Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pezzy hated cleaning. He hated it with a passion like how people hate taxes, Mondays, or running out of coffee. And yet, here he was, standing at the bottom of the creaking attic stairs, armed with a mop, a broom, a bucket, whatever else he needed for cleaning.. He owned the house, sure—big, sprawling, old enough to have its own set of ghosts if one believed in that sort of nonsense—But some days, like today, owning it felt less like a privilege and more like a curse.

Last night hadn’t done anything to improve his mood. Sly—his overly curious, adorable cat—had disappeared into the attic for God knows how long, only to reappear proudly carrying a dead mouse in her mouth.

That alone had nearly made Pezzy shit his pants. He hated mice. Hated them with every fiber of his being. The memory alone made him shudder.

So this is how Pezzy finds himself in this situation. Armed with his cleaning supplies and staring at the attic door.

With a sigh, Pezzy climbed the narrow stairs into the attic. The floorboards groaned under his weight, and a cobweb brushed across his face, making him grimace.

Dust floated in the sunlight coming through the small window. Boxes were stacked all over, old furniture was covered with brown old sheets, this looked straight out of a horror game.

He started with the floor. Dust bunnies ran in every direction as he swept. Sly was exploring, as usual. She ran between boxes, jumped on shelves, and sniffed at everything. Pezzy muttered, “Stay out of trouble, Sly. Please, just stay out of trouble.” glaring at her every time she ran past.

Once the floor was clean, he turned his attention to the boxes. Most were empty or filled with things he didn’t even remember owning. Then something caught his eye—a small box, tucked away inside a bigger, dusty box.

He carefully pulled the small box out and opened it. Inside were dozens of tiny glass balls. Each one was perfectly round, shiny, and had a small name written on it. Pezzy picked one up. It felt heavier than he expected and was cool to the touch. He stared at the letters, confused.

Sly padded closer, sniffing the ball. Her little nose bumped Pezzy’s hand—and the ball slipped.

It hit the wooden floor with a sharp crack and shattered into pieces.

“FUCK,” Pezzy shouted, staring at the broken glass in disbelief.

He was about to yell at Sly when the broken glass started glowing so brightly that it blinded him. He squeezed his eyes shut, shielding his face.

“What—” he started, but his voice caught in his throat. When he opened his eyes, a person was standing in front of him. Covered in dirty, and blood-stained clothes, the stranger looked around the attic as if seeing it for the first time, then finally fixed their gaze on Pezzy.

The stranger’s eyes widened, and he took a tentative step forward. “Pezzy?”

Pezzy’s own eyes went wide. “Who…? How do you know my name?”

The stranger looked stunned, as if Pezzy had just said something impossible. “Pezzy… it’s me.” His voice cracked with desperation. “Droid.”

Pezzy blinked, confused. He didn’t remember anyone named Droid. Not at all.

The stranger’s gaze flickered between Pezzy and some invisible point beyond him, as if his mind was somewhere else entirely. One moment he looked straight at Pezzy, eyes searching for something; the next, it was like he was staring through him, lost in thoughts.

Pezzy swallowed hard, His heart pounded in his chest, a wild rhythm that made his hands shake. He ran a hand through his messy hair and let out a shaky sigh. “Okay… okay,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m not gonna freak out. Don’t freak out. Just… don’t freak out.”

The stranger—Droid, he had called himself—took another step closer, limping slightly, and Pezzy noticed his clothes were torn in several places and there was stains of dirt and blood. Pezzy couldn’t stop staring at him, but he forced himself to blink and regain control.

“Alright,” Pezzy said finally, speaking louder than he intended. “Let’s get you cleaned up. And you… you explain all of this. How you came out of this…” He raised the broken box of glass balls, shaking it slightly. “…before I completely lose it.” Droid swallowed “I… I don’t know how to explain it.” He glanced around the attic again. Pezzy frowned, gripping the box a little tighter. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’re going to be here, we need to fix you up first. You’re bleeding, dirty… probably freezing, and I swear, if you faint or something I’m going to lose my mind.”

/

In the living room, Pezzy cleaned Droid’s wounds after forcing him to take a long, hot shower and giving him some spare clothes he had lying around.

Droid seemed quiet through it all, still a little distant and lost in thought. For some reason, though, Sly had taken an instant liking to him. She wouldn’t stop curling up on his lap, nudging his hands with her head, and meowing softly as if demanding pets.

Pezzy glanced at her, then at Droid, who looked down at her with a faint, almost shy smile. It was strange, everything that happened today was strange.

He sighed and leaned back after finishing the last cut on Droid’s forehead, wiping his hands on a towel.

“Are you hungry?” Pezzy asked, trying to keep his voice calm. “I can make you something to eat.”

Droid looked down at his lap for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Yeah… I guess I am,” he said quietly, his voice still rough from whatever he’d been through.

Pezzy gave a small, awkward smile. “Alright. Stay here. I’ll grab you something. Don’t go anywhere.”

Droid nodded and went back to gently petting Sly, who purred contentedly in his lap.

Pezzy stood and stretched, then headed to the kitchen. He grabbed some bread, cheese, and a few simple ingredients, quickly making a sandwich. When he was done, he carried the plate back to the living room. “Here,” he said, setting it down in front of Droid. Droid looked at the sandwich, then back at Pezzy, a faint, tired smile appearing on his face. “Thanks,” he said softly.

Pezzy watched Droid eat, his eyes occasionally glancing down at Sly. He didn’t know why she was so clingy toward this man, but he wasn’t about to ruin it.

They stayed in silence until Droid had finished half the sandwich.

“How can I help?” Pezzy blurted out suddenly, unable to hold back his worry. Droid paused mid-bite and looked up at him.

His gaze flicked to the box on the coffee table between them. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “But one of the balls… has the name Puffer on it. He’ll know, I guess.”

Pezzy frowned, leaning closer to the shattered box. “Puffer? You mean someone else is… trapped in these?” Droid nodded. “A lot of people are trapped in there. But let’s take it one by one, so we don’t overwhelm you—“ Pezzy hummed and leaned over the box, carefully looking through the remaining glass balls for the one labeled Puffer. “How many are there?” he asked.

Droid paused, counting silently on his fingers. “Six… including me,” he said finally.

Pezzy’s eyes widened slightly. “Six people… trapped in these balls?”

Droid nodded. “Yeah. And if we’re going to get them out, we need to be careful to not hurt them.”

Pezzy nodded and stared at the glass balls, He frowned as he counted them.. There were six still intact—but he had already broken one. Or sly had.

As he picked through them, something strange caught his eye. One of the balls didn’t have a name. It was smooth and blank. And it seemed colder than the rest. A small chill ran down his spine, but he decided not to ask about it. Not yet. Instead, he focused on finding the one with “Puffer” carved into its surface. His fingers brushed over the names, turning each ball carefully until he found it.

“Got it,” he murmured, holding the glass ball up to the light.

Droid straightened slightly, his gaze locked on the sphere. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “That’s the one.”

“How do I open it?” Pezzy asked, moving to sit closer to Droid as he held the ball out for him to see.

Droid’s eyes flicked to Sly, who was curled up against his side. He pointed at her paw. “Just a tap with her claw.”

Pezzy blinked. “You’re kidding, right?”

Droid shook his head. “No. That’s how it works. She’s the key.”

Pezzy glanced at Sly, who tilted her head at him with a soft meow, as if she somehow understood.

Pezzy sighed and gently took Sly’s paw. The little cat tilted her head in curiosity but didn’t resist, letting him guide her closer to the strange ball.

With a small push, he tapped it using her claw. The ball suddenly glowed bright, making Pezzy flinch. Startled, he quickly threw it away from him.

Mid-air, it burst with light—just like droid’s ball had done—and when it faded, a man was standing there.

Pezzy stared wide-eyed at the man, who wore the same shocked look as him.

“Pezzy?!” the man blurted out.

Droid snorted from the side, clearly amused.

Still confused, Pezzy frowned at the stranger. “You’re… Puffer?”

Puffer froze, his eyes darting to droid. Droid let out a long sigh. “He doesn’t know.”

Puffer winced and looked at Pezzy with a pitying look.

Pezzy’s chest tightened—he felt lost. So so so lost.

/

After making Puffer take a shower and change too, Pezzy watched as he ate his sandwich while Droid leaned over the box, turning the glass balls gently in his hands as he read the names.

The two men spoke in low voices, weighing who to free next, careful not to overwhelm him. But Pezzy just sat there, feeling the words blur together. He felt lost.

Puffer notices how lost Pezzy looks and tries to reassure him.

“Don’t worry. I will try my best to explain. Tho I was the first to get stuck in these stupid balls I will try my best.”

Pezzy shifted slightly, and nodded. His fingers drummed nervously against his knee. “Who was the last?” he asked curiously. Droid leaned back into the couch with a low hum, his eyes never leaving the glowing spheres. “That would be either Smitty or Grizzy. I don’t remember.”

“Who..” Pezzy asked with a deadpan expression. Puffer snorted, unable to hide his amusement, while Droid only gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” Droid said quietly, “I forgot you don’t remember.”

Pezzy froze at those words, Slowly, he set his drink down on the table, eyes flicking between them. “What do you mean I don’t remember?…” Droid averted his gaze, rubbing his thumb over the edge of the box as though it could save him from answering.

Puffer looked at Droid before sighing, then turned back to Pezzy with a serious expression.

“Pezzy. We know you. You know us. But… let’s just say a lot happened that made us end up in this situation.”

Pezzy’s brows furrowed. He shook his head slowly, like he was trying to chase away fog. “You’re not making sense. I don’t—I don’t remember any of this. I don’t remember you.” His voice cracked on the last word.

Droid leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “That’s because something… or someone… made you forget.”

Pezzy blinked, his mouth going dry. “Forget… you?”

Chapter Text

Pezzy was in the kitchen, cooking dinner, but he really didn’t know how to feel about everything he had learned a few hours ago.

His mind kept replaying the strange conversation from the living room, the glowing glass balls, and the people who had appeared out of nowhere. He felt a mix of shock, confusion, and a strange, sinking sadness.

Apparently… all of them knew each other. Smitty, John, Matt, Grizzy, Puffer, Droid… and Pezzy himself. They were all best friends. Childhood friends, even. They had grown up together, shared secrets, laughs, arguments, the whole messy, wonderful thing that came with being a tight-knit group.

And somehow… all of that had been wiped from his memory.

They had all lived here—at least, in some version of this house—before the kidnappings started happening. One by one, they had been taken. Rescued, yes, again and again. Multiple times. 

And Pezzy… Pezzy was the one who had made the balls in the first place. He had thought it was a good idea at the time. A safe place. Somewhere he and his friends could hide if things ever got dangerous. The balls were meant to be temporary—just a little pocket of safety, with Sly as their way out if anything went wrong.

It all seemed so simple when he thought about it that way. Until… it wasn’t.

Apparently, while they were distracted one day, the kidnappings had happened. The balls had been taken along with everyone inside them. Everyone. Except Pezzy. He hadn’t been there. He had been at the pet store, buying toys for Sly, completely unaware of the disaster that was unfolding back home.

And now… now here they were..

Pezzy stirred the pot on the stove absentmindedly, the sound of simmering food and the faint smell of garlic doing little to calm him. He had designed those balls to keep them safe. And instead… they had all ended up in danger.

He sank onto a stool by the counter, rubbing his face with his hands. His thoughts were a tangled mess of guilt, confusion, and disbelief. “How… how could I not remember any of this?” he whispered to himself. “Why… why did it all disappear?”

Sly jumped up onto the counter beside him, nudging his arm with her head. Her soft purrs were the only comfort in the whirlwind of his mind. Pezzy sighed, stroking her fur. At least Sly was here. She was the reason they could even get out of the balls. He was the one who had created this whole… mess. And now it was up to him to fix it. To find a way to free the rest, to keep everyone safe, and somehow make up for the mistakes he couldn’t even remember making.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the dinner. Four plates were getting filled as he added the final touches. Once everything was ready, he carried the dishes to the dining table, setting them down alongside some drinks and a bowl of fresh fruit.

“Dinner is ready!” he called out, trying to keep his voice steady.

One by one, they appeared. Puffer came first, moving carefully toward the table. Then Droid. And… Smitty. Yes—he had managed to get another one out.

Pezzy watched them settle in, each taking a seat, and Pezzy finally realized why there was so many rooms and so many chairs in this house.. Pezzy took his own chair and started eating, but slower than the rest. His mind was spinning.

“How can I help? …I don’t have my memory, and I don’t know,” he whispered, feeling a sharp headache and the weight of guilt pressing down on him.

Smitty reached over and gently squeezed his arm, offering a small, reassuring smile. “I’m glad you found us,” he said softly. “First, we get the others out. Then… we’ll figure out how to get your memories back.”

Pezzy looked up at him and nodded. “After dinner?”

Smitty smiled gently. “After dinner. You need something to calm you down. You were always the first one to panic among us.”

“Nah, that’s Grizzy,” Droid hummed, and both Smitty and Puffer snorted before finally agreeing with him.

Pezzy kept his eyes on his plate, poking at his food. He felt out of place, even though they were supposed to be his friends, and he was supposed to know everything about them. But without his memory, he didn’t know. He didn’t remember their shared jokes, their history, their bond—and it left him feeling… left out.

/

After dinner, they all moved to the living room.

Pezzy sat back on the couch, Sly curled up comfortably in his lap. In his hands, he held one of the glass balls, turning it over and over, unsure of what to do next.

He sighed and looked at sly “Scratch it, sweetie…” he murmured softly, nudging Sly’s paw toward the smooth surface of the ball.

The little cat tilted her head, then tapped the ball gently with her claw, making it shimmer faintly under the dim light.

Pezzy bent down and gently let the ball slip from his hands onto the floor.

The same thing happened as before—the ball glowed, and a man appeared out of nowhere.

He repeated the action two more times, freeing each person carefully, until all the balls were broken except for one—the one that was supposed to be his. He slipped it into his pocket for later, just in case.

He looked at the new arrivals: Grizzy, Matt, and finally John. They all sank onto the couch, smiling and laughing softly, clearly relieved and happy to be free.

Grizzy moved forward, arms open, ready to hug him—but Pezzy stepped back. The sudden distance confused the man, and he paused, searching Pezzy’s face.

Droid spoke gently, breaking the silence. “He doesn’t remember any of you.”

Pezzy felt the weight of their disappointed eyes on him. He wanted to say something, to explain himself, but the words wouldn’t come. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He sighed and looked down, finding his hands interesting.

/

Pezzy was washing the dishes, glancing at the clock every now and then. It was around 9 p.m. Everyone else had gone to bed, and Pezzy had followed each of them briefly, trying to figure out which room belonged to who, before finally returning to the kitchen.

He hummed a soft song under his breath, the melody filling the quiet room. The only other sounds were the gentle splashing of water and Sly’s little munching noises as she ate her food nearby.

Pezzy paused his humming when he heard footsteps entering the kitchen, stopping somewhere behind him. He confirmed it when Sly looked up, let out a soft meow, then went back to her food.

He kept working at the dishes, scrubbing and rinsing, while the two of them stood in quiet for a few moments.

Finally, the other man broke the silence. “I know it must be hard… forgetting everything. And… yeah…” The voice was quiet, hesitant, but Pezzy immediately recognized it as Droid’s.

Pezzy hummed softly. “It is hard. I don’t know how to feel about all of this.”

He finished cleaning the last dish, turned off the water, dried his hands, then turned around and leaned back against the sink to face Droid. “It feels like there’s this huge blank space in my head whenever I try to remember anything… and then I wake up one day, finding myself in this house… with a cat.”

He gave a small, bitter laugh, running a hand through his hair. “I feel lost.” Pezzy whispered, his voice barely audible.

Droid let out a sympathetic sigh and stepped closer, gently wrapping him in a hug. Pezzy froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to pull away—but the hug felt right. Warm. Comforting. He let out a long sigh and leaned into it, letting himself be held.

“We’ll help you,” Droid said softly. “And we’ll get back to normal… or as normal as we can be again.” “How?” Pezzy asked, his voice small and uncertain.

Droid’s arms tightened around him for a moment before he pulled back slightly. “We need to find the people who did this,” he said firmly. “These balls didn’t just end up back here on their own. Someone had to get them from the kidnappers.”

He placed his hands gently on Pezzy’s shoulders, meeting his eyes. “Once we find the first clue, the rest will be easier. Piece by piece, we’ll figure it out.”

Pezzy nodded slowly, processing droid’s words.

Droid stared at Pezzy for a moment, then stepped back. “Clues tomorrow. Rest now. Go to bed, Pez. Today has been a lot for you.”

Pezzy nodded, too exhausted to argue. He really couldn’t agree more.

Chapter Text

Pezzy felt cold.

Somewhere behind him, a man was speaking, but he couldn’t see him—couldn’t see anything. Everything around him was swallowed in darkness.

His chest tightened. His breaths came out shallow and fast. Panic crawled up his throat, clawing at him. He tried to focus, tried to breathe, but the harder he tried, the less air he seemed to get.

Then the man moved. Heavy footsteps circled him until finally stopping in front of him. The man started speaking again, but Pezzy couldn’t understand. The words were muffled, like they were being spoken through water.

Suddenly, fingers tangled in his hair and yanked hard. Pezzy winced, gasping at the sharp pain shooting across his scalp.

He felt a sudden, stabbing pain at his temple. His body jolted, a strangled gasp tearing from his throat—

And then he shot awake, drenched in cold sweat, and heart beating hard.

He pressed a trembling hand over his pounding heart, eyes darting through the darkness of his room.

“What…” he rasped, voice barely above a whisper. This was new—He had never had a nightmare before.

“Who was that man…?” he muttered to himself, the question hanging heavy in the empty dark room before he shook his head. “Whatever…”

The dream—or nightmare—clung stubbornly to the edges of his mind as he pushed himself out of bed. His throat felt raw, his head pounding like a drum. Right now, there was only one goal keeping him moving: water. A cold bottle of it would be a blessing.

He opened the door and froze when he spotted Sly in the hallway, batting her toy back and forth, “Why are you awake?” Pezzy whispered, his voice low and still rough from sleep. The little cat paused her play to glance up at him, gave a soft meow as if that was answer enough, and went back to pouncing her toy.

Pezzy’s eyes shifted to the small clock hanging on the hallway wall. The red digits glowed faintly in the dark.

“4:44 a.m.,” he muttered, a frown tugging at his face. “What a timing…” The numbers felt too eerie for some reasons.

“Pezzy?”

The sudden voice snapped him out of his daze with the clock. He turned, startled, and found himself face-to-face with Smitty. The younger man stood there holding an empty cup, the faint scent of coffee clinging to it.

“Isn’t it a little too early for you to be awake?” Smitty asked, brows furrowed with concern.

Coffee? At this hour? Pezzy thought, confused, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. Wrapping his arms around himself, he gave a small shrug. “Just… a bad dream.”

Smitty’s eyes flicked to the clock, lingering on the glowing red numbers before he hummed low in his throat. His gaze returned to Pezzy, “Pezzy,” he said slowly, almost testing the waters, “do you remember your ability?” He blinked at Smitty in confusion. “My… ability?” Smitty nodded slowly. “Well, yeah…” He shrugged toward the glowing clock for a moment, then shook his head. “Breakfast first. Then we talk.”

Without another word, he turned and walked back downstairs, leaving Pezzy staring after him with wide, unblinking eyes.

Just how much did I lose of my memory…?

/

The smell of food filled the room, and the table was already messy with plates and cups as everyone dug in. Pezzy sat down last, brushing his damp hands on his pants after washing them. Droid was the first to speak with his mouth half-full. “Oh my god, I forgot how fucking good of a cook you are, Pezzy.”

Pezzy gave a small laugh, shaking his head as he scooped some food onto his plate. “Thanks. It’s just breakfast…”

“You always say that,” Droid said, pointing his fork at him. “But no one cooks like you.”

A chorus of hums and little nods of agreement followed from around the table.

Pezzy ducked his head, staring at his plate with a shy smile tugging at his lips. He wasn’t sure why the praise made his chest feel warm, but it did.

Once everyone finished eating, Pezzy started to stand, intent on clearing the table, but before he could even reach for a plate, Droid and Smitty came up behind him.

“Up you go,” Droid said, grabbing one arm while Smitty took the other.

“Wait—hey! I should help clean—” Pezzy protested, but they were already dragging him toward the living room.

Grizzy and Matt followed behind, laughing at the sight of Pezzy being dragged away.

Meanwhile, Puffer and John waved them off from the kitchen. “We’ve got this, don’t worry about it,” John said. “Yeah, you cooked, so sit your ass down for once,” Puffer added, shooing him with a dish towel.

Pezzy opened his mouth to argue—after all, technically he cooked so he should clean—but the looks on their faces told him the debate was already lost.

With a sigh, he let Droid and Smitty pull him into the living room, though the little pout on his face earned a chuckle from them.

Pezzy watched as Droid pressed him firmly down onto the couch, Smitty stood beside him with his arms crossed, his gaze leaving no room for escape.

Pezzy blinked up at them, feeling a little cornered. “How much do you actually remember, Pezzy?” Smitty asked.

He shifted uncomfortably under their eyes, fingers twisting together in his lap. “Not much,” he admitted “Bits and pieces. Waking up here, Sly… but before that it’s just—blank. Like my head is full of fog.”

Pezzy looked at smitty “you said something about an ability?”

Smitty nodded and uncrossed his arms before snapping his fingers. In an instant, a whiteboard appeared out of thin air.

Pezzy’s eyes went wide, staring as if Smitty had grown another head.

“Yeah,” Smitty said casually, shrugging, like pulling objects out of nowhere was completely normal. “We all have our own abilities. But yours…” He tapped the marker against Pezzy with a small, teasing smile. “Yours is the coolest.”

Pezzy blinked at the board, then back at Smitty. “Wait… you just made that appear… out of nothing?”

“Pretty much,” Smitty said, twirling the marker between his fingers. “It’s like summoning things. Handy, but nowhere near as useful as what you can do.”

“What can I do?” Pezzy asked, awe written all over his face as he stared at Smitty’s hand.

“You can… dream about the past or the future. Not everything, and not all the time, but if you think hard enough, you can see what’s already happened—or what’s about to happen. That’s actually how you came up with the idea for the glass balls.”

Pezzy’s eyes widened even more. “Woah..” Smitty nodded. “Yeah super cool and useful, And there’s a little… luck factor too. If you wake up at times like 2:22 or 11:11, it usually means good things are coming.”

Pezzy leaned back on the couch, running a hand through his hair, trying to process everything.

Pezzy glanced at Droid. “What about you? What’s your ability?”

Droid leaned back a little, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Mine’s… kind of weird. I can move through electricity. I can like jump from one to another, even use it to hack things if I need to.” Pezzy blinked. “Wait… you mean… like, actually go through??” “Exactly,” Droid said, letting a tiny spark dance across his fingers. “It’s really handy if you need to get somewhere fast… or need information nobody else should have.”

Smitty nudged Pezzy with the marker. “See? We all have something crazy. But yours…” He grinned. “…yours is still the coolest.”

Pezzy stammered, “B-but Droid’s is like SUPER SUPER cool.” Droid rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed, while Smitty and John—who had just joined them—snorted. “Still a simp I see,” John teased, “even without your memory.”

Smitty cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Pezzy. You woke up at 4:44 and said you had a bad dream, right?”

Pezzy nodded slowly. “Yeah… could be your ability. Like, sixty percent your ability.” Smitty hummed thoughtfully, and Droid turned to look at him. “Do you still remember it?” Pezzy nodded again, a little hesitantly. Droid’s lips curved into a small, knowing smile. “Then… it’s definitely your ability.”

“Okay… Pezzy, tell us about that dream. Whatever you remember.”

Pezzy rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his hands. “It’s… kind of fuzzy. It was dark, and there was this man… i had a blindfold on. I couldn’t see his face, and I couldn’t hear what he was saying. his voice was muffled.” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “And then he grabbed my hair. It hurt, and I woke up.”

Droid tilted his head, studying him. “Anything else? Even a little thing?”

Pezzy shook his head. “Not really… just… cold. And panicked. Like I couldn’t breathe.”

Smitty nodded slowly. “Alright. That’s a start. We’ll figure out what it means.”

John hummed, thinking for a moment. “Or… we could just look around. Check the whole house. Maybe we’ll find something—something that explains the dream, or that man.” Droid nodded, sparks flickering faintly from his fingers as he toyed with it. “It’s a start. We don’t know exactly what we’re looking for yet, but anything could help connect the dots.”

Matt, who had been quietly listening from the couch, spoke up. “I’ll help too. Two heads—or four, I guess—are better than one. Right?” He grinned, making a little joke to lighten the mood.

Pezzy let out a shaky breath, feeling both nervous and relieved. He wasn’t alone in this—he had all of them, even if he didn’t fully remember them. “Okay… let’s do it.”

They all split up, each taking different parts of the house to search. Pezzy stayed with Smitty, checking shelves and drawers in the study while Sly padded softly around their feet. He ran his fingers along dusty books, opened old boxes, and occasionally cursing under his breath when he found nothing.

Droid moved through the hallway, his fingers brushing against light switches and outlets, tiny sparks leaping as he scanned for anything unusual. Puffer and John went upstairs, carefully inspecting closets and corners, while Matt wandered between rooms, quietly humming as he rifled through drawers and cabinets.

Hours seemed to pass with little to show for it. Pezzy felt the familiar knot of frustration in his stomach growing. “There’s nothing here,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Then, suddenly, Grizzy’s voice cut through the silence from across the room. “The cameras!”

Pezzy looked up, confused. “Cameras?” Grizzy nodded, eyes wide with realization. “Yes—the cameras! Puffer insisted on getting them a year before the kidnapping happened. How could we forget?”

Instantly, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around, Grizzy explained how the cameras might have recorded something important. Puffer, Smitty, and Droid exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. “Let’s go check them out,” Puffer said. And the three left to get all the cameras.

Just then, Matt came into the living room, carrying a small, dusty box. He set it down in front of Pezzy, lifting the lid to reveal stacks of old papers neatly tied together with string. “Found these,” he said simply, a small grin on his face. “Might be something useful.”

Pezzy leaned closer, eyes scanning the papers. He carefully went through them. Most of them were boring—bank statements, bills for the house, even a few things about Sly—but then something caught his eye.

One sheet had notes about a man who owned a lab. No name, no real way to tell who he was—just experiments, locations, and dates. Pezzy frowned, a little uneasy. Something about it felt important, though he couldn’t quite explain why.

He flipped through a few more pages and froze at another one. In a hurry, someone had written the name Eli with a phone number next to it. Underneath, scrawled in jagged letters, was a note: “Call for emergency.”

Pezzy’s breath caught. The handwriting looked oddly familiar… almost like his own.

Pezzy looked up, glancing around for either Smitty or Puffer. “Puffer?!”

Puffer appeared a moment later, holding a camera in one hand. He sat down beside Pezzy and leaned over to look at the paper. His brow furrowed, and for a moment he said nothing. Then. “Eli… we know him,” he murmured. Then, as if realizing Pezzy was watching, he added, “We know him. He’s our friend. He’s a hacker—but he doesn’t have an ability like the rest of us.” Pezzy blinked at him, the name stirring something familiar in the back of his mind. “Oh..”

Without wasting another second, Puffer yelled Smitty’s name and showed him the papers as soon as he arrived.

Smitty leaned in, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the notes. His lips pressed into a thin line, and his brow furrowed deeply. “Yeah… that’s Eli,” he said slowly. Then he shook his head, glancing between Pezzy and Puffer. “But… the problem is, he’s in another state—last I knew. For a few tense seconds, they all just stared at each other. Pezzy exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “It’s worth a try,” he said quietly.

He pulled his phone out and dialed the number scrawled on the paper, Meanwhile, Smitty took the camera from Puffer and headed out of the living room. He joined Droid and the others in Droid’s room, where they were already setting up to hack into the cameras using Droid’s abilities. Sparks flickered faintly from Droid’s fingertips as he concentrated, the faint hum of electronics filling the room.

Puffer stayed next to Pezzy, both stared down at the phone in silence. Pezzy’s fingers hovered nervously over the screen, his heart pounding. “C’mon… pick up…” he muttered under his breath.

Then, finally, a voice came through, shaky but alert. “Hello?? Pezzy?”

Pezzy froze, He glanced at Puffer, whose expression mirrored his own.

Before Pezzy could react, Puffer snatched the phone from his hand, ignoring his little shout of “Hey!”and put it to his ear. “Eli, hey—it’s me, Puffer.”

There was a pause on the line, then a laugh, “Puffer?? Holy shit, man… it’s been three years!” “I know, right?” Puffer replied, his voice steady. “Listen, it’s… complicated. We’ve got a situation, and we need your help.”

Eli’s tone shifted immediately, the laughter gone. “A situation? What kind of situation?”

Pezzy, still watching quietly from the couch, felt a twinge of nerves. He didn’t know the full story yet, but he could sense that whatever Eli knew—or could do—might be the key to getting answers.

Chapter Text

   It took Eli two days to get there. Pezzy watched from the side, arms crossed loosely, as everyone else ran up to greet him. There were hugs, laughter, pats on the back, and the warm chaos of friends reunited. Pezzy felt a mix of relief and nervousness, unsure where he fit in.

When Eli finally made his way over to him, Pezzy’s heart skipped a beat. The man smiled warmly, eyes bright and knowing, as if he could see right through the fog in Pezzy’s mind. Without a word, Eli opened his arms and pulled Pezzy into a gentle hug.

“It’s okay, Pezzy,” Eli said softly, his voice calm. “I’m here now. I’ll help you remember.”

Pezzy stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, leaning into the embrace. Something about Eli felt safe. Eli pulled back slightly, just enough to look Pezzy in the eyes. “We’ll take it slow,” he said reassuringly. “Step by step. You’re not alone in this.”

Eli didn’t waste any time. He set up the cameras, fingers flying across the keyboard as sparks of electricity from where Droid used his ability on the device danced faintly from his touch. Pezzy and the others watched over his shoulder.

   Minutes turned into hours. Eli and Droid worked side by side, Eli typing, hacking, bypassing encrypted files, while Droid’s powers zipped through the system, breaking digital walls that no normal person could touch. They pulled up old footage, dug through layers of files, and bypassed locks that had seemed unbreakable just moments ago.

Every now and then, Pezzy caught a glimpse of familiar faces in the footage—snapshots of life before everything went wrong—and a knot tightened in his chest. It was surreal, like watching someone else’s memories play out.

Finally, Eli leaned back, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his hair. “There,” he said quietly, a mix of relief and exhaustion in his voice. “Got it. The footage… everything’s here.”

They transferred the camera footage to Pezzy’s computer, then moved to the living room to watch it on the big TV. The room was quiet except for the low hum of the AC, the faint scratching of Sly’s claws on the couch, and the soft clicks as Eli and Droid navigated the files.

The footage began with a normal day. Everyone was there, laughing, moving around, living as they always had. Pezzy watched himself leave the house, calm and unaware of what was about to happen. An hour later, the camera recorded the moment the kidnapping began. Pezzy flinched as he saw it, but before he could react more, he heard a sharp, almost involuntary breath behind him. He turned slightly and saw Puffer, frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, gaze locked in on the TV. Pezzy’s chest tighten. The normal day on the footage now felt like a cruel reminder of everything that had been taken from them. Pezzy’s stomach twisted as he realized just how sudden and deliberate the kidnapping had been. Then the footage cut to a man entering the house. The camera couldn’t capture his face clearly, but it showed him carefully lifting the glass balls from their hiding place. One by one, he placed them all into a box—the same box Pezzy had found in the attic—and then walked out, disappearing from view.

Pezzy felt a lump rise in his throat. He recognized the box instantly, but seeing the action unfold, knowing what had been inside each ball, made his stomach twist.

Three hours later, the footage showed Pezzy returning to the house. The front door was broken, furniture slightly out of place, and the house… empty.

Pezzy’s hands clenched into fists, knuckles white, as he stared at the screen.

His eyes flicked to the corner of the footage window, and his stomach dropped. Today was October 3, 2025… and the timestamp on the video read March 16, 2022.

Three years.

“Three years…” he whispered, voice cracking, barely more than a breath. His throat tightened. “Three years.”

Droid put a hand on Pezzy’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said softly. Pezzy blinked hard, fighting the burn in his eyes.

Eli leaned closer to the footage, his eyes narrowing. “Pause it there,” he muttered, pointing at the figure carrying the box of spheres.

With a few swift keystrokes, he froze the frame and zoomed in, sharpening the grainy image until the man’s features came into view. His face was half-hidden in shadow, the outline blurred, but it was enough—just enough.

“Got you,” Eli whispered under his breath. He took a clean screenshot, saving it in multiple folders before dragging it into another program. His fingers didn’t slow as he opened search tools, hidden networks, and databases most people didn’t even know existed.

The room was dead quiet except for the rapid clicks of his keyboard. Pezzy sat rigid on the couch, his eyes locked on the screen, his chest tight. The idea that someone—this faceless man—had walked into his home, taken his friends, and erased his memories made his stomach churn.

Eli finally leaned back, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. “This is gonna take some time,” he admitted, glancing at the group. “A week, maybe more. Whoever this guy is… he’s careful. Covers his tracks. But I’ll find him.”

Pezzy swallowed hard, his fists curling in his lap. “A week…” he echoed softly, voice laced with frustration. It sounded like forever.

Eli gave him a small, firm smile. “I’ll get him, Pezzy. No one stays in the dark forever.”

    Eli set himself up in the spare room with his laptop and stacks of notes, barely leaving except to refill his mug or grab whatever food Puffer shoved into his hands. Every night he’d mumble something like “I’m close, give me a little longer,” but no one pressed. They trusted him.

So, the rest of them filled the silence with… life.

The first morning, Grizzy made pancakes that were nearly inedible—burnt on the outside, gooey in the middle—but everyone ate them anyway, laughing and teasing until Pezzy’s stomach hurt from laughing. It had been so long since his house felt this warm. Later that day, they found themselves dragging out old board games from a dusty closet. Matt, somehow, was both ridiculously lucky and terrible at strategy, which led to loud arguments about how no one should win with six skipped turns in a row.

The next day was quieter until Puffer and Smitty had decided, for reasons unknown to anyone but themselves, that they were going to “fix” the backyard. What exactly needed fixing was unclear, but by noon, Pezzy looked out the kitchen window to see Puffer dragging a half-broken lawn chair across the grass while Smitty stood on top of a wobbly ladder, yelling nonsense.

“What the hell are they even doing?” Pezzy muttered, clutching his mug of coffee.

“Trying to build a deck, I think,” Matt said around a mouthful of cereal which made Pezzy side eye him. “Or maybe a treehouse. Hard to tell with those two.” He said, ignoring Pezzy’s side eye.

Ten minutes later, there was a crash, followed by Puffer yelling, “I SAID HOLD IT, NOT DROP IT!” and Smitty’s “FUCK FUCK IM SORRY DAMN!”.

“Should we… go help them?” Grizzy asked.

Matt shook his head immediately. “Nope. I value my life.”

By the time evening rolled around, Smitty was covered in dirt and Puffer had a bandage on his hand, but somehow, they were both beaming with pride. Out back now stood… something. It wasn’t a deck or a treehouse, but more like a questionable combination of the two, nailed together at odd angles.

“It’s art,” Puffer insisted, dusting his hands off, with Smitty nodding proudly beside him.

“Illegal art,” Eli muttered as he passed. That was all it took. The entire group burst into laughter. Puffer’s jaw dropped. “It’s not illegal! It’s… in-!” he stuttered for a minute before giving up, crossing his arms and pouting like a kid.

Which, of course, only made everyone laugh harder.

 At night, when the house finally quieted, Pezzy would catch himself lying awake, staring at the ceiling. The dreams still came, blurry and unsettling, but he didn’t always tell the others. Sometimes he just kept them to himself, trying to puzzle them out alone.

And in the middle of it all was Droid.

It started with small things. Droid brushing past him in the kitchen, fingers grazing his arm just a little too long. The way Droid always sat beside him on the couch, their knees bumping until Pezzy shifted and realized Droid never moved away. The way his eyes softened when Pezzy was confused, or overwhelmed, lost in thought, or feeling left out.

Pezzy caught himself staring more than once too. During game night, when Droid threw his head back laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Or when he was helping Eli with the cameras, sparks flickering across his hands like restless fireflies. Pezzy was confused. Why was he feeling this way?

One evening, when everyone else had gone upstairs, Pezzy stayed behind to pick up empty mugs and stray blankets in the living room. He turned and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Droid leaning against the doorway, watching him.

“Jeez—” Pezzy hissed, clutching his chest. “Don’t just… stand there…”

Droid grinned, pushing off the frame and crossing the room. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to.”

He bent down to help, gathering the mugs and balancing them easily in one hand. Pezzy mumbled a thanks and straightened the pillows, but his heartbeat wouldn’t slow.

“Are you okay?” Droid asked suddenly, the words tumbling out before he could stop them.

Pezzy paused, tilting his head. “I don’t know. Why?”

“It’s just… you were living alone here and… I don’t know, man. Everything.” Droid’s voice was quiet, unsure. “It hurts to know you don’t remember any of us.”

Pezzy frowned. And when he looked up, Droid was smiling. A small, sad smile that made Pezzy’s chest feel too tight. He wanted to say something, anything, but the words tangled on his tongue. So he just nodded, pretending to focus on folding the blanket.

But even after Droid left the room, Pezzy couldn’t shake the feeling.

It was the fifth day. Everyone was lounging in the living room, sprawled across couches and chairs, some half-asleep, others scrolling on their phones, the quiet hum of conversation drifting lazily around the room. Even Sly seemed content, curled up in Pezzy’s lap. Suddenly, the bedroom door that Eli had claimed as his office flew open with a loud crash. Everyone jerked their heads toward the noise.

Eli came barreling into the living room, a wide grin plastered across his face, eyes sparkling with excitement. “I FOUND HIM! I FOUND HIM!” he shouted, practically bouncing on his heels.

Pezzy froze, fork halfway to his mouth.

Eli waved a tablet in the air, practically thrusting it at Pezzy. “The guy—the one who took the balls! I tracked him down!” His words tumbled out in a rush, breathless with excitement. “And more importantly…” He leaned in toward Pezzy, lowering his voice, though his excitement made it impossible to keep quiet. “…I found the place where your memories could still be, Pezzy. Everything you lost… it’s there.” “Where?” Pezzy asked, his fingers brushing over the edge of Eli’s tablet as he took it from him. Eli pointed at the screen. “An old lab. About four hours from here. Whoever he is, he’s been keeping it hidden… but everything you’ve forgotten, every missing memory, it’s all there.”

The room went quiet. Smitty was the first to break the silence, standing and stretching with a small smirk. “Well… looks like we’re going on a road trip,” he said casually, though the excitement in his eyes was clear.

Puffer shot upright, eyes wide. “Four hours? FOUR HOURS?!”

Grizzy just shrugged. “We’ve done longer. We’ll manage.”

While the others chatted, Pezzy stared down at the location mapped in the tablet. He felt eyes on him and looked up. Pezzy’s eyes found Droid’s staring at him. A small, reassuring smile tugged at Droid’s lips, and he reached out, resting a hand lightly on Pezzy’s shoulder. “We’ll get it back,” he said quietly, voice confident. “Together.” Pezzy nodded, looking down to hide the soft flush creeping up his cheeks.

Four hours away from the past, and he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Text

   Pezzy knocked lightly on Droid’s door. “Uh… come in!” came the reply.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him. Instantly, he hugged himself, feeling a little exposed as he took in the room. He’d never really checked the other rooms in the house before—he wasn’t sure why, but it always made him uncomfortable. This was the first time he was seeing Droid’s room. It was dark, the only light coming from the faint red glow of the lamps scattered around. Shadows danced across the walls, and Pezzy’s gaze flicked from corner to corner, trying to take it all in.

And then his eyes landed on Droid.

The man was sitting cross-legged on the bed, calm and steady, eyes quietly following Pezzy as he absorbed the room. Pezzy felt a flush creep up his neck, suddenly aware of being watched.

“Hey,” he mumbled, almost too softly.

Droid’s lips curved into a small smile. “Hey. Come in.”

He patted the bed beside him. Pezzy hesitated for a moment before moving carefully to sit down next to him.

They sat in silence. Droid’s fingers moved quickly across the laptop keys, completely focused, while Pezzy just watched, feeling strangely calm just being there.

He mentally kicked himself. Sitting on Droid’s bed… and feeling this comfortable? That sounds so wrong… His cheeks heated, and he quickly looked away, pretending to be interested in the setup across the room.

It reminded him of what Matt had told him the other day. “We’re streamers.”

Pezzy hummed softly, thinking. If they were all streamers, their fans must be worried. Three years without any content… no streams, no updates. He wondered what people would think now, what kind of chaos their absence might have caused online.

A soft sniffle broke through Pezzy’s thoughts. He froze, blinking, and glanced around the room, unsure if he’d imagined it. Then his eyes landed on Droid.

The man sat hunched over, his head buried in his hands, shoulders trembling. Quiet sniffles and choked breaths slipped out before he tried to stifle them. Pezzy’s chest tightened at the sight.

“Droid…?” he asked softly, hesitant.

Droid let out a weak, humorless laugh. “I’m sorry—” his voice cracked, and he quickly wiped at his eyes, shaking his head. “It’s just… you don’t even remember, and I don’t want to dump this on you—”

“Droid.” Pezzy cut him off gently, scooting a little closer. “What’s wrong?”

His hand hovered for a second before he placed it lightly on Droid’s arm. Droid let out a shaky breath and leaned back against the wall, staring at nothing.

“You’re so special to me, Pezzy.” The words were barely above a whisper. “The day of the kidnapping… we had a huge fight. You took Sly and left the house to get her checked. You were avoiding me. And then everything happened.” He squeezed his hands together until his knuckles turned white. “I never got to say sorry. For three years. I thought I’d lost you forever. I lost hope…”

His voice trailed off. Tears began to slip down his cheeks again.

They stayed in silence for a long moment, the low hum of Droid’s computer filling the space. Pezzy stared down at his hands, then finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What were we…” He paused, then corrected himself, “…what are we?”

Droid let out a slow sigh and stood, his movements heavy. He walked over to his setup, eyes scanning the clutter until he reached up and plucked a photo from the wall. Without a word, he came back to the bed and held it out to Pezzy.

Pezzy took it carefully.

It was beautiful. Him and Droid, sitting close, holding Sly between them. Droid was grinning at the camera, his eyes crinkled with happiness. Pezzy, on the other hand, had his lips pressed against Droid’s cheek in a soft kiss. In the background, a cake sat on the table, its icing spelling out “Happy 4th Anniversary” in neat black letters.

“Oh…” was all Pezzy managed to say.

Droid let out a small, almost bitter chuckle before sitting back down beside him. “Yeah. ‘Oh.’”

He drew in a deep breath and turned to Pezzy, his face suddenly serious. “I get it if you don’t want to keep us together. Even after you get your memories back, I’ll understand if—”

“No.” Pezzy cut him off, his voice firm but gentle.

Droid blinked, startled. “No?”

“I won’t break up with you.” Pezzy’s lips curved into the faintest of smiles. “I always wondered about this… this strange pull in my chest whenever I looked at you. Now I understand.”

He reached out, taking Droid’s hand in his own. His thumb brushed over Droid’s knuckles as he whispered, “There’s a saying… the mind forgets, but the heart doesn’t.”

Droid let out a choked sob and collapsed forward into Pezzy’s arms. Pezzy wrapped him up without hesitation, holding him tight, grounding him.

“Once I get my memories back,” Pezzy murmured against his hair, “I promise you—I’m never leaving again.”

Droid clung to him like a lifeline. His sobs filling the dark room.

    By the time the clock struck 11 AM, the cars were ready and a small truck was almost fully loaded. They were headed to the nearest city to the lab—about a five-hour drive—where they’d stay at a hotel before making the one-hour trip to the lab itself.

Droid was helping Grizzy load the truck, lifting bags with easy strength. Pezzy “helped” too, though mostly he hovered nearby, eyes wide, muttering under his breath.

“Wow… you guys are strong,” he said, staring at Grizzy hefting a bag like it weighed nothing.

Droid glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “You doing anything, or just going to stand there?”

Pezzy shuffled awkwardly, trying to look busy. “Uh… supervising?” He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. “Yeah, supervising is important. Safety first.”

Grizzy snorted, placing the last box in the truck. “You sure you’re helping, or are you just gonna coo at us the whole time?”

Pezzy flushed but smiled, hands tucked into his pockets. “I mean… it’s impressive, okay? That’s all.”

Droid rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the small grin tugging at his lips. Pezzy caught it and felt that familiar flutter in his chest.

Matt leaned against the side of the truck, eyes scanning the stacks of boxes and bags. He frowned. “Are all these boxes… important?” Droid glanced up from securing the last strap and shrugged. “Eli needs his stuff, I guess. You know him—organized shit.”

Pezzy raised an eyebrow. “That sounds….” Grizzy chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. Eli’s always like this. You don’t really question it, just… accept it.” Pezzy hummed and glanced up as Smitty’s voice called from the doorway. “Are we ready to leave?”

John hovered nearby, arms crossed, frowning slightly. “Smitty, did you double-check the locks? I don’t want anyone sneaking in while we’re gone.” Smitty waved him off casually, though his eyes scanned the house one last time. “Relax, John. I locked everything. Twice. Even the extra deadbolt.”

Pezzy leaned against the side of the truck, tugging at his sleeve nervously. “Yeah… we’re ready. I think.” He muttered the last part under his breath, mostly to himself.

Droid crouched beside him, adjusting a strap on one of the boxes. He glanced at Pezzy with that small reassuring smile. “We’re good. Everything’s packed, everyone’s ready. Let’s just get on the road.”

Grizzy hopped into the driver’s seat, slapping the steering wheel. “Alright, people. Buckle up no backing out now.”

Everyone chuckled as they settled into their assigned vehicles. Grizzy climbed into the driver’s seat of the small truck, Eli hopping in beside him with the boxes and bags stacked neatly in the back. Smitty and John slid into a car with Matt, who immediately started fiddling with the radio. “Guys, we need some good road trip music,” he said with a grin, already scrolling through a playlist.

Pezzy and Droid climbed into the last car, Puffer hopping in behind them along with Sly, who immediately curled up on Puffer’s lap. Puffer gave the little cat a soft scratch behind her ears. The seating arrangements were simple enough:

• Grizzy (driver) and Eli – truck loaded with all the bags and boxes.

• John (driver) with Smitty and Matt – car full of chatter and songs already.

• Droid (driver) and Pezzy with Puffer and Sly – Pezzy tried to ignore how fast his heart was racing when Droid put a hand on his thigh.

The engines roared to life, and one by one, the convoy rolled out of the driveway.