and getting captured. There’s no heroic, epic scene of ‘I won’t give up without a fight’, or her giving me another spectacle of her power, she just dropped her staff like that. If that was on one of the cantos… it would be a pretty dumb scene that I’ll give it a D or E on my tier list. I won't deny that we both.... failed miserably, not even halfway through.

And now here I am, literally behind bars. It was a makeshift jailcell, using an abnormality containment cell. It was damp but were less messy than the other rest. It was an abno cell after all, so being sturdy, and completely impact resistant, it had the least damage from the rest.

I gripped the bars. It was tight, but rusted. I couldn’t do it bare handed but If I had my sword, I could easily break this open. But they took it away as they brought us, ironically towards the second floors. I was thrown here, alone, and I don’t know where they brought her. But I was on my own.

I sighed, there’s nothing I could do, I could force it by hands, but that could break few of my bones, and after that? None of them would brought any weapon that I could use, their bodies are their weapon anyway. So, I gave up and lean on the wall. Suddenly, i realized something from the aching pain after being knocked out, i patted my pocket.... it was still there.

I took it out and i huffed. It's somehow missed their sight and i still had it. A syringe filled with bright colored serum, not even a crack still with its protective cap. This one.... syringe, enough to break the cell door...

I heard footsteps towards my cell. So i quickly pocketed it back, it was just another one of those Veteran, except… this guy wore a striking ragged blueish military clothing with many silver and gold medals on him. He was seeing me… almost his entire body were mutated except for half of his head. Almost… uncanny feeling “You’re a fixer, aren’t you?” he asked me, even his voice sounded broken.

“And who am I speaking to, right now?” I asked back at him

He snickered “Samsa… or General samsa of G corp. Usually… foods who came here were so gullible that they’re so, but you two however… are different. What is that you two seek here? Here at the underground shelter for the G corp veterans”

What I get from that guy cockiness, is that he was a general during the smoke war, and after being abandoned, it seemed they made a living here. With the lack of abnormalities after they were being taken, it became a save haven for them. And thankfully he's not THE bug guy, just someone who shared the name.

“I usually won’t tell anyone, but I feel bad for you. Despite earning so many medals, turns out… your achievement mean nothing for your Corp.” I mocked him “And now hiding like a rat, addicted to enkephalin, being abandoned, and now the corp you’ve devoted had changed and turned their eyes away from you, leaving you all alone to suffer”

“….I know what you’re trying to do” The bars rattled as he grabbed it “…Go have your last laugh, you’re going to need it!”

"And what? make food out of us?, is that desperation even worth sacrificing your humanity over?"

"Don't talk about humanity like you knew about it, you don't know what we went through the war... Hell to humanity, we already lost it the moment we became... hideous like this. It's something you would never understand... for a fixer who never knew the horror of war, ever" he then... left. "Have fun with your last hours here"

Obviously, he’s not going to fall for that trick. I sighed and leaned more on the wall, I was about to become their food, possibly having a worse death like in those cartel videos. I knew what I’m getting into by joining her, but I didn’t knew... it would be like this. Sometimes i wished to die epic, sometimes i wished not to lose hope and die, sometimes…. I just wanted to go back home. I know what i'm getting into the moment i decided to join her, the moment i agree again to continue despite her warning. Why you guys might asked? That's a good question. i feel like there's something more than just home. maybe because it's the uncertainty that i wanted to face. Was it scary when you don't know what you'll faced? Truly i am... even i wondered if i'm going to be a "forever Limbus company" or not when i feel burnout with the game sometimes. But i know not to cower in fear and ran like a coward... because i wanted to go home even if it mean facing uncertain future ahead.

I closed my eyes, trying my best to sleep, but not long after I close it. Someone else walking by my cell

“You’re asleep?” I immediately opened my eyes when I realized it was her voice, and she suddenly appeared inside my cell.

I was too confused to be surprised “..I’m not… dreaming am i?”

“No, you’re still awake, or do I need to give you a slap if you want to?”

“Just a little-“ It was…. Painful that it made my flinch to my side, snapping me “…Ow… thanks”

I rubbed my cheek as she sat down beside me “How did you escape? I thought you needed your staff”

“If I did… I wouldn’t be a color in the first place, I don’t really need that staff, just my body alone would sufficient, I only use it to control and store smokes easily”

“Make… perfect sense.” I responded “Alright…” I stood up “Let’s go find our stuff back”

“No... Just…. sit down for a moment..” she told me in a still blank tone

I was confused at first, but I decided to sit back. And that got me realizing something “You should’ve told me earlier if you had the plan to get captured, you almost surprised me when you dropped your staff”

“….Who says that it’s my plan? I’m not much of a strategist”

“Wait what?” I exclaimed, got taken aback “So what’s with you dropping your staff to begin with?”

She sighed, she looked visibly upset for once as she took off her hood and let her hair wiggle free as she faced the ground “Unlike you… I came from the city too, you know that right?”

“Yeah… it’s clear that you’re from a mirror world of might and magic, where powers like… that… are normal. You also knew a lot about the city itself so i'm not surprised at all"

“And that feeling of lost, confusion, scared, and fear when I suddenly found myself not on my home anymore, not because I was taken far from my district, not because i was in a strange world, but when…” she sighed again “….It’s embarrassing, and terrifying at the same time”

“What happened?” I asked her

“I was color for a reason, I climbed myself, grades to grades until i got to be called The gray nightmare, years and years I spent to be one of the strongest and feared fixer. Many i sacrificed, time, energy, almost endless massacre to get to this point, when the hana association finally gave me the 'gray nightmare' title after.... one intense battle that i had" she raised both of her palms, staring at her own hands" only to be stripped away the moment I got sent here... He'll be sad if he heard me like this, all of my achievement were gone to waste"

“…Ah….” I can understand what she’s getting into. I wanted to ask her about the last part of her sentence, but i knew better not to intrude at her past. “So that’s why you surrendered?”

“Yes… if I were with my full power, I could just easily take them all out, all in one smoke without raising my finger. I had to spent… months training myself from the bottom again, and it was harsh, I almost felt like I’ve lost my power forever and i won't be getting it back. i feel so weak, weaker than ever, weaker than a grade 9, weaker than a rat on the backstreet . But after a while, I can only do these simple basics, that were barely but enough to just survive on the city. But that also had its weaknesses, you asked me why a color need someone’s help like you, right? why this powerful fixer needed help?”

 I nodded at her “I do… after your demonstration, it was odd to see you requesting such”

“One big flaw… is that I can’t fight someone who doesn’t have humane lungs nor 'breathe' in a conventional way ” she explained to me.

“What? Really?” i asked in curiosity. Then again, the specific term were interesting, similar like a unique status effect.

“yes… I cannot fight such people like that, someone with protective gear, or someone who can sustain my smokes without getting poisoned”

“Was it…” I paused, that also opens a lot of things to be asked, but I know it’s not the right time for “Was it… always like that?”

“No…. I have overcome that weakness already, until I got sent here anyway. The G corp soldiers were… like that. They were so horribly mutated that my smokes were ineffective to them, their lungs are a mess that my smokes cannot hurt them at all. I sometimes wondered how they've managed to survive....

“And their place was… weird, awfully weird” she said to me, brushing her long hair a bit. I can see that she looks… different with her hair let loose like that, i can even see a strain of violet hair for a while before it got covered. “I heard when I snuck out of my cell, that this branch became an underground shelter for the veterans after the abnormalities were taken away, they also had ranks and hierarchy with how law and order were made, even a leader they called 'General samsa'”

“Ah… that guy” I clicked my tongue “I met him moments ago, of course he would ruled this place. Almost all his body were mutated except for the half of his face, and definitely someone we needed to avoid that is”

Her words confirmed my hunch of this place. But I didn’t know that it had extend further than what I expected. But I wasn’t surprised if it actually happened. This branch is one of few that didn’t crumble to ruins, of course someone would take advantage of it sooner or later. A bit of fault to me, i underestimate their numbers, i thought they were going to be like the game, but alas, it's much more.

I sighed, this gloomy atmosphere not going to help us escape “We should stop wallowing, miss nightmare. Since we’re on the second floor, we could still at least sneak our way to the third floor”

“I thought you would give up already…” her voice still flat but i know she was surprised

“It’s… too soon to give up now, there’s a chance that there might be something we could find” I told her “We may make a bad first impression, but we’re still alive... so we have second chance on this, to at least fixes our doomed fate"

“Just….. What is that make you stay at this uncertainty? Was it really because you were wanted by the backstreet of C corp? Was it really that you have no shelter to stay? I’m not promising anything to you, but you haven’t faltered even after many of my warnings, so why?”

“…. Geez, you make it sound like I was that desperate” I rubbed the back of my head, it sounded different when someone else worded it for me “True that I definitely were wanted by the backstreet, it’s true that it’s because I have no shelter to stay anymore, it's true that i've lost hope in returning home, and it's true that we were walking on a dark road while blindfolded, but…

…I’m happy not to be lonely for once”

“hmmm??”

“Sitting, and talking to someone who shares the same fate as me, it’s… nice, at the very least. I understand what you feel during that early days of stray since well… so was I, and it was shit.”

“…..” she raised her head to stare at me

“That feeling of loneliness? Boy… it’s painful when you feel alone, scared, and terrified in a strange new world. Far from home, far from people you know, only your own body and soul guiding you. But ya know… it’s quite warming to spent time with someone who also endures the same. It doesn’t feel that lonely or scary when someone was by your side. Yes? someone that goes the same path as you”

After spending some days with the gray nightmare, I’ve slowly come to understand few things, small things that I’ve lost because of this damned city, some that disappeared because of the instinct of survival. I’m not the same as I was when I made videos about limbus company, that… was unfortunately, expected. If you told me before all this mess happened that I wouldn’t feel anything when I kill someone, I would call you crazy and mace you for breaking into my bedroom.

"But my point is..." i cleared my throat "We both share the same goal, we both were strangers on this world, and we both wanted to go home. so i don't think we should gave up as long we got each other's back, yes?"

“….I supposed so” she said, looking at me and sighed “Alright then… let’s test our luck and hopefully….. not die trying on the road” she hands me something, a key “here”

“A key??” I ask once I held it. A silver key with a bit rust on it

“To the cell door” she said, standing up and wearing her hood back. “Stole it from a guard”

“Wait! You never told me that you already got the key!” I quietly exclaimed at her, standing up too.

“You never asked…. Besides, I wanted to have a meaningful talk first, just in case that we won’t make it after this”

I huffed “We will, let's hope so”

Moving on! I opened the cell door after she checks left and right to see if the coast is clear to continue.

“You know where the third floor is?” I asked her"

“Not really, but we could look around-“ she stopped once we heard a lot commotion “Or maybe not”

We both made a run and hide in one of the nearby rooms, behind some unused crates. We heard as it get closer.

“DAMN IT! He escaped too!!!” Definitely a yell from one of them “UGH! You should’ve kept an eye closer to her!”

“I-I’m sorry sir, she just disappeared from the cell, I swear” then another one :She's there and suddenly, she's not there"

“Then find them!! All of you!! The general will have your heads if they’ve ended up 2 escaped the branch and he heard of this mistake! The creatures in third floor is already enough for us to be dealt with!”

“Yes sir!!” Many voices rang, probably a few numbers as it dissapears.

“Creatures in third floor?” she mumbled besides me once the commotion went pass us "The abnormalities?"

“No, that… must’ve been the peccatula” I explained it to her “So they’re not forever gone huh?”  

“Whoever they were, they’re in our way too.”

“It’s better that way, at least they’re just a mindless monster and not someone who can think, that could be our advantage”

So we moved on, going the exact opposite of where the G corp veterans went. They ought to be going where the stairs to the first floor located, so if we went the opposite, we might get to the right way and of course I was right. I wasn’t esgoo for nothing, the guy who hate the bias against charge! The Mr blockman! with ES on it The Limbus youtuber, the ‘Guy who should worked with Kim ji hoon so another Ring yisang would happen’, and Goose…. As she called me…. Hmm ya know I prefer a swan more than a goose.

Ahem! After walking some while, we were both decided to check on many rooms on our way there, casually hiding from a veteran, or I had to put one to sleep with my bare arms, trust me… it’s not nice, their skulls are thick and i might break my bones with how ached it is;

“What were they hiding here…” I said. Of course, my suspicion rouse when a mutated veteran seemingly protects a room, so we had to check out… I mean I had to check it out

“it.. smells terrible” She complained too

“Everywhere smells terrible” I decided to walk in the room, and in a deus ex machina plot style “Well, look what we got here…”

“What do you see- oh… our stuff” The gray nightmare said when she saw that our weapons were along many others, and I mean many. From spears, swords, shields, even accessories like gloves, even some prosthetic, and it create a small mound of weaponry. “And so many… nightmares”

“You can sense it?” I asked her, moving many stuffs away as I managed to get my claw sword back, all in one piece.

“A remnant memories from many wielders, I usually can but I had to learn it back if I wanted to retrace one” 

“Retrace? Like seeing pasts from an item?” I asked when she took her staff back.  "You can touch the sword and understands their past from it?"

“Something like that, yes”

“ah-“ I then noticed something, something that are… wrong, something or... someone that are coming for us.

Because of months being stuck here, I had to be cautious every second of my life and NO! it’s not like spider sense like some of you might think, it’s something logical. With every unfamiliar sound, with every single oddity I felt, I became used to it, because it was always associated with danger of harm.

It was a veteran, standing on the door after checking on his passed-out friend, I immediately ran up to him with my sword drawn without a second thought

“THEY’RE HE-“ his voice was cut short, as my sword cut through his body. I pulled it out and give a swing to his neck, and he’s dead on the ground.

“A-AH!!” unfortunately, his other friend was nearby and they made a dashing escape. “THEY’RE HERE!!”

“Dammit!” I cursed, I was about to chase him off until she stopped me

“Hey…” she held my shoulder “It’s too late now”

“Tch, fine come on”

Now that our position was made known, we had no choice but to rush towards the third floor. I was at the vanguard, slashing anyone that came to attack us since the Color herself unable to fight so I had to do it on my own. It’s basically a glorified Solo Dungeon run, except that it’s really happening and you can’t reset at all. We finally made our way to the stairs of the third floor, passing the makeshift blockade that act as a wall between the two floors.

I wiped the blood of my sword as we descent our way below, and contradicts the atmosphere of the second floor, it was more…. Quiet. “No one’s… here” I said to her

“Yeah… there’s no one, with a thick aura of nightmares linger…”

“Guess one way to find out.

We both proceed carefully, and the more we continue, the more apparent everything became.

“Ah… That explains why” she said blankly to me.

It’s a battlefield, or… what remains of a battlefield, bodies of G corp’s soldiers, and the peccatulum. There has been a battle here, maybe a few hours or a few days even. “Geez… what a battle this is, no different than smoke war” I commented as she points her staff at the dead bodies and began drawing the nightmare smokes in

In the distance, a rock size peccatula were approaching, a sloth one. “I’ll handle it”

It charges itself at me, but I was quick to dodge to the side and give it a swift blow to its eye on the middle, but more quickly arriving, this time with some wrath peccatula.

She stopped drawing the smokes and moved out of the way when one tried to strike her, and she fall back beside me “We… should go”

“Yeah… I totally agree-“

We were too focused on the peccatulum, way focusing on how to get pass them. Honestly, it’s a dumb on my part too, just like when I made the decision to run refraction railways once but forgetting to equip an important ego and realizing too late when I was midway through one. But this is much different and more serious oversight.

Out of nowhere, we heard a warcry with a thunderous running sound, and before we can process anything, we were rammed as if a car hit us. We were thrown away to the ground with a painful thud.

“YOU TWO!” and who else it could be than the general we wanted to avoid so badly. He huffed… lowering his voice “I… have to admit, you two are a persistent bunch. Rather than escaping, you both decided to descent more to this place, what office you worked at, hmm? Does it pay much to risks life like this?”

A peccatula charges at him but his clawed hand was quick to slice one way, my body felt crushed, it was painful to try and stand up, so does her too, but I kept trying and trying my best to do so.

“This… creatures.” He groaned as he finished another, making his way towards the color. “We finished a war, yet we fell to another one. They all keep coming, again, and again, and again!” he yelled as he walks to her, and I was kneeling, quickly taking my sword to stop a wrath peccatula from attacking me. “Hell to this damned city! Hell to the current G corp. My men die for a better future, my men endure for a better life, my men turn their bodies to monster so they may be human, and yet what WE get in return?! Nothing! All but nothing. While I was also carried this burden with me. What does medals mean, if it just ended up as a piece of metals?”

The gray nightmare coughed as she panted on her knees. “You live in a world… of pain, you live in a world of nightmare to a reached a dream that never materializes. And what did you do? You snatched from innocent, and lowered yourself to just but a rat…” she coughed again, I was impressed to see that she still keeps her monotonous voice like that “…If you valued your men, and your struggle… made it worth, made it worth to live and die for by taking revenge at G corp, to those in suits and ties, not hiding in an abandoned L corp branch, counting your days through enkephalin and cannibalism. All I can say is now… pathetic.”

“Why you….” The general stood infront of her, his sharp claws were ready to her end. “I’ll kill you!”

Of course… he failed to notice her ability, because that she never showed it to him just yet. It’s like having ‘???’ on an enemy’s passives, and finding out the hard way when you saw it firsthand. She quickly disappeared to a cloud of smokes, as his claws ended up striking the ground, creating a small crater with cracks all over it, he groans “That sly bitch!”

Then at the same time. Me, who already recovered, run up to him with my sword drawn, but he was quick to noticed and we ended up clashing with each other. “So that’s your plan from the start…. A trojan horse” he laughed “I have to admit… that’s an amazing plan, one that I overlook” With a surge of strength, he shoved me back “But I’ll kill you, nonetheless”

I gritted my teeth, his power was immense. His shoved could almost made me fall to the ground. That guy is no joke, as we both stand against each other with peccatulum around us.

The fight started when a peccatula tried to lunge at him, that’s when I run in swinging my sword only to be blocked by his claw. It’s a pretty rough fight, because sometimes peccatula would try to intervene the fight, so it’s a back and forward fight as I shift my attack to the peccatula before going back at him. Even that, his body is already so mutated that it acts like an armor, a really thick armor that my sword can’t pierce through. It’s a hopeless situation.

I got hit to the ground as my sword flung away to the side. “You can’t win! I’ve slayed more bodies than you could ever count!” my hands were trembling and my breathe were heavy. That guy was nuts, not the kind I’ve fought before. It’s his mutated form that made me struggles, much like his experiences on the battlefield. I’m not like the sinners, I can’t revive myself, and I certainly don’t possess the abilities to use the mirror world’s ID. If I did, then he’ll just be a side boss that need to be defeated in ten turns to get extra lunacy.

We weren’t like the sinners, we were unprepared, we were amateurs, we were unplanned, we weren’t actually ready for stuff like this… Ya know, like how I decided to do my worst ID runs multiple times.

The General then approached me with his claws ready to strike, it was when I realized ‘oh shit, I might die’

“Any last word? Before I end your miserable life?”

I can feel the serum on my pocket... so why i was so hesitant to use it? one reason, this shit is addictive. It's called a drug for a reason, i've seen too many addicts getting overdosed after injecting one. I don't want that addictive nature on my body, it's... annoying. But... at times like this, i had to use it.

“Miserable? I think it was meant for you instead… my life… is far better than yours” It may sound like a ‘top ten coolest badass esgoo moment’ But really, I’m scared shitless and I tried to hide it. No, I’m not kidding, like who would?! Death is about to claim in front of your eyes, and i secretly take out the serum without him realizing... trying to buy time.

“Tch! Cocky bastard”  

He was about to strike me, with a jab on my chest, my story will be over. Another spoiler alert, I won’t be telling this story if I was dead.

A cloud of smokes suddenly flew to his face, stopping his claw on track “What the-“ his face was engulfed in thick black smokes, causing him to cough. She wasn’t lying to me, he looks like he could be dying but that smokes didn’t actually killing him, it's more of a nuisance, as if it just a smoke from a grill and not a lethal amount of co2.

Anyway, as if I understand the memo, I pocketed the serum again and quickly kick him hard on the chest, shoving him to the ground. And at the same time, a horde of peccatulum suddenly sprint from behind him and began attacking him. I was staring in dumbfound as the smokes went to me and transformed to… the expected person.

“Come on” she snapped me back. “It’s not gonna hold him long”

“Oh yeah... yeah” I quickly grabbed my sword.

We both ran deeper inside the floor, while at the same time, bunch of G corp veterans run down the stairs and onto their general. A daring escape you guys might say.

We both ran and ran until the quietness catches up again and I stopped, panting while leaning on the wall. “Whe-…. Where the hell… did you go? Shit… my body almost crushed… I… I almost died”

“If you think that I’ve escape, then you must be mistaken. I can’t fight but I can do other things, such as attracting the…” she paused, she forgot the name.

“Pe…peccatulum”

“Attracting the peccatulum left and right, and drawn them to that general. Good thing i arrived just in time”

“Wait…” I raised my head to look at her, stoic blank face. “… So you were being chased all that time?”

“Better than leaving you to die” well… she wasn’t wrong “You good to go?”

“Yeah yeah… just” I straightened my body “Give me a second” my body felt hurt, aching everywhere from the hit I get. But after months in the city, It wasn’t going to hold me back.

We both continue more, and instead of some battlefield, it was just another part of the branch. That is… until it gets, weird. Not like golden bough weird but still weird.

We were just stepping on concrete floor, but in a blink of an eye, around us changed drastically, all into glass shards. We were stepping on flat glass while the wall, the ceiling, all shards of glass that… well still a wall and ceiling. “This is…. Weird”

“Yeah…” she said, looking around us. “That means we’re on the right track”

That when it clicked in “Wait! I know where this is”

“Hmm?”

“I think it’s the finale of the canto, this is where the golden bough resides”

“That… doesn’t look like a bough, or golden” she blankly pointed at something.

Amidst the, freaky nature that suddenly happened, and the amounts of glass arounds us. We saw… something quite peculiar in the distance. When we get closer, it became apparent at what it is. A small, navette glass levitating above the grounds, emitting a faint white light, almost illuminating the area.

“What… should we do with it?” I asked her, we were staring down at the navette glass. “We… take it?”

“I… don’t really know”

Well, as Tsunul probably once said ‘If it’s shining, touch it, if it doesn’t kill you when you touch it, grab it, if it’s also doesn’t kill you when you grab it, congrats, you might win a fortune’ or something like that… I think? I don’t actually remember, I think it was when we play a drinking game on discord where you took a shot… was it DnD? I think it’s a DnD game.

Anyway with a exhale of a breath, I took the liberty to bring my hand to it, and just as I touch it, barely touch it. It suddenly levitates even higher to the sky before it shakes and split into two smaller glass.

“Okay, is that a good-“ Before I could finish my sentence, it lunges itself at each of us, directly on our chest in an incredibly abnormal fast speed that we didn’t expected, and MAN! Mind my language but that was fucking hurt! Way hurter than when I get stabbed once. It pushes itself inside us within a quick second. Not… a good experience at all and I could remember going cold because of it. A… really bad first experience but one that we’ll do so many times.

“Ughh” And when I wake up, the scenery changes. Instead of glasses all over, it was a white hallway. “Where… am i?” I checked my body and the pain is gone, and no wound where the glass stabbed me. “That’s… nice, I guess?” I then stand up and decided to follow along with the hallway, I had no other choices but to went along”

It was… surprisingly peaceful, no pain, no hurt, almost… comforting, as if I was at home... I then quickly made my way through the hallway until I was stopped at something that… resembles a door frame.

“What’s… this?” I asked. Soon, a levitating glass piece suddenly emerges in front of me and settled itself on the door frame, while the rest were hollow of anything. It was like a jigsaw puzzle where you need the pieces to create a picture out of it

I exclaimed, and before I could process my shock, I suddenly jolted awake… this time back to the L corp branch. I looked around, no longer are there weird glasses around us, just your usual. I remember this area being where they had to face the golden apple abnormality.

I sat down groaning as I held my chest. Interestingly enough, no wounds, or anything, just as if we didn’t get stabbed few moments ago by the navette glass. i looked around and saw her laying nearby, and I immediately went up to her just as she awakes

“Ugh…” she groans as she sat down which I helped her.

“You alright?” I asked

“Yeah… you?”

“I won’t be asking you if I’m not fine”

She nodded “I supposed so”

We both stand up. We haven’t discussed what just happened yet because we could hear approaching commotion

“Oh.. right, the escape part” I quickly draw my sword

“…..??” she looked down at her own arm

Which I haven’t noticed just yet “Well… we should try to make a run for it, hopefully that samsa general doesn’t catch up to us”

“…..Hmmm”

“Are you even listening?” I turned my head to saw her with a small smoke cloud making a circle on her palm

“No…” the smoke cloud disappeared and she turned at me

“As in you’re not listening?”

“I listened, what I mean is we won’t need to make a bold run” she suddenly let a small grin, one that I kinda spooked honestly “Hold my hand”

“What?! What do you-“

“Just hold it” she extends her left arm, and I had no choice but to intertwined my right hand with her, kinda nice actually.

“Alright then…” she closed her eyes with her staff pointing at where we supposed to go to

Smokes began to circling us like a hurricane, it started small but it grew and grew until it began circling us in a quick speed.

“Now… it’s been months since I’ve done this..” She opened her eyes and looked at me, there’s… hope in her eyes “So brace yourself”

“Brace? Brace for wh-“ then we were flying.

I felt myself so light, and my form…. Were not so human at all. We were flying in a high speed, passing through the peccatulum and even the G corp’s soldiers.

“YOU’RE NOT RUNNING AWAY!” general samsa yelled at us as we passing through him.

She was making way through the floors, quickly flying pass everything with ease. To describe the feeling… it’s more like riding an intense roller coaster with no safety precautions at all.

We then saw the entrance as we finally stopped just as we stepped the ground. Of course, we quickly made a run for it to the rv.

When the rv were revved, we saw something running at us from the L corp branch.

“How the hell did he… Miss nightmare! we should go now!” I exclaimed at her.

“We’re going” though she answered still in her flat voice.

The general was running at us in all four like a literal bug, and he was furious. And as the the rv drove away, he lunged himself at the side of the vehicle and clung at it.

“Hmm… he’s on the rv”

I can see that from the side windshield, I exhale before opening the door “Keep it stable, I’ll deal with this” and yes, this time is a ‘cool badass esgoo moment’ even if it’s bold and stupid as shit.

The general was trying his best to crawl himself to the top of the driving rv, when he just sticks one of his claws to the roof, he saw me, standing straight on the roof, and trying to keep my balance from falling, that’s when he knew the chase were over before he could do anything.

“You think I’ll let this pass, huh?! I swear to you! I’ll find you two, I’ll find and kill both of you! Don’t think this will be the last time we met! We will meet again! I, general samsa!-“

I quickly end the conversation with a hard kick on his face, as he quickly falls from the rv and rolling to the ground as the rv drives off. He was a lunatic man, and an insane one.

I quickly climb back to the passenger seat, quickly feeling the adrenaline wearing off “Stop the rv…”

“hmm?”

“Stop. The rv… we’re already far away from him” I tell her as I felt really sick out of the sudden.

She noticed that and brakes the rv to a halt, I quickly run out and… I threw everything up, everything that I ate before we get here on the side of the road. Yeah… it kinda break the cool immersion actually, but believe me when I say that it was the most dizzying motion sickness I’ve ever feel. 

After throwing up, she went to me and help me to the back of the motorhome, sitting me to the couch and hand me a bottle of water to which I GLADLY drank everything in one go

“I… didn’t expect you would throw up” she said to me, sitting on the couch against me

“Unlike you, miss nightmare… I never experienced whatever thing you did back then” I mumbled back at her

“It’s a simple trick of mine, turning us both into smokes, and propelled ourselves out of the branch” she explained

“I… became smokes back then?”

“Yes, you did” she nodded, staring dully at me “But you will get used to it, I was like that too when I first tried it”

Then there were moments of silence, before I finally spoke “So… about the… thing with that.. navette glass”

“You saw the same thing too?” she asked me back

“The white hallway, the door frame, the glass piece, yeah… I saw the same”

“…You know what that meant right?”

“Of course, I did…” I huffed “We gotta scavenge for the navette glass, this is far from over”

“And far indeed…”

“that got me thinking, why didn’t you just do that thingy before? It could really help us from the start”

“Because… I just found out that I got it back”

“The trick thing back?”

“No” she shook her head “I mean temporarily turning others into smoke like me, it hinders me from using that trick on both of us from the start”

“Ah… So, wait, does that mean with every navette glasses we got, you… get your powers back?”

She nodded at me “Yes, and possibly one step closer to home and if that’s actually happen” she extends her hand at me “I supposed it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance”

“You thought that this won’t be an actual partnership… huh?”

“Not really, more like I thought it’s just going to be temporary at first, so let’s make it an official partnership now, Esgoo, as the Anomalies”

“Yeah…I guess it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance too Miss Gray Nightmare, As the Anomalies too of course” then we both shakes hand together as we officialize alliances with each other, for the same goal.

After that, she moved to the driver seat “How about we go to a ramen shop, I think we deserved a little break, and you need something to eat”

“Yeah…” and I sloppily moved to the passenger seat “I think… I’ll like it” i took out the serum again... staring at it while leaning on the window... too many things could happen if i inject this on my body... this uncertainty that kinda spook me at times. I usually thinks if i would continue making limbus content for the next 5 to 10 years... but this time... it was much more.

The rv then drives off, this time on a slower pace as I stared out of the window. I huffed, at the unknown and unpredictable future that we’ll face together, but even then... even if life can be uncertain at times... we'll faced it. we'll faced it and then... and then we go home. Back to where we belongs.

But that’s all for me for now…. After so long, I had to end this story, usually a 'Passing On' would play now but we're not limbus company nor the sinners so it's just end without a credit. Of course… there is much more that happened during my tale, new faces we meet, new enemies we faced, and many many unexpected things that come to our party, and many of the many close encounters we almost had with the limbus company department, also how my knowledge of the cantos plotline won’t actually matter later on for…. Plenty of reasons. But this is it for now from the anomalies aka us, I could just tell everything but I didn’t have the time to do so, and you know… the usual ‘more on part 2’ people usually made. I was eager but I need a little break from time to time, like how the cantos are. And lastly, thank you… for listening to hear this limbus company youtuber rambling tale, really, I appreciated it, i appreciated it really much, even your support sometimes.

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I usually would say ‘this video ends now’ but how can I do that on a non-video format? ‘this story ends for now’… yeah I think that’ll fit.

Ahem! This story… ends for now

Read the next chapter following this story, the sequel

Tsunul Got sent to The City